Celtman Solo Point Five: 15 weeks to go… where am I now?

 We’re on holiday this week, and the weather’s… well let’s just say it’s not quite what we expected on the west coast of the Outer Hebrides.

I’ve had a couple of lighter training weeks than normal, due to my work roster last week and this week’s weather oddness; I start the ZOE nutrition program this coming week; and there are 15 weeks to go to The Big One. So it seems like a good time to take stock of where I am in relation to Celtman Solo Point Five. 

First of all, a quick summary of what I’m training for:

5am start, in Shieldaig, West Coast of Scotland, on June 24th: 15 weeks from now.

• 2200m open water swim around Eilean Shieldaig, approximate water temperature 12-14 degrees. Ish. Cut off 1hr 10.
• 92km bike, with around 2000m climbing. One big hill (Bealach na Ba: 664m in an oner, max gradient 20%), a few gentle rolling bits, and a succession of steep bits. Cut off 6hrs from race start.
• Half marathon run: 15km on a rough mountain path, most of the rest on the road, last wee bit on a track. Cut off for the point where the track meets the road: 8.5hrs from race start.

I make no bones about this: the biggest challenge for me, aside from making it to the end, is meeting the cut-off times.

And my ‘Why’?

Well, because it’s Celtman. 

If you know Celtman, you’ll get it. It’s special.

But if you don’t, let me try and explain (and probably fall short). Torridon, Shieldaig, the Bealach na Ba… some of the most beautiful places on earth, that ooze adventure. 

I’ve had connections with the area for more than two decades: I’ve run sea kayaking courses there, I delivered shopping there during Lockdown, I had formative kayaking & mountaineering adventures there, I’ve cycle toured there.  I’ve been connected to Celtman itself since almost the start, crewed on the water several times, and on the hill for it twice.  For the Solo Point Five, I crewed on both water and land in its inaugural year, last year. 

So it’s a really personal challenge, and more than anything I want the adventure; the day out in a beautiful place with a load of likeminded people. And let’s be honest about this, part of me wants to prove -both to myself, and to the world- that I can do it. 

So where am I at?

General stuff first…

Diet:

Hmmm, not great. Too much cake lately, and not enough focus on eating the right stuff to support my training. But my ZOE program journey starts tomorrow, and my intention is that that will give me the support, information and motivation I need to get better at eating food that will help, and not hinder me.

Injury:

Getting there gradually, and importantly, improving. If you’ve been following this blog you’ll know I’ve had Plantar Fasciitis for a few months. A couple of months ago I couldn’t run at all, and just walking was painful. Now I’m managing to run a couple of times a week, and up to 10km at a time. It’s not fixed yet- it’s still painful every day. But it’s a lot better than it was, and I can get by. 

And now, the specifics.

Swim:

Considering I hadn’t even really started open water swimming until a year ago, I’m pretty comfortable with the swim. I’ve been swimming regularly through the winter, in water down to about 5-7 degrees, and air temperatures not much above freezing.  My kit works well, and I’m comfortable in the water; I have a routine for getting in cold water that works for me; I know I can swim the distance.  I only learned to swim front crawl last summer, and my breaststroke is still significantly faster than my front crawl; I may well end up swimming the whole 2.2km breaststroke- or at least, in a mixture of strokes- and I’m confident I’ll manage it within the time cut-off that way. 

It would be nice if I could speed up my Crawl before race day- but that may not happen without endless lengths in the pool.  I’ve found pool swimming difficult to motivate myself for, and logistically challenging: access to a pool is limited here, particularly around shift work. So I will work on speed when I can- but if I don’t get any faster, that’s ok.

The one thing I haven’t dealt with yet in the swim… The Celtman’s infamous JELLYFISH! That will come as the sea warms up, and I know it will scare me at first!

Bike:

If it takes me an hour to complete the swim, and a few minutes for transition, that leaves just under 5 hours to complete the bike course within the cutoff time. 18.4kph sounds slow… until you allow for the 22 metres of climbing per kilometre ridden. That’s A LOT. 

I’ve been managing to ride relatively regularly. Not as often as I’d like in a perfect world - but life isn’t perfect after all. So the riding I have done has been a mixture of Zwift and the real world, and with plenty of climbing. I still have work to do, but I’m feeling ok about the bike leg. 

That said, this is the bit that will make or break my day: don’t make it to the cut-off, and my day out will end in Inveralligin, not at the finish in Torridon. If I do make it, even just inside the cutoff, that will allow 2.5 hours to run/walk round the back of Liathach to the road checkpoint. 

So, I need to keep working on the climbing, and get stronger. Keep extending the distance, and the time spent on my bike. As the weather warms and I spend more time outdoors, I need to fit Tri-bars to my road bike, and work on using them, to gain any aerodynamic advantage I can on the flatter sections of the course. That will be a learning journey in itself…

Run:

Now, this is the tough bit, for me. Having been injured, my running is a long way behind where I wanted it to be. But I can’t change that - I can only work with it. I can run 10km at the moment, at a slow but steady pace. The plantar injury has robbed me of some of my confidence on rough ground, so that will be my priority for a while: spend plenty of time running on rocky ground. 

With a gradual increase in distance, and an increase in efficiency on rough ground, I will make it round the run course. Will I be able to do it in the cutoff time? At the moment, I have no idea. 

Psychology:

My strategy at the moment goes something like this:

Take it steady in the swim… enjoy it. It’s a beautiful course. 

Aim for average 135-140 watts & 19kph on the bike… enjoy it. It’s a stunning course.

Get through the run!

I will experience some massive highs & lows on the day. I will want to quit- probably several times. I will doubt I can do it. And I’ll love it, possibly at the same time. 

I probably won’t even know if I can do it, even when I’m standing on that stone jetty in my wetsuit at 0445 on June 24th. But I do know that, no matter what happens, barring injury or disaster, I will give it my very, very best shot. 

So that’s where I’m at just now: keep swimming, keep climbing on the bike, keep extending distance & confidence for the run. Keep on keeping on, and line up on the day with an open mind.