Saturday, July 21, 2007
The gigathlon challenge - summary in English
So, the Gigathlon seems almost a little distant with all things packed to travel to lake Constance for the Megathlon ;-) These names sometimes make it sound like a lot more than it seems to me...
The Gigathlon 2 weeks ago was a brilliant experience for Roman (who had never participated) and myself, despite the terrible weather during the second part of Day 1 as well as the entire Day 2. It is all a matter of equipment, stamina and psychology to get through this well for two days. For longer periods, it does get very physical, but I believe that the body can adjust quite well to such gruesome conditions during a shorter period of time.
Roman swam much faster than anticipated, which brought me onto the inline skates in Basel already at 07.40 in the morning and enabled me a speedy ride to Bad Säckingen as I found some good skaters to form a train with... Quite slippery for the last 7km, and contrary to my normal behavior, I decided to skate alone and careful to be sure NOT to have to do the rest of the gigathlon with open ellbows or knees ;-)
In the transition area, Denise the supporter had just packed away all my materials as it had rained ;-) I got in my Roy Hinnen gear on (looks just great in all black and gold ;-) and started the ascent towards the black forest - 23km uphill. I felt great and could cycle with a guy i once had a blind date with, so lots of catching up to do... The 96km ride was just awesome and I was happy to have done a recon tour so that I knew exactly how I could push the limits, especially on descents. Near Schaffhausen, we transitioned to MTBiking, where Roman was actually late because the complex shuttle system (13'000 active persons were involved in the Gigathlon) was delayed due to traffic jams.
Gaby (the second supporter) and I took the shuttle to Winterthur. While Roman hit the dirt in pouring rain, I ate my boiled potatoes, Biberli and proteins on the bus and told Gaby of my first Gigathlon adventures and joys. In Winterthur, I had a very slow start on foot uphill in the forst towards the aiport of Dübendorf. The half marathon was quite demanding with a couple of hundred of steps to climb, hilly paths and for my taste a shortage of drinking possibilites. As I felt the need to eat some energy gels, I was quite thirsty during the second part of the race. You often end up seeing the same persons at several points of a gigathlon day, and it always makes for nice little chats to see how others are doing. I was happy to had stuck to my time estimate of 2hrs 30' with the many climbs... In Dübendorf, the tents had already been built up by the rest of the team, the shower and massage were waiting and we went out for dinner nearby. My diet after Day 1 Gigathlon: 1L Applejuice/mineral, salad, plate of pasta, half a pizza and a GREAT coffe ;-) I would lie to you if I said that I didn't have a bit of chocolate to finish it off ;-)
Day 2 report will follow. Gotta dash to the train now for the megathlon.
For those who are interested in how I spent the last week training before the Gigathlon:
Sunday: Start Gigathlon
Saturday: 900m Swim with 6x 25m fast, 25m medium
Friday: rest day, massage
Thursday: 25 min max speed bike, 35 min run, of which 15 min speed
Wednesday: 1.5km swim (wanted 2.5km, but the water was too cold and I didn't have a wet suit)
Tuesday: biked 60km trying to find the mountain bike trail for the gigathlon... mentally and physically completely straining
Monday: rest day
The Gigathlon 2 weeks ago was a brilliant experience for Roman (who had never participated) and myself, despite the terrible weather during the second part of Day 1 as well as the entire Day 2. It is all a matter of equipment, stamina and psychology to get through this well for two days. For longer periods, it does get very physical, but I believe that the body can adjust quite well to such gruesome conditions during a shorter period of time.
Roman swam much faster than anticipated, which brought me onto the inline skates in Basel already at 07.40 in the morning and enabled me a speedy ride to Bad Säckingen as I found some good skaters to form a train with... Quite slippery for the last 7km, and contrary to my normal behavior, I decided to skate alone and careful to be sure NOT to have to do the rest of the gigathlon with open ellbows or knees ;-)
In the transition area, Denise the supporter had just packed away all my materials as it had rained ;-) I got in my Roy Hinnen gear on (looks just great in all black and gold ;-) and started the ascent towards the black forest - 23km uphill. I felt great and could cycle with a guy i once had a blind date with, so lots of catching up to do... The 96km ride was just awesome and I was happy to have done a recon tour so that I knew exactly how I could push the limits, especially on descents. Near Schaffhausen, we transitioned to MTBiking, where Roman was actually late because the complex shuttle system (13'000 active persons were involved in the Gigathlon) was delayed due to traffic jams.
Gaby (the second supporter) and I took the shuttle to Winterthur. While Roman hit the dirt in pouring rain, I ate my boiled potatoes, Biberli and proteins on the bus and told Gaby of my first Gigathlon adventures and joys. In Winterthur, I had a very slow start on foot uphill in the forst towards the aiport of Dübendorf. The half marathon was quite demanding with a couple of hundred of steps to climb, hilly paths and for my taste a shortage of drinking possibilites. As I felt the need to eat some energy gels, I was quite thirsty during the second part of the race. You often end up seeing the same persons at several points of a gigathlon day, and it always makes for nice little chats to see how others are doing. I was happy to had stuck to my time estimate of 2hrs 30' with the many climbs... In Dübendorf, the tents had already been built up by the rest of the team, the shower and massage were waiting and we went out for dinner nearby. My diet after Day 1 Gigathlon: 1L Applejuice/mineral, salad, plate of pasta, half a pizza and a GREAT coffe ;-) I would lie to you if I said that I didn't have a bit of chocolate to finish it off ;-)
Day 2 report will follow. Gotta dash to the train now for the megathlon.
For those who are interested in how I spent the last week training before the Gigathlon:
Sunday: Start Gigathlon
Saturday: 900m Swim with 6x 25m fast, 25m medium
Friday: rest day, massage
Thursday: 25 min max speed bike, 35 min run, of which 15 min speed
Wednesday: 1.5km swim (wanted 2.5km, but the water was too cold and I didn't have a wet suit)
Tuesday: biked 60km trying to find the mountain bike trail for the gigathlon... mentally and physically completely straining
Monday: rest day
