#TeamTCUK athlete Laura Swanton chose IM Barcelona for her full distance début and it definitely didn't disappoint. Read all about why she'd highly recommend this Ironman!

Pre-race

Taper was good leading up to the race! I didn’t focus on my Garmin outputs but just did the time allocated just to give my mind a rest and not to panic too much if things did not go quite to plan so close to the race. I felt uncomfortable about the tapering as was worried my body would forget all the training but Matt reassured me otherwise! I missed one of the brick sessions in the last week I think but did the rest.

I arrived on the Wednesday night into Calella ahead of the race on Saturday. All went to plan and all my bags and bike arrived in one piece! It was good to have a few days to get set up, register and get into the feel of the place having not visited before. I was thankful I was also making a bit of a holiday out of it too as the race day changed to one day earlier which if I had not planned to have a few days either side could have been quite stressful. I stayed in a self-catering apartment which meant I had more control over what I ate and drank in the run up to the race too which was good.

Swim

Time: 1:08:16

Really, really good, loved every minute of the swim! It was relatively calm and the tide not too strong. My wetsuit did not chafe (plenty of BodyGlide!) and the staggered swim start was great as I felt I had space and could get into my rhythm quickly from the start without having to contend with fighting people. I found it slightly hard to sight properly on the back strait of the swim as I kept veering off towards the shore slightly due to the slight current but otherwise I felt comfortable throughout. I made sure I kept a steady but slightly pushing pace as I knew this was my strongest discipline. Matt’s advice for which pen to start in was spot on, it was much better swimming with people the same speed/faster than me and not to seed myself in a slower swim group ‘just in case’.

I think I could be stronger in the pool, I feel my technique is fairly good but my actual strength could be better to propel me forwards better and therefore get faster.

T1

Time: 11.02

It went ok! The floor was wet and slippery in the changing tent but managed to stay upright! Was quite a long transition as was doing a full change (went bottomless under the wetsuit) and had to apply suncream (being a fair skinned girl!) tried to dry off as much as possible but still getting lyrca on was tricky!

I need to work on being quicker, but overall I was not that unhappy with my transition time, speed was not my main aim today.

Bike

Time: 6:24:04

The bike was not as easy/straightforward as I thought but the time ended up being about right compared to my training rides. The course was fairly flat with more undulations than hills which was great and a good road surface. The head wind picked up on the second lap which took it out of me a bit. I focused on keeping my HR below 140 as per the plan and tried to use any tail wind to my advantage (was tricky though!) I tried to keep a moderate effort throughout. Nutrition-wise I ate Clif bars and then had two caffeine gels on the last half lap to push me through the start of the run. With the course being laps I just broke it down that way mentally and focused on getting to the end of each leg before thinking ahead.

I think I have much more potential on the bike; this is where I lose most time in my triathlons, so I probably need to work on everything!

T2

Time: 07:41

Again quite a long time compared to other triathlons but I was playing the long game! Again did a full kit change for comfort.

Run

Time: 4:46:40

The run I feel went as well as it could. I didn’t focus on HR as I know from my training my HR skyrockets whilst running and so to keep within an aerobic zone I would have to probably walk the whole thing which wasn’t going to happen! My HR sat at around 150+ throughout the run but I didn’t feel bad for it. I tried to keep a steady pace and used the advice Matt gave with regards cadence and posture and remembered the video link he sent through of Miranda Carfrae (in my head that was what I was aiming for…reality looked very different I am sure!) I ran between feed stations and then walked whilst I took on hydration and nutrition (mainly isotonic drink, orange segments and the odd crisp). I also made use of my special needs bag on the run as was starting to feel hungry so had the best peanut butter sandwich of my life, half on lap 1 and half on lap 2! So glad I put it there just in case! I started to have a mild bit of lateral knee pain on the first lap but this disappeared as the run went on thankfully.

Again, due to the laps I broke the run down mentally and focused on one lap at a time. This really helped and the crowds and support were amazing. I was happy that the run was also flat as this really helped. There were a fair few people walking too, so despite being overtaken by many on the bike I felt I made some gains on the run.

I really feel that the endurance brick sessions I completed as part of my training absolutely paid off here, even just a short 3-5k run off the bike in training made sure that I was ready for this.

My actual running technique is pretty poor and I definitely would benefit from some more regular strength training in my life!

Post-race

I have recovered remarkably well and I think that is where the hard graft for months beforehand really comes into its own. Straight after the race I had a cheese baguette and water, and showered - I wanted nothing sweet!! I then went to meet my family who brought Prosecco to celebrate so would have been rude not to! I went back to our apartment on foot via picking up my bike (1.5k from the finish to transition!) I think keeping moving straight after the race helped a lot. I made sure I ate well (protein, water etc.) to aid recovery and also let loose with the beer and wine, I was in Spain after all! Two days after the race I went for a gentle sea swim (only about 30 mins) then on the Wednesday I went for a gentle run along the beach to the lighthouse and back (about 6.4k) my legs initially felt awful but after about 10 minutes they felt so much better! And today I am back on my cycle commute to work and my body feels ok!

Race review

IM Barcelona is actually based in Calella which is about an hour down the coast from Barcelona, don’t get caught out! The IM course is known for being relatively flat and fast with a fairly nice sea swim. The town of Calella itself is small but I found this to be great as a base for IM as it is calm and quiet, and there are plenty of hotels and apartments to stay in but book early.

The race itself is very well organised and the atmosphere amazing throughout as you would expect from an Ironman branded event and the volunteers and marshals were very helpful. Even with Ironman having to change the day close to the event due to the referendum in Catalonia they managed this well and communication was excellent.

The swim start was self-seeded and a staggered start which meant plenty of space in the water and less daunting than the mass starts you sometimes get with other events. The bike was on good road surfaces and on an undulating course so ideal for those who want a fast bike and to avoid hills! And the run was similar, a picturesque run along the seafront. The bike and run are lapped courses and the feed stations are well stocked and placed.

It is a great course for spectators because of the laps and it is all centred on the beachfront in Calella, so there is lots of support. The further from Calella you go on the laps the quieter it becomes but that is to be expected and at least you know you will be back amongst the cheers soon if you keep going!

I would highly recommend this Ironman!