2009 Ironman Lanzarote Race Report
Well, where do you start? Near the beginning I guess….
After enjoying the whole Lanza experience so much last year I thought it would be rude not to give it a go again, and because Mrs. Repo would technically be between teaching contracts this year, the offer for her to ride shotgun sweetened the deal ,and it was duly inked in the diary. I entered and booked flights in December I think, mindful that the race now sells out, and the game was on.
Having got round OK last year I wasn’t fearful of the race, but certainly respectful of it and consequently tried to keep ticking over during December and I started thinking about some longer rides from January onwards. I only thought about them though, because I did one day of Tring 2 Town at the end of January (a 40 mile ultra) and consequently did mostly running at that time. No swimming obviously, that would have been ridiculous.
Anyway I eventually lumbered into gear and got into my routine of a bit of bike commuting during the week and a long run and bike at the weekend. I occasionally ran the 15 miles into work too, which was ahem, character building when it was snowy. As April rolled round I had a couple of decent rides, 2 hilly sportifs and a PB at the Blackpool Marathon under my belt so I was feeling pretty chipper, even if the training volumes were slightly down on the same period last year. I got to May and peered into a swimming pool but it seemed to be mostly flooded with lots of people floating about in it. It didn’t really look a very nice environment so I only went in it a couple of times.
In the last couple of weeks of May I was still in training rather than taper mode but I knew that I really needed one final push. So I stopped training and bought a pointy hat instead. Hey, never let it be said that I’m not prepared to tough it out.
The talk on the TT Lanza thread was positively crackling with anticipation as the last days counted down and I was very much looking to getting over there. I must say that the big TT contingent is very much part of the craic of this race and it was great when we eventually arrived at Club Oceano in PDC on Thursday afternoon and met up with Stengun, Fix, TC, Wooden-1, MJP and a few more. Indeed Fix made himself known by heckling my bike re-assembly from across the balcony. Jeez, mechanical advice from the French: have you ever been in a Renault?
I knew from last year that registering on Friday would be fine so I spent Thursday rebuilding the bike and collecting my pre-ordered CO2 from Renner bikes down the seafront in PDC. Club Oceano is a perfect family spot so Mrs. Repo and Daniel, the youngest Repo at 4 ½ were able to relax by the pool while I bimbled about.
On Friday morning we met at the swim start where I hooked up with Samwhi and Nickyboy and reminded myself how big the sea is. Looking at the lane rope and buoys marking the course, I’d say its definitely bigger than 25m. The wetsuit seemed to still fit OK, 9 months after I last wore it at IM Canada, and I had a nice splash about. I mean focused sharpening session. Swim training done I gave Nickyboy a lift over to La Santa where registration was done without any wait or hassle and it was back to PDC to chill, keep hydrated, prep transition bags, rack the bike and then turn in for an early night.
Racked and ready: night night Mr. Bike
Race morning started for me about 04.15 and by 05.00 I was tucking into my usual pre race breakfast of two pipes of crack, four cans of Red Stripe and a hot dog. Actually it was a vat of porridge with dried fruit and nuts, a big slug of honey and a nice mug of tea but the effect was similar when you are still a bit bleary eyed. Rocket fuel: Lovely.
The next two hours up to the race start will be familiar to anyone who has raced IM before and typically features a good bit of stumbling about in the dark, getting your family to carry your bike pump so that you don’t get too tired before the race and having at least one good dump. Mine also featured asking anyone over 6’3” that was speaking English if they were Rofster, but I don’t always do that bit.
After a kiss goodbye to the family (the family? Well, a family anyway, I’m not sure, it was still dark) I bimbled down to the swim pen and started pushing my way towards the erm, back. The swim pen is very long and thin so once I got into a comfortable spot at the back I could only just see the water.
When the gun went off at 07.00 I’d like to say that after months of training I exploded on the very B of the Bang like a coiled spring launched at the water. I’d like to say that, but I actually sauntered down to the water scratching my arse and got in about 1 minute and 30 seconds after the gun went off going “oooh, ooh, ooh it’s cold” and skipping about like a girl. Whatever, it’s only swimming, its not important.
I actually really enjoyed the swim and got into clear water by just after the first buoy and settled into a comfortable stroke, hugging the lane rope on the long outward stretch. The water was lovely, I felt good and it all felt very unflustered. “Slow” is the technical description I believe. Turning back to the swim start I counted down the marker buoys and managed a frighteningly consistent 75 strokes between each one. Eventually the beach was in sight and within a few minutes I was running round and back into the water via a hand slap with the Slackos who were a very welcome site waist deep in the water with the TT banner.
The second lap was just as enjoyable as the first and I landed on the beach in 1.26 which was acceptable for me. Indeed this was 2 minutes quicker than last year, despite some people saying swim times were down this year.
Swim: 1:25:59
After a little jog up the beach it was into the longest transition in the world where I picked up my bike bag and sat down on a bench to get my bike kit on. I even remembered to put on my number belt - I forgot it last year, oops. As usual there was loads of help in transition with helpers to apply sunscreen and take your bags, Sadly no-one seemed to keen to apply my chamois cream so took a big handful and slapped it on myself with considerable vigour, and for a rather self indulgent length of time. I was also eating a cheese and chicken bagel with my free hand and this must have appeared an unlikely combination of activities.
The mount line after transition is right in front of the grandstand and there was a great atmosphere as I finally rode off on the bike and settled into my rhythm on the flat mile or two out of PDC. I was feeling good and ready for my favourite bit of the race.
The first 30K of the bike felt pretty good and although I could feel the wind blowing I knew what to expect and I wasn’t fazed by it. As ever I was steadily picking off bike after bike and stopped counting after I’d passed a hundred or so. Somewhere around 30 or 40K I passed G-Sport and had a quick chat and sometime after I spotted Rofster having a comfort break at the side of the road on the El Golfo loop and shouted appropriate words of advice. My nutrition plan seemed to be going well – I had 8 Torq gels mixed with some water in a small bottle and two 750 ml bottles of maltodextrin and Nuun mix. I had a Mule bar every so often too: Pina Colada flavour too- yummy but the little c0cktail umbrellas kept blowing off on the descents.
Er...is this the right way mate?
The first real long drag is the section from Yaiza up past the Camels and the volcanoes. The road is long, straight and the climb is constantly in view. Its not a monster though and you just grind it out. Pretty soon you roll through Tinajo and this signals a fairly long descent into La Santa and a chance to hammer it a bit. I was still feeling good, passing people and having fun..
It was immediately after La Santa that I had my only wee of the day which was accomplished without a stop. It wasn’t quick or pretty though, and involved rolling one trisuit leg up (a long way, trust me) but then I kept trapping the todger in the resulting bunch of lycra which obviously stemmed the flow somewhat. By the time I got things going my speed had dropped to about 4mph and I was wobbling across the road and in danger of landing bell end down with (more) gentleman’s abrasions to explain to Mrs. Repo. I think I’ll just stop next time.
After La Santa the course heads up to Soo and down to the very sandy and windy beach at Famara. It was somewhere around here that I started having a few stomach gripes but thankfully they passed eventually and I kept feeding including 3 or 4 salt tablets during the ride which I’m convinced have saved me from cramps in my last few IMs.
Most of the main climbing on the route comes after Famara with the stretch through Teguise, Haria and Mirador del Rio and although it was a grind into the wind I actually quite enjoyed it and want feeling too bad. There are a couple of steep hairpins before Haria (Los Valles?) but apart from there I was sat on the saddle all the way and didn’t reach my lowest gears. OK, I did have a wussy compact / 12-27 block compact but I still had plenty in reserve. I picked up my special needs bag on the fly at Haria and tucked into another chicken bagel which was tasty but a bit too chewy. I may have my butler pre-masticate it for me next time.
The descents after both Haria and Rio were fantastic and on the way down past Arrieta you could really feel the tailwind which seemed to be full on behind rather than gusting across. I certainly had no problems with my PX50 wheel choice and was down on the tri bars for good long stretches, mainly to drop the big Dutch guy with the fancy pants shoe covers on who had been bugging me all day. Job done.
I think it was somewhere around here that I started to notice that the KM markers didn’t seem to tally with my Garmin. On the one hand I had a) my knowledge of having ridden the course before b) the information beamed from billions of pounds worth of military hardware in the sky and c) the feeling in my legs: on the other I had some cardboard signs stuck in the ground by an obviously pissed Spanish bloke with very poor distance perception. Faced with such evidence I obviously sided with the Spanish guy and congratulated myself on my imminent 5.30 bike split. It was only when I got to the 175km marker and realised that I was still a good 15 miles from home that I conceded that the GPS was right.
The last section around Nazaret was just as nasty as last year with the road surface very hard work. The sweeping descent across the lava fields back towards PDC was just as good though and I rolled back down the seafront to busy contraflow of runners already well into the run.
Bike: 6:52:33
In transition I gladly dropped the bike off with a volunteer, picked up my run bag and sat down. Vaseline feet, run socks on sunscreen on, run belt on (gels, jelly babies, ibuprofen, ipod: check) and off I went. It sounds quick to say it but I was actually fannying about for 10 minutes or so evidently.
I think the Lanza run course is fantastic: four laps, great crowd support nearly all the way, good feed stations and a couple of lumpy bits to make it interesting. Heading out of the tent I knew that I could just about make sub 13 hours but it was going to be close and I would need to go quicker than last year. Mmmmm….lets see shall we.
My first mile was a bit wobbly but my second was pretty good and after that I just settled into a rhythm and vowed that I wouldn’t walk, whatever happened. TC passed me, a lap ahead and looking good, and after a while I passed G-Sport, my running buddy from last year. On the first lap I stuck with the Torq gels in my flasks but after that it was a bit of a mix of water, coke, orange slices, jelly babies etc.-whatever I fancied really.
My splits show that I did the first lap in 59.55 but after that it slowed up a bit but I was still enjoying the ride and feeling pretty good, albeit in the I-feel-good-but-also-absolutely-shagged terms of reference. I saw Woody 32 looking good on every lap and we gave each other a wave despite not having met yet. It was the Tritalk kit that was the give away… (You may not have heard but I believe that Woody is now an IRONMAN by the way). I also saw Samwhi, and Old Bob and it was great to see Stengun and he was running too. Great work after that injury. I saw Mrs. Repo and Daniel on every lap down near the finish and they were just along from the Slackos: the support was great, thanks.
The run was hot and this year windy too, but it passed relatively quickly. I slowed a bit on laps 2 and 3 (1.05 and 1.09) but I didn’t walk which was my main goal. I knew that I would need to do close to an hour for the last lap to go sub 13 but in the end the old legs didn’t have it in them whatever I tried – I gave it a good shot though, next year….
Coming down the finish chute in Lanza is fantastic: it’s downhill, there’s a great big crowd cheering and well,….you’ve just finished one of the toughest IMs in the world. What’s not to like? For me it was extra special: my 10th IM finish out of 10 starts and I was 13 minutes quicker than last year. I also did my fastest IM marathon. Get in!
Run: 4:21:51
Overall: 13:02:24
In transition I met up with Fix and TC tucking into the free nosh but I didn’t have the energy to queue up for some so I simply packed my bags, met the family and headed back up to Club Oceano a happy man.
The post race shenanigans were great with a good few beers sunk at Route 66 on Sunday night, although sadly family commitments meant that we were long gone by the Bon Jovi sing off in the small hours. For me relaxing with a few beers and hearing everyone’s war stories is all part of the fun and I got as much pleasure from the achievement of folks like Woody 32 and Rofster popping their Iron cherry at a tough race as my own day out. Yes, I’m sure there are guys racing head to head at the sharp end but my view from the middle of the pack is more about everyone having a great day.
Well done to everyone who put themselves on the line, and thanks for the good times: I’ll be back
After enjoying the whole Lanza experience so much last year I thought it would be rude not to give it a go again, and because Mrs. Repo would technically be between teaching contracts this year, the offer for her to ride shotgun sweetened the deal ,and it was duly inked in the diary. I entered and booked flights in December I think, mindful that the race now sells out, and the game was on.
Having got round OK last year I wasn’t fearful of the race, but certainly respectful of it and consequently tried to keep ticking over during December and I started thinking about some longer rides from January onwards. I only thought about them though, because I did one day of Tring 2 Town at the end of January (a 40 mile ultra) and consequently did mostly running at that time. No swimming obviously, that would have been ridiculous.
Anyway I eventually lumbered into gear and got into my routine of a bit of bike commuting during the week and a long run and bike at the weekend. I occasionally ran the 15 miles into work too, which was ahem, character building when it was snowy. As April rolled round I had a couple of decent rides, 2 hilly sportifs and a PB at the Blackpool Marathon under my belt so I was feeling pretty chipper, even if the training volumes were slightly down on the same period last year. I got to May and peered into a swimming pool but it seemed to be mostly flooded with lots of people floating about in it. It didn’t really look a very nice environment so I only went in it a couple of times.
In the last couple of weeks of May I was still in training rather than taper mode but I knew that I really needed one final push. So I stopped training and bought a pointy hat instead. Hey, never let it be said that I’m not prepared to tough it out.
The talk on the TT Lanza thread was positively crackling with anticipation as the last days counted down and I was very much looking to getting over there. I must say that the big TT contingent is very much part of the craic of this race and it was great when we eventually arrived at Club Oceano in PDC on Thursday afternoon and met up with Stengun, Fix, TC, Wooden-1, MJP and a few more. Indeed Fix made himself known by heckling my bike re-assembly from across the balcony. Jeez, mechanical advice from the French: have you ever been in a Renault?
I knew from last year that registering on Friday would be fine so I spent Thursday rebuilding the bike and collecting my pre-ordered CO2 from Renner bikes down the seafront in PDC. Club Oceano is a perfect family spot so Mrs. Repo and Daniel, the youngest Repo at 4 ½ were able to relax by the pool while I bimbled about.
On Friday morning we met at the swim start where I hooked up with Samwhi and Nickyboy and reminded myself how big the sea is. Looking at the lane rope and buoys marking the course, I’d say its definitely bigger than 25m. The wetsuit seemed to still fit OK, 9 months after I last wore it at IM Canada, and I had a nice splash about. I mean focused sharpening session. Swim training done I gave Nickyboy a lift over to La Santa where registration was done without any wait or hassle and it was back to PDC to chill, keep hydrated, prep transition bags, rack the bike and then turn in for an early night.
Racked and ready: night night Mr. Bike
Race morning started for me about 04.15 and by 05.00 I was tucking into my usual pre race breakfast of two pipes of crack, four cans of Red Stripe and a hot dog. Actually it was a vat of porridge with dried fruit and nuts, a big slug of honey and a nice mug of tea but the effect was similar when you are still a bit bleary eyed. Rocket fuel: Lovely.
The next two hours up to the race start will be familiar to anyone who has raced IM before and typically features a good bit of stumbling about in the dark, getting your family to carry your bike pump so that you don’t get too tired before the race and having at least one good dump. Mine also featured asking anyone over 6’3” that was speaking English if they were Rofster, but I don’t always do that bit.
After a kiss goodbye to the family (the family? Well, a family anyway, I’m not sure, it was still dark) I bimbled down to the swim pen and started pushing my way towards the erm, back. The swim pen is very long and thin so once I got into a comfortable spot at the back I could only just see the water.
When the gun went off at 07.00 I’d like to say that after months of training I exploded on the very B of the Bang like a coiled spring launched at the water. I’d like to say that, but I actually sauntered down to the water scratching my arse and got in about 1 minute and 30 seconds after the gun went off going “oooh, ooh, ooh it’s cold” and skipping about like a girl. Whatever, it’s only swimming, its not important.
I actually really enjoyed the swim and got into clear water by just after the first buoy and settled into a comfortable stroke, hugging the lane rope on the long outward stretch. The water was lovely, I felt good and it all felt very unflustered. “Slow” is the technical description I believe. Turning back to the swim start I counted down the marker buoys and managed a frighteningly consistent 75 strokes between each one. Eventually the beach was in sight and within a few minutes I was running round and back into the water via a hand slap with the Slackos who were a very welcome site waist deep in the water with the TT banner.
The second lap was just as enjoyable as the first and I landed on the beach in 1.26 which was acceptable for me. Indeed this was 2 minutes quicker than last year, despite some people saying swim times were down this year.
Swim: 1:25:59
After a little jog up the beach it was into the longest transition in the world where I picked up my bike bag and sat down on a bench to get my bike kit on. I even remembered to put on my number belt - I forgot it last year, oops. As usual there was loads of help in transition with helpers to apply sunscreen and take your bags, Sadly no-one seemed to keen to apply my chamois cream so took a big handful and slapped it on myself with considerable vigour, and for a rather self indulgent length of time. I was also eating a cheese and chicken bagel with my free hand and this must have appeared an unlikely combination of activities.
The mount line after transition is right in front of the grandstand and there was a great atmosphere as I finally rode off on the bike and settled into my rhythm on the flat mile or two out of PDC. I was feeling good and ready for my favourite bit of the race.
The first 30K of the bike felt pretty good and although I could feel the wind blowing I knew what to expect and I wasn’t fazed by it. As ever I was steadily picking off bike after bike and stopped counting after I’d passed a hundred or so. Somewhere around 30 or 40K I passed G-Sport and had a quick chat and sometime after I spotted Rofster having a comfort break at the side of the road on the El Golfo loop and shouted appropriate words of advice. My nutrition plan seemed to be going well – I had 8 Torq gels mixed with some water in a small bottle and two 750 ml bottles of maltodextrin and Nuun mix. I had a Mule bar every so often too: Pina Colada flavour too- yummy but the little c0cktail umbrellas kept blowing off on the descents.
Er...is this the right way mate?
The first real long drag is the section from Yaiza up past the Camels and the volcanoes. The road is long, straight and the climb is constantly in view. Its not a monster though and you just grind it out. Pretty soon you roll through Tinajo and this signals a fairly long descent into La Santa and a chance to hammer it a bit. I was still feeling good, passing people and having fun..
It was immediately after La Santa that I had my only wee of the day which was accomplished without a stop. It wasn’t quick or pretty though, and involved rolling one trisuit leg up (a long way, trust me) but then I kept trapping the todger in the resulting bunch of lycra which obviously stemmed the flow somewhat. By the time I got things going my speed had dropped to about 4mph and I was wobbling across the road and in danger of landing bell end down with (more) gentleman’s abrasions to explain to Mrs. Repo. I think I’ll just stop next time.
After La Santa the course heads up to Soo and down to the very sandy and windy beach at Famara. It was somewhere around here that I started having a few stomach gripes but thankfully they passed eventually and I kept feeding including 3 or 4 salt tablets during the ride which I’m convinced have saved me from cramps in my last few IMs.
Most of the main climbing on the route comes after Famara with the stretch through Teguise, Haria and Mirador del Rio and although it was a grind into the wind I actually quite enjoyed it and want feeling too bad. There are a couple of steep hairpins before Haria (Los Valles?) but apart from there I was sat on the saddle all the way and didn’t reach my lowest gears. OK, I did have a wussy compact / 12-27 block compact but I still had plenty in reserve. I picked up my special needs bag on the fly at Haria and tucked into another chicken bagel which was tasty but a bit too chewy. I may have my butler pre-masticate it for me next time.
The descents after both Haria and Rio were fantastic and on the way down past Arrieta you could really feel the tailwind which seemed to be full on behind rather than gusting across. I certainly had no problems with my PX50 wheel choice and was down on the tri bars for good long stretches, mainly to drop the big Dutch guy with the fancy pants shoe covers on who had been bugging me all day. Job done.
I think it was somewhere around here that I started to notice that the KM markers didn’t seem to tally with my Garmin. On the one hand I had a) my knowledge of having ridden the course before b) the information beamed from billions of pounds worth of military hardware in the sky and c) the feeling in my legs: on the other I had some cardboard signs stuck in the ground by an obviously pissed Spanish bloke with very poor distance perception. Faced with such evidence I obviously sided with the Spanish guy and congratulated myself on my imminent 5.30 bike split. It was only when I got to the 175km marker and realised that I was still a good 15 miles from home that I conceded that the GPS was right.
The last section around Nazaret was just as nasty as last year with the road surface very hard work. The sweeping descent across the lava fields back towards PDC was just as good though and I rolled back down the seafront to busy contraflow of runners already well into the run.
Bike: 6:52:33
In transition I gladly dropped the bike off with a volunteer, picked up my run bag and sat down. Vaseline feet, run socks on sunscreen on, run belt on (gels, jelly babies, ibuprofen, ipod: check) and off I went. It sounds quick to say it but I was actually fannying about for 10 minutes or so evidently.
I think the Lanza run course is fantastic: four laps, great crowd support nearly all the way, good feed stations and a couple of lumpy bits to make it interesting. Heading out of the tent I knew that I could just about make sub 13 hours but it was going to be close and I would need to go quicker than last year. Mmmmm….lets see shall we.
My first mile was a bit wobbly but my second was pretty good and after that I just settled into a rhythm and vowed that I wouldn’t walk, whatever happened. TC passed me, a lap ahead and looking good, and after a while I passed G-Sport, my running buddy from last year. On the first lap I stuck with the Torq gels in my flasks but after that it was a bit of a mix of water, coke, orange slices, jelly babies etc.-whatever I fancied really.
My splits show that I did the first lap in 59.55 but after that it slowed up a bit but I was still enjoying the ride and feeling pretty good, albeit in the I-feel-good-but-also-absolutely-shagged terms of reference. I saw Woody 32 looking good on every lap and we gave each other a wave despite not having met yet. It was the Tritalk kit that was the give away… (You may not have heard but I believe that Woody is now an IRONMAN by the way). I also saw Samwhi, and Old Bob and it was great to see Stengun and he was running too. Great work after that injury. I saw Mrs. Repo and Daniel on every lap down near the finish and they were just along from the Slackos: the support was great, thanks.
The run was hot and this year windy too, but it passed relatively quickly. I slowed a bit on laps 2 and 3 (1.05 and 1.09) but I didn’t walk which was my main goal. I knew that I would need to do close to an hour for the last lap to go sub 13 but in the end the old legs didn’t have it in them whatever I tried – I gave it a good shot though, next year….
Coming down the finish chute in Lanza is fantastic: it’s downhill, there’s a great big crowd cheering and well,….you’ve just finished one of the toughest IMs in the world. What’s not to like? For me it was extra special: my 10th IM finish out of 10 starts and I was 13 minutes quicker than last year. I also did my fastest IM marathon. Get in!
Run: 4:21:51
Overall: 13:02:24
In transition I met up with Fix and TC tucking into the free nosh but I didn’t have the energy to queue up for some so I simply packed my bags, met the family and headed back up to Club Oceano a happy man.
The post race shenanigans were great with a good few beers sunk at Route 66 on Sunday night, although sadly family commitments meant that we were long gone by the Bon Jovi sing off in the small hours. For me relaxing with a few beers and hearing everyone’s war stories is all part of the fun and I got as much pleasure from the achievement of folks like Woody 32 and Rofster popping their Iron cherry at a tough race as my own day out. Yes, I’m sure there are guys racing head to head at the sharp end but my view from the middle of the pack is more about everyone having a great day.
Well done to everyone who put themselves on the line, and thanks for the good times: I’ll be back
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