MARLOW CLASSIC

5km run | 85.6km cycle | 20km run
Marlow, United Kingdom
23.05.2021
Event link

Past results: This will be my first attempt at the Marlow Classic Middle distance. And my third one for a middle distance, aka 70.3. In August 2017, I’ve clocked 5 hours 35 minutes and 9 seconds at The Gauntlet in Chantilly. A stunning event from the Castle Triathlon Series. In June 2019, I completed my first IronMan 70.3 in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, in 5 hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds. With my fastest swim ever, just over 30 minutes. Now, back to Marlow. In June 2018, I took part in the Sprint distance, finishing 4th in my age category, 8th male, and 9th overall.

Goals

1. Have fun 
2. Don’t overcook the first run
3. steady on Pishill

Results

Age category: 5th/24
Gender 17th/55
Overall 17th/66

Pre Race

We’re so sorry to report that heavy rainfall this week has caused the Environment Agency to place sections of the River Thames under amber and red alerts.

Further rainfall is forecast over the next 72 hours, which means swimming conditions will be unsafe on Sunday. Both river current and water quality will be too dangerous to permit swimming and boat support, so we are sadly forced to revise the event formats we can offer.

This is especially difficult and disappointing for us all when events are just beginning to return, but as you’ll understand, if it’s not safe, it can’t be permitted. Our colleagues at British Triathlon, the Environment Agency, and Medical and Water Safety have made their assessments, and all support this change to the event plan.

Please read the following information carefully to consider your options – you will automatically be transferred to an equivalent duathlon format unless you select a different option and respond prior to the event.

Coach briefing

For tomorrow, I wouldn’t personally do much of a warm-up, as you mentioned, it’s a duathlon.

For me, the key relies on a few points:

• • A light jog before the start with some squat jumps and some dynamic stretching to warm up the muscles before the 5k.
  • 5k with the mentality of a “warm-up” in which you don’t let yourself go with the adrenaline and with people starting as if the race was just a 5k (classic mistake when swims get cancelled), as this will be paid on the bike.
  • On the bike, the initial climb out of Marlow was controlled without getting off the saddle or raising the power too much. Once at the top you can get into a good rhythm to Henley and the junction where you face Pishill.
  • Pishill climb is not hard apart from the last 200 m-ish where it kicks up, but it’s a long, draining incline, so watch out with pushing too hard, as the cost of this isn’t worth it, and most of the time, the time is gained on the way down.
  • Usually, there is a slight headwind from the junction to Pishill, so also keep this in mind.

In terms of wattage, we should aim at a bike of 0.80-0.82 IF, which translates into about 230-235 Normalised Power. The reason for this relies on the coasting and easy pedalling you can do on the descents, so NP will be more important than average (likely lower if zeros are counted).
Up Pishill, the wattage should be held at about 300-310W above FTP, without going into the red and consuming too much FRC.

For the second run, being 4 laps, I personally always recommend the initial stretch by the river (1.5-2k ish) at a pretty comfortable pace. From there, when it turns right, it’s a constant drag up which can take a bit out of you as the laps go through.
Also, in terms of wattage, keep an eye on your HR and RPE too, because being the first one and after the run, this could be affected, so always better to reduce the target 10-15 watts than overdo it
Pacing-wise for the run, I personally would aim at 4:35-4:40 for the second run, with the initial part as mentioned more controlled (even 5’/km as it would be done in an Ironman) and then aiming at a negative split, finishing hard with even a little bit left in the tank for the second half of the second lap

Race Report

Following Covid-19 guidance and restrictions, F3 events opted for a rolling start, which was well organised. We all went within 10 seconds of each other, starting at 6:30 am. There was no specific order, just first come first start. I’ve tried to follow my coach’s advice and not overdo it on the first run. I’ve checked my pace on the watch, which I’ve noticed isn’t very accurate. Anyway, I was bang on the 4:30 minutes/km pace, clocking 22 minutes on the first run and nailed the first transition in 44 seconds.

My old TT bike is for sale and doesn’t have pedals. I haven’t had time to ride my new TT bike. So it was a road bike event for me today. And not many people chose that option 🙂 Anyway, I listened to the coach and didn’t push watts on the first climb out of Marlow, staying on the saddle. That said, despite having my Garmin Edge on, wattage wasn’t displayed. So it was all about feeling. I set at a nice pace and reached the part of the course with the 3 loops fairly quickly. I didn’t push hard on Pishill, went up nice and steady. I did have to stop 3 times, though, wee breaks, I need to understand what’s going on there, it doesn’t seem to be normal. Back in Marlow, I’ve nailed the second transition in just 46 seconds.

The start of the second run was painful. My feet were frozen. The left one was rock solid, and it took a good 5k to defrost. I’ve tried to keep a 4:30mn/km pace, keeping some reserve for the end and do a negative split. Which works for the last 2km at 4:21 mn/km and 4:06 mn/km. But again, a wee break added some unwanted time to my results.

Nutrition

In terms of fuelling, I was eating half of one plant-based energy ball every 30 minutes after 45 minutes on the bike, and taking a sip of Rawvelo electrolytes every 10 minutes. I did decide to walk for 50m at the aid station (km 5/10/15) to absorb a Rawvelo gel (blood orange), which works better for me rather than struggling to take one whilst running.

Time Chip