IRONMAN 70.3 Rapperswil-Jona

Training and kitAccommodation/Travel – logistics!Race DayWeatherSwim

30:44sAG 30-34: 3^rdT1The transitions at an Ironman event involve bags. Up the ramp and into the transition area I found my blue bag and went into the tent. Whipped off the rest of my wetsuit and put my bike kit on, shoving swim gear back in the bag. On exiting the tent, you dumped the bag ready for the volunteers to put it back on your numbered hook – what service!I located my bike and ran off to the mounting line.3:21BikeThis was my first race with tri bars and aero-bottle. To be honest, my first ride with all the gear properly working! I was obviously keen to get hydrated early on in the race and have the photographs to prove it.

The first lap was very painful in my knee, my lower back and my hip. I kept eating and drinking and just kept pedalling. Gels, Tailwind (carb drink), electrolyte drink, a Buzz bar (like flapjack) and Jelly Babies were what I had on board. I’ll definitely use Jelly Babies again as they were so easy to consume. I’d had enough of the gels by the end of the second lap and the bar was faff-y and a bit dry to eat on a hot day. I’ll keep trying a few things, but in terms of what I can digest, I’m lucky that I don’t seem to have adverse reactions to anything.A lovely Swiss lady called Claudia was cycling a similar pace to me and we kept leapfrogging each other over the course. We’re now Facebook friends and Strava followers!By the second lap, my body settled and relief swept over me as I felt the pain ease and I could cycle in a little more comfort. And, I only cycled a fraction slower on the second lap, which was good!I saw Rachel twice which was awesome and heard Erik shouting at me. A few other Brits cycled past giving words of encouragement. The atmosphere on the course was full of camaraderie and the respect between cyclists was great. We were in Switzerland after-all!Helen did come past me, as did Lewis. They’d set off later in the swim and are stronger cyclists so I expected them to catch up. But, where was Phil? Oh the excitement!2:55:42 AG 30-34: 29thT2Off the bike, barefooted I'm proud to say, and re-racked my bike, double checking that I didn’t need anything or put anything back as it all just seemed too simple to only have to leave my bike. But no, I just needed to get back to a red bag this time, and into the tent. Off with the helmet, on with the visor, socks and trainers and I ran out the tent.3:32RunI’d mentioned to some friends that I’d be racing near them, and bless them they came to watch. It was a real boost for my morale. It’s great when people shout your name out, but when it’s someone you know it’s even better.The first 5k were the hardest but my pace was ok and I just kept turning my feet over as fast as I could, trying to run tall and strong!I high-fived Lewis as we crossed paths and saw him a couple of time on the course. The water and food stations were more frequent than planned, as due to the hot weather, sponges and ice were on offer more regularly to stop us from over-heating.Amelia suggests for us to walk through the aid stations but it got to the point they were so frequent that skipping a couple probably wouldn’t have threatened to ruin the day. I was paranoid thought that I’d overeat, and the shot of coke and glugs of water were fuelling me brilliantly. The gels and tailwind I was carrying were surplus to requirements. In future, for local races where feed stations might not be as regular I’ll carry my own nutrition, but for this event and future bigger events, there was no need.To ensure everyone did two laps, participants had to collect a red and blue hairband. I picked up the wrong one on my first lap so probably confused a few people, including myself! As long as you had both at the finish, you were all good!The run felt great, even up the ‘stairway to heaven’ we had to climb. I really enjoyed it. Yes, my legs were beginning to ache but I felt strong. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I wish I had just pushed a little harder on that second lap. Still, I finished with a spurt of speed and a smile on my face.The others were waiting not far from the finish and in the time it took me to receive my medal, remove my tracker/tag and have a very brief chat (50s no less!) Phil appeared down the home straight. He HAD been behind me all the way!If you’re reading this Phil, I know I’ll be eating my words at some point, as you will no doubt beat me very soon!2:02:45AG 30-34: 41stOverall Result5:35:16AG 30-34: 26th/84The aftermath – Nice, the place not the feelingAt each Ironman 70.3 event there is the possibility of qualifying to the Ironman World Championship. 60 spots were up for grabs in Rapperswil-Jona to head to Nice in September. The thing is, for the age groups between 25-40, no one was grabbing them! If the first person doesn’t want the spot, it’ll go to the second and so on in a ‘roll-down’ format until the spot gets taken.We had originally gone to the ceremony to see if those in the club placed in the top 10 for their age group would get a spot. With only one spot awarded to those age groups, they went pretty quickly and sadly our Tri Montagne team members missed out.I can’t figure out why we stayed, but we did and with 3 spots available for my age group and no one grabbing them, my name, at position 26^th, was read out. The whole table shouted ‘YES’ and the next thing I was paying €425 to go to Nice.I think I felt more wibbly, shaky and sweaty then than I had done all day. I’m glad I am going. Maybe I would have qualified another year, but maybe I wouldn’t have. It’ll be a great experience and I know that there are people out there who probably really want to go so I better start being grateful rather than feeling a bit out of my league!Well done to Erik, Helen, Lewis, Phil, Sarah and Rachel! It was a brilliant week-end, I loved your company and look forward to a summer of training!