It is really happening - Ironman Wales 2013

  After as much deliberation as I could give the topic I have signed up for Ironman Wales 2013. Contrary to what Dan may think, my mind was not made up the second I had the thought of doing Ironman this year. But I am also not going to lie and say that I didn't want the Tri club members to say my idea was stupid. I wanted at least the majority of the people who responded to say yes, and they did. However, had the majority had strong views that I not do it I would've seriously reconsidered.

  Since my post last night I told Dan and my parents to read my blog as it was the easiest way to express my true feelings and explain my sseemingly rash decision of wanting to do an Ironman this year. My blog was like an essay which argued for and against an Ironman in 2013. However what I was really asking for at the end was objective support. I honestly thought Dan would be against the idea as when I first mentioned it the day before he said that it was too soon. As a personal trainer he knows the ins and outs of training plans. The thought of him saying no worried me as I would listen to him outright. After getting back from my night shift I slept until 12.30pm and then was too excited about hearing Dan's verdict of my blog post to go back to sleep. When I asked him if he had read it he said he hadn't as it took him too long to read. At first I was annoyed as I had asked him nicely to read it for me. He soon confessed that he had in fact read and it and began to smile. He grinned and said "Go for it". I felt a wriggle of excitement. (Dan thought by this point I had been too impatient and already booked it! I don't think he realised how important his judgement and thoughts are to me on this topic). I kept asking Dan to make sure he was being serious.
  Although I was excited and my mind was almost made up, I read another Chiltern Tri members response to my post. This was from Adrian who has completed 5 Ironman's including Ironman Wales. He wrote, "It's a bloody tough race. I did it in 2011 and it was the only Ironman where I got so tired that I nearly fell asleep 1/2 way through the bike course. It was a tough tough ride and the run was the toughest I've done as well...It was 4 laps up a slope out of town and then back down again". (This is the link to his race report; http://www.chilterntri.co.uk/teamannouncements/ironmanwalesadriansracereport. Even the female winner of the 2011 race wrote, "Ironman Wales is by far the toughest Ironman I have done". Futhermore, a fellow competitor with Adrian, who has competed in 12 Ironman's, told him after the event that it made Ironman Lanzarote look easy. (Ironman Lanzarote has been labelled as the hardest of the 25 Ironman events due to its unforgiving volanic bike climbs and heat). Adrian recommended I do Challenge Henley, an Ironman distance event, on the same date as Wales due to the locality of it and due to being an easier course. His statement knocked me back and Dan could see the confusion and worry in my face. When I questioned him about it he just said, "If you put the training in you have nothing to worry about". There was also something inside of me that wanted to tackle this course even more due to its tough reputation. I know it is not much of a comparison but the Snowdonia Slateman was the toughest Olympic distance I have done yet it was the one I enjoyed the most. The difficulty of the course intrigued me. It even made me want it more.
  The last person I was waiting to hear from was my Mum who I had also told to read my latest post. Although my mind was racing I finally got back to sleep which obviously stopped me impatiently waiting for my mums response. I woke up again at 4.30pm with no text from my mum. I decided to ask what she thought, to which she plainly said call me. I don't think I even managed any small talk, I blurted out, "what do you think?" (it was pretty obvious what I was referring to). Mum had a little excitement in her voice when she said that after talking to my Dad that I had their full support even though they were due to be going to Portugal over that weekend (thankfully they hadn't booked their flights). I explained my woes about the extra difficulty of the course. Mum just put me at ease and said they're all going to be hard, it's a bloody Ironman. She then told me to go for it, but be careful, you only have one body.

  The final decision to do my Ironman this year was that I do not have the luxury of being able to afford the travel to another more desirable event elsewhere. Ironman Wales would be my Ironman debut location, it was just a question of what year I was going to do it. Therefore, I cannot avoid the tough course no matter what. I live in the Chilterns, the home of hills so can easily get my legs stronger. I will also factor in some training visits to Wales as I have family down there and my bike will become my new car. When going for a holiday in Devon this summer I will cycle the 130miles from my parents house to our destination. So my decision was made and I am in contact with Adrian, the member who has completed Ironman Wales, for extra advice. All I had to do now was wait till midnight until payday so I could fork out the £440 it costs to enter.

  Whilst at work waiting for midnight to arrive I began thinking about what time I would like to complete the event in. I am not doing Ironman for a time, but I think it is only healthy when training for such an event to have a goal so you can assess your performance. I would also like to know how long I am taking in each discipline so that I do actually cross the line within the cut-off time of 17hrs. The time I was aiming for in Austria was 13hrs or just under. With the difficulty of the course and the smaller training time I have to train I am adding another hour and a half onto this making my desired finish time at 14hr30. My time splits for this are; Swim - 1h15, Bike - 8h, Run - 4h45 and transitions/problems - 30minutes. Although I believe these to be realistic I am not religiously stuck to to them. My estimated timings are just my guideline. At least I will be able to assess my progress against them. If I end up crossing the line in 16h59 it would not bother me in the slightest.

  By 00.30am I was registered for Ironman Wales 2013. Before I read any more scaremongering race reports I clicked submit. I have never really read the terms and conditions of a race entry so intently and couldn't ignore this clause, "I HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE AND ASSUME ALL OF THE RISKS OF PARTICIPATING IN THIS EVENT. I acknowledge running, bicycling, swimming, and/or other portions of this Event are inherently dangerous and are an extreme test of my physical and mental limits that carries with them the potential for serious bodily injury, permanent disability, paralysis and death". Although this statement mentions death the one word in this condition that made me know I was doing the right thing by signing up was 'test'. Ironman is my test and the decision to do an Ironman earlier than previously intended has made the test more exciting.

IT IS REALLY HAPPENING!

  As soon as I received my confirmation email of registration the nerves kicked in. It is really happening, I had to pinch myself. Although I am scared I also cannot contain my excitement. The grin on my face was huge. I wanted to punch the air.
  After staring at my screen for over 10 minutes I then began to look at the race weekend schedule. The event will be the biggest thing I have ever been involved in and I cannot even began to imagine what the atmosphere will be like. The thought of the EXPO and all the merchandise makes me wriggle with excitement. I do however have a lot of training to do between now and September and only I can put in the hours to get across that line. So I shall be dishing out a message in the next few days to all my friends explaining that I will not be available over summer. I am cutting out drinking (except for a real celebration) and eating properly meaning that the 2 snickers I am having for dinner on my night shifts will have to go. My aim is to lose 2 stone by September which would help the impact when running (my weakest discipline). If I have time other than on a night shift to write this blog then I am not training enough. I should not, apart from on night shifts, be sitting on my arse or watching TV programmes. The only time I should be sitting on anything other than a saddle is at work or when going to sleep. The next four months are going to be tough, very very tough, but if it gets me to be an Ironman then that struggle is worth it.

  I have to say thank you to my parents and Dan for agreeing to support me and giving me the confidence to to sign up for September. I always read in triathlon magazines and forums that a close and understanding support network are vital and this couldn't be more evident right now. I am planning to have the people closest to me there for me in September. I sent a message to my brother and sister saying I was doing my Ironman this year and asked whether they were free. They both want to come and that includes their own families. As well as that my nan who avidly reads my blog may come too (my mum prints the posts out every month and delivers them to her). We are looking at getting a big house so we can all stay over the weekend together. Already I potentially have 13 of my nearest and dearest there to cheer me on. Surely I can use this support to my advantage. Seeing my five nieces and nephew can only spur me on to the finish. I cannot let them or myself down now. September 8th 2013 will be a very emotional day in Wales.