Ironman Austria 2013 – Alex O’Brien

First of all, and before i forget, I just want to say that an Ironman is within everyone’s capabilities!
The only thing that will stop you is yourself.

Right, enough of that……..I had never planned on doing an IM and always thought that it was for total head cases. I started Triathlon in 2011 and planned on just doing a couple of sprint races. Like everyone, i got the bug, and the next summer did a few Olympic distances and was eventually convinced to do Galway Half IM, which at the time i thought was a mental distance, but still swore i would never/couldn’t do a full IM. Needless to say i signed up for Austria a few weeks after Galway through Nirvana.

Training

I never really understood it when people said to me that the hard bit of IM is the training and the race is the easy bit. In fact i thought it was a ridiculous thing to say and made me annoyed, but having been spat out the other side of an IM, i get it. Its all about the training you do before hand and on the day you just put it all together. For me it was probably the most calm i had been leading up to a race, because i was able to trust the training i had done. Make no mistake about it though; the training is a massive bitch for 6 or 7 months.

I started my training in early December purely because i was freaked about what lay ahead and wanted to get a head start. Unlike most i never followed a specific plan, but had picked up the jist of it from hearing others talk about it. My training each week was going to be based on 3 bike sessions (1 long session and 2 short sessions), 3 run sessions (1 long session and 2 short sessions made up of interval running and tempo running), 2 swim sessions with the club, then 2 to 3 strength and conditioning sessions in the gym and a bikram yoga session (keep that on the low down though, its a bit girlie). Even reading all that training it seems mental to me, but after a while you just get use to it and it becomes the norm’, its a strange process.

Cycling up the gap in the snow

There were some grim days in training, mainly on the bike. They ranged from stupidly cycling up the gap in the snow “I’ll go a little further” i thought……”it probably wont get much worse” i thought….”Jaysus, I’m goosed now” i finally thought, after ice formed on my chain rings and brake blocks and i was fairly convinced i was going to die up there. Another rough one involved 4 punctures between me and Ian O’Shea on the one cycle. The other notable one was one when i got my nutrition badly wrong (non-existent) and spent the last hour slumped over the handle bars trying to cry but not having the energy, as Ian laughed (he’s sound like that).

Thankfully i managed to stay injury free all year and i put that down to luck, making sure to always include stretching and roller work as often as possible, and gym work.

The other crucial dynamic in getting me through the year was the club itself and everyone in it. We are lucky enough that we are in a massive club where everyone gets on well and there is a massive amount of knowledge available between all the members and i was certainly trying to tap in to that as often as possible. Between Bryan Harvey, Karl Gohery, Colin Bolger, Darren Hughes and Ger Doyle, the amount of questions i asked must have been in the hundreds, ranging from “how do you whizz on the bike” (it’s not all glamour) to “Which looks more ridiculous…..the onesie tri-suit or the boob tube and hot pants” ……. FYI Onesie wins every time !!!

For me the mental aspect of training was the toughest. The body will adjust if you build at a steady pace and don’t overdo it, but the mental grind in the last two months was really difficult, but its just a case of convincing yourself it’s all worth it.

Well, fast forward 6 months or so and Taper time had arrived. This has been the highlight of my triathlon days. It entailed eating copious amounts of carbs and chocolate, and hanging off the lane ropes in swimming, taking a break every five minutes and telling John “The biggest kick in the northern hemisphere” Gilbert to “Go ahead……I’m on taper”…..i don’t think he was best pleased. The days before we left were spent complying various checklists (didn’t do a tap in work), organising the bike box, buying everything i could possibly think of, getting a more aero haircut, panicking that taper was a bad idea and eating more carbs.

Austria

We flew out on the Friday (Myself, Ian O’Shea, and then my cousin and her husband who was also doing it, along with a buddy of his that was racing, both representing Westport Tri club, and my old dear was coming along too). We arrived in Vienna and picked up our rental car. After a few minutes of teaching Ian how to drive an automatic (that’s not even a joke) we were headed off for the three hour drive to Klagenfurt. Thankfully we managed to stay on course and got to the registration in plenty of time. The Expo at the registration is unreal and it’s so hard not to spend a fortune. To make things worse, the snakes at IM have the registration tent at the far end of the Expo meaning you have to walk by all the coolest tri gear i have ever seen. After a few minutes you begin to convince yourself that you will have a big DNF on the day if you don’t buy some of the gadgets. Registration done, goody bag picked up and we headed for our Hotel which was about 14km out in the sticks to assemble the bikes again and finally put the feet up.

Saturday

My plan was to get a good sleep on the Friday night and leave it as late as possible to get up before cycling in to the race briefing which was at 9. I thought i had made this plan clear to Ian as well…….nope!!! I was woken at about 5am by him. I have since made my feelings clear on this to Ian, but think I’ll take this opportunity to stick the boot in again. The racket out of him was ridiculous, he was playing Battle Ship by himself (he still managed to lose)and eating a bowl of crunchy nut corn flakes in the bed beside me followed by a half hour of going through his phone checking out his various ring tones and commenting on which ones he thought were cool or not. Because we were up so bloody early, we decided to go for a short run, seeing as there is nothing to do at that hour of the night!! The scenery around Klagenfurt is stunning and it helped me get over my strop.

As i mentioned at the start, we booked this trip through Nirvana as they had the only slots left for the race. Looking back on it they did remove a lot of the stress and logistical issues ( despite the fact that we didn’t use them, i would recommend “Ship my tri bike” for transporting the bikes ). On the Saturday morning they brought all transition bags in for us and were taking the bikes in to the transition area but we decided to cycle in. It was a chance for us to spin the legs and also see how proper roads are meant to look like. It really does make life a lot easier cycling on decent surfaces. After the briefing we went for a short swim in the lake, which was probably the nicest water i have ever swam in and really got me in the mood for Race day. It nearly all went horribly wrong though when i swam head first in to a massive massive boat. It wasn’t actually a massive boat, or a boat at all, just a fat headed German out for a dip as well, but for a few seconds i was fairly sure i had just been struck by a cruise liner. We all then set off for one of the biggest meals i have ever had. The tables either side of us were watching in either awe or disgust, i prefer awe. When the deserts came out though it was definitely a look of disgust.

Carb Loading

Disgusting!

Back to the Hotel in the afternoon, to get organised and go over the race day gear again. This was probably the most nervous i got. Despite having my nerdy excel spread sheets printed out and everything ticked off them i couldn’t help feeling i was missing something…….i was …i forgot to bring my iso drinks for the bike. It was a horrible feeling and had resigned myself to the fact that it was all over !!! I managed to compose myself enough to ring Ger Doyle because he was still near the expo and i figured he might be able to grab me something. He went one better and had brought an excess amount of the same Iso drink we had both been training with……NICE ONE GER!!!!

Sunday

Up at 4am for breakfast and down to the bus for the race. We still had a few things to do in transition before the race, pump tyres, put food in the transition bags, gels attached to the bike, run around in circles looking for nothing in particular , 18 toilet breaks, asking every minute….”what time is it ?”…”are you ready ??” “No….are you ??” “No” and then on with the wetsuit and like every other time i have ever put my wetsuit on, as soon as you do that zip up…… “jesus i have to go toilet again”….back in the queue. Out of the last 30 people in transition, about 12 were Irish lashing on more and more layers of sun tan lotion and making jokes about it all to mask the fear and terror inside us.

When we got down to the lake shore, the enormity of the event hit me. It really is amazing, 2 helicopters flying overhead, 3000 other triathletes in uniform, hundreds of people on the piers either side of the start, music at full blast, cheer leaders, and a palpable feeling of nerves, anxiety and excitement.

My plan was to go balls out for the first 400m to try and get away from the masses a little bit so i shuffled my way close enough to the front line and in line with the buoys and waited for the final few seconds to pass.

RACE

Swim

Swim Start

The canon exploded, the red and white smoke bombs were let off and the sprint to the water was on. As planned i went out hard and stayed near the front. The first thing i noticed was the aggression by a lot of the swimmers. I’ve done a fair few tri’s and never got so many smacks that seemed fairly deliberate. I wasn’t really sure on how my pace was but felt i wasn’t far off where i wanted to be. The swim course is an anti-clockwise lap, finishing with a 900m swim up the canal. On the final left turn heading back in-land towards the canal, the sun was blinding and i lost a bit of time having to sight more than regularly. The canal was a bit of a scrap again but knowing the end is getting close helps, as do the supporters along the banks of the canal. I was aiming for around 1.05 in the swim with a slight hope that i might get some good drafting going on and nip under 1hr. I managed to climb out of the water a few seconds under the hour, which put me in a good frame of mind for the cycle. It was a bit of a trek from the water to the transition, but the run is packed with supporters which straight away kicks the adrenaline up a notch. The helpers at IM really are class and make transition so much easier. My transition was clean enough; flying mount for the bike and off i went.

Swim Done 59.27

Bike

Being disciplined on the bike was something i wanted to be mindful of in terms of pace and nutrition. I was going in to the unknown so i couldn’t afford to throw caution to the wind. Again the crowds for the first few Km’s were great and i settled in to a decent rhythm early on. The bike consisted of 2 laps of 90km around some amazing scenery. The first thing that struck me was the power of the Austrian, German and Belgian cyclists on the flats, it was ridiculous. They must have really impressive nutrition!!!!

At various points on the cycle, generally on the climbs, large crowds had gathered and IM had set up Dj’s at the hill tops so the support was class, and they responded whenever you jumped out of the saddle and went to pass a few lads (all those hours on the Sally gap helped).

For about 40km of the race between about 80km and 130km it turned in to a massive draft fest. It got to the point where the marshals could do nothing as pelotons had formed and it was too hard to penalise anyone for it. I managed to stick to my nutrition plan (thanks Bryan) and was well hydrated and full of poxy gels (i hope i never see another gel again) coming in to the last 10km’s of the cycle. A quick calculation of the times and i figured i might be on for a decent time hitting the run. Dismount, rack the bike, head for the tent and runners on.

Bike section done in 5.17…..so far so good.

Run

The fact that i am really struggling to remember the run at all probably tells its own tale. It seems to just be random images. Anyway, the run course is two laps in a figure of eight, any runs through different surroundings which is great and the support throughout, including a large Irish contingent and of course the amazing Pulse support crew. Thanks again folks, it really did help.

Again pace was going to be my biggest issue at the start of the run. I have a habit of just going for it off the bike, but knew this would come back to haunt me. I had never done a marathon before, so this wasn’t the time to be nonchalant with pacing. My first two km’s were a bit fast but i managed to gradually bring the times down and settle in to a steady pace. The frequent aid stations were great and really help break up the run. The heat was rising but it was nothing to intense, apart from one stretch towards Krumpendorf that seemed to be a heat trap and made me feel like my head was going to explode the first time I went through it.

Cramping started to concern me and the salty crackers on the course were lacking in salt, which I figured was fairly crucial on salty crackers. My quads started twitching and going close to cramping any time I over extended, or picked up the pace too much. In hind-sight, maybe this was a good thing as it kept me from pushing too hard too early. Sure enough, one km at a time I started getting closer and closer and it started dawning on me that I was going to finish this and that I might beat the time I was actually aiming for. In to the last three km I started becoming more aware of finishing and finishing strong, but again, the cramping wouldn’t let me, so my next focus was on that all important finish chute look! I also started getting increasingly freaked out thinking about that clip I had seen of the two women getting the chicken legs on the final stretch of IM Kona and thinking that it could happen to me. I was within a couple of 100metres when I could just about make out the announcer saying “55 seconds left for sub 10 hours”. I instantly had two thoughts…happy days…..and I really cannot push any harder here. “20 seconds left to make sub 10 hours”, I knew it was gone, but was delighted that I was going to get that close. It was time to compose myself and get ready to wrap this up. Finally, the “Finish ” sign was in front of me. My heart started racing again and the crowds got louder. Another few strides and it was the bend for the final chute….i’m going to do this. I was honestly trying to savour it all and get a skip and a jump going, but the most I could muster was a high five off the announcer. I just wanted to keep pushing to get over the line, waiting to hear it……. “Alex…you are an Ironman”.

I’ll be honest I have no idea if he even said that as I was out of the game at that stage, but that’s how I’m going to remember it and obviously the crowd going nuts chanting my name with banners etc etc

Run done 3.36

Final time 10:00:37……….yes, those 37 seconds are starting to annoy me a little, and no its not cool to joke about it yet.

Early Run

Final Bend

Finish Line!!

Post-race

It took me a few minutes to soak it all in and realise it was all finally done and dusted. After the race they have a section for post-race massages which was class, but it was also when things started to turn for me a little. I felt a bit shaky after the massage and after asking two people in the space of five minutes what time it was (I had two watches on), I should have seen it coming.
I started throwing up and had unreal stomach cramps and couldn’t stay awake or upright ……MEDIC !!!!!! I slumped on one of the tables in the main hall and waited to die. One of the volunteers spotted me and got two medical staff to drag my ass over to the medical tent. An hour and a half later and a few drips hooked up to me I was slightly better but still getting bad cramps. …..BED !!!! (Fair play to the medical staff, they were brilliant)

Monday

I was really looking forward to a decent lie-on after the race and i’m fairly sure Ian was aware of my plan (you can probably tell where this is going)………..nope. Up at 5.30am. I think this time he was playing Tetris on his game-boy, full blast, followed by a few goes of “Operation” and eating packets of those snap and crackle sweets that pop in your mouth ……….seriously mate ………… WTF ??? Strop dealt with, and we heading in to town. Another dip in the lake (worth the trip alone) a massive feed and it was beer o’clock and awards ceremony time. A few highlights from the awards ceremony were the free beer, Eimear Mullen and Niall Somers podium finishes, the 70 to 75 year old age group winner who clocked a time of 13:24, and the free beer. The night ended in Klagenfurt centre in Clada, the Irish Bar (predictable) with us all in great form, taking turns of holding Niall Somers trophy and downing the much appreciated (until the next morning) free shots of Whiskey from the owner of the Clada.

It all feels a bit weird now that it’s done. What do people do on Saturday mornings? I’ve totally forgotten.

Ironman is a great experience and I’m delighted I did it. As I said, anyone can do one and it is well worth the slog. I swore I would never do another one and I meant it, I really did!! That was until the plane was taking off from Vienna ………See you in 2015 Klagenfurt !!!

Written by: Alex O’Brien