Sarah finishes Lanzarote Ironman
After a great performance in her first ever Ironman, we caught up with Sarah recently to get her feedback on her race in the 2008 Lanzarote Ironman
Why Lanzarote Ironman? I chose to enter this race because I’ve been going to Club La Santa in Lanzarote for the last 10 years and it's where I first developed a taste for triathlon. It’s also branded as "the toughest Ironman in the world" so if I was going to ever do an Ironman it had to be this one!
What were your pre race goals? I had 3 race objectives. Firstly to finish the race without any major mishaps, secondly to come in around the 12 hour mark and thirdly to be in the top 3 in my age group.
Your thoughts on your personal performance in the race? It's easy to look back in hindsight after an Ironman event and think you could have done better however on the day I didn't have a clue what to expect and was delighted to cross the finish line feeling strong and having achieved all of my goals. I found the swim challenging - someone broke my toe when taking a stroke on the 1st lap! The bike was also tough with the Island's infamous and unrelenting wind on the steeper climbs. My high point though was the run. My training back in the UK set me up for a solid run leg. The race atmosphere was incredible throughout. I was buoyed enormously by the crowd support on the bike and run course including several familiar faces (Nigel, Chris, Kevin) from Robin's camps. Luckily for me they always appeared at times when I was beginning to slack off or lose focus!
Comments about the coaching? This was the 1st time I’ve ever had a coach and a training plan that I've followed religiously. The key to achieving your goals in triathlon or any endurance sport is consistency and that's what I managed to do with the help of Robin. Before signing up for the race I attended 1 week of the October Warm Weather Camp at Club La Santa and then 1 month before the race I spent a further 2 weeks on Robin's Spring Triathlon Training Camp again at Club La Santa. The consistent hard graft in the UK coupled with warm weather training in Lanzarote worked wonders for me both mentally and physically. I also had fantastic support from friends, family & my fiancé Dominic throughout.
What’s next? I'm getting married in September so racing has taken a back seat for the time being but I'm keen to get a fast marathon time in the bag for early next year after my positive experience in Lanzarote!
Congratulations to Sarah on a great performance in Lanzarote.
From all of us here at RBS we would like to wish Sarah and Dominic all the very best with their wedding day and their new life together.
