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Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail
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A good 16hrs training last week with 9 out of it heading West on a charity cycle in pissing rain and strong headwinds. Does it ever blow east to west? I had a very near "oh ****" moment after Loughrea yesterday when one of the lads came a cropper coming across a diagonal train track, narrowly missed a fall and running over his head:eek:.
6 more days to self flagellation in Barcelona, need to get my head in race mode. Same rules apply as IMMT, enjoyment, execution and making good decisions.
I have been told to push the bike a bit more,apparently i took it easy in Canada
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Ironman Barcelona Race Report - October 02nd 2016 "6 weeks is enough time for another IM, right?"
Pre Race
6 weeks after Ironman Mont Tremblant i was unsure how the body would respond. I took a full week off after IMMT and built it back up to easy sessions over the following 2 weeks. To be honest there was a few moments during those first 2-3 weeks when i thought i would be better leaving the bike at home and just having a holiday break as i was just not feeling it. I remained patient and on week 4 and in particular week 5 i seen some small gains on swim and bike with run almost there. Before i knew it we were into race week and i was feeling reasonably confident i would get around in one piece.
I flew out on Thursday with Darren and Dave, oh wait no. [snipped]. We have a history over our 3 IM travels of something always happening on each trip but this takes the biscuit. Heal well Dave and you got a lucky escape of me beating you again!
The "Crew" arrived over on the Saturday. [snipped]. My Mam and Dad were also over along with [snipped] Michael was racing his first IM. He was testing the theory of doing an IM having never done a tri before signing up or been able to swim the year previous. Spirits were good and i was feeling relaxed, i could tell Darren was less so. He had a vomiting bug at the start of the week and he looked as if he was going all out to be the next wafer thin male model!
Race Day
Great thing about Barcelona is the later start time, none of the usual 3.30am breakfast and i was up at a more respectable 5.15am. I had a great sleep and had a smaller than usual IM breakfast as i was feeling bloated and full. Walked down, got bike setup and back in hotel for a snooze before heading back down to the beach. Before i knew it it was go time.
Swim
A rolling start, my first one. I have to say you do miss the mass starts for atmosphere but the rolling start is much more civil. I had positioned myself in the optimistic sub 70min pen and was hoping to get dragged around. Started off the swim and everything was going fine for the first half of the swim (1900mtrs) a quick glance showed 35.30 so knew i was close enough to a 70min swim. The wheels (or fins) started to come off slowly between 2000-3000mtrs and i started to slow and feel uneasy in the water as there was a small swell closer to shore swimming back in.
3000mtrs to the end of the swim, which i measured at 3960mtrs was a case of gritting it out and getting it done. I had a splitting headache which i think was caused by a tight swim hat, funnily enough Darren mentioned the same after his race. Getting out of the water i seen a 77min on the watch which was a swim pb but disappointing given the work i had put in all year. More concerning was the motion sickness wobbles i had going up into transition, not a good start to the day.
Time – 1:18:00
Transition 1
I had to walk it and take 2mins in the tent and not do anything to try and steady myself. This resulted in a slow transition and these 2mins would come back to get me later on. It was still the right thing to do at the time. 6mins later i was off out onto the bike and hopeful that things would clear.
Bike
Flying mount and away we go. The first 30mins was spent settling myself, getting the hr down and getting some fluids and nutrition into me. My garmin 510 had a brain fart and i had no hr, distance or pace in front of me apart from my 910 watch which i was not really looking at. So this was really old school racing by feel with no gadgets
People were passing at the start which was a strange sensation however i was soon passing them back. Compared to IMMT i did not feel as strong or comfortable on the bike and i always felt i was struggling a little. I knew i had to remain patient, positive and focus on the process of riding my bike as hard as i could sustain over 180kms. I rode honest and never drafted but i did find a legal pace line with 3 others for the first loop. I missed a bottle at one of the aid stations and was gasping for water. I noticed i had not pee'd or was not sweating which was concerning but blocked it out. I ended up going through halfway at 90km in 2.29.
Heading back out for loop 2 and there was less ahead of me having passed a lot on loop 1. There was still plenty of groups drafting with 10-15 riders at the front chasing their Kona slots but i did not waste time or energy worrying about that and just kept focused on my own race. I hit the final turn point at 140km and had a 40km spin back to Calella into a headwind which was picking up a little. I finally pee'd on the bike and was starting to sweat which i was sort of relieved with as dehydration was a concern on loop 1. I rode this last 40km strong and whilst not quicker than the first loop my effort levels were certainly higher than the first loop. A lot of people were blowing so its always satisfying to ride the bike hard for the full 180km. 2nd loop was almost an even split at 2.30 and i was off the bike with a flying dismount in under 5hrs.
Time – 4:59:41
Transition 2
Grabbed my bag, found a seat and got ready for what i was expecting to be a bloody tough run. The big question was about to be asked, is 6 weeks enough time for another IM.
Run
The sun was out and it was hitting mid 20s. I have raced in mid 30s before so whilst hot i have raced in hotter. The first 2km went just ok, I got to the 4km sign and i was starting to really struggle. Pace was dropping off a cliff and this was probably my lowest point in the race. I was not running well and i imagined another 38km of running was going to take me all day at this rate. I tried my best to remain positive and be patient that it might start to turn. I started out with a 9min and 1 walk which had worked well for me in IMMT, i had gone through 9k at this stage and seen Darren ahead of me on one of the out and back sessions, i figured he had about 10mins still on me.
Passing through 15km i had a glance at the watch and seen 5.22km pace average so far, terrible i thought. I normally hold off on Coke until 25km in the run but given how i was feeling i had started to take it much earlier in the day. I noticed my run pace started to come down to 4.30s and 4.40km pace. I soon zoned out and the walk breaks went from 9 and 1 to 19 and 1 to 29 and 1. All of a sudden i found a rhythm, yeah it was hurting but Jesus i was starting to enjoy the hurt. I was out onto lap 2 at this point and the run back in near the finish line had huge support. Here i seen Michael who was out on one of his loops and got to see my "CREW". I could just hear the shouts [snipped] ringing through, it was a huge lift even though i did not express or acknowledge it at the time.
I passed Darren somewhere around the 21km mark and knew he was in a bad way. A quick glance had me at 1.50 going through halfway which was a little slower than IMMT. I kept at it though and all of a sudden i found myself on the last lap with 13km to go. My average pace had dropped from 5.22km pace overall down to 5.06 km pace and i was very nearly getting the marathon down to a 3.30 overall marathon time. I was trying to do calculations on what i needed to do to sneak under 10hrs but i gave up as my brain was not working. With 7km to go i was really out of it, legs were seizing and i was feeling weak but kept the pace up in the hope it was enough. Finally back onto the last stretch with 2km to go and all the crowds. I was not enjoying this now and wanted to lay down somewhere, my quads were starting to seize up but i could hear the crowds at the finish line.
300mtrs out and my Dad is roaring at me, [snipped] is roaring at me but i am out of it. My Dad sticks an Irish flag in my face and i struggle to lift it over my head coming into the finish chute. I cross the finish line in my 5th Ironman and 2nd in 6 weeks. No emotions this time and i finish the race empty with nothing left to give. I collapse across the finish line in a marathon time of 3.34.36 and a new IM marathon pb. I ran a 6min negative split in the second half of the marathon in 1.44 which i am delighted with.
I get scooped up off the ground by medical staff and into the medical tent where they observe me for a good while before releasing me back into the wild. No IVs this time, they seem a little more reluctant to hand them out these days. I eventually make it out [snipped] who was getting concerned and we hug. I make it back in time to see Darren and Michael cross the line, great stuff lads.
Marathon time of 3:34:36 and 10:02:28 overall.
This was my 7th time on the start line of an Ironman and the 5th time crossing the finish line. I pb'd the swim by 2mins, the bike by 17mins and the run by 1min. Overall taking 26mins off my best time posted 6 weeks in IMMT.
Almost a week has passed since the race and whilst i should be disappointed not posting a 9:xx IM time i am not. What i am happy about is getting faster as i get older, racing smart, being patient during the race when things were not going my way, being mentally strong and a big thing in IM is dealing with and embracing the pain when it comes. Between 15km and 42km i ran like a man possessed. [snipped] joked after the race that i looked a grumpy sod and did not even acknowledge them. They have a point and perhaps i should try smile a little more, but hey when you are hurting and focused on getting to the finish line everything outside of the race becomes a blur.
Some thanks again. Coach Dolan for his simplified approach to IM training, racing and the mindset required. My [snipped] who traveled over, whilst i may not have shown my appreciation during the race it meant a lot having you over there supporting. To Michael you stepped up and done the business in your first IM and made me a proud coach! Darren [snipped], who made the weekend a bellyful of laughs. To my wider circle of friends, thanks for all the well wishes pre and post race. You will be glad to hear your Twitter and FB feeds will have less IM related news over the next year or 2.
[snipped]. I am blessed to have the support [snipped], without doubt she gets behind me 100% and i am very fortunate to have someone as good as her. She arranges everything and picks me up when motivation is low and gets me out the door. In all my 5 Ironmans she is the one that shouts the loudest, she gets it and gets me and those medals are hers.
Another long race report although 800 words less than IMMT, apologies. Hope you enjoyed it. [snipped] 0
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