Ironman 70.3 Weymouth Race Report

2500 athletes descended on Weymouth town for its 2nd Ironman 70.3, the biggest on the British events calendar.

The weekend began with an epic journey from Uxbridge via tube via Waterloo to Weymouth on the Friday. Lugging a bike and massive hiking bag through London is an endurance in itself. I arrived in Weymouth and fell in love with the seaside town. I made registration on time to collect my transition bags and I exploded into my Air BnB with all my kit.

On Saturday I met my support crew, Colin Francis, and put my bike and bags in transition. I hope security are on form tonight. We went to the race briefing. 48% had never done an Ironman 70.3 and only 20% of the field were female which was quite special to be a part of. A sense of comradery was noticeable amongst the newbies at the race briefing which helped dissipate the unavoidable INTIMIDATION oozing from the elite athletes with their fancy £7,000+ bikes and IM tattoos and the like!

We spent the day in different coffee shops sharing running stories and plans for future events. This guy was so excited to support, I was unbelievably grateful he was there. I felt rested, chilled, and hydrated heading to sleep and luckily managed about 5 hours. Adrenaline would do the rest on race day.

The 4am race day alarm seems worth it now as 2500 of us lined up in our wetsuits on our starting pen at 6:30am for the rolling start. The hug from Colin was the most important of the day. I didn't feel alone in this. While we watched the sun rise over the Jurassic coast to illuminate the darkness that engulfed the pre race readying, I reflected on my training and the huge support I received from my family and friends. It's gonna be a good day!

I set off 45 minutes after the elites entered the water as I placed myself in the 50 minute (slow) wave. I watched people cut their swim short and forfeit the race! I thought that that would be me soon! WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING!? It was very choppy with the current sweeping westerly against us. It was impossible to spot the bouys and I needed to spot every 2/3 strokes on the way out to ensure I was swimming somewhat straight. Turning back to swim towards shore, the waves kept bashing my face every few breaths. I exited the water after what felt like a lifetime swimming to shore. HALLELUAH SOLID GROUND! I have no idea what time I did at this point and carried on to transition until I was told otherwise. I did it in 60 mins. Goal achieved. I am very proud of myself that I managed to finish the swim in such conditions without hyperventilating or panicking. Mind you, I swallowed half of Weymouth Bay! Swim over. DELIGHTED.

The run to T1 transition from the beach was long. The benefit of coming out of the water after most of the field was that I could spot my bike easily in the 2500 bike park! T1 took a lot longer than expected as it involved a lot of running around barriers and the like!

So off I went on my merry way for the hilly 56 mile bike course. The bike course was stunning but deceptively tough and windy. The climbs kept coming and were followed by quick descents before going back up again. The steep climb at mile 39 left about 80% of the group around me on foot. I had to run 0.25 miles uphill as my bike did not have any more low gears left! I could have done with a £7000+ bike at that point! I had some banter with the guys on the way up, questioning life and why the hell would anyone want to do an Ironman on a regular basis?

I began to feel left knee pain and immediately put it down to the cleat positioning so I managed a better knee position for the rest of the ride. The last climb was again tough but manageable and then I cruised back into transition. I was impressed with my nutrition plan throughout the ride as it set me up for an energetic/ hydrated run. Time 3:43 (considering the hills) Goal achieved!

In T2 Colin was at attention with the Irish flag and I zoomed out on the run ready to BOSS my strongest discipline! A 3.5 lap course on the seafront. Bring it! As I entered the run course I got a “looking strong Lorraine” from a random supporter. My goal was to always be strong starting the run, after all, there was still 13.1 miles yet to cover by foot! Two miles in, I got a massive shock, my quads were literally about to tear. I had to stop for a minute to self massage and throw cold water on them. I didn’t anticipate this problem but the physio in me was able to manage it and I slowed my pace to 8:00” and threw ‘magic water’ on them for the rest of the race. It worked a charm.

At mile 10 I was very ready for the run to end but I never once stopped smiling. It didn't help that the end of each lap passed the finish line! That definitely would have ruined people's mental state if they were struggling. The volunteers were absolutely ace all day long and Colin and Ian were really supportive throughout. Still loads of “making it look easy” and “absolutely flying Lorraine” from strangers. At this point I was glad to have my name on my bib as this encouragement kept me going.

50 meters to go. The infamous Ironman ‘magic carpet’ was in sight (for the 4th and final time). I cheered the whole way down the mat waving my arms to the supportive crowd. A combination of pleasure, relief and pride crossing the line. I hopped into the arms of good running friends who wrapped a medal round my neck and gave me the biggest hug. Run complete 1:47. That's good enough! The best finish to the best day!

Ironman Weymouth 70.3 was a great race in a stunning location. Goal 6:40. Time 6:43. That'll do me fine. Another massive endurance goal achieved with an unforgettable journey. On to the next one.

Apparently I'm 14th in Ireland in my age catagory for this distance!! (potentially Ironman Dublin 70.3 2019 to improve that stat)?

Finish Video :)

https://www.facebook.com/lorraine.mcnulty1/videos/pcb.10211711194353128/10211711180392779/?type=3&theater