THE SLAYER RULES-FULL Up (Page 44)

Good luck, Silverback!

Thanks for the warm wishes, guys.  Vineman is 2 weeks from tomorrow.  Looking forward to it.  I feel prepared.  The swim, of course, will be not fun, but I know I can survive it.  Really excited to ride.  Should be spectacular.  The biggest obstacle will be the weather.  It has the potential to be over 100 degrees.  That will make it uncomfortable.  My big goal is to have fun and be grateful that I'm able to do these things.  I got 4 100 + mile rides in and many that were in the 80+ range, so that's good.  Longest run was a 17 miler last weekend. Running is not a concern.  Swimming?  Well, you probably know where I am with that.  Haven't done much.  That said, I've gotten a couple of good OWS in and my sighting and ability to stay calm has improved since last year.  I can definitely tell a difference after after a year of IM training under my belt.  This time around has been much easier.  Maybe it's the confidence in knowing I can and have done it.

What's everyone else up to?

I'm finally back on the consistent training bandwagon. Took some time off after Eagleman. I didn't have the day that I wanted and that course and heat just really took it out of me. I'm not doing anymore long course stuff this year but I have a sprint scheduled for next Saturday. 

Good luck Ashley and Silverback! You guys are going to kill it!

Thanks for all the well wishes. My plan is to try and enjoy myself. Last year in frankfurt i was wound up like a spring and eventually i came unstuck. With it being a 15hr cut off i put a lot of pressure on myself. This year i'm much better prepared both physically and mentally. Bolton is only a 90 minute drive away so will be staying at home longer. I know i can swim the distance, last weeks century gave me a massive confidence boost then the marathon will be the icing on the cake. I don't care if i get round in 10hrs or 16hrs 59 min. My one and only goal for the day is getting to the red carpet, and just as an extra incentive my son will be there to help celebrate.

Again thanks for the well wishes.

Good luck Ashley in your race.

Well done Ironman.

Looking forward to your race report.

Thanks for all the support!  I thought about you guys yesterday.  I finished in 15:11, a PR of 1 hour, 28 minutes.  Awesome day.  My actual swim, bike and run times were pretty good.  Wound up taking a good number of breaks to put ice in my top and pants.  Actual bike time was 7:04 (7:40 something with breaks), run was just under 5 hours (5:20 something with breaks).  Very, very pleased with my run.  I walked the uphills (very, very hilly) and cruised the downhills and split the flats.  When I was running, I kept an 8 min/mile ish pace.   The last mile I ran a 7:23 .  The swim was fine, no freak outs and way less contact than CdA.  It was crazy, crazy hot.

I accomplished all my goals:

1. Have fun

2. Finish

3.  PR overall and each individual distance

4. Pee on the bike (oh yeah, I was a pee machine.  Peed on the bike a bunch and on the run.  No shame.  Happy I was hydrated).

It's been a week so time for a race report.

THE SWIM:- I'm not a strong swimmer i will never claim to be, i can do enough to get through, my goal was as always was to beat the cut off. I got into the water and made my way through the 200 metre to the start line. There was a bit of a delay to allow everyone to get in the water. The gun sounded and we were off. Didn't get any trouble and found clear water straight away. Got myself in to a good rhythm and before i knew it i was turning round at the half way point of the 1st lap. Then it was out of the water across a timing mat and back in for the second lap. Started to feel a bit sick halfway through this lap and this got gradually worse for the rest of the swim. Got to the exit for the final time with a sense of relief. Looked at my watch 1hr 47. Slower than my previous ironman swim but happy to have it over with. 

THE BIKE:- The bike course was a point to point section then 3 loops with one big climb. I'd ridden the climb in training and was confident of over coming it. From the off i put my head down and got to work. made it to the start of the loop just ahead of the time i planned. Then it was time for the climb i put the bike in a small gear and got on with it. I was surprised to see people walking up the hill on this 1st loop. Over the top of the climb and into a flatter section of the course it was at this point i hit a pot hole in the road fairly hard didn't think to much about it till about half a mile later when i realised i'd got a puncture. Wheel off and went through the routine ive been through many times before. At this point a volunteer who was on his way home stopped with a track pump to help me. He started to pump the tyre up then bang the tube popped. through the process again. This time no problem. This did only leave me with one tube so this played on my mind. Through the rest of the loop and the second with no problem. iI got to the start of the last loop and worked out that i had 2hr 45 min to cover the 30 mile. I was starting to suffer with the heat and sunshine but got stuck into it. Had to walk the last part of the climb as i was starting to suffer with cramps. Over the top of the climb and got my head down. At the last aid station i worked out it was going to be tight and some how dug deep and from somewhere i found some extra energy all the time trying to work out speeds and times in my head. i made one final turn for t2 riding with my balls to the wall in an effort to make the cut off, I'd not ridden the last part of the course before so had no idea how much further i had to go. I must admit when i saw the green t shirt of the race crew on the horizon i shed a tear i was going to make it. Then i was finally there t2. A relief washed over me i'd not made it this far in frankfurt so was made up. 8hr 31min i'd made the cut off by 3 minutes. I took my time to get everything sorted in t2 changed shorts socks and put my cap and sunscreen on.

THE RUN:- The run course was a section of 8 mile then 3 loops of roughly 6 mile. It was now getting hotter and being a big unit i knew it was going to be hard. made it to the 1st aid station and took on water,coke and gatorade. This next section was very lonely as there were only a few of us about. kept taking water and coke at the aid stations. then it was time to join the main loop. so much busier i started to notice which band everyone had got on and started to become envious. I was looking forward to getting to the town centre as i knew my family would be there and this would give me a lift. The next couple of hours was just a case of run/walk knocking of the miles.I spoke to my partner julie who informed me i had 3 hrs to do 12 mile this was the point i knew i was going to do it but just tried to keep things sensible run/walk, water/ coke. i returned to the town centre one more time julie said they were going to watch me start the loop again then they would go to the finish. i was now just over an hour away. the last loop was more a walk than the previous times round but everything from the waist down was screaming for me to stop. I made the final turn back into town and could see the finish line ahead.As one cruel last twist you had to turn away from the finish line to do a last little loop. Then finally i ran out of the dark into the light on to the red carpet. Made time to give a hug to julie and my mum then i heard the words i'd been waiting 2 long hard years to hear. SIMON KENT YOU ARE AN IRONMAN.

WHAT NEXT:- I will be trying to keep my fitness between now and the winter. Plan to do a couple of local sprints in september.Then next year i will be having another go at going long. I always wanted my 1st race to be an mdot branded race but think i will be supporting one of my local races next year. I will also be learning to swim frontcrawl and shift some of the extra timber i'm carrying that makes it difficult on the bike