• Some training sessions are stars and some are stones, but they are all rocks and we build our walls with them!
  • The only race pace is suicide pace and today seems like a good day to die!
  • The only one who can tell you 'you can't' is you. And you don't have to listen!
  • If you cant win make the guy in front of you break the record!
  • You can keep going and your legs might hurt for a week or you can quit and your mind will hurt for a lifetime!
  • I don’t stop when I’m tired I stop when I’m done!
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Ironman UK 2010 Bolton

Ironman UK 2010 Bolton

Back in 2009 I made a promise to a good friend as encouragement to help him complete an event called Ironman UK.

Lee was in a very dark place during the marathon part of the race at about mile 18 out of 26.2.

"You're doing great mate," I said

"I feel terrible, don't think I can finish," was Lee's reply.

"Mate if you finish this I'll do next years race with you."

I watched Lee run off into the distance and realised the enormity of what I had said. I had just promised to do an Ironman. For those of you who do not know, an Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run or marathon as it is commonly known. The whole event has to be completed in 17 hours or less. Under 11 hours and you are classed as elite and pro athletes finish between 8.45 and 10 hours.

In total you travel 140.6 miles during the day, attainable you may think but at this point I could not swim very well.

So a very nervous Joe entered the 2010 event to be held in Bolton Lancashire at a cost of £300 and decided to have swimming lessons. Between October 2009 and the race in July 2010 I was spending 5-7 hour per week in the pool, one hour with a swim coach and the remainder practising what I had been taught. Once I had mastered the pool the next challenge was open water swimming as Ironman events take place in lakes or seas. For this it is compulsory to wear a wetsuit, bye bye £200. Once kitted out, twice a week I met up with a group of open water swimmers and channel swimmers and we swan as a group in a local reservoir.

Running and bike training included the total training for my week would be between 12 and 20 hours, this included 6 days training per week, 2 sessions per day and 1 rest day, plus lots of food and lots of sleep.

The final and most important piece of the jigsaw with Ironman is figuring out your nutritional needs for the day. Athletes nutrition is taken in the form of energy drinks, gels are bars which are extremely potent and if taken in excess can cause upset stomachs, sickness and having to carry a loo roll wherever you train, but if you do not take enough you suffer from cramps, dizziness, headaches and probably will not finish your event or even black out. Nutrition is different for every athlete and can only be achieved by trial and error.

As the 2010 event approached my friend Lee picked up a nasty calf injury and had to withdraw from the event, leaving me to race alone.

The 2010 Ironman event although very tough went quite well and I finished in a time of 11 hours 24 minutes which for a first timer was brilliant, and gave me a passion for this wonderful sport. I was soon parting with another £300 to enter the 2011 Ironman UK.

This time round I was a lot more experienced. I had spent the past 12 months competing in various triathlons of different distances to a high standard, regularly finishing in the top 15 and in the top 5 of the V40 age group.

As I was training and racing really well I decided to go for it and try and finish under the elusive 11 hour mark, which would give me a sneaky chance of qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii. Simply put this is the world cup of Ironman and it's birthplace, triathletes would kill to race here.

The training regime was as 2010 but faster, longer and much harder. I slept a lot more and my diet was better.

An Ironman race starts 2 weeks before the event with the Ironman Taper. Training is eased back, food is slightly decreased so as not to gain weight and sleep is increased. One week before the diet changes, with no tea coffee or sports drinks, water and juice only. Four days before the race all fibre is cut out - no brown bread, cereal and fruit, three days out refind carbs only pasta, rice, potatoes and chicken for protein. Four to six hour training sessions are replaced with 1 - 1.5 hour sessions.

On the morning of the race myself and friend Marlon were up at 3am, breakfast of rice pudding and jam, 2 bagels and jam and a pot of coffee, then it's water only. Arrival at the race was 4.30 am to put my nutrition onto my bike which had been placed in transition the day before.

5.30am it was time to put on the wetsuit and get ready for the race.

5.45am into the water along with 1300 other potential Ironmen.

6am the cannon goes and it's into the 2.4 mile swim or 2.4 mile fight in water.

7.03am exit the lake 7 mins faster that the past year, a great start and feeling strong. I get through transition in 2 min 30 seconds.

Now the race gets really interesting peeling yourself off a bike after 112 miles and attempting to run a marathon. The strange thing about running straight off a bike is the jelly like legs you get. Triathletes try to combat this in training sessions called bricks - but nothing can really prepare you for the Ironman feeling. Just to put this into context, if you have ever run a marathon you will know how your legs feel at mile 25 but on an Ironman you get the same feeling at mile 1.

Foolishly I was about to make my largest error in my short triathlon career - running without socks. As the run got going, my feet stated to blister by mile six they were quite significant. I had to get my head down and tap out the 8 min miles.

Fuelled by the amazing crowd, lads from Warton Fire Station, my wife and two girls and the wonderful triathlon drug that is flat coke all was going well. That was until mile 23 on the last lap when the marshall said "Great effort mate, keep going only three miles to go" you may be thinking a bit of encouragement from a stranger would be great but the Ironman does strange things to your mind. I took a look at my watch which confirmed my 8 min mile pace and gave me approx 24 minutes left to run. I started to think that a three mile run would normally take me 16 minutes, became really down hearted and started to walk. It was the classic angel on one shoulder devil on the other moment, "you've run far enough just walk" and "pick your feet up and run you whimp". 100m later I picked myself up and began to run again "Just get to the coke - sorry I mean drinks station and you'll be fine" I thought

After the coke fix things seemed rosy again. I hit the town centre in Bolton to a carnival atmosphere, 800m left and the crowd became bigger and louder, 200m left I could just see the grandstand and the famous Ironman red carpet and could hear the compare welcoming home the finishers. Onto the red carpet and the noise was deafening "welcome home 681 Joe Duckworth you are an Ironman" the time 10 hrs 38 min "Elite - Yes". For interest my marathon split was 3 hours 37 minutes, 10 minutes quicker than 2010.

As for Kona and the world championships I came 20th in the 40-45 years catagory out of 297 competitors and the last person to qualify came 12th in my category. I was 120th overall. If I had gone this quick in 2010 I would have been 4th in my category and have been telling you all about the worlds right now. However I was made up with my days work.

All the effort paid off big time, but it wasn't done by myself. I have an amazing wife and children who support me all the way, I have support from my team Chorley Harriers and Tri, I have great friends at Warton Fire Station, some of who where there to see me compete and finish, who listen to all my Ironman stories and put up with all my training and a great physio team at Summit physio who keep me in working order, not an easy feat I can tell you.

So what next? Cozumel for Ironman Mexico on the 26th November 2011. It's a fast flat course, nothing like the Ironman UK course. Lets see if sub 10 hours is possible!

Anybody who has ever contemplated doing a triathlon but has been worried about their ability, don't be it really is the friendliest sport there is, and welcomes all abilities.

Joe Duckworth

I am a 43 year old airport firefighter. I am married to Johanna and I have two daughters Anna & Lucy (my main support network).

 
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