Race report- Cleveland Double Steelman Ironman distance triathlon July 20 th 2013

Author- Richard Clarke

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The following paragraphs tell a tale about my ironman experience, my background, training plan and an account of the race day itself. I am documenting this now so in many years I can remember how I approached the six months preparing for the event and how my race day played out. Hopefully it will spread the psyche to anyone reading this to inspire you to do something similar. I have read hundreds of blog entries and race reports over the years and Arthur Puckrin’s tales on the Cleveland Triathlon club website are a particular favorite of mine. It always serves to restore my psyche when I’m feeling indifferent about training. I feel that it is my turn to contribute to the numerous race reports out there; so here it is.

Background

I am a 25 year old single Male; I currently work as a junior doctor in the north east of England where I am required to work my fair share of day and night shifts. I started in the world of triathlons when I was a teenager aged 17 when I joined the High Elbow Triathlon club based in County Antrim. I also was a member of the Ballymena Road Club which was my local cycling club at the time and I cycled two/three times a week mainly with the ‘old boy’ touring section. Whilst I was in both clubs I learned loads about the sports and always was intrigued about the longer distance events. My road and tri clubs had many inspiring figures who took a keen interest in a junior and given every opportunity they tried to corrupt me into participating in the longer distance events. Often they would ask how training was going and I enthusiastically would describe the 6-8 hours that I had done that week, they however often had done similar volumes of training in the past day!! The volumes of training that they could deal with week in week out and their knowledge of their sport was rather impressive. Unfortunately the ironman seed had been planted during these years. This should be a lesson to all parents of young impressionable teenagers, be mindful of what your teenage son is getting up to when you are not around. Some experiment with drink, drugs and loose woman. Others like me however spent time with leg shaving middle age men who have an unhealthy collection of lycra and enjoy cycling/running in the hills for hours by themselves pursuing their goals with a unique single mindedness!

Throughout my five years at the University of Glasgow I did little in the way of endurance sport as time and circumstance did not allow this.

I moved to Middlesbrough in 2011 where I joined Cleveland triathlon club and cycled with them from time to time. Whilst out on the weekly Sunday Café in December 2012 one of my fellow club members Joe informed me that the club was opening an ironman distance event in July 2013. This fed and watered the seed that had been planted when I was a teenager and I entered that evening. At this point I was doing little in the way of training, some cycling though no running or swimming. I knew I had six months and enough understanding of the sport to complete this event. I made two promises to myself when I entered,

1- I was going for a finish not a time 2- Work came first; if I was burning out I would ease off and look after myself. I

have over trained in the past and I know all the signs to look for.

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Training

So how did I go from a grand total of zero hours logged to ironman in 6 months?

January- I started with lots of short sessions in all three disciplines. I am a two a day man, I love it and see good gains from this method. Once in the morning and once after work no session longer than a one hour except at the weekend where I allowed myself a two hour session on the bike. All sessions were at an easy pace usually top end of Z2 using heart rate to monitor intensity. I consistently managed 9-11 sessions a week most of them outdoors and when not possible due to ice, snow or the bitter cold I used the turbo trainer instead. I managed to train 10-12 hrs a week and more importantly I logged numerous hours recovering hard on the sofa. I felt fresh and enjoyed training throughout this month.

February- This was much the same however I started adding 2km to my weekly long run and 15-30 mins to my weekly long ride, all other sessions were short with little intensity. I actively chose not to use speedwork/threshold sessions for two reasons,

1 Ironman is an endurance event and subscribe whole heartily to the idea that you must spend the whole time within your aerobic limit. This allows you to mainly utilize fat as your energy substrate and not to ‘blow up’ before the finish.

2 I had little to no base miles to build upon.

(For those of you reading who do not understand the purpose of threshold/speed work imagine a car. Base miles make the engine capacity bigger, more efficient at using the fuel it also adds strength and reliability to the machine. Speed work and threshold sessions are like taking the car to a garage and allowing the mechanic to tinker. He may add fancy components like a turbo, new exhaust system and air/oil filters. They can only make the car go faster if they’re installed and set up correctly and the engine is powerful enough to make use of them. If the engine is a bit substandard then you will have all an unreliable, under powered machine and with the added strain of the new components the car probably will explode in a few months)

Others may disagree with my logic however this was my plan, I believed in it and I followed it 90% of the time. February was a solid month with good gains, enthusiasm remained high and again 10-12 hrs a week with many more hours recovering hard.

March- very little training I contracted a serious dose of man flu which was going about. I felt awful, had a horrendous cough which the arctic temperatures did not help with. I maybe had 6 hours of ‘training’ during this time. Honestly I almost went insane during these weeks!

April- this was a month of rebuilding and regaining what I had lost the previous. The first two weeks I went back to short sessions twice a day and the next two weeks I started to lengthen my sessions cautiously. Again 50 hours training.

May and June - I really ramped up my bike miles these months, I returned home to Sunny Northern Ireland for two ’10 day training camps’ where I rode 60 miles most days with 3 centuries mixed throughout. I had a break with the weather and managed to finish these weeks feeling strong and always knowing my current form. My running during this period consisted of the usual 11km

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runs at 5min 30sec per K which allowed me to stay in Z2 throughout. My longest run was 24km. I completed brick sessions most weeks and I am convinced that I can run faster after I have been cycling. I think I get fully warmed up and my legs are used to a high cadence from pedaling which I can continue on the run. These months I just ‘got the miles in’; day in, day out making sure that my stomach could deal with my planned nutrition for the event. Work consisted of 12 hour shifts in 3-4 day blocks which forced me to use them as off days. At the end of June I rode a HIM bike leg and run on local roads, I really went for it and finished in good time and good shape so I knew the jigsaw was coming together. All in all I had about 130 hours these two months, I always found training fun and never ever a chore which I believe is key.

July- All the literature suggests that you should cut back and ‘taper’ for 2-4 weeks before the Ironman and I buy into this idea. I was swimming outdoors twice a week no session longer than 3k split into 500-1000m efforts, my bike rides were 90km max with a few little efforts of 500m thrown in and running as ever was 11km in an hour. I found the lack of training hours during this period a little unnerving, it felt odd not to be out cycling for hours on end or extending my running miles weekly. I did feel fresh and was recovering well from every session. I had to trust that I had done enough in the previous months and that my race day pacing would be correct. I did only 24 hours this month.

In the 6 months I clocked up 300 hours, I burnt 120,000 Kcal, and had an average heart rate of 145BPM during my 170 or so sessions. This works out around 12 hrs a week when you remove March due to illness. I think that my volume was minimal for this type of event especially given my lack of base before I started. My frequency of training sessions was high and this worked well for me this year. Most of my sessions were logged via my Garmin 310XT which I have found an invaluable tool; easily this year’s best purchase and comes highly recommended.

Throughout the 6 months I still found time for a few beers at the weekend, hit the local night club intermittently and missed potential training sessions to do other things that I enjoyed. I never truly lived like a monk like so many people believe ironmen competitors must do. Doing things that I enjoyed outside of training ensured that I was not burning out and also served to keep things in perspective. As we all know, ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ and I strongly believe that a happy athlete is a good athlete.

Race course

The swim was in a local lake called Ellerton Lake owned by a local landowner. He allowed us to swim any day for a small charge when the water temp was a bit more reasonable. I started swimming here once a week 8 weeks before the event to familiarize myself with the surroundings and my wetsuit. My main training sets were 500m warm up 2x1000m and 500m cool down. It’s a nice sheltered lake which stays warm after little sun though it does suffer from weeds in places. The

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race course consisted of 4x800m laps with a 200m swim from the shore to the lap and back making 3.8km.

Bike course

Four laps of an undulating bike course in the shape of a triangle. The first leg is 16Km with 5 little rises in the road which just breaks up your rhythm, next is a 16km leg with poor road surface and a long drag which is deceptive and takes the sting out of your legs. The last 12Km generally has a steady decline in height and good road surface except the first 500m of the side road which had a few pot holes to avoid. 185Km total with a vertical ascent of 517m over the distance. One single aid station was on the course which was sufficient however a mechanical half way around could have been tricky!

Run course

Again four laps, each 10.5km mainly off road arranged in a figure of eight and flat with an elevation of only 92m over the 42km. The surface has numerous potholes to avoid and a single fence to surmount each lap. I enjoyed the variation of the run course and found it easy to mentally break it down in to manageable chunks however I don’t think it was particularly fast. Aid stations were at either end of the figure of eight.

Race day

I awoke at 0415hrs feeling fresh and excited, I was like a school child on Christmas morning; I had some coffee, a banana and muesli, after this I set off to the event 30mins away. I arrived feeling relaxed arranging my kit in transition in a leisurely fashion putting my chosen pressure in my tubs and ensuring my equipment wasn’t damaged in transit. My nutrition and fluids were handed in to the marshal’s tent and I trusted they would be at the aid stations where I wanted them. Race mornings are cool, I love the apprehension the emotion, the unknown that lies ahead. You are about to go on an adventure and you will have to deal with problems that you encounter over the next few hours, every time I race I tell myself that I should do it more often. I felt calm and collected as I sipped on my flask of lukewarm tea and stared into the distance. I recalled all the hours I had spent by myself scooting about on my bike looking over hedges, up hills and at times into driving head winds with snow and hail in my face. I felt ready and unbelievably psyched. I vividly recall chatting to competitor number 21 to my left in transition, we shared some positive words of encouragement, had a customary handshake and we mumbled out best wishes to each other. Sandra briefed us at 0615hrs and wished us all the best. All 76 individuals headed into the water where we lined up at the buoy.

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Swim

The water had a glassy still appearance and it was warm, the starter bell was rung and we set off at 0630hrs. I positioned myself near the front and headed off at a steady pace for the first 200m ensuring that I was swimming in a group though never at the front. I saw a small pack really going off hard and I let them go. I was positioned in the first 10 swimmers and felt really comfortable in a rhythm that I could manage. I have a phrase that I use to control my effort which is ‘teenage, mutant, ninja, turtle’. This helps me stay in rhythm as you never can say it too fast, it’s silly I know, but it makes me smile and helps keeps the mood light. Lap one was over before I knew it and I was swimming on to the toes of the chap in front, I have no idea who he or she was but they had red neoprene on the ankles of their suit which made following easy. Laps two and three were uneventful, I stayed with my man in front and he was pretty good at swimming in a straight line so I just concentrated on swimming in his shadow. On lap four we started passing the back markers who thankfully never caused an issue. I approached the bank and knew that I had a good swim though was unsure of my time, a few metres of hard kicking to get the blood into the legs and I left the water and hit transition in a time of 1.01.26 feeling fresh and in 8th position. A leisurely transition followed T1 5.07 mins where I changed into bib shorts, cycling jersey, socks and got some coca cola and a banana into my system, I didn’t rush T1. I ensured that I was comfortable and relaxed before I set off. My parents were there, I smiled for a photo before I set off.

Bike

I chose to ride my Trek Madone road bike. I equipped it with clip on aero bars and a set of deep tubular carbon rims. I picked the road bike as it is more comfortable than my TT bike and I thought I would appreciate the ability to have three positions to use when the discomfort set in in the later stages. My tubular rims are really comfortable and much more responsive than my training set though a punctured tub on this course could have been difficult though I took the chance. I carried a Vittoria pitstop canister and spare tub to use in the event of a puncture. I also had stashed 2 spare sets of rims on the course which I could ride to and change if needed. I carried 4x750 ml bottles of SIS juice, four banana flavoured Go bars and six Torq rhubarb and custard flavor gels which gave me 1600 kcals for 2 laps.

I set off slowly into a mild left side/head wind keeping the HR down for the first 8Km and replaced fluids and Kcals. After this I found my rhythm and got into Z2 on my Garmin watch. I was quickly passed by 3 strong looking chaps on the bike and I let them go, we exchanged a few words about the weather and they were off. I developed a sore belly at 12Km and still I am unsure why this occurred. I had practiced with all my nutrition and fluids and I certainly was not riding at my limit, I have blamed it on drinking too much pond water. I completed the first lap in 1hr 30mins and felt really strong, it felt like a training ride rather than a race. I stopped at the aid station where I had a drink of coke from my aid bag and swapped some of my SIS for water, some flat coke and a big fart sorted my stomach completely and it never gave me any more issues. Lap two was uneventful, a steady lap comfortably in my rhythm taking nutrition and fluids in religiously, my Garmin showed that I had ridden 90Km in 3 hours exactly I knew things were going well.

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On lap 3 I stopped at the aid station and was helped by a very pleasant marshal, she found my bag and I got my bottles and food replenished, I also had a 330mls can of coke which cheered me up. At this point I was joined on the bike by two other riders, we had a bit of a battle on the straights and this broke up the monotony though we were never drafting. I was passed by another 2 riders but I was basically holding my own on the bike. When I started lap four I had been riding for 4hr 34 mins, I started to get excited knowing I could be on for a sub 12 hr time, however I told myself to behave and settle down, and only to think about the next lap and factors that I could control. I rode the last half of lap four easy bringing me into transition in a time of 6hrs 11mins 45 sec. This gave me an average of 18.6 mph and I posted the 19th fasted time. My legs felt super fresh when I finished. Never once did I push a big gear or put in an effort in during the 185Kms, I looked after myself, had no mechanical issues, managed my nutrition really well and produced a measured and calculated ride throughout. For what it is worth I completed the 180Kms in 6 hours dead. T2 again was a leisurely affair of 5.02 min where I changed into my running shorts and top, powdered my feet, taped my blister prone toes and ate a small sandwich and drunk more coke.

Run

I set off walking and eating a banana and started into my stride after approximately 800m. I knew the course, I have run it maybe 40 times in the past 6 months, so it all felt familiar more like I was on a big training day and not a race. I still felt physical strong and mentally composed. I was almost waiting for the demons to appear and the rot to set in. After a quick discussion with myself I planned to stick to my pace of 5.30min/km and deal with any issues when they arose. I mentally broke each lap into 4 sectors and just ran these individually. I knew there were two points where I could cool myself off with a sponge and water and massive thanks must go to the superstar marshal Steven King, who gave me a sponge down every time I passed him. This really did help as did the jelly babies!

Lap one passed in 57mins, lap two in a similar time where I had 400mls of coke, two gels and 300-500mls water. I was still smiling and loving the whole experience. I got a real chuckle from another competitors tri suit which had the initials of his club on it LBT- I assume Leeds Bradford Triathlon club however to occupy my mind I started making as many rude meanings for the letters as I could which at the time I found hilarious. Simple pleases simple minds so they say!

In an event like this I think it is extremely important to keep smiling and to occupy your mind with ’good thoughts’. This serves to reduce anxiety which can so easily develop due to the massive undertaking you have accepted in entering and turning up to compete. If you think too much about the situation that you find yourself you will crumble and melt under the pressure. This in turn will stop you performing at your best, a negative memory of the event can be formed which may inhibit you entering another in the future and ultimately you never will realize your full potential.

Half way round lap three I had my first wobble which lasted 3-5 minutes, nothing specific but I knew then the rot had set in. My pace had drifted to 5.45mins/km, my running gait had reverted back to heal striking. The insole on my left shoe was wet from the sponges had slid round in my trainer causing some unwanted discomfort. I managed to fight through the wobble with good old

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coca cola coming to my rescue! At this point I knew the sub 12hr time was there for the taking if I only could keep plodding on in the last lap.

Lap 4. This was lonely. The emotion and toll of the day’s activities started to set in though I was using all my best tricks to keep myself smiling. I jogged past the crowd in the transition area and shuffled myself along to quiet part of the course. Here I stopped running and walked for a few hundred metres. I distinctly remember telling a marshal that the elastic band had snapped and that’s how it felt. After a quiet word with myself I set off shuffling again and managed to find a rhythm that I could deal with. Two kms from the finish I had a grin from ear to ear and crossing the line was pretty good, though I was not as elated as I thought!! My parents and a few friends all were there to see me finish which really did make my day. I got the customary photo and then had my run time of 4hrs 18mins confirmed giving me 6.05mins/km. When I realized that I had gone sub 12 in a time of 11hrs 41mins 20sec and was placed 14th individual I was over the moon. I know it is an arbitrary number and actually completing and enjoying the event is more important (which I did), though it still is good to have confirmation of what I knew was possible.

Thanks

Thanks must go to numerous people and in no order-

Sandra and Tony Main for organizing this event, from my point of view it went without a hitch which is testament to all your hard efforts. Hopefully someone else will take the responsibility of race director and organize this excellent event next year now Sandra has ‘retired’ from this role.

The marshals, you presence was invaluable and really appreciated, without you the day couldn’t have gone ahead. The few words of encouragement when passing you all on the course helped no end and I have realized that I should do my fair share of marshaling in the future.

To my parents and friends who came to watch me finish, who all have put up with me missing numerous events over the six months as I had ‘training to get in’ a huge thanks ( maybe they only came to see me suffer in the later stages and were hoping to see my cry at some point, sorry to disappoint!).

To the Sunday and Wednesday lane two swim team. I have enjoyed every session and my secret game of trying not to be on the front in any session the past 6 months obviously paid off.

And finally to all the psyched individuals I’ve met in the past years. I have stolen some psyche from you all from time to time when mine was running low though I am sure you have done the same to me.

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5 Lessons learnt

1 Find what training works for you and go with it.

My plan was rather basic this year and at times haphazard, I only trained when I felt like it and I logged far fewer hours than I thought necessary to complete an ironman.

2 Coca Cola really sorts me out when I begin to dip, I am going to save it only for race day. No more lunch time cans.

3 Ironman distance is not that far, I can imagine ‘racing’ it in the future.

4 Sudacreme is the savior of skin

5 Less sometimes is more.

This was my only event this year. I arrived at the race feeling fresh, not overtrained or burnt out which worked in my favour. The downside to this is I never had any solid race performances to accurately base my pacing on but its swings and roundabouts.

What next

I am going to do another IM distance, I have a place in Frankfurt 2014 where I am going to chase a time. I plan to lose some weight this off season and get a solid running base under my belt. I will aim for 400- 480hrs in the 6 months before Frankfurt and will treat myself to a powermeter, (it’s the only way to pace on the bike). I plan to run a few foot races and ride a few TT’s to gauge my fitness and maybe I will manage more than one triathlon next year. After this I am stopping Ironman for a while, it is the most unhealthy, most selfish and ultimately unsustainable activity that I have gotten involved with. I do not want to be a slave to its seductive powers which cause men and woman to enter events year after year after year often to the detriment of everything else in their lives. This will not be me!

Richard Clarke

rjclarke87@gmail.com

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