Belated Report!

By now you may have feasted your eyes upon several reports from Austria. These reports were well written and each report gave its own original slant into the world of Ironman. We had each decided to forward our individual experiences of the event in the hope that somewhere between the lines of our experiences, you may be able to draw up your own pictures and conclusions to help you if you should one day choose to take on Ironman. On July 5th 2009 after 12 hrs 50 mins and 42seconds I too managed to complete Ironman Austria and this is my story….

Its cold, its wet, its dark, its miserable, its winter its Ireland and I just want to warm up to the fire. Out into it I have to go because I want to clock up to 40miles running this week. Cycling Saturdays Sundays any days so I can get cycling miles up in my legs regardless to weather. Swimming what seems like endless lengths of a 25 metre pool mornings evenings afternoons whenever possible between work and family life just so I can gain more confidence swimming. This is the hard part of Ironman the easy part was the day of the event.

Its two minutes to 7am on Sunday July 5th as the sound of Europe “The final countdown” starts pumping out through the tower speakers. Conor has vanished over to the faster swimmers side. Mick, Marc, Dave and I exchange handshakes and a bit of shoulder slapping to give each other support and help calm nerves it would be awhile before I would see their faces again! With an explosion of fireworks the event was underway. The longest Triathlon event I had previously undertaken to this event was sprint distance only. Though I had trained for this event the longest open water swim I had done was 1500metres, so needless to say I was nervous coming up to the swim. However I do not know whether all that nervousness stood to me or was a waste of time but I have to say I had the best swim of my life that morning. The water temp was in the low 20s with a blue haze. There was some kicking and splashing but it was a struggle for space only, Sprint triathlons are like a war zone in comparison where speed is added to the equation.

The only problem I encountered on the swim was the onset of a cramping sensation to the fingers of the right hand, poor technique I guess but nothing that forming clinched fists for a few mins did not sort out. The final leg of the swim up the canal was a bit daunting because it was tight for space we were like sardines in a tin, a small bit of toe slapping but all in good faith. It was great for the spectators though who were super all day!

Finally up on blue carpet to be greeted by an atmosphere nothing short of a carnival and off for the bike. I seriously have to work on transition times, later after the race I told Marc I had spent over 13mins in transition 1. His shocked reply “What the hell were you doing blow-drying your hair”. I guess I definitely brought too much stuff in my bike bag being undecided as to what to wear! What the hell it’s an Ironman ands going to be a long day. I feel at this stage it’s certainly most important to mention our very own fan club for the day, always shouting for us and surprising us at various spots around the course over the day. There was my better half Martina who not just supported me on the day but put up with all this madness over the last six months! There were the two wonderful sisters, our very own club mates Claire and Emer, Edel with adorable baby Anna. There was Conors nephew Andrew and Conors mum Ann who was like a mother to us all! Marc’s brother Conor came along for a laugh!

Along the way we also met Dave and Donna Russell, Dave was also crowned Ironman and Donna quickly became a member of the fan club!

If the swim was enjoyable, the bike was to turn out to be almost just as enjoyable. The bike route consisted of two laps of 90km each. The scenery on this route is picture perfect with high peaks of the Alps forming a magnificent background against Alpine hills and smooth rolling roads. It was hard not to be distracted from the business at hand. One thing I would certainly do before an event like this in the future is to drive and make myself familiar with the cycle route. On several occasions I had being trying to eat when I would come around a bend into a climb! Might sound petty but its small things like this that hacks away at you. I also missed the first feed station, this was dangerous for me as I was not carrying much liquid on the bike and it was a hot day. As it turned out distances between feed stations was not that big 20km I think. Lesson learned pay more attention to the business at hand, I did not miss a feed station after that! The two major climbs were made feel a lot easier by the “Tour de France” type of support from people that lined the sides of the hills. In fact I couldn’t get over a DJ blasting out a disco set at the top of the second climb! Two guys dressed as the Blues brothers and lots others besides. I have to admit this carnival type atmosphere certainly helped me keep my mind off the distances ahead. My aim was to comfortably get around the cycle in 6 hrs. At the first turn around with music from Summer of 69 blasting out and our fan club making themselves heard even over the music I had comfortably cycled for 2hrs 56mins which left 4mins in the bag. The second lap went very smooth for me and I must admit I was feeling great. However on occasions I was feeling some discomfort in the arch of my left foot, this was soon going to cause me problems. I comfortably finished the bike in 6 hrs and 3mins. Four mins in the bag, 3mins over 6hrs that’s 7 mins lost on the second lap, “Damn those Blues Brothers” must have swipped them off me when I wasn’t watching them on the second climb!!

My legs were feeling fine coming into Transition 2, until I got off the bike and put my left foot on the ground. Pain the first all day and at a time when I most certainly did not need it. When I was training for this event, I had always told myself that I would only wear clothing and footwear that I was most comfortable in during training. The question I now had to ask myself was why did I wear new cycle shoes and cleats? The cleat on my left foot was not adjusted properly and was also the grey coloured cleat which does not give as much movement as the red cleats which I had been used of. Here I was limping from my bike into transition and at this point the notion entered my head that I may not be able to complete this. I dispelled that notion as not an option and after spending 14 mins changing and feeling sorry for myself I decided the best option was to jog out the pain.

The start of the run was therefore a little more painful for me than I had hoped. The run was laid out in a figure of 8, two loops to be covered twice. The first loop was less than 12km the second under 9km I think. The pain in my left arch was easing out slowly and after the first 6km it was gone. One thing I remember of the first loop was the heat! For me I walked all the food stations, the heat I felt made sure of that. Initially my intention was to jog the first 21k and to walk all feed stations on the next. Things do not work out always the way we want and the run soon became a lot tougher than I expected. It was great to finally start meeting the guys at various parts along the run with shouts of encouragement, they all looked in good form but I know they were feeling the pains of battle too. My run training for this event involved running various distance anywhere between 12km right up to 34km but I would never walk any part of them I would stay jogging. This stopping walking and start jogging again was new to me and as the run dragged on it was getting progressively harder and more painful to start jogging again. I did make a conscious effort that when I started jogging I would not stop until I reached the next food station. However towards the end of the run walking the food stations gradually increased from walking only 20metres up to nearly 200m. It’s a strange thing to say but when I think back the only real pain was just the initial moment of starting to jog from a walk, while either walking or jogging I was tired but fine! Conor was to remain a steady 2km in front of me all the time; we kept meeting at almost the same points after the turn around. It transpired at the end that there was only seconds between our run times. Towards the end of my first lap and starting into my second it started to rain and what a welcome relief, not great for the spectators though who made haste for shelter.

The start of my second lap was a tough moment, left for the finish line or right for the last lap. I closed my eyes in despair and stayed right and kept on jogging. The local people on the day all along the run were fantastic as the heat got too much they would offer you a shower down with their garden hoses. Outside the official feed stations kids would jog along side you offering water sponges with shouts of support from their parents. When I think back now this event would have being a hell of a lot tougher had it not being for their kindness and support all day. Finally after 12hrs and 50mins of continuous exercise I crossed the finish line with high fives and music blasting from the speakers. It was great to hear the shouts of support from the fan club when I finally made it in.

After leaving the Finish line area I made my way to the finishers tent for a much deserved leg massage. I never before seen as many lame people gathered together as I did in this tent, people fainting others being carried to beds. Conor was in great form and like myself was not showing much signs of fatigue! In fact none of the lads in our group showed signs of fatigue a bit stiff on the legs but that was to be expected! I think we all got our nutrition right on the day or at the very least we trained enough so it was not such a massive shock to the body. I came to this event with the intention of getting through it not fully known what lay ahead of me. Now that I had completed it and had time to reflect back, I believe that anybody within reasonable health who is willing to commit time to train i.e. anywhere between 10 to 20hrs per week for about 20 weeks before the event would not just be capable of completing this event but would also enjoy doing so just like I had.

A few points that I believe might be of interest to anyone thinking of completing an Ironman event for the first time;
-If I can do it so can you! Remember the hardest part of Ironman is the training; the event itself is to be enjoyed.
-If you are not a very efficient swimmer like me, do not worry. I have being in sprint triathlons where I have being kicked, scratched, boxed and bloodied and felt dizzy, sick and disorientated getting out of the water. In Ironman I swam over five times this distance and ran from the water to transition feeling great.
-Only wear clothing and footwear that you have tried and tested and felt comfortable in months before the event. Remember my story with the cycle shoes!
- If you can before the event drive the cycle course and familiarise yourself with the climbs and the descents, sharp bends etc.
-If by some climatic miracle during your training for this event and we do get a few hot days in the mid to high twenties at home, rejoice and reserve them for your long training runs. Remember we ran in heat close to if not 30 degrees.
-During long distance running sessions it would be a good idea to get used to stopping walking ten paces and start running again, this you will have to do many times over during an Ironman. Of course this is something you may not have to consider if you are among the very few athletes who have the ability to run it all without stopping, being that it is going to be your first Ironman I would most certainly air on the side of caution and practice!
-Just like driving the cycle route it would not be a bad idea to cycle the marathon route also before the event to familiarise yourself.
-Nutrition is important, and it would appear to be something that the five of us got fairly right on the day. Considering that none of us staggered in over the finish line into a heap on the ground. Get used to taking gels, they are disgusting but there are a lot of them on the market so you can shop around for the one that least disgusts you. I managed to down 5 on the bike and maybe about the same on the run. The remainder of my eating I done on the bike which included 5 energy bars and lots of banana bits loads of water and infinite energy drinks.

For this event I had considered myself lucky to have trained and travelled over with four of the soundest guys you could possibly meet to compete in this Ironman. Marc, Conor, Dave and Mick cheers to you guys! Having the legend that is Mick Macken travel over in our group certainly helped take any of the nervousness out of the atmosphere leading up to the event. A man who has competed in no less than four Ironman events, numerous half ironman and at this stage almost countless Olympics and Sprint distance triathlons. Having won many of these events in his age group over the past twenty odd years. Had Mick not travelled with us to compete in this event I have no doubt that we would probably have been sick with nerves leading up to the race itself. Our club is both lucky and honoured to have man of such a high sporting calibre as Mick to be a member.

Finally, just a word of thanks to Dave Warby and Charlie Naughton for all your tips and support over the last year. To Mick Murphy for keeping us all moving on the track. To all the guys in Shannonside cycle club who over the past 2 to3 years put me through the ropes on the bike. Having dropped me, humiliated me, dragged me up every dirty hill and climb they could find in the midlands but at the end of the day managed to make a better cyclist out of me. I have no doubt I would not have managed to cycle 112miles in comfort for 6 hours had I not being put through all that.

To all you guys in the club for your words of support, well wishes and congratulations up to during and after the event itself. Now roll on “Ironman Switzerland” Zurich, 1st August 2010.

The Train