Next up......The Ironman Triathlon World Championship
11 October 2008
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
1,500 of the meanest swim/bike/runners on the planet, going from the gun!
Next Up......The Big Island!!!
Next up......The Ironman Triathlon World Championship
11 October 2008
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
1,500 of the meanest swim/bike/runners on the planet, going from the gun!
Ironman Canada August 2008
Ironman Canada 2008
Penticton, British Columbia
24/08/08
9hrs 53mins finish for 64th overall from 2206 (including 58 pro) starters. 12th in 35-39 Age Group. 31st Age Grouper home overall.
Qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, October 2008!
SWIM 1:04:30 3.8km
BIKE 5:09:50 180km
RUN 3:31:07 Marathon
OVERALL 9:53:32
RANK 64 of 2206
DIV.POS. 12 of 315 in 35-39 Age Group
TOTAL SWIM 2.4 miles (1:04:30)
PACE 1:41/100m
RANK at end of Swim 298
DIV.POS. at end of Swim 57
FIRST BIKE SEGMENT 42.5 miles (1:58:30) Pace: 21.52 mph
FINAL BIKE SEGMENT 69.5 miles (3:11:20) Pace: 21.79 mph
TOTAL BIKE 112 miles (5:09:50) Pace: 21.69 mph
RANK at end of Bike 89
DIV.POS. at end of Bike 18
FIRST RUN SEGMENT 13.1 miles (1:45:40) Pace: 8:03/mile
FINAL RUN SEGMENT 13.1 miles (1:45:27) Pace: 8:02/mile
TOTAL RUN 26.2 miles (3:31:07) Pace: 8:03/mile
RANK at end of Run 64
DIV.POS. at end of Run 12
TRANSITION TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 5:36
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 2:29
Pre-race........Holiday :-))))))))
We headed out to Vancouver a week before the race. I was pretty happy to be away from the office as work had been tough for months. Race day was the following Sunday and up until the Friday pre-race the race was an afterthought, I was extremely relaxed about it, and focused more on spending time with Kata, Leon and Orson (and probably racked up more than the ideal number of pushchair pushing kms). I did complete some training in race-week, all of which was high quality including a 45 min pre-sunset swim in the Vancouver beach open-air 50m lido (had the pool to myself!), a couple of 40 min swims in Lake Okanagan, two bikes of 90 and 60 mins and one 45 min run. I felt ready to go. I knew I was in great shape for this.
The Swim
Race morning had arrived and I was up at 4am. Two cups of strong coffee, then breakfast and then onto 8% electrolyte drink. One Mocha Clifshot gel(50mg of caffeine) 30mins before the 7.00am race start, and one Powerbar gel 15 mins before the start. As I stepped onto the sandy beach for the swim start, ACDC's 'Highway to Hell' was playing LOUD (full volume!) over the loudspeakers - a good way to start the day! The Canadian national anthem was played and it was time to get it on. I felt extremely focused. The cannon went and we were off. The first 500 metres were more about getting oxygen than swimming - 2,200 starters, from 33 countries, IM Canada is the largest mass start in triathlon and you knew it if you were in the water! - People were swimming all over the place as opposed to in a straight line, I tried to ignore this and just swam straight for the turn-buoy. I finally broke clear and found my own rhythm. I'd swam 300km in training this year including some decent long straight swims in the run-up (including one straight swim of 3 miles in the London Fields open-air 50m lido - that is a long swim!). Out of the water in 298th spot in 1hr 4mins and I didn't feel like I'd used up too much energy. Once out of the water two Canadian women shouted at me to 'lie down!' and proceeded to wrench my wetsuit off. I said 'thankyou!?' and made my way through T1, very slowly! (five and a half minutes!), and headed eagerly for my bike.
The Bike
You know, biking is unlike swimming and running in that you can find pain that you never knew existed if you look for it hard enough. In the three weeks 7,8 and 9 weeks out from race day I achieved some incredible riding in training. 262, 258 and 290 miles respectively spread across three rides each week, two of >3hrs and one >6hrs (also >100 miles). I'd ridden pretty well at my third attempt at Lanzarote in May 2008 and had taken twenty minutes off my 2006 ride time but had been on the limit pretty much the whole ride. I wanted to ride these three weeks on the limit and beyond in order that I'd be able to ride faster and with a lower heart rate (and not on the limit) in the actual race in Canada. I took a spacer out of the front stem in order to be lower (and more aero) and left the house on all these rides with the intention of finding as much pain as possible , working through it and then finding the next levels of pain! Kind of psycho right? It worked and at the end of those three weeks I was riding at a totally different level. Of course these three weeks were backed up by a huge volume of lower intensity work that allowed me to push it to the maximum and beyond. There is a certain satisfaction in riding the 6th hour of an already hard ride at high intensity and coping with it. I focused on recovery from all of these rides in order to gain the maximum benefit from them. I knew my riding was going well as I was blowing past everyone on the road including groups of riders drafting off one another, cycling-club pelotons and anyone else that was out there!
My 90 min and 60 min rides in race week were on the bike course starting just as it headed out of town. I drove to the same spot on the course and unloaded the bike there. After approx 30 mins you crest the first main climb and it was at this point that I intended to take in my first solid nutrition in the race to take advantage of the downhill from that point and lower heart rate which would help with absorbing the nutrition.
Back to the race, and heading out of town on the bike everyone was really hammering. I thought that either these guys were very fit or they would slow down/blow up at some point. I noticed that most were breathing heavy and rocking in the saddle. Although I was travelling at a greater speed than most I was breathing steady and holding good form, and focused on my heart rate and being patient. I think that never having used a heart rate monitor helped me as I have a pretty good feel on effort level versus where my heart rate is. The 30 minute mark on the ride arrived at the top of the first climb and in went the first Powerbar (containing another 100mg caffeine). It felt like I was starting to absorb it on the downhill which was a big positive. I was extremely strict with my nutrition and alternated with Powerbars on the hour on downhills and Powerbar gels + 250mg salt tablets 30 minutes after on the hour on downhills. I drank no water and only drank 8% electrolyte and then gatorade from the aid stations when I ran out, picking up two extra bottles of 8% electrolyte from special needs at the 120km point.
The Canada bike course is not flat and contains two big climbs, Richter Pass and Yellow Lake + smaller climbs and a ton of rollers.
I maintained my effort level up the long 11km climb to Richter Pass (elevation at summit, 2295 feet), the race was now beginning to stretch out. Just after Richter the wind must have blown my bike computer transmitter slightly out as the computer gave no read out. Rather than risking a potentially disastrous accident I decided not to try to adjust it and decided to 'use The Force' from that point on. Through the rollers, and through the tough rolling Out and Back section at the 120km point. At this point the hammer went down and I increased my effort level but still cycling within myself. It became more and more like being on a solo ride and on the long climb up Yellow Lake (elevation at summit, 2650 feet) I was FLYING. Someone shouted that I was 54th age grouper at this point in the race. On the downhills towards T2 with my chin a couple of mms above the aerobars and with the roar of the deep-section Zipp 404 wheels below me at speeds of 45-50mph I spent a little time thinking about not getting too excited about being up at the front when I hit the run course - stay focused - whilst also taking care not to ride off the course!
Going up Richter Pass
Going up Yellow Lake
As I made my way back through Penticton the crowd support was incredible. Ride time was 5hrs and 9 mins, 112 miles through the mountains at an average speed of 21.69mph! 34th fastest non-professional bike split. Into T2 and a very quick change into running gear (2mins 29 seconds!)and I was out on the marathon course.
The Marathon
My legs felt good, the best they had ever felt at the start of an Ironman marathon. The run course was empty, just one or two guys in my view up the long Main Street - I got a kick out of that - surrounded by a couple of thousand people at the swim start and now it was like running in Greenwich Park near home at 6am. Great crowd support on the way out of town. The run course makes its way along Lake Skaha and is a 13.1 mile fairly straight Out and 13.1 mile Back. There was a headwind on the way out which calmed off for the way back (no tailwind!) and the course was quite undulating particularly in the 10-16 mile section, there was a considerable elevation gain. I really felt very strong and tapped out an average of 8 minute miles over the 26.2 miles.
I concentrated on my effort level and kept my heart rate in check plus again controlled nutrition intake very strictly - I'm no slouch in the mathematics department but maintaining splits on my salt tablet intake and Powerbar gel intake as well as my run splits was quite tough at this stage in the race! This marathon really was an exercise in my head, I was very very focused and totally within my own zone, I really paid no attention at all to the other runners. The >500 miles run focus that I had completed in and out of work in the 14 weeks leading up to Christmas 2007 (mostly in the dark!) was now with me as I continued to pick off runners up the road. At the 10km to go point I remember asking myself 'How much do you want it?' (Kona qualification) - well the fire has been raging for 5 years so no time to slacken off now and I upped my effort level and for the first time in the race I was on the limit and sprinting. I had it in the legs and continued to pick off a few runners, these guys had not been in sight up the road at the 10km to go point, and importantly no-one caught me. Further up the road, close to the finish, I passed two guys in my age group in the last 1km. I ended up running a 3hr 31 marathon on one of the tougher run courses and negative-split the run by a few seconds.
A 9hr 53min finish at Canada, 'sub-10' on a tough course! and I felt electric running down the finishing chute, punching the air as I passed Kata, Leon and Orson.
Confirmation of my Hawaii slot the morning after the race was a massive moment for me, and I was shaking as I paid the race registration dollars! Kind of hard to put it into words, I feel deep satisfaction from the training process achieved over these years - all the early mornings, training day in day out, in and out of work through the dark winters in all weathers, all the >5hr solo rides etc etc.......this moment was the product of a lot of sweat.
And...Thanks to the Iron in my Ironman...Kata, Leon and Orson
Penticton, British Columbia
24/08/08
9hrs 53mins finish for 64th overall from 2206 (including 58 pro) starters. 12th in 35-39 Age Group. 31st Age Grouper home overall.
Qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, October 2008!
SWIM 1:04:30 3.8km
BIKE 5:09:50 180km
RUN 3:31:07 Marathon
OVERALL 9:53:32
RANK 64 of 2206
DIV.POS. 12 of 315 in 35-39 Age Group
TOTAL SWIM 2.4 miles (1:04:30)
PACE 1:41/100m
RANK at end of Swim 298
DIV.POS. at end of Swim 57
FIRST BIKE SEGMENT 42.5 miles (1:58:30) Pace: 21.52 mph
FINAL BIKE SEGMENT 69.5 miles (3:11:20) Pace: 21.79 mph
TOTAL BIKE 112 miles (5:09:50) Pace: 21.69 mph
RANK at end of Bike 89
DIV.POS. at end of Bike 18
FIRST RUN SEGMENT 13.1 miles (1:45:40) Pace: 8:03/mile
FINAL RUN SEGMENT 13.1 miles (1:45:27) Pace: 8:02/mile
TOTAL RUN 26.2 miles (3:31:07) Pace: 8:03/mile
RANK at end of Run 64
DIV.POS. at end of Run 12
TRANSITION TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 5:36
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 2:29
Pre-race........Holiday :-))))))))
We headed out to Vancouver a week before the race. I was pretty happy to be away from the office as work had been tough for months. Race day was the following Sunday and up until the Friday pre-race the race was an afterthought, I was extremely relaxed about it, and focused more on spending time with Kata, Leon and Orson (and probably racked up more than the ideal number of pushchair pushing kms). I did complete some training in race-week, all of which was high quality including a 45 min pre-sunset swim in the Vancouver beach open-air 50m lido (had the pool to myself!), a couple of 40 min swims in Lake Okanagan, two bikes of 90 and 60 mins and one 45 min run. I felt ready to go. I knew I was in great shape for this.
The Swim
Race morning had arrived and I was up at 4am. Two cups of strong coffee, then breakfast and then onto 8% electrolyte drink. One Mocha Clifshot gel(50mg of caffeine) 30mins before the 7.00am race start, and one Powerbar gel 15 mins before the start. As I stepped onto the sandy beach for the swim start, ACDC's 'Highway to Hell' was playing LOUD (full volume!) over the loudspeakers - a good way to start the day! The Canadian national anthem was played and it was time to get it on. I felt extremely focused. The cannon went and we were off. The first 500 metres were more about getting oxygen than swimming - 2,200 starters, from 33 countries, IM Canada is the largest mass start in triathlon and you knew it if you were in the water! - People were swimming all over the place as opposed to in a straight line, I tried to ignore this and just swam straight for the turn-buoy. I finally broke clear and found my own rhythm. I'd swam 300km in training this year including some decent long straight swims in the run-up (including one straight swim of 3 miles in the London Fields open-air 50m lido - that is a long swim!). Out of the water in 298th spot in 1hr 4mins and I didn't feel like I'd used up too much energy. Once out of the water two Canadian women shouted at me to 'lie down!' and proceeded to wrench my wetsuit off. I said 'thankyou!?' and made my way through T1, very slowly! (five and a half minutes!), and headed eagerly for my bike.
The Bike
You know, biking is unlike swimming and running in that you can find pain that you never knew existed if you look for it hard enough. In the three weeks 7,8 and 9 weeks out from race day I achieved some incredible riding in training. 262, 258 and 290 miles respectively spread across three rides each week, two of >3hrs and one >6hrs (also >100 miles). I'd ridden pretty well at my third attempt at Lanzarote in May 2008 and had taken twenty minutes off my 2006 ride time but had been on the limit pretty much the whole ride. I wanted to ride these three weeks on the limit and beyond in order that I'd be able to ride faster and with a lower heart rate (and not on the limit) in the actual race in Canada. I took a spacer out of the front stem in order to be lower (and more aero) and left the house on all these rides with the intention of finding as much pain as possible , working through it and then finding the next levels of pain! Kind of psycho right? It worked and at the end of those three weeks I was riding at a totally different level. Of course these three weeks were backed up by a huge volume of lower intensity work that allowed me to push it to the maximum and beyond. There is a certain satisfaction in riding the 6th hour of an already hard ride at high intensity and coping with it. I focused on recovery from all of these rides in order to gain the maximum benefit from them. I knew my riding was going well as I was blowing past everyone on the road including groups of riders drafting off one another, cycling-club pelotons and anyone else that was out there!
My 90 min and 60 min rides in race week were on the bike course starting just as it headed out of town. I drove to the same spot on the course and unloaded the bike there. After approx 30 mins you crest the first main climb and it was at this point that I intended to take in my first solid nutrition in the race to take advantage of the downhill from that point and lower heart rate which would help with absorbing the nutrition.
Back to the race, and heading out of town on the bike everyone was really hammering. I thought that either these guys were very fit or they would slow down/blow up at some point. I noticed that most were breathing heavy and rocking in the saddle. Although I was travelling at a greater speed than most I was breathing steady and holding good form, and focused on my heart rate and being patient. I think that never having used a heart rate monitor helped me as I have a pretty good feel on effort level versus where my heart rate is. The 30 minute mark on the ride arrived at the top of the first climb and in went the first Powerbar (containing another 100mg caffeine). It felt like I was starting to absorb it on the downhill which was a big positive. I was extremely strict with my nutrition and alternated with Powerbars on the hour on downhills and Powerbar gels + 250mg salt tablets 30 minutes after on the hour on downhills. I drank no water and only drank 8% electrolyte and then gatorade from the aid stations when I ran out, picking up two extra bottles of 8% electrolyte from special needs at the 120km point.
The Canada bike course is not flat and contains two big climbs, Richter Pass and Yellow Lake + smaller climbs and a ton of rollers.
I maintained my effort level up the long 11km climb to Richter Pass (elevation at summit, 2295 feet), the race was now beginning to stretch out. Just after Richter the wind must have blown my bike computer transmitter slightly out as the computer gave no read out. Rather than risking a potentially disastrous accident I decided not to try to adjust it and decided to 'use The Force' from that point on. Through the rollers, and through the tough rolling Out and Back section at the 120km point. At this point the hammer went down and I increased my effort level but still cycling within myself. It became more and more like being on a solo ride and on the long climb up Yellow Lake (elevation at summit, 2650 feet) I was FLYING. Someone shouted that I was 54th age grouper at this point in the race. On the downhills towards T2 with my chin a couple of mms above the aerobars and with the roar of the deep-section Zipp 404 wheels below me at speeds of 45-50mph I spent a little time thinking about not getting too excited about being up at the front when I hit the run course - stay focused - whilst also taking care not to ride off the course!
Going up Richter Pass
Going up Yellow Lake
As I made my way back through Penticton the crowd support was incredible. Ride time was 5hrs and 9 mins, 112 miles through the mountains at an average speed of 21.69mph! 34th fastest non-professional bike split. Into T2 and a very quick change into running gear (2mins 29 seconds!)and I was out on the marathon course.
The Marathon
My legs felt good, the best they had ever felt at the start of an Ironman marathon. The run course was empty, just one or two guys in my view up the long Main Street - I got a kick out of that - surrounded by a couple of thousand people at the swim start and now it was like running in Greenwich Park near home at 6am. Great crowd support on the way out of town. The run course makes its way along Lake Skaha and is a 13.1 mile fairly straight Out and 13.1 mile Back. There was a headwind on the way out which calmed off for the way back (no tailwind!) and the course was quite undulating particularly in the 10-16 mile section, there was a considerable elevation gain. I really felt very strong and tapped out an average of 8 minute miles over the 26.2 miles.
I concentrated on my effort level and kept my heart rate in check plus again controlled nutrition intake very strictly - I'm no slouch in the mathematics department but maintaining splits on my salt tablet intake and Powerbar gel intake as well as my run splits was quite tough at this stage in the race! This marathon really was an exercise in my head, I was very very focused and totally within my own zone, I really paid no attention at all to the other runners. The >500 miles run focus that I had completed in and out of work in the 14 weeks leading up to Christmas 2007 (mostly in the dark!) was now with me as I continued to pick off runners up the road. At the 10km to go point I remember asking myself 'How much do you want it?' (Kona qualification) - well the fire has been raging for 5 years so no time to slacken off now and I upped my effort level and for the first time in the race I was on the limit and sprinting. I had it in the legs and continued to pick off a few runners, these guys had not been in sight up the road at the 10km to go point, and importantly no-one caught me. Further up the road, close to the finish, I passed two guys in my age group in the last 1km. I ended up running a 3hr 31 marathon on one of the tougher run courses and negative-split the run by a few seconds.
A 9hr 53min finish at Canada, 'sub-10' on a tough course! and I felt electric running down the finishing chute, punching the air as I passed Kata, Leon and Orson.
Confirmation of my Hawaii slot the morning after the race was a massive moment for me, and I was shaking as I paid the race registration dollars! Kind of hard to put it into words, I feel deep satisfaction from the training process achieved over these years - all the early mornings, training day in day out, in and out of work through the dark winters in all weathers, all the >5hr solo rides etc etc.......this moment was the product of a lot of sweat.
And...Thanks to the Iron in my Ironman...Kata, Leon and Orson
Ironman Lanzarote May 2008
Ironman Lanzarote
May 2008
Swim 1hr 3 min
Bike 5hr 49min
Marathon 3hr 39 min
Overall 10hr 48 min
PB Swim for Lanzarote Swim course
Bike was 20mins faster than Lanzarote 2006
This was the third Ironman Lanzarote for me (2008, 2006, 2004). You get a special medal for completing 5 of them - without doubt the hardest M-dot Ironman worldwide. I think I'll leave it a few years before returning! for races 4 and 5 (and maybe 6 and 7, etc.... I love this race and the rawness of the island).
May 2008
Swim 1hr 3 min
Bike 5hr 49min
Marathon 3hr 39 min
Overall 10hr 48 min
PB Swim for Lanzarote Swim course
Bike was 20mins faster than Lanzarote 2006
This was the third Ironman Lanzarote for me (2008, 2006, 2004). You get a special medal for completing 5 of them - without doubt the hardest M-dot Ironman worldwide. I think I'll leave it a few years before returning! for races 4 and 5 (and maybe 6 and 7, etc.... I love this race and the rawness of the island).
Ironman UK August 2007
Ironman number seven, this time in Sherbourne, UK.
1,500 started the race.
Overall: 10 hours 18 mins, 80th outright and 55th after stripping out the Pros that finished ahead of me.
3.8km Swim: 1 hour 2 mins
180km Bike: 5 hours 29 mins
Marathon: 3 hours 36 mins
2,300m vertical ascent on the bike and 750m vertical ascent on the marathon - One of the toughest IMs there is! The day was BRUTAL given that amount of climbing and the weather conditions, COLD and V.WINDY. Looking back, two days on, it really was an EPIC day. The weekend started with a lot of rain - it is the summer after all. After formalities on Saturday and bizzare accomodation on Sat night (think The Twilight Zone, v.glad to be away from the place in the morning) it was time to get it on with a 6am start in Sherbourne Castle lake which was FREEZING although you quickly warmed up after the 200m swim to the start line. Again I jostled right up there to where the pros were and nestled in just behind Bryan Rhodes the race favourite. A guy right next to me shouted OGGY OGGY OGGY and the lake reverberated with OY, OY, OY as 1,500 water treaders responded. Pretty good call! We were left there treading water for around 20 mins as latecomers made their way into the water until finally the hooter went and we were off into the semi-darkness. Two laps of the lake - felt strong and recorded a PB 1 hour 2 mins. On exiting the water I found that my wetsuit was completely unzipped, not sure how that happened, so potentially could have gone faster. T1 was a disaster - serious FAFFING. I'd knotted my T1 bag right where I needed to open it and spent almost two minutes just trying to unknot it - you COMPLETE IDIOT!!! I remember saying to myself. 7 mins in T1 - rubbish! On to the bike and my old pal the CERVELO P3, this time with ZIPP 404s on the front and back. V. Windy throughout the three lap course - there was really no tailwind on the out southbound as that part of the course was fairly sheltered but on the way back the headwind was v.strong. The first lap was nothing special as I paced myself and started getting the nutrition in and finding my rythym. Laps two and three were where the hammer went down and I felt v.strong and passed many riders. During the third lap I was flying particularly on the tough back headwind section and passed many riders. 5 hrs 29 for the bike and 62nd fastest bike outright (40th if you strip out the pros who biked faster) - a significant stat for me, my focus on the bike this year in preparation for Lanzarote next year has worked. Coming back in to transition was a buzz with the support from the crowd, a glance over to the bike racks showed that not many bikes were back in! T2 went a little better (although still not great, need to work on these). The first 9 miles of the marathon were in the grounds of Sherbourne Castle which by this stage was a complete bog/quagmire. It felt like an XTERRA race as footing was important, there wasn't much non-mud/puddle footing! 9 miles up and relief to be onto the road. I really felt flat throughout the whole run, and even though I ran a good marathon time I just didn't feel on it, usually the run is my strength and I'm passing everybody, this time I passed some but was not flying - the end of a year of training, 2nd Ironman in 8 weeks, after a peak (for this year) performance in Roth are the reasons I think, so I was running tired. Onto the murderous, hilly, windy A35 for two out and backs, a battle of attrition, including the steep Babylon hill + other hills twice - even though this was the front end of the field everyone was in pain and each runner's face told that story. Off the A35 and back though the town, the marker said 23 miles, 3 miles to go! Thank %*^$ for that! I thought. Coming back into the race finish was again a buzz and hats off to the support that braved the conditions, 3 hours 36 for a hilly marathon and a 10 hour 18 min finish.
After food, a litre of recovery drink, three coffees and a massage it was time for Bermuda shorts and into one of the hot tubs - there were a couple of french guys in my tub and it was good to talk to them including their complaints about the mike markers! instead of the km markers that you see on every other IM course. IM Lanzarote up next. 4 weeks off the bike and run and then 8 months of training.
1,500 started the race.
Overall: 10 hours 18 mins, 80th outright and 55th after stripping out the Pros that finished ahead of me.
3.8km Swim: 1 hour 2 mins
180km Bike: 5 hours 29 mins
Marathon: 3 hours 36 mins
2,300m vertical ascent on the bike and 750m vertical ascent on the marathon - One of the toughest IMs there is! The day was BRUTAL given that amount of climbing and the weather conditions, COLD and V.WINDY. Looking back, two days on, it really was an EPIC day. The weekend started with a lot of rain - it is the summer after all. After formalities on Saturday and bizzare accomodation on Sat night (think The Twilight Zone, v.glad to be away from the place in the morning) it was time to get it on with a 6am start in Sherbourne Castle lake which was FREEZING although you quickly warmed up after the 200m swim to the start line. Again I jostled right up there to where the pros were and nestled in just behind Bryan Rhodes the race favourite. A guy right next to me shouted OGGY OGGY OGGY and the lake reverberated with OY, OY, OY as 1,500 water treaders responded. Pretty good call! We were left there treading water for around 20 mins as latecomers made their way into the water until finally the hooter went and we were off into the semi-darkness. Two laps of the lake - felt strong and recorded a PB 1 hour 2 mins. On exiting the water I found that my wetsuit was completely unzipped, not sure how that happened, so potentially could have gone faster. T1 was a disaster - serious FAFFING. I'd knotted my T1 bag right where I needed to open it and spent almost two minutes just trying to unknot it - you COMPLETE IDIOT!!! I remember saying to myself. 7 mins in T1 - rubbish! On to the bike and my old pal the CERVELO P3, this time with ZIPP 404s on the front and back. V. Windy throughout the three lap course - there was really no tailwind on the out southbound as that part of the course was fairly sheltered but on the way back the headwind was v.strong. The first lap was nothing special as I paced myself and started getting the nutrition in and finding my rythym. Laps two and three were where the hammer went down and I felt v.strong and passed many riders. During the third lap I was flying particularly on the tough back headwind section and passed many riders. 5 hrs 29 for the bike and 62nd fastest bike outright (40th if you strip out the pros who biked faster) - a significant stat for me, my focus on the bike this year in preparation for Lanzarote next year has worked. Coming back in to transition was a buzz with the support from the crowd, a glance over to the bike racks showed that not many bikes were back in! T2 went a little better (although still not great, need to work on these). The first 9 miles of the marathon were in the grounds of Sherbourne Castle which by this stage was a complete bog/quagmire. It felt like an XTERRA race as footing was important, there wasn't much non-mud/puddle footing! 9 miles up and relief to be onto the road. I really felt flat throughout the whole run, and even though I ran a good marathon time I just didn't feel on it, usually the run is my strength and I'm passing everybody, this time I passed some but was not flying - the end of a year of training, 2nd Ironman in 8 weeks, after a peak (for this year) performance in Roth are the reasons I think, so I was running tired. Onto the murderous, hilly, windy A35 for two out and backs, a battle of attrition, including the steep Babylon hill + other hills twice - even though this was the front end of the field everyone was in pain and each runner's face told that story. Off the A35 and back though the town, the marker said 23 miles, 3 miles to go! Thank %*^$ for that! I thought. Coming back into the race finish was again a buzz and hats off to the support that braved the conditions, 3 hours 36 for a hilly marathon and a 10 hour 18 min finish.
After food, a litre of recovery drink, three coffees and a massage it was time for Bermuda shorts and into one of the hot tubs - there were a couple of french guys in my tub and it was good to talk to them including their complaints about the mike markers! instead of the km markers that you see on every other IM course. IM Lanzarote up next. 4 weeks off the bike and run and then 8 months of training.
Ironman Roth, Germany, June 2007
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!
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!
Ballbuster Duathlon (8m/24m/8m) March 2007
Quick race report. Did the Ballbuster duathlon on Sat am, labelled as the toughest duathlon in Britain no less. Box Hill, Dorking - it was picture postcard stuff with the great am weather. The race is five 8 mile loops, each loop taking in the 600m elevation Box Hill. You do an 8 mile run, then 24 miles on the bike, then an 8 mile run to finish. Hadn't tapered and did a full week of swim/bike/run training leading up to the race. I came in 22nd (and 6th in 35-39 age group), 165 entered the race. Ran the first 8 miles in 50 minutes, biked the 24 miles in 1 hour 21 mins, and ran the final 8 miles in 55 minutes. Crossed the line in 3hours 10 mins wondering where I had to go for the next 7 hours of the race. Did the first 4 miles in 19 mins 30 seconds and was 20 metres off third position (that was fun!), then everyone slowed slightly and we all hit the hill for the first time. A good race overall over a distance/at a pace that is fairly alien to me.
Ironman Lanzarote May 2006
Ironman Lanzarote
May 2006
Swim 1hr 5 min
Bike 6hr 9 min
Marathon 3hr 29 min
Overall 10hr 54 min
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May 2006
Swim 1hr 5 min
Bike 6hr 9 min
Marathon 3hr 29 min
Overall 10hr 54 min
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Ironman New Zealand March 2006
Ironman New Zealand, Taupo
March 2006
Swim cancelled due to high winds.
90km bike/21.1km run held.
Overall 4hrs 15mins, 98th overall, 24th in age group
56km bike 2hrs 39mins (129,32) 33.9km/hr
21.1km run 1hr 34mins (82,17).
March 2006
Swim cancelled due to high winds.
90km bike/21.1km run held.
Overall 4hrs 15mins, 98th overall, 24th in age group
56km bike 2hrs 39mins (129,32) 33.9km/hr
21.1km run 1hr 34mins (82,17).
Ballbuster Duathlon (8m/24m/8m) November 2005
Nice crisp morning for the race, well worth doing.
50mins for first 8 miles, 1 hr 18 for bike, 54mins for second 8 miles, for 3 hrs 8mins and 50th overall.
Ironman France June 2005
Ironman France
Nice, June 2005 (on the hottest day of the year!)
1hrs 5 mins 3.8km Swim
6hrs 5mins 180km bike
3hrs 53mins Marathon
11hrs 34 mins Total time
Serious! stomach problems etc throughout the bike and run(detail excluded!), and also the day before the race. Food poisoning from evening meal the Friday before race. Good to finish the race, it was tough.
Nice, June 2005 (on the hottest day of the year!)
1hrs 5 mins 3.8km Swim
6hrs 5mins 180km bike
3hrs 53mins Marathon
11hrs 34 mins Total time
Serious! stomach problems etc throughout the bike and run(detail excluded!), and also the day before the race. Food poisoning from evening meal the Friday before race. Good to finish the race, it was tough.
Ironman South Africa March 2005
20/03/05.
Ironman South Africa, Port Elizabeth.
Overall 10hr 46 76th
After applying a little factor 50 (Kata said it looked like I had awhite beard when I left transition so obviously need to hone mysun-tan oil application skills) and drinking 750ml of water whilstrunning to the bike I was onto the Cervelo. The bike course was threelaps of a 60km circuit, the first 14km were uphill, then there was anout and back and then the route took you back into town along thecoast. After completing the first lap in 1 hr 51 I wondered if I'dgone too hard, this being 9 mins quicker than my 2 hr/lap target. Thesecond lap was also 1 hr 51. The third was 1 hr 56 primarily becauseby now the wind had picked up creating a direct headwind up the 14kmhill. In summary I absolutely hammered the bike. After that first lapand completing the hill for the second time, I realised I was having agood day and so went for it. I thought about very little else apartfrom how I was feeling and watching the decimals on my average speedindicator throughout the bike. The aero training I'd completed meantthat I could stay aero for long periods and I only changed out of thatposition on the inclines to engage different muscles for thoseperiods. So I was in my own world, hammering the pedals, watching thewheels and the road and racing Ironman for those 5 hours and 38minutes. A little bit of paradise if you get me.
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.
Later in the bar that evening with Steve and Laurie I ordered a halfpint as my second drink (as I was driving). 'Ah, a lady's drink',piped the barman. So a 10.46 and called a lady by thebarman.........looks like I'm gonna have to go sub-10!!!
Ironman South Africa, Port Elizabeth.
Overall 10hr 46 76th
3.8km Swim 1hr 13 279th
180km Bike 5hr 38 101st
Marathon 3hr 40 53rd
805 started the race including 33 pros.20th in 30-34 age-group and 43rd age grouper home.
Penultimate training ride, Monday morning, 14th March, flying downalong the Twelve Apostles mountain range, Cape Town, on the CerveloP3, blue sky and sun shining with the ocean rolling in a short distance away. I let out a yelp, finally we were in South Africa! The5 winter months before had been spent training in multiple layers,mostly in the dark up against the elements. It felt good to be in thatskimpy one piece tri-suit!Race day arrived after a little light training in Cape Town and thenthe flight down to Port Elizabeth. Kata and Leon accompanied me to therace start not wanting to miss the dancing Zulu warriors at the swimstart. I felt mega-relaxed. I knew I'd done the hours and now just hadto let rip.
An incredible sun-rise greeted the swimmers. After divingthrough the breakers to start the swim I found a good rhythm andfinished the two lap swim on about 85% effort throughout, so where Iwanted to be. The current/chop, breakers and fairly long run up thebeach to transition made it not the quickest swim course so I washappy with 1hr 13.
An incredible sun-rise greeted the swimmers. After divingthrough the breakers to start the swim I found a good rhythm andfinished the two lap swim on about 85% effort throughout, so where Iwanted to be. The current/chop, breakers and fairly long run up thebeach to transition made it not the quickest swim course so I washappy with 1hr 13.
After applying a little factor 50 (Kata said it looked like I had awhite beard when I left transition so obviously need to hone mysun-tan oil application skills) and drinking 750ml of water whilstrunning to the bike I was onto the Cervelo. The bike course was threelaps of a 60km circuit, the first 14km were uphill, then there was anout and back and then the route took you back into town along thecoast. After completing the first lap in 1 hr 51 I wondered if I'dgone too hard, this being 9 mins quicker than my 2 hr/lap target. Thesecond lap was also 1 hr 51. The third was 1 hr 56 primarily becauseby now the wind had picked up creating a direct headwind up the 14kmhill. In summary I absolutely hammered the bike. After that first lapand completing the hill for the second time, I realised I was having agood day and so went for it. I thought about very little else apartfrom how I was feeling and watching the decimals on my average speedindicator throughout the bike. The aero training I'd completed meantthat I could stay aero for long periods and I only changed out of thatposition on the inclines to engage different muscles for thoseperiods. So I was in my own world, hammering the pedals, watching thewheels and the road and racing Ironman for those 5 hours and 38minutes. A little bit of paradise if you get me.
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.Later in the bar that evening with Steve and Laurie I ordered a halfpint as my second drink (as I was driving). 'Ah, a lady's drink',piped the barman. So a 10.46 and called a lady by thebarman.........looks like I'm gonna have to go sub-10!!!
EmbrunMan Ironman Aug 2004
Aug 2004
EmbrunMan Ironman Triathlon
Embrun, French Alps.
Overall 13hr 59min 198th
3.8km Swim 1hr 12min 196th
185km Bike 8hr 28min 226th
Marathon 4hrs 80th
600 started the race, 440 finished....My day began at 3.35am. Kata, Leon and I were staying in Crots, a 20min walk from the race start at the Plan D'eau just outsideEmbrun.The night before, as well as applying factor 50 sun tan lotionall over, I'd placed my swim, run and bike bags and breakfast in theconfines of the small bathroom and so made my way there so as not towake anyone up. After struggling through breakfast and re-applyingfactor 50 everywhere I could reach, I woke up Kata to finish the job.After saying bon chance and a hug with Leon I left them to go back tosleep and made my way out for the walk along the dual carriageway. Thevarious bags around my neck and over the shoulders must have made melook like a donkey laden with goods as the car headlights passed inthe darkness. On arrival in the Park Velo I made my way for racknumber 77 ('soixante dix-sept!' which I would here shouted at least athousand times later in the day) where the trusty Bianchi was hangingafter racking it the night before. An italian guy opposite wasmeticulously pumping up his tyres, it seemed to the nearest 1000th psi and generally seemed extremely tense. 5 minutes before the start herealised he had not brought any swim goggles with him, fortunately Ihad a spare pair which he gleefully accepted. Giles Reboul (one of thepros) also had bad race prep as his derailleur failed on leavingtransition causing him to abandon.The 3.8km swim start is at 6am in the dark. The atmosphere waselectric. The gun went and 600 bodies launched themselves into thelake. The usual mad panic ensued worsened by the fact that you had noidea where you were going due to the dark. As my heart rate raced up Imanaged to spot an illuminated buoy somewhere in the distance andheaded for it. After 500m my heart rate had come back down and I beganto feel comfortable but had to continously look up to try and spot thenext buoy and make sure that the swimmers in front were actuallyheading for it. Two laps of the lake later and I was approaching theexit into transition, I'd had a good swim given the dark and the blindstart, 1hr 12mins.
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!
EmbrunMan Ironman Triathlon
Embrun, French Alps.
Overall 13hr 59min 198th
3.8km Swim 1hr 12min 196th
185km Bike 8hr 28min 226th
Marathon 4hrs 80th
600 started the race, 440 finished....My day began at 3.35am. Kata, Leon and I were staying in Crots, a 20min walk from the race start at the Plan D'eau just outsideEmbrun.The night before, as well as applying factor 50 sun tan lotionall over, I'd placed my swim, run and bike bags and breakfast in theconfines of the small bathroom and so made my way there so as not towake anyone up. After struggling through breakfast and re-applyingfactor 50 everywhere I could reach, I woke up Kata to finish the job.After saying bon chance and a hug with Leon I left them to go back tosleep and made my way out for the walk along the dual carriageway. Thevarious bags around my neck and over the shoulders must have made melook like a donkey laden with goods as the car headlights passed inthe darkness. On arrival in the Park Velo I made my way for racknumber 77 ('soixante dix-sept!' which I would here shouted at least athousand times later in the day) where the trusty Bianchi was hangingafter racking it the night before. An italian guy opposite wasmeticulously pumping up his tyres, it seemed to the nearest 1000th psi and generally seemed extremely tense. 5 minutes before the start herealised he had not brought any swim goggles with him, fortunately Ihad a spare pair which he gleefully accepted. Giles Reboul (one of thepros) also had bad race prep as his derailleur failed on leavingtransition causing him to abandon.The 3.8km swim start is at 6am in the dark. The atmosphere waselectric. The gun went and 600 bodies launched themselves into thelake. The usual mad panic ensued worsened by the fact that you had noidea where you were going due to the dark. As my heart rate raced up Imanaged to spot an illuminated buoy somewhere in the distance andheaded for it. After 500m my heart rate had come back down and I beganto feel comfortable but had to continously look up to try and spot thenext buoy and make sure that the swimmers in front were actuallyheading for it. Two laps of the lake later and I was approaching theexit into transition, I'd had a good swim given the dark and the blindstart, 1hr 12mins.
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!
Ironman Lanzarote May 2004
Ironman Lanzarote
May 2004
Swim 1hr 13min
Bike 6hr 51min
Run 4hr 7 min
Overall 12hr 28min
May 2004
Swim 1hr 13min
Bike 6hr 51min
Run 4hr 7 min
Overall 12hr 28min
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