Gatorade Half IM UK

Doubly Bionic Ironwolf

Congrats to all who competed and obviously had a great time at this event - even if some of you felt really bad during the race! Can I confidently expect you on the start line of a full IM next year? You won't really feel that much worse - right, RichardM and Cornish Ironman?

Doubly Bionic Ironwolf

Partly joking - you might feel like crap at T2 but there's nothing to beat the feeling when you cross that finish line.

Daz

Hi Rich, how are you feeling?

I didnt really see much drafting intentionally until the last few miles, not deliberate anyway. A lot of the time on the first loop you had no choice but to get stuck with a group of bikes. Like I said, last few miles I saw a couple of large bunches go by which annoyed me a bit because they were blatantly taking the p*ss. I didnt have energy to latch on! ;o)

Didnt get a cap :O(

Richm it's 1-1, we need a decider to settle the year...

Daz

Yes I'm doing an IM next year. Hope Sherborne steps up. will wait a while.....any news on the grapevine yet...?

RichardM

Daz, you've obviously forgotten London.

IW, you're right in a way. The much faster pace in a Half makes it almost as tough, but the challenges of nutrition and pacing are so much more important in a full distance race, but definitely worth attempting.

Daz

lol, i knew you'd bring that up. you know very well you had an open swim and easy bike course rich ma friendly. our times were way too far apart :O)

Daz

i was going to ask you how they compare rich. what sort of pace would you suggest dropping the bike and run by for the IM now you've done both in succession?

RichardM

Open swim? There were 150 sub 2.30 competitors, and yes our bike course was straight and flat, but yours was flat too just a couple more roundabouts! Still, I agree we can't really count it if it was on different courses.

In terms of pacing for the full distance, it is the run that really hits you. If you imagine the aches and discomfort you had after 56 miles, inagine after 112.

The swim is fine, just nice steady pace, and then throttle back a bit on the bike. To give you an idea my bike pace was equivalent to about a 3 hour pace over the half distance (20 mins slower than Sunday).

The key difference is that wheras in a half IM you can aim to run within 5 or 10 mins of your usual half marathon time, that is pie in the sky in the IM. Even the pros are dropping over half an hour on their normal times. I reckon 45mins slower than your best marathon would be a good performance. Have you done a marathon by the way?

Jj

I've just woken up because I was exhausted by several hours' typing late last night.

You guys are awesome.

¦o} night...

[Deleted User]

Ironwolf,

I actually prefer full IM distance - you have to respect it more LOL!

Paul.

[Deleted User]

Don't ask me about results - like I say, I'm just a monkey...

Doubly Bionic Ironwolf

Paul - I'm with you on that!

And when you're out there 15 hours like me, a full IM comes down to a simple battle of mind over matter.

Daz

i still cant imagine running a full marathon after 112 mile son the bike, no matter how slow you go!

rich, yeh I've done 8 marathons, but I always suffer a fair amount of pain in the closing stages. not so much hitting the wall or blood suger levels dropping, but my legs just seizing up.

Can you guys give me an idea of how you'd drop your mph from half to full ironman so you have enough left in leggies to run 26miles?

[Deleted User]

Daz,
As an example (I originally come from a running background), I would anticipate running the half marathon at the end of half IM in around 1:25 to 1:30, and the Marathon at the end of full IM in 3:30 to 3:45.
So the pace differs from approx 6:40 miles to around 8:20 miles (if my maths are correct !).
On the other hand, when fully running fit I can run a marathon in 2:40 ish.
The marathon at the end of full IM is (IMO) best broken down into 2 to 3 K runs between aid stations with a short walk through the aid station to get that flat cola down your neck.
Hope this is of use.

Paul

RichardM

Paul

That was exactly my philosophy. When I started the run I couldn't imagine keeping going for 26 miles, but was able to just concentrate on getting to the next aid station, taking some fuel on board and starting again for the next one.

Its a totally different feeling from a normal marathon. I found the further I went the better I felt, which is the opposite of how I feel in a regular marathon.

Daz

Guys,

Race photos are now available at action sports int:

http://www.asiorders.com/view_event.asp?EVENTID=2753