I managed my first sub 11 on attempt 3.
Challenge Roth, 10h25m
Signed up 12 months ago (got a ticket at the post race handout), and did a 6 month endurance based “enjoy yourself” unstructured period that actually left me mentally very refreshed. Then 6 months of normal base, build, but had to miss the breakthrough part due to work and life commitments.
For the last 6 months I managed just under 9 hours per week on average, and most were 7-11 hours with very few big weeks (probably only 1 or 2). This was very much a plan based on minimal impact on my family life (and a busy job), so lots of early morning sessions, and no long rides to speak of.
On the race I wanted sub 11, against a PB of 11h45m at Outlaw (similar course in many ways), which included a puncture that lost me ~15-20 minutes and caused me to over run to try and compensate.
At Roth, the swim was a frenzy. Very biffy. Hard to get a rhythm going. I came out on my target time, but 5 minutes slower than what I am capable of in an ideal world.
The bike was fun, but also frustrating at the same time. The course was busy, but the marshals do a fantastic job of draft monitoring. I found myself on lap one doing overtake surges, then having to sit up or free pedal for a while to maintain a legal gap, then surge again to overtake. It was everything you are NOT meant to do in an Ironman. The second lap I decided that I would have to sit in more and stop the surging, and preserve my legs and effort for the run. I shipped 5 minutes on the second lap with this strategy, but I think I saved my race by having fantastically fresh legs for the run.
The run includes a huge stretch on the canal, then into town, out into a forest, back into town. About 2/3rds of your running is on hard pack, which isn’t the fastest surface, but is a little kinder on the feet.
I wasn’t over running at first, so told myself to watch my HR and keep it below 140. This proved easy, and was netting me 7:45 mile pace. My mind was doing backflips. I knew I needed under 4 hours to get my sub 11 target, but I was feeling so fresh that I wanted to push for 3:30 and a 10:30 target. This was clearly a dangerous call to make, because the second half can really find you out, and did at Outlaw 2 years previously where I went from a 3:30 to a 4:00 in the last 15km (snuck under 4 hours by 3 whole seconds on that instance).
But when your legs are fresh, and your body is still taking in sugars, why not…? So I went for it. I kept fuelling until 12km to go when my body said “I’ve had enough sugar now, knock it off “, and held my 7:45 pace for the entire canal section. The last 15km are tougher. Bits are cobbled, there are hills, and running down them was harder than running up as by now the quads were aware they were being pushed.
I am not sure what my pace fell to, but I think about 8:00 on average for this section, maybe 8:20, which i think was a similar effort (and my HR stayed steady).
With 4km to go I knew I had a sub 10:30 in the bag, and the demons left me. I started to feel elated, a feeling I have never had at the end of an Ironman before. I was with a small cluster getting to the stadium, and I wanted to enjoy that moment so I slowed up enough to get a 10m gap, and I loved the finisher chute. My mate who finished ahead of me was waiting at the last corner on the finish straight, and I got to see him, shout my thanks, and give him a high five. I then let out a roar across the line, went to sit down, and had a little cry.
So not a 9:30 or similar time that may be deemed fast on slowtwitch, just a sub 10:30, but for me, with the <9 hours I squeeze in around family, work, travel, and even sometimes having friends, it was amazing. I am delighted. Absolutely over the moon.
Shout out to the transition volunteers who really help get you out quickly and without stress. They do everything for you, and it just makes the entire transition process so calm.
I have Wales in September, which is the race I did when ill, with a sub 13 time. Despite that I enjoyed it so much I have been back the last two years to support friends. This year at Wales I have no targets. I don’t care what my time is. I want to go round with a smile on my face… and maybe try and kick the ass of that run!
few more months to avoid the karma mind
Exactly what i was thinking!!!