Race
report: Ironman Switzerland 30th
July 2017
Having
suffered from terrible nerves the day before, I woke up on the morning of the
race feeling surprisingly calm. I had
managed to get a good night sleep, and although it was 3.15am I ate my breakfast of porridge, a banana and downed a strong coffee. Before long it was time to get the minibus
from the hotel to the race start. The
mood on the bus was quiet and while I was still feeling a bit nervous, I was at
the point that I just really wanted to get on with it.
When I got to the race village it was a hive of activity, people running around with bicycle pumps, and generally getting organised. I had a good look over my bike, put on my bottles, nutrition, felt my tyres and then decided to just leave it alone, to be honest I had no idea what everyone else was doing tweaking this and that and I could think of nothing else I needed to do. I walked over to the changing tents and got into my wetsuit. I then slowly walked towards the start line with my partner Adrian who was also taking part. He appeared really calm and just kept whispering in my ear to check I was okay and trying to keep me calm and focused.
We took advantage of getting in for a quick warm up swim, which was good to just get in and do something. The water felt lovely and I could feel myself actually starting to get excited. The announcement for athletes to get into their swim start pens finally came and we gave each other a hug. I could feel myself welling up a bit but I had no tears as after months of training I was determined to get on the start line, with a smile and to enjoy the swim and hopefully the whole race.
When I got to the race village it was a hive of activity, people running around with bicycle pumps, and generally getting organised. I had a good look over my bike, put on my bottles, nutrition, felt my tyres and then decided to just leave it alone, to be honest I had no idea what everyone else was doing tweaking this and that and I could think of nothing else I needed to do. I walked over to the changing tents and got into my wetsuit. I then slowly walked towards the start line with my partner Adrian who was also taking part. He appeared really calm and just kept whispering in my ear to check I was okay and trying to keep me calm and focused.
We took advantage of getting in for a quick warm up swim, which was good to just get in and do something. The water felt lovely and I could feel myself actually starting to get excited. The announcement for athletes to get into their swim start pens finally came and we gave each other a hug. I could feel myself welling up a bit but I had no tears as after months of training I was determined to get on the start line, with a smile and to enjoy the swim and hopefully the whole race.
The swim
was a rolling start which means they let 8 people enter the water every 5 secs,
this also means you get in to clear water ahead of you to start with. I had seeded myself in the
middle of the 80-90 min box which was actually quite empty, it seemed most
people were seeding themselves up the front which was fine by me. I spoke to other athletes around me, everyone
smiling, nervously and encouraging each other. It was really a good experience.
We gradually inched forward until there just one or two rows to go. I got my googles in position, and I looked
forward to spot the first buoy. The
beeps counted down 5, 4, 3, 2,1 and I then was off.
The first part of the swim was as good as the organisers promised, clear water to get going in, however by the time I got to the first turn it was absolutely manic. Bodies and arms flying everywhere. I had to do a bit of swimming around people and there was a lot of jostling but I was not at all bothered by it, I was enjoying the swim, I found it hard at times to sight the buoys particularly as the sun came up but I just kept following the feet in front of me.
In the end, I must have seeded myself about right as I found I mostly had space to swim and although I did get occasionally clunked on the head by others passing me it was really nothing to worry about and I ended up swimming past a few people too. The water was warm about 21 degrees and beautifully clean. Not so clear on the day as the practice swim I had two days previously but only because there were another 1700 people swimming and churning it up around me, but not a bit of weed in sight. The lake is huge and was flat calm to start with only getting a little choppy on the far side of the swim. It did feel like we were swimming for ages before the final turning buoy appeared and we were swimming back towards shore. As I exited the water, I felt a sense of relief that part was over and also surprisingly fresh. The two guys either side of me said “great job” which was really nice. The crowds were fantastic too, cow bells ringing and loads of clapping, it was brilliant. I had no idea what my swim time was at that point as I had decided to leave my garmin on my bike in case I got it knocked off, so I was so pleased later when I heard I had done 1.21 for the swim as that was bang on my target.
The first part of the swim was as good as the organisers promised, clear water to get going in, however by the time I got to the first turn it was absolutely manic. Bodies and arms flying everywhere. I had to do a bit of swimming around people and there was a lot of jostling but I was not at all bothered by it, I was enjoying the swim, I found it hard at times to sight the buoys particularly as the sun came up but I just kept following the feet in front of me.
In the end, I must have seeded myself about right as I found I mostly had space to swim and although I did get occasionally clunked on the head by others passing me it was really nothing to worry about and I ended up swimming past a few people too. The water was warm about 21 degrees and beautifully clean. Not so clear on the day as the practice swim I had two days previously but only because there were another 1700 people swimming and churning it up around me, but not a bit of weed in sight. The lake is huge and was flat calm to start with only getting a little choppy on the far side of the swim. It did feel like we were swimming for ages before the final turning buoy appeared and we were swimming back towards shore. As I exited the water, I felt a sense of relief that part was over and also surprisingly fresh. The two guys either side of me said “great job” which was really nice. The crowds were fantastic too, cow bells ringing and loads of clapping, it was brilliant. I had no idea what my swim time was at that point as I had decided to leave my garmin on my bike in case I got it knocked off, so I was so pleased later when I heard I had done 1.21 for the swim as that was bang on my target.
I
managed a straight forward quick transition and was off out on the bike lap
before I knew it. The first lap was
great, beautiful, and the scenery breath-taking all the way round. The
first part takes you along the side of the lake and I remember just feeling so
excited that I had done the swim and was on my way that I did a whoop out loud
to myself a few times, which sounds crazy but I just couldn’t help it I was so enjoying
the moment. After about 25k you start to
reach the climbing on the route. The bike course is about 1400m elevation overall, a
mixture of flat and rolling hills which take you through lots of little
villages where the support was great, more ringing of cow bells, people hosing
you down and cheering ‘Superb’ and “Hupp Hupp Hupp” it was an atmosphere like
no other I have experienced. The ride has three noticeable climbs but nothing I
was worried about. The main climb is
known as The Beast mainly because it is long, it twists and turns and you think
you have reached the top and then realise there is another summit ahead. But on the first lap I was passing people,
thinking this is nothing at all to worry about at all but in doing so I was pushing
harder than I should have been to reach the top however at that stage I was not
thinking about it, just enjoying the ride.
I was focusing more on keeping fuelled and taking on little bits of food
all the way round which I did keep religiously on top of as I knew from
experience I did not want to face a dreaded bonk on the bike.
I noticed lots of riders passing me on the long downhill from The Beast, which was a bit demoralising but I am simply not yet confident enough to stay down on my aerobars at high speed however, I was enjoying the views and a bit of leg rest. As we dropped back down into Zurich the streets were lined with supporters and I headed towards the final climb of the lap called Heartbreak Hill. This hill has got to the be the highlight of my race. It’s short and sharp and the final part of it is lined with supporters. You get a sense of how the pro cyclists must feel in the Tour de France as the crowds are standing all over the road cheering and then part as you cycle through them. I could hear the announcer mention my name and number over the tannoy and saying “she is even smiling” I can’t describe how fantastic I felt. I shot down the other side and before I knew it had completed the first lap and was onto lap 2. I remember thinking I was bang on track for a sub 7 hour bike time as I had done lap one in 3hours 20 mins but I am afraid lap 2 got a bit harder and a lot hotter . There is a lot of flat on the first part of the course and while that is good I think my temptation to push too hard got the better of me and as soon as I came off the flat to the climb I started to feel fatigued, as well as hot as hell. The sweat started to pour out my helmet, and I can honestly say even when I have cycled in the heat in Lanzarote that has never happened to me before. I had to make a stop to put on extra sun cream and I kept drinking as much as I could but when I reached the "Beast" for a second time I knew I must have pushed too hard for my ability on lap one as second time up I was absolutely crawling. The aid station at the top was a god send. I stopped for a hose down and spoke to one of the water guys who offered to put some salt in my water. Although I lost time by stopping I felt so much better when I set off to finish the lap.
As I got back into Zurich I could see lots of people on the run and actually spotted Adrian running – I cheered at him and we waved. (He said later he was really worried how I was feeling as I was much further behind on the bike than I had planned but as I was smiling he figured I was okay) Heartbreak hill round 2 was less exciting but still good support. Anyway, by the time I got off the bike I had done my 112 miles in 7.24 and while I am now disappointed with that time as I know I can do better, on the day I was so chuffed to be off the bike with just the run to go I was ecstatic!
I noticed lots of riders passing me on the long downhill from The Beast, which was a bit demoralising but I am simply not yet confident enough to stay down on my aerobars at high speed however, I was enjoying the views and a bit of leg rest. As we dropped back down into Zurich the streets were lined with supporters and I headed towards the final climb of the lap called Heartbreak Hill. This hill has got to the be the highlight of my race. It’s short and sharp and the final part of it is lined with supporters. You get a sense of how the pro cyclists must feel in the Tour de France as the crowds are standing all over the road cheering and then part as you cycle through them. I could hear the announcer mention my name and number over the tannoy and saying “she is even smiling” I can’t describe how fantastic I felt. I shot down the other side and before I knew it had completed the first lap and was onto lap 2. I remember thinking I was bang on track for a sub 7 hour bike time as I had done lap one in 3hours 20 mins but I am afraid lap 2 got a bit harder and a lot hotter . There is a lot of flat on the first part of the course and while that is good I think my temptation to push too hard got the better of me and as soon as I came off the flat to the climb I started to feel fatigued, as well as hot as hell. The sweat started to pour out my helmet, and I can honestly say even when I have cycled in the heat in Lanzarote that has never happened to me before. I had to make a stop to put on extra sun cream and I kept drinking as much as I could but when I reached the "Beast" for a second time I knew I must have pushed too hard for my ability on lap one as second time up I was absolutely crawling. The aid station at the top was a god send. I stopped for a hose down and spoke to one of the water guys who offered to put some salt in my water. Although I lost time by stopping I felt so much better when I set off to finish the lap.
As I got back into Zurich I could see lots of people on the run and actually spotted Adrian running – I cheered at him and we waved. (He said later he was really worried how I was feeling as I was much further behind on the bike than I had planned but as I was smiling he figured I was okay) Heartbreak hill round 2 was less exciting but still good support. Anyway, by the time I got off the bike I had done my 112 miles in 7.24 and while I am now disappointed with that time as I know I can do better, on the day I was so chuffed to be off the bike with just the run to go I was ecstatic!
Relatively
quick transition from bike to run although I faffed about trying to find the
flipping exit to start with (race brain doh!) and as I was off again. As I started the run, I tried to work out
what my finish time might be. I was
hoping I had swam in 1.30 and so figured I was probably somewhere between 9 and
9.5 hours into the race. You have 16
hours to finish Zurich so I knew I had plenty time to get my run in and hoped I
could finish inside my personal target of 14 hours. Given my track record of running 10k off long
bikes I thought a 5 hour marathon would be about right. The first 10k took me about 1 hour 10 which
is not great, but equally not bad as I was getting my legs back and I had ran
all the way round that first lap. The heat was something else, at that
point I think it was over 30 degrees which, for a Scottish lassie who likes to
run in drizzle, was a bit of nightmare. Thankfully
I had a cap on and just kept filled it with ice at each station, there were wet
sponges as well and they worked really well at keeping me cool. They hosed us down too if we wanted it but in
hindsight my feet got a bit soggy so it was not the best plan. At the start of second lap it was getting very
tough for me. I ran with another guy for a bit who was doing a run 4 mins
walk 1 min strategy and that helped me get some food in and compose myself and
half way round that second lap I started to just run continuously again.
Each water station was about 2k apart and they had ice, cold sponges, hoses,
and all the food, gels and drink you needed. On most of my laps I walked through each
station and then ran on again. By the third lap I was feeling good again, and
had taken on so many gels my feet just kept going and going, I did not feel any
aches or pains in my knees which I had a few issues with in training. So I was happy, importantly I felt really
positive and telling myself to keep going. One of the best tips I had from Adrian
in training was to consciously breath in and out of my mouth and get a rhythm
going that you can pace to, and it worked a treat for me on race day. Again I could not believe the crowd support on
the run it was something else. Adrian and I passed each other on the
second lap of my run and he stopped to kiss me which drew a huge cheer from the
crowd! By the time I got my last band on and the knowledge I only had 10k
to run I was in my zone and on a mission. I loved that last lap, I thanked
all the volunteers who had been amazing and when I got to the last 6k point the
volunteer who had seen me three times previously cheered at the crowd it was my
last lap and they did a huge Mexican wave for me, it was so cool, I will never
forget it. I was just smiling and loving it.
Running down the finish line was brilliant, the cheerleaders and supporters all going mental and then the words "You are an Ironman" being roared at you as you cross the line. An absolutely brilliant feeling like no other. When I turned around and saw the clock said Linda Todd 14.14.52 I remember feeling pretty pleased with myself. Adrian, who had finished more than two hours before me, was there waiting for me in the athletes garden with a non -alcoholic beer in hand and equally ecstatic as me that I had finished in good time and one piece!
Running down the finish line was brilliant, the cheerleaders and supporters all going mental and then the words "You are an Ironman" being roared at you as you cross the line. An absolutely brilliant feeling like no other. When I turned around and saw the clock said Linda Todd 14.14.52 I remember feeling pretty pleased with myself. Adrian, who had finished more than two hours before me, was there waiting for me in the athletes garden with a non -alcoholic beer in hand and equally ecstatic as me that I had finished in good time and one piece!
Overall,
Ironman Zurich was the best race experience of my life. Will I do
another one? Absolutely. Will I train harder? You bet I will.
Can you do one? With the right support,
focus and determination I will say yes, anything is possible!
Lx
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