Bergman 113 Triathlon

Journey of a runner to a triathlete

113k Triathlon

Successfully completed my first half-ironman distance triathlon yesterday at Kolhapur named Bergman 113 Triathlon. The format has 1.9 km open water swim followed by 90 km cycling and ends with 21.1 km running. The event was very well organized; especially the route support during the run. This blog provides feedback on what worked and what didn’t from the training to the event and sharing the journal.

It took me over seven and half hours to complete the endurance race but I was preparing for it for around 5 months.

The first time, of everything, is always special hence the blog.

BTW, I have been running regularly for the past 6 years now; when I registered for the event the only confidence I had was in the running. So had to learn swimming and cycling.

Swimming

I have been swimming since my school days but that’s something we learned from friends. With the time of Internet and access to the swimming pool, youtube videos tweaked my style. But short distance swimming (50/100 meters) in a swimming pool is a lot different than open water long distance swimming (2 km).

What worked

• Joining the coaching for Swimming early. Entire first month, I was on different swimming drills that too only for half distance of the pool. It may be hard to learn the correct form but its harder to unlearn the incorrect form. The Muscle Memory has the hardest impression.

What didn’t

• Not practiced enough in open water especially where water clarity is not good. Finding right direction in free style became a challenge on the event day and added some drag costing extra time and distance.

Tips

1. Cover ears with buds and then with a swimming cap to avoid infection into ears. It took me a week’s time to recover from the fungal ear infection. Besides the pain, frustration of not training is difficult to overcome.
2. Take Vitamin-C supplements if it’s not covered with the right quantity in your diet.

Cycling

Cycling consumes maximum time not only on the event day but also during the practice sessions. But because of office work only time available was either commute to the swimming pool and Sundays.

What worked

• Commuting on cycle, not daily but twice/thrice a week. 9/10 km one side. This started getting my body in shape by gradually building the cyclist muscles.
• Not targeting distance cycling before realizing the need for a cycling kit. From simple accessories like head/tail lights to hand gloves to cycle shorts with gel.
• Not buying/upgrading the cycle before realizing its need. The upgrade must happen gradually else the true value of existing things remains unknown so does the need of upgrade. Switched to road bike (Trek Domane AL 5) from a hybrid bike (Hercules Neo Ryder) when I stopped improving the timing with added extra efforts.
• I was lucky to experience the puncture kit handling well before the event. This boosted my confidence during the event’s ride.
• Not waiting long to purchase a new cycle as it gave a good 6/8 weeks to learn/explore the new bike.

What didn’t

• Sticking to endurance tyres (700x32c) even on race day. Should have explored the slimmer tyres.
• Cycling route was changed just a day before the event. The new route had three loops of 16 km and the route was relatively flat. Most practice sprints were done on Panshet route, as that’s the best option available for the cyclist staying near south of Pune, which has much less traffic in the early mornings but has many elevations and very few flat road patches. Cycling on a flat but long route is different; reading the wind direction and using a Aero bar is something needs to be learn.

Running

Running is the hardest sub-category in the event; not because of its distance but order. By the time one begins running 4/5 hours of effort are already spent. Also, oftentimes existing runners underestimate running during the training.

What worked

• Weekly one long run and one brick after Sunday long cycling distance.
• Training in Aquashoes; it’s a cheapest and best gear available for barefoot runners.
• On the event day, sponge bath (or water splash) reduced the heart rate during the final run by 5-7 bpm.
• On the event day, covering the head with white scarf and having UV/dark shades during the run did not panic the body when running in 32 degrees.

What didn’t work

• Not doing enough interval training.
• Not enough afternoon runs.

Journal

• First two months were focused on getting swimming right along with getting started with cycling.
• Last two months were focused on long cycling, long distance running and brick activities.
• Fifteen days training cycle was maintained to increase the intensity. The peak of the training was targeted 15 days before the actual event.
• Weekly Schedule which was followed for last three months was
  • Tuesday/Thursday: Oe Strength training Session per week
  • Friday: One long run
  • Sunday: One long cycling followed by mid running
  • Swimming 3 days a week
  • One rest day

Hydration

• One Energy bar after the swim.
• 3/4 sips of electrolyte water every 10km. Consumed nearly 2 liters of water during the cycling phase. Also 2/3 orange pieces with salt after every 20km.
• A chapati rolled with Jam and butter at the 80 km cycling patch; for preparation to running phase.
• A cup of water/electrolyte at every stop available during the run.

Wishlist: Things to improve upon

• Explore triathlon suite to save on transition time.
• Slimmer tyre for less friction and less effort; would also need more practice for better control.
• Cycling cleats for consistent power utilization; this too need a lot of practice.
• Swimming in the right direction with less frequent head lifts. More Open water sessions.
• Cycling with the aero bars.

Thanks To

One can register for a triathlon alone but to finish is a teamwork.

Besides the god and nature, I want to thank

• Namrata (wife) and Rujula (daughter) for the encouragement and adjusting with me throughout the training schedule. Family support is the first requirement to attempt a triathlon.
• Kunal Badgujar for being a triathlon buddy throughout the training period till the event day.
• Walawalkar Sir from ILS Swimming Pool Pune for training me enough to complete the 2k swimming in open water.
• Hemant Ghadage, my Langotiyar from Sainik School for giving many lessons about cycling.
• Finally, all the friends from NCRunners who guided me through the journey from suggesting a swimming coach till cheering up during the event day.

Triathlon
Updated on: 2023-01-30