Ironman 70.3 Finland WC
“Lots of hard work went into the build up to this race, but there were also some enjoyable character building sessions along the way. Training included a solo trip to Portugal back in March followed by a visit to the French Alps in July for some demanding cycling hill sessions.”
For the race itself, the hardy Finnish weather tried but didn’t dampen the spirits. Dundalk athlete Paul Savage Cairlinn Triathlon Club was competing at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship and felt fortunate to have the opportunity to race against some of the best amateur middle distance triathletes in the world. The effort paid off with a finish time of 4 hours 50 minutes, breaking the five hour barrier for the second time in four weeks.
“The swim leg held in Vesijärvi lake was largely uneventful with the plan being to cruise through it using as little energy as possible, and to avoid contact on the turn buoys which worked out well. The only interesting moment was the diving start from the wooden platform.” (Swim leg – 39 minutes)
“On the bike leg, which headed out into the Finnish countryside across undulating terrain and returned to Lathi, the plan was to stick to pre-determined normalised power values decided on over the course of the buildup to the race along with monitoring heart rate to give the best possible chance at having a decent run off the bike. Shortly after the start of the bike leg the rain came in, which remained for the duration of the race making biking conditions challenging at times especially in areas where headwinds were strong.” (Bike leg – 2 hours 28 minutes)
“Out on the run, the course consisted of 2 laps in and around Lathi City with a mixture of fast sections around Lathi stadium running track and a long climb out from the stadium with approx 120 meters of elevation per lap. The plan for the run was not to sting the legs too much and to conserve on the way up the long climb and then to open the legs out on the way back down and around the stadium. As is the usual on the triathlon half Ironman run leg the last 3-4K was spent digging in and hanging on to get to the finish line.” (Run leg – 1 hour 31 minutes)
Read more race reports from Cairlinn Traithlon Club
