swim-mates

Norseman here I come

lisairlam — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:32:00 +0000

Well it’s a good few weeks now since I found out I had a place in Norseman 2013 (www.nxtri.com) supposedly the toughest triathlon in the world! It’s a ballot to get in and 5 times as many entrants as places. Husband Jim and son Chris wanted to do it so they entered, I quietly put my name in too without telling them. The day before the entrants were picked (after a few glasses of wine) I spilled the beans that I had entered too. They were rather surprised to say the least. I haven’t completed in a triathlon for 4 years, having been busy growing Swimovate and really lost the passion for it.

When the entrants were announced I was one of the lucky 250 to get a place, Chris was in too but Jim alas didn’t make it. My first thought was “oh my, do I really want to do all that training?”. I have raced 3 Ironmans before but not for a few years and have certainly not trained hard since then. I can count all the bike rides I did last year on one hand and all my runs were under 1 hour. It was going to be hard work for sure and it’s the hardest one it the world!

Jim was really amused, he says it’s like a switch has been turned on in me. I embraced the challenge and got stuck in. Rather than avoiding the bike (which I got extremely good at) we have learned to be friends again. I’ll be very close to it the next few months! I entered Wokingham half marathon to kick things off and even came 3rd lady Veteran at the Triathlon Show 10k last weekend. I am nowhere near the level I used to be but seeing progress all the time. My body is changing shape (for the better) and have a full Ironman plan to train to now.

It’s going to be a hard few months but bring it on. I’m sure I will have plenty of bad times but I know I can come out the otherside. Ironman training builds character! Not sure I can do the 4m jump of the ferry but one step at a time
www.nxtri.com

Here comes the sun. A day in Kona.

lisairlam — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:56:00 +0000

Simon here.

The spoils of war.

So 15 weeks after qualifying in Frankfurt, I finally made it to the start line at the Ironman World Championship in Kona Hawaii on 13^thOctober. The lead up had not gone too smoothly having fallen off my bike 7 weeks prior and badly bruising my ribs. This meant that my training had been somewhat compromised, but with support from my family, and with a little help from my friends, myself and my wife and 2 children finally arrived in Hawaii a week before the race. The atmosphere was incredible as the whole race takes over the town, and where the world’s best Ironman triathletes come together. It was a surreal experience and took a while for me to accept that I was one of them, the atmosphere really was something. We enjoyed some swimming and snorkelling in the lead up to race day, but I also had to fit in a couple of rides and runs, as well as several swim training sets where I was joined by my daughter Stassi. Swimming in the ocean where tropical fish look back at you, and dolphins leap 20 ft away from you, is a world away from knocking out lengths at the local pool. 3 days prior to race day I suffered a flare up of an injury I have been managing all year, and could barely walk. At that point I couldn’t even contemplate starting the race and was in emotional turmoil. I did the only thing I knew might help, and spent the following 2 days continually icing my hamstring, which slowly started getting better. Fortunately it calmed down, and by the day before the race, I was confident that I would make the start. Race day started early with a 4 am alarm followed by a very light breakfast of cereal. Then down to race start for body marking and to get ready for the start. In transition, I met with my friend Arne from Oslo. We had met 2 years previously at Ironman Nice where he beat me by 12 seconds. Last year we raced each other again and I beat him by 9 seconds. Incredible! And here we were

Is this more aero?

That’s me in the blue cap.

again, a day in the life of 2 good friends brought together by Ironman. On paper I was faster on the swim and bike, but Arne is a super fast runner, and if anyone was going to run me down, this Norwegian would. We wished each other luck as the start approached. With approx 2000 starting in the ocean at 7 am, the swim was, as always, messy and physical. However, as the turmoil played out on the surface, when I looked down into the ocean and saw all the fish below, I understood what a unique race this was, and decided that I was going to enjoy this day in my life, regardless. Being a non wetsuit swim due to the water temp, my swim time was going to be slower than normal, but I was pleasantly surprised when I exited the swim in 1:13:55hrs. All those lengths logged in the pool seemed to have paid off. Then out onto the bike for the 112 mile ride. It soon became apparent that the heat was going to play a major role in the day as my feet started cooking and energy was slowly being soaked out of me. As the bike course crawled up the long and winding road to halfway at Hawi, the famous Ho’omumuku sidewinds were living up to their reputation and blowing us all over the place. Then I had to get back to Kona into a headwind that meant that my bike split of 5:30:04hrs was a bit slower than I was hoping for. Running a marathon anytime is a major test, but after nearly 7 hours of exercise, it is a real battle of will to do. Fortunately there are feed stations approx every mile on the course, and my effort was focused on reaching the next station to stock up on fluids and ice, before continuing to the next. And so it went for the rest of the run with the addition of having to stretch out cramping calves and hamstrings from mile 12 onwards. At mile 16 the course heads into the Energy Lab, an out and back loop through the solar panel fields. On my way back out I passed Arne going in. As we passed, we said hello goodbye. I hoped I had enough of a lead on him. As I approached the town towards the finish, the support from the spectators lifted me, and with shouts of encouragement from the crowd to break 11 hours, I lifted my pace and pushed to the finish. My family were along the finish chute and I was able to grab a union flag from them before crossing the finish line in 10:55:34hrs having run a painful 3:58:31hr marathon. In the end, Arne finished 12 minutes later, so it is currently England 2, Norway 1. All pain and suffering stop once over the finish line, and the culmination of all my training, hopes, and dreams, became reality. This race is the Holy Grail for ironman triathletes, and now I have had the privilege of being part of it. We were fortunate enough to have a week after the race to enjoy some down time and me, my wife Debbie, and Stassi and Raff, my children, swam, snorkelled, visited the volcano, and relaxed. I will now enjoy some down time and concentrate on building my sports massage business. I’m not sure when I will race Ironman again, perhaps when I’m sixty four! I will definitely start training again soon, and will try to qualify for the Olympic distance world champs as a GB age grouper next year. So watch this space, tomorrow never knows!

Done, and done.

Best Larry Grayson impression.

With huge thanks to Lisa at Swimovate for her support in helping me get to Kona.

Ready for the Big One

lisairlam — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 07:53:00 +0000

Aloha, Simon again.

The last few weeks of training leading up to coming out were really good and swimming has been going pretty well. After a summer of plodding around the lakes, I was very pleasantly surprised when I got back in the pool. My Poolmate Pro doesn’t lie, and I have been encouraged by my lap times which are about as good as they have ever been!

And now I’m finally here! Kona, the big one. It’s just so surreal being here, seeing the things that I have read and heard about, the town, the Queen K Highway, Ali’i Drive, The Energy Lab, the lava fields, Island Lava Java! And all the athletes out training on their speed machines (none as good as the Planet X, obviously) or running up and down Ali’i Drive. Today I was one of those athletes! I did manage to get a swim in yesterday with my daughter, who swam away from me with ease, but today I was out on the roads, on my beloved bike. The heat is just incredible, stand still and it feels like you are going to melt, but as soon as you get moving, it becomes bearable. It’s clear I’m going to have to take on loads of fluids on Saturday. A 30 mile ride, then off to the beach with the family for snorkeling! It’s like swimming in an aquarium. Then a 40 minute run along Ali’i Drive. Faris Al Sultan, the winner from 2005 ran past. Then when I got back to the beach, he was there sat in the ocean, cooling off! Race registration opens tomorrow, so I’ll get that done, then some light training through to Saturday. Can’t wait to get it done, can’t wait to get in some beers!

Aloha for now.

The road to Kona.

lisairlam — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:58:00 +0000

Simon again.

It’s a bit of a cliché but the road to Kona is beset with obstacles. The biggest obstacle of course is qualifying. All the training, preparation, organisation, performance on the day, etc. Ok, so fortunately I managed that in July, but as I have documented recently, the obstacles don’t stop. I finally managed to get over the bike crash obstacle last week, so started running again. Of course, it wasn’t long before the next obstacle tripped me up, with a hamstring strain. D’oh! Still, conservative management and a bit more patience and that has been overcome. However, nothing compares to the last week. It appears that I have been unwittingly involved in a game called ‘Let’s kill the cyclist’. It’s a fantastically exciting game, designed to keep your heart rate at near maximum levels, your nerves fried, and extricate a huge repertoire of swear words. I also, now, realise why there are pads in my bike shorts. So, at the beginning of the week, a bus, on 2 separate occasions, overtook me and tried to squeeze me into the grass verge, then on Wednesday, another bus (they’re such a lot of fun) pulled out of a side turning in front of me whilst the driver, grinned and stuck his tongue out at me. What a laugh! To top it all, on Saturday whilst I was travelling along at what I can only describe as ‘a fair old lick’, a car pulled straight across my path. I really did think I was history, but managed to swerve around the back of it, as my adrenalin shot up to level ‘brown’. Then, barely 200 yards later, with my speed increased via the adrenalin to ‘full whack’, another motorist pulled up to a side junction, waited until I got much closer, then pulled out in front of me. I nearly did a Stephen Bayliss. So now I’m off to lock myself in my bedroom and hide under the duvet for the next 2 weeks. For the rest of you boys and girls, let’s be careful out there.

Back up and running.

lisairlam — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:32:00 +0000

Simon here

3 weeks since my last blog, and 3 weeks since my embarrassingly stupid fall from the bike. Can’t say it’s been pleasant, but I am now getting back to normal training. The cracking Indian summer that we have been experiencing has, at least, made it lot to get out on the bike, and makes the lake swimming an unexpected bonus. Have to say that I have had to put the wetsuit back on though, bit chilly in the mornings.

I picked up my Swimovate kit from Lisa at the weekend and am looking forward to spreading the word across the lava fields of Kona! Tried the race suit out on a bike/run session on Saturday. School boy error, forgot the Vaseline! Not the first time either as I suffered some ‘intimate chafing’ at Frankfurt, due to Vaseline absence. Still, once bitten..twice bitten.. err..stupid.

This weekend saw the Challenge Henley iron distance race where Eton Tri Club (the club that I am a member, of along with Lisa and Jim from Swimovate) man a feed station on the run course. For the first time ever, I saw the race from a different perspective and spent the day offering such delight as ‘coke, water , Hi 5, gel’ which I only repeated a couple of thousand times. But it was such a brilliant day, helping these people achieve their personal goals and seeing the last runner go by at 10:30 at night was very humbling. It’s amazing what people go through to do the race. The overall winner for instance seemed to have suffered some gastrointestinal distress but was not willing to stop and lose 1^st place. What I had originally thought were some strange brownish sweat stains, weren’t. Let’s face it, he was literally sh*tting himself. He shall remain nameless. (It was multiple Ironman winner Stephen Bayliss.) I can only hope that the prize money was worth it!

Down to earth with a bump.

lisairlam — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 20:41:00 +0000

Simon here,

So the plan was to steadily build the training to get back to the level of fitness and ability as I was going into Frankfurt. I was sensible, rested well, slowly increased volume and intensity, and got back to a training schedule. As I eluded to in my previous blog, however, was the dawning realisation that I am actually 46 years old, and whilst I take great pleasure and encouragement from competing with, and dare I say beating, athletes much younger and better looking than me, my body is starting to have a bit of a whinge. Frankfurt was my 6th Ironman in as many years, and in the excitement of heading to Kona, I seemed to have forgotten what I was saying to myself (out loud I hasten to add) during the run in Frankfurt. “This hurts so much, I really think my body needs a rest.”
Now I have started getting pains that I haven’t had before, in my knees, add that to my Achilles tendonopathy that I have been managing for the last 2 years, and the hamstring tendonitis that I have been dealing with since last November,, it’s time to take a good look at how to make sure I get the best for myself and my family, friends and supporters in Hawaii.

The final straw was on Sunday morning when I went over the handle bars of my bike, spectacularly stupidly, and in front of a large group of lycra clad triathletes. I was going very slowly and landed on my back, completely knocking the wind out of me. After about 10 minutes I tried to ride on but the pain in my back was also matched by the pain in my knee, and for once, I conceded defeat and went home, tail between legs, and wanting to crawl into a ball and cry.

Bruises and repairs.

Suddenly my perspective has changed from how well I can do, to getting to the start line. So some enforced rest whilst my bruising calms down, a trip to my good physio friend for an assessment/service, my other mate for some massage therapy, and a slap in the face wake up call. It’s very easy to base your expectations on what you read, or what you think other peoples perceptions are. I should know better, I’m not new to this, I’m also a sports massage therapist, so I really, really should know better. The hardest part of Ironman is the journey to the start line, not the finish line. Make sure you have a safe journey.

An epic swim

lisairlam — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:58:00 +0000

Lisa here, one of the companies we have supported this year was Henley swim. They organise several races in the Thames but had been hit by unseasonable water levels and unfortunately had to cancel their other events this summer. One of those that remained was the epic Bridge to Bridge challenge, 14.1km between Henley and Marlow in the wonderful Thames valley countryside. I remember saying to my friend Louise a few months ago, I’ll do it if you will. Nothing happened and we both thought it was perhaps a step too far having only swam a maximum of 4km in a session before. However 2 weeks ago Louise texted to say she was keen. Could I do it on 2 weeks training?

TRAINING

I swim 2-3 times a week usually between 1500m to 2km a session. I swam 2011 Challenge Henley 3.8km swim in 1 hour 15 mins. Could I swim nearly 4 times this? It would be a huge challenge but I needed one.

So 2 weeks of panic training it was. I knew it wouldn’t increase my fitness level but swimming is a technical sport so if I could improve my muscle memory and technique that would be a help.

I swam every day, sometimes twice a day, both in the pool and local lakes, and averaged about 15km a week with a maximum swim of 5.5km. I was amazed and relieved to find it was working, I felt stronger in the water and was definitely getting faster. My final session was a 1km time trial in the pool which I clocked at 17:45, a good 1 minute faster than I could have done 2 weeks earlier. I have utmost respect for the professional swimmers turning out 15km a day! I’ll never be anywhere near that and know I need technique lessons to really make progress but I did make a difference.

THE SWIM

The morning of the swim arrived, the sun was shining and the swimmers jovial. Ironman world champion Chrissie Wellington was laughing with others glad in wetsuit and foot cast (we hoped she wasn’t going to swim in that!) and mega swimmer Prof Greg Whyte, coach to celebrity David Walliams was limbering up. Louise and I were apprehensive but excited. The river was calm and a warm 20 degrees. There lots of PoolMates on arms and several skins swimmers but we were glad we had wetsuits on when we jumped in, it was still noticeably cool. We all swam upstream to the bridge and waited for the start. Although the river didn’t seem to be noticeably moving, the current was readily apparent once we started and we had to swim to stay in place waiting for the gun. Were we glad the race was downstream J

The swim is run as a sportive rather than a race, there are 4 stops en route to navigate the locks, get food and drink and have a breather. After the first lock at 4km you are grouped with swimmers of similar speed and swim together for safety. The first 1km was a bit of a bun fight, there was a lot of swimmers all around. Although not as bad as an Ironman race I did get bashed a kicked a bit which brought up my heart rate and I can remember wondering if I could get through this. We swam through the camp site for the Henley Rewind festival watched by surprised revellers and made it to the first lock at Hambleden a little calmer. I was planning on 20 minutes a km but was surprised to see my trusty PoolMate showing 58 minutes for 4km! That was under 15mins a km, the current was making a difference alright. I got placed in one of the middle groups and had a 20 minute wait and refuel before starting the next leg. I noticed Louise in the mass behind me and started to worry I’d gone off too hard as she is faster than me in the pool.

The next leg was about 3km to Medmenham. I settled into a good rhythm at the front of the group to keep out of trouble and despite a wrong turn and having to retrace our steps (strokes?) a little, we made it to the next stop feeling good and having swam more than I ever had before! The food stops consisted of Mars bars, Boost bars, bananas, get buzzing bars, Isotonic drinks and water. I had taken a couple of gels in my wetsuit legs too which were a welcome addition and tried to eat as much as possible knowing I would need it later on.

No one was really sure how long the next leg was but it didn’t matter, the sun was shining and the mood was uplifting so we kicked off. We swam past wonderful houses, amazing countryside, bemused walkers, rowing clubs and cabin cruisers to Hurley and passed the 10km mark where my arms were starting to feel the distance but I still felt strong and knew I would finish ok. The next stage was only 1.3km so 20 minutes later we were out again and ready for the last leg. Everyone was doing well and jubilant. As we jumped back in someone started singing Amarillo, the swimmers were clapping and a guy on the top of a boat started dancing. To the tunes of Oggy, Oggy, Oggy we were off and the last 2 km to Marlow Bridge beckoned.

I finished 4:30 hours after the start, we spent about 1 hour at the locks so was swimming for about 3:30 and thoroughly enjoyed it. The camaraderie of long distance events is always special and this was no exception. I can’t wait to do it again next year and wow, I’ve swam 14.1km! Louise came in a little later having had to wait longer at locks for the slowest swimmers but I think everyone finished. Needless to say I didn’t see Chrissie and Greg after the start but I hear they had a wonderful day too.

Credit is due to the guys at Henley Swim for a very well organised day. Ensuring the safety of 200 swimmers of differing abilities on 14km of river is a hard thing but they pulled it off. Thanks Georgina, Tom, Jeremy and everyone else.

Olympic inspiration and Kona dreams.

lisairlam — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 16:49:00 +0000

Simon again, I’ve just witnessed an amazing 2 weeks of sporting excellence, only surpassed by the reaction of the British public. I never believed that this supposedly reserved nation would so fully embrace the Olympics like it has.

I have been very fortunate to have been to 4 events, 3 of which were free to attend (road cycling, time trial, and triathlon), and 1 of which I was very lucky to have been given tickets to at the last minute, the rowing. I have been present to see GB win 4 gold’s, 2 silvers, and a bronze. How these athletes keep their motivation for a four year cycle is amazing. In my own little world, I have my personal Olympics coming up in October in Kona. This will undoubtedly be the pinnacle of my sporting achievement. I have always maintained that the hardest part of racing an Ironman is getting to the start line. The physical demands, psychological torment, time demands, the constant battle with injuries, all push the mind and body to the limits. If you make it to the start line, then that’s the hardest bit over with. Having left everything on the run in Frankfurt, it’s been even tougher to get my head round training for the big one in October.

Having had a great day at Eton watching GB win 2 gold medals and a silver on the middle weekend, and an evening out to look forward to, getting out for a run was a major struggle. My son asked me what was wrong with missing just one session, would it really matter. Truth is, it probably wouldn’t really make a difference, but why cut corners now when I only have a couple of months left to the biggest race of my life? So the run was done, and the battle of the mind was won. And now we are away on our annual holiday in Devon, in a location that would rival any on the planet for its stunning location, serenity and tranquility. And the bike has come too, along with the running shoes. So inspired by the Brownlee brothers and their awesome skills, I set off on my long run yesterday, over the cliffs of South Devon.

The Brownlees are superb fell runners, and for a short while, I was also a fell runner, that is to say I almost fell, running. Whoa there a minute, time for a reality check! I’m 46 years old and my body is old and knackered. I really don’t need to throw myself down the cliffs and break my already fragile body to prove anything other than my utter stupidity. So re-evaluate, re-assess, and engage brain. My goal for this run was just to develop strength endurance, not to break records, or bones. So another week closer to Hawaii, another run done, another hilly bike ride completed, and one more battle in the head won. When the going gets tough I just think to myself, “What would honey badger do?”

Kona bound!

lisairlam — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:08:00 +0000

Picking up Hawaii slot.

Greetings blog readers, I’m Simon, a 46 year old tri fanatic. Some people say that I should know better, act my age, and do what normal folk do. I say no, I’m not giving in to age, I’m going down kicking and screaming! I live in Maidenhead in England(near to the Queen in Windsor!), have a very understanding wife, 2 children, and a big hairy dog. I am a sports massage therapist, and have my own practice, SB Health . 6 years ago I took up triathlon, racing my first event on my mountain bike, just hoping not to finish last at a super sprint triathlon. And now here I am, a 6 time Ironman finisher with number 7 only eleven weeks away, the big one, the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. When I joined Eton Tri Club, I met Lisa and Jim Irlam(Swimovate). They had just raced their first Ironman in Austria and sowed the seed in my head. Since then it has become part of me, it’s just what I do. 3 weeks ago I raced at the Ironman European Champs in Frankfurt. My primary goal was to try and break the 10hr mark, before I really am too old! The secondary goal was a coveted slot at Kona. At the end of the race on July 8th a dream became reality. I broke 10hrs, finishing in 9:47:35, and won a qualifying slot for the race and trip of a lifetime. I left everything out on the course, my legs were shredded. Now I’ve got to do it again! I am incredibly fortunate to be supported by Swimovate and am very excited to be the official Swimovate athlete at the World Championship in Kona.
In between the training, I will be racing at Challenge Henley, doing the bike leg as part of Team Swimovate.
Over the next weeks I will continue to blog about my training, thoughts, and generally just ramble on inanely. Now, where’s that cake?

lisairlam — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:23:00 +0000

Just back from Lanzarote where my husband and son raced in the Ironman. Husband Jim has done a few before but Chris, 21, was an Ironman virgin. Both survived to race another day!
Here’s Chris’s reminiscence from the big day.

October 2011. After a mountain bike race season plagued with crashes and disappointing race results, I decide to bite the bullet and enter an Ironman Triathlon, despite having done just one triathlon several years back (and having said “Never Again” when finished), having not run or swum in about 3 years and having a big dislike of long distance cycling/events in general. How hard can it be?

Having heard the rumours that the intense training for an Ironman can actually reduce your lifespan, I decide to remedy this by doing as little training as I can possibly get away with – Instead I went to visit friends at university every week and lived the student lifestyle on shots of Sambuca, rum and gin. Whilst under the influence I’d feel great confidence assuring my friends that I’d just “Man up on the day and deal with it”. I ended my training with a maximum swim of 2km, longest cycle of about 3 hours and longest run of a couple of hours- Perfect.

I knew I hadn’t done enough training, heat acclimatisation or open water swimming but there was nothing I could change about these factors now, so I just had to get a plan together and stick to it.

5am the alarm goes off, after a terrible night’s sleep thanks to a party happening in the same hotel. Breakfast is wolfed down and we walk down to the race area and get ready for the swim.

7am. 1800 competitors run down from the beach into the sea and begin swimming. The first lap is horrendous, with people attempting to swim over the top of you, getting hit and kicked in the face. I’m no swimmer and expect the swim to take up to 1hour 45mins, however upon exit of the first swim lap, I am just 44mins into the race – spurred on by this news and reasoning that the rest of the ironman is done using your legs I decide to go all out for the final lap and see If I can reduce the lead that my dad would inevitably have. The second lap was probably my favourite point in the entire race – the fist fights are a little more sparse and some of the fish swimming amongst the coral are amazingly colourful. I exit the swim at 1hr 24 into the race, over 20 minutes faster than I was expecting.

After a quick change into my bike gear, I get onto my bike literally side by side with dad. This is slightly unexpected, but puts me in good spirits ready for the cycle. Cycling is supposedly my strength and the plan is to stick at a very modest 200watts for the entire cycle, to hopefully leave me with plenty of energy left for the marathon which is unknown territory. The course was tough, it doesn’t seem to have a flat section on it – you are either going uphill or downhill against the incessant wind. Despite the heat, I am enjoying the cycle as the scenery is incredible, roads smooth and I get chatting to a chap from the Lake District which takes my mind off of the 500m climb up to Timanfaya. He eventually decides to drop back and I’m on my own again. A nice fun flowy descent follows where I relish the opportunity to overtake the guys decked out in aero helmets with full on TT bikes.

About 70miles into the cycle, I’m on the hardest climb of the course, it’s probably at the hottest point in the day, it seems there hasn’t been an aid station in about 20 miles and I’ve run out of drink. I begin to realise that despite being disciplined and maintaining the power, my legs are feeling heavier and I’m fatiguing. “Hitting the wall” or “Bonking” is the dreaded situation for any long distance racer and I had not expected for it to happen so soon – negative thoughts ensue and I begin to get worried about how I’m going to finish the bike, let alone the marathon.

As cliché as it sounds, giving up was never an option, and that thought never went through my head during the entire race – So many of my friends at university knew I had entered and were ripping the piss out of me for having done as little training as I had. Pride wasn’t going to let me give in. The thoughts that I did have however, was the medical state I’d be when I did finish or the possibility of being forced not to finish due to collapsing from heat exhaustion etc.

My only hope at this stage was my “Special Needs” bag at 80miles which I had put a couple of bottles of “High5 XTreme” energy drink – packed full of stimulants (equivalent of 4 cans of Red Bull) and sugar, I hoped this would put me back in the game. As predicted, 10 minutes after drinking it, I was BUZZING. With the wind behind me, cruising down beautifully smooth roads back to Puerto del Carmen at over 45mph has got to be one of the high points of the race. The last few remaining miles and climb passed quickly. 6h 45mins of cycling, 112 miles, done!

Trying to comprehend starting to run a marathon when you’re already exhausted and legs are shaking whilst supporting you standing is horrendous– hence the 15 minutes I spent in t2 with my head in my hands thinking “What the bloody hell am I doing here”. I attempt to work out if I’ve got enough time to walk the entire marathon, but at the time I just can’t do the maths in my head and decide it’s about time I read my wristband which Mum had lovingly wrote “Harden the **** up” on.

At each aid station I force myself to think as logically as possible – trying to taking on salts to replenish those lost in sweat, not drink too many carbonated drinks which could unsettle my stomach, not too many caffeinated gels etc. I looked forwards to the pieces of orange and wet sponges that I could stuff down my top to cool me down.

Towards the end of the marathon, my right ankle for whatever reason became very painful to walk or run on, and as a result had to walk a large proportion of my last lap. Within this last lap I lost 15 minutes over 6km to dad, who ran the entire marathon. I managed to get myself together for the final km and ran (/hobbled) to the finish line where I was screaming and shouting down the finish chute. Being told over a loud speaker “Chris Irlam, YOU. ARE. AN. IRONMAN” is going to take some beating!

Just under 13 and a half of the most unpleasant hours I could ever wish to experience. By the time I had sat down and wolfed down a bit of food and a beer, my legs and ankle were so painful I had to be carried by Mum to a Taxi for the 400metre trip to the hotel.

Got to say a big thank you to Keith and Glynnis for being the words of wisdom having done the race before, ferrying us around the island to check the bike course out, sloshing on sun cream in transition and picking up our bikes and kit when we finished – couldn’t have done it without you guys!

Never again……… until Norseman