IN HIS LATEST in a series of columns, last year’s Triathlon Ireland Super Series winner Aidan Callaghan tells us how he’s preparing for Ironman UK next month.
After the disappointment of a cancelled swim in France, I decided to enter the Lough Cultra Gauntlet event in Gort, Co. Galway to get a full triathlon under my belt. At least that was the plan at the outset.
I got there on Saturday evening for registration. The castle and the surroundings are stunning. The lake looked calm and flat and I thought conditions were going to be ideal. As the race was starting at 8am I was pretty confident to have completed the race before the mid-day heat – which was my main concern at that stage. The weather forecast had predicted temperatures in the low to mid-twenties.
We stayed in Galway city and made the 40 minute journey out to Gort at 5am. I had to put the fog lights on as you couldn’t see your hand in front of you. Once out at Lough Cultra the fog situation was the same.
I got on with my preparations and didn’t think any more about it. The race briefing was due to take place at 7.30am but was put off for fifteen minutes due to the poor visibility on the lake and so the story contained… Every fifteen minutes we were told that as visibility was so poor nothing could be started. After the swim cancellation in France I was starting to wonder was I cursed as were some of my fellow competitors. Then at 9.15am we got the call to put on our wetsuits and meet at the swim start – hallelujah. After a quick race briefing from the race director, we were ready to go, or so we thought…
Anyone who knows me knows the swim is my favourite part of a triathlon – so I was pretty peeved when the race referee told us the swim was definitely going to be cancelled. It was my second triathlon of the season and also the second race where I didn’t get to swim.
The race was now a duathlon 7km run 96km bike followed by a 14km run. I got out of my wetsuit and formulated a new plan – my aim was to run in around 24 minutes for the first 7km, then attack the first 20km on the bike and see where that left me. We were set off in waves of 50, going by race numbers, so the idea of knowing who you were racing or what position you were in was gone out the window altogether.
My plan worked and after 20km on the bike or a little over it, I had got through the first 50 athletes and was first on the road, or so I thought! It wasn’t until with 15km to go one of the marshals shouted I was 2nd on the road, what, 2nd ..? I hadn’t seen anybody up the road all day. I put in a massive shift to try and close the gap and leave as little as possible to do on the run.
[adrotate group=”74″]Once on the run the first thing that was noticeable, was for once in Ireland, the weather man had got it spot on. The heat was horrible and running 14km over cross country, trails and road was tough. I ran the first lap in 25 odd and tried my hardest to hold that pace on the 2nd lap. With about 5km left I felt as if I was going to pass out and for a couple seconds felt all the energy leave my body. I had to kneel down and take a deep breathe.
After the disappointment of France I was adamant I was going to push the whole way to the line. After a couple seconds shouting at myself and using certain expletives that are better not repeated I battered on. I came across the line in bits but happyish with my performance. I finished 3rd overall, had the swim been on it may have turned out different. It turned out the heat effected most of the competitors and nearly everyone was at least 3 minutes slower on the second lap of the run.
Since then all my attention has turned to my main race in the first half of this season. Ironman UK in Bolton on July 17th. With this new focus other things have had to be taken into consideration, one of which is my weight. As my Nana is telling all the neighbours, “I’m walking around looking like a bag of bones.” Every time she sees me she’s handing me food. Last year I was racing at 68kg towards the end of the year I think for sprints and Olympics that is fine but for the longer distances I would more than likely collapse half way round the run. At lough Cultra I was 69.5kg and for Bolton I need to be at least 70 / 71 even 72kgs if possible.
[adrotate group=”38″]With the amount of training I’m doing eating is becoming more and more important. In Lough Cultra I burned in the region of 3500 calories. Taking into consideration an IRONMAN is double the distance that’s a whole lot of eating.
At the minute I’m trying to put as much good food (I’ll be honest and sometimes an ice-cream or two) into my system while training to replenish the stores burned off during sessions. It’s not as easy as grab whatever and it will fill you. I am eating things like nuts, fruit, veg, greek yogurt and energy balls as snacks between meals. Porridge and eggs are staples in the morning with salads and high protein meats with potatoes, rice and noodles making up the bulk of my dinners. I’m also experimenting with eating some vegan meals and snacks during training which I will replicate on race day.
I’m eating like it’s not going to last, ensuring the body has enough to fuel itself and keep a bit in storage for when I come to mile 20 of the marathon after a 4km swim and 180km bike. I definitely don’t want a repeat of last year’s Dublin marathon, coming across the line like someone who has only just learned to walk! It’s got to the stage now that when I go to Wholegreen to pick up my foods for the week, Anna jokingly tells me, “I’ve put extra peanut butter in there to make you fat” or “loads of nut oils in there to help with the weight.”
It seems to be working the training is going well and my weight is gradually rising which is exactly what I want. All I need now is for the swim not to be cancelled!!
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