IRONMAN Kärnten-Klagenfurt, Austria
Two weeks ago Adam and El were over in Klagenfurt, Austria for their highly-anticipated full distance Ironman! As expected, they both knocked it out the park with some excellent efforts in all three disciplines. Adam managed to beat his three race aims, a sub-1.5hr swim, sub-7hr bike and sub-4hr marathon – as Hannibal (not that one) once said, “I love it when a plan comes together”. After El’s slight injury mishap earlier in the year, she had a task ahead to get marathon fit once again – turns out that paid off with an excellent result in Austria too. Well done to both in their first Ironman, hopefully not the last.
Here are the highlights of El’s race:
Ironman Austria – Swim Debrief
– 1:14:14
PRO’S
The most beautiful lake I have ever seen in my life. Couldn’t wait to swim in it that I ended up going for a dip on Saturday.
Swimming down the canal and seeing all my supporters and even being able to give them a
was just a surreal experience.
You can hear the amount of support I have in the video
The canal section was also super speedy due to the flow of water and amount of drafting options
CON’S
I was sick 4 times in the swim pen waiting to start, this really worried me that my day was going to be over before it started. I can only put this down to nerves and will think about how to address this going forward
I couldn’t really get into a rhythm, mainly due to not feeling well. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to finish the swim in the first 1000-1200m. When I got to the turning point however something switched and I was fine. I think I glanced at my watch and saw I was doing ok, maybe it was that
- Overall, really happy and feel like I have potential for more
IRONMAN AUSTRIA – Bike
PRO’S
Hydration/fuelling worked perfectly
Well prepared having spent a significant amount of time in the saddle this year
My spectators were bloody awesome, catching me when I needed it
Seeing my speed, and first lap time
No saddle issues
Seeing the professional end their second lap
zoom zoom
Stunning scenery
CON’S
Tried to grab 2x bananas and the slipped out my hand and it was almost like real life Mario cart
The rain meant I had to be more cautious on the descents, some had sharp turns at the bottom
Finding out Adam beat me on the bike
A weird low at mile 75 which was soon over when I saw spectators
That hill on the second loop
IRONMAN AUSTRIA – Run
PRO
No blisters
My mental strategy for coping with a marathon was a lot of fun
instead of counting miles, I used the alphabet and thought of songs beginning with that letter and also got a fellow runner involved
had a nice little sing song until we split ways at about mile ‘K’
I broke my foot in Feb, @samcoxoncoaching had a task on his hands getting me marathon fit but he nailed it
I managed to run 21 miles before opting to walk the aid stations
Carried 8 gels in a flask and realised this was a much better way of fuelling for me
My support was top notch, saw loads of them on course
CON’s
If I could change one thing it would have been having a dry towel in t2 bag so I could dry my feet before putting new socks on. I ended up routing through my swim bag
Wishing I had been able to reach the first timers bell lol