A non-wetsuit swim in clear, warm water and a perfectly executed race plan saw #TeamTCUK athlete, Marios Pitsialis power over the line at Ironman Cozumel in November!

Pre-Race

Leading up to the race I was feeling good. I’d had a few issues with my shoulders that limited my ability to swim but thankfully it did not feel like this was going to affect my race performance on the day as in the final few days leading into the event I did not experience any pain in my shoulders while swimming.

For my running it has been the best I have ever felt and I had confidence that I had done everything possible to finish with a good run.

For the cycle I worried about the sessions I had missed but I knew that from my training and preparation that I had done enough to ensure that I finished the bike with plenty of energy to spare to complete the run. I really felt like that my training and tapering had been just what I needed to achieve my goal.

The days before the event were pretty hectic and I must admit to being completely stressed about dropping off my bike and bags the day before knowing I would not see them again. I am not sure that there is anything else I could have done to help prepare for this as no matter how many times I check my bike and bags I always had the feeling of forgetting something.

Race morning was a bit surreal I was almost is a daydream just going through the paces. It's started off with a trip to T1 to check my bike and put my nutrition on the bike, then getting transferred to the swim start.

While walking up to the start line and while in the swim area I started to have second thoughts about where I was seeding myself, thankfully once I got chatting to the people around me my nerves settled and I started to focus and only think about the swim.

Swim: 1 hour 06 minutes

For the swim start I seeded myself at the back of the 1.30 pen. I was expecting to panic when I first got in the water, as it would be my first open water non wetsuit swim, but once I dived in I just reverted back to my training in the pool, long strokes and bubble, bubble, breathe.

For the first 500 metres we were told that the current would be pushing us to our side and to take care when swimming and sighting due to this. During the next few buoys I was trying to find someone feet I could stick to and at about 1k mark I managed to find someone. As it was a rolling start the swimming did not feel like I was consistently getting hit or people swimming over me. When I eventually found someone it seemed like we were passing a lot of people to my left, looking right there was no one. At the 2k / 2.5k mark I felt strong enough to overtake and lead, quickly realising how hard and lonely it was to lead. No one overtook me or was in front, therefore I just kept going and stuck to my pace despite the fact I felt like I wasn’t going as quickly.

The main positive was that I seemed to fall back on my training and tried to think of basic thoughts and keep my mind clear, as my mind has a tendency to lose focus. I feel like the swim ended up being the best section of the day, it seemed to fly by so quickly. This water was perfect on the day, there were no waves and a slight current.

There were not any major negatives I could take from this area as everything went better than I had expected, even my swim sighting was fairly consistence. I still need to improve my sighting as there were a couple occasions when I would get hit by someone then get turned around, however it was not as bad as it used to be.

I really put everything I could into the swim and I knew any time gained there would make the bike easier. So once I saw my time on getting out of the water I was completely shocked how much faster it was than what I had expected which was 1 hour 30 to 1 hour 40.

T1: 10 minutes 49 seconds

I knew before the race that my transitions were going to be slow as the plan was to do a full change to make sure I was comfortable. I was expecting to take about 7 or 8 minutes. I had not expected showers in transition to get the salt water off before the event so once I knew these were going to be in place I took a of bit extra time to rinse all the salt water off the fully dry myself before getting changed.

The positive was that I managed to get into clothing that I knew I would be comfortable in so that there would be no issues on the ride. I do however feel like if I had been better prepared I could of found a tri suit that would have been comfortable and saved myself a lot of time, but considering that my main objective was to finish I was generally happy.

Bike: 7 hours 15 minutes

The bike, while I finished within the time I expected was a strange one. First lap was going really well and I was holding the aero position comfortably, however I was not paying attention to my surroundings and did not notice someone overtake me and I got a blue card for not dropping back quickly enough. At this point I lost my head a little and really pushed the bike. This I now know was stupid and during this time my foot started to hurt, I diverted to the 5 minute pen and then got back on my bike a bit calmer, however my foot was still hurting. I tried to push through this pain and then reached the point where with each pedal stroke hurt and I could not build up any speed or go any faster without hurting myself. While this did annoy me as I feel like I could have of gone faster, this forced me to hold a slower pace, which realistically allowed me to work in Z2 of my HR rather than Z3 which might have been good thing.

One thing I did notice on the bike was that on each lap the strength of the wind grew, while I do not think it was a bad as previous years (so I have been told). Cycling into the wind for 45 minutes to hour each lap really starts to sap the strength from your legs, this combined with my foot hurting and the constant need for peddling on a flat course with no hills to provide short leg breaks made for a difficult cycle. Due to this I made a decision to rest at the half way point and allow my foot to relax for a little while before jumping back on the bike.

On the bike there was a lot I learnt. Firstly, adapt to the hot weather, I made a rookie mistake of fastening my cleats as I would in the UK, not realising the heat would make my feet swell. I believe that this is why my foot started to hurt and having not done any long rides like this in intense humidity I experienced on the day, this is not something that I could have trained for.

Secondly, while I did felt comfortable on the first lap, on review I think that the pace I was pushing would have affected my run more adversely and slowed me down a lot further on the final lap. Once I slowed down after the first lap the final two laps were more consistent.

Thirdly, while for the first lap I was holding the aero position really well I could not hold it for long periods on the second lap or at all by the third lap, this was mainly due to the issue I have been having in my shoulders and back starting to cause comfort issues.

Lastly, while the course was very flat and I believe suited fast cyclist, for me it was the hardest 100 miles I have ever ridden. The constant need to pedal or risk losing speed, meant that it was the most effort I have ever put into a cycling due to lack of rest from the legs or my foots. However I also believe that this is where the quality of the training came out as well, this is because if not for my foot hurting I did not feel like my legs were burnt out and could have cycled on for longer.

I was really happy that my nutrition and fluids on the bike, these were spot on for me. I did also pour a lot of water over my head as the heat was not something I was used to, and this seemed to work in keeping my body temperature down. I also noticed that other people were visible suffering from the heat and sun, while I appeared to be doing a lot better.

One of the best bits of the bike was that I never considered giving up, I put this down to the training and the long lonely rides, as hard as they were mentally, they made the mental side on the bike for this section of the Ironman easy.

Overall I expected about 7 hours 30 minutes for the bike and considering this felt so much harder than my training rides and I came in under what I predicted at 7 hours 15 minutes I was really happy with this.

T2: 10 minutes 15 seconds

As with T1 I was planning to take between 7 to 8 minutes in transition and here I had the option of a full change or just changing my top. As I was drenched from a combination of sweat and water I decided to go for a full change so that I would be comfortable on the run. This made the transition longer but I think that in the end any negatives where outweighed by ensuring I was comfortable on the run. The only major issue I had was I had lost some feeling in my fingers due to the vibrations of holding the hoods on the bike which made it difficult to do up my shoe laces, if I were to do this again I would either wear good quality gloves on the bike (I did not wear any) or have laces that do not need tightening on the run.

Run: 5 hours 5 minutes

I started off the run bursting with energy with the legs feeling fresh. My HR was right where I expected it to be but my speed was quicker. I took this as a good sign but decided to slowly slow my pace as I did not want to burn out. Between miles 5 and 8 everything was going to plan, my HR was lower than I expected and my pace was slightly higher, my foot was hurting a little but it was nothing major at that point, but I had not fully noticed I was progressively getting slowing due to it at that point.

This all changed in mile 9 when the issue I had in my foot on the bike then started to hurt more. I am not sure if I had just been on a high after getting off the bike and managed to ignore the pain on the first lap or if this was something different. However once this pain started I knew that this section of the event was about making sure that I finish, mentally I adjusted to this very quickly.

For the next 4 miles my goal was just to keep running so that I could hit the halfway point, just before the 13 mile point I did visit the rest room for a quick break. I then decided it was time to start a run walk strategy to ensure that my foot did not get any worse.

Just after the halfway point I was getting fed up of all the gels and drink I had been having, it was not a case of any stomach issues more a case of getting fed up of the taste, this was expected as it had happened on all my marathons no matter what I eat. For this reason in my special needs bags I had put some of my favourite energy sweets, so I stopped off to pick these up and decided that I would also change my socks at the same time as they were wet.

As I was now on a run walk strategy, in the aid stations I decided to take advantage of the food and drink and I walked through. This resulted in me eating peanuts and the fruit on offer and starting to drink flat cola. This was a godsend as it lifted my mood and by the time I hit the final lap I knew I would be able to cross the finish line if I just kept moving.

Running was meant to be my strongest area and while I was running it certainly did not feel like it. I had come into the race hoping to get a marathon time of between 4 hours 30 and 4 hours 45. So I was initially a little disappoint with over 5 hours. However when I now look back on the run I am actually pleased, I feel like I did what I needed to do to finish and did the best I could with the conditions on the day. I also may have overestimated my run before the event considering how hot, humid and windy it was there.

Overall Time: 13 hours 48 minutes

I came in at under 14 hours which was one of the goals I had set before the race, the first goal just finishing no matter what the time. So overall I am happy. I feel like did everything I could on the day, I might have lost my head once on the bike when something did not go according to plan but after that I manged to compose myself, refocus and start making better decisions. One thing I learnt in the race Is it is key that you follow your race plan but it is also important that you are able to make decisions and adjust things as the race develops. The decisions you make here are the key ones that can affect the outcome of your race and, thankfully, I gained enough experience from previous events and through my training to either make good decision or the least harmful decision on most occasions.

When I crossed the finish line it’s difficult to describe how I felt. After my first two marathons I cried as I never thought I could do it and my legs were hurting. After the Ironman it was strange. I had expected I would cry but I crossed the finish line and was still feeling strong and in control. This allowed me to actually enjoy the moment when I heard my name being announced and the relief once I crossed the finish line. I think it was the moment I saw my partner just before this finish line and knew I had done it that I felt like the sacrifices we had both made were worth it and I realised how much pressure I had put on myself to finish.

Location

Ironman Cozumel was an amazing location to combine a race and holiday. I would recommend this race to anyone. I arrived 3 days before the race and I would recommend that anyone going to a location where weather conditions differ to you home that you have at least a week, as the change in heat and humidity did make it hard when I was not used to the conditions. I would also recommend staying in one of the race hotels as well, this way you get access to a bike mechanic and the free transport to rack your bike and get to the start line.

If anyone is worried about their swim then this is the location for you, while it is non-wetsuit the sea water and current make up for this, however what they do not always tell you is that on the swim you will have the most clear water which means you will get to see lots of fish and corals on the sea floor. This will also make sighting very easy, as you can see and follow the ropes under water that are attached to the buoys.

This course is also set up so that spectators get to see everyone a few times, I got to see my partner at swim exit the bike mount point, twice on the bike route and 6 times on the run. I would also recommend getting access to the VIP tent as this will give your spectators access to toilets, food and drink.

Post-race

I got a massage after the race and had one the day after, surprisingly I did not have any major issues in my legs or even my shoulders, I was not walking around in pain and my body was feeling good. I was in complete shock, I expected to be bed ridden for a few days in pain and unable to move but I can only put it down to the training that I had gotten my body into a condition when the recovery process was nothing like it used where I would be in pain for a week.

The only ongoing issue is my shoulder, I now plan on giving my shoulder some rest and getting some physio on it.

At the moment I have only booked to take part in the Boston and Chicago marathon next year, as I generally do not plan my triathlons until January. However I would like to do a middle distance tri next year, but I have not yet decided on one.

When I researched TCUK I could see that it provided the best value for money and from my experience I found this to be true. I signed up when I was having a bit of a low point in my training and before I had the majoring of my training races that I did not feel that I was as ready as I should have been.

It started very well having a plan that led right into some races I had booked and provided a structure that I liked and could work with. I also found that I my coach was very responsive to my questions and helpful in explaining the purpose of each of the training weeks. The feedback I received each week was also useful in helping me develop and also providing encouragement so that I could slowly build up my strength and fitness.

Before each event it was also good to get advice on race strategy and be provided with tips from their own experience. I honestly do not think I would have finished the Ironman in the condition where I was still walking and talking at the end of the race, this allowed be to enjoy the moment when I crossed the finish line. Due to the training, advice and support from my coach it helped me get my body into a condition where I was strong enough to finish and enjoy the moment, as well as walk away relatively pain free.