Written by Sam Tomkins
I crossed the finish line to hear the words: ‘Sam Tomkins, YOU ARE AN IRON MAN’. 10 months of preparation had all been for this moment; I had just completed my first ever Ironman. Mike Reilly’s words are the most sought after words in triathlon and I, after more than 11 hours of hell, had become an Ironman.
My friends and family were at the finish line, including those who had ran along-side me for the last mile, I collapsed into a chair and took a deep breath, determined to take in this moment. The run hurt so much I was adamant I would not do it ever again – I was now an Ironman, why would I want to do it again? However, 6 weeks post-race, Challenge Family announced they were hosting a new event – Challenge Henley. This was on my doorstep, how could I not? The urge to do a better time coupled with forgetting the pain for the week after the race – I signed up!
I started out in triathlon in 2009; rehabilitation from a knee reconstruction forced me into training in a linear motion, with swimming being the dominant exercise. Not being a swimmer, I found this frustrating and was shattered after one length, but after a few basic lessons I soon started to get the hang of it. A friend persuaded me to enter the Blenheim triathlon, which is a Sprint distance, and the London triathlon, an Olympic distance. This was so daunting, but during training I started buying every magazine and reading hundreds of articles, and found out about Ironman – ridiculous! Why would anyone want to do that, I was struggling with the idea of an Olympic distance, let alone an Ironman. Less than a year after finishing the London Triathlon, I had completed both Ironman UK 70.3 (Half Ironman) and Ironman UK.
People may think it is easy for me to say this, as I have always been sporty, but I firmly believe that anybody, who wants to, can become an Ironman. Yes it is hard work and it is a big strain on your life as well as a huge commitment. The one thing I would say is that it is not so much the physical aspect, but I believe the hardest part of an Ironman is the mental side. Physically anybody can train to finish an Ironman in 17 hours, but mentally it is a lot harder to train yourself for this goal. This is where it gets easier each time you race.
2011 was to be a big year; I was getting married and going on Honeymoon. This meant May was taken up by stag do’s - I had to have a pre-stag to get me in shape for my real stag, as alcohol had taken a back seat in my training. June was also taken up by the wedding and honeymoon, so I decided that I would race a 70.3 before all my commitments started.
After getting back from an amazing honeymoon, I knew some serious training had to start. I had just 10 weeks before Challenge Henley and despite my best intentions, training whilst away did not work out as planned! I had struggled with calf problems throughout the year and my run training was suffering. My motivation was low and I was contemplating dropping down the half Ironman distance, Challenge had announced they had included on the same day, or worse pulling out altogether.
On the 25th August my season totally changed, I was at work and opened my e-mail account to find an e-mail from British Triathlon saying; ‘Congratulations, you have been selected for the Great Britain team for the ITU World Long Distance Triathlon Championships in Nevada, USA. I had to check this out, was it for real??? Having double and triple checked – it was for real. I had been selected based on my time for the 70.3 race I did earlier in the year just before our wedding. If this wasn’t the motivation I need, then nothing would be. I sat down with my wife and discussed whether I could afford to go. We were supposed to be saving up for a deposit for a house and our wedding and honeymoon had taken a large chunk of our savings.
Having told work about this opportunity, Matt Roberts Personal Training very kindly offered to contribute towards my costs, and that was that, I was going to Las Vegas to represent Great Britain at Triathlon.
My motivation rocketed and I was finding ways to train around my calf problems, whilst seeing a brilliant running specialist at Drummond Clinic in Maidenhead and soon found myself back training seven days a week and looking forward to each session.
The day of Challenge Henley quickly arrived and after a rather hesitant swim, I got out on the bike and, despite freezing conditions early on, managed to knock 50 odd minutes off my split from IM UK – the absence of run training time, meant more work on the bike paid off. It was then all down to the part I feared the most – the run. It was a case of ‘getting through’, without causing too much damage. I did get through and finished with an overall personal best by over 30 minutes, in 11hrs 16mins. The run was slow, partly planned and partly forced; I started off with a run/walk strategy made popular by coach Bobby McGee, designed to reduce soreness after the race and allow you to finish in a quicker time if you can’t run the whole way, however my real lack of run training started to count late on as the run/walk turned to a walk/run strategy! This did mean that I did not feel too sore, and after a couple of days of recovery training I was back following my training plan, with the focus now solely on the ITU World Champs in 6 weeks time.
I had ordered by race kit the week before Challenge Henley and the week after the race it arrived in the post – my personalised GBR tri-suit, which when arrived looked like it was for a child, did stretch enough for me to fit in to – just! Also included was the event polo shirt and a GB ½ zip thermal top, not sure it’ll be needed in Las Vegas, where it is set to be 30oC, but will definitely get worn over here as winter sets in! Now I was excited and suddenly it all feels real. This excitement soon turned to trepidation when I started researching the race – Nigh on 10,000ft of climbing, with 2000ft on the run course alone – this all in 30oC heat.
So with less than 2 weeks to go, the weather has really changed – I’m not sure cycling in 5 degrees Celsius is good preparation for the weather in Las Vegas, but a week of “acclimatisation” should do the trick. I’m sure we will find something to keep us entertained in the build-up to the race! And certainly find a way to celebrate the end to an incredible season.
25 Oct 2011
