We got a fair few snaps taken and the full gallery is up on the site here so please have a look …

Down by the beach at Cramond with my Trek Speed Concept

 When we arrived the weather didn’t look so promising and Iain wasn’t making the most excited of faces. However, if you have a chat for half and hour you never know what the weather is going to do in Scotland! – It turned out to be a perfect evening …. you just never know. Many thanks to Iain for the shoot.

The 'distant' look

1st place at Ironman UK 2010 - I'm an Ironman winner!

 Once we worked out my season plans earlier in the year after I decided that I would really focus on three UK events, with Bolton being the final hit out after the Kent TriGrandPrix and UK Ironman 70.3 - I made it 3 from 3 on Sunday and that is something that brings a lot of satisfaction indeed.

 So … to the race. I was glad that race w/e finally rolled around and we could get in the car on Friday morning. I had pretty much reached my limit in terms of the training/tapering/thinking here in Stirling and simply wanted to get on with it all. I’m always better once I get into race mode, with things to do and focus on.

Ali and I arrived on Friday afternoon, we found the swim venue and T1, I got registered and then we collected Mum and Abbie (little sister) from the train station. We negotiated Bolton traffic in the pouring rain, got lost, asked directions from locals(?) who didn’t speak English too well before finally finding the sanctuary that is Pizza Express!

Saturday consisted of racking the bike early in the morning, which is not something I usually do, but given the logistics of the venues, it made sense to get it out of the way early. We then got a quick swim in the lake, which is something I like to do more and more now pre race, just to get a feel for the water (and how murky: rather! and cold it is: not too bad). Blue 70 came down to take some pictures too, which was good fun and nice to catch up. A quick jog, sneaky stolen breaky from the race hotel!, an interview with the Channel 4 crew and a recce of the bike course loop and dropping off my gear bag in T2 took up the rest of the day really … leaving, yup you guessed it, time for dinner at Pizza Express!

I swear that I didn’t sleep very much the night before the race, but I think thats always the way when you have to get up at 2.45am! I did my best to force more Special K, Crunchy nut and coffee down than I might normally manage, was glad to see Blair and Kerry, who arrived late the night before and we left at just after 4am to swing by and pick up Gordo and fan no.1 Matty on the way to race start. Some cold sweats started to kick in if I am honest … “did I really not sleep a wink last night?, did I bring spare tires/tubes/pump” etc etc … all last minute worries that seem to flood my mind for a minute or two, but then fade away thankfully as quickly as they appeared.

All that being said race start loomed, but I felt really relaxed getting my wetsuit on. I hung out with everyone over in a quite spot we found away from the crowds and other athletes, and that helped me a lot. I got in to the water with just a few minutes to spare as we started about 200m from the edge and I didn’t want to be treading water for too long and risk getting cold out there.  The horn went (I don’t remember hearing a national anthem a la Wimbleball) and my swim went fine; I pretty much led from the get go, which I like to do, although I realise I am giving my competitors an all too easy draft behind for 40 odd minutes … other than a slightly tight hip flexor during the last 10minutes I quite enjoyed the swim and got out feeling pretty good and not as tired as I expected.

T1 flew by and I remember deciding to leave my arm warmers in the gear bag (I soon wondered if that was a bad idea on the bike) … but Stephen was charging out fast and I wanted catch him. We headed out on the bike together, Axel joined us after 10K or so and I suddenly didn’t feel too great. The legs were doing nothing special and it looked as if there was a lot of rain about to fall! (Wishing I had taken the arm warmers at this starge) After probably an hour of riding I had begun to feel a litte more confident in my riding (I had also warmed up and the rain wasnt falling), so I made one big concerted effort to get out in front solo. I didn’t want to get sucked into riding at the tempo set by the other guys, leading to a running race, so thankfully I got a good gap really quickly. The second half of the bike loop (which we completed 3 times) was twisty and essentially one lane after another. Perfect for getting ‘out of sight, out of mind’ … this I did and built up a 7 minute advantage going into the run. Nutrition was something I was struggling with at times – just the constant nagging in the back of my mind to keep eating, keep drinking, keep eating, especially after feeling a bit too hungry aroung halfway!

midway through the marathon

I would say I was really looking forward to getting the run, mostly as I was sick to the back teeth of being on the bike (and I love my Trek Speed Concept!). T2 was nice as I was able to see mum and abbie cheering and get some good useful reminders from Ali and Gordo as I headed off for my ‘long Wednesday run’ – this was how I was going to rationalise it in order to get through the race. It worked. For an hour I ran well, enjoying the pace my watch was giving me and feeling happy I was in good shape. Blair popped up periodically on his bike along the course giving me confirmation that the gap wasn’t really changing and reminding me that they were hurting just the same. Other than struggling during the headwind section from 25 to 32ks, I kept going pretty consistently. Sure I had lows but I did my best to ’suck it up’ and as the finish started to approach the sensation that I was going to win finally hit home – I wasn’t going to be caught and I was going to be an Ironman Champion! The final mile or so was a strange mix of emotions - happy, teary, exhausted all at once. It’s a strange beast the Ironman I can safely confirm that.

Crossing the line was such a good feeling, I promise that. I wanted to be able to really enjoy the finish – as after all you can only win your first Ironman once! As I have said, lots of and lots of hard work has gone into this result – and I can happily say I am very proud of myself.  However I absolutely couldn’t have done it without the help of ‘my team’ - Ali, Gordo, Blair especially (you all drive me on so much more than I can explain at times) but to see mum there too was lovely (especially when I found out afterwards that she, abbie and matty almost missed the finish due to the logistics of getting there without a bike or being able to run into town centre from 5 miles out!) … having them all there at the finish to share in the experience meant so much and I am still thinking fondly of it all today.

Next stop Kona! Yeeha

Crossing the finish line in Bolton on Sunday, captured by the Bolton News!

The wonderful aspect of racing an Ironman at home in the UK was being able to have so much support from my family and friends on the day – it was a long day for me but so much more stressful and worrying for them out there waiting and wondering all day long – I can’t say thanks enough to you all – Blair, Mum, Abbie, Ali, Gordo, Matty and Kerry … you made a great day so much more fun. I wish everyone else who keep me focused and working hard could’ve been there to enjoy the experience too, like Dad and Graham, but next time!

…more details soon when I get my feet back on the ground

“Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.”

Muhammad Ali

Fraser Cartmell won Ironman UK 2010!

Bravo!

Results are here.

In 2008 Fraser started but did not finish Ironman UK.

Tomorrow he will try again.

Watch Fraser at Ironman.com.

Plenty of time has been spent alone it seems this past month

So here it is – race week; I’m both simultaneously excited and apprehensive … it just depends what I’m thinking of at a particular time as to which of those it happens to be.

The trend appears to be to get excited about it if I think about the race during training sessions and nervously apprehensive when I’m sitting around the house or doing something other than exercise.

I am trying to keep to a simple process type strategy; i.e deal with the swim (just keep swimming, just keep swimming in a Nemo-esque fashion), deal with the bike (eat, drink, pedal, eat, pedal some more and so on and on … and on) before getting to that little old issue of, what was it … wait a minute, yup, that’s it: a marathon!!!

Sarcasm aside, I am really starting to look forward to the race. Sure, I am nervous about the undertaking. Not because it is such an incredibly overwhelming concept that I can’t wrap my head around  (although I have hit a mental road bump or two now and then) - people are doing Ironman right, left and centre at the minute (waytogo Wattie by the way – he made it aound Lake Placid yesterday in a cracking 11.5hrs!) but more becuase for me it is a new stage in my racing career (the ‘Sherbourne ‘08  IMUK attempt’ doesn’t really count in my mind) and I find it a little harder to be as confident in my ability to attain my goals, simply becuase it is all that much newer to me than racing at the shorter distance. All that being said I still believe I can achieve those targets, it’s just more of a reflection of my respect for the distance and my more experineced competitors than anything else.

That being said, I take a lot of confidence from my result earlier in the year at the Abu Dhabi Tri and also from the block of training I have been doing since late June – all of which is after 2 race results that I am very proud of – Kent TriGrandPrix and UK Ironman 70.3. So I know that physically I am fit and ready, I just have to be  mentally on the ball too!

As much as it is at every other Triathlon distance ... it's all about the run in an Ironman!

Myself with Wattie in LA back in May

For someone who would ride, ride and ride some more, you have to take your hat off to him for his decision to jump headlong into entering an Ironman … not having done much (if any i think?!) tri before! - Why not give it a go huh?

He tells me that what with all this swimming and running he’s had to do in the Californian summer, “the weight is melting off me” – not really been the case for me here in the Shire Wattie!

A big good luck from me for this weekend. Enjoy

being worn on my feet sometime soon. Pretty cool I say

I have to say that I have been slack (yet again) on the frequency of blog posts, no excuses. No, hang on, who am I kidding … there are plenty of them! Swim, bike and run excuses to put a finger on it. It’s all this training for an Ironman – I’m a few weeks into my main block of work and with a final hard few days remaining, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be approaching. Phew.

Don’t get me wrong, I am really enjoying the training – I love the satisfaction I get when one good session follows another and fingers crossed a week of that routine becomes a multiple. It certainly is all about consistency, that doesn’t change whatever the distance you choose in this sport, and if anything these weeks have proven it is that much more important when preparing for an Ironman. However every now and then ‘the grump’ sets in – and for those who know me better, you’ll not be surprised to learn that the weather here over the past week or so has been ensuring that said grumpiness has been that bit more apparent than normal – another aspect of the consistency if nothng else

I guess it’s just the nature of being in Scotland over the summer. We know it’s coming (the rain, the wind … not to forget the cold) and yet for some reason I still find it depressing to wake in the morning and hear the rain fall. – I rode longer on Tuesday (140ks) and was delighted to make it over Comrie Moor and around the Lochearnhead loop without a sinlge drop of rain. It was the first time in over a week I was able to get in the door without having to think about jumping headlong into the shower.

As I mentioned beforehand though, it’s the last few days that I have planned on this routine, and then the bulk of the sessions needed will all be tucked away, leaving me more time to start resting up, be less grumpy and get excited about the prospect of racing Ironman!

Lets hope the rain gives us a little break soon, allowing some riding under a blue sky in Stirling once more …. it happens you know! (as Gavin & Blair show here)

Last week was my first longer aerobic week – it was good to get through it, as I always find the first week of ‘proper’ training tires and drains you much more than you might expect. This week is rolling by just as fast, and the Ironman in Bolton looms ever closer, which means getting the long run tucked away

Running for a long time ... like last night (must get out more often!)

Last nights ’session for the day’ was my long run – 35K. I have a loop here in town that I tend to use each week (just call me a groundhog) which is 15K all in … simple – do it twice, and er, add on a bit.

I want to be able to run these long runs (I had one last week plus managed a few through May) at a good pace, which is 4min/K. Now, I won’t lie, I find an hour at that clip can feel like an age, (especially when the wind blows like it is currently) so it’s a test of my resolve to double it plus add an extra 20mins on top … however, suck it up I did, and the box got ticked; 2hrs 20mins later.

The legs feel a little jaded this morning, but nothing too terrible, which is pleasing. Onwards to the w/e … I’ll be back with more news soon I assure you …

training kit got abandoned, just for a while ...

 Training has kicked back in well though … it’s always hard to get back into the long(er) training sessions, but at the same time it’s a satisfying feeling being tired each night, a feeling I am going to get used to over the course of the next month with all this Ironman jazz!

So far this week i’ve been dong:

Monday – swim 5k aerobic, bike 70k steady, run 10k easy shuffle

Tuesday – swim 4k including hard 400m reps, ride 100k hilly, run 15k incl grass intervals

Wednesday – swim 4k easy, ride 60k easy, run 30k steady ….

…. and so the week shall go on. And the next one … following the template.