# Complete Beginner to IRONMAN Wales Finisher in Less Than 1 Year! | Ep 511

An episode of [Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/951501034), 16 Oct 2024, 56 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/ea99f7d8/podcast/play/93072813/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2024-9-15%2F388137906-44100-2-09f36ce5ea289.mp3

In this video we delve into Team Oxygenaddict athlete Allun Sutherland's incredible journey from complete beginner to Ironman Wales finisher. This is genuinely one of, if not the most incredible, inspirational age-group stories we've ever had. Alan started with no experience - literally unable to swim, didn't own a bike, and couldn't run for more than a couple of minutes without needing to stop and rest. But in less than 12 months, through patience, determination, and trusting the training process, he was able to confidently deal with everything the day threw at him - including rough sea conditions, jellyfish, and bad weather. Hear Allun's firsthand account of the training process and progression of a complete beginner, mastering race-day strategies, dealing with injuries, and the importance of mental resilience. If you're new to triathlon and have your sights set on one day tackling Ironman, you'll want to tune in to hear Alan’s remarkable journey from a complete novice to an Ironman finisher at one of the toughest Ironman races in the world. A testament to what you can achieve with the right mindset! * * * * * * * * SPONSORS * * * * * * * * Like what you heard in this show? Join hundreds of other age group triathletes making the most of their limited training time, training with Team OxygenAddict! http://team.oxygenaddict.com - The most comprehensive triathlon coaching program for busy age groupers. Book an application call to see if you'd be a good fit for Team Oxygenaddict for the coming 12 months here: https://team.oxygenaddict.com/consultation-call/ * * * * * * * * * * * * precisionfuelandhydration.com Precision Fuel & Hydration help athletes personalise their hydration and fuelling strategies for training and racing. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised race nutrition plan for your next event. And then book a free 20-minute video consultation with a member of the PF&H Athlete Support Team to refine your strategy. Listeners get 15% off their first order of fuel and electrolytes with Precision Fuel & Hydration. Simply use this link and the discount will be auto-applied at the checkout. * * * * * * * * * * * * Watch on youtube Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts

## Transcript

[0:03] Hello and welcome to the Oxygen Addict podcast.
[0:05] We're brought to you every week by our sponsors Precision Fuel
[0:08] and hydration.com. You can personalise your
[0:10] fuelling and hydration strategy so you perform at your best with
[0:14] 15% off your first order of electrolytes and carbohydrate
[0:18] fuel with the code OXYGEN 24 at precisionfuelandhydration.com.
[0:23] Welcome to the show everybody. I'm your host, coach Rob Willby,
[0:26] and every week we bring you an episode of this podcast to help
[0:29] motivate and inspire you. Couple of things we could do for
[0:33] us please, as we start today. If you like this episode, please
[0:36] consider following us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and please
[0:41] think about liking and subscribing if you're watching
[0:43] on YouTube. Both of those things really help
[0:45] the growth of the show and help us get shown to more athletes.
[0:48] Secondly, if you're looking for help and advice with your
[0:51] triathlon training, please get in touch.
[0:53] You can e-mail us at help@oxygenaddict.com or there's
[0:57] a link in show notes. Big news this week is Team
[1:01] Oxygen Addict is open again for new members, so we had a waiting
[1:06] list in place all through the summer.
[1:08] We're now at the point where we're taking our next intake in.
[1:11] We like to take athletes in through September and October,
[1:13] then we're ready to go and have a really strong winter build.
[1:17] Get athletes all the way through two big FTP preparation blocks
[1:21] during the winter time when everybody else is sitting on the
[1:23] backsides, and then you're really ready to hit the ground
[1:26] running come next spring when everyone else is ready to think
[1:29] about training again. So if you've been considering
[1:32] getting triathlon coaching or you're considering changing
[1:35] triathlon coaches, we'd love to have a conversation with you.
[1:38] There's a link in the show notes to book a membership call with
[1:41] us and we'll have a chat with you and see if we can how we can
[1:45] best help you out and whether you'd be a good fit for joining
[1:48] our triathlon team. Right.
[1:50] Alan, welcome onto the Oxygen Addict podcast.
[1:54] It's it's great to have you on with us.
[1:57] I really wanted to get you on as soon as possible after I'm on
[2:00] Wales because I think you've got, you've got one of the best
[2:03] age group stories out there for, for coming from the background
[2:07] you did and completing Ironman Wales a couple of weeks ago.
[2:10] So first of like, congratulations.
[2:12] Thank you very much. You managed to complete Ironman
[2:14] Wales. Has it settled in yet?
[2:17] That's the first question. How's it feeling in the in the
[2:19] immediate aftermath of it? It's, yeah, it, it's slowly
[2:23] settling in. It, it's, it's interesting
[2:25] because I, I don't see myself as a triathlete.
[2:29] I see myself as an Ironman, you know, because I haven't done.
[2:33] I haven't done triathlons. I've done 1 Sprint and then went
[2:38] for the the Ironman. So so yeah, the yeah, it is
[2:43] sinking in. It's taken a while.
[2:47] So the first question then, and you can within this answer,
[2:50] you'll be able to give a little bit of context to your
[2:53] background, but what was it that attracted you to do?
[2:57] I'm on Wales in the first place. Well, I've had no interest in
[3:02] running the marathon and, and, and no interest in doing
[3:07] triathlon. And then I was in Tenby with my
[3:09] partner and she said, Alan, you'd really like the Ironman.
[3:14] And I had no idea what it was. So she told me what it was.
[3:18] And, and then I, I thought, yeah, OK, let's, let's do that.
[3:22] So I signed up and then a couple of weeks later we, we went and
[3:27] watched Ironman 2023. And then you had the, the
[3:32] national anthem and the flames and the, the smoke and, and the
[3:36] parachutists and everything and just, you know, 6:00 in the
[3:40] morning, it was 3/3 layers deep of people get in their spot.
[3:46] And I just looked at her. Oh, my God, What?
[3:49] What have I done? I just had no idea of the
[3:52] enormity of it. So.
[3:55] So, yeah. But I'd signed up.
[3:56] So I then needed to find a coach pretty quick.
[4:01] So you you literally at this point tell everyone what your
[4:04] background was in in swimming and biking and running and, and
[4:07] in sport in general. At this point, were you from a
[4:10] swimming or biking or running background at?
[4:11] All No, I, I hadn't swum since I was about 12, apart from jumping
[4:19] into a swimming pool. You know, you dive in, you, you
[4:22] climb out the other side. And so I was OK like that.
[4:25] But you know, no, no, no swimming background, no cycling
[4:31] background. We, you know, apart from again,
[4:33] back in when I was a child, building ramps and stuff like
[4:37] that and then running, I hadn't run longer than maybe 2 miles in
[4:46] 40 years. So but yeah, it's a bit of a
[4:50] challenge. But yeah, so when I started,
[4:53] when I started the programme, I had to run 30 strides, walk 30
[5:00] strides. And that was my my first session
[5:04] just to see how my knees were. And then with the cycling, I had
[5:08] a, an old mountain bike. And then with the swimming, I
[5:13] could, I could swim one length, but I had to wait for about a
[5:18] minute and a half, two minutes to get my breath back before I
[5:20] could do another one. Yeah, I started quite, quite a
[5:23] low, low end. Well, this is, this is one of
[5:28] the reasons we wanted to get you on.
[5:29] It's a, it's really is a fantastic story of what you can,
[5:33] what you can achieve if you put your mind to it, having seen an
[5:36] event and being really inspired by it and deciding, right, OK,
[5:40] I'm going to get into this. And I think you're, you're a
[5:42] really good example for people listening who might be sitting
[5:45] there thinking, I'd really love to try this.
[5:47] I'd really love to do an IMAP, but I don't think I can do it
[5:49] because as you said, you, you were not only not a triathlete
[5:53] at the time, you had literally 0 experience for me biking and
[5:57] running. And when you, you signed up and
[6:00] we had our first chat, I remember calling Andy and
[6:02] saying, wow, man, like this is going to be a story when we get
[6:07] Alan through this, This is going to and it's like, what?
[6:09] What do you mean he hasn't got a bike?
[6:14] My first ride out on the mountain bike I had a puncture
[6:16] and had to walk a mile and a half home because I I didn't
[6:20] have anything with me. Brilliant.
[6:25] So, so at what point then did you, what point in your training
[6:28] did you, did you pick your first road bike up?
[6:31] Because it was quite a while in, wasn't it?
[6:32] It was. It was a good few months.
[6:34] I think it was a four 4 1/2 months and was So I'm a roofer.
[6:41] So my background is, is equestrian equestrianism where I
[6:46] used to reeducate horses with problems and used to event and
[6:52] and coach. And then then I became a roofer.
[6:55] So I specialised in cottual stone tiling and and so it was
[7:02] actually I was working on a roof and I remember the client had a
[7:07] couple of nice bikes in his shed.
[7:09] So I said, would you, would you sell one?
[7:11] And and he decided not to. So I then went and bought a,
[7:16] bought a bike that evening and then the following morning he
[7:19] changed his mind and said, actually, this one's for sale,
[7:23] would you like it? And it was a much better one
[7:25] that I that I was able to buy, you know, on the Internet.
[7:30] So yeah, so that's what I did. Fantastic.
[7:34] So for the people who are, who are sitting and listening and,
[7:38] and are in possibly a similar situation than you were, you
[7:44] know, you've, you've just maybe been to watch Iron Man Wales and
[7:47] you've just become aware of what Iron Man is and you've decided
[7:49] that you wanted to go and do it. Paint a picture for us of, of
[7:54] how the, of how the training year developed from, from the
[7:58] guy who doesn't go to the pool, doesn't own a bike, can only run
[8:02] for 30 steps. How, how did that kind of build
[8:06] over time? And at what point did it feel
[8:08] like it tipped for you into Oh, I'm starting to feel like I'm
[8:12] getting in in half decent shape here.
[8:15] I I think that that took a while.
[8:18] We're, we're talking months and months and I had probably for
[8:22] the first seven months, imposter syndrome.
[8:25] I, I didn't tell people that I was training for an Iron Man,
[8:30] you know, because I just felt, yeah, imposter syndrome.
[8:34] I, I, I felt embarrassed that I was doing this almost, you know.
[8:41] So I think the, the training that I did with the horses.
[8:46] So the event in is is 3 disciplines dress I show jumping
[8:49] across country. And what I found that in the way
[8:53] that you built me up progressively it, it was
[9:00] actually how I used to bring the horses back into work with all
[9:06] the road work and the slow, slow trot work and all The Walking on
[9:10] the roads and building their training up and their food and
[9:13] nutrition along with that. So I think having that in my
[9:18] head through the horses, I just thought basically, I'm a horse
[9:24] that this is what this is what I'm, you know, I, I'm very
[9:27] familiar with the slow build up. And so I was very patient with
[9:33] that because I trusted the process from the beginning and.
[9:36] Right. So you almost treated yourself
[9:38] like you're a horse in your own training programme in your head
[9:41] and just thought we've just got to do yeah, that's interesting.
[9:44] Because there's, there's a lot of similarities.
[9:47] And the other thing is that when I, when I choose a coach, I, I
[9:54] will listen to the coach word for word.
[9:57] So I will put my complete trust in that person.
[10:02] And even if I don't understand it, I will ask questions about
[10:07] it, why we're doing certain things.
[10:10] But ultimately I'll trust them. And, and in particular with you
[10:13] because as I said earlier, I'd seen you on several podcasts and
[10:18] really like the way that you, you were able to simplify what
[10:25] you wanted to put across. Because I think a good coach is,
[10:28] is somebody that has a really good knowledge, but can break it
[10:32] down in the simplest form so that everybody can understand.
[10:36] And I just like the way that, that you approached the, the,
[10:41] the training and the knowledge that you had and, and how you
[10:44] put it across. So I had complete faith in you
[10:47] before I signed up. And so therefore I, I didn't
[10:51] have the hurdle of trying to convince myself to trust the
[10:59] process. I, I, I was already there.
[11:02] So I, I, I spoke in that way. I had a bit of a head start
[11:05] mentally. Yeah, that, that's really
[11:09] interesting. It's very nice thing for you to
[11:11] say thank you. And, and it's nice to hear
[11:13] because I think that's we've been doing this a long time now
[11:16] and, and I think I forget where, what my aims were when we
[11:20] started, but it was exactly that.
[11:22] It was, it was me sitting trying to trying to decode how on
[11:26] earth, how on earth you train for an Iron Man and get it into
[11:30] the simple form. It's a bit like when I used to
[11:32] be a teacher and you try and break down something really
[11:34] complicated and say to the kids, look, if you just get this
[11:36] little bit now, get there next a little bit.
[11:39] Later, yeah. And of course, and I and I, I
[11:42] knew that process beforehand with, with my coaching and the
[11:45] horses because and and with working with problematic horses,
[11:51] you had to break everything down.
[11:53] You had to get into their head first of all, you had to gain
[11:56] their trust and then you find out what the issue was and then
[12:00] you rebuild from there. So my mindset was, has never
[12:05] been rush, rush, rush. It was always, you know, if I
[12:09] need to take a step back, I'll take a step back.
[12:12] But this is where I am and we'll build from there.
[12:15] But you know that that's, that's kind of the best way forward.
[12:20] Sometimes you do take a step back and go forwards.
[12:24] I, I think that served you really well, that mindset.
[12:27] I think that the mindset you described is exactly what
[12:31] someone's going to need when they're approaching something
[12:33] like an Iron Man for the first time.
[12:34] Because you're right, there is an awful lot of trust that you
[12:36] have to place in the person designing a plan and in the
[12:40] process that you're following. Because often, I probably
[12:43] shouldn't say this, but I think often people don't feel like the
[12:46] things they're doing are going to get them to the point that
[12:49] they want to be by race day. Definitely.
[12:51] And there is an awful lot of saying to people you'd have to
[12:54] trust this process. I know it might not feel that
[12:56] X&Y is going to equal Z on race day, but it has done for
[13:00] hundreds of people before you. So just yeah, trusted it well.
[13:04] Yeah, I mean, there's a couple of things, you know, running so
[13:08] slowly for me, you know, you know, my, my, my thing was
[13:14] having to run between a 12 and 13 minute mile, which if you go
[13:18] out and try and run that it's really hard.
[13:21] But that was my pace all the way through.
[13:24] And then and then on the other side, you've got the swim and
[13:27] and those drills, the the unco drill.
[13:30] You know, that's, that's a tough one, but but that did serve me
[13:36] well in the sea. Yeah.
[13:38] So that, yeah, there was a lot of things in that's a part of
[13:43] the training that I thought I'd these are the these are the
[13:47] drills coming in, you know. Yeah.
[13:50] So it was. Really good.
[13:52] Yeah, good. Well, we'll talk about talk
[13:55] about race day a little bit then how give some context for people
[13:58] who are listening. Describe how race day was.
[14:01] Because you know, this podcast will stay out there for a couple
[14:03] of years and people will forget the conditions of race day.
[14:06] So, so let's describe the weather, the sea state, all of
[14:09] that so people get a really good feel for for how it was and what
[14:13] your experience if it was. OK.
[14:16] So, so we were expecting, we had a yellow weather warning for,
[14:22] for Tenby in Pembrokeshire. It didn't turn out as bad as
[14:26] that, but they almost called the swim off because that was really
[14:32] bad. And you had, you know, sort of
[14:35] almost a metre high waves. It was, it wasn't raining, but
[14:45] yeah, it was, it was a lot of wind and it, and it was rough
[14:48] and we were, the tide was coming in.
[14:51] So we had to swim out. It was left-handed course and we
[14:58] had to swim out to the life boat station and that's where the
[15:03] tide was coming in and coming around the into the harbour.
[15:07] So the first sort of 400 metres you were against the tide.
[15:13] So I, I trained in that. So I, I wasn't really bothered
[15:19] about what the conditions were. I, I made sure that I had done
[15:24] my, my work in, in those conditions.
[15:27] So it didn't make any difference to me what, what it was going to
[15:31] be, whether it was raining, whether it was windy, whether
[15:33] the, you know, whatever. My, my biggest, my biggest
[15:37] challenge certainly with the training was the bloody
[15:40] jellyfish. I, I had a couple of panic
[15:43] attacks with those where I just like held onto my inflatable boy
[15:48] and just like got my breathing back, you know, with my feet out
[15:52] the water. Yeah.
[15:55] So, so yeah, I mean, Shane Williams has done it 7 * 10 be 7
[16:01] times. And he said that this year was
[16:04] the worst that he's ever had. So they, they were bad and just
[16:08] under 300 people were taken out of the water.
[16:12] So yeah. But but my again, my mindset is
[16:16] that and it was like it with the horses.
[16:18] If there was a problem on the cross country course, I kind of
[16:21] like that because I like the challenge.
[16:23] So if my my thing was the worst, the worst the day is the the
[16:29] bigger the reward really. So, so have gone, yeah.
[16:35] It's all about your mindset again, isn't it?
[16:37] That that's what it comes down to.
[16:38] It doesn't matter, Yeah. Doesn't matter how how rough it
[16:41] gets if you really relish that. I remember swimming in rough
[16:44] conditions. And again, I was never a
[16:46] particularly strong swimmer, but I was really comfortable and
[16:49] from having surfed, I was really comfortable in in the waves.
[16:52] And I used to think everyone else is probably freaking out in
[16:56] this, which is which is bad for them and I feel bad for them,
[16:59] but it's kind of good for me. If you're in a competition, you
[17:02] like you that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[17:05] So, so it's interesting then you, you applied yourself really
[17:09] specifically to what we said, which is that, look, one of the
[17:12] unique challenges of, of Tenby is you can have a mill pond,
[17:18] flat set of water there one day and you can have surfable waves
[17:22] on the beach the next day. So you have to be prepared, be
[17:25] able to swim in salt water and you have to be prepared to be
[17:29] able to swim in rough water and with the tidal and current pools
[17:33] as well. And you managed to prepare
[17:35] really well for that by swimming in those conditions in training.
[17:38] Yeah, yeah, my, my partner, she lives in Tenby.
[17:43] So for me that was great. And I actually grew up in in
[17:49] Pembrokeshire and sold ice cream on the beaches in Tenby.
[17:52] That was my one of my summer jobs.
[17:54] So it was, it was really nice going back there.
[17:57] So I, yeah, I managed to get down quite a lot, probably had
[18:00] about maybe a dozen times in the sea with all different
[18:08] conditions. And like I said, my biggest, my
[18:12] biggest challenge was the the jellyfish absolutely freaked me
[18:18] out. Yeah.
[18:20] So it's not pleasant, is it? No, but you know, you, you kind
[18:24] of, it's interestingly because on competition day, because I
[18:28] was in competition mode, I saw jellyfish underneath me.
[18:32] And it didn't, didn't faze me at all because I was there to do a
[18:36] job. Yeah.
[18:38] So that was quite an interesting feeling.
[18:41] Yeah. So I don't know, it was I, I
[18:44] actually enjoyed the swim and, and it surprised me and I'm a
[18:48] much better swimmer in the sea than I am in the pool, which I
[18:53] found out. Interesting.
[18:56] What do you think? That's the combination of
[18:57] wearing a wet suit and the extra buoyancy from the salt water.
[19:00] Definitely because I, I, when I was a child, I always sank and
[19:06] even now I sink. So I, I did a lot of, a lot of
[19:10] swimming near the end with a pool boy.
[19:16] So I was mainly using my arms and actually on the swim, 95% of
[19:20] my swim in the sea, I only used my arms.
[19:24] So I I hardly cooked. Yeah.
[19:27] And I think it's a, it's a good thing for people to to remember
[19:31] that the extra buoyancy of the salt water is something we
[19:34] don't, we don't really understand unless we spend a lot
[19:37] of time swimming in salt water. So it is a big difference even
[19:40] if you're not in a wet suit, the extra buoyancy from a wet suit
[19:44] is a massive difference. And that's why we always stress
[19:47] it's so important for people over that last 12 weeks to swim
[19:50] in their wet suits because it just changes how it effectively
[19:54] changes the body that you're swimming in, doesn't it, The
[19:56] amount of buoyancy that that body has.
[19:58] Yeah, massively. And also just getting used to
[20:01] the equipment that you're using. So, you know, when I went down
[20:04] there, it was second nature. You know, you you Lube up, you
[20:08] know, you're comfortable in your wetsuit.
[20:11] You, you it was easy to get on. It was easy to get off.
[20:14] You know, it was just second nature.
[20:19] Yeah, but I think with the C. There were some people there
[20:23] that hadn't swam in the sea, which, you know, they obviously
[20:26] hadn't listened to your podcast. So I just find that incredible
[20:32] that people put themselves in that position.
[20:35] And there were people coming out, you know, with the big
[20:38] burns across their neck. They're massive burns.
[20:42] So yeah, no, I'd made sure I'd really.
[20:46] Trapped, yeah. And And for people listening who
[20:50] are, you know, maybe the first time is and maybe they're
[20:52] listening in another year's time ahead of race day.
[20:55] Having that whatever it is, the Lube stick the just something to
[20:59] put a barrier on your skin in between where the wet suit can
[21:03] rub can make all the difference between you just not feeling the
[21:08] wet suit and it'd be in agony. And people are surprised again,
[21:12] if they swim in the wet suit in, in, in freshwater lake.
[21:16] I don't think that that rub is anywhere near as as irritated as
[21:20] it is in salt water. And it can really, really affect
[21:23] people's days if they've got to then ride and run with that kind
[21:26] of painful neck for the rest of the day.
[21:28] Yeah, definitely. So yeah, you're thinking that.
[21:32] So what was your what was your swim time in the end?
[21:34] What did you get out of the water?
[21:35] What was on the clock when you got?
[21:36] Out 131. Very good.
[21:39] So I was, I was chuffed with that I'd.
[21:42] Yeah. Again, my, the way, the way that
[21:45] my mind works is that in 2023, the, the guy that came out of
[21:50] the water first did it in 50 minutes.
[21:53] And so my aim was to get as close to that 50 minutes as
[21:56] possible, whether that was an hour and 10, an hour and 30.
[22:02] It was that was where I was. I was aiming for that, you know,
[22:06] So I was absolutely thrilled, especially with the conditions
[22:10] and from where my swim started, because I think it was, it was
[22:14] about four months before I was actually able to swim 400 metres
[22:17] at once in order to do the CSS test.
[22:21] That's right, yeah. So I, I was just literally going
[22:26] to the, the, the, the drills to be able to get to a point where
[22:33] I could do a test to see what, you know, where I was.
[22:38] Do you remember off the top of your head?
[22:40] I remember Andy sent me this through a couple of weeks ago.
[22:43] Do you remember what your progression was in the 400
[22:45] metres? Yeah, I can tell you now.
[22:48] Because because I seem to remember it when it went really
[22:51] well, didn't it? It went from, like you said,
[22:53] literally not been able to swim 400 metres for the first few
[22:56] months. What were the times?
[22:57] On that so the first time I did a test was the 17th of January
[23:01] and my 400 metre time was 930. That's right.
[23:05] And then when I did my last swim test, which was the 10th of
[23:10] August, it was down to 740. Excellent.
[23:17] Yeah. But I I have to say I did work
[23:19] exceptionally hard in the pool. And the other thing that it was
[23:23] two things that really helped AI took a couple of private lessons
[23:28] in an endless pool with where they videoed me and, and it was
[23:34] completely different to how it felt.
[23:37] So I thought, right, well, yeah, we, we've got a bit of work to
[23:40] do here. And then the other thing that
[23:43] really helped, and especially on race day was a ticker, a
[23:48] clicker. So because I, I was, I was one
[23:54] of these people that, who I did a lot, you know, and so I think
[24:00] my, the coach said to me, the aim is to get you up to like 46
[24:06] clicks a minute, you know. Right.
[24:08] So it was really low that. Yeah, yes, yeah.
[24:12] So race day, I'd gone up to 60. I set it at 60 and I thought,
[24:16] yeah, I'd be OK with that because I didn't have a watch.
[24:19] I didn't want to watch. I just went on the clicks.
[24:23] I think, I think training with those clickers is is really
[24:28] genius because it's really surprising the first time you
[24:30] use it, isn't it? How not just how low or how high
[24:36] your stroke rate is, but how much it varies after one length
[24:40] away from how it feels when you start.
[24:42] And I think that's really eye opening for athletes when you
[24:44] say, right, all you've got to do is put your hand in the water
[24:47] when this goes click. And I remember my coach doing
[24:49] the same with me back in the day and me thinking this click is
[24:52] getting faster. I can't keep up with it after
[24:55] one. So, So yeah.
[24:57] So for anyone listening who's never tried one, it's well worth
[25:00] getting the swim Swim Tempo trainer.
[25:04] I think one of them's called, isn't it a little yellow thing?
[25:07] And there used to be one called the Retronome, which I don't
[25:09] think they make anymore, but 30 or so pounds I think they used
[25:13] to be. And they are brilliant training
[25:15] aids. Yeah, I think it's fantastic,
[25:17] you know, and it really helped me.
[25:19] And it just paces you all the time in the pool as well.
[25:23] Yeah. Stops you going too fast at the
[25:24] start and stops you slowing down as you start to fatigue her.
[25:27] So no, that was that was a brilliant aid.
[25:31] Right, so we're out of the water, we've got a steam up
[25:34] there up the path and and through Tenby town centre to the
[25:37] bike. What was your mindset ahead of
[25:40] the bike knowing we've got, we've got a cut off knowing
[25:43] it's, it's roughly 8 1/2 hours on the bike.
[25:47] You've got to get round, isn't it?
[25:48] If you're, if you're on the bike after, after the two hour mark.
[25:51] So you'd bought yourself a little bit of time.
[25:53] So why was your mindset with that so?
[25:56] So I, I'd gone into the water thinking I'd get the swim done
[26:07] as comfortable as, as way as possible.
[26:12] I knew that if I stayed at 60 clicks, I'd, I'd be inside the
[26:15] time. So they didn't stop me.
[26:18] So I knew I, I was inside the time.
[26:21] And as you know, I've really struggled on the bike with, with
[26:25] the time and, and, and so I've been very fortunate.
[26:29] I've been able to ride the course a couple of times so I
[26:32] knew I could do it in just over 8 hours in training.
[26:36] So I because I didn't know my time coming out of the water, I
[26:44] hadn't been pulled across to say I hadn't completed in in the
[26:47] time. So I've made the cut off.
[26:49] So then I worked on, I've got 8 hours.
[26:52] That was always my time. I've got 8 hours to get around
[26:55] on the bike course so I was pretty confident that I could do
[26:58] that because I'd done 8 hours turning training, the roads were
[27:02] closed, adrenaline was up, I really worked on my fuelling and
[27:10] because I'd I'd done all my training on my own purposely, I
[27:14] hadn't joined any clubs or anything like that.
[27:16] I was just a lone wolf out there doing it.
[27:21] I then found it very difficult to get the, the amount of food
[27:29] on the bike, etcetera. So anyway, I ran through the
[27:33] streets, got to T1. I wasn't in a hurry because I
[27:38] thought, you know, I'll, I'll just make sure I'll, I get
[27:41] everything sorted. I'd already I'd made-up some
[27:45] pasta in a, in a little lunch box.
[27:49] So that was in my bag. So I got changed.
[27:52] I had do. You really?
[27:53] Yeah. Little little picnic ready to go
[27:55] in T1 that wasn't in the race plan.
[27:58] Yeah, so I, I'd also, I was struggling I'd I'd been
[28:01] struggling with my back, it was locking out a little bit few
[28:04] weeks beforehand and I was a bit worried about it, whether it
[28:08] would hold up or not. So I put heat pads on my glue to
[28:11] my lower back and then I had everything ready, got changed
[28:18] and then ate half of my pasta. Because having gone out on the
[28:24] training sessions, sometimes when you start riding, I, I
[28:28] don't know if it's the same with everybody else, but it takes a
[28:31] while before you start thinking about you need to eat.
[28:35] So I thought if that happens with the adrenaline or the
[28:38] troughs, you know, I, I, it could be 40-50 minutes before I
[28:42] think about eating. So I thought right in T1, get
[28:47] some pasta in you and then set off.
[28:51] And so that's what I did. The other thing, which was so I,
[28:57] I couldn't get enough food on my on my bike because I so I'm 90
[29:02] kilogrammes that's working on 90 grammes of carbs an hour.
[29:08] I actually went up to 120 grammes per hour.
[29:13] I found that I needed that for me as an athlete.
[29:16] So I made this ad boy. This is this is amazing.
[29:24] I saw this on your bike on the photos.
[29:26] So I I can get seven of the. I guess, yeah, go on.
[29:30] Sorry. I can get seven of these 90
[29:32] grammes in there. So what I did, I just undid the
[29:37] top off all of them. So I literally just picked it
[29:39] off, squeezed it and didn't have to worry about the rubbish or
[29:42] anything. Put it back in.
[29:44] Well, I stuffed it down the top and then in the front part I
[29:48] have precision hydration chews because the another 30 grammes
[29:53] of carbs really easy. And you know, at fuel stations I
[30:00] might pick up a banana or something just to give it a bit
[30:02] of a change. And I put some brioche buns in
[30:07] my special need bag on the on the ride.
[30:10] So just to split it up a little bit.
[30:12] But yeah, that that worked really well.
[30:15] But I almost, I wasn't sure whether I could use it or not
[30:18] because when I went to rack up, the officials there said, oh,
[30:23] you've got to hang on a minute. I'm going to take in some
[30:25] photographs of your bike, sending it off to the main
[30:28] official to see if I was able to use it.
[30:31] So fortunately they said yes, OK.
[30:36] And, and then off I went. I had about 20-30 people on the
[30:41] bike passing me going. I saw that in in transition.
[30:46] Fantastic, mate. Yeah, and and say, making jokes
[30:51] about taking my Sunday Sunday lunch with me and, you know, so.
[30:56] Well, I think you did exactly the right thing in that you sat
[30:58] down and scratched your head and said, right, I need all of this
[31:01] energy. I need all these grammes of
[31:03] carbs. How am I going to carry it?
[31:05] It's it's often a challenge people face.
[31:07] I've never seen somebody come up with building their own Bento
[31:10] box before. But hats off to you for doing
[31:12] it, if that's the thing that worked for you.
[31:13] Yeah, it was great. The.
[31:14] Proof. The proof is that it worked and
[31:16] you got yourself to the finish line.
[31:18] So, so well done for that. Yeah, thanks.
[31:22] So on the bike then you did you have any any issues or was it
[31:26] pretty much did it all go to? Plan, yeah, pretty much went to
[31:28] plan to be pit. I was a little bit quicker on
[31:30] the 1st loop than I intended. But yeah, not saying I drafted,
[31:36] but there's a lot of people in a in a small space.
[31:39] So you kind of so I was I was sometimes kicking 80 watts and
[31:43] doing 25 miles an hour feeling. Oh my God, this is great.
[31:48] And, and that's one of the effects that people don't talk
[31:50] about, I think on race day is that there are 2000 people out
[31:53] there on the course even, you know, there's, there's the
[31:57] intent draught and there's the reality of being out on the road
[32:00] with that many people and just staying safe.
[32:03] So I don't think that that's a problem at all for anybody as
[32:06] long as you're not actively looking to get an advantage and
[32:09] you look to get yourself out of situations.
[32:11] If you're behind somebody, that's that's just how you know
[32:16] the first lap of nine man is. Yeah, and and yeah.
[32:19] So that was good. And my, my whole thing about
[32:23] this is my, you know, you you only get one time doing your
[32:28] first Iron Man or first anything.
[32:30] So I wasn't to win. I was there to beat the cut offs
[32:36] and and enjoy it. So Heartbreak Hill, you know, in
[32:41] Saundersfoot, I was getting through the crowds there and I
[32:45] was thinking, oh, they're a bit quiet.
[32:48] So I was like, I put my arm up and then the noise level went
[32:52] up. And then it was like, oh, this
[32:53] is good, come on, give it to me. And then they'd all be going.
[32:58] Yeah. So that was really good.
[33:02] I just got got the crowd, got to the top.
[33:04] Maybe I should have done that. It was such a good laugh.
[33:11] It was, yeah. Sounds like you really enjoyed
[33:14] it. You got your money's worth and
[33:16] enjoyed. It definitely, definitely, yeah.
[33:18] And I love the downhills. I found that I'm actually a
[33:20] pretty good downhill rider and the flat was pretty good speed
[33:25] wise. Hills got me.
[33:28] I was trying to keep trying to keep the power down and in the
[33:31] in the 2nd loop I tried to a little slower.
[33:34] Just, I just thought I'd just just ease a little bit, Alan,
[33:38] because you've got time. Yeah.
[33:40] And because I'd done the course before, I knew at certain points
[33:43] where I needed to be to make sure that I was home.
[33:45] And so I ended up coming in just a couple of minutes shy of eight
[33:50] hours. Fantastic with with just a
[33:54] marathon to run at this. Point, just a marathon.
[33:57] Yeah. And up to this point, I'd only
[33:59] ran 12 1/2 miles in my sessions because I'd, I'd missed a little
[34:02] bit of through, through illness, I missed a couple of my longer
[34:07] runs. So yes, I'd only done 12 1/2
[34:10] miles up until this point, but I wasn't actually bothered by it
[34:14] because I knew that, yeah, I, I knew in my head I could do, I
[34:19] could do it. So yeah.
[34:22] And by this pub time it was throwing it down the last sort
[34:25] of 3 1/2 hours on the bike absolutely threw it down.
[34:30] Yeah. So.
[34:31] How long did you have left on the clock then to complete the
[34:34] marathon when you came? In well, I worked on the fact
[34:36] that I because I, because I again, they didn't call me over
[34:40] to say I didn't make the cut off.
[34:42] I, I had six hours, what was on 6 1/2 hours, six hours.
[34:47] And because my predicted time was about 5 hours 20 and I was
[34:52] feeling really good coming off the bike.
[34:54] And again, I, I didn't rush transition took me 24 minutes
[35:01] for the but I, I wanted to do a full a full change because I
[35:08] wanted to wear the team oxygen Tri suit.
[35:12] There we go. I worked with my sponsors in the
[35:15] background there. Though I yeah.
[35:19] So I went in, had a full change, changed my heat pads on the back
[35:25] and got everything sorted. Had to be because you're wet,
[35:29] you're cold, Athletes help helping each other to get
[35:32] changed. And then again I had some more
[35:36] pasta and then off I went first, first lap, everything. 91 run
[35:46] came in the first lap around 20, which is what I should have been
[35:52] feeling really good. And then two didn't like lap 2.
[35:57] Rob Oh my Lord, I, I hit a hole. I don't know why, because my
[36:03] nutrition, I felt it was hang on and the electrolytes and
[36:09] everything. And but yeah, I hit the hole
[36:13] just as a teammate came neck and neck with me and we were having
[36:18] a bit of a chat and she didn't get much conversation of me.
[36:21] I was just thinking I need to dig myself out of this, you
[36:24] know, you carry on, you know, And then I got to the aid
[36:29] station by the finishing line and I just stood there and just
[36:35] drank and just ate. And there was a really nice guy
[36:39] there. He said, are you OK?
[36:41] Because I must have been like a zombie just like.
[36:45] And he said, look, I've been I've done this four times.
[36:47] I know where you are, eat what you need, drink what you need,
[36:52] then carry on. So that was really good.
[36:55] And then I set off from there and I still feeling rough
[36:59] because it hadn't kicked in. And then I had a had a little
[37:03] moment robbed with myself and I and I said, hey, Al, you asked
[37:10] for this. This is what you signed up for.
[37:11] You wanted to test yourself as a person.
[37:15] So this is this is the test. Yeah.
[37:19] And then I, I was thinking a lot of people would love to be where
[37:25] I am feeling what I'm feeling. So I, I had a smile because I
[37:29] was smiling all the way around. I had a little smile.
[37:31] I had a bit of a chuckle and said thanks, you know, to the
[37:35] universe for putting me here. Now let's get on and do it.
[37:38] And it was really cool. Yeah, I love that.
[37:43] Again, it's your mindset all the way through this.
[37:45] It's exactly what you talked about before.
[37:47] It's accepting where you are. Because I had a new, I had a new
[37:51] injury as well, which I'd never had in in training and.
[37:56] Yeah. The the front of my ankle coming
[37:59] into the bottom of my shin was hurting and usually if I've had
[38:03] some niggles, I can either just walk and and massage it away and
[38:10] then carry on. But this, this wasn't going
[38:12] away. In fact, it still hurts now.
[38:15] So I thought, oh God. OK, so I was just carrying on
[38:20] with my nine one run, seeing how that was going.
[38:24] And then lap two I fortunately it's in my special needs bag.
[38:28] I put some tape. So I took my shoe off and
[38:31] everything strapped that up and then carried on.
[38:36] Still wasn't happy. So again, I had more tape.
[38:41] So again, I like wrap my ankle around and then I used my tag as
[38:45] well to tighten it up on there. I thought you just need to get
[38:51] round onto the lap, lap four and you'll be fine.
[38:56] And there was a woman as well because my back started to tweak
[38:58] a little bit And so she she was really good.
[39:03] She stripped off my, my, my Tri suit down to my bum and she was
[39:08] like spraying me back with deep heat and everything.
[39:11] And I'd sprayed my legs on lap two and three because my groyne
[39:15] was starting to tweak and making it really difficult and painful
[39:18] to go up hills and then put me together again.
[39:22] And then off I went. And then it was really strange
[39:25] because when I got to lap 4, I got halfway around 4:00 and then
[39:29] it was just like, come on, Al, let's let's just, you can push
[39:33] yourself now because if anything happens, you've made it, you
[39:36] know, you can drag yourself over, you know, just, and then I
[39:39] just, I just just chugged just like a, like an old steam train,
[39:45] just put my head down and chugged away and, and it was
[39:49] great. And then I came round to the
[39:51] finish and I always wanted to make something of the bell, you
[39:57] know, So I, I came in and I just like, was just like, yeah, like
[40:01] this and took my hat off. I was wearing this.
[40:09] Which caused quite a stir and people when you do, you're
[40:15] watching an event. There's something about somebody
[40:17] that you always seem to see, you know, and that was my hat.
[40:22] I had lots of go cowboy and you know, crikey mate, and all of
[40:28] this. I came up with the finish, took
[40:32] off my I think, Oh, thank God for that.
[40:34] And just like thanking all the crowds and and whatever, looking
[40:38] around and then came up to the bell and I went, let's see the,
[40:42] and then rang the bell. And then all of a sudden I had
[40:45] like this big boost of energy and it was like banding down the
[40:51] red carpet hitting people's hands.
[40:53] And I got it was really weird because I got over the finish,
[40:58] but you are an Iron Man. And I just went just like, Oh my
[41:03] God, It's like deflation. Yeah, yeah.
[41:07] So it's really cool. I will listen.
[41:10] Let me ask you this what, what, what have you learned about
[41:14] yourself in the process of, of applying for the Iron Man,
[41:18] training for it, showing yourself that you can do it?
[41:21] What, what did you get as? Because you said earlier on, you
[41:24] know, I said to the universe, you asked for this.
[41:28] What are you, what are your reflection?
[41:29] What do you feel you got out of it?
[41:31] Well, first, I think first and foremost I like myself.
[41:37] I know that faced with AST, I've got the metal to deal with it.
[41:44] And I suppose a little bit of confirmation really more than
[41:50] happening. And my humour brings me through.
[41:59] I mean, I was, I was always smiling, I was always laughing.
[42:01] I was always thanking people for cheering, cheering us on and you
[42:06] know, stuff like that. And you know, when you're going
[42:09] up hills and you know, you're with a group of people that make
[42:14] a few jokes and, and stuff like that and, and things like I'm,
[42:22] I'm reasonably quiet and sort of within myself to a point, but
[42:27] then I've got a showman in me as well, you know, and, but I also,
[42:34] I also like the fact that I can, I can keep relaxed and adjust
[42:39] things in the moment. So been to instance, like with
[42:44] the swimming, I had my game plan for the swim.
[42:48] I was going to keep to the left hand side, keep away from people
[42:53] and not get caught up with everything.
[42:55] So we go into the first turn and the tides coming in, everybody
[43:00] wants to cut the corner, everybody gets pushed in
[43:04] together. And then all of a sudden I'm in
[43:05] like the washing machine as they describe.
[43:07] And I'm thinking, I've not been in one of these before, let's
[43:10] just see how it goes, right? And I thought, OK, I'll just see
[43:14] if I can do a bit of drafting, whatever, because I have a
[43:19] practise with people. And then I found out, Rob, that
[43:23] wasn't really for me, mate. So, so the, the, the next time I
[43:31] came round, it was right. I'm going to stick to the left,
[43:34] still stay away from people. I'm not going to make the turn
[43:39] on the first turn, keep swimming out another 10 metres.
[43:43] Then I'm going to turn and then I'm going to have free water,
[43:47] which is exactly what happened. And I just made sure that I did
[43:51] my own race. So I'm.
[43:54] And so it was really good that even when you're dealing with a
[43:59] lot, there's a clarity that I can work with to make it better,
[44:05] you know, because on the 1st loop as well, on the second
[44:08] turn, I got cramped in both my hamstrings, which really threw
[44:12] me because I, I got off and got a sweat test beforehand, knew
[44:17] exactly how much I lost, you know, per litre and all the rest
[44:20] of it. I'd hydrated the night before.
[44:23] I hydrated in the morning, had my food and all the rest of it.
[44:25] And then they, and they stretched and, and everything.
[44:27] And then they locked on the turn.
[44:30] I had to roll over. And as I rolled over, one of the
[44:34] lifeguards showed it to another one of her colleagues.
[44:38] That guy needs to come out, not me, but somebody else.
[44:41] And I'm thinking, I'm rubbing you like this.
[44:43] And I'm thinking, I'm not going out like this.
[44:45] I'm not going out like this. And then and then it was really
[44:48] spooky because I rolled over into this and and these goggles
[44:55] just were floating or sinking in front of me.
[44:57] And I thought, Oh my God, this is a scene like Titanic.
[45:00] You know, in a minute there's going to be a body.
[45:03] So that was a bit spooky. So then I just, you know, you
[45:07] just kind of put that to the back of your head and then you
[45:10] carry on and, you know, and then I thought, I better, I better
[45:13] just start kicking a little bit. Maybe that's what it is, you
[45:16] know, So I did a little bit, the feeling went and I went back to
[45:21] no kicking, you know? And yeah, so I did 95% of the
[45:25] swim without kicking, which was really cool.
[45:28] That help? I think it's, I think it's quite
[45:30] common on race day. I think people, people often get
[45:33] little bouts of cramp like that and there isn't really A cause
[45:36] for it. It isn't because of hydration
[45:38] and it isn't because of lack of preparation.
[45:41] And it's been able to deal with it calmly and, and I think your
[45:44] example is a good one. It doesn't have to be
[45:47] catastrophic. You can have cramp, it can feel
[45:49] horrendous, but it can pass in three seconds, 5 seconds and you
[45:53] can get back to being OK again. So I think that's a good message
[45:56] for people to hear. And when people are are hitting
[45:58] me and whatever, you know, sometimes they're just into,
[46:03] into breaststroke, have a little look around, see if there was a
[46:06] gap, then shoot to the gap and then carry on.
[46:10] Yeah. And I, I'd spent so much time
[46:15] being comfortable in the water because I felt that if I could
[46:19] be comfortable in the water, that mean that would mean then
[46:22] that I could be relaxed in whatever situation.
[46:26] And then if you've got that, then you, you've got clarity and
[46:31] you can deal with things, you know?
[46:34] Yeah, Yeah. It's the right mindset.
[46:37] Yeah. I think the mindset served you
[46:39] really, really well. Yeah, well, listen to, to wrap
[46:42] this interview up. I, I always end up asking this
[46:45] question to, to age group interviews.
[46:48] What advice would you give to somebody out there who, who's in
[46:52] the same position you were a year ago?
[46:53] You know, maybe they're, maybe they're thinking about entering
[46:55] the first time. Maybe they've seen I'm on Wales
[46:58] or just seen it on video and they've not done anything like
[47:01] this before. What?
[47:02] What advice would you give to them?
[47:04] So I I guess the the main advice if you haven't done anything
[47:09] like this before, sign up with a coach.
[47:14] Yes, word word for the sponsors. Yeah, Yeah.
[47:17] I mean in particular team oxygen because I think that that you
[47:21] guys, well, I as as you promote yourself as being unique.
[47:27] I genuinely think that you are in what a knowledge that you
[47:31] have because there's the three, three of you.
[47:34] I think is it, is it Chris that's still competing?
[47:38] Yeah. So, and you've got years and
[47:40] years of experience individually, not together.
[47:46] You, you, you're constantly evolving.
[47:49] You know, you never just sit on your laurels and say, well, this
[47:51] is the programme and it's worked for us so far.
[47:54] You know, even this year you're saying, well, we're going to do
[47:57] something different with the time of the bike riding so that
[48:01] you get the, the miles in, you know, so you're changing
[48:05] constantly and always working at the highest levels that you can,
[48:10] which then come across to to us. So the other thing is that,
[48:16] which is fantastic that you provide is a, you know, it's
[48:19] like a private Facebook, isn't it?
[48:21] And the knowledge of some of the athletes on there as well.
[48:26] You know that some that have been with you for what, 6-7
[48:28] years, going to the World Championships and all the rest
[48:30] of it, you know, and unlike a lot of other groups, you don't
[48:35] get the guys that take the Michael, you know, you ask the
[48:39] question, you get proper answer you, you know.
[48:42] That's the big difference in our community, I think, isn't it?
[48:45] And that's that's essentially why we came off Facebook and why
[48:48] we went into our own, you know, white labelled apps that looks
[48:52] like Facebook. And it's it's exactly that.
[48:55] We just want the people in there who are going to be good people.
[48:58] We just want people who are going to support our other
[49:00] members. And, and the big problem that I
[49:03] often see with those open Facebook groups is the people
[49:06] are just almost for a sport. They're trolling people who are
[49:09] asking the genuine question that they might not know the answers.
[49:12] They're just horrible people, you know?
[49:15] And that can be quite a lot of that out there, can't.
[49:17] They're on social media, so. Yeah, so I think, I think what
[49:20] you offer is absolutely unique. And the other thing is that when
[49:23] I was out training and I had my team oxygen Tri suit on, which
[49:28] took a while to get used to because I felt very exposed as
[49:31] as you know, like, like it wasn't a big part of my life up
[49:34] until this point. So people would would, you know,
[49:39] run alongside me and say, oh, are you being coached by that
[49:42] guy? Say, yeah, he's my coach.
[49:45] And it's like, yeah, he's my coach.
[49:48] And and he's like, oh, I've listened to him.
[49:50] He's really, really good. I said, well, you should sign up
[49:53] for him next time, you know. So there's there's a lot of
[49:56] there's a appreciate that quite a few.
[49:59] Thanks man. There's quite a few people out
[50:00] there that they are listening to you and they came to me and they
[50:05] talked about the programme and and what you offer.
[50:08] And there was a couple that said, yeah, I might, I might
[50:11] give them a call. Yes, it's really cool.
[50:13] It's quite sad being off the group now for a little while.
[50:17] Oh, yeah, that's, that's the challenge, isn't it?
[50:20] When it's when it's all over and done and I think it becomes such
[50:22] a big part of people's lives. Yeah, Massively.
[50:25] Yeah. So it's yeah, but it's.
[50:28] How's how's the aftermath? That's the that's the last
[50:31] question, the wrap up. How is the aftermath of having
[50:34] built up to this thing for a whole year having now done it?
[50:39] How are you finding life now? You are an Iron Man in Averted.
[50:43] Comments So again, because of my mindset because I know this
[50:51] isn't the end. Right.
[50:53] Yeah, although. It's not You've decided, have
[50:56] you? There's more.
[50:57] There's more to come. I mean I.
[50:58] I came over the finished slide and we will.
[51:01] I had to walk home then with my my girlfriend Sarah and I said
[51:06] as we were walking up the hill again.
[51:08] Coming out of Tenby SO and never doing this again.
[51:16] But no in my SO. So my mindset has always been
[51:20] this is the main event. I didn't really want to do
[51:23] anything in between because this was my thing.
[51:26] I don't have any wish to do any triathlon outside of Iron Man to
[51:29] be fit. Yeah.
[51:31] So I was going to do it for a year, whatever happened.
[51:35] I was then going to have some time off from the intensity of
[51:39] training, but not stop training and then sort my life out
[51:46] because there's a lot going on and I need to sort it and then
[51:51] come back to it because I want to get a much better time,
[51:54] Chris. And.
[51:57] Well, I'm sorry and. It looks like you automatically
[52:01] went to justifying it to Chris. He's the performance guy.
[52:04] So I want to repast the Chris. Maybe it's because of a great
[52:08] word. Brilliantly.
[52:09] He can. He can push it to go faster.
[52:11] I can be the arm around the shoulder.
[52:13] Yeah, that's it. So it's yeah.
[52:15] So that's that's that's my plan. So I'll.
[52:18] But it's also very interesting. Yeah.
[52:21] So I so I'm fine about the aftermath.
[52:24] I haven't got a massive low. I, I do find that when I go to
[52:29] bed, I go to get my stuff ready for the morning, which I don't
[52:34] need to do. So that's yeah.
[52:39] But the what was the other thing?
[52:43] I can't remember now. It'll come.
[52:45] It'll come to me when we sign off.
[52:47] But yeah, just so I'd show you that there's a cool, cool medal.
[52:55] Well, you can be extremely proud of that you you've had a real
[53:00] journey to go from, to go from no swim, bike, run background at
[53:05] all, not owning a bike, not being able to swim a length, not
[53:09] being able to run more than 30 steps to finishing what's
[53:11] probably the hardest Iron Man in the world inside a year from
[53:16] nothing. I hope you're very proud of
[53:19] yourself for what you've achieved.
[53:20] You've, you've done a really, really good job, man.
[53:23] Thank you. I know what I was going to say
[53:25] now, Juan. It's only now after all of this
[53:31] that I kind of feel that I'm ready to train now.
[53:35] I think I'm at, I feel that I'm at a level where I can now start
[53:40] my training, if that makes sense.
[53:43] Yeah. I'm really looking forward to to
[53:45] that. First year for experience,
[53:49] second year for performance. Hey, well, listen now, thank you
[53:53] so much for taking the time to come on and tell us about your
[53:56] experience. I think it's going to it's going
[53:58] to help out a lawful lot of athletes, especially those one
[54:00] into Iron Man Wales and and congratulations again, it's it's
[54:05] a great achievement. Thank you very much.
[54:07] Been great. Stick around, when we finish
[54:09] recording, we'll we'll have a little chat.
[54:11] Take good care man. Thanks for your time.
[54:13] And that brings us to the end of this week's show.
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[55:36] And until next week, have a great safe training and racing
[55:39] week. I'm coach Rob Wilby, and you've
[55:41] been listening to the Oxygen Addict podcast.

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