On Thursday I dropped of my bike at the Metropole, as the team’s bikes would travel together in a van by ferry. This approach when racing on one of the neighboring islands makes things super simple for travel. We took off our pedals, covered our bikes with blankets, and that was it. They would travel ahead and meet us at the race. Ah, the joys of being part of a well-organized team!

My wife, daughter and I flew to Lanzarote on Friday afternoon (the team travelled later Friday, and stayed in Puerto del Carmen. Usually, I would travel with the team, but as my family was making the trip as well so we made our own plans). After a quick 30-minute flight we arrived, got our rental car, made a stop for some groceries and then drove to Club La Santa. Check-in was a breeze, I went to get my race packet and then we went for dinner. Our room was about 200 meters from the race transition zone, I have never been that close! And the race wasn’t until 10h the next morning, so no crazy early wake-up to annoy my family – how good is that?

Breakfast at 7h30 Saturday morning (when it opened) and then a message from the team saying that they were on their way. I met them and got my bike a little after 8h, took it back to the room, added the race numbers, got the rest of my gear and went to transition. I had done a bunch of stretching before breakfast and felt pretty loose, it was then time for the 5-minute walk to the water.

I’m still torn about swim starts. In the past I loved/hated mass swim starts. They were scary. They were thrilling. They usually got better after the first 400 meters. But you could always gauge your performance off that of the leaders. Now, with rolling starts, it was more difficult. But, it was definitely less hectic. As I waited to hit the line, I went through the day in my head – all systems go.

And then we were off! I felt good right from the start, passing a bunch of people in the opening 100 meters, and then I just kept passing people. As usual many swimmers were going left, going right, weaving back and forth. I kept sighting after three strokes and stayed straight, myself weaving between my neighbors, breathing easily, keeping pace.

The swim segment of the race is in a salt water lagoon at the edge of the resort, so the conditions were excellent. There was a bit of chop towards the end but nothing significant and then it was over, I felt great coming out of the water. Time was 24:34 for 1500 meters, not my fastest but not bad. I ran up the hill to transition, grabbed my bike bag, wetsuit off helmet on grab bike exit transition (time 3:49) and begin the bike.

The 40km bike course is two loops, each starting with a bit of climbing and then a long mostly flat segment with a bunch of wind. That initial 3-4km of climbing wasn’t very steep, so I quickly passed a bunch of athletes struggling with the incline. I felt great and quickly made it to the small town of Soo, where the roads were not exactly pristine. I saw several riders walking their bikes here (including two teammates) due to flats or other mechanical issues. I survived the lumpy asphalt and made it to the long, slightly downhill section leading to the turnaround at Caleta de Famara, and then it was time for the second 10km, long uphill and then bumpy through Soo, back down to La Santa, first loop done, second loop was more of the same. Back to transition and off the bike feeling good, time of 1:11:22, again not my best performance but ok.

The transition from bike to run is always quicker, and this was no exception. Feet are out of the shoes before the end so we literally hit the ground running, rack the bikes, exchange our helmets for shoes and visors and we are off (transition time of 1:57).

The 10km run takes us around the track, through the resort, down the parking lot and then we are on the road to the village of La Santa, 2.5km away. The road is lined with fans, I’ve already seen my wife and daughter so that was a great boost. The day has turned sunny and beautiful and I feel great, the first loop goes well and I am running at a good speed, about 4:06/km, all systems go. From La Santa back to the resort is a slight uphill, just enough to slow you down, which is does, I think I’m now running about 4:28/km. Back to the resort, I see my family and get some encouragement, back around the track, hi-five from my coach, then back on the sidewalk heading towards La Santa, running now at 4:34/km, turnaround and back up the hill, 4:47/km, around the track and finish with a respectable 43:29 (average of 4:29/km).

Many of my teammates have already finished, and my family is there at the end to congratulate me. This is a great race distance for me as it doesn’t take an entire day (important when on a family vacation) and it doesn’t really require a lot of downtime afterwards, like a half or full ironman. After a few pictures, my wife and daughter went to do some activities, leaving me to wind-down with the team for a bit. We walked over to the post-race buffet, found a place in the grass, checked our results, got some food and exchanged commentary about how our days had gone. My total time was 2:25:10, 5/30 in my age group, not bad but again a little slower than expected. I’m used to being on the podium in these shorter races, so coming fifth is tough but hey, I still did pretty well for a 53-year-old with diabetes!

We must wait for an hour before we can remove our bikes and equipment from transition, but we are all having lunch so no worries. Eventually we get our stuff, I take it back to the room and then take my bike back to the van. It will head back to Gran Canaria and arrive the next night, I’ve asked one of my teammates to take care of it while I remain on Lanzarote with my family for the week.

Later that afternoon I feel pretty good, I do a SUP class with my wife and I feel great. We still have several days at the resort to look forward to, after which we move to a rented house for a few days (where I am writing this, on Thursday) before heading back to Gran Canaria on Saturday.

Next race: 2 April, this time an olympic distance race in the south of Gran Canaria. I did it last year and had a great time there as well, it will be good. And just over the horizon looms 70.3 Marbella on 22 May. I’ll register for other races throughout the summer and into October (long race season here, eh?), but for now this is all I have on my radar. I think I can make a few positive gains on the run and lower my next run split a bit. We shall see.