Ironman Wales Race Report

Awesome.

This race is going to stay under the radar, and that is a little unfortunate. It was an amazing venue and a great challenge. Post race consensus from iron veterans was that this was one of the hardest iron distance races around, even when compared to Lanzarote. My only comparison is Ironman Florida, so it was easy for me to agree.

Swim- 1:08: Hurricane Katia turned into a tropical depression over Wales over race weekend. The winds were a solid 25-30 mph all day long- STEADY- with 40 mph gusts. Trainer weather if you ask me, but I didn't have a choice to stay inside. But, the rain stayed away through the morning and it was a perfect 60ish degrees outside for the race.

The swim course was changed to a different venue for safety. Water temps 57 degrees. I never heard the signal to start. Next thing I knew, everyone was in the water and I was just figuring out the race had started! The bad news is, the water was so choppy it was sickening. The good news is, the field was so spread out from the waves, I didn't have anyone crawl over me, even in the first 200 meters. I was supposed to find feet, but that didn't happen. I think I was supposed to swim, too, but I was just ducking under waves and pushing through current.

While I sincerely keep trying to improve my swim, I continue to end up in the middle to back of every big race. I am looking forward to the day that all changes:) Swim split 27th in AG.
For T1, you get to run 1000 meters or so through the town, which was actually pretty cool. I didn't mind at all. This race is no frills. No wetsuit stripper. No assistance in the changing room. No segregated changing rooms. Boys and girls together in one big group. I tried not to let my eyes wander.
Bike-6:49: I don't even know where to start on the bike. I just had to look up my time because I didn't even remember it. I am stuck between wondering if I did all I could on the bike vs. under performing. Everyone keeps assuming I had difficulty with the hills. 6800 feet of climbing? No problem! :) Yes, the hills were absolutely the toughest I have ever encountered (have you ever ridden 3 mph up a half mile hill x 2 on your ironman and been the only one that was not walking their bike?). The course was relentless- the hills never ended. However, I felt fit all day long and the hills were no problem. The wind was tough too- constantly blowing and keeping me out of aero position to keep my bike upright. But the hills and wind were not as tough as the technical design of the course.

Almost all of the descents were blind with 90 degree turns at the bottom. I didn't take my normal risks. Almost all of the climbs were blind and unexpected. I wasn't prepared with my gearing. If you haven't ridden in Europe, it is hard to picture the roads. In America, our roads are mostly wide open. In Europe, the roads barely fit 1-2 cars, and you can not see too far ahead with the curves and elevation changes.

I had a few malfunctions (chain problems x 3) with just a few minutes lost overall. Like I said, I was not prepared with my gearing. I was not not ready to shift CONSTANTLY through the race...I have never done that. I have never spent so much time in my small chain ring. It was a new challenge. But, I learned and moved on. It was all good- no worries.

Then my left aero bar snapped in half. Just literally broke around mile 45-50. I was on my aero bars at the time and was so lucky to stay upright. There was nothing to be done- it was broken in half! I laughed, and moved on. So much for all of that time I spent training in aero!

Despite everything, the ride felt fine. Maybe too fine? Around mile 80 I realized there was a problem. I was not catching any girls. I was not riding near the people I wanted to be riding near. I started slicing through the field the rest of the ride- never passed, only passing. I caught a few girls, got to T2, and realized it was too late. I never felt the need to get off of my bike, and I was wishing I could ride another 50 miles to catch some more people.

Did I under-ride? Or, did I ride appropriately to set up a good marathon?

I don't have a good analysis yet. I hung out with a very cool German guy the day after the race that rode a 4:50 for his last IM and rode near 6:00 for Wales. What we decided is that we did not risk enough. We both were so worried about HR, course conditions, and a very tough marathon ahead that we did not risk much. Those who rode well risked more.

I expected a slow bike split, but I expected everyone else to be slow as well. I didn't expect to be so far back. Apparently everyone else had other plans, and I didn't get the memo. Bike split 13th AG which moved me to 17thAG.

Despite what appears to be a lackluster performance, I felt extremely bike fit and enjoyed the course immensely. It was breathtaking, really.
The Run- 3:46: I still didn't know where I was in the race. I soon found out- Wales is a 4 loop course. I was wayyyyy back. (and FYI, Wales does not body mark, so I had no clue what women were in what AG...no ages on the back of calves). The fun thing about Wales is you get an armband every time you do a loop. It really motivates you to complete a loop because you are insanely jealous of people that have more armbands than you. :)

I did NOT run at 8 min pace from the onset...that tracker is lying. I went 9:45, 9:15, 8:45...then I started running. The course it all up or down-1500 feet of climbing (way more elevation than Shelby Forest, for you Memphians)- the hardest marathon I have ever encountered. I would have peed in my pants out of fear, except that I had already peed in my pants about 10 times on the bike. But, at mile 4, I knew I was going to have a good marathon. Something just clicked. I was going up the long, huge hill and I was running fast and my HR was really low. I was blown away, realized I was fit, and started running. I thought...the other girls will blow up on the run and I am going to catch so many people.

But, no one blew up because everyone was really fit. It was so fierce out there with the women. Everyone in front of me was just killing it. Girls behind me were killing it. We were all running our brains out. It was awesome. I have never raced against so many awesome women. It was really fun.

I caught basically no one but still ran my A$$ off. The course was so hilly, but I didn't even think about it- I just ran. I did have a little race going on with 3 other women in the race that appeared to be in my AG. I had a diarrhea problem x 3- nothing wrong with my stomach, I just couldn't go to the bathroom that morning and it had to come out sometime. So, I would duck in the porta potty, they would pass me, I would come out 1-2 min later, and run like hell to re-pass them. This happened x 3...the final time I did not repass 2 of the girls....dang it! They beat me to the line. I did beat the German cheater, though, that was getting aid and fuel from her boyfriend all along the course.

I was enjoying the last mile until I saw a girl behind me trying to get me at the end. So, I literally had to race till the end and my last few miles were as fast as any others in the race. I was pretty emotional hitting the carpet when I realized that I had just raced a full marathon- not just run a marathon, but raced it. I was racing at mile 25. I could have raced at mile 28 if I needed to. It was a good day. I think I finished 14 or 15 in my AG.

Too bad I couldn't think of anything better to do for pictures. Lame. Yet funny. Dave and I spent some time cracking up over my race pictures. You should see him make fun of me. It is not my fault the crowd was so awesome and cheered me on so much. They made me do it!
Later that night and the next day I had 3 different guys come up to me and tell me that they remember me from the run course (could recall the orange and blue kit) and that they were impressed with my running and that they remembered my good form. From someone that could barely run a 10k last year, and even then had trouble breaking 50 min, this was a huge compliment to my season of hard work.
Here is a video of my (lame) finish. I am so pumped it is hilarious. This will give you a pretty good indication of the wind that lasted all day.



In retrospect, there was nothing that riding my bike 20 or 30 minutes faster would have solved. Coming out of the water so far back is just as much of a problem. While I hate to see that my bike did not shine through as usual, I think the day was successful, and I had a great time.

I would definitely do this race again, and now in the back of my mind I think I need to one day take on the challenges of Lanzarote and then...Norseman!!! Yes!!!!!

If you haven't raced in Europe or taken a challenge out of your normal racing routine, I suggest you get out there and try something new and hard. Go race some really fast people. Go race a really hard course. Go enjoy learning and becoming a better athlete. Get out of your comfort zone a little bit. You never know how much more there is to learn until you try something new.

PS- thanks for all of the support through the race. You guys rock!