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ironman-wales-2014
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You talking yourself into it there Seren
Must admit I'm a little hoarse of all the shouting yesterday, lucky there was cider to smooth everything.
I loved working in transition again although it's quite shocking when you see the states that folk are coming in in, you don't really notice it from the other side!
I will if you will Seren...
What an amazing day! I loved every second of the race. It was fantastic.
Still buzzing, and feel great. Suspect the aches may arrive tomorrow...
So good to catch up with pirates I know, and make acquaintances with those I didn't.
Fabulous pirate support; Seren was a welcome sight at the top of Wisemans and particularly from the little Duda's, it was fab have little Eyion (is that spelt wrong), running with us.
Race report to follow shortly.
Gutted for those who had a bad day at the office and huge commiserations to you but huge woohoos and congrats for those who bested both the course and the conditions!
Am waiting to hear from a couple of club mates of mine who had stonking races (I believe 1st and 4th in their respective age groups) - all I've heard so far is that they feel absolutely battered which tells me just how tough conditions were as they never appear battered to my eyes!!
If 2015 is possibly the last I really must get my ass in gear to support next year - unfortunately was out of the country yesterday so couldn't even follow it
Why is this constant talk about moving IMW? Its such a perfect event, are there any problems behind the scenes? Big cities have all sort of issues with permits, etc, Berlin cancelled this year and now Dublin might have too? IM Europe would be mad to lose this race.
Jo- so sorry about the swim
It really was a case of survival out there and I appreciated your shout on the bike.
A great race with fantastic support.and good to meet old and new Pirates out on the course.
That was possibly the hardest swim I have ever done! Took at least 20 mins more than I had hoped and suffered the symptoms of sea sickness for at least half of the bike. So sorry for the guys who didn't finish. I had a Steve Redgrave moment in the sea (shoot me if I try it again
.) Still managed to knock 35 mins off last years time so happy enough.
Great to meet so many of you. I feel a proper Pirate now. Can't believe a pirate beat me by seconds!
Special mention to Hattie, Seren, Pingu, Andras and Duda who have become proper friends through the weekend. And Slim, UW, Funkin, Mrs Funkin, Mtri and the rest of you rock! Great support and fantastic seeing you on the course. I'm a bit hoarse now!!! will do my report later.
35 mins off my overall time not my swim
I gave my daughter my iPhone for the day, this photo doesn't really do the swell and waves justice but does do the beauty of the venue justice!
Well done to all who got round. I smiled as best I could at any pirates I saw on the course and managed a couple of high fives.
Race report to follow but I'm very happy with how my day panned out.
Duda's partner was also overcome... was sweet to see.......
Ironman can be a long hard journey for both of you....lots of sacrifices and highs and lows
There are some pics here, it looks like a stunning location.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/ironman-wales-2014-blood-sweat-7769160
Sorry i can never do the link thingy
sounds like a tough day, well done to all that toed the start line.
Seren - I was expecting you to have taken part ?
Me, the wife & kids were out on the course supporting late last night around 11pm at the turn point above the beach at the top of that nasty little ramp. One Pirate, name we couldn't see squatted down to stretch and I asked him 'Are you going to do a poo there?'
Cue much laughter amongst us 4 when he then proceeded to do an impression of Mr Whippy having a poo.
Anyone care to confess as to who that was?
it was a pleasure to meet all of you, i hope to do a lot more races together! Just signed up for wimbleball, anybody doing that next year? Also, a lot of you recommended me races, but i forget everything so please throw in the some good names, its time to plan next year
So, here's my race report. I'm sure I've missed lots, but...
To my surprise, I actually slept for some of Saturday night and woke up bright and early at 4.20am. Then ate the breakfast of champions; porridge with banana and raisins. Possibly over-shared my concerns with lack of motions with Wabby and Seren, especially as I had only met Wabby the day before... Wabby, Seren and I then headed down to transition. Got a big hug from Pingu working in transition before joining the parade to walk down to the beach.
Swim: Was somewhat concerned to arrive on the slope down to hear over the PA announce that the warm up was over, and all athletes needed to leave the sea. I quickly slipped out of trainers, popped them in the bag on the hanger, and nipped down to the sea to at least get my face wet. The sea was choppy! I decided I’d position myself midway towards the back. The waves were pretty big walking in, with everyone apprehensive about taking the plunge, but once in the fun began. And boy was it fun. The waves had no rhythym, and it was a bit of a roller coaster. Sighting was nigh on impossible, it was just a case of going with the flow. I was aiming for a large orange life boat, which fortunately wasn’t too far from the first orange buoy. When the crests of the wave coincided I was a bit surprised to discover the buoy was about 10 metres away. Going around the buoy was pretty surreal. It was not possible to swim, and everyone seemed to tread water and bobbed around until it was possible to swim again. The second left turn orange buoy, the right turn yellow buoy, and first lap exit passed without incident. On the second lap, it felt like the opposing current had strengthened to the first orange buoy and it took and age, but once passed, it was again plain sailing until I passed the right turn yellow buoy heading back to the beach. It was carnage! There were arms, and legs, and fists, and generally really unsociable behaviour. At one point someone grabbed my ankle, pulled me back, and swam over me! Anyway, I exited, ran up the beach, got my bag, and discovered that in my haste to warm up I’d not undone my trainer laces. What a rookie mistake. I then spent some time fumbling trying to untie them, before walking up the ramp whilst stripping my wetsuit down to my waste, and jogging to T1. Overall I enjoyed the swim; I found it fun!
Bike: I spent way too long in transition; really don’t know what I was doing. Probably talking, but still managed to forget to talc my feet and arms, and dropped my pain killers enroute to the bike. Fortunately Pingu came over and helped me get my shit together. I love this bike course. I had a wonderful tail wind on our way to Angle, but I found the head wind on the way back a bit strong, but once I hit Lamprey it subsided and the undulations began! Along the first lap way I was passed by Andras, Rudders, Slim Shady, Wabby and Fairy Cakes. The support of the people of Tenby was stupendous. The streets of every village were lined with residents. The old folks had their deckchairs out, and were ringing cow bells (all day!). Carew, Narbeth, and Saundersfoot were jammed packed (less so on the second lap!) and are especially memorable. I loved the farmer who had his family seated upon a sofa which he had raised in the air using the tractor arms. Genius! It was brilliant cycling up Wiseman’s bridge and hearing Seren well before I could see her! My race plan was to keep a steady pace, one that I could comfortably chat at all times, and chat I did. There were a number of athletes that I kept leap frogging, and after 5 hours of doing that, I got to k
Cont.
I got to know them quite well. I nearly fell off my bike though when someone said that they thought I was 25yrs old. (Maybe I should wear glasses and a bike helmet when going out – cheaper than botox). I was so happy to reach Tenby after the first lap and realised that I was going to be comfortably within the cut off. The second lap passed without incident, except I was concerned and saddened to see Joddly shouting support, rather than passing me on the course. It was great when Duda caught me just after Saundersfoot; I’d been getting worried that I hadn’t seen him. I arrived in transition with 48 minutes to spare before cut off.
Run: Again, I spent a while in transition, and was pretty apprehensive about the run. I had no strategy for nutrition and had never run more than 14 miles. Pingu reassured me that once I got going I would be OK, and I had plenty of time if I wanted to walk. So off I jogged, very slowly. My strategy was to walk the ups and run the downs, but I must admit, at the beginning even that felt daunting. It was so amazing when Unchartered Waters caught me, and we continued together. He was so encouraging; ‘let’s just run to the next bollard’, and we did. He does a great hearty ‘Arrrrr’ too! Then Duda joined us and we ran/walked as a possy of pirates, for quite a while and I got into my stride, and started feeling good. Knowing that I had to consistently take on nutrition, I decided on sips of coke, bananas, and pretzels, and fortunately it worked for me. Unchartered Waters then started suffering from cramp, so urged Duda and I to continue. It was so good running with Duda, the miles just whizzed by as we chatted around the course. It was a real treat every time we got to New Hedges to see his wife and kids going crazy. Eyion is a little Ironman in the making, and ran with us for the bridge section chatting happily as we went. My tri club, Cardiff tri were also out in earnest, and made some noise every time I passed. The support in Tenby town was incredible. At one point we passed a Samba band. I made the mistake of dancing that section whilst waving my arms in the air. So much fun, but hadn’t realised how much this extra burst of energy would take. I think the next section may have been somewhat slower. On our last lap Duda checked his watch and realised that a sub 15hr was potentially achievable if we did a bit more running in town. We picked up our pace. I then decided that I was going to stick to my strategy as I felt really good, so Duda pushed on, on his own just after New Hedges (and I’m pleased to say made his sub 15!). I continued my run walk strategy until I hit the red carpet and made a sprint finish, becoming an Ironman in 15:03:15. I felt amazing!
What an incredible day. I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single minute of it. I loved hanging out with Wabby, Duda, Andras, Unchartered Water, Seren, and of course Pingu. It was fab to see Mtri again, and to meet Slim shady, Rudders, Fairy cakes, Mr F and Mrs F. What a great bunch of people, I feel I’ve made some great friends. Looking forward to racing again with you.
I know all about Hatties movements
... What a great weekend and one that I will remember forever 
... Fab report.
have to agree with Hattie, UW is the master of 'arrrrrr' for me.
great report, thanks Hattie. I liked that you were so confident the day before, you told me like 5 times that you will definitely make it.
very well deserved!!!
Check out photo 19... Funkin
http://eu.ironman.com/triathlon/coverage/gallery.aspx?race=wales&y=2014&id=0944908eeb5e4555b4fc5448011566fc#axzz3DI0SHvmm
Well done to everyone racing yesterday! Good to see so many pirates on the course again
Sorry to make you leaky eyed Tenby Tart, I was pretty leaky eyed myself. It was the worst I've ever been (and those that have known me the past few years know I get in a right state whilst Funkin is calm as you like!).
Well done everyone. Crazy course by the looks and sounds of things.
Two pictures of Funkin shown in the photos at the awards today *beam* so we gave a little cheer.
Rest and recover well Pirates!
Well done to all the finishers and considerations to those that Dnf it is a hard place to be.
well done pirates......
I do fancy going back, but not next year......
Everything about this race makes me want to do it. I say everything, the one exception being .. the course! This is one hell of an IM to have on your finisher's CV & for those of you who didn't make it, unlucky. DNFs break spirits in the short term but build stronger competitors in the long term.
Duda and Hattie at 27?
A huge Well Done, and massive respect to all who finished yesterday. It was great to cheer many of you on, and I hope you all had a fantastic day.
I still love this event. Yesterday was to be my last IM, at least for a while, but now I have unfinished business....
i got as far as the feedstation at the top of saundersfoot before i finally called it quits and had a nice ride in an ambulance back to the start. inhaled to much salt water and it spent the next 3 hours attempting to leave every hole in my body at regular and forceful intervals.
spending 2hrs in the medical tent was not how it was supposed to be.
gutted but i live and learn. great event though, supporters out on the bike course where unreal.
not sure if i will be back tho