I sit down to write this report around 36 hours after the 2013 Outlaw Triathlon shut out the lights in the finishing chute and everyone went home.\u00a0 I\u2019m struggling to type as my hands, especially my right one is still numb but more on that later.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll start my story on the day the final race pack was published and found the time cut off for the swim had been adjusted \u2013 no longer would I have 2h15 to be on my bike but there would actually be an enforced cut off at 2hours out of the water.\u00a0 Easy for most but being a very lacking swimmer all my swim training has been geared to building up the endurance to swim for 2 hours and suddenly a minor tweak had suddenly cranked up the pressure.<\/p>\n
My last few weeks of training had been OK but I\u2019d missed a couple of sessions convinced that I was coming down with something that thankfully never happened.\u00a0 I\u2019m told this is quite normal behaviour and I\u2019m no more neurotic than the next long distance triathlete approaching a taper.\u00a0 Earlier in the week a bit of a sniff moved further down my list of worries when the stream of heat wave forecasts started coming in. \u00a0It was going to be around 30\u00b0C and I never race well in warm conditions \u2013 I\u2019d never swam in warm conditions either so had no idea how that would work.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d always planned on doing my race packing well in advance but kept finding excuses to putting it off so didn\u2019t really do any until the Thursday and then on the Friday sat watching TV coverage of last year\u2019s event while packing everything up.\u00a0 Not sure if that was wise as it looked both daunting and inspiring.<\/p>\n
We set off for Nottingham around 2:30 on the Friday evening and had a nice relaxed evening and once again I was able to get a good 8 hours of sleep in.\u00a0 I\u2019d written off being able to sleep before the race so had been advised to bank as much sleep as possible in the build-up.<\/p>\n
Saturday morning and we headed to Holme Pierrepoint and I was registered in no time at all.\u00a0 A daunting pile of bags and bits in hand and the wrist band firmly secured I found a piece of floor in the centre and watched the Lions game \u2013 a great atmosphere in the room among other likeminded triathletes.\u00a0 The inevitable temperatures were the main topic of conversation with seasoned athletes suggesting it would be the hardest ever Outlaw and on par with some of the recognised hot weather races.<\/p>\n
Test series wrapped up we went into the briefing where race director Andy started by emphasizing the importance of the swim cut off and I felt the colour drain from my face \u2013 he spoke for another hour but I\u2019m not sure how much went in.\u00a0 I went up to him afterwards and explained my fears \u2013 he asked a few questions and said that they\u2019d probably be fine with anyone doing 2h5 but much more and they\u2019d have to have a serious look at you and get you through T1 sharpish.\u00a0 I felt a bit better now and speaking to the NEWT guys (Richie, James and Simon) they were great at helping me calm down a bit.<\/p>\n
Time was going on by this stage and I went to fetch my bike finding I was missing a bar end cap \u2013 no sign in the boot \u2013 but K popped along to the expo area where they were doing bike maintenance and managed to blag one.\u00a0 Finally bags were sorted, bike ready and I headed down to transition but at the last minute K suggested I follow my coach\u2019s advice and go for a short spin.\u00a0 I was reluctant but did it anyway and it was a good job I did \u2013 my front derailleur just wouldn\u2019t shift at all. I poked and prodded but no joy.\u00a0 I decided to bite the bullet and give the TFN maintenance guys 20 quid to sort it out.\u00a0 Had to leave the bike with them and I was amazed to find them re-cabling the front gear workings when I returned \u2013 apparently the cable had completely seized in amongst the internal routing \u2013 the heat was causing all sorts of mechanical issues by all accounts.\u00a0 By this point I\u2019m not sure how much more stress I can cope with so quickly hung my bags, racked my bike and headed back to the hotel.<\/p>\n
I eat a bowl of pasta and garlic bread, get my swimming kit together and put my head down for the night.\u00a0 I don\u2019t sleep but I\u2019d planned for that so tried to stay relaxed but worries about the swim cut off keep resurfacing and getting me worked up.<\/p>\n
Alarm goes off at 03:30 and the toughest sporting day of my life is about to commence. An instant porridge pot is forced down and then at the venue I eat a banana and keep sipping at a drink.\u00a0 I\u2019m putting my nutrition on the bike realising I\u2019ve forgotten to put any liquid in my drinks bottle so again K pops off to sort that out. Final touches done to the race bags and I\u2019m into my wetsuit.\u00a0 Walking to the water I pass the race director and do give real consideration to handing him my chip and calling it off.\u00a0 At this point, just as I needed it, the NEWT guys saw me and I went with them to the start.<\/p>\n
Despite his ambitions at the front James was especially helpful and pretty much put me in the water.\u00a0 It felt warm and actually pleasant and I lay on my back and took a few deep breaths.\u00a0 My mantra for the swim has always been \u201cjust keep swimming, just keep swimming\u201d and that\u2019s what I needed to do.\u00a0 I\u2019d never done more than 1.9K in OW and never race distance in the pool.<\/p>\n
The race starts and I\u2019m off and going, I see K walking alongside on the bank and I find that helpful.\u00a0 I glance at my watch halfway down the lake and I\u2019m well ahead of schedule and feeling good and hit the turnaround in 55 minutes.\u00a0 Suddenly all my fears of the cut-off disappear and I know I\u2019m in control.\u00a0 My only niggling doubt is that any swim in the pool of more than an hour and a half has caused me to hit the wall but then I\u2019ve never fuelled well before an early morning swim before and I stay strong.\u00a0 I slow a bit but finish in a comfortable 1h55.<\/p>\n
I take it easy through T1 to clear my head a bit \u2013 I always feel a little dizzy exiting the water \u2013 and can hear a swimmer being let through in 2h07 and wonder what I was worried about. I\u2019m out to my bike and set off around the perimeter of the lake. Disaster strikes.\u00a0 I\u2019ve forgotten my HR monitor.\u00a0 All my training done to HR, this weather making pacing critical, and I\u2019ve not put my damn monitor on.<\/p>\n
I ask myself any number of questions as I ride the lap and in the end jump off my bike at the end and ask very nicely if I can pop back into transition to fetch it.\u00a0 I have to run a fair way but luckily I put my hand on my bag fairly quickly and I\u2019m then back out onto my bike.\u00a0 So if my pretty poor 12 minute T1 wasn\u2019t bad enough you can add another 6 minutes for my rather unique T1b.\u00a0 So unsurprisingly I\u2019m now in last place of the entire field and all my good work in the swim is undone.<\/p>\n
I ride well to start knowing that I\u2019m going to be much later than expected into the first time check at 16miles and I don\u2019t want people following the tracking to panic.\u00a0 I ride to 35KM before I see another soul but at least then overtake some people and feel I\u2019m making some progress.\u00a0 I come towards the end of the first Southern loop and the leaders are coming back after their trip around the North loop.\u00a0 This is going to be a long day but I see James pass so know he\u2019s going well and then see K on the side of the road.\u00a0 The support around the course is generally good but at Car Colston it\u2019s pretty special as hundreds of people line the road. Sadly most of them are facing the other way as I ride through clearly watching the leaders.\u00a0 I complete the Southern loop in 1h52 (27kph) and then head onto the lumpier northern loop.\u00a0 This is fairly uneventful most of the way round as I take it easy up the one real climb on the course and for the only time on the course follow a group of 2 for a while.\u00a0 A draft buster pulled alongside and I blurted out \u201csurely that\u2019s OK!?\u201d and he laughed and asked if I had enough water and reminded me to keep drinking.\u00a0 He shot off down the road and I looked forlornly down at my Garmin wishing my bike would go that fast.\u00a0 Bored of being sat in a line I pulled out, sped off and continued on.<\/p>\n
Approaching the one busy roundabout on the course I went to follow a caravan around and he braked at the last minute and I had to stop in a hurry to avoid ploughing into the back of it.\u00a0 That would have been a tough DNF to explain.\u00a0 North loop finished in 2h18 (23.5kph) and I\u2019m aware than both my hands are really starting to cramp.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been on top of my nutrition and drinking plenty so I guess I\u2019ve just been gripping my bars too tightly \u2013 it\u2019s never happened before but it\u2019s not getting any better.<\/p>\n
I get to the penultimate feed station and the last of the bike timing mats and decide to take a short stop.\u00a0 The Pirates on this station are great and they get me plenty of water swapping bottles for me like an F1 pit crew \u2013 I try to mix a gel into the drink and realise my hands have seized so they even do that for me.<\/p>\n
I think this is the point where something in my mind changes and the day becomes all about survival.\u00a0 I can no longer shift my gears up and I\u2019m riding mostly one handed holding my more painful right hand as if in a sling.\u00a0 The heat is up to 32\u00b0C and I\u2019m beginning to suffer.\u00a0 My speed is dropping below 20kph far more times than I want it to and my average speed is falling.\u00a0 I\u2019m now aware of the 8 hour cut off and cursing my 25 minutes of my split transition \u2013 should I puncture now with my hands how they are its game over.<\/p>\n
I plough on and curse the people at the last food station for going home early \u2013 I prepare my rant to staff in T2 and continue on passing some people who are off their bikes and sat on the side.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t I feel silly when I rounded a corner and saw the feed station \u2013 I\u2019d miscounted my miles to kilometres and put them in a different position? \u00a0I put a half drunken bottle of water over my head, they provided a new one and I necked most of a bottle of High5. 12 miles to go and I can get off this bike.<\/p>\n
Southern loop 2 completed in 2h07 (23.5 again) which showed I was still slowing in real terms. There are a few lumps on the last section and to change gear I had to use the opposite hand to pull my levers \u2013 these gearing issues meant I spent large chunks in the wrong gear often pushing harder gears than I would normally do and slowing my cadence. \u00a0I had concerns as to how that was going to affect me when I started the run.<\/p>\n
Navigating the bumpy section at the end of the bike very conservatively I finally entered T2 after a 7h35 bike split.\u00a0 Taking away the 6 minutes around where my pre-race worst case bike split would be.<\/p>\n
If I thought my hands gave me trouble on the bike I wasn\u2019t prepared for how bad they actually were.\u00a0 I took 20 minutes in T2!!!\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t get anything done properly and I think at least 10 minutes of the time were me trying to get socks off and new ones and compression guards on.\u00a0 I had to get a fellow competitor to pull my top down as I couldn\u2019t do it myself.<\/p>\n
I set out thinking I\u2019d aim for a strategy of 3 minutes running 30 seconds walking but this soon became 2\/30, 1\/30 and steadily worse.\u00a0 For those that don\u2019t know the run course is basically 2 laps of the lake (~3 miles each), a 7 mile section into Nottingham, another lake lap, Nottingham again and then one last lap.\u00a0 It was this structure that prevented me from stopping there and then. \u00a0At 2 miles in I was all set to call it a day and having run-walked a lap my right calf was in spasm every time I ran and then couldn\u2019t walk.\u00a0 \u00a0Continuing my walking full time now I realised I could walk fast enough to meet the necessary 10 minutes per KM I needed to beat the 11pm cut off. I told myself if I could do the next lake lap without too much pain I\u2019d head out into Nottingham.<\/p>\n
Many people were finishing at this point but nearly all were walking and once off and going I made peace with my approach and just got on with it.\u00a0 I saw K and explained it was going to be a late night.\u00a0 I can walk quickly when required and so was able to continually do 9 minute KM giving myself a decent buffer and it was helped by the regular feed stations.\u00a0 By half way several cups of salty drinks had eased the cramp right off and I do think I could have run some of the remainder but having long since blown any chance of a decent time I decided to play the conservative approach and just ensure I finished.\u00a0 I came around my penultimate lake lap with people looking to beat 14 hours but very few of them could muster the jog needed to ensure it \u2013 the temperature just hadn\u2019t dropped and around the lake humidity was incredibly high.\u00a0 Out to Nottingham for the final time and I passed a sequence of people pretty quickly and then when I caught the front person of that sequence I started to chat to him and we basically walked together for around an hour.\u00a0 Slightly slower than I\u2019d been going but I was fine for the cut off time and the distraction was welcome.\u00a0 Last 7 or so kilometres I set off again and saw K who had been getting messages all evening and then caught a couple more people around the lake as darkness took over.\u00a0 With a mile left Richie pulled alongside on his bike and kept me going and with about 400m to go I started to jog before getting the full on after-dark finishers chute experience with the remain crowd in the chute giving out high-fives including K and Phil (James and Richie\u2019s dad).\u00a0 I leapt over the line nearly taking the tape with me before being dragged back to the line by commentator where the whole crowd shouted the words I\u2019d been working 16h38 minutes for \u2013 \u201cDavid Manley. You are an Outlaw!\u201d<\/p>\n
It was late, everyone was tired and frankly with a 150 mile drive ahead of them I couldn\u2019t believe that the NEWT brigade had stayed to see me finish.<\/p>\n
I could have done without having to lug my kit bags and bike from transition and in my weary state my 3 kit bags ended up being left behind on the side of the road but thankfully by the time I worked this out in the morning someone had handed them in to reception. A lucky escape.\u00a0 The marshalls and people at the feed stations were amazing – continuous energy and banter helping keep me going.\u00a0 Always quick to provide what was needed and just fantastic all round really.<\/p>\n
I sit here now relieved that I got through it and proud of the achievement but frustrated that my weakness in hot conditions basically cost me any chance of a decent performance.\u00a0 I\u2019m never going to be super-fast but should be capable of something in the 14-15 hour mark but I said I\u2019d be a one and done and as it stands see no reason to change that opinion.<\/p>\n
My neck is cut from chafing on the swim, I\u2019ve lost a toe nail and have half a dozen blisters, my hip is in bits from the speed walking and I\u2019m still mentally exhausted.\u00a0 Simon texted me yesterday saying it\u2019ll take me 1 to 4 month before I sign up for another iron distance but I just don\u2019t see it happening.\u00a0 If I was to ever consider it again it\u2019d be when I can swim properly, average high 20s on the bike and perhaps most importantly sort my diet out to one more conducive of an athlete training 6 or more times a week.\u00a0 If one thing really held me back it was picking up infections on the back of every big training block.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a big commitment and K has been awesome all the way through, Marcus my coach has been great although I suspect I\u2019ve frustrated him a lot more than he lets on.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had loads of backing from family and friends, work colleagues, more recently the people of NEWT, my twitter buddies \u2013 I won\u2019t name individuals but you know who you are.\u00a0 I could have given up after that first wander round the lake but it was not wanting to let everyone down that kept me going.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust keep walking. Just keep walking.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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