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Ironman Switzerland from the eyes of an RG Active trained athlete

19 Aug 2009 / Coaching

The following report was written by Dave Sandford, an athlete that has used RG Active to help him in his 2 Ironman races. This summer he tackled Switzerland. I hope you enjoy reading about his experience.

“This was my 2nd Ironman and after last years New Zealand Ironman I had a little bit more experience, knowledge, grit and determination and overall the passion to complete another one. Switzerland was my race of choice, as it was closer, plus I had the added competition of my brother competing.

For a 2nd year running I’d involved the team at RG Active to provide me with a training plan and advice which enabled me to focus the last 6 months on increasing my fitness levels, after many months of limited exercise! The training took it’s usual format of slowly building up a base fitness. After a few months came the build phase which involved increasing the sessions and distances and then in the latter period came the peak phase. This was ideal for honing in all that you had learnt and getting race ready.

The build up to the Ironman was fantastic, with so many things to see and do around the Ironman ‘village’. I was able to do a practice swim and bike on the course. I kept the last minute running to a minimum due to a few niggles. Leading up to the race the weather was mixed, with a few heavy downpours, but when the sun was out, the mercury rose quickly, with forecasts for race day suggesting it was going to be in the mid 20′s. (Although come race day, the mixed weather continued, with a few showers, sunny spells and cool wind; ideal race conditions in my opinion).

Race morning as always was an early start, to get the nutrition in and get to the venue and sort out any last minute preparations. But before long I was in the water ready to start. In actual fact the gun went off early due to some eager swimmers at the front, therefore any mental visualisation of my swim was quickly scrapped by the thrashing of the water all around me. The 2 loop course, which involved a run across a small island in the middle, was particularly congested in my part of the swim. I found it difficult to get any space or rhythm. So needless to say I was pleased to exit the water. My watch had stopped in the melee, so I wasn’t clear on my time. Although the results state 1hr 12mins, which was a bit disappointing for me.

Onto the bike section, the initial pace was quick. The flat and cleanly tarmac’d roads allowed this. I worked on a nutrition strategy of a 3rd of an energy bar every 20 minutes and constant fluid replacement of 750ml of water and 750ml of energy drink every hour. The 1st lap was quick for me with a time of 2hrs 51. However the hills of The Beast and Heartbreak Hill had taken it’s toll and cramp had set in. I lost the pace in the 1st 30km of the 2nd lap and started to think that my pace in the 1st lap was too much. I took on some Nuun tablets, a bit more nutrition and started to feel good again. The Beast and Heartbreak Hill came and went. I didn’t feel too bad, although the cramps had continued as I got off the bike. The slower 2nd lap meant I finished the bike in 5hrs 55 mins.

Onto the marathon and the 1st of a 4 loop course. The course involved running along roads, through parks, over the main bridge and following the lake. I quite enjoy 10km runs, but marathons are not my cup of tea! Due to this, I knew I had to mix up the running with walking through the aid stations. I stuck to this plan and it sure enough helped me get through to the finish. The marathon took me 4hrs 31mins, so I finished with an overall time of 11hrs and 46 minutes. As I was aiming for 12hrs, I was happy to get this time, but at the same time knew that I can do better. Therefore it leaves me with only one option…………to enter another one!!

After two of these events now, I can quite easily say that in my perspective Ironman’s are something you have to experience if you have any inclination towards completing a triathlon. There aren’t many events for normal folk to take part in that get that amount of support from spectators. This in itself can be enough to drive you to the finish line. However knowing that I’m going to reach that exclusive mantle and become an Ironman is what drives me!

PS. Just in case you were wondering, my main rival, my brother beat me by 8 minutes, which is not far behind in Ironman terms!”

So there you have it. If you have been inspired by Dave and his story or would like to know anything else about training for an Ironman get in touch with us at www.rgactive.com.

Personally I was incredibly proud of Dave as he has struggled with certain areas of the training for both his Ironman races but has not let that get in his way, he trained well, he has a common sense approach and most importantly he set a new PB. Awesome!

Happy Training

Dermott