This is held in Tenby and just like Ironman covers the same distance but over 3 days:
2.4mile swim Friday pm, 112mile cycle Saturday and a Marathon on Sunday (just to finish off!)
All the advice pointed at attempting a Long Course as being a great idea, especially when the cycle and swim courses are the same as the Ironman course. In my head the event was a great idea but what none of the UK banked on was a week of absolutely scorching weather!
Having been most concerned about the swim distance i had been getting in some extra long sessions during the week running up to the event at Bristol and also down the Gower and was happy with my times and efforts so when the 1000 of us set off on Friday night for the 2 lap swim around the stunning Tenby North Beach i was feeling pretty confident. Apart from the first 10 mins when everyone swims over each other the swim was fine, even managed a good time (for me) of 1hour 7 mins. My best yet by a long way.
After a huge pizza and carb load it was time to get to the hostel for some rest in the sauna of a dorm room i had booked. Not the best night sleep but i woke feeling strong and ready for the bike course - having completed the Merlin 105mile in a good time i was hoping for a good day on the bike. I was fortunate to get some last minute advice on the route from some other riders in the car park who said the 2 40mile laps were brutal so save your energy on the first easy lap.
None of the laps were easy! but must admit the first lap around Fresh West and Angle were very spectacular. I had just invested in a fancy saddle and changed pedals etc to make me a bit better and comfier - bad move! Saddle was terrible and feet felt like they were bleeding from about mile 40 onwards meaning that even on the downhill i wasn't comfy! (apparently others felt this with their feet too, must have been the heat!)
The course was hilly, and steep with not many rest sections either, support was great though and the water stations provided a good rest and respite from the intense heat too. After cramming as many disgusting energy gells into me as possible i managed to just about climb the last few steep hills up wisemans bridge to Saundersfoot to cruise back to Tenby and over the finish line in: 8hrs and 6 mins.
It seamed like a good idea at the time to drive back home that night - my car is pretty small and at more than a few occasions my legs did complete cramp up into a mess and i had to pull over to stretch them out, but, once home - a hot bath and a stretch and re-pack ready for the Marathon.
Sunday arrived too quickly and with an early start we loaded up the car with me, wife and child in tow to get on the road and have a go at the 26.2 miles. Earlier in the week i had picked up a random shin injury from out of the blue and had struggled to shake it off so i was a little apprehensive about how it would feel - that and the heat and the fact that i have done way too little running training for that kind of distance too, especially when the running probably is the most body intensive and most likely to cause injury to your bits.
After helping set up the family spot on the beach i donned my running gear and race number and gathered in the sunny Tudor Square to set off - i felt fresh, ready and confident i could do this in 4 hours. I told Jo to come back to the finish in about 4 hours too.........
20km in (half way) i still felt ok but knew i didnt have too much more to give, if it had ended there id be in good shape and good time (about 2hours) but realised that i had another stretch like that to go i was a little concerned. From there things got worse, walking long stretched in the heat and trying to rest my swelling shin - i was struggling - mile by mile i tried to run short distances but the hills killed me every time, running up was ok but down was HARD! We passed an array of watering stations, some official and some just locals with hose pipes, all were guzzled at and all felt so good - but i had to push on. For this was the first time in my 'career' as an athlete that Jo and Felix had come to watch. I couldn't arrive back in a van or not finished, they were there to cheer me on down the finish line, still jogging at least.
I had to dig deep and get on with the task in hand, at least doing an ok 20km meant that as long as i kept up a good walking pace i would finish the LCW in the required 6 hours and not have to be DNF like over half of the field by now.
Tenby finally arrived back on the horizon and more and more were cheering me on, i had managed to get back to a 9km/h jog for the last 2km (ish) and the town was alive, i could see the sea and all i hoped that in my desperate attempt to make it under the 5hour mark Jo and Felix hadn't left the finish line to go to the beach or get a drink. There they were - on the railings looking at me like i was a zombie as i think i looked pretty ROUGH!
In the end - a time of 5hours and 10mins
Total time for the weekend - 14hours 25mins. Finishing in 106th Place. Over 240 people registered and only 122 made it the whole course - so i am happy to not only be a finisher but in that top half!
The next few days were tough, feeling like a bad hang over, shin is in bits and pretty de-motivated! BUT - onwards and upwards. Learnt a lot about the weekend, rode the actual Ironman bike route, ran a marathon and know what i need to work on too. Learnt that 3 days of energy gells is not great for you too!
Ill post some of the official pics when i get them through and please dont forget - in the these final stages running up to the event - if you wanna support, come along with me, train, donate, sponsor etc.etc. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO SO!
2 donations this week - Cath Williams and Barbara Williams-Board - thank you both and the total is coming along well now.
