Although I’ve been posting on this board for a little while now I’ve been nursing a pretty shameful secret – a keen runner and recreational cyclist my multisport experience prior to Sunday comprised one sprint triathlon in 1998 and the swim leg of the London triathlon 2 years later. My job doesn’t really allow me the time and flexibility for regular competition and so I’ve taken to targeting one or two big events each year, training for them when I can and them moving on – last year it was the NYC marathon this autumn it’s the Amsterdam version but between the two was perhaps my single most ambitious race yet – my first ever Ironman.
This is how it went.
The Day Before
Showing a pretty typical lack of disciple I’d been out with a big group of work friends a couple of nights previously for curry and beer and the meal had given me a dodgy stomach that hadn’t abated as I woke up early on Saturday morning for an early breakfast. I took a train from Waterloo after lugging my stuff down to the station and eventually got in to Sherbourne at 9.30. Sraight away I bumped into a couple of competitors on their way up the hill to registration both of who had done the Half last year and sent me in the right direction. Compared to a city marathon expo the race centre was quite modest but it had everything you needed and the staff (and this would be a recurring theme throughout the weekend) were fantastic. 10 minutes after turning up I was ID’d, wristbanded and laden with bags, stickers and a new helmet as I’d left mine at home.
I spent the rest of the day pitching my hilariously inadequate tent in a campsite at the far end of the lake, watching some of the kiddie duathlons, lounging in the sunshine and eating. I went for a very short jog in the early afternoon before the race briefing and then had dinner in a pub in the beautiful medieval town centre before hitting the hay, pretty nervous, at about 8 p.m.
Race Day
I set my alarm for 3.45 but slept pretty fitfully from about 11pm onwards. Saturday’s cloudless sky made for a freezing night and my £15 Argos tent was soaked with condensation which transferred to me every time I moved. Eventually getting up and gobbling some cereal was a real relief but there was no disguising that it was still a pitch black night and the camp was shrouded in a dense fog. Grabbing my white bag I stumbled off towards the race centre praying that one of the burger vans would be open and selling tea and wondering just what I was doing here when I could be in bed at home.
Gradually people began to emerge from cars, tents and the fog generally and the floodlit transition area slowly came to life. About 5.15 I walked though the tent was written all over by another army of volunteers and after checking my bike and pumping the tyres began to change into my wetsuit – if for no other reason than it was far warmer than the clothes I had with me! The race was scheduled to start at 6 but the fog was too dense and the visibility too poor to allow the race to go and so we began a wait that would eventually stretch to two hours. I find it impossible to stay nervous for that long so was soon chatting away to a boat builder and a barrister! After a couple of false starts the sun finally burnt off the last of the mist and a huge cheer went up as the swim marshall came down the lake towards us on his motorboat signing a thumbs up. 10 minutes later and we were in the water swimming gently towards the start 150m away. There were some rumours that they were planning to shorten the course to meet the cut-off time and everyone was grateful to be underway without official confirmation of that.
Looking back from the swim start will be one of the images that I will never forget from this event – in the distance was the IM inflatable bridge through which we’d entered the water surrounded by an enormous crowd which spread along both banks of the narrow lake. There were still some thin trails of mist blowing off the lake and glowing with the first of the morning sunshine but the truly staggering part was the thousands of bobbing caps churning through the water. I couldn’t believe how badly my non-swimmer start at the back strategy had gone already but it was too late to move back now.
Finally at just gone 8 the klaxon went and we were off and I realised the gentle jostling of the last ten minutes was just a warm up for the cauldron which erupted around me. It was never threatening or scary or the slightest bit ill tempered but it was still a good ten minutes before I managed 2 stokes which didn’t involve hitting someone else or getting hit myself. Gradually the water began to clear and I just tried to repeat over and over to keep calm, breathe steadily and relax. It seemed to be working and I had the definite impression that I was moving through the field for most of the first 950m. I didn’t really begin to feel too tired till about 3000m but then the shock of realising I wasn’t hanging off the back gave me the adrenaline I needed to push home. Finally hitting the shore I got hauled out by the volunteers and feeling like a real pro had my wetsuit half down as I jogged into T1 and collected my red bag. I snatched a glance at my watch and was astounded to see I’d clocked 1.08! I know that’s not fast by many people’s standards but I’d expected to be closer to 1.30 and was really thrilled. Sitting down to put my shoes on the rest of my wetsuit was ripped off and even being careful I had my bike and had left transition in 6 or so minutes.
Inevitably as we began the bike there were a few guys together and the draft marshall immediately pulled alongside as a reminder to sort ourselves out soon which I’m pleased to say most people did. There were many times on the ride when there were x riders in less than x times 10m of road but people seemed to make a genuine effort to stagger themselves laterally and I didn’t see a single example of cynical wheel sucking the whole time I was out. On the other hand this was pretty lucky because I only saw the marshall once again in 112 miles but there you go.
The bike course itself was a shocker – I’d love to hear other more experienced participants’ views on this but to me it just seemed incredibly hard with virtually no flat ground whatsoever. Hill after hill sapped everyone’s energy and there was a point on the second loop when we cut a particularly pathetic sight inching up the gradient at walking pace on a collection of stupendous tri-bikes. Having said that I felt I rode well and managed to eat 4 Powerbars and 2 half bananas which stopped me from bonking together with litres of Gatorade and flat Pepsi to keep dehydration at bay. The sun was so hot that despite putting away 7 full bottles I only had to stop once for the loo which was pretty scary.
6 and a bit hours after I set off we pulled back into Sherbourne and into T2 and the final leg of what was turning into an awesome day. Had a brilliant and very smooth transition as I didn’t need to change at all out of my cycling gear and I was heading out in well under 2 minutes.
Trotting along my legs felt amazingly good and I was tapping out sub 7 minute miles with no difficulty at all. Four miles came and went, then 6 but then suddenly we transferred from beautiful Sherbourne to the barren expanse of a local dual carriageway that stretched to the horizon in a series of soul destroying hills that were really really tough. Luckily 2 of my best mates from Bristol had turned up at this point to cheer me on though even they couldn’t prevent a serious wobble at 8 miles when the energy just fell out of my legs and I was reduced to a shuffle for the first time. Two minutes and a gel later and I was running again but the heat was causing everyone problems and I’ve never been someone who’s able to drink a lot on the run without really setting my stomach off. I was continuing to go past people – the unfortunate side effect of being a runner and not really knowing how to run steadily at a slower IM pace, but my speed when running belied how much pain I was in and I had to walk twice more before finally getting to the turn around and the crowd at Montacute House. My first ½ had taken about 1.30.
When I’d discussed this race in recent weeks with my friends and they’d asked me what I was hoping for I’d always said, honestly, that I thought 13-14 hours was realistic though my main aim was just to get round. Suddenly, almost unbeleievably, I realised that not only was I going to smash that but despite the course and the heat I could go under 11 if I kept my head for the next 13 miles.
Back on the highway the wheels really started to come off and while I knew my style was good when I was running I was reduced to 5 mins on, 2 mins walk for big chunks of the way back with stitches and stomach cramps. Taking careful note of the time I started to calculate the amount of walking I could do and still make 11 hours – it wasn’t till I got to 22 miles at 10.15 that I knew it was in the bag. From then on for all the pain I couldn’t stop grinning and towards the end started to get really emotional. Coming up the drive and hearing the roar of support from the crowd – it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced and I can’t wait for the photos as I know the feeling will be etched into my face.
From then on the fantastic organisation just continued and I was shephered straight into a massage tent for 15 minutes followed by…a hot tub! A planned quick dip turned into a 20 minute soak as I realised I didn’t have a towel but eventually I had to get out, pack up, cheer a few more guys home as dusk settled and then leg it for the last train back to London. One of the most incredible days of my life.
The results are on the ironmanlive website but I finished up in 69th position 10th form M25-29 and in a total time of about 10.50. There were 2 slots available for Hawaii and even though I promised this was a once in a lifetime event I can’t help but think: Crummy LeMond road bike with Airstyke’s and a Fast Forward seat post to a P3C has to be worth 10 minutes, learning to swim properly should be another 10, training a lot more and not eating curry 2 days before the event – could I get close? I guess I’ll have to find out next year!
