Photos of the day

When I showed these to the children I teach most of them said I look a sleep when crossing the line. The bike picture I have got my top wide open and it is full of air hence my rather large mid rift area - Honest!!

Post Ironman Post

So the event was on Sunday 4th July and now it is Wednesday night after the race. For the sharp eyed readers you will notice a bit of a gap between my last post and now. To be honest I lost concentration and more importantly than training for an ironman I got married and then had to write school reports. The reports themselves took a massive 78 hours of work . Anyway enough of the other stuff more about the race.

Ironman Austria is certainly a fantastic event and one that I would recommend to anyone who fancies to complete an ironman. the town is stunning and the organisation is just out of this world. The swim was odd as even though it was a water start we all started on the beach and when the front swimmers reached a certain marker the cannon went off so it was a moving water start which did mean it was not as manic as usual. Th buoys on the way out were clearly marked and very easy to spot. After 1800m you turned left for 400m and then left again and to the canal entrance. This is where the down side was, couldn't spot any buoys, as there were none!, and wasn't too sure of direction do i go leftish? straight on? or slightly rightish? In the end I opted for all three. The entrance to the canal became clear and suddenly the noise of everyone cheering was in my ears with every breath to my left or right. The exit appeared and with the grabbing hands of the volunteers was hauled out of the water.

Transition is massive so I knew it was going to be long day so walked to my bag and got changed and walked to my bike.

My bike was ready, having previously in the weekend being described as an 'old skool' , she was ready to roll along the smooth roads of Austria. And boy were they smooth and boy did it zip along. I t was a joy to ride and filled my heart with happiness as the old skool stead wen zipping past many an athlete with their £5,000 bikes and areo helmets. The bike leg was a dream and the best I have ever raced on. The hills are short and sharp but the descents on the other side are long and fast. The best combination I find. First loop went by in a blur of happiness and knew I would have to hold back or I would never finish and it was all about finishing and not the time.

Cooked on the bike.

Going a bit slower meant I had time to drink and about 8 liters later time fro the first pee stop. The weather was getting hotter and hotter and i could feel my shoulders cook. In the distance the thunder clouds started to brew and the rumble was getting closer. By 1.30pm the rain started and began to land and by 1.32pm it was hammering us and the road. On the decent it felt like hail and the roads turned to glass. A racer in front of me went flying across the road in a massive wave of water but he was ok. Final climb and then a long decent back to T2.

Again another massive transition and again the weather was getting hot again. Making sure I grabbed my salt sticks (awesome stuff) I made my way to the start of what turned out to be a very slow marathon. the first loop was away from Ironman city and no shelter from the sun. I wore my light thin socks thinking that my feet would expand in the heat but every kid along the course were armed with a hose pipe and were soaking us. Me not being a hot loving person was glad of the water but my feet getting soaking in light socks was not. Blisters started after 6k and grew slowly till the end. They are still refilling as I write this! Walked most of the very flat course but by the end I had enough and walked for 60 steps then ran for 60 steps.

The finishing shoot was amazing with an unbelievable buzz, A little tear in the eye but was too exhausted to cry too much. Crossing the line was an amazing feeling and seeing Susan the other side waiting for me was a massive lovely shock. My finishing photo should belong to a picture dictionary under the word exhausted. Got my medal and tee shirt and then suddenly went really light headed and faint. Lying down all wrapped up in space blankets in the first aid centre slowly getting better and the realisation of finishing sank in. I had done it and in a decent time with only 2 bike rides and 2 runs in the last five weeks.

Exhausted

Finishers Medal

Below are my splits:

Swim 1.20:37

T1: 5:40

Bike: 6:36:50

T2: 11:03

Run: 5:57:27

Total Time: 14 hours 11 min 33 sec