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Ironman Austria 2014
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Comments
So, so gutted
But at least Toucs is alive and well.
Am trying to blag Toucs Outlaw place to give my legs a run out.
Glad to hear Toucs is ok, HC
Your in for next year already and know what you have to do.
Sorry to hear HC, hope you're both OK.
Pugsley through looking strong. He must be on the home straight now I think?
HC sorry to hear about your and Toucs DNF - hope it's nothing too serious for you both
Glad to hear the rest of the pirates are looking strong
pugs finished well
Trogs heading out on her last 10kish now. Mother of a storm clattering around.
Great to see some pirates out there racing well. Both Pugsley and Trogs looked strong whe I saw them on run. I'm so taken by the area I've already made the unprecedented move in signing up to return for official outing next year.
HC sorry to hear the DNF news. The chap I had shout at me from waterfront cafe, I also spotted in transition so assume that was you? Great and much needed boost from every cheer along the way.
Hope Toucs has swift recovery.
On a positive note, I presume you guys got to ENJOY the sweltering heat out there today.
Well done to you all!!
I saw trogs on the run, we had a quick chat before I left her. She was doing great!!! Sorry to hear you DNF Happychap
Trogs through the finish line. Absolutely amazing. Well done..
hope you're all enjoying a drink.
Well done Chaney bee. Not too bad a time for a first
Cracking finish time though.
You coming back next year to better it?!
Well done everyone! Looking forward to reading the reports
Well done everyone - so glad to see Troggs got to the end too
Am going to be very busy reading all the reports from here and Nice over the next few days.....
.....now where's that credit card for next year's entry...........
Well done folks
Full report will follow when I get home but, in brief, I had a much better day than I deserved given the training I'd done - or not to be more accurate.
Gutted for Happychap and Toucs who really had put in a good 9 months of quality training.
As always great to have support from other pirates on the course particularly the run which was a bit of slog for me. Nice chat with Farm Boy on the bike too and I'm sure next time he'll know to check his brakes aren't rubbing before he starts
This is a rather long report for a rather short race, for which I apologise.
By now you will all know the unhappy outcome to the end of the story. But actually, the message behind it is positivity and optimism.
We started training for Ironman Austria in August last year. We had a schedule, that we mostly stuck too. (I need to do more swimming next year). We managed three century rides and lots of intense stuff. We did core strength and weight training and made massive progress there. I lost 35lb in the process and felt amazing.
Two weeks before the event I felt in great shape and ready to nail it when injury struck. For some reason, my piriformis and IT band started to spasm relentlessly. It took out the whole SI joint and has caused quite a lot of discomfort that presently, has still not gone away.
The day before the race I wasn't even sure I would start. But trusting in all the work I had done, I figured I would get into the water and see where it lead.
The Worthersee in Klagenfurt is beautifully clear and an absolutely pleasure to swim in. The swim started well. The pain was manageable and I felt strong. The swim is a dry start. I opted to start at the back and after waiting for a few moments, got clear water that was beautifully warm. Sighting was a bit erratic and I found myself zigzagging around the route. Sighting is not usually a problem, and I reflected on a race report written by Candy on one of the first pirate forays where he described a similar difficulty here. At the time I wondered how that could be, the course is essentially a three sided square until you get to the canal. But the reality was buoys that were not big enough to see and coloured yellow. Practically impossible to see in the early morning light.
The post race dissection this morning at breakfast led to similar complaints. A few just said they never really got into their stride (as it were). On the never ending drag to the canal I was kept entertained by a swimmer who had been pulled out and was resting on the front of a body board. He lay there like a seal until he saw his opportunity and flopped back into the water to start swimming. The marshal chased him shouting 'nein, nein' until he caught and dragged him back onto the board. No easy feat! He'd wait for a couple of minutes until he got another chance and off he flopped again. It was hilarious to watch.
Eventually, after an interminable amount of time, I was climbing out of the water and walking the long road to the changing tent. Swim time 1:56 and change. About where I expected to be.
The hip was sore but I felt good to go on. I sat down and was helped out of my wetsuit by a lovely marshal. They were fabulous in the tent and couldn't do enough to help. Once dressed, I waddled out and made my way to the bike.
This is always the nerve wracking bit. Toucs sometimes gets motion sickness in the water, bad enough to end his race. The swell in the lake although not massive, was enough to make me wonder if he was one of the many dragged out of the water. His bike was racked very close to the change tent and as I passed through, I could see a bike left in roughly the same place as his had been. Muttering 'please don't be his' over and over to myself as I went round the corner I tentatively glanced over and sure enough, there it was. Damn it! With a sinking heart I checked the number on it and confirmed it was his and then headed over to a marshal to ask if she knew anything.
Ten minutes and about a gazillion marshals later, I found one with a phone who made some calls. He confirmed three things, 1. Toucs had not finished the swim, 2. They did not know where he was, 3. If I didn't get on my bike right now, they would DQ me for missing the swim cut off.
They suggested making more enquiries once I'd finished a lap of the bike. It was clear this conversation had ended so I got on the bike and set off on the bike route. My legs felt really strong and loosened up nicely. Finally, I was aware that for the first time in two weeks I was pain free. But I couldn't shake off the niggling doubt about Toucs whereabouts.
If they had told me he was in the med tent but ok. It would have been fine. If they had told me, he'd been pulled out of the water but was on his feet, it would have been fine. But their words 'we don't know what's happened to him, or where he is' just drove me crazy. I've seen him incapacitated for days when he has a bad attack and I was so worried that after just five miles I stopped, thought things through and then decided to turn back and look for him.
My first stop was the medical tent. I spoke to an official looking lady there who kicked me out, 'this is a secure area!' And then said, he'll be turning up in a car soon? I confirmed that he was not in the tent, she said No, and then when pressed, said she didn't know where he was or what they had done with him either.
She told me to stay by the tent and then left (to go shopping I later found out). It was there about ten minutes later that pro athlete Dan Halksworth found me sitting, worried, dejected and wondering what the hell to do.
After exchanging pleasantries, crap day at the office, broken rear derailleur ended race, where do I pick my day bag up, he asked what I was doing there. I explained the situation and he (appalled) set off to find someone to help me. He returned with a team leader who after lots of phone calls confirmed Toucs had been pulled from the water but they did not know what had happened to him from there. She rang the local hospital (no trace) and then our hotel who confirmed he was safe and in the room although still quite unwell.
I thanked Dan and the lady profusely for their help and made my way to the hotel. It turns out, they pulled him from the water and basically dumped him on the pier while he was still vomiting, asked him if he was and then left him to fend for himself. I didn't check the hotel because I never dreamed they would do that! But there you go.
Happily he made a full recovery and we both live to fight another day.
I thought it was fabulous that a pro would take time out, as disappointed as he was was with his day, to help me. He also consoled a distraught athlete who had failed to make the swim cut off. What a top bloke!
Also, training for this event was brilliant. We loved that it came with a sense of achievement at each milestone logged and more importantly, was so much fun. I don't regret even a minute of it. I have an entry for IM Austria next year and I can't wait to get started on the training again.
HC - What a day, glad all turned out ok in the end. At least the training was enjoyable and the weight lose is awesome. Next year you will be even fitter and your chance to finish what you started.
Shame on the staff in the medical tent and some of the marshals but good on the Pro what a good bloke.
HC - well done for enlightening us on your (dreadful) day. I was concerned because I couldn't see a swim cut off for Toucs and knew that he had a real problem with the water. Absolutely awful for you and well done on your decision to go back after all your hard training. We should all remember how precious our loved ones are.
Hope Toucs is ok. You live to fight another day and will clearly not waste all your fitness and hard work
Ditto what the others have said
I love that the Pro helped out.......but in some ways not surprised as triathlon has always seemed to less full of "good people being up themselves" than other sports and is a great leveller in many ways
You guys will as you say live to fight another day - see you in Austria next year
Hi Guys - being new to the sport, and with only a handful of event swim caps to my name.......I have signed up to IM Austria 2015
!!
Grateful for any advice etc!
Cheers
runnerbean .there is a new thread started already for next years austria race with nearly 30 people on the list already......dive in.
