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MarkDaviesIronmamSwitz2012 |
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Click the pictures to expand Mark Davies does Ironman Switzerland 2012It’s 4.00 a.m. on July 15th, the alarm rings at this unearthly hour. I crawl out of bed and start preparing for the day ahead – a light breakfast of beetroot juice, ham and coffee – all I could stomach as the nerves were already jittering. At 5.00 am I leave with my wife and 2 boys in tow and get on the athletes bus to head to the start and it’s already raining. Once at the start area it’s time to strap on the garmin, pump up my tyres to 120 psi, put some gels and sports beans in my nutrition pack and set out my biking and running kit for later…..fortunately in a waterproof box. The weather was soon to get interesting! At 6.00 am the start area for swim opened and everyone gathers nervously – time for the last minute pit stops, change into race kit, apply various lubricants to various body parts and don the wetsuit – the water is a pleasant 20 degrees. The countdown begins and at 7.00 am we are off – I do my customary dawdle into the water waving goodbye to the kids and by being last in. That way I get to improve my position throughout the race. It’s also a bit scary with 1800 athletes crowded into a small space – it’s like being in a giant washing machine! 2 big clockwise laps which includes a brief exit and run over a small island at the end of the 1st lap – you have to complete the 3.8K (2.4 Miles) swim 2hrs 20mins or you’re out. Fortunately most people make this target and I was out in just over 1hr 25mins and 1060th place! 5 minutes later and I had changed, grabbed my bike, jumped on at the mounting point and sped along the flat start for 500 metres before throwing my chain – schoolboy error! Once I got my act together I settled Another (slow) 5 minute transition and I was off running in the rain, dodging the thunder and lightning. The 4 lap course with a few out and back sections is very spectator friendly and is mostly alongside Lake Zurich. My strategy was to run by feel and not worry too much about the pace, just checking the watch as a guide and taking in water, electrolytes and coke by walking through every 2nd aid station – the 1st lap went well covering the 10.5K in about 1 hour before the inevitable slowing so the ½ marathon was reached in 2:07. My legs were screaming on the third lap as I reached the ¾ distance in 3:15 and then I had to walk – I tried to walk for a minute then run for 5 minutes. This helped and after 4 minutes total walking I managed to keep going all the way to the finish, realising that if I could ‘speed up’ over the last 6K I could break 4:30 for the marathon and get a sub 12:30 finish – somehow, courtesy of coca cola I managed it and crossed the line in 12:26, finishing in 899th place overall. The weather still had one more cruel trick to play by waiting until I had got myself cleaned and changed before emptying the sky as I got my bike, kit and everything else out of transition and walked to the bus home! I would say never again but that is now number 7 and my 2nd best time! Maybe Ironman Wales in Tenby this September - after all the weather can’t be any worse! Mark Davies 24/07/2012
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into a rhythm for the 2 lap 180K (112 Miles) course which includes the infamous climbs known as ‘The Beast’ and ‘Heartbreak Hill’ on each lap. Switzerland just isn’t very flat but the 1st 30K is pretty easy and then the climbing begins, just coincidentally when the storms appeared and the temperature dropped to 10 degrees. Cold and wet, I was actually looking forward to the climbs just to warm up. Fortunately, the Saturday morning club rides over High Moor began to pay off as I stopped losing places and started to pass people. Maybe the training in rides in our British Summer helped me cope with the cold a little better than most – some might argue that my natural insulation helped too! The lap concludes just after Heartbreak Hill which is an amazing experience as the crowds line the route Tour de France style before we head off for another lap. Finally, it started to warm up and it actually got quite hot (26C) before completing my 2nd lap to the rumble of thunder after 6 hours and 25 minutes and I had now moved up around 50 places to 1012th! 