How does one train for an event like this when living in central London? I have Hyde Park to run around and also a 20 meter pool to swim in but what about cycling? I also didn't know what my week should consist of in terms of training and therefore decided that with such little time left to get myself going, I should sign up for one of Bill Hauser's personal training plans. I got my first training plan on the 7th of February and started training seriously for Switzerland. I did all of my cycling on my turbo trainer but after a while I realized that I needed to get out onto the road and after some research found SAUK Tri and started spending every Saturday getting up at 6am to meet fellow tri athletes at Richmond park to go cycling. It is very motivating to train with people who have similar goals and everyone at SAUK tri are such an amazing bunch of people.

Race Day
I woke up Sunday morning at 3:30am and fell asleep again after switching off the alarm only to suddenly wake up at 4:13 realising I have over slept. I thank my internal alarm for waking me up otherwise I would have missed the start. I rushed down to breakfast and fueled up with some scrambled eggs, hash browns and water. Transferred to the transition and arrived at 5:30. I checked my bike and just wanted to put some more air into my tyres as I wasn’t happy with them. I’m glad I did it otherwise I wouldn’t have had peace of mind. Time was going very fast and I realised I still had to stand in a long queue to go to the toilet. It was 6:45 and I got my wetsuit on and made my way down to the start. It was very crowded with spectators and athletes. It was an amazing feeling to be standing on the beach with sand in your toes, the sun slowly rising and 1600 other competitors ready to become an Ironman.

The Swim
Hearing the cheering of the crowds and the helicopter hovering ahead, the siren went at 7:00am and we were off. It wasn’t as crazy as I thought it would be and everyone was civilized in getting into the water. From then on it was just a case of keeping yourself moving forward as there were people everywhere and you couldn’t try and swim fast unless you are in the front or even slow down and get someone swimming over you. There was the odd person who swam onto the back of your legs but by kicking faster they quickly backed off. I did have someone knock me on the nose but luckily it wasn’t a hard knock to either cause bleeding or dislodge my goggles. Before you know it you are approaching the end and while looking for the mat under water to place your foot on you hold out your hand for one of the support crew to give you a pull. I got out at 1:15 which I was very impressed with. Then it was off with the wetsuit and onto the bike.

The Bike
The bike was an enjoyable 180km’s. It is a nice course with a mixture of flat’s, hill’s and very fast downhill’s. I did my first lap too quickly though and realized I needed to slow down to save my legs for the other 120km’s and the marathon. Before you realize it you are on your second lap and getting your special needs bag. I didn’t feel very good on my second lap and wasn’t interested in eating the bars I had with me as it was very hot and nothing tasted appetizing at all. I made certain to continue drinking loads though. This was a very important lesson to learn and one should eat no matter what to avoid running on empty. The last lap came around very quickly but I still had three hills to climb and it was now getting very hot. I arrived in transition with a 6:26 bike leg and only had the marathon left.

The Run
This was by far the biggest test for me as I have never run a marathon before and also had medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints) 9 weeks before. So no running at all going into a marathon, I must be crazy. I started running slowly but then I started cramping in my stomach. I wasn’t sure what it was and walked it off. When it stopped I tried running again but the cramping came back again. I now realized I had a bit of a problem as I had a long way to go and if I wanted to do at least a five hour marathon I would need to do some more running.

One of the athletes who passed me suggested that I had low sodium levels. So I started drinking loads of electrolytes. This didn’t have much effect and the cramping continued. I then started drinking coke, soup and pretty much anything to get rid of the cramping but nothing worked. I think this kind of situation can only be avoided by making sure one eats and drinks a lot on the bike as I was running on empty. I was surprised at how strong my legs felt and I was setting myself goals to run certain parts of the course to prevent walking all of it. With the support of the crowd and plenty of aid stations I didn’t have any reason to stop. It was also interesting to see how many other athletes were suffering and this also keeps you going but I was already giving up in my mind and swearing never to run again. What seemed almost days had passed but after 4 laps I ran the last few meters and into the finishing area towards the finish line.

I felt tired but not broken. I had a shower and then looked at what food was available but I couldn’t even think of eating anything. I decided to have some Rego which I always take after training as it gets absorbed by your gut quicker than food and then I sat in the massage queue. After a 30 minute wait it was my turn but I was starting to feel very dizzy. I went outside to get some fresh air and also get rid of the Rego by sticking my finger down my throat. This helped to relieve the discomfort in my stomach but I was feeling very dehydrated. I ended up in the medical tent on a stretcher and started shaking periodically. They decided to put a drip of electrolytes into my arm. I also had a space blanket and army blanket wrapped around me and continued to shake for a while. By the time the drip had finished I had stopped shaking and felt very relaxed and my appetite had come back. I had weighed myself before and after the event and I had lost 5kg’s.

I learnt a lot after doing my first Ironman and more than I thought I would even with doing so much training. Waking up the next day and realizing what you have achieved makes you want to do another one. Ken Glah (48 Ironman finisher and owner of Endurance Sports Travel) even said to me that I will only reap the benefits of all the training I have done this year next year. So I don’t have any excuse to stop!

For photos click here.