I had chosen the Nordschwarzwald Triathlon as my long-distance triathlon because it did not charge exorbitant credit card fees. Its base is in the Swabian/Baden town of Nagold, known to me especially for the palindrome “In Nagold legen Hähne Geld, log Anni” (“In Nagold, roosters lay money, Anni lied”). Since my old steel bike, can calmly withstand the leaning of other bikes often necessary on railway cars, a relaxed journey through the idyllic Nagold Valley with the Deutschlandticket was possible. In the long-distance event, there were just under 200 participants at the start, which made everything more manageable and accordingly more relaxed. The start was at the Nagold Reservoir, about 20 km from Nagold into the Black Forest, and 200 m higher. As June had been very dry, the reservoir had a very low water level, which even the rainy July could barely improve. In the days before, temperatures had reached around 30 degrees Celsius, which was unwelcome for running, but about 30 degrees Celsius, which was unwelcome for running, but on the other hand, the water was pleasantly tempered at 20 degrees. The start in the lake at sunrise was impressive. Two laps were swum, each with a turning point near the dam. Due to my legs sinking down in the water, I couldn't maintain the freestyle for very long and had to switch to breaststroke, occasionally also floating on my back to relax, until I was ready for freestyle again. I took 1:43 hours for 3.8 km, but it took a while to get out of the wetsuit and onto the bike.
Through various summer bike tours, I had already gained heat experience, but at the triathlon, there was a completely different time pressure. The elevation profile looked manageable despite some climbs, without me having to worry about walking the bike. The ride consisted of three laps; the first part of each went out of the Nagold Valley and moderately uphill (at Mindersbach there was a fan zone on the climb, at least in the first two laps) and then from the turning and refreshment point, a bit steeper downhill and back towards Nagold. Already at 40 km, tension in the lower back became noticeable and made me think about giving up. Apparently, my back was not yet accustomed to aerodynamic cycling and therefore stiff. This tension could be relieved with a bit of gymnastics on the saddle, so it was hardly a reason to give up.
A terrible thought had kept me awake in the nights before – what would happen if I got a flat tire? So I packed tools, a spare tube, and a pump on the bike – but this mainly served to help me sleep better before the event. Although I had slept quite well the night before the triathlon, during downhill rides a feeling occasionally occurred that almost felt like drowsiness. Could it perhaps have been caused by the heat combined with the repetitive perhaps due to the heat combined with the repetitive movement and the position of the head? Surely the thought of falling asleep on the saddle is almost as creepy as that of a fork break, even more so than the worry about a flat tire. Realistically, though, a flat would have caused me big problems with the time limit. But after just over 7:09 hours, I had completed the 180k cycling course without a crash, with air in the tires, and almost no sunburn, and all worries had vanished.
Finally, only the marathon remained, by far the best managed discipline, because when running, you can still walk if things aren't going well. By now, however, it was mid-afternoon, and the temperature in the valley was 29 degrees Celsius, which fortunately was lower than on the days before and after. The heat affects running more than cycling, but since I had taken quite a long time for the previous disciplines, the sun was already a bit lower, and trees and buildings cast shade in places, which I would, of course, take advantage of. After being at the back following swimming and even more so after cycling, I was able to make up some places while running. The course ran several laps through the city center, past a sculpture (surely these were the money-laying roosters), along an out-and-back route by the river, and finally once more across the river to the finish. Fortunately, there was a sponge station every kilometer, which helped to cope with the still heated road. Compared to other events, the weather was still relatively pleasant.
Other events, such as the London-Edinburgh-London bike tour and the Heidelberg Triathlon had to be canceled due to bad weather, and at the World Games in China, there was tragically a death during the orienteering event in 42 degrees Celsius heat. Even though I was significantly slower than the average in swimming and cycling, I was still in good shape during the marathon, and it was enough for a decent target-60 time (4:04 h). Afterwards, I was also able to easily ride back, now with bike lights on, to the accommodation not far from the start. Would I do a triathlon of this length again? Maybe, maybe not. Finishing is not unlikely, competition is out of the question. But after all, it's not really a defined game where winning is the goal, but an open-ended game.
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