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ironman lanza 2012
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So where are the race reports?! *drums fingers on table*
C'mon guys, this is no time for rest and recover, you have reports to write!!
Congrats guys!!
well done both of you.
Well done, Guys. Stunning time, OC
!
Fantastic going you two.....well done.
Looking forward to reading those reports.
Pre race - the race briefing was a bit different to the IM briefings I have been to before. ?? It was done by the race director - he's about 60+, with his white hair in a pony tail - bit of an aged hippy. ??Credit where its due though, he has been running this for 21 years.... ??It was all a bit amateurish, but on the other hand there were a few jokes, and all the info was covered. ?? Just a different style to the tutonic versions I have seen before. ??Bumped into Holgs and Philip graves at the bike checkin (just thought I would name drop the famous author Iron Holgs!)
Phil on the other hand is surprisingly short - I had the idea he was a big unit, but he's a bit of a short arse
Again everything felt nicely chaotic, lorries reversing down the street through the gathered queues waiting for bike check in.
Elton John until 3am the night before was not ideal
I think the narrow start worked really well- it was a relatively quiet swim, only 1 elbow to a goggle and one gentle kick to the nose
It was generally pretty friendly though- when people bumped they generally veered away as there was room
Lovely clear water, saw some fishes. ??The only down side was the smell/ taste of diesel for 200m each lap
So out the swim, (1:11 and a bit) ??a quick shower (3 seconds!!) and off to the change tent. ??Rinsed the feet in the handily provided buckets then emptied kit on the floor, wet??suit off and kit on
Put a bike top on (eventually - as it got a bit hung up) then socks and bike shoes on. ??Forgot to check I had no sand in between the tootsies - oh well, ??out the tent, up the hill off the beach and grabbed the bike and off we went.....7:45 for T1 - it's a long transition zone
So one of the nice things about my argon is that there are not too many of them around. Unless you are in Spain.... Dozens of the buggers. ?? Mine is prettier though
I spent the next 2 hours trying to eat/ drink and avoid vomiting. ??I think I drank way to much sea water and things did not feel good. ??Only a little vomit down my arm though
I just tried to get the hr down from ??160 when I got on the bike, aiming for 135-145, but I think I got it down to a minimum of 149 for the next 4 hrs
So after the rollers it was a long drag down to the el gofo loop- it's really fast down there, but the pros were already heading back the other way....
Weeeee around el gofo then back up to Yaiza and over fire mountain
That looks way worse than it is.... You just see the road stretching ahead for the next ??5 k climbing up... Looks daunting but it's reasonably gentle
Weeee down the other side, weeee down to la Santa, weeee down to famara (obviously a couple climbs back up but shhh they are not real hills)
Then the real climbing started- about 20 k up to teguise then on to haria. ??None of it's that steep, it just goes on, and on, and on. ??Blew my hr cap of 155 out of the water up to Haria
I put my gels all into 1 bottle- worked really well till I threw it into a bottle drop! ??On went the anchors, and I went back for it, upsetting the poor wee lad who thought he had found a good water bottle.... ??I gave him one of the crap ones they were giving out instead - he did not look impressed
I was generally passing people but not that many, and a fair few were going by me - lots of fast people here, and lots of flask kit
However after the mirador most of the work is done. ?? The next 10-15 k is all down hill with the wind- way too fast even to peddle. ??That finally got my hr down, so the next 45k was all bang on- great flat/ slightly uphill bit with the wind- great TT bit, then a small climb up to Nazaret (hardly worth thinking about after the rest) where the pave started for 5 k. ??Lost my salt Tabs which was a little problem, as my black shorts were almost silver they were so crusty. ??However I had already had 4 and I had more for the run. So trundle through the vineyards, and it really feels like the horse is heading home... Cut left to conil, weeee down to a roundabout with a nice red storm drain on the outside of the corner, with a grill that looks ready to eat / suck in bike wheels....then down to PdC on the donkey track - 8 k of windy single width road- all down hill and with a tail wind - weeee. ??Looked at my watch and thought hmmm 8 mins to get in for a sub 6 hr bike.....push push push back into town, I thought I missed it by 6 seconds but obviously the garmin started late as I was a minute over with 6:01.
I was glad to get off the bike
So off I toddled.... Into the unknown but with no real urgency . ??The plan was a nice easy run pace and see how the knee felt, and wondering where it would say no more or my calf would cramp up terminally in sympathy
However, it was feeling ok... ?? I guess the ibuprofen and the extended warmup with lots of endorphins were doing their stuff
Just ran between the aid stations, walking these for 30s to 1 min while I drank lots of coke and water at each
It was hot and I was parched
So the first long 19k lap came and went in about 1:45.... The pace felt relatively comfy-I did a hilly half mara in 1:25 this year, so I was slower, but I was a bit stunned. ??I even started overtaking people....
So lap 2.... On the way back I was thinking this is supposed to be the lap where it's sooo hard, and I felt....ok. It was v hot, my stomach was going acid from all the coke, I did not enjoy running down the hills, my feet hurt a bit, but generally it was all good
Third lap, queue band envy, trying to work out times and things and deciding that there was no way I was going to miss a 4 hr marathon. ??I was stunned.
I was starting to slow, so instead of going easy at the start, perhaps it was just well paced?
So, into the main drag again, lots and lots of cheering and across the line in 11:18 with a 3:49 marathon.
Shaved about a whole minute off my previous swim time. ??Not bad for another winter of swimming. ??
Bike -??I thought I have been riding well, but was a little humbled by it, and by the speed of some others. ??I found it tough, but perhaps that was because I was pushing. ?? I was 30 minutes quicker than wales, 30 mins slower than IM regensburg. I felt it was harder than Wales, but the times don't lie. ??Wales was slower, but Lanza has some really fast sections that maybe hide the tough bits. ??The downhills are all scarilly fast and I found my HR just did not recover much as they were over so quickly
I got some good tan lines on the bike! ??
Take it easy, keep the hr under control as there is always another hill, and it's perfectly doable. ??The last 3rd is a lot easier than the first 2/3rdsi
I discovered I enjoy powerbars, grabbing those in preference to eating my torq bars. ?? I blame the heat.
I found it went by pretty quick - the first long lap works well as before you know it you are half way.....
My nutrition plan fell apart a bit & I discovered I like bananas on the run??
I think I did 3:42ish at IMR last year so am really pleased / shocked / stunned with this all things considered. ??My running had been really solid so I am looking forward to getting fixed
I had a strange attitude for this one.... I was very relaxed and just felt I was out for a nice day. ??The transitions were so relaxed as I was not really in a hurry. ??If I had known my knee was going to be ok I might have had a bit more urgency
Salt - I did 8 salt stick tabs, 4 on the bike and 4 on the run - I started to get a headache after 2 hrs on the bike so upped the rate. ?? It worked. ??If you are a sweaty bugger then these work
Cheers OC, nice report & well raced. Holgs too. Pretty warm out there, eh?
That was it. ??In IMR I hit the loo twice on the bike and 3-4 times on the run. ??
Drink anything / everything you can.
My neck aches - too many group rides, not enough Solo TTing.
The Lanza finishers shirt is way better than the IM polo shirts from last year
It's a fast race - ie lots of fast people here- I think I am back in 70th place in my age group / 347 overall or something - ie just creeping into the top 25%. ?? I had been aiming at top 15% this year.... But I am happy
I thought the race was brilliant. Not only is it tough, but it has soul.
It might not feel quite as slick as some others, but it all just worked.??The marshals/ feed station people were great, there was load of support, ( esp from the COLT triclub).??
You also get to have a holiday at the same time??
recommended!
Post race. ??Both knee and calf are a little Fu**Ed but it's manageable with the odd pain killer - not so bad
I am now sitting here under blue a blue sky, beer in hand.
Planned easy spin today has been cancelled
I am on holiday afterall and have nothing better to do than write way tooooo long race reports
Saw Holgs as he started his run, then gave him a couple of shout as he started his last lap- I was trying to eat some Putanesca, but was struggling. He had loads of time and looked like he was gona make it - matey
Fantastic report OC. Well done you.
OC - brilliant report, well done and thanks for sharing your experience
Brill report - have a fab holiday
Fab report Orange 'sandbagger' Cannon
Ace reporting OC.
Enjoy your holiday.
great report OC have a well deserved break!
Great report OC - and they say Holgs is the gifted author
Getting excited about next year now!! Will need to pick your brains a bot more, especially on tips for the bike course!! Well done mate!!
I so enjoyed watching this yesterday. I had planned IMWales 2013 to be my first but ... I guess it's a silly question (cos can 'beginner friendly' ever apply to an IM?), but has anyone here done Lanza as their first? Any thoughts?
And great report OC, enjoy your well-earned hol.
DTT - there's a couple of us heading to Lanza next year for our first IM with the Pirate Ship!! Come join us!!
Nice one OC
Great report OC, absolutely inspiring.