Ironman UK, Sunday 19th August 2007 (the hawaii qualifier's version)

Report by Chris Clarke

I'll make a start...

It all comes down to this.

Isn't it strange that when you enter for the IM that you immediately get motivated. That was sometime in April/May when I thought to myself that this year was fast becoming a non event and I was desperate to do something other than work 6 days a week. I asked the family what they thought, and I was met with - oh go on then, as you tend to be better to live with when you train anyway !!. Great, there you have it, not only does IM help you test yourself it helps you inter-act with the family on a happier level, nice one.

So, after parting with the money for IMUK I set about writing/constructing my program around work and various weddings/stags/hen weekends and the normal working week. (I'll mention the family too - never last and certainly not least!). After making rough notes I came to the conclusion this was going to be hard...

Race Day.

I'll mention the weather only once. It was windy, it had been raining so much that the field we were staying in resembled a mud bath (hopefully the farmer spent more money than he earned pulling people out). Then the temperature, very mixed. In fact it seemed very weird getting a lengthy brief on hypothermia instead of the normal hyponatremia/heat stress etc.

Anyway, the race.

The Swim It was due to start at 0600 hr's but this year it was delayed because many of the athletes could not get out/in of the car parks due to the above. Which meant a few of us were treading water for more minutes than we actually wanted too, never mind you're here. The race eventually started and immediately the lake seemed full (approx 1600). To which for the first time ever I felt I've needed a life jacket as the amount of pushing/grabbing that went on was the worst I've experienced. Then it happened the goggles got kicked/pulled off, nightmare!. Which led to the discovery of a new drill - goggles in the mouth and swim to the side of the lake - fast!. Once the normal breathing was resumed I managed to put them back in position ready to rejoin the race. Here we go again. Joined in, felt smooth and catching people and then it happened again !, (repeat new drill). New tactics, stay out of the way, no drafting and swim the race on your own. It worked, no more mishaps and I managed to get out of the water in a less than stella 1:01:20.

Let the race begin.

T1 What was I thinking. Too casual (lack of racing perhaps?), I let a volunteer open my bag and lets just say the T1 time should have been 2 min's quicker than it was. 4:04.

The Bike It's a three loop affair with apparently the same amount of climbing as IM Lanzarote, I'll remember that. Due to my lack of training/racing I kept well within the same HRZ's from previous races hoping that it would keep me somewhere near the 5 hour mark. How wrong they were. On completing the first lap I realised that I needed to up the tempo. New plan - ditch the HR monitor and just go for it - within reason. The second lap was much quicker and I seemed to pass lots, great, just keep eating and spinning. On the third lap the above mentioned seemed to pick up and the lack of gels on the course made the final 20 or so miles seem longer and harder than they should have been. Or was the lack of training going to bite me in the ass? I finished the bike in a respectable 5:12:23, all things considered - happy.

T2 Better, still had a mishap with trainer insoles not wanting to stay in. 1:57

The Run It's a mixture of 2 loops in the castle grounds then out and onto the infamous dual carriageway. For all those people who have done it - you know, for those who enter for next year - you will do. At this point Colette choose to tell me I was in forth place in AG, and the leader was less than 3 min's ahead of me, come on !. Despite my lack of racing/training this year I was still hopeful of getting a 9:30/40 finish and trying to qualify for Kona. I found something out about myself on the run - I can't eat gels and run without retching or throwing up. So I stuck to Coke (checked diet or full fat) and water. Which seemed to work because as the race progressed I seemed to be getting quicker. The last 2/3 miles seemed to pass pretty quickly as the finish adrenaline started to build and the gap was closing all the time. The finish is always a great feeling. This one though I felt I'd earnt the title of Ironman though I didn't hear it.

On reflection it was a good day, not a great day but a good day. I managed to PB on less training than I did last year on a day where the conditions did me no favours.

My final time was 9:33:52 4th in AG (by 19 sec's), 28th overall. The best was yet to come - Qualified for Hawaii - Oh yes.

Race how you feel and enjoy the day no matter what, at least you're there doing it!!!.

Again big thanks to my support crew - Colette (wife, manager, cook, back scratcher). Caprice (daughter no 1, best helper, my buddy, my leaning post) and Arabella the family monkey (daughter no 2). Thanks also to the Clients who travelled almost half the length of the country to watch the mad man - Jane, Bonnie, Andy, Gill and Tom.

I salute you!!

Chris Clarke

Read David Waterhouse' version of events

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