Robin Frankland: Ironman South Africa 2007… from mid-field

Well the first major goal of 2007 has come and gone and I can reflect on a challenging time preparing for the race and and even tougher day out on the course. Tides, winds and a little sun all came to play on what was ultimately a very good day out for me.

This being my second year in triathlon I did not have any goals other than to consolidate on what was an amazing year in 2006. Ironman South Africa 2006 was my second triathlon, EVER, and I was really happy with the 11h15 I managed. My aim for 2007 was to try taking 30min off that time which seemed optimistic given that my work situation had changed dramatically leaving me with a maximum of 15-16 hours a week to train in.

The early mornings and late evening had begun to take their toll by late February and I was looking forward to getting this over and done with so that I could take a break. As a result I arrived at the start somewhat tired but still under-trained in comparison to last year. Even with that in mind, I started to feel some good vibes in the arms and legs during the week before the race and really felt that I was going to have a good day.

As everyone already knows the swim was rough. The tropical cyclone up the coast was forcing some swell into the bay and the rip current got stronger as the day progressed. I think we were fortunate because a day later and I doubt the swim leg would have taken place. I was initially dissapointed at my time out of the water but once into T1 I realised that I was up amongst swimmers that were usually better than me and had obviously had a good start by my own standards.

So onto the bike, my strength and also my weakness. Coming from a cycling background I am fortunate in being able to ride pretty good times on very little training. Unfortunately I tend to push too hard and leave my legs tired for the marathon that follows. Having not put in any big miles for the race (longest ride was 160km) I proceeded with caution and restrained myself during the first lap. This was to prove beneficial later on in the day.

A little over 5 hours later and about six and half hours after the start, I entered T2 cramping badly for what appeared to be no apparent reason. Ultimately I think the last 10km showed my lack of mileage and was just too far for the pace I was trying to maintain.

Coming out of T2 I was greeted by the sight of the lead vehicle, which at that point was tracking Bjorn Andersson. It was not only great to be in the midst of all the action but it was encouraging to see a pro suffering like that. He was barely able to run 5min/km and stopped to walk a lot. I left him behind shortly after the start finish line and the next person to pass me was Raynard Tissink some 8km’s later.

A short while later Gerrit Schellens passed me and I immediately knew that I was looking at the back of the winner. His effort was minimal and his pace amazing, he was simply in a class of his own on the run and was a deserved winner at the end of the day.

My heartrate graph for the day, pretty consistent for such a long effort…, click to see the big image

Overall my run was good. I maintained close to the pace I wanted and apart from a short bout of cramps I was able to keep running all the time. Unlike last year I wasn’t passed my hundreds of athletes and even found the energy to put in a big effort over the last 4km’s to finish in 10h17. Reflecting on this I am very satisfied, yes I could have gone a few minutes faster in places but it has to be put in perspective and given the challenges I had leading up to the race, I improved by almost and hour on last year and that is huge.

As for the womens race, well I saw very little of it. Natascha Badmann passed me going the opposite direction a few times and I remember Bella Comerford passing me on lap 2 of the run. I know there must have been other women that passed me but I cant remember it (perhaps it was out in the university loop where you dont see anyone for a while). Either way it was a great effort by Natascha and I echo the praises heaped upon her already.

So will I be back next year? At this point it is too early to tell. To be honest with myself I dont have adequate time to do put in the training a race of this nature requires and perhaps I should consider switching to the 70.3 races for a season or two. Given that I am approaching 40, it may be worthwhile to wait until I move up an age group and then have a go at getting to Kona. Early days and I dont want to commit to anything just yet but with the sport growing so rapidly I am certainly spoilt for choice.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 at 9:11 am and is filed under 2007, Eastern Cape, Frankland Robin, Gerrit Schellens, Ironman South Africa, Ironman South Africa 2007, Lorient, Natasha Badmann, Paula Newby-Fraser, Petr Vabrousek, Port Elizabeth, Raynard Tissink, Robin Frankland, South Africa, blog, caffeine, diary, drafting, drinking, eating, experience, gel, goals, heart rate, hydration, iroman, money, polar file, report, rest, results, rules, support, swimmer, taper, triathlon, tricape.com, weight. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.