Ironman Germany 2008

Pre-Amble

The build for IMDE started in earnest in November 2007. The main focus of this year was to finally sort out the marathon. Me and running just don't seem to get along fullstop. I seem very capable of doing standalone events with reasonable success, but miss that magic something when it comes to the Ironman marathon. The plan for this year was to not worry about the swimming other than a couple of sessions a week to keep me ticking over. I was going to drop the bike volume slightly, and then build in a large run volume. I was hoping to build to about 60 miles a week by the time taper rolled around.

So, off I set, and all was going rather well. I set a pb in the new years day 10k, and was running with faster groups than last year on the club runs. The legs seemed to be absorbing all that I was throwing at them, and I finally felt like I was running as opposed to jogging. Then the spring ballbuster came around. This was an important target race for me as I had a time from last years event to gauge my progress against. The good news was that I knocked 12 minutes off last year to come home in 3h08. The bad news was that my right shin and ankle were in agony. A trip to casualty and a follow up with a physio confirmed that I had shin splints and anterior tibialis tendonitis. The prescription was for at least 6 weeks of rest. Bugger.

I could however still swim and bike so that was my silver lining. I also became very friendly with the cross trainers in the gym. An hour of intervals on one of those is tough going, and it definitely helped with my rehab as I could simulate a running motion without the stress on the joints. Coming out the other side in early May, the focus was on getting ready for the tour of wessex. I knew I was fit enough to do the two days planned, but was unsure on the long run on day 3. I managed to get a good couple of weeks in at any rate and off I went to Somerset. True to form, the weather was miserable, but what can you do. I flew through day 1, and then struggled on day 2. I had rather overdressed for what turned out in the end to be a pretty hot spring day, and dehydrated big time. Drove home and as planned got out on the Monday for a long run. About 2 miles from the end of the planned 16, I developed a sharp pain in my knee, and once again got that sinking feeling.

The advice I was given was again to rest, but with the Ironman now looming large, this was a tough cookie to swallow. I backed off with the biking and running for two weeks, with the idea of doing a hard final month leading into the race. I did Weymouth Half Ironman in early June and clocked a confidence inspiring 4h35. Two weeks later I went on to smash another pb at the Dambuster olympic coming home in 2h11. Things were certainly looking on target for the Ironman, as long as I hadn't peaked too early.

Pre-Race

With no problems along the way, I rocked up at the hotel early on Friday afternoon and promptly set about getting my bike put together. Then it was off to the town hall to register, and then in a taxi to the race briefing. The venue for this had changed, and to be honest, it was a bit of a faff to get to being right out of town. 20 minutes in a taxi saw us arrive at the ice hockey arena. The race info was presented in a very matter of fact style that only the Germans seem capable of doing, and an hour or so later we were dispatched. Myself and fellow serpie Dom decided to hang around for the pasta party, and I'm glad I did as it was an awesome feast. Headed back to the hotel for an early night and awoke the next day feeling much more like I was about to do an Ironman. My number 1 supporter Sam turned up at midday, and we had a bit of a walk around the expo with my parents before heading to the lake to rack my bike. For anyone who hasn't done this race before, the swim is about 12km outside of Frankfurt, and this does make racking a bit more of a stress than at other races. You have to get a bus up, give your things in, and get the bus back. The whole process took a good few hours, and although not overly stressfull, you could do without it with 12 hours to go before D day! Anyway, back to the hotel and an early night.

The Swim

I got down to T1 in good time and did all the usual blowing up of tyres and chatting to the other serpies. The pro wave and 350 age group athletes were to be set off at 6:45, and we were going at 7. I was a bit put out by this change in all honesty. I can see that it means more people can race, but in my view, it dilutes the experience. I don't mind 100 or so pros having a 50 metre jump on the age group field, as to be honest, you aren't going to catch them without the aid of a jetski anyway. However, in allowing a number of age groupers to have a headstart, it meant that we weren't all doing the same race. If I am going to get punched and kicked, then why shouldn't everyone? I swam past a fair few of the black hat clad 6:45 wave on the second lap, and was wondering if there had been some optimistic creativity with some people's expected swim times...

Anyway, that aside, I got in the lake with 10 minutes to spare so as to avoid what happened in 2006 where a large number of people, myself included, were still queueing to get in the lake as the starting gun went. As the 5 minute warning was sounded, I started to make my way front and centre. This is where it got a bit rough to say the least. It seemed that most of the field had decided they too were going to go front and centre, and before the race had even started, I found myself getting kicked and pushed. It was getting quite nasty and there were some choice words being thrown around. I ended up getting pushed back about 6 rows which wasn't ideal, but I decided that 5 seconds wasn't going to ruin my day, so rather that than get the crap kicked out of me before we had even started!

The gun went and off we went. As I had suspected I would do, I spent the first 200 metres literally body surfing over people. I had got a real bee in my bonnet about the people infront of me, and decided that if they were so desperate to go upfront they had either better be damn good swimmers, or be prepared to be swam over. I got kicked in the face numerous times, grabbed hold of, elbowed etc etc, but this just fired me up even more. I cannot understand why year in year out, a large number of people doing Ironman insist in being upfront when they are going to be swimming way over 60 mins. It makes no sense for anyone. After the first 750m we hit the first buoy and things had thinned out a bit as I had left the maddening crowd behind me. I had put in some hard yards in the pool over the last couple of months, and getting out at 2100m in 30 mins on the dot knew that I was on for a good split. A quick run along the beach and back in for the second lap. I settled into my rhythm and this second part flew by. Out of the water with 54 mins and some change on my watch (55:12 official time) I started the climb up the hill to T1.

The swim had felt effortless other than the brawl at the start, and my day was off to a flying start. Had my usual faff in transition, but not my worst by any stretch, and off I went.

The Bike

Got the heart rate under control pretty quickly, and headed out onto the road to Frankfurt. The first 12km is a fast, slightly downhill stretch where its pretty easy to hold 40 km/h plus. Took on my drink and a gel, and got into my rhythm. Rolling through town and out onto the first lap I was feeling awesome. After about 30km you get to the first hill of the day which will get you out of your saddle, but its nothing to pack a granny ring for. The race briefing had made it quite clear that wetting yourself on your bike would be penalised with a 6 minute time penalty, and so keen to play by the rules I made my first stop in the portaloo. There was a small queue, but I got in and out and back on my way. I later found out that various friends of mine had wet themselves without any problems from the marshalls which was a bit annoying to say the least. I was wondering also how this rule was going to be applied to the pro field. Can you imagine the likes of Macca and Chrissie hopping off their bikes every hour for a pee where races of this quality often come down to sprint finishes? I don't know if it was enforced up front, but I'd be surprised.

The first lap came and went, and heartbreak hill was as fantastic as I remember. It gives you such a buzz as you sweep around the corner and onto the climb with spectators 4 deep the whole way up. You feel like a superstar. Got the occasional go serpie shout, and gave my parents a wave. Rolling down the other side, I got back into town with about 2:45 showing for the first 100km. My 5 hour target had slipped, so aimed at going for a 5h15 and keeping something in my legs for the run.

Coming out of the other end of town, my left knee started to hurt. My knees have taken a battering this past year or so, and this was the same spot as with the run after the tour of wessex that sidelined me. It wasn't stopping me pedalling, but anytime I tried to put force down, it hurt. Nightmare. Coupled with this, the wind had got up noticeably on lap two, and although the pro times don't reflect it, it actually got pretty blustery out there. On about 150km we were heading into a serious headwind going across some farmland, and it was taking all my effort to maintain 25km/h. I was getting knocked around a bit on my deep section wheels, and this was my first bad patch for the race where things felt like they were all going wrong. I got off the bike for another wee, and upon getting back on I was joined by Julian one of my fellow serpies. He too was struggling in the wind, and we both agreed we would be happy to see the end of the bike section.

The second time up heartbreak hill was tough. My legs weren't tired, but my knee was really not at all happy with me applying any sort of pressure on it. It was a case of grit your teeth and get it done. I rolled down the other side getting knocked about by that wind and got into T2 with a 5h29 bike split. This wasn't a disaster, but all hopes of going sub 10 had now gone out the window. Its hard to explain what happened. I did have a knee issue, but coupled with this, the power that I have had on the bike in previous races just wasn't there. I went 5h19 in IM Austria last year, and was stronger on the bike in 08 as shown with my times at the tour of wessex and other races.

Revising my hopes to a sub 10:30, I set off on the run.

The Run

This is the biggy for me. I have never run a marathon before and have always been forced into a painful shuffle at least 13 miles from home. The big doubt I had in my mind was had I managed to put in enough quality, and what effect would 8 weeks of injury have on my split. The knee seemed to be much happier off the bike, and so I set into my stride. The plan was to run 55 minutes per lap to give me a time of around the 3:45 mark. I actually felt strong, and got round the first lap in 57 mins. Revising my expectations slightly, I decided to try and hold 60 min per lap to get me in sub 4. Lap two went by with a 60 min split, and remarkably I was still feeling strong.

Half marathon is usually the point where I die. The longest I have ever run in an IM was in Germany two years back where I ran till about 1km into lap 3 (14 miles or so). The expected tiredness didn't happen, and I was in a zen like trance. The kilometres were ticking by, and 61 minutes later I was onto my final lap. If I could hold a 60 min 10.5k then I would be in in under 4 hours, and also break 10:30.

I think I hit the wall just after crossing the first bridge for the last time. It was horrible. It was like someone had turned off a light and I went from feeling invincible to feeling very very mortal. I decided that I would run inbetween aid stations and walk through them to get nutrition onboard. After having a rather harsh word with myself, I set about getting home as quickly as possible. Thankgod for redbull is all I can say. I was getting sick of the taste, but I reckon its the only thing that kept me standing through that last 8km or so.

I did the 4th lap and the run up the chute in 70 mins, so managed to limit my losses pretty well. I crossed the line in 10:42 for another pb. I had given all that I could, and I had been the best that I could have been on that day. I hadn't hit my sub 10:30 goal, but I wasn't far off. There will be other Ironmans, and at that point in time, I really couldn't care less.

Thoughts

The massive plus that I will take out of this years Ironman excurtion is that I ran my first marathon. This is a huge mental breakthrough if nothing else, as I now know I can do it. This is something to build on for IM Lanzarote next year. I was also incredibly happy with my swim time. The two key workouts for me here were a long steady swim and then 2 months before the race, putting in a tough 20 x 200m pain set every Monday night. I have never felt so strong in the water, and more of the same is called for next year.

I don't know what happened on the bike as mentioned earlier. It wasn't a disaster, but I just never really felt in it. The wind came up, my knee played up, I don't know. I know I am better than a 5h29 even given that you aren't supposed to go flat out on the bike leg. Just a few weeks ago I had put in a 2h19 split on a hilly, windy half Ironman course, and run well off that. Prior to that, I had gone round 160 hilly kms in wessex in 5:15. It just didn't happen for me today.

I think that looking to next season, my biggest limiter is my weight. At 12 stone 10, I am a heavyweight if you look at the pointy end of the age group field. The winter is going to see me putting in some big efforts in the gym with regards to my core strength and my body composition. The key to running a fast marathon is being lungs on legs. If I can get down to 12 stone on the dot, thats 5kgs or so less that I am hauling around with me, which will make a difference.

Another aspect that I need to work on is my ability to run off the bike. I am doing a standalone marathon in October, so I'll know then what sort of pace I am capable of. I have run weekly at 7 minute mile pace or better for 12-15 miles over the hills of hampstead heath. I would be confident that I can hit a 3h15 marathon in October, so I need to work on my ability to turn this into Ironman speed. I did bricks this year, but not as consistently as I would have liked. I will be looking to do some long runs off 2-4 hour bikes in the build to Lanzarote.

I'm not unhappy with what I did this year by any stretch, and there are a number of big plus points to take out of the race. I view 2008 as a stepping stone into 2009 and beyond, and going sub 11 is another milestone ticked off. One thing that quitting my job in the city has given me is time, but this has been a double edged sword. I think I got a bit carried away at the start of the year and didn't allow my body enough time to recover. This lead to the injuries, and its definitely been a lesson learned. Most have their training restrained by jobs, family life and other comittments. When you have none of these constraints, you have to be far more carefull!

The rest of the year is going to be taken up with getting back into training so I can have a good race at the ITU long distance worlds in Almere. After that, the Abingdon marathon is my final serious race of the year before I have a bit of time out. I will race the November ballbuster, but more as a training day than trying to beat my time from earlier in the year. After that, its 6 months to IM Lanzarote, and its going to be tough. I am under no illusions just how miserable logging your big miles is going to be in the British Winter. I'm hoping to get over to the island for a couple of weeks in February for some sun, and to check out the course.

Goals wise, well I want to be there or thereabouts in terms of Hawaii slots at IM Lanzarote. This may seem like a bold statement, but its a course that I believe I can perform on. I see myself being far stronger in 8 months time, and am definitely raring to go. Its going to be a massive race too in terms of the support that will be out there. Its the official Serpie race for 09, and there will also be a large and no doubt noisy pirate contingent heading out there. Ontop of this, its going to be Ironman number 10 and I'm hoping it will be a special one. There is also talk of heading out to do IM Florida in November, and I'll get a definite shot at a sub 10 there.

See you somewhere on the road.

Mike