Ironman Nice 2006 Report

Tuesday, July 18 2006 @ 05:32 PM IST

Contributed by: Tadhg

Ironman Cathal Murphy has forwarded this report on that little race called Ironman Nice completed at the end of June and please note he wanted to do the UK race in August but will wait till next year instead.

We arrived in nice on Wednesday we made our way to the apartment which Mary my wife had organised for us, it was perfect right in the middle of Nice surrounded by dozens of lovely restaurants and only a few hundred metres from the beach and start of the Ironman.

We spent the next couple of days taking it easy and going to the expos. Registration took place on Friday it was very simple and well organised .On Friday night we were taken to the race briefing and Pasta party (by the way I hate pasta) but it was a great night with loads of pasta and fruit for everyone.

At the briefing we were told that some of the climb was 10% and very tough and that we should lower the gearing on the bikes. I did not have different gearing and decided to try to stick to the standard gearing that I had on the bike.

On Saturday night before the race decided to try to go to bed early and try to get some rest but it was very hot almost 30 degrees and with all the nervous excitement I could not get to sleep until after midnight. Mary set the alarm for 3 and got up and made breakfast for me, we drifted in and out of sleep and eventually got up at 4.15...

We packed up all the gear and went down to the start at 5;15 to leave in our special needs bags and put drinks on the bike. There was great excitement down at the start and loads of supporters wishing everybody well. Donal my pal come trainer was giving me my last minute instructions. Start was due at 6.30 and everybody was told to line up according to their expected finish time I decided to be optimistic and go with the 1;14 finish time, by 6;25 the noise was deafening with the crowds cheering and the helicopter circling overhead I now had serious butterflies, then at 6;30 we finally got underway there were over 1200 people taking part so there were bodies everywhere thrashing about. The swim was a 2 lap event with an Australian exit at the end of the first lap I exited the 1st lap in 33.35 and was delighted with myself half way round the second lap I got 3 Jellyfish bites one very big and sore one on my shoulder and eventually exited the swim in 1hour and 7 minutes. The run to transition seemed very long and was in fact about 350 metres but the crowd were great and cheered everyone. Eventually got changed, got the suncream on and out onto the cycle.

The first 20 kilometres were grand slight climbs but nothing to serious, but then at 20k we came to the first climb a 10% I had to get off the bike and push it for 700mts up the hill and thought to myself ( there’s no way I will finish this) got back on the bike at the top of the hill and continued on trying to remember to eat but after about 2 hours I could not get down any more energy bars so I depended on water, some bananas and coke to keep me going, the next climb was very steep over 900mts up into the alps I managed to get most of the way up but had to push the bike for the last couple of k which was very difficult trying to run in bike shoes. I was delighted to reach the special needs station at 70 k I felt at this stage I might just finish this. The drink stations were very well manned and there was never a shortage of bars drink etc.

After 129k we started to descend which was a welcome break but the last 30 k we had the wind in our face I arrived towards the bike finish along the promenade de anglais after almost 8 hours of cycling went got changed had a drink and started out on the run which was a 4 lap affair along the seafront for me it was a walk fast and jog situation as I had got very bad burns on my feet from pushing the bike up the hills. I took it lap by lap and by the end of the third lap I knew I had a good chance of finishing before the cut off time of 16 hours. Ill never forget coming into the last 500metres of the run the crowd were fantastic and I could see my wife Mary who had waited patiently all day and was worried sick I wouldn’t make it, waiting for me and I even managed a sprint finish ( well I thought I was sprinting!) I eventually crossed the finish line in 15hours 17minutes and was delighted with myself.

There was a great party atmosphere at the end and I proudly collected my finisher’s medal and tee shirt. We all made our way home that night very happy.

My feet were so badly burnt Mary had to take me to the hospital to get them dressed the next day and for the next 3 days Mary very patiently cleaned and bandaged them (not a pleasant job)

We enjoyed the next few days in Nice relaxing reliving the day

I would highly recommend Ironman Nice ( apart from the hill climbs) to anyone it was a great event well organised and you get great support from all the locals

We managed to raise a total of €59,123.00 for Motor Neurone and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported the cause.

I would also like to thank Donal my friend and trainer, and most of all my wife Mary for her patience and support for the past 8 months when she saw so little of me and yet kept me motivated to keep up the training to enable me to complete Ironman Nice 2006.

Best Wishes

Cathal

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