Roth IM E-mail
Debbie Munton on her ironman debut Challenge Roth – 18th July 2010
After swimming at Haysden Lake last summer someone asked Jane Wiley and I if we would ever do an Ironman. Jane turned to me and said ‘I will if you will’.  So that was decided, Jane entered IM Germany and I signed up for Roth.
My training started later than planned due to breaking my 5th metatarsal in December but I was assured that I had plenty of time. I didn’t start to run until the beginning of March but as a result I didn’t find the training too long or boring (the main complaint) because I didn’t do it for long enough!

I travelled to Nuremberg on the Thursday before the race and realized that I was far more nervous about driving in Germany than doing the Ironman. I drove the bike course which was a huge help on the day.  I am sure Alistair would agree that the hill at Gredding was quite a surprise.

Glenda very kindly came over to support me, having had to pull out of the race herself.
We drove down to Roth at 4.30am on Sunday morning, parked up in a field by the canal and then I went into T1 to prepare my bike. I forgot to fill up my water bottles, so many things going on in my head.
The swim was in waves which meant the start wasn’t too busy but every-one spread out so drafting was impossble.We were helped out of the water and our T1 bags were laid out in an orderly fashion.
I was pleased with my swim – 1.09.46
I was even more pleased with my transition time (my main strength in this sport!) – 02.36

The bike course was through very attractive rolling countryside and pretty old villages. The race is famous for the ascent of Solar Berg and although I had been told about this I wasn’t prepared for what lay ahead as we turned into Solar village. The road up the hill was full of people as far as the eye could see, they parted just enough for the width of your bike and they cheered, did Mexican waves, banged dustbin lids and shouted ‘Up, up ,up’. The atmosphere was fantastic.
On the second loop of the same hill I had dropped to 6 mph when a strapping German put his hand on my bottom and gave me a huge push !

Bike Time – 06.26.13
T2 – 04.21

The less said about the run the better, I felt fine but had stomach problems for almost the entire time. I couldn’t even manage the litre of beer at the finish.

Run Time - 05.15.57

Summary
It was a fantastic race in a beautiful location, extremely well organised and great to be given my medal by Chrissie Wellington.
Although my run was disappointing it didn’t marr my first IM experience – there are so many things that can go wrong over that distance – it could have been much worse – I could have had a puncture.