Where to start? Its been a bit of a personnel journey to Bolton Ironman. It started back in 2007, when I got the idea to do the Nantwich sprint Tri. This was followed by numerous Olympic distance triathlons in 2008 and then some Olympics and a Half Ironman last year,then the big one. This is not to mention the numerous half marathons and bike events along the way.
Ironman is all about proper Nutrition and Pacing ,one is no good without the other. Having a race plan and sticking to it, even if your tempted to speed up during a race. The biggest nightmare, after all that effort; is a DNF.
I had read and re-read all the available articles in the 220 triathlon, the monthly magazine I subscribe to ; which seemed to pop through the letter box far too frequently in the months leading up to the race. Getting to the start line was a feat in itself,avoiding injury and illness,packing in all the training,holding down a full time job and keeping a marriage together. Quite a juggling act for someone who can't juggle.
So to the race itself - 2180m of climbing on the bike, followed by 459m of climbing on the run. Stats which don't give you any impression of the pain and suffering when written down. It didn't even register with me, until a couple of months ago; that the run course was anything other than flat! (Note to self - Read the website details properly!!)
The alarm clock went off at 2.00 am Sunday morning, the time which I had to get up, to get my breakfast and drive to Bolton; to be then bused into T1.
The Swim 6.00 a.m
1367 people stood at the side of the lake, but for some reason most seemed reluctant to get into the murky waters of Pennington flash to get out to the deep water start line. I decided to go for it and swam my way up to the canoes, denoting where the pros were swimming from and ended up about 5 metres behind the start line. It wasn't part of the plan to be so close the front.
Before hand I couldn't imagine starting a race amongst that many people and expected a lot of physical violence to ensue after the horn blasted. In actuality I went off well to the right hand side of the anti - clockwise course, so staying out of the bunching against the marker buoys,on the left. This paid dividends as by the first turning point the field were well spread out.It didn't stop me from being climbed over, a couple of times by faster swimmers. For some reason I was a bit emotional in T1 when I realized I had just posted a 59.04 swim, it must have been the low blood sugar.
The Bike
Imagine riding up "The Brickworks" three times as part of a 3 lap 112 mile bike course, that'll give you some idea what riding up "Sheep House Lane" is like. It was a bit of a bitch.
Even having done a number of recky rides it still felt pretty nasty.My granny ring on my trusty Trek was a saviour and I felt sorry for all the guys on the out and out TT bikes trying to push big rings, up the hill.
Some of the highlights of the bike were,being stung on the leg by a wasp on lap 2 which fortunately didn't end up with my leg swelling up like balloon.
Passing numerous people with punctures by the side of the road and thinking - there but for the grace of god (even thou I'm not religious)
Being lapped by the leaders whilst I was on lap 2 was slightly demoralizing, as was rain and the North westerly winds that seemed to have picked up from the morning.
Seeing "Team Dines" and Mark on lap 3 thou, was a real boost and made the last lap go by quicker, even thou my lap times dispute this.
12 Gels and 3 litres of sports drink later I arrived at Blackrod school -T2.
The Run.
I had read in 220 that you should do the Ironman shuffle out of T2, to avoid your hamstrings rebelling. I think my whole Marathon could have been described as a shuffle, interspersed with bouts of hobbling. The three laps went by all too slowly but Jim's tip about walking though the feed stations really helped me get to the finish line.
A couple of times it went through my mind about Jim and Ed's time in Nice and I wondered if I could possibly......but then I gave myself a good talking too and realized it was going to be a spectular achievement, just to make the finish.
I must admit I had had a lump in my throat when the commentator at the finish said "Andy Dines" you are an Ironman. Again it must have been the low blood sugar.
Final round up - 33rd in age group and 337th overall.
12 hours an 14 minutes.
Big thanks go out to "Team Dines" and all at Knutsford Tri Club for getting me to the start line and helping me to become an Ironman.
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