Vamos, Marbella 70.3
Challenge
Location Spain
Event Marbella 70.3 Ironman
Date 19th September 2021
Race No. 911
Background
In 2011, I was asked if I would run a marathon and raise some money for Charity. Diagnosed with MS in 2007 and having went through a rough time over the subsequent years, by the time 2011 came around, I was slowly starting to get stronger, and exercise had returned to my life.
Little did I know at that time, but running marathons and competing in other adventure and endurance sports, was about to become a huge part of my life.
Since that time, I have completed 10 marathons, ventured into the world of triathlon in 2014, completing several sprints and Olympic distances initially, progressing in 2015, with the aspiration of achieving the “holy grail” of triathlon – Ironman status.
The good news being that since 2011, I have been on this incredible journey of recovery, healing, progression and personal development.
One of the world’s most famous and successful investors, Warren Buffet, is known for believing and stating that the best investment you will ever make in life, is an investment in yourself - this is something I couldn’t agree more with.
Off to Spain
Last weekend I travelled to Sunny Spain to take part in my 8th Ironman race in the last six years. It was a 70.3-mile race in Puerto Banus, just outside Marbella, a glorious part of the world, in the south of Spain.
This race was supposed to take place in April 2020 believe it or not, but given the global Covid challenges, it was postponed to last weekend, 18 months later.
Like most people, I haven’t flown or travelled in over two years, so I have to say it was fantastic to be able to pack a case again and head off to a warm climate for a few days.
Planning
It’s important if you are considering entering any of these kinds of events, that you plan everything in advance. I have made all kinds of errors and mistakes over the years, whether it being late for check ins, or maybe booking accommodation too far away from the start of the race etc… every single detail counts and will enhance your overall experience of the event.
I made sure to book a hotel which was a few hundred yards from the start line on Sunday morning, meaning I wouldn’t be rushing, or panicking come race day, or that was the plan anyway.
Training
Just to clarify one thing before I get into the race itself, for me I describe myself as a “social Ironman”. What I mean by this Is that I don’t race to finish in any specific time, more to finish the race within the allocated time allowed, and to finish alive off course, very important that.
For the 70.3 races, Ironman allow you 8.5 hours to complete the course, which comprises the following;
o 1.2-mile sea swim
o 56-mile bike
o 13.2-mile run
To get the excuses out of the road, over the last 18 months I have developed a hip impingement, which has meant that I haven’t been able to train for this race properly.
Most experts recommend a 6-month training block for these kinds of events, which includes running twice a week. For me, I was running once or twice a month, and a maximum of 4 miles with each run. I knew and accepted I would be well short of miles in the legs from running, but to be honest, I was hoping that if I can just get to the run, I will grind the half marathon out, one mile at a time.
On the swimming front, I was also well short. Over the last few months, I was probably swimming 1 mile per week max. It normally took me c. 38minutes to swim a mile in a 15-metre pool and given the fact I have a very busy family and business life, getting to the pool is somewhat inconvenient for me. However, I have worked hard on my swimming technique over the years, and although I am not bound for the Olympics anytime soon, I am not bad at all, and, my strokes and breathing has improved a lot over the last twelve months.
Again, although I haven’t been able to get into the sea, I was confident enough that I would be able to manage the swim, fingers crossed.
The bike is a different story altogether. For me, Ironman races are all about the bike. Most people can run or get better at running themselves, you can learn to swim overtime, but the bike is something that you definitely need to work really hard at, and literally put the hours in.
I don’t like cycling that much, as it is very time consuming, and not very convenient for me. I have lots of things to be at, without cycling on my own in the rain, preparing for an Ironman in Spain. The other problem I knew I would be facing in this race was that the bike course, on paper, looked pretty challenging, or mountainous for want of a better word.
For the most part It looked like the course was up behind Marbella in the mountains, proper mountains, not like the hills we see in Ireland, and in particular the ones I had been training on for this race, in Co. Antrim.
Anyway, over the last few months, I was cycling quite often, but the maximum cycle I completed was 30 miles, with a few twenty miles in there, and the rest in and around 15 miles. Again, well short of proper bike training, but I was able to talk my own brain into the fact that I was cycling away, even over training at times J and everything would be fine on the day!!
Race Day
The alarm was set for 5.30am, with breakfast at 6am in the hotel, and with only a 15-minute walk to transition, I had plenty of time to sort everything pre-race.
Bike Transition is a place where you go to complete all last-minute checks. Things like is there enough air in my tyres? making sure my gear is sitting out, ready to go, and to ensure my race nutrition is where it should be.
It’s also quite an anxious place to be as hundreds of athletes are rushing about, panicking, often full of anxiety, particularly those competing in their first race.
For me this year I had plenty of time, my bike was in good order, and everything was well planned. (tick, tick, tick).
Transition closed at 7.40am on Sunday morning, when all athletes had to be down at the beach at the start line, to ensure the race started at 8am sharp.
I was down on the beach around 7.30am and decided to get into the water for 15 minutes to warm up. The sun was just coming up, and it really was an incredible site.
I was hoping the swim might take me 45-50 minutes, so I needed to get a warmup completed, before the start gun.
At 8am the starting gun went, and first into the water as always were the professional athletes.
It was a rolling swim start, when you enter the water at the time you think you might take to complete the swim. I spotted the 50-minute marker, and made my way into the queue of athletes, and started to walk towards the water.
Off I went just after 8.10am, and as always, I immediately veered to the left, to give myself plenty of space to try and get into some kind of a flow state, and allow my body to do the work, as I made my way out to the first buoy, keeping well away from other humans.
After about 20 minutes of slow swimming, I could feel myself in the zone. My technique was good, and I was breathing every four strokes.
It is so easy to panic in the sea, and it can be very overwhelming. Over the last 40 odd years of Ironman events, there have unfortunately been over 50 deaths in these races, with over 40 of the athletes passing away in the water, normally as a result of a heart attack. Not a very positive train of thought I know, but facts are facts, and it does give you a sense of the anxiety people feel.
For me the swimming is all about focus, remaining calm, sighting the buoys, keeping out of people’s way, breathing, making sure my strokes are smooth, and just trying to relax. It really is mind over matter, but a terrific challenge, in itself.
The sea swim is always hectic, people banging into you, swimming across your pathway, pushing, pulling, elbows and feet flying everywhere. Remaining calm and staying out of harm’s way is the name of the game.
50 minutes and 1,486 strokes later, I was leaving the sea in what had to be one of my strongest swims to date. I was really pleased with how my swim had gone, and now it was time to get up to transition asap, get changed, and straight out onto the bike, to see what kind of mountain I was going to destroy.
The bike started with a very straight forward 8km along the motorway, up to Marbella, when we had to do a sharp left, and immediately turn onto a very steep long, brutal looking climb.
I was on the low gear, and even after the first few minutes, it was starting to dawn on me that I was in for a very difficult few hours.
The great thing about these races being the roads are closed, and plenty of police and stewards about, so traffic is one less thing to worry about, which is always a great relief.
90 minutes later and with my legs hanging off, I am still climbing, and now at the top of this mountain. It must have been 25c at this stage, and it was still only 11am.
As we hit the summit, I spotted the road was changing into a downhill section, which was a welcome relief at that stage. However, after a few minutes of passing through a village, we were immediately onto another climb. So, disheartening, especially for a poor cyclist like myself.
The heat was picking up, and when I looked at my watch it was 30c and rising. I was stuck up a mountain, wrecked, with over 40km left to cycle before I got to transition.
My mind was beginning to play all sorts of games with me, including trying to tell me to stop, pull out and get a lift back to transition with one of the Ironman crew. “It’s not a big deal, and not worth the pain, just forget about it.”
However, this was not an option, as I had come too far just to come this far, so mile after mile, I pushed harder on the pedals, and when I passed the 70km mark in the mountains, it was the first time that I was starting to feel I would actually be able to complete the bike course on time.
The last 15km of the bike were fantastic, all downhill, and I felt as if I was getting my second wind. As I hit the corner onto the carriageway for Puerto Banus it was a welcome relief, as in just over 10 minutes, I would be back in transition.
I spent 3hrs 57mins on the saddle on Sunday, and overall, it was absolutely horrendous.
The lack of training had caught me out, no surprise there, but I underestimated the severity of the task at hand, something I did before in the Majorca Ironman in 2015. I never learn:(
Time to Run
I made it to transition, dis-mounted my bike and walked to my slot to change into my running gear. It was now mid-afternoon in the south of Spain, when temperatures were exceeding 30c. It was a hot one.
A few minutes later, I was out on the run course with 13.2 miles ahead of me. If I could just knuckle down over the next 3 hours, I would have my medal.
My race strategy for the half marathon was to run in and around 12-minute miles, walk the drinks stations, and if I needed to walk some of the run, then so be it.
This is exactly how it played out.
The problem you have with these kinds of events, is that no matter how well you think you may be feeling at any given time, suddenly, things can go wrong, and your race could be over.
Things like stomach cramps, muscle fatigue, dizziness, no energy - these kinds of instances happen regularly with many athletes on race-day.
For me, I know my own body, and I wanted to start out slow, steady on my feet, and to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
My strategy was to break the race into four stages of 3 miles, and to take it stage at a time, nice and easy.
You know the old saying, how would you eat an elephant? one bite at a time!!
The ironman is no different. It’s important to have a plan and break the race down into many pieces, and checking each piece off, as you make progress.
It was certainly the hottest I have ever been in a race, but the crowds and atmosphere were excellent, along with the hundreds of stewards and volunteers, who were a source of great encouragement and support, along with my partner in crime Linzi, who was my crew for the day, and at hand to capture some fantastic footage.
I had reached the 20km mark on the run, and with only 1km to go, I knew I was going to finish. Number 8 was in the bag, and I was running up the red carpet for the 8th time, a great feeling of achievement and satisfaction for me.
“Conor, you are an Ironman” is something I don’t think I will ever get sick of hearing.
After 7:49mins I had finally completed my race.
Exhausted yes, but very pleased with myself to get over the line at another one of these races.
Covid
Six weeks ago, on 6th August I tested positive for C19, and spent the next five days in bed. It was rough for me for a few days, which I have previously written about at length in my blog.
I remember lying in bed with the shakes in those first few days of the flu like infection, wondering if I was going to make the start line in Marbella.
At day 10 post the positive test result, I was back out walking again, and day 14, back in the water.
Overall, I missed 3 weeks from my training schedule, and certainly from a preparation perspective, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.
Thankfully, I was recovering well, my confidence was returning, so much so, I decided a couple of weeks ago, to just have a go at the race, and see how far I could get on the day. I am certainly very pleased now that I did.
In those last few miles of Sundays race I was comparing the first few days in bed with Covid, and how bad I was feeling, to 6 weeks later, and on mile 69 of this race.
Isn’t it incredible how fast the body can heal, it never ceases to amaze me.
Times
Total Time 7:47.49 hrs
Swim 47.54 mins 1.2 miles
Cycle 3.56.52hrs 56 miles
Run 2.47.23hrs 13.2 miles
Total distance 70.3miles
10 things I learned from this experience
1. Your health is your wealth – so relevant today. Don’t ever take this for granted.
2. Daily exercise helps you fight disease – I have no doubt the way I live my life, my daily exercise program, my plant-based nutrition, and my lifestyle, helped me recover very quickly and strongly from my covid experience in August, and got me to the finish line.
3. Swimming is amazing – everyone should learn to swim and do it weekly. If you can get into the sea, even better, watch how almost instantaneously, you start to feel so much better. So powerful and amazing for your mental health and all-round wellbeing.
4. The importance of setting goals, achievable goals, that get you out of your comfort zone. One of the worst places you can be in your life is in the comfort zone. This really is a horrible place, a place where disease sets in, resentment, misfortune, and complacency. Avoid at all costs!
5. Being honest with yourself and the role integrity plays in your life. I have been working hard at this over the last few years. It’s a worthwhile exercise. The Ironman challenge keeps me honest. You can’t kid a kidder, and must show up and do the work over many months. I am convinced if you practice integrity in your everyday life, watch how over time, things start to improve, and interestingly, those around you will also become aware of the change in your approach life. Often this will also have a positive effect on those closest to you.
6. The amazing benefits of implementing discipline into how you live your life. Through discipline comes incredible growth. Jim Rohn, the American author, and philosopher, and one of my favourite mentors, talks about discipline often. I am of the view if you can master this characteristic in your life, you can master anything.
7. Keep showing up, and doing the things that really challenge you, every single day. David Goggin’s is a former USA navy seal, and he talks about “staying hard” and to “keep showing up”. He is maybe not for everyone, but a lot of his message in my view, can only make you a stronger person. Life is difficult, and unless you can get an intimate understanding of who you actually are, what you want, and how you are going to get it, people often wander through life aimlessly, and simply “lost and underwhelmed”. There is another pathway, and that’s the path I recommend.
8. Importance of planning and preparation. Be it for a race, a business, family, optimising your health, it always works out much better, if you are well prepared and plan accordingly.
9. Creating a life worth living - As I have got a little bit older, the things that are important to me have become much more central to what I do, and how I lead my life. My lifestyle is aligned to my health and that of my family. Exercise, sport, good food, enriching experiences, spending time with people who love and care about you. This is what life is all about for me. The Ironman in Spain was another great story and experience in my life. I look forward to many more.
10. Discovering your purpose – if you read Victor Frankl’s book, “Mans search for meaning” it really will stop you in your tracks. It has been one of the books, that really helped me on a personal basis, figure out my purpose in life and what direction I should consider heading in.
I think everyone needs a purpose to survive this thing we call living.
If we don’t have a purpose, then life becomes so much more difficult. Every human being has something of value to contribute, and for me anyway, by setting goals and in particular endurance racing, it has allowed me to become much clearer on my own purpose in life. I now know that through tremendous adversity comes tremendous growth, and through tremendous growth comes tremendous adventure. If you can design a life, which encompasses all of this, then I feel this will be a life well lived.
This was another wonderful experience for me, and on reflection, after the preparation for this race, it has to be one of my best performances to date.
I am extremely grateful that I get to compete in these kinds of events and continue to be healthy enough to do so.
The goal for me now is to continue on with my program of recovery through my lifestyle approach to living, to build strength through the autumn and winter months, and to start to work on my new book, which I hope to release in 2022.
If you want to reach out to me, email: conor@conordevine.com
Start line, 7.30am, Puerto Banus