Well...you'll be glad to know that...no...I haven't abandoned it, what happened is that instead of travelling, this year I was "persuaded" to run/swim/cycle a half Ironman (also known as Ironman 70.3).
It all started back in August 2012... I hadn't done any structured training for more than 15 years so I had a lot to catch up and keeping up with all the training proved to be quite a challenge.
Perhaps it would be interesting to create an entry one day about my journey from start to end... since there were quite a few "adventures" along the way... but that may be another story for another day will see...
In any case, here it is the story of my first half Ironman
This was the very first Half Ironman in Vigo and I believe the second one in Galicia (I suppose there aren't too many crazies around willing to try it).
This was without any doubt the greatest athletic challenge I've ever attempted. It took a lot of training to get me to the start line... and if you like numbers here are my "stats" at the starting line:
Running: 1,685.74 Km
Cycling: 2,637.96 Km
Swimming: 51.28 Km
That's what I did in order to prepare myself for the challenge... some of those km were easy, some were really tough... sometimes it was warm and sunny, but most of the time it was cold and miserable... sometimes even snowed... but I met a lot of interesting people along the way, made new friends and learnt a lot not only about triathlon but also about myself...
But today, I'll go straight to the end of the story... Did I make it? did I truly swam 1.9 Km, cycled 90Km and then run a half marathon? I think an image is worth one thousand words. :-)
But I'm getting ahead of myself...let's back track and start from the beginning...
One of my oldest and closest friends (Álvaro) managed to persuade me last year to do this crazy race... I must admit that it didn't take him too long to convince me... it sounded so crazy that I just couldn't refuse.
So the day before the race we just turned up to get our race numbers and leave our bikes in the transition area...
That together with our unshaven legs was a give away that we wouldn't be breaking any world record the following day... but we were in it to finish it, not to win it... (not this time anyway). ;-)
So with that we went home to have a good sleep and get ready for the following day...
The weather had been fantastic all week I was there, 28 C every day with not a cloud in the sky (a bit too much perhaps if you are going to be running). The water had been a bit choppy but nothing too serious.
Now, on the day of the race we couldn't have chosen any better conditions... the maximum temperature of the day was 24C (hot for a run but quite bearable) and the water in the morning of the swim was still like a lake...
The swimming circuit was as simple as it gets
900 m straight into the Atlantic Ocean, 100 metres to the left and another 900 m back to shore.
The morning in question, we all suit up (water was at 15C so a wetsuit was compulsory) and went down to the shore... we waited with trepidation and with the sound of a horn off we went...
500 of us...all at once... The human washing machine... you get kicked...punched...swam over...sunk...you name it...
After 1.9 Km of dodging kicks and punches... swimming around people, swimming in zig-zag...going off course and swimming back to the swimming course, I managed to come out of the water in what turned up to be my personal best on the distance... only 43 minutes!! (I probably swam an extra 200 metres with all my zig zagging) so I still can't understand how I've managed to come out of the water so fast...
Ok yes... it took me a while to get my blood pumping throughout my legs again... and to reach my brain... hence the zombi walk depicted above...
As I started running towards transition I bumped into a couple of friends that came to see the swimming. Richi and Montse... They cheered me up as I was passing by them... I already had some blood pumping again and managed to high five Richi on my way to the transition, which meant that I was still feeling good. :-)
I probably spent about 10 minutes in the transition (I definitely took my time) and all the time I won in the swim I lost in the transition... as I came out of the transition I was one of the last ones already... but my mission was to finish without being disqualified for not making the cut offs so time was on my side.
The cut off for the swimming was 1h 10min so I still had 27 minutes to spare ... I could afford to take 10 to strap my heart monitor, and put on the cycling gear... I cannot emphasise enough the importance of having good padding on a 90Km ride... trust me... your ass will thank you...
Álvaro did a quick transition and left with the bike before me. We almost looked like professionals on the bike... if it wasn't for the bikes...and the unshaven legs...of course... ;-)
I've managed to keep an average of 27 Km/h on the 90Km ride and Álvaro an impressive 30 Km/h ... Not bad for two ex cyclists after 15 years away from the saddle.
The cycling route was quite flat and we both knew it as the back of our hand as we did it a million times in our cycling years... so it was easy to work out where to rest and were to push...
We had an area where they provided liquids, bars and gels as you need to keep eating all the time if you don't want to bonk.
Perhaps the most challenging part wasn't the swimming, the running or the cycling but the eating part. It's hard to work out how much food you need to consume and how often to have it as if you eat too much while you exercise you'll end up having gastrointestinal problems and they can get bad enough to make you withdraw... and if you eat too little you bonk...
I think I got the balance right as I didn't have any stomach problems nor was I even close to bonk but I have to tell you... I never ate so many bananas in my entire life!!!
In this occasion, after 10Km on the bike I realised my cycling pants were too old and the padding just wasn't cutting it... and after 90km I was ready for an ass transplant... I've never been so eager to get off the bike and start running...
Then we came to T2 (the transition from the bike to the running). In this transition we had plenty of photographers and even a personal camera filming the whole thing. I was considerably faster on this transition as I only changed my cycling gear for my running gear... shorts, t-shirt, trainers and off to the run.
This was Álvaro first
And me later
The guy on the background was in the same position when I arrived than when I left... still sitting down...
A few people cooked themselves a bit on the bike and had to walk the half marathon... but not this guy!
Look at him... not even sweating!!!
Almost like me... X-P
And finally Álvaro crossed the finished line in an amazing time of 5h 38 minutes (half an hour before me!!!)
And I was still going... 5 more Km to go... more bananas to eat...
You can see my face of happiness as I was running towards the finish line...
And my brother on the background taking the picture. :-)
It was a long race but I must admit that having friends and family cheering you up every now and then does help and it keeps you going.
The organisation was fantastic on every level except for a couple of things, and one of those things was not waiting for the last participants before giving the trophies to the winners... it's a bit weird when you come into the finish line and there's no one there, everyone gone...some people packing... it makes you wonder whether you are in the finish line or not... and while you are looking around trying to work out what's going on.... someone comes towards you slaps a medal on you and disappears again... ok... that's it... after 6 freaking hours!!
You kinda expect a little bit more... but as I said the rest was all good. It was a really fun experience and I don't discard trying it again another time.
After eating and drinking some more... we packed our gear and headed for our respective homes to keep eating and drinking some more and have a much deserved nap.
