The rebuild of M4L and a new challenge
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That sucked and I fucking hated it
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@mariner4life said in The rebuild of M4L and a new challenge:
That sucked and I fucking hated it
that's what women have been telling me for years.
That's why you have to push through it.
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Seriously though, you're fucking mad to be doing it, you crazy bastard.
I imagine the swim sucked, how about the bike and run?
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@mariner4life but you fucking did it bro. Big ups man!!
Now to the durty details. Give it to us raw brew!
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@gt12 yeah I imagine the swim woulda sucked, as well as the bike and the run parts!!
@mariner4life mate that is some achievement bro! You can walk tall with that!!
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@MajorRage said in The rebuild of M4L and a new challenge:
Come on fella, give us the skinny ... what happened! How did it go?
I think it killed him!
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Sorry lads, spent yesterday doing fuck all
So, that was hard. Saturday arvo got to Palm Cove to rack the bike and the conditions were shiiiit. Really windy, raining, water was a brown and white mess. At that point i almost quit. Apparently i had a face like stone at dinner. And i didn't have a lot of patience with my kids. I was a nervous wreck.
Sunday i was obviously up super early, and as i went to set up T1, you could tell the wind had died right off over night. As the sun came up you could see conditions had improved a lot, the wind chop was off the top, now there was just the remaining swell to contend with. I started my swim a fair way back in the pack, and it was hard straight away. The leg off the beach to the first marker was tough, and then everyone arriving at that marker congested everyone, and i panicked a bit. The swell was whacking me around, i was crashing in to people, my heart rate shot up, and i could not settle. I seriously considered chucking it in at that point. But i tread water for a bit, composed myself, and set a plan. I swam in from the course a bit, found some clear water, and just ground out the "upward" leg. Slowly but surely got there. Then the turn around was tough, but the downward leg was okay, just long. That swim just never seemed to end. I got out, looked at my watch, 50 minutes! fuck, 4 minutes slower than last year! Not feeling good mentally at that point.
Got to my bike and composed myself. Physically i was alright, my breathing was good, and while my shoulders were screaming, my legs were all good. On the bike, first couple of kms in a low gear to get the blood flowing in my legs, then in to it. Weather was good, and the ride was fun. The course is amazing, and that really helps. I was flying up the climbs without feeling like i was over doing it, and hit 67km an hour down the other side of the range. For 75km that was a fun ride. The wind started to get up about 9, and by 10.30 was really blowing. The last 15km is a straight, flat shot in to town, directly in to the wind. And it suuuuucked. Took the last of my energy.
Off the bike, again, didn't think i felt too bad. Not blowing, changed socks, runners on, quick chat to the bloke next to me, ate a banana, out on to the run. Started running, at a bit down on my usual pace, and then after a km i suddenly couldn't keep running. That's weird. this is the leg i did the most training for? Quick walk, then start again. No, nothing there. Fuck!! And that's when my heart sank as i realised i had cooked myself, and this wasn't going to be a 2 hour run. That first leg of the run was terrible mentally, i was really down on myself, and i knew i still had so far to go. And so i sort of set a pattern where i would run for as long as i could (at some points that was a couple of hundred metres!) and then walk, but with a point in front of me where i had to start running again. And that was the story of the whole 21 kms. Shuffle jog and walk. There was a group of about 4 of us in the same situation, and we just keep egging each other on, if we were running and they were on a walk, we geed each other up, and just got through it.
I have never been so happy to see the finish of anything in my life. I got to the end absolutely fucked, i have never been that exhausted in my life. I sat in recovery for half an hour, taking on fluids, electrolytes, and a bit of fruit. Spent.
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If, and it's a massive if, i ever do one of these again, i have learned some lessons. You get out what you put in. While i trained, and got myself fit, my training was not specific enough. If i do it again, i am getting a program, or training with a tri group. Also having a week on the piss in China the week before is far from ideal prep.
Basically my emotions are yes, i am proud i did it, didn't quit (even though i really wanted to) and finished. But disappointed in that run leg. And the dilemma before me is never wanting to do that swim again, and wanting to make up for the run.
I have 6 months to decide.
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@mariner4life said in The rebuild of M4L and a new challenge:
If, and it's a massive if, i ever do one of these again, i have learned some lessons. You get out what you put in. While i trained, and got myself fit, my training was not specific enough. If i do it again, i am getting a program, or training with a tri group. Also having a week on the piss in China the week before is far from ideal prep.
Basically my emotions are yes, i am proud i did it, didn't quit (even though i really wanted to) and finished. But disappointed in that run leg. And the dilemma before me is never wanting to do that swim again, and wanting to make up for the run.
I have 6 months to decide.
Great stuff. I wouldn't go near one of those. Massive respect.
Guy I swim with is also training for a half and he said his biggest problem in previous ones is getting the diet right.
But I do recall wondering whether getting on the piss in China was the best prep. There's tapering down and then there's... that.
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@mariner4life mate that is some mental toughness, regardless, you should be proud!!
I reckon I could do the bike leg, but not the swim or the run, most I did was a 21km trail run and my calves were wrecked for a week.
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@taniwharugby said in The rebuild of M4L and a new challenge:
@mariner4life mate that is some mental toughness, regardless, you should be proud!!
I reckon I could do the bike leg, but not the swim or the run, most I did was a 21km trail run and my calves were wrecked for a week.
the bike leg in Cairns really is spectacular. On a road you wouldn't normally ride, because it's too dangerous. It's interesting as it has ups and downs, winds in and out from the coast, and through the country. I love it, and it's worth the whole event.
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@mariner4life said in The rebuild of M4L and a new challenge:
Sorry lads, spent yesterday doing fuck all
So, that was hard. Saturday arvo got to Palm Cove to rack the bike and the conditions were shiiiit. Really windy, raining, water was a brown and white mess. At that point i almost quit. Apparently i had a face like stone at dinner. And i didn't have a lot of patience with my kids. I was a nervous wreck.
Sunday i was obviously up super early, and as i went to set up T1, you could tell the wind had died right off over night. As the sun came up you could see conditions had improved a lot, the wind chop was off the top, now there was just the remaining swell to contend with. I started my swim a fair way back in the pack, and it was hard straight away. The leg off the beach to the first marker was tough, and then everyone arriving at that marker congested everyone, and i panicked a bit. The swell was whacking me around, i was crashing in to people, my heart rate shot up, and i could not settle. I seriously considered chucking it in at that point. But i tread water for a bit, composed myself, and set a plan. I swam in from the course a bit, found some clear water, and just ground out the "upward" leg. Slowly but surely got there. Then the turn around was tough, but the downward leg was okay, just long. That swim just never seemed to end. I got out, looked at my watch, 50 minutes! fuck, 4 minutes slower than last year! Not feeling good mentally at that point.
Got to my bike and composed myself. Physically i was alright, my breathing was good, and while my shoulders were screaming, my legs were all good. On the bike, first couple of kms in a low gear to get the blood flowing in my legs, then in to it. Weather was good, and the ride was fun. The course is amazing, and that really helps. I was flying up the climbs without feeling like i was over doing it, and hit 67km an hour down the other side of the range. For 75km that was a fun ride. The wind started to get up about 9, and by 10.30 was really blowing. The last 15km is a straight, flat shot in to town, directly in to the wind. And it suuuuucked. Took the last of my energy.
Off the bike, again, didn't think i felt too bad. Not blowing, changed socks, runners on, quick chat to the bloke next to me, ate a banana, out on to the run. Started running, at a bit down on my usual pace, and then after a km i suddenly couldn't keep running. That's weird. this is the leg i did the most training for? Quick walk, then start again. No, nothing there. Fuck!! And that's when my heart sank as i realised i had cooked myself, and this wasn't going to be a 2 hour run. That first leg of the run was terrible mentally, i was really down on myself, and i knew i still had so far to go. And so i sort of set a pattern where i would run for as long as i could (at some points that was a couple of hundred metres!) and then walk, but with a point in front of me where i had to start running again. And that was the story of the whole 21 kms. Shuffle jog and walk. There was a group of about 4 of us in the same situation, and we just keep egging each other on, if we were running and they were on a walk, we geed each other up, and just got through it.
I have never been so happy to see the finish of anything in my life. I got to the end absolutely fucked, i have never been that exhausted in my life. I sat in recovery for half an hour, taking on fluids, electrolytes, and a bit of fruit. Spent.
The beer on your facebook post looked nice. I bet it tasted like the best one you've ever had in your life !
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@mariner4life said in The rebuild of M4L and a new challenge:
@MN5 that and the 10 others i had were awesome
I know jokers who do what you did on a semi regular basis. Mad fluffybunnies the lot of them.
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@MN5 said in The rebuild of M4L and a new challenge:
@mariner4life said in The rebuild of M4L and a new challenge:
@MN5 that and the 10 others i had were awesome
I know jokers who do what you did on a semi regular basis. Mad fluffybunnies the lot of them.
He's done at least 2 now...
Just saying.
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@mariner4life dude!! you stuck with it and got over the line. That is worth celebrating even if the experience was fucking awful. Clear that you've learnt heaps about prep and how to improve for the theoretical next time.
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@mariner4life said in The rebuild of M4L and a new challenge:
@MN5 that and the 10 others i had were awesome
Surprised you could drink beer, after doing a full ironman my mouth was completely raw from all the sugary drinks and gels etc during the race. Eating or drinking anything with flavour was a painful experience.
One thing that was stressed to me a lot when I started doing this stuff was to make sure you train yourself to run off the bike. Most of our Sundays we did a long bike ride (6-10 hours) and always finished this off with a 20-30 minute jog straight away.
Well done mate, you've done really well.
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@SammyC well remember you went twice as far as me!
I quit the gels on the run, fucking had enough of that shit, and they weren't helping. I was on the flat coke. And dumping water on my head.
I didn't have a beer until an hour and a half afterwards, when i had taken on a heap of other stuff, and had a shower.
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Mate, that is awesome. You completed it!!
I actually know exactly how you feel. The first half I did, my aim was two hours. I trained pretty hard, did a fair bit of research, and had some sort of anticipation that on race day, it would be very motivating, and I'd be able to get that extra 3-4% I needed to get my time. But it just didn't happen, I was fucked after 14km, and no motivation, people cheering, feeling of completion could counter the fact I was fucked. I ended up not even getting close to 2 hours and felt let down at the end.
However, looking back, I did complete it and I did learn about what I needed to do to get my aim. And ultimately, I'm much better for it, and I don't think one single person who had encouraged me was any less impressed by me not reaching my goal.
Which is exactly what all of us on this forum are thinking. It's phenomenal mate. Just enjoy it.
Out of interest, what were your times? I couldn't see me even getting close to 3 hours after a swim and a ride!