Ironman Austria - A Big Club Day Out

Congratulations to the five members of Galway Triathlon Club (four of whom were first time IM attempters) who travelled to Ironman Austria in July. Here is Fergus' report.

You can see some more pictures if you go into the gallery on the left hand side of the website main page and select 2009/ IM Austria. Gerry has declared his finishing photo as 'the worst Ironman finish photo ever' - but what a great race the guys all had.

IRONMAN AUSTRIA - 05 JULY 2009

5th July 08, Gerry Staunton, Martin Keniron, Aidan Currie, Pat Burke and myself were patiently waiting for the on-line application to open for Ironman Austria 2009. At 11pm Irish time, the journey began with confirmation that my application was accepted along with the other lads. The 2,500 slots were filled in 40 minutes, reassuring me that I was not the only lunatic in Europe! The acceptance was met with excitement and nervousness.
The training plan was the next concern, so after talking to a number of members in the Club who had previously completed an Ironman, agreement was reached that Gerry, Aidan and I would follow the Don Fink 'Iron Fit Bible'. This book proved to be an excellent read with 3 plans for the novice, intermediate and competitive athletes. We began the 30 week intermediate plan in January 2009, through the 3 phases - the base, build and peak - with a view to having us at our best on race day. Chris Burke who completed Ironman Austria in 2007 made the point that people should get the medal for doing the training alone as that is the hardest part!   There were days when Aidan and myself spent 7 hours on the bike, numb with the cold, and try to imagine having to complete a marathon after that. Chris was like our personal sports psychologist, a great source of information and support to us. I could talk about the training for hours, but external to that I think the most productive thing I did was to keep a detailed diary of all my training sessions. I used this diary as a psychological crutch as there is no better comfort than cold hard facts. The weeks before departure flew by and my mind seemed permanently absorbed in preparation. List upon list was prepared in an effort to ensure that every eventuality was addressed and all were double checked. The saying goes 'people don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan'.
We flew into Venice on 1st July and drove for four hours to Klagenfurt, Austria.   Our hotel was conveniently situated 300 meters from the Ironman village. We spent a few days surveying the bike and run course, chatting to the other participants about the race and taking every opportunity to rest and carb-load. The registration was seamless along with the race briefing and the professionalism of the race organisers was very reassuring.
The race day finally arrived. I woke at 2.30am and consumed 2 Insure Plus drinks (similar to Complan) which contain 350 calories in each drink. Ray Glynn had given me this tip. I went back to bed and got up for breakfast at 4.30am - consisting of 2 bananas, cereal, coffee and bread rolls. It was difficult to eat due to the nerves but I made sure I ate well. At 5.30am we went down to the transition area to check our bikes and again ensure we had not forgotten anything. At 6.30am we were advised to head to the start line on the beach. The mist on the lake was haunting, the hot air balloons and helicopters helped heighten an already electric atmosphere. 'Thunder struck' from ACDC was playing and the realisation of what lay ahead was tangible. All I could think was 'bring it on!' There were 2 beaches on the lake either side of the jetty- one side for the faster swimmers, the other for the slower. At 7am the gun went off and a hail of fireworks lit the sky above Lake Worthersee - we were off! The start was truly scary - I got a few kicks in the head but after 5 minutes or so it settled down.   The mistake I feel I made was going in the slower side. Had I gone from the other beach, I could have let the faster swimmers off and had clean water after that.   The last 800 meters of the swim lead through a canal about 10 metres in width. I managed to get to the front of my group and so had an easy swim from there on in. I emerged from the water in 1 hour 38min feeling good and looking forward to the bike.

Transition was well organised and I took my time to change for the bike and dry my feet to avoid blisters. I drank a Diarolyte in transition that I had prepared earlier as the day was going to be very hot, peaking at 32 degrees. I settled into the bike and started slowly. I had committed to a feeding strategy which required me to eat and drink every 20 minutes. This worked well for the first hour, but after that I struggled as the solids began to repeat on me so I just focused on the energy drinks. The course was undulating but the road surface was excellent and made Shanafesty seem like a dirt track. There were two steep climbs at both 35km and 65km in each of the two loops of the bike course, needless to say the down hills were great! The crowds on the course were reminiscent to that of the Tour de France and their enthusiasm certainly lifted my spirits. Although I came through the 90km point in 3hours 8mins feeling reasonably strong, at 110km I began to vomit and not even the fluids would stay down. The heat was stifling. I stopped once or twice just to gather my thoughts and tried to drink water but this also proved futile. I came to the climb at 125km feeling really weak, but dug in deep. My brother-in-law John was there, along with my wife Ann-Marie, so I just kept it going for them . At the summit I was greeted by a man who told me to drink a bottle of Coke, which I did and amazingly it stayed down! After 3 or 4 minutes I felt almost human again and my stomach began to settle. At the next feeding station my love affair with Coke was well and truly cemented - another bottle, then a gel and I made it back to transition. I was so delighted to get off my bike and face into the marathon - I knew then that I would finish, even if I had to walk!
My marathon strategy was to run to each feeding station, walk while I ate and run on to the next station. My food of choice was Coke and the odd gel. One hour into the run and it began to rain which was a welcome relief from the heat and humidity but it didn't last long enough! It was now 7pm, having been 12 hours on the go. The run course was a figure of 8 which brought us by the finish line five times. As each loop represented a 10km run, so this always seemed manageable. The first half of the course ran along the lake side, shaded by trees , then on through a residential area where people would hose us down if we wanted - so I availed of this! My heart rate was around 149 to 153 constant which felt good but when I got hosed down it dropped dramatically to 141 - which will give some idea of the temperature on the day. I also tried putting ice in my cap to cool down - not so effective, as being bald meant the ice burnt my scalp! Again, the streets were filled with thousands of people cheering support, encouraging you to run rather than walk. However, after 21km I did walk for 3km of so just to recharge the batteries, followed then by a speed walk and jog strategy. Ann-Marie and John gave me the Irish flag with 1.5 km to go. I ran as fast as I could, every emotion and thought racing through my mind. After 14 hours and 20 minutes I crossed the finish line, with the stands full of people cheering, the lights flashing and the music pumping. This was the perfect finale to a life long ambition and a title I will cherish forever. The beauty of technology made it all the more wonderful as my children, family, friends could all share this moment live on the internet. I will guard my medal, certificate and finishers t-shirt with my life, as this journey has taken me 2 and a half years to be realised, and given me memories that will last a lifetime.
I would like to say a big thank you to my wife and children for all their support and sacrifices they made to make my dream a reality. To my many friends in Ironman putting Galway Tri Club on the map in Austria 2009 - Aidan Currie, Gerry Staunton, Martin Keniron and Pat Burke - all who all finished with amazing times and kept me focused and motivated throughout. Thanks also to Chris, Aidan, Dave, Miriam, Enda, Riley, Ruth, Garret, Deirdre, Rory, Andrew, Roisin, Ray, plus all those who constantly encouraged and pushed me when I needed it. I owe you all a debt of gratitude. Lastly, a special word of thanks to our fellow Ironmen: the '3 Degrees' - Karen, Debs and Gabrielle from Wicklow Tri Club, and the infamous Sean Finn from Cork Tri Club for all their support and friendship in Austria.

Fergus Dunne.

Team GTC