Outlaw 2013

1777880828387

Comments

  • Chatted to a pirate as I came thorugh the ruff bit and joked about using a cross bike.

    Nearly fell of the bike as could nearly forgot to unclip, Marshall looked very scared.

    Off and into the tent. Bike kit off, doh didn't stop garmin at end of bike. new socks on (or so I thought) and out on to the run. 1st mile in just over 8mins then bang. I was in trouble. Right foot and shin were un beleavably painfull, loosened off shoe, but didn't help. my mind was gone I felt awfull, those too loops of the lake were long. The aid stations were about to find out why my tag is bin man. I remembered something id read, keap moving, do what you need to recover etc etc. I moverd throught the aid stations hovering stuff up filling my pockets and walking on. I wasn't going to stop, lots of maths, there was plenty of time, I could walk the hole thing and finish. slowly I started shuffeling, it was way too hot I felt like a discarded ice cream by the side of the road.

    I hatched a plan to walk then run when able. drink and eat lots. By 13miles I was starting to recover the shuffle was getting longer. Id pick targets, a bride a cone etc. a mile! Passed my idol K9 (Kicked my arse well done) on several occasions, managed a hand tag going in oposide directions. My foot and leg was agony and now for some reason I was getting blister, why?? (all is obviouse later)

    Eventually the last mile, managed to run it all passed too male pirated in that last straight, soz wasn't up to talking. wife passed me the kids well befor the finishing shute. thought id drop the youngest, eldest announced to the croud " come on dad I'll help you" much to there amusement.

    eventually crossed the line and shepherded kids up steps. man trying to remove my band and chip. explained id lost it. oh my time! looked at clock about 13:15. I will never know for sure.

    Post race maseage, take shoes off, where is my sock? ah Only put one sock on, no wander I had blisters!

    Next day returned home. right legand foot swollen and sore. trip to walk in centre. examined and noticed to have small cut on shin, which by now is red shiny and inflamed and very painful. x rays etc. I may or may not have a stress fracture of my foot but I do have a cellulitic infected right leg. So I left with antibiotics and a set of crutures.

  • Lessons learned

    Don't take off your timeing chip with your wetsuit.

    put on your heart rate monitor in T1

    Put both your socks on in T2

    Go Live your dreams, I Did on sunday. I will never know my official time, ive emailed the timing people and they can leave me as a  DNF if they want, I know I didn't draft no short cuts etc. I went sub 14 that will do me.

    A big thanks to everyone. especialy K9 without you It would have taken more than 16 yrs for this to finally happen. I know one of your collegues once asked when you where going to make something of yourself, Id like to see her do what you did at the weekend. Who needs merit awards etc.

    what next, who knows!

  • Background
    So ironman no 7 in 4 years....  With the last 3 being Wales, then Lanza in successive years I wanted to do something with a quicker bike, just to see how I could go image
    Outlaw filled so quickly, but I got in when it reopened.

    I am not getting bored yet, still love the training and just feeling very fit - the races are just a bonus / end point / reward for all the work in the year.

    Target was to survive the swim, crank the bike then see how the run goes.  
    My previous best on the bike was a 5:30 in Regensburg.....
    I thought I could do a 5:15 on the bike, but had vague hopes of a sub 5:00 - a 4imageomething sounds fast image
    I am stronger on the bike now than a couple of years ago, and I also now have a tri bike and some nice wheels.....
    I discussed stuff with my coach, and came up with some power targets - 220w for the first half, then if I was feeling good up it to 230-240

    **warning** sandbagger alert ** warning**
    No one believes me when I say I can't run any more.
    I think the better description is I can't do any run training anymore.
    **warning** sandbagger alert ** warning**

    Pre
    In the pirate tradition I tried something new on raceday, so had a breakfast of salami, cheese and mayonaise on rivitas.  
    Could not be bothered with the washing up that a bowl of porridge would require later on.
    I don't think this was the smartest idea......

    Nutrition
    2 hot cross buns, 3 sets of malt loaf, 4 salt tabs in a coin bag - split between bento box and my bike top pockets.  
    bottle of torq energy, one of high 5 zero and a 500 ml bottle of 10 banana high-5 gels plus water in the bottle.  Some of these had a worrying brown colour.... oh well.

    Pre race pfaff...
    get up at 4:30, breakfast by 5, then down to the start, nutriton on bike, wet suit on, had a natter to a few but was incognito as I had no monaco on.....

    Nice warm up. Then sat mid/back of pack in bay 2 self seeded for a 60-80 min swim.  Generally felt relaxed.  Loved the pre race atmosphere encouragement, then away we went.

  • Swim 1:06
    Over the last few years my swim times have come down from a 1:22 (no wet suite) to consistent 1:10s.  
    This year its 1:06s.  I swim a couple of times a week, generally 2-2.5ks, but I have finally found / ingrained this catch thing.
    The swim coaching from 2 years ago has made a big difference.

    burped up a lot of salami - not pleasant - back to porridge for me image

    Swim was generally not too busy, just trucked on up the course, and was happy to get to the turn bouy.  On the way back it felt a lot quieter.  Happy to get out.
    I need to repair the wet suite as its taken a battering this year and has 20+ catches in it.

    T1
    Yeha Yeha! - not too busy so empty bag on floor and get changed.  Slap bum butter on, bike top on shoes, on etc etc. Grab bike, then park it next to a porta loo image
    Then finally got going

    Bike  5:06
    Yay! play time.   So off I went.
    and promptly stopped to pick up the gell bottle that fell off the cage between the areo bars.  ***must buy one that works***

    I just went at a good steady pace - ie putting a good level of effort in but not going.stupid.  The HR was sitting about 145 - 150 - a little high compared to training but identical to most of the IMs I've done.
    I just seemed to be passing people the wholeway.  I had one guy steam past me with a skin suite, disk wheels etc so I let him go....another guy on a specialized went past me in the first hour but I  sure I got him about 4:30. image

    I spent most of the time eating, drinking and trying to work out the speed but just remember coming up with 36 kph...? Errr what time should that give me? then giving up.
    Then I started to run out of people to follow.  I assumed it was because the good bikers were ahead up the road somewhere and I had run out of good swimmers / crap bikers to catch.  This meant I had to start looking at the road signs / paying attention to the marshals.....  

    Trundle Trundle loop 2, then 3.  Add a couple of early loo stops, (I drank half of Holme Pierpoint). Things were feeling good so upped it a little.
    Loved the village green bit - loads of people there giving massive support.

    head for home, and for the last hour I knew I had missed sub 5 but continued putting the same effort in, then T2 arrived in a hurry

    Really happy with the time.  Someone told me I was in the top 20 on the bike, I made it top 13, but with 7 teams ahead of me.  I was quite pleased image
    I think I went at warp speed image

    T2.
    errrr it was a little empty.
    Bag emptied on the floor, new socks, trainers / run watch on, buff to cover the cpt. Picard hairstyle

  • Run 4:30
    So I've done 8 * 5k / 30 min runs since Lanza, but did a 4:37 or something there.  Time to see if the legs had anything left.
    so it was walk for 100m, then run for 400m, and repeat, using an autolap on the crappy Garmin watch to let me know when to walk again.  I worked this apporach out pre Lanza, with the aim that I have no run miles in the legs, so it is going to get hard.  The walk breaks will just lengthen the time untill it goes bad....

    trundle trundle, band 1, band 2 - no so bad....  Its blindingly hot, I am keeoping pace with people, till I walk then off they go into the distance.  hey ho, I am just in a different race now, mostly with myself, so I don't worry about going backwards down the field.

    then the garmin beeps unexpectantly, - wtf low battery!!?!!  how the f*** am I supposed to run/walk without a watch?  agghh!
    spent the next 30 mins working out a count of 30 walk / 100 run steps, (acyally a sequence of 4 steps) equated roughly to 100:400.  Sure enough the run watch gave up and I was left thinking / speaking 1....2....3....4....5    it was not the most stimulating marathon, but I had fun guessing where to restart from when ever I walked an aid station, or talked to someone.  I was probably a bit miserable as a result, but I had numbers on the mind.

    I counted on the good leg, and that also seemed to take my mind off things as well.

    The first out and back was a loooooonnnnnggggg way, and I was very happy to get a band.  It was hot.
    The second out and back was even longer.  Things started to get tough.  The hip flexors really started aching, and it was just general tiredness / no spring in the step.
    Gels every 30 mins, 3 salt tabs spaced out along the way, some zero but soon swithced to water and coke.  It was very hot
    The cadence started to fall, and it got harder to restart, but I just said 'hup hup hup' and was running by the third 'hup'.  (too many German races)

    Then I was back to pick up a band - 'give me that goddam band!' I seemed to remember muttering image   It was very very hot
    5k out the knee starts complaining a bit, I slow a bit on the runs, and it settles down again.

    trundle around the lake bottom, then 2k to go and a guy next to me says we have 10 mins to get in to be under 11hrs.  He promptly leaves me after 400m, but thats the last walk break, and then the cadence starts picking up, the stride lengthens all by itself, and the central gevenor finally gets overridden buy the prospect of stopping / getting into the shade.  I felt I was sprinting at the end, but that was the best I felt on the whole run.

    So give the pirates a clap as they shout at me, and over the line for a 10:56.

    Summary
    So I can still run a bit image - just slower than before, and the plan of saving myself for raceday seems to be working.  I am still loving it.
    Heard something about 2nd in the age group, so I now have my first ever trophy, (but the field at outlaw is not deep - I think I was 71st in my agegroup in Lanza, and the 50-54 beat my agegroup of 45-49).

    So its a bit more biking for the rest of the year, then Nice next year, and maybe Wales????  then only 5 more to the Kona Legacy program.... (although it will be a minimum of 20 by the time I get there..... image )

    pirates rock!

  • K9K9 ✭✭✭

    Bin man - that is SUCH a bu66er about the chip...shame they can't use your garmin data and the official photographs.

    I can't believe you only put on one sock - if it hadn't been so painful it would be hilarious...

    AND double well dones for finishing with cellulitis +/- a flipping fracture - you looked like you were running really well in spite of those problems.

    My main complaint today is seriously bad sun burn on my back and shoulders. They are purple/ burgundy with white strap marks and have kept me awake for the last 2 nights! I forgot to put sun cream on those bits.image

    Also - one toenail hanging off, but seems quite minor considering.

    Anyway - you did yourself proud....I bet your 3 generations are bursting with pride tooimage

  • M..o.useM..o.use ✭✭✭
    Ridgebackmax wrote (see)
    1. Easy way to get rid of drafters snot rocket em both barrels and a hefty wodge of gob followed by a polite " awfully sorry didnt see you there drafting my wheel" works a treatimage

    Or pee.  I'd love to be a bloke who was able to pee on the bike.  Covering the person behind you in pee sounds like much more fun than snot.

    image

  • well done everyone, truly amazing reading, im doing Ironman Uk in 3 weeks time and have learnt a lot in the last 10 minutes reading your race reports. It amazing what the mind does in transition. Its my first and to be honest I just dont know what to expect, hopefully doen enough training and in my final peak week, but the day itself will tell. Just need to workout what painkillers to take in the morning to make it all a painfree and caring expierenceimage

  • seren nos wrote (see)

    and I just want to say how pleased I was to see so many of the new pirates who attended the DIY half  weekend do well at Outlaw.......

    obviously the SA training camp is the best preperation anyone can have ..as I think just about everyone who attended did wellimage

     

    M..o.use wrote (see)
    Ridgebackmax wrote (see)
    1. Easy way to get rid of drafters snot rocket em both barrels and a hefty wodge of gob followed by a polite " awfully sorry didnt see you there drafting my wheel" works a treatimage

    Or pee.  I'd love to be a bloke who was able to pee on the bike.  Covering the person behind you in pee sounds like much more fun than snot.

    image

    something i forgot from my race report... overtaking a guy who appeared to have one of his saddle mounted bottles leaking out onto the road. Just as I was passing was about to say 'your bottles leaking mate' then I realised it wasnt his bottles and he was just having a pee. Good effort image

  • Seren's quote should have been a seperate post...

    seren nos wrote (see)

    and I just want to say how pleased I was to see so many of the new pirates who attended the DIY half  weekend do well at Outlaw.......

    obviously the SA training camp is the best preperation anyone can have ..as I think just about everyone who attended did wellimage

    Agreed - best training camp/prep for outlaw...image

  • Really inspiring reading all these reports, after being at Lanza supporting, now this .... Someone tell Roni i need a new bike! imageimage

  • binman.sorry the one sock made me laugh.......how on earth could you not notice image

     

     OC a well earned trophy

  • seren nos wrote (see)

    Stanners.....you always looked strong.great time

    K9.......I always knew if you could balance the training and rest and arrive tapered then you would smash the Ironman......21st woman home  and 4th in your catergory in your first one.well done

    Blue Peter........milking thge finish is one part of the training most of us neglect...image

     

    Darkness........You will have to do another one now so that you can get the family photo..amazing time

    Iron Ripley......don't blame me for that bad habit....I bet your transition bag smelt when you went to pick it up ....image

     

     Thanks Seren, I will do, but maybe 2015 with just 70.3s next year.

    Cake wrote (see)

    image No one drafted me. wonder why? imageimage

    Darkness do you know claire then? can you say a big WELL DONE!!!!!!!!! from me please. She was pirate matirial.

    I will do Cake. Catching up on Saturday for a post outlaw get together.

  • Give her a hug from me and get that wench plastered on wine she's earnt it and her tother half form getting her through it. image

    *Sorry for spellng being worse than normal can't get the spell checker to work today.*

  • Blimey binman - hope you recover quickly.

    Bones - no such thing as a pain free IM I'm afraid - or if there is you're not trying hard enough image

    K9 - Mark had a brand across his back (where Monaco didn't quite meet shorts) visible for about two years after our first IM!

    If you think you can or you think you can't you're probably right.
  • /members/images/355025/Gallery/finish_photo.JPG

    My finish line photo showing my face of bewilderment when I couldn't find Little Miss Darkness and slowly trudged down the chute.  At least the spectator in the background looks sympathetic!

     

  • Fantastic reports everyone.image

    I too saw the couple blatantly drafting all the way round the bike.  Well out of order.  Anyone trying to draft me would have got a mouthful!!!

    Although this 10m rule seems a huge distance for drafting.  I draft at 10cm......do you actually get any benefit drafting at more than a metre?  Serious question. image    I ride in a group and unless I'm stuck on someones wheel as tight as tight, I get told off for not drafting.

  • In a word Saffers, Yes   !!

  • Saffers - an interesting little study on the impact of drafting at 12m (one I've posted here before so apologies).

    http://alex-cycle.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/pour-me-draft.html

    In summary, even at 12m there are quite profound benefits of approx 10% power savings (my estimate) for front of the pack riders.

  • Well here it is.  Bit long so feel free to skip.

    Outlaw Race Report – 2014

     

    Training had been completely hit-and-miss since last year.  The death of my father in May last year really knocked me with all motivation disappearing (and is just starting to return).  I also fractured my foot in September playing 5-a-side at work which ruled me out for a couple of months.  To top it off I then had a blood clot in my leg in February so I had been on absolute minimum training in the run up to the race (Yes I’m getting my excuses in now).  Swim training had been the Outlaw Half and a 2K swim a week later.  I had managed a few bike rides of around 80 miles and a few runs in the last month or two.  So my target for the race was to make sure I finished but hopefully under 14 hours.

     

    Pre-Race

    Arrived at HPP on Friday afternoon after a couple of days of CPD.  Bit warm in shirt and trousers so registered then made an immediate change to shorts at the camp-site before putting the tent up.  Quite a few family and friends were also camping (two friends also racing) so we had a few pitches near the park which was great for the kids to just play.

     

    Sat through the hour long brief on Saturday.  No need really – this is my fourth Outlaw as well as the Half.  The brief is always the same and lasts for what seems forever.  The rest of Saturday I spent trying to sit in the shade all day as I got quite burned the day before the Half.  The only other thing I did on Saturday evening was go to Mass as I knew I wouldn’t be finished in time to make it, even by Sunday evening!!!!

     

  • Race Day

    Very little sleep Saturday night – possibly due to the 3 caffeine tablets I’d had in drinks during the day.  Up early as usual on Sunday morning for a light breakfast and to re-inflate my tyres once I got to transition.  Otherwise not a lot before starting – lots of others faffing but I just wanted to get started. 

     

    Swim

    Started the swim in Pen 1 but let everyone go before setting off.  Think quite a few others had the same idea and was a bit crowded which included stopping about 200m from the start as those in front did (and they stood up when they did!!).  After the first 400m managed to find enough space.  The rest of the swim was uneventful and finished in a slow 1:30:35.  Not bad considering two swims in twelve months and an almost identical time.

     

    Quite happy with the help from the wetsuit strippers and being lathered in sun cream. 

     

    Bike

    Realised I had an extra banana in my kit so ate this as we went around the lake – I had nowhere to put it otherwise.  I don’t usually eat in the first hour after the swim but quite enjoyed this.  The first couple of hours on the bike were generally uneventful.  Simply tried to keep my RPM between 90 and 100 as this helps me cycle longer.  This meant I was averaging 32kmh and passing loads of other cyclists.  As I passed most I would try and say ‘hi’ or something.  It was amazing how few responses I got (especially from those who passed me).  I just tried to be cheerful which helps me to break up the monotony of a long day in the saddle.  Really enjoyed passing/being passed by other Pirates as they seemed to be the happiest people in the race.

     

    Once the first half of the ride was finished my speed started to drop.  The second southern lap was emotional and my average pace dropped to around 24kmh for this section.  Definitely found my dark place here and just wanted to get off the bike which I did at the last feed station for about 5 minutes to give my arse a rest.  Really need a new saddle as it is knackered and creaks really loudly but is also painful after a few hours.  Was surprised by the hot water I got shot with in the water pistol at the last station as well.  Bike completed in 6:41:05 – slowest Outlaw ride yet.

     

    So glad to hand the bike over at transition. 

  • Run

    Still in a fairly dark place so realised I would be lucky to beat 14 hours even though I had over 5 hours.  Walked out of transition to be greeted by my wife, kids and in-laws all wearing “Borobhoy Pit Crew” Pirate t-shirts which made them easy to find.  My wife asked if I wanted to drop-out if I didn’t feel like running – never going to happen so she wasn’t happy that it was going to take forever.

     

    The “run”  was really emotional.  This is where my lack of training really showed.  I walked almost the whole of the first lap of the lake.  Convinced by Citizen 146 to run the last few hundred metres so we didn’t get grief from the guy on the mike.  Managed to run most of the way back down the lake, walked a little and ran the last mile with my mate who’d caught me and was just about to start his last out-and-back section.  Bit annoying to realise I had just done almost 6 miles and he was on 16 miles but he was going quite well.  And that was it.  I never ran again.  Walking 20 miles really does take it out of the legs, especially with blisters starting to hurt as well.

     

    I must have looked bad as I was asked a few times by a guy on a bike if I needed medical help or water – nope, just going to take a while.  Did try to smile at everyone, say well done and just generally talk to people as going at the pace I was can be quite disheartening otherwise.  I made sure to thank everyone on the last lap as it must have been just as tiring for those either working the aid stations or marshalling as it was for us in that heat.

     

    My kids met me for the last 200m or so and tried their hardest to get me to run – something I was unable to do until the last feet.  Although late, and very slow, the still loved crossing the line with me as they always do.  Run finally finished in 7:18:30 for a total time of 15:46:51 – almost an hour slower than my first Ironman (also on little training) and way behind my best of 11:57.

     

    Overall

    A few things I learned – firstly I know I can complete an Iron-distance race on next to no training but it’s not a comfortable experience in any way.  Secondly, the Pirate support around the course is superb.  They are also the friendliest competitors on the course whether to other Pirates or other competitors.  This was one of the reasons for joining when I left the Army last summer.  Thirdly, my wife gets really annoyed if I take too long – it took 2 days before she would speak to me properly.  I guess not everyone likes waiting around all day, running around after 2 young kids!!!

     

    I need my mojo to return big-time so that I can really train for next year and try to achieve my goal time of sub-11:30.  This is the ideal course for that but need to do more work and pray for a cooler day next year.  May need to get involved in the Fink plan on the forum for added motivation to train.

  • If you read Chris McCormacks autobiography "I'm here to win" he openly says it is essential to get "on the train" after the swim and if you miss it you have no chance at Kona. He makes it very clear he isn't talking about illegal drafting but there is still a big benefit.

  • Brilliant race reports, very proud of the black and yellow!

  • Seren,

    the couple I think you are talking about drafting and pacing finished not long after me.  When I saw them out on the "run" they were walking hand-in-hand - told me everything I needed to know about their race!!

     

    Two of my mates, husband and wife, were racing and didn't even think of pacing each other.  His third ironman and her first, very nervous race.  Both finished their individual challenges 3 hours apart and happy with their races - raced properly rather than paced.

  • Hey Zeus Britrisky, I'm blowing snot bubbles reading that report. Well done image

    i'm gonna have a break and come back for Seren's.

  • Borobhoy, your crew were brilliant and so easy to spot in their T's, I've got some good photos of you crossing the line I think if your over on facebook they are there.

  • borobhoy...i must have got out of the water seconds after you.....image

  • I was asked earlier for a race report from Ironman Austria but didn't want to put anything in writiing until you guys had all finished.    My husband and I were both doing it - our first one and I think it's fair to say there will be more.

    It was a fab race - hot as heck (high 20s) for a Scottish lass who has barely seen the sun for 6 months but the warm (i.e. above 10 degrees) water in the lake made the swim a delight if a bit like a game of water polo - I did get smacked around quite a bit as it's a land start and after hanging back for a few mins I quickly realised I might as well just get on with it.  I must be honest that the swim passed in a bit of a blur and I found myself getting hauled out and looked at my watch to see 1.15 which I was delighted with (had stopped a few times to look at the scenery (i.e try to pee) - chat to my husband - REALLY - we bumped into one another - only 3000 other folks swimming and we end up side by side - honestly).

     

    Bike was a dream - smmoooooooth tarmac all the way although less said about the big hills the better. I am used to lots and lots and lots of climbing and found the first loop great but I was def holding back and then went for it a bit on the second loop by which time the hills had grown enormously and were suddenly bl**dy steep.

    There may have been a 'yeehah' on the last descent image Finished feeling super strong and overtaking everyone in sight - perhaps I took it a little bit easy on the first loop.

     

    Got off the bike in 6.34 which I was delighted with and then came The Run - this is when I suddenlyl came back to earth with a bump.  I have done a lot of marathons and when it sunk in what I still had to do my heart sank .....

    and then I hit the concrete face first.

    DOH!

     

    Oh well at least I got a massive round of applause when I stood back up - I did have a bottle of water to wash the blood off so that was all good.  The course is 2 loops - the first half in full sunlight - this was tough.  I ran the first loop but on the second loop when I got back into the full glare of the sun I felt the world start to spin. I had to walk for 3 miles (well stumble really) - drinking Iso stuff till hands and toes stopped doing mad pins and needles and the world came back into focus.

     

    Then started running again - body went into auto-pilot I think - met hubbie - had a quick snog - he was only  a few k ahead  -hoorah.   Spent the last 10k or so running quite comfortably - feeling pain  but no more than usual for last part of marathon. Was delighted to see the finishing chute and then made the mistake of looking at my watch when they took the picture - HONESTLY WILL I NEVER LEARN.

     

    Fnished in 12.48 with my marathon time of 4.41 matching my first ever marathon time (new york 2005).  To say I am thrilled is a total understatement. I had hoped for sub 14 so can't quite believe I managed the time that I did.  

     

    Can't wait for the next one - hopefully I will be a better cyclist by then and will be better able to manage my fluid - I made a real mess of my hydration although fuelling def wasn't a problem.  Dr G was only 18 mins in front of me - we swam and ran the same time but he got me on the bike.

    I would recommend Austria to anyone - so beautiful - smooth roads and the lake is just stunning.

     

     

Sign In or Register to comment.