Ironman Copenhagen

The alarm was set for 5:15am. Race Day.

But this day really started in June 2012 when I was 'swimming' in the tropical waters of Maui and then running the Kona Marathon on the Big Island a few days later. The seed was sown. I wondered if I could actually do a triathlon. Ultra distance cycling was in my blood having competed a range of long rides including three Paris-Brest-Paris 1200km events.

Back to 2013: My gear was all ready from the previous night, so it was a quick change and off to the 7eleven to get a pastry and a coffee. Racing away from home makes you more flexible in your nutrition.

One change of train and a 15 minute walk and we were at the swim start.

This was really happening. The worst of the nerves were now gone. They really went with the swim I did here on Friday. Time to finalise my bike set up. This is pretty easy as you had to hand in your bike bag and your run bag with the bike check in last night. I had a great bike rack location. Last row before the bike exit. Easy to find.

Crown Prince Frederik

Crown Prince Frederik from Denmark was racing today with the professionals and all the age groupers. Triathlons really are a sport for everyone. They are expecting 200,000 spectators on the course. The organisers thought about family and friends with lots of information about the best places to see your athlete on the various legs of the course.

The Pro's left at 7:00 but my start time was not until 8:05. Although this is an Ironman, they decided to keep with the wave start that was planned for "Challenge Copenhagen".

I had an energy drink 20 mins before the swim start - Perform. Eventually it was time to line up. In my familiarisation swim I swam basically the first section to the first bridge and from the last buoy to the finish. This was great as it gave me confidence. I was worried that the water was going to be cold but it was just fine, around 19 degrees C. This was to be a good swim for me. Clearly the work put in at the "Swim for Fitness" and the tri club aquathon sessions was paying off.

It was a one lap swim that passed under three bridges (twice) so it was great for spectators. Elizabeth could spot me and could not believe how well I was going. With my lack of experience I was not really sure how hard to push (this would be a re-occurring theme of the day) so I concentrated on trying to keep my stroke slow and long. There was the usual hustle and bustle of the swim, but I was glad to be in the mix as it meant that I was not dropping off the back. I even managed a bit of drafting. Before I knew it the swim was over and I was really excited when I saw my time. 1:24. Not quick by many standards, but I was so excited as I was worried about getting timed out! Later, my Garmin showed my that I actually swam 4.1 kilometres so I must practice swimming straighter.

The swim done: Bring on the Bike!

T1 went without incident and it was on to the bike and through the main part of Copenhagen before heading up the coast into North Zealand. The first part of the course was flat with a side breeze assisting. Once the course headed inland it cut through forests and small villages and things got a bit harder. There was more of a head wind and it was a bit hillier than I expected. Once we hit the hot spot at Holte it was incredible. On the hill up to the aid station people lined the course 20 deep, cheering, yelling and banging things. I saw Elizabeth there, which was great. She looked like she was having a great time as well.

The course was well marked and there was a well-stocked aid station roughly every 30kms. With hind-site I could have taken less on the bike.

When we turned in to the country on the second lap the weather took a change for the worse. The wind really picked up and we got rain. In some of the forested sections it was really starting to get dark. This was a bit of a problem for me as I wear prescription sunglasses when I ride. In one of the small villages I was sitting about 15 metres behind the guy in front on me when we encountered a farm vehicle coming around a blind corner. He headed off the road and 'almost' kept it upright. I stopped to see that he was ok, which he was, and then it was off again into the rain. Eventually it passed and once we hit the main road again, the speed increased as the headwind moved to a cross wind.

I knew I was starting to suffer on the bike as I had neglected bike training for swim training. It was a call I made because if you don't finish the swim in time you don't get to play in the rest of the game. I could not wait to get to the main road that headed into Holte as I knew that after a few hills it started to flatten out. The intersection never seemed to arrive.

I was making sure that I kept spinning, riding comfortably and keeping my head clear as I still had a marathon to complete but I was surprised that I was still passing people.

Before long I was back in central Copenhagen and it was time to run. This was totally new territory for me. Yes, I had done some brick sessions in training, but nothing like this. Into T2, and they took your bike and racked it, kids scrambled to grab your blue run bag and give it to you and then it was into the change tent. I was planning a complete change here and as I had got pretty wet, this was a great idea. Clean dry socks were great (fantastic last minute suggestion by my wife). Volunteers even picked up you bag when you were finished with it.

I thought the scenery and spectators on the bike course were great, but the run was quite incredible. Basically four 10.5 km (ish) loops along the water front in Copenhagen. The crowds were incredible. There was a Kona spot up for the athlete who had the best cheer squad and many were obviously going for it.

I ran the first 10 km at my marathon pace but got nervous that the infamous wall was going to come crashing down on me (again the lack of experience). I was using a run/walk strategy. 4 mins run, 1 minute walk and I wanted to try to run the whole 42 km fairly consistently. I backed off a little for the next 10km and kept chugging along. Each of the laps finished near the finish line, so it was psychologically difficult to see runners finish and you had to turn left and keep going.  This got tougher on each lap even though I knew that some of these athletes had close to an hours head start on me. You had to collect four arm bands. Red, green, black and eventually the coveted white band indicating that you were on the last lap.

The darkest section for me was between kilometres 22 and 23  as I was starting to cramp in the hamstrings. I decided to up my fluid intake a bit and have some of the salted crackers they had at the aid stations. This did the trick, as long as I made sure I finished eating the cracker when I still had some drink in your hand. The aid stations were great, clearly marked with what was available - water, High 5, Coke, Red Bull,  gels, energy bars, fruit, crackers and sponges.

I'm always amazed at the volunteers at triathlons who give so much of their time, energy and enthusiasm so that I can have a great day following my dreams.

The organisers had partnered with Samsung to allow family and friends to send their athlete a 'boost'. They could send a text message or video and when the athlete passed a sensor near T2 the message would appear on the big screen. This was great. Really like cheering from home.

I must admit that I was waiting for the wall to hit but it never did. Yes, I was tired, but not excessively considering what I was doing.With hind sight, I should have pushed the whole marathon harder. However, a by-product of this, was that I could really enjoy the last 10km passing many people who had resorted to walking or stopping. No one passed me on the last lap. Although the crowd was dwindling on the last lap and the empty cups were starting to outnumber spectators (downside of being in the last age group wave), there were still groups out there cheering you on, trying to get every last athlete home. One guy said "keep going Greg, I'll be here for you on your next lap" - and he was.

The last few kilometres were simply to be enjoyed. The crowd started building again as I approached the last kilometre and I could feel my hamstrings just starting to cramp again. There was no way I was stopping on the way into the finish line. Down the home straight, past Elizabeth, onto the red carpet, high fives for everyone including the finish announcer to hear the words... Greg Lansom from Australia, you are an Ironman!

The medical people took one look at me and ignored me then it was on to get the medal, the gold space blanket and some food and drink that was not High Five). I caught up with Elizabeth. It was such a special feeling.

This was the culmination of my first year of competing in triathlons. 12 months ago I could just swim 25 metres but I was able to focus, plan and executed step by step my journey from club distance, olympic, 70.3 and onto Ironman.

The Ironman distance is not for everyone, but as an athlete who has focused on long endurance activities for some time, it certainly is a pinnacle. Getting out of bed at 4:30 am some days (5:00 was my sleep in days), commuting to Sydney, training whatever the weather, had payed off. I had done the best preparation I could given my circumstances. I had a plan for the race and executed it. I could not have asked for more. My bike went great and I need to thank Ryan from Spearman's Cycles for the work he did we me to get the best fit for me. Even after 180km on the bike I was still comfortable.

I was hoping for somewhere between 13:30 and 12:30 hours. My total time was 12:19:37 I was stoked. The splits, swim 1:24:08, bike 5:56:06 and the run 4:41:59. The main aim at Copenhagen was to experience and finish an Ironman. I did that, and loved it.

Now for Melbourne...