11th September 2016
Full distance Ironman was never in the plan this year, but as the season progressed it began to appear in discussions while out on training spins. This was only possible for a number of reasons. Firstly, I married a wonderful understanding partner in crime 27 years ago, and it was partly her idea!!!
Background…
But let me take you back a bit as a few people have asked what the difference has been this season compared to others. After a good season in 2015, but a season where I lost places in nearly every race on the run, I knew I had to improve it. During the winter I run with a local club (Portmarnock AC). There is a good range of ability and Dermot Kelly who organises the sessions had a great plan of hill repeats and fast 1km runs each week to get us in top condition for an early season of 5km and 10km races. But along with this I knew I needed to start doing strength & conditioning and control my diet. I went to Laura Connick in Active You Gym in Drumcondra (087-9307552). Laura gave me a plan to work with in the gym and I saw her every 4/5 weeks while I worked away by myself. She also tracked what I was eating (I filled in a google spreadsheet & she gave out to me!) until I got the balance right. I have never been a big fan of the Gym but after starting in early November I got into a regular 3 times a week. By January my running was already improving and I entered the Raheny 5 mile to see where I was. I ran 31.45 and smashed my PB. Over the next few months I PB’ed at 5km (18.37) and 10km (38.27). I also won a bronze at the Leinster indoor championships running 10.39 in the 3000m. All of a sudden I started to consider myself as a half decent runner, something I had not done before. The ground work was done for the Triathlon season ahead.
As in previous years myself and training partners Steve E and Ivan E had lined up an early season 70.3 in Mallorca along with 30 other Piranhas. It had a flat run but a hilly bike so we trained hard for the hills. Mallorca is a nice race but the heavens opened on race day and stayed open. It bucketed down all day but I crossed the line to find out I had won the AG. This took a while to sink in and I think I had a smile on my face for about a week.
This set me up for a good season. In May I headed to the Europeans champs and placed 9th in the sprint in a super competitive international field. It was after this the idea of a full started to be discussed. Mags suggested I look at what was available later in the year as I was already signed up to IM70.3 Dublin and we were booked on holidays from 25th Sept. Weymouth or Wales were the only options. I blagged a free entry for the new race in Weymouth from IMUK lads and it was game on.
The season continued to get better. My running was on fire and my swim / bike were also in a good place. Over the season I placed first in AG in every race I did (apart from the Euro’s) and went into IM70.3 Dublin in great condition. During the season Ivan and I had been battling each other and the gap after 5 races was only 3 seconds after totalling our times. 70.3 Dublin was the show down! We both had a great race, racing shoulder to shoulder until about 16km on the run but as I had now moved to longer distance training for the full I had a little more in the tank and pulled away finishing in 4hr32min for another IM 70.3 AG win…….Holy shit – I now had 2 of these trophies.
Lead Up…
So to say confidence was high is an understatement. It was head down for the last few weeks of heavy training in prep for Weymouth. Training went really well and I missed very few sessions. Taper went to plan and I felt I was in the best shape of my life. With the decision to enter being so late in the year it worked in my favour as it came around very quickly and I was not mentally tired with the idea. Everything seemed to be lining up for one solid go at getting the golden ticket… A slot in Kona at the world champs. No Irish male person over 50 has ever qualified for Kona so it would be a first of many sorts – so no pressure!!!
Saturday and Sunday the week before the race I did my last longish run and bike and felt great – if not a little tired which I knew was normal. In race week for Ironman I tend to do a lot less than most, maybe it’s my age but I just like to let the body fully recover, repair and get ready. Without getting into too much detail the bowls started to act up on Monday, then seemed to be ok on Tuesday and then Tuesday night, not good; Wednesday, not good. Panic was now setting in. I had gone to the Doctor but he told me what I already knew………. you have a bug / virus, it will pass through the body, drink loads of water and relax (in my head when he said relax I was shouting back at him RELAX you say – If I F**king relax I will shit myself!!!). Tom and Siobhan both suggested a raft of different pills to take, which I did, and they all were of the same opinion: if it started on Monday you should be fine by Friday.
The Journey…
Myself and Mags along with Aidan Hughes and his wife Denise flew to Bristol, rented a car and drove down to Weymouth. It was an early flight (only 45mins) and the car journey was only 1hr 45 mins so we were in our rented house before lunchtime Friday with the bike in tow. All every easy and not tiring. Lovely house about 15 mins for the race site. We made up the bikes ready for a spin the following morning. Weather was OK but windy, and forecast was for rain that evening until 4pm Saturday, and then it would clear to blue skies. For most of Friday and Saturday my stomach was in a knot and not from nerves. I thought I was on the mend but then Friday night was spent with a few visit to the little boys’ room. Saturday I decided to take Imodium and block it all up! All this time I was still eating and drinking and there was no vomiting so I was still getting food in. Saturday evening I got to bed early feeling knackered but decided I would put it all to the back of my mind and get on with the job. If fact 3 jobs. Job 1 was to swim 3.8km and if I was ok, continue on, if I was knackered, I would DNF. Mags had suggested if this happened she would pack me off to Wales this weekend to try again!!! Job 2 complete 1 lap of the bike and see how I felt and so on.
Race Day…
Race Day morning and myself and Aidan (who was doing the 70.3) headed down to transition. It was a calm pleasant morning with temps about 13/14 before the sun came up and clear skies. We wished each other luck and went our separate ways knowing we were likely to see each other on the bike course. I actually felt good, my stomach still felt like someone had danced on it in high heels but other than that I felt good. Pre-race nerves set in, which was a good sign, but they usually result in me heading into a Portaloo – but not this time.
Swim:
The pros went in at 6.50. The Age groupers started at 6.55am and I entered the water at 7am. My target was 65 to 70mins but the morning was perfect, flat calm sea and 17 degrees, crystal clear, I have been in dirtier colder swimming pools. It was a joy and I was ploughing along. We had 2 laps to do with a quick Aussie exit on the beach and back in for another lap. A quick look at my watch told me lap 1 was 31 mins 30 sec. Very happy with that, I set off on lap 2. Honestly in that water I would have been happy to do another few laps but there was a bike and run waiting! I exited the water with a nice shout out for Paul Kaye & Joanne Murphy……… There goes John Wallnutt double Age group 70.3 ironman champion………. That put a smile on my face, but more importantly I felt good. I felt even better when I looked at my watch and saw 64 mins. I got into the changing tent (long run in) – wetsuit off, helmet on, socks on and gone!
Bike:
The bike course was a 2 lap x 90km loop with 1950m of climbing. It is mostly on good roads but there is hardly a flat bit of road, it was rolling up and down all the way. There are 3 longish climbs on the lap – not too steep but the downhills were just as good. My Garmin shows I hit 80.54kph at one stage which was on a long open straight stretch where you could just let go. There were 3 aid stations on the course so the only fuel I had to the bike to start with was one bottle (full of Iso drink), 8 cliff blocks, 4 salt tablets, 5 pieces of my Kendal mint cake (peppermint blocks of sugar used by climbers on Everest) and my treat of Fry’s Turkish Delight bar. I only used one bike bottle for a number of reasons, firstly less weight (I saw some bikes in transition with 4 full bottles on the bike – madness), secondly it forced me to drink it before I got to the first aid station and finally it meant I would swop from Iso to water at each aid station. So basically every 50 mins I would have finished a bottle and replaced it. At each aid station I picked up half a banana and half an energy bar. Banana went into the top of my trisuit and bar was eaten right away. All I had to remember was to eat something else in between each aid station. This worked out perfectly. I finished lap 1 in 2:48 and headed off on lap 2 on a much quieter road as all the 70.3 bikes were gone. Second lap was uneventful if a little boring. Cycled most of it on my own and only saw 2 or 3 other competitors. Rolled into the end of Lap 2 with a total time of 5hr40min (target 5:45). Feet out of the shoes, up to the dismount line and off in one fluid dismount, and both hammers put the brakes on and cramped with my legs screaming at me saying “Who the F do you think you are, some sort of pro?” In fairness they were right. I should have come to a full halt step off the bike and walked to the racking point. After stretching the hammers I was on the move through transition and into the changing tent. I emptied my bag to notice my Piranha trisuit (I was wearing my IRL suit as it was more aero) and then remembered I had it there as a backup in case of any sharts!!! Thankfully not needed so runners on, hat on (it was now hot and sunny), a good stretch of the hammers, quads and calf’s and off I went.
Run:
In the weeks before the race I had got into the mindset of looking at this event to show off how I can know run. Normally you see it as swim and bike done and now the run. I was seeing it as swim and bike out of the way so I can get running. Subtle difference but after doing so many long bricks in training the marathon held no fear apart from going out too fast. Marathon pace is so important, it’s like putting 26 litres of fuel in a formula 1 car and each Litre will get you a mile if you are gentle with the accelerator, but if you floor it off the lights you will use more than 5 litres in the first 5 miles and then run out of fuel in the last few miles.
I entered the run course still feeling OK, stomach still sore but everything was under control. My plan was to run around 3hr 40m / 3hr 45m…… split into 4 x 10.5km split 58min/ 54min / 54min /56min – 54min with the half as 1hr 52m. I set off at a steady mile pace of 8:40 – held back and waited for my legs to settle in. In my long brick sessions I had made mental notes about how they felt, how long it took to get coming etc. so I would not panic during the race. I went through the first few miles and if the truth be known I think at the back of my mind I already knew my legs were cooked! I went through 10.5 km in 56 mins and about 90 mins into the race I was in trouble with some stomach cramps and leg muscles twitching and just waiting for me to make a sudden movement and then cramp like they were being pulled off the bone. Mags noticed I was slowing and not looking good so it was then she informed me I was still holding 2nd in the Age Group and I need to keep going as best I could. I got through the half in 1hr 56min a little behind schedule but now I had a battle to keep moving. Running became jogging, jogging became heavy slow moving and the mind games started at every aid station, as I walked through them promising myself I would start running again at the next cone, ok maybe the one after or the one after that until you run out of cones and you have to start shuffling again. Every time a mile passed my watch beeped, I would look at it and then look away in disgust, annoyed and disappointed but then I would remember what happen to David Sheridan (shipmytri) who lost 2 places in the last 2 miles of his race and missed a Kona spot. I kept moving, playing mind games with myself. Trying to hold 9 min miles was gone and it was now 9.30 pace. Head was saying to legs… don’t let it go outside 9.30 pace. Legs were saying “piss off we need a rest and are walking!” By 17/18km I had been passed and moved back to 3rd, then 4th, then 5th. Surprisingly I was not getting upset by this as I knew I had given it my best and on the day it was not good enough and that is fine with me. I came down the finish shoot at a slow jog – enjoyed the Magic carpet. Stopped to kiss some young one in a pink Piranha T shirt and cross the line. I finished the run in 4hr 12min and a total of 11hr 4 mins. 6th in AG and 81st overall. During the run I had got news of Aidan’s crash and amazingly he was there at the finish line, bandaged up, disappointed but in good spirits.
Analysis…
For the crack we went to roll down the next morning. I was expecting 2 slots but there were 3 – but 1st, 2nd and 3rd all took the slots, so no roll down – not even to 4th.
For those who like the numbers – it was all very close until the last 10 km of the run for the first 6 home, but I would have had to run 3hr32m to have held onto 3rd place which would have been highly unlikely as target was 3.40.
1st Swim 1.06 bike 5.40 Run 3.20 Total 10.16
2nd Swim 1.01 bike 5.25 Run 3.41 Total 10.17
3rd Swim 1.08 bike 5.35 Run 3.32 Total 10.24
4th Swim 1.07 bike 5.53 Run 3.30 Total 10.38
5th Swim 1.07 bike 5.43 Run 3.46 Total 10.45
6th Swim 1.04 bike 5.40 Run 4.12 Total 11.04
Overall, I am happy to have been on the start line let alone be in the mix for 10 of the 11hours of racing. Kona will have to wait for another while or maybe for ever, who knows. Mags gently suggested the following day that maybe I am better suited to 70.3 and maybe she is right. It’s been a great season for me and one I will remember with no sense of disappointment.
My thanks to all those who trained with me over the year – especially Ivan and Steve. To John Lyons for the letting me borrow his helmet. To Tom and Siobhan for the medical advice, to all those I coached this year (Richie, John, Mags, Tara, Siobhan, Martina, Muirosia and Aidan). In coaching them I also learned a few things and it also made me practice what I preached. To Aidan and Denise for great company all weekend, we hardly stopped laughing and Finally to my wonderful Wife Mags who not only is a fantastic help but is my no1 fan. She has not had a great year with injuries and other things, but she has always been there. Hopefully next season will be her season to remember!!!
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