Ironman South Africa - TriathlonFull Ironman

Executed race plan. Swam Moderate. Enjoyed the whole thing. Waves picked up 2nd loop.

See Blog http://endurancefilms.com/racingteam/2012/05/siphiwes-2012-ironman-...

Nothing

I took my time in T1 to make sure I had everything I needed. No sense rushing through and getting on the bike for six hours missing something. The volunteers in the changing tent were awesome. She stripped my wetsuit, emptied my bag and laid out my stuff, and handed me my things in perfect order without me saying a word! My biggest decision was how much clothing to wear since the weather conditions were unsteady. I opted for both my leg and arm warmers and my EFRT long sleeve jersey and gloves. I stuffed two 1st Endurance EFS Tart Lemon-Lime single packets and about twelve Gatorade G Series Fit 01 Prime Pre Workout Energy Bites into the back pockets of my jersey, along with 5 Gu Pineapple gels in my carry box. My plan was to mix and drink one packet in my Profile Design Aerodrink Bottle, drink another water bottle, eat four G Series 01 Bites, and two gels for each of three loops. I like the G Series 01 Bites because I need solid food on the bike and I can eat and digest them all day easily without any gastrointestinal issues. Helmet, glasses, and race belt on, I headed out of T1 7:01 later. I went from 41 to 61 in those seven minutes.

When I came into T2 I had a little trouble, dismounting at the first line about 15 yards from the actual dismount. People were shouting at me and I got confused, tried to get back on the bike and ride, then fell at the dismount. It was quite funny and Im glad my family didnt get it on video! My Newton Distance running shoes on, I still had to make a tactical decision. Though the sun was out, it wasnt hot, and the wind brough a slight chill. I knew i’d be running after sunset, too, but i didnt want to overheat on the first run loop. My delimna: do i keep the long sleeve jersey? Ultimately I decided to ditch the jersey and leg warmers and run with my arm warmers. I left T2 in 3:02, the 94th fasted T2 split and in 288th position overall.



Make sure I know where the dismount line is before the race.

Ah, the run! I’ve read and heard so much about the run, and here I was, starting my first ever marathon. I told myself that a four hour marathon was reasonable, but I was really hoping to run about 3:40 or so. I usually run very well off the bike, especially since I started training with the powercranks. As I ran out of T2, however, I knew this wasn’t going to be a normal day. I ran the first two miles right on the edge of cramps on my inner thighs, no doubt from having to use them so much on the windy bike. I ran the first mile in 7:13, 7:33, 7:43 and 7:54 for the first four miles. Then I hit some hill and wind and slowed a little. However, I was feeling pretty good and having a great race. From mile six through twelve I ran between 7:49 and 8:33. For the next four miles I ran right at 9:00… In training, the furthest I ever ran was 19 miles. At mile 17, I hit the proverbial wall. It happened quick, and fast, and I felt all the energy leave me like a scorned woman. For the first time I had to walk, screaming fans cheering me on be damned! For the first time in the race, an ounce of doubt crept in. Fortunately, I knew that I could overcome this if I didn’t panic. So while walking I started to consume everything I could get my hands on: Coke, Powerade, bananas, sandwishes, Powerbars … I just grabbed whatever the aid station handed out and shoved it into my mouth. I started running again but that lasted about 15 secodns. Not ready yet. That 17th mile took me 11:16. The next four miles were 10:29, 10:55, 10:12,10:12 and 10:48. By this time, the sun was setting, it started raining, I was wet, cold, and had severe chaffing on both latismus dorsi from my trisuit. For fifteen minutes, I was downright miserable. I just managed to keep going and around mile 23 I realized I could make it under twelve hours if I could run a nine minute mile pace. It was then that I found the last piece of strength and determination that people always talk about, and I ran 8:47, 8:53 and 8:51 to the finish. My run split was 4:00:36, 183rd fastes run overall, 28th fastest split in my age group.



Put long sleeve shirt in special needs bag just in case.

No warm down. Quick massage in massage tent. Hot coffee.


weather conditions


Executed 95% of my race plan. Great race and time for the conditions. Very happy.