Ironman Lanzarote 2013 - race report

If you had told me a couple of years back that I would finish one of the renown toughest ironman races on the circuit, I would have laughed at you. Ironman Lanzarote was the first race of my bucket list, so it was mostly about finishing and having a good time, but I’m happy that I have more than honored my training and the people that keep supporting me. On a personal level, this was a fantastic race and a dream come true on many levels. Forget the finish time, it’s good indeed and I’m really happy about it, but enjoyment was the goal and I really had a blast!

After registering for the 70.3 last year, I had the opportunity to get a guaranteed entry for the full distance this year and I took it. I knew about the race pedigree and read countless reports about how hard it can be. I’ve done like everyone else: checking the course profile, trawling through photos and videos online to get a feel of what the bike course is like and got feedback from past years finishers. It was a daunting prospect, but one I also relished! I had decided to go all the way for this year of racing with a proper coaching plan, with Jo Carritt at EDT who set me up well for this race. On the recce I did with my dad, the gradients looked steep but not unmanageable. I was more worried about wind and heat, and their impact for the run afterwards.

I slept ok as usual before a race. Only having a shorter night to manage to get down a breakfast and prepare everything without stress. With the usual routine of preparing the drinks, time went by nicely and staying at a flat 300m from the finish line, I quickly was in transition with other competitors to prep everything. Bike shoes in place directly on the pedals, food, drinks and other bits and bobs back where they belong, and a last visit to the toilet done. Having placed the bags on their hooks the night before, it was all standard and quite quick.

It started to rain. Quite heavily. Much to the amusement of some, and the dismay of others. It doesn’t seem to be a rarity here, but it wasn’t a small shower. There was however no time to debate the weather, I needed to warmup. Wetsuit went on well, although I’m pretty sure it’s now too tight, having gained a bit of upper body strength over the winter, and I was in the water for a few minutes before realising the start was not far off! This would be my first real, long open water swim this year, bar the one lap I’ve done on Tuesday which was my first time outside a pool in 2013…

I’ve been told by previous years participants to get to the start line early enough to get the position I wanted. They were right! Unsurprisingly with more than 1600 men on the start line, the intimidation and pushing had already started, even before the swim… I’m sure no one means bad, but some should really relax a bit more! The day is going to be long and there really is no need for angry talk and pushing around at this point! I held my place on the right hand side just under the red bull arch to get a quick exit towards clear water.

I wish I had been a little further ahead as the start was the usual scramble of feet, elbows and limbs everywhere. I said it before, there isn’t much that can prepare you for the start of an ironman swim except doing more of them. As I was around the first quarter of the pack this time, and not a patient back-starter, I was in good place to get the full force of it! And I did!

Whirlpool

I probably got punched a few times in the head, elbowed in the chest, swam over and drank way more water than I wanted, but I held my line just about alright. Slighty far outside the first buoy to be safe, then pretty close to the long line of yellow floats at sea until almost perfect turns at the far end of the course. First time I’m that close to the buoys and it was great to see that I am now swimming more or less in a straight line! Gradually the water got clearer and clearer, everyone getting in their natural place. Sighting with the hotel block on the return leg was easy and I managed a good first lap in a bit more than 33' which I was very happy with given the conditions!

The water was really calm besides the whirlwind of swimmers, so I expected to get close to my (self inflicted) goal of 1h05 overall. Sadly, I must have tired up (and lost focus a few times) on the second lap as I exited the water in just under 1h07. Still a PB and feeling good, with an even split. Overall not a bad swim, but also still something to work on. On the grand scheme of things, and with regards to the race I had planed, these 2 minutes wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway.

A two laps course was a very welcomed design for the swim. That was a lot more enjoyable than the boring long single laps of some other races. It breaks the monotony and gives an intermediate goal for average swimmers like me. (Yes, I still consider myself average. I’ll slowly chip away at the hour hopefully!) I can’t remember the roar for that little run on the beach, but I can still see it! There is something about this tunnel of people right there at the exit of the water that re-invigorates you, as they can get all the way down in the water to support you. And that’s fantastic!

Out of the water

I don’t think I ever had such a long transition in any race I’ve done before. (For those who know my exploits in this domain, I think i managed to beat my slow T1 at the One Last Tri 2010!) But as I was there to enjoy the day, I took my time while others were shouting profanities while trying to rip apart that wetsuit they couldn’t unzip. Quite entertaining!

I had decided to use shoulder covers for the ride, to keep cool and avoid too much sunburn. They worked well later on, but they’re really a b**** to put on. Especially when you’re all wet! I could certainly have been a lot faster in the T1 tent, there isn’t much to put on after all, but hey! There was still about 10-11h of racing left, and I wasn’t gunning for an ultimate performance (wanting to do well, yes, but being realistic and controlled).

After dropping my bag outside the tent, and climbing the ramp to the street level, there was the best part of 400m to run to the first racks as my number was 411. Some spectators there kept urging me on, but I took my time to clean my feet, put socks on properly, and make sure everything was right before darting off. There’s nothing more annoying in any shoes than a few grains of sand or a folded sock!

Surprisingly, even with my long transition, my swim time allowed me to get on the bike somewhat well placed and I avoided much of the bike herd I usually have to wade through. Some day I might be able to get even further ahead! I’ll keep working on that!

Bike start

The roads were wet, and the rain came back. The quick-fire-adrenaline-pumped big guys went ahead to burn their matches straight out of town. “Let them go, let them go…” Truth is I also didn’t know how hard I could go early on. Even though I had practiced some segments of long rides at my target race power, I was totally unsure about how much I would need to save at the start to avoid blowing up on the steeper climbs or the run later on, and stay on my target of 185 to 190W. So I kept my energy and relaxed in a good rhythm.

The first 20K were done under rainy and relatively cold conditions. Maybe this is the reason my legs weren’t firing as they should have, or maybe I didn’t try hard enough, but it didn’t feel specially fast or well executed. I only started to feel better when hitting the first gradients before Yaiza after the first aid station. At last something for my build to excel: going uphill!

I saw Faris Al Sultan shortly after this, leading the pro charge already out of the El Golfo loop, with Phil graves not far behind. As usual it’s great to see the pros just there on the course with us! That downhill portion was fast and the loop had great roads and a nice flow to it. The wind was already there and blowing us around. Some guys were still passing. “Let them go, let them go…”

Coming back out of El Golfo wasn’t as hard as I anticipated. I passed back a few guys on the way up until the roundabout to get to the national park, and saw my first crash of the day. The guy had taken the roundabout too fast but looked alright. It’s hard to stay well alert for 180Km, but you absolutely have to, especially here!

It was then for the lunar landscape of that long straight line going up fire mountain. The course profile reaches one of the three “big” climbs at this point, and it is indeed uphill, but grinding at it with the right gear was actually fine. Nutrition was going well too, the rain had stopped and I was picking up a few places. All good! This part of the course was however in a headwind all the way to La Santa, and after having seen dad at Mancha Blanca and given him the thumbs up and a big smile, I really had to concentrate to stay upright. The long descent to La Santa is very fast, open to traffic, and with crosswinds that aren’t particularly nice. That’s where a few extra Kg could help, but at least I didn’t have a disc like several around me at this point.

Having done the 70.3 last year and recced the route a few days earlier, I knew the road ahead was going to be almost strictly uphill for about 25km after Famara and in a strong headwind after Teguise.

Forget the hills on this course! Yes, you have to get over them, but the killer factor is the wind. Try applying the brakes to your bike while climbing, and let me know how you feel! I made up many places on this next section. Going uphill, without the “baggage” certain riders have, was a definite plus, especially towards the top of Mirador de Haria. This was the section I reached 50mph on the 70.3 last year. It was going down though, and things were a lot slower this time! It was a relief to get into the downhill switchback section after this, but that was only a short respite before hitting the climbs towards Mirador del Rio. There is a little town passage along the way with nice crowds, and shortly after, what I felt was the steepest portion of the whole route. A nasty little climb that got me out of the saddle pushing hard on the pedals at only around 10kph! It wasn’t far until the top of the course and its magnificent views of Preciosa and the cliffs around Mirador del Rio. Last aid station for a while, tailwind and speedy descent to come!

Mirador del Rio

The first section of the road after the crest is very rough at best, and there was a fair bit of water-bottle dodging to do until reaching smoother Tarmac. It was then very fast downhill and on narrow roads. Fantastic speedy and technical cycling here, loved it! But some didn’t take enough care and one guy seemed to have gone straight into and over a roadside railing on a 90 degrees bend. Second crash of the day, this one looked nasty, but the guy was upright and tended to by medics.

I had to do more freewheeling afterwards as I had spun out my biggest gear (53-12) a long time back and was taking a forced rest. Tailwind, more downhill and then hitting the ‘motorway’ from Arrieta to Tahiche. That long section was all done in a big gear roaring back towards town with the tailwind for once! Enjoyment stopped a bit later with the little 3K uphill from Tahiche. Dad was there too, camera in hand and shouting encouraging things :-)

I think that’s when number 1440 from the 45-49 AG caught me up on this incline saying “it’s ard here! But will get better after the next 5K”. Indeed, there was that section described at the briefing as being the “Paris-Roubaix” section of this race. We chatted a bit while getting on with the headwind. Nice guy, and going very well too as I’ve seen him as well later on during the run and he finished in 11:06! I left him just before the left turn on the nastiest section of the course. A real bone and bike shaker given the amount of water bottles lost around there! I had to get out of the tri bars a few times and was really relieved once over! Geez! I’d give a tenner right now towards a fund to re-surface that road! Who’s with me?

The remaining part of the course was quite flat with the odd little incline, but mostly fast with the tailwind. The only “difficulty” left was the donkey road back towards town. Downhill, tailwind, very fast at times and not specially safe. I was surprised to be catching up a car on it, as I thought it would have been closed to traffic, but the driver saw me and let me through easily, which was great as I was gaining good time there!

The return into town through the LZ-40 was a lot shorter than I expected, as I wrongly thought we were going to do the same route than on the way out. And I’m not sure if it was initially planned like this, as both my computer and GPS told me I had only done ~177Km when I reached transition. Anyone else out there with a short bike ride? I definitely didn’t cut any corners!

Dismounting was a lot easier than usual, no cramping, no tightness in the legs. Surprising after 7500ft of ascent! I had done a 5h45 ride when I thought I’d do around 6, and there weren’t many bikes back in T2 by then. I was amazingly in 150th place at this point, not that I knew that at the time! This bike ride was really nice. And if the hills are kind-of scary on the course profile, they’re nothing compared to the wind. I’d go as far as to say that the hills are easily manageable! (There, I said it!)

Again, I took my time in T2. Change of socks, removing shoulder covers, wiping my face, new sunscreen etc. I didn’t need to know my place, I was having a ball and enjoying talking with the volunteers. There were also a couple of casualties already in the tent with people being under scrutiny by paramedics and not looking too good. Pushed too hard on the bike? Maybe, it would be easy on a course Ike this. I had done 182W average. Somewhat below my initial target of 185-190W, which I definitely could have achieved, but with a sub 6h ride, I was happy regardless, and that also meant more energy for the run! I am however wondering what an extra 5W average here would give me in terms of time gained! A guy ran out of the tent with what looked like a BLT sandwich and I was very envious of him at that time! I had eaten well on the bike with 1.5 cliff bars in little pieces, but I was now getting hungry. It would be coke in my own flasks for me, and lots of water and oranges at the aid stations. Food and beer was the carrot after this little detail of a run!

As I ran out of T2 and up the first little incline, I saw dad crossing the road, looking the other way! He was definitely not expecting me just yet as I had told him I wanted to do 6h for the bike leg. So he was the one being on time, and I was early :-) I shouted “Hey! You’re not ready!” With a chuckle as I went past him and he took a few shots of my back until the next lap.

The atmosphere on the run was great with the many places people were stacked in along the way. Bars, restaurants, beach etc, it was non-stop for the whole of the shorter lap and there were still some after the airport on the long first lap. Some shout, some sing, most clap, and some chant “hop, hop, hop!” (Is this German by the way?) So at one point I hopped on one leg for about 4-5 steps much to their delight. Also high-fived kids along the beach. It’s a great way to kill the monotony of the run, and a good way to give them all something back. They think you’re a nutter, but they admire you too, and the truth is that we all need them. There are dark moments were you just can’t lift your head well to smile, but at that point you soak up their energy and that’s what keeps you going. For these harder times, given them back a little something when you can. They love it too! The start of the run had also quite a few guys around enjoying a cold beer, which was what I was looking for, but in about 4h from then! I told them it looked nice and one even started to run next to me offering his drink! Haha! Brilliant! It would have been ok with the BLT of the guy in T2, but I politely declined and got on with my run. That would have to wait for after the finish line.

The strategy was simple: run/walk as 2k run / 2min walk. That would put me in a nice walking pace for the aid stations. However, I missed the first one and continued on to the next. I was feeling nice at about 4:45-4:50 / Km, so I decided there and then to do 4k run / 2min walk. This worked brilliantly for the whole of the first 20km lap, and I’m sure the nutrition on the bike worked a treat as well, as I was still feeling quite good. I ran the first ½ in just under 1:45, which was great if I could keep that pace up overall!

That was the only really hot part of the run course along the airport to Playa Honda done, and the aid stations' sponges and ice were working well. I picked up the trick to run with ice cubes in my hands some time ago, and that seems to work well to cool down. But the smells of food especially chips and grilled meat were by now excruciating! Too many restaurants along the way!

At the end of the long first lap, I had the chance to arrive towards the line at the same time than Faris Al-Sultan. What an experience! The roar is phenomenal and I couldn’t help but take a little bit of it for myself. I was waiting for a speedy-guy-in-speedos to pass but it was a lot steadier than that. By this point he had won the race already and was taking his time to get to the line. Well done for pretty much leading from one end to the other!

Then reality came back: turn around next to the chute as I’d seen it on the live feed last year, back towards the airport. I had two 10K loops to do.

In the hurt

This may have played a little bit on my mind, as things started to get a little tight. Hamstrings a bit tense. Controlling them alright, but definitely getting tired. I wasn’t really checking my pace too much, not worried about placement or anything else, and after the 25k mark I reverted to walking every aid station. Although the coca-cola strategy seemed to be working, I was also taking a few sips of red bull and isotonic drink to have a bit of a change, both of which are rank during a race! This diet and some oranges helped me through to the 30k mark though, at which point I was feeling better. I saw dad around this time, and urged him to get to the line to come with me down the finish chute at the end.

Having had a conversation on twitter with through The Black Line London guys, I was on the lookout for her number and gave her a few shouts when I saw her. It’s also nice to see others during a race who are doing well (she looked like she was anyway!).

With about 10K to go, I was feeling better and a look at my run time showed me I could well be on the pace for a 3h30 marathon. This put back a little life in me and I managed to pick it up. The prospect of having a great run was better than anything else at this point. The overall race time looked great too, so I ignored some of the aid stations on the last lap, taking onboard what I had left of coke and some oranges on the fly until being back into town on the last bit over the cycle lane.

It was time for me to end a fantastic day of racing and a well executed race. My dad was nowhere to be seen unfortunately, so I crossed the line alone, and that would be my only regret for this fantastic day. The man’s been the one showing me up how to setup and care for a bike, he’s been cycling for 40+ years and that was the first time he was around at one of my races. Thanks dad for being there, I hope I’ll see you at many more!

Absolutely stoked by the result, and especially running a 3h29 marathon on the back of that bike ride! That definitely surprised me, and puts behind the foot injuries I had during the winter training. It’s not all fully healed, but it certainly didn’t bother me during this race. To put it into perspective, I’ve gone only 3min slower than my first IM in Barcelona 2 years ago, but with a lot of wind and 7500ft of ascent. I think training works!

Amongst the amazing support I’ve had from everyone around me, even from the ones that think I’m a complete nutter (which is most of you), there’s one special person that need all my attention and love now. She’s been through this winter with seeing very little of me, and I can’t thank Ellen more for all her support and advice on how to care for my foot. She’s just setup her business as a physio in SW London, so do pay her a visit too!

Ironman Lanzarote is a beast. It lived up to its fame and I enjoyed every bit of it. You probably won’t break records other than your personal time on this course over here, but you’ll have a great time and definitely won’t be bored for a second! Entries are already open for 2014!

On my calendar, after a week of doing absolutely NOTHING until last Monday, I’ve gone back into light training to relax and re-focus towards racing the Swashbuckler on June 2nd. A bit close after Lanza, but I was in this one long before and it’ll be fun to try and not get passed by the D3 Triathlon guys this time. It’ll be cold, but this time I’ll be prepared! Then it will be all out training for the big goal at the end of the season with 70.3 Zell Am See and trying to get super close to the Vegas (or wherever it goes) 70.3 WC slots.

Results and data

Finish Overall position: 117th, 112th male and 25th in my age group.