I arrived over on the Thursday and got the train to Thun. I went for a swim later that evening in my wetsuit, just to get accustomed to the water.
On Friday I built my bike. I had some trouble with the derailleur, so instead of standing in the sun for two hours at the Ironman Expo waiting for the bike doctor to fix it, I brought it to a local bike shop. That saved me a lot of time and probably stopped me getting dehydrated before the race – a good move!
I tested the bike with a short spin around town, dropped it into transition and got everything set up for race day. I had an Italian meal and a McFlurry, then headed to bed.
I was up again at 4:45am, had chicken and pasta for breakfast and made my way to transition.
As I got ready for the swim, the announcer referenced the three mountain peaks we could all see from the lake. He said to think of them as representing the three disciplines – swim, bike and run – and to take that strength with you throughout the day.
I positioned myself near the back of the swim start, as there were enough people setting off together and I wanted a calmer start. The swim was great. I finished it in 1:43.
The lake was beautiful – clear turquoise alpine water where you could still see the lakebed even two kilometres out, despite it being 10 or 12 feet deep.
I ended up swimming about 400 metres extra, so my sighting probably wasn’t the best! There was also a cross-current for the first 2km which made things a little harder. The last 800 metres, through the harbour, were much calmer and it was incredible swimming while taking in the mountain scenery every time I turned to breathe.
Then it was onto the bike…
After T1 I put on another layer of sun cream and took the bike conservatively over the first 90km. It’s my strongest discipline, but I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I had nutrition alerts set on my bike computer every 30 minutes and hydration reminders every 15 minutes. I also had the GPX route loaded, with Normalised Power and ClimbPro enabled so I knew exactly when the climbs were coming.
There were around 2,100 metres of elevation over the course, with fourteen significant climbs on each 90km loop.
The first lap went steadily enough. I wasn’t sure how difficult the climbs would be.
When I came off the first 90km loop, I realised I only had about 30 minutes to spare before the cut-off! (That was my cue to put the foot down)
Knowing what was ahead, I pushed much harder on the second lap and made up valuable time.
A good tip for anyone racing there – the aid stations have sun cream available – you just have to ask for it. I was pouring water over myself all day in temperatures touching 30°C, although it was generally around 27–28°C.
After the first aid station on lap two I started overtaking a lot of people.
I came off the bike with 45 minutes to spare before the cut-off, headed into T2, put on another layer of sun cream and set off on the run.
Now it was simply a matter of getting through the marathon.
The run started well apart from some back pain after spending over seven hours on the bike.
The aid stations were brilliant. I used the ice and cold water to keep my body temperature down and managed to average 131 bpm for the marathon, which I was delighted with.
Physically I actually felt good, but mentally I was shattered from racing on so little sleep – and by kilometre 18, I could barely keep my eyes open!
I spotted a German family cheering in the park and asked if they’d still be there in ten minutes. They said yes.
So I got them to set a ten-minute timer, lay down on the grass and had a 10-minute nap.
That completely revived me and carried me through the second half of the marathon. Before that I genuinely couldn’t keep my eyes open – I was almost falling asleep while running!
I crossed the finish line in 15 hours 53 minutes and was absolutely delighted.
I signed up for the IRONMAN in October, joined Galway Triathlon Club in November and started working with Luke as my coach. He was unbelievable throughout the eight months of preparation.
In that time, I went from being a complete beginner swimmer to completing an Ironman.
Before beginning the journey, 2.6km was the furthest I’d ever swam, and that was during my first open-water swim in Loughrea at the end of May before completing the Corrib swim.
To go straight into a full Ironman with so little experience was a huge challenge.
It was a beautiful but brutal course. The scenery was absolutely incredible. Maybe I spent a little too much time admiring the Alps on the first bike lap instead of pushing on, but overall, I couldn’t complain.
It was the trip of a lifetime and an unforgettable weekend.
