Interview on Slowtwitch

I am quite honored to have been called by Herbert:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/Tim_Stutzer_is_riding_into_the_sunset_6108.html

Kona 2016 – A good time to leave

Prologue

It had been clear ever since I went to see my orthopaedic surgeon early this year that 2016 would have me do the last season of long distance racing. At least for the foreseeable future. After three surgeries my knees just won’t take the run mileage anymore to race competitively - without causing serious long term damage. So with luck at the Celtman lottery and the Kona slot secured at IM wales last year, this year would be my good bye year to lond distance racing with two of the most iconic races there are.

So without any much of any run mileage (then 80 in total for the year) I went and did Celtman in June. Had a blast there. Surprisingly – with the Munroe climb in the middle of the run part – even in all three disciplines.

Kona perp - well...

Then, I tried to run at least twice per week. Had no fun at that! Got two 2h+ runs in at around 5:15min/k pace. And then fell sick two weeks prior to departure for Kona. Just like running, swimming had been almost non-existent in 2016 (after Kona we now stand at a total of 45k for 2016). At least I got some decent cycling mileage in and was confident to be able to ride around 5hrs in Kona. Still, for this time around even that didn’t have priority. It had been about proving myself that despite of a severely upped work schedule and an ever worsening knee I could KQ. Kona would be the icing on the dessert cake of my long distance career. I took along the big girl, the ´little´ one regrettably had school obligations preventing her from going.

So a week before the `race` we flew out and besides from getting a few workouts in did everything you can do in one week on the big island: see the lave flow into the ocean, see turtles on the daily swims in the giant aquarium that is the pacific ocean, snorkel with manta rays, see the sunset from Mauna Kea, meet my Timex peeps many times and have breakfast at Lava Java café as many time as possible. At our Timex team dinner on Wednesday I announced my long distance retirement after this race and gave everyone a little something to prepare for Oktoberfest – if they ever get to go, that is.

And yes, we did get to do the Undedrpants Run... and it was quite evident where my training focus lay this year:

Race Day - Swim

Even though time was not of the essencerace morning still saw me as nervous as ever. I was looking at a time of between 10:15 and 11:15 hours depending on how the wind would be and my knees would hold up. But I had no real idea about a possible time for the swim. Between 1:05 and 1:10h I thought doable though. With the sun rising above Haleakala it was about time to get into the water. I took a little timeout to contemplate the state of things, though. 

 In the shadow of legends.

When I entered the water I noticed that the fire does not burn as hot as it once did: No goose bumps, no excitement, just doubts whether this whirlpool of a swim would play out.

Surprisingly, after the gun went off my swim went by rather uneventful. No real brawl where I was swimming, at the turn around deceivingly fast (29min) and back in a more realistic total of 1:08h flat. Right in the sweet spot of what I thought possible.

Fat man in a tight suit.

Bike - A horrible but secnic affair!

I took my time in transition and equipped myself for a hot day. Out on the bike I did notice A LOT of traffic immediately. I had exited the water in just about an hour in 2013 and there was way less people. All through the loop through Kona I kept passing people. Out towards the airport I noticed that even though I pushed decent watts (as planned around 230) I was not dropping too many people. Well, I though they all go out way too hard and I don’t! So I did not mind too much when the shuffling began and still tried to leave people behind. Regrettably none of the athletes around me cared for any drafting rules. They just used every single opportunity to jump onto just the next wheel. I’d like to single out racer  No.486, Mr Chuck Sperazza. You’ve got guts, man! I am so happy you DNFed, you cannot imagine!

It got even worse at/after Waikoloa when the headwind set in rather early. With no ambitions at all in the race and here to enjoy myself as much as possible I had a decision to make: Either got for a reasonable bike split or just take it easy and enjoy as much as possible. I opted for the latter and spent what felt like half of the bike ride on the shoulder watching what was transpiring. It was bad! And it was sad! Had I had any ambition to race here, I would have been furious. This way I was just seriously disappointed by my fellow triathletes. As a rather faster cyclist in the past I had gained even on groups and many times even ridden a cushion big enough into the chasers/drafters that it was enough to keep them at bay for most of the run. On 08 October 2016 this would not have been possible! Too many guys willing to draft on too little road and no marshals in sight!

I then kept my eyes on good nutrition and tried to thank as many volunteers as possible out in the bike course already. When we came back to Waikoloa I almost managed to high five Sophia who had come out there to spectate with Hannes’ bus. The way back into Kona from there had a stiff head wind for most of the time and a number of decent groups in sight. I tried to stay out of this shitty game, again using the shoulder a lot! I tried to take it all in one last time as part of the race that started it all and got a little emotional around Scenic Point.

I hit T2 after a scenic training ride of some 5 hours and 17 minutes averaging what I do for an easy training ride (202 watts). Lucky for me this left my legs in an easy going shape.

Run - PB for the first 10k

So after a lot of iced towels I headed out into unknown territory. I grabbed a lot of ice and fluids at every aid station and settled at what felt like walking pace (6min/k). One thing that was almost too awesome was all the Timex support crews out there as well as the 18 Timex athletes that were in the race. We high fived a lot and this gave a lot of energy back. And to my very surprise for the first time I was able not to overheat on Ali’i Drive. I actually set a PB for the first 10k at an incredible 59:30min. No kidding! ;) And I enjoyed it actually even at this pace, just compare the pics from '08, '11 and this year:

Just before the turnaround at the little blue church fellow Timex buddies Traveller Hill and Craig Lanza passed me. At the turnaround I was surprised to pass The Bruce who had a very bad day out there. Being one of the fastest swimmers in the crowd he had started out front after a 50min swim only to be passed by pelotons of up to 100 athletes. I passed the half way mark right on the 6min/k spot with 2:06h. Soon afterwards I saw two Timex jerseys in front of me. It was Craig and Trav walking side by side. I then made a decision that in hindsight could not have been better: I stayed with them, encouraged them to pick up running agin and so the Timex triplet started its way towards the Natural Energy Lab. We chatted and I tried to lift especially Travs spirits again – he was in a very hadt spot with some nerve pain but kept on running. We took our time at the aid stations and I settled into a routine to just grab a galleon of cold water and pour it over my head. Man did this feel good. Once we entered the road to the Energy Lab Meghan Fillnow flew by – great job, girl! Then while I stayed withTrav, Craig supposedly went to the loo/grabbed some food at an aid station that Trav walked and we didn’t see him any more after this. He had for whatever reason found his running legs again down in the Energy Lab – of all places and just went. Trav and I – now the Timex twins – stayed together and shared also the last 13k from the last turnaround. Again I got a little emotional when we hit the highway again but got myself together again after a few minutes. At the time it looked as if we could still make sub 11hrs but after I had a bit of a low between mile 22 and 24 that was also out of the question. Still we had had fun out there and met a few other fellow Timex peeps and cheered them on!

Running down Palani Road I actually had enormous fun. See for yourselves:

Just before the right turn onto Hualalai I asked Trav whether he’d like to cross the finish line tgether and he said he’d already made a plan and I should just be spontaneous. We took our time also there and had the finish chute for us, did the RAF. Then at the finish line, even without glasses we toasted and high fived to a grand day out!

Other than in 2013 I was not rushed to the medical tent but rather walked my way towards the post-race pizza. I interrupted this walk when I spotted Andrew Messick right in front of my and just very quickly told him what I think of how they run this race. Something has to happen! If not for me any more then at least for other that want a fair race and the legend to live.

The day ended with quick nap on the sidewalk and a well-earned Mexican food and a bike ride in the dark back to the hotel.

Wrap-up
They say: ‘Never say never!’, but I am pretty sure that my competitive long distance career is over. Knees and work just don’t permit it anymore. And after some 15 years in the triathlon bubble I’ve been phasing out gradually over the last two years anyway. And I am of the firm opinion that I said good bye the right way at the right time. And had a blast! What more can you ask for?

So off to… Golf? We’ll see. It was surfing on Kauai first though. 

Thanks go out to family first and than to sponsors! Cheers to y'all! 

p.s. What happened in Huggo’s by the Beach on Sunday night will not be told. Ever. ;)

Celtman 2016 Race Report

Celtman 2016 – Goodbye LD-Race #1

Nervous I was! I had – again – taken a hiatus from sports after IM Wales last year and only gotten back to some decent bike training this February. Swimming & running took the back seat with my knee not wanting to take any mileage. So early in the year it became clear that the hot ‘n cold combo of Kona and Celtman would be my good-bye to long distance “racing” for the next few years.

It took time to accept this but once I did I got some 6000km in over the 1^st half of the year. In early June I felt my legs coming together at least a little bit. We’ll not talk about swim & run mileage. It’s not worth talking about that really. So the plan for Celtman was to: survive the swim, have fun on the bike, survive the first 17k of trail running and then (speed-) hike the 17k mountain section in order to easily cruise to the finish after this.

In late May Celtman was fast approaching and I got more and more nervous – almost developed a state of panic at a certain point where I was unsure if I’d be able to make the blue T-shirt (high mountain route on the run). Even with the limited training I intended to get this at least.

With a few days to go My one-person support Michelle and I headed out with borrowed camper and after driving 1.000km and taking the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle arrived in Torridon three days before the race.

Scotland was as expected: Water: shockingly cold (13C), bike course: quite rough and long (202k) and looking at the mountain section of the “run” course from below made me shiver.

Also as expected it was beautiful up there in Scotland. 

Not the daily rainfall, not the midges biting you every minute, not the rather sketchy road conditions. No, the people were nice as could be: Competitors, organizers, everyone in the villages of Torridon and Shieldaig was just awesome and relaxed and hugely help- and mindful of everyone’s needs. Quite a difference to the egocentric types you get these days when you go to one of the big Ironman “events”. I am really thrilled how - come October  - I’ll take the madness that is Kona in race week or even this very week here in Frankfurt.

In plain denial of what was to come Michelle (support Sherpa & runner for the mountain part) and I went through the usual pre-race motions:

Practice swim: 

With jelly fish, a dog and a rather fresh water at around 12-13C the day before the race. Still, equipped with the neoprene hat, gloves, shoes and the new Thermal Helix wetsuit Ryan from Blueseventy so kindly provided me with, I was as comfortable in the water as one can be. 

The bike course 

It proved to have its challenges on the first half. That was if there was no westerly wind on race day which would have made for a last 40k directly into the wind. Luckily we were spared this.

The check in procedure was a little different this time around as there was no bike check-in the day before the race and no special foods to drop off. Everything would happen on race day and so we set the alarm clock to the unfair time of 2am. Even after two pints of Cider I still woke up at 1am – night over! This never happens to me and was a testament to the fact that I was really nervous.

Race day

We drove to T1 in Shieldaig at 2:25am and arrived in time to easily set up transition before the buses took the athletes to the swim start. When we arrived at the start area that normally serves as a sheep meadow with all that sheep sh§t I was very lucky to have the neoprene socks. ;)

The inevitable group photo was taken and we headed off to into the water. Cold it was indeed. No filling and emptying the wetsuit to have it fit snuggly this time around! 

The swim

We headed out at exactly 5am and it was a struggle: a struggle to stay warm, a struggle to navigate, a struggle to avoid the jelly fish. I tried to settle into a rhythm but could not really find one. While the thermal gloved keep you warm they suck up some water you really notice when lifting your arms for the next stroke. So I felt kind of miserable – but not cold! – all the way through the current assisted swim. I emerged in the middle of the pack after just over 53min. Barely feeling my feet it was difficult to stay upright. I reached my noble Trek Speed Concept steed after what felt like ages. In order to keep warm in the 12°C air I completely changed. As just about everyone did this it must have been looking like a nude beach there in Shiedlaig Saturday morning.

The bike

After what felt like my longest transition ever I mounted the bike and went off. Only to be overtaken – me overtaken, this doesn’t happen! – immediately by Matthew Page. So the inevitable happened and I tried to stay with him. Damn the race genes when you’re not really in shape! Still, I saw the madness after some 10k before we reached Torridon and let him go. To myself – and him ;) - I quietly said: “We’ll meet again, friend. You won’t be able to push 300 Watts all day long.” BTW: Matthew went on to place 2nd overall - congratulations! - read his race report here.

So on we went and headed to Kinlochewe, then left towards Gairloch where, after some 60k of cycling we had scheduled the first feed station. The race has the athlete’S own support crew cater for their every need so you have your car following you over the bike course. With only 5k to Gairloch Michelle had not overtaken me yet and I was worried she had gotten stuck in the infamous traffic jam out of T2. Then with some 4k to go she passed me and was just able to jump out of the car to hand over the two water bottles when I rod up.

The next 55k are the most undulating of the whole course as you ride what feels like from cove to cove with a steep hill of 2-3k after each one.  I caught a few more riders and then it got lonely except for a French and Belgian guy following me at a distance. When they moved past I let them go ahead a little but never left them out of sight. My time would come once we reached the plateau on 835 I thought. 

But even before that on the last of the 3k climbs I caught the Belgian guy and we chatted a little. He told me that he hadn’t seen his support crew for the last 50k and was out of fuel. As I consumed way less than calculated before the race I gave him one of my bottles. Michelle was going to give me two more bottles in 15k anyway and I still had 2 bottles left. So why not? We even agreed that if his team would not appear, my support car would have enough to eat & drink to keep him going to T2. Lucky for him only 1k up the mountain his guys overtook us and handed over his much needed nutrition at the top of the hill.

My 2^nd fuel stop came at 113k where I took three bottles and some food and cancelled the last stop planned at 160k and sent Michelle on her way to T2 in order for her to have some time to recover and prepare her mountain run from T2A.

When we hit the larger 835 road I was able to push some steady watts and slowly gained time on a few riders I could spot down the road. Funny thing: Matthew was among them and I gave him and his French companion a wave as I went by. Big guys like me do have their advantage on flat roads with a bit of a headwind after all. ;) But still, I was very, very sure we’d meet again one last time on the run.

On a side note: You kind of bond with the athletes  around you in such a race as well as with their support crew that overtakes/waits and  overtakes/waits all through the 202k of the bike. Kind of cool, that!

When I turned back on 832 at 160k one of the supporters of the athletes around me shouted: “You’re 3min down on 3^rd”. Well, and it was rather flat from now on in and I felt rather decent. Weather was fine, 15°C and a slight head wind. Ideal for the big guy! So I ate a lot and pushed on. With about 15k to go I spotted the guy in front of me. He was on a road bike with clip on aero bars. OK, got him fast!

Into T2 I headed and noticed that the ideal conditions had me only about 3min off course record pace at this time. Not too bad a bike shape I was in after all I guess. But little do you know in a year where you need every minute to train and do not do any practice races. To be fair: conditions on Saturday were ideal and a new course record was set by one Andrew Duggan at 5:44h for 202k with some 2.400h of climbing. Pretty crazy that!

I myself reached T2 after 5:56h in 3^rd place (Strave file here: https://www.strava.com/activities/624421062  ). 

And just like everyone else doing this race I was really worried: how would the legs feel on this first section and even worse what would happen on the mountain. So I took my time in T2, refuelled, ate and chatted with the crew. They looked so funny with their midge protection nets but they needed them I am sure! They also tried to make me hurry but I said something like “Well, this was only half the race.” Little did I know how right I would be proven.

The run

With the light version of the backpack I headed out towards the climb to Coulin pass and felt… OKish. No cramps, no exhaustion (yet) and best of all: my knee held up alright! Right at the top of the climb the first guy passed me. Massimo, an Italian. Only two minutes later Matthew came by and to both of them I gave some encouraging words. We were in this together, right?. The next 12k went by rather uneventful at around 5:30min/k speed on a good fire road. Just before I hit the road to T2A the Belgian guy came by again. Some encouraging words were exchanged again and off he and his support runner went. If you counted then you know I entered T2A in 6^th place overall and now came the great unknown. Climbing a mountain in a triathlon… stupid stuff! Our equipment was checked for completeness and off we went.

The climb

Then pretty soon the only thing on this trip went wrong: our approach for a speedy mountain hike was spoiled when Michelle’s asthma kicked in. For whatever reason her respiratory system didn’t take the mountain scramble lightly and we were reduced to a shuffle quickly. On we headed but progress was slow. At one point on that climb we seriously considered turning around and would surely have done so if the day would not have been that beautiful. The sun was shining, everyone coming by asked if they could help, offered encouragement and smiled! We were in this together after all. Our progress slowed and we stopped quite a few times and when we hit the last steep section before the first checkpoint we cursed once or twice. For whatever reason though with some cooling water for both of us, things got gradually better. We did reach the first checkpoint after 2:02h, a little over the 1:45h limit. But as we were looking good the guys from the Mountain Rescue Team let us continue. 

So we continued and made the best out of it. We took our time and some pictures. Great views rewarded us for the pain of the ascent and there’s proof. Proof even of the fact that, once Michelle got better we were able to have fun up there:

While the first climb is rather on a loose trail, the ridge you have to follow from there to the second peak is rather rocky and demands your full attention. Here the hiking sticks come in quite handy, too and so we were slowly making progress towards Ben Eighe.

Out and back we went to collect our second Munro and then it was… time for “The gully”! We had seen pictures and filmed footage of this part and took our time to have the proper way explained through it by the volunteers at the top. Still it took some guts to go down there even in these ideal conditions. Once Michelle loosened a rock that then made its way down towards me. Luck as I was I was able to notice and avoid it.

Once down the gully we had been told to “keep left” in order not to face some impassable cliffs. There seem to be a number of ways through this rock field and we must have taken the slowest one. We went back and forth to look/scout and in the end made it to what looked like a path. Funny thing was that athletes were coming to this path from a number of directions and so had obviously taken quite different routes through the rock field.

A very nice gentleman waited where the trail left the valley of the Triple Buttress and he told us that from now on it would be a “proper path”. As this was a Scot, his definition of a proper path is a little different from ours and we continued on what looks like 9k of larger rocks placed in one line. Not really what you’d expect to be called a path here. So on we went walking at a decent pace and it seemed like forever. The walk was eased by the fact that the athletes who hadn’t made the cut off for the mountain section were coming the opposite direction as they headed out to the low run route. So there was a lot of shouting and cheering on these guys.

On we went until we rounded a bend and finally saw the parking lot from where you follow the road for the next 9k to the finish line. When I looked at my watch I noticed we had spent about six hours in the mountain section. Now that was a looooong hike. But we had made it. I emptied the shoes of a few stones, threw the backpack in the car and headed on. Michelle followed on the bicycle and on it went for some nine rather relaxing kilometres on tarmac. A little loop around Torridon “town” and then there was the finish line.

Another great thing is that at the finish line you’re not presented with any fancy medal or T-shirt. Nope, they brew a Celtman beer for the finishers that – guess what – is non-alcoholic – NOT!

Post-race had a few midges, great atmosphere, the T-shirt ceremony and a party on Sunday in Torridon community hall. Great stuff all of it! Only the weather on Sunday showed just how lucky we were on race day. Winds of 50kph, rain and fog would have made the mountain section of the run plain dangerous and possibly closed. 

The final thing was the post-race party! 

And the Scots know how to party I can tell you. Only that my knee failed during the 1^st line dance so I was limited to spectating the spectacle. Still huge fun though!

What’s next?

Kona is next! We’ll see if the knee tolerates some more than the total of 110k of running in 2016 over the next three months. If it does, then the trip is going to be a nice good bye to an awesome place and sport. If it does not I’ll just approach it Celtman-style: laid back and doing it just for the fun. ;)

The mandatory thank you-s: First to Michelle for the great support! Then to the Celtman team for organizing this crazy thing they call a triathlon. Then to the Timex team that now has me on for the 4^th year and all its sponsors. In 2016 apparently one should now conclude with a seemingly never ending list of hashtags and @-posts. To be honest, I find this repulsive, simply unreadable and all these #'s and @'s really get on my nerves because any serious message gets lost. And as there is a wealth of info on our team’s website, I’ll simply end with a link to the sponsor info on the team’s website. Here you go:

http://www.timexteam.com

For the statisticians among you here are the numbers:

3.4k Swim: 53:30min - 202k Bike: 5:56h - 42k „Run“: 8:31h - Total: 15:32h - Place: 57

Ironman Wales Race Report - The Bacon Bun!

Nowhere else is the Ironman experience so down to earth and inspiring at the same time. It's one of the most spectecular if not the most spectacular course of the circiut with it's rather rough ocean swim, the undulating bike course and a run course to match both. On the other hand nowhere are the local people as excited about the race and friendly to the crazy persons coming in to compete in the race. It's plain amazing. That is if you like bacon buns! ;)

 

IM Wales - Carbo Loading and Awards Banquet the other way! 

All these elements brought me back to Tenby this year after my first race in Pembrokeshire back in 2012. Back then I had been super fit and won my age group by a lagre margin to secure a slot for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. This year could not have been more different. Due to work committments I only got three decent months of training in and my total training hours were less than half of those in 2012. In addition I had virtually taken a hiatus from triathlon or rather sports in general in the second half of 2014 and thus was rather unsure how I would do in the race. On top of the rather limited preparation I somehow hurt my left thigh muscle and had developed a real issue only 10 days out from race day. A quick visit to the physio therapist brought little improvement at first and I skipped the last two runs in race week. Bummer for my confidenct that!

It was with these thoughts I left Frankfurt - by car - Thursday before the race together with my sherpa, fellow Timex Multisport team mate Ann Parthemore. It was a tiring drive over these 1.200km - total driving: 14 hours. In the end we made it to our little hotel room in Saundersfoot some five kilometers from Tenby. 

By little hotel room I mean little! 

Dinner at a small restaurant in Saundersfoot brought us the information that apparently the locals were crazy about the weather forecast for Sunday: Thunderstorms and high winds were expected. Little had the BBC forecast I had consulted beforehand spoken of this. Well, we would see.

Friday,

saw the 2012 routine: Practice swim in the morning, scout the bike course by car with a 60min bike ride in the middle. 

The Rock! 

Winds were acceptable and so I did go for the 80mm fromt wheel and the disc for race day. Also, I took the opportunity to have the guys from Pembrokeshire Bikes look at my shfiting. I myself had not been able to set up the RD so that its cage would not rub against the disc. After some longer work on the machine they got the job done - I thought. Friday also saw the race briefing and carbo loading dinner. The usual stuff and no special occurences. At the race briefing we were told there that we would have a rolling start on Sunday. Good for the safety during the swim but bad if you tried to race any direct competitor. That's because he could have started 5min behind you and finish 3min behind you but still would be in front of you due to the net time scheme the rolling start thing applies. We would see how this would play out on race day.

Saturday, 

same thing: morning swim, 70min bike ride, skip run, check-in bike. A last rear brake crisis was dealt with just before check-in but it should work - I told myself. 

Sherpa, the Rock and athlete. In this order.

Then it was time for the regular pre race dinner: pasta. With my parents also having made their way to Tenby on their 2015 UK trip this meal was consumed in their condo. Before I could tell, it was time to go to bed. Well, not without the usual two pints of Strongbow Cider! So Ann and I toasted to a great race and the cider gave us the necessary sleepyness to find sleep around 11pm.

Great stuff! 

Race day

The alarm clock rang at the unfair time of 3:30am and we were down for breakfast at 3:45am. That hurt! A lot! It's always a pain to get the 1.500kcl breakfast in that early in the morning. But this time I managed with some German/Belgian Waffles, Toast, jam and yoghourt. Transition 1 saw us arrive at 4:45am but they only opened at 5am so we had to wait. And hide from the rain in front of a house in a street nearby.

It was dark, it rained and the flash didn't work. Otherwise you'D see me here sitting on a staircase.

Things were done in transition in no time. Tires checked, bike bottles into the cages and a last walk to memorize the way to my bike. Then the drop off of the special needs bags for both the bike and the run. Good! I was ready. And it was only 5:20. So I bought some coffee for my sherpa and me. This was the one time where I could sherpa Ann. Otherwise she took very good care of me.

I gave a last High5 to Mario when we walked down to the swim start at about 6am. I remembered from last time that it was a loooong run from the swim exit to T1 but did not remember it that long. Little did I know that once the race was on I would not really notice the distance thanks to the thousands of spectators on the side of the roads.

Down at the beach we noticed that we were really early. With the AG start only at 7am we still had to wait from 40min before the gun would go off. So I lined up in the starting corral and waited. Waited for a long time.

Once we hit 6:50am it was time for the national anthem and there you noticed that even though Wales is part of the UK they would not play "God save the king" here. We heard what sounded like a football crowd singing the Welsh anthem. Great for the atmosphere I have to admit! Then at 6:55 the pros were off and at 7:00am sharp we went. I had seeded myself in the sub 1h area rather to the front of the field. I had not swum more than 40k in my 2015 preparation but according to the last benchmark 2k TT I knew that under normal circumstances I'd be in between 59-61min.

The Swim 

The three sided water boarding thingy.

When the gun went off I headed out towards the first bouy and had the feeling that the waves, even though we had a wind that pushed the waters into the bay, were not all too bad. At the first bouy I knew that I was wrong. The longest side of the triangle we had to swim was a roller coaster ride of a swim. But as I seem to have inherited the open water swim skills from my dad I was fine even though I swollowed A LOT of that salt water. I finished the first of two laps in 31min and already there knew this would be a slow swim.

The guy in the middle with the "Right Swinger", that's me! 

I took it a little easier in the first part of the 2nd loop and stayed on the outside of the group. Still I got a kick in the right eye and still today, four days after the race have a black eye to prove it. After that the swim went rather uneventful and I exited the water after 1:04h. If I was right in assuming that the conditions were hard then I'd be ok. After the swim exit the most unique feature of IM Wales starts: The 1k run from the swim exit to T1. First it's up the switchbacks from the beach to town, then some zig-zagging through towm. 

You are allowed to put on shoes (and socks for that matter) for this run and I did. I also put arm warmers and gloves into this bag but really had a hard time putting both on while still soakingly wet and running. Still I managed to hand my basic watch to my dad who was cheering me on like a madman from the side of the road. On the way into T1 I noticed not too many athletes exiting and so felt confirmed that I was in the position I waned to be.

T1

I went through here without any troubles - not too many others in yet.

So I took my time to put on my 

*Commercial Break*: Timex ONE+ GPS *End of Commercial Break*

*Commercial Break*: Thank you Blueseventy for the awesome Helix wetsuit *End of Commercial Break*

Bike (Strava file: https://www.strava.com/activities/392158323)

OK, now it is time to play catch-up! As Always. So off we go on

*Commercial Break* my incredibly fast Trek Speed Concept *End of Commercial Break*

Da BAM! Machine! 

Just like 2012 I started to reel in competitors. But it did not go as fast. Well I am 3 years older and not getting faster. 

It was raining a bit still but road conditions were managable. When we hit Pembroke and thus the Angle loop with the first hill of the day one guy passed me like the madman. And I was already pushing more than 350 Watts. Who was this guy? Well, I saw him again in the nect flat section where that heavier athlete that I am has his advantage. We played this game a few more times until after 10 more kilometers we had past a number of other athletes and reached the Coastal Park descent where I was a little better prepared for the side winds and went by. It's a steep uphill after this high speed descent and just when I shifted to the SCR I dropped my chain between the SCR and the frame. Had I not had the shifting adjusted by the bike shop people? Well, nothing else to do but stop and pull the chain back onto the SCR. I would never see that madman again other than the next day at the awards. Well, he posted the fastest AG bike time of the day AND the fastest AG marathon of the day and finished 5th overall. Cudos to AnyGreenleaf.

Without this small battle going on I setteled into a good rhythm and looking at my comparison to the 2012 race. I had taped some splits from that race to the aerobars and kept comparing. The intention had been to aim for a total bike time of about 10min slower than 2012. Still, the splits went by and I kept up with the 2012 speed. Somewhere near Carew I spotted Ann by the side of the road and got a giant cheer. Thanks!

Speaking of cheers: There was no limit to the enthusiasm of the spectators alongside the bike course. Every little village, even every little farm had people sitting in front of their houses to cheer us on. Unbelieveable and even more there than at Challenge Roth. Unbelieveable!

They even got the couches out. On traktors! ;)

It was then up north towards Narberth and I still kept the 2012 speed. But I explained this with the stiff S-E wind that literally blew me north. In no time I was over in Wiseman's bridge and after that to Saundersfoot. The hill there was full of crazy spectators. Goosbumps³! You can see what I mean at 1:40min here:

  https://vimeo.com/139383543

After the steep part of the climb there was Ann's cheer again: "You're the second AGer 2min to the first." I knew how that first one was BTW. Still: Cool! A little further up my dad shouted "You are in 16th place overall". I was not doing too bad.

One little hickup was that the race briefing had not really specified the location of the special needs aid station on the bike. Just like in 2012. So I had to stop another time to ask/check. Still the first lap was done in only 2min slower then 2012 and I was pleased. The second - shorter - lap went by without me catching my catching anyone. Still I was overtaking or rather lapping athletes from early on in my second lap. There I already had 125km in and they were only at km 45. Their day would be loooong!

The second pass of the Wiseman's Bridge saw me almost blown off the road by a gust from the sea. The wind had really picked up. At least no more rain at this time. The climb there had me witnessing a few athletes pushing their bikes up that hill. On their frist lap. IM Wales is a tough nut after all.

A few minutes later I hit T2. Bike time: 5:25h. Only 4min slower than 2012. Good enough for me.

T2 

Even though I had scouted my way through transition twice I still went to the wrong line at first. For this one I am to blame. What I was not to blame for was the fact that the very rough pavement of the parking lot had not been covered with carpets. All through transition. My feet were crying out loud. Ironfeet I do not have, I guess.

Run (Strava file: https://www.strava.com/activities/391497536) 

The big unknown. Would the thigh hold up? Would my general run fitmess on only 500 run-km since December 2013(!) be sufficient? All questions I would soon find answers for. The only thing I could do was to take on the course more conservatively than ever before. I thus went out strictly adhering to my plan. And that was 5min/km in the flats and let's see how much slower on the uphill. I kept 5min/km for the first 2km and then the first hill came. Km 3 and 5 were at around 5:20min, still ok. And the left thigh also held up. From the second turn around it's a continuous downhill for 3km. And other than last time when I just rolled down the hill I intentionally kept the speed at around 5min/km. The plan was not to put more stress on the thigh. Still, when I hit Tenby town for the first time I noticed an itch there. No good! Really no good, that! For the next 2k through town center I didn't notice this as there were literally thousands of spectators all along the city streets. The only bummer: they were (already) allowed to have fish & chips and a cider/ale. And they made good use of this! One could smell it.

But back to the race: I was able to make the second "climb" up to New Hodges in high spirits and was very confident. Also the pain in the thigh subsided a bit and everything was fine - so I thought. As a big surprise for me I hit the wall no 500m later. I was in a total hole! Had stomach pains like hell and no energy at all. What the hell had happened? I was already about 7:45h into the race and my mind was really struggeling to figure things out. In hindsight I then made the right choice: I grabbed two energy gels with caffeine and got them in. Even though these gels get to your system quite fast the way down the first part of the hill was just a deathmarch. 

No more look or feel good! 

I even succumbed to the urge to sit down. In order not to embarras myself I did this in a port-a-potty. After some 30sec though I decided that I could not hide from the hard truth and left. I went down the second part of the hill and started to feel better soon after. Stil and even with temperatures around 15C I felt hot. Therefore I kept on pouring water over my head by grabbing 3-5 cups at each aid station. Two boys had to have noticed me grabbing 4 cups from "their" table for this purpose on lap one. And so when I did the same on lap 2 one of them said to the other:"See, there was THAT crazy guy again!" Deep inside I laughed but had no energy to do this on the outside.

I saw Ann at the third "rabbit ear" of the course but showed no reaction to her cheers at all. Still they were very much appreciated just like my dad's screams a little further up the hill. I just had to keep my focus. The only thing that I went out of my focus was to get energy from the little ones alongside the course. There were so many kids asking for a high5 I just had to. And I got a lot of energy back. 

With the near bonk on the second lap I did not notice immediately that my left thigh slowly detoriated and was getting worde and worse. While I feld exhaustion but no pain in the right leg, the left one was in a world of the same from the beginning of lap 3. So the uphill portion of this lap was the slowest of all 4 and it felt like crawling up the hill. Still I managed to reach the top without any competitor in my area passing me. Down for third time I went and this time the left leg was almost killing me. Still, the setup of the 4 loop course with one big climb played to my advantage now. In my mind it was only one more uphill, one more real effort and then I would not have to care about my legs any more. I was just not allowed to cramp up! And for this last lap I had deposited a certain Austrian energy drink in my special food bag which I gulped down with disgust. Never will I have liquid gummy bears outside of an Ironman, I swear. Going out of town the last time I finally thought about what posision I might be in. I had noticed a few guys passing me but from recollection and what I was able to read on their bibs I was not aware that a fellow 40-44 guy had passed me. Well, at this time they all looked at least 45 years old but I myself must have looked much older that this. Turning around and picking up my last lap band I began the last downhill of the day. By now both lags were no legs any more but just a place of hurt. Still I thought that now would be the time to just cruise down the hill with no respect for the left thigh. It felt like the speed of light but only was something around 4:30min/km. So I was passed right there and then by 5 more competitors within a stretch of only 500m. No chance to fight back.

Then it was only one last ime through town and I really put the pedal to the metal. Fellow Ironmen/women will know that even if it might feel like 100mph you barely make the speed you set out on for the run. Still it hurt a lot but finally I was able to take that fames left turn towards "The Esplanade" and the finish line.

I did have the whole finish chute for myself here and did my best RAF impersonation. I crossed the finish line afer some 10:23min and at least according to the announcer as 2nd in my AG. I was stoked! With this little preparation 2nd? Great! But wait, we would still have to wait and find out later due to the rolling start I thought. These thoughts were put to a halt when the announcer realized that it was me qirthday on race day. When happened then you can see & hear at 2:56h int othe finish line (re) live here.

http://livestream.com/ironmaneurope/events/4335424

I had a blast! I got a picture with the current mayor of Tenby right on the spot and after thanking Ann for the awesome support, I went to get my first non-sweet food of the day: A soup that tasted like gold!

A little later we received confirmation that I had indeed finished 2nd in my AG. Great! So did get to go to the awards after all.

Rather contemplative at the awards, was I?

And yes, I was not able to say no when I was asked whether I would to go to Kona in 2016. I don't yet know what I really want there as my four previous outings there showed that racing in the Hawaiian heat is just not what I am made for. But whatever I'll do in 2016 I do have some time to figure that out, do I not?

Aloha!

Tim

Stats:

Swim 1:04

T1: 8:20min

Bike: 5:25h

T2: 3:00min

Run: 3:42h