I had to write up a report ;-)
Ironman Roth, Bavaria
9 hrs 51 mins
140th out of a 3,000 startlist, that includes all the pros
3.8km swim 1 hr 5 mins
180km bike 5 hrs 9 mins (ave speed - 22mph)
Marathon 3 hrs 27 mins
Ironman number six, this time in Germany.
The trip
Travelled out with Steve and Dave and met up with Richard who had driven 600km from Austria on the Friday. Stayed around 20km outside the village of Roth. Great to all do a race together, the first time since 2002. All three finished (12hrs 27, 12 hrs 54 and 12 hrs 40). Thanks guys for an awesome weekend.
Swim
100m swim to the start line and decided to jostle my way to the front row right under the start-rope. Felt mega-relaxed before the gun went, then we were off into the early morning mist covering the Donau canal. Enjoyed the swim, fairly uneventful, received the inevitable kick in the face from an early morning breast-stroker at the 1.5km mark as I caught the wave that had started 5 mins before, but the aqua sphere goggles stayed firm. Stretch-cord training and drills have improved my catch and technique overall - given I'd done around 2/3 of the swim training done at this point last year a PB time of 1hr 5 flat gave me a big lift at the swim exit.
Bike
OK, I'd been looking forward to this for months - it was now hammer-time on the trusty Cervelo P3 with Mavic Comete rear disc wheel and front Zipp 404. The course was two loops, total climbing 1700m including the three famous climbs, one of which, Der Solarberg!, has a Tour de France feel as thousands of spectators part as you make your way up. I knew I was in shape for this, I'd done a >5hr ride early every Sunday morning since the start of March and 5 since late April that were 100 mile +, two of which were 125 mile + and followed by 20 mile runs home from work Monday night at 7.5min mile pace - red zone training! The bike course was awesome, mainly due to the support. As well as the support on the hills there were beer miles in most of the small villages we passed through where the senior ranks of each village sat proudly with their wives at long tables with hundreds of beers in front of them shouting 'Hop, Hop, Hop!' - all this at 9 o'clock in the morning. I arrived at 90km in 2 hrs 37 feeling strong.
Between 90km and 180km was the key to my race, felt real strong, down on the aeros absolutely cranking and passed a ton of riders. T2 was fast approaching and the reality of a crack at sub-10 started to appear. Negative split on the bike, so 2 hrs 32 for the second loop for a 5hr 9 total - a massive PB by 28mins.
Run
Onto the run course but not until I had ensured that one of the helpers had administered a load of factor 30. I think I was up there in the whiteness/no-tan competition, everyone else seemed to have been on the beach for months. Hit the run course after 6 hrs 23 mins of racing - needed to do a 3hr 37 marathon to do the sub-10. I'd never hammered the bike course like that so waited with anticipation for my first 5 k split. The run was one loop with two out and backs along the canal taking in a couple of villages and some hilly forest. First 5 k up in 24mins and felt great, 'keep it up', broke the first half marathon into 5 km splits, passed a load of runners and wasn't passed by anyone. 5k splits to 20k were 24.01, 23.25, 22.57, 24.08 and I hit the half marathon point in 1 hr 40. The aid station drill, every 2km, was grab four sponges, squeeze all the water out over head, drink alternating coke/energy drink, drink water, have electrolyte gel every 45 mins, feel like vomiting, feel better 30 seconds later. At the 15km mark we passed through a village where the entire village had turned out and a full-on party was happening, whole families dressed in their Sunday togs, 'Hop, Hop, Hop', rattles, more beer, 100s of small kids with sponges at the aid station, incredible to run through that. Suck in the energy. So back to km 21, I now had to run the final half in 1 hr 56. This half was tougher with hills through the forest and the sun was out with no cloud cover. 5k splits from 20-40k were 24.14, 27.18 (the hills), 25.37, 24.49. After the hilly section was the point of the race where I felt the worst. 12 k still to go, and I needed to do it in less than 1 hr 10. I needed to flick the switch and hammer again. There is always some serious 'DOOF, DOOF' out on an Ironman run course and there it was, absolutely blasting from masses of speakers, at the top of what turned out to be the last hill (the 30k mark). I got lucky as Steppenwolf's 'Born To Be Wild' was blasting out….. 'I LIKE SMOKE AND LIGHTNING, HEAVY METAL THUNDER, RACIN' WITH THE WIND, AND THE FEELIN' THAT I'M UNDER!'….. just as I passed the speaker bank the guitar solo kicked in and I was injected with a couple thousand watts of power. 12k, in <1hr 10, do it! The next hour was a mixture of total exhilaration, ever-increasing pain thresholds and 100% focus on the job in hand. The 30-35k 25.37 and 35-40k 24.49 tell the story, that 10k and the final 2 k was an hour of 'normal limits don't apply'. 3hr 27 marathon - another PB, and crossed the line in 9hrs 51. Job done!
The finish line
After having drunk cumulatively around 10 bottles of beer all year I decided to go crazy at the finish line and have one of the Erdinger alcohol free pints that were on offer right at the line (there were 100s of them). As I stepped up to the bench, creaking under the weight of all the beer, I queried to the junge frau 'is this good for you after this kind of race?', she and her friend just laughed at me. So that was it, pint in hand I sat down on the grass in the sun and contemplated the day just gone by - man, did it taste good!
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After rocking up to T2 in less than 7 hours I was brimming withanticipation of how I'd fair on the marathon. I was either completelytorched or anywhere between that and being able to run effectively. Iinstantly felt good and completed the first 5K in 22 minutes. I putthis down to training fatigued for long periods and two sessions a dayin/out of work for months. I was now feeling the benefits of notcatching the train to/from work since during Embrun recovery back inSept 04. The marathon was again three laps, each of just over 14K. Mypace was good for the first twenty miles only slowing during the 2km8% hill (and another headwind) on each lap. The last six miles weretougher as I started to feel the effects of pushing the first 20 butheld it together to run the 20th fastest marathon of the day afterstripping out the pros. The support along the run course closer totown was fantastic including the zulu warriors who were still goingfor it. They were pounding out a great beat and each time I passed Ijust tried to soak up their energy. All of a sudden there was thefinish chute and the clock was still on 10hrs 46, so a sub 11 finishwhich I still don't understand fully. I walked over the line with Leonin my arms. Not often that you feel that good.
It had started to get light at 6.30am and noweverything was in full view. Wetsuit off and bike gear on. I made myfirst and last mistake of the day, I realised I had left my sunglassesbehind after 50 metres of cycling.The 185km bike course is breathtaking. Not only for the 5000m ofaltitude climb but also for the sheer beauty of the landscape throughout. After 100m you are already into your first climb, up to 1250m. For me this is a good thing as I like to get my climbing legson early. The views of Lac Serre Poncon give you a big lift and myfirst rendez-vous with Kata and Leon was planned for 8.45am - 9.15amas the bike course passed straight past the hotel after the initialloop and back past Embrun. I made it here at 8.50am and as Kata wavedher arms and went crazy, Leon just looked up at his mother wonderingwhat the hell was going on. Fortunately all of the time ranges atcertain spots that I'd estimated were borne out on the early side andso there was not too much waiting around for them. After passingthrough Embrun we were off into the mountains. The temperature wasrising, there was not a cloud in the sky and it ended up being a 34degree C day. Bike nutrition consisted of Powerbar Bars and Gels,bananas, Electrolyte/Carbohydrate drink, water and coke. Once onto theslopes of the Col de l'Isoard the numbers of spectators spectacularlyincreased. Their enthusiasm was astonishing. Allez! Courage! C'estbien! C'est superbe! Allez Paul (pronounced 'Allez Pul' which becamemore and more endearing as the day progressed). The french holidaymaker is a wonderful sight, the whole family camped/sat by the roadside, the obligatory chien wandering around, table set up withfull picnic, parasol etc. Allez!! The Isoard is a relentless 2 houreffort, there is not one inch of flat and the road varies from 3 -20%. At various points there were guys keeled over with medicalassistance on hand, administering drips, as their bikes were leftabandoned by the roadside. There were holiday maker cyclists tryingtheir arms on sections of the mountain decked out in US Postal shirtsetc. I found I was leaving these guys for dust which together with theshouting of the crowds spurred me on.
On reaching the top (after 6hours 10 minutes of racing) I felt slightly delerious however this quickly disappeared as I was acosted by two french guys one of whom unzipped my race top to shove a newspaper across my chest then zipback up (to protect against the wind on the way down), and the otherwho brought me my special needs bag. I made sure that I unwrapped the2 ham sandwichs (a treat!), I had prepared in the bathroom earlier,from the foil before starting the descent, took a bite and put them inthe pockets on my back. Also in the bag was a fresh litre ofElecrolyte/ Carbohydrate drink and various energy bars/gels. I was away and all of a sudden clocking 70km/hr on the bike computer.'Concentrate' I remember saying as I approached the first turn. Thefeeling of delerium was still with me and I went round the third turntoo fast, like a speedway motorbike racer, losing the back endcompletely. Not crashing was a miracle and was a firm reality check.There are no safety walls on the mountain and next stop after a crashis somewhere down the mountain side. The descent actually takes yourbreath away, like being in some horrendous fairground ride as youcling to the handlebars trying not to be catapulted off. Oddly I thenfind myself completely alone and cycle for something like twentykilometeres without seeing another racer (apart from one guy who hasparked his bike and is sitting in a village water fountain lookingdazed). The heat at this point is considerable so I concentrate on mynutrition and hydration. At around 140km there is the 2km 15% hillthat I have feared for some time. It springs itself on you with nowarning and you are out of the saddle instantly. There is no way I amgetting off and walking up this. All I remember is seeing the roadlooking like a wall. I make it. I can now do any hill on this courseand no longer fear the bike course. The remaining 45km is a blurapart from the final 5km which is a cruel 10% hill. I make my way upthis as though it is not uphill, I feel like I can climb anything nowand the legs are on autopilot. As I approach the Park Velo in Embrun Ispot Kata and Leon which was a hugely welcome sight, this means thebike is over. As I approach the transition area I almost struggle torealise that I have to stop cycling now. My bike split was 8 hrs28mins. Good.The transition area was like a furnace such was the heat. I reappliedthe factor 50 to arms and shoulders. I was completely white comparedto the French, Spanish and Italian guys who all looked as though theyhad been lying in the sun for months. On with the white reflectivecap, sunglasses, 600ml of electrolyte drink downed and I am away. As soon as I start running I think ' I do not want to do this, my legsfeel like they have been pummeled with baseball bats, it is boilinghot, my stomach feels like a tombola, I want to stop etc'. This lastsfor less than a minute and I then say to myself 'just get on with, youknow your running legs will come in 10 minutes or so'. The usual then.Once out of transition you are hit by a 50m 15% hill, I actually startlaughing. 'This course is ridiculous'. I can see three guys walkingthis. I run it, and end up not walking any part of marathon includingall the hills contributing to the 400m vertical climb you achieve onthe two lap run course. Gradually I begin to feel good. I now feellike I am running fast and decide to keep pushing, in the hope that mynutrition plan will see me through. I have one power bar gel withoutfail every half an hour with around half a litre of water, and havebananas and coke + more water at all the other aid stations. I wasamazed at how quick that half litre gets absorbed. At first it feelslike you've just finished your dinner, then within three minutes itfeels like you are empty again. After circling the lake you arestraight into the 1500m 5% hill up to the top of the cobbled streets of Embrun. Loads of guys walking, hobbling here. Some guys are justkeeled over on the road-side. I run up and this plus more cries of'C'est bien ca, bon' from the roadside spur me on. Now it's a longstretch out to the the River Durance and my pace is good. I'm nowthinking a four hour marathon is possible and a sub-14 hour finish ismaybe on the cards. Thinking about this race back in January, thisseemed an impossibility. Now it was reality, as long as I couldcontinue to push at this pace. 'When will I blow up, it must come'went through my mind many times. The section at the Durance ishorrible. It's an out and back with no shade. Ambulances littered thissection and some guys looked really bad here as they lay down, againwith drips attached. I hope they made it OK. The section after theDurance is a never- ending hill up to Baratier, again I don't walk atall and pass many runners. The first lap is almost done. The crowdsare incredible. Whole families line the roads, the kids running at youwith sponges. People seem to know who 77 is and as soon as I arrive everyone is saying 'Allez Pul!', an advantage of being one of the onlynon-french in the race (the race programme contained the racer numbersand names/nationality). Some people go even further all the way to oneperson shouting 'God save the Queen!'. One italian woman shreeks 'CheBianco'..('look how white he is'). Going through Baratier there is agroup of around 40 people all screaming Allez Pul! Bloody amazing atthat point in the race. As I run back to the finish to start my secondlap I see Kata and Leon again, who are parked up in the shade, andthen off up the 15% stomach churner again. The second lap is a greatmemory. I maintained pace and pushed to the limit, I could not have gone faster. Out on the River Durance section I pass a guy also on hissecond lap who was staying at the same hotel as us. This guy was tall and built for speed, he looked a bit like a cartoon action hero. The day before, Kata said that he looked like one tough cookie and startedworrying about me doing the race. I would definitely be telling herthat I passed him! and at speed. This Frenchman turned out to be avery nice guy, talking to him the next day back in the hotel, hefinished 32 mins behind me, but he did finish, he is now an Embrunman.Back up the punishing hill to Baratier, into Embrun, around the lakeagain and I am 1km from the finish. I know a 4hr marathon is close anda sub 14hr finish is possibly on. I don't look at my watch. I am absolutely sprinting for the line with no let-up. I don't see anyone(apart from Kata, and Leon, who shouts out as I pass) although thatfinal kilometre was absolutley packed with people going crazy. I cutthe tape in 13 hrs 59 mins 42 seconds and have run a 4 hr marathon.
This race was breathtaking, everything I expected and more. By thelength of this report you can probably tell that it meant a lot. Thisrace attracts the best IM Triathletes in France + around 100 international guys and I finished 198th from a 600 start list. Now for a rest!
