Ironman Wales 2011

Pre-Race

Bizarre as it sounds, I had no real goals coming into this race.  I had achieved my goals at Ironman UK six weeks earlier.  This was a bonus race!  My reason for doing this race was simple: I wanted to complete two Ironman races in a year.

Prior to the race Lynn and I spent a lot of time with Daniel & Amy.  Daniel was doing his first Ironman.  He was more than ready to do it.  Amy was nervous, pretty much like Lynn had been prior to my first Ironman.  In the two days prior to the race I really enjoyed talking Ironman and plotting our route to the finish.

The weather coming into the race was awful!  The winds were up, the rain poured and it was cold.  The forecast for Sunday was more of the same.  Great!  Due to the weather, the swim was moved from the South Beach to the more ‘sheltered’ North Beach.  The practice swim in this part of the water on the Saturday felt anything but sheltered.  The second viewing of my breakfast confirmed this.  It was going to be a tough swim!  Of course, moving the swim meant that the run to transition was more than 1k!

Racking and preparing transition was virtually trouble free.  A bike bag, with various clothing to cater for the weather, and a run bag were hung onto my spot on the transition racks.  The bike was placed on the rack – exposed to the wind and the rain until the following morning.

A relaxing afternoon on Saturday followed by a good pasta dinner and an early night finished the day.  Sleep didn’t come easy though, and a restless night followed.

Team Riley!

Following breakfast (porridge), we all walked down to transition to get changed and make final preparations to the bike, including tyres, nutrition and Garmin.  We then followed the crowds and made our way to North Beach for the swim.

Swim

A few minutes before the start, myself and Daniel walked into water to get wet.  The waves were coming in so fast I was knocked off my feet and dragged towards shore!  This swim was going to be interesting!

After wishing Daniel good luck for the race, I made my way to the front of the start pen.  Whilst the Welsh national anthem was playing, people were edging beyond the ‘start line’ towards the water even before we started!  The start gun boomed and we were off!  I headed straight towards the water until I noticed the other front runners running along the beach to get nearer to the first buoy before they started swimming!  I turned and followed, running in about 6 – 12 inches of water.  Even at this depth, I was knocked over by the strong waves coming into shore – twice!  And then my timing chip fell off!  I had to stop running and clumsily re-fix it, whilst everybody else was passing me and whilst waves were keeping me unbalanced.  This was harder than it sounds!  It took a while to sort out and then stuff the chip underneath wetsuit.  I decided to stop following the runners and head into the water to do my own thing.

Initially I seemed to be swimming alone, but soon started passing people, lots of people in the choppy waters.  Once past the giant first buoy, about 600m into the swim, the water really started to bounce.  The next 700-800m of the swim was incredible – similar to swimming in a Disney wave pool!  At the bottom of the swell I couldn’t see the buoy or the shore – just a wall of water – and at the top of the swell I felt myself pulling through air and then crashing down into the water.  This was crazy!  Either great fun or a nightmare swim – I still can’t decide!!  I was still passing lots of people through this stretch.  How many people must have passed me whilst I was fixing my chip?!  I turned past the final buoy and headed for shore – this bit was flat (ish) water and oh so much easier.

51 minutes in the wave pool!

Out of the water, I glanced at the clock … 24 minutes something … woohoo!!  After my poor start, that was encouraging!  I waved at the crowds and then ran along a little bit of the beach and then back in for lap 2.  The organisers had learned from their ‘mistake’ at the start and now made sure people couldn’t run all the way down the beach, instead directing people straight into the water.  Nobody could take a short cut on this lap!

Back into the water to a much thinned out field, I was now starting to pass a couple of the pro’s – distinguishable by their different coloured caps.  For the first time in the swim I finally managed to get on somebody’s feet – albeit momentarily as the waves were making people swim all over the place!  I turned the final buoy and headed back to shore.  I came out of the water and looked at the clock – 51 something – in a tough, choppy swim?  Tremendous!

T1

I headed up the ramp from the beach to get into my run shoes.  As there was something to hold onto I also decided to take my wetsuit off and run with it.  The 1km run to transition was busy with lots of people around me.  Entering transition and it was bustling.  This was unusual!  A 51 minute swim and it was a busy transition!  I quickly realised that this was going to be a very competitive race with some very fast racers!!

And off we go!

I decided to go with warmth and put on my long sleeved Mersey Tri cycling top plus gloves and left the toe covers on my shoes.  I was taking no chances with the weather, it could be a long day and I wanted to be warm!

Bike

Off out onto the bike and I felt quite good.  However, almost immediately, after the first hill, I tried to shift gears and put it in the big ring.  Nothing.  I shifted again.  Nothing.  Unbelievable!  My gears didn’t work!  I’d taken it to the bike shop on Thursday specifically with this problem and was assured it was all sorted.  I realised I would now be cycling 111 more miles in my small front ring!  Let me tell you now, a small front ring on a Compact does not give you much power!  And you have to spin your legs fast too – something which I do not do well.  There would be nothing competitive about this bike split!!  I tried to remain positive and focus on things I could now control – not worry about my bike.  This was difficult!  I was attracting a lot of attention as people went past.  My bike was making so much noise.  The chain was rubbing against the front derailleur.  Ding ding ding ding, bzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzzz – all sorts of noises!

Yet another hill ...

The bike course was difficult.  Perhaps that’s a bit of an understatement.  To start with, it was windy.  Not a bit of a breeze but a full on, constant wind, with some hard gusts.  If I was at home and contemplating a ride in this weather, I would head for the garage and get on the turbo!  The first section of the bike headed west, towards the coast, straight into the headwind.  Once we got near the coast, the winds were very strong and blowing people across the road.  I came off the aerobars and held onto the bars to be near the brakes and have more control of the bike.  It was a scary few minutes!  When we did turn and have a tailwind, I had no gears to slip into to take advantage of this!  I was spinning in my little ring just being passed constantly!

And now for lap 2 ...

The course also rolled – up and down, up and down.  Twisting and turning too.  Keeping a constant pace or rhythm was very difficult.  The course was in excess of 2000m of climbing, including a couple of steep hills on the course too – a 16% followed swiftly by a 12% – and we did both twice!  The descents were pretty technical too, involving a lot of cornering, testing bike handling skills. Judging by finishers the day after, and the road rash on their back and shoulders, more than a couple of people had trouble with these descents!

On the aerobars ... briefly

Support on the bike course was good.  The locals were out and in good voice.  Going through Narbeth and Saundersfoot, the crowds were out in force and making a good noise and cheering us on.  Up Heartbeak Hill and it sounded like there was a party in full swing!  Coming back into Tenby on the end of the first big loop was great too, with lots of people lining the roads.  I spotted Lynn and got a big cheer!  That gave me a boost, as I was feeling a bit sorry for myself at that stage!  I picked up a bit, so much so that I chased down a few other cyclists!

Elevation of bike course (metres)

In hindsight, I probably didn’t eat enough pre-race.  I had my 7 zipvit gels on the bike (51g of carbs in each) which I could stomach ok – but I felt I faded towards the end of the bike leg.  I was certain Daniel and the other Mersey Tri athletes would be passing me at this point, but fortunately I managed to stay ahead.

Up and down the hills towards the back end of the course and finally, after waving to Lynn, and 6 hours and 45 minutes after leaving transition, I was into T2.  Relief!  I was shattered!

T2

I dismounted at the line and walked (yes walked) my bike into transition where I racked my bike and then walked into the tent, picked up my run bag and sat down.  Changing was quick and then I walked back out, nice and slowly until the T2 exit mat.  I thought I’d better start running and show willing!

Run

Feeling a little better

Mentally, I was shot.  Throughout the bike I had wanted to stop and give in.  The bike problems were getting the better of me.  In the transition tent and the walk to the T2 exit, I didn’t want to get out and run.  My time was going to be way off expectations so what was the point?  I had work to do inside my head if I was going to finish this thing!

Once running I felt a little better, although exhausted.  I made it about 500 metres until I was met by a great big hill.  Fantastic!  I decided to walk it and try and get my head together.  I had one of my zipvit caffeine gels during my walk.  Finishing my gel, I started running again.  This was better.  I got a nice pace going.

Blowing a kiss to Lynn

 

At the aid stations, I would grab a cup of water and then a cup of Pepsi, finish them and then run again.  It was working.  I felt better.  What also helped was seeing lots of people that I knew out on the course.  

It was good to see the Mersey Tri guys on the run.  Of those that I knew, I could see Ray Handley running strong, about 25 minutes behind me, then Daniel, Paddy was looking good, Steve was focussed and Martin looked like he was enjoying himself!  The first two laps were more or less at 5.15 minute k pace (which included walking up the steeper hills and through aid stations).  This was encouraging.

There was some enthusiastic support on the run too.  The locals were crowded along the barriers, enjoying the spectacle.  They were cheering everybody on.  It was great to see Lynn and Amy at different points of the course too.  This kept me guessing as to where they would be and kept me honest, reducing my walk breaks in case I was spotted!

The run consisted of hills – either up or down.  The flat sections, when we did find them in the town centre, were run on cobbles!  The first two laps were good for me.  I slowed on the uphill section of the third lap and then the final lap was a just finish lap.  Walk as much as necessary, run when I felt like it and eat lots of salty biscuits!

Milking the finish

I finished the marathon in a 4.03 – which I was actually pleased with given my state of mind at the beginning of the run and then the amount of walking I did towards the end!

The finish was excellent!  I picked up my last wristband and turned left to the finish – rather than right for another lap.  From that moment, I milked the occasion, high fiving people, arms in the air, great big smile all of the way to the finish.  I saw the clock and was strangely pleased!  I was under 12 hours.  11.54.57.  Not the goal at the start of the day, but I had finished a tough race, in tough conditions, with mechanical issues and a head that wasn’t in the right place.  Superb!

Post race

It was fantastic to see Daniel finish his first Ironman – a real highlight of the day.  He came in just under 13 hours – 12.59 – slightly behind a few of the other Mersey Tri boys (Ray, Paddy & Steven).  It was a pleasure and an honour to be part of his first Ironman experience.

Lynn once again was super!  Keeping Daniel and I organised must have taken its toll!  Supporting me on my journey, particularly during this busy year, is something I really appreciate and will remember forever.

Finished!

Ironman Wales is the toughest Ironman I’ve done – by a long way!  All of the post race talk in the finishers tent and at the presentation ceremony the next day was how difficult the course and conditions were, with some people suggesting this was the hardest one out there!  One top Age Grouper finished the bike split with his best ever power output, but was over an hour slower than a recent bike split in Australia and 30 minutes slower than the infamous Lanzarote course.  The message?  Don’t under-estimate the difficulty of this Welsh course.

Two Ironman races in six weeks probably took its toll.  Throw in an 8 day Lands End to John O’Groats trip a few weeks earlier and it’s easy to understand tiredness.  However, I don’t think the races were the issue, I think the lack of real training coming into Wales was the biggest issue.  My last ‘proper’ training week was towards the end of June.  July saw the LEJOG trip (no running or swimming) straight into a three week IMUK taper, followed by two weeks off, then a return to two weeks of training, followed by a two week taper.  I think my fitness had dropped off too much for this race.  Lessons to learn for future years!

The race and the organisation was fantastic!  The weather could have proved a real problem, but the organisers took swift and decisive action to switch the swim to the North Beach and have a 1k run to transition – which worked really well.  Support from the crowds during this run was fantastic too.  Lots of marshals, good aid stations, decent sized expo, enjoyable pasta party, race briefing and awards ceremony too.

In short, if you’re looking for a tough, well organised and well balanced Ironman race, Wales must be on your shortlist!