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Another flippin' triathlon race report - Ironman Barcelona
I wrote this for my Tri Club (Meridian Triathlon Club) & I can't be arsed to edit it, so some of it you won't understand.
‘Race’ report with a difference: If you’ve got 20 minutes of your life to spare that you’ll never get back, take a seat & read on…
This isn’t so much of a race report, more of a 30 week journey full of twists & turns and highs & lows. For those who have been inspired by the Ironman finishers this year and are contemplating entry, think carefully, there’s a lot more to it than the hours of pain & the ecstasy of crossing the finish line on race day. What follows is an account of an ordinary bloke who has a full time job, likes his food, struggles to decide if he prefers beer or wine and sometimes really can’t be arsed to swim/bike/run. And I always knew Mrs Stig would want stuff done around the house, but strangely too, she actually wanted to spend some time with me?? Weird!
This year, my plan was based around TrainerRoad, with Royston Runner sessions on a Tuesday and/or Thursday, TT’s on Wednesday’s, with a Sunday long run based on Don Fink. My favourite discipline, the swim (I joke), would be a mixture of Alice/Jenny/Josh sessions with OW’s later as the days got warmer. My target time?.....sub 13 hours.
The early weeks were promising. Turbo sessions were fun & productive and the running was improving, in my opinion, due to the interval sessions on the bike. Cambourne 10k was an early indication that I could run at a decent pace that was uncomfortable, yet sustainable and I was even enjoying coached swim sessions. I’d identified with the help of Matt Fitzgerald that 12st 5lbs would be my ideal race weight (I was 12st 2lbs at Ironman UK in 2015….more of that later).
Soon came hurdle No.1, Burnout. I’d ridden a really good Time Trial on the Wednesday & a respectable 48:10 10k in the midweek league round a difficult undulating course at Therfield on the Thursday, then, on the Sunday, during a Long Run with Mark Wilsher, I was pooped…couldn’t run for more than a mile. Burnout. Rest for a few days then back on it. The next few weeks became the theme of my season, loving (& doing pretty well in TT’s), but getting by with the swimming & running. Little did I know now, but my running had already peaked.
A further 2 weeks were lost due to a stomach bug, then 10 days ‘good’ training due to holiday, then, the worst of the lot, a chest infection which really knocked me for six & cost me another 2 weeks of training (but I actually think the impact was much longer lasting). This caused me to miss Monster Middle which was a vital part of the training cycle and would make race day all the harder. At this point I honestly thought finishing within the 15:40 cut off would be difficult. And through all this, there’s Mrs Stig & Stiglet in the background, patiently waiting for their turn to be No.1 in the queue. I’m not exaggerating when I say, if your other half is not an athlete, only the strongest relationship will survive an Ironman.
The last few weeks were good. A 50m TT and CCA’s annual trip to Wells-Next-To-Sea were a real confidence boost. Squid & I have got in a few sea swims at Felixstowe and I’d even managed a few long runs.
So to race weekend, you’ve already read Squiddy’s account about our fun with BA (& I really was not happy sitting on that bus!), so I’ll skip straight to race day (the Riverdance downstairs the night before was much more bearable than Guy’s pornfest).
Swim: (2.4 miles) 1:38:29 Having done 1:38 & 1:39 in my previous IM’s that’s par for the course but despite (I think) being technically better, no improvement on race day. Beautiful sea, but a really boring swim (2.4m is a LONG way).
T1: 9:38 Amazing it takes so long without make-up! (you really need to be a MTC member to understand this!)
Bike: (112 miles) 5:51:02 19mph. Despite struggling with a dodgy tummy, really happy with this, & contrary to Trev’s musings, I felt great coming to the end of the ride & in a good place to run.
T2: 9:06 Hmmmm – consistant!
Run: (26.2 miles) 5:50:06 OH MY GOD!!!!! 6 hours of pain. As a sub 4 hour marathon runner, this is where I was really regretting taking my nutrition ‘lightly’. I’d run 5:03 at Bolton, on really challenging course after a hilly 7 hour bike. The dreams of a sub 13 quickly eroded as Squiddy quickly caught & passed me. Beginning the last lap I stopped to greet the assembled ‘Squad’ with a ‘There’s no flippin’ way I can do another 8 miles…….see you in 2 hours’. But eventually the finish line came into view for the final time. I’d known for months that if I wasn’t desperate to get in under an hour, I’d enjoy (or milk) the finish chute, and this I did – that was a fantastic end to a challenging few months. NEVER SHOW ME ANOTHER BANANA OR GEL, I’m likely to suggest where you ingest it.
Overall: 13:38:11 Slower than planned, but if you’re not a pro, you’d be extremely lucky for the entire day to go to plan. Race day is seldom the day you dream about.
So to conclude, this was the hardest IM I’ve done as I never really committed 100%, but, with my manfriend by my side, there’s been some laughs. I will admit, if I hadn’t signed up with Guy, Jane, Dawn, Slade & Gareth (& I could have afforded it), I would have bailed during the training cycle. I’ve definitely got another one in me (Challenge Roth is still on the bucket list), but I’d really need to commit to improving my swim, be almost 2 stone lighter (13:8 at the last weigh in) & certainly a lot leaner. Maybe in a few years. In the meantime, as you know, TT’s are at the forefront, running & swimming can take a backseat, whilst I consider other challenges such as the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix Sportives, Mont Ventoux or The Tourmalet, and I’ll go back to Sprint tri’s probably in 2019. Now, it’s time to drink wine & please Mrs Stig.
‘Race’ report with a difference: If you’ve got 20 minutes of your life to spare that you’ll never get back, take a seat & read on…
This isn’t so much of a race report, more of a 30 week journey full of twists & turns and highs & lows. For those who have been inspired by the Ironman finishers this year and are contemplating entry, think carefully, there’s a lot more to it than the hours of pain & the ecstasy of crossing the finish line on race day. What follows is an account of an ordinary bloke who has a full time job, likes his food, struggles to decide if he prefers beer or wine and sometimes really can’t be arsed to swim/bike/run. And I always knew Mrs Stig would want stuff done around the house, but strangely too, she actually wanted to spend some time with me?? Weird!
This year, my plan was based around TrainerRoad, with Royston Runner sessions on a Tuesday and/or Thursday, TT’s on Wednesday’s, with a Sunday long run based on Don Fink. My favourite discipline, the swim (I joke), would be a mixture of Alice/Jenny/Josh sessions with OW’s later as the days got warmer. My target time?.....sub 13 hours.
The early weeks were promising. Turbo sessions were fun & productive and the running was improving, in my opinion, due to the interval sessions on the bike. Cambourne 10k was an early indication that I could run at a decent pace that was uncomfortable, yet sustainable and I was even enjoying coached swim sessions. I’d identified with the help of Matt Fitzgerald that 12st 5lbs would be my ideal race weight (I was 12st 2lbs at Ironman UK in 2015….more of that later).
Soon came hurdle No.1, Burnout. I’d ridden a really good Time Trial on the Wednesday & a respectable 48:10 10k in the midweek league round a difficult undulating course at Therfield on the Thursday, then, on the Sunday, during a Long Run with Mark Wilsher, I was pooped…couldn’t run for more than a mile. Burnout. Rest for a few days then back on it. The next few weeks became the theme of my season, loving (& doing pretty well in TT’s), but getting by with the swimming & running. Little did I know now, but my running had already peaked.
A further 2 weeks were lost due to a stomach bug, then 10 days ‘good’ training due to holiday, then, the worst of the lot, a chest infection which really knocked me for six & cost me another 2 weeks of training (but I actually think the impact was much longer lasting). This caused me to miss Monster Middle which was a vital part of the training cycle and would make race day all the harder. At this point I honestly thought finishing within the 15:40 cut off would be difficult. And through all this, there’s Mrs Stig & Stiglet in the background, patiently waiting for their turn to be No.1 in the queue. I’m not exaggerating when I say, if your other half is not an athlete, only the strongest relationship will survive an Ironman.
The last few weeks were good. A 50m TT and CCA’s annual trip to Wells-Next-To-Sea were a real confidence boost. Squid & I have got in a few sea swims at Felixstowe and I’d even managed a few long runs.
So to race weekend, you’ve already read Squiddy’s account about our fun with BA (& I really was not happy sitting on that bus!), so I’ll skip straight to race day (the Riverdance downstairs the night before was much more bearable than Guy’s pornfest).
Swim: (2.4 miles) 1:38:29 Having done 1:38 & 1:39 in my previous IM’s that’s par for the course but despite (I think) being technically better, no improvement on race day. Beautiful sea, but a really boring swim (2.4m is a LONG way).
T1: 9:38 Amazing it takes so long without make-up! (you really need to be a MTC member to understand this!)
Bike: (112 miles) 5:51:02 19mph. Despite struggling with a dodgy tummy, really happy with this, & contrary to Trev’s musings, I felt great coming to the end of the ride & in a good place to run.
T2: 9:06 Hmmmm – consistant!
Run: (26.2 miles) 5:50:06 OH MY GOD!!!!! 6 hours of pain. As a sub 4 hour marathon runner, this is where I was really regretting taking my nutrition ‘lightly’. I’d run 5:03 at Bolton, on really challenging course after a hilly 7 hour bike. The dreams of a sub 13 quickly eroded as Squiddy quickly caught & passed me. Beginning the last lap I stopped to greet the assembled ‘Squad’ with a ‘There’s no flippin’ way I can do another 8 miles…….see you in 2 hours’. But eventually the finish line came into view for the final time. I’d known for months that if I wasn’t desperate to get in under an hour, I’d enjoy (or milk) the finish chute, and this I did – that was a fantastic end to a challenging few months. NEVER SHOW ME ANOTHER BANANA OR GEL, I’m likely to suggest where you ingest it.
Overall: 13:38:11 Slower than planned, but if you’re not a pro, you’d be extremely lucky for the entire day to go to plan. Race day is seldom the day you dream about.
So to conclude, this was the hardest IM I’ve done as I never really committed 100%, but, with my manfriend by my side, there’s been some laughs. I will admit, if I hadn’t signed up with Guy, Jane, Dawn, Slade & Gareth (& I could have afforded it), I would have bailed during the training cycle. I’ve definitely got another one in me (Challenge Roth is still on the bucket list), but I’d really need to commit to improving my swim, be almost 2 stone lighter (13:8 at the last weigh in) & certainly a lot leaner. Maybe in a few years. In the meantime, as you know, TT’s are at the forefront, running & swimming can take a backseat, whilst I consider other challenges such as the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix Sportives, Mont Ventoux or The Tourmalet, and I’ll go back to Sprint tri’s probably in 2019. Now, it’s time to drink wine & please Mrs Stig.
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