Ironman South Africa Race Report

WARNING: long post

At 3:50am race day began, the weather was calm and it looked like it was going to be a good day for racing, having taken a beating from the surf during Saturday's race prep it was nice to see a calm sea and relatively light winds. The forecast was suggesting a hot one so breakfast was accompanied by a heavy sun screen session.

In transition I clocked the opposition for the day, I know that at an Ironman it's your race and you cannot control the opposition and you can't make any attempt to actually race until the last 10k of the marathon, blah, blah, blah, but I cannot help looking at who looks lean and quick in my AG and, more importantly, whose bike looks like it's going to be ridden fast. As it happened number 77, Marcel Bischof, looked quick and was. Some 11 hours later it would be him who I would be fighting with for a ticket to the Big Island.The sea stayed calm and I felt ready, totally the opposite of IMUK. I knew what I was capable of and I was confident in the work I'd done. As the African drummers beat out a steady rhythm I managed to control the butterflies and focused on not getting swum over in the first 200m. I've never started a race from the beach and it was a totally new experience. Despite starting wide everyone charged for the first buoy and with it being only 200m in there was the inevitable bottleneck and I got the proverbial crap beaten out of me. After this things calmed a little and I was able to find a nice rhythm, the Aquasphere Icon wetsuit I was testing was a dream to swim in (check out the Tri247 review coming soon) and I exited the first loop in just under 30mins, a solid start. Unfortunately I noticed my timing chip had come loose and had to stop the put it back on, an easy task under normal circumstances but bending over when you've been horizontal for 30mins caused a little light headiness and lost me a minute, the first of what would be many lost minutes in the day. The second entry into the water was a bit more leisurely and the second lap was all about pace. I took it quite easy and exited in a time of 1:02. A little slower than I may have liked but I think the beach run half way through will always add a bit of time on and no one ever won and Ironman on the swim!

A gentlemanly 4 minutes in transition (in felt a lot more rushed!) put me a bit behind the other AG contenders who had exited the swim within 10 seconds of me and it was off on the bike course, miraculously the wind was staying away. This was a blessing at 8:00am but would reek havoc later on for many athletes. The bike profile is relatively flat but there is a 10k climb out of transition. I felt good but knew that it was going to be a long day so tried to hold back, I took about 25 places on the first climb and then settled in to chasing a ~5:07 bike split. All was going well through the first lap and I came past transition in 1:41 putting me well under target split and feeling pretty good... then it happened, a bloody puncture on my rear tyre. Before I travelled out I had changed my tyres and putting the rear one on was hell. Even with the super-human forearms and vice like fingers of The Bike Whisperer it took us 10 minutes! I thought it was over. Swearing like a navvy, and trying to avoid the ears of marshals and set about what I thought would be an impossible task. After about 13minutes of F-ing and blinding the 30C heat meant the tyre had a little more give and I managed to get it back on. Having seen about 50 people go past me I thought it was now just a question of finishing and any hopes of Kona had gone.
On the next lap things began to heat up and the sun which had saved my bacon earlier was now starting to slowly cook me. I kept on drinking and knew that the run was going to be a sticky affair. Past transition on lap 2 I could see I actually had cycled a 1:43, still under pace but the ~13mins had cost me. Lap 3 was very tough and I struggled for the first 40k, I just kept on repeating coaches words, "Ironmen are won and lost on the marathon", this one wasn't over 'till the fat lady died and I wasn't going down without a fight. As I turned onto the coast with 20k left the caffinated gel did its job and I perked up. I knew I could bring home a 5:20 split even with the lost time. Then disaster struck, again. My tyre went flat with 10k left to go! I knew changing it again would spell the end of my challenge so opted to re inflate. It took another 3 or 4 minutes to get sorted but it seemed to be holding, 15 minutes later riding hell for leather I rolled into T2 on a flat rear tyre but I'd just made it. I came home in 5:21, without the punctures it would have been roughly a 5:05.. bang on target.

I was 20 minutes down on first and lying in 5th spot, it was going to be a slog but Northerners don't quit so it was time to go for broke. The first lap of 14k was solid and on 3:20 marathon pace, it was only as I came through lap 1 that John Levison told me I had run my way onto the podium, I was in third and had taken 8 minutes out of first and second, it was most definitely on. I picked up the pace and pressed on. As I headed towards the climb to the university I passed second, who was walking and this spurred me on. The heat was taking its toll on all those around me and most people were walking, if I could keep running then it was mine to lose. At the 18k mark GI problems set in and a quick stop in a conveniently placed porter loo was required (2 more minutes), this seemed to un-bloat me but resulted in rather painful stomach cramps, stopping wasn't an option. At about 26k in I saw 77, the guy I clocked some 10 hours ago. I went straight past him and put on my best "I'm just out for an afternoon jog" face on, don't think I was fooling anyone. At the turn around I had 4 minutes and I saw him notice that I'd past him. He certainly wasn't about to give up either. I was slowing all the time and GI problems hit again, another stop at the porter loos folllowed by another, and this time crippling, bout of stomach cramps. It was agony and made the pain in my legs feel like a pleasant tickle, I had to press on. On the final 8k, practically doubled over in pain, I was just waiting to 77 come past but thankfully he didn't... I crossed the line in 10:04 minutes with one of the quickest marathons of the day beating several pros. A quick trip to the medical tent and it all started to sink in, I'd done it, every sacrifice had been worth it, I'm going to Kona!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible:

John Levison of Tri247- keep a look out for my race tested product reviews in the next couple of days.

Scherrit and Corrine at the Bike Whisperer - check out the bike photos, that position is solely a result of their expertise.

Nicola Burgin at Travel Counsellors who planned the whole trip and managed to locate some of the best placed accommodation in Port Elizabeth as well as planning the logistics for the remainder of my time here. I would highly recommend her to anyone thinking of racing abroad especially if it is combined with a family vacation before or after. Much of my result is thanks to her meticulous planning and research.

Coach Clarke - without whom a 3:33 marathon would have been impossible. Probably the only coach in the UK who can claim to have a 100% success rate of Kona qualification.

I'm off for some more greasy food and a beer, happy days.

:-)