Outlaw 2013

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Comments

  • TJ1004TJ1004 ✭✭✭

    Thank you to all the pirates, pirate supporters and feed station pirates you guys rock!!!

    First long distance and got pulled before the southern loop, bang on cut off, but fading and boiling hot and couldnt cool down. I wasnt in a position to argue, and in hindsight probably right decision.

    Respect to all those finishers I am in awe of you all.

    Big hugs to Alibear and Pixie.

    Cant wait for entries to open, I have unfinished business now.

  • Congratulations to all. I am sure the heat made it even tougher than expected.

    Looking forward to the reports.

    Take care and keep smiling.

    John

  • Race report:

    Swam 2.4 miles - Blimey it's a long way

    Biked 112 miles - that's a MENTALLY long way

    Run 26.2 miles - no running, more of a very long walk in the sun

    My feet are now one big blister. I love ALL the pirates. Outlaw is a cracking race. 

    Definitely not doing Nice. 

  • So Nice it is then Matt?

  • Back home, presented with a bunch of roses and an Ironman figurine! And promptly burst into tears and had a good greet.  Very emotional weekend.

    Race report to follow - eventually. Right now, I'm off to the chippieimage

    Pirates ROCK

  • Nurse Ratched wrote (see)

     Race report to follow - eventually. Right now, I'm off to the chippieimage

    Pirates ROCK

    So far today I have had a full English brekkie in the hotel, meat and potato pie for lunch, Stella and champagne for afternoon tea and a curry tonight...Pirates rock image

  • slimshadyslimshady ✭✭✭

    Well done to everyone in that terrible heat...respect to you all  image

  • Well that hurt, but I am now a 4 time iron distance finisher.

    Sorry didn't get to see the late finishers but had to drive home afterwards, got home at 23:50.

    Went to local café for the biggest fry up they do this morning and have now been chillin in the garden with a few (lot) of beers.

    Full report to follow

     

  • mathschickmathschick ✭✭✭

    you did the outlaw and drove home afterwards??? mental....all I did was the feedstation and I struggled to drive home in the evening and it only takes 40 minutes

    really looking forward to the race reports

    saffers - well done on getting the puncture sorted and being able to carry on, would have been awful not to have been able to carry on when you were that close!

  • K9K9 ✭✭✭

    I drove home today - that was bad enough.

    Had to make an emergency detour into a servie station for food as I was suddely overwhelmingly starving!!

    Most of the rest of the day I've just felt really queasy! and didnt mange to sleep last night - been up sice 4:30 - dont know why!

    Well done all, especially in that roasting heat on the run course.

    It's taken me 4 years to get to the start of an iron distance....so very happy that the mission is complete at last.

    Report later!

  • I also have done nothing but eat and sleep today. Didn't realise how tired I was.

    Was hungry when I got back to hotel last night too but was obviously too late for food so had to have a packet of crisps - aah I had so many crisps yesterday. I wanted a plate of chipsimage

  • Hats off to all Outlaw competitors yesterday, the temperature was a bit of a shock to the system.

    I would have loved to have been there. Anyone got any pirate videos they can put on youtube - image that's not an expression you'd usually hear.

  • Am I the only poor sod who had to be in work today? Sorry I couldn't stay to support but I couldnt get holiday and Little Miss Darkness had school so back to North Yorkshire last night. Fortunately McDonalds stays open late.

  • Who was the lady pirate who name starts with an 'A' and had blonde hair in a ponytail/plait ? she defintiely wins the smiley award as she seemed to be loving it image

  • I was proud to be a Pirate yesterday; all you competitors were awesome, thanks for letting me blow the cobwebs out of my lungs.

    G&T anyone?

  • Slagiatt wrote (see)

    Prince Seigfreid  had the water pistol.. and orders to shoot on sight any one in Tri Talker kit .. i just squirted them with the bottles

     

    Running Postie wrote (see)

    I was wondering why pirates had infiltrated another feed station! The water soaking did take me by surprise but it was a welcome relief and made me smile!

     

    fraggle wrote (see)

    Who was the lady pirate who name starts with an 'A' and had blonde hair in a ponytail/plait ? she defintiely wins the smiley award as she seemed to be loving it image

    That would have been Southern Snail

     

  • Ah, Southern Snail - well she was hardly running at snail pace was she ? image awesome stuff SS, you looked liked you were having a ball image

  • fraggle wrote (see)

    Who was the lady pirate who name starts with an 'A' and had blonde hair in a ponytail/plait ? she defintiely wins the smiley award as she seemed to be loving it image

    think it was meimage

  • X post

    I was having a ball I think. Didn't expect the run to be so hard. Was planning on  running til half way!!! How naive, think it was half way round the lake on the first lap before I walkedimage

  • Is this where I say "you should have gone to specsaversimage

    Did I actually meet you Fraggle or just pass you? Where were you?

  • Pirates, I just wanted to say thanks for all of your help over the weekend. For us novices (you know the ones, we were the ones sat in almost silence on Saturday afternoon cacking ourselves whilst the more experienced Pirates knocked back a beer), your attitude, support and general awesome-ness was brilliant.

    The race was everything I expected and more. Race report is here 

    https://www.facebook.com/danestanley/posts/10151787443357033

    Sorry I sloped off early today. I intended on joining the merryment at the pub but daughter #1 had the runs so mercy dash home.

    See you all soon. Eye on 2015 Austria or Roth image

  • Hey Stanners - those of us not on facebook can't read your reportimage

  • Bugger...thought I was being efficient.

    Race Report

      Pre-Race I arrived at the camp site for Home Pierre Point on the Friday full of beans. It is fair to say I had not been as nervous heading in to this race as I thought I would (in fact, the only thing I worried about was not worrying enough). I put it down to the last 30 weeks of training which had gone really well. I'd hit pretty much every session that was planned, except swimming which I only averaged 1 per week.   The camp site was basic but sufficient and I was meeting up with fellow members of the Pirate Ship of Fools, the Internet Triathlon club I am part of. A couple were already there and once we'd navigated that odd moment where you have to introduce yourself using your forum name, we headed off to register and wander round the Expo. Luckily the pickings were slim as Triathletes can easily spend a fortune on the latest gadgets. I limited my spend to a couple of new inner tubes and gas canisters for inflating them, having learned to change a tyre only 2 days earlier. Friday night was spend meeting more Pirates as the camp site filled and carb loading at Pizza Express with my little brother.   There was lots to get done on the Saturday. I was up a little after 5am and went for a run around the rowing lake where the swim would be held. This allowed me to check the position of the sun (important for sighting when swimming open water) and remind my legs what running felt like after tapering for the week. The rowing lake is 2km long and about 100m. Does not seem much does it? But holy cr#p, it seemed to go on for ages! I then spent the morning sorting out my transition bags and deciding what kit to use. Kit bag, swim to bike bag, bike to run bag, wet bag. The logistics were mind boggling and I fully expected to have to run wearing goggles or some other stupid faux pas.   The race briefing was at 11am and once that was out of the way (all the usual, it will be hot, lots of fluid, your responsibility, no drafting on the bike, yadda yadda yadda) I racked my bike and put my bags in to transition. Due to the heat, it was important to let some pressure out of the tyres to stop them exploding as the air temperature increased in the afternoon. The challenge was then to stay out of the sun, off your feet, well hydrated and fed.   Race Morning The alarm was set for 3:30am to give me plenty of time for breakfast to digest before the start of the race at 6am. After getting to sleep at about 9am, I was wide awake by 2:30am, so I went for a shower to wake the muscles up. Breakfast was porridge with raisins and cranberries, home made power flap jack and sports drink. It was then time to get race gear on and wander down to the lake to re-inflate the bike tyres and get my wetsuit on. The mood in transition was phenomenal. There was a buzz about the next 17 hours and the challenge we'd face, only broken by the occasional explosion of inner tubes and the panic to check it was not your bike. Almost everyone looked ready, although I think everyone was aware the challenge the temperature would add. Having trained through the coldest and longest winter on record, being faced with 20 degrees heat at 6am was very alien. We were allowed in the water from 5:45am so I took the plunge and did 5 minutes warm up before getting in to the 3rd or 4th pens for swimmers with a target time of 1h 15m to 1h 30m. The water was an amazing 19 degrees, like a bath. What most people do not recognise is that you sweat when you swim, so the threat of dehydration was very real. Add to that the head of duck poo in the start bays and you can see why I was keen to get cracking.   The Swim The klaxon sounded and it was a free for all. 1,100 people in 4 bays
  • Arse, that did not work. Try again

    Race Report Part 1

    Race Report

      Pre-Race I arrived at the camp site for Home Pierre Point on the Friday full of beans. It is fair to say I had not been as nervous heading in to this race as I thought I would (in fact, the only thing I worried about was not worrying enough). I put it down to the last 30 weeks of training which had gone really well. I'd hit pretty much every session that was planned, except swimming which I only averaged 1 per week.   The camp site was basic but sufficient and I was meeting up with fellow members of the Pirate Ship of Fools, the Internet Triathlon club I am part of. A couple were already there and once we'd navigated that odd moment where you have to introduce yourself using your forum name, we headed off to register and wander round the Expo. Luckily the pickings were slim as Triathletes can easily spend a fortune on the latest gadgets. I limited my spend to a couple of new inner tubes and gas canisters for inflating them, having learned to change a tyre only 2 days earlier. Friday night was spend meeting more Pirates as the camp site filled and carb loading at Pizza Express with my little brother.   There was lots to get done on the Saturday. I was up a little after 5am and went for a run around the rowing lake where the swim would be held. This allowed me to check the position of the sun (important for sighting when swimming open water) and remind my legs what running felt like after tapering for the week. The rowing lake is 2km long and about 100m. Does not seem much does it? But holy cr#p, it seemed to go on for ages! I then spent the morning sorting out my transition bags and deciding what kit to use. Kit bag, swim to bike bag, bike to run bag, wet bag. The logistics were mind boggling and I fully expected to have to run wearing goggles or some other stupid faux pas.   The race briefing was at 11am and once that was out of the way (all the usual, it will be hot, lots of fluid, your responsibility, no drafting on the bike, yadda yadda yadda) I racked my bike and put my bags in to transition. Due to the heat, it was important to let some pressure out of the tyres to stop them exploding as the air temperature increased in the afternoon. The challenge was then to stay out of the sun, off your feet, well hydrated and fed.   Race Morning The alarm was set for 3:30am to give me plenty of time for breakfast to digest before the start of the race at 6am. After getting to sleep at about 9am, I was wide awake by 2:30am, so I went for a shower to wake the muscles up. Breakfast was porridge with raisins and cranberries, home made power flap jack and sports drink. It was then time to get race gear on and wander down to the lake to re-inflate the bike tyres and get my wetsuit on. The mood in transition was phenomenal. There was a buzz about the next 17 hours and the challenge we'd face, only broken by the occasional explosion of inner tubes and the panic to check it was not your bike. Almost everyone looked ready, although I think everyone was aware the challenge the temperature would add. Having trained through the coldest and longest winter on record, being faced with 20 degrees heat at 6am was very alien. We were allowed in the water from 5:45am so I took the plunge and did 5 minutes warm up before getting in to the 3rd or 4th pens for swimmers with a target time of 1h 15m to 1h 30m. The water was an amazing 19 degrees, like a bath. What most people do not recognise is that you sweat when you swim, so the threat of dehydration was very real. Add to that the head of duck poo in the start bays and you can see why I was keen to get cracking.
  • Race Report Part 2

    The Swim The klaxon sounded and it was a free for all. 1,100 people in 4 bays that were perhaps 10 meters by 10 meters, starting to swim at the same time. I took a couple of digs around the ears and gave some too. I even swam over a couple of people who were waiting for clear water. The guilt was short lived as I found some space with a person in a bright green swim cap. She (I think) was sighting regularly (so I did not have to) and matching my pace so I tucked on to her hip and conserved energy by swimming in her draft. I passed the turn around point at 1900m in 40 minutes which was bang on target. I felt strong and thought on the way back I could pick up the pace and swim a sub 1h 20m which was my target.   The downside to this was it meant leaving "bright green swim cap" to find someone a little quicker. I failed, miserably, and ended up swimming with no one to draft from and having to sight myself. This was my first mistake of the day. Swimming straight without a black line to follow like at the bottom of the pool is difficult. As such I found myself constantly veering right and ended up adding another 200m to my swim. Nausea set in at about 2800m which was a combination of duck poo and annoyance at my half ar#ed sighting efforts. After a little puke, I threw my all in to the last 1km and emerged in 1h 27m, slightly behind schedule.   Transition 1 Ah, the lovely strippers. No, not those kind. After running to the transition tent, simply flop on your backside and they peel you out of your wetsuit. Lather on the factor 50, a healthy dollop of anti chaffing cream, heart rate monitor on, cycling jersey on, sun glasses, helmet, gloves, socks and shoes on, a final drink and more sun cream from the ladies waiting at the exit with their latex gloves (!) and were off. A little under 8 minutes in transition which put me on the bike 5 minutes down on my schedule.
  • Race Report Part 3

    The Bike The course started with a lap of said lake, which was great to get in to your stride and I was feeling really good. Unfortunately, my saddle bag decided to fall off so I had to stop after 5 minutes to re-attach it. Deep breaths, keep clam, you can make the time up. The bag has always been on the tight side and getting it back on was only achieved through ignoring the velcro and tying a knot. In any other circumstance I would have emptied one of my drink bottles, thrown the inner tubes etc from the saddle bag in it and cracked on, but I just could not spare the fluids.   After this, I got my head down and started to turn up the pace. I made the decision to go out hard on the bike, make up time lost in the swim, reduce the amount of time I'd spend in the sun ahead of the run and hopefully build a buffer for the marathon so I could still hit my overall target time. I was quickly passing the quicker swimmers (them muttering "Cr#p swimmer", me muttering "Cr#p cyclist). The 180km course was made up of 3 laps in total. 2 of the Southern loop and 1 of the Northern loop.The Pirates who were not racing were manning the first aid station at 16 miles and gave a great boost when I passed with their shouts of "Aaaaarrrrggghhh", as Pirates do! I continued to maintain a good speed along the country roads but my god it was hot. The mercury was already in the mid 20s. Hydration and nutrition play such an important role on the bike leg. 750ml of High5 energy drink, 2 energy gels and a (now melted) flap jack each hour was working a treat. I did not feel too bloated and my energy levels were good. Only one hill on the course, a climb up to Oxton Bank which is maybe a 15% incline over a few hundred meters. An easy spin up there and I was half way through and still passing plenty of people, although the frequency was reducing as I was getting up towards the quicker riders.   The final loop, back around the Southern part of the course, did drag a little. Lots of long, straight roads that stretched in to the rural distance. The finish went through Home Pierre Point Hall, using a private road with a gravel surface. Not great when your pushing 33kmph on a road bike but I kept my cadence high to try and get some life back in my legs ahead of the run. Coming up to the dismount line, I had the massive boost of seeing Anna, Daisy, Poppy, my mum, brother and Sally, my mother in law. The mental benefit of getting personal support like that can't be under estimated. I hopped off my bike, passed it to the valet parking and went in to T2 having completed the bike section in 5h 37m. I had smashed my target of 6 hours and was back on track ahead of the run.   
  • Race Report Part 4

    Transition 2 A complete change of kit as my clothes were covered in salt from my sweat. Donning my sun visor, shades and Pirate top, I set out to tackle my first ever marathon.   The Run My brain was a little fuzzy by now and it had got even hotter. It was now nearly 1:30pm and 29 degrees. I set of with the best intention of running the entire distance but that quickly went out of the window. The run started with 2 laps of the rowing lake, about 8k in total and in this period I went from running the entire marathon, to walking the aid stations which were about every 2km, to adopting a run walk strategy. Passing the grandstand the first time, I stopped to grab a kiss and a cuddle from my girls. Big mistake, I immediately cramped up and was in agony! Despite the temptation, I would not be making that mistake again (or so I thought).   In my training, I had been able to maintain a 4min 40sec per km pace up to 32km. It was 12km before I broke the 5min per km barrier. Leaving Home Pierre Point and heading out towards Nottingham city centre along the River Trent, unbelievably it was even hotter. I'm not sure if they were having us on, but some spectators said it was 34 degrees. There were already lots of competitors at best walking like zombies and at worst passed out and being taken off the course to the medical tent.    The first half was completed in 2 hours, at which point I knew I would not break the 4 hour barrier for the marathon, which was a blow and mentally a low point. I seriously considered walking the last half but banished that with focusing on a sub 12 hour total time. That meant I had to complete the marathon in under 4h 40m. Not fast, not even close to being fast, but considering how I was feeling, it would still be a stretch. By this time I was running 1km, walking 200m and cramping as soon as I tried to pick up the pace. The aid stations and volunteers were absolute superstars, as they had been all day. Not only did they stock water, electrolytes, energy gels, banana, oranges, jaffa cakes (which by now was just a tray of mush), they also had a never ending supply of support and positivity.   The run course was pretty average to be fair. Along the Trent, under the City Ground (impromptu Brian Clough impressions, I think I was delirious), over the bridge at the Embankment (is that the bridge wobbling or my legs) and then a loop on the opposite bank. By this time, lots of spectators had set up BBQs, which was just cruel!!!   I shuffled the next 20k in 2h 10m, bringing me back on to the lake with 30 minutes to break the 12 hour mark. And I needed it, I was spent. The remaining 2km took 20m and every ounce of strength I had. I knew the girls would be waiting for me at the finish shoot and I'm not afraid to say I had a little cry to myself just thinking about it. 1km to go, zipped my Piracte top up, ditched the shades, stretched out and tried to regain my composure for the finish photo (Vein? Moi?). That all went out of the window when the Anna, Daisy and Poppy joined me to cross the line in 11 hours 50 minutes (including a bow of thanks to the Pirate masses supporting from the grandstand).  A combination of relief, cramp, and gratitude at how much support my family had given me soon brought the tears back.  
  • Race Report Part 5 

    The Aftermath I was suffering from severe cramp, but picked up my finisher t-shirt and medal and climbed the flight of steps (I kid you not), to the food hall and massage tables. I know the massage was there to help but I have never experienced pain like it. On top of the cramp and tissue damage suffered, I had bad sun burn and blood blisters on my feet that had to be seen to be believed. After that, it was a hobble to the showers, a change, a cider, and to join the other PIrates cheering on the remaining finishers. The final Pirate crossed the line in 16h 55m, a truly inspirational finish with its own story behind it.    The day was everything I wanted it to be. Exciting, physically and mentally challenging and ultimately rewarding considering the effort put in over the last 7 months. So, my ironman journey is at an end, or at least the end of the start. I have promised Anna that there will be no long distance triathlons in 2014 (just sprints, Olympics, marathons and maybe a half ironman). In turn, she has given me the green light for returning in 2015. I have my eyes on Ironman Austria or Challenge Roth, both quick and big ticket events with hundreds of thousands of spectators. Who knows, if I work on my swimming and run of the bike, and the weather is kind, is a sub 11 on the cards?   In true Columbo fashion, one more thing. I've already said this on Facebook, but I really could not have done this without the support of friends and family. Your tolerance, understanding and generosity has been a huge motivational factor. I will be forever grateful. We've also managed to raise nearly £2,000 that will be split between the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, Cardiac Risk in the Young and Cancer Research UK.
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