Well…. I’m an Ironman! Although, it would seem like the universe did everything in its power to prevent it.
Ironman Wales is a tough enough course as it is, but coming down with a cold on the Tuesday prior had me worried that I would not even be starting. My HRV was trending downwards and by Thursday I was firmly into the red. Friday saw no improvement, but Saturday I woke up feeling okay and would be at least starting the race on Sunday morning.
Tenby is usually sheltered from the prevailing westerly wind, but we had some stormy weather from the East. The sea looked choppy from atop the cliff overlooking the bay (although the distance may have masked how choppy), but nothing unfamiliar so I thought.
After hanging my pink bag on the decent down onto the beach (more on that later) I head towards the pens where you sort yourself into your expected finish time. I bump into a group of friends where I hop the barrier and place myself in the 1:15-1:20 group with them. Anthem, fireworks and off we go directly into the oncoming spring tide.
Once I’m 100-200m in, I start struggling for breath. In my mind, I put it down to the illness and began to think it was a stupid idea starting. I was contemplating rolling onto my back and putting my arm in the air. I treaded water a couple of times to catch my breath, compose and carry on to the first buoy. It was a lot more choppy out there than I first thought.
Once around the first buoy, there was some respite from the tide as it is then at a right angle to you and I settled into a rhythm and became more comfortable on the long back straight. Imagine a door wedge with a blunt nose, that is the shape of the route.
At the second and third buoys (around 200m apart, which forms the blunt nose of the wedge), you are back closer to the shore, where the tide funnels along it back towards the start, so you have another swim against the tide for about another 200m across the nose of the wedge. After rounding the third buoy, you then have that cross shore tide carry you in to complete the first lap. 40 mins on the watch was about par for me. Seeing my daughter on the Aussie exit was much needed!
Lap 2 and the conditions had gotten worse. The wind had picked up, the swell had grown and getting out to the first buoy was much more difficult than the first lap. At the first buoy, there were many people struggling, kayaks and boats were always on the move try to reach those in need. After rounding the buoy, again… a nice bit of respite along the back straight with waves at your side. Once at the second buoy, the current was ridiculous. It required so much effort to make forward progress. Once rounded, I noticed the third buoy was closer as it had been dragged by the tide. To reach it was basically like swimming across a fast moving river. You had to swim at a 45 degree angle for about 100m to make it. The majority of people were not bothering to swim to it or just had no strength left and succumbed to the current and went with the flow. Not wanting to risk a DNF, I persisted and managed to eventually get around it then surfed it back in. It was a relief to be heading back to shore. I read afterwards that the third buoy had to be towed away as it moved way off course. Also, the local lifeboat was deployed out to the first buoy sometime after I had passed it, as there were so many people struggling and supposedly a lot of people had to be rescued from the water. People joke that even the swim at Ironman Wales is uphill. It certainly was this day 
T1 - IMWales is unique in that once you complete the swim, you run up the beach to a 50m zig-zag path that climbs the overlooking cliff lined with spectators. On the way down the zig-zag path to the swim, you hang a pink bag that contains some old running shoes, bottle of water to rinse feet, etc. After the swim, you run up the path (or walk in most people’s case), grab your shoes and then you have to run about 1km in your wetsuit (or strip half way or full) to transition. The entire route is lined with spectators cheering you on. The amount of support here is crazy! Once in T1, I took my time stripping off my wetsuit, drying off and preparing for the bike. Around a 50-100m run in my cycling shoes to the bike and off out of T1 where I was greeted by my wife and youngest daughter.
The bike was my happy place as I’m familiar with the course. It’s 2,500m of elevation, but it’s home territory. You head off back down the lined streets you just ran up into T1 and thankfully it was dry and overcast. Temp not hot, not cold… just right. The first hour on the bike course isn’t too challenging. A nice tailwind meant I could take it easy while still laying down a bit of speed. 20 mins in and I pass my sisters house with her, my niece and nephew out cheering me on.
The first respectable hill was 30 mins in and I was surprised by quite a few people giving it some gas going up the hill. At the top, there is a steep decent followed by some rolling hills, sharp bends and another fast technical decent. People seemed to stay in single file and fuel up here so I decided to put my gas down along this section and I made up so many places, so I decided to take it easy going up the hills and then push on the fast technical sections in the hopes that that would be a more efficient strategy.
Reaching the first aid station at Angle signalled the end of the tailwind and I had made up quite a few places while being efficient and now it was head down for the next 45 mins into the headwind.
Once back at Lamphey, you begin the first loop of the hilly section. Lots of hills, fast technical downhill sections where I continued with the same strategy. At a small village called Templeton, there is a steep climb and here was a young lad who was continually running up and down the hill playing his guitar while singing along. Such a delight takes your mind off the climb.
I was looking forward to reaching the most hilly section as I’ve read so much about the supporters on the two toughest hills. Wiseman’s bridge is the first, where a man with a strong American accent greets every cyclist with a compliment or encouragement. Halfway up the 16% gradient, the Mysterious Man with his click counter tells you your current position on the first lap. At the top, a hoard of nuns.
Once over the top, you’re straight into the most technical section of the course. A fast twisty downhill shaded by the surrounded woodland. The road was a little damp, but I knew the course well and where to push and where to brake. Must have been a few accidents here as there was a Marshall stationed there on lap 2 urging caution prior to the bends.
Next up was Heartbreak Hill. The beginning of the ascent has barriers to keep the supporters back a bit. Two riders side by side max. My brother in law was here, cheering me on. The hill then levels off for a bit before climbing up again. Here, there are no barriers and the crowd always line the road in all sorts of fancy dress costumes or not many clothes at all, beers in hand, music blaring, everyone cheering you on and only enough room for single-file cycling. It’s absolutely crazy and you can play to the crowd if you so wish. They will love you for it! You forget you are cycling up a steep hill.
Heartbreak hill FPV experience: IRONMAN UK on Instagram: "Ever wondered what it’s like to ride up Heartbreak Hill?😏"
After HB Hill, a fast decent back into Tenby concluded the first lap in around 4 hours and you’re onto your second. Around the 5 hour mark, I lost a bit of power which I thought was due to a high body temp. I reached an aid station at Narberth where I emptied a bottle of water over my head. A bit pointless because it began to rain 2 minutes later, but the rain perked me up before the fast stuff and the fun hills where the crowds still lined the roads there on Heartbreak hill in the rain.
T2 - Once into T2, I put on some nice fresh socks, running shoes on and some nasal spray to unblock my nose a bit and off I went.
I was quite confident heading into the run as I had conserved energy on the bike pretty well. Earlier in the year, I could hardly run due to injury. For many months all I could do was run/walks. After lots of strength training, I was able to build some run volume, although anything beyond 30k was unknown territory.
Off the bike out of T2, my legs felt okay, 6:00/km felt comfortable during training, so I began pacing to that. Although my stomach felt like there wasn’t room for anything else to be put in there.
The support around Tenby town is incredible. The rain didn’t dampen any spirits. After a short run through town, you head out of Tenby on an uphill battle. You’re either running uphill or downhill. There isn’t much flat anywhere.
The first lap went okay. A little under pace, but thought I could make it back up as my heart rate was pretty good. I grabbed my first lap band at New Hedges - the furthest point away from the run start/finish, quick toilet break and headed back to Tenby.
My second lap was a bit slower again and my legs began to feel like they were heavier and I couldn’t stomach anymore fuel. We also
had torrential rain during lap 2. My feet were soaked through, so I ran through the streams of rain coming down the road as it had a nice cooling effect. On the other side of the road, the last riders were still out on course, coming into T2 soaked through. I would not have liked to have been out on the bike during that rain. I collected my second lap band and headed back down to town. The smell of Thai food in the Main Street of Tenby was so good, then onto grilled food in another street which smelled great, but the smell of deep-fried churros in the next street made me feel sick.
At the start of the third lap, I hit a wall and I had to walk for about 5 mins as I made the uphill trek out of town, past my hotel and began to contemplate why I’m doing this. I know my mind, I was never signing up to another event ever again. As the steepest part of the hill rounded off into a gentle hill, I attempted to run again… albeit very slowly. The rain wasn’t very cooling, so more water over the head at the next aid station halfway up the hill. No energy, no fuel, no motivation to keep going. Not sure what urged me on, put I kept going slowly. Once I got that third lap band at the top of the climb, I took on a few Jelly babies and a sip of water which seemed to be my saving grace. That and heading back downhill. On the way back past my hotel, my daughter ran with me for a bit which was nice. I made my way through town once again and began my final lap.
The final lap climb wasn’t as bad this time, although now it was dark, so the scenery and people watching was no longer a part of the route. Although still great support on the sidelines. PI managed to keep a nice steady pace up the hill, take on a few Jelly Babies and water over the head at the aid stations. Not sure why I felt hot. There was people running with jackets, foil blankets etc. and my heart rate was lower than usual. Maybe the cold I picked up prior had some sort of an effect or something. I’m not sure. Collecting that final lap band at the top of the hill was so relieving. The downhills were starting to have an effect on the joints and there is one steepish hill that leads down to Tenby harbour that really magnifies it. After that, it is back up to weave through the town centre before heading down a quiet little street that overlooks Tenby south beach. No shops, restaurants, cafes or pubs. Just an eerie little street. After you round another corner, there is a man wearing a white Jaws (the movie) T-shirt giving out words of encouragement. He was there on every lap, standing in the exact same spot. It seemed quite strange but very memorable. Turns out, he is also the Mysterious Man with the counter from Wiseman’s Bridge hill on lap one. Its also quite strange how this particular spot is so close to the finish line, although it’s so quiet and dark. It’s just you and your thoughts then bang… there’s Jaws guy with a compliment to bring your focus back before heading back out into the limelight.
I was relieved to be heading onto the red carpet this time and bypassing the lap sign. A brief ring of the bell, a hug for the family and across the line I go. After collecting my medal I headed for the finishers tent. I had a craving for pizza at the end of lap three (haven’t eaten pizza for a long time) and low and behold, pizza galore in there to which I helped myself. I scoffed that down and a mate of mine came through who finished less than a minute behind. We exchanged our thoughts and feelings, congratulated each other, then I was off to meet my family outside of transition.
TL:DR Summary - From thinking I might not start due to illness, to starting and almost instantly regretting it, it was a pretty gruelling day. The swim was brutal, the bike was okay with rain towards the end and the run was beyond anything I’ve ever ran and also wet. Pleased to have finished and not in a hurry to sign up to another full just yet.
. Had the same sort of traffic issues on the bike too but with single riders blocking the overtaking side of the road on fast descents.
