Well, I guess this is likely to be my last blog post before I take on Ironman Wales. When I last posted, we'd just arrived and I was dipping my toe into the Ironman experience; in the past day or so, I've dived right in - literally at times.
Thursday afternoon, we drove most of the course - well, one lap of it at least. I think having driven it will help on the day, knowing where I am and what's coming next, but it didn't ease my mind in the way I'd hoped. I was praying for a 'hey, I don't know what everyone is moaning about - it's not that hilly...' but what I got was an 'Oh, now I see!'
In a nutsell it's a hill lover's dream. You like short hard slopes - sure thing! You want long drawn-out uphills into a head wind - you got it! How about one followed by another - no problemo!
There are many hills that are going to give me nightmares, I think, but one section serves as a good example of the difficulty of the Ironman Wales bike course. Coming out of Wiseman's Bridge, you're faced with a big 16% average climb that is almost 1km long, you drop quickly down the other side for a couple of seconds before facing a medium effort 600m climb that leads into Saundersfoot, where a 20% whopper climbs for 300m before leveling out into a 12% climb that carries on for several kilometres. We face this monstrous section not once but twice, with the second pass coming after around 170kms of the 180km ride...pain!
The flip side of this are downhills on small, single track country lanes. Technical doesn't get close to describng them - add questionable surfaces and all the rain that is covering the raods at the moment, and the descents are not only way slower than flats but treacherous.
Yesterday morning, I headed into Tenby to take part in one of the official practice swims and that too was tough. The water was, first and foremost, cold - 13C, according to the race director - but it was also very, very rough. After the 1000m practice swim, I came out looking drunk - the current was so strong and waves so big that I was almost seasick and had real trouble finding my balance. Plenty of the weaker swimmers were in much worse condition.
After that, I had a massage from the official team of sports physios - awesome - and wandered around the expo briefly. Tenby has now really come to life with runners, riders and sporty types everywhere you look. It seems like the locals are keen to lend their support too. And the organisation, so far, has been first rate.
Yesterday evening, I attended the offical race briefing and pasta party which was all superbly organised too. One of the international directors for Ironman presented both the briefing and the party and the briefing revealed a few significant things: first, there's a good chance that the swim may be moved to the calmer but less convenient north beach; nothing has been confirmed yet but, if they do move it (for swimmer safety), we're guessing that'd mean a split transition with the swim bike transition moving closer to north beach. It'd also mean that the run out of the swim (already several hundred metres up a big hill) would be a few hundred metres longer up, yes you guessed it, an even steeper hill.
The other revelation, although it doesn't really come as a surprise anymore, is that Ironman officials also consider this to be arguably the most beautiful but most challenging Ironman course on the calendar. Weather conditions could make that worse. Slow and steady seems to be the message - one that I for one will be following.
So, tomorrow I'll do 20 mins or so of running and cycling in the morning before geting my bike in order - I need to rack my bike and hand over my Bike and Run transition bags at around 1ish, before hitting the massage table again at 2. Then...try to sleep, I guess!
2 days and counting - I'll speak to you on the other side.
Oh, I apologise for the lack of pics. Having probs with computers, wifi etc while in Tenby. Rest assured that loads of images along with a race report - hopefully a successful one) will go up after the race once I'm back home.
Thursday afternoon, we drove most of the course - well, one lap of it at least. I think having driven it will help on the day, knowing where I am and what's coming next, but it didn't ease my mind in the way I'd hoped. I was praying for a 'hey, I don't know what everyone is moaning about - it's not that hilly...' but what I got was an 'Oh, now I see!'
In a nutsell it's a hill lover's dream. You like short hard slopes - sure thing! You want long drawn-out uphills into a head wind - you got it! How about one followed by another - no problemo!
There are many hills that are going to give me nightmares, I think, but one section serves as a good example of the difficulty of the Ironman Wales bike course. Coming out of Wiseman's Bridge, you're faced with a big 16% average climb that is almost 1km long, you drop quickly down the other side for a couple of seconds before facing a medium effort 600m climb that leads into Saundersfoot, where a 20% whopper climbs for 300m before leveling out into a 12% climb that carries on for several kilometres. We face this monstrous section not once but twice, with the second pass coming after around 170kms of the 180km ride...pain!
The flip side of this are downhills on small, single track country lanes. Technical doesn't get close to describng them - add questionable surfaces and all the rain that is covering the raods at the moment, and the descents are not only way slower than flats but treacherous.
Yesterday morning, I headed into Tenby to take part in one of the official practice swims and that too was tough. The water was, first and foremost, cold - 13C, according to the race director - but it was also very, very rough. After the 1000m practice swim, I came out looking drunk - the current was so strong and waves so big that I was almost seasick and had real trouble finding my balance. Plenty of the weaker swimmers were in much worse condition.
After that, I had a massage from the official team of sports physios - awesome - and wandered around the expo briefly. Tenby has now really come to life with runners, riders and sporty types everywhere you look. It seems like the locals are keen to lend their support too. And the organisation, so far, has been first rate.
Yesterday evening, I attended the offical race briefing and pasta party which was all superbly organised too. One of the international directors for Ironman presented both the briefing and the party and the briefing revealed a few significant things: first, there's a good chance that the swim may be moved to the calmer but less convenient north beach; nothing has been confirmed yet but, if they do move it (for swimmer safety), we're guessing that'd mean a split transition with the swim bike transition moving closer to north beach. It'd also mean that the run out of the swim (already several hundred metres up a big hill) would be a few hundred metres longer up, yes you guessed it, an even steeper hill.
The other revelation, although it doesn't really come as a surprise anymore, is that Ironman officials also consider this to be arguably the most beautiful but most challenging Ironman course on the calendar. Weather conditions could make that worse. Slow and steady seems to be the message - one that I for one will be following.
So, tomorrow I'll do 20 mins or so of running and cycling in the morning before geting my bike in order - I need to rack my bike and hand over my Bike and Run transition bags at around 1ish, before hitting the massage table again at 2. Then...try to sleep, I guess!
2 days and counting - I'll speak to you on the other side.
Oh, I apologise for the lack of pics. Having probs with computers, wifi etc while in Tenby. Rest assured that loads of images along with a race report - hopefully a successful one) will go up after the race once I'm back home.
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