Page 54 - RADC Bulletin 2021

SPORT & AT
wetsuits. The day of pain was about to begin. I was only thinking of 2 things, “follow the feet of the swimmer in front” and “why the hell did I pay to do this?”
The swim went well, which is to say I managed to not drown and flailed myself around the 2 laps. Straight onto the bike and my least favourite leg of the whole event. Bolton is a notoriously hard course due to the climbs north of the town. Three laps of the route to do and on the second the rain started. It quickly turned from a lovely overcast summer day into a torrential downpour of heavy droplets and hailstones. The roads became rivers to cycle up and
I was wetter than I had been on the swim, why did I even bother taking the wetsuit off? The cycle is a slog because of the miles but also because of the nutrition. Over
the course of the race, I burned over 8000 calories so needed to replace as much as possible during it. Impossible to do in the swim and difficult on the run so a lot is left to be eaten on the cycle. At times forcing myself to have my 8th banana was harder than getting up some of the climbs.
I managed to get through the bike without
any flats or mechanical problems and was over the moon to get the cycle shoes off and into trainers. 4 laps of a 10km route lay between me and the finish line. The support from the crowd out on the cycle had been incredible and seriously helped in some
of the darker moments but the people of Bolton took it to a whole new level on the run. The streets were lined for the entire course with people cheering and shouting encouragement. At the times when you were desperate to stop, hearing them helped to just keep going. The miles ticked by, the legs got soarer and suddenly, I was on the last lap.
My family had given me phenomenal support from start to finish and had persevered through the rain. Not just support on the day, but throughout all months of training, is what helped me get over the line. I certainly will not be rushing to do another full distance triathlon but have no regrets for my performance. While I may not recommend it to everyone, I would certainly say that picking something I actively disliked and pushing myself to work on it has been a huge positive during this process. It helped
not just my physical fitness but my mental strength as well.
IRONMAN Bolton, worst £405 I have ever spent!
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52 RADC BULLETIN 2021
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