The Run
Being my fourth Ironman I pretty much know now that anything can happen on the run, before Lanza I’ve had one good one and two pretty bad ones down to nutrition issues. I learnt my lesson from Mallorca and didn’t take anything That I wasn’t used to in training. I felt well hydrated and started off pretty well considering how much I thought the bike would take out of me. The course is 1 out and back loop for the first half marathon then 2 further shorter loops for the remainder. This meant passing my hotel 6 times, good for seeing the family but not good for wanting to stop and go in and eat!
I ran probably the first 4 miles with only walking through the feed stations, passed Hollie at some point on the outward stretch and had a chat, I pushed on while I was feeling good. This outward 6.5 ish miles past the airport is horrible, as the route runs along the shoreline there are coves which run in and out so you can see the runners ahead but not what’s round the corner. Even though you know how far you have to run it still seems a long way and you’re hoping at each corner that you will see the turn around point in the distance. This route is different to last year which was two of these long out and backs. I think I prefer 4 shorter laps but it’s an Ironman and not meant to be easy physically or mentally.
This stretch out to Playa Honda was into a head wind(for a change) which along with soaking my head with water at the feed stations was causing me some chafing around the nipple area. Something I did not need with probably another 3.5 hours of running to go. All I could think was to the first feed station where you can get handed stuff from friends,family etc. Thinking I may need plasters or Vaseline but this was another 7 miles away. There were a number of up and downs on the path here as well and my legs were beginning to feel the 7 plus hours of biking in them and I was beginning to walk more. Finally I reached the outward turn point, this was a mental plus I now needed to get back to transition and I would be half way through the marathon. Hollie passed me shortly after the turn around point and seemed to be going along pretty steadily. At this point I joined up with a guy called Pete from Ashford tri club, he had done Ironman UK last year and seemed to be in the same mindset as me with regards to how difficult the bike course was. It was great to get chatting to someone and take the mind off how knackered my legs were. We ran/walked together for a few miles before he kicked on just after I had passed the boys and Jo at our hotel.
I was walking more on the stretch back to PDC but I got into a rhythm of walking for a minute or two and running for 7/8 minutes, this went ok until just after the turn around point. As I came back into PDC Q gave a massive shout of ‘PIRATE’ as he did every time, high fired him and Jo and Jordy as I went up the hill towards transaction. I saw Lu again and had some crisps, food has worked for me in the past and other than bananas I had had nothing since on the bike. I was also feeling sick, something I have not experienced before in a race. Normally it’s poo related issues but this was a proper nauseating sickness. It was only when just after a feed station before the end of the first lap I figured it out, I had downed a water as I felt so thirsty, this made me feel worse, I just thought this is salt, or lack of through sweating it out and not replacing through anything.
Within about 15 minutes of having the crisps and some small sips of flat coke that I started to feel better, the sickness passed pretty quick. Definitely something I will take into a long distance race again is electrolyte/salt tabs to make sure I don’t feel like this again. Next was two shorter laps of basically 5k out and back to make up the remainder of the marathon. I passed another pirate , Slim Shady as he started his first outward lap. There were supposed to be 5 pirates racing but I had only seen Slim on the run.
Half marathon was done in about 2:20, miles 14-16 were awful, it was at this point my head gave up. I just thought sod it I’m walking the remaining miles. It would be a long day but I’ve gone past caring, my legs just felt empty of energy. I got to Jo and the boys around 15.5 miles and said to Jo ‘I’m done’ a few choice motivational words from my wife and my youngest son Jacob who simply said ‘Daddy, why aren’t you running?’ Such a simple question but it got me moving at a pace a bit quicker than walking. I settled into a sort of system where I would walk 0.2 miles the run until 0.5 then walk until 0.75 then run the last 0.25 of each mile I was in. These miles were coming out pretty consistently at 11:30ish minute mile pace. Not fast at all but moving in the right direction.
Back into PDC an said hello to Lu again and may have had more crisps I’m not sure then another massive pirate shout from Q. Final turn around and I had about 10k to go, kept the strategy going, this time no family in the way out as they had made their way to PDC to see me finish. Once I’d turned for the last time around the mini roundabout to head for the finish I had a massive lift. It didn’t get me moving any faster but it was a sense of relief, 3 miles to go and I’m done for the day. As I got into PDC and less than a mile to finish I started to properly run, felt like Forrest Gump when he breaks free of the braces!
I’d forgotten about running down the chute with the boys when all of a sudden my (what felt like😉) 6 min/mile pace was slowed as Jo and Lu threw Joseph and Jacob into my path, very nearly all three of us went flying as we started down the chute. The only Ironman race in the world you can run down with your children! Run complete in 4:59😀👍🏼
Through the tape and I’m done 13:38 my slowest Ironman but what an epic day…
Not as emotional at the finish as I have been on the past, I think I used it all up on the course. A truly brutal epic day, looking back I know I hated most of it as I was doing it but the achievement isn’t lost on me. Opinions aside, Ironman Lanzarote is THE most challenging Ironman in the world. I’m very proud to have completed it in one piece. I’m not going to say never again but I’m glad I’ve done it and for now and the foreseeable future I won’t be entering it again, top race, well organised, well supported, hell of a challenge and that bloody wind!!!
Blue Peter Ironman 