2019-06-01_220_Triathlon

onwardsit’smostlyflat.It’seven

morebeautifulthanthebikecourse.

Thefirstsectionzigzagsthrough

smallvillageswherecrowdscheer

everyoneonwithgusto.Theroute

thenventuresalongdirtroads

andvaststretchesofpavedroad

withoutshade.

Therising35°Cairtemperature

makesthechallengecomplete.

Ironman70.3Greeceis now

unfoldingasa nastybeastthat

needstobetamed.ButonceI find

myrhythm,asI didintheswim,I

onlyfocusonthetargetandonmy

breathing.AssoonasI feelmyself

overheatingorgoingtoofast,I

quicklyglimpseatmywatchand

correctmyspeedaccordingly.

ACCEPTINGTHECHALLENGE

Thecourseproceedsthroughan

outstandingbirdwatchingarea,

whichis adjacenttosomeofthebest

beachesoftheregion:Voidokilia

andNtivari.I trytoincreasemypace

inthelast10kmandeventually

succeed.Withthatheat,it’sa pure

struggleandquitea boldmove.But

I’mpassinga lotofathletesandmy

mindfeelsstrong.

WhenI feelmygazestarttodrift,

droppingona fewmetresinfront

ofmeinsteadoffurtherinthe

distance,I trytowakemyselfup

withsomepowerfulwordsand

refocusonthehorizon.‘Thefinish

lineis outthere,notbyyourfeet,the

finishlineis outthere,notbyyour

feet...’I startrepeatingtomyself.

I’vebeenovertakingrunnersfor

mostofthehalfmarathonandno

onetriestosetupa challenge– nor

doI withthosewhoareflyingpast

me.But,asalwayshappensinthe

lasthundredmetres,outoftheblue

someonetriestoforcethepaceand

outsprintsmeaheadofthefinish

line.‘Bloodyhell,’I think.I accept

thechallengeandtrytostaywith

the guy, but he’s too fast and

finishesinfrontofme(hewasalso

runninga relay,I laterdiscover).

THISISTRIATHLON

Afterlastseason’sfinalraceatthe

ITULongDistanceWorldChampsin

DenmarkinJuly,I’dfeltbrokenand

burnedout.I’dracedwithinjuries

andhadtowalkthelast15kmofthe

race.It wasonlyninemonthsago,

butit nowseemslikea distantpast.

I nowfeelaccomplished.

With70.3Greece,I foundthe

motivationI neededtomoveon

frommyWorldChampsdebacle,

andbuildupmyfitnessandmindset

again.It hasn’tbeeneasytoprepare

during the winter, but I conclude a

near-perfectdayofracinganda

perfectrace-planin4:50hrs

(27minsfortheswim,4:43hrson

thebikeanda 1:30hrrunsplit),good

enoughfor15thplaceinthemen’s

30-34agegroup.

It wasanepicbattleinthe

Peloponnese,andbytheendI felt

liketheSpartanwarriorking

Leonidasthe1st(playedbyGerard

Butlerin 300 ) atThermopylae!Soif

you’relookingforanearly-season

racewitha challengingcoursethat

allowsyoutodiscovera littleknown

butfantasticregionofGreece,I

recommendIronman70.3Greece

onyour 2020 racingschedule.Just

remember to pack some tape...

how
wasit
for you?

112 / /June 2019

GREECE

70.3INFO

Firstevent

2019

2019 starters

1,174

2019 finishers

1,111

Nextdate

TBC 2020

Entryfee

 240

Nearestairport

Kalamata

Website

ironman.com