|
|
||
|
Half Iron Man Monaco 6th September 2009 In the words of Colin Bones.. It was crazy, you had people everywhere in the water and it was like being in a washing machine. No room to swim at all for the first 300m and you got swam over, punched and returned all the abuse several times over to everyone around you. The photographers sitting on the ocean floor taking pictures of us all was slightly off putting aswell as it frightened the life out of you thinking they were some kind of shark! I completed the swim in just over 35 minutes which considering I broke my hand 5 weeks ago and couldn't swim train was way better than I thought. I got out on the bike and straight into the first of the three climbs. This one was 23km long and wasn't the ideal way to warm your legs up. I was noticeable slower than just about anyone on the climbs but once we reached the summit I was then a lot quicker than most coming down the steep descents. At one point I was going near 60km/h and this guy wearing a Team Columbia kit came past me like I was standing still. It was Mark Renshaw from the Tour de France (Mark Cavendishs lead out man). You started to notice the heat about 9am and that's when I first noticed that I was losing a lot of sodium (body salts) when I was sweating so increased the electrolyte intake to try compensate. The second climb started at 40km in and was another 9km and then the final climb was at 71km and was another 8km. Mark Shipton passed me on the final climb aswell. Getting over the final summit was the best feeling ever and you then head straight down back into Monaco. Unfortunately the French clearly like a massive joke at your expense and there was one more climb of about 1km to do which was a psychological killer! I wont write what I was shouting but any locals listening would have understand the international phrases I was shouting. Once back in Monaco and into transition I got the trainers and hat on and started the 21km run which is 4.5 laps of the grand prix course. I noticed in transition that I was covered and I mean literally covered in salt! I had been sweating out a lot more than planned even though I had consumed about 8 litres of electrolytes. After 700m of the run I was in big trouble and because I'd lost too much salt started to cramp badly and within seconds I had torn the medalis muscle on my thighs (the inner ones near your knee) on both legs. I was stuck in the tunnel! I couldn't walk, stretch do anything other than wonder how I was going to finish. It took me about 2-3mins to finally be able to straighten my legs so I could start a hobble and after about 5mins I was able to walk but in real pain. At this point I was considering stopping as I still had 20km to do. I managed about 500m of walking and decided to start running again and although it was painful (understatement) I managed a steady slow pace. I then ran/walked/hobbled my way round the next 20km and on the last lap I decided to just sprint up the hill regardless of the pain down to the finishing line. It wasn't the time I wanted but given the injuries I sustained in the end I was happy to have finished.
At the moment I can hardly walk let alone think about running but it is improving everyday. The only thing that really kept me going was the money that I raised for Ellis and not wanting to let people down. I have used about every favour, contact and trick I had up my sleeve and I still think there is a chance I can get a tad more cash in but it wont be much more than what we have. There are some pics online at www.marathon-photos.com and my number was 379. I have purchased these and will be able to give you any copies etc if you need them for whatever reason. |
|
|
 |
|||
Fortunately providing they receive the proper diagnosis and the right treatment, most kids with Osteosarcoma do recover. |
Teenage Cancer Trust Registered charity No. 1062559 Skeletal Cancer Action Trust Registered charity No. 1036549 |
||
