((Edit - note below race report is a totally honest, warts and all report written a few days after the race in 2015 and seen here as fully un-edited))

 Challenge Weymouth Race Report 2015

Being my A race for this season the pressure was on, and to be wearing the GB kit for the first time meant the pressure was definitely ON!…. But recent training had gone well and as long as I kept my head and stuck to the race plan it would be a good race.

Having qualified for the European Long Distance Champs at the Cotswolds 113 (half Ironman distance) back in June I’d had a good lead in to the event with all the training boxes ticked. Work had been busy for the early part of my pre-race training block but then slowed a little to allow those compulsory 200mile bike weeks, 50mile run weeks and 8mile swim weeks. Triathlon is a lonely sport and these long weeks really do prepare you for those solitary racing miles ahead.

SWIM…..I’ll never forget the look in Brooke’s eyes that morning just as I am about to leave my amazing support crew to head to the swim start (in my support crew, as always, were Angie, Brooke, mum & dad). Her little face as she stood there in the cold early morning rain looking at me as if to say “what are you doing to me daddy??” Moments like that really do test you mentally and I can’t really get across how close I came to saying come on let’s forget this and have a fun day at the seaside instead. But no, they had come a long way to support me I had done over 500hrs training since November 2014, not to mention the hours they had sacrificed. It was time to get my game face on

“one minute!” Called the starter on the beach! I stood there alongside a line of neoprene clad nut cases. I looked out to sea thinking here we go, just stay calm, breathe and take it easy. Just remember to breathe!… The sea was calm with a few small waves rolling in onto the pebbly beach. Off went the horn and there I went, shin deep, knee deep, waist deep, okay let’s do this. David Hasslehoff would have been proud of my surf dive. The cold water always takes your breath for the first few minutes of an open water swim especially when there’s no chance of a warm up and here wasn’t any different. As I took a stroke I looked up at the camera drone high in the grey morning sky, thoughts & words easing me along – take it easy, keep your strokes long, breathe fully, easy easy, have a look up ahead, sight the buoys, stay out of trouble, keep right but stay left of the buoys, easy easy, breathe, don’t swallow that sea water, urgh in goes a mouthful, wow I can feel that cold water hit my stomach, easy easy, remember where you are, don’t let your mind wonder!…

JELLYFISH!!… Wow, swim like phelps!… Wait, stay calm!! As I turn at the first buoy, ok that’s 700m done only 3100m to go (actually 3700m according to my Garmin!) I look up where’s that damn buoy?? Okay it’s out there somewhere just stay left of the kyaks, you’ll be fine, ah there it is, okay so…. 4 strokes, sight, 4 strokes, sight, REPEAT!….. JELLYFISH!! Okay get used to it, the Jellyfish are quite deep just keep your strokes shallow & don’t touch them, just swim. By now the sea had got a little choppy & as we hit the second turn around waves were hitting us on the left, and being a left hand side breather this wasn’t good. At least I would be hydrated & certainly not laking any salts! After the turn it was straight onto the beach, out & ready for another lap.  

It’s at this point when you get your first taste of the supporters, & wow, as I came out of the water I looked up to see my crew right there at the front, I couldn’t resist a little low five from Brooke. This turned out to be a theme of the day, with lots of low & high fives being handed out to my amazing support crew….. Right, I’m nicely warmed up now just another 1900m & two more jellyFish to go and it’s bike time….. 35-39yr Category position after the swim – 16.

BIKE…..It felt like I was in transition (swim to bike) for an eternity…. My hands were freezing, come on left hand, WORK!!…Off came my wetsuit, on went the helmet, arm warmers, gloves and into my pockets went the powerbars and gels… Ok, so let’s get my bike & do this. Heading out of transition with so many spectators around was amazing but to be honest I only wanted to see my gang, and there they were loud & proud in true Yorkshire style, holding up a banner – DAN GO’DADDY’GO with a seriously large lump in my throat I head out up the road. OK just spin, take it easy, you’re red lining, slow down. Drink & spin, drink & spin. I could see a white tri suit up ahead, it may as well have been a red rag & I was the bull….. SLOW DOWN went that voice in my head. Another theme of the day! The first lap was good, I felt strong and I felt good, I just had a niggling feeling that I would pay for it later. They say take it easy when you feel good in an Ironman but I wasn’t listening to that today. I didn’t have a choice now anyway, I’d already rolled the dice, it was just a case of seeing what number came up! 35-39yr Category position after the bike – 10.

RUN….. Okay so now is where the race starts for me, I’m a runner, I always have been, I love running, I’m built for it and I’ve got the sparrow legs to prove it. But an ironman is a totally different beast. You never know how you’ll fair once your bike is racked, your run shoes are on and you head out of transition. As I emerged from the change tent, my legs were toast & I felt ill, sick, & weak. What was going on, a few moments ago I’d given the thumbs up to my crew as I got off my bike, I felt so good. It felt like the change tent had some magical spell on me sapping all my energy… Oh, ,this is not good! Was I finally paying for those early surges on the bike?? Another weird thing about long distance racing is one minute you can feel great, then bad, then great again, then like you’re gonna collapse & you never quite know why this is. But today I did know. As I said I felt rubbish, like trash, like hell when I came out of transition, then I saw my crew up ahead. Mum & dad both had their cameras out which was usual, Brooke was beaming from ear to ear shouting ‘GO DADDY’, which was awesome but also normal. But then Angie was stood there looking at her phone, not normal. As I passed by she started running along side me, ‘you’re in 8th position (Provisionally) in your category’, ‘what, no way,’ I said back to her. With a high five & a slap on the bum from Angie I was away with a massive motivational boost, 7 scalps to take, I was on the hunt!….

Suddenly all the awful feelings disappeared, or I can’t remember feeling them after that, well not until later on. I looked down at my Garmin 4:10mins/km for the start or an ironman marathon! SLOW DOWN!!!! The plan was a steady 5mins per kilometre at the start with an aim of getting faster as the miles passed by. I just couldn’t slow down. Mental strength plays a massive part in this game and I was getting a lesson in sticking to your race plan. You could be forgiven for thinking mental strength means staying strong, telling yourself to push, never giving in, etc and it is, but it’s also about staying in control, having faith in yourself, your training and the plan…. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this race it is to stick to the plan. 

A pro racer once said that the ironman marathon is “20miles of hope and 6miles of reality!” I can’t express how true this is. On lap 4 of 4.5 laps of the run course, so around 20miles into the run, that awful feeling came over me again. I’d felt strong up until now but I hadn’t needed a toilet break since 4hours into the bike. I needed that portaloo up ahead at the next feed station to check my hydration levels…. I won’t get graphic on you but WOW, I need to drink!… Okay, so here’s another part where I admit to breaking the rules, I’d planned to walk every aid station and drink some water to chase down an energy gel. I had been taking on the gels every 30mins like a good boy, but didn’t want to slow down at the feed stations so I wasn’t drinking any water. But now I was. I started walking the aid stations, and now I was taking on two cups of water and sticking a wet sponge down the back & front of my top. Even the magic powers of the last lap band weren’t working. 
Then at the last turn around my strength finally returned, I felt good, why didn’t I just stick to the plan?? Was it the nutrition which I’d been so adamant to ignore that was now kicking in or was it that I could see the finish line at the other end of the bay… come on dan, let’s bring this in! 

As I headed into the final few turns all I could think was I hope Brooke & Angie are there at the line so we can cross it together. And there they were. Angie stood with a massive Union Jack in one hand & Brooke in the other, both of them beaming. As I took Brooke’s hand Angie said, “can I come over the line too?” What a daft question. Angie took one end of the flag, I took the other end & Brooke held my hand as we all crossed together. To share that moment with them both will be one of the proudest moments in my life. They give me so much motivation and sacrifice so much, they deserved to come over the line with me if not before me because without them moments like this just wouldn’t be possible. 

Final 35-39yrs Category position – 6th. 

Overall position – 45th (including male/female pro’s)

Time – 10:25:28hrs. (Personal Best by 35mins)

DONE….. In conclusion & reflection I’m super pleased with my performance. I learnt so much about myself, my training and the sport of Ironman. To qualify, represent my country and to wear the Union Jack was also one of the proudest moments of my life and hope to do it again some day. But for now, it’s time to rest up, heal and eat all those things i’ve missed out on recently. It’s also a time to think about next year or the year after. The beast that is Ironman Wales, or the Long distance world champs maybe in Oklahoma in 2016, or somewhere more exotic during the second weekend in October 2017??? ;-

Thanks…. Firstly, thank you for reading this, I may have waffled a little at times but I’m not going to apologise for this, it’s a long day & I hope you found it interesting and maybe inspirational enough to want to try out triathlon yourself?? Thanks also to everyone who’s helped me along the way from James and Mike at Bridgtown Cycles, to Paul C and all the gang down at GiTri, not to mention all the friends and family who’ve given me so much encouragement and wishes of good luck on social media. Mum and dad, thank you for your continued support, for travelling miles and miles to stand in the rain for hours on end to see me pass by in a flash.
Angie and Brooke, thank you both so much, I love you and could never race to my full ability without your ever enduring support through all my training and racing.

Thanks again and see you all sometime soon, (maybe out on the race course??) stay healthy, happy & most of all – have fun. 
Cheers, Dan