Iron Man are you eating and drinking enough?
Posted on by Gary Land
Richard Thompson - Transition 1 was a whirlwind and before I knew it I was one my Pinarello going 45km/hr. My left glute was cramping immediately on the bike. I threw down a Powerbar Gel earlier than planned which quickly solved any cramping issues. At the 40km mark I was in a group with Johnsen, Mckinnon and Williams and we were 3mins back from the leader. After a hard 30km of riding we had dropped Johnsen and we were flying down to Lake Dunstan. Holding speeds upwards of 60km/hr, by the 100km mark the gap to the leader was now holding steady at 5mins. I was feeling fantastic although I was consuming much more calories than I had planned . At 120km we made the turn around Lake Dunstan and went into a headwind that I have never experienced before. All of sudden we were working extremely hard just to hold 20km/hr. We averaged 20.4km/hr for the next two hours of the race. I was quickly running out of gels and because of the headwind it took an hour to get to each aid station. My energy stores were being sapped quickly.
By 160km we were only 200m off second place but I was so depleted in energy I couldn’t bridge the gap. Mckinnon and Williams rode off and left me to ride the remaining part solo. After five hours, I was very happy to be getting off the bike. I had managed to lose my salt tablets early in the ride which did nothing to help the state of my legs when running into T2. I had a gel in transition, put my shoes on and tackled the start of the marathon in 6th spot.
Within the first few kilometres I knew it was going to be a long day in the runners. I got to the first aid station and was in desperate need of some calories. Surprisingly all my stomach wanted was solid foods, so I took a helping of cookies and kept running. The run course, although incredibly beautiful, was demanding on the legs and it took 20km before I got into a rhythm. I unfortunately slipped back a place in the later stages of the run but my primary goal at that stage was just to finish. In 9 hours and 29mins I crossed the line in 7th place overall. It was an incredibly hard first professional Ironman but I am very happy that I got through it.
I felt a little dejected as it was a case of what could have been had I packed more Powerbar Gels. Nevertheless, the best lessons are often learnt by our own mistakes, and I am looking forward to racing in 2011.
My first professional Ironman couldn’t have happened without the support of a great team. I would like to thank Felix Walchshoefer and Victoria Murray-Orr for putting on a wonderful event and making us feel very welcome. I would also like to thank our homestay family who made our week in Wanaka a truly memorable experience- to Barbara, Mike, Hannah & Seb, thanks for allowing Lise and I into your home and making us feel like family. To my sponsors for sticking by me through a testing 2010, this is only the beginning of a wonderful year of results. To my family and friends for their continued support and to my new coaching team at Trispecific – you got me to a race fit and healthy which hasn’t happened for twelve months, so thank you. Finally, I have saved my biggest thanks to my fiancée. Lise was incredibly encouraging all throughout 2010 and I am looking forward to making 2011 a great year with some excellent racing and for our wedding in September.
My next race is this weekend at the Goondiwindi Hell of the West. I am not sure how my body will react to another effort but I am looking forward to giving the race my all on Sunday.
Train hard and stay safe!
Richard
