Slateman is the first of the three race “Adventure Triathlon Series” set in North Wales, alongside the Snowman and Sandman. Meeting the key criteria of hilly courses and amusing names (see also Swedeman and Bearman on my wish list), I decided to make the new, longer “Legend” series the focus of my 2019 summer.
Only two weeks after my last race in Pontevedra, Slateman arrived a bit quicker than I’d hoped. Having maintained my 100% record of running injuries from events, I’d spent the intervening fortnight doing an extensive running taper – sat with an ice pack on my foot knowing the best thing I could do for my chances was nothing but rest (between swimming and cycling)… I felt relatively under prepared and was pinning my hopes on my foot surviving, fitness holding from Spain and my body coping with a mountainous trail route after training almost entirely on road.
Arriving at the race village in Llanberis, I was reminded why I enjoy these kind of events – no queues at registration, a very sociable 8.30am start time and a friendly atmosphere amongst all the athletes. The early rain hadn’t arrived as forecast, but neither had any miraculous warmth and for the second race in a row I learnt our swim would be shortened due to the cold, although only slightly down to 1,500m.
With water temperature of 12 degrees in Padarn Lake, and having had recent problems with leg cramps in cold water, I wasn’t complaining. We were invited to start warming up 15 minutes before the start and a few brave/naive souls tentatively started to wade in making a variety of disconcerting noises. I hung back with my fellow wimps/experienced athletes, before finally tip toeing in a minute before the start. At first, I thought it was the coldest water I had ever been in and my face was sure to fall off by the end. In the end, it wasn’t too bad though and the swim was a pretty orderly affair without any of the usual scramble from mass starts. For the first time ever I managed to find a pair of feet to follow, who I tried to thank by only tapping their feet once, then sprinting past them as we got out the water…
I managed to get out of T1 without cramping, although in a new personal worst time as I fought to get arm warmers and gloves on with numb, wet hands. Out on the bike it was immediately pretty cold though, and as I started to catch some faster-changing athletes felt glad of the extra layers.
The bike course starts with a lengthy climb up Pen-y-Pas – a good warming effort and chance to assess how many athletes were up ahead. By midway, I sensed I was close to the front and could only see one cyclist ahead, about a minute up the road. Trying not to burn out too much, whilst simultaneously thinking I need to make every hill count, I set about trying to reel them in. I reached him just as we passed the youth hostel at the summit, only to find he wasn’t even in the race… Either way, I was now confident I was on the front.
I continued to feel strong on the bike, enjoying the rare feeling of well-rested legs, and was again thanking my gloves on a chilly descent, when I had to make a sharp stop at a car accident that had queues forming on both sides and heavy police presence. I was able to slowly roll my way through, simultaneously thinking “I hope everyone’s OK” (they were) and “this is going to cause chaos with the race”, spending the next hour convinced all the effort I was putting in was in vain, as they’d probably have to cancel the race or re-route it. In the end, the organisers did well to quickly get a marshall to that point for people’s safety, and whilst most people were similarly slowed down everyone made it through.
The inevitably wet Welsh weather came and went, but never completely obscured the impressive views, and as I completed the reverse ascent of Pen-y-Pas before the final descent into Llanberis a marshall confirmed I was leading the race. With no-one in sight behind me on the climb, I knew I must have a few minutes’ advantage going into the run.
As always, the run would be the moment of truth. I’d debated beforehand between trail or road shoes – I wanted the answer to be road, but the race briefing and wet conditions suggested trail shoes were the answer. However, after a pre-race straw poll in transition ended in a tie I went with the road pair and think this was best – with only about two of the 13 miles not on a reasonable path.
The highlight of the run is a switchback climb around two miles in, up the slate quarry which gives the event its name. At this point I started to meet some company as I caught up athletes doing the shorter “classic” distance. Aware that being overtaken on a hill is the last thing you want when struggling up yourself, the support I received from other athletes as I went past was great and very welcome after spending the bike out on my own. In return all I can say is I was suffering just as much, and with heart rate at 185 knew I was probably pushing too hard – although it was impossible to do any less without walking.
As I descended off the first hill my course split off from the “classic” athletes and I was again by myself, being congratulated for leading by each marshall but with no idea of the margin. I just had to run my own race and hope I wasn’t being reeled in (I accept that “not knowing how much you’re winning by” is a nice problem to have…). A worse problem was that by mile seven my foot was making pretty loud complaints and there was still another big climb up the lower slopes of Snowdon itself. I pushed the pain to the back of my mind and promised myself another two weeks off with an an ice pack if I could keep going.
As I reached the top of this final climb I couldn’t see anyone on the trail behind me and was confident as long as I kept moving, I should have the win. It was a great feeling running back into Llanberis, high fiving spectators and lifting the finish tape (although the photographer thought I messed this up, as five minutes later I had to pose for another finish line picture – I’m sure some of the crowd thought I was milking it). The race announcer even interviewed me over the microphone, although I made him wait having just taken a big mouthful of “recovery” chocolate – my first celebrity moment and already a diva.
In the end I finished in 4:38:42 – really happy with my race across all disciplines and well clear of second place. My foot wasn’t feeling great, and writing this a few days later everything is still sore, but I expect that’s the same for everyone who left it all out on the course. The Slateman is a brilliantly organised event, with a route honest enough to test anyone but a friendly atmosphere for novices too. Already looking forward to part two of the Adventure Triathlon Series at Snowman in July.
