Ironman 70.3 World Championship

I don’t even know how to start this one.

I’ve recapped Stafford, I’ve mentioned something personal derailed me in-between Stafford and this race, and I stated I still ended up at the expo and registration.

So yes. I was there. At an Ironman 70.3 World Championship race. But I didn’t care. It no longer held that meaning for me of ‘oh my god look where I am!’. It’s a very strange thing to be at a race, a very big race as well, and not be super focused and nervous about what you are about to do. But you can’t control everything in life. Things happen that will test your absolute everything.

The only thing you can control is your own mind and your own actions.

We were staying about an hour away from race start so it was a very early morning start for our wee one, poor thing. But, as with every race he comes to with us, he was up and dressed and ready for the day. The roads unsurprisingly were very clear albeit the fog was quite intense. So intense it turns out that they delayed the start of the race. I was in the first wave of swimmers behind the pro’s so unfortunately I wouldn’t get to see the likes of Daniella Ryf or Taylor Knibb or Kat Matthews. That was definitely a bummer.

All around me I could hear people talking about how cold the water was and I spotted a few people wearing the warmer swim caps. I hadn’t done the practise swim (I always like to do a practise swim!) but I had put my hand in it the day before and to me it felt fine. Ah well, we will see.

In the pen and I decided to go about halfway in my group. I’m under no illusion that a dolphin is even remotely my spirit animal (I’m actually terrified of them and will NEVER swim with them again) so I’m not going near the front but too close to the back and all I will see is the next colour of hats over taking me and that will be very depressing. I know how to keep out of the way and I was well aware that in this race, I was the underdog, so it was up to me to move. A woman in front of me suddenly turned round and said ‘let’s not have any pushing and shoving shall we ladies, we are too old for that shit. Let’s just have a good, safe race.’

This was followed by lots of nods and agreement. Never have I felt more comfortable at a swim start before. Especially after what had happened at Ireland just weeks before.

The dock was a metre above the lake and we had been told to jump feet first unless you knew for sure what you were doing with your dive. I didn’t see a single person dive. I held my goggles and my nose and I jumped in.

And then I waited and waited and waited until I eventually reached the surface again, and I started swimming.

I genuinely believe I went down at least 10 metres. I kid you not.

1900metres is a long way really. I may swim more than that 3 times a week but in a race, in one go, it’s quite far. As usual I waited for the inevitable overtaking of hundreds of other athletes but it didn’t really happen. I seemed to be able to keep an alright pace. I was very relaxed though, which was a nice change. At no point did I have to calm myself down, count my strokes or even sing myself a little song to get back in rhythm. Not even when I was swam over in a style I have never seen before. In fact, I actually took a mental note of that so I could use it in a coaching session.

‘This is going great, I must be beating my Stafford time after all that panicking in the water there’ I thought. Next to me was a woman with a full face of make up on. I could see her bright red lipstick every time I breathed to her side. How?? I had a face full of bogeys and slavers whilst she looked like she was about to go on the catwalk. I hope I’m not next to her in any photos.

Climbing out was very tricky. I’m very small. The steps were very big. And slimy. But I didn’t fall. Glancing at my watch I definitely pulled a face. How was that slower than Stafford?? I enjoyed that swim!

That. Right there. That’s why. You’re enjoying it. Not racing it.

I had a lovely chat with a women in T1. Yes, a chat. She was a much older women, not in my age group, so had clearly swam like a fish. ‘There’s no need to rush, just enjoy it. It’s just a race. We are all here to have fun’. I’m not so sure those tearing past me looking like bulls to a rag would agree with her but I thought she was lovely and my mood was slowly lifting as we talked.

Next was the bike. I had been out for a test ride before having to rack my bike for the race and, well, my nether regions had had a very rough encounter with a pot hole and the saddle on my bike. I swear I must have found the ONLY pot hole in all of Finland and went in to it. It was that sore that a bath that night was definitely not a relaxing experience. Given this had happened, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to the bike part.

Out of T1 and thankfully, ‘that’ area seemed fine. The gods must have taken pity on me I think. No sooner did I make a sigh of relief though but my legs started to give way. What the? It was a hill fair enough, but it wasn’t, like, a scottish hill. I could not get my legs to turn the pedals. This was new.

I started going through in my mind what I had had pre-race. Had I had enough? What about the fact we were delayed? The water was a lot warmer than I was used to also.

I decided to stuff myself with my nutrition and took a couple of the sodium tablets. This felt more like a muscle fatigue or possibly a cramping but I couldn’t exactly stop at the side and pull out a foam roller. As we got out in to the countryside it started to ease – and I started to count the bikes going past me.

Big mistake. Huge. I think I stopped at about 20. Which was only about 30seconds after starting.

Why was I doing that to myself? I knew I wasn’t at their speed. I knew going in to this where I would sit on the race results and I was fine with that. Facts are facts.

So why was I still letting myself be miserable? I was at this amazing place, doing something I love, and I had gotten there through an amazing initiative designed to get more women into triathlon. Which is my whole purpose of being a coach! Slap a bloody smile on your face, enjoy the experience and be bloody grateful for the opportunity!

This was my wake up moment. I was here as part of Women For Tri. Not ‘Women who always place’ or ‘Women who live on the podium’. To have our own race as women, to show that women can do this too, we needed women to race. I was a woman and I was here racing.

Now I would love to say that at this point my pace picked up, I over took hundreds of other competitors and I sailed into T2 all guns blazing. But I did not. I continued to be overtaken by hundreds of other women and slipped further and further back. But who cares. I did actually over take I think 3 people on a hill, so yeah, that’s my claim to fame there. 3. Pretty sure they went past me further down the line but hey, I still went faster at one point. It counts.

The one thing I would say I will always remember about this cycle also is the fact that no one spoke. At all. I got one or two ‘love the tri-suit’ as I usually do but honestly there was no banter what so ever. I missed that. I really like the cheesy ‘are we there yet?’ comments and the ‘this medal better be worth it’. I have a friend who talks non stop when we are out. And yes, I mean non stop. I will never complain about this again. (But don’t tell her, she doesn’t need the encouragement! Ha ha). It genuinely made me miss my friends at this point. There’s a lot of truth in the saying ‘it’s more fun at the back’.

So I carried on in my own wee world, still saying ‘well done’ to those passing and occasionally singing to myself. I wasn’t even bothered by the pelotons going past or the clear drafting that would suddenly break up and a minute later a technical official would go by. I continued to take on my fuel as planned and ensured my water intake was topped up when possible.

Now. I may have swallowed a bug, or eaten a bad chew or something but all of a sudden when I was taking another sodium capsule my stomach said ‘no’ and what must have been an entire bottle of fluids came back up. Being the expert cyclist I am (stop laughing, it’s rude) I was able to up chuck over the side and carry on cycling.

Good thing I don’t partake in said pelotons.

Anyway, I wiped what I could off my sunglasses, (that was gross) and eventually it was up the lovely steep hill at the end – which I aced by the way, no exaggeration, thank you Scotland – and down and round to T2. I heard a lovely ‘well done Ella’ from Pam as I headed indoors to rack my bike and survey the puke damage. Needless to say the sunglasses got left behind here.

Onto the run (this is along post isn’t it?!) and I was over heating. Post ‘up chuck’ event I hadn’t taken on any more water so I began downing as many cups as I could at every aid station and throwing a couple over my head. I even put a big chunk of ice inside my hat until I started getting brain freeze which I tell you, was extremely painful. I enjoyed this run though, it was a great course. I loved the long incline at the start, then the change in to the trees and then down to the lake. Running round the stadium was cool and had some very well placed toilets at the end (thank you god – still need to invest in that 2 piece though). I managed to cool myself down enough and whilst it wasn’t exactly a stellar pace for me it was a better run than Stafford. And that’s all I could ask for. My youngest was having the time of his life whizzing about everywhere on a scooter and it was lovely seeing him at places I didn’t think I would.

Sadly it was not Joanne Murphy who called me over the line when I finished. I’m gutted about this, but let’s be honest, this wasn’t my last race.

I did have a very nice volunteer ‘encourage’ me not to sit down at the finish and ‘help’ me through the finish area to all the food (which I obviously gave me to my youngest ha ha). She was lovely and chatted away quite happily telling me how she lived there and loved helping out.

So how do I feel? Well it was certainly a different experience. I’m happy I went through with it and yes I am proud that I was part of an Ironman 70.3 World Championship. I’m even more proud of the fact that I got my space through such a fantastic initiative that is Women For Tri. I did deserve to be there. I was capable of doing the course. Yes I could have performed better but us women get barriers put in our way all the bloody time, and time and time again we overcome them. And that’s what I did.

I’m away to buy that 2 piece tri suit and sign up for my next race.