Iron man Lanzarote full Iron Man – 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.22 mile run
This race was epic and very difficult , Laza is known to be the hardest Iron on the planet but to add to it I’ve been sufering with Quadriceps tendinopathy in both legs, To put it in perspective if it flares up my race could be over as my leg seizes up.
Now for the race! I started with 2.3 mile swim and did it in 1.04 which placed me in the top 30 AG out of about 1100 people. I feel I could have swam quicker if I’m honest – next time I’ll start with the fast bunch. Coming out the water my injury flared up and was killing me, getting in and out of transition was excruciating as I couldn’t move my leg – but me being me I battled on even know my race could be all but over before the 112 bike and 26 mile marathon.
The bike for the first 32 miles i had to use only my right leg, my left only moving as a consequence of being clipped in, the turning point was around mile 60 when my leg pain reduced significantly but still stiffened and weak I was able to pull back my bike time from a 13mph average (horrific) to 16.3mph average allowing me to finish at in 6.hr 50min and under the 7hr mark.
T2 – hung my bike shattered from the pain and effort and mentally drained knowing my marathon might not happen – imagine sitting on a bike for 112 miles thinking you might not be able to run the marathon – rough!
The Run – I set off and my leg was on fire but I just plodded on never stopping other than at the aid stations to drop water on my head. After about mile 6 I tried upping the speed but injury or not both legs were not moving like they should. The injury and mega 60mile bike effort to pull back my time had taken it out of me, however I never stopped and finished race in 12.33 in-total which was only half hr slower than I wanted. Im still in shock and can’t believe I even finished, how I pushed through the pain and suffering is a miracle Im very happy with how it and just shows with hard work and dedication you can do anything.