Ironman Zurich – 25th July 2010

In case anyone needs reminding – distances are!

Swim: 3.8 km
Cycle:  180 km
Run:    42.2 km (marathon)

My history
When I heard what an Ironman was a few years ago, I thought it was mad.  Really mad.  Why would anyone do that!  Fast forward a bit, and somewhere along the line, I wondered IF I could do one.  Once I wondered, I thought I’d regret not trying so I ear-marked 2010.  Zurich because that was the one I got into.

I registered in July 2009, so I had a year to mentally prepare.  My main aim was not to get injured training and make the start line in on piece!  It involves a good bit of planning, a good bit of luck and ah, the training!

As I got into triathlon (first one in 2007) via running, my plan was to do the Dublin Marathon in 2009 to build up my endurance.  I finished in 3:30 and also lined up in the Singapore Marathon 6 weeks later with my brother  – as you do on holidays!!  That went well, after a novel 05.30 start, I got to end in just under 4 hours – ahead of 95% of the field – it’s not a good climate for running!

I started going to the Friday night swim sessions in October – these were great for my swimming.  I started specifically training for the Ironman in February 2010 when I could get on the bike after most of the snow and ice cleared.  I tried the turbo a few times but it’s not for me!  So for 4+ months, I swam, cycled and ran a minimum of 3 times each per week building up the distances as time went on.   After my long bike ride on a Sunday, I always went for a short run and tried to run one other day after cycling.     I took time off work after Easter to train & recover so time wasn’t a problem.  The time off was fantastic.

Longest sessions were:
Half Ironman distance training day in May with a small group, training for an Ironman.  It was great training, spent most of the day on my own and the weather was sunny and hot!
Wicklow 200km bike ride followed by a 75 minute run  (a much harder cycle than the Ironman)
A 5hr bike ride followed by a 2.5hr run.
I did an Ironman distance swim in Waterford in early July (sort of lovely when you’re finished after the swim!)
I kept a training log which I was and am very impressed with.  I carried it around a lot as some of you know!  I had to remind myself often that I wasn’t training so that my record would look great!

On 21st July, I made it to Zurich with the bike – it’s more than a tad worrying handing over the bike to baggage handlers!  I’d never brought the bike any farther than a car trip so I wanted to have a few days there before the event in case there were any problems.

So I was on the countdown:  the distances didn’t bother me now as I had done all of them in training so ‘all’ I had to do was put them together and I would make the finish line.

I did though have two main concerns about the event, crowding in the water – I’ve heard that people have suffered broken goggles to broken noses and with a 2,000+ mass start, I was worried something going wrong with my bike that I wouldn’t be able to fix  =  end of Ironman

The day

Weather
As conditions are such a big factor, it deserves a mention.  We were steeped.   After 2 weeks of 35 degrees and water temp rapidly heading towards the 24.5 cut-off, the weather broke on 22nd July and it was wet and miserable for a few days beforehand.   I wasn’t worrying about weather as there’s nothing you can do about it, and the forecast was good for the 25th.   They were right  – it was mid 20s, sunny but with a lot of cloud, not too windy, water temp safely at 23.8!  Yes, wetsuits.

Swim
I went in after everyone else and it worked perfectly.   It was by far the most enjoyable swim of any triathlon I’ve done.   23.8 degree water helps!  I was able to get into my stroke straight away, avoided trouble at the turns and was really happy with my time of 85 minutes.   I took my time in transition, changing into bike gear and was off on my bike.

Bike
Two laps of 90km.    The first 90km went very well, we had a lovely flat start – I’m not used to that after training in Wicklow mountains!  I was well up on my expected time after one lap without pushing myself.  The Zurich Ironman is considered hilly but after the Wicklow training, I found them fine.  Unfortunately, at 95km just when I was telling myself there was a good bit to go yet and not get carried away, I got a puncture.  I was unlucky to get one.   After training on roads that rattle teeth for 5 months,  I was spinning along on a beautiful smooth flat Swiss road and …….  I stayed calm and began changing the tyre.  Luckily a spectator went off to get the on-course mechanics who were nearby and they helped.  So I was back on course after about 10 minutes, but was a bit nervous for the rest of the ride.  The hills also seemed twice as long and high second time round…. I also managed to drop my chain changing gear on ‘heartbreak’ hill!  But got to end of the bike in 7:15.

So I was very happy to get to end make it to start of the marathon.  I knew I’d do the Ironman then unless something went seriously wrong which I wasn’t expecting.     I changed into running gear, pinned my number to my top as the number belt annoys me so it was in my plan – pin number on – forget about it.

Run
The marathon was 4 laps of 10.5km with 5 aid stations per lap.  I planned to run between stations and walk through them so that I could drink.   I did exactly that.  The atmosphere was fantastic as spectators lined the route.  I thought I smiled for the whole run as I knew that I’d do an Ironman that day but on viewing some finisher pix, I wouldn’t call it smiling!!  A marathon is a marathon and this was an end of event marathon.   I hit a dodgy patch at 33km when I thought all power was going from my legs – it was quite strange.  I made it jogging to the next station, managed to get some food down including some pretzels and half a banana.  I recovered and really enjoyed the last few km – it felt like I was sprinting to the finish but I’m sure it looked and was something else!    I was definitely smiling coming over the line  – it’s a fantastic feeling to see that line and hear all the cheering!    Run time:  4:22

One very happy woman.

Ironman Finish Time 13:18

Written by: Aideen Downes