The Triathlon thread - Ironman, 70.3, Olympic, Sprint
Discussion
Dimski said:
briangriffin said:
Well i think i'm going to bite the bullet and sign up for Ironman Wales next year, it's my local so want to tackle it and hit a good time.
Swimming is a massive worry for me though as it's a major weakness for me and i think at present i could perhaps do 200M before starting to struggle.Any advice for a novice guys?
Well, the thing to remember is that although the swim for many is the scariest part, it is also the least relevant, time wise at least. If you can get a few lessons and get a steady, relaxed front crawl sorted, the rest is just a bit of practice and the ability to relax and concentrate on stroke while in the water. I'm a strong swimmer, but have not actually had any lessons, just lots of mileage.Swimming is a massive worry for me though as it's a major weakness for me and i think at present i could perhaps do 200M before starting to struggle.Any advice for a novice guys?
Definitely worth getting some proper coaching to get some technique improvements.
Just back home after Ironman Mallorca on Saturday. PB on the swim in 1.06 and a solid bike at 6.16. Run was going fine until around 12miles when the heat finally got to me and I suffered stomach cramps which reduced me to a walk-run strategy to finish. Was aiming for somewhere between 12 and 13 hours and finished in 12.32 so fairly pleased with that given the course and conditions.
Overall a hugely enjoyable race and would recommend to anyone considering next year. Great venue and nice relaxed and easy-going atmosphere to the whole event. Swim start spectacular, starting off just after sunset with the sun rising over the water. Bike course was epic, with fast rolling sections in the first loop and then steady but brutally hot 8mile climb up to Lluc and the technical descent back down. Nearly overcooked it on one hairpin coming down - very glad I elected to switch my carbon tubular wheels for some clinchers as I needed every bit of braking available. Run course was fairly dull but very well supported.
Stayed up to see the last bloke home at just before midnight and then the watch the fireworks. Already forgotten just how much I hated the run and regretting telling the missus that I'd call it a day now on full distance races...
Overall a hugely enjoyable race and would recommend to anyone considering next year. Great venue and nice relaxed and easy-going atmosphere to the whole event. Swim start spectacular, starting off just after sunset with the sun rising over the water. Bike course was epic, with fast rolling sections in the first loop and then steady but brutally hot 8mile climb up to Lluc and the technical descent back down. Nearly overcooked it on one hairpin coming down - very glad I elected to switch my carbon tubular wheels for some clinchers as I needed every bit of braking available. Run course was fairly dull but very well supported.
Stayed up to see the last bloke home at just before midnight and then the watch the fireworks. Already forgotten just how much I hated the run and regretting telling the missus that I'd call it a day now on full distance races...
Well that's me signed up for Ironman Wales next year! Fair few swimming lessons booked ready to start the training for the most daunting part of it all for me.
Going to keep the running legs ticking over over the winter and try to improve my pace. Try and approach 8's for the half marathon distance for now and maintain a decent average pace on the bike as best I can over the rough months.
I'm sure there's a book that many recommend to read in the build up to your first ironman can anyone advise to what this is?
cheers
Going to keep the running legs ticking over over the winter and try to improve my pace. Try and approach 8's for the half marathon distance for now and maintain a decent average pace on the bike as best I can over the rough months.
I'm sure there's a book that many recommend to read in the build up to your first ironman can anyone advise to what this is?
cheers
briangriffin said:
I'm sure there's a book that many recommend to read in the build up to your first ironman can anyone advise to what this is?
cheers
Don Fink's "Be Iron Fit - Time-Efficient Training..."cheers
30 week programme, based largely on heart rates.
For the first 15 weeks I found it impressive, I wasn't tracking distance but was aware that it was constantly on the increase... Then started to pick up a few aches and pains. I stopped the higher intensity Zone 4 intervals and so probably didn't improve the running (the cycling was less painful, and to a degree the hills provided good higher intensity stuff anyway) but I still found it an excellent plan to follow, breaking it down into a manageable amount per day.
My tip would be to throw in a few extra weeks, so start week 1 32-34 weeks before the event, which gives you an error/injury margin; you can take a week off/easy or repeat a week if you feel you need it.
Dimski said:
Don Fink's "Be Iron Fit - Time-Efficient Training..."
30 week programme, based largely on heart rates.
For the first 15 weeks I found it impressive, I wasn't tracking distance but was aware that it was constantly on the increase... Then started to pick up a few aches and pains. I stopped the higher intensity Zone 4 intervals and so probably didn't improve the running (the cycling was less painful, and to a degree the hills provided good higher intensity stuff anyway) but I still found it an excellent plan to follow, breaking it down into a manageable amount per day.
My tip would be to throw in a few extra weeks, so start week 1 32-34 weeks before the event, which gives you an error/injury margin; you can take a week off/easy or repeat a week if you feel you need it.
Thanks mate, heading off to Amazon to grab hold of that now 30 week programme, based largely on heart rates.
For the first 15 weeks I found it impressive, I wasn't tracking distance but was aware that it was constantly on the increase... Then started to pick up a few aches and pains. I stopped the higher intensity Zone 4 intervals and so probably didn't improve the running (the cycling was less painful, and to a degree the hills provided good higher intensity stuff anyway) but I still found it an excellent plan to follow, breaking it down into a manageable amount per day.
My tip would be to throw in a few extra weeks, so start week 1 32-34 weeks before the event, which gives you an error/injury margin; you can take a week off/easy or repeat a week if you feel you need it.
interesting about heart rate there as i never really feel that out of breath on the bike or that the heart rate is going mental its more the legs going heavy/tight at times so I'm obviously missing something there. Tend to aim for an overall average speed at present but i haven't done anything more than 50 miles yet. the little research I've done suggests that this is wrong though and I'll likely shoot my bolt on the bike if i set this as a target.
Wouldn't mind a bit of direction towards a website for road bike 101 too, i.e. explanation of gearing benefits, brakes, tyres etc form the basics upwards as i'm quite clueless at present although my current bike does the business for now i'm due an upgrade next spring so plenty of time for research then
Well, that’s me just back from IM Barcelona. Another great event and yet another one that I haven’t been able to do anywhere near the level training I should have!! 
It’s been a very busy year workwise and that combined with my girlfriend going back to work after maternity leave and many lost weekends with dad duties (she works a lot of weekends!), well, it’s been very difficult to get any volume done at all. To top it all off I tore my rotator cuff (infraspinatus) in May, so all round I wasn’t expecting too much other than to try and enjoy the race!
Training wise though, I started in June and managed:-
June - 13hrs (Swim 2hrs 10min, Bike 2hrs 50min, Run 8hrs)
July - 17hrs 25min (Swim 3hrs 45min, Bike 10hrs 30min, Run 3hrs)
August - 18hrs 15min (Swim 4hrs 45min, Bike 8hrs 50min, Run 4hrs 30min)
September - 23hrs 30min (Swim 40min, Bike 15hrs 20min, Run 7hrs 30min)
or to put that lot into plain English, an average of 4 hours a week over the 3 disciplines in the 18 week lead up, with one long OW swim back in August (4.2k), 1 long run (35k) and no long bikes! Longest ride was 95k.
Anyway, excuses over, race weekend was last weekend - racking Saturday, race Sunday. There’d been a lot of storms out in the Med and the weather had been changeable over the previous 2 days from bright sunshine and 25°C to overnight storms with very heavy rain. Racking on Saturday was done just off the beach in a howling cross-offshore wind (making it also impossible to get a bike cover on single handed!) and there were many worried looking faces standing on the beach looking out at an extremely uninviting looking sea - white horses everywhere with a very chunky swell.
One of those faces was mine - with only 11 or 12 hours swimming completed in the previous 18 weeks and with my shoulder still not exactly stable (certainly not over anything more than 1500m anyway), I had been hoping to look at a vision of what most people associate with the Med - clear, smooth and flat. This was like looking at an Atlantic coast shoreline!!
Fortunately, race day dawned a bit calmer - the wind had dropped and whilst the sea was far from calm, it had at least improved somewhat - not to the extent of thinking “I can’t wait to get in there”, but hey, we don’t do this because it’s easy, eh?!!
I'll stick the race report in a seperate post as I think I banged on a bit too much with it!
It’s been a very busy year workwise and that combined with my girlfriend going back to work after maternity leave and many lost weekends with dad duties (she works a lot of weekends!), well, it’s been very difficult to get any volume done at all. To top it all off I tore my rotator cuff (infraspinatus) in May, so all round I wasn’t expecting too much other than to try and enjoy the race!
Training wise though, I started in June and managed:-
June - 13hrs (Swim 2hrs 10min, Bike 2hrs 50min, Run 8hrs)
July - 17hrs 25min (Swim 3hrs 45min, Bike 10hrs 30min, Run 3hrs)
August - 18hrs 15min (Swim 4hrs 45min, Bike 8hrs 50min, Run 4hrs 30min)
September - 23hrs 30min (Swim 40min, Bike 15hrs 20min, Run 7hrs 30min)
or to put that lot into plain English, an average of 4 hours a week over the 3 disciplines in the 18 week lead up, with one long OW swim back in August (4.2k), 1 long run (35k) and no long bikes! Longest ride was 95k.
Anyway, excuses over, race weekend was last weekend - racking Saturday, race Sunday. There’d been a lot of storms out in the Med and the weather had been changeable over the previous 2 days from bright sunshine and 25°C to overnight storms with very heavy rain. Racking on Saturday was done just off the beach in a howling cross-offshore wind (making it also impossible to get a bike cover on single handed!) and there were many worried looking faces standing on the beach looking out at an extremely uninviting looking sea - white horses everywhere with a very chunky swell.
One of those faces was mine - with only 11 or 12 hours swimming completed in the previous 18 weeks and with my shoulder still not exactly stable (certainly not over anything more than 1500m anyway), I had been hoping to look at a vision of what most people associate with the Med - clear, smooth and flat. This was like looking at an Atlantic coast shoreline!!
Fortunately, race day dawned a bit calmer - the wind had dropped and whilst the sea was far from calm, it had at least improved somewhat - not to the extent of thinking “I can’t wait to get in there”, but hey, we don’t do this because it’s easy, eh?!!
I'll stick the race report in a seperate post as I think I banged on a bit too much with it!
SWIM
The swim was a one lap rectangular course - out 200m, turn right 1.5k, turn left and out another 100m, left again for the homeward leg of 1.8k and then left again for the 300m back to shore and finish.
Swim start was one of the new “rolling” ones, where the chute into the water is about 30ft wide (I guess) and everybody self seeds into designated time pens. Pro men & women went off at 8.30am & 8.35am respectively and AGs at 8.45am - with 2600 of us starting, the new start procedure made a lot of sense - rather than a stampede for the water, it was more a relentless, controlled stream of competitors hitting the water probably 20 at a time, wave after wave after wave.
It made the start a lot less chaotic - you were entering the water with similarly paced competitors, so whilst it was still extremely busy and there was a lot of bumping and bargeing going on, it never got to the stage where I thought “this is absolutely ridiculous” (when I have thought that before!).
Sighting was very difficult though - the swell must have been 5ft or so and whilst the big yellow buoys that marked the course were probably 3m high, they were unbelievably elusive during sighting strokes - I kept having to throw in 5 sighting strokes in a row (very frequently) just to keep track of where I was.
Other than that, the swim was a lot of the usual - lots of congestion at turn buoys, people off track torpedoing you when they changed direction, a well timed breaststroke kick off someone that inverted my goggles at one point, but fortunately my shoulder held up reasonably well - bit of instability at the 1.5/2k mark, but nothing too untoward.
After what seemed an absolute lifetime in the water though, I was battling through the shore dump and legging it up the beach for T1
SWIM 1:16:17
BIKE
Out of T1 in a rather tardy 7:42 and onto the 2½ lap bike course! It’s a fast course, with only 2000ft or so of elevation with 3km of narrow speed bump infested roads to navigate before we hit the main road.
Things didn’t start too well, with me hitting one of the speed bumps approx 1k out of transition at 35ish k’s which created a sufficient enough jolt to release my mini pump from its mounting! After hearing it clatter to the floor, I momentarily thought “leave it”, only to come to my senses immediately, come skidding to a halt and totter my way back to pick it up. Total pain in the arse!
Out onto the course proper though and it was pretty enjoyable - personally I prefer out and back courses, but the one good thing with laps is that at least the distance is broken down for you (rather than having to do it mentally). The crowd at the Calella turn point was fantastic - you pop over a crest of hill, plunge downhill into a roundabout and climb back up away from them - they were brilliant every time though - raucous, loud and enthusiastic, a welcome boost at 75k and 147k!
There were plenty of officials out on the course as well (apparently twice the normal amount with 40 outriders) - there was a big problem with drafting last year and I think they wanted to put their foot down . . . saw a fair few guys/girls in penalty boxes so think they made their presence felt!
My ride was fairly uneventful - still have a massive problem with nutrition (I simply don’t like anything sweet) - I had 2 Snickers bars, 2 Shot Blocks, I Clif Bar, a small flapjack and 1l of sports drink, all of which I had to pretty much force down. I don’t think it was enough really and I must look at that for next season as it doesn’t do my run too much good!
Anyway, rolled into T2 feeling a bit yuck stomach wise (always do with the sweet stuff) - no mechanicals though, that was the main thing and considering my bike is 11yrs old, 9 speed with nothing aero at all bar a set of tri bars, I felt reasonably happy!
BIKE 5:26:05
RUN
Run course was 4 laps, pretty non-descript, but followed the beach for 5k(ish), through a turnpoint, then through an underpass and out on to the main road, joining back onto the beachside for the last 2k to the second turnpoint.
Out of T2 (in 1:48) and on to the run course, I high fived my girlfriend and her mate and tried to focus on settling into a comfortable first 10k - picking up just water at aid stations and dumping it over my head! After 5k I suddenly realised that in my T2 rush, I’d left my cycling shorts on (which I’d put on over my tri-suit in T1), the pad of which was beginning to feel rather heavy having soaked up my water dousings!
First 10k was OK though (well, as much as it could be) and at the latter stages of the 2nd (18k ish), I began to get the first of the rampant hunger pains. I was still using the water, but decided that I’d have to eat something pretty soon or I could be in trouble.
At 22k I grabbed my first half banana. By this point my soaking cycling shorts had essentially become a very heavy nappy and I was desperate to see either my girlfriend or her mate so I could ditch them!
As it turned out, they’d disappeared for a bite to eat and I didn’t end up seeing them until 34k, but boy oh boy, it was a massive weight lifted when I eventually did see them and get rid! By this time my run had settled into a (slow) comfortable pace - it felt like I was on a bit of a knife edge nutrition wise, getting massive hunger pains every 4 or 5k, briefly alleviated with half bananas at aid stations. I dared not pick the pace up until I was very close to home, just in case I was in bonk territory (which is what it felt like).
By the last lap, I felt I was just about hanging on, but thankfully, I was looking at the kilometre markers for the last time - got all excited with 1k to go and managed to see that off in a (relative to the rest) supersonic 4:30!!! Should have really tried picking the pace up earlier, as it didn’t actually feel too much worse than plodding along tbh, but the main thing was I was up at that last turnpoint and instead of running around it AGAIN, this time I was turning right!!!! Oh my word, the joy and relief!!!
Down the red carpet, on to the finishing ‘chute. Loud music, bright lights, boisterous crowd, high five the MC and over the line . . . “You are an Ironman”
RUN 4:13:50
FINISH 11:05:42
The swim was a one lap rectangular course - out 200m, turn right 1.5k, turn left and out another 100m, left again for the homeward leg of 1.8k and then left again for the 300m back to shore and finish.
Swim start was one of the new “rolling” ones, where the chute into the water is about 30ft wide (I guess) and everybody self seeds into designated time pens. Pro men & women went off at 8.30am & 8.35am respectively and AGs at 8.45am - with 2600 of us starting, the new start procedure made a lot of sense - rather than a stampede for the water, it was more a relentless, controlled stream of competitors hitting the water probably 20 at a time, wave after wave after wave.
It made the start a lot less chaotic - you were entering the water with similarly paced competitors, so whilst it was still extremely busy and there was a lot of bumping and bargeing going on, it never got to the stage where I thought “this is absolutely ridiculous” (when I have thought that before!).
Sighting was very difficult though - the swell must have been 5ft or so and whilst the big yellow buoys that marked the course were probably 3m high, they were unbelievably elusive during sighting strokes - I kept having to throw in 5 sighting strokes in a row (very frequently) just to keep track of where I was.
Other than that, the swim was a lot of the usual - lots of congestion at turn buoys, people off track torpedoing you when they changed direction, a well timed breaststroke kick off someone that inverted my goggles at one point, but fortunately my shoulder held up reasonably well - bit of instability at the 1.5/2k mark, but nothing too untoward.
After what seemed an absolute lifetime in the water though, I was battling through the shore dump and legging it up the beach for T1
SWIM 1:16:17
BIKE
Out of T1 in a rather tardy 7:42 and onto the 2½ lap bike course! It’s a fast course, with only 2000ft or so of elevation with 3km of narrow speed bump infested roads to navigate before we hit the main road.
Things didn’t start too well, with me hitting one of the speed bumps approx 1k out of transition at 35ish k’s which created a sufficient enough jolt to release my mini pump from its mounting! After hearing it clatter to the floor, I momentarily thought “leave it”, only to come to my senses immediately, come skidding to a halt and totter my way back to pick it up. Total pain in the arse!
Out onto the course proper though and it was pretty enjoyable - personally I prefer out and back courses, but the one good thing with laps is that at least the distance is broken down for you (rather than having to do it mentally). The crowd at the Calella turn point was fantastic - you pop over a crest of hill, plunge downhill into a roundabout and climb back up away from them - they were brilliant every time though - raucous, loud and enthusiastic, a welcome boost at 75k and 147k!
There were plenty of officials out on the course as well (apparently twice the normal amount with 40 outriders) - there was a big problem with drafting last year and I think they wanted to put their foot down . . . saw a fair few guys/girls in penalty boxes so think they made their presence felt!
My ride was fairly uneventful - still have a massive problem with nutrition (I simply don’t like anything sweet) - I had 2 Snickers bars, 2 Shot Blocks, I Clif Bar, a small flapjack and 1l of sports drink, all of which I had to pretty much force down. I don’t think it was enough really and I must look at that for next season as it doesn’t do my run too much good!
Anyway, rolled into T2 feeling a bit yuck stomach wise (always do with the sweet stuff) - no mechanicals though, that was the main thing and considering my bike is 11yrs old, 9 speed with nothing aero at all bar a set of tri bars, I felt reasonably happy!
BIKE 5:26:05
RUN
Run course was 4 laps, pretty non-descript, but followed the beach for 5k(ish), through a turnpoint, then through an underpass and out on to the main road, joining back onto the beachside for the last 2k to the second turnpoint.
Out of T2 (in 1:48) and on to the run course, I high fived my girlfriend and her mate and tried to focus on settling into a comfortable first 10k - picking up just water at aid stations and dumping it over my head! After 5k I suddenly realised that in my T2 rush, I’d left my cycling shorts on (which I’d put on over my tri-suit in T1), the pad of which was beginning to feel rather heavy having soaked up my water dousings!
First 10k was OK though (well, as much as it could be) and at the latter stages of the 2nd (18k ish), I began to get the first of the rampant hunger pains. I was still using the water, but decided that I’d have to eat something pretty soon or I could be in trouble.
At 22k I grabbed my first half banana. By this point my soaking cycling shorts had essentially become a very heavy nappy and I was desperate to see either my girlfriend or her mate so I could ditch them!
As it turned out, they’d disappeared for a bite to eat and I didn’t end up seeing them until 34k, but boy oh boy, it was a massive weight lifted when I eventually did see them and get rid! By this time my run had settled into a (slow) comfortable pace - it felt like I was on a bit of a knife edge nutrition wise, getting massive hunger pains every 4 or 5k, briefly alleviated with half bananas at aid stations. I dared not pick the pace up until I was very close to home, just in case I was in bonk territory (which is what it felt like).
By the last lap, I felt I was just about hanging on, but thankfully, I was looking at the kilometre markers for the last time - got all excited with 1k to go and managed to see that off in a (relative to the rest) supersonic 4:30!!! Should have really tried picking the pace up earlier, as it didn’t actually feel too much worse than plodding along tbh, but the main thing was I was up at that last turnpoint and instead of running around it AGAIN, this time I was turning right!!!! Oh my word, the joy and relief!!!
Down the red carpet, on to the finishing ‘chute. Loud music, bright lights, boisterous crowd, high five the MC and over the line . . . “You are an Ironman”
RUN 4:13:50
FINISH 11:05:42
11.05 off the back of that amount of training 
you have to be some sort of machine ! very impressive stuff DB. How did the course/organisation compare to the others you have done ? I have a few friends talking about one last long event in 2017 (were we will all be closer to 50 than 40 !) & this has been mentioned as a possible.
Cheers
you have to be some sort of machine ! very impressive stuff DB. How did the course/organisation compare to the others you have done ? I have a few friends talking about one last long event in 2017 (were we will all be closer to 50 than 40 !) & this has been mentioned as a possible.Cheers
baxb said:
11.05 off the back of that amount of training you have to be some sort of machine ! very impressive stuff DB. How did the course/organisation compare to the others you have done ? I have a few friends talking about one last long event in 2017 (were we will all be closer to 50 than 40 !) & this has been mentioned as a possible.
Cheers
Cheers! I was reasonably OK with the time - very glad for the finish though, but definitely more to come! Just got to make better use of the winter and actually train a lot more consistently next year!!! you have to be some sort of machine ! very impressive stuff DB. How did the course/organisation compare to the others you have done ? I have a few friends talking about one last long event in 2017 (were we will all be closer to 50 than 40 !) & this has been mentioned as a possible.Cheers
As far as this race goes, like all M-Dot events it's very well organised . . . it's actually in Calella (about 40k from Barcelona & €5 on the train) which is half high rise hotels (not exactly pretty), but the old town is very close by and very pleasant (old churches/narrow lanes/town squares etc). It would really depend on what you and your mates would want from a race . . . I've done three now, all of which I would recommend for one reason or another:-
Lanzarote
Plus points
Cheap hotels & flights • Great swim (clear water so you can see the fish!) • Awesome, iconic bike course (pretty tough) • Amazing support around the whole island (the whole island seems to stop for the race) • Great party afterwards (next evening in Route 66)
Minus points
4hr flight • Not everyone would like the tough bike nor the potential for high temperatures (38°C when I raced there and kids/supporters may suffer as well!) • Race is in PDC, but registration/expo/parties etc in La Santa which means having to get on a coach to go out there every time (45ish min journey there and back) • Most of your training will have to be done in the winter for this race (not as easy as it sounds)
Mallorca
Plus points
Hotels & flights reasonable price • Old town Alcudia and Puerto Pollenca fab holiday locations • Great swim (possibly better than Lanzarote, but more jellyfish and potential of non-wetsuit because of high water temperatures) • Cracking bike course (not as tough as Lanz - fast first 90k, then a wonderful climb up to Lluc at 120k) • Probably the best organised post race party (in a club with great DJs) • Lots of time for training in better weather
Minus points
Not everyone would like the climb (going up anyway!) - it says in the guide books that it's 8km @ 7% or 8% (from memory), but it really doesn't stop going uphill for about 16k (granted with a few opportunities for rest) - the descent is wicked though! • Skins only swim a definite possibility (which may bother some) • Don't stay too far east of Alcudia (road closures a nightmare on race day + it's not all that nice!)
Barcelona
Plus points
Cheaper hotels than the other two, flights about the same • Family friendly • Also a sea swim, but 1 lap so less congested (in theory!!) • Fast bike course (not as scenic or challenging in terms of ascent as the other two, but aero bike work certainly takes a different approach) • Lots of time for training in better weather
Minus points
No post race party (there was an Oktoberfest on this year which we went to, but nothing else that we found) and not quite the atmosphere of the other two (although that is very subjective)
and I guess also on my list would be Tenby and Nice (and probably Klagenfurt).
If I had to choose one race (that I've done) to recommend, I'd have to say Lanzarote. 3 years later I can still recall just how tough it was. Brutal conditions. The finisher's t-shirt should have "survivor", because moreso than the other two I felt that not only was I battling the distance, but also the island and I'm not ashamed to say, it kicked seven bales of s
t out of me that day! What better for a final race for you guys?!! Others obviously may not quite share my view as I am a bit of a masochist, but you wouldn't be disappointed with any of them - they all have individual appeal . . .
dangerousB said:
Lots of good stuff
Thanks for that DB, I've done Copenhagen, Klagenfurt & Weymouth - the last two have DEFINITELY been my last long distance races 
but I will get dragged into one more if we can get a gang together for it. Planning to do the Virtruvian (1/2 IM distance) next year to keep ticking over.Enjoy the recovery
Wow - tons going on since I last visited!
Well done to Iron drinks, Dimski, blade runner and dangerous B - some epic racing going on there!!
Finished my 2015 season off at the Munich marathon on Sunday. I'd booked this earlier in the year just in case IM Switzerland didn't go to plan and I didn't make it out of the water. Training hadn't quite gone to plan, start of term is always really busy and I only managed 3x 2hour runs, anyhow, excuses over... turned up and smashed my p.b. out of sight! Managed to get round in 3:43:52, 25 mins better than I'd managed at my last standalone marathon back in 2006 which I'm pretty chuffed with.
Next up on the agenda is a repair to my subscapularis tendon which, according to the surgeon, is 2/3 detached from the bone... no wonder swimming was off the agenda from April to July So, 4 weeks in a sling awaits - you guys had better get posting plenty of epic stuff or else I'll go mad! 
Hoping to get back into triathlon for the end of next season or 2017, so keep your eye out on some decent bike / running races for me to enter!
All the best,
Well done to Iron drinks, Dimski, blade runner and dangerous B - some epic racing going on there!!
Finished my 2015 season off at the Munich marathon on Sunday. I'd booked this earlier in the year just in case IM Switzerland didn't go to plan and I didn't make it out of the water. Training hadn't quite gone to plan, start of term is always really busy and I only managed 3x 2hour runs, anyhow, excuses over... turned up and smashed my p.b. out of sight! Managed to get round in 3:43:52, 25 mins better than I'd managed at my last standalone marathon back in 2006 which I'm pretty chuffed with.
Next up on the agenda is a repair to my subscapularis tendon which, according to the surgeon, is 2/3 detached from the bone... no wonder swimming was off the agenda from April to July
So, 4 weeks in a sling awaits - you guys had better get posting plenty of epic stuff or else I'll go mad! Hoping to get back into triathlon for the end of next season or 2017, so keep your eye out on some decent bike / running races for me to enter!
All the best,
drgav2005 said:
Hi Folks - I survived!
Many thanks for your kind comments - hope I wasn't giving you too many heart failures when you were tracking me on Sunday!
bigandclever - sorry to hear about your crash, can't believe other non-competing riders would have been so stupid to have had so little respect for those racing
Hope you (and the bike!) get fixed soon!
Warning - another long race report - well, it was a LONG race!!!
http://www.drgironman.blogspot.co.uk
I was there too. My first full and conversely last Tri I plan to do. I have other commitments for the foreseeable future, so can't train properly. And I reckon everything from Entry to bike maintenance to the food at the airport has probably been in the £2.5-3K region.Many thanks for your kind comments - hope I wasn't giving you too many heart failures when you were tracking me on Sunday!
bigandclever - sorry to hear about your crash, can't believe other non-competing riders would have been so stupid to have had so little respect for those racing
Hope you (and the bike!) get fixed soon!Warning - another long race report - well, it was a LONG race!!!
http://www.drgironman.blogspot.co.uk
Write up here: TRiTalk posting
Rich_W said:
I was there too. My first full and conversely last Tri I plan to do. I have other commitments for the foreseeable future, so can't train properly. And I reckon everything from Entry to bike maintenance to the food at the airport has probably been in the £2.5-3K region.
Write up here: TRiTalk posting
Good write up Rich_W well done on completing a really tough race- no way that can be considered a failure, especially given your bike issues and chucking up!Write up here: TRiTalk posting
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