IRONMAN AUSTRIA

IRONMAN AUSTRIA

July 13th 2008

The alarm went off at 4am and surprisingly I had slept quite well for a night before a race. Our hotel has mostly Ironman competitors and supporters staying so the atmosphere at breakfast was quite quiet and thoughtful. It’s always a struggle squeezing the calories in at this time of day. For an Ironman I like to get in about 800-1000 cals, so that is quite a lot of food. Black coffee is really important too.
I was back in my room at 5am to get into race clothing and make sure I went through my pre-race checklists. I arrived at race transition at 5.30am. I checked my bike over, made sure everything was okay and pumped up the tires. Bottles on the bike, gels in my bento box and then it was a case of focusing on the day ahead.
Standing on the lakeside at 6.40am with 2500 other athletes always puts the day into perspective. I was nervous but focused on the day ahead. Before I knew it the horn blew and we were off…. I got battered for the first 400 m or so but then I found space and had a relatively trouble free swim. My biggest problem was my goggles. They just kept steaming up; a real pain. We swam out into the lake about 1800m turned left and went across the lake to finally return back to the beach and finish with the final 800m in the canal systems. The sun was in our eyes for all the return leg so that made sighting harder however when we got in the canal it was just a case of following feet. I had been worried about my swim as my neural leg problem can cause real problems in my calf’s resulting in really bad tightness and spasms. My plan had been not to kick in the swim and remain relaxed. It worked! I started to get a few twitches in the final 400m but it caused no problems. I had anticipated my swim to take longer and I was prepared to exit the water in around 1:15. I was really pleased to cover the distance in 1:06.
Into transition and it was a case of be quick but don’t rush. Wetsuit off and I just made sure I had everything I needed; helmet on, glasses on, bike gloves on and gels in my pocket. I quickly found my bike and was on the road in no time, transition was roughly 3 mins.
The bike course is two laps of excellent closed roads. All road surfaces are smooth and fast. Many believe the bike route to be easy but that is misguided. It’s undulating with a couple of tough climbs on each lap, total gain is appx 800m per lap. Gearing you need a 39x25 for the climbs.
Within 10 mins the rain came and it turned the road very slippery. As we approached any bend it was important to reduce speed. Those that didn’t hit the deck… I saw at least 4 crashes. My bike has been my strength due to my 20yrs cycling experience; however, in Ironman it has been my downfall. I normally ride too hard and then can’t run. My strategy therefore was to ride slower and run well. I did lap 1 in appx 2:38 and lap 2 in 2:42 giving me a 5:20 bike split. My back really bothered me on the bike and I had to keep stretching to reduce the fatigue. It worried me as I was unsure how it would influence the run.
I had another quick transition in T2 and was on the run course in less than 4 mins. As I started the run, the heavens opened; perfect. We had temperatures in the mid 20’s and a thunderstorm. I felt great on the run. I actually started too quick and had to adjust my pace at half way. The final 6 miles my hamstrings tightened and I had to adjust my running accordingly. It was pretty painful but one thing that running 8 marathons in 8 days taught me was how to run through the pan. I crossed the MDOT finish line in a PB 10:21. Completely elated.
I had approached this Ironman so different to previous times and the strategy worked so well (for me). Basically, I just ran and ran lots… up to 120 miles a week. I only started triathlon training 8 weeks before the Ironman relying on my running endurance. Cycling comes to me naturally and that soon came back. Swimming was a struggle but I was getting the feel back in the final few weeks. My swim split was actually only 2-3 mins slower than previous years when I have swum specifically for 6 months. It’s interesting. Certainly for myself, a run specific programme has made the difference between being ‘close’ to actually finally achieving my potential. Next time, maybe I can put the run potential with my bike potential and go sub 10 !!!