Ironman Challenge
Coast to Coast
Challenge: Ironman, Zurich, Switzerland
Date: July 2006
Swim for 2.4 miles.
Cycle for 112 miles.
THEN
Run a marathon.
That's the Ironman Challenge - the ultimate triathlon.
At 7am on July 2, 2006, almost 2,000 competitors lined the shore of Lake Zurich for the 10th anniversary of “Ironman Switzerland”. In the midst of them were Mark Pollock and Brendan Smyth, former team-mates and medal winners in rowing at the Commonwealth Games.
Brendan and Mark had decided to hold back at the swim start to avoid other competitors swimming over them or getting tangled in the harness that they had constructed to tie each other together.
But as the start gun rang out, Brendan made a tactical decision to go, turned to Mark and asked if he was ready - the need to be among the competition was vital. Mark, trusting, nodded and they waded in.
“I was very concerned about my ability in the swim but, by the time we hit the water, the opportunity to worry about it was over. I had to just accept that Brendan would guide me through the best route and I would rely on my training to get me through.
Although three or four people managed to tangle themselves in between us, we made good time on the swim. I was counting strokes to try to give myself an idea of how far we had gone.
I had counted 3,500 strokes and expected another
1,000 at least when Brendan hit my shoulder and told me to get out! We
had finished in 1 hour 19m, 20 minutes ahead of schedule!”
- Mark Pollock, adventure athlete -
Next up was the cycling race where they cycled a tandem bike, rousing loud support from the tens of thousands of spectators. The course has a
total of more than 5,000 feet of climbing with hills named: ‘The Beast' and ‘Heartbreak Hill'.
“The three laps of 60kms at times had sections
with so
many supporters that we felt like we were in the Tour de France. We had no
clear picture of how difficult the uphills were or how we would feel psychologically
knowing that the marathon was still to come. With increasing effort on each
lap, we managed to stick to an even 2.5 hours per lap and finish the bike race
in 7.5 hours.”
They then faced into the 26.2 mile run. They broke the race into four 10.5km laps.
“But as time went on the ‘wall' finally hit. At
around 14kms
into the marathon, I began to get stomach cramps and had to ask Brendan to
slow for the middle 20kms of the run. We kept moving though and began passing
people who had raced
past us on the bike.
“For most of the marathon, I was on auto-pilot
and I felt Brendan was running with a bit of a passenger. I couldn't even
acknowledge the supporters calling our names at this stage…
it was all about survival.”
‘Finishing is Victory' according to the Ironman mantra.
Mark and Brendan finished in 14 hours and 26 minutes. And after a short celebration, Mark was in the medical tent getting two IV drips in his arm to rehydrate and Brendan was in the massage tent.
“In endurance sport, all my events are about finishing. In the New Zealand Coast to Coast race, I had been helicoptered off the mountains twice after missing the cut-off times.
That was not going to happen again. The Ironman had a 16-hour cut-off time and I was not going to miss that deadline, no matter how bad I was feeling.”
Thanks, guys!
Mark is indebted to the team who helped him complete the Ironman Switzerland, particularly Brendan Smyth and also Jim Gilmartin, who another Ironman contestant and the guy who ‘persuaded' Mark to enter the race in the first place.
Challenge: Coast to Coast, South Island, New Zealand
Date: February 2006
New Zealand's South Island is a magnet for tourists.
But when you have to cycle 140km; run, scramble and climb 36km; then kayak 67km of the Waimakariri River through the Waimakariri Gorge, well, you'd want to be dedicated!
The challenge kickstarts on Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea. In 2005, Mark was helicoptered off the course at Goat Pass exhausted, dehydrated and mentally shattered when it became obvious he would not complete the first day's course before the 7.30pm cut-off.
“I couldn't believe the size and frequency of the boulders and it soon became clear that the mountain run was not going to be a run at all. It is a hike, scramble, crawl, climb and for me, very very slow.
“In the final hours of the 2005 event, I swore I would never do another multi-sport or adventure race again. At Goat Pass, I was devastated physically and I just felt so disappointed with myself.
I was only focused on the finish line not how to achieve that outcome. It was all about the result. However, not only had I overlooked the process goals of training for the event properly after spraining my ankle in the run up but I under-performed on the day.”
Down but not out
Two days later, he announced he would be back and asked New Zealand multi-sporter Josh Stevenson to team up to get him prepared for the 2006 event.
As part of his preparation, Mark had to step up on to chairs and tables for two to four hours to help strengthen his legs for the boulders on the course.
Mark and Josh moved through the initial 3km run to the tandem bike steadily.
During the 55km road bike stage, John constantly told about the direction they were taking and the gradient of the road. Mark concentrated on drinking water and eating carbohydrate gels, fruit cake and electrolyte tablets following the nutrition problems of 2005.
“I felt nervous as we set off into the mountain.
But, unlike 2005, I was physically in better shape and mentally I knew
I had
done the training.”
For the first 3kms, Mark ran behind Josh using trekking poles in each hand to feel the ground in front of him and two other trekking poles from his wrists forward to Josh. Josh was able to use the poles in his hands to translate information about the rough terrain to Mark's wrists. This system combined with vocal instructions worked until the first of 15 river crossings.
“As we got into the river, I had to use one pole
and hold onto Josh's arm with the other hand to get enough information
about the terrain and the fast flowing water.”
After that first river crossing, the terrain gets worse and the small rocky paths lead into a sea of boulders.
“As the tracks disappeared I moved ahead of Josh and used two trekking poles to feel what my feet had to land on. Sometimes it was a flat rock, sometimes shingle that fell away and other times the poles just found thin air!”
“I felt really strong as we moved through the
early parts of
the course and got a real lift knowing that even in the early stages in 2005
I was already crumbling. I remember at one
point saying to Josh on a really tough patch that I was
enjoying it. And I was!”
Mark and Josh arrived at Goat Pass at 6pm. But Mark was feeling good.
The bad news was that they were over time.
The officials told them they were out of the race.
“Despite not completing the event, I am so glad I went back to try in 2006. I gave it my best and I still could not get over the course in the time limit specified.
I trained properly, I performed on the day and
my support crew were excellent yet I was still only 30 mins faster over
the 11 hours.
I now know that I am capable of getting from Coast
to Coast
in New Zealand on that course but just not within the
rules of that race!” (Mark Pollock)