It’s Quite Nice!

As with all race reports I write, if you just want race report details scroll down to RACE DAY:

Joy and I left San Jose International just after 8pm. The goal was to sleep a little arrive in London and withstand the long layover that would put us in Nice at around 9pm. Luckily we had lounge access while at Heathrow, which made the layover comfortable. We had upgraded to Premium Economy, which I highly recommend when flying over 10 hours. However the flight to Nice was a bit crowded and did not offer the amenities we had just been accustomed to. However, it was a short flight and we were soon waiting in baggage claim.

In 2008, which was the last time we had flown to Nice, so I could compete in Ironman France, my bike did not arrive with our luggage and after at least 30 minutes of waiting and observing no less than three disbursements of various hard and soft shell cases holding very expensive configurations of carbon fiber, it appeared as if lightning had struck twice. I was a bit concerned about the time it was taking as I secured a transfer from welcomepickups.com (which I will always use if available from here on… trust me!). I knew our driver would wait up to an hour. After filing the missing bike report through my broken French and her broken English, I had a claim ticket in hand and an assurance the bike would be waiting for me at our hotel in the morning. As we walked out of baggage claim our driver was waiting with my name on a small electronic tablet and a smile on his face. I apologized for the inconvenience. He looked surprised, “Inconvenience? No. We’re happy you’re here!… Let me take that for you.” as he grabbed our bags. His car was just outside the door of the airport exit and within 30 seconds we were leaving the airport. Our driver’s English was impeccable and his knowledge of Nice – vast! In just the 3 miles it took him to drive us to our hotel, we had plenty of suggestions of things to do for the next several days while staying along the Promenade.

I booked our hotel through the official Ironman travel company and loved that the location was directly within eyesight of the race start and finish. But when we checked into our room, well… it didn’t quite look like the photos I had seen on the website. The room was, shall we say, a bit tired! It had two twin beds, which were different lengths pushed together to make a king but the linens were still twin sheets! It had only two pillows and two towels and no view out the window. But the air conditioning worked! So we had that going for us! Quickly shedding our bags and putting ourselves together we set out for a classic late night dinner. We didn’t have to walk far before we were seated at a street-side bistro along the Promenade enjoying garlicky steamed mussels, French fries, a four cheese pizza and a bottle of Rosé.

One of Joy’s clients had mentioned a product she uses all the time as she travels frequently to Europe and China called “No Jet Lag.” No joke. Tiny little pills you chew on every one or two hours while in flight. So, now near midnight, it was time to get to sleep… did I sleep through the night? YES!!!

After breakfast the next morning, which was included as part of the travel package, we walked into the lobby and viola! There was my bike as promised. We took the bike up to the room unpacked it and got ready to do a little swim/bike before registering before lunch. With goggles in hand, and hearing the water temps were in the low 80’s we grabbed our two towels and headed across the street and onto the rocky beach… And when I say rocky, I mean rocks the size of baseballs! They’re called gallets and have found their way down the steep slopes of the Maritime Alps for centuries making this stretch of the Mediterranean quite unique.

We plunked down in an open space where I notice to my left, just hanging out, is Ironman legend, Mark Allen! After soaking in a bit of the warm sun I tell Joy, I’m going in. Gingerly walking across those slippery/slidey rocks I walk into the surf and immediately a wave tosses an underwater rock into my left shin! DANG!! That hurt. I plunge, I swim, that water is nice, I swim out to the yellow buoys set up to mark the safe swim zone. I quickly head back and all is good except my bleeding left shin!

Donning socks and bike jersey I now just want to get about 10-12 miles in to be sure everything is working well and my legs are sharp. I remember the road out of Nice up the Var River from IMFrance in 2008. It’s flat and windy but I don’t really push through all the gears on my bike which will come back to haunt me later.

Registering at the Expo was easy and well organized. I didn’t really need anything other than a CO2 cartridge so I purchase two and place them in my pocket. On our way out… I notice the race apparel is quite nice and purchase a visor. It’s blue and will match my ZERO Cancer race kit.

That evening is the Welcome banquet. We take the train from the expo location up the 2 kilometer stretch of road to the massive sports center. The food is not bad, they have an energetic and well choreographed opening number with several hundred dancers that came out of nowhere! A cool interview of Mark Allen, Dave Scott and Paula Newby Fraser connecting this race to the prestigious Long Course World Championships back in the 80’s when it was the one of two “have to do races” in the sport… Kona being the other. There’s a good preview video and well wishes to all the athletes promising the race to be Unique, Historique, Légendaire! Next up is the English athlete briefing… The US has the largest contingency of athletes racing by nearly double any other country. So, you can imagine a LOT of folks stayed meaning when it was over those trains were going to be packed. Joy and I opted to walk back… it was a nice walk and we determined that it would have taken us the same time either way.

The next day was rest and exploring the old city of Nice, filled with bistros and small retail shops where we enjoyed classic French baguette sandwiches and gelato. That evening we met our good friends Barry and Susie for an exquisite dinner at Le Bistro Gourmand. Barry had just qualified two months prior on a whim and very little run training as he had been sidelined for almost three years of severe leg pain. But discovering he could string together a short but painful run at Escape from Alcatraz he turned around and signed up for a race only weeks later… He took 1^st in his age group at 70.3 Lubbock!  

Saturday was the women’s race. It was awesome to just walk out the front doors of our hotel to see all the action. When the race started we had grabbed a quick coffee and croissant and watched the women pros push through T1… the age group women were allowed to wear wetsuits as apparently the water temps dipped below 76 degrees. By the afternoon I had checked in my bike and gear and now it was time to grab our rental car and head to the second location for our French vacation; Theoule-sur-Mer! You see for some reason, I thought the men were racing on Saturday so I only booked our hotel through Saturday… This meant having to navigate around road closures to the airport to grab our car and drive the 40 minutes west to this tiny marina village on the west side of the Bay of Cannes. Also meant getting up a lot earlier the next morning to drive back to Nice and find parking!  The hotel staff at Hotel Le Royal were pretty awesome and arranged a taxi driver who could weave his way through the tiny side streets to eventually get us to the airport! Wow that was an adventure but successfully we had our car and were on our way.

We LOVE Theoule! This is where we stayed in 2008 and is made available to us from our friends Ellie and G! To say having the ability to stay here is a gift would be an understatement! I could go on and on about this place but… this is not a travel report it’s a race report…

RACE DAY:

When the alarm went off at 4am I was pretty much wide-awake. Not that I was particularly, sleepless. It was just good timing. Now dressed for the day and going through my gear, I made sure I had just what I needed and Joy had a change of cloths for me afterward. It had been cooler the day and evening before and since the gals got to race in their wetsuits, I grabbed mine. Coffee, croissant, eggs, sausage and OJ, we’re out the door into the cool, dark air.

Driving into Nice we were relying on GPS and the instructions from our Sixt Rental Car agent to get into the underground parking lot, which was pretty much underneath the finish line of the race. Let’s just say… GPS wasn’t very accurate and I was starting to get nervous trying to navigate the “no rhyme or reason” configuration of city streets in Nice. However, after a few noticeable landmarks we were able to make our way and safely park right were we wanted.

With over 3000 guys racing, the transition area between the shore and the promenade was quite long. I had a low number (based on age) so as I entered I was not far from my bike… “What did I just hear?” The race announcer said it again… “That’s right gentlemen the water temperature is 26 (Celsius) that means it’s a NON wetsuit swim… No wetsuits!” What the heck!?! The ladies got to wear them and it’s been a lot cooler since yesterday. How’d that happen? I realized I over thought and under prepared by leaving my swim skin back at the apartment. Now I’m ticked, frustrated and wondering what to do…  I take off my jersey and heart rate strap and place it on my bike… no, that won’t work what if it falls? I could get a penalty. I put it back on. UGH! I need to go potty!! The announcer is letting everyone know it’s time to clear T1 and that there are plenty of bathrooms at the swim corral. I head that way, drop off my morning cloths bag and get in line for the bathroom??? This is the longest line I’ve ever seen and how many porta-pottys? Maybe a dozen… oh, this is not good. I think to myself, it’s probably less then a 10 minute walk to our hotel and they have a nice big bathroom in the lobby which is probably empty right now… So I head that way… I see Joy and let her know what I’m doing and will be right back.

As I start my brisk walk back to our hotel I see a building with the name Hotel Beau Rivage on it… That’s Barry and Susie’s hotel… just then a couple exits from the doors! I quickly size up there’s likely a bathroom in their lobby too and I slide in before the door closes… it’s super nice. All marble. Where’s the lobby? Ah… elevator I need to go up one floor. Elevator door opens, elevator ascends one floor, elevator door opens… to three doors. Huh? I go back down to the white marble foyer. OH! another elevator. Must have been the wrong elevator. I try that one. This time only two doors! Next floor up? Again, two doors. WHERE is the lobby?! I head back to the marble room with those big glass doors to the promenade… Obviously there’s no access to the front of the hotel from these elevators. Then I see a plaque on the wall… and I read the words “Embassy.” What? Who’s embassy? No wonder there’s no access or signs. I head to the exit I recently had sneaked in… I push the bar on the door. It doesn’t move. I push again. Nothing. It’s locked! I see a grey push button on the wall. I push it. Try again… nothing. The door will not open. I’m alone in a marble room with no phone, no exit, no one noticing I’m in there… two thoughts come to mind… First, I’m gonna miss my race because I was trying to be clever… Second, I really have to go to the bathroom!! Upon a desperate prayer and one more, what I believe will be a futile effort, I try pressing the button again and viola!! I’m free. I’m not sure what happened but I’ll let you speculate; answered prayer or some security guard watching a panicked American flailing around like a toddler on his screen finally having a moment of compassion?

As I beeline it to the hotel I notice right across from the finish line there is a line of toilets behind a chain-link gate. It’s slightly open and I notice another athlete exit one of them… He slides through the opening. I ask, “It’s okay to use these?” He responds, “Nobody said I couldn’t.” I run to an empty, orange plastic box, do my bidness and head back to the swim start.

Swim:

The pro men are already in the water and a few of the first age group waves have been sent off. I find my age group is now open to entering the swim coral. There is a thin layer of carpet covering the rocks but the surface is still hard and uneven. I take a seat. 20 minutes later we’re being moved into the chute. It’ moves quickly. I’m wishing I had my swim skin on. I check my watch, pull on my goggles and cap and wind my way to a line of men six or seven deep that go 10 wide. Every 5 second, 10 men run into the warm light blue water. Water conditions are not rough but nor is it smooth. It appears there’s a bit of a current out there and beep, beep, beep, beep, boooop! I’m off. During the first two hundred meters it’s pretty congested as we all swim about the same pace. I try to compete for a few kicking feet in front of me but another swimmer pushes forward. I keep swimming at my pace. It feels a bit slow going out but I seem to be sighting straight to the turn. It’s out there a bit but soon I’m making the turn and with the sun now up and behind us I can make out the buoys pretty well. As I swim across to the next turn I’m thinking the current was coming in so I try to adjust for it and push to my left, little did I realized the current was actually going out and quick I found myself way to the left. I course correct and get to the second turn. Now going against current I realize it’ll take a little longer to get back to shore and now the sun is in my eyes when I breath (to the right). Eventually I’m at the last orange buoy and can clearly see the swim exit. I remind myself about the calmness of this moment and to take it in. As you get close to the shore you can hear the sound of the rocks clicking together in each wave hitting the shore. My fingers hit the rocks, I stand, grab a hand and push up to the carpeted exit. Pulling off my cap and goggles I see my time, 39 minutes. Oh crap! That was slow!

T1: I get to the top of the ramp and make a left turn into transition. Heading to rack with our bags holding bike gear I’m running in my bare feet when my right big toe slams into a steel plate that’s covering a bunch of electrical cords. I whimper something about “stupid, ouch, what the? Can’t breath!” I sit down. My toe is bleeding. I put on my socks… Crap that hurts!” now my shoes… “That too!!” I start running to my bike. Friend and teammate Kyle taps me on the shoulder as we run together to our bikes. Kyle caught me in the swim, He was a couple waves behind me in the start. I wish him a good race! We’re out of T1.

Bike:

The ride out is cool. You have the ocean to the left, the iconic Promenade hotels like the Negressco to the right. Quickly you pass the airport and roll your way to the river. In the morning the winds rush down the river toward the sea. Later as the temperatures climb the air literally rises and sucks sea air inland giving this section of the course headwinds in both directions! Once you turn left off the main road along the Var, you immediately start a steep and technical climb. Dang it! I don’t have my climbing gear. Apparently the derailleur got tweaked in transit and now won’t shift up to the final cog… I should have tested every gear on the flat ride just days prior. As you head up, the climb lets up a little here and there but really once you start pedaling uphill you don’t stop until the top of Col de Vence, which after leaving the city of Vence you wind your way up 10 kilometers, each letting you know what is the elevation and gradient. What really makes this course epic is the ancient villages and historic locations where some of the world’s most famous impressionists did their work; not to mention the shear elevation you ascend to and the view of the Mediterranean below. The descent is smooth and fast. I chose to ride my road bike for comfort and ease but was wishing I had my TT bike for the descent and the headwinds along the river.  As we enter back into Nice, I can see runners already at the airport turn around. I had to remind myself my wave as over an hour later than the first Age Group start. It’s warmed up quite a bit and in just a few minutes coming out of T2 I’ll know just how hot!

T2: I’ve slipped out of my shoes and riding the tops to the dismount line. I get to the line and cross it and jump off… A lady is yelling at me. “You crossed the line! You crossed the line!!” I look at her not understanding, “Of course!” I said, “You’re supposed to get off before the line!” She starts to show me a yellow card for a penalty. I protest. “I thought I was supposed to cross the line.” She mutters something and says, “I give you a break.” I don’t argue and run my bike to my assigned spot on the rack… In most races I do there is a line you have to cross and then a line you don’t cross, a zone if you will. This just had one line. Okay, I get it now! Next time say something.

Run:

It is really warm but not as bad as I thought it was gonna be and certainly not as bad as it was in 2008. The run heads down to the Promenade turns right and goes for another quarter mile before you make a quick turn right, u-turn down a tunnel under the street to exit back up on the other side of the Promenade. Now it’s two loops to the airport and back. What I was most anxious about for this race was going to be this run. In July when I did IMSantaRosa70.3 I had to walk the last 5 miles of the run due to a slight calf tear I developed after moving into our new house back in June. All in all I had about 2 months where I chose not to run to let the calf completely heal up. That rest period ended only two weeks prior to arriving in Nice. I had been able to string along a ten mile run without pain but I babied my calf along the way and anytime I felt the slightest tug I’d stop, stretch, roll and slowly walk/run my way back to stride. Today, I’m running without pain but at a significant deficit in speed. Two reasons: The lack of run training and that darn big toe!!! It’s killing me with each step. I do what I can to ignore the pain. I keep running. For the second loop I allow myself to walk every other aid station. I make sure to fuel properly using the Enervite provided on course and hydrate at each one. Before long I make the final turn back to Nice and with only 3+ miles to go, I’m pretty confident I will be able to run it all the way. In the final mile it’s quite exciting. There are a ton of people lined along the street. There is a drum line banging out a cadence… The cheers are deafening! This is a World Championship and it feels like it! I enter the finishing chute. There are hands extended outward for high fives. I try to hit each one! I put a huge smile on my face and trot up the ramp under the finish banner and point to the sky! I’m done… and it was worth every bit of the pain and effort to earn all the swag that was being handed to me.

Post Race: I look for Joy. I don’t see her. I wait still no Joy… hmph? I need to go to the bathroom. Hey look! There’s my same toilet from this morning and it’s available right before grabbing my morning cloths bag. Inside the amphitheater there’s athlete food. I grab a piece of pizza… it’s pretty good but the beer was refreshing! I grabbed another one and start to find the exit… There’s Joy! But she chose not to carry around my change of cloths so she tells me to wait and she’ll run to the car and get the bag. Okay by me… by now I am limping badly as my right toe is in so much pain. I lie down in the grass under the shade of a tree and rest my eyes… soon I hear my name. Joy is back. She lets me know Susie said Barry is done with his shower and to come to their hotel room to shower. No arguments from me!!

After the shower, the four of us head over to the BrewHouse for cheeseburgers and beers! The place is buzzing with athletes and their families. We’re told it’ll probably be a while before a place for 4 opens up… just then next to us a group gets up and says, “We’re done!” We join a table with 4 Australians whose 20 something athlete is eager to compare race notes! I tell Joy I’m gonna run and grab my gear real quick and I’ll be right back since the restaurant said I could bring my bike inside. Now back, beers arrive, laughter commences, and tummies are soon full. We say our goodbyes and grab our gear as we head our separate ways but make plans for Barry and Susie to swing by Theoule the next day and join us for lunch as they take off for Provence.

Now back at the apartment… I start to unpack my gear bags. But wait!! “Joy!! Did you grab the Australian guy’s bike gear bag?” She said she just reached under the table and grabbed what was there. “oh no” I thought… How am I gonna be able to find this guy and get his helmet and shoes back to him? I look at the bag and notice the race number… “AH! I’ll look at the race roster and get a name and contact Ironman and drive it into lost and found… They’ll have his contact information.  I look at the name associated with the number 480… it’s Barry Edwards. 

Back at Hotel Beau Rivage, Barry is telling Susie, “That Australian dude took my bike gear!”