The men’s start preceded the woman’s long distance category. The first 10k run was an impressive 2.5k uphill followed by 2.5k downhill, 2 lap run course, on road and through woodland trail. I usually warm up really well, but due to an injury I decided to keep that easy given the duration of the race; however the rather short and fast first lap put a lot of lactate into the legs, coming into transition in 33mins, 25^th position overall. The run course was well supported, plenty of aid stations and great marshalling. Transition to bike went smoothly, finding my bike first time and mounting without the usual dramas. The bike route comprised of three 50k loops, with a total height elevation of 1600m, the roads partially closed, but the traffic was held at every junction. Each lap had 3 climbs, with long descents on the other side and sweeping roads through stunning Swiss scenery. Even though the peaks were only at 780m, combination of this and humidity made the climbs tough. I tried my best to stay in a time trial position on the flats and downhill’s, coming up for the climbs and to refuel. After a somewhat uneventful ride, a clean dismount and I entered the second transition having completed the bike course in 4hours and 28minutes. I popped a few anti-diarrhoea pills as the combination of gels, drinks and food always gives me problems. Usually I feel strong coming from the bike onto the run, but hitting the first 2.5k hill really shot my legs. The route consisted of 2 laps of 15km, with some very steep climbs, mainly trail and some cross country. This was by far the hardest run route I have ever done, combined with dehydration and lack of vital sugars; I plodded through the field, sipping coke at the aid stations. The Injuries started to nag and whether started to close in. Seeing the leading elite group come through spurred me on and I continued making progress through the field. The finish was a nice 3km downhill stretch; a short loop around transition with great support from the on looking supporters led into the finish, well and truly knackered. I finished the second run in 2hours and 6minutes, with a cumulative time of 7hours and 10minutes.

Lanzarote Ironman 2011

On the back of a good marathon in Prague and training week in Italy, the lead up into Lanzarote was good. I was told for your first Ironman, Lanzarote was probably the worst, given the heat, wind and tough bike course, so plently to look forward to! Arriving on the Thursday, I had one day to get prepared, well fed and hydrated. As far as events go, the organisation was amazing. The care and attention to everything was beyond expectations. The Thursday included registration, participant race briefing and a very good pasta party. Friday was spent taking bikes over to transition, sorting feed and kit bags, most importantly having an early night for the 4am coach over to the start from Club la Santa. Race day was typically windy and slightly overcast for the island. Arriving with the other athletes on the coach, we all wondered down to transition to do final checks on the bikes, get oiled up for the swim and have a quick warm up. To be part of a 1500 mass start swim was unbelievable. The sky was very dark before the start, so much so you couldn’t see that far out to sea, but miraculously just before the gun went, the sky’s cleared. I have to admit, my swimming is the weakest of all three disciplines, so I new that just to get out the sea alive was an achievement. I made an effort to do wide loops around the two lap course so to avoid being swam over. In spite of the diesel taste in the sea from the on looking boats, the swim passed very quickly and without any dramas. Transition was rather manic, with sun cream being plastered on by volunteers, people sliding over from the wet floors and I thought I had the swim to worry about! Only real set back was forgetting to put my socks on... Transition was very long and onto the bike, coming out around middle of the competitors. Straight away it came apparent what major part the wind plays on this course. I started to make my way through the field and settle into a rhythm, keeping as aerodynamic as possible. I was aware how important feeding and hydrating was on a long distance race, so tried my up most to consume gels, water and some dry food every 30 minutes. Most notable moments on the course were the lava fields, big climbs up to 600m and attempting to have a wee on the bike. I hit two low points; running out of food and water and starting to feel very dizzy, luckily it was short lived as I managed to restock and the last 10miles getting shooting pains in my right knee (will invest in orthotics soon...), luckily the final 8k of the race is all down hill, but was questioning my ability to run a marathon. Arriving into the second transition, I dropped of the bike, collected my run bag and made my way into the changing tent. Getting into my running kit and being covered with more sun cream then I have ever used, I spent the next 8 minutes of my 10 minute transition on the already over flowing toilet, a sign of things to come! Well as far as the first 12 miles go, I caught up 70 people and was on target for a 2.45 marathon time (yes that’s going of a little to fast). Then the troubles started, the next 6 miles I managed to dive into 4 gardens with extremely bad stomach problems, now my main worry was hydration. The remaining part of the run was slow, walking through drink stops sipping coke and shuffling between feed points. The finish was a very welcome sight, coming in on 10hours 23minutes, 90^th overall and 4^th in age group.