Challenge Roth 2014 – Eoin George

You can listen to music on the run but I decided against it. I wanted to experience everything. To let all sounds and support soak into my soul. To enjoy, not endure. Naïve and innocent perhaps but……..

7 days ago I completed my first Ironman in Roth, Germany. 3.8km swim, 180km bike and a 42.2k run. It was not easy. I had entered the race a year ago. 5500 triathletes took part. It sold out in 3 minutes.

I had prepared well. In the 7 months of training in the build-up I had no significant injuries or illness. Getting to the start line in good shape is more than half the battle and I know I was blessed to get to this point. I was nervous in the few days build up to the race. I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for and without that knowledge you could be forgiven. Experience is incredibly valuable and I had none over this distance. What was I letting myself in for? I had no idea.

The evening before the race Jo, Ben & I went for pasta in Nuremberg where we were staying. Ben, my brother (usually the voice of calm), proceeded to warn me that if I wasn’t careful I could die the following day. Temperatures were in the mid 30’s all week and I was Irish. Irish people are not made for this weather. It is funny the moments of race week you remember. As we were finishing up we met a fellow competitor ‘Sven’. He actually asked was I ok! He had done the race several times and put me at ease with some great advice. I was calm & relaxed going to bed. Despite all this I barely slept.

Up at 3.45am. The theme song from Gladiator sounded out as we approached.

The atmosphere at the swim start was electric.

One of the highlights of the day for sure. I have never experienced anything like it.

Music was being blasted out. Better than any rock concert. You could not but smile.

It was moments like this I trained for. I soaked it up. I only had the one moment of concern when minutes before getting into the water a fella told me my wetsuit zip was broken! Unknown to him it zipped from the top down. Still it made for an unnecessary spike in my heart rate.

The swim took me 1 hour and 10 minutes. We set off in waves of about 300 every 5 minutes. It did not take long to catch swimmers from the earlier waves. At times the traffic reminded me of the M50 on a rainy December morning. You just have to get on with it. A couple of times I breast-stroked and when I did the water ran down the legs of my wetsuit. It was hot! Half way around I whipped my swim cap off to try and cool myself down a small bit.

On exiting the water I could hear Jo & Kim shouting at me. That brought a huge smile to my face. In true German style I stripped naked in the transition tent to prepare for the bike with the minimum of fuss.

On the bike exit I seen Ben. One leg down, 2 to go. But really the day was less than 10% complete. Still, I was on a major high as I began the bike. I was doing an Ironman!

I stuck to my plan of just riding along for the first 30 minutes. A couple of friends flew past me. I thought to myself that they were going way too fast. In truth I was both right & wrong. Seamus who I worked with up until last year was one of these speedsters. We actually passed each other out around 10 times on the bike which was memorable in itself.

The bike course is a dream. Rolling hills through small German villages and beautiful lush green Bavarian countryside. I loved it. Even driving it the couple of days previous with Jo gave me goose bumps.

I had thought that a sub 6 hour bike should be comfortably within my capabilities but I wasn’t specifically targeting a time. I was a first timer over the distance and couldn’t presume or expect anything. Factors that you couldn’t be sure of were the wind and heat and both were playing big parts. I ate and drank as much as I could. At every aid station I took on a fresh bottle of water and ISO energy drink. I had a river of sweat on my face for large parts which did have me worried. What could I do though? I just had to get on with it. I passed other Pulsers on the bike and the encouragement was great in both directions. They were all doing great. It is amazing what a few words and a smile can do.

At 75km we went up the famous Soler berg hill. 50,000 fans line the climb and the cyclists are treated to a Tour de France like atmosphere. Words cannot describe the emotion.

Jo & Ben were going crazy when I spotted them. Supporting Pulsers & Irish support were easily spotted and greatly appreciated as I made my way up. They were all going a bit mad. Happiest sporting moment of my life.

I actually felt a bit low in the proceeding few km’s. Such a high had to have a reaction I suppose and I still had 100km to go on the bike! I picked it up though and finished the bike really strong. I was really grateful that I didn’t have any mechanical or punctures on the bike. My heart went out to those who did as I passed them.

I did have a few muscle twinges in my legs on the bike which did worry me. I never had these before. I had been taking salt tablets throughout the bike but had I been taking enough? A 180km bike in these conditions is impossible to recreate in training.

I completed the bike in 6 hours 7 minutes and felt really strong. OK, I was over 6 hours but given the heat I figured this was a smart and clever thing to do. I remembered the advice ‘Sven’ had given me the previous evening. ‘It is not a bike race’. Plenty left in the tank I thought. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for though.

I repeated my trick of earlier and striped fully naked in the 2nd transition. Heidi, a volunteer rushed over to help me change for the run. She was only delighted to help. We had a little chat. She had travelled 500km to be there to help out! I didn’t hang around for a cup of tea though and got on my way.

The crowds on the run start were great. My plan was to walk through all aid stations for the first 12km and turn the marathon into a 30km run. Almost like a trick of the mind. I repeated the words ‘crazy slow’ which was the pace I had planned to start running at. All was going to plan. I was still on a major high from the swim and bike. I high 5’d several other pulsers (David, Vincent, Barry) on the out and back sections early on. Why would you not? Spread and share the love. They all looked in great shape. I first walked at about 17km. (excluding the aid stations) It was up a large hill so it made sense. Save the energy.

At around the half way I met Jo & Ben again. I was struggling. They thought I looked in great shape. The heat was clearly getting to them as well!!!! Up until that point a niggle in a leg muscle or a stitch in my side thought about developing but generally after 30 seconds the feeling would go.

I had a bathroom break before I looped back around to Jo & Ben again. The on course gels were not what was promised and I had some stomach distress. The less said about that the better. From here on in it was downhill but not literally unfortunately. My heart rate was still fine but either my glutes, quads or hamstrings (not sure which!!) were beginning to cause me some deferred knee pain. I had to walk. This happened to coincide with the most agonising and least appealing part of the course. We were heading away from Roth and from the support. It was akin to the dead zone and I was heading straight for it. To be honest even now it is a bit of a blur what happened between 24km and 40km. A world of pain.

There are a few things I remember from my time in the dead zone –

• I was able to walk quite fast but couldn’t run more than 200m before the pain in my knee got too much for me.
• I tried a few mental tricks but my issue wasn’t mental it was physical. I was just making sure. I tried to run 100 steps, then walk, then 100 steps.
• I also remember a large German woman dancing up the road ahead of me near some music. She wanted me to start back running alongside her. I was not in the mood. We ran about 5 steps before she stopped exhausted and I ran another 3 before I did. It’s amusing now, not then even though I did smile!
• A thunderstorm came out of nowhere I think at about 30km. I actually remember getting cold. Lightening lit up the sky like fireworks. It would have amazed me any other day.
• I remember taking my HR monitor off as it was of no use. I remember taking my glasses off and putting my hat on backwards to just change anything to try and get things going. I had to put my glasses back on as the heat was getting at my eyes!
• I tried a few different delicacies at the different aid stations. Jarlath gave me some salt as he passed. All had the same affect. ZERO affect. The km’s slowly passed and I entered the stadium to finish.

You hit red carpet from about 300m out. It is like getting a hit of cocaine. Everyone who was previously walking started to run once they hit the red carpet. It was magic.

I spotted Jo & Ben again and gave a wave. They had had a long day of it but looked to be in good spirits. It was lashing rain at this stage. Crazy weather for a crazy day.

The marathon took me just under 5 hours. Pete Jacobs who won Kona in 2012 gave me my medal. It was a class act from him hanging around to present some medals.

From being in a dark place minutes earlier I was on the crest of a wave again. The emotional rollercoaster was still going with no signs of a slowdown. Watching others finish for the next few hours was as good as any sporting event I have ever been at. Pure joy in sport.

My time was not quite what I wanted but I do accept without having done one beforehand all expectations needs to be tempered. Conditions can be variable and you can only control what you can control. What I really wanted I got and that was to finish giving reward to my training self who had put in hours and hours of hard work and commitment. I owed myself that.

In the last week people have asked me what it was like on the run? I give the same bizarre analogy. If you have ever watch gladiators you will know what I am talking about. At the end of an obstacle course competitors try to run up a ramp that is moving fast in the opposite direction. In Ironman everyone knows that the second half of the run is hard. Everything up until then is only a warm up to that point and this is where the real race begins. I knew this well in advance and gave it every respect but still fell when trying to run up my travelator. 36 degrees of heat does not help I might add.

Struggling on the run leg of an Ironman is a rite of passage. You just have to experience it for yourself. Some are lucky to master it first time. Some are not. You just have to keep trying.