The Race

At 3:00am on Sunday 20th August I got up and made my way to the breakfast bar at the hotel. Other athletes were there all quiet and like myself pondering about what the rest of the day had install. A carbohydrate loaded breakfast and a short drive later I was at Sherbourne Castle, the start of this 141 mile adventure. 2.4 miles to swim in a cold lake, a 112 mile bike ride over hilly terrain followed by a full marathon. What was I thinking? I had never even run a marathon.

The Start

Final preparations to my bike, ensured all bottles were full and final number marking all done. I put my wet suit on and waited nervously with 1500 other athletes. The thing that is special about all triathlon is the fact you race with the full time pro's, no separate starts.

The Swim - 2.4 miles

At just before 6am I waded into the lake towards the swim start, a short 200m swim to the start station. At 6am exactly the horn sounded and the lake became a huge cold Jacuzzi. The swim was a two lap course and for the first half a mile it was impossible to get into any rhythm. People were swimming over you and you were crashing into or swimming over other swimmers. Once around the first turn swimmers spread out and I managed to get into a steady stroke pattern. I came out of the water in 1hr 17mins, my training times and tri club friends had predicted between 1hr 15 and 1hr 20, so spot on.

The Cycle - 112 Miles

A short run to the change tent, people helping me off with the wet suit and I don my cycling kit. A little apprehension, I had only trained up to 80 miles and the course profile showed a hillier course than I had hoped for. I set off and straight out of the castle grounds came the first two mile climb. But I felt fresh and happy. The course was a three lap circuit so the first lap would set the tone for the day. I was feeling good until the 19mile mark, the lap turnaround point. Then the real climb appeared. You could see athletes in front stretched out as far as the eye could see. this was the ten mile continuous climb that I would have to complete three times. Slowing to speeds as low as 8 miles an hour, it was going to be a long day. What kept me going was the thought what goes up must come down. What a down, 46miles an hour without pedalling, joy. But ten miles of gain was over in a mile and the climbing started again. I ate at all the feed stations and was continuously hydrating myself. This was essential and helped me believe I was in a fairly good state of mind and body. I had hoped to average 17mph over the course which would have b33n a 6hr 30min total cycle time. I reached the second transition at 6hr 50mins. I was happy with that because the hills were unexpected and only losing twenty minutes was acceptable to me.

The Run - 26.2 Miles

Another change into run kit, the top athletes where the same suit to cycle and run, I opted for a dry change if nothing else but o boost my morale. A marathon, didn't people train solely for these and didn't lots of people fail? I was hoping for a 4hr 30min marathon time and set of at my desired pace, using my heart rate monitor. The first 13 miles went well an I was spot on the pace. Then problems. I started to feel sick when taking on fluids, I really wanted someone to offer me a pie, real food, but no. I had to change to a walk run strategy and as the last 13 miles were very hilly it was getting harder and harder. My hope of a sub 13hr time were gone. I walked run until 3 miles to go, when a helper says 30mins to break 14hours. To finish sub 14 would be great and having spoke to Ironman vets at Blackpool tri was  a real achievement first time out. Just concentrate on finishing they said. Three miles in half an hour? Easy!!! So I dug deep and with local support cheering you on I found reserves I didn't know I had.

The Finish

Then I heard the loudspeaker, "Mick McNamara a 40year old policeman from Blackpool" everyone was cheering me on, my wife and sons were at the finish line and I crossed it in 13 hours 57 mins. I was dead on my feet, but I had done it.

I am probably going to go back to Olympic distance triathlon until the kids get a bit older. The training time leaves little time for anything else. But I will return, a little wiser and knowing what to expect.

I would like to thank Western Division Sports and Social Club for kindly sponsoring me to take part in this tremendous event.