5 years since my Ironman debut at Lanzarote (a 12:08, with splits of 1:09, 6:23 and 4:19) and 4 years since my last Ironman at Barcelona (10:58, splits of 1:08, 5:13, 4:24), I decided to have another pop at the long distance, with Frankfurt my chosen race.
It was a spur of the moment decision, having missed out on my preference of Copenhagen (much to Melissa's disappointment), I managed to get a last minute slot at Frankfurt, the European Championships and the biggest MDot race on the European calendar.
5 months later, and with some reasonable training behind me, I was confident of achieving my goal of a 9:45 finish.
Whilst my cycling hasn't quite reached the level of 2010, my swim had improved marginally, and my run vastly.
With a group of buddies from Clapham Chasers to race with, I looked forward to a fun weekend away with Alan Scott, Nic Martin, Dan Powell, Sam McKee and George Banks . Unfortunately Ben Hall pulled out having suffered a bike accident a week previously. I was truly gutted for him, though he has since entered Tenby later in September, so at least he'll be able to put his training to good use after a full recovery.
I arrived on the Wednesday, allowing for enough time to sort any bike issues , and to do a bit of the route on the Thursday.
Alan had secured a perfectly located hotel ( the Neue Krame) just yards from the race expo and finish line. While it was pretty basic, being that close was a real bonus - plenty of restaurants and shops nearby, though it was a little noisy.
The organisers laid on a bike recce of the course on the Wednesday and Thursday, and while I perhaps wouldn't have gone as far as that 3 days before (82km), it was certainly useful to see the route, and get familiar with what we would encounter on the Sunday. it was a lot hillier than I expected, with 3 challenging hills on each of the 2 laps on the course. It was also extremely hot, and with some heavily exposed countryside, quite a strong wind. Still, it was a fast course, and I looked forward to this immensely. Whilst I hadn't put in as much training as I would have liked, I was still confident of a 5 hour split.
The area of the old town we stayed in was fantastic, and a short tram ride away from a stunning Lido, out near Eintract Frankfurt's football stadium. It was great to loosen up there and get some lengths in on the Friday.
The athlete village had everything I needed in terms of nutrition, equipment, and engineers happy to help out with any technical issues. I was able to register quickly, and with the minimum of fuss due to Ironmans superb organisation. Of course, there was an enormous amount of bike porn on display, I could have spent hundreds, thousands on the latest helmets, wheels, wetsuits etc.
Saturday was spent registering at the lake, approx 20 mins drive away (a bus was laid on). The swim was at Lake Waldsee, about 20km away from the finish, so there were 2 separate transition zones. Ironman however handle this very well, with all belongings ferried to the finish, making it simple to pick up at the end.
Having registered, the rest of the day was spent relaxing, watching the Tour start in Yorkshire on the TV. After an early dinner at an Italian restaurant, Alan and I retired to the hotel to catch a bit of the World Cup and get an early night.
Race Day
The alarm went at 4am, and our hotel laid on a good breakfast especially for the athletes. Alan was super relaxed as always, and we met the boys at 4:30 to catch the bus to the lake.
On arrival, we all went our separate ways to sort our bikes, queue for the toilet and do out own warm up routine. There was a phenomenal amount of people there - my previous IM races were both against 1300 people, with Barcelona being a wave start. This was a mass start. And there were to be 3000 of us.
Scary stuff.
Swim
The swim was a 2 loop course, with an Australian exit after lap 1. Though I hadn't put as much swim training in as I'd hoped, I was confident of getting close to 64 mins, having swum 31 at Outlaw Half just 5 weeks before. However, my worry was the sheer volume of people that might affect me getting into my natural race pace.
It was an incredibly bright and sunny morning, and while I purchased some new googles that limited glare from the sun, they didn't do much good. I could barely sight, and had to follow the athletes in front of me, hoping I was following a direct route.
The swim was a rather unpleasant experience, with more biff than I've ever encouraged. It was too slow for my liking, and maybe I should have started nearer the front, but I had nowhere to overtake, I was being smashed left right and centre. It wasn't until midway through the second lap that I felt I had clear water, and on leaving my watch said 1:08. A little down on what I hoped, but I felt that perhaps I hadn't swum the most direct route. Many of the other athletes mentioned their garmins had clocked 4km - I guess they might be right. Still, it wasn't a disaster.
T1
The transition zone was pretty long - a bit of a slog up a sandy beach from the lake shore. My plan was to be in and out super quick, though my ingestion of so much energy drink before hand meant I needed another toilet break. I felt better to go then rather than stop on the bike.
I left T1 after 6 mins, way longer than hoped, more time lost. I was a little angry with myself, though felt confident with my stronger legs to come.
Bike
I had recently started training on a Garmin Vector power meter, and having performed a recent FTP test, knew exactly where I needed my effort level to be. I raced Outlaw at 242 (85%) watts and felt that racing at 75% would be a suitable target to work around. I was trying to hold a range of 205-210 watts , and wanted to dial in to this immediately. This seemed sensible, and whilst I was being overtaken by German uber bikers, a lovely tailwind took me out towards Frankfurt with the first 20km covered in 32 mins at 23 mph. Woosh!
The first sections of each lap were by far the quickest, with a generous tailwind, and I was feeling strong. With the sheer volume of people racing, it was impossible for small gruppettos not to form, though the draft busters were out in force , with many athletes getting popped and stung with a 6 min penalty. Fortunately I was ok, and mindful of being too close. Some athletes will try and gain an obvious advantage by flaunting the drafting rule, and in an event with so many athletes competing, it's hard not to.
I went through the halfway stage at 2:31, holding 207 watts and with an average Hr of 147. However, with the rising temperatures and concern about going too hard, I eased considerably on the second lap.
I dropped down to an effort level of 200 watts, with my HR averaging 144. I eased right back on the hills, but really focused on pushing hard on the descents and sections with a tailwind.
Whilst the bike course was stunning , I was finding much harder than I expected to.
I came in with a 5:16 split, not what I'd hoped for, but not a complete disaster. My power had dropped to a 206 average, and a total average speed of 34.23 km/hr.
T2
Conscious of my appalling T1, I tried to be a little quicker through t2. However, the sun at this point was beating down, and I had to spend time refuelling, putting sun cream on and mentally psyching myself up for the marathon.
I was out in 4 mins, with 6:34 on the clock. I was behind schedule by 25 mins, hopes of achieving a 9:45 were disappearing, but I felt my run was strong enough to get me round in 3:25, and get close to sub 10.
Run
The benefit of cycling in heat is that you always feel some kind of breeze. However, on leaving T2, it was incredibly hot. Temperatures were reaching 33 degrees, and it meant I had to adjust my running goal - 7:30 min miling wasn't going to happen, and in order for me to complete the run without completely folding, I would have to run at a pace I was confortable with. I felt good at 8:10's, so stuck with that over the first of the 4 laps. I was taking on water, Ice and gels at every opportunity, but again had to alter my speed so that I wasn't over cooking. Laps 2 and 3 we're pretty steady, and the 4th I slowed a little, but not a total capitulation. Alan lapped me on my 3rd lap - he was having a stormer, with a 57 min swim and a 5:02 bike leg (including a puncture), and on course for a fast marathon. I was a little down at that point - Alan has always been a superb athlete, but felt I could at least match him on the bike . He had obviously got himself in fantastic shape over the spring! He would go onto run a 3:15 run, coming in at 9:24, for 14th in his age group and heartbreakingly missing a Kona slot by 1! Next time Alan !
I laboured round the last lap, clicking a 3:48, and 10:24 in around 500th place. Disappointing on the face of it, as I was way off what I hoped for , but pleased that I got a PB, and didn't completely fold in conditions not favourable to me.
Review
The race itself was fantastic, superb organisation, beautiful course and well supported. However, with it being July in Southern Germany, it was extremely hot. I was relieved it was a wetsuit swim, but the temperatures were borderline.
The finish in the old town was fantastic, with medical tents , massage, recovery drinks, great food and beer laid on. Whilst the €500 entry fee was hefty , you do get well looked after.
What would I do differently?
I believe I have the ability to mix it with the top age groupers, but think that mentally I'm not the strongest. This has affected me before in many marathons I've raced, and whilst I've improved, it is an area I need to work on.
My race day weight was 74.9kg. My target weight was 71kg, though I struggled with my diet. I would really need to knuckle down, cut out certain foods (chocolate, cakes etc) and come up with a strategy that would allow me to drop weight without losing power. / strength. While I'm by no means over weight, I'm 7-8kg heavier than the pros / an awful lot of weight to drag around 140.6 miles in soaring temperatures!
While technically my swim has improved, it simply isn't good enough and I would need to get some one on one coaching to improve it. I would also need to be more strict with fitting in 3 sessions a week for 16 weeks.
My bike was certainly heading in the right direction, and I wouldn't fault the quality of the sessions I did. Perhaps some longer rides were required, as I felt I didn't really step up from the half ironman to the full distance as well as I should have.
My run could have been better, I didn't get enough distance in post Outlaw (only 1 20 mile run), though I've always struggled running in extreme heat. Though the time wasn't great, my position improved, moving from 142nd to 109th in my age group.
I do have an ambition of getting (well) under 10 hours, though get concerned that my running form dips after a bout of Ironman training. I will now turn my focus back to running, with an autumn goal of breaking the hour for a 10 mile race. Following that I 'll be gearing up do another bash at London Marathon in April 2015. A sub 2:50 there would be lovely!
