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)