Ironman UK - 31 July 2011
Report by Dave Moore
Well, where do I start! I’d decided to have a crack at this after completing the Dublin Marathon last October. I entered, then told the wife that I would not be seeing her again until August, but could she still keep washing the training gear!
Unlike other triathlons I’ve done, T1 and T2 were in different locations and so was the car parking and finish, just to make life interesting. So we’d gone up early to have a look at the course and find all the locations. At registration we were given three coloured bags - red for the cycle gear, blue for the run gear and white for your dry gear. The race day routine would be – park in Reebok stadium and take shuttle to swim start at Pennington Flash. After swim, run/walk 200m into T1 tent, take red bag off your peg and go to changing area. Take wetsuit off, put cycle gear on and wetsuit/goggles back in bag, hang bag back on peg, go to bike(keep up!). At T2 give bike to helpers and go into sports hall, find blue bag on floor and go to change area. Put run gear on and dump bag in pile. Run into Bolton and finish. Go to hall and find white bag and catch shuttle bus back to Reebok stadium, then go to school to pick up bike and hopefully, red and blue bags! A logistical nightmare, so I was glad we were early.
The Saturday was hot and sunny so when the forecast for Sunday said overcast, I was delighted. Up at 3.00am and ate cold pasta, mmmmmm. Then dropped my son off at the swim start and drove to the Reebok Stadium to park and got the shuttle bus back to the lake.
The water was a tepid 18 degrees but a bit murky. Then at 6.00am, we were off! The swim went quite well for me. I stayed out wide for the first lap then came in tight for the second as the crowd thinned out(most people had finished!). Long and strong and keep sighting the buoys.
T1 was ok, if a bit messy. Onto the bike and out in light rain. The bike course was out for 15 miles, then three 30 mile laps ending in a leg down to a school for T2. The laps had the only one real climb of about 2 miles with a final ‘out of seat ’ bit. The rest was rolling plus a few fast descents, so not too bad compared with the roads around Pembrokeshire. After 30 miles I had to pull myself up a bit and remind myself it was not a sprint! I steadied my pace a bit. I had a low point at about 70 miles where I’d had enough, but I took my mind somewhere else for a while and came back at 90! Worst bit on the bike was going through villages at mid-day with all the pubs full and smells of Sunday lunches! Takes the edge of another Powerbar.
Into T2, find bag, hope it’s the one with running shoes and not wash gear! Then we’re on the run at last! First an 8 mile leg then onto the first of 3 six mile laps in and out of Bolton city centre. This split the course nicely into sections, however you did get to see the finish line three times before they let you cross it! I went into the zone after the first lap (18 miles) and was just looking six foot in front. It was after the second lap that I realised I might finish in under 12hrs I if could keep the same pace. So coming into town for the last time was a great feeling and I actually managed a sort of sprint, wailing like a banshee, under the finish clock! Then a little sob and a medal from an 11yr old boy! Very surreal.
My goal for the Ironman was to swim/bike/run, not swim/bike/walk. Then try and run under 4hrs for the marathon and finally finish around the 12hr mark. So I am chuffed to bits that it went as well as it did. But I thought I’d done enough training to finish, although what time was anyone’s guess. You don’t know what you’re going to be like ‘till you’ve done one. That’s the same for any distance.
Would I do another? Not for a while! The training is so much more than usual and it takes over your life. Done 50hrs swim, 2209 miles bike, 450 miles run since Jan. What would I do different next time? More bike hours(is that possible!) Find a less complicated one!
You definitely have to be mentally tough for this event, to control your emotions (until the end!), stay focused, stay strong and stick to the plan. Hope all of you who are taking part in the Tenby Ironman have a good race and achieve your own goals. If you want to ask me anything, don’t hesitate to contact me on dmoore908@btinternet.com.
ED: Oliver Simon also raced and stormed into 5th place in a fantastic time of 8.54.38 and Dave finished 355th in a supurb time of 11.50. Well done to both of them.
