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| The Iron Man
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12/04/2007
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| Guy Gibson completes his first iron man event! |
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Business Development Manager, Guy Gibson, completed his first Iron Man Triathlon event in Austria this month.
Guy covered a total of 226 km (swimming, cycling and running) in an amazing 14 hours, 16 minutes and 9 seconds. A truly astounding feat, but how did he overcome not only the variable terrain but the sweltering heat of summer?
"Preparation, preparation, preparation! In simple terms I spent the best part of nine months increasing my daily training routine from being able to compete at Olympic Distance (Swim 1500m, Bike 40km, Run 10km) to Ironman Distance (Swim 3.8km, Bike 180km, Run 42.4km).
I have to admit that spending the early hours of every Sunday morning over the wet winter months clocking up 100's of kilometres of road miles did get a bit mundane, but as the weather steadily improved, so did the desire to ride longer and over more challenging routes. I also took a week out to train in Lanzarote - 26 degrees and almost guaranteed sunshine, when the UK was shivering with snow flurries at 4 degrees.
Arriving in Austria was really the icing on the cake after all those winter hours. The scenery was spectacular, the Ironman "roadshow" and preliminaries all helped to set the scene for the big day. In the event, the swim gave a rare chance for some peace and quiet (despite the feeling that I was swimming with a shoal of frenzied piranhas). The bike on closed public roads was a great way to see the local towns and villages (and watch the local kids amassing spent water bottles - probably available on Ebay the following day). The run though was something else, watching people one minute moving steadily and the next crumpled in a heap by the roadside. At about 3/4 distance we ran through the historic city centre of Klagenfurt, separated by high fencing from the masses of spectators enjoying their bizarre "entertainment" as they downed copious amounts of Wiesbeer and Schnapps. As the finished neared I remembered the advise of the race organisers - when you reach the final kilometre - zip up your race top, remove your sunglasses and smile...you're live on the internet around the world...and yes, you are an IRONMAAAAAN !! "
Guy Gibson, Business Development Manager
Guy is currently evaluating his performance to strip more time off in next years event!
We wish him luck. |
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