Triathlon and Sausages

What a memorable week I spent at Challenge Roth 2023 edition. Although my performance at this epic race was not what I expected, I had an amazing experience on race week.

The Perfect Plan

This was my 13th Full distance Triathlon. One thing I’ve learned through the years of training and racing is that there’s almost never a perfect preparation. Somehow, life gets in the way, wether it’s family, work, injuries or illness. Just 10 days before the race I got sick with a Flu. I was feeling so bad that I even considered not going to the event. But preparing for an Ironman is no joke. All the time devoted to training leaving family aside was a big sacrifice and not racing meant throwing everything to trash. So finally I decided to go ahead and travel to Germany. I knew eventually I would feel ok before the race.

Arriving to Roth

13 hours flight from Chile to France. A layover at Paris and a short flight to Nuremberg. Then a short drive on a rental car to the city of Roth. All went pretty smooth considering my sore throat. Bike and luggage arrived in time.

All lodging options were taken in Roth, so I booked the closest hotel to the city and race venue. It was “Bratwurst Hotel” or better “Sausage Hotel”. I was really curious… Why someone would name a hotel Sausage Hotel?

I arrived around 3pm and was received by the Hotel Manager and owner Claus Böbel. It immediately caught my attention his kindness and hospitality. He checked me in very quickly and showed me my room. The hotel or Guest House was fully decorated with Sausage style. Everything from bed pillows to hand soaps were sausages. The wall paper and ceiling printed with green pigs. All in “Green” institutional colors.

After getting my luggage to my room I decided to unpack and assemble my bike. During this process Claus told me a bit of the history of the hotel and how he would welcome athletes all over the world to race at Challenge Roth.

After assembling my bike I noticed that one of the shifters was not working. It seemed that I broke one of the connection cables while putting the bike together. I told Claus I would have to take the bike to a Mechanic to fix this issue. 10 minutes later he came back and told me he called 2 bike stores in town and one of them had the cable! Just needed to go next day to the bike shop and they would get me a new cable. Problem solved. What a service!

Dinner at the hotel was equally customized to your own needs. Of course, the specialty were “Sausages” with an incredible variety of flavors. Ranging from Mustard, Tomato, Cheese, Chili, Beef, you name it!

After dinner, Claus offered me a ride to Roth to show me the surroundings, supermarkets, restaurants and the Event area.

Next day I went to the bike store and left the bike with the mechanic. He was expecting me and said he would take the whole day installing the bike cable. Since I was not feeling well yet, I was in no hurry. I took the rest of the day to relax and visit the downtown of Roth.

Later that afternoon an Italian Pro Athlete arrive to the hotel. Elisabetta Curridori and his boyfriend Jim Thijs. During dinner we shared our stories and agreed on going swimming together the next morning. It was time to get in race week mode and see if I would be capable of racing on Sunday.

Back to Training

Roth has an amazing Olympic pool. I did a 2K swim set to test my body. Felt pretty well. Later, went to pick up my bike and then to the Expo to the athlete registration. Challenge Roth’s Expo Village was impressive. All mayor brands of bikes, nutrition and gear were there. To be honest it was the biggest one I’ve ever been.

Later that afternoon another athlete arrived to the hotel. Stijn came from the Netherlands. A very tall guy with great sense of humor.

It was now Friday and the juices started pumping. 50 minute bike ride and a 30 minute run to test the legs. Again, I felt well but this time I noticed that my heart rate was strangely high. I didn’t give it too much thought.

It was Carboloading day and Claus and his family fixed us an amazing dinner with all sorts of dishes. Even brought delicious ice cream to make all our wishes true.

Saturday morning started with Mandatory Race Briefing. Then a short bike and run before Bike Check in at the Swim Start. At bike check in I realized the magnitud of this event. It was all crowded of athletes and people that came to support. The transition area was impressive. An enormous field with thousands of bikes perfectly aligned. The process wen smoothly and in little time I was back in the hotel to rest before the big day.

VIP Treatment

Challenge Roth it’s a bit complicated logistically for athletes. The swim start is located far from the city, where the finish line is. You need to park your car in race morning near the Swim Start. Post race collect your bike and bags from T2 and then take a bus where you parked your car in the morning. Maybe not that complicated, but after swimming, biking and running for the whole day, maybe it’s a bit too much. But lucky me, Claus offers a special service to his guests. He drops you at the swim start in morning and then post race, picks you up in car after you collect your bike and other stuff! Unbelievable!

Race Day

Woke up at 3:30 am. Coffee was served at 3:45 with all the breakfast treats. At 4:45 sharp Claus took us to the Swim Start. Arrived at 5 am. Few people around, so perfect to prep my bike and nutrition before the rest of the 5000 athletes arrive! It was cold but the forecast for the day was a bit hot. So temperature would raise quickly. German organization was impecable. Everything was well signposted. At 6am it was all crowded with athletes. Put on my wetsuit at 6:15 and then headed to the Swim Start area. 6:30am Male Pro Athletes start. 5 minutes later, pro women and then in waves of 5 minutes the rest of the mortals. My wave was number 6. At 7:05. No way to cheat, the swimming cap was printed with your wave number and starting time!! On each start the Cannon firing! Every time the cannon fired, it would caught me unexpectedly making me jump… Time to get in the water.

The swim at Roth is inside a Canal. A rectangle shape swim course. Very easy to navigate. Even on the sides of the Canal there are signs that indicate the distance you are covering! I don’t really know how many athletes were in my wave start as I immediately got in and swam to the start point that was marked with a floating line. At 7:05am the Canon fired and it was race on! Sprinted hard for about 3 minutes to get away from the mass of people and then settled in a good consistent pace. Feeling very well, no issues passing people and really enjoying the moment. In the shore of the Canal you could see expectators cheering for athletes. What a thrilling atmosphere! Cleared the last buoy and then straight to the swim exit. I knew I had a good swim, but you never know for sure. Some volunteers helping athletes get out of the water. Feet on the ground and then jogging my way into transition. A quick glance at my watch, 58 minutes. Not bad as my goal was to get it done below 1 hour.

Grabbed my bike bag and entered the changing tent. A volunteer helped me to get my race number on and put my wetsuit in the bag. All done in no time. Then off to my bike. Helmet on and ran to the mounting area.

Started pedaling well motivated as the day was going as planned. First 5K went pretty fast and immediately I noticed lots of athletes on the course. All on “Super bikes” and pushing hard pace. The road was in very good condition. Settling in my pace and passing many people on the way. Then I realized there were actually very few gaps of solo pedaling. The course was full of athletes and there was serious drafting happening. I kept my distance and surged if needed to pass people. Rolling fast course. Much more faster than I expected. The only hard hill of the course was 4K long and not too steep. I followed my plan and didn’t get carried away by emotions. Stayed on top of nutrition and well hydrated. The only technical downhill came now and I took it very cautiously. I was not willing to risk anything.

Goose Bumps at Solar Hill

All of a sudden I noticed a very large crowd of people ahead. It was time for Solar Hill! Music out loud, people drinking beer and a very narrow corridor on which athletes needed to steer their way up hill. It was very hard not to get excited. Couldn’t help it and started waving my arm making the crowd get crazier! I never experienced something like this.

First lap goes really fast. My average speed was 36.2km/hr, much better than I expected. This gave me more motivation to keep holding the pace for the second lap. Unfortunately, this time the course was a lot more crowded with much more athletes around. Now cyclists from relays joined the second loop and now it looked more like a Cycling race than a triathlon. Even at sometimes it got a bit dangerous when trying to pass Pelotons of cyclists. I just kept my mind on the race and did my best to do it honestly and safe. Around 40K to finish and suddenly my heart rate started to raise significantly. Keeping the same pace was getting too hard. I struggled to maintain it but eventually fatigue kicked in and my legs started to not feel well. I felt frustrated because I knew I trained my body to hold this effort and now I’m failing to perform. Arrived to T2 and I started to feel the heat as well. I dismounted and a volunteer grabbed my bike. My legs felt sore as I tried to jog my way to the changing tent. Another volunteer got my run bag already. She helped me to get all the stuff quickly. I then made a quick stop at the toilet before started the Marathon.

The Survival Game

I immediately noticed that this would be a hot run. I settled in my pace according to my heart rate but I could tell that I was running significantly slower for the effort I was putting. Nevermind, I can accept this slower pace as long as I can keep running. At 5K I entered the infamous Canal which everybody talks about. To be honest, I found it quite nice. Lot’s of shadows and even some breeze now and then. Lot’s of aid stations with many helping hands. I managed to keep a steady pace for the first hour. Then the Canal became exposed to the sun and no aid stations in a long time. Then I understood what everybody was talking about. I made the turn around at 18K and began to feel the heat and the agony of knowing I still had a long distance to cover. 21K and my worst fears came true, as I started walking… I was in a hole. How the hell I’m going to finish the race? The fight between mind and body began. I needed to make it out of the Canal. After that I had the hope it would get better. So I jogged and walked until eventually I made it out and entered the city. There where’s lot’s of shadow sections. I started to feel better and carried on with a steady jog. Much slower but at least I was not walking. It was 30K into the marathon and I knew I was going to make it. At 33K an uphill section put my legs in misery once more. Claus and his family appeared in the side of the road cheering for me! Just when I needed the most. So I kept jogging… 36K and I made the final turn around that would bring me to the city and the finish line. It was now downhill for the most part. Thank God! Everything hurts… The last 2K felt like eternity. Crowds of people cheering in the streets helped to keep going. All of a sudden I entered the Stadium. Music, flags waving, more people cheering and I hear names of the finishers in a Speaker. A few turns in the green carpet and I see the finish line in front of me. A few more steps and the suffering will be over. I crossed the finish line with mixed emotions but for the most part happy. My goal was to finish in 9 hours 45 minutes and did it in 10:05.

Post race Celebration at the Hotel

I made it to the recovery area where I got a nice glass of beer. Sat down for a while until I had energy to move. The place was full of food, drinks and everything you needed to recover. I took my time and then had recovery drinks. Then grabbed my post race bag and went to the “Shower Area”. Yes, you can take a shower post race and change to clean cloths. I took the time to text my family and let them know I was ok.

I made it out of the recovery area and walked to T2 to get my bike and race bags. Next, I texted Claus, so he could pick me up at the main road. 10 minutes later he arrived and we headed to the hotel. The rest of my friends arrived one by one. During dinner, everybody shared their stories of pain and suffering. Drinks, lot’s of Sausages and Ice Cream. We laughed and had and amazing time.

I can’t thank enough Claus and Monika for their hospitality during my stay at Bratwurst Hotel. You made this trip and and incredible experience and gave me the chance to share with great people. I came with no expectations at all and left Germany with my heart full of lovely memories.

Thanks to my Coach Armando Galarraga for encouraging me to make the trip and race eventhough I was not in my best condition. We will have our payback in November! Thanks to my family for the support during the whole process. To my lovely partner of life “Mane” for your understanding and unconditional support.