Race Guide - Ironman 70.3 Venice

Having been fortunate enough to take part in some amazing races in some amazing locations around the world, I thought I would share my experiences of these races as a sort of Triathlon Travel Guide for any of you interested in traveling to race in future and getting in on some adventures yourself.

So this is not a blow by blow account of my swim positioning, normalized power numbers or run splits, as I know how monotonous these are. Rather a short synopsis of the important things about races, things I would want to know before I travel to race.

I'll start with the freshest one that's been least impacted by my fading memory...

Ironman 70.3 Venice.

Its an early May race so the ideal race to focus the mind and get you out the door on those miserable January mornings, January being the ideal month to start training for this race!! So you're (potentially) fit come May and can crack on for bigger fish for the rest of the summer or just live off this fitness and race your way through the summer.

Its a race that's getting more and more popular, which means you will need to book early as I think they have reached their capacity with 3000 and I think it will sell out from now on. But this also means that its now served by the bike transport companies which takes the hassle out of travelling with the bike.

You do have to travel to Venice via Dublin unfortunately, which may not be an issue for most of you, for me, doing anything in Dublin brings me out in a rash!

Once you leave Dublin though, its a breeze, Lido de Jesolo, the resort that the race is held in is ideal for a race, loads of empty hotels in shoulder season, transport links are good, plenty of restaurants and a lovely long beach. Races at beach resorts, logistically anyway, are always great!

We picked up a lovely Airbnb just behind the huge transition area and not too far from Registration/Race Expo/Finish Line. Aim to stay at the western end of the resort and you're set.

The accommodation is plentiful, the food is fantastic (and Italian) and the Aperol's are €4. Could this get any better???

Well... now comes the biggest selling point of the race in my opinion, after racking our bikes early (I'll get to the downside of that in a minute) we took a boat into Venice, VENICE. The day before a race, sat out the back of boat in the sun as we cruised into Venice for a walk around, some canollis and food. I'm open to correction, but I don't think there's a better pre-race day out there!! And its Venice, its tiny, you can't even walk far if you tried!!

Now lets get to the race itself,  now as mentioned I left my bike in transition early and headed for Venice, I never do this, I never rack early, I always rack as late as possible so my bike is not sitting in the sun all day, waiting to get a slap of another bike being racked or bursting a tube. So obviously, waiting for in transition that morning, was a burst tube. I wont bore you with the details, lots of panic, swearing, sweating and dirty hands later, it was sorted and the bike racked with about 5 mins to spare before transition closed. Stressed to the eyeballs.

The walk to the swim start is long enough too, be mindful of that, and if you have ambitions (notions) of a fast swim, or for that matter, a fast time, seed yourself high in the swim, because if you don't, you'll be waiting a long time to get going and will be in traffic for the swim and for the first 10km or so of the bike, which I found very technical and very congested!!

On paper, this looks like a PB race, and for most people doing it, it probably will be (myself included). It has all the ingredients for a fast race, sea swim, still conditions, good weather but not "too good" and a bike and run with absolutely no climbing.

But this belies the truth in my opinion, whilst I did get a PB here (4.11, if you have to ask ;-)) I have no doubt that on a different course, I could go faster. Here's why, setting aside the fact that not seeding myself high enough on the swim was my own fault;

• The run to T1 is long, you're running for a good 2 mins before you even meet T1,
• As mentioned, the first 10/15km of the bike is very technical and very busy, so you're surging on and off big power for 15km, right when you should be trying to settle into your rhythm, 
• There are, maybe 4/5 temporary bridges constructed for the race so as to keep traffic moving, its takes a special kind of ballsy to hit these at full throttle, which is impossible anyway because they are very congested,
• After 15km, the road opens up as you leave Lido and its far less technical, but there is no other way of putting it, the road surface is stink!! You're constantly bumped around and avoiding potholes and just generally shook! Kinda like cycling in Ireland.

Now this is a nuisance (and no more) if you're after a time, but if you're a little more "relaxed", you're cycling through the canals (not those canals!!) and fields of Venice, it is truly a beautiful cycle route... scenery wise,

The run is flat, half of which is shaded and lovely, the other half which is exposed and... hot. The support is great though and definitely distracts.

And for those following a racer, don't even bother trying to get to the finish line, because the race is utilizing the only path along the beach, its super congested, find yourself a lovely beach shack, get an aperol and relax. 

On a very small note, if you win a prize or wanna take a slot to a WC race, be prepared for a hell of walk to the ceremony, was it worth it though for the plywood plaque? Absolutely not!!

As a race as a whole, whether you're after a fast time, or just wanna see somewhere nice whilst doing an away race, I'm not sure there are many better alternatives out there.

And whichever of these you're going for, come to Comeragh Coaching, and I'll have you in some condition for it!!