Some sort of race

9.15pm May 23rd 2015: Chris Pugh you are an IRONMAN

9.15pm May 22nd 2015, 24 hours before the race: Irish couple sitting outside my hotel, wife says to husband (you need your best Irish accent for this): "This Ironman thing, whats it all about then?". "Not sure, think it's some sort of race" came the reply.

And that pretty much sums it up -  inside the bubble that is Ironman it's the thing that consumes your life, that breaks your body, that tests your spirit, your soul, your determination. It requires a year of sacrifices from both you and your family. Outside the bubble its just "some sort of race".

But what a sort of race it is, a 3.8km open water swim, 180km bike, marathon to finish. I stumbled into triathlon in January 2014 with thanks mainly to all the lovely people at Coventry Tri club who I met at a bike week in Lanzarote. I committed to it in June 2014 after too much red wine at a Tri Camp also in Lanza - for me it was always going to be Ironman distance, for me it was always going to be Lanza - go long, go hard or go home - Lanza Ironman is well known to be one of the hardest events in the world, the toughest of the tough, the wind, the heat, the hills, simply savage, simply amazing.

And so there we all are, 1,700 of us, 7am, first light, into the water. The feeling of running into the Atlantic alongside a mass start of 1,700 other people is simply amazing. Everyone who knows me knows I refuse to follow any form of training plan - I did however have a race plan - Swim:  hang back, stay wide, avoid the fight. But I quickly got bored of that, I quite enjoy being in the mix - its all pretty friendly down the back of the field - sure you get kicked, whacked, your arse gets groped but I've never felt any of it was malicious -  so I drifted into the racing line a bit, enjoyed the rough and tumble - it is though unsettling on the rhythm, a bit stop / start at times as a hundred bodies all converge on the same spot of water and carnage ensues until it sorts itself out. For a guy who literally could not swim 25m a year ago swimming really has been a revelation to me, I love swimming now, especially open water.   Swim time -  I was aiming for 1hr 20 - 1hr 30, I did 1hr35, a bit disappointing but I've been nursing Tennis Elbow for a few weeks (from swimming) and barely swimming at all, I'm not surprised I was a few minutes off what I hoped for. Out the water 1,450th out of 1,700, thats about normal for me.

Bike plan: It's all about the bike... Lanza's bike course is utterly brutal, hour after hour of block headwind, hour after hour of hills. Hour after hour of Triathletes who can't ride a damn bike - it does make me laugh, the thousands of pounds that some people spend on the latest Tri bike, the latest silly pointy hat - but, er, you can't actually ride a bike guys... I don't mind if they just keep themselves to themselves but seemingly some of them think they are gods gift to descending hills - taking stupid risks, stupid lines on the road, endangering themselves and me in the process -  seriously guys, save the money -  get a normal bike and go on a bike camp, learn to ride... Anyway, rant over. It was always going to be Lanza for me because of the bike course, I love it tough on the bike, the tougher the better. I really wasn't sure how to ride it though - I wanted to leave something in the legs for the run - on a standalone basis I could blat the course in maybe 6 ish hours, but be unable to walk at the end - so I decided to set a pace to do circa 7 ish hours, really just cruising round, not really raising the heart rate at all - doing 7.15 in the end, passing some 450 people in the process - now we're talking... 

And I finished the bike course exactly one second ahead of the winner.

Sorry, I mean I finished the bike course exactly one second ahead of the guy winning the entire race, crossing the finishing line an entire marathon (less one second...) ahead of me - by pure luck as I came in on the bike I saw the lead runner 100m from the end so I slowed and rode alongside him, cheering him on, tingling in the atmosphere as he crossed the line, an amazing moment in my race and so so humbling as well.

Run plan: Run. I really really wanted to run the run. If only to spite Neill who assured me I would walk some of it. Running I do OK at but  I endure rather than enjoy. I've never raced further than 21km, never ran further than 30km, never ran at all after 180km of a brutal bike course so this was always going to be a voyage of discovery for me. The first loop of 21km went well, I remember every moment, stopping briefly to chat with Chris Wild who was struggling, saying hi to Andy and Chris J as we crossed paths. The second loop, 10.5km, never raced this far, now we're suffering, still remember it all though, stopping now briefly to chat with Ben who is also struggling.The final loop, 10.5km, oh boy oh boy I have never suffered like this in my life, I remember absolutely nothing of it, everything shutting down, the body running on fumes, but still running (just....). And then 2km, 1km to go, the crowd all shouting your name, the tannoy getting closer and closer, suddenly running properly again as the line approaches. 

Well, I set a run PB if nothing else (not difficult eh, given it was my first marathon) 5hrs 7. It really was ugly, so so hard. I was hoping for 4h15 - 4hr 30 but it wasn't to be, and I don't care in the slightest. I went back 40 places on the run, crossing the line 1,044 out of 1,700. I was hoping maybe for an overall time around 13 hours but again the run put pay to that, finishing in 14 hours 11 mins, easily the most brutal 14 hours of my life.

Went back at just before midnight, the cut-off for the race - heroes hour - I always knew I would finish, that much was never in doubt but these are the guys who really define Ironman - the final finisher being an english woman in her late 60's, just 3 minutes before midnight - a 17 hour race - true true courage. And equally courageous to the 250 or so people who started the race but didn't finish - missing the cut-off on the swim or bike or, even more soul destroying, meeting those cut-offs, racing for 17+ hours and missing the run cut-off, finishing alone, no welcoming "beep" as you cross the line, they are still heroes, they will be back, as will I.

To my family and all the amazing people who have been part of this journey -  thankyou thankyou thankyou.

Mallorca 70.3 - sorta like Tottenham Hotspur

Mallorca 70.3 - sorta like Tottenham Hotspur

3,500 competitors, the largest 1/2 distance in the world. Sells out eons in advance - the guy who did the briefing said "most of you booked this so long ago that when you booked it the finishers shirt size you put on the booking probably isn't the size you are now". How true, I put Large, I ain't now...

Amazing support from the locals and the tourists, thousands upon thousands turning out to clap us round, kids setting up impromptu water gun stations and squirting the overheating runners, cheers and claps all the way round the run, just brilliant.

Felt really relaxed at the start, just a few little nerves, more excited to get going that anything else. Almost 20 start groups today at 5 minute intervals, we are almost at the very back. Swimming, well, I'm not brilliant - more a slow and steady swimmer - neat, efficient, but not super quick. Deliberately stayed a bit more "in the mix" this time, stayed on the racing line and was happy to be bumped and bashed, all good experience. Aimed for a 40 minute swim for the 1.9km, did 38 mins, equal to my PB, can't be unhappy with that. Was always going to be the weakest discipline for me though, coming 369th / 457 in age group, 2256 / 3500 overall.

Onto the bike, feeling fresh and relaxed. Now officially IM is no drafting - you are not allowed within 10m of the bike in front. Well, thats all well and good until you stick 3,500 bikes on the same bit of road... The game that everyone seemed to be playing was "sorta try to look like you are not blatantly drafting, especially if you hear the officials motorbike coming up behind you". The officials seemed relaxed about it though, they knew it was impossible not to draft. Loved going up the col, a 10km climb averaging 5.5% - passed hundreds upon hundreds of other riders going up there, counting 4 coming past me. I was aiming to do a 3 hour bike and did... 3hr 1 minute. But still not my strongest discipline... 280th / 457 age group, 1632 / 3500 overall. I refuse to engage in the triathlon bike arms race, stupid stupid money being spent on buying a few minutes of time. If I did that, sure I would be quicker, but that ain't gonna happen.

The run, well I always surprise myself on the run. Every time I train its slow, laborious, hard work but the three races have all been great - non stop, fluid, always moving forward. Not super speedy but yet again the strongest of the disciplines! I was aiming to do a 1hr55, equal to my PB, but nailing the bike leg made the legs a bit sluggish for the first 10km, speeding up all the time to the end, streaming past loads of other runners, clocking 1hr59, 252th / 457 age group, 1562 / 3500 overall. So thats it, 252nd / 457 age group, 1537 / 3500 overall - I have officially risen to the heady ranks of mid table mediocrity - like Tottenham Hotspur....

Full Ironman 2 weeks away, its going to be emotional...