Pete's page
Peter Jones is raising money for Cancer Research UK
Participants: Peter Jones
Story
On Thursday, 8th September I reached the grand age of 50 and completed Ironman Wales Triathlon on Sunday in 13 hours and 59 minutes. I've exceeded my target of raising £2000 for Cancer Research so a huge thanks to everyone who has sponsored and supported me!
Why Cancer Research? Like most people I have friends and close relatives who have been impacted by cancer. Last year was particularly bad with close friends losing their parents and my dear Mother in Law also succumbing to the disease. Meanwhile my friends' son George continues a long & brave fight with a rare form of lymphoma. Cancer Research are tirelessly working to find cures for Cancer - and there are positive stories, the closest to home being that of my Mum who fought and beat cancer over five years ago. I'm hoping that the funds I raise will help to create more happy stories.
Why Ironman? It seems a good challenge - involving a 2.4 mile sea swim, 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run. The cut off is 17 hours and I hope to do it in something around 13 hours. http://ironmanwales.com/ Weekly training typically includes: 3 swims; 2km pool, 1500m open water, 1 hour lesson. 3 runs; 5mile, speed session, 15 mile. 3 bike rides, speed, 30 mile and 100 mile. You can see how the training is going below.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. It’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now!
UPDATES
I completed the Wales Ironman in 13 hours and 59 minutes. Before the event I knew that simply completing the 2.4 mile sea swim, 112 miles of Pembrokeshire hills (and on the day, gusting wind) on the bike followed by a 26.2 mile marathon on a hilly course in Tenby - was going to be a huge challenge, but I set myself a stretch target of under 13 hours.
My training started in earnest in March and I soon built up to the following typical schedule.
Monday - rest!
Tuesday - morning: a one hour open water swim lesson. Lunch: a 45 minute run speed session. Evening: a one hour bike ride.
Wednesday - a two hour steady run after work followed by a one hour swimming lesson
Thursday - Lunch: 5 mile easy run or mile swim. Evening: 20 mile hard bike
Friday - Lunch: 5 mile hard run. Evening: 20 mile easy bike
Saturday - morning: 100 mile bike/2 mile run
Sunday - afternoon: 5 mile run/2 mile swim
All of this depended on (i) the forbearance of Berni, Mia and Ella, (ii) help/advice/partnership with too many friends to mention here and (iii) a fair amount of dedication!
So race day approached. On 8th September I was treated to lots of nice presents (mainly bike related!) and a fantastic surprise meal at Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham. On Friday I set off for Tenby, dumped my stuff at the wonderful Elm Grove Hotel in St. Florence and headed down to register for the event. The nerves really started kicking in but also the excitement as I met more people preparing for the challenge. I went in the Ironman shop, bought an event cap and tee shirt, admired the "finisher" merchandise (but who'd buy that before the event??) and headed back to pack my transition bags and start the worry process of have I forgotten anything?
Swim - Bike bag: towel, bike helmet & shoes, socks, shorts, jersey, goves, shades, "nappy cream", race belt
Bike - Run bag: new cap, shorts, socks, shoes and anti-chafe cream, gels
Swim bag: wetsuit, trisuit, goggles, swimhat, anti-chafe and a dry set of clothes for after.
On the evening I headed off to the race briefing and got even more nervous hearing about the rules on drafting and other things that you could get disqualified for! Had a good meal and sleep then got up early on Saturday for the practice swim - another worrier as we were informed that the swim had moved from South to North Beach due to the sea conditions! The swim had always been my biggest worry; waves, currents and 1500 other athletes aiming in exactly the same direction. The practice began to alleviate this, there were around 150 of us and I actually enjoyed it! As I waded back onto the beach I felt far more confident about the swim part of the event.
Had a great breakfast and then headed off to drop my bike and bags at transition. Took the opportunity to admire the top-end bikes and chat with others. I ended up giving some guy from the RAF a pep talk on the swim "what worries you about it" says I. "I'm terrified of the sea" says mister RAF!!
Berni, Mia and Ella arrived in the afternoon and I showed them around Tenby pointing out where the roads were closed (pretty much all of them) and where they might park on the day. Later on we had dinner with Mum and Dad and then I turned in early for what I planned to be a good night's sleep. My nutrition and to be specific, hydration strategy soon put paid to that. I think I got up for a pee every hour and didn't get any sleep at all!
DURING
I got up at 04.20 and headed down for breakfast with the other prospective Ironmen in the Hotel, two Germans, a Belgian, Austrian, Spaniard and a fellow Englishman called Rob. After breakfast Rob and I headed down to Tenby where we joined Mike and Richard and started donning wetsuits and loading kit onto our bikes. When we got down to North Beach at around 06.45 I was immediately struck with two things - one the number of fellow athletes and two - the length of the course. "Blimey that looks long - do we only have to do one lap?" I asked - "no - that's 1.2 miles - we have to do it twice" came the reply. We joined the rubber-suited throng, listened to the Welsh national anthem, sung brilliantly by a fellow athlete and then, as a RN Sea King hovered overhead and the starting gun fired, started wading into the sea. A few swimmers got knocked back by the waves but I was fairly quickly into my stroke, got clattered a couple of times and soon found my way out of trouble and into a good rhythm. Out to the first buoy was tough and after turning we were being hit by some gentle rollers which made the swimming quite fun, but sighting the next buoy was made difficult, not only by the rollers but the fact that it was the same colour as everyone's orange swim caps! Thanks to the training I sighted the Church above the buoy and plugged on. At this point I thought "I can do this". A few minutes later I was at the end of the first lap and running along the beach ready for the second. To my surprise I heard my name shouted and Berni, Mia and Ella had managed to navigate their way through the road closures and down to the beach - it gave me such a lift as I gave them a big wet hug! Back into the water and I was feeling really good, just plugging away, nice and easy - concentrating on a nice efficient stroke and easy breathing - oh - and remembering to look where I was going! I had a dose of cramp about 100m before completing the swim which eased, but I was conscious my calf muscle was impacted by it. Not to worry hopefully it'll run off and anyway I've got transition to think about. As I stumbled up the beach I heard my name again - this time on the PA as the BBC announcer said "and here's Pete Jones, just 50 and doing his first Ironman" - Berni was standing next to him! On with the trainers and then I bumped into my friend Bethan and her Mum, another lift! Ran the 1km across Tenby into Transition and 18 minutes after getting out of the water I was pedalling through the streets.
The bike route of 112 miles included a 30 mile loop that we had to do twice. Firstly after 52 miles, and again after 82. It was the home of what I'd dubbed the Wiseman's Bridge-Saundersfoot rollercoaster; a series of rapid descents and ascents including some 16% inclines and a long slog out of Saundersfoot named locally "Heartbreak Hill!" I took it easy early on, knowing that we'd got to face that challenge, so I tucked in, selecting gears one lower than normal and started to enjoy the route, chat to fellow sufferers and fight the headwind! The support from locals and visitors along the route was fantastic and the welcome at the first aid station at Angle was amazing. I stocked up on drinks and welcomed the turn Eastwards as the wind helped us along. It's amazing what a boost the support does for you and as we approached St Florence I was delighted to see Berni Mia and Ella again, shouting their support! The cameraderie en route also struck me. Most of the guys and girls were happy to pedal along having a chat, about the scenery, the swim, what was to come, the rugby - and the wind! We soon arrived at the start of the rollercoaster and I was pleased that I seemed to cope with the climbs better than most of my group - the hill training had paid off! We sped through Tenby and then back into the headwind, I swear it was much harder this time around! I just dug in, kept spinning and thinking - after 75 miles - "I'm going to nail this!" I was lucky not to have any mechanical issues - I'd seen a few guys with punctures and other issues, some fixing their own, others being helped by fellow competitors or race officials and others begging for spares! I met one guy who had three flats! I managed to stay on the bike up the hills on the rollercoaster, by now a few were walking up them, and coming down on the 2nd circuit I nearly lost it heading into Wiseman's Bridge; after recovering from a few twiches as I hit the brakes I rounded a corner to see a guy wrapped in foil being attended to buy St. Johns - I vowed to take it easy down the next hill! A few minutes later I was on the finishing straight, only the run to go! I was so pleased to see Berni & the girls at New Hedges and Bethan & her mum in Tenby at the end of a long, hard ride.
Into transition, a quicker turnaround and I was sprinting, (OK jogging) onto Tenby's streets with over 7 hours available to me within which to do the run, so I knew I would be an Ironman even if I walked it but my sub 13 was out of the question. No worries. The 26.2 miles took in four laps which included most of Tenby's walled town and then a rather soulless five mile slog up to New Hedges and back. After the first lap you pick up a coloured bracelet - and on each following lap. I ran the first lap but then started finding the hills difficult and decided to follow the rest of the pack, walking a bit and running a bit more and feeling jealous of the guys coming down the hill with three bracelets on. It was nice to chat with some of the other guys and also take advantage of the aid stations! A helpful Belgian had told me that in his opinion this was the toughest IM course he was aware of - and "the third lap is really tough". To be honest I think a combination of knowing I was going to finish and seeing my Mum & Dad, Berni, Mia and Ella and Bethan and her mum frequently on the course made the pain disappear. The support around Tenby was awesome, and after just over four hours - half of which spent chatting to Jonny from Dublin, I picked up my fourth bracelet and headed into the finish funnel to be met by what seemed like thousands of cheering supporters, lots of whom were offering high fives as I ran towards the finish. I sprinted the last 30 metres or so as I saw the clock ticking towards 14 hours and went through the finish line in 13.59 to collect a medal and celebrate with my family. I am an Ironman! What a feeling! Six years ago I was talking to a friend of mine who is a seasoned Ironman and at the time all I knew of triathlon was that it was a swim, bike and run and wasn't sure what order it was in! When Steve told me the distances I said "impossible, impossible and impossible, and all three together? You're having a laugh!". Three years later I did my first marathon, a year later I took 11 minutes off my marathon personal best time and started to believe that I could do pretty much anything if I put my mind to it.
AFTER
Well the fun didn't end there. Once I'd collected my bike and kit we headed to the pub. I guess it's easy to look back now and think about some of the things I should have done after the race .... I should have stretched out or had a massage but the queues for the latter were over an hour. I should have eaten or at least had my protein drink but was in a rush, and I'd cooled down quickly and got wet in the rain. None of that seemed to matter as I quickly downed my first pint. Berni bought me another and then I started feeling light-headed. Minutes later I was lying in front of the bar, kids looking panicked and Berni shouting "get a paramedic and get him in the recovery position". I felt OK so put myself in the RP and lay there a little bemused by what was going on. Berni reckoned I'd fitted twice and the second time they'd laid me on the deck. Minutes later the paramedics arrived and started taking samples, blood pressure, etc. My BP was really low so they took an ECG, the shape of which concerned them so I was packed into the ambulance and taken to hospital in Haverfordwest. After some more tests and questions the decision was taken to keep me in for observation so I was tucked up in my own room whilst Berni and the girls were given a bay in the ward to themselves! Over the course of what turned out to be the next two days I had more tests including a heart scan which came back with really good results. Blood pressure had stabilised, tests from my bloods came back fine and the conclusion from all of this was that I'd fainted! So on Tuesday afternoon we finally got out of hospital and started the journey back home.
What a weekend!
TRAINING UPDATES
8th September - Sponsorship target - done. Old age - done. Just the challenge now! I had a good day today, not least because around 4pm our local Funeral Director, John Innis arrived and presented me with the collections that were made at the funerals of two local gents - John Davies and John Hyett, who were both victims of cancer and whose families requested that the donations should go via my challenge to Cancer Research. Words fail me.... I'll be off to Tenby tomorrow, thinking of these guys and others who've suffered or are suffering - and everyone who's sponsored me, encouraged me or helped in any way - rest assured I'll be doing my best.
w/c 29th August - I've met my sponsorship target - thanks everyone! Had a quieter week, open water swim, a bit of speed training, swimming lesson, gym-based sprint tri, a 30/2 brick and 3km swim on Sunday. This week's plan is Tuesday - run, Weds - swim lesson, Thurs - celebrate birthday, Friday - set off for Tenby, register & test bike out, Saturday - practice swim and rack bike, Sunday - the big event! You can track progress via www.ironmanlive.com
w/c 22nd August - Making up for a bit of lost time: Tuesday - 1000m open water, 4.5 mile run circuits and 8 miles on the Turbo. Wednesday - "quadrathon" 500m swim, 12 mile bike, 5km run, 60min swimming lesson. Friday - 24 mile bike inc hill and "brick", Saturday - 62 mile bike & 2 mile brick. Not far away from my financial and physical targets now, butterflies on the go!
w/c 8th and 15th August - on holiday in France, so serious cycling was out of the question, so concentrated on running and swimming - good success with the former, less so with swimming although swam around 300m everyday, practicing turns and open water sighting and managed a couple of open water swims on Lac de Ste Croix in the Gorges de Verdon - tres bon! Got back on 20th, managed a 80 mile ride in the Cotswolds, aching now!
w/c 1st August - a normalish week - just like the ones below.
w/c 25th July. A good week; three swims - a speed session, open-water and Jai's lesson. three bike rides, one hilly, one speed, one long (although at 70 miles, not long enough). Four runs, a longish 10 with David, two hillies (4 & 7) and a 4 mile brick.
w/c 18th July. Usual rest on Monday then drove down to Tenby to try the course out. On Tuesday I swam about 2km of the swim course which went well, it'll be different with another 1500 competitors! On Wednesday I cycled the 70 mile big loop (the IM has a second loop comprising 42 miles of the bigger loop and c4500' of climbing) went well, the last 10 miles (and mile 60-70) are tough with 3 x 16% hills in short succession. On Thursday I did one lap (of 4) of the run course which has 3 miles of a steady 500' climb followed by a 3 mile descent. So 2000' in all! Rounded of the week with some hill training on bike and run.
w/c 11th July. Rest on Monday then 1km open water 1st thing, lunchtime circuits and a quick (for me) 20 mile bike ride. 10 mile run and a mile swim on Wednesday. 10 mile bike & 4 mile run on Thursday, rest on Friday then a 90 mile bike ride around the Cotswolds with 3000ft of climbing and a good soaking. Ran a mile off the bike and finished the week off with a 3.5km swim. Next stop Tenby for a play on the course!
w/c 4th July. Routine Tuesday with open water swim at 7am followed by lunchtime circuits - joined by Claire and David W. Wednesday saw a significant milestone - hitting the £1000 milestone - thanks to everyone who has sponsored me so far! 4 mile run and then the all-new 1 hour swimming lesson! Thursday 5 mile lunchtime run. Friday saw me do some more open water training. Not in a lake mind, on my bike! Got thoroughly drenched in some fairly torrential rain - good news was another 54 miles in the bag. On Saturday I did a couple of short runs, a 1.2 mile pool swim and a 53 mile bike ride, all in all a good week.
w/c 27th June. Open water swimming on Tuesday morning with Jai, Karen, Howard and Mark - great fun at 7a.m.! Hollycroft circuits with David at lunchtime then no training on Wednesday as we had our niece over from Philadelphia. Back to it on Thursday with a 13.1 mile run, 30 mile bike on Friday then another layoff on Saturday due to our anniversary. Just short of a century ride on Sunday (92 miles) - not a bad week with two days wiped out!
w/c 20th June. Monday I ran circuits around Hollycroft Park in Hinckley, fast on two sides, slow on the other with pressups/tri dips/situps on each lap. Picniccers looked on in bemusement. Tuesday I did a 20 mile bike ride, Wednesday - a 1 mile swim at lunchtime, 3 mile run to the Hinckley 5km race start line then did the race in 22.11, lots of beer and food and song afterwards at a fundraiser for George. Thursday another mile swim, missed exercise on Friday as we were collecting three kittens - so that's the girls all occupied! Saturday; 45 mins of bike hill work then 20 miles then a 10km run. Planning to swim 2 miles tomorrow all being well.
Thanks for visiting my Justgiving page!