f2k Health & Fitness News/Blog: June 2010

Uk 70.3

Bonnie's Race Report

I entered IMUK 70.3 last year after being totally inspired by the Antwerp 2009 crew all qualifying for the World Champs. I had had almost 3 years away from competition and training due to relocating from the North West to the North East with a new job and studying for a degree at the same time - yes, going mach 10 with my hair on fire is not big and not clever, so something had to give and that was triathlon for a couple of years.

So, all inspired I entered four half IM distance events for 2010 in the space of half an hour from the comfort of the couch and my laptop! They were; IMAustria 70.3, IMUK 70.3, The Big Half at Trentham and The Little Woody held at the Forest of Dean.

So the winter training began, of which I have to say a massive thank you to my other half Vince, for all the hours of cycling we have done in some appalling weather conditions. In fact, I think I can count on one had the number of dry bike rides I had managed before Austria! The winter training felt like we had completed the tour of Britain by spring as we had cycled up the following hills;

Weardale Valley, County Durham
Cheddar Gorge, Somerset
IMUK 70.3 bike route, Somerset / North Devon
Cheshire / Derbyshire Peaks (including Brickies!)
Ironbridge, Telford
Cumbria, Lake District

Training was going great until February time when I developed a stress fracture in my leg, not good. No running for around 8-10 weeks, then when I was allowed to run by the physio my first session back was for 5 minutes and 5 minutes only - hardly worth putting your trainers on for! However, I did listen to the physio and by the end of May I had just hit 1 hour of continuous running, so it was fingers crossed for Austria.

I completed IMAustria 70.3 on May 30th, 3 weeks before IMUK 70.3 which was a good wake up call for me, as this was the first long distance race I had completed since 2007. It was a good reminder not to set off at Olympic distance pace and wonder why I was in oxygen debt so quickly. It also highlighted how important mental race preparation is, training with the nutrition you are going to use on race day and how crucial thorough kit checks are.

So Austria done and dusted, I focused on IMUK. Race day arrived and a 3am start for myself, my partner Vince and his daughters George and Immi. By 4am we were on the road to Wimbleball with me signed up to compete and everyone else signed up as Race Crew volunteers for the day (which gave great access to transition and some sneaky photos of transition without the chicken wire fences in the shot!)

My mental race plan was to start the swim at a more reasonable pace and see how I felt. Not be mentally beaten my 52 hills in 56 miles and then survive the run! The swim kind of went according to plan, but it is difficult to swim your own race in a 1500 person mass start - carnage all the way round and very difficult to find your own bit of water. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the swim which actually wasn't that cold once you got moving and clocked 33 minutes. A nice little 200 metre run uphill to T1 and the volunteer helpers in transition were stars, they whipped my wetsuit off in 2 seconds flat - fantastic!

The bike leg is a two lap course and the first 6-7 miles of the bike is climb, climb, climb, hang on a minute - much like the other 50 miles actually! There were some undulations, some descents and lots of hills, but a really enjoyable ride. There was the worlds amount of bike debris, clothing, gels and bottles all over the road of which you had dodge, particularly before and after aid stations. There were plenty of punctures being fixed, a few mechanicals and a number of spills off the bike, but no dramas for me thank goodness. The last 10 miles of the bike were pretty grim but that's what an Ironman is all about and the left turn back to Wimbleball Lake was a welcome sight. I got back into T2 and had clocked a 3hr 28min bike - bloody hell! The helpers were still doing a stirling job in transition and slapped some much needed suncream on my shoulders as I left for the run.

The run was a three lap course and all off road. If my legs weren't on fire from the bike I think I would have enjoyed the run a whole lot more, but the run was an exercise in pain management and mentally breaking the race down into manageble chunks. As I was shuffling around though, I was thinking to myself that I am going to come and train on this run course for next year, as without the killer bike leg prior the run route was picturesque and welcome change to pounding pavement. I clocked a 2hr 2min run and crossed the finish line in 6hr 14min, unbelieveable - I never imagined in my wildest dreams to clock anywhere near 6 hours at Wimbleball, so I was super chuffed with my time and on a high from how much I had enjoyed the whole course. My support crew were on hand to give me massive post race hugs and congratulations and after a bite to eat and a change of clothes, we all went back to the finish line to cheer in other finishers and newly crowned Ironmen and women.

Whilst cheering away, Vince had snuck off and checked my results and came back with a massive grin on his face saying I had come 4th in my age group ! I couldn't believe it - did I have a chance of qualifying for Clearwater? After experiencing the roll down ceremony in Antwerp last year anything was possible and we decided to stay for presentations and roll down.

Roll down is always good fun and this one more so for me as I knew I had half a chance of qualifying if 2 out of the top 3 did not want to go. By the time it got to my age group I couldn't even look at the stage and was a nervous wreck. The winner of my age group did not come to the presentation so the slot was offered to second place who took the slot, then the second slot rolled down to the third place - argh! But third place didn't take the slot and I was up and running to the stage and taking the slot before they finished reading my name out! OMG!

I am still on a high, I can't believe what I have achieved and can't wait for November and Clearwater, Florida to roll around. Particularly after I went to Clearwater last year to support the Antwerp qualifiers and have seen for myself how mega the event is. So hopefully another British qualifying contigent will make their way across the pond and kick some more ass.

A huge thank you has to go to Vince for training with me and keeping me motivated through the cold winter months. To Chris for always believing in me. To Jane, Jac and Pam for all the carrot cake and red wine tapering and to my tip top support crew George and Immi for getting up at 3am on race day, volunteering to be race crew helpers for the day and throwing themselves into Ironman atmosphere.

Signing off now as this time tomorrow I will be on a hill top in Spain, drinking sangria by the pool and soaking up some well deserved sunshine!