Interview on Slowtwitch

I am quite honored to have been called by Herbert:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/Tim_Stutzer_is_riding_into_the_sunset_6108.html

Kona 2016 – A good time to leave

Prologue

It had been clear ever since I went to see my orthopaedic surgeon early this year that 2016 would have me do the last season of long distance racing. At least for the foreseeable future. After three surgeries my knees just won’t take the run mileage anymore to race competitively - without causing serious long term damage. So with luck at the Celtman lottery and the Kona slot secured at IM wales last year, this year would be my good bye year to lond distance racing with two of the most iconic races there are.

So without any much of any run mileage (then 80 in total for the year) I went and did Celtman in June. Had a blast there. Surprisingly – with the Munroe climb in the middle of the run part – even in all three disciplines.

Kona perp - well...

Then, I tried to run at least twice per week. Had no fun at that! Got two 2h+ runs in at around 5:15min/k pace. And then fell sick two weeks prior to departure for Kona. Just like running, swimming had been almost non-existent in 2016 (after Kona we now stand at a total of 45k for 2016). At least I got some decent cycling mileage in and was confident to be able to ride around 5hrs in Kona. Still, for this time around even that didn’t have priority. It had been about proving myself that despite of a severely upped work schedule and an ever worsening knee I could KQ. Kona would be the icing on the dessert cake of my long distance career. I took along the big girl, the ´little´ one regrettably had school obligations preventing her from going.

So a week before the `race` we flew out and besides from getting a few workouts in did everything you can do in one week on the big island: see the lave flow into the ocean, see turtles on the daily swims in the giant aquarium that is the pacific ocean, snorkel with manta rays, see the sunset from Mauna Kea, meet my Timex peeps many times and have breakfast at Lava Java café as many time as possible. At our Timex team dinner on Wednesday I announced my long distance retirement after this race and gave everyone a little something to prepare for Oktoberfest – if they ever get to go, that is.

And yes, we did get to do the Undedrpants Run... and it was quite evident where my training focus lay this year:

Race Day - Swim

Even though time was not of the essencerace morning still saw me as nervous as ever. I was looking at a time of between 10:15 and 11:15 hours depending on how the wind would be and my knees would hold up. But I had no real idea about a possible time for the swim. Between 1:05 and 1:10h I thought doable though. With the sun rising above Haleakala it was about time to get into the water. I took a little timeout to contemplate the state of things, though. 

 In the shadow of legends.

When I entered the water I noticed that the fire does not burn as hot as it once did: No goose bumps, no excitement, just doubts whether this whirlpool of a swim would play out.

Surprisingly, after the gun went off my swim went by rather uneventful. No real brawl where I was swimming, at the turn around deceivingly fast (29min) and back in a more realistic total of 1:08h flat. Right in the sweet spot of what I thought possible.

Fat man in a tight suit.

Bike - A horrible but secnic affair!

I took my time in transition and equipped myself for a hot day. Out on the bike I did notice A LOT of traffic immediately. I had exited the water in just about an hour in 2013 and there was way less people. All through the loop through Kona I kept passing people. Out towards the airport I noticed that even though I pushed decent watts (as planned around 230) I was not dropping too many people. Well, I though they all go out way too hard and I don’t! So I did not mind too much when the shuffling began and still tried to leave people behind. Regrettably none of the athletes around me cared for any drafting rules. They just used every single opportunity to jump onto just the next wheel. I’d like to single out racer  No.486, Mr Chuck Sperazza. You’ve got guts, man! I am so happy you DNFed, you cannot imagine!

It got even worse at/after Waikoloa when the headwind set in rather early. With no ambitions at all in the race and here to enjoy myself as much as possible I had a decision to make: Either got for a reasonable bike split or just take it easy and enjoy as much as possible. I opted for the latter and spent what felt like half of the bike ride on the shoulder watching what was transpiring. It was bad! And it was sad! Had I had any ambition to race here, I would have been furious. This way I was just seriously disappointed by my fellow triathletes. As a rather faster cyclist in the past I had gained even on groups and many times even ridden a cushion big enough into the chasers/drafters that it was enough to keep them at bay for most of the run. On 08 October 2016 this would not have been possible! Too many guys willing to draft on too little road and no marshals in sight!

I then kept my eyes on good nutrition and tried to thank as many volunteers as possible out in the bike course already. When we came back to Waikoloa I almost managed to high five Sophia who had come out there to spectate with Hannes’ bus. The way back into Kona from there had a stiff head wind for most of the time and a number of decent groups in sight. I tried to stay out of this shitty game, again using the shoulder a lot! I tried to take it all in one last time as part of the race that started it all and got a little emotional around Scenic Point.

I hit T2 after a scenic training ride of some 5 hours and 17 minutes averaging what I do for an easy training ride (202 watts). Lucky for me this left my legs in an easy going shape.

Run - PB for the first 10k

So after a lot of iced towels I headed out into unknown territory. I grabbed a lot of ice and fluids at every aid station and settled at what felt like walking pace (6min/k). One thing that was almost too awesome was all the Timex support crews out there as well as the 18 Timex athletes that were in the race. We high fived a lot and this gave a lot of energy back. And to my very surprise for the first time I was able not to overheat on Ali’i Drive. I actually set a PB for the first 10k at an incredible 59:30min. No kidding! ;) And I enjoyed it actually even at this pace, just compare the pics from '08, '11 and this year:

Just before the turnaround at the little blue church fellow Timex buddies Traveller Hill and Craig Lanza passed me. At the turnaround I was surprised to pass The Bruce who had a very bad day out there. Being one of the fastest swimmers in the crowd he had started out front after a 50min swim only to be passed by pelotons of up to 100 athletes. I passed the half way mark right on the 6min/k spot with 2:06h. Soon afterwards I saw two Timex jerseys in front of me. It was Craig and Trav walking side by side. I then made a decision that in hindsight could not have been better: I stayed with them, encouraged them to pick up running agin and so the Timex triplet started its way towards the Natural Energy Lab. We chatted and I tried to lift especially Travs spirits again – he was in a very hadt spot with some nerve pain but kept on running. We took our time at the aid stations and I settled into a routine to just grab a galleon of cold water and pour it over my head. Man did this feel good. Once we entered the road to the Energy Lab Meghan Fillnow flew by – great job, girl! Then while I stayed withTrav, Craig supposedly went to the loo/grabbed some food at an aid station that Trav walked and we didn’t see him any more after this. He had for whatever reason found his running legs again down in the Energy Lab – of all places and just went. Trav and I – now the Timex twins – stayed together and shared also the last 13k from the last turnaround. Again I got a little emotional when we hit the highway again but got myself together again after a few minutes. At the time it looked as if we could still make sub 11hrs but after I had a bit of a low between mile 22 and 24 that was also out of the question. Still we had had fun out there and met a few other fellow Timex peeps and cheered them on!

Running down Palani Road I actually had enormous fun. See for yourselves:

Just before the right turn onto Hualalai I asked Trav whether he’d like to cross the finish line tgether and he said he’d already made a plan and I should just be spontaneous. We took our time also there and had the finish chute for us, did the RAF. Then at the finish line, even without glasses we toasted and high fived to a grand day out!

Other than in 2013 I was not rushed to the medical tent but rather walked my way towards the post-race pizza. I interrupted this walk when I spotted Andrew Messick right in front of my and just very quickly told him what I think of how they run this race. Something has to happen! If not for me any more then at least for other that want a fair race and the legend to live.

The day ended with quick nap on the sidewalk and a well-earned Mexican food and a bike ride in the dark back to the hotel.

Wrap-up
They say: ‘Never say never!’, but I am pretty sure that my competitive long distance career is over. Knees and work just don’t permit it anymore. And after some 15 years in the triathlon bubble I’ve been phasing out gradually over the last two years anyway. And I am of the firm opinion that I said good bye the right way at the right time. And had a blast! What more can you ask for?

So off to… Golf? We’ll see. It was surfing on Kauai first though. 

Thanks go out to family first and than to sponsors! Cheers to y'all! 

p.s. What happened in Huggo’s by the Beach on Sunday night will not be told. Ever. ;)

Celtman 2016 Race Report

Celtman 2016 – Goodbye LD-Race #1

Nervous I was! I had – again – taken a hiatus from sports after IM Wales last year and only gotten back to some decent bike training this February. Swimming & running took the back seat with my knee not wanting to take any mileage. So early in the year it became clear that the hot ‘n cold combo of Kona and Celtman would be my good-bye to long distance “racing” for the next few years.

It took time to accept this but once I did I got some 6000km in over the 1^st half of the year. In early June I felt my legs coming together at least a little bit. We’ll not talk about swim & run mileage. It’s not worth talking about that really. So the plan for Celtman was to: survive the swim, have fun on the bike, survive the first 17k of trail running and then (speed-) hike the 17k mountain section in order to easily cruise to the finish after this.

In late May Celtman was fast approaching and I got more and more nervous – almost developed a state of panic at a certain point where I was unsure if I’d be able to make the blue T-shirt (high mountain route on the run). Even with the limited training I intended to get this at least.

With a few days to go My one-person support Michelle and I headed out with borrowed camper and after driving 1.000km and taking the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle arrived in Torridon three days before the race.

Scotland was as expected: Water: shockingly cold (13C), bike course: quite rough and long (202k) and looking at the mountain section of the “run” course from below made me shiver.

Also as expected it was beautiful up there in Scotland. 

Not the daily rainfall, not the midges biting you every minute, not the rather sketchy road conditions. No, the people were nice as could be: Competitors, organizers, everyone in the villages of Torridon and Shieldaig was just awesome and relaxed and hugely help- and mindful of everyone’s needs. Quite a difference to the egocentric types you get these days when you go to one of the big Ironman “events”. I am really thrilled how - come October  - I’ll take the madness that is Kona in race week or even this very week here in Frankfurt.

In plain denial of what was to come Michelle (support Sherpa & runner for the mountain part) and I went through the usual pre-race motions:

Practice swim: 

With jelly fish, a dog and a rather fresh water at around 12-13C the day before the race. Still, equipped with the neoprene hat, gloves, shoes and the new Thermal Helix wetsuit Ryan from Blueseventy so kindly provided me with, I was as comfortable in the water as one can be. 

The bike course 

It proved to have its challenges on the first half. That was if there was no westerly wind on race day which would have made for a last 40k directly into the wind. Luckily we were spared this.

The check in procedure was a little different this time around as there was no bike check-in the day before the race and no special foods to drop off. Everything would happen on race day and so we set the alarm clock to the unfair time of 2am. Even after two pints of Cider I still woke up at 1am – night over! This never happens to me and was a testament to the fact that I was really nervous.

Race day

We drove to T1 in Shieldaig at 2:25am and arrived in time to easily set up transition before the buses took the athletes to the swim start. When we arrived at the start area that normally serves as a sheep meadow with all that sheep sh§t I was very lucky to have the neoprene socks. ;)

The inevitable group photo was taken and we headed off to into the water. Cold it was indeed. No filling and emptying the wetsuit to have it fit snuggly this time around! 

The swim

We headed out at exactly 5am and it was a struggle: a struggle to stay warm, a struggle to navigate, a struggle to avoid the jelly fish. I tried to settle into a rhythm but could not really find one. While the thermal gloved keep you warm they suck up some water you really notice when lifting your arms for the next stroke. So I felt kind of miserable – but not cold! – all the way through the current assisted swim. I emerged in the middle of the pack after just over 53min. Barely feeling my feet it was difficult to stay upright. I reached my noble Trek Speed Concept steed after what felt like ages. In order to keep warm in the 12°C air I completely changed. As just about everyone did this it must have been looking like a nude beach there in Shiedlaig Saturday morning.

The bike

After what felt like my longest transition ever I mounted the bike and went off. Only to be overtaken – me overtaken, this doesn’t happen! – immediately by Matthew Page. So the inevitable happened and I tried to stay with him. Damn the race genes when you’re not really in shape! Still, I saw the madness after some 10k before we reached Torridon and let him go. To myself – and him ;) - I quietly said: “We’ll meet again, friend. You won’t be able to push 300 Watts all day long.” BTW: Matthew went on to place 2nd overall - congratulations! - read his race report here.

So on we went and headed to Kinlochewe, then left towards Gairloch where, after some 60k of cycling we had scheduled the first feed station. The race has the athlete’S own support crew cater for their every need so you have your car following you over the bike course. With only 5k to Gairloch Michelle had not overtaken me yet and I was worried she had gotten stuck in the infamous traffic jam out of T2. Then with some 4k to go she passed me and was just able to jump out of the car to hand over the two water bottles when I rod up.

The next 55k are the most undulating of the whole course as you ride what feels like from cove to cove with a steep hill of 2-3k after each one.  I caught a few more riders and then it got lonely except for a French and Belgian guy following me at a distance. When they moved past I let them go ahead a little but never left them out of sight. My time would come once we reached the plateau on 835 I thought. 

But even before that on the last of the 3k climbs I caught the Belgian guy and we chatted a little. He told me that he hadn’t seen his support crew for the last 50k and was out of fuel. As I consumed way less than calculated before the race I gave him one of my bottles. Michelle was going to give me two more bottles in 15k anyway and I still had 2 bottles left. So why not? We even agreed that if his team would not appear, my support car would have enough to eat & drink to keep him going to T2. Lucky for him only 1k up the mountain his guys overtook us and handed over his much needed nutrition at the top of the hill.

My 2^nd fuel stop came at 113k where I took three bottles and some food and cancelled the last stop planned at 160k and sent Michelle on her way to T2 in order for her to have some time to recover and prepare her mountain run from T2A.

When we hit the larger 835 road I was able to push some steady watts and slowly gained time on a few riders I could spot down the road. Funny thing: Matthew was among them and I gave him and his French companion a wave as I went by. Big guys like me do have their advantage on flat roads with a bit of a headwind after all. ;) But still, I was very, very sure we’d meet again one last time on the run.

On a side note: You kind of bond with the athletes  around you in such a race as well as with their support crew that overtakes/waits and  overtakes/waits all through the 202k of the bike. Kind of cool, that!

When I turned back on 832 at 160k one of the supporters of the athletes around me shouted: “You’re 3min down on 3^rd”. Well, and it was rather flat from now on in and I felt rather decent. Weather was fine, 15°C and a slight head wind. Ideal for the big guy! So I ate a lot and pushed on. With about 15k to go I spotted the guy in front of me. He was on a road bike with clip on aero bars. OK, got him fast!

Into T2 I headed and noticed that the ideal conditions had me only about 3min off course record pace at this time. Not too bad a bike shape I was in after all I guess. But little do you know in a year where you need every minute to train and do not do any practice races. To be fair: conditions on Saturday were ideal and a new course record was set by one Andrew Duggan at 5:44h for 202k with some 2.400h of climbing. Pretty crazy that!

I myself reached T2 after 5:56h in 3^rd place (Strave file here: https://www.strava.com/activities/624421062  ). 

And just like everyone else doing this race I was really worried: how would the legs feel on this first section and even worse what would happen on the mountain. So I took my time in T2, refuelled, ate and chatted with the crew. They looked so funny with their midge protection nets but they needed them I am sure! They also tried to make me hurry but I said something like “Well, this was only half the race.” Little did I know how right I would be proven.

The run

With the light version of the backpack I headed out towards the climb to Coulin pass and felt… OKish. No cramps, no exhaustion (yet) and best of all: my knee held up alright! Right at the top of the climb the first guy passed me. Massimo, an Italian. Only two minutes later Matthew came by and to both of them I gave some encouraging words. We were in this together, right?. The next 12k went by rather uneventful at around 5:30min/k speed on a good fire road. Just before I hit the road to T2A the Belgian guy came by again. Some encouraging words were exchanged again and off he and his support runner went. If you counted then you know I entered T2A in 6^th place overall and now came the great unknown. Climbing a mountain in a triathlon… stupid stuff! Our equipment was checked for completeness and off we went.

The climb

Then pretty soon the only thing on this trip went wrong: our approach for a speedy mountain hike was spoiled when Michelle’s asthma kicked in. For whatever reason her respiratory system didn’t take the mountain scramble lightly and we were reduced to a shuffle quickly. On we headed but progress was slow. At one point on that climb we seriously considered turning around and would surely have done so if the day would not have been that beautiful. The sun was shining, everyone coming by asked if they could help, offered encouragement and smiled! We were in this together after all. Our progress slowed and we stopped quite a few times and when we hit the last steep section before the first checkpoint we cursed once or twice. For whatever reason though with some cooling water for both of us, things got gradually better. We did reach the first checkpoint after 2:02h, a little over the 1:45h limit. But as we were looking good the guys from the Mountain Rescue Team let us continue. 

So we continued and made the best out of it. We took our time and some pictures. Great views rewarded us for the pain of the ascent and there’s proof. Proof even of the fact that, once Michelle got better we were able to have fun up there:

While the first climb is rather on a loose trail, the ridge you have to follow from there to the second peak is rather rocky and demands your full attention. Here the hiking sticks come in quite handy, too and so we were slowly making progress towards Ben Eighe.

Out and back we went to collect our second Munro and then it was… time for “The gully”! We had seen pictures and filmed footage of this part and took our time to have the proper way explained through it by the volunteers at the top. Still it took some guts to go down there even in these ideal conditions. Once Michelle loosened a rock that then made its way down towards me. Luck as I was I was able to notice and avoid it.

Once down the gully we had been told to “keep left” in order not to face some impassable cliffs. There seem to be a number of ways through this rock field and we must have taken the slowest one. We went back and forth to look/scout and in the end made it to what looked like a path. Funny thing was that athletes were coming to this path from a number of directions and so had obviously taken quite different routes through the rock field.

A very nice gentleman waited where the trail left the valley of the Triple Buttress and he told us that from now on it would be a “proper path”. As this was a Scot, his definition of a proper path is a little different from ours and we continued on what looks like 9k of larger rocks placed in one line. Not really what you’d expect to be called a path here. So on we went walking at a decent pace and it seemed like forever. The walk was eased by the fact that the athletes who hadn’t made the cut off for the mountain section were coming the opposite direction as they headed out to the low run route. So there was a lot of shouting and cheering on these guys.

On we went until we rounded a bend and finally saw the parking lot from where you follow the road for the next 9k to the finish line. When I looked at my watch I noticed we had spent about six hours in the mountain section. Now that was a looooong hike. But we had made it. I emptied the shoes of a few stones, threw the backpack in the car and headed on. Michelle followed on the bicycle and on it went for some nine rather relaxing kilometres on tarmac. A little loop around Torridon “town” and then there was the finish line.

Another great thing is that at the finish line you’re not presented with any fancy medal or T-shirt. Nope, they brew a Celtman beer for the finishers that – guess what – is non-alcoholic – NOT!

Post-race had a few midges, great atmosphere, the T-shirt ceremony and a party on Sunday in Torridon community hall. Great stuff all of it! Only the weather on Sunday showed just how lucky we were on race day. Winds of 50kph, rain and fog would have made the mountain section of the run plain dangerous and possibly closed. 

The final thing was the post-race party! 

And the Scots know how to party I can tell you. Only that my knee failed during the 1^st line dance so I was limited to spectating the spectacle. Still huge fun though!

What’s next?

Kona is next! We’ll see if the knee tolerates some more than the total of 110k of running in 2016 over the next three months. If it does, then the trip is going to be a nice good bye to an awesome place and sport. If it does not I’ll just approach it Celtman-style: laid back and doing it just for the fun. ;)

The mandatory thank you-s: First to Michelle for the great support! Then to the Celtman team for organizing this crazy thing they call a triathlon. Then to the Timex team that now has me on for the 4^th year and all its sponsors. In 2016 apparently one should now conclude with a seemingly never ending list of hashtags and @-posts. To be honest, I find this repulsive, simply unreadable and all these #'s and @'s really get on my nerves because any serious message gets lost. And as there is a wealth of info on our team’s website, I’ll simply end with a link to the sponsor info on the team’s website. Here you go:

http://www.timexteam.com

For the statisticians among you here are the numbers:

3.4k Swim: 53:30min - 202k Bike: 5:56h - 42k „Run“: 8:31h - Total: 15:32h - Place: 57