Swaledale Road Runners

Many people would be pleased to run a marathon in 4 hours 12, but to do this after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride is something else! Read on for Carol Murray's account of her amazing achievement and more photos.

CAROL'S REPORT: IRONMAN GERMANY (EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS)

After 13 months of anticipation, 30 weeks of slavishly following a training plan, a hair raising drive through the Netherlands and Germany, and a few sleepless nights, the Day of Reckoning was finally upon us.

In the preceding weeks we had watched the temperatures in Frankfurt soar. The IM Germany website regularly tracked the lake temperatures, with the water temperature peaking at 24˚C (0.5˚C off the cut off for a non wet suit swim). I had become fixated on previous race reports and the notion that the swim would be an 'Aqua-scrum' in which I was likely to be at best swum over by 2500 willing participants or at worst knocked out within a couple of strokes to end my ironman career before it had even started. The idea of tackling the swim without a suit terrified me.

I must have overdone the fervent prayer for cooler weather, as from the minute we entered Germany the weather deteriorated. On checking the predicted weather in the days running up to the race it became obvious that we were in for a tough time. Last minute changes of plan were made to clothing and it felt more like preparing for an early spring bike ride in the UK than summer on the continent!

On rising at 3.30am on Race Morning the rain and wind had not yet quite revealed their full force, but the air temperature was 11˚C (it didn't rise more than about 5 degrees above this all day).

After forcing down breakfast, we headed round to the race hotel for the bus transfers down to the lake (Bikes and Bags had all been racked the day before). The transfer took about 20minutes and felt surreal: a packed bus load of anxious faces driving through the darkness in total silence.

Arriving at the lake as the sun was rising the enormity of the swim hit me. Having struggled to get a reccie swim at the lake two days before (there was no parking on site at the time and we had to leave the car in a tiny lay-by off a dual carriage way and follow our noses down a track through thick woods for 20minutes) we had guessed at the likely course based on the organisers diagrams. We had assumed this was an initial larger out and back loop down one side and a smaller similar loop down the perpendicular side of a squarish lake (an ex-quarry). It became clear on race day that this was a woeful underestimate, and we were in fact headed diagonally across the lake on the first loop, a thought which would probably have finished me off completely if I had known about it before hand!

Suiting up and final bike checks went smoothly until I handed in my white bag containing all the gear for after the race (and my spare goggles) , at which point I turned away to put on my hat and goggles only to find the latter were no longer in my hand. A frantic plea to the people who had seconds earlier taken my bag was met with Stony Resistance: No they could not retrieve my bag & spares now, and Yes it probably did mean it was all over before it had begun! (FOR YOU, ZE IRONMAN IZ OVER!!!) Thankfully I stayed to argue the toss for long enough that another athlete, having discovered them trampled under foot somewhere and guessing by my distraught face and volatile demeanour that I was the likely owner, handed them back to me.

Dave and I had decided before hand that everyone who felt shaky in the swim would probably hang back to start behind the pack, making this just as crowded. The perceived wisdom seemed to be to go wide where possible, and we set about getting ourselves into the warm up area on the outermost edge. Knowing I might be timid (or just too small!) about pushing my way into the desired spot on the outside edge, Dave had offered to stay together until I was settled into the swim at which point he would pull away and swim his own pace. This was a lovely theory but the reality was that as soon as the claxon went to start the race there was a flurry of activity and after two strokes I was looking at multiple pairs of feet. I have lived with Dave for 17 years, know him pretty well, and can identify him at distance from his running style alone, but I have to admit I have never studied his heels enough to pick them out from a crowd! I headed for my own chosen line on the perimeter of the pack and had an amazingly leisurely and calm swim for the first loop. At the end of the first loop we had to run a small section on land to enter the water for a second loop at right angles to the first. This resulted in a bottle neck of swimmers and the second loop was far less relaxed than the first, not least due to being clobbered several times by 'White Goggles Man' who was wearing a pair of white goggles and swam like he were driving a white van.

Leaving the water I followed the advice of walking rather than sprinting through transition. I thought it went reasonably quickly considering the multiple layers of arm warmers, dry shorts, rain jacket and full finger gloves, but looking at my T1 time this was delusional thinking and I think I posted one of the slowest transition times. Unfortunately the bike was not much of an improvement on that!

As I left transition it started to rain. It may have stopped briefly for and hour or so in the middle of the day but other than that, this was how it would remain for the rest of the day. The first few hours were reasonable and I held back, following my powertap readings and wanting to avoid the classic 'overcooking' on the bike. Unfortunately the heavy rain and slick roads meant I did not take advantage of the tailwind at this point. I am a nervy cyclist at the best of times and a nasty fall at 18-20mph a couple of months back had really knocked my confidence. Although flatter than most courses, Frankfurt is quite technical, which didn't play to my forte!

As the hours ticked by the wind started to pick up and I was being thrown around like a paper bag. I knew it wasn't going too well when I recognised the Pro athletes coming past me (on their 2nd loop) before I was 2/3rds of the way round the first loop! Despite the weather the atmosphere from the crowds on the first loop was incredible though and you couldn't help but feel inspired by it.

The second loop was a study in grim determination, the wind having changed direction so that for three quarters of the entire bike course (for the slower riders at least), it was into a head wind. The rain continued to sheet down, interspersed by periods of lighter drizzle. I had stopped feeling my feet about two hours in and my Bento box of cut up power bars had become Power Bar Soup. I have never looked forward to a Marathon so much in my life.

Arriving at T2 was blissful. I was so relieved to be off the bike where I really hadn't been able to give anything like my best, and on to the run where I knew I could start to enjoy myself, put my back into it, pull my time up, and reel in a few of the people who had passed me on the bike. Unlike many of the runners around me, I felt totally at home running in heavy rain and whether it was caffeine (gels), endorphins, or just relief to still be alive after the Bike from Hell, I felt elated for most of the first 20 or so miles. I was keen to keep the run consistent and held back for the first 2 of the four loops which run up and down the river Maine in Frankfurt. On hitting loop three I decided to keep my interest and pace up by doing speed intervals, which is the technique I have used throughout my previous marathons. By loop four I was still enjoying a steady run and took no small satisfaction in passing many of the better cyclists who were now walking. My pride had taken a real battering on the bike, and it was pay-back time. I had promised myself that I would not look at the actual mile count on my Garmin until I guessed at being around mile 22 (the distance markers were in km and my mind was too nuked at this stage to work it out in miles). I was pleased to see that when I began to feel a bit tired of running and started to want it to be all over, I was in fact at mile 24 and had only to press on for a couple more miles.....I was going to get a marathon split only 34mins slower than my fastest stand alone marathon.

Turning into the main square and onto the carpet which ran into the finishing chute I could hear Dave shouting above the crowds. I will never forget the incredible feelings as I approached the finish line; the Relief, the Achievement, the Elation......

I am 18 days down the line from that now. I was surprised not to feel more stiff or tired in the days immediately following. I couldn't sleep that night, probably all the caffeine and adrenaline still buzzing round. We enjoyed a gentle spin on the bike the next morning, not least because of the impromptu souvenir hunting we achieved (18ft of finishing chute carpet camouflaged with little finesse on Dave's bike). It's only now that I am trying to do the occasional longer bike / swim that I am realising how tired I still am.

At the time I would not have welcomed the idea of another Iron Man. The hours of training and mental commitment do take a certain toll, as much on the rest of the family as the 'Ironee', and I don't think the kids would forgive me if I went straight back into it. But of course now I am looking back on it all with fondness, and can feel the lure already.....perhaps in a few years time?????

Results

overall pos / 2550 starters cat pos / 70 starters

Overall 13:26:48 1941 40

Swim 01:26:19 2008 48

Bike 07:31:30 2297 54

Run 04:12:08 1153 15