Only after signing up were we told that it is considered one of the toughest triathlons in Spain. The race consisted of a 2km swim in a Reservoir in the picturesque village of Güejar Sierra, a 2km run to collect our bikes from the local sports hall (transition 1) An 80k bike ride up to the village of Pradallono, the main ski resort in the Sierra Nevada. And finally into transition 2 where we dumped the bikes and donned our trainers for a 20k run around the ski slopes above Pradollano to the finish line.
First some background information, Jansen Riley and myself (Steve Twiselton) both live in Competa, we competed in our first triathlon in October last year in Malaga. The distance was a lot shorter. It consisted of 750 metres Swim, 20K Bike and a 5k run but none the less it was still a very tough race as it is considered a Sprint event. After that race it’s fair to say we both had the bug and signed up for a number of races in Andalucia in the first half of 2015. In all the events the triathletes start off at the same time however beforehand competitors are grouped into various classifications depending on age and sex. My group is the 40-50 male category known as Veteran 1 or Masters. I prefer to call it Masters for obvious reasons but my wife calls it the midlife crisis category!
Both of our results have improved race after race, and the hard work paid off for Jan when he collected a trophy for 3rd place finish in his category at the Marbella Sprint Triathlon. Another reason for signing up for the Sierra Nevada Desafio DX2 was on the back of us joining CD Axarlon sports club based in the Torre Del Mar/Velez area. The team consists of 20+ triathletes ageing from 20 to 60+. On our first training session with a few of the team members they mentioned that 11 of the team had already signed up for Desafio DX2 Half Ironman in Granada. So to get into the spirit of things we registered for the race the next day, leaving 6 weeks to train.
Race Day
The team stayed the night before in log cabins on a campsite just 2km from the race start. After a restless night sleep, the alarm went off at 6am giving us 1.5 hours to get ready, vacate the cabin and get to Transition 1 so we could drop of the bikes. This is where it started to go wrong. All the team were running late and we arrived at transition 1 with just 10 minutes to spare before it closed at 7.30am. Jan and I were asked for out ID’s which in the rush we had left back at the campsite. Jan held a quick vote and decided that I should make the 4k round trip on bike to collect the ID’s. On my return we were told we had missed the cut off for leaving the bikes, however after some pleading they decided there was just enough time to drop them off and get to the start line. This gave us 10 minutes to get to the lake for the start; the lake was 1.5k away. We set off on foot running towards the start line, I had my wetsuit over my shoulder, and Jan had left his behind in the transition area by mistake. We took a shortcut wading across a shallow river and got to the start line with a couple of minutes to spare!
The Race – Swim Leg
(2km swim in the Reservoir at Güejar Sierra) The swim leg is considered one of the toughest parts of the short distance sprint triathlons; it can be chaotic, with legs kicking franticly, people climbing over each other just to get into some space. However in this race things were a lot calmer, as this section of the race only lasts for 30-40 minutes depending on ability, it is crazy to go too fast. The water was warm, I was wearing a wetsuit, there was lots of space, it was a pleasant start to the race for me and I exited the water in 50th position of 125. Having forgotten his wetsuit, the swim leg was always going to be more difficult for Jan as a good wetsuit can reduce swim times by up to 15%. Jan exited the water 5 minutes later. Once out of the water we had a 2k trail run up to the village of Sierra Guerra to collect out bikes and start the 80k bike section.
80K Bike Section
The first 15k was on a very steep hill called El Duque. El Duque is a narrow lane that climbs steeply from Güejar Sierra up towards the main road that links the city of Granada to the ski resort of Pradallano. In this section I was feeling in good shape, even overtaking people on the way up. I was confident the training Jan and I had put in over the last 6 months for the triathlon series was paying off. The temperature was already well over 30 degrees, so it was important to take on water and energy drinks at every opportunity. I stopped at the first water stop and collected another two 500ml bottles of water and set off for the 15k very fast downhill section towards Granada. Still feeling good, I was enjoying the moment, I over took another 5-6 triathletes on this section as well as consuming half a pack of jelly babies and some sorrel malt loaf! Although the roads were open to traffic, the police were situated at every junction to stop cars as we made are way down towards Granada and then to the village of Monachil. This is when things started to get tough. The temperature continued to rise as did the road. From Monchil to the Albergue Universitario located above Pradollano the road climbed from 792 metres to 2500metres. That’s 450 meters higher than the highest peak of Mount Maroma that overlooks the Axarquia region of Andalucia. On this section, is a popular stretch of road for cyclists called El Purche. It’s long and steep with no shade. The road continued to climb. Every time I looked up I could see the crash barriers of the next section above me. It was sole destroying and it was getting hotter. A couple of riders were pushing their bikes. Then I was overtaken by a group of 5 riders. Unknown to me I had nearly made it to the top, I decided to stop. As soon as I stopped, I threw up! My neck and back were burning from the heat, I felt terrible. At this point in my head I was blaming Jan for persuading me to sign up for the challenge! Unfair, but true. I walked for about 200 metres when a spectator told me than I was only a few hundred metres from the top of the famous stretch of road. I jumped back on the bike and made it to the next water stop 500 metres away. This was the turning point for me; I had already decided in my head that I would never do it again. 2K later I was sick again and was being overtaken every few minutes. Alex from the team stopped next to me at the side of the road and walked with me for a few hundred metres. This gesture was enough to get me back on the bike push on towards the end of the bike leg. The last 20K was a steep 7k uphill ride from Pradollano to the Albegue and back down to Pradollano. In this section, as it is a loop, you get to see many of the other triathletes who were all shouting encouragement to each other. Just before I finished the bike leg I spotted Jan, I had stopped blaming him by this point, and seeing him definitely lifted my spirits for the 19k run.
19K Run
After slapping on some factor thirty onto my already sun burnt shoulders; I started the run from Pradallano up the ski slopes to the telescope on Pico Valeta. When I say run, I mean run very slowly or walk! Before the race we had decided that it would be easier to break it down into small distances for phycological reasons. Try and think of it in three 5k sections and one 4k section. The reality was I ran 200 metres and walked 100 and so on. Bizarrely I started to overtake people. Admitedly very slowly, but and overtake was and overtake! At the 3k mark Jan went past me on his bike heading in towards the end of his bike section. We both cheered each other on; again these small gestures genuinely make a difference when you are feeling beat. I caught up with Paco and Alex from CD Axarlon around the 5K mark and we stayed together running a small section then walking a small section until we reached the 11k mark which was at the telescope located on Pico Veleta (2920 metres). On the mountain opposite there was still snow. I had read about the effects of high altitude exercise, but my legs felt so tired I was not sure if it affected me or not. From the 11k mark it was all downhill for the next 8k into the village of Pradallano to the finish. I crossed the line in 8hrs 28 minutes. Jan’s run section was more or less the same time as mine and he crossed the finish line an hour later.
Post Race
At the finish line we were all offered free food, beer, soft drinks and sports massages, and all triathletes sat together and chatted about which sections were the toughest, easiest etc and how we found the race in general. It was at this moment it really all felt worth while taking part in such a tough event. There was definitely camaraderie amongst the triathletes and a lot of mutual respect. And for me the one single gesture that summed this up was when the last triathlete of the race was a few hundred meters away from the finish line the compare of the event asked everyone to make their way to the finish line to give the guy a round of applause. Everyone obliged. For us, there was one final challenge. That was to get back on our bikes and pedal back to the car which was 20k away at the start line! Thankfully it was all downhill. On the drive back to competa we chatted about the race and decided we probably wouldn’t do it again as once was enough. However the the next day I received a text message from Jan talking about another race he had found! As I am finishing writing this article three days have passed and Jan and I have just been out for a 40K bike ride. We discussed what king of training we should have done and how we could improve our times, it very easy to forget the hard bit and remember the best moments. So, until next year!!!
Steve Twiselton
