Ironman Mallorca 70.3 Race Report: Coached Athlete Tom Foster

Coached triathlete Tom Foster raced the Ironman Mallorca 70.3 last week, here's his race report from the hot Majorcan triathlon race, enjoy! 

It was way back in late 2013 when I signed up for Ironman 70.3 Mallorca, initially I had hoped to enter Ironman 70.3 UK however this had sold out rapidly, after consulting with WhittleFit I was sold on Mallorca.

I arrived in Mallorca on the Wednesday morning with my support crew (parents and two close mates who regularly support me during my triathlon endeavours) and found our apartment in Port d’Alcudia very easily (a bit of a risk as my mum had been left to book it, with little knowledge of the area or the location of the race HQ). As it turned out it was the ideal location, away from the bustle of the main hotels on the beach, yet only 200m from the Finish line and 500m from transition.

Thursday was mainly taken up with a route recce of the main climb, heading out of Port de Pollenca and up the Col de Femenia. The climb is roughly 6.5km and 5-6% grade average, very different to most climbs we would encounter in South Wales where it’s more 15% but only a few hundred meters. However this is the type of climb that suits the lighter riders who can sustain a constant power output for an extended period. I haven’t ridden many climbs like this having not been cycling on the continent before, but this one is now a firm favourite of mine, the highlight catching a Pro (who was also out on reconnaissance) on the early slopes then matching him for pace all the way up whilst having a chat, the best bit being he thought I was racing in the Pro field!

I had initially though that capping my power for the climb at 260-270w, however even on this ride I was maintaining 300w fairly comfortably so I would allow myself to up to that mark for race day.

Friday was the usual pre-race admin, race registration, bag packing, bike racking and the race briefing. I also managed to get in the sea in my wetsuit to have a look at the swim course. With all that done I headed up for a hearty Spag Bol and a good night’s sleep.

Race Day

Saturday, Race Day! Fortunately given that I was racing in the 25-30 Age Group I was afforded an unusual relative ‘lie-in’ as our start time was not until a leisurely 09:05. I had my usual porridge (yes I shipped porridge from the UK – makes a good shock absorber in the bike box) and a large coffee chased with SIS Electrolyte. With fuelling over we headed down to the VAST transition area. Big doesn’t really do it justice, it was easily 500m long and the width of a 4 lane road, an impressive sight! Luckily I was positioned quite close to the bike in/out offering a bit of an advantage as I wouldn’t have to wheel my bike so far. I had probably left it a bit late to get down there, given when I arrived transition would be closing in 15 minutes, however I was feeling really relaxed as I only had to put my water bottles, Garmin, and shoes on the bike, tyres at 100psi (they had to be let down over night as there was a risk of the heat popping them!) and that was it. Golden rule of transition keep it simple. Following that I had about an hour before my start, so I headed back up to the apartment to get my wetsuit on get some more Electrolytes into me and coat myself in SPF30 (it was due to be another hot one). With about 30 mins before my start I headed down to the beach to have a swim warm up. The sea was like a mill pond, other than the white water being created by the earlier waves setting off it was totally calm and quite warm too, the first open water race I have been in where wetsuits were optional. My wetsuit was staying firmly on however, as it offers up a good couple of minutes to the weaker swimmer like me.

The swim 00:28:26

With a few minutes to go we were corralled into the starting pen, with the music pumping and the heady smell of neoprene in the air I was buzzing, yet still surprisingly calm. I guess that comes from experience, knowing it was never going to be like the carnage that is thrust upon you during the full Ironman swim where ABSOLUTLY everyone goes off as one was a huge relief. I was even confident to start quite close to the front although I was off to the outside. The countdown started, the 30 second warning, goggles on and tight on my face with a reassuring suck on my eyes, 10 seconds to go, silence in the pen, the crowd cheering, music blaring, then the crack of the gun and we were underway. The swim was fairly uneventful; the odd slap on the head while people spread out in the first few hundred meters, but that was about it. I felt really good, and focused on my form which I had been developing in the off season. I did my best to swim on hips and feet to try and conserve energy, but each one I chose seemed to be swimming in zigzags so in the end did my own thing. With approximately 200m to go I started to pass the tail end of the previous wave, which was a good confidence boost. On exiting the water I had a quick glance at my watch and saw a 28 min something, pleasing given I was hoping for anything around 29-30mins.

T1: The path from the beach to transition was fairly quiet, and I made sure I ran quite hard to drive the blood back into my legs (I find this helps prevent cramp I often get). I had managed to remember what lanes I had to run down to collect my blue bike bag. I had left this bag empty as all my stuff was resting on my bike, meaning all I had to do was stuff my wetsuit in and off load it to a willing volunteer. I continued to hare it down to my bike, sorted out my helmet, had a quick time check from the support crew then wheeled my bike to the mount line. It was a little busy but I just pushed my bike a bit further on to give me space to get on. 

Bike 02:34:36

The immediate first section is a dead straight main road, ideal for getting your feet into tri shoes. There are, however, a few speed bumps on the way down. I spotted a Police officer picking up an ejected water bottle 20-30m up the road, near a fairly ferocious bump; I therefore checked my rear bottle (mounted to the saddle rails) as this back in the UK has flown off on me. Despite checking the rear, it was in fact the one on my bars that got launched. I hesitated and though about stopping to retrieve it, however I had lost sight of it, so I opted to plough on, and chose to revise my nutrition strategy as the lost bottle contained 3 watered down gels, in order to get as many calories in as possible I would need to take on more of the Powerbar Iso drink offered at aid stations. This was a blessing in disguise as I managed to get through nearly 4 litres

Once out of Alcudia I just concentrated on getting my head down staying aero, and tempering my enthusiasm on the pedals to keep my power around 210w. I was feeling great, passing people all the way through Pollenca and to the base of the climb with no discernible wind to slow me down. As I reached the base of the Col de Femenia I could see that there were quite a lot of riders 2 or 3 abreast going up the road. The race brief had said that there was to be no crossing of the central line on the road, however it was either that or draft. I therefore opted for the former, and did my best to stay close to the line should a bike marshal approach. By this time I had been joined by 2/3 other guys from my swim wave (like me stronger riders than swimmers) and were pacing quite well off each other keeping my power around 300w and my heart rate steady. Once we had navigated the little up and down across the top of the mountain I hit the decent. From here on in it was all new for me, and how I wished I had had a look at the descent. I was quite lucky as carbon brakes make quite a noise, so I was able to follow people’s braking patterns and lines into the turns. That said it was also quite frustrating as I was being passed by people who I had passed on the climb because I am akin to Andy Schleck on a decent (rubbish).

With the downhill behind me it was fairly flat from then on in. People had complained about the ‘rough road’ shortly after coming off the mountain, however it was no worse than some of the roads on my local training routes. I probably made back some time here as I am quite well versed in picking lines between potholes and gravel. The road back to Alcudia was a blast with great scenery, fast with a tail wind for most of the way. It was quite uneventful, other than a Brit in the wave after mine having a huge off at a roundabout 3 km from the finish, a stupid risk that probably cost him WC qualification.

T2: Transition was a lot calmer than my previous visit. I racked my bike and found my run bag with little difficulty. Socks on, shoes on, hat on, Garmin on and gel in hand I was good to go.

Run 01:23:47

My run aim was 1:25:00 or under. I knew that this would mean sticking to roughly 4 min/km all the way. Adrenaline was going to make me go out quickly so I was well under my target pace for the first few km before I settled into a rhythm. The main battle from then on in was the heat; it was approaching 30°C and dry with it, making hydration my primary concern at the aid stations. They were also giving out sponges, I made a point of tucking them down my top to try and keep my core temperature under control.

The support on the run course was immense, 7km loop with people 2 or 3 deep most of the way around it, especially on the beach front. I caught Richie Bowen in his spanking WhittleFit gear, both of us offering up words of encouragement to keep the pace going. The next WhittleFitter on course was Butch Stephens, who seemed to have a good rhythm going and had settled into a group of runners, a brief exchange of words informed me that the Master (Whittle himself) was not far up the road. This was a welcome boost to distract me from checking my watch every few minutes, so I set off with the intention of catching the Boss! Turns out he was quite a way up the road, but I did eventually get to him. By now the heat was beginning to drain me and was draining Mark too, not many words were spoken, something along the lines of:

Me: ‘How are you feeling?’

Mark: ‘Bloody hot mate, just want to finish now!’

Me: ‘Yeah me too, see you at the finish mate’

Luckily there was not far to run, my pace was slipping slightly so the finish would be a welcome sight. For the last time transition came into view and I knew it was only around 1km to go, I pinned my ears back and opened my legs out for the sprint finish, totally worth it, gaining 10 seconds in a race that takes 4 to 5 hours! But it felt like the right thing to do. I turned into the finish chute, rang the bell (don’t know what it was for but it everyone else was doing it) and crossed the line!

It was relief (to get out of the heat), happiness (my time) but also a tinge of sadness that it was all over. This was a real contrast to Ironman Wales where it was pure relief that it was done. Mallorca 70.3 is an amazing race and I was so glad to have given it everything, doing the course justice. It is my new favourite race, location, course, all absolutely amazing. The triathlon community are often quick to criticise the price of Ironman branded events, but I really take my hat off to them. Comparing Ironman to your local tri, is a little like comparing a Florida theme park to a May Day carnival.

I am really chuffed with my time (4:33:05) and race execution. No doubt that with WhittleFit I have really sharpened up my whole approach to training and racing. WhittleFit has a very logical approach to how to train, there is no voodoo or magic, it’s all about race relevant training that really comes to the fore on race day. I can’t wait for my next A race.

A huge well done to Tom who had an amazing race, finished 10th in his age group in a very, very competitive fast field! This is a great start to 2014, but things can only get even better from this point on and Tom has his sights set on a Great Britain team place at the European Middle Distance Champs to be held in Majorca (again!) in October. Well done Tom, great racing!!!