Frankfurt Ironman

I know this is very over due. Yet here is a short run down on my 2nd Ironman.

The day finally arrived for the event I had been waiting for. I was up nice and early! (I am always so scared I will sleep in and miss the start.) We set off to the start. It was amazing the amount of people heading out to the lake. A sea of people with such a mixture of emotions, from Nervousness to Excitement, and so so much more! After checking my bike and the nervous pee…. Or seven. I headed down to the lake. The morning was clear and still….. People were already in the lake warming, I could feel my stomach doing flips.

Finally the Pro’s set of with fireworks going off. I was then into the water and ready to swim. It is so nice being in my wetsuit, I was floating and relaxed. There was a fast count down and then the gun and I was off. Yet not for long. I did 3 strokes and I was stopped dead by a big group of swimmers all waiting to go. We all go packed in and were bobbing around till the bottle neck cleared and we were finally off.

Leg 1 Swim: I was moving happily though the water and was feeling really good and swimming in my limits. I got out to do the short run and looked at my watch. I couldn’t believe the time! I had swum really fast and still felt fresh and ready to go. Back into the water and things didn’t go so well. I felt good, yet couldn’t get clear water and was kicked in the head twice and pulled from different directing. I finally got out of the water a little disappointed with my time. I was about 3 mins faster then Taupo, yet think I could have been better.

Transition 1: I headed up to my bag and getting ready for the nice little bike I had coming up. I was sitting down getting my cycling gear on and another guy came running in and sat across from me and he opened his bag and his face dropped….. He stood up to get help and then pulled a running shoe out of his bag! I couldn’t believe it! I had heard of people do this, and was so scared I would. It does seem like a hard thing to do since “BIKE” is printed on the outside of the bag. Also the we were 20km from his other gear!

Leg 2 Bike: I didn’t hang around to see what happened, I was off for my 180km. The road out was packed. Riders were already stopping with punchers. I focused on staying out of trouble and harms way. Then out on to the road and I was off…… Watching my heart rate and trying to relax onto my bike. I was also very aware of other riders I didn’t want to get pinged for drafting.

After about 30mins on the bike I passed though Frankfurt for the beginning of the first lap. I felt good and was moving fast. I couldn’t believe how many people were already on the street watching!

On the second lap I was still feeling good and was moving fast. I was staying sensible as I knew the run was going to be hard! I realized I should have been eating earlier on the bike. I was so focused on getting started fast yet steady that I missed the beginning of the force feeding.

Still I was feeling good and had ridden within myself. Across the tops on the last lap the wind had come up and was really getting strong and I had to really make myself not start to push to hard. The last 8km on the course is down hill and it was great to relax and spin easy before the run.

Transition 2: Came in gave my bike to a helper and was off for my running gear. All went smooth and I was out of there like a shot!

Leg 3 Run: I was ready and pleased to have come though the bike ok, with out drafting and only had 42.2km to go! The run was so nice. Along the River Main in Frankfurt, I had walk along this river so many times and most important had asked my wife to Marry me along the river. Infact the run went passed the very spot!

I set out at a comfortable pace and was moving ok. Not fast yet will get there! I was running though the drink stations and getting what I wanted on the fly. Then after the 3rd station I got a redbull and water and was still running. Then…… Splash I had Redbull in my eyes and man did it sting and I couldn’t see. I blinked and blinked and could start to see with tears flowing down my face. At this point I decided I would walk through the drink stations. My run wasn’t fast and it did get slower and slower, yet I didn’t walk! I ran the whole way! I was watching the time and know I had to speed up if I wanted to get close to the time I wanted! I tried to run faster, and my legs just kept going at the same speed.

Coming to the finish after my 4 laps and 4 wrist bands I was amazed to see people still only had one wrist band! I thought I had had a long day! I turned to run up to the Romer Plaze which was the finish and it was a long red carpet and a huge crowed! I saw my wife and family shouting at me! I couldn’t believe the emotion I was feeling. And looking at the clock! My Time for my 2nd Ironman (3.8km Swim, 180km Bike, 42.2km Run) was 10 hours and 56 minutes.

After finding my way out of the Athletes garden I was so pleased to be able to hug my wife! To be able to share this with her was fantastic!

What a great Day and so much fun! Ironman is a Fantastic event and something to be proud of.

Thanks for reading!

Cameron