Expectations were low.
This one was for me. Trying to redeem Ironman Mexico in November, were I had to DNF for the first time ever due to food poising. I gotta admit it got to my head more than it should have. Had so many unnecessary second thoughts before this(ironman Mallorca) race; shape wasn’t near as good as in Mexico, course was super slow, sickness, no swim training… so many build-in excuses. Shows me that the best results sometimes come when you least expect it, if you just put in the work over time, you can come along way with a strong base.
Again. Expectations were low, with the 3,8km marking my 6th swim in total this year. Without sounding to cocky it actually went quite smoothly, and if it wasn’t for a second lap interfering with all the age groupers from the 70.3, it would have been well under 1 hour. Instead I had to accept a 1.00.18, which wasn’t that bad after all.
T1 was looong, but went okay in 5min31secs.
Lost my aroe bottle filled with gels from the get-go. New plan. Decided to grab only energy drink from the aid stations, and gels at some of them. Missed a few, but in general a good plan B. Aimed for 250w average, and 270-300w on the 7.5km long climb up Lluc. Didn’t really manage to find my legs before the climb, which has a 10km “false-flat” lead-in. On the climb itself I actually found somewhat of a rhythm. Technical decent went smoothly. I tried my best to ride clever on the flat parts and on the rolling hills. The bike course had a total elevation gain of 1800-2000m, which meant I had many chances to get out of the aero bars. Even though it meant a slower bike-split, it actually felt good to get out of the aero position at times. On my computer the bike course was a bit to short, which didn’t necessarily meant a fast split, but still a super acceptable time of 4.38.37.
T2. 3min15secs, again – alright.
In my head I wanted to go 4.20-4.45min/km. I could easily calculate that a pace of 4.30min/km would get me under the magic limit of 9hours. So what did I do. Clocked in the first half marathon in 1.29.56 (4.14min/km). It felt good until it didn’t. And I kept on saying to myself: “well I don’t know if I’m capable of this, if I don’t try”. Stupid, yes! But at least I tried. Could have played it more safe, and probably should have, but really wanted to give that sub3 marathon a go. Well, after the first 21k, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep that pace, so adjusted it slightly. The run in general went really well. A bit hot, and insanely crowded as I once again had to interfere with the AGs from the 70.3 (and let’s just say it wasn’t the AG winners part of the race…)😅 In and out constantly on the 7k loop. Made me look super fast compared, so of course I didn’t mind to much, as my girlfriend was watching from the sideline😉Haha.
The last two laps were so brutal, and the walks through the aid stations got longer. But managed to keep it going, and was focused not to have a single km over 4.50min/km, which I sticked to.
Finished the run in 3.08.53 and a total time of 8.56.31. 15th OVERALL. An explosion of emotions. I truly didn’t expect a result like that. Happiness. Redemption. Proudness. All at once.
Wins.
A good learning experience, that allows me to keep on progressing as an athlete and ultimately as a human. I wasn’t 100%, but still manage to pull off my fastest time so far on a not so fast course. Never talk yourself down – I did, and there was absolutely no reason for it. Be your own biggest supporter, I will. Or at least try from now on…
