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Ironman - Germany - Pirate Race Reports - 23rd July 2006
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He also punctured and used the gas for the first time, after Ava and I "modernised" him on the now traditional Pirate Reccying of a Bike Route that Bears no Resemblance to the Actual IM Course.
His run was better than mine so that meant stony silence and sulking for several hours, and he finished in 11:08 bang on.
He has counted 17 injuries to his body, and is a bit of a scabby mess.
Mr W - I did the bike at about 60% HR, but I'm a weak old wifie with rubbish leg strength. I am going to spend the next year doing one legged squats.
x
smiley lady, RichM benefited too - 3:32 rather than the 3:16 we're boasting for him!
Mr W - doh - I didn't for a minute think you would be so smutty, but of course Jo's HR would be low - all she has to do is lie there and think of Ireland.
on further investigation it appears that the original times were erroneous in the T2 department, which has made you all faster in the marathon. Unless Daniel and Imp really DID spend more than 50 minutes having a bath and hairdo before meeting their public on the run...
However it's very pricey
Great race reports from everyone.
From the people of Germany for standing out welcoming us to their village as we buzzed through in the pouring rain, to the experienced Pirates with their own brand of tough love alternatively cajoling and bollocking us, to the supporters who came to Frankfurt and helped make the long weekend so special in what to be honest is pretty carp city to be a tourist in and seeming to magically know when we wanted company and laughter and when we needed to be left alone with our thoughts and emotions (or sleep), to the other novices for sometimes asking the daftest questions that I was too embarrassed to ask or sometimes too stupid to even realise was an issue before they spoke up and to all those people who cheered, or waved, said my name or just smiled as I trudged past.
Without any of you I couldn’t have had “my day”. I know I had too much emotionally wrapped up in it – witness the amount of times I burst into tears in the run up to race day. In fact on the first lap of the bike I started to well-up again and I had to tell myself “not until the run”. Then on the run I kept starting and I had to say “not until the last lap”. Then the mantra changed to “not until the funnel”. That was the reasons I kept my glasses on until the very end as I couldn’t trust myself if I made “proper” eye contact with anybody.
I can’t begin to imagine how frustrated the Pirates who got pulled out at the end of the first bike lap feel. The philosophical approach you have taken to the disappointment, the way you have channelled your frustrations and the spirit in which you came and supported those of us who were “lucky enough” to still be on the course is an incredible testament to your strength of character and will-power. I’m not sure I could have been so magnanimous in the face of what feels like such disproportional adversity.
I don’t know if I will “retire” after one IM. I had a great day. I can see how I might go an hour faster next year with more training and fewer injuries. I can also see how I could easily be an hour slower. I don’t feel that I have anything to prove to anybody. But I do know if I’m not doing it myself, that I’ll be proud to be with you in Austria as a Sherpa.