3.8km swim, 180km cycle, 42.2km marathon. Every section timed, you fall behind the clock you are out. Must complete in 17 hours.
At IronMan Copenhagen 2023 I had the great pleasure of crossing my sixth full distance 140.6 mile IronMan finish line, going into a tie for the all time Glenrothes Triathlon Club IronMan finishing record, with fellow GTC member Doug Stewart. Let's see what 2024 brings!
The biggest physical stage finish in global Triathlon is set for Austria on 16th June. And event history is certainly in the making this year, as it is the 25th anniversary of the crown jewel of European Triathlon. The race is of course completely Sold Out, the commemorative and celebratory atmosphere is going to be quite incredible.
Scrolling through social media, and I'm suddenly thinking, 'Hold on a minute, that's me cycling on my bike AKA The Black Knife in the photo!' How lovely to see 😎 That was Austria last year. You see the arms position, that's aero tuck, makes a vast difference to the speed you can hold. Less drag = more speed. I've made further adjustments to the arm bars this year, many thanks to southern hemisphere's FastTT and to the team at Kirkcaldy's Singletrack Bikes for installation.
Little did I know 10 years ago, but Triathlon training would eventually lead to a level of fitness whereby I could also re-embrace a love of skiing, after having taken a skiing break of 36 years! And I'm not talking about a gentle wee ski for an hour here or there, my best ever single day Strava ski record (spring 2023) covered a truly epic 204 kilometres in one go up on the Deux Alpes glacier, what a day that was, carving run after run at circa 50km per hour. Carving? Feels like being a low-flying fighter jet pilot, whilst peeling the wrapper off a brand new iPhone!
Fast forward to the end of January 2024, I was in Meribel, and shifting on skis only at walking pace in flat light, whereby the sky is momentarily exactly the same colour as the snow, everything goes completely white, rendering it extremely difficult to see where you are going. A ski tip clipped a lump of ice, I fell to the ground at an angle whereby the ski boots didn't have time to release from their bindings, and oh my goodness my right knee got a torque injury. Everything below the knee twisted one way, everything above the knee went the other way! As I lay on the snow cursing away for the next 15 minutes, and knowing it was a bad injury, I was wondering what it would mean for the prospects for Austria 2024!
And so began a process of injury rehabilitation, blended with what training and conditioning could be done. RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. And onwards we go.
In my decade of Triathlon I have never previously pulled out of taking a booked event start line, I was absolutely gutted to have to pull out of the 85 mile Etape Caledonia 2024 cycle three weeks ago. I did so, to do my absolute best to protect the bad knee for Austria.
Over recent months I have not been able to cycle on roads, uphill. And I have not been able to run any long distances. So how am I able to even consider taking an IronMan start line in 2024 for a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycle inclusive of the vertical equivalent of cycling up 405 metres higher than Scotland's highest mountain Ben Nevis, and then a 42.2km marathon on foot thereafter?
Well, swimming is going great, and I have however been able to very consistently maintain 'flat road' cycling conditioning by using my indoor bike, the mighty Wattbike. And I have very consistently maintained, and increased the amount of very fast walking. I am resisting all temptation to run, so as to protect the knee.
As always, I am doing everything I can, to fully prepare with the best tools I've got. Build and build and build. Every single session storing the necessary reserves of glycogen, as you certainly need the minerals to go the distance.
Over 6 previous IronMan finishes, I have successfully raced 843.6 miles. At many times it has been truly character building, 2022 Austria in particular. It was in July that year with sunlight temperature (in direct sunlight) between 43 and 48 degrees. The 112 mile cycle was absolutely brutal.
Reflecting back to 2018 and how this IronMan journey really began, after 4 years of training I thought I would have a go at the Edinburgh half IronMan, a 1.9km sea swim, a 90km cycle, and then a 21.1km half marathon. Same bad knee capers that year, I was unable to do any running at all for 4 months in advance. I had paid the entry fee, so I thought I'd just turn up and see what happens. The swim was fine, the cycle was fine, and I basically then turbo-walked the entire 21.1km half marathon. I made the finish line at 8 hours with half an hour spare before the cutoff, turned to my very lovely wife Gaynor and said, 'I am never ever going to do another event like this again!'
Fellow GTC member Lee Kinnell offered a few words of support as I hobbled very slowly back to our car. That night however, I realised that 'all I needed to do' to potentially complete a full distance IronMan and get the T shirt, medal and obligatory M dot tattoo, was 'simply double' what I had just done that day. So I signed up for Austria 2019 the next day! And then, I didn't just double my training, I tripled it and the rest.
(wrapped in cellophane after tattoo artist)
My training over the decade has now taken me significantly further than the equivalent of going around the entire circumference of Planet Earth's 40,075 kilometres. There has never been a hundred metres in which I have not counted my triathlon blessings.
Each time I have taken part in an IronMan, I've been thinking 'Maybe this will be the last one?' But then again I've always thought afterwards, 'Why stop, if you think you can complete one again?' Let's see what happens this time.
All best wishes,
Nicholas
IronMan Class of 2024
