Pre race: my alarm was set for 4:45, but I woke up at 3 and tried to snooze until the alarm went off. Breakfast was a glass of Emergen-C, coffee, 2 slices of toast with marmalade, a bowl of corn flakes and half a Yorkie bar. Then I got my stuff ready and headed over to transition.
There was a procession from transition, through town and down to the beach. The crowds were already out in force. At high tide there's not much room on Tenby's North beach and it took some time to get everyone on the beach for the start. Time for the Welsh national anthem, followed by AC/DC’s Thunderstruck to get the heart going, and then the cannon went off to mark the start of the race.
Swim: The course layout meant that people were bunched up for the first few hundred metres with no chance to spread out at all. Then it was so congested at the first right turn buoy that we were treading water around it. Otherwise, the swim was great... Water temp 16.9°C (62.4F) and only a little wetsuit rub on the side of the neck. The 2nd lap was much easier and I felt like I could really relax into the day. Swim time: 1:07:59
T1: Transition was 1.2km from North beach. The first task was running up the beach, then up the steep zig-zagging walkway (picking up the spare shoes on the way) and jogging to transition. The transition tent was crowded and completely chaotic. It took a while to find space to get my stuff out of my transition bag and get ready for the ride. One gel here, to get the blood sugar back up. I even had a quick chat with a guy filming for TV (off-camera), then it was out the door and onto the bike leg. T1 time: 16:55
Bike: Well, this didn’t quite go according to plan. Given the circumstances I’m actually happy with the result, but the circumstances weren’t ideal. I’ll get to that though...
Wales is a two-loop course, with a total elevation gain of about 8000ft. The first loop is longer and starts out heading West into the prevailing coastal winds and turns to come back East by the town of Angle. The second loop is basically the more hilly part of the first loop, repeated. On the way to Angle I felt like I was making reasonable time and wasn’t pushing too hard. The wind was pushing me around a bit, but I was glad I had the TT bike to reduce the effect of the wind. I was riding on Zipp 404 wheels, which didn’t cause me any trouble even though I’m very light. Anyway, out near Angle I changed up to the big chainring and felt a frayed strand of cable pop out and jab me in the finger. Not good! Fast-forward to mile 62 and another change to the big ring -- SNAP!! So I swore, I stopped, I tried to work out how I could fix it. In the end all I could do was get out the multi-tool and dial the derailleur out as far as possible so that there was the least amount of chain rub, even then the rub was pretty egregious in the smaller cogs on the cassette. So, 50 miles in the small chainring... I’d lost nearly 10 minutes to roadside repairs and I couldn’t get much speed up for the remainder of the ride.
Not that the mechanical was my only problem on the bike: I did get the nutrition slightly wrong. My plan was to get 4-5 bottles of sports drink (2 on bike, 2-3 on course), but I was clearly overdoing the liquids and had to stop several times. So I started drinking less and then I obviously wasn’t getting enough calories. I started to feel quite drained and needed more solid food. Eating revived me, but my on-board stash of 1 Clif bar, 1 powerbar, 5 gels and a bag of powerbar chews really wasn’t quite enough. What I’d change? I’d use a “bento box” on the top tube with extra food in it. I’d pack more than I anticipated needing, just in case.
The highlight of the bike course for me was the last part of the second loop -- the steep hills in Wiseman’s Bridge and Saundersfoot were a joy to ride, especially in the wet on that second lap when many people were struggling. To me, those hills represented nearing the end of the ride and were a rare chance prove to myself that I was (despite the ever lengthening time on the bike) a strong enough biker for this course. Bike time: 6:55:50
T2: I wasn’t tremendously motivated for a fast transition here - I walked my bike to the rack, then I walked to the tent (jogging seemed pointless). I also had a little trouble removing my gloves and arm-warmers, which were soaking. Full-finger gloves had been a very wise last-minute choice here. Anyway, one more gel in, one into the pocket and then I was out onto the run course. T2 time: 8:01
Run: Well, I started out feeling brilliant. As soon as I left T2 and started running the day regained some purpose. My first 5.2 miles happened in 37:23, which was good considering I was actually trying to pace myself (working from heart rate) but everything just felt so EASY. And then, quite suddenly, it didn’t. Mile 6.5, just a little into lap 2, and I was walking. It wasn’t even up the main hill yet, I just couldn’t run or even bring myself to try. I wanted to have a little sit down (and maybe a brief weep), and if there hadn’t been so many people I might have. Fortunately it didn’t last, and whatever I was telling myself in my head must’ve worked. I ran up the main hill out to New Hedges and decided that it was a nutritional problem, so the plan changed from “eat on the run” to “walk every aid station and eat the Ritz crackers”, which are brilliant washed down with Pepsi. Crackers and Pepsi is a marathon miracle, if you ask me. I’d never even thought of it before, and the pepsi wasn’t flat, but it was AWESOME. My pace evened out after that and my new strategy gave me the strength to ignore my body as it told me that my right achilles hurt, and that my left knee ached. As I passed mile 20 it really felt like a shuffle, though photos show what looks like a run, even in those dark times. Still, after collecting the pink band to mark my final lap on the course I started feeling a weight lift and there was a fresh flood of endorphins. I chatted to a fellow finisher as we turned onto the Esplanade for our run in, he said he wanted to enjoy the moment and slowed to really savour the finish. I heard my nephew calling for a sprint finish and did my best to oblige. Run time: 3:46:25
It seems that the run may have been slightly short, but to be honest, I’m not sure I care. I logged over 3300ft of vertical on the run and the bike wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. This was a tough course. Sure, it was my first Ironman, but I know tough conditions and terrain when I see them. The fastest bikers would’ve missed the worst of the rain and only gotten wet on the run course. The bike course was steep on the uphills and twisty on the downhills. There were plenty of spills once the roads got a good soaking.
Anyway, total time: 12:15:10. 96th in M35-39 and 453rd overall.
At the race briefing we were told 1650 athletes, and I’ve since heard that there were only 1200 finishers though that is just rumour. Certainly a lot of people missed the bike cutoff. I’m looking forward to seeing the final results. But first, I’m looking forward to a rest. I’ve contracted (Iron)man-flu and don’t want to ride a bike for at least another week.
This race was organised very well, the local support was utterly brilliant and despite hating it at times, I loved the experience. It’s actually helped to remind me just how great people are. So I’m glad I did it. I’m glad I met the racers and the supporters. I’m glad I got to raise money for Olivia’s Vision and I. AM. AN. IRONMAN!
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