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Hardman Iron Distance - Triathlon


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Kerry, Ireland
Ireland
17C / 63F
Overcast
Total Time = 11h 52m 44s
Overall Rank = 17/49
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 12/39
Pre-race routine:

Drove the first 30km of bike course the day before, looked at swim course to get an idea of layout. Attended race briefing and handed in food bags on teh Friday night.
Race morning started at 4am with breakfast of porridge, jam scone and coffee. Arrrived at start at about 5-45 for 6.60 start, signed in and got set up. Final decision on bike clothing made, transition set up and time for a few photos before heading to the water!
Event warmup:

No real warm-up, into the water, got fully aclimatisied and stretched shoulders etc.
Swim
  • 1h 10m 13s
  • 3900 meters
  • 01m 48s / 100 meters
Comments:

The swim went as well as I could have hoped, the water was amazing, clear and flat - and no eels! They only difficulty was in heading to the 2nd buoy - they sun was still so low it was impossible to see - I could only hope that those ahead of me were going in the right direction! Onto the second lap and all I kept thinking was this is nearly over - unbelievable! Soon I was at the last buoy turned & kicked hard for the 100m or so to the exit. Up the ramp and was delighted to see 1.10 on the clock - slightly ahead of what I had hoped for. Only found out later that I was 9th individual out of the water & 13th overall.
What would you do differently?:

Very little, really happy with how it went, nearly bang on what i expected without pushing it hard at any stage.
Transition 1
  • 03m 32s
Comments:

Went pretty smootly, took my time to make sure i had everything without faffing about too much! Had set up in T1 and didn't go to change tent - didn't see the need. Had everything ready - just needed to do a regular T1 for me. Was 6th fastest in T1 - really happy with that.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Bike
  • 6h 03m 13s
  • 180 kms
  • 29.73 km/hr
Comments:

Out onto the bike course and my legs felt wierd - they felt heavy but not in a tired sense and not something I'd never felt before. Nothing I could do about it - a quote from Gerry Duffy's book - Tick Tock Ten - "controle the controlables" was one of my motos for the day. I told myself they were just strong and got on with getting through Killarney. Being about 8am on a Saturday morning there was no traffic so flew through the town - this was an open road race meaning there would be traffic on the entire 180km of the Ring of Kerry - again nothing I could do about that and I'd trained on all open roads.

Once I got to Muckross House I knew the climbing was about to start. I just sat in and tried to keep a steady pace. All of a sudden I was at Lady's View - how'd that happen?! Next target was in about 5km -what I'd called the upper lake - a small plateau which was 3km from the top. Again this flew by, the course definately looked worse in the car and as yet I hadn't had to get out of the saddle. Hitting that upper lake gave me a huge lift - this was going better than expected! The last 3km were the toughest but it was only 3km! A cry of "you beauty!" greeted the sight of the Avoka shop at the top of Molls Gap - that was it - the toughest climb done and it didn't kill me. Whats more I was only passed once on the climb - usually there is a train of bikes passing me - a strange feeling.

Decent form Molls Gap
From driving the course on the Friday I knew there was a long decent into Kenmare about 8km on good roads, it was great to get onto the aero bars and flew down hitting between 45-50km/hr the whole way. By the time I got to the turn in Kenmare my average speed was back to what I'd hoped for the whole ride - again this gave me a boost and knew that the hardest part was over and I'd pick up more speed over the course of the day.

Support
Entering Kenmare
Hitting the turn to Sneem in Kenmare I saw Colman, Sandra and the girls - great to see them and another boost. The road from Kenmare to Sneem was boring! I didn't know it, had no landmarks in my head, it was slightly undulating, dull, tree covered and just passed slowely. After about 60km it started to rain and didn't let up for about 2-3hours. About 80km in the climbing started again - I'd assumed this was Coomaciste (the 2nd big climb of the day) and was happy when I got to Caherdaniel feeling good only to find the climing started again almost immediatly. So this was it! The best part of this climb was the road surface - it was new smooth asphalt and I actually enjoyed the climb (& the decent after!). I was feeling great at this stage, legs felt strong, nutrition seemed to be going well, the stich I'd had for the last few hours had gone & my average pace was rising. I still had a couple of hours to go so decided to turn off the average pace monitor - I get so competitive with myself - wanting to keep average speed rising and not let it drop - that I decided to ignore it and go purely by heart rate for remainder.

Seeing Lorna & Eabha
Into Waterville and a quick stop to pick up some extra food and drink from the food drop bag - no sign of any Charlie Chaplins either! I don't remember much of the spin into Cahersivin but was delighted to see Lorna and Eabha along the way here. The great thing about an open course is that supporters can travel out to see you at different points and it was always a boost to see family along the way - a big thanks to Mam, Dad, Sean, Mari-Claire & Ciaran and Colman, Sandra & the girls for driving out around on what was now a miserable day. The constant rain ment that the views were non existant but you could tell it was an amazing part of the world. Seeing the signs for Killorglin meant the end was getting close but there was a horrible stretch after Cahersivin - a long gradual uphill drag which was so slight that you felt that you should be going faster and started putting doubts in your head about how the legs were coping. A relief to hit the water station at Kells to refill - couldn't understand a word one of the old Kerry farmers was saying but the other one assured me the worst was over and it was easier into Killorglin from here on! Through a few dodgy junctions in Killorglin, another wave to Lorna and Eabha and it was onto the last 20km back to Killarney with the only wind of the day - a nice gentle tailwind! Finished the bike course in 6hrs3mins - almost an hour quicker than I expected but I felt that I paced it well and never over exerted and that my heart rate was still around what I had planned. Hopefully there was something left in the legs!

What would you do differently?:

Very little
Transition 2
  • 04m 33s
Comments:

Entering T2 in the Castleross Hotel and after a perfect dismount, racked the bike, picked up my change bag and a quick change of socks, into runners, fresh top & hat and it was tiime to head out onto the run course - 2 legs down..... only a marathon to go!! The run course was 3 14km loops through the national park on a mix of road and trails.
What would you do differently?:

not much again - it was a bit slow in comparrison to others but a minute at this stage wsn't going to make a lot of difference
Run
  • 4h 30m 54s
  • 42 kms
  • 06m 27s  min/km
Comments:

The first lap of the run was fairly uneventful and around the pace I was expecting for the most of it and I was feeling pretty good considering! I probably should have taken a gel earlier on the run and this came back to haunt me on the 2nd lap. Pace had slowed slightly but again I'd expected this. Around the 24km mark I started to feel a bit light headed and slightly blurry! The next aid station came at just the right time and I sat on the bonnet of a car for a minute while drinking about 3 cups of coke to try and get some sugar into me. Headed of a little slower again and got about another 3km before I got the worst bout of cramp I've ever had in my left hamstring - the more I tried to stretch it the more my quad cramped! I actually screamed in pain at one stage - so much that a lady came running over to see if I was OK! She encouraged me to take a gel and to stretch it out more and after a couple of minutes it loosened out so I started jogging again. I met Sean a couple of hundred meters from the end of the loop and walked back to the aid station/finish area, took another gel and walked another bit out of the aid station. Had a quick glance at the clock and realisied I still have about 90mins to come in under 12hrs - it didn't really compute at that time and it was the last I thought of it until I'd get to the finish!The 3rd lap actually went by really quickly and was a mix of run 2-3km and walk a few 100m - taking on another gel and as much coke as they'd give me! At the 35km mark was the first time I'd really allowed myself to think about actually finishing, time didn't matter and I honestly hadn't a clue what time it was or what I'd come in at despite looking at my garmin every few minutes - the brain just doesn't work at that stage! Finish adrenalin kicked in and the last 2km's were my fastest of the day and I was getting excited to finish. Exiting the wooded path into the finish are and I couldn't beleive the clock still had an 11.xx on it. The last small loop around the finish area for a marathon of 4hr30 and across the line in 11.52 - way way above what I had hoped for. Needless to say I was delighted!!!
What would you do differently?:

take a gel earlier, maybe push slightly harded a few km further out
Post race
Warm down:

None - sit down and had a cup of tea and sandwich!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Probably just the fact that it was my 1st IM distance race

Event comments:

Overall I was 17th of 49 and 12 individual home - I never even considered this pre race. The day really couldn't have gone any better for me - a week later I'm still in shock at the bike split which I have no idea where it came from - nothing in training indicated a split like that and whats more I actually enjoyed it! This was a great race in an amazing location - I couldn't recomment it enough to anyone thinking about an Ironman at home - well done to Alan and all the organisers, marshalls and volunteers who made it such a great day.

My overall reflection on doing my first Ironman: its a huge undertaking for 6months prior to it and you really need that support of family and friends to help get you through it. The training volume is big in places but with a sensible plan anyone can get through it - as a friend said recently to do an Ironman you just need to be subborn and pig headed!! I trained alone, no club or coach, used a free online plan, a basic roadbike with tribars attached, have no real experience in endurance sport until I started traithlon 4yrs ago, I've done a handful of sprints and olympics, 2 half ironamn distances. Would I do another one?? Yes - definately but not for a couple of years and would love to do one abroad just for the experience.

Thanks to everyone for the messages of support, good wishes and congratulations - especially to my cousin John who undertook this journey with me - all be it in Canada! A day after I finshed Hardman he completed Ironman Canada to hear those awesome 4 words - YOU ARE AN IRONMAN - well done John!

None if it would have been possible without the support of Lorna & Eabha - they really get the short straw in all of this & I honestly think its harder on them than on me. I can't thank them both enough for putting up with me - Lorna at times was a coach, psychologist, nutritionist, supporter, shoulder to cry on all rolled into one for month on end! Thank you.





Last updated: 2013-01-29 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:10:13 | 3900 meters | 01m 48s / 100meters
Age Group: 9/39
Overall: 0/49
Performance: Good
Suit: full
Course: 2 lap diamond shaped course
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 19C / 66F Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding:
T1
Time: 03:32
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
06:03:13 | 180 kms | 29.73 km/hr
Age Group: 12/39
Overall: 17/49
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Full Ring of Kerry on open roads
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 04:33
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
04:30:54 | 42 kms | 06m 27s  min/km
Age Group: 16/39
Overall: 21/49
Performance: Average
Course: 3 x 14km laps on mix of trail and road surface
Keeping cool Average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2013-09-14 1:17 PM

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Subject: Hardman Iron Distance
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