Simon Sheehan was one of the six Piranhas to compete an Iron man last weekend ... here is his story (which strangely omits the fact that he was shunned by the other five Piranhas and had to go to another country altogether) .... hmmm???
Ironman Austria was first mentioned to me in 2004 by Barry Lambe (Midlands Tri) . He had just completed it and I had no idea of what the event was let alone the distances involved. As Barry dissected the world of triathlon and Ironman to me a little buzzer went off inside my head and I promised myself at some stage I would try a triathlon and who knows I might even give ironman a go.
In my second year of triathlon and having done a 70.3 (UK, ‘07) in my first I knew I was disciplined enough to give the training for IM a go. Once that registration went through in July 07 a button was pressed inside me and I made wholesale changes to a lot of aspects in my life.
Without boring you to tears; the year came and went and looking back it seems to have flown. The long hard Sundays stand out as the hardest part of IM. Swim long and then cycle long and sometimes a quick run after. These Sunday sessions define any good plan and usually last 4-8 hours. The rest of any given week usually amounted to a further 8-12 hours. To read between the lines if you can manage that Sunday and get the other bits in during the week it’s not that hard. Every Sunday was my race day and that’s all I focused on. This got me through 30 odd weeks of nonstop training.
To those that plan to do Austria in the future here are a few tips:
1. Do rent a camper van.
2. Stay in SWT camp site next door to IM village (right on the lake, great facilities).
3. Go at least 4-5 days before the event
4. Stay 4-5 days after the event.
5. Bring supporters, it’s a great week for them too!
Race Day
Swim 3.8Km
My goal was to focus on the swim during the swim and not think about what lies ahead. All I have to do is go for a swim in a beautiful lake and when I get out I’ll see what’s next! The gun goes off and 2500 people charge to the water. I get into a comfortable stroke straight away and find some space. It’s not as bad as I had heard or read and I start to draft right away. You get guys basing off you and swimming across you but I just muscled my way past them or away from them, constantly swimming into the space infront. We hit the canal which is 900m long and only about 8m wide. It is an amazing feeling that with every stroke you take you can here thousands of people cheering you on and a DJ blaring music. Before I know it I am at the end and being dragged out by the volunteers. I step on the timing mat and hit the lap button on my watch. 1:08:20 I cant believe it, that’s fast for me!
Bike: 180km
I planned to wear the same gear all day so there is no point hanging around T1, in and out in 3.53. My plan for the whole day was to stay with my HR as this was how I trained. The first 30mins on the bike close to 100 people past me at a rate of knots while i past only a hand full. My Hr slipped into low Z3 and that’s where it was to stay for the entire cycle (apart from the hills of course). It was on lap one when the thunder storm came in. It clouded over and turned very dark with bolts of lightning all around and monsoon type rain limiting visibility. ‘Just a Sunday ride to Slane’ is all I kept telling myself. The two lap course has 1600m of climbing (Total) and the bulk of this climbing is on two hills. First the St Niklas which is not too bad and then his bastard brother Rupertiberg. The support on Rupertiberg is great the first time round. Your HR is bursting, your out of the saddle, you are doing 9km and there are supporters running /walking beside you screaming into your ear HOP,HOP,HOP,HOP…The downhills after are great with some fast cornering required. Max speed was 71km and it felt good. The second lap was a little quieter this time and Rupertiberg was a bastard again. Weather wise it had cleared up for the second lap but 10km from the end the worst of the weather came in. There was nobody on the streets of Klagenfurt as I came into transition. Everyone had moved to IM City for the run. I dismounted my bike and handed it to a volunteer and again hit the lap time on my watch, 5:38:59 smashing my goal of 6:20. T2 was quick again with application of anti-inflammatory cream for a dodgy knee.
Run: 42.195km (Marathon)
In 2001 I had my knee reconstructed after a bad rugby accident. In the last 5-6 weeks I missed all my long runs as after 60-90 mins the knee would lock up. After MRIs and x-rays it was confirmed that it was a cartilage issue and that I would not do any further damage to the knee. There was no way I was going to pull out of IM and my initial strategy was to run 5 mins and walk 2mins. Pat Byrne, who guides me on all things running, suggested that I strap the knee, take some pain killers and give the run a lash. If the knee gives out-it gives out weather it be 60,120 or 200mins I could then walk. A good idea. I reckoned if I did 5-6min per km to the 21km mark I would be very happy, I could assess my wellbeing and make a decision to run fast, walk or crawl. As I approached 21km the stability of the knee was going. I tried to not think about it and thankfully there was no pain. I got some more gel to rub on it at the special needs tent and I was walking every aid station to take on nutrition. Mentally I was beginning to struggle. I entered IM village (where all the support is) and was waiting for my great support to cheer me on. I heard someone call me from the side and when I turned I got the best surprise, a good friend (Dave Walsh) had come out to support me and what a great time to show up. I genuinely thought I was hallucinating, so much so I had to ask my Fiancé was it really Dave! I glanced at my watch and saw I was about 1:51 for the 21km and I knew if I dug deep I could break 4 hrs for the marathon.
At the 37 km mark I realized that I was going to be an ironman. Emotion does run through you and I did get a bit teary eyed. I then realized that I had not looked at my overall time for the day and seeing that there was about 25-30 mins left I decided to have a look. I could not believe it when the watch read 10.20. I was going to break 11hrs. With my target being anything starting with 12hrs.
I got the finishers lane and decided to do the airplane! Swaying from side to side as I got High 5’s from the crowd. I ran over to my support got hugs all round. I took the final steps over the line with the MCs words still ringing in my head, You Are an Ironman…10:46:54.
A special thanks to Johnny Wallnutt and Daragh Dowling who started me on this running / triathlon crusade. Its hard to believe that only 2.5 years ago I could not finish a 5 mile run with Johnny in Malahide Castle. Both John and Daragh accompanied me on my long cycles/ runs and swims sometimes taking turns so that I would not be on my own for too long. A big thanks to Dee (my Fiancé) who had to endure the contents of every single training session! Her support and patience have been incredible. To my Dad who flew all the way from the Kingdom of Bahrain and Barry and Pauline Lambe for all the support and advice. To all the guys who did Switzerland and let me tag along on some long rides on the Sundays and to anyone who wished me luck along the way….THANK YOU.
I will definitely do IM again but not anytime soon…I suppose its good to throw in at least one cliché on my experience so here it is.
‘The hardest thing about Ironman is getting to the START line.’…Never a truer word spoken.
PiranhaTri
http://www.piranhatri.com/article.php/20080722151742923