The End......

Melanie

Coming home was lovely; we had a congratulations banner and cake from Sorcha, flowers, chocs and wine from my family and lots of praise and admiration from friends. We’ve both got our tattoos done and we’re pleased with ourselves.

The body wants to keep training but the mind is more reluctant. Someone’s blog once said the training is harder than the race, I think I’d agree.

I think doing an Ironman to triathletes is like an Oscar for actors so here’s my acceptance speech.

I’d like to say thank you to:

·         Sylvia Price for inspiring me to take up the challenge

·         Carsten for so quickly agreeing to join me

·         Don Fink for his tips and training plan

·         To my family for having so much pride and faith in me

·         To everyone that sponsored us

·         To the KVG girls for making cycling so much fun

·         To everyone that read our blogs and supported us

I’ve really enjoyed writing the blogs; I wish I could write my work papers so easily. It’ll be a lasting diary for us to remember how far we’ve come and the trials and tribulations we had along the way. Its allowed us to share with you what it’s like and how we feel. But mostly it’s kept us all in touch and really made you part of our journey. When I had doubts I would make it I thought it would have been better to just quietly have got on with it, but your involvement has made it much more enjoyable and kept us going when things got tough. And of course we haven’t had to keep repeating our stories to you all. I’d also like to think a future Ironman will be inspired by it as we have been by reading others.

Friends say we’ve inspired them to do more exercise and to try and push themselves a bit more and take up challenges they may have thought not possible. I like that idea; my friends and colleagues inspire me in so many ways. It’s good to give something back.

We think Regensburg was a perfect place for an Ironman and we would highly recommend it to anyone considering their first or next one. 

You also donated around £600 – so thank you very much.

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Carsten - The Aftermath

Coming home was nice; we had recovered a bit by then and I was looking forward to my own bed.  Walking through the door we were greeted by a ‘Congratulations Ironmen’ sign and an Ironman father’s day card from Sorcha and Aaron.  We also received some lovely flowers and wine from Melanie’s family, and of course with everyone else giving us their congratulations it was good to just relax and enjoy the aftermath.

It has now been nearly 4 weeks since the race and I have had time to look back at it; to do the ‘we should have done that’ analysis and to be a bit objective about it.  I don’t think the day itself was as hard as I’d been lead to believe, I’d read articles before hand on how achieving the Ironman race changed their life and their perspective on how they looked at themselves - with re-newed confidence etc.  I didn’t really feel that, though I did learn more about myself and am pleased I could push myself harder and further than before.  As Melanie said above, the hard bit was staying focused and dedicated in the training - 8 months of training 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day took effort.

At the moment I’m picking my training back up.  I pulled a calf muscle by training too hard too quickly but now that’s better I intend to take my running back up to a comfortable long run of about 9/10 miles, and a long cycle of 2/3 hours; but there’s no plan to it!

Next year I’d like to do something different, a cycle or swim event - not necessarily a long or big event but something a bit different.  I have pondered doing another Ironman, and it does appeal (sort of), but I think at the moment other challenges beckon first.  Though I will still dip in and out of the odd short triathlon.

Thank you all for reading our blog, it’s been fun to write and cathartic in a way too.  The Ironman has been a great adventure; if you haven’t already I hope you find an adventure as well.

Here's us in our finisher T-shirts...

Melanie's race

The alarm went off at 3.30, not that I needed it; I didn’t sleep a wink. I was restful and relaxed but I just couldn’t sleep; I think the adrenaline had kicked in. Breakfast at 4 with the other competitors in our hotel and then off we went. We’d already taken the bike, cycle and run gear over to the start so just ourselves and swim stuff. Walking through town there were a few competitors but mostly late night revellers making their way home or just hanging out. I envied them.

 The bus transfer took about 30 mins but felt longer. I felt so sick I couldn’t speak; I just stared out the window. I was relieved to get there and get off. We were early so managed to set up our stuff before the crowds arrived. I couldn’t remember what to do with my bags, just nerves I guess but I was really pleased Carsten was around. And then we waited, got the wetsuits on and headed for the lake’s edge. We’d been out there the day before and knew where we wanted to get into the water.  The nerves were at their worst now, butterfly stomach and dry mouth, though as time got nearer I felt better and I just wanted to get on with it. Suddenly the music changed from mellow to pumping and a big grin came across my face. This is the music I’d heard on YouTube clips, this is it; this is what we’ve been training for. Bring it on…I never heard a gun go off or a countdown, but suddenly everyone was moving forward, I looked at Carsten…..time to go….

We stuck to our plan and held back, probably only a minute of two. It was quite a site watching 1000+ people get in the water.  And then I was in too. Bit crowded at the beginning but quite quickly I had space around me, at one point I had so much space I briefly wondered if I was actually last. But I knew I wasn’t and just kept going. The swim was better than I expected, I had a good space around me for more than half the time and I didn’t get any hard thumps or kicks. I found it quite funny – all these people thrashing around. Parts of the course were quite hard to navigate; the route wasn’t as expected from the paperwork and the yellow buoys were hard to see as we were all wearing yellow hats too. Most sections were quite wide so there was lots of room to spread out.  I lost a bit of time trying to site and I got stuck behind people a few times, on several occasions I had loads of space and someone would just come out of nowhere and cross my line, very annoying. A few scrappy moments jostling for space - I probably won more battles than I lost. The last stretch was nice and straight and I found a good rhythm and just went for it. Soon enough I could hear the crowds and the commentator and I was out of the water.  I’d helped a girl get into her wetsuit in the morning and she was in the changing tent with me and told me we did it in about 1hr20 – that’s exactly what I’d hoped for, so a good start.

The helper in the tent was actually a hindrance, I had a plan and she was messing it up but I knew she meant well. I lost a few minutes in transition as I had to stop her and get back to my plan. You need to be comfy before you get on a bike for a 112 mile cycle – I checked the time as I cycled out of T1 – 1hr 30, still on time. Straight away I noticed my feed bag was wonky, turns out one of the straps had broken, I stopped twice to try and sort it out, tried sticking it with a plaster but to no avail. I was worried it would fall off and I’d lose all my food, I then remembered my spares but realised they hadn’t made it into my pockets. It was also annoying as my knee kept catching it. So I spent the first few hours keeping it steady but then gave up. I realised it wasn’t likely to fall off and I’d had enough of energy bars and swapped to bananas anyway.

I enjoyed the cycle; some of the villages had really pulled together and were amazing. Drums, cow bells, stereo’s, Mexican waves, saucepans - you name it they used it to cheer you on. It was a warm and sunny day, the roads were closed so they couldn’t go far anyway but they really embraced it.  One village stole the show and made one of the hills a joy to climb. I was enjoying myself, this was my day, if they waved and cheered I waved and cheered back, they loved that and you always got an even bigger cheer for doing so. Our names were on our race numbers and i had several chants of Mel-an-ie, Mel-an-ie – I couldn’t help but think “no one has shortened it to Mel”.  A few sets of kids wanted to do slap hands, I tried it twice but gave up; one nearly knocked me off and one hurt my shoulder!  The feed stations were well manned and I soon got the hang of swapping bottles around.

About 2.5hrs into the cycle I heard someone say “well done on your swim” I looked round and it was Carsten! He didn’t have such a good swim and had just caught me up, it was good to see him, we had a quick chat and off he went, I put a spurt on but knew I’d suffer trying to stay with him so let him go. An hour later he passed me again, he’d had to stop and I’d obviously passed him.

I clocked my time at 56 miles (half way) and it was 3hrs 30…I was pleased with that and it meant I could go a bit easier on the second lap. Though a 7 hour cycle would suit me fine.

4hrs in and some fit looking people on really nice bikes, tear drop hats etc were still overtaking me, I considered if I was being lapped. I asked one what he was doing at the back and he said “trying to catch up, I’m a lousy swimmer”. I played tag with a Scottish guy called Matthew, I overtook him for the last time around the half way mark, he was out to enjoy himself and felt right at home cycling hills in cloudy weather. I hope he made it round. It would have been nice to remember people’s numbers but by the end of the day I could barely remember my own.  I chatted with others and I stayed in good spirits all the way. My shoulders and lower back ached so I sat up more on the second lap. I tried to do some maths and freaked myself out that I had slowed up so much I’d miss the second cut off time, I should know better than to do maths, still it made me speed up a bit. I took a celebratory gel at 100 miles, this was new territory for me now.  All was well until about 103 miles and then I’d had enough. My feet were really sore and I couldn’t wait for the end, I kept thinking I’d see it round the next corner but the corners just kept coming. Finally I knew where I was and could hear/see the end. I dumped my bike and headed for the changing tent.  I’d made it and I had plenty of time for the run. I was very very happy.

This changing tent was mixed, luckily there were some barriers I could duck behind and change my shorts. No one came to help which was good. I didn’t rush, a bit of a breather was nice and again I wanted to be comfortable.  Quick leg stretch and off I went. My trainers felt soooooooooo comfortable; like soft puffy duvets on my feet, that was heavenly after the pain of the bike shoes. I’ve not thought of the run as a marathon, it sounds too long and scary, it was just 4 laps. Once I’d mingled with all the other runners I noticed most people had already collected 3 or 4 arm bands (you pick up a different colour every lap) and I realised I had a long way to go. But I was overtaking some with none or one so that was a good sign.

The first lap was really hard to get into for both body and mind but again the crowds were pretty good and some were fantastic. By now though I’d had enough smiling and waving and I wasn’t very cheery, plus there were just too many to say thank you to. I would have liked some peace and quiet to be honest. The sun was out and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, it was easily 28 degrees, a bit hot for me. Fortunately the trees and buildings offered some shade and it was a relief to get out of the sun. The course had some cobbled stone sections which weren’t particularly nice and a slope or two but nothing too bad. We ran through town, in a park and along the river Danube so plenty of spots for people to watch. I stopped at each feed station to take on water, I wanted to drink pints but knew I couldn’t, I was drinking too much though as my stomach felt bloated and sloshy.

Mind games had begun – I knew I had time to walk the entire way if I wanted to – but I didn’t. I haggled with myself that I could run two and walk two, but that didn’t seem very brave or Ironmanly,  but I think I’d used my bravery and ironman spirit in the swim and cycle and who would call me chicken for walking? I wanted to run the first three laps as I’ve done 18miles in training a few times, I decided if I couldn’t manage to run the fourth lap, that was ok. So that was my plan.

The second lap was better, I’d found my groove and was feeling more perky, there was a spot in town with lots of supporters and a blasting set of speakers, that made me smile and go faster each time I passed it.  I still drank at each station just a little less.

Lap three seemed to go on forever and by now I was walking the feed station and a bit more after it. Thankfully the temperature was cooling. I could cope with people sunbathing, having bbq’s, drinking beer etc but we had to run passed a lake where people were paddling in the water, I was so hot I just wanted to take my shoes off and jump in with them.

Lap four, the final frontier, the amount of competitors and spectators had considerably dwindled, and so had my motivation. I decided to swap from gels and water to coke and water. It seemed to work, I think I got a buzz off the sugar.  I decided I wouldn’t walk until walking became faster than running. But then I just ran out of energy, willpower, everything and I had a walk. I power walked mind, no dawdling. I had a cup of cola in one hand and a cup of water in the other, sipping from each alternatively.  I had a nice chat with a German guy for a while too, but then he needed to run. I knew if I walked it would just take longer. During training I liked the idea of a 5hr run, some people don’t achieve that when they do a marathon on its own,  I knew it was possible but not if I kept walking and it was just as painful on the legs if not more so I dumped the cups and started to run again.  It was hard to get the legs going again and I was practically dragging my feet along, I remembered a friend referring to the “Ironman Shuffle” and I thought this must be it! I had a word with myself and picked up the pace. I think the walking and drinking did me some good as I felt better and a bit stronger. I was passing others too. Some people were struggling and still had a long way to go, I felt sorry for them.  

And finally there I was at the last feed station; the volunteers manning them had all been brilliant. I had a chat with one of them, he told me to turn my race number round to face the front so everyone would know who was coming down the finishing chute. I set off, knowing I was on the home stretch and feeling good.

When you get back to the beginning of each lap you go Left to do another lap and Right to finish. It was my time to turn right, this was the moment I’d dreamt about for the last few months. I picked up the pace and there were enough spectators left to make a noise, so much so I could only just hear the commentator say “Melanie Pitches, you are an Ironman”.  I crossed the line and stopped, someone put a medal around my neck and someone asked if I was alright, I just nodded. It was a relief to have finished. Someone led me away to get a drink and finisher T-shirt, I realised I hadn’t checked my time, I turned back and saw 13.53 on the clock, I had to look again, I thought they must have forgot to add on the swim or something but the volunteer confirmed that was my finish time.

Not only an ironman but a sub 14hr ironman; I was really pleased with that. It was a long day but I really enjoyed it. The training had paid off, the body held up quite well and the mind stayed strong. I thought about Carsten a few times, I expected him to be way in front, had I known he was only 10-15mins in front I would have run faster, but he said if he knew I was only 10-15mins behind so would he!!  We’re just glad we both finished, no DNF’s for us.

Total time: 13hrs 51mins

Carsten's race

We arrived on the Thursday to give us time to chill, absorb carbs (through copious amounts of pasta and pizza and the odd beer) and to thoroughly taper.  It also gave us time to go through the race in our minds, to register and to rack the bikes on Saturday.  Saturday night into Sunday was then spent laying on the bed vainly trying to get some sleep until the alarm went off at 3:30am – then dress into casual wear; eat a honey and banana roll; walk to the bus stop and head out to the swim start.   

The Swim

We had previously agreed to start at the back left of the group.  At the back so as to reduce the white water and number of people around us, and on the left as that position afforded a straight line and on previous years footage showed some available space.  Standing there listening to the countdown surrounded by neoprene and yellow swim hats, it was very surreal – I couldn’t quite believe that we were actually there and it was happening.  I also knew it heralded the start of a very long day. 

As everyone surged forwarded I could see from the back the waves of swimmers heading out, a unique and great sight and all too soon it was my turn to wade in and swim.  The first leg went quite well, this was the dangerous leg with more chance of being kicked/punched by other swimmers until they found their own space and rhythm, but I found space pretty quickly, sighted on the end buoy and got into a relaxed freestyle.  Right up to when I nearly swam into a bank of reeds – perhaps my sighting wasn’t as good as I thought it was!  A quick detour around the reeds and I was back on course – keeping my stroke relaxed but thinking of technique – speed versus energy output.

I kept up what I thought was an ok pace but still had energy in reserve but as I got out my first inkling that something was wrong was hearing the announcer say ‘and who’s going to be the last one out’ – oh god, not me I hope, was at the top of my mind.  I then ran through to where the transition bags were hanging up waiting collection as you went past (a thousand or so maybe) and all I could see were about twenty left hanging there – that inkling was now a certainty; as I was looking around me there weren’t many people or bikes left in the area, and Melanie’s had gone too.

I clocked the time and I did the swim in 1hr 27min, so 7min over my expected time which wouldn’t have been too bad if only there were more competitors of the same speed.  I was afraid this would mean a lonely ride for 7/8 hours.

The Cycle

I got out of transition ok, in about 8mins, and started the cycle with people cheering me as I left the area.  I was feeling good but dreading a little the long hours ahead, but the clouds had come over and it appeared to be perfect cycling weather.  The course was of two laps with one set of hills near the start and as I went up these I swore that they had grown in size and number since we were last there in April.  But all in all they weren’t too bad and the locals had come out and were cheering the cyclists round. 

After the hills the roads were mainly perfect for the aero bars – crouching down over the handle bars trying to get into the least wind resistant position.  A lot of our latter training cycles were practising this so it had become pretty much second nature by then.  I caught up with Melanie after about 1.5hrs and said a quick hello as I went by, she was looking strong and comfortable and I knew her cycling was nearly as good as mine. 

As the second lap started I was feeling very positive and the sun had come out in strength (later to find out it was around 28 degrees Celsius that day) – still strong with lots of energy I thought the training and tapering were really paying off and when I went past the cut off in around 3hrs 15min I felt optimistic.  The hills on the second time round felt easier than the first time and I settled back into the aero stance and kept focus on keeping a good pace (over 24k/hr needed to pass the cut-off times).  I even hit 75k going down one of the hills, the fastest I’ve ever been on a bike!  Though after about 5.5hrs I was being in ache in places and at one time I had to stop and massage my feet as they were hurting so much.  It was during the last 10 miles or so in which I had had enough – aching, tired of being on the bike with hurting feet it was only knowing that the end was in sight that kept me going.

The Run

I got into transition and racked my bike (after a 6hr 45min cycle which I was very pleased with) and immediately took my shoes off, bliss.  A 6min transition and I was out and running – running on what felt like pillows!  What a lovely feeling … which unfortunately only lasted the first lap.  But I was running, and I knew that if I had to walk the whole run I would still make it within the 16 hours (a great comfort blanket to have), but that isn’t what Ironman or I’m about; I still wanted to do it in the best time I could. 

The run was four laps of 6.5 miles, and the first lap went well.  I kept running at a steady pace, only stopping to walk through the drink stations (so well organised, a row of volunteers with water, carb drinks, coke, cake, bars, fruit, energy gels and water sponges).  You collect a coloured wrist band for each completed lap and my focus soon came down to getting the next coloured band.  The course itself was good, flat and covering parts of the town as well as a park and the river, it was a lovely route.  The crowds were also very good, loads of cheering and as our number bibs also had our names and our country’s flag on (people from 54 different countries were taking part) people could shout out your name, making it more personal.

The second lap wasn’t quite as easy, apart from the drink stations I stopped and walked on two occasions – and my focus was the third lap and getting the next wrist band, I wasn’t even thinking about the fourth lap, though the word ‘Ironman’ did keep reverberating through my head.  The third lap turned into a run then walk scenario, I knew it might come down to this but I was still a bit disappointed as it would have been nice to run all the way.  But I kept the walks to a minimum, run a hundred yards and then pick a point to walk to and then run again from that point.  I also had to stop at an aid tent to get a plaster for my toe, I could feel a blister start up but hopefully this would stop it; but soon after I could feel a big blister start up on the soles of both my feet.  I didn’t think there was a lot I could do about them except grit my teeth and keep going. 

I was really beginning to suffer on the fourth lap, I still felt that I could finish and in fact energy wise I also felt quite strong, it was my muscles/body that was beginning to let me down.  The blisters on my soles had progressed, every time I turned a corner I could feel the layers of skin sliding over each other and I soon realised that my walking bits should coincide with the cornering!  Still, I was focusing on getting that last wrist band and as I knew it was the last lap upped the speed on the running bits.

My thoughts often turned to Melanie.  I knew that she was behind me as I’d overtaken her on the cycle but I didn’t know how far behind she was or in what state.  But after doing the Swashbuckler (the half ironman triathlon) I also knew that her cycling was good and her running, if not as good was probably better than mine (I put that down to the fact that I’m carrying 5 more stone than she is!), so I felt quite sure she was doing well.  My worst nightmare would be if only one of us completed the course, that wouldn’t lead to happy celebrations!

The Finish

I got all four of the wrist bands and was coming into the finishing straight, my god I couldn’t believe it.  There were still people there cheering me along and then the road beneath my feet became blue… blue as I was on the finishers carpet, and the announcer was saying over the loud speaker ‘and here comes Carsten, Carsten you are now an Ironman’… a very good feeling … (the run took me 5hrs 8min).

Though it is only now, 5 days later, that the feeling is truly sinking in.  It felt good then, yes, but it feels better now as I can appreciate more that I have not only ‘gone long’ but that I have also finished the training for it; finished the planning for it; finished having to eat energy bars and gels for it; finished having to get up at 6am for the swims and cycles and finished having to spend a hell of a lot time in the saddle, in the water and on foot!

… and I can now say for the rest of my life that ‘I am an Ironman’.

Total time: 13hrs 37mins

Ready to go

Well we are now coming to the end of our training.  We have done our longest cycle and run and are now tapering - still exercising every day but not as much and getting less as we get closer to the day.  The idea is that our bodies are now at their 'peak' and the taper will allow the muscles time to recover and re-charge whilst not losing any performance … I like the theory!

All in all it has been a long 7 months training but I do feel that I'm at a new level of all round fitness - the cycle distances we have done are good (could be a bit faster though) and the running is definitely better (faster and longer), and the swim is still as it was (steady and ok technique).  It's time now for the race.  We've worked out roughly what we would like to do for each section on the day but as there are so many variables it can change easily (injuries, weather, breakages, nutrition, hydration and accidents to name a few); but I'm hoping for a 1hr 30min swim (accounting for the washing machine effect 2000 people will have) / 15min  transition 1 (getting out of wetsuit and into bike clothes) / a 7hr 30min cycle / a 15min trans 2 (from bike into run clothes) / and a 4hr 30min to 5hr run - so around 14hrs … I hope, I wish, fingers crossed, everything crossed …

What have I learnt so far?  Well, I've certainly learnt that I can be a grumpy git when tired and when I have to cycle a long distance I don't want to do!  But I've also learnt that training with Melanie has brought it's own rewards - in doing something so challenging together it does bring you closer, you do see another side of someone and you do feel a sense of achievement in doing it together.  I'm also personally richer for knowing that I can push my body further than I thought (hopefully it will be far enough), I've lost some weight (bound to go back on though), I'm a lot fitter and I've enhanced some skills in and increased my knowledge of three sports that I hope to continue to participate in for a while longer.

A good return I would say …

I received an email today from the race organisers.  Some details regarding the rules and regulations and bits about what to do on the day, it brought some butterflies to my stomach, but my overall feeling was 'bring it on'!!

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Well put darling. Butterfly stomachs all round but we’re hoping once we get there the buzz of it all will make us more excited. But I know come 6.45am on Sunday morning, standing on the edge of the lake with 2,000 other competitors, the nerves are going to be intense…it’ll be time to dig deeper than we ever have…

Your support has been fantastic, we’ve had good wishes, inspirational quotes and good luck cards, its nice to know we’ve also inspired others to push themselves…here are some of the quotes that will spur us on

You have earned your place, deserve it and now almost own it!!  It’s almost yours...

I am still so in awe of you both... Such an incredible challenge, no matter what the outcome, all very impressive...

You are one determined, focused cookie! Huge admiration for you

Pain and fatigue are only temporary, a completed ironman lasts forever

See you on the other side

Go do it girl . . . you have both worked so hard and deserve every success.

just keep going at all costs and then you will be able to say "I am an Ironman

 I am more than well aware of the hard effort, work and sheer determination even just completing the training takes. You are a star

Reaching the peak

Last week was our final peak week – our longest long cycle was 6hrs and our longest long run was 3hrs and we ended the week with an Olympic distance tri at Dorney Lake.

For the cycle we did the 100miler we did last October, only this time without the tea stops. It was a beautiful day and lovely to head off certain of good weather. All was well until the last 20 miles when the Garmin battery died, it was fully charged so clearly an issue. Luckily Carsten had his iphone on him and eventually (after a few stops and a bit of cursing) we made our way back. It’s a flat course so not a real test for the day but a really lovely route and a joy to ride.

For our long runs we tend to do laps so we can pass the house and take on water and gels, a bit like feed stations on the day. It was hot on my 3miler and I only managed 18 miles. I was hoping to do at least one 21mile training run. I was tempted to extend this week’s run but as I’m already suffering with injuries it’s probably best not to.

So now we start to taper, sadly that doesn’t mean morphing into couch potatoes – our long cycle drops to 4hrs and then 2 and in the last week nothing is longer than an hour…So we should be fully rested and raring to go on the day!

The thought of it for me is still a mix of fear and excitement, I just hope I can keep the nerves at bay on the day and focus on what I need to remember. Judging by the smaller and less important events I’ve done, my stomach will be churning, even if you’re head is happy your stomach seems to do its own thing.

But we’re ready, we’ve had enough and we just need to do it now. For comfort of getting round I would like few more weeks of training, but our minds and bodies have had enough, motivation is getting harder now and we’re rather tired and grumpy. We are as good as we’re going to get.

I visited a physio with a few new leg problems recently, apparently I have deformed feet and will always have issues with my shins, nice.  As if that wasn’t enough my sciatic nerve has “adhered” itself somewhere and makes my heel hurt. The only route is orthotics but obviously not this side of ironman. So I’ll plod on (literally sometimes), everything’s going to hurt on the day, I think old pains will subside and new ones will occur, but I’m getting used to training with pains so hopefully none of them will be debilitating and I’ll just deal with them on at the time and we’ll be packing the ibuprofen. 

Come what may I’ve really enjoyed the training and I’ve reached new levels of commitment, willpower etc and I’ve broken my own records which admittedly wasn’t hard, but still good to do. We’re looking forward to all the extra time we’ll have, though Carsten will be working a lot more and I’m sure we’ll fill the time and wonder how on earth we ever managed to train.

Dorney Olympic was a bit warm for me, I’d rather run in drizzle than heat, so on the day we want overcast weather, with a mild breeze to keep us cool, which will of course be behind us on the bike ride and a touch of sunshine to make everything look pretty. If it has to rain, let it be light and not till I’m off the bike; I get more nervous and slow down on wet roads. Though given the weather lately it could be blooming awful weather which will make it all rather unpleasant.

I stole this from someone else’s ironman blog - Each month, as the training distances increase, say good-bye to a clean house,  folded laundry, and home-cooked dinner every night.  

We’ve decided to try and raise some money for charity – you can sponsor us by emailing us your pledge or go on line here - http://www.justgiving.com/Melanie-Pitches  - if you’d like to guess my finish time I’m offering a bottle of champagne for the closest guess. (rounded up to nearest minute)

Swashbuckler Half Ironman

Swim 750m/Cycle 50miles/Run 14miles

In short I had a rubbish swim, ok cycle and blooming good run. Cycle would have been good if it wasn’t marred by mechanical issues.

Many of you will realise that’s a very short swim, we should have done 1900metres but the water was too cold; there are rules about temperatures and swim distances. In order to swim at all it had to be 11 degrees, to swim 1900metres it had to be 14 degrees. Luckily on the day it was 11.3 degrees so we were allowed to swim but could only do 750metres. A bit of a shame as we would have liked to do a longer swim, we’ve not had much practice due to cold lakes and the big day is not far away.

The race briefing on the Saturday was very good and made us feel more relaxed about things. We thought it would all be very serious but the event organisers were very down to earth and it had a personal feel about it, almost a family run approach.

The event was held in the New Forest so we booked a local B&B for Saturday night. 

The alarm went off at 3.40, but I was already awake, I woke at 3am after a dream that we’d overslept and missed it all! Everything had been sorted the night before so all we had to do was make tea and breakfast which consisted of banana and honey rolls. We usually have porridge but that’s not easy to transport. Clothes on and off we went, not much on the road and all the cars we picked up were heading for the same place – a lovely drive through the new forest with the mist coming off the ponds.

We thought we’d be really early but transition was already busy. Swim wasves started around 5.45 but we went in last so a bit of waiting around. Making our way down to the river was entertaining, it was around 3 degrees and everyone’s feet were freezing. Standing with 30 odd other triathletes, clad in as much neoprene as possible huddled onto a small mat as it was warmer than the concrete was pretty bizarre, but everyone was laughing about it. Then it got worse; the last stretch to the river was over frost covered grass, a few cut a dash, me included. Surely a sport for the insane? Particularly in England. 

We were dreading getting in the water but our feet were so cold it actually felt warm getting in, someone finishing their swim said it was warmer in than out and they were right. Swimming in cold water takes a while. First you need to get over the initial cold as it trickles down your suit, then get your face in the water and catch your breath, then swim with the worse head freeze you can imagine. Eventually it gets better and by then your hands and feet go numb. I’ve invested in some neoprene gloves as I really suffer with hands but they’re a bit chunky to swim in.

It wasn’t a great swim, after a winter of drills drills drills i didn’t do very well, need to practice distance and some speed I think. I got wedged in between some swimmers, one of them doing backstroke! And I came out the water quite near the back of my wave. It was quite misty and very hard to see where you were going, that didn’t help with navigation.

We bought some Robbies Robes as nudity isn’t allowed in most triathlons and they’ve been great for lake swimming too.

I think I took too long in transition, I wanted to re-inact what I’ll do in June and that includes changing into cycling shorts. Tri shorts just don’t have enough padding for the frequency and distances I’m cycling now. Anyway I turned round and there was only one other person left and he had his wheel in his hand. So I grabbed my bike and headed out.

I didn’t get far and my brakes locked my wheel up, luckily a savvy marshal came and loosened a cable, it happened again further down the road but at least now I knew what to do. My chain rubbed and rattled the whole way round in the big gear and fell off three times when going downhill. I’ve just had it serviced but I’ve had issues before so not sure what to do next. Knowing I was last out of transition and even further behind due to mechanical issues wasn’t nice, but maybe made me go a bit faster to make up for it. In my haste I’d forgotten my top jacket and I was a bit chilly. The sun was up but the route was mostly shaded by trees and I think it made it harder to get my legs turning. It took an hour and a half for the air temp to warm up enough to let me feel it. It was a bit of a lonely ride; the only people I saw was someone fixing a puncture and someone who’d come off (they were being looked after). After an hour and a half I overtook someone, Hurrah! We had a chuckle as I handed over the “I’m last” baton. Just seeing someone else was more pleasing than to actually overtake them, though not being last was quite nice too. As I hit the half way mark I was being lapped by the fast boys,,,you can hear the woosh of the closed in wheels creeping up on you. Around 2hrs I overtook someone else and the puncture fixing bloke came passed; I was pleased for him he carried on. At some point I passed the fast guys coming into the finishing stretch, I think I was still on my first lap. The marshals at each intersection were brilliant, really encouraging and it was good to have a bit of interaction now and then. The surroundings were beautiful, cycling through the new forest with sunrise and not much else but cyclists, wild ponies and cattle was lovely, no pot holes and fairly tolerant cars was a nice change and there were some really nice old motors driving around; all makes for a pleasant and relaxing ride. With a few miles to go I overtook a third person but by then the finish line was on my mind. It doesn’t matter how far you cycle, you’re psyched up for the distance and the last few miles are the longest.

Into transition again and I went a bit faster, I’d planned to change to running shorts but didn’t remember until after I’d put my trainers on so decided to stay in cycling shorts. My feet were still freezing and putting my run socks on was harder than getting my bike socks on after the swim.

I started my run feeling ok, taking it easy, and finding a rhythm. Everyone I encountered was on their second lap. Some were looking a bit worse for wear, I nearly offered a guy a gel but realised I didn’t have spares so just tried to cheer his spirits and carried on. My dodgy shin was playing up so the first few miles were a bit uncomfortable but it’s a pain I’m used to. My feet were going through all sorts of feelings as they slowly warmed up. It feels like running on rocks or with stones in my shoes, I just have to convince myself I’m not. Someone recognised my KVG club bike top and said hello, she was chattier than me, I was in my zone and didn’t have breath for conversation and I couldn’t comfortably keep her pace. Her running partner had an ironman tattoo on his calf, and I was focusing on how much I want one.

The shin pain wore off and I felt quite good, so I pushed on with a pretty good rhythm. I took on water and walked the aid stations and didn’t get stitch which was good. I even overtook the girl that had been talking to me earlier. First lap done and I still felt good so I cracked on. Not so many people now but everyone I saw I overtook. One of my glutes started to ache and the tops of my legs were feeling it around 11miles but nothing to make me slow down. On the second half I saw a larger group ahead and wondered if I could catch them, I did and overtook them too. I felt like a whippet, I was going so much faster than anyone else and getting a few comments, but by now I knew I wouldn’t burn out so i just kept pushing on. I was feeling great; I didn’t feel like I’d cycled 50miles, it was a fantastic feeling and all the training seemed worth while.

There was a steep hill at the end of the run laps; clad with spectators. I went up with a fair bit of energy the first time and I was determined to have the same vigour on the second lap. I received a fantastic round of applause and a few cheers of “sprint finish, you can do it”,,,,and I did….Carsten was there cheering me on too. I thought he might have been there for a long time but was pleased to know he hadn’t. My finishing run time wasn’t that fast and though I felt the second lap was faster I think it was pretty even, but I don’t care, I felt on top of the world.

All in all I really enjoyed it and I’m very pleased with myself. I dealt with the cold, the bike issues, being last and being lonely. I am happy with my cycle, really pleased with my run and content with the overall outcome. Swim needs a lot of improvement though so back to the cold lakes this week.  Oddly enough at the beginning of all this, the swim was the only part I was confident about.

I could have cycled longer and run further though it would have to be slower but could I double it all??? Watch this space…

I would really recommend this event and I think we’ll be back. It was very well organised, fantastic atmosphere, great marshals and beautiful scenery.

Times:

Swim – 26:34 - including T1

Cycle – 03:07

Run – 02:11 – including T2

Overall – 05:46

My Swashbuckler ….

Melanie has gone into a fair bit of detail so I’ll just mention the bits pertinent for me:

- the early morning start was nothing new to us but what first surprised me was the quality of the field.  Obviously I couldn’t necessarily tell the calibre of competitor by merely looking but if judging by the standard of their bikes then they’d be fast, I think our bikes would have been classed in the cheaper bracket!  I also couldn’t help but notice that I only saw one other person carrying a bit of weight, all the men were lean and trim.

- then walking down to the start was one of the most painful walks I’ve ever done.  With already cold feet walking on the ice/frost it still felt as if they were burning.  The water (11.3 degrees) felt luke warm and a relief! The swim itself was fast but I couldn’t keep that pace up for a longer distance.

- I had decided before hand that if I wanted to make the cut-off (a 3.5hr cycle) then I’d have to push the cycle, and that’s what I did.  Luckily having a relatively flat course helped but I definitely worked harder and the best thing was that after a brief period of hamstring pain 45min into the cycle (and mantra chanting ‘pain is just weakness leaving the body’) it was pretty pain free.  With lots of aero bar work my back held up well and I finished in 2:55hrs - which I was very happy with.  Snacking on ginger and walnut cake as I went round also seemed to pay off.  At one part I saw a man at the side of the road astride his bike with one foot on the ground.  I thought ‘is he alright?’, but when I got closer I could see that he was calmly wee’ing in his shorts - no way would saving those extra seconds mean that much to me!!

- I started the run off at a comfortable pace (worked out later as just over 9min miles), thinking it was a pace I could keep at for all of the 14 miles; and for the 1st lap I did.  I overtook a few people but was mainly overtaken by others from the quicker waves (especially annoying when they’re having a full conversation with each other and it’s all I can do to just run and breathe).  Then on the second lap I was passed by a girl going at a good steady pace and thought I’d give that a go, and low and behold I found it ok.  I began to wonder why on earth I didn’t push the first lap harder, this felt great, I was passing people and no-one was overtaking me (though the field had thinned out a lot by then).  The second lap worked out at 8:20’ish minute miles and I too finished with a round of applause.

The negative bits:

- we didn’t get to swim a decent distance.  A longer swim would have had a bigger impact on our aerobic capacity and would have been a truer test for the full Ironman.

- my nutrition plan didn’t really work out and I’ll have to rethink it, or tweak it at least.

- transition was slow (but that won’t have such a big impact in the Ironman).

- I under estimated my run capability.

But the positive bits were:

- it was great knowing Melanie was competing too - knowing that she wouldn’t give up and would push made me that bit stronger too.

- I felt strong on the bike; the aero position worked well and I could have cycled for longer.  My pace was the best I’ve done yet and I was over 45min quicker than I thought I’d be.

- It was also a strong run; a good pace overall and again I could have done more (but a bit slower of course).

- Melanie had a good race too.

So all in all not only was it an enjoyable race but it gave us a positive feeling towards the main event.  We always said that this would be a good indication of our fitness for us and I’m glad to say we feel on track(ish) … mind you with only two more weeks training before we taper there isn’t a lot of time left …

Times:

Swim   – 13:00

T1        - 00:10

Cycle   – 02:55

T2        - 00:08

Run     – 02:04

Overall – 05:30

Hindsight

I’ve been a bit disheartened with it all lately; my average miles per hour on my long training rides isn’t fast enough to make the race day cut off points. This doesn’t mean I’ll just take longer or not get a medal, they physically stop you racing. So if you don’t finish the first bike leg in time, that’s it, race over, you can’t carry on. I was telling myself if I can do the first lap fast enough I can ease up a bit on the second one, but I’ve now found out there is a time limit on both laps! I have considered throwing the towel in but part of the reason for doing this was the commitment. So I’m trying to really push myself in the last few weeks and keep my fingers crossed for a miracle on the day. I will however have to push for the entire 112miles, maybe you’re supposed to? But I thought you were supposed to save energy for the run!? – I can’t think about the run, my mind just wont let me, if I don’t cycle my legs off, I wont get to even try the run so I’ll give everything I’ve got on the cycle and worry about the run on the day, as someone told me at the beginning; you only have to do it once.  Going back to the child birth connection; everyone tells you it hurts and you know it will but you can’t really comprehend just how much and its different for everyone. So the run is just something that’s filed in the box at the back of my head that I’ll have to deal with when the time comes.  I’d like to take an hour off the run time allowance and add it to the cycle, but that’s not how it works. I still don’t know why some IM races get 16hours and others get 17, I’d really like the extra hour.

In my moments of gloom I was thinking of how awful being a DNF will be, but I’ve decided to try and be gracious about it. I’ve enjoyed the training and the dream and I’ve broken new goals with my running, this weekend should be 18 miles. The question I don’t have an answer to is; will I feel compelled to try again?

Anyway, onwards and upwards – we did Haywards Heath sprint triathlon last weekend, just to practice putting things together etc, the weather was hideous, I nearly didn’t do it but it eased up a bit to being just horrible so on we went. It felt like we weren’t moving at times the wind was so strong. The rain wasn’t nice but we were already wet from the swim so not too much difference. The run was 4 short but hilly laps and wasn’t as easy as it should have been after all my training but I was probably trying to go quicker than IM pace. Carsten overtook me and finished a lap ahead but I’d expect no less.

…………………………………………………….

How do I feel; I think if we knew at the start of the training what we know now then I would have pushed the cycling a lot more – each session would have been full on to try and pick up my pace.  Like Melanie I worry about the cut-off’s on the cycle leg, but know that if I do make them then come hell or high water I’ll make the run!

We have the Swashbuckler half ironman next week (1900m swim / 55mile cycle / half marathon) and I’m half excited and half worried about it.  Though conversely to the ironman it’s not the cycle but the swim that’s worrying - a 1900m tidal river swim with a cut off of 1hr.  We’ve done a few lake swims this year now (well I’ve done 3 and Melanie’s done 1) and in one of them I did 2000m in 43min, but the last swim was a bit of a disaster.  It was so cold that the first lap was swum with brain freeze! and Melanie had to get out after the second lap as it was so cold.  If it’s that cold for the Swashbuckler we’ll be in trouble.

After that we have 6 weeks to go before the Ironman, and in-between a 100 mile cycle and an Olympic triathlon … roll on … must concentrate on the outcome and continue to use the mantra ‘I will be an Ironman’.

Sportives

Our first sportive was a very hard and hilly 40 miler. We were overtaken quite a few times but consoled ourselves it was because they were “proper” cyclists, until two lardy lads came passed in triathlon t-shirts!  Well that blew all the excuses away and rather disgruntled we put our heads down and carried on.

We’re keeping a log of all the events we do so next year we can just do the ones we enjoyed….this one is going down as “good for training but not much fun” and it won’t be on my list next year. Still we survived and felt relatively pleased with ourselves. We were supposed to run 30 mins afterwards but only did 10. It was the worst run off the bike ever and the closest experience of how bad it’s going to feel on the day so far, so for that reason alone we should have pushed on, but I think we were shell shocked from the ride! Soo many hills….

Next up was our home made Olympic triathlon. We drove to the local pool swam 1500meters, quick drive back home, cycled 40k and ran an undulating 10k…it all went well. If I was just racing an Olympic I would have pushed harder but I was thinking more of race pace and this is the furthest I’ve swum since end of last year.  

Pacing is key in all sports but I still struggle with how far I can push myself without running out of steam. But that’s part of the challenge. I need to practice over the remaining few weeks; I don’t think I push enough.

Next up was a 77 mile sportive, most of the hills were in the first 40miles so a good mix but for me it was a disaster. I had very sore shoulders and sit bones after about 20 miles and the rest was a painful and miserable experience. Poor Carsten had to wait for me and put up with my miserable face. I have now invested in a rather expensive but very comfortable pair of cycle shorts, just need to sort out the shoulders, clearly the turtles and lemons aren’t working! (you need to have read earlier blogs to understand that). We agreed our next sportive would be cycled at our own pace, so we both learn pace/speed etc that suits us.

So then it was off to Germany – a wet, windy and cold Easter weekend. Carsten had the joy of getting the hang of the bike box packing, I’m glad I wasn’t around; I think there was a fair bit of cursing going on! Thankfully he had it all sussed by the time I got home to do mine. Everything at the airports went well and we arrived without incident in our Regensburg hotel; they didn’t bat an eyelid at the site of our huge bike boxes and we unpacked and kept them in the room. Caused a few stares throughout the trip though, curiosity mostly. Everyone else seemed to be carrying skis!

So we set off with a bit of drizzle to find the bike course, the Garmin was at its worse and it took us an hour to find the right road. In fairness to the Garmin the initial loop was a bit confusing, one way and all that.

The drizzle turned into a downpour and the rain really hurts when it hits your face at speed, it was like someone throwing stones at you. I was looking down more than ahead to try and shelter a bit. Being Easter and bad weather the roads were pretty traffic free. All bike friendly too, gave us room when over taking, no horn honking or obscene hand gestures. The roads were good, only one with a few pots holes and lovely scenery. It would have been a great cycle if the weather had been better, so we hope next time it will be. The hills weren’t too hideous either, nothing we don’t find in Kent, mostly long, slow ones. Though I know on the day they will feel much harder, and more like Everest by the second lap!

We’re into the Peak phase now, this is it, the final push, we start at 16hours a week and build to 20, then in the last two weeks we taper down a bit until race day. I do feel stronger and maybe a little bit faster but still miles from how I’d like to feel or how I think I should feel to make it round in time.

Fantasising about race day keeps me going through training and often spurs me on, its such a mixture of excitement and fear. I joked the ironman is my substitute baby…it will take 9 months to prepare, it’ll hurt like hell, cost a fortune, be filled with fear and delight and I’ll be proud of it for the rest of my life…(not sure mum will see it as a good substitute and no knitting needed)

One of the first things we did after applying was to buy a wall calendar, it’s been invaluable and good fun. It’s all colour coded (you’d expect no less) and gives an easy view of what we’ve done and what’s coming up and is always a good topic of conversation with glass of wine in hand. We’ll miss it when it’s all over, might have to get it framed!

We’ve penciled in 21^st July to go up town and have a few celebratory drinks, for all the events and birthdays we’ve missed (including our own), for our belated engagement, for our ironman victories (still thinking positively), so put it in your diaries and come and have a drink with us. 

Half way....

We’ve just finished week 15 so we’re half way….in terms of fitness we’re actually over half way as we taper for the last three weeks. I don’t feel ready at all, but having a quick look at what’s coming up I’m sure we will be.

The amount of training is taking its toll now, we’re finding it hard to do much else and we’ll soon be resigned to nothing but the essentials. The office decorations are coming along very slowly and we definitely won’t be undertaking any more DIY until after June.

I can see muscles growing now, I think I look like Popeye but Carsten insists I’m still more Olive Oil…

People think we’re a bit mad doing this, but that’s the point, it is a bit bonkers…if I think about it seriously it scares the life out of me…but then there’s the chance that I might just pull it off.  I think and speak in positive terms but inside I know there’s a real chance I won’t make it. A bad training session allows the negative gremlins in the back of my head to take over and fear of failure creeps in, but I fight it back quickly.  I’m putting a lot of faith in the training plan, I convince myself if I follow the plan I’ll be alright. But I still don’t think I’m fast enough. The day I can write a blog and know I can do it I’ll be very happy….watch this space.

I’ve stolen a quote from a cycling club buddy, she’s done two ironman races….”when your mind says give up, hope whispers one more try”.

So this week’s cycle was 4 hours followed by half hour run, we’d decided to skip the run as we had limited time but headed off looking forward to the cycle. Carsten watched the weather report and apparently it wasn’t going to rain over here. So off we set on the posh summer bikes. Cycled to my clubs meeting point so we knew our way there, from then on we tried to follow a Garmin route, alas not very successfully, “off course” were the words of the day and patience was wearing thin, not helped by the downpour of rain, so much for the weather report.  But we managed to make a course of our own and it used up enough time so we cycled back towards home a bit wet and cold but still feeling good. The rain eased up which was nice but our bodies and bikes were still being caked in spray, we looked more like off roaders. Not far from home the inevitable happened and Carsten got a puncture, our summer bikes have old back tyres on them as we use them for turboing….not a good choice for wet roads full of splints. I managed to say my second “told you so” for the day and we set about changing the inner tube, well Carsten did, I just watched and held on to things. It was a disaster….we tried two tubes with gas and hand pumps but couldn’t get the air to stay in the tyre. It got a bit ridiculous and we ran out of ideas, so I had to cycle home, get the car and go back and get Carsten and his bike.

 A bit scary that something like that may happen on race day, but we’ll find out what went wrong and make sure we’ve got it covered. So we didn’t make 4 hours, this week is an easier week but we’ll do the 4 hours instead of the 3 we need to. Hopefully sort the navigation too.

On a positive note eating on the bike has improved. Top tube bags and small chunks of bars are working well, though I have space issues with the food bag and Garmin computer fighting for poll position. Most people seem to find a favourite bar and stick to that but we like variety and go for the smorgasbord approach.

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It feels as if we are further than half way as the last month has a fair number of events in it plus we tapper down, but then I look at some of the future training sessions and I don’t feel half way at all.  I think it’s around week 23 or 24 when our long cycle consists of 6hrs on the bike followed by a 2hr run, and the long run consists of a 2hr bike ride followed by a 3hr run!  I’m looking forward to getting there and being able to do it but at the same time can’t quite believe it … self doubt creeping in.  Reading the ironman books and getting advice, apparently a third of the race preparation is mental; it’s about being in the right frame of mind, being mentally strong and positive.

I’ll add a little bit about our cycle too … I know I can mend a puncture, and I definitely know I can replace an inner tube but for the love of God could I do it on our cycle!  Talk about frustrating, and as Melanie said a little worrying too, what if it happens on race day?  Hopefully it was because we couldn’t get a proper seal around the valve due to our bike rims being deep, and I’m sure … no, I’m certain it is something we can sort out soon.

We went to the Triathlon expo at Sandown race course today.  I spent too much money but got a well needed new wetsuit, an Orca Sonar that I just know will make me swim all that much faster! I also bought a few more compression bits and pieces (socks and quad sleeves that are meant to enhance performance and promote recovery, and it does actually feel as if they do).  Apart from the wetsuit the best buy has to be a baseball cap - one with the Ironman logo etc, a bit premature maybe but definitely something to wear on the day.

Back to training tomorrow, positive thoughts …