Going in to a race as one of the favourites is not something I'm used to so it felt pretty strange to have people talk about me as a potential winner of Ironman UK. I took all race predictions with a pinch of salt, I certainly wasn't going to go in to my second Ironman race thinking that I was going to win or feeling that I was under pressure to perform.
The run up to the race seemed quite different from how the 70.3 felt. For the 70.3 I was pretty psyched up, I knew the course, I knew most of the competition, and I knew what my previous mistakes were, so all I had to think about was racing. This time I wasn't sure about anything except that it was going to be a long tough day and one that I would learn a lot from.
I said before the race that in the worse case scenario Amanda Stevens would be out of the water 15 minutes before me... Well that's exactly what happened. I didn't feel too bad about it as I headed out on to the bike course. I had planned to use a bike computer and a heart rate monitor however on the morning of the race I forgot my bike computer and for some reason my heart rate monitor didn't work so there I was again with no numbers to occupy my mind for the 112 mile bike ride. The first 15 miles felt fine, then as I begun the lapped part of the course and tried to eat I started feeling really sick, so I decided not to force anymore calories in until I felt a little better, I felt fidgety, uncomfortable and like I wanted to sit up and get out of the saddle a lot. I wasn't feeling particularly good when someone shouted 16 minutes down. By that point I was in 3rd place, Annett Kamenz had overtaken me on the first climb and got ahead of me. I didn't want to get caught up in racing someone so early so I let her go. After hearing that split and realising I was loosing time on the leader I went quite hard for a lap and a half and biked in to second place and made up a few minutes on the leader. Having no clue of power or heat rate I then spent the last 30 miles thinking 'maybe I've gone too hard, when is this bike going to end?!' I felt so bad that I was beginning to resign myself to racing for second place. I began thinking to myself, 'just keep racing for second anyway, it's ok to be second, Amanda is a great athlete'. I couldn't wait to get off the bike but towards the end a friend shouted ‘12 minutes down’. At that point I started to think that I might just be able to do it on the run but I didn't let myself get too excited.
At the start of the run I was feeling OK (apart from a very painful back, something that I really need to work on before my next race). I could see my main supporters for the day Jamie Hawthorn and Matt Malloy as I was leaving transition and the advice from them was just keep it steady, and that's exactly what I did. I just ran at a comfortable steady pace and I'd only been going for about 20minutes when someone shouted 10 minutes down. I wanted to believe it but thought it was likely to be one of those made up splits that people give you to make you feel better. Then as I began the lapped part of the run someone shouted 8 minutes, was shocked, I thought I had to be running too hard if I was gaining time that quickly so I slowed the pace a little, I had a long way to go and I wanted to be sure I'd make it to the line. So slowly and steadily I made my way in to the lead, when I passed Amanda I still had a long way to go. I decided to be sensible and just keep running steady instead of trying to put a lot of time in to the others. I wouldn't let myself actually believe that I was going to do it until I was very near the end. It felt absolutely amazing to run down that finish chute towards my first Ironman title. It hadn't actually crossed my mind at all that I could make history as Ireland's first Ironman Champion so that was an extra bonus!
I found the support and crowds to be great! It was real boost to have so much support especially on the run. Seeing familiar faces definitely helps a lot too, it takes your mind off everything and help you to push on when thing feel bad!
Since Ironman UK I have been totally overwhelmed by the amount of e mails, phone calls, comments etc. that I have received. I really appreciate each and every one of them so thanks to everyone for the support. I’m having a little recovery time now which is difficult because I’m dying to get back to some structured training!
The run up to the race seemed quite different from how the 70.3 felt. For the 70.3 I was pretty psyched up, I knew the course, I knew most of the competition, and I knew what my previous mistakes were, so all I had to think about was racing. This time I wasn't sure about anything except that it was going to be a long tough day and one that I would learn a lot from.
I said before the race that in the worse case scenario Amanda Stevens would be out of the water 15 minutes before me... Well that's exactly what happened. I didn't feel too bad about it as I headed out on to the bike course. I had planned to use a bike computer and a heart rate monitor however on the morning of the race I forgot my bike computer and for some reason my heart rate monitor didn't work so there I was again with no numbers to occupy my mind for the 112 mile bike ride. The first 15 miles felt fine, then as I begun the lapped part of the course and tried to eat I started feeling really sick, so I decided not to force anymore calories in until I felt a little better, I felt fidgety, uncomfortable and like I wanted to sit up and get out of the saddle a lot. I wasn't feeling particularly good when someone shouted 16 minutes down. By that point I was in 3rd place, Annett Kamenz had overtaken me on the first climb and got ahead of me. I didn't want to get caught up in racing someone so early so I let her go. After hearing that split and realising I was loosing time on the leader I went quite hard for a lap and a half and biked in to second place and made up a few minutes on the leader. Having no clue of power or heat rate I then spent the last 30 miles thinking 'maybe I've gone too hard, when is this bike going to end?!' I felt so bad that I was beginning to resign myself to racing for second place. I began thinking to myself, 'just keep racing for second anyway, it's ok to be second, Amanda is a great athlete'. I couldn't wait to get off the bike but towards the end a friend shouted ‘12 minutes down’. At that point I started to think that I might just be able to do it on the run but I didn't let myself get too excited.
At the start of the run I was feeling OK (apart from a very painful back, something that I really need to work on before my next race). I could see my main supporters for the day Jamie Hawthorn and Matt Malloy as I was leaving transition and the advice from them was just keep it steady, and that's exactly what I did. I just ran at a comfortable steady pace and I'd only been going for about 20minutes when someone shouted 10 minutes down. I wanted to believe it but thought it was likely to be one of those made up splits that people give you to make you feel better. Then as I began the lapped part of the run someone shouted 8 minutes, was shocked, I thought I had to be running too hard if I was gaining time that quickly so I slowed the pace a little, I had a long way to go and I wanted to be sure I'd make it to the line. So slowly and steadily I made my way in to the lead, when I passed Amanda I still had a long way to go. I decided to be sensible and just keep running steady instead of trying to put a lot of time in to the others. I wouldn't let myself actually believe that I was going to do it until I was very near the end. It felt absolutely amazing to run down that finish chute towards my first Ironman title. It hadn't actually crossed my mind at all that I could make history as Ireland's first Ironman Champion so that was an extra bonus!
I found the support and crowds to be great! It was real boost to have so much support especially on the run. Seeing familiar faces definitely helps a lot too, it takes your mind off everything and help you to push on when thing feel bad!
Since Ironman UK I have been totally overwhelmed by the amount of e mails, phone calls, comments etc. that I have received. I really appreciate each and every one of them so thanks to everyone for the support. I’m having a little recovery time now which is difficult because I’m dying to get back to some structured training!
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