Staffordshire Ironman 70.3- 18/06/17 Katie-Anne Birch
Debi, Charli, Cathy (my fan club) and I arrived at Shugborough on the Friday evening, our camping home until Sunday, the evening after the event. By the time we arrived it was quite late so early to bed ready for the busy day we had ahead.
On Saturday morning I woke up about 7am ready to head off for registration at 8am. I had made an itinerary for the weekend, which included everything I needed to do and know which made me feel calm and reminded me of everything I needed to do.
At registration I received my race pack, bag, and athlete wrist band. Then a quick visit to the expo (so many bright shiny things😊), I bought a top which had everyone's names on the back as a souvenir of my first 70.3.
Then back to the van, for a bacon sandwich, my sort of pre-race food!! I carefully put my kit into the T1 bag and made sure my bike was ready to go. I then went to check out the swim area. The swim course looked really big but I assured myself that it was only 1900m, I think I thought it was so big as I’ve only ever really swam smaller loops in open water anyway I worked out the swim route and where I would start from, the run from the swim exit into the T1 tent was quite far, about 400m, luckily, they were going to carpet it so the stones wouldn't hurt our feet. I then headed into T1, the race official checked my helmet and bike over and then let me in to rack my bike. I have never seen such a big transition before, it was massive!
Debi, Charli, Cathy (my fan club) and I arrived at Shugborough on the Friday evening, our camping home until Sunday, the evening after the event. By the time we arrived it was quite late so early to bed ready for the busy day we had ahead.
On Saturday morning I woke up about 7am ready to head off for registration at 8am. I had made an itinerary for the weekend, which included everything I needed to do and know which made me feel calm and reminded me of everything I needed to do.
At registration I received my race pack, bag, and athlete wrist band. Then a quick visit to the expo (so many bright shiny things😊), I bought a top which had everyone's names on the back as a souvenir of my first 70.3.
Then back to the van, for a bacon sandwich, my sort of pre-race food!! I carefully put my kit into the T1 bag and made sure my bike was ready to go. I then went to check out the swim area. The swim course looked really big but I assured myself that it was only 1900m, I think I thought it was so big as I’ve only ever really swam smaller loops in open water anyway I worked out the swim route and where I would start from, the run from the swim exit into the T1 tent was quite far, about 400m, luckily, they were going to carpet it so the stones wouldn't hurt our feet. I then headed into T1, the race official checked my helmet and bike over and then let me in to rack my bike. I have never seen such a big transition before, it was massive!
I had been hydrating and eating well all day, and enjoying time in the shade with my legs up so I was all rested for race day. As it was a split transition I then sorted out my kit for the T2 bag, I had included sun cream in both of my transition bags as it was guaranteed to be at least 28 degrees all day. I walked over to T2, familiarised myself with where to re rack my bike as it was a split transition and dropped my bag and looked for the run exit.
The race briefing made it all seem very real. I pretty much knew everything that was said because as it was my first time I had read all the rules, athlete guide and the swim, bike and run guides. They had mentioned the hot weather and told us all to forget our times and focus on crossing the line alive and well, I agreed with this as I haven't done any training in the heat.
That evening Cathy made us dinner, we had pasta with chicken and sausage, it was very yummy! I then organised the stuff I would need for race day and my nutrition to put on my bike in the morning.
As it was an early start in the morning and I needed to catch a shuttle bus to Chasewater I decided that I should get the 5:25am bus. I then went to bed at about 9:45, I pretty much fell straight asleep and slept really well, I thought I would be really nervous but I knew that everything was ready and I needed a good night's sleep to feel good in the morning.
The race briefing made it all seem very real. I pretty much knew everything that was said because as it was my first time I had read all the rules, athlete guide and the swim, bike and run guides. They had mentioned the hot weather and told us all to forget our times and focus on crossing the line alive and well, I agreed with this as I haven't done any training in the heat.
That evening Cathy made us dinner, we had pasta with chicken and sausage, it was very yummy! I then organised the stuff I would need for race day and my nutrition to put on my bike in the morning.
As it was an early start in the morning and I needed to catch a shuttle bus to Chasewater I decided that I should get the 5:25am bus. I then went to bed at about 9:45, I pretty much fell straight asleep and slept really well, I thought I would be really nervous but I knew that everything was ready and I needed a good night's sleep to feel good in the morning.
I had set my alarm for 4:40am and when it went off I woke up thinking I’d overslept, I was shocked that I didn't feel tired, I was excited. I had my breakfast of porridge and got all my stuff together and headed to the shuttle buses. We arrived at Chasewater at 6:12 and I went straight into transition, it took me about 10 minutes to find my bike tyre! I put my bottles on my bike and strapped on my saddle bag with all my nutrition (flapjack and jelly babies). I had also taped one gel to my bike to have towards the end of my bike so I would be ready for the run. I pumped up my tyres and then just hung around in transition for a while, I was waiting for it to close so I knew that my bike was how I left it. After a while I left and went to stand outside and put my suncream on where I could still see my bike. A man came over and asked if he could borrow my suncream, we had a nice chat and it made me feel a bit more settled. I received some texts wishing me good luck and my Dad rang me to say he was on his way.
At about 7:15 Debi, Cathy, and Charli arrived and over the load speaker system I got a shout out for being the youngest athlete racing, it was quite cool to know I was the youngest person on the course!
With wetsuit on they called my wave to go to the pens, I said goodbye to everyone and then went to the pen. It was a rolling start, so we got in a pen for our estimated swim time, after no time we headed onto the pontoon. I chatted to some people I was stood near and then I got in and off I went.
The swim was lovely, the water was about 20 degrees so really warm. I got into my pace and swam. I picked people off as I saw them, passing quite a few people in the wave before me before the first buoy. After that it was a long way across the back of the reservoir before we turned towards the swim exit. My hat kept slipping further off my head which was annoying so after a while in would just pull it down a bit every minute or so. It soon came to the final turn towards the swim exit. At this point the swim became less enjoyable, people started to attempt to grab legs and swim over you, I kicked quite hard to warn people away and went towards the swim exit. I stood out of the water onto the ramp and immediately took my hat and goggles off. I felt dizzy but started the trek to T1, it felt like I was doing a half marathon then! You could already feel the heat, I checked my watch and knew that I had done a swim time slower than what I wanted, 37:20, I later found out that the course was longer than 1900m, this made sense with what my watch was telling me too.
At about 7:15 Debi, Cathy, and Charli arrived and over the load speaker system I got a shout out for being the youngest athlete racing, it was quite cool to know I was the youngest person on the course!
With wetsuit on they called my wave to go to the pens, I said goodbye to everyone and then went to the pen. It was a rolling start, so we got in a pen for our estimated swim time, after no time we headed onto the pontoon. I chatted to some people I was stood near and then I got in and off I went.
The swim was lovely, the water was about 20 degrees so really warm. I got into my pace and swam. I picked people off as I saw them, passing quite a few people in the wave before me before the first buoy. After that it was a long way across the back of the reservoir before we turned towards the swim exit. My hat kept slipping further off my head which was annoying so after a while in would just pull it down a bit every minute or so. It soon came to the final turn towards the swim exit. At this point the swim became less enjoyable, people started to attempt to grab legs and swim over you, I kicked quite hard to warn people away and went towards the swim exit. I stood out of the water onto the ramp and immediately took my hat and goggles off. I felt dizzy but started the trek to T1, it felt like I was doing a half marathon then! You could already feel the heat, I checked my watch and knew that I had done a swim time slower than what I wanted, 37:20, I later found out that the course was longer than 1900m, this made sense with what my watch was telling me too.
In T1 I dried my feet put on my socks, bike shoes, helmet and carried my sunglasses in my hand and ran out towards my bike, luckily I found it quite quickly, I gave it a check over and headed out of T1. I hooked my sunglasses over the top of my trisuit, they soon fell out and broke (they have since been fixed), I shoved them down my top and hopped on bike. As discussed with Brian I took the first bit of the bike quite easy, I had some food and drink and got into it, I was being passed quite rapidly and ended up telling myself it was time to get going. I got into my rhythm and started to pass those who passed me earlier. The bike course was rolling, this worked to my advantage, I would pass people on the uphill section and stay ahead on the downhill and then they would pass me on any flat sections however it wasn’t really flat for very long. I lost one of my water bottles fairly early on the bike which was unfortunate as it had my electrolytes in which I actually prefer to the energy so I just sipped on the energy drink until the next feed station where I collected a water. I tipped this on my head and drank some and was on my way. I then made a big mistake as I was going through the second feed station and decided to throw my nearly empty water into the litter section so it would be replaced with a fuller one. I caught the first one but when I tasted it, it wasn't water so I threw it and got ready to catch the water but I missed. I carried on when I should have gone back. I had been taking on my solids well but in the heat I needed the hydration. After another 5 miles I started to feel weak and knew that I needed water as my other bottle had run out, I was going slow, people who I had passed earlier were catching me, after about 10 minutes of slow cycling I got my act together, took my gel and started pedaling to get me to that feed station. I got the water poured some over me and then added and electrolyte tablet of my own.
The bike was fairly hilly which I liked and I had looked at the map and elevation and could see that there was one big hill towards the end, I thought I had done it, I was wrong. There was a really long hill all up through Cannock Chase, it seemed to last forever but by then we were so close to home and I was so excited. The bike seemed to pass really quickly and all I could think about was the run. I knew that I was going to get into T2 at about 4 hours so I was happy. Anyway, what goes up must come down so we had a long downhill before cycling past the runners and into Shugborough estate. When I arrived at the dismount line I was pleased to see my Dad and Debi Charli and Cathy cheering me on, I was on a good time and had completed the bike in 3:18, it was what I was expecting and felt happy as there were more hills than I realised.
The bike was fairly hilly which I liked and I had looked at the map and elevation and could see that there was one big hill towards the end, I thought I had done it, I was wrong. There was a really long hill all up through Cannock Chase, it seemed to last forever but by then we were so close to home and I was so excited. The bike seemed to pass really quickly and all I could think about was the run. I knew that I was going to get into T2 at about 4 hours so I was happy. Anyway, what goes up must come down so we had a long downhill before cycling past the runners and into Shugborough estate. When I arrived at the dismount line I was pleased to see my Dad and Debi Charli and Cathy cheering me on, I was on a good time and had completed the bike in 3:18, it was what I was expecting and felt happy as there were more hills than I realised.
T2 was good I was sat putting on my shoes and telling myself that it was only three laps, a warm up lap, a run lap and a victory lap. I applied sun cream and ran out of T2, I stopped for about 3 cups of water, I drank two and poured one over my head, then put my cap on. It became apparent that the run was going to tough, even running in the shade wasn't nice. As I came over to the first feed station I saw my fans which was encouraging. They reassured me I was doing well. I had some pepsi and water again and carried on, I had brought my own gels and shoved them in my trisuit so I didn't have to carry them. The weather was scorching, people had hoses, power washers, sprinklers, water guns and buckets of water out their houses and were throwing it at us. I don't know what I would have done without being drenched in water every mile or so. It was too hot to run the whole way, so I decided to do a run-walk, walk the hills and then run the rest. After the big hill I ran the rest of the lap with a man called James, he encouraged me to run more and we made it round by walking through the aid stations. I would have two or more waters and a jug over my head, a pepsi and then more water, I would take my gels when I felt I needed them. I ended up having only 3 during the run, I had planned to have 4 but it got to a point where swallowing them just wasn't nice and the pepsi seemed to do the same job.
At the start of lap two I saw everyone again and I let James run on as I wanted to walk. I found some ladies and we started chatting about what lap we were on, how we were feeling, how long we’d been racing triathlon and 70.3 etc, it was really nice. There was a pub just as you started to head downhill after the big hill, they had Bon Jovi ‘Living on a prayer’ blasting, people dancing, singing and cheering, it was amazing and a real motivator. I hadn't noticed but I'd actually passed James on the second lap and towards the end he came up behind me so we ran together for a bit.
Lap 3, I knew I was so close to the end, I was tired but still so happy, I had been smiling the whole day and I wasn't going to stop. I started lap 3 well, I passed a girl called Bella who was walking, I could see she was from my age category from her number, I told her to run with me and again we did a run-walk (walked the hills and ran between markers we set ourselves). We had a great chat and it was really lovely to talk to someone closer to my own age. As we got towards the end of the lap, I knew the finish was in sight but my legs had gone so stiff. Bella really helped me push for the last mile, we said goodbye as she had another lap to do and I headed for the finish line.
I managed to find some energy to sprint down the finishing chute round the corner and to the red carpet. I sprinted past a few others with what can only be described as the biggest smile ever! I was so happy I had finished, I knew the half marathon had taken me ages but I didn't care. I had finished, I had completed 1900m swim (or more), 56 mile bike and a half marathon. I collected my medal, waved to Cathy, Debi, Charli, my Dad and walked over to the recovery area where I sat and rested for a few minutes. I then got up to eat a well deserved pulled pork roll, watermelon and drink a few bottles of water. My final time was 6:46:48 meaning the half marathon took me 2:40, which was very slow but understandable due to the heat. I finished in 4th place in the female 18-24 category. I enjoyed every minute of it, even when it was difficult I knew that I had trained to be able to push past it and make it out the other side.
At the start of lap two I saw everyone again and I let James run on as I wanted to walk. I found some ladies and we started chatting about what lap we were on, how we were feeling, how long we’d been racing triathlon and 70.3 etc, it was really nice. There was a pub just as you started to head downhill after the big hill, they had Bon Jovi ‘Living on a prayer’ blasting, people dancing, singing and cheering, it was amazing and a real motivator. I hadn't noticed but I'd actually passed James on the second lap and towards the end he came up behind me so we ran together for a bit.
Lap 3, I knew I was so close to the end, I was tired but still so happy, I had been smiling the whole day and I wasn't going to stop. I started lap 3 well, I passed a girl called Bella who was walking, I could see she was from my age category from her number, I told her to run with me and again we did a run-walk (walked the hills and ran between markers we set ourselves). We had a great chat and it was really lovely to talk to someone closer to my own age. As we got towards the end of the lap, I knew the finish was in sight but my legs had gone so stiff. Bella really helped me push for the last mile, we said goodbye as she had another lap to do and I headed for the finish line.
I managed to find some energy to sprint down the finishing chute round the corner and to the red carpet. I sprinted past a few others with what can only be described as the biggest smile ever! I was so happy I had finished, I knew the half marathon had taken me ages but I didn't care. I had finished, I had completed 1900m swim (or more), 56 mile bike and a half marathon. I collected my medal, waved to Cathy, Debi, Charli, my Dad and walked over to the recovery area where I sat and rested for a few minutes. I then got up to eat a well deserved pulled pork roll, watermelon and drink a few bottles of water. My final time was 6:46:48 meaning the half marathon took me 2:40, which was very slow but understandable due to the heat. I finished in 4th place in the female 18-24 category. I enjoyed every minute of it, even when it was difficult I knew that I had trained to be able to push past it and make it out the other side.
Thank you Brian from Natural Ability Performance Coaching who made it all possible, the training plans, support, advice and encouragement he gives me is what got me to the finish line. I am so grateful for everything. Also need to thank my fan club (Debi, Charli, Cathy), my dad for coming to watch me and making the weekend stress free. Also thank you to anyone who has given me advice, helped or encouraged me along the way, it means so much to me. Now I'm recovering so I can be ready for the next middle distance race in September. Hopefully by then I will have improved my run despite the weather!
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