Ironman UK September 2008 Pierre

Pierre Chircop
Ironman UK September 2008

My ironman account is for you out there who love sports but because of life’s commitments have always had to suppress the lion within. If I finished an ironman event , so can you.
After a relatively long period of hibernation from volleyball, 200/400 m sprints , rowing and canoeing this 49 year old general practioner was settled with his family and a private practice . He had finished building the family dream house when he started to become more chummy with the pied piper of sports in the south , namely Mark Bugeja , aka ‘coach’.
It was here that the notion of cross training started to ingrain in my brain and I dare say my already creaking joints and measly looking muscles. Fact was that Mark and his gang biked and swam too….and I had never biked or been to swimming lessons (well , now I crawl). Thus was my introduction to triathlon. I very quickly liked the general feeling of total fitness as a result of preparation for sprint triathlon even though my placings were mundane compared to how I was used to achieving my goals in life…..perhaps it’s this relaxed mental attitude which helped someone of my age and position in life to clog on through further half marathons ,round Malta canoe , Puttinu Challenges , time trials , Olympic and middle distance triathlons. One point I must bring out is the ever present comaraderie and encouragement shown towards me by both triathletes and race organizers which have opened up another niche of friendships in my life.

Well it was whilst celebrating the end of another Puttinu Challenge with a beer too many in our heads that Michael Gellel and I dropped the bomb on ironman UK after months of toying with the idea and sorely missing application deadlines for other ironman events. We decided to train together…….or rather Michael must have been more loaded with booze than I was and committed himself to chains with the old doc for seven months of his younger life.

The back up which my family and Michael gave me were fundamental in the preparation for the endurance training ahead.
We first ordered a Snugg wetsuit [ made to measure ] and considering my negative buoyancy this was a life saver and mental boost for the winter training months . We divided the training into three main sections aimed at first getting the right technique whilst slowly increasing volume and finally intensity .We met regularly for the weekly long run ,swim and bike . Rest of sessions we trained apart as Mike’s exercise capacity was far superior to mine and our work schedules were different. With longer bike sessions I started developing low back pains and these only went away when I finally got a bike which fit me like a glove…a big must for this venture. We varied the routes to avoid boredom which was fine for the winter and spring months but as summer approached we had to endure long hours of heat and humidity exposures stopping at intervals to replenish our fluid supplies. We also started to lose the much enjoyed company of other cyclists on the bike routes as training went beyond the four hours and intensity increased.
This was also a huge exercise of discipline with nutrition and hydration both on and off the bike as I was gaining first hand experience with the benefits of a diet based on huge amounts of vegetables , fruit and clean protein. Far cry from the way we used to load up for long sessions in my youth. Processed food was kept to a minimum and was allowed freely only during and / or immediately after training or races. I only participated in long bike / run / triathlon races to keep my body revving at low frequency. I’ve never felt stronger and healthier in my life and my sub 2.30 olympic tri at that time attests to this. Whenever I indulged in a plate of pasta outside my dietary plan the effect used to be so tangible that I used to go sleepy and tired for 3 hours after eating it.

Another point we stressed on repeatedly in long runs and bikes was discipline of pacing. As the duration of a session grew longer it became more difficult to finish it comfortably unless I started pacing myself for the finishing pace from the outset . This is bible language for first time ironmen and yet …..you’d think it’s pretty obvious…..until you see stronger athletes bonk in the run sections of long races…

God put Sunday aside for rest . Unfortunately us ironman aspirants put it asunder and in the last weeks this meant waking up at 4.30 am , oats breakfast , out on the road 5.30 am, meet up with Mike and back home for lunch with two kids and a hard working wife at table looking subdued and ready to go out for a day at the beach whilst I am trying to sit nonchalantly on a swollen and tender bottom longing for a shower , massage and bed in an air-conditioned room . I swear I tried to keep up with the second half of those Sundays but they were tough…and God was not alone in delivering punishment for Monday was round the corner for another tough day of work. Mood swings and sleep disturbance were common in the last two weeks of the taper ….it felt like my mind wanted to keep on going whilst my body was giving it the middle finger.

In these last weeks we started to meet up with Dermot Galea , Malta national tri coach and champion but nonetheless , like us , another being of dubious sanity with this ‘ironman’ quest in his head . His physical fitness and sense of direction with training radiated confidence. With him and Mike , both on their third ironman, I felt like Pancho following Don Quihote in trying to keep up with them on the Sunday bike.

At last the taper and time to recover or so I thought, as by this time my mind slowed down but my body went into a turmoil of restlessness and unsatiable hunger. This is where my technically minded friend Daniel Callus contributed some golden advice and re-assurance from his own experience in Austria which helped my body re-associate itself with the brain. This is the time to give your bike a thorough service and Etienne Bonello did just this besides giving it a spring cleaning.

Soon it was time to leave and us three musketeers met at the airport with our bike bags and luggage and off we flew to Birmingham airport where we met with two wonderful and
dedicated people , William Livingstone and Pamela Bachelor who went out of their way to make our stay as comfortable as possible. They picked us up from the airport ,drove us all the way down to Sherbourne , showed us the bike course and even made breakfast and dinner for the whole duration of our stay in the UK. They did not let us out of their sight for a minute of our stay and that includes the whole race….

Typical British weather also kept us unwelcome company in the three days preceding the event….. how we longed for a sunny day ! We managed a short bike and run before taking our stuff to the race venue the day before.

The night before D-day was a restless one and little did we sleep although we did not communicate with each other until the early hours of …7th September . Bill had already set up the breakfast table and we managed to push down the usual oats and croissants with a coffee .Pam’s lively personality helped alleviate the apprehension we all tried to subdue.
By the time we reached Sherbourne castle I needed to visit the loo for the umpteenth time and what a queue there was to the large number of mobile toilets. We zipped up each others’ Snuggs and joined the 1600 or so blue- capped athletes all massed up together and waiting like cattle to be herded down the lake in the midst of shouting from the crowds and a live music commentary we could hear in the distance . No , they did not give us bells to hang round our necks. The air at 5.45 am was cold ( 20 degrees lower than what we were used to) and emotionally electrifying . We were just giggling and talking gaga and I kept telling myself ‘ this is just another training session old man..easy does it’ . It worked until I walked into the brown water . My arms and legs were moving but they dissociated from my head because I kept gasping and lifting my head up every time I put my face in the cold water . Mike at first had the same shocking sensation but then picked up a rhythm and typical of him ,swam up to check on me ….I told him I was still stiff and gasping but urged him on . The start was delayed and we were left in this God forsaken frigging cold lake kicking and wading head high out of the water when suddenly the washing machine went on ! Wow ,the race had started, but for 15 minutes I was dragged forward in a doggy position with no option other than to mimick a crawl , I was hit repeatedly on my head and back – ahead I could only see the white foam of agitated feet and hands , above there were bright spotlights and if I put my face in the water ....gasping ensued. This was the only moment of the race where my brain was telling me ‘ you’re going to stop aren’t you’ . This feeling made me angry when suddenly my body started to ease off and I could at last dip my head underwater. Rest of the swim was a huge relief as my body went into a good gear and I found myself doing what other swimmers did to me a few moments before in order to gain space to swim in . The second lap I actually enjoyed and was smiling to myself and trying to locate the finish when suddenly I was manhandled from the water and ‘placed’ [kind word] on the turf ramp by two men…I had arrived. Took me 1hr 21min , 9 min less than planned.

I ran up to the transition tent whilst starting to take my wet suit off but decided to put it on again as it was too cold for me . Changing and toilet needs took 14 long minutes but I was glad to get on my steed fully loaded with bandana ,arm/leg warmers , socks ,full gloves , gels , overshoes and Gillette. Felt comfortable and warm and HR was 115. Off I went for the bike section which I must admit I enjoyed tremendously not only for the lovely Dorset countryside but also for the support given by local villagers and bands en route. I kept my eyes on my HR monitor for most of the time making sure I stuck to my pre- trained ranges . My nutrition and hydration on the bike was predetermined in Malta and although some products were available at food stations I stuck to my 50g high- carb and 500ml water per 30min all the way .The course had a chippy road surface with very long slow hills and sharp descents. The weather was cold and grey , and the wind was wicked and many times side-gusts forced me off the aerobars for fear of losing control of the front wheel. Although this slowed me down considerably it was my first ironman so I just clogged on and even smiled all the way to onlookers , but for those of you looking for a PB , look elsewhere . Oh , and when your nose is loaded with snot do look behind you before you discharge sideways as you might receive a loud retort from the rear......this female of short stature was rightly telling me off for firing away without looking and accepted my immediate apologies ...though I’m sure her reaction would have been more violent had she realised that there was greyish-green eight-legged inert matter stuck to the front of her helmet . A sharp descent took us back to transition .Bike took 40 min more than I anticipated.

Officials were helping us come off the bikes and after these were taken from us we’ sort of ran’ to the changing tent where we picked up our ‘run bag’ and put on running gear. Off I went for my first ever full marathon with people on either side urging me on . My legs at first remained in cycling mode and by the time they started rolling I met up with a steep hill with a single file of runners going up on the right and another one coming down on the left , oh and the ground changed from grass to rubble and tracts of black mud….more like a cross country trail. At the top was the first food station where I decided there and then to go for something salty after the sweet carbs on the bike…I took a fistful of pretzels plus a cupful of flat coke, felt great after this..… became my standard menu at every station I walked through. For the first time in the race I managed to see and cheer Dermot and Michael running and I felt proud to see both of them going at strong pace. This is the time of reward or penance in the race and I could see facial and body language expressing themselves in diverse manners…. The well prepared athletes had a’ sense of purpose’ look and ran head high with light feet , the not so strong ones ran with lower head and shoulder position and were concentrated on the uneven ground and the ‘bounce’ in their feet was slow. Then there were the blown -out athletes who were waddling or walking looking very depressed and lost ,head down and dragging their feet . Some kept tripping and runners had to be careful to avoid falling over them. Others were standing with both hands against the wall , puking. As for me I was clogging along at my usual slow but comfortable pace and in the first two laps even heard and saw Bill and Pam cheering me on and telling me that my friends were fine too. Come the third lap and I felt too good to stay in this pace and I could also hear Dermot [ had already finished the race ] cheering me on with his shouting and a whistle . This is when my brain did not read my body well because I decided to increase my pace . A shot in my own leg because I got no further than 400 metres when both hamstrings cramped. So the horse had to walk for a good 15 minutes before they loosened up and I started to run . 20 min on and they cramped up again… no option but to walk for another 15 minutes . Started the run again and thankfully my legs did not seize up this time and in the last 2 km I found myself running well and passing quite a few athletes...a huge mental boost at this point in the event. However my euphoric miscalculation delayed my run by about 40 minutes.

Friends , running the last 100 metres of an ironman past the ear piercing encouragement of crowds on both sides of the railings and hearing the commentator calling your name [ pronounced ‘cheerchop’ with an American twist in it ] and country is a crowning moment , a personal reward for perseverance ...and remember to slow down your run , smile and look around you ….they’re all saying ‘ you did it’. And nothing can take it away from you , especially the backlog of responsibilities and paperwork waiting for you at home. Past the finish us three with Bill and Pam embraced and congratulated each other . And on the way home we were inundated with messages of congratulations from family and friends , much appreciated by all three of us.

Below are our times/splits.
Dermot = 55.23 / 3.35/5.42.39/ 2.56/ 3.37.32 =10.22 ( 38th overall )
Michael = 76.0/ 7.56 / 6.22.05/ 5.49/ 3.45.49 = 11.28.08 (197th)
Pierre = 81.45/ 14.53 / 7.35.36/ 7.42/ 5.0125 = 14.21.19 (942nd)

Nice article Pierre!...you've achieved something special...