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On 5 July 2009, 15 mad fools from Herefordshire completed one of the world's toughest events - Ironman Austria.听

They swam 3.8 kilometres in the Strandbad Klagenfurt, the biggest lakeside resort in Europe, cycled 180 kilometres through the Austrian mountains and then ran 42.195 kilometres (a marathon).听

Ready to go

All that with only 17 hours to complete the race.

They were a completely mixed bunch, with eight first time Ironmen (and women) and some athletes who were after amazing times.听

They had 15 children between us, and one on the way.听

All have full-time jobs or are full-time mums, and some are both.

The bloggers will be writing under a number of aliases, including The Policeman, The Journo, The OT, Claire First Timer and Northern Chick.

THE BLOGS

13/07/09

Well, it's done now and all 15 from the club made it to the end.

The week started with a delay at Stansted and then, after an hour, we were airborne, however things didn't seem right when it was noticed we hadn't crossed the Channel but seemed to be circling - then the announcement by the Captain - "Hello ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately due to a technical problem we are having to return to Stansted as the plane is not fit to fly due to a computer problem." Great!!

It seemed that the plane had no rear thrusters, so the landing at Lubijana was not going to happen because of the short run way.

So we landed, followed by an entourage of fire engines and emergency vehicles.

That said we were up again in a different plane very soon and a trouble free flight to Slovenia.

We settled into our apartments quickly enough, the whole group in one building, making it very friendly, and creating a very good atmosphere.

The site was very good and the lake was very nice to swim in, without a wetsuit for a change.

So we settled into a routine of sorts, swim, breakfast then a bike ride or short run followed by a little sun bathing by the lake.

Some bike maintenance was done, when the bikes were put back together, and a lot of puncture repair practice was carried out, to make sure those that weren't as confident about doing it, were by race day.

Thankfully each evening was taken care of by the vast amounts of food brought over by certain team members, and our very own Master Chef, so only small amounts were needed to add a little something to the pasta and assorted sauces.

Race day arrived at 4am on Sunday, so a bowl of porridge with banana and honey was scoffed, followed by a coffee.

The transport duly arrived to take us to the Ironman city, and start preparations of our own - some go quiet, some chatter, others listen to ipods, each mentally preparing for the day ahead.

The transition is a buzz of noise, anticipation, tyres being pumped up, tyres exploding - you talk to complete strangers from another country, but still wish each other luck for the day, knowing that you will never see them again all day.

The run and bike bags are put on the hooks, carefully memorised to go straight to them once out the swim or off the bike - have I got what I need in them? Too late now anyway if I haven't!

So you visit the loo again, pack up your street clothes and hand that in.

You're left with only your wetsuit half on and everything in your swim cap for the first discipline.

You make your way to the beach for the start of the swim, looking around for a familiar face to say hi, good luck, have a good race.

Goggles are put on, taken off, and replaced a dozen times before the priest, dressed in the fully attire, enters the water and prays for all taking part.

2000+ wet suited individuals line up at the waters edge, the music is pumping so loud and the atmosphere is electric.

The crowds on the beach behind and on all the jetties are six or seven deep.

We're here, it's happening, where have the last six months gone?

Then with a cannon blast, it's started - no warning, no countdown and we're off.

The first 500m or so are a mass of arms and legs, trying to propel yourself forward, only to be entangled with someone else, feet kick you in the face, arms hit you, so you slow to take stock and have a look for any space.

You see a gap but so do ten others and then it's full.

I decided early on that I'd start on the right hand side, near to the far pier, and stay wide for all the buoys, to avoid a crush -听 this I managed once into a bit of open water.

There were boats everywhere lining the course, and the lake was warm and flat apart from 2000 human fish making it choppy.

The rest of the swim was uneventful and went to plan, if a little slow, but I'm not a great swimmer, so that didn't concern me.

Into the 900m of canal we go, and everything constricts, and yet again we have arms and legs everywhere.

I exit the swim helped up the steep ramp in a time of 1:10:49, some 6 minutes down on the last Ironman swim.

So with a purposeful jog to the transition I remove the wetsuit and make my way to my bike bag.

Off with the wetsuit and on with shoes, helmet, glasses and number belt, plus a few items I might need for the next five plus hours on the bike.

With a slow and steady, unrushed, transition I get on the bike and head out of the Ironman city, passing one of the team and wishing her well for day.

The crowds are cheering as you leave through the park.

I settle down and allow the blood to circulate to the legs and arms and take on some water.

The weather is fine and sunny and getting warmer.

Two laps of 90 kilometres lay ahead, so 'take it easy and don't get carried away'.

I catch another of the team and the same messages are passed - a little further down the road I pass the journo, having had, it seems, a good swim听 - good luck messages are swapped.

I'm then passed by two of the team in quick succession, with more good lucks and have a good day shared.

The bike course was somewhat undulating, and, as per the last few days, windy and getting ever hotter.

My fluid strategy was simple - the same as I've been using in training: water, energy drink with bananas and energy bars, with the aid stations on a frequent basis, it all seemed simple!!

However I didn't and nor did many, many others count on the aid station staff not mixing the drinks correctly, leaving some bottles weak, and some too strong that it could'鈥檛 be drunk.

Some bottles weren't closed and when you went to take a drink it went all over you.

Eventually many of us were sick on the bike, and had to stop behind a convenient bush, tree or hedge as the energy drink took it's toll.

I realised that the day was going to be about getting round in the best shape possible and forget any time that I wanted to finish in.

So I turned off the time on the computer, and only kept my heart rate monitor going.

It was by now very hot, (we were told after that it was 32 degrees and topped out at 34), and I was taking on as much water as I could, as well as some energy drink.

The course had several lumpy bits in it, with one long climb with the DJ at the top keeping us all going, as well as the 'Blues Brothers' on the side of the road.

The ride came to an end after five and half hours and again, following a slow steady transition, made my way out onto the marathon, having changed to shorts and a white top, to help stay cooler, plus hat and, unusually for me, sun glasses.

My first appointment was with the first loo I could find! My strategy for hydration was to take water and gels, I had decided long ago to avoid the energy drink. So a long slow steady run turned into a shuffle in parts and a walk through the aid stations to ensure I got my fluids and gels down. This was the only time my heart rate dropped below 150, I had been training at around 140 and that was comfortable, I didn鈥檛 feel I was running at that heart rate but the heat was making it soar.

It would be fair to say that the run was a long slow slog - usually my strongest discipline, but on the day I was just grinding it out, and attempting to get to the end in some sort of decent shape.

We passed through the Ironman centre five times, and each time you could hear the music in the finish tunnel, and just wishing it was your turn to turn left at the fork towards it.

Eventually that time came and it's a great feeling to run down the finish tube after four hours, the crowds cheering and the music blaring out.

So, once over the line, you are given your finishers medal and a space blanket.

I then sit down and rest, waiting for Postie to finish, as he's not far behind - once he's in we meet another team mate, and we make our way to get some food and get showered, changed and then back to the finish area to meet everyone else.

One by one they cross the line, leaving four out on the course which by now is dark, but with lots of help and support from friends and family, watching live on the net, we know where they are, so some of us go out and wait for them on the course.

As we meet them, one by one, with only a mile to go, I make my way to the finish area to greet them as they cross the line.

Somehow I feel responsible for them, as it was my suggestion to do it as a club, and I wanted to be there to watch them all home, and after 16 and half hours from the time we started, the last member of the club crossed the line, to be met and greeted by team mates.

My work was done!

When I first suggested we go out as a club, nearly a year ago, I never for one minute thought I'd get the response I did.

We were a complete mix of abilities, some with two or three Ironman events under the belt, and some with a few middle distance events completed.

For one person, this would be their first triathlon, and for others the furthest they'd raced was an Olympic marathon.

To say that I had my doubts to begin with as to all completing the event would be true, but as the months went by, with the less experienced getting stronger and stronger, then having set backs, but coming back to form again, only strengthened our resolve.

We worked as a team sharing experiences, advice and tips.

We had meetings about training, nutrition and were always communicating with each other, there was a real bond and one that will not be easily forgotten.

So for my last input I'd just want to say a huge thank you to all the families that put up with us for training, for friends helping with the training, for the supporters that came out to Austria and finally to the 14 others that finished Ironman Austria 2009 - you made me very proud.

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