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{"ID":94,"SpaceID":5,"PageID":41,"HasCommentsThread":false,"SeoTags":{"OpenGraphTags":[{"ID":"og:title","Name":"Going Long Pt 3 - You are Ironbourne!"},{"ID":"og:type","Name":"website"},{"ID":"og:url","Name":"https://www.petersfieldtriathlonclub.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NA2/Going+Long+Pt+3++You+are+Ironbourne"}],"NonOpenGraphTags":[]},"Path":"Going+Long+Pt+3++You+are+Ironbourne","Title":"Going Long Pt 3 - You are Ironbourne!","Author":{"ID":4,"Name":"Fred McCaig","CompanyName":null,"HasEmail":true},"Version":1,"IsDraft":false,"IsOldVersion":false,"PublicationDate":"25/02/2024 14:16","VersionDescription":"v1 - Fred McCaig","HideHeader":false,"IsFullWidth":false,"ThemeCode":null,"BackgroundColour":"rgb(182, 47, 61)","JumpLinks":[],"Blocks":[{"Columns":[{"Width":8,"WidthClasses":"col-md-8 col-sm-12 col-xs-12","Elements":[{"ID":529,"Type":"HTML","Content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eWelcome along to the\u0026nbsp; last part (for now!) of the going long series of race reports! To finish things up we have our most recent long distance debutant, Ross Gentry, to talk us through his experiences in the build up to and completing Ironbourne! Sit back, relax and enjoy the swim, bike and run!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eWhy?\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eI’ve completed a few triathlons, mostly Olympic distance, and one half IM in Exmoor a few years ago. I’ve also done the River Dart 10k, London Ride 100, a bunch of Sportives and half marathons, but never a Marathon, so, after my 10th rejection from the London Marathon ballot (actually, now 11!), I started to wonder what else is on my ‘bucket list’ of things to achieve, or at least attempt, whilst I’m still in reasonable shape. I suggested doing an IM relay with Matt and Jamie, but it didn’t ‘sit easy’ – it’s like cheating, running a marathon at the end, fresh as a daisy, whilst lots of other competitors have already put in hours of work! Then I checked the cost of an affiliated IM entry!! This is how I ended up at the start line of Ironbourne: half the price, but the same physical achievement, and no relay ‘cheating’.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eBuild-up\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eIt was great to have Adam Hughes (\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.torquetri.com/?fbclid=IwAR3H-h7D2J5QVia5BPo05MPlQqrwqgJD58gYPBOaOanQ8XgKPfPvFDi3QAU\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ehttps://www.torquetri.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003e) on-board for free ??, writing me a 12wk plan up until event day, helping me out as part of his BTF accreditation. It’s not difficult to motivate yourself to train when you know someone has put work into writing out a plan to get you to the start line in the best possible shape. The challenge for me, and probably for most other people, is/was fitting in the volume of training around working a full week and family commitments. Thankfully, the weather was kind in May and June, so my long weekend rides weren’t hampered by the ‘fair-weather-cyclist’ inside me.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eSadly, 4weeks before the race, and about 15miles into a long run, I got some pain in my right knee, later diagnosed as patella tendonitis. This led to a lot of isometric stretching exercises and restricting the running to short brick sessions with a patella strap, to protect it for the big day. Bike ‘issues’ the week before the event also added to the pre-race stress, thankfully resolved by a combination of Jez and Owen’s (Right Bike).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eEarly Start\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eSunday began with a horrible 4am alarm, followed by stuffing my face with as much over-night-oats/nuts/fruit as possible. With the knee issue a bit of an unknown I decided to just ‘go for it’ on the swim and bike, and see what happened during the little jog, to the finish line!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003e2.4/3.8k\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eI was delighted to see a nice flat sea as the sun came up. The calm (although damp) weather, and the staggered start were a great way to start the day. Each competitor made the 3m jump, off the end of Eastbourne Pier into the sea, starting just before 6am. The swim went brilliantly, I took full advantage of the strong current heading west, and tucked in-between the groynes to minimise the drag on the way back, which not many people seemed to be doing. There were certainly no feet to get onto. I got out the water in 7\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e\noverall (apparently), didn’t quite believe the watch when I stopped it on the beach! There was then a little jog over up the beach and over the hill into transition, where, having decided these were my only 2 breaks in the day, I made zero effort to be quick! My only disappointment in transition was that I hadn’t left a cup of coffee or a camp chair.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003e112/180k\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eI set off on my 10yr old Holdsworth Trentino, fully loaded with a well-planned, and practised qty of flapjack, chocolate bars, gels and jelly-babies, and the Garmin set to beep at me every 10/20mins to remind me to drink/eat. The course was lovely and *flat, which meant I could tuck in on the aerobars for large parts, having to put in a bit of raised effort to get past people, ever conscious of the non-drafting rules. It gave me great pleasure, after about 20km - passing the guy next to me in transition, who’d been talking about the £15k he’d spent on his bike ??. I made use of the occasional incline to get out the saddle, straighten the back, and double-check my perinium was still in one piece.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003e*until about mile 102, when it was up over beachy head. Fortunately, living in the South Downs ensures you’re well prepared for hills, so I managed to drift past a couple more people.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003e26.2/42.2k\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eI was welcomed into T2 by the family, cheering me on, which was a great pick-me-up heading into “the unknown.” My one little bit of transition advice: if you’re going to leave a BLT in you transition box, make sure it’s in a sealed plastic box, not the packaging it comes in. Particularly if your triathlon is by the seaside …seagulls!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eWith patella strap on, and K-tape in the run bag, ready to apply if needed, I set off at a steady/slow pace, walking through feed stations to take on fuel and a breather. This was going well, and the knee holding up, up until the end of lap 2/4. This was my ‘mental low’, struggling to get my head round how this was possible to do all over again. It would have been a good point to get a pick-me-up (and the painkillers) from my support crew. Unfortunately, they’d been waylaid by some exciting shopping and the pier arcades!! Poor show …now get the violins out…\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eWhat got me to the end, (through various spurts of cramps in the calves, a knee giving-way, and a shooting pain down my neck to my right shoulder), was breaking up the rest of the run into 5min runs and 1 minute walks – every-one was “the next little goal/challenge.”\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eSummary\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eI was elated at the finish, especially seeing the clock stop on 11:58 (after a horrible 4:24 marathon), and with the family back in attendance. It was a bit of a shock to then discover I’d got 3\u003csup\u003erd\u003c/sup\u003e\nplace in the 40-44 age category …the beauty of entering an event with a small field! ????\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\u0022color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\u0022\u003eA beer and pizza followed, then a roll to the car, although I could have done with a 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