AN ULTRA WITH A DIFFERENCE

It all started around the campfire after Kep 100. I was talking to 100K winner Alex Stuart and asked about what he had planned next. When he mentioned Painathlon it sounded like the perfect antidote to my post 24 hour apathy.

Painathlon is a race where runners ride around Perth doing various running challenges. There are 10 Challenges totaling just under 50K and about 120K cycling depending a bit on which route you take as there is no compulsory bike route.

The start was at City Beach -just over 2K of soft sand to spread the field out. As the 1 minute warning was announced I realized I’d forgotten my gloves. With cycling in 5C coming up I made the dash up the beach and just missed the start. I managed to work my way up to 4^th breaking the previous challenge record despite my 30 second handicap.  Challenge 1 complete I was straight on the bike in =2^nd having run in my helmet and before long 3 of us were in a lead pack thanks to a handy red light. We had a chat on the ride and within 7 minutes the bikes were racked and we were heading up Reabold Hill a 1K climb of about 8% on bitumen. The adrenaline was still pumping after missing the start and I was running faster than intended but I was also keen on achieving goal number 1 getting some help for the 30K ride to The Truth into the wind.

I left Reabold Hill in 3^rd but arrived at Kings Park 1^st after the others took slower routes on the bike.

Michael Carroll was running quicker and he caught me near the top of Cardiac hill, 1.3k at about 5%. We climbed the 80 stairs of the DNA tower together having a chat. On the way down the hill virtually the whole field was running up and I shared some high 5’s with those I knew. It was then on the bike to Mount Street or Mount Pain for 3 laps of 270m at about 30%. I decided to just take these easy as very little time could be made or lost. After 3 comfortable climbs it was back on the bike for the longest single run of the day “The Bridges” a flat run of about 10K.

Unfortunately I missed a turn and added a little to my ride maybe 3-4minutes. When I arrived at the Bridges I was well off the pace so based on my drafting plan for the following first big ride I just ran around at a comfortable pace finally getting caught by 4^th in sight of the finish.

Jumping onto the bike in unison it was quickly established that Dan Taborsky and I would work together. I quickly downed my 2^nd muesli bar and fought off my 1^st cramp of the day.

On fairly busy roads we set a good pace into a decent headwind. Not long after we were caught by a fellow rider on a flash looking bike but he whizzed by with cars beeping before we could get on his wheel. However he never made it out of sight and we almost caught him before he turned right choosing a non-official route.

The ride through Swan Valley was slower as the wind picked up. With barely 5k to go we were really pushing into it and I was hanging out to get off the bike. I was actually looking forward to The Truth. With a K to go I dropped off the back to try and get ready for the run. There was a short climb just before we arrived and I grabbed a drink and started shuffling uphill- for 20minutes! There were a few people in front meaning we’d either taken a longer route or just cycled slower. Joe passed me as I had a toilet stop atop the hill. Joe is training for the Hawaiian Ironman so I’d been waiting for this moment. My cycling training had started in June with very little in the 4 years prior. I found out later Joe had 3 flat tyres, 2 to that point.

The Truth is about 20% and after my 20 minutes climbing there was still 5 minutes down followed by 5 minutes up before we turned around and headed back down. I punched my race card had a cup of water then started the descent. Cruelly the steepest climb was on the way back but once that was done it was just a roll down the hill back to my bike.

Transition was a sorry looking place as bodies started to complain about the punishment.

Being an ultrarunner I was aware of the time that can be wasted at aid stations so merely filled my bottles and got going. Joe was there when I arrived and still there when I left. I decided to have a muesli bar and wait him to share the work for the 15K to the Zig-Zag. Unfortunately when I tried to ride with him I would just cramp up so I had to let him go.

I had taken my directions out because I didn’t really know where I was going for the next few challenges.

Soon I was back in familiar surroundings and able to put my directions away. Joe had disappeared into the distance and I was finding the ride tough. Then I started the toughest bike climb of the day and all of a sudden my body stopped complaining and I started to feel really good. Near the top I passed Joe who was fixing his 3^rd flat. After seeing if he needed any help I arrived at the “Zig-Zag” shortly after.

Running up the Zig-zag I took my bike directions to try and memorise them for the next leg. This worked quite well and half-way through I was surprised to see the leaders heading back down the hill. I expected the superior cyclists would have moved a challenge ahead by now. I later found out I actually finished 2^nd at this challenge.

Back to transition I put my helmet on and filled my bottles then I was on my bike heading down the other side of the hill. When my straps started flapping about I realized I hadn’t fastened my helmet. I took my hands off to do the deed and the front tyre began to shake so I decided it would be safer to ride with it unstrapped to the bottom of the hill though I had to take it easy to avoid it blowing off.

During the next bike the cramps really started to hit hard and I decided it was time. Time to eat the 2 minute noodle flavor sachet I’d kept in my hydration pack for 2 years. I pulled it out at the next traffic lights and managed to wash about half down. It tasted bad but I soon had the cramps under control and was ready to try and run the whole Quadcruncher. The main body of this run is a rutted dirt trail climbing for about 1K and peaking at 30% near the top. I thought the 28minute record was well  within my reach and was tempted to go for it but decided since I needed a toilet stop I’d do it at the top of the hill and allow me to get my breath back before getting back into it.

The final result was about 30 minutes but they didn’t see me come in so my winning time was a bit of an estimate after filling my drinks and grabbing some lollies. I’m confident I would have won it quite comfortably even with the toilet stop as I could now sense the finish and was being dragged to it. I even felt good on the bike as I began the last longish bike ride, another 15-20K, and it wasn’t long to I knew where I was and was able to put my directions away for good.

The ride along Albany Highway although being the quickest was fairly heavily trafficked and the number of red lights got a bit frustrating. I took a couple of convenient footpaths and skipped a couple of lights but the ride along Manning Road was quite nice as I looked forward to the 2^nd flat and 2^nd last challenge. Onto the run I cruised along very happy with my progress. I’d planned to meet a friend here to run this 7K together but I’d be almost finished by the time I suggested he start waiting. Since I love company though, it was great to meet another friend on their bike popping by to have a look at the race. I came in to transition and did some promo of my own race “6 Inch Trail Marathon” to the race marshal who’d happened to also win the half-pain in the ladies section.

As I was leaving I spotted the 4^th competitor heading off. The gap was only seconds. I took my time riding into the city not because I wasn’t interested in picking up 4^th but because I was confident I could run the guy down in front on Jacobs Ladder. I also refused to draft off my friend but rode next to him and chatted.

Finally bike racked I hit the stairs and put the hammer down. I knew that I would have to catch the guy in front of me because he obviously was a lap in front. I also knew if I could run 30 minutes I could break 9 hours. This would just require me to run the same time per lap as I had for 3 laps in training whilst relatively fresh.  I took off at about this pace and kept it up for about 7 laps. It was really hard but I wanted 4^th and from there on I just tried to time my catch so as to not collapse but also not leave it too late and get caught up in a sprint finish.

As I headed back for my last lap I passed Marek and was in 4^th. I headed up the last climb and as the top appeared and spectators cheered I cramped for the first time. I looked back and Marek was only metres behind. I stretched and staggered to the punch out post.

That done it was 100metres to the finish. I collapsed to the ground and was blessed to have Tim hand me food for the next 10minutes while I recovered. What a race!

Postscript

The really interesting part occurred after I hopped off the train near home. I began to cramp as I tried cycling and when I stopped to stretch I would cramp in other muscles. Fortunately after a short walk I managed to ride the 5k home with no more dramas. They waited until I was home where every conceivable muscle took turns in cramping before(and after) I went to bed.

My cramp log eventually included:

Both – Calves ,Hammies, Quads, Adductors, Hands, Forearms, Shins  and Feet plus my neck, side and the traditional “stitch” or diaphragm.