Ironman France takes place in Nice every year typically on the last weekend of June.
The race is considered one the hardest on the Ironman circuit with almost 6000ft of climbing on the bike and a hot, exposed marathon course.
This year I was going to use the race as a preparation for the second half of the season leading up to Ironman Florida in November.
My preparation leading up to the race was good during the last 8 weeks with some consistent training and some big mileage done in Lanzarote, but I lost 2 months of training in spring and due to all sorts of running injuries I'v not been able to do enough run training so I knew that I was in for a tough day. Nevertheless before the race my weight was down to 69kg and my threshold power on the bike was up to about 250W. With 3 weeks to the race I did the Weymouth middle distance race and finished 14th in 4:23 which I was happy with and a week before the race i set my PB on the local climb up Box Hill with 6:35 averaging 331W which gave me some confidence going into the race.
The travel and gear set-up before the race was unusually stress-free and I woke up on the race day relaxed and ready to go. A bit of a drama unfolded in transition as I ripped the valve off my front inner tube and only just managed to get it changed with 30 seconds to spare before I had to leave transition. I hindsight I probably didn't even pump my tires up enough, but at least I had a bike ready to ride.
The swim was a 2 loop course with a beach start. First lap was very physical with 2500 athletes fighting for position and I got beaten up pretty badly not really able to get into any kind of rhythm. Second lap was a bit better and I exited the water in 1:07 - not a great time but it was a fairly comfortable swim and all the times were several minutes slower, so I was happy with that.
The bike started well with a fast flat stretch and I immediately felt good and was passing loads of people. The first couple of climbs went well, but on one of the descents I lost 2 of my water bottles which left me with one drink bottle for the 20km main climb of the day. Once I got to the top I knew the rest of the day was going to be tough as I was feeling already dehydrated, disorientated and not comfortable. I lost quite a few places on the descents and never really felt comfortable for the rest of the bike leg. The views were spectacular and I tried to concentrate on enjoying the views to shut off the pain. Bike split 5:38, 178W ave power.
Needles to say I was happy to arrive in transition and get off the bike. When I got to the transition it was already very hot, but I set out on the run trying to keep a nice and comfortable stride cadence. The legs didn't feel too bad at the beginning and I was starting to pass a few people. Unfortunately after about 15km my right hamstring completely locked up and I was reduced to a shuffle. From this point it was just a case trying to keep going to get to the finish.
Coming down the finishing straight I walked the last 200m enjoying the atmosphere and the crowd's support. Run split 3:30. Finish time 10:27:18, 249th place overall and 59th in my age group.
It was a really tough day and I felt really dehydrated and tired for the next two days. A spectacular race though and a tough course which will hopefully toughen me up for the rest of the season. The biggest surprise was not how tough the climbs were, but how difficult and technical the fast descents were. In hindsight the course is definitely more suited to a road bike than a time trial bike because of the technical descents and you can't make up the time even on the flats as there are big groups bunched up that the marshals don't even try to break up
Anyway, time to recover a bit, he next race for me is the London Triathlon Olympic distance and then Germany 70.3 in Wiesbaden.
