Basic Info
Accomodation
Schedule of Events
Race Info
Rules
Course Maps
Ironman Experience
Application
Competitors
Lanzarote
Contacts
Nutrition
FAQ
Links
Sponsors
Results / History
News & Press
Hawaii
Coaches
Tricamps
Sales
Aid Stations
|
Ironman Lanzarote …a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike and a mere 42km run of the Toughest Ironman Course There Is!
The stark, rugged, island of Lanzarote is about 60 miles off the northwest coast of Africa. It is, in many ways, similar to Hawaii’s Big Island, although the lava fields in Lanzarote seem to be even more barren and desolate than those you see when riding down the Queen Kaahumanu Highway in Kona. There are 300 volcanic cones on the tiny island - the last time one erupted was in 1824, when the top literally blew off of one of the infamous “Fire Mountains.”
It could be the heat, the mountains, or the sand-blasting winds … or all of the above! This Ironman in the Canary Islands is known as one of the most difficult on the Ironman circuit. The motto says it all. “Normal limits do not apply.” It’s hard to say what makes the Ironman Lanzarote course so tough. There’s heat, high winds, bad roads and a challenging bike course that winds its way up and down two mountains.
It is a course that has brought many of the world’s greatest triathletes to their knees. Peter Reid, Thomas Hellreigel, and Paula Newby-Fraser have all raced, and won, here. All have been quick to point out that there is no tougher course on the planet than Lanzarote’s. Now, after last Saturdays race, added to the list of finishers is Eamonn Horgan, the first ever Limerick Man to cross the Lanzarote finish line. “I took up Triathlons just to learn how to swim, after a near drowning accident in the same Canary Islands some years back. So it was fitting that I returned to the Canaries two and a half years after I first started to learn to swim, to finally say goodbye to those haunting demons of those treacherous seas, now a swimmer, but not just yet an Ironman. But along the road to getting to Lanzarote, I went through a few more obstacles. After racing the Lost Sheep Half Ironman distance 2 years in a row and both years crossing the line after “bonking” (running out of energy, nutrition, fluids and all the essential ingredients the body needs to fuel itself) taking on twice that distance on the toughest course of them all, was to me a nerve wracking and daunting experience! Would I make it past half way, would I even make it out of the water? The only way to find out was to enter, pay the €300, and give it a go! A short pre-visit to the Island in early 2005, gave me the chance to see what I had gotten myself into. Hideously strong winds battered me all over the road on the bike and the hills took every ounce on strength to get up……so leaving the island I was nervous but strangely comfortable with the challenge! 5 months later and many hours up and down UL pool, long hours in the saddle and pounding the footpaths of Limerick, it was touch-down on the Run-way, swim goggles, bike and runners in hand, ready to take on the beast that is,……. Lanzarote Ironman.On the Tuesday before the race, I rode out into the severe lave fields to pay my respects to the Timan Faya (Fire Devil of the Island Folklore). Hopefully, he would let me pass easily over his terrible domain. A bizarre week of staying out of the sun to avoid heat exhaustion and sun-stroke and force feeding myself with protein and carbohydrates brought me to the night before the race. At 3pm that evening it was time to set up my bicycle in the transition area for the next morning. Going down into the transition area was the closest thing to an out of body experience I have ever felt. As I floated by all the professional athletes, veterans of pain and long distance, I felt out of my league. Looking at magnificent bike after bike, and then glancing back at my €600 second hand bargain, I fell further out of my league………. but I was not deterred, if anything, more relaxed and more determined then ever before that I was going to finish! The next day, the day that I had trained so hard for, was to be the day that I would prove nothing to the world, but prove everything and more to myself! Bed-time 8pm………….didn’t fall asleep till well after 11pm…nerves. Woke again at 2am to pack even more carbohydrates into me, every spoon in my mouth felt like an Ironman in itself, but I kept on eating because I knew I’d be needing every ounce of food the next day. Back to sleep at 2.30 and woke again at 5am. I walked down to the transition area and placed all my food and water bottles on my bike. I gave it one last check and went down to the waters edge to pay my respects to the Sea. 6.40 am, I drank my last 500ml of sports drink, zipped up my wetsuits and crossed the first timing chip of the day………….”this is it, no going back now” I thought to myself.
A swim is a swim, and the 2-loop 3.8km anti clockwise ocean swim is a great way to start the long day. I stayed well at the back to stay clear of the craziness, that is the start of an Ironman swim, 800 competitors all jostling for a position, kicking, thrashing, thumping, shoving, in and out of the water……….its no place for the faint hearted. I worked my way through the crowds never wanting to push myself harder at the risk of getting out of breath, raising my hearth rate too high at this stage could mean the end of my race. Completing the whole swim, with no major catastrophes, in 1 hour 17 minutes, I was feeling confident. Then it was out of the swim and under the showers to wash off the salt water, that could do some terrible damage later, and on with the bike gear and lashings of sun cream to fight off the scorching sun.
| The bike course is where things get really tough for the 800 or so competitors. So I decided on a game plan to take it steady all the way round. I took the first 20km nice and steady and felt good. I didn’t experience any of the bloated stomach cramps that I got in the Kenmare races, so my confidence was high. 30 minutes into the bike I started taking in all the necessary 10,000 calories I would need to get me to the line! But all that food over the previous days had to have an effect somewhere and by 35km it started to hurt and slow me down. I kept my cool and tried to bike on and see if the pains would pass, but that was not to be……I thought to myself that this was it, this is as far I was to get…and I resigned to the fact that I had done all I could have done and that it was just not to be my day! But then I decided on one last ditch effort and decided to see if using the “lavatory” would be of any benefit. So, stopping my bike on the side of the road beside a blisteringly hot black volcanic lava field, I wandered in behind a jagged rock and assisted the natural fertilisation of an otherwise, harsh and lifeless landscape. To my amazement and relief, it worked, back on the bike, about 6 lbs lighter and I was flying uphill again, more comfortable than ever before.This was just to be the start of the day and, stretched out past the next 25km of lava fields, was the climbing of more than 2,600 meters/9000 feet of steep sided volcano’s. There are times when the athletes competing at Ironman Lanzarote |
Pictures by Fotocolor Pedro
|
probably wish the top would blow off a mountain while they’re racing - it would be a very good reason to stop punishing themselves!All the time on the bike I was concentrating on never going too fast, and making sure I took enough fluids and calories in. I chipped away at the arduous bike ride……..km after km, battling into the wind and riding the rough road, trying to avoid punctures and crashes. All day I passed people on the side of the road, some had punctured, some had crashed, others had just given up……………The Timan Faya was wreaking havoc on the competitors, with his nasty heat, energy sapping wind and difficult terrain. By the end of the day he would bring almost 25% of the 803 starters to their knees and subsequent failure…… The wind did some more damage to my energy levels around 145km mark but the thoughts of getting to the finish line kept me going! 180km completed and it was back into transition…………two out of three aint’ bad……………nearly finished………well not quite! Lest we forget, there is still the 26.2 mile marathon, but Iron men never call it a marathon but prefer to call it a “run”. To an Ironman, the marathon is no longer a test of endurance but just a stage in a whole day of endurance. The out-and-back run course is relatively flat in Lanzarote. What makes it so tough are the winds, and the heat … and the fact that it’s a marathon. The wind wasn’t too bad, but the heat made up for what the wind lacked! But there was in fact three or four long drags that still have to be dealt with…
Again, on the run I chipped away, one foot in front of the other, trying to hold a steady pace all the way, which I managed to do, only dropping 10 secs per mile over the 26 miles to give me a time of 3 hrs 54 mins for the “Run”. On the last 5.5km leg home, I though I would be buzzing, full of emotion, full of elation……it was not to be. I was so tired and despite being only 5.5km from the line, still not sure if I would make it to the line. It took every ounce of energy and effort to keep my concentration to bring me to that line. Even 30ft in front of the line I did not believe I was an Ironman. I crossed the line in 12 hours 14 mins. The race director stood beside me, shook my hand, placed the Ironman Medal over my head and said……..”Well Done Ironman”. Not till then did I believe I was an Ironman. It was a quick puke in a black bag, a saline and a glucosamine drip in the medical tent and I was right as rain again. Collected my time splits and Finisher T-Shirt, returned my timing chip, collected my bags and bike and headed back to the apartment for a nice shower and to relax. Next day I packed my bags, and went out for dinner with the other Irish lads who had been so strong and vital with their words of support along the run as we all battled on to reach the line…….we enjoyed dinner and celebrated quietly that night……….Ironmen don’t need to jump up and down …………….Ironmen don’t need to show off with a fancy dance. They are the ultimate in Sportsmen, they are the best there is…….and they know it deep down inside themselves, and that’s all that matters to them! Will I do it again? I said never again………………..but lets wait and see………..Eamonn Horgan
Limerick Triathlon Club Ireland
Acknowledgements: thanks to the writer of the race report on Ironman live for the use of his wonderful introduction |
