IronMan Wales Race Report
September 8th 2014. The day I was most dreading and looking forward to in equal measure. I always expected Ironman Wales to be the toughest of my races. It had been commonplace to suffix "Ironman Wales" with "the toughest Ironman in the World" and some of that repetition was starting to hit home. I was genuinely concerned about the bike phase and if I'd make the cut-off, and if it was windy that I would never make the swim… I’d never swum in the ocean so was pretty terrified of the waves and swell that might be around.
We were paraded through town before the race to great crowds, it's a big ask for enthusiasm at 6:15am, but the assembled friends, family, and locals were amazing, I seriously didn’t expect this level of support. The local fire station was open with a stereo blarring Lady Gaga’s applause as we walked past, it was simply the best pre-race I have ever experience anywhere. As there is the same 1 km to go back to transition after the swim exit, we are permitted an extra pair of shoes to put into a purple carrier bag. An additional set of transition hooks are provided on the ramp up from the beach. I had already decided I would remove my wetsuit before the run to stop overheating and had my slip on Salomon trial shoes so my cold fingers would not have to fumble with laces. This worked amazingly well. I also secreted a bottle of water to wash my face and take a sip on the long run to the bike.
We were allowed some time to warm up to the left of Goskar Rock - I was very grateful for this. As I've said previously, I need to introduce myself to the water gently or I end up freaking out and getting very stressed. It did wonders to settle any remaining nerves and get me acclimatised. I felt good, let's get going!
This was to be my first beach start - running down into the water across the sand, doing little jumps over the small breakers like you're competing in the mini-hurdles, and then diving full length into the foam to strike out hard towards the first buoy, but being a weak swimmer I decided to hang back and let the masses go and then to make my own way in. I looked behind me at the hundreds upon hundreds of heads, used to getting swum over a fair bit so I figured if I took the mad start easy I would be okay.
I wasn't. The gun sounded and we ran forward. It's all a complete blur, and I really don't remember much of the first couple of minutes in the water. I think I tried to dive in and start swimming too early, all around me were arms and legs and bodies pushing me down and into the thrashing foam. I took a few hard punches to the head, but as my wife says I have a hard head so I was okay. I thrashed and panicked my way to the first turn buoy and worked my way round to the far side, in the shadow of the route and out of the way of the never ending stream of swimmers, and from then on it was pretty much okay I have to say, that first turn buoy is the problem, once you make it there, relax, look at the cliffs and think, I only have to do it one more time then I’m done!
A short trot across the beach and it was back in for lap number two. There wasn't much congestion getting back in, and I went slightly to one side to get some clear water. Much better. The first turn buoy came up in just a minute or two - I was amazed at how close it was, it felt like it took an age to get there on the first lap. A much less eventful second lap, thankfully. I'd fallen into my usual rhythm which, although not as fast as I can swim, was clearly going to get me to the end of the swim with the minimum of fuss, and after the "fun" of the start that's all I was looking to achieve now.
Exiting the water I checked my watch and was somewhat amazed to see 1:20 – that was spot on my time at the Ironman UK.
My purple bag was easy to find, and the crowd were so active and vocal I found myself drawn into running as fast as I could to transition along with everyone else. It was here we got our first taste of the level of support that would be with us all day. Every inch of the kilometre back to transition was lined with people, 3 or 4 deep in some places, and the shouting and cheering and relentless cowbelling was deafening. It was amazing! I've never been on the receiving end of anything like it.
T1 was uneventful. I was through cleanly and accelerated off up the road for the 112 mile ride. I looked forward to the next phase and put the swim far out of my mind.
I set off at a moderate pace, and not putting too much power down. The first of the three passes through Lamphey came up quickly. This was where the course split out on the first lap with an extra loop. I turned left and set off out to Angle.
The ride out to Angle is relatively flat with just one slow hill coming out of Pembroke - it's not overly steep but is quite long. The rest of the route is undulating to say the least with little to no flat at all, and one or two exposed areas where we'd been warned about headwinds.
I worked my way through Pembroke which had an odd little out and back section in the town centre, and back to Lamphey for the second time. Straight on this time, and onto what is in my opinion the hardest section of the course, up to Narberth. There are steeper hills on the course, but I find this part quite relentless in the long gentle climbs. This section is more sparsely populated and in some places there's not much to look at either, so it's mentally quite tiring. I found a good gear and settled in, chewing up the miles. I still felt strong.
Before long I reached Narberth and one of the recognised challenging climbs on the course. It's a tough steep climb into the village, and I could hear the cheering before I'd even rounded the corner and come into view. The support was phenomenal, hundreds of people were out in this small town all shouting and waving. Pubs had their doors wide open and music on full blast - there was a real carnival atmosphere. It was incredible. You can't help but dig a bit deeper, turn the pedals a bit quicker, and make an effort to look strong and smile. I've never been in an event that's had this kind of competitor support form the locals, the other Ironman races were good but this was really a step beyond. Thank you, Narberth.
Passing through Narberth is a big psychological step, it means there's only around 20km left on the lap, and that shouldn't take too long. The hills came and went until the next area of massive support, and that was Saundersfoot, and in particular what was considered to be the hardest hill on the course coming up from almost sea level right up onto the coastal cliff. I was thankful I had a compact (34/50) crank on my bike. I pushed up the hill and made a few places in the process.
Before long I swept down into Tenby, shot across the small double roundabout, and was off on the second and shorter lap.
The second lap was plagued by squalls of cold rain, drops like needles stinging my exposed shoulders and arm pits. The going was definitely tougher. I took the descents a lot more carefully, and around half way round needed to take my glasses off as they were covered with crap from the road and had steamed up. I spent a lot of time riding on the hoods now rather than the tri-bars - partly as I wanted to be nearer the brakes, and partly fatigue. There was a fair amount of support in Narberth the second time despite the cold and rain, but those that were still out were highly vocal and again made a big difference to all the athletes, and still the massive crowds in Saundersfoot and I managed to get back to Tenby in one piece, rolling in to T2 after 6:56 – again exactly he same time as my Ironman UK!!!
I felt like I had saved some good effort for the run. T2 at Ironman UK in Bolton had taken an age so I decided to be quicker, and just got my shoes on, had a Clif bar and got going. I decided I would follow the same routine as in Bolton and eat only Bananas and Ritz biscuits and drink only water or coke. I can’t take the sugary gels or isotonics and do anything to avoid stomach cramps.
My feet were dripping wet and I was monumentally grateful for having put a small towel and spare socks in my run bag. I took the time to make sure my feet were properly dry and then vaselined them up and that was it, off I went.
The run was four laps and consisted of two main sections. At the start of the lap you're directed out of Tenby for an out-and-back section. This is a long uphill of maybe 3-4km, a dead turn at the end, and a long downhill back with a wibbly bit along the way to collect your lap-marker arm band. Once back in town the course winds tightly around the centre with several narrow parts, right angled turns and absolutely no flat whatsoever. Just like the bike, I don't think there's a single flat spot on the whole run course.
Just like at Bolton it made a big difference knowing there were some close family and friends out there rooting for you, my wife bless her, saw me on every lap twice and cheered me on. I was also running for Macmillan and they seemed to be everywhere, they were in fact amazing, keeping me going at times when I was just exhausted.
I held my pace for the first few laps. The crowd support was outrageous - cheering, clapping, cowbelling, all sorts of kitchen objects being hit with kitchen implements, it was a truly amazing experience. Thank you so much Pembrokeshire for coming out in such force.
I held a reasonable pace for the third lap but really suffered on the 4th as my knees started to complain but overall I think I was just exhausted.
I finally got to the end of the lap and was able to turn left down to the finish.
The run was slow, but the primary objective had been met - and that was to finish the race.
I was so happy, only 5 minutes total slower than Bolton on what could be considered a much harder course.
