Thomas and DC once again, WELL DONE! A fantastic achievement.
OK, my little report.
I'll start by explaining that I was having some problems with my #1 bike the week leading up to IM. The rear mech hanger was bent and the gears wouldn't shift their best, skip in some, slip in others... it could be adjusted but the hanger would then eventually bend again and you'd have to re-adjust. So, no problem right? Just order another form the manufacturer of your frame... WRONG. Planet-x don't hold stock of my mech hanger which are generally specific to your frame and a few other randoms. I had to trawl through a mech hanger website comparing the one in my hand to the ones on the screen. ~300 odd mech hangers later and I thought I'd picked the right one. Had an agonising wait for delivery mid week but I'd done my homework and it was the correct one!
Friday
Went for a 30min run in the morning then a 60min sports massage. Packed up all my stuff and ticked it off against a list I'd printed out. Everything sorted, deep dish wheels selected for the weapon
Saturday
5am Alarm, go pick up the GF on the way to Bolton and head to the stadium. We were there just before the doors opened at 8am for registration, grabbed an Ironman towel and a cycling jersey before the rush. Nipped to the lake and dropped off my bike and bits, quick reccie of dismount lines, exit and entry points, all good.
Head off to the school to drop of running gear, this took all of 2mins, checked where the dismount lines were and the run in/off.
We decided to visit Bolton town center, don't bother... its grim. Checked into our hotel instead then headed for a pub lunch, nice steak sandwich then back to the hotel for a while before heading back to the same pub for dinner, this time with my parents, brother and his GF.
In bed for 11 but there was a wedding party on
kesha and other god awful pop music blaring out until 2AM!! I HAD TO BE UP FOR 3!! Not ideal.
Sunday... RACE TIME!
Off to the stadium for a shuttle bus to the lake, no problems. Arrived at the lake, checked tyre pressures and slotted in my water bottles. Don wetsuit and say goodbyes to the family then que into the water....
Headed right to the front of the swim, gun goes off and we're away in a big washing machine of white water, arms and legs flying about. Making sure I was sighting and not just following the pack, tried to set a good course to the first buoy. First lap of the swim done in 31 mins, second lap was a bit more spread out, came out of the water in 63mins. Tidy.
Wet-suit off, already had my cycle gear underneath so just shoes helmet and glasses to sort then grab the bike and head out for a 6+ hour slog!
Really enjoyed the bike, was fairly consistent all three laps and never really felt low on energy, plenty of preemptive eating. My family had set up a marquee in a lay-by up past Belmont reservoir, I got a real boost from them cheering me on, my brother also gave a sausage sarnie to some poor soul who had snapped his chain and not brought and tools, foolish to come without some quick links and a set of pliers! There was great support the rest of the way round too. It was a bit spicy with the deep dish wheels on the fast section on the north east part of the loop, however they were definitely beneficial for the rest of the bike. 2 **** stops lost me about 5mins total. Rolled into t2 with a 6hr7min bike split.
Straight onto the run and I knew it was going to be long! I was running slower than my brick session training runs but this is to be expected. I carried my 750ml bottle with High5 4:1 for the first ~3hrs and sipped that along with coke and water from all the aid stations, I also had small helpings of gels for the first 2 hours but never a full gel all in one hit.
After completing the first ~10K heading to the start of the loop my brain was complaining that there was still a long way to go, I sorted myself out mentally telling myself to run strong, relaxed and with some good strides. Most of the run was steady away. When I got into town after collecting my second armband was the realization that I was going to do it, nearly welled up at that point but stiff upper lip and all that
Once I was up onto the main part of the loop heading for my third and final arm band I upped the pace and ran the last 10K with a rocket up my backside, the crowd could tell I was on one and gave me extra encouragement. I was flying past everyone on the run course which felt great. Entering the chute towards the finishing area was quite overwhelming... the realization of the achievement, all the hard training sessions and the missed social occasions suddenly became worth it, it was just brilliant. I crossed the line in 11:19:33. I wanted sub 12 so that'll do!
Had a few slices of Dominos pizza in the food tent which I'd wanted for hours but in the end could take or leave... however the offer of a pint of milk from my sister.... OH, MILK WAS A GOOD CHOICE. It is hard to describe but the whole day was something I will never forget and will look back on with fond memories. If you've got the drive and can commit to something that will be hard, tiring, frustrating but ultimately incredibly rewarding then get signed up.
Felt a little stiff the following day but was OK, had poched egg and salmon on toast, porridge, croissants, cheese and meats for breakfast and the road to recovery was well under way.
We attended the awards ceremony which was good fun, the roll down of Kona (world championship) slots was exciting even though I obviously wasn't going to qualify.
WOW, so much to talk about but that's it in a very condensed version.
Also worth mentioning is I've been raising money for Macmillan Cancer Care, I'm only £70 off my target now
http://www.justgiving.com/petewatsonironman
