Ironman Germany Report Tim Grinsted E-mail
Tim's adventures in all the gory detail I am not an anxious person and generally most of life’s problems don’t cause me great stress. Then I decided to enter Ironman Germany. Over the past 6 months I have had several sleepless nights and always had nagging doubts especially when work pressures meant I missed training sessions. Imagine my delight to find out that the overall completion time had been reduced to 15 hours (legal action by local residents), the swim was non-wetsuit, the bike was 5km longer and the weather was extremely hot (and I niggled my back as I left the house).
I arrived 2 days early and had another sleepless night making myself ill in the process. By the time the next day came I was resigned to being on a ride I couldn’t get off. Thankfully I managed a few hours sleep before the big day and before I knew it we were in the water ready to go. Seconds before the gun went, I spotted Jane (obviously the last time I was going to see Mrs Wiley that day!). I was not quite prepared for the free for all and spent as much time doing breast stroke on the first loop as crawl trying to avoid swimmers. On the second loop I took a wider angle, no doubt swam extra but at least got into a rhythm. I completed the swim in 1.44.
The bike course was a 2 loop affair accessed by a ride from the lake. It was the first time I had experienced crowds of this magnitude. Once I had glanced over my shoulder and realised that some of the applause was for me and not a pro about to lap me I began to enjoy myself. Children held their hands out to “five” me on the way through and especially on the uphill sections the support was intoxicating. On reflection pulling a “wheelie” was a bit extravagant and posing for photos and kissing babies slowed me down! I enjoyed watching the pros come past and resisted the urge to chase them down! The course itself had a total climb of about 1000m, which by Sevenoaks standards is a stroll in the park. I had to laugh when a German competitor told me she wasn’t looking forward to the “mountain” section. “Heartbreak Hill”, to which she referred, is probably gentler than Sevenoaks station up into town. Probably my lowest ebb came at the beginning of the second loop and the grim realisation I had to do it all again with diminishing spectators to keep me going. I finished the bike in just under 7.19
Leaving transition I realised I had just over 5.30 to complete the run. It was very hot. I had a pre-race strategy to walk through the feed stations and run the rest. At the first station I discovered the joys of ice under my cap. I busied myself as I ran with calculations of what speed I needed to maintain. It was a 4 loop course and I was concerned as I saw competitors 2 or 3 laps ahead of me walking. If I was to be reduced to walking I wasn’t going to make it. I managed to keep going at a steady, slow pace but was hating the feed stations. I didn’t want to eat or drink, but managed to force myself to. When I got to the final lap, I realised I was going to make it. Mike Clyne had given me many useful pointers and sound advice, one of which was to thank the volunteers. On that last loop I was like the Queen on a tour of a Commonwealth country thanking anyone who vaguely looked in my direction. Then the joy of running down the finisher’s chute and crossing the line with 17 minutes to spare.
It was an amazing experience, but one I am never going to do again. I have used up all of my family’s patience and now have 6 months of chores to catch up on. Not so much “Ironman” as “Ironing Man” from now on. I am very proud to have completed the race and would recommend it to anyone but what pleases me most is knowing I am NEVER going to do it again.
Tim