Ironman Lanzarote

Well what can I say..........

Ironman Lanzarote is the BEST Ironman in the World!

I truly loved the place, the course was tough, hot and amazingly windy.

I loved every minute of it!

We arrived on the Tuesday before the race, and was staying in an apartment that was on the run course, 3km away from the race start.

Once settled in I decided to go for an easy run just to look at some of the run course, there was definitely going to be no hiding from the sunshine on race day.

Wednesday I went for a little spin on the bike to check everything was working on the bike.

Apart from nearly getting blown away it was great just to enjoy the sun and see some of the course.

My friend Ali who lives out in Lanzarote was also racing so we went to recce the bike course in the car, another guy called Alan also came with us whom I don't think will mind me mentioning him, as this was his first ever Ironman, total respect to him!

Thursday we registered and then it was time to just chill out and rest for the big day.

Friday I did a very little bike and run, then took my bike to transition, I always worry about leaving it over night but it was such a well organised event and security was good.

I felt nervous and relaxed at the same time, I knew that I am not at my peak right now but wanted to use this race as a guide to see where I am. I was mainly worried about the heat, however my lovely friend Andy from Precision Hydration had helped advise me on what to take and do when racing in the heat. I am glad to say it worked perfectly.

RACE DAY

To get to the start was a 3km walk, which actually was quite handy as I was feeling pretty sleepy, it gave me a good chance to wake up.

Once checking the bike and sorting out my nutrition I walked to the start, this I thought was great as I was near the front, however then panicked my chip hadn't activated so ended up running all the way to transition to activate my chip so by the time I got back to the start I was quite far back. BIG MISTAKE, it meant my first lap was not so good, I had got stuck in the middle of all these bodies grabbing and dunking me under water, it was a nightmare.

2nd lap of the swim I managed to get some free water and went a lot quicker, but felt comfortable.

Heading out on the bike went ok, I tried taking on some energy drink and food on once I got going on the bike however it didn't stay down for very long, it might have been due to accidentally drinking sea water in the swim.

The bike didn't go as well as I had hoped, it was actually 20 minutes slower than I was aiming for, my power meter had been slightly off so was just going on feel and I think I might have gone into Sunday club ride mode. I was so worried about over cooking the bike and going boom on the run, as I hadn't done many longish runs before coming out here. To be honest I might have only done 2 long runs which were a very slow 2 hrs, so I knew I might struggle with the run.

So the bike wasn't great however I should be happy that I got around as the wind was so windy I was surprised I managed to stay on the bike!

The run was 1 long out and back and 2 shorter out and backs. The 1st lap was hot, we ran past the airport and just ran and ran, it felt soooooo long! Although hot I felt comfortable, I made sure I kept on top of my electrolytes and every time there was ice or water I would use it to cool me down. By 14 miles I had ran out of my gels so learnt my lesson there as 2nd half I was just surviving of energy drinks at the fed station. I was pretty happy with my run though, I felt good at the finish.

I only realised at the end of the race that I had won my age group and 1st non pro female, so was super happy!