Ironman UK Through The Eyes of a Late Entrant : Post 2/6
Alrite?….
How’s tricks?
Before we get cracking, let’s get one thing straight here…..
You see this website?….
It’s my church….
And I am the vicar.
The congregation is made up of those looking to be inspired, those who enjoy the banter, those wavering on the could I/couldn’t I question, IMUK first timers looking for a valuable course insight from someone who has ridden the loop well over 100 times and existing Ironmen of all backgrounds and abilities who tolerate me because I make them laugh…..
Either that or they resonate with my words just a little bit as it reminds them of their own personal journeys and maybe, just maybe, they find themselves falling in love with the romance of it all once again.
If you do not like what the vicar is saying, then please leave the church.
Just do us all a favour and refrain from disturbing the rest of the congregation on your way out please.
Cheers.
For those that are new to the party, please allow me to remind you WAGWON here (thats manchester speak for whats going on by the way)
New arrivals should take heed of the following….
It’s really important you understand my background, my journey and where I have come from.
The easiest way I can describe it to you is this.
Picture, if you will, a premier league football match.
At such a match, you have two things…..
You have the crowd, and then you have the players…..
Now It’s fair to say that 99% of the people sat in the crowd don’t ever believe they could become one of the players on the pitch do they?
Well in my mind, the exact same thing can be said of Ironman events.
You see, for a very long time, I was the one sat cheering outside the pub on race day, sinking ten pints and smoking twenty fags as the legendary Ironmen whizzed by on their bikes.
Make no mistake, the craic outside the pub for IMUK is amazing….
Grab yourself a pint, go and stand amongst the spectators, and I guarantee you will hear the majoirty of people around you saying things like this ….
“These guys are legends”
“How the fuck do they do it?”
“I could never do that”
“Do you reckon I could do this Steve?”
“No chance you fat bastad”
“I couldn’t even do the swim never mind the rest of it”
“I took on Millwall in the 80’s but put me in the middle of Penny Flash and i’d shit myself mate”
“It’s impossible for your average man Dave, these guys are all pros”
You get the idea
Now they are not just talking about the people at the front, they are talking about all the Ironmen and that includes YOU.
We must never forget that for the last 20 years, I was one of the people stood in the crowd, saying things like this.
Iron Rookie was just a fat pisshead from Bolton who liked his football (Wanderers of course), his dance music, his pies, his beer and his fags.
Being on the pitch is impossible, right?
The only thing ‘Iron’ about Iron Rookie was the iron in his guiness.
Then one day, (when he was nearly 40) something changed and he ended up embarking on a wonderful adventure.
It all started with a 2.5km ‘fun run'(which felt like completing a marathion to him at the time.)
He then went on to conquer super sprint, sprint, olympic, Ironman 70.3 then full Ironman triathlons together with 5k, 10k 20k and mara run races inbetween.
In january last year he set off on a 6 month training pilgramage to Ironman UK and had one of the most magical experiences of his life.
The people he met on his journey, the banter he had, the ironman bike loop(which he adores) the way the legendary Ironmen treated him, but most of all, the way the supporters in the crowd reacted to him on race day (because he is one of them)….
It was beautiful, the lot of it…
Let me tell you something about Ironman UK.
If you go there with the right attitude, then look into the eyes of those wonderful supporters and feel their love for you as make your way round, I swear to god mate it will make your spine tingle for the rest of your days,
I fell hook line and sinker for absolutely everything about Ironman Bolton so much so that I signed up again at the last minute this year.
Before I go any further, it’s very important that I make one thing perfectly clear to you….
If you have never entered an Ironman event before DO NOT COPY WHAT I AM DOING THIS TIME ROUND.
Buy my book, study my journey, learn from my experiences, learn how to train properly, discover the many things I learnt from the legends and follow my adventure from the very beginning.
Either that or join a tri club filled with Ironmen and learn from them.
Or hire a trained coach. (which I am not)
Even better, do all three.
Take all the bits you like from each one then put em in a big melting pot and then emark on your own wonderful journey.
Just do not try and copy what I am doing this time round!
Are we clear?
Good.
Look, at the end of the day, my 2018 mission can only have one of two possible outcomes:
Number one: I fail – and everybody will say ‘look at that dick – this is what happens when you dont train properly’
Or….
Number Two: I return victorious once again at which point everybody will simply say….
“look at that dick”…..
Either way, it will be fun to place your bets and see what happens, no?
“But you just want to flog us your book rookie” I hear you scream…
Fuk Yeah I want you to buy my book.
My book, This website and my blog is a platform for me to shout to the world about how fukin awesome the pilgrimage to Ironman UK is.
If my book inspires someone to start their own pilgrimage to Bolton and they end up experiencing half of what I did, or if my book makes it easier for those looking to do something for the first time, be that their first super sprint triathlon or their first Ironman, then writing it will have been a success (it’s already helped loads of people – read the reviews)
Here is my dream:
Ironman UK currently has around 3000 entrants and lets pluck a figure out of the air, say 100,000 supporters lining the route on race day. (certainly felt that way to me).
For many first timers, it is one of the most magical experiences of their lives.
What if my work was to help, in some small way, to double this to 6000 entrants and 250,000 supporters?
Can you imagine for one second what that would be like?
The pros, the prize pool, the extra Kona slots, the event, the sponsors, the TV coverage, the effect on the local economy, the overall race experience for all the participants…
If your ‘average Joe’ gets to feel like a rock star because he is realising a dream in front of 100,000 adoring supporters, how is he going to feel realising it in front of a quarter of a million?
It’s going to happen..
Make no mistake…
That day is coming…
I will not stop banging the drum until my dream becomes a reality and the floodgates open.
So, now that we have got all that out of the way, can I tell you what I have been doing this last week or so?
Thanks.
Oh, one last thing….
Please do not think I am bragging about anything here, far from it – look at my time – it’s ‘shit’ as you say (like that matters to your average first timer just looking to ‘get round’? lol)
I am merely stating the facts and to be perfectly honest with you I am just absolutely buzzing that I still appear to be able to ‘do it’….
If it comes accross as ‘peacocking’ then I apologise, that is not my intention.
Its enthusiasm, not peacocking.
Anyhow here goes….
Swim
When I first went to open water my arse went. (and that wasn’t all that long ago)
I think I managed about 5 minutes of doggy paddle before getting out and having a little cry.
Last year I swam 1:30 at IMUK versus at 2:20 cut off.
Since then all I have done is mile pool swims when I could be bothered, which wasnt very often.
On 13th June this year I went down to 3 sisters in Wigan and knocked out a 1:24 full Iron swim which I was gobsmacked about.
On Wednesday of this week I went back down for the training session which was excellent but gruelling.
I got punched, kicked, elbowed, twatted over the back of the head and generally bounced around like a pinball for an hour by the Wigan lot.
Dont let this put you off.
You can have it as ‘hard’ or as ‘soft’ as you like by positioning yourself within the group accordingly.
Me?…. I purposely position myself slap bang in the middle of the pack so I get twatted every week.
I do this not because I am fucked in the head (which I am)
I do it because your perception is your reality.
Think of it like this….
If an eskimo comes to Bolton he will complain that its too hot.
If a jamaican comes to Bolton he will complain that he is fuckin freezin.
My point? you could go for an open water swim all on your own in a nice trnaquill lilly pond surrounded by butterflies and daffodills and I am sure that will be lovely and all that.
But if it all starts kickin off when you come to Bolton, you are going to shit yourself mate.
However, If you go and ‘have it’ with a load of ex ruby lads from Wigan every week, when you come to Bolton it will feel like you are chasing kids round the playground and pretending you are the big bad wolf.
By the way, dont ever go for an open water swim on your own, join a coached group instead, but you get my point…
One other thing.
I did something on Wednesday that I never thought I would ever see myself do,…
I shouted ‘let’s have it’ then ‘dived’ off the pontoon….
Now i’m not being funny, but you know you have ‘cracked’ open water when you can ‘dive’ off the pontoon.
Bike
I have not ridden my bike once since IMUK until the following….
w/c 28th May – first attempt at the loop for nearly a year ended with me doing the walk of shame after about an hour when me sleeve from my jacket which was tied round my waist got stuck in me mech. (schoolboy error)
Walked to the nearest pub, landlady took one look at me and said ‘Ironman?’ then gave me a free pint and one of the locals told his mrs to keep an eye on my bike whist he drove me over to babylon to get the car. (true story).
Sorry, but your average Joe simply can not experience things like this without becoming addicted to it.
Here’s what’s happened since (all of the below relate to one loop of the IMUK bike circuit.)
9th June – First full loop of 2018 – went for it, recorded 3:39 and my PB is 2:38…..have lost an hour…great…more worringly felt absolutely fucked after it – not good….www.strava.com/activities/1627306562
12th June – Slowed the pace right down and felt stronger, but gutted when I looked at the watch and saw 3:48 for the circuit. www.strava.com/athletes/19419523
16th June – looked at my past rides on strava and worked out some checkpoints in terms of where I need to be for a 3:30 loop which is my plan for race day – recorded 3:25 which I was pleased about www.strava.com/activities/1642752251
18th June – I got wind that the course had changed slightly for 2018 so couldn’t wait to get back out and discover the impact of the minor change – recorded 3:21 which I was very happy with because that included a short stop messin about taking pictures www.strava.com/activities/1646532962
19th June – Really Shouldn’t have been going again today but woke up to find the sun beating through the curtains so went for it and recorded 3:12 – felt very fatigued though – consecutive bike days are not a good idea www.strava.com/activities/1648406658
21st June – Met up with Gaz who will be a first timer in 2019. I showed him the circuit and he showed me a thing or two about speed. We recorded a 3:06 loop. it was extremely windy and I know from past experience that the wind can make a massive difference to your times. the thing that pleased me the most about this was that it ranks #144 out of 299 loop rides on strava which puts me ‘above average’ and I cant begin to tell u how absolutely buzzin I am with that. www.strava.com/activities/1652859979
Run
As far as my running goes, it looks like this:
Ironman end (July17) – October 17 – Went on the piss
October 17-March 18 – really focused having a go at getting my run times down with a certain degree of success for 10k and 20k distances.
March-May – gave up and went back on the piss
June 2018 – started running again
The last recorded run on my strava was in March 17 where I ran just shy of 10k in 50 minutes
So far in June I have repeated that run 3 times and it is takin me an hour.
I feel heavy, it feels awkward, it bores me and it feels like a plod.
One thing I mastered last year though, and that is the plod.
The tide is slowly turning as I am starting to feel like I can ‘go again’ when I return to base which is precisely the sensation I am trying to achieve.
I am looking forward to getting out onto the new IMUK run circuit next week.
Weight.
Race day last year I was 12/9
On the first of June 2018 I was 14/10
Today I came in at 14/3
Ok, there is some improvement, but overall it ain’t good and you don’t half feel the extra weight as you train.
Tut Tut silly boy Rookie….
Next Update 30th June
Don’t miss next weeks update where Rookie takes on the new IMUK run route and reports back for all to see!
For exclusive training updates as they happen ‘add’ me on FB or follow me on twitter
To your amazing journey!
Like this article? Then you will love this book, its nearly 500 pages crammed full of hints and tips detailing exactly how I was able to go from zero fitness to completing an Ironman triathlon and covers super sprint, sprint, olympic 70.3 & full iron distances all from a ‘first timer’ perspective – please take a moment to read the reviews on amazon www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Ironmen-Iron-Rookie/dp/1974002322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529099273&sr=8-1&keywords=iron+rookie
Are you currently training for or aspiring towards IMUK and want to come and recce the route but don’t know the circuit and need somewhere to stay? then click here www.iron-rookie.com/b-b-tours/
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