June 15th 2021
Competing in an Ironman Triathlon
On Sunday 6th June I did an Ironman Triathlon. It’s easy to write but it’s much harder to do, that’s for sure.
The most frequent question you get asked when you tell anybody you are doing an Ironman is, “How long is that of each sport then?” The answer is 2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles cycling and 26.2 miles running. It’s a long old way, of that there is no doubt.
This was my second Ironman distance event, but my first for 8 years. Last time I toed the line for a race like this I was yet to qualify as a teacher and Coronavirus was a made up word. On that occasion naivety was my biggest strength in the lead-up to the race and my biggest downfall on the day. Aged 22 and with a lax approach to training I stumbled my way around in 11 hours 42 minutes, got the standard Ironman tattoo done the next day and basked in the glory of completion.
8 years later triathlon had moved from a hobby to a borderline obsession. Covid meant that all of my usual sprint distance Triathlons and Aquathlons in which I have excelled in recent years were cancelled. No age-group World or European Championships that I had trained so hard to qualify for. There was a big gap in my calendar and I knew there was an itch that I needed to scratch. It was time to do an Ironman to compete, not merely complete.
I spent all of last summer focusing solely upon my cycling. I rode my bike every day for 169 days. From the first day that school was closed until the boys returned in September I didn’t miss a day. Swimming had always been my strength, but the pools being closed gave me the opportunity to park my ego and go all out on improving my weakest element.
Since September my training had continued to go well throughout the ups and downs of a tumultuous 15 months. I had written a detailed plan and felt confident that I could knock at least an hour off my previous Ironman time despite the bike course at the race near Chester I had chosen (UK Ultimate Triathlon) being much hillier and more difficult than my previous attempt at the distance. Looking at the average finishing time from the last few years I was targeting a top-10 finish.
Race day rolled around eventually and I was to start dead last in the time trial format that the race was going to run due to a mistake with my entry form. I had 140 swimmers to chase on the swim. I caught 87 of them and swam the second fastest time of all competitors.
On to the bike and I was determined to use my new powermeter and scientifically pace my way around the 112 miles distance and 1500m of elevation. That went out the window as soon as I started as the bluetooth connection failed. I spent 5 and half hours watching a screen and holding my heart rate at 160 beats per minute. I’d love to tell you about the scenery but that screen was all I had on my mind.
Finally the marathon run. 6 laps of 7.1km meant the run would be about 500 metres longer than a marathon and the trail route for half of each lap made it more difficult. I was going to tick it off lap by lap. The aim was 3 hours 30 minutes.
The sun was blazing by this point in the day and I had a stomach full of energy gels and drinks - not a good combination. Lap 3 involved a 15 minute stop to be sick. My stomach felt much better but I now had no energy. I used the rest stations to take on Coca Cola as this was all my body would take and gradually I came back to life and finished strong for a run time of 3 hours 39 minutes.
As I crossed that line to finish in 10 hours 10 minutes (8th place) and finally put the Ironman distance to one side, I felt relieved. Relieved that hopefully this chapter was over. The chapter of long training sessions, virtual schooling and anxiety. Fingers crossed.
