IM 70.3 Worlds Lahti, Finland August 2023

September 26, 2023 Leave your thoughts

Trish Eadie and Caroline Mehigan

Trish – For a number of years I have targeted getting to the IM 70.3 Worlds- looking back through old documents it started in 2018. Around that time Finland was also on the cards for 2020 I think – we all know what happened to that! However, I did complete 2 IM 70.3s, Dun Laoghaire and Cascais in 2018 and came second in both – not good enough. In my age group – 60-64 then- there was only one place on offer and both times it was taken by those who beat me.

And then came the great hiatus of Covid so plans all shelved with that.

2022 things were getting back on track with the world. The 70.3 in Youghal happened and so the plan was re-enacted. This time I qualified so yippee – I’m off to Finland! I was excited – there was just the small matter of training for the race and keeping injury free. Most years I have always had some injury or niggle, requiring training to be reduced or stopped, which ultimately affects race day performance. I have always been diligent on my Strength and Conditioning side of my training, with regular visits to a supervising physio. There would be no slacking on this to ensure turning up at the race ‘fit and fresh’.

I had a whole year to train and prepare myself, with the help of Mike Olzinski my coach from Purple Patch fitness, and this I did. Three swims/week, 2-3 bike sessions, 2-3 runs with lots of brick sessions as the race season approached, 2 S&C sessions, 1 rest day, lots of good food, some alcohol and good sleep was the recipe. However along the way I did do some work (!), took active holidays but kept focused.

IM70.3 Cork was a great success for other Piranha members as well, with Caroline Mehigan, Megan Roberts, Ciaran Costello and Adam Goslin also qualifying the same day. As the year progressed other club members also qualified including Brian Stanley, Dave Killeen and Becky Woods, and one of our swim coaches Candice Conrad, so lots of Piranhas on the way to Lahti. A number of us organised a house together which I felt was a great support. The women’s race was to be on the Saturday and the men’s on the Sunday meaning that Caroline, Megan and I travelled out a day earlier. I found it fantastic that we had 3 brains to work out all the logistics of getting checked into the race and making a timeline plan for race day. We were staying about 45 minutes’ drive from the race start so careful planning was essential to ensure that we arrived at the correct time with everything we needed. There were quite a lot of other Irish travelling to the race, many on our flight. Top tip – get there early if you are travelling with your bike as not all bikes were loaded on board and some people had to wait a few days for theirs’s to arrive. I am so glad we didn’t have the stress of that.

Lahti is a city slightly smaller than Cork, on a lake, and about 1.5 hours north-east of Helsinki. The IM village was well set up with a simple registration process. We had time to wander around and check out the swim start and exit points, the transitions which were split and to make plans around them. Racking our bikes and setting up both transitions was done the day before the race and because of the size of the event we were allocated slot times for this, meaning there was minimal queuing. Also time to browse the ‘merch’ tent – long queues there and a lot of stuff sold out early. Both Megan and Caroline had family support and they very kindly shared their families with me! This came in especially handy straight after the race as they had apartments close to the IM village, so we were able to store our bikes there and more importantly shower and change our clothes – that felt so good.

Race Day! – Saturday

As usual a very early start to get there with fuel onboard and in plenty of time for the swim start. It was a very calm morning, but this meant fog on the lake and with just about 30 mins to start they decided to postpone the swim for a while to allow the fog to clear. This upset some of our fueling plans but out of our control – the bananas were already eaten! We did get going about half an hour later and it was a very well organised swim start. The lake was pretty much flat calm, the buoys easy to see, so no hassle there. Sadly, we heard later that one woman died during the swim, but I was certainly unaware of anything like that happening during the swim and she would have started just 2 waves ahead of me. I missed the buoyancy of the sea but conditions were super so no complaints. I caught a lot of the wave ahead of me but likewise many of the wave behind me caught up with me, so it was a bit congested at times.

Into and out of T1 quickly and onto the bike course. The course was posted as 400m elevation online but we had heard from some other Irish who had ridden it that it was over 700m and so it proved to be. It was undulating and fast, and while I was conscious that I still had a run to do I certainly pushed it. I ate and drank well on the bike as I had practiced in training, but even with that at the top of a cheeky, steep hill at the end, my left leg seized up when I went to stand up. I just had to grind my way up to the top and then relax on the downhill and get into T2 asap.

T2 was in a big sports hall, with a slippery looking floor. It looked a bit treacherous to be running on it in cleats so Caroline and I had practiced our dismounts the day before leaving our shoes on the bike. That was good prep and I was running past those still in their shoes in transition.

The start of the run was a bit of a nightmare with a very steep ramp – it was basically a bridge over a road with the steps replaced by boards – so I could only walk up it. After that I was able to pick up pace. The course was 2 laps of 10km approx., with each lap starting with a lap of the running stadium. That was cool as there were Spectathletes in the stands cheering us on and the surface felt really good underfoot. The rest was on tarmac and had about a 2km climb up to a cemetery and then down the other side. There were lots of houses on the way down with people out having lunch and watching the race. As we got close to the end of the lap we were back by the lake with loads of people at the barriers. It was so nice to spot other Piranhas on the route, not just Caroline and Megan on the course, but I also spotted the lads – Brian, Ciaran and Adam and the greatest Spectathlete of all, Fiona! Seeing them gave me a real boost and the impetus to keep pushing. I did do some walk/running but felt it was the only way I was going to get to the end.

Finally, some 6hours 46 minutes later I was in the finishing chute – determined to look good for the final photos, to put my hands in the air and not look at my watch. The photo proves I did that. I was knackered but elated that I had finished in one piece – no punctures, no falls and knew that after a period of recovery I would be ready to race again another day. Both Megan and Caroline finished well ahead of me but were there at the end to clap me in.

Caroline – To pick up from Trish I will add a few points as while it was brilliant weekend away, especially sharing a house with fellow Piranhas, I also learned a few hard lessons on race day in Lahti. So hopefully by sharing them, other Piranhas won’t succumb to under fueling and stubbornness!

Lahti was my A race of the season, I was going into it well trained, building on decent National Series races and a strong performance in Metalman in June. Sub 5 was the goal, it was also my tenth time racing the 70.3 distance, so surely my experience would help!

My family were flying over to support, the excitement levels in the PTC House were high, how lucky were we!

Race morning came, a slight delay, coupled with not bringing my extra pre- race snack, a little under-fuelled but surely nothing to worry about.

Into the swim – a beautiful lake – I tried to get on feet but the pace was surging and slowing so in the end I settled into my own rhythm. I was never going to make time here just get through it (sorry Mark!) A decent T1 – I was really glad of the reccie we did with Megan and Trish earlier in the week to plan it all out.

Onto the bike–right put the foot down and start racing! The course was rolling with a tail wind out and head wind back. It was hillier than the advertised 400m, but we were expecting it, and personally was happy out thanks to Howth reps and Wicklow PTC spins! I pushed the bike hard, upper watts limit the whole way so was pleased. I ate all my nutrition and did feel hungry once or twice – did I hear warning bells – no – surely just nerves! Into T2 – a quick change and back out for the run- practicing the dismount was invaluable the day before – thanks Trish!

Out onto the run – the day is heating up – and I am a couple of minutes behind my target – the run is my strength – get moving now Caro! I delayed taking my first gel (nooooo), I was thinking I need to get moving first and at the aid stations I threw water on me rather than slowing to drink it. Chasing precious seconds would ultimately be my undoing.

First lap of the run was decent, time was OK, the hills were sapping my legs, but my head was in the game – just keep moving, don’t slow down. Up the long drag, over the rolling hills – another gel – nah just keep moving….and then at KM 16 I collapsed.

Delirious, drained, dehydrated – I thought I had finished the race, I stopped my watch (yes raging), and lay down. Two very kind spectators threw water on me – and explained that I had not in fact finished, I was only at km 16, I had another 5 to go, but I should probably stop altogether. I was gutted, my A, B and C race goals all gone. All the early mornings, the late nights…I had to get moving towards that line, I may not finish with my goal time, but at least I would finish, earn my medal, t-shirt and towel ; )

After convincing them and an official I was ok to stand up, I started walking towards the next aid station. Just get moving – get fuel onboard – and then let’s see. Barry – Megan’s partner who was out on the course was an incredible support, he called my family to update them and made sure I was ok. Trish and Megan passed me and seeing them gave me such a boost to keep moving forward.

Finally, with plenty of coke, pretzels and jellies I started shuffling / running again. It was the longest 5km I have ever done, and my self-directed frustration, anger and disappointment didn’t help. But I finished the race in 5:35, smiling and delighted to see my family and the Piranha support crew at the final turn. It was over thirty minutes slower than planned, I learnt the hard way to listen to my body. Slowing a little off my target pace to get fuel on board might have cost me seconds and minutes early on – but ignoring those bells ultimately cost me over thirty minutes.

Personal disappointments aside, it was an incredible experience to qualify and go to the World Championships; and even more so to share it with fellow Piranhas and our support crews!

Trish – Sunday was race day for the men, and we were to be the Spectathletes. Unfortunately it poured rain and was cooler and everyone got soaked – us watching as well. Caroline, Megan and I with their families made it to watch the Dismount line and the run. The end of the bike course was up a concrete path, with the line at the top. It was wet and slippy and there was a wide variety of approaches by the athletes, from walking up the slope to full gas to the top. It was quite congested, and we saw a number of crashes, with one guy pulling the brakes hard at the end and somersaulting over his bike. He got up and kept going which was a relief. Our lads were all very seamless, as we would expect from well drilled Piranhas! There was a large glass wall enabling a view of T2 and there were a lot of men in there shivering and wrapped in tinfoil blankets – though not the Irish who skipped through transition and were out on the run quickly. I would like to say that Adam took first place of the three of them there, but no, he was beaten by Ciaran!

We took ourselves off to the stadium where we could watch the run laps in comfort and shelter. It was fun seeing all the different athletes and styles of running. At one stage we had both Brian and Adam on the track at the same time, exactly opposite each other with Brian chasing Adam down. Once the three of them had gone through twice, it was time to go to the finishing chute. They all completed the race in good style. Ciaran had a fall on the run – apparently he regularly injures himself at races – and skinned his shin. Nothing too serious though and was bandaged up in the finishing tent. As for us the day before, each is wrapped in a towel by a volunteer at the end and ensured that they were ok. We got to keep the towels too!