I'm kinda hoping this is what you have been waiting for me to write up, an honest race report of my first IRONMAN race.
Let's start with the numbers, on the 10th of September 2017 I completed IRONMAN Wales in a time of 12:36:21
My split was as follows;
Swim - 1:09:24
T1 - 9:42
Bike - 6:50:58
T2 - 4:32
Run - 4:21:48
In short, super happy with the Swim disappointed with my Bike and Run. Overall, although disappointed with 2/3 disciplines, very happy with the achievement of finishing.
Let's start with pre gun
So as mentioned in the 'IRONMAN Wales - Pre Race' post Mike and I had made our way to the front of the pack which meant we were stood next to someone holding a 60min or less sign. This was for overall swim time.
Although I had reservations and expressed my concerns with Mike, starting at the front probably worked to my advantage.
So once you have self seeded yourself in the pack at about 06:40 you're marched through the town of Tenby like gladiators heading to battle. This was one of the many experiences I will struggle to replicate again in my life.
As we approached the final turn towards the beach I heard a huge 'COME ON ROSS' to my surprise my Uncle had made the trip down to support me. He and my family had positioned themselves right next to the barrier in a great spot. This really put a smile on my face at a time when my stomach was in knots and I was genuinely scared about what was to come.
As we went around the corner, Mike and I saw the swim course for the first time. As expected the buoys were a lot further out, this added to my already fairly significant feeling of anxiety for the swim leg of the event. I didn't mind swimming in the sea, I don't mind doing 2km swim sessions, but I hadn't swam over 3km ever and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to sustain the pace I wanted for the duration.
Once everyone is down on the beach the Welsh national anthem is belted out by all 2000+ athletes and the 1000's of supporters lining the coast line. Again one of many moments in the day I don't think I will ever be able to replicate.
Mike and I exchanged our last words of encouragement, had a quick man hug and prepared ourselves for the day ahead.
At this point we knew the weather was reported to be wet and windy. However, I didn't care the sea was calm and I was just focussing on exiting the water.
The Swim
So after the PRO's had been let go at about 07:05 the Age Group athletes were on the start gun.
I'm going to claim here that I did beat Mike to the water. But after 25m or so of hard swimming to get some clear water I looked up for the first time and Mike was already clear of me.
The swim is 2 laps of a 1.9km course. It has an Australian swim exit, which means after the 1st lap you exit the water, run about 100m and then enter the water again.
I didn't record the swim, but my post race breakdown has me at 33:07 for the first lap, which is an average pace of 1:45/100m which was great!!
On the second lap, although I felt great and my confidence had rocketed I do remember thinking to myself 'nice and steady' for the 2nd lap, i'm not going to gain anything from sustaining that pace or going faster.
On my second lap I swam into a fishing buoy, which was actually right in the middle of the course....I also remember putting my hand right on top of a huge jelly fish. Something I think most athletes experienced on the day.
On my second lap I swam into a fishing buoy, which was actually right in the middle of the course....I also remember putting my hand right on top of a huge jelly fish. Something I think most athletes experienced on the day.
My second lap was slower, 36:17 which is 1:55/100m. Now I didn't know any of this until post race but on reflection I was aiming for anything sub 1:15 for the swim, so big tick here.
I exited as ever from a swim leg of a triathlon with a smile on my face.
I exited as ever from a swim leg of a triathlon with a smile on my face.
Transition 1
Unlike any IRONMAN in the world (to my limited knowledge), once you exit the water in Wales you have to run up a path up the cliff face and run to T1 which is about 1.6km away. Because of this most choose to have another pair of shoes in a small pink bag on the cliff path on your peg, I went for the tactic of stripping off my wetsuit at the peg, slipping on my shoes and running with it over my shoulders. I also had a bottle of water in that bag so that I could wash the sea salt off my face and body while running through Tenby.
On the run to T1 I spotted my family who had faithfully stayed in the same position and upon entering T1 our friends had huddled on the corner which you watch swimmers coming in and cyclists heading out.
In total T1 took me 9:42, I haven't bothered to look if that's good or not, but covering a mile in that time and changing/getting on the bike I would suggest that's not too bad. Some people do spend 30 mins doing this!!!
Mike and I both raised some money before the IRONMAN so we both had respective jerseys to wear for the ride. I was rocking a rather fetching turquoise number for the Royal National Institute for Blind people.
Essentially, my point is unlike most people we weren't in skin suits and TT helmets (thats for next time).
The Cycle
Once over the mount line I was happy, as you will know if you follow this blog or my Insta feed, I like cycling and from my previous events I have done it's my strength.
As I headed out of Tenby I managed to see my friends poised in the same location. At this point I had no idea how far ahead Mike was.
I had joked with Mike that I would catch him in the first 40km...
So the bike ride is 180km or 112miles in old money. The IRONMAN wales course is 1 big loop which takes you out to Angle, and then a shorter loop which consists of the hills from loop 1.
Within 10-15km I was passed a lot by the skinsuit/TT bike athletes.... I wasn't at this point doing my usual tactic to pass time and guess the value of the bike. I did start to doubt my objective of finishing the ride in something around the 6hr mark.
The first 40km was tough, it was pretty much into wind (reported up to 40mph) and was raining the whole way. I also had two major scares where gusts of wind caught me and I had to control the bike to avoid ending up on the tarmac. This put me off using my clip on Tri bars.
The next 20-30km was sightly easier, the wind was sort of with you and you rode a similar route back so I knew where the rolling hills were and where I could push a little or rest. However, I was following advice from athletes with experience, 'don't go hard in the first 80-90km its a long day in the saddle'.
It was at about the 70-80km mark I started to worry about Mike. Now of course my aim was to catch him, but not in a I must beat Mike kinda way. I just knew that like swimming is his strength, cycling is mine. At this point I became more worried that Mike may have come off. Still no sign.
At 90km (half way) I had just finished the first real climb into Narbeth, Mike and I had both targeted Narbeth as the point on the bike we would take on some real food. We had both prepared bagels. I had gone for ham and cheese. As I left I tucked into the first half. Probably the best tasting bagel I had ever had, even though it was soaked through with welsh rain.
Shortly after, I spotted a blue and red jersey, tucked up in a hedge. It was Mike, he was have a quick pit stop.... I slowed down and shouted, I then waited for him up the road.
It was a huge boost to see Mike. We then rode together for the next 15km. This included the ascent out of Saundersfoot (Heartbreaker Hill). It was at this point I saw my family again.
The first ascent up this hill was the 2nd best moment of the day (crossing the finish line being number 1) i'm sure the crowds are just as big or loud at other IRONMAN events. However, I felt like I was a PRO rider on the Tour de France. There were crowds 5 deep at the steepest bit with people running along side you for the last 100m in fancy dress!! UNBELIEVABLE!!
All I could think about was how I get to do that again in about 60km.
At the top of the hill I thought I had unintentionally dropped Mike and was annoyed as I didn't say goodbye or good luck.
After about 2km on the descent into Tenby and the start of the 2nd lap, Mike caught me :)
He was a little red in the face and clearly had gone deep to catch back up. We shared our last words of encouragement, popped our rain coats on and set off at our own paces and within 5km I was out of sight.
The next 50km is the dark part of the ride, you have eaten most of your food, spent 5/6hrs alone, you're running out interesting things to think about and the ride goes so far out in the sticks there isn't much in the way of support or company. The one bit of motivation was to climb the two big hills....
So after battling boredom and loneliness for a couple of hours I was approaching Saundersfoot again. I made a commitment to myself that I was going to go hard up this hill just to over take some people and give me some confidence heading into the run. Maybe not the best idea, I should of pushed harder at other points in the ride.
So on the descent into Sandersfoot I picked up some speed and attempted to carry it into the hill. Unexpectedly, my family hadn't moved, they were in the same spot, with the same level of enthusiasm to see me come up. I was shocked, the weather was piss poor and this really showed a level of commitment you only get from family.
I shot up the hill and I remember one athlete shouting at me/other supporters saying look at 'Ross' go. I was sightly worried how she/they knew my name and then very quickly realised it was pinned to my back!!
Once at the top of the hill there is only about 5-6km left and its flat/down hill into Tenby. I used this as time to recover from the burst of energy I had just completed.
On the decent into Tenby, you start to see those who are at the sharp end on their 1st/2nd laps of the run.
This was incredible to see!! If you want to see absolute specimens in terms of amateur athletes go to a 1/2 or full IRONMAN event and watch these men and women at the front of the race.
I approached transition knowing my bike time was around the 6:50 mark. Throughout the entire ride apart from the last climb I had been too conservative. I barely went 'into the red' and I rode at a steady pace, which just wasn't fast enough. More annoyingly I didn't chase anyone down which is usually my favorite part!!
As I got off the bike I was extremely disappointed with myself, I had gone against my own inbuilt competitive nature, I had not emptied the tank and therefore felt like I had let myself down.
Now the run is 4 laps of a course just over 10km per lap. In total over the marathon distance there was around 650m of climbing, which for running is very hilly.
About half way around a lap you received a coloured band to show you had completed each lap and on the last lap when you had all four bands you carry straight on at the final junction and enter the finish strip.
Now my initial plan was to go hard in the run especially if a time of sub 12 hours was on the cards. Within the 1st lap I was back doing some mental maths and I worked out that I needed to do about a 3:45 marathon to achieve this.
I have never run a marathon before, but in training I had managed to comfortably run 1:35 for the 1/2 marathon distance, so I did think that if I was fresh I would be able to do sub 3:30. Of course I wasn't fresh, I had just swam 3.8km and cycled 180km.
So with a faint hope of achieving sub 12 hours I kicked on and ignored my watch and went off feel.
After two laps I recalculated where I was. I was vastly over schedule. I was running each lap in about 60-65 mins and I was only 1/2 way.
At this point I was quite annoyed with myself and I made a decision I think I will regret forever.
I decided that at this point, I was going to plod home and collect the medal. I worked out that unless something major happened I would comfortably finish sub 13 hours and that there was no difference in finishing with 12:01 and 12:59.
Now on reflection there really is no difference, your finish time is personal to you and although friends and family ask how long it took, most don't really know whats good or bad etc.
I now know that when competing you need to cross that line in a time you're proud of. All that really matters is you need to ensure that you did everything within your power on the day to get the best time.
I did this in both my previous races in London and Eton and I look back at those times with pride.
I look back on Wales with pride as I finished an incredibly hard event, I don't however look back with pride on my time.
Anyways.... back to lap 3/4.
Once I got to lap 4 I attempted to up the pace a little, mainly as it was almost all over and I wanted to enjoy the last lap. From looking back at my Garmin my 4th lap was quicker then both my 2nd and 3rd.
That last lap, even though I was already starting to regret my effort on the run was unbelievable. By the time I was on my last lap (about 18:00/19:00), the streets of Tenby were lined with 1000's of people. Every pub, restaurant, shop and fish and chip shop was packed and your name was constantly being shouted out by random supporters.
The beauty of the 4 band system meant that when you had all 4 bands on and you were on the last 5km, the crowds would shout even more!!! Children were running with you, asking for high fives, there was a band playing in the street and the smell of fish and chips was willing you on.
As I came through Tenby and I knew there was less then 1km to go I started to get really excited. You read throughout your build up about peoples finish line experiences, nothing you read will prepare you for what happens. It's a completely personal experience.
As I entered the red carpet, the announcer shouts out your name in the following sentence.
"Ross Harper YOU ARE AN IRONMAN"
The finish line is at least 5 deep on both sides, the noise that hits you is amazing!!
Before you get to take it in you're at the arch and its over..... someone puts a medal around your neck and it's done....
Now Mike and I had the best intentions. Get back to the house, shower, eat drink etc then head into Tenby to watch Hero's Hour (last hour you can finish an IRONMAN). Then enjoy all the post race celebrations.....
What actually happened was....we had a shower, cooked some pasta, opened a bottle of cider...... we were then were both woken up by Sophie at about midnight on the sofa. We both then looked at each other and headed to bed.
We made up for this in December when we had a night out in London. But lesson learnt, don't go home post IRONMAN race and get comfy, stay awake as long as possible and have a beer straight away to help.
So that sums up my first IRONMAN. As you will have seen I keep saying first. I'm pretty sure i'm going to do it all again one day soon.....
Thanks for reading!! I hope you follow my 2018 journey.
As I headed out of Tenby I managed to see my friends poised in the same location. At this point I had no idea how far ahead Mike was.
I had joked with Mike that I would catch him in the first 40km...
So the bike ride is 180km or 112miles in old money. The IRONMAN wales course is 1 big loop which takes you out to Angle, and then a shorter loop which consists of the hills from loop 1.
Within 10-15km I was passed a lot by the skinsuit/TT bike athletes.... I wasn't at this point doing my usual tactic to pass time and guess the value of the bike. I did start to doubt my objective of finishing the ride in something around the 6hr mark.
The first 40km was tough, it was pretty much into wind (reported up to 40mph) and was raining the whole way. I also had two major scares where gusts of wind caught me and I had to control the bike to avoid ending up on the tarmac. This put me off using my clip on Tri bars.
The next 20-30km was sightly easier, the wind was sort of with you and you rode a similar route back so I knew where the rolling hills were and where I could push a little or rest. However, I was following advice from athletes with experience, 'don't go hard in the first 80-90km its a long day in the saddle'.
It was at about the 70-80km mark I started to worry about Mike. Now of course my aim was to catch him, but not in a I must beat Mike kinda way. I just knew that like swimming is his strength, cycling is mine. At this point I became more worried that Mike may have come off. Still no sign.
At 90km (half way) I had just finished the first real climb into Narbeth, Mike and I had both targeted Narbeth as the point on the bike we would take on some real food. We had both prepared bagels. I had gone for ham and cheese. As I left I tucked into the first half. Probably the best tasting bagel I had ever had, even though it was soaked through with welsh rain.
Shortly after, I spotted a blue and red jersey, tucked up in a hedge. It was Mike, he was have a quick pit stop.... I slowed down and shouted, I then waited for him up the road.
It was a huge boost to see Mike. We then rode together for the next 15km. This included the ascent out of Saundersfoot (Heartbreaker Hill). It was at this point I saw my family again.
The first ascent up this hill was the 2nd best moment of the day (crossing the finish line being number 1) i'm sure the crowds are just as big or loud at other IRONMAN events. However, I felt like I was a PRO rider on the Tour de France. There were crowds 5 deep at the steepest bit with people running along side you for the last 100m in fancy dress!! UNBELIEVABLE!!
All I could think about was how I get to do that again in about 60km.
At the top of the hill I thought I had unintentionally dropped Mike and was annoyed as I didn't say goodbye or good luck.
After about 2km on the descent into Tenby and the start of the 2nd lap, Mike caught me :)
He was a little red in the face and clearly had gone deep to catch back up. We shared our last words of encouragement, popped our rain coats on and set off at our own paces and within 5km I was out of sight.
The next 50km is the dark part of the ride, you have eaten most of your food, spent 5/6hrs alone, you're running out interesting things to think about and the ride goes so far out in the sticks there isn't much in the way of support or company. The one bit of motivation was to climb the two big hills....
So after battling boredom and loneliness for a couple of hours I was approaching Saundersfoot again. I made a commitment to myself that I was going to go hard up this hill just to over take some people and give me some confidence heading into the run. Maybe not the best idea, I should of pushed harder at other points in the ride.
So on the descent into Sandersfoot I picked up some speed and attempted to carry it into the hill. Unexpectedly, my family hadn't moved, they were in the same spot, with the same level of enthusiasm to see me come up. I was shocked, the weather was piss poor and this really showed a level of commitment you only get from family.
I shot up the hill and I remember one athlete shouting at me/other supporters saying look at 'Ross' go. I was sightly worried how she/they knew my name and then very quickly realised it was pinned to my back!!
Once at the top of the hill there is only about 5-6km left and its flat/down hill into Tenby. I used this as time to recover from the burst of energy I had just completed.
On the decent into Tenby, you start to see those who are at the sharp end on their 1st/2nd laps of the run.
This was incredible to see!! If you want to see absolute specimens in terms of amateur athletes go to a 1/2 or full IRONMAN event and watch these men and women at the front of the race.
I approached transition knowing my bike time was around the 6:50 mark. Throughout the entire ride apart from the last climb I had been too conservative. I barely went 'into the red' and I rode at a steady pace, which just wasn't fast enough. More annoyingly I didn't chase anyone down which is usually my favorite part!!
As I got off the bike I was extremely disappointed with myself, I had gone against my own inbuilt competitive nature, I had not emptied the tank and therefore felt like I had let myself down.
Out at Angle trying to hold on for dear life.
Climbing out of Saudersfoot for the 2nd time, you can see the bruising and fresh scars from the crash on my right leg!!
Leaving T1
Transition 2
T2 went as planned, thankfully this didn't include any additional running. Just a quick change to my top, and some fresh socks before slipping on my running shoes.
The observant readers of this will notice I have my glasses on my head throughout the run, I forgot to leave them in my bag post ride and unfortunately I wasn't wiling to throw them by the side of the road like the PRO's do.
The Run
So I headed out of T2 and after reviewing my numbers I went through the 1st 1km at 4:30min/km pace, which was is fairly quick!! Now this was down to the fact I wanted to get my legs moving and I was surprised once again by a very enthusiastic uncle cheering me on as I came out of Tenby.Now the run is 4 laps of a course just over 10km per lap. In total over the marathon distance there was around 650m of climbing, which for running is very hilly.
About half way around a lap you received a coloured band to show you had completed each lap and on the last lap when you had all four bands you carry straight on at the final junction and enter the finish strip.
Now my initial plan was to go hard in the run especially if a time of sub 12 hours was on the cards. Within the 1st lap I was back doing some mental maths and I worked out that I needed to do about a 3:45 marathon to achieve this.
I have never run a marathon before, but in training I had managed to comfortably run 1:35 for the 1/2 marathon distance, so I did think that if I was fresh I would be able to do sub 3:30. Of course I wasn't fresh, I had just swam 3.8km and cycled 180km.
So with a faint hope of achieving sub 12 hours I kicked on and ignored my watch and went off feel.
After two laps I recalculated where I was. I was vastly over schedule. I was running each lap in about 60-65 mins and I was only 1/2 way.
At this point I was quite annoyed with myself and I made a decision I think I will regret forever.
I decided that at this point, I was going to plod home and collect the medal. I worked out that unless something major happened I would comfortably finish sub 13 hours and that there was no difference in finishing with 12:01 and 12:59.
Now on reflection there really is no difference, your finish time is personal to you and although friends and family ask how long it took, most don't really know whats good or bad etc.
I now know that when competing you need to cross that line in a time you're proud of. All that really matters is you need to ensure that you did everything within your power on the day to get the best time.
I did this in both my previous races in London and Eton and I look back at those times with pride.
I look back on Wales with pride as I finished an incredibly hard event, I don't however look back with pride on my time.
Anyways.... back to lap 3/4.
Once I got to lap 4 I attempted to up the pace a little, mainly as it was almost all over and I wanted to enjoy the last lap. From looking back at my Garmin my 4th lap was quicker then both my 2nd and 3rd.
That last lap, even though I was already starting to regret my effort on the run was unbelievable. By the time I was on my last lap (about 18:00/19:00), the streets of Tenby were lined with 1000's of people. Every pub, restaurant, shop and fish and chip shop was packed and your name was constantly being shouted out by random supporters.
The beauty of the 4 band system meant that when you had all 4 bands on and you were on the last 5km, the crowds would shout even more!!! Children were running with you, asking for high fives, there was a band playing in the street and the smell of fish and chips was willing you on.
As I came through Tenby and I knew there was less then 1km to go I started to get really excited. You read throughout your build up about peoples finish line experiences, nothing you read will prepare you for what happens. It's a completely personal experience.
As I entered the red carpet, the announcer shouts out your name in the following sentence.
"Ross Harper YOU ARE AN IRONMAN"
The finish line is at least 5 deep on both sides, the noise that hits you is amazing!!
Before you get to take it in you're at the arch and its over..... someone puts a medal around your neck and it's done....
The Finish Line/Post Race
So I have covered most of the experience above.
On crossing the line I very quickly turned my head to see my time and saw 12:36:21
I crossed the line jumping as high as I could with a double fist pump..... this wasn't planned. I know I have just said above how I regretted how I didn't push myself on the bike and run..... however most of that regret came in the weeks/months after.
At that moment in time I couldn't believe what I had done, I was completely taken away by the moment. When I found my family shortly after I would of burst out in tears if I wasn't so dehydrated.... my mother did the crying for the both of us.
I should perhaps remember this when I talk about regretting my performance. It was and is still a huge achievement.
So I had my medal, a quick cuddle with my family and then i headed into the tent to get some food, a massage and my finishers t-shirt.
After having some pizza I managed to get a lower body massage which was AMAZING!!! at this point I was joined by Mike!!!
We both then headed out to collect our clothes, bikes and bags. Find my family and his wife and we sorted out how we were getting back to the house. We both joked about cycling back....
Now Mike and I had the best intentions. Get back to the house, shower, eat drink etc then head into Tenby to watch Hero's Hour (last hour you can finish an IRONMAN). Then enjoy all the post race celebrations.....
What actually happened was....we had a shower, cooked some pasta, opened a bottle of cider...... we were then were both woken up by Sophie at about midnight on the sofa. We both then looked at each other and headed to bed.
We made up for this in December when we had a night out in London. But lesson learnt, don't go home post IRONMAN race and get comfy, stay awake as long as possible and have a beer straight away to help.
So that sums up my first IRONMAN. As you will have seen I keep saying first. I'm pretty sure i'm going to do it all again one day soon.....
Thanks for reading!! I hope you follow my 2018 journey.