The Goat goes to Lanzarote
After finishing my 2017 triathlon season with that niggling feeling that I hadn’t achieved my goals – it left me with the pesky decision of choosing another race. Go hard or go home….so Lanzarote Ironman in late May was soon signed up for. This meant a brutal winter of training – something some of my followers will know doesn’t make me smile!!
Winter slog
I had a new coach – and new goals. I wanted to run a sub 3.45 marathon after my bike leg…just so happened that Lanzarote is one of the hardest in the world…so they kept telling me…. Could I do it?… If I did what I was told and trained my proverbial butt off, there was a chance!
FTP
Hard turbo sets building up my FTP, long rides in the worst winter conditions for years….. did indeed have my FTP at a PB for me. My weekends consisted of 5/6 hour rides all over Devon, Somerset & the Cotswolds. For those of you who have ever trained Long Course will appreciate how lonely those long rides can be, I was lucky enough to have some great training partners that braved the wet & cold conditions with me and for that, I will be forever grateful.
Warm weather training camps
Snowfall and icy conditions meant training for Lanzarote conditions was nearly impossible! Over Easter, I had a week in Mallorca and then a quick few days in Lanza 4 weeks out from race day. The typical weird weather had me cycling in Lanza with a bin bag under my jersey as the weather turned unexpectedly mid-ride and I nearly got hypothermia! Why didn’t I pack my Goat winter kit…? Oh yes, it was April and on a volcanic island!!
Suits you on Race Day
Race day soon approached, I was packed and ready to go. Lanza is notoriously hotter than hell itself… something I needed to respect on race day. I wanted to race in a Speed Suit so I would have more coverage across my arms and shoulders. I had worn my SG Race Team Red tri suit for a few training rides and also a long run so I knew how well it performed, it was a no-brainer to use this as my race kit. The Pocket at the back is brilliant – you can literally fit everything you need for a long ride – I’ve got 4 bars of flapjacks and 4 gels and almost a partridge in a pear tree. It stays tight at the top so nothing falls out, and even whilst running nothing bobs about in it. Sleeves are clean cut and stay put without squishing any arm at the bottom. I hear they’re majorly aerodynamic and can save you up to 8-10w on the cycling leg, yassss!
The legs are a good length, they were perfect for me and again, none of that pesky sausage squish that is all too common in some suits.
Zipper – to any Long Course triathletes the zipper is an area of great concern when buying a suit. Chafe at the top, bottom or along the edges leaves you post-race looking like you’ve had a fight with a jellyfish. The top of the zipper on this suit has a fold over cover to protect the neck area and the zipper goes below the belly button so no belly-rub either.
Overall – a flipping great suit! I can highly recommend this suit for Long course – its literally been tried and tested in one the toughest Ironman races in the World – and it survived – along with its wearer! It has the Grozzer seal of approval!
What was also great come race day, one of my fellow friends racing, also had a Stolen Goat Tri suit, the Calavera and being such a striking suit I recognised him on the run course during the laps!
See all of the new SG tri suits here!
Results
For those of you who love to number crunch…. Here are my results…
Swim 1 hour 12 minutes
Bike 6 hours 43 minutes
Run 3 hours 42 minutes…..
4th in Age Group, 1st Brit in AG, 25th Overall woman. I’ll take that.
I did it, I got what I wanted, a sub 3.45 marathon…. After a brutal swim getting kicked, punched and head dunked the whole way around, The bike leg was into a 40mph headwind…in every direction, and the marathon was hotter than hell itself….Lucifer would have found it a hard day!!! Tan lines reflect the days’ events, tired legs and a battered body are now well in need of some rest.
Thankful
So many people can get wrapped up on race day, head down butt up. I was lucky enough to have close friends and family out in Lanza supporting me, as well as so many virtual supporters tracking my progress. One special supporter was Ellie, who is currently undergoing proton & chemotherapy. This race was dedicated to her and her courage and strength that far outweighs anything I came close to during my day. If you can see my race pictures where I have 4 fingers in a salute – this is 4 Ellie, Stay Strong 4 Ellie.
My advice – Buy the suit and sign up for an Ironman. Go Hard or Go Home. Or go hard and then limp to the airport to get home.
If you want to follow my adventures on Instagram look me up: TheGrozzer
Until the next adventure – Keep on smiling ;-)