It was a brilliant weekend trying to keep up with all the Efficient Endurance athletes racing across the UK and Europe. From wet coastal roads in Pembrokeshire to the hills of Germany, we had athletes putting months of hard training on the line.
Here is how the weekend played out on the road.
Stu: Gran Fondo in Germany
Stu was out on the bike on Saturday to take on a tough Gran Fondo in Germany. This was easily his standout performance since we started working together back in February.
The event was demanding. He had to set a distance and had to get as close as possible to it in 2hours and 15 minutes. He delivered both steady pacing on long climbs and top-end punch on the short kickers. Stu set his highest 90-minute average power to date alongside plenty of four-figure power spikes over 1,000 watts. Most importantly, he absorbed those hard surges and still had the legs to finish strong.
Feedback after was that he felt really aerobically fit without stunting his big surges.
Laura and Ruth: The Round Norfolk Relay
The Round Norfolk Relay is a legendary 198-mile club race around the county boundary, and we had two athletes out tackling their stages.
Laura ran a brilliant 27 km leg, showing real back-end speed through the final third of the run. In fact, her split for the half marathon distance inside that run was faster than her standalone half marathon personal best from just twelve months ago. That is what a year of consistent, patient running produces.
Ruth took on one of the early morning stages in classic determined fashion. Not content with just completing her race stage, she decided to run all the way back to the start afterwards to make up for the longer run that she had planned before getting drafted in last minute.
Jake: Richmond Marathon
Anyone who has run 26.2 miles knows the distance will humble you at some point. Jake lined up at the Richmond Marathon in London targeting a finish time between 3:15 and 3:20.
He looked completely in control through the first half and ran strong right up to the 21-mile mark. Then the marathon wall hit hard. Rather than letting the wheels fall off entirely, Jake dug in, managed his pace, and ground out a 3:24 finish. It was just a few minutes outside his goal, but holding things together when the legs completely lock up shows massive mental resilience. We will take the data from this and move forwards to improve next time.
Keith: Ironman Wales
Ironman Wales has a reputation as one of the toughest long-distance triathlons in the world, and Sunday in Tenby served up proper Welsh weather with heavy rain and wind.
Keith went in with a clear strategy: ride as smoothly as possible, avoid spiking the power on the steep hills, and save his energy for the marathon. He executed that plan to perfection. The payoff came on the run course, where he actually ran faster on the brutal hills of Tenby than he did earlier this year at Ironman Austria, a course with barely 10% of the elevation gain of Wales. That is living proof that a smart, disciplined bike leg makes or breaks an Ironman marathon.
He was also quick to tell me that he finished 7th in his age group. One of his best ever performances.
Proud of the commitment from everyone who pinned on a number this weekend. We will review the numbers, rest up, and get back to work.
