Ironman Switzerland

On Sunday July 12th I raced in my first Ironman race in Zurich, Switzerland.
A big shout goes to my support crew on race day in Zurich who cheered for me from beginning to end. Tanja, Maren and Anni had their longest day of the year and supported me from the first minute.

Race Day Conditions and Logistics

The conditions on race day were absolutely perfect. When we woke up it was around 16 degrees Celsius and there was no wind. We woke up at 3:59am and started the day with a good breakfast. A big bowl of cereals, Powerbar and banana was the proven formula for a good pre race breakfast on half ironman events.
We left the Hotel at 5am and took a taxi to the near by race sight. As always the Ironman Corporation had a well run event and the organization was outstanding, so that I had my bike and transition zone set up by 5:45am.
This gave my plenty of time to think about the last 10 months of training and all the effort that Tanja and I have put into the preparation for this race.

The Swim

I had a great warm up of about 10 minutes with some short sprints to get my body going. With 5 minutes to the start I felt very confident and did not have any doubts after a healthy and strong preparation. The gun went off at 7am and 2200 athletes started their endeavour. I had an excellent first swim part, found a good rhythm on the first 1800m loop and hit the mat on the small island at 27:10 in 26th position for my age group. Just a small sprint of about 40m over the island and back into the water for the second, 2000m loop to finish the swim. My second loop was not as good and I had troubles finding a rhythm. Twice, I had to stop and empty my stomach during this swim portion. Most likely the early Powerbar did not sit well in my overheated stomach. After 34:38 minutes and a total swim time of 1:01:48 I left Lake Zurich in 36th position in my age group.

First Transition

I had a very speedy and efficient first transition. My time of 1:22 was very competitive and right in line with all professionals, 9th fastest in my age group.


The Bike

I got out very well on the bike and kept things under control. Of course, I have a tenancy to go out too hard, because I am used to shorter distance triathlons. The first part of the two loop bike course was very flat and fast around Lake Zurich. Averaging over 40 km/h, 25 mph and passing several athletes that had a stronger swim. I started my race nutrition with plenty of water and gave my body and stomach a chance to recover from the swim. I was really keen to have a bike time of under 5:00 hours, but had to remind myself of Peter’s words:” There is still a marathon to run”. 30km on the bike I found a great rhythm and I came into the town of Rapperswill. This was the start of the bike portion with the first rolling hills and smaller climbs. Being light weight, 74kg on race morning and good training rides on Lanzarote and Harz I had a competitive advantage over several athletes. I passed Josef Spindler, German Pro with several Top 10 finishes and moved closer to the women pro leaders, reaching the top of the 3 mile climb. Reaching the half way mark on the bike course I had to climb Heartbreak Hill, which was by far the most exciting moment in my short triathlon career. This was true Tour de France atmosphere with thousands of people cheering and leaving only a small gap for the riders. 2:26 for the first 90km moved me into 26th position in my age group, a gain of 10 spots after the swim.
Once again I reminded myself of the upcoming marathon and slowed my pace just a little on the second loop. I was well on pace for a sub 5 hour bike time and managed a second loop of 2:33 and total bike time of 4:59:51. Never had a weak moment on the bike, felt strong throughout this interesting and challenging course, which gave me the 19th fastest bike split and moved me into 20th position.

Second Transition

My second transition was even better than my first and my time of 1:28 was extremely competitive.

The Run

My elapsed time was 6:04 when I started the run, which meant I would need to run my marathon in 3:25 to break 9 hours and 30 minutes for my first Ironman race. Coming out of transition my support crew was right there to give me the well needed motivation for the last part of the race. The run course was a fast four loop course that had some minor climbs around Lake Zurich. I paced myself on the first loop and tried to save some energy for the later part of the marathon. First 10km in 48:56 was right on track for the established goal to break a time of 9 hours and 30 minutes. However, starting loop two, I was reminded that this is an Ironman race and mental toughness is just as important as your physical ability of racing fast. My mind went crazy and as strength left my body I lost focus on my goal that I have set myself during all the hard training hours in the last 10 months. Within 3km of running my goal and mind went from sub 9:30 finish, to sub 10 hour finish to JUST finish. This was the hardest part I have ever experienced in racing and started to realize what it means to be an Ironman. My pace dropped from 4:53 per km to 7:15 minutes per km. “If you quit an Ironman, you will never finish an Ironman”, these were the words of Michael Göhner at last weeks Ironman Germany. I reminded myself of these words and finished the marathon in 4:09:20, 73rd marathon time in my age group.

By the way, at the same time in Roth, Germany Michael Göhner won Ironman Roth in 7:55over Norman Stadler and other world class professionals!

Closing Thoughts

Overall I am happy with my time of 10:13:50. I finished in 39th position in my age group, top 18% overall, but I find myself wondering what if. What if I would have trained more, what if I would have had longer training runs, what if I would have had more brick work outs, and so on. General consensus is that it takes a handful of Ironman races and that this was a great experience with 26. Half Ironman and Olympic distance is my best distance, but within the next few years I feel confident and will prove that I can be a top Ironman triathlete. Half Ironman racing and a good placement at the World Championship in Clearwater, Florida will be my focus for the rest of this season and next year. Project Ironman World Championships Hawaii is set for 2011!