Challenge Iceland

CHALLENGE ICELAND  

JEN'S RACE REPORT  

World's northernmost half distance race!

Challenge Iceland has come and gone, and what a challenge it was!! Not only was I challenged on race day, I was challenged months before the race. I was challenged to face my fears and to overcome them, as I took on the most incredible breathtaking course in Iceland!!

Those who were following my training would know that I was slightly terrified of swimming in COLD glacier water with possible temps of 10-12 C. I was truly worried my body would not be able to handle the cold, and that I wouldn't even be able to finish the race let alone start!

Regardless, I still very much wanted to do this beautiful, scenic, race of a lifetime. The only way to know if I'd survive the swim was to sign up and give it a try! ( and also purchase EVERY cold water swim accessory possible!) 

 I did question my sanity a few times. Why am I attracted to crazy ideas? Why can't I do normal local races? Why can't I just take a vacation and relax, and the list goes on. Even my 8 year old son seemed to have more common sense than me. Not long before the race, I was getting out of a very COLD shower. There I stood wrapped in a towel, shivering with my teeth chattering uncontrollably. My son Trevor walked in the room and the conversation went like this:

Trevor:  "Mom, what's wrong?"    

Me: "I just had a cold shower, I'm freezing, I'm training for Iceland"

Trevor: (shaking his head )

" Mom...why are you doing this? You are not used to cold water... I don't want you to die"

Well, the good news is I didn't die. I survived and conquered the most Challenging out of this world beautiful race course I've ever raced, and it feels AWESOME!!

My husband (Chris) and I at the finish.

                                            Pre-race check in and Pasta party

Check-in : The first person my husband Chris and I met was Ranna, the founder of Tri4her. Ranna  recently invited me to become an Ambassador for TRI4HER and I was really looking forward to meeting her. She was super friendly, and welcoming and it was so nice to finally meet in person. We received our race kit, and the most beautiful Challenge Iceland Hoodie. ( If it's not enough to do the race for the gorgeous scenery, do it for the BEST race shirts EVER!!! :)
 

At the pasta party we got a taste of some AMAZING Icelandic food.
Dinner consisted of Pasta, fresh bread, yams and the best salmon( fresh catch of the day) I have ever tasted in my LIFE . I'm not much of a seafood person but I would eat Salmon everyday if it tasted like that back home!
As we ate we listened to the race briefing from the race organizers, while their sense of humor eased any pre-race nerves. We met the nicest fellow athletes at our table who were from Denmark and Scotland. We chatted all things triathlon, and we knew right then this would be an unforgettable race. 
Challenge Iceland inaugural race consisted of:
-103 participants
-from 23 countries
-29 females
-74 males
-80 volunteers

                                                                           Race morning:

My husband and I lucked out with the most perfect cabin overlooking the lake near the swim start. It was beautiful and peaceful, a little piece of heaven on earth.  Race morning we awoke at 7am for a 10am race start.We started suiting up for the race at the cabin, then loaded our bikes in the car and drove down the gravel road to the race start. It was mentioned to keep the gate to the cabin closed to prevent sheep from entering the property. My husband left the gate open for just 2 minutes, as he dropped our bikes down at the race start one at a time. I waited at the race start, wondering what was taking him so long to come back. It turns out 4 sheep wandered onto the property and were staring him down when he returned!  There was my husband, having a true Icelandic experience rounding up sheep before the race start!

Overloooking the race start from our cabin

Some of the sheep Chris rounded up prior to the race start!

I don't think I stopped smiling since race check-in!!
 Ranna founder of Tri4Her-  and myself prior to race start.

Swim  - 1.9 km

 One loop in Lake
Meðalfellsvatn. 
The glacier lake was crystal clear and the temperature was 15C. It was definitely not as cold as expected!!
Chris and I did a practice swim the day prior and it seemed to help acclimatize.  I believe the 3 months of cold showers also really helped! The fresh water lake was so clean and crystal clear, we could practically drink it as we swam!
What I wore:
wetsuit, ear plugs, booties, skull cap and swim cap

Photo credit-Arnold Bjornsson 

T1  

It was by far my slowest T1 ever. My hands were very cold and numb after the swim which made it hard to dress.  I made the mistake of wearing a swimsuit under my wetsuit, and changing into my trisuit thinking I would be warmer on the bike. Big mistake! It seemed to take forever to get dressed! The volunteers were super helpful in helping me out.
     What I would do differently?:
NOT change- I would wear compression calf sleeves under wetsuit and not change into compression socks. ( putting compression socks on when wet is an entire event it itself!)

I would take the advice from the pros -my husband and I were chatting with Justin Metzler and Heather Wurtele and they suggested garbage bags or mylar under race kit and booties on the bike- I must try this!


Bike- 90km
An out and back bike course, that winded it's way through the diverse fjord landscape on the main road of Hvalfjörður. It was a quiet road, and one the most iconic bike routes in Iceland (total elevation 920m). 
 It rained from the start of the bike and the fog was heavy at first.
It was the most stunning jaw dropping scenery I have ever cycled. After the turn around on the way back, the fog lifted and I saw even more breathtaking scenery that was hiding behind the fog. Sometimes it pays to be at the back of the pack :)

Prior to the race I was concerned that there wasn't a shoulder to cycle on and that the roads would not be closed to traffic. It turned out to be a very quiet, newly paved road with not many cars. The cars  that did pass were very respectful and moved into the other lane as they passed. There were some steep and long climbs on the course that made for fun descents! 

I was hoping to see my husband out on the course. I kept thinking... I bet he will be looking down, getting his water bottle when I see him.-  I saw him as I was headed for the turn around, and he was looking down getting his water bottle! :) I yelled his name but he didn't hear me. Turns out he forgot to take out his earplugs from the swim, and didn't realize it until a nice volunteer in transition asked him if he would like to take out his earplugs for the run! I laugh every time I think of it, for once I had someone to laugh at besides myself!  All I heard from Chris after the race was " I can't believe I forgot to take out my earplugs - I looked like Frankenstein out on the bike!!"

What I wore:
Wore gloves and a jacket, short sleeved cycling jersey over my tri top and arm warmers.
I dressed in many layers because I didn't want to risk cramping or pulling a muscle. I wanted to enjoy the course without shivering and being cold! (  I'm always cold!!)

Photo courtesy of Photographer-Arnold Bjornsson

T2 :

My T2 was faster than T1! The rain had stopped and I removed my jacket for the run

Run- 21.1 km
It was a two loop run course along beautiful country roads in Kjós with long hills.

The rain stopped and it began to warm up. It was easy to break up the run. There was a short out and back section, then an out and back to the top of the hill, and then repeat. There simply was not a bad view anywhere in Iceland! The volunteers were friendly and helpful at all the aid stations. I saw my husband out on the course and stopped for a kiss. Fellow athletes were supportive and cheering each other on to the end. ( I was actually hot on the run course!!)
What I would do differently:
Buy a new watch! My watch couldn't get a location signal until about 1km into the run. I don't think I've ever raced without a watch issue!

Greeted with big hug at the finish from my husband, and then refueled in the food tent.  Post-race food consisted of amazing hot Icelandic soup ( I won't even try and pronounce what kind it was!) fresh baked bread and homemade hummus. Simply delicious!!

Awards party :

I felt a bit disappointed with my time, and so at the Awards party I  drowned my sorrows in some Icelandic beer. ( good beer by the way!)  It became glaringly obvious to me at the Awards Party that there were a total of 4 people in my age group, and 3 of them were standing on the podium. Needless to say I felt a bit disappointed with myself. However, I had to remind myself that's not why I came. I came to see the most stunning scenery, to see the world on a bike and two legs, and to meet some incredible people. I am grateful I accomplished all of that and much more. As long as there is triathlon, there will always be the opportunity to place on the podium!
The best part was the warm welcome I received when I arrived back home. Two big hugs from my kids and their words  "Congratulations Mom on finishing your race!! You worked so hard for that!!"
That made it all worthwhile! :) 




1st Male Pro-Kevin Collington (USA) 4:00:15
1st Female Pro- Heather Wurtele (CAN)4:24:00  
Full race results : http://www.challengeiceland.is/results/

Congratulations to fellow Canadian and the first place female -Heather Wurtele !! Heather is a true pro through and through! I had the pleasure of chatting with Heather as we were getting our wetsuits on before the race, and she was  SO relaxed and friendly!!

Post race thoughts  

I absolutely LOVED the Challenge Iceland race! It was a race of a lifetime!  It was the most challenging, yet scenic bike course I've ever cycled . The views were all worth it! Just check out the amazing race day photographs from Arnold Bjornsson , who captured some phenomenal race day memories. Thank you to all the hard work the race organizers did to help make this experience what it was, and thank you to all the helpful volunteers. The Challenge Iceland team really took care of their athletes. It was such a great positive atmosphere with friendly people to top it off.

 We are all much more capable of what we give ourselves credit for. 
If you want to be challenged, rewarded, and left with memories that will last a lifetime, then I highly recommend Challenge Iceland as your next race!!!! 

Head on over to The Bruised Banana for more international triathlon race reports from triathletes worldwide! 
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We DID IT !! We came and conquered Challenge Iceland!!!!

Finally some warm water!!! A Post race dip -enjoying the midnight sun!

 

Home sweet home for the night!