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Ironman Switzerland 70.3 RR
Ironman Switzerland 70.3 Race Report
My first 1/2 distance as a prelude to my goal IM Switzerland in July this year- I had only done OD before this as I took up triathlons only last year.
We flew from Dublin and were collected at Zurich Airport by Sports Tours Intl and swiftly
dispatched to our hotel in lovely Rapperswil Jona outside of Zurich. The hotel was full of
athletes competing on Sunday. Centrally located the hotel was an ideal base for the race. A
10 minute walk to the race start. One thing worrying me was the heat 28 - 30 Degrees not great when you
train in 5-9 degrees all spring in Ireland!
Race morning dawned warm again and down to the swim start with a bit of
nerves as it was only my 3rd open water swim. Canon sounds and off we go! - I struggled to calm down
as the swim is my least favourite of the three disciplines - and waited until the main bunch
had moved on and started slowly on the 1.9k course. It took me 10 minutes to find my stroke and keep
my heart beat under any kind of control. I passed a good few people on the return leg happily exiting
in 45 mins [5 mins slower than I had hoped]
T1 - 3.50 quick change and out on the bike course - its was getting really hot now. The road surface was really smooth better than anything I was used to, after 30k the main climbs started with Witches hill and the Beast, alot harder than i was expecting but told myself its
Switzerland [not flat] and it was'nt going to be easyman its a bloody Ironman!.
There were some great downhill sections and according to my Garmin got up to 38mph at one stage!. I finished the first loop in 1hr 28mins bang on where I wanted to be. The second loop seemed alot tougher on the hills and was slower finishing the bike in 3hrs 05 mins total.
T2 - slap on suncream and out in the run course 2 laps the start right beside the finish line which was torture!
at the end of each lap was a section of 88 steps " stairway to heaven" it was called stairway to hell more likely.
everybody seemed to walk up due to the heat. The run was uneventful with both of my loops around 58mins 30 secs to finish the run in
1hr 57mins. I seemed to beat alot of people in my age group on the run, these who finished at least 10 mins quicker than me
on the swim!
Overall 5hrs 54mins 1019th overall
swim 45.26
t1 3.50
bike 3.05
t2 2.35
run 1.57
356/400 swim
305/400 bike
167/400 run
254 out of 400 for my age group 35-40. I was hoping for a 5hr 28ish but could not seem to push on the bike [heat]but delighted to get my finishers medal.
George
My first 1/2 distance as a prelude to my goal IM Switzerland in July this year- I had only done OD before this as I took up triathlons only last year.
We flew from Dublin and were collected at Zurich Airport by Sports Tours Intl and swiftly
dispatched to our hotel in lovely Rapperswil Jona outside of Zurich. The hotel was full of
athletes competing on Sunday. Centrally located the hotel was an ideal base for the race. A
10 minute walk to the race start. One thing worrying me was the heat 28 - 30 Degrees not great when you
train in 5-9 degrees all spring in Ireland!
Race morning dawned warm again and down to the swim start with a bit of
nerves as it was only my 3rd open water swim. Canon sounds and off we go! - I struggled to calm down
as the swim is my least favourite of the three disciplines - and waited until the main bunch
had moved on and started slowly on the 1.9k course. It took me 10 minutes to find my stroke and keep
my heart beat under any kind of control. I passed a good few people on the return leg happily exiting
in 45 mins [5 mins slower than I had hoped]
T1 - 3.50 quick change and out on the bike course - its was getting really hot now. The road surface was really smooth better than anything I was used to, after 30k the main climbs started with Witches hill and the Beast, alot harder than i was expecting but told myself its
Switzerland [not flat] and it was'nt going to be easyman its a bloody Ironman!.
There were some great downhill sections and according to my Garmin got up to 38mph at one stage!. I finished the first loop in 1hr 28mins bang on where I wanted to be. The second loop seemed alot tougher on the hills and was slower finishing the bike in 3hrs 05 mins total.
T2 - slap on suncream and out in the run course 2 laps the start right beside the finish line which was torture!
at the end of each lap was a section of 88 steps " stairway to heaven" it was called stairway to hell more likely.
everybody seemed to walk up due to the heat. The run was uneventful with both of my loops around 58mins 30 secs to finish the run in
1hr 57mins. I seemed to beat alot of people in my age group on the run, these who finished at least 10 mins quicker than me
on the swim!
Overall 5hrs 54mins 1019th overall
swim 45.26
t1 3.50
bike 3.05
t2 2.35
run 1.57
356/400 swim
305/400 bike
167/400 run
254 out of 400 for my age group 35-40. I was hoping for a 5hr 28ish but could not seem to push on the bike [heat]but delighted to get my finishers medal.
George
0
Comments
sub 6 for a first effort...
way to go!
how did your nutrition and hydration work out? pacing? Were you pacing yourself at your expected IM pace, or were you racing the 70.3 as a 70.3? The devil is in the details(for nerds like me anyway!)
didds