Ironman Frankfurt 2016 – Sam Buck
Facebook Messenger 12 months before Frankfurt
‘Morning boys, little chat amongst ourselves, Ironman Frankfurt!! You guys signing up tomorrow?’
David Sayce 5/7/2015, 8.09am
‘Lads I won’t be registering I’m in France. Considering a full Ironman but I’m not sure Frankfurt is the one. For starters, today non-wetsuit swim (yikes)’
Darren Kearney 5/7/2015, 9.58am
‘I’ll be registering tomorrow’
Anthony Gar 5/7/2015, 10.00 am
‘Good Man… Good Luck (not that you’ll need it)’
Darren Kearney 5/7/2015, 10.01 am
‘Me to’
David Sayce 5/7/2015, 10.02am
‘I’m going to give Barcelona a serious look when I get home. Good luck with the registration’
Darren Kearney 5/7/2015, 11.02 am
‘Barcelona might be an option. Frankfurt just too early in the curve. Good beer at the end though.’
Sam Buck 5/7/2015, 11.03 am
‘Ye fella’s serious about Barca IM? Don’t know what the hell to do.’
Paddy Holohan 5/7/2015 15.57pm
‘Paddy I’m always serious. Frankfurt maybe. Head a bit blown off especially considering I wasn’t interested…’
Darren Kearney 5/7/2015, 17.30pm
‘When’s Frankfurt open for registration?’
Darren Kearney 5/7/2015, 17.35pm
‘Ye Feckers have me mulling it now’
Sam Buck 5/7/2015, 19.58 pm
‘Well lads!! Looks like Frankfurt or bust. What’s the chances of a heatwave two years in a row. Go on Go on’
Paddy Holohan 5/7/2015 21.33pm
‘Decide tomorrow’
Darren Kearney 5/7/2015 22.19pm
‘Darren just text to say he registered’
Sam Buck 6/7/2015, 15.11pm
‘Registered’
Paddy Holohan 6/7/2015, 15.11pm
‘Ye Feckers. Registered as well’
Sam Buck 6/7/2015, 15.17pm
‘Woohooo!!! Ah ye lads have made my day!!! Delighted we all going’
Anthony Gar 6/7/2015, 15.19pm
‘Shit what have we done ‘
David Sayce 6/7/2015, 15.19pm
‘Not sure it’s sunk in for me yet. The beer had better be really nice afterwards!!! Woohoo’
Sam Buck 6/7/2015, 15.19pm
And that was it, the Journey had begun. 2 months after doing my first Triathlon in a pool in Portloaise, the Ironman was booked.
I wasn’t totally new to signing up for stuff that scared the shit out of me. Effectively since I had finished playing rugby, I had been sticking things in the diary each year to work towards. The cycling concept of building up your ‘palmarès’ appeals to me. Tick the box and move on (albeit hopefully a little stronger each time). I had done a fair bit of random stuff over the last few years and am fairly proud of the palmarès I have built up but nothing, absolutely nothing scared me more than the realisation that I had pressed the go button on the Ironman box.
12 Months Later……
‘Come on Sam Buck, Come on’
Smile. Energy. 7km to go. I can see them as I approach the first switch back up past the hotel.
‘You’re doing great Sam. Keep going.’ Screams, shouts, encouragement.
Thumbs up. Positivity.
‘Thanks guys’
Last lap. First marker reached. Christ they won’t have any voices left for the next guy.
Cross the river. Legs okay. Protect my averages. Good man Barry, great mantra.
Next switch back, relax. Make the turn back onto the river.
‘Go for it Sam,’
Glance right. Paul Cunningham. Sound!! 4 hour marathon here I come. Protect the averages.
Aid station. Coke. More Coke. Steady. Slow down? No way.
Spot the Pulsers. Marker No. 2. Few shapes. Grin. Feeling emotional. They have been so fantastic.
Last wrist band. Switch back. Check time. On target. Protect the averages.
Last bridge. Getting close. Family thoughts. Sacrifice, the effort, the juggle. Not for nothing. Hold back emotions.
Turn towards finishing chute. Emotions begin to spill out. Relief. Hold back tears.
Soak it all in. Take a breath. Enjoy the moment. Spot Davy McCabe, Spot the Pulsers. Thank you.
Finish line. Glance at watch 3hr 58m Marathon. 11 hr 34 min Ironman.
‘Sam Buck, you are an Ironman’.
Tears. Relief. Pride.
I really need a beer.
(Official run time was 4.00.15, a solid sub 5 hr effort L)
Ironman Frankfurt 2016 was special. There is no other way of describing it. 17 from Pulse started the race and 17 finished. I have no doubt that most of the group will head on to do more Ironman events but it is difficult to see how this day could be topped from an atmosphere and sheer camaraderie point of view. As a newbie to the whole scene I was blown away. The Pulse support crew wow. Bluntly I feel indebted to the whole bunch. Their input was simply incredible.
The Training
By Christmas I had a plan. I had hoovered up every scrap of information I could find and then spent a few weeks wondering how the hell I would fit it all into my already hectic weeks. My goals for the Ironman were 3 threefold; I wanted my kids in the most part to not even notice I was training for it, I wanted my work to still have priority and I wanted to prepare for it better than I had for any sporting event I had ever done previously.
This may make me sound like a bit of an arse for an Ironman first timer but once I got over the initial shock of registration, finishing it never really concerned me. I suppose I knew I could swim the distance as I had done it in Glendalough (very slowly) in September 2015 and the bike was never really a massive concern as I had managed to get myself to a point where I was somewhat respectable on the bike over the previous few years (it would have been a massive concern 2-3 years ago). I figured worst case scenario I would have to tough it out on the run but knew from years of throwing myself unprepared at various endurance tests that I could probably do it.
A time was never really a goal. I wanted each element to reflect what I had been able to put in training wise but beyond that I tried not to set a target. Invariably it became harder to not put pressure on myself the closer the race got. The weeks I didn’t enjoy were the weeks that expectation had begun to creep in. I absolutely hated the cycle during the Double Olympic in Athy, I nearly stopped at one stage to throw the bike across the ditch. On reflection it was because I had allowed expectations of a strong bike leg in Frankfurt creep into my mind-set. In the end these weeks probably helped on the day as I relaxed and just tried to enjoy it all.
I built much of my training around what was recommended by author Joe Friel. I had done the same on the cycling and it had paid dividends so I did the same this time with the Ironman. He is less prescriptive than Don Fink in that he does not tell you what to do on Monday, Tuesday, etc, which would not suit everyone but he probably suits the way I think because I like to understand why I’m doing something. I tend to lose motivation if I don’t understand exactly why I’m doing a certain workout. Weird I know!! His basic premise being that the biggest gains will come from focusing on your weaknesses in each discipline. At its most basic this is broken down in technique, force and endurance. For instance, endurance or force was not something I was massively concerned about for the swim. I just needed to be more efficient; so much of my early season was spent on my own doing drills and trying to improve my technique. In hindsight, I would possibly have gone a step further and tried to recruit a swim coach of some description. I improved massively but never felt I had that break through moment or that I had nailed it. A niggling neck injury from my rugby days didn’t help.
I had worked on my leg strength for the bike the previous year and saw big improvements. I still felt I could be stronger though, so built in a strength and conditioning progression early in the year with the main focus on the leg muscles. I saw improvements here fairly quickly. The good example being the gear I could maintain at 90 RPM in Kevin’s Tuesday spins creeping upwards fairly quickly. In the end though it was one session to far for me and it got jettisoned (and the gear I could maintain dropped back to normal). The focus went back to simply maintaining my level on the bike with just two sessions, Kevin’s spin class and a longer endurance spin at the weekend with the focus on getting used to the TT position which I had never done before and dialling in my heart rate zones.
The run was the real worry. If I didn’t make the start line it was going to be because of the run. I had completed one marathon in 2012 but since then had pulled out of two more (including DCM 2015) because the legs invariably did not hold up to the training. Running therefore became the number one priority. I had no endurance base, I suspected my technique wasn’t great and was afraid to go near hills to help strengthen my legs due to an Achilles injury picked up doing hill repeats in the lead in to the Dublin City Marathon in October. Not an ideal way to begin contemplating an Ironman Marathon but that was the crux of it.
Running became the religion; everything else could be missed if necessary. Not the runs. Dark, cold, windy, wet, snow, frost, out the door I went. The plan was all about building a running base slowly and safely. 6.00 – 6.30 min/km pace was the standard plod for an hour or so 3 times a week. Warm ups and transition runs brought this to 4-5 runs a week, all slow and steady. I figured Kevin’s spin class was my high intensity session of the week, so other than building in some strides and working on technique it was all about the plod for the first 3 months. On reflection I think those 3 months made the Ironman for me. The closer we got the stronger the running seemed to get and the more I began to actually enjoy running. Before that running was a necessary evil to complete a goal, nothing more. Darren Kearney probably helped as we effectively just nattered away through all the runs and when he wasn’t around in went the headphones and off I would go listening to audiobook after audiobook. Increasingly I was thinking that beating my previous standalone marathon time on the run part of the Ironman was a possibility and would be a pretty cool tip of the hat to all the training. Little did I realise that I was going to annihilate the time by about 25 minutes.
The training generally went well. Mid-week was a grind but I always found the Saturday cycles would nearly re-energise you. The group would change week in week out but there was such positivity that you couldn’t help but enjoy them.
The biggest issue I had happened 3 weeks out when I came off the bike. Initially felt grand but within a few days I knew I wasn’t right. I was increasingly worried that my Ironman was over or that it would be now about simply toughing it out from the start as opposed to enjoying it. After everything that had gone into it this was nightmare stuff. Effectively I just surrendered myself into the hands of Darren Kelly in DK Orthotics for the next 3 weeks. Did exactly what he told me to do and it worked. 3 days before the Ironman I couldn’t run 5km but on the day I felt I could have done another 10km lap if I had needed to. Some turnaround. I had only gone to Darren once before that but he will be my first port of call from now on.
A Little Detail on the Day
The swim has been my most enjoyable to date. Normally I seem to end up in no man’s land in the swims. Not quick enough to hold the feet ahead, while too quick for the people behind. Result. Boredom. Not today. Jumping from feet to feet. Avoiding kicks, taking kicks. Passing people. Great fun. Was buzzing getting out of the water. Threw a few shapes at the Pulsers on the way up to transition and from the pictures I had the biggest happy head on me. 1 hr 21 min on the watch. Holy shit. Was delighted to see Darren in transition. We had a big bear hug. He got through the swim (to his own amazement, not mine). No stopping him now. It’s funny the things that lift you on the day. This was certainly one of them.
swim finish
Spotted Joanna and Keith ahead of me coming out of T1. Passed Joanna in the melee but shouted a well done. Figured Keith was just ahead. I just focused on relaxing and stuffing my face on the first section. It was a very flat spin into the beginning of the bike loops. I had adjusted my Garmin so I couldn’t see speed, only heart rate and cadence. I suppose I had learnt I needed to manage my own expectations of myself on the bike. What I didn’t know couldn’t affect me. My take on the bike leg of an Ironman is that conditions have such a massive part in your end time that it is pointless to focus on speed albeit you invariably will. You could be in great condition on a windy day and get a terrible time but it could be a great time relative to your peers on the day.
Main memories of the cycle involve Pulsers and wind. First person I met was Dee at some point in the first lap. Spent a bit of time teaching her the words to a new tune; Na NaNA NaNa Na Na Na Na Na NaNa!!!! Traded war stories from the swim and then off I went again. Assumed Keith couldn’t be too far ahead as I felt like I was bombing it along. I’m gonna catch him!!
Heartbreak Hill
The turn back towards Frankfurt was straight into a headwind which brought me back to reality. Stuck to my strategy of only looking at the heart rate and cadence and just worked through it. Heart break hill was good fun. Up, up, up, the crowd chanted. The Pulser Support crew was on hand and gave me a good cheer up. Then down into Frankfurt and there again were the Pulse crew roaring us on. Really felt I needed to work on my shapes on the bike. Just wasn’t confident enough to do the ‘Mo’.
I had a good sense of the route and conditions by the second lap and made the call to try and stick to a low Zone 2 heart rate instead of letting myself push into upper Zone 2 and lower Zone 3 which had been the original plan. Swopped to gels on the second lap because the Powerbars on course where just so foul. I mean left out in the sun for 2 weeks foul. Played a bit of havoc with the plan. Couldn’t get my head around the nutritional math so ended up just taking everything I could get my hand on. Worked out okay.
Pulled in beside Siobhan for a chat at some point and gave her the blow by blow account of Darren making it out of the water without cramping. Then off to find Keith. Surely just around the next bend.
At the second turn back onto Frankfurt the storm hit. Holy shit this was not in the plan. Had only just switched my Garmin to show the speed and average speed as I figured I wanted a sense of it in the last quarter. Switched it straight back. The wind and rain was absolutely hammering down. The shoulders were getting sore and I was starting to feel a bit drained to say the least. Plugged away at it but figured I was probably plummeting timewise. I was mentally getting a bit fatigued as well. Definitely the toughest part of the day.
Spotted Anthony ahead just before Heartbreak Hill. Glad to see him. Pulled in for a chat and just felt like staying with him into Frankfurt.
Heartbreak Hill was quiet the second time up it by comparison to the first and I definitely just wanted off the bike. I was soaked and cold. I had held off taking any caffeine to this point and mentally knew I needed it. Before I even hit the run I had changed my nutrition plan for it. Coke was now on the menu from the start.
Getting to T2 was such a relief. 5.57 bike. I had no spare cloths, so I just threw on the runners and went out the door onto the run. I couldn’t feel my toes for the first few Km and even then they felt a bit sore on the left side (subsequently I found out this was because of the bag of salt tablet squashed up into the toes). The first aid station I just emptied the coke into myself and virtually immediately felt right again. It is mad the effect it has. Has to be a bit dodgy. First lap was all about finding my bearings. Michelle, Barbara, Leslie Ann, etc at the hotel. Then the switch back across the river. Invariably spotted one of the other 17 Pulsers here over the course of the run and let a holler. Then onto the straight down to the Pulse base of operations to throw a few shapes. Chris, Lorraine, Jenn, Pam, Niall, Richie, Karen, Eithne’s Dad, etc. Legends. Then down to the next switchback to get the next band and holler at any of the other 17 that were on the same section. Then repeat. Spotted Keith at some stage. We talked after and I must have passed him as we left T1. Hadn’t realised and spent the whole bike looking round the next corner for him.
on the run
I tried to just stay relaxed for as much of the run as possible. I think starting the third lap I realised that 4 hours was on for the Marathon and that unless I absolutely bonked sub 12 was a given for the Ironman. These were great number for me, really great. I just felt good. I had kept very relaxed for the first two laps probably helped by the fact that I ran a good chunk of the second one with Paddy. I think I had also confirmed that everyone from the club was out on the run course at that stage. I wouldn’t say it was a weight off the shoulders but i do remember getting a lift from the news. I knew once everyone had made the run course they would finish no matter how long it took them. I knew them, they would. I seem to remember just making a call in my head to kick on as best I could. 11.34 in the end was a time beyond my wildest expectations and a 4 hour marathon, 25 minutes better than my marathon PB. Ecstatic. Pity about the non-alcoholic beer at the finish line though!!
You are an Ironman!
What’s Next…
I love the process of sticking something in the diary and working towards it. I love the event itself and I love the partying afterwards. What the next box to be ticked is I really don’t know. Part of me would love to kick on and try and really master the swimming. Part of me hates swimming. Same could be said for running. There has been some talk of the Alp D’Huex Triathlon which is certainly on the bucket list. It looks unbelievable. Next year is probably a year or two too early for me though from a balancing commitments prospective.
After watching the Dublin Marathon this year, an early season Marathon certainly has peaked my imagination. The Wicklow Way relay also sounds appealing if there was a team. On the Triathlon side I suspect I’ll target the later season events with the exception of Hell of the West with the Lost Sheep being the grand finale with a few more stuck in to complete the National Series piece.
One thing I will say for certain though is that I will be cheering Pulsers on at Ironman Barcelona next year and I simply cannot wait.
Final Thought
Darren, Paddy, Anthony, Claire, Siobhan, Eithne, Keith, Andrea, Joanna, Mick, Paul, Kevin, Susan, Michael, Dee, Alan (and Dave Sayce Mallorca Ironman); It’s been emotional!!