Race Report: Challenge Roth 2014

By Stuart Russell

3:15am Sunday the 20th July, it was Ironman day, at this point I had no idea of the rollercoaster day I had ahead of me. This was the last part of a journey that began over 12 months prior, following the completion of the book ‘Can’t Swim, Can’t Bike, Can’t Run’ by Andy Holgate. I was mildly inspired, An Ironman, the ultimate test, could I do that? I was halfway through my first season in Triathlon where I was basically still trying to understand the sport and find my legs competing in Sprints and Two Olympics. Not to mention my up and coming wedding, Ironman phase over and I continued with the season.

A topic outlining the concept of a Piranha Ironman race appeared on the forum shortly after, there I was again thinking “could that be me?”. I seeked the advice of some of the clubs Ironmen, all seemed very positive, however I looked at a training programme Gavin Duffy shared with me, “Er no thanks” Ironman phase over again.

Then I got the text that shaped my life for the next 12 months. Gavin sent me a heads up that he had organised some pre-entry codes for Challenge Roth 2014, this was the most popular choice among the club and without doubt the biggest long distance triathlon in the world, did I want one? I think the heart rate instantly went into zone 2. After some thought and discussion with my then Fiancee I decided to go for it, I could cancel anytime prior to April, my thought process was just see how things go…

Training
2013 triathlon season & Wedding over, late September and it was time to get to work. I employed the services of Eamonn Tiley from ET Sports to put together my training plan and offer support throughout my journey. The Autumn months were base training low HR session increasing in distance as we went along, these were mainly swim based, before long the lad that couldn’t swim freestyle a year ago was swimming 3k, it was starting to work.

Following a small break over Xmas due to illness I was back in full swing, swimming with the club then cycling & running alone, now adding speed into sessions I continued to grow in confidence and hit the targets set by Eamonn, however long bikes were starting to get lonely, John Walnutt assisted me with that, now cycling part of the Roth group things continued to progress into the spring, I was now logging 12 to 14 hours a week.

Tip – The most daunting thing about Ironman training are the longer sessions, I found a routine that worked for me, get out as early as possible at weekends (7am latest), most of my long rides were finished by lunchtime.

After a disappointing TriAthy Double Olympic I was into the peak phase of training training up to 20 hours a week, I was feeling great, I had a slight injury scare after my longest run (3 hrs) apart from that everything went according to plan and before I knew it the final milestone was here Taper… “sh!t” it just got real.

Pre Race
The Wife and I travelled directly into Nurnberg Airport via Stansted deciding 2 flights were better than the stress of a long drive once we arrived in Germany, The buzz around the park on the day we arrived (Friday) was excellent, however it was roasting, this was a different level of heat something I haven’t felt since Las Vegas, “this changes everything” I said to Michelle.

Registration completed we explored the finish line, gulp! that’s something else. To avoid any embarrassment due to over excitement we headed to our hotel, the rest of the Team were staying locally in the Holiday Inn, we decided to stay in Nurnberg, it was only 20 minutes away and got us away from the hype of the event.

On the Saturday we woke early and headed to the practice swim. I needed this, if TriAthy had taught me anything it was if possible test the water before a race, on that occasion it was so cold it threw me and I never recovered, I wasn’t going to be caught out this time. It was perfect, lukewarm, no current and ok visibility. 800m done and I was happy and more to the fact confident. The rest of the day was spent organising and dropping off bags, picking up and dropping off the bike. I did a small test spin on the bike, it was still extremely hot and I was very worried about that.

My Wife has so many great qualities it couldn’t possibly list them, the night prior to the race she showed a new one, Tri Coach. Over dinner she broke it down for me and effectively talked me off the edge of the cliff “You’ve done the training, you’ve done the preparation, just break them down into 3 and just remember Drink Drink Drink”. Fully calmed down and final bag packed, I was in bed at 7pm and slept like a baby.

Race Day
3:15am time to rise and grind, Michelle sorted breakfast as I completed phase one of getting ‘Ironman ready’ which basically involved smothering my body in suncream and vaseline. Breakfast consisted of 2 small bowls of lumpy porridge, bagel, banana, barroca and a protein shake. We set off at 4am, as I walked towards the swim start I started feeling better and less nervous. I kissed the Wife and headed straight into T1, all the lads were there and instantly nerves gone and craic started. That 60 minutes flew by and before I knew it BOOM!!! only what can be described as the canon sound that is trigger when someone dies in the Hunger Games went off, The Pro’s have started t-minus 40 minutes.

Swim
The great thing about Roth is Germany efficiency, no messing around. We’d only just got into the water then BOOM!!! we were away. I stayed in the middle of the pack instantly found some space and was into my stroke, it always fascinates me to know what everyone else thinks when completing a long swim, I took Eamonn’s advice and just kept a song in my head, but why oh why was it Dory from Finding Nemo ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming’ Ah!!! It actually made no difference I was calm, swimming well and in a good place.

The swim consisted of an up, down, and up again course. The first of the two turns seemed to take a while to get to, once I arrived there was no fighting or chaos which was nice. Straight back into my stroke all was good heading into the longest stretch of the swim, halfway through I felt in a good place ‘time to put the hammer down’ as a faster swimming from a later wave passed me so I stuck to his feet for the rest of this section. The final turn was slightly more chaotic, I kept my line and immediately found my sighting point for the exit, rather than continuing my increase in pace I stayed steady, the group was funneling to a point so there was no time to be gained. I’d made it to the exit, quick glance at the watch 1:22:48, part one completed and 8 minutes quicker than my target. A quick sloppy kiss for the wife and into T1.

T1
Bike bag in hand all was calm, “alright Stu” there was Leo equally happy with his swim, we sat down shared some words then said our goodbyes and I was off to collect the bike. The atmosphere was unreal, I started waving straight away. They love that in Roth, give and you will receive the best support ever. T1 negotiated, I was now ready to rip into the bike ‘game on’.

Bike
The initial start was crazy as we crossed over the canal flags everywhere then the Tri colour, COME ON THE PIRAHNA!!! I turned left onto the Tri bars and got down to business, quick check on the heart rate, Hang on??? HR wasn’t showing!!! That could be a problem, however I had a plan b and based the ride on pace, by now I knew my body well enough. I started strong passing a number of other riders as we headed towards Roth, first aid station was soon upon us. Having never negotiated an aid station on the bike this was an experience a cross between utter madness and surprising organisation. I grabbed water & a banana and was back into the groove.

I was flying, I felt great and most of all very calm, following a ride up a small incline I hit the downhill section, topping 45kmph the road surface started to feel different, nothing had changed in terms of the road surface so I slowed and checked the front, it was soft ‘f@ck!!!’. Remaining calm I moved from harm’s way and began the task of changing the wheel, everything went like clockwork until I tried to get the final part of the bead onto the rim, it wouldn’t go. I took a deep breath then Leo checked in on me as he flew passed. I finally got the bead on the rim just as a rescue van showed up, two German lads with a pump. Rather than using CO2 I used there pump, thinking about the heat I asked them to inflate it to 7 bar, tyre back on I set off again, not further than 200m it blew. ‘F@CK’ again. The lads ran straight over and assisted me again. Tyre off and new tube back in again the final bead wouldn’t go onto my rim. Some additional pulling and prodding and we were back in Business, “slowly” I said 7 bar. Bang!!! “Scheiße” my German friend shouts. Now I’m getting stressed, I was losing a mammoth amount of time, being cooked by the ever hotter sun and I was onto my last tube with 160km to go, things were bleak at this stage. My German friends assisted me again this change was seamless tyre inflated to 6.5bar and time to go. A quick thank you, shake of hands and a push start and I was off, 2km under my belt things are feeling great, again starting to go downhill and passing a number of fellow Triathletes I felt a bump, then a bigger bump then BANG!!! The Italian guy I was passing nearly shit himself, I unclipped slowed myself down and pulled over. Game over!!! No more tubes left and what must have been a faulty tyre/rim. My heart sank into a pit. A quick check of the watch, Oh my HR is now working however I’m only 22 km in. I took the tube out and examined my tyre, then I noticed it a small split about 1 inch long right on the bead. No point looking for another tube this was terminal.

My German friend soon turned up again, “Scheiße Stuart Scheiße” I showed them the tyre, they told me a quad bike will show up carrying spare wheels, however they had no idea how long it would take anywhere between 5 minutes to an hour, at this point I was like my tyre totally deflated. The lads let me sit in the back of the van to shade myself from the sun. They asked if I’d like to retire with a big lump in my throat I agreed in 10 minutes they could load the bike and we’d call it a day, devastated at this point, the guys informed me that the leader was coming through, the timing car came through first followed by Luke McKenzie (later I found out my German friend had this wrong it was actually Nils Frommhold) after Nilis rode through a support car came through, I didn’t see him stop but shortly after a bloke turns up with a front wheel fully inflated and ready to go on, I nearly kissed the man. Wheel changed, gear on and goodbyes completed I was away, Just as I settled back into things I realised, I hadn’t drank or eaten throughout my ordeal & I now had 158 km to complete without any further issues my morale was extremely low very quickly.

The kilometres continued to tick over steadily climbs followed by downhill sections came and went including a couple of very nasty looking crashes, approximately 70km into my bike I heard what could only be described as a party, reminding me of my younger ‘clubbing’ days I turned a right hand bend and it was there. Solar Hill a wall of noise, music and people were ahead of me, my initial thought was ‘how am I getting up this?’ there wasn’t any room. A small lane emerged as I rode up the climb which was by far the easiest climb ever, utter nut cases where there with cow bells, tambourines, whistles and their loud voices it was brilliant, then I spotted the tri colours & saw Michelle a little high five (which she hates) and a final push up the hill. My mindset instantly changes I was so happy I had experienced that moment, as i rode away a very valid point hit me, if that was good imagine the finish. The next 50 km flew past, continuing to pass other riders as I continued, a small break to stop and talk with any Piranhas I passed. My final issue happened shortly after 130km, climbing through a German village I switched the gear to as high as possible to save the legs, a strange noise came from my the bike a grinding metal on metal, had my chain fell off? nope! What the hell was it then? A Spanish rider was shouting at me, “bote, bote, bote” What the hell does that mean, I didn’t want to stop halfway through the climb but this sounded serious, I pulled over. My CO2 canister (bote in Spanish I later learnt) had dropped from my cage into the gears, 5 minutes messing with gears and chains and it was safely retrieved. A quick drink and banana and off I went.

The second climb of Solar was less inspiring, just a few stragglers left at that point, still giving it some thought. I had a Piranha buddy at this point Pat Linehan, I had caught up with Pat but shortly after I started to suffer, a mix off my lack of nutrition during my issues, the Sun and my attempts to get sometime back had taken their toll, the last 20km were hell on earth, again very down at this point I started doubting my ability to finish this challenge, my longest run I had completed was 33km, now I had 42.2km ahead of me on an empty tank in the scorching sun. T2 was upon, Pat & I we came in dropped the bike and walked to find our run bags.

T2
The plan was simple, take my time, have a rest (as instructed by the wife) and at least give the run ago, I would have never forgiven myself if I hadn’t. My initial plan of having a sit down and stretch were soon changed, A proud German in his 40’s decided to drop his shorts right next to me, I wasn’t sitting next to that thing for a second longer. I had a comfort break, took sponges clean my face and dunked my head in the water bowser much the the annoyance of a German volunteer. It helped no end, I walked through the aid station and began another journey, it was Marathon time.

Run
I started with a light jog, the legs felt ok at this point so my confidence grew, I needed to stick to the plan Coach Wifey and I had agreed to run between aid stations then walk the station and get fluids, gels etc, Also Patrick Grealy gave me a tip about sponges under the suit, duly noted I was away, I stopped to chat with Michelle at 4km and explained the fun I had on the bike, another kiss and goodbye and I set out on the first half of the run, happy with my pace I started seeing Piranhas on their way back from the initial turning point, a happy high five or shout across kept me going, that was until I saw John Walnutt, I can only describe John as looking like an escaped mental patient, if anyone ever watched Prison Break John was Haywire without the hair (and in a Trisuit) I was worried, should I turn back, no keep going he’ll be grand, you’re running next to a river Russell, he could drown…before I knew it 5km had passed and I was into the town where we turn, running into the town I was met by a girl (or dude) wearing bright pink hair, boob tube and skirt “this could be interesting” I said to myself. It was another party in full swing, drunken residents and kids high on sweets and ice cream, ‘hmmmm Ice Cream’ I wanted a 99 badly at this point. As I said goodbye to the residents of the turnaround village I was still feeling ok, at 21km I was starting to suffer, slowing and finding an excuses to walk more, I needed a perk me up and there she was Michelle was at the 22km aid station she walked the station with me and gave me some great advice “only two 10k’s and your done” that stuck with me throughout the second half, at 28km I was done my legs had nothing left I had slowed to a steady walk still 14 km from home this was my lowest point of the day. On reflection this low point actually helped me it gave me a feeling that I didn’t want to replicate 32km down I remembered Michelle’s advice I only had one 10k left, I summoned what strength I had left and started to run again 33 km became 34, then 35 before I knew it I was 5 km from home, that feeling of being so close from home helped so much as I ran into Roth with 3 km to go I knew I was home, I was going to finish so I had the craic with everyone supporting a packed pub on the main street went crazy as I stopped and bowed to them, plus high fives on the way back, I could hear the finish at this point I ran through the last aid station thanking everyone as I did this, one last turn into the park a big high five from Casso then into the finishing straight, I robbed an Irish Flag from some supporters said a massive thank you to another group of Irish fans I had seen at a number of points on the run then into the stadium. I just enjoyed this point, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd flying my flag and bowing to everyone I soaked every last drop up, finally after 9 months of preparation and a race that had so many up’s and down’s I had made it, I was an Ironman….

Post Race
During my training I heard something that as it turns out is very true, doing an Ironman for the first time is like having a baby. You prepare your body for 9 months, your body changes shape, you eat more, sleep more and go through many phases of change. Then the climax is 10 to 15 hours of total pain where you swear constantly swear never to do it again, once it over you’re overcome with absolute joy and you know it was all worth it, then a day or two later you admit that you could do it again. I guess that analogy is very suitable for me as my Wife who dragged herself halfway across Bavaria to support me is 20 weeks pregnant, so for me yes I would go back but not just yet.

Like others in the group Roth and I have some unfinished Business and I hope to put that right in 2016, I promise that race report will be a lot shorter (I hope). My final point is a simple one, if you ever consider it, do it. It was one of the best days in my life and something I’ll never forget.

Finally thanks to everyone who supported me through this, my fellow Piranha, Eamonn, Friends, Family, Colleagues and especially my Wife Michelle (and bump)

Till next time
Stuart