The Race

The last few months leading up to the event didn’t quite go to plan…

I developed an injury in my heel, which kept niggling away and finally stopped me running about three weeks before the event. Every run I completed was just irritating what seemed to be an Achilles Insertion issue. The only option was to rest it and avoid anything that would irritate it.

I wasn’t sure during that time if I would be able to complete the race, and my thought process was switching back and forth between being determined to do it anyway, and wanting to be cautious to avoid any longer term issues.

I was able to get some treatment, which helped settle things and although when I tried little runs I was still getting pain and discomfort, I was assured that, if I raced I would not do any long term damage. I would just need to work to bring down the inflammation again.

So the decision was made. I was going to race and hope the discomfort didn’t get too much.

We all made the journey up to Shropshire in small groups on the Friday. Unfortunately what should have been a four hour journey turned into over seven hours due to traffic, but thankfully we all arrived safely.

Saturday was spent relaxing, eating, registering and checking out the course. The course was two laps of each discipline, so we drove one lap of the bike course and checked out the routes in and out of transition. Sometimes the layout of transition can be confusing, so getting your bearings before the race really helps on the day.

I was feeling quite relaxed about the race most of Saturday. Being with a group of people and having a laugh and a joke meant I wasn’t stressing too much about the events of the next day.  But it didn’t last; the nerves really started in the evening over dinner when everyone was talking about the race and expected finish times. As this was my first event of this distance I really had no idea how my body was going to react and the usual feelings of self doubt and ‘not being good enough’ started to creep into my head. I would like to say I just let them pass through and I didn’t focus on them but I still have a bit of work to do on that…

Sunday morning arrived, a beautiful morning, but with a slight chill in the air. Thankfully we weren’t due to start our race until 9am, so by the time we arrived at the venue the sun was beginning to warm up. There was a full Ironman distance race also on that day and they had started their swim earlier so the area was already buzzing with activity.

The hour before the race was spent making sure all our equipment was set out, bike tyres inflated, nutrition all where it needed to be. I think I re-arranged everything about five times before deciding that it really didn’t matter, and that I was stressing about it far to much.

After a short safety briefing we were all escorted down to the edge of the lake for the start of the swim. There were athletes coming out of the water who were competing in the full distance, so there was lots of support for them. We waded in to the water towards the start buoys and waited for the countdown.

There were about three hundred people taking part in the race and all starting the swim together was a bit chaotic. I found myself in the middle of a big group surrounded by people, which unnerved me slightly. I was getting bashed and kicked and couldn’t get past people who were swimming slower than I wanted to be swimming. The first lap took us right round the lake; we then had to exit the water, run for twenty meters and then head back in for the second lap. The second lap was easier to swim as the people had spread out a bit more. I had plenty of room to get into a rhythm and could easily pass people.

I came out of the swim and felt okay, just a bit annoyed that my first lap had been slight slower than I would have liked but overall it seemed to go very quickly.

I headed out of transition and onto the bike course. This again was a two lap course, each lap being twenty eight miles. I quite liked this, as it meant I could just concentrate on each twenty eight miles separately.  The course was relatively flat, but it was on A roads, which meant there was a lot of traffic, including lorries and tractors!

By the end of the first lap I was getting a bit fed up being on my bike. I knew this would be the point I would start to struggle and the self doubt kick in. I even thought about just giving up at that point. But there was no way I entertained that thought for long. I had some  nutrition and started off on the second lap. I decided I would stop at the first fuelling station for a comfort break. This gave me something to focus on just get to the feed station!

It seemed to take a lot longer to get to that feed station on the second lap than on the first. But having that short break off the bike helped get me through the last nineteen miles. I just kept thinking ‘I don’t ever have to cycle down this road again’.

As I came into transition for a second time I was just so pleased to be finished on the bike. I knew I still had thirteen miles to run, but I knew that was the final part. The run was also two laps and we started by running around the lake that we had swum in, then heading off onto the road for a four lap circuit before heading back round to start the whole lap again.

The bit round the lake was fine; I was aware of not going off to quickly, as when you get off the bike your legs tend to try and keep moving at the same momentum. If I had gone off at that pace I would have 'blown up' quite early, so I kept my pace down and enjoyed the scenery and the support from spectators. As I headed out onto the road section I realised this would be the hardest part, because we were literally running up and down the same road four times. This was mentally tough as the road seems to get longer each time you run up and down.  There was a positive element to this, I did run past other members of my group so we were able to encourage each other and give support.

As I headed off into the second lap of the run, I knew I would find this hard. My run was getting slower and the thought of running the road section again just seemed impossible. I headed back round the lake trying to encourage myself that I could do this. My legs were starting to feel tired and I couldn’t stomach eating anything else, so I knew the rest of the race was going to be a challenge. I stopped to walk a few times just to try and get my head together, but made sure I was still walking. There was no way I wasn’t going to finish, but I stopped worrying about finishing in a good time and just wanted to get round.

As I headed out on the road section I was really struggling mentally. I was trying to find some way of breaking the sections up, but there were no specific landmarks or objects to do this. I tried to engage people in conversation but I think by that point nobody really wanted to talk. So I started counting cones that were marking off the road…

It helped get me through the last few miles and as I headed off the road and back round into transition to the finish, I really thought I was well over the time I had hoped I would do. I didn’t really care at that point as I knew I would finish.

I came round into the finish and all my friends were there cheering me on. It was lovely to have that support and I even managed a smile as I ran towards the line!

I can’t really remember how I felt at that point, but I remember the lady who gave me my medal asking me if I was ok… I think I was swaying a bit. Then my friends called me over to the barrier and enveloped me in a massive group hug. I was holding back tears at that point.

I walked through the finish and collected my T-shirt. At this point I decided to look at my watch, expecting to be well over the time I was hoping…but when I looked down I was only three minutes over. That’s when the tears came. I was really shocked, but it seemed my bike section had been quicker than I had thought.

I don’t really remember much about how I felt immediately after the race (apart from the fact that walking was an issue).  It sounds strange, but I felt slightly removed from it, as If it wasn’t me that had completed it. 

I assume this was because I was so tired.

When I finished I did say that I was never doing that distance again… However, I now feel that I would like to do another one, but one with a slightly better course. I don’t feel that one has given me a true reflection of racing at that distance.

It seems strange now that something I have been building up to for nearly a year is now done. It still feels like it wasn’t really me that did it.

I was going to say it is the end of a journey, but it was just a stage in an ever continuing journey.

Thank you for all your comments and messages of encouragement during my build up to this event. I am never completely comfortable talking or writing about myself, but your kind words have been a great help.

I’d like to end on the quote...

'Anything is possible’, which I truly believe.So go out there and follow your dreams. That’s what I’ll be doing in the coming years…