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Ironman Wales 2011
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The bike course what can I say, for those that bother to read my drivel you know i can be usually found somewhere in Cornwall grinding up a hill on my fixie, tosay I am glad I did is an undestatement I loved the bike the first llop was so scenic especially along the coastline with all the surf coming in around her I spotted a certain pirate I had met earler up in front so I went off to say hello imagine my suprise when it turned out to be Joddly
who had turned herself from a gibbering shipwreck into the little mermaid 
in the swim I was so chuffed for her, she was cracking out a fair lick n the bike to and I just knew then barring a mechanical she was going to finish, I pressed on into the other 2 laps which were a lot tougher and much more technical this was a course were you had to stay alert all the time lots of people had gravel rash and the ambulance seemed to be doing steady 
trade great support in the villages one little old lady was sat in her chair the whle time ringing her cow bell it realy got the emotions flowing the Wisemans Bridge climb was epic great pirate support second time up it was mental I met quite a few pirate out on the bike apologies to any I havent mentioned but I do get a bit zoned out and find it hard to recall specifics after the event (I know Meldy........senile dementia
) I remember chats with FB and clear Links and riding with Shaun Mills fr a time, I was very happy with 6:54 ish on the bike I had kept it steady and felt pretty fresh so time to get rocking on what I like and know best running the hillier the better 
Run
Feck me I didnt mean THAT hilly
this was one tough end to an ironman the laps worked great for the support and the spectatores but mentally Lap 1 nice and steady ease into it not problem. Lap 2 sod it I have got to go out on that long climb out of town again LAP 3 was by far the hardest I could see lots of fellow pirates out there giving there all both running and spectating. Spectaors I saw or heardBassy, shmunks, sherpa, to name a few Barley and Seren to see you supporting was tough as I knew your races had gone pear shaped but it shows your Pirate strenght that you got out and cheered us all on thanks
thanks to all the other sadly nameless pirates I was getting beyond even giving the AAAARRRRRR response by then on the course shaun was setting the pace just in front I remember Slag telling me he was bollixed (or words to that effect) but knew he would be fine, Joddly was head down and grinding it out at a steady pace as were all the rest so all was good in the world
The final lap was a big lift as soon as I put that final band on i thought 6 miles to go thats an easy early morning training run so fixed the smile on (grimace) my face and flew coming into the chute the support was incredible I took off my tattred old lucky IM hat and threw it into the crowd (didnt think I would need it again as at that point that was definately the LAST one
Pics below
http://www.finisherpix.com/recent_events.html?&pcevent=0077
Bib number 636
Surname Kirby
does anybody have any figures on how many dnf's...i know there is usually a spreadsheet that comes out but i cant seem to find it and am interested to see the splits etc which show who made each section and onto the end!
What I found interesting in that video was how few of the finishers shown RAN through the finish - most of them ran up to it, then walked through!
What I took to be the first woman ran through though, then went back and skipped through the second time
From the IM Facebook page, 1303 started, 1136 finished so about 13% dnf, that seems high
Pingu
I forgot to mention in my report your wonderful daughter sorted my bags and stuff out in T2 thank her from me
Congratulations to all those who took part at IM Wales. What a tough day! It would have been such a hard course without the weather, but with what you guys had to cope with too - wow! You have huge bragging rights for the rest of your lives!!!
I had such fun supporting you all on the run. We were outside the appropriately named "Buccaneer" pub. I'm back at work today and can hardly speak, my voice has gone from all the shouting I did. I think I enjoyed myself a bit too much hehe.
Apologies to the pirate we abused with shouts of "you slag". Bit of confusion there, but you seemed to take it in your stride.
A trail of events led me to the IMW start line, two years ago I am not sure I really knew what an Ironman was. It started with the purchase of a treadmill for the Mrs in June09.
15kgs lighter and a few marathons at the end of 2010 I started poking around in triathlon forums…I found my way onto the Pirate Forums and enjoyed the healthy banter…that was one of my many mistakes….after a couple of months and spot of healthy YouTube viewing , I am afraid to say, another sucker was hooked in.
I chatted it through with the Mrs and started looking at the different events in 2011. So by Jan11 I had a bike, turbo and was getting into the pool.
I didn’t immediately register for any events, firstly I needed to check whether the knees would hold up to some biking and the shoulder to some swimming (I have a shoulder that dislocates like Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon) (FB that’s why I ducked out the high5 when I was on the bike out of T1…luckily I still had my wits about me).
I looked into Total Immersion Swimming but ditched it as I didn’t think I had the time and to be honest I battled with the patience required to relearn how to swim….an Ironman doesn’t flap around in the shallow-end of the pool watching everyone else pound the lanes
I registered for Wales, I wanted to do a branded one for the first one and plotted everything back from there. Thanks Meldy for training programme, I used that as well as what events I could find to work out the basis for a plan. Fitting in two one hundred mile bikes Sportives (one of the many new words I learned this year).
I’ll cut it short here, just two points to mention before race weekend. My first marathon was NY09 (4h48), I hit the wall really badly suffice to say, on this IM journey I have had that experience to draw upon. Through better preparation and nutrician I didn’t go back to that place but I always knew I had it has my last line of defence to get through.
Secondly I fell apart on the first of the 100miler Sportives, it was a tough windy, wet day. I was poorly prepared and got my nutrican horribly wrong (subsequently understand)….biking is easier right, surely you need far less calories…doh. I was losing my vision and I could have run faster at the end - really. That was a massive wake-up call and kick up the backside. I did another bike fit, got better bike cages and bottles (they kept falling out) and started researching nutrician for the bike. Numptie, absoltuely
Sheepishly introduced myself at Race Briefing, stepping from the virtual world to the real world. Race Briefing was funny in a macabre way, as the announcer told us about Swim locations, potential course change, extended T1 possibility and extent of climbing on the bike (he was enjoying himself).
Saterday rolls round and I realise I forgot my bike repair kit – doh…the lord up above thinks to himself…lets turn the screws on that chap down there, pointing at me. This is the chap that has had soooo many punctures in training, I have gone through spares tubes and still had to fix punctures on the side of the road…so the irony was beautiful. So bought new stuff, fixed it to the bike and started to realise my mind was turning to mush….concentrate…concentrate, get these bags checked in, check in the bike and get out of here…oh yes and see FB to see if the Pirate Trisuit fits (thanks again)…this just goes to show how wonderful modern fabrics are….we are not peas in the pod, one long one strong
Ironkids on Saterday…both my son and daughter race. The clouds departed and we had a great time. They were chuffed with the numbers written on their arms and legs, chuffed with the medels, got a bit tiresome the announcer “you are an Ironkid” repeat 100 times. The best part was my daughter was all smiles, she thoroughly enjoyed it…uh oh Dad might have to buy a bling bike in future but not for himself
Evening with the family then early to bed with the kids (much to their amuzement)….to bed oh yes but not to sleep…no no sleep was an elusive fellow that night. And it was through those hours of lying there that I was truly thankful, truly thankful for not being The Slag. To have to endure a night in a tent through that weather, wind, rain and some might say howling laughter before your first Ironman…well I can only say he put himself through the most gruelling of tests, he’s not an Ironman, he’s Titanium Man. I didn’t sleep a wink but I did get rest.
Up at 4am, porridge for breakfast, met a few more competitors around the breakfast tables….’we’ really do stick out at 4h30 on a Sunday morning. Off to bike, pump up the tires but wheels won’t turn, breaks are stuck….push and shove and they’re fixed…into wetsuit and off to the beach with all my fabulous crew.
I love that time, excitement, fear, nervous energy, sun rising, sound of the sea. Capture that in a bottle and sell it.
Then out of the mists of nameless faces steps The Slag, we trundle around a bit together then head into the water for a warm-up splash around.
Swim 1h02. I loved the swim, I ran about half way down the beach following my particular mass of people and jumped in. I had no argy bargy, clear water and made the turn. It was quite lumpy out by Turn1, I couldn’t see the bouys very well but when I did see them I aligned to cliffs to use for sighting. For all bouys I then stayed on an outside line. Finished Lap1, refix the race tracker around ankle and into Lap2. Sun coming through the clouds on one side and spectators/clifftops on the other….what a beautiful time. A bit of cramp in the legs half way round but just dragged them a bit more, no problem. Round the last bouy, brilliant swim back trying to use the sets in, loved it.
[Now if Carlesberg made IM they would give me another two laps of the swim and take 20miles off the bike]
Up the hill, grab bag, shoes on to run to T1, wetsuit off, helmet on, bike shoes on. No drama, what? no drama, cooool that went to plan, T1 done and off we go.
I stuck with my nutrician plan to the letter throughout bike. Water T1, Gels 10min, powerbar 30min + water, Torq Drink – repeat for 3hrs spreading out the timeframes to consume just under 500 calories an hour. After 3hrs no solids just gels and sports drink. Picked up Bike Special Needs (Hammer Perpetuem) to keep calories up and break the cycle of gels…boy oh boy was I glad for that.
I thought I would be Ok in the swim so I went into the bike expecting to be overtaken by all and sundry…and that is how it went, the pointy hats, the disk wheels, as the minutes rolled by so did everyone else. I was expecting it and that is how it panned out for me. I found the bike brutal, I had read Gordo’s book and other magazines about keeping heart rate down in the first part of the bike….high cadence up hills to save legs for run…blah blah blah. I was not in a position to chose, seriously I ground up those hills, out the saddle with the highest (lowest whichever way the bike terminology works) gear I had…I had no more gears and some of those hills I reverted to that were embarrassing. On the second lap of the second loop I concentrated on getting through three sections: Wiseman’s Bridge (the thought crossed my mind who the hell was this Wise Man (gold, frankinsense…) and what was he doing at this bridge) Narbeth, Saundersfoot. Pingu was figuratively with me through Saudersfoot as we had spoken at Race briefing…that was the killer hill. Another thing I tried was go to a lower gear (harder) and standup earlier in the hills to try and keep momentum…using a bit more toughen-up…and that helped break up the forlorn outlook as wave after wave of hills kept coming. Seeing yet another hill that you may have gone through earlier in the day but not remembering it, is not nice. Anyway you get the picture, my back had held out, but I just wanted to get on with the run.
It was good to see both RBM and Shaun on the bike. The Welsh support was brilliant, everywhere, the aid stations were well organised, I got what I needed everytime. I think they did Wales proud.
So into T2 and now I can finally let that niggle go….I had dared not whisper it…I had thought it but not spoken out loud…yiippeee no punctures (no doubt my next ride I’ll get loads but that’s ok, I’ll pay that penance)
Run 4h02
T2 again, no drama, stop for a chat with the family, kisses, pictures – lovely. Now one foot in front on the other….right lets go get a few pointy hats ?
Throughout the run I knew where I was and what my nutrician position was. Throughout I mixed up having banana halfs (X3), water, gels (X3) and pepsi (mostly). It was through the run I was so grateful for borrowing FB’s Trisuit, now everyone knew who the Pirates were.
First two laps it felt like I was just about holding my own in the field, retrospectively I think those that were overtaking were all way up the field and I was actually moving up a bit. I saw Shaun, RBM, Hope and FB going in opposite directions in the loops and met-up with Mr Z, Pingu and The Slag going the same direction. It was cool to see pockets of Pirate Support on the course (thank you thank you) and giving low fives to the kids…all in all I was enjoying the moment, in good spirits.
Lap Three was Ok, finding the hills tougher and needed to walk one silly stretch by the bandstand. BTW they have a lovely bench there for sitting and taking in the view…not that I used it on this occasion. Met up with Orange Cannon and I had a case of band envy at this stage, he was on the last lap.
Saw a few other Pirates unknown to me and was getting confused by a group of yellow supports in Town that didn’t have a skull & crossbones anywhere on them….must have missed them…check next time…uh same again...uuhh oh well.
Finish: 12h45
Still a bit of a surreal feeling, like life after, knowing I can and have done it.
Apologies for not coming back to finish, I would loved to have done everything, it is actually what I had planned with the kids. My wife had to leave to make it back to home for her commitments on Monday (got home at 1h30, what a trooper she is) and I had a very memorable couple of pints with my Dad.
Especially well done to Slagiatt & Hope, the weather turned again late in the day, it colder and wetter, you have banked a toil of an experience to call upon,
Major errors made: I am 6ft3 and I just went online and bought the biggest bike they had from Halfords. Please anyone reading this and thinking of starting on this, get a bike sizing/fit BEFORE you go and buy a bike.
I feel like I have peeled back one layer of an Onion…a big layer, learnt a hell of lot. I would love to do another but it’s the training I need to consider, so I need to take some time to decide whether I come back for more.
[apologies to those I forgot the names of, at various times I was getting mixed up with the real world, virtual world or just plain forgetting, great to share this experience with some great folks]
Nice report CL, I must do one, I loved shouting out to all the pirates I'd met earlier in the weekend.
RBM, thanks duly passed on, she says the Pirates were the best in transition
Brilliant Reports Ridgebackmax and Clear Link.
Keep them coming, Each one makes me even more grateful I did Regensburg and not Wales!
No, not me. I'm afraid I did not get down to the swim start until after the gun had gone off. May have been one of Hope's supporters?
My race report
I knew I wanted to do IMW as soon as Pebble started this thread, the first IM in Wales … and it would be my first IM … I had too! But the expensive put me off, so I did the sensible thing and went out for a girlie Christmas night out and came back pissed and signed up.
This thread has been priceless in terms of support and advice so thanks to everyone.
On race day I was up at 4.30, in the dark, tent billowing around and to the sound of lashing rain and braced myself for a day in the cold and wet. Walked over to transition with Mr Zuvai, Slag and a friend also racing but not a Pirate and did the bike checks then headed over to N Beach. What an amazing sight.The streets were packed, orange capped heads bobbing around and then the most amazing thing happened, the sun came up and the clouds cleared and we had blue sky!
Then it’s a blur, we’re on the beach, the national anthem is playing, there’s a loud noise, and what? We’re off? Shit! There’s no racing in the water for me, rather just wade in slowly until a big wave knocks me over. Oh well, that’s that, I’m in and off I go. Sadly, that big wave knocked my friends goggles off and they were lost, he bravely managed to make the first lap without goggles but couldn’t finish, gutted.
I loved the swim. Had been dreading it for months and I just couldn’t get over how much I was enjoying it bouncing over the waves. The second lap was much the same, couldn’t believe my time was 1.20 when I finished.
Then up and up the windy path, I had one of the highest race numbers, so my shoes were right at the bloody top of the path! Then across Tenby to T1, people shout and yelling all the way.
Into T1, arm warmers on, gillet on, helmet on, glasses on, Bloc shots in pocket, socks on, shoes on, race number on, and out. Ran in to my daughter and friend who were helpers and had big hugs.
Then on the bike and off. The weather was still lovely, windy as hell but you can almost forgive it when the sky is blue. My aim for this race was always, to finish it and to enjoy it so I always made sure my pace was comfortable, (ok, except on THOSE hills). The first 30 mile loop passed smoothly, always praying for no mechanical issues, been unlucky in a couple of races there. On the first of the 40 mile loop again it was good, I always tried to shout thanks to the supporters and volunteers cos they were AMAZING! For the second loop the wind picked with a vengeance, bastard. I apologised to a couple of cyclists that passed me as I was shouting f*ck off to the wind, that it wasn’t aimed at them, honest!Speed went down to 10mph .. in the granny gear. This lasted until the route got a bit more sheltered but the result was knackered legs. I was not looking forward to the 16%er and 12%er the second time.
… From about 90 miles on it got hard. I got to the 16%er and there were people pushing their bikes up, but I got up it and had exchanges with other cyclists about what bastards the IMW folk were. Sadly coming down the other side there was an ambulance with a cyclist who’d come off. I hope he was ok but it didn’t look good.
The final 12%er was evil. But there were so many people supporting there it gave you that push you needed. I felt it inappropriate to swear loudly at the hill as there were small children present. Instead I thanked them kindly for their support.
Then the top of the hill, hurrah, then lovely descent into Tenby, passing all the runners. So many of them. And so many of them with multiple coloured bands! That was the start of the band envy that would last till the finish.
Into T2. My lovely daughter again sorted out my shoes because my back was so painful I couldn’t bend it. Thank goodness for strong painkillers. And then Mr Zuvai comes in and we have a chat .
Then out on the run. As I left T2 passed Alan W carrying his bike, so gutted.
Now I’ve had a bad year with running, achilles, calf and then a sprained foot so I never intended to run the whole thing so was aiming for a run down hill strategy, walk the rest! The multiple lap run I was unsure about but it was great for seeing people and I saw FB, CL, Slag Hope, OC, Sean and Mr Zuvai, many times, which made the whole thing fun. I got to about 13 miles comfortably then realised I hadn’t taken any fuel on. Took a gel from the feed station, had a mouthful and oh my god. Guts breakdown. Cramp, nausea and fear of the other one. It wasn’t too bad walking, but running would have made me puke. But not such a bad thing as I could walk still and I walk fast.
I had a bad time between about maybe 16 and 22 miles as I felt dizzy through lack of food and sick because of too many gels on the bike so I sipped coke and kept walking and eventually started feeling ok again. By now it was dark, and the wind and the rain of hurricane Katia had arrived. Horizontal rain was sheeting down and it was cold. I was so glad I was on the last loop and really felt for people with another one to go. I the last mile I chatted to a poor guy who had another loop and as we got to the band station we had to go our separate ways, I so hope he made it!
I got my last band. No idea how much further, no idea what time it was. I turned the corner and could see the end!!! Had to run the finishers corridor, no amount of bad guts was going to stop that and then … it was finished! 2.4 miles of swimming (in the sea!!), 112 on the bastard of bike courses and 26.2 mile run, in 15.09. Amazing day.
The supporters, the volunteers, the Pirates made it a day never to forget.
Kristen Moeller has just written the following on her FB page, says it allfor how tough a course IMW was:
IM Wales: i've got the double of uk. Enjoying my 2nd Ironman victory. After a stormy swim in the atlantic, cycled a very windy bike course, including 2400m of altitude. Took over the lead at the 1st of 4 loops in the Marathon. The hilly run course with it's 800m of altitude, made IM Wales by far the toughest Ironman i done.
Good to know they found it tough, too.
Great reports coming in. Almost fancy it. But it's the wrong time of year I think for me. But if you want to have a go at a tough one, it seems bonkers to go to Lanzarote when Wales is on our door step...
Massive respect to you all. Great race reports Pingu... CL... loving the attitude. And like Nige says...bragging rights!
I just checked out the ironman.com website, and the 2012 event is now listed as 9th September (it wasn't listed yesterday). No method of entry on there yet and given the tales of easy glory you've been telling
i guess it'll fill up pronto once there's a portal. i think this is going to be my "A" race for 2012. Pray for me?
The weather window was a minor miracle and for the Ironkids race as well although it really hammered in for the 14 hours + peeps it would have been carnage on that technical bike course if that lot had come in 10 hours earlier