Ironman Wales 2012

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  • see my new thread.....

    image
  • "6 has something about it"

    Yes indeed! I venture to say, IM isn't the same without FB.

    C'mon FB - 16 Sept is my birthday. And I'm night blind so an overnight IM is out of the question.

  • Having just got around to watching a recording of the Ironman Wales TV programme (screened a couple of weeks ago) a couple of points seemed worthy of note:

    Recalling that my own egress from the sea was rather undignified,  I was encouraged to see that a number of elite athletes were also unceremoniously dumped on the sand.

    Even Kirsten Moller (all of 4 stone soaking wet) almost came to a standstill on the hill at Saundersfoot as did I (14.5 stone on a good day) however the similarities ended abruptly as she skipped past me on her final lap of the run as I was lumbering along on my first

    Oh happy days!

  • Ironbloke wrote (see)
    Spent well over £1k on race entries alone this year.  Add to that loads on travel, accommodation etc and not to mention loads more on kit, bike bits and bobs and gadgets; this sport is probably going to bankrupt me.  Notwithstanding all that I am sure I will be back at Tenby next year; just need to get my training more race specific - such as: Swimming at the bottom of Niagra Falls, cycling for 60 miles into a wind tunnel with occasional sideways gusts followed by riding up and down a cliff and then finally running into a deluge of icy water.  It could be worse and will - I will also be at Bolton spending the Saturday driving around the various venues dropping off kit, bike etc... Reebok for Race Briefing and Pasta Party.  You end up knackered and thats before the race starts at stupid o clock on Sunday morning.  Surely it is all madness...
    That made me properly lol!! image
  • fat buddha wrote (see

     5 is enough. although 6 has something about it..... image
    Retired my arse!imageimageimageimageimageimageimageimage
  • I'm in! Bought 'n' paid for
    Hokori
    Joddly
    Kelvyn
    OrangeCannon
    Slagiatt
    Slags mate Tony (forum name tba but he may get stuck with this)
    Slowerthanilook
    Ultra Ironwolf

    Entering but procrastinating on actually paying up
    Alan W
    thedrainman

    Supporting and Volunteering

    Iron Pingu
    Schmunkee
    Mr Zuvai
    M..Triumphant
    Artful Hen - volunteering

    Im in! - all bought and paid for!!!

  • I'm in! Bought 'n' paid for
    Hokori
    Joddly
    Kelvyn
    OrangeCannon
    Slagiatt
    Slags mate Tony (forum name tba but he may get stuck with this)
    Slowerthanilook
    Ultra Ironwolf

    waving not drowning!

    Entering but procrastinating on actually paying up
    Alan W
    thedrainman

    Supporting and Volunteering

    Iron Pingu
    Schmunkee
    Mr Zuvai
    M..Triumphant
    Artful Hen - volunteering

    back for another try

  • I am considering entering as my girlfriend lives in Pembrokeshire so that would mean free accommodation.However it would be my first IM distance.I have read that it is one of the toughest courses on the circuit which makes me somewhat nervous.
  • Don't be NB - for many of us this year it was our first IM, and most managed OK. Get the hours in and don't be afraid of sea swimming and hills on the bike and you will have no problem
  • Don't be scared NB - I'm a crap swimmer, weak climber on the bike and can't run worth a damn any more due to a hip/thigh problem, but I've entered anyway. Ever optimistic. The race is on my birthday so that's a good reason to do it!
  • These responses all making me a bit more positive.ultra that's a great reason to do it. I think il have to practise sea swimming though.
  • NB its a well tough day out but the support makes it all worthwhile, just train properly and you will be fine Oh and at least a couple of sea swims as part of your training is a must IMHO, a killer of a course but with the right prep its definately do able as a first one
  • Thanks Ridgeback.I was thinking of doing the Llandudno sea swim as part of my training for it.Also a couple of hilly sportives.Bala Oly in September the lake was quite choppy so I suppose that will have helped.
  • BN sounds like a planimage
  • The Long Course Weekend in early June is the best prep you could do for IM Wales.
    Same swim and bike route at a very reasonable price, hard to find a reason not to if you have free accom in Pembers.
    Oh BTW it was my first IM too.
  • Our Channel relay swim in July should be a good warm-up then!
  • fat buddha wrote (see)
    heads up volunteers

    IM Wales like the idea of the pirates taking over transition for the day at the 2012 event and I'll be talking to 8iron next week - if he remembers to call me - to discuss the plan and how it will work. 

    we'll need as many volunteers as we can muster so I'll punt up a separate thread calling for volunteers and get Schmunkee to do a list image when I have more details.....



    Any news on this, FB?
  • nothing more yet Schmunks - not had the conversation with Matt yet but will try to do so asap. plenty of time yet
  • Hi Buddha/Others.

    Any advice on chainset/cassette suggestions for IMW? I have Shim 105 Compact 34-50 on the front and 10 on the cassette currently. It got me round Etape Cymru well enough, which I reckon must have been a similarly horrible profile to IMW. But I'm thinking of ways to give myself a little more scope for the climbs, on the basis that keeping a bit of life in my legs for the run will be more important than pure bike speed.

    Was also planning on buying some aero wheels... nothing mental... like a 50mm - 80mm set from Planet X. Is that just dumb vanity? Will I be better off with a lighter set of climbing wheels, or is there still an aero advantage at all?

    Any thoughts, please?
    Thanks!

  • if you got around Etape Cymru on that setup, it will be fine for IMW. what spread do you have on the rear?? if it's 12*25 you might want to consider 12*27 or 12*29 just to give you little extra comfort for the steep hills. unlike a sportive, you need to keep some freshness in the legs for the run so maybe think about some lower gearing at the back.

    as for deep rim wheels, I did IMW with my HED Jets(60 front, 90 rear) and all I will say is - given the strong winds we had - I'm glad I didn't have a disk!! it did get twitchy at times in the strong cross winds and the descent into Freshwater Bay was interesting to say the least as that was about the windiest section.

    if no or little wind - deep rims; if blowing like fuck - lightweights. I don't regret using the Hed's but in hindsight, lightweights might have been a better choice on the day if nothing else to stop my arse twitching!!
  • I'm in! Bought 'n' paid for
    Hokori
    Joddly
    Kelvyn
    OrangeCannon
    Slagiatt
    Slags mate Tony (forum name tba but he may get stuck with this)
    Slowerthanilook
    Ultra Ironwolf

    waving not drowning!

    Ironnurse

    Entering but procrastinating on actually paying up
    Alan W
    thedrainman

    Supporting and Volunteering

    Iron Pingu
    Schmunkee
    Mr Zuvai
    M..Triumphant
    Artful Hen - volunteering

    back for another try

  • Nice one, Buddha. Thanks for that. Might just pop a bigger cassette on the back then.
    And I'll buy the wheels anyway. Even if I never ride on them, they'll make my bike look fast in the garage.

    Just edited this one to correct my desperate, sausage-fingered typing. The SHAME!!

  • In, bought and paid for too, add me to that list!

    First IM for me too, and i am currently firmly somewhere between nervous anxiety and euphoria!

    Looking forward to all the training and hopefully feeling like i can do it and also for a relatively green triathlete and a beginner IM i am looking forward to a little support/info/consolation over the coming months here!

    First question, will my straight forward road bike (Spesh Allez with tri bars) be a useful tool or are there any adjustments/alterations i could make to it on a relatively tight budget to transform my performance?

  • A road bike + tri bars will be fine
    +ves- easy to change gear. There's lots of gear changing to do
    A lot cheaper
    They can decend well- theres quite a few technical downhills, ie have a corner half way down, or a junction at the bottom
    -ves - slightly less aero but if you get a good position on a road bike then that will be good enough

    There was a good mix of tri bikes and road bikes - way less carbon blingbthan in other races I have done

    Get a bento box to help carry food/ gels. I also have a cheap bontrager rear saddle mounted drinks bottle thing ( about £40??). Holds a canister with spare gels, + a saddle bag with spare inner tubes / co2 stuff
  • As OC says your Spesh will be fine as it is a tad hilly, plus it will feel great whizzing past all the mega buck bikesimageimage
  • Looks like I'll have to pull out of this, my leg pain has been diagnosed as arthritis of the hip. I have an appointment (not until 6th March!) at a specialist sports clinic to discuss an athroscopy to get me running again for another 2 or 3 years. Recovery time is reckoned to be around 10 weeks, which means I will have missed nearly a year of running by the time I'm allowed to start training again (if it happens).  I have to believe the diagnosis is correct as I was told 3 years ago by another doc to quit running.

        image

  • Thats a shame UIW hope it all works out in the long run
  • Thanks for the feedback guys, good to know i don't have to spend mega bucks and as you say RBM will be good to whizz past a few that have hopefully! The two feed options you mention OC were two that i was toying with so good to know i am thinking along the right lines, thanks again!

    UIW commiserations! 

  • Mrs. Zuvai here............

    Im up for volunteering/supporting/doing anything that could possibly need doing!   image

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