Oh well what can I say?? It’s the 3rd time I’ve done this thing and still haven’t learnt how much it freaking hurts! I must be dumb or something I think??
I’m not sure what happened in the swim as I haven’t checked results yet but God it was slow! When I came out of the water in 1h11m something (expecting 58-59min) I could not believe it. Then I get to T1 waiting for all the empty racks but it was more like 80-90% of the bikes were still there, WTF??
Post analysis on my HR monitor show I swam way too hard and I know this set me up for the day I had.
On the bike I was feeling pretty good and completed the first 90km lap in just over 2h30mins perhaps a bit too fast for that course and my abilities but hey, I had 12mins to catch up off that horrendous swim (big mistake!)… It felt like the wind was coming from all over the place but overall this is a fast course with some hills thrown in for good measure. Second lap felt slower but I kept moving and by the time we hit 150km my neck and lower back were giving me a lot of grief and I looked forward to every uphill so I could sit up and stretch a little. I don’t have the bike split but would guess a 5h15min or thereabouts.
Off the bike and change, and by the time I hit the run I didn’t know what to expect. My quads were almost cramping and it scared the shit out of me as I wasn’t planning for that long a walk! I just tried to relax and get into a rhythm and it seemed to work. I have splits for almost every single km of the run and they tell the whole story…
2km: 9m06s
3km: 4m44s
4km: 4m44s
5km: 4m59s
6km: 4m41s
7km: 4m40s
8km: 4m59s
10km: 10m32s (hilly area)
11km: 5m03s
13km: 10m14s (first cramp here)
14km: 5m07s
16km: 10m45s (back into the hilly area)
17km: 5m09s
18km: 5m43s (pee stop)
19km: 5m15s
20km: 5m10s
21km: 5m20s
22km: 5m22s
24km: 24m35s (KABOOM!)
This is where my race ended and my DNF thoughts started. It was just before the special needs area and I simply found myself lying on the floor and unable to get up again. I was about 95% convinced I was going to give up right there and have the first DNF next to my name. One spectator came to check if I needed a doctor and we started having a chat. In the end she convinced me to keep going and do the best I could so after a bit of thinking, resting and self talk, off I went with the mindset that the race was over but that I still had to get the distance completed.
I won’t bore you with the rest of the splits but the end result was a 10h33min finish time in what was probably the most painful experience of my young life. This could obviously be an exaggeration, as I tend to forget how much this hurts soon after. But it was the first time I had thoughts of not finishing a race so there must be an element of truth there.
And I still don’t have that sub-10 race that I know is inside me somewhere! So the search continues but right now I need a good break from Ironman training and racing. I want to spend more time with my girl, enjoy the sleep-ins and breakfasts together, have a normal life again, at least for a good while!
Oh and I also need to learn how to swim before I try this again!!!!
Thank you to all the guys on triathlog for the great network of athletes we have built – Paul, David, Alex, Pete, Mark, Eric, Scott & Mick – good luck with Ironman Germany & Busso coming up soon!
Also a special thanks to super coach Al for helping me achieve what I have so far.
And to Ange for always being by my side, no matter what. You’re the best and WE ARE AN IRONMAN, together.
Until next time, and thanks for watching 
(some photos below)
Rog
