Ironman race report: So, this is how it went down: started badly! It took well over 20 minutes to funnel all of the athletes into the water which meant that I was still about 50m back from the start line when the gun went at 6am! Being a stronger swimmer Id hoped to get near the front line & ride the feet of a strong age grouper. As it happened I was stuck amongst much weaker swimmers so spent the whole first lap taking over people up the inside. Lap 2: I was now amongst swimmers more of my ability having expended a little more energy than I had planned getting there, so got on someones feet as quickly as I could and drafted them all the way round. Got out in a respectable 62 mins but had hoped for sub 60 (in the grand scheme of things these 2 minutes paled into insignificance). The first person I recognised was my mate Martin Brunt, a resident of Leigh who had walked round from his house to give his support. Into T1 to dump my wetsuit & grab my helmet then out to grab my bike in a half decent transition time (much improved from Mallorca!). As I left T1 I saw Martin again and Mr. Paul Howlett & Jeavon Trend. Really encouraging to see familiar faces, even this early in the day. Onto the bike leg: My plan was to hold an average of 17.2mph to bring me in in 6hrs 30mins. I find it difficult to negative or even split a bike ride so thought my best option was to get the first lap done at 18mph giving me time in the bank (and try & hold it if I felt good). If Idve gone out at 17.2, I dont think Idve held it. I grabbed my first bottle of energy/electrolytes at the 1st aid station, although it turned out to be water only! This immediately messed up my sodium intake plan, so I took on one of my emergency sodium rich gels. Those of you that ride with me will know I love to smash the climbs, not so today. Today the aim of the game was leg preservation. I hammered the descents but span up the climbs. Just over the back of the first proper climb of the day, the infamous Sheephouse lane (most of the way up Winter Hill), I began to wonder where my training & fundraising team mate Brian Manchester was. It was inevitable that he was going to catch me being the supreme cyclist that he is. I had never got this far in a previous triathlon without him getting me but then Id never had such a long swim to get away from him with before. Just as those thoughts passed through my mind, I felt a familiar tap on the arse, no, it wasnt Jodie, it was Big Bri, smiling at me as I wrestled with the wrapper of an energy bar, grimacing as I fought against the headwind. He sailed away into the distance like I was stood still. For a moment the thought crossed my mind of trying to stick with him for a mile or two.....after about 30 seconds that idea was abandoned! I was pushing quite hard to keep up this 18mph average and thought about backing it off early, but the second half of the loop was a lot flatter & faster than the first, poss with a bit of tailwind? I cant really remember. Shortly over the back of the 2nd major climb of the loop-Hunters hill, I approached the pub at which my beloved Jodie Aspinall and Mike and Brians parents and Brians fiancée Larissa Wells had set up camp, it followed a sharp turn so speeds were low enough for a brief interaction and for budding photographer Jodie to capture some shots. I completed my first loop (56miles) with an average of 18.2mph on the clock. Onto loop 2: I was now back in the hilly section. The fog that had shrouded Sheephouse lane earlier had now cleared and it had filled up with spectators, it was like something out of the Tour de France, well wishing messages all over the road, music playing and people in fancy dress chasing us up the hill shouting words of encouragement. With all this going on and given my conservative climbing strategy I hardly noticed the hill was there. Bonus. I backed off the pace a bit on loop 2. It was just about sustainable but all that was going through my head was youve got a marathon to run next, as much as I tried to ignore it. My average at the top of Sheephouse was 17.5mph, it had been 16.5mph on my first lap so I knew I had a fast section coming up later in the loop to make the time back up. Following the descent I happened to glance down and notice that the bolt which holds my left pedal arm in situ was hanging half way out! Thinking it was just a cap (it doesnt look like a bolt), I stopped a couple of times to finger tight it back up. As it loosened again I got more & more paranoid about it. I stopped a third time to give it a proper inspection, this time realising the seriousness of the problem but thinking I didnt have an Allen key big enough. I finger tighter it once more hoping I could make it round the last 30 miles. My (warranted) paranoia continued. It loosened again. I stopped for a fourth time and got out my multi-tool. My largest Allen key fitted. Sorted. As I finished the 2nd loop and hit the exit road towards the Reebok stadium. My average speed was now 17.7mph so I allowed myself to spin it out all the way to T2 in order to prepare my legs for the marathon. As I exited the loop I saw someone else I knew, Mr. Dom Roe. I had half expected (hoped) to catch Dom before now but he is a phenomenal swimmer and had exited the water 4 minutes before me. Into T2, bizarrely I ended up changing into my running shoes right next to a lad from down South who wed met while training out on the bike loop a few weeks previous. We had a short chat at the start of the run and that was the last I saw of him. My marathon was conservative, all the way round. That was always my plan. The furthest Id ever run off a 112mile training ride was 8 miles and Id heard horror stories of it all falling apart on the marathon and you will get into trouble at some point on the marathon, when you do, drink Coke. A colleague of mine from the Vic but more so swimming training buddy & multiple Ironman, Scott Gall had given me the same piece of advise on two occasions that he was particular adamant I should follow: take the first couple of miles really easy. I had planned to maintain a 9:45min/mile, to bring me in at 4:15, so I strictly stuck to 10min/miles as I got my legs into it. Even though I felt good I was so nervous about blowing up that I stuck with the 10min/miles for the first 5K. In that time at least 100 people passed me, and I passed no one. But I stuck with my plan. It turned out to be the right decision, as half way through the marathon a caught most or them again as they walked or stood at the side of the road stretching out their cramping hamstrings (I finished the marathon 3 places higher than I was when I got off my bike). Early in the run I saw Mr Will Stoves really geeing up athletes from the roadside. An experienced Ironman himself who I met during, and spent about 10K of the Blackpool marathon with earlier I the year. 8 miles in I saw Brian for the first time in about 7 hours, albeit going in the opposite direction & miles ahead of me. He now had a grimace on HIS face and I wondered was HE blowing up? I crossed into the middle of the road for the obligatory high five. A minute or so later I saw the volunteer riding the bike with a sign denoting 2nd place female, I realised, hes not blowing up, hes smashing it! I communicated what Id just seen to Paul Howlett who was now roadside & we shared a laugh-I mustve felt OK. By now I was trying to gauge where my other training & fundraising team mate Mike Pearce was. I knew I was a stronger swimmer and cyclist than Mike and should be about an hour ahead, the problem was, Mike is a LOT stronger runner than me and it wasnt out of the question than he could make that hour up on the marathon leg. Bragging rights at stake I decided to gradually pick up the pace & bring my average down to my planned 9:45/mile before I reached the half marathon point. I arrived in Bolton town centre for my first visit of 3 laps, the crowd was amazing, such a boost, especially when you see familiar faces such as David Moss, Nick Metcalfe, Richard Aspden and our families and loved ones once again. I gave Jodie a kiss and got a cheer from the crowd. By now my mum and dad had joined the party which gave me a further boost too. You really have to be careful at this point not to start running too fast, not to try & show off, but sub consciously resulting from the adrenaline surge. As I left the town centre to head back out to the quieter regions of the run course on the outskirts of town I checked my watch and my average pace had dropped dramatically. I watched my pace more closely on my 2nd visit to the town centre! I was now approaching the spot where Id seen Brian as I joined the run course, for a moment I deliriously thought Im not that far behind him until I checked my watch and realised 40 odd minutes had passed, and he was moving fast! Next I saw Mike, a friendly high five followed by competitive thoughts of him as the enemy. He was 40min to an hour behind me. It was on. The half marathon point came and I felt good. People were being sick at the roadside and I was passing people easily. I was really pleased with myself (and Scott) for my easy start. I hadnt taken on any caffeine during the bike. The caffeine gel wrapper said max 4 gels per day (due to the high caffeine content So I saved the boost for the run when I thought Id need it most. Part of my nutrition strategy was to now take on 1x caffeine gel per hour. It was getting hot, and I could feel a thick film of the salt that Id sweated all over my back and shoulders. I began to get concerned that I wasnt taking on enough water. I was wasting enough time as it was walking through the aid stations to ensure I didnt spill the cups of water I was taking there so I daringly opted to take on a hydro sachet at each of the coming aid stations. This was daring as I hadnt trained on them. As I tore open my third one, I glanced at the packed and noticed 60mg caffeine-shit! Id already been taking on 50mg/hour and get jittery with stimulants at the best of times! I squirted the remainder of the sachet on the floor so I could put the empty wrapper in my pocket, knowing littering outside of the designated areas resulted in immediate disqualification. On my 2nd visit to the town I noticed my colleagues and friends Steph and Nicola filming me on an iPad and cheering-a further boost but not sure I want to see that footage! Out of town again and I saw Brian again, heading back in. He was getting closer, surely he wasnt going to lap me, was he? Should I speed up? I didnt dare, that could be suicide! I had a grumble in my stomach, I had taken on twenty odd gels and four energy bars to this point, the porta loos were approaching, could I afford this loss of time? I was on for my target of sub 12 hrs and wasnt sure where Mike was. I decided I could regret trying to leave it another lap so went in. The inside of a porta loo 11 hours into an Ironman race is possibly the worst environment I have ever been in in my life. The less said about that the better. I added to the atrocity and carried on. Earlier in the race I planned to pick it up if I felt good with 5K to go. Knowing I had been burning more calories than I could take absorb, I didnt dare. I was comfortably under 12hr pace so left it till 2 miles to go, one lap of Stanley Park-nothing! I think this was the right decision as on my final mile I felt slight cramping in both hamstrings and was convinced one of my toes nails was falling off-extremely painfull! Still managing to increase the pace, and now donning 3 arm bands denoting I had completed all three laps of the run course I hobbled down the finishing straight and past the grand stand on the red carpet. The crowds were enormous and loud and I appeared on the giant screen outside the town hall passing under the finishers arch which displayed my name and finishing time: 11:52:37 I let out a huge roar of delight/relief. Comfortably Sub 12, I had managed to achieve my dream time and was over the moon. Jodie was there to greet me, she seemed proud which is saying something for somebody who is (understandably given all the training) sick to the back teeth of Ironman. Brian had been finished for over an hour and a half with a super human effort of 10:19-Amazing. Next in was Craig Beattie, Brians Uni friend who accompanied us on one of our epic training days, he was very closely followed by Jonathan Evans and Mike, all around the 12:30 mark. Excellent effort lads. Also out on the course I saw Barry Cleminson who I only met the day before and Eddie Nelder. We are all Ironmen now lads. If we can do this, anything is possible. I didnt see Vicki IronMan Gale on the course but know she also became an Ironman/woman yesterday. Massive congratulation to you also Viki. Felt a little rough in Nandos afterwards and had to sit on the wall outside with every passing member of the public saying are you alright mate? Hypoglycemia? Hyponatremia? Who knows. I just sipped a full fat coke and an electrolyte drink until it passed-which was some time this morning! I AM AN IRONMAN!! I want to say a massive thank you first and foremost to my fiancée Jodie for putting up with all the training that has tested our relationship to the limit for the best part of a year, and for getting up at 3am to come and support me throughout the day and pander to my every need in my decrepit state afterwards. Secondly my mum and dad and Nana (Suzzanne Aspinall) for babysitting for me most weekends to accommodate my training. Also Id like to thank all those mentioned above for their support on the course along with all the people who followed online throughout the day. Massive thanks also to (and Im sorry if I missed anyone out) all the lads I trained with on the bike throughout the grim winter weather. From Poulton Wheelers cycling club: Sean Patrick Savage, Chris OHare, Ian Walker and Steve Wilson and from Blackpool Clarion cycling club Paul Brackpool, Mike Ryan and John Jon Ranby. Big thanks also to Johnny Evans who waited for me while I was bonking for 50 miles on the bike loop one day and Lee Spoor and Carol Spoor who showed me round the bike course. JP & Chris for your great sessions at Blackpool Aquatics swimming club. Special thanks to Scott Gall and Paul Howlett for your advise & sharing your wealth of experience. Last but by certainly no means least, thank you to the other two members of team Nil Sine Laboure. My two old school mates who I have recently re-aquatinted myself with due to our shared gluttony for punishment in endurance events. Mike & Brian. Mike, a PT with lots of fitness knowledge and Brian the voice of experience throughout but most of all great company. Epic year lads. Together we have raised well over £1,000 (and thats even without gift aid!) for two wonderful charities: Macmillan and Prostate Cancer UK, remembering our friends who we have lost in the process. Thank you to all those that donated. Any last minute donations please use the link below: virginmoneygiving/team/nilsinelaboure
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 20:32:50 +0000
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