Whilst waiting for boarding I began getting emotional and had to hold back the tears that so wanted to flow. Just thinking about Rose and the reason as to why I was sat where I was set me off. It was heartbreaking to think how my family's lives have changed forever after one night and that truly hit me. I felt humbled and blessed to be having this amazing experience but I couldn't help think that it was because of a deep and tragic loss. I would give up this trip 100 times over to just have Rosie back. It still is hard not to reflect on this thought. My excitement was off the chart but slightly tainted. I just had to try and push through and think that Rosie was still with me on my journey and had got me here, my 'job' now was to utilise the opportunity. I boarded the plane and after moving because of the size of the guy I was sat next to and a 30 minute delay as someone ran off the plane in fear I was on my way to Abu Dhabi.
I arrived in Abu Dhabi at 8.30pm their time (4hours ahead of the UK). I waited for an over in passport control with some painfully annoying women behind me who spoke like the sisters Patty and Selma from the Simpsons due to how much they must smoke and how much they complained. I was on the brink of telling them to shut up - everyone wanted the queue to go quicker, and wanted more staff but tutting was not going to help anyone! Another thing they did was stand pretty much on my feet after we moved forward so I started playing a game. I would stick my roll on bag as far as I could behind me and would let the gap in front of me grow and see how long it would take for them to start tutting at me in impatience - it's the simple things. By the time I did get through security I was pretty annoyed myself and then had a mad panic as I couldn't find my bag. I eventually found it and then it was into the taxi and off to the hotel.
When I arrived it was 22.50 and I was told I had 10 minutes to grab some food at the buffet. I put a bit of everything on my plate and worked my way through it. Now I am not much of a sweet tooth normally preferring all things savoury but I decided to get a plate of cakes of which they had a huge table full. I never thought of the UAE as dessert makers but wow they were good! As the cakes weren't huge and came in little 'samples' I found myself able to eat lots. I had a strategy of trying them all so I could have the best one last. All of them were so good I had a selection of half eaten cakes and then had to rattle it down to what flavour I wanted to end on.
This happened every dinner and lunch time that I ate at the hotel. Any weight I lost in Lanzarote training was probably put on in these moments but my excuse was always I'm loading energy for the triathlon and on the days after I justified it by saying I had done the triathlon and had burnt them off already. After finishing the first night on pistachio number I went to see the media people who had arranged the logistics of the tri and my arrival. I was told about swim practice in the morning and then headed off the bed.
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| The view from my room |
Mum had got no sleep on her 7 hour overnight flight from the UK so she laid down to get some rest. I said there was a press conference at 11am to which she said she would join me there. I busied myself and made my way down at 10.45 with my Hollie4Kona running top making it's first appearance (mum had brought the kit with her). During the opening of the press conference the competing professional athletes were announced and in the same moment I was also mentioned as an 'inspire a nation' GB athlete competing in memory of her niece (my mum later joked this would be the only time I would hear myself named as a GB athlete as it made me sound like a pro). Upon hearing my name the tears almost instantly dropped. I don't know why this set me off but I spent the next few minutes trying to subtly wipe away the few tears that had fallen. After that it was the real pros turn to take the take the stage and they were asked a variety of questions. The short course athletes were first and the Brownlee brothers included. Once they had finished Jonny sat next to mum and she took it as the time to have a chat with him.
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| My mum casually chatting to Jonny Brownlee |
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Me with Ironman World Champion Frederik Van Lierde
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Me with the Brownlee brothers
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At 2pm mum and I and the other inspire competitors and media were going to dinner at the second highest point of the UAE, Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain to watch the sunset and stay overnight there. I was pretty tired and hungry by this point after minimal sleep and was running on steam. What none of us anticipated was a 3 hour coach journey to another hotel and then after a quick change and a further one hour trip up the steepest and longest mountain I have ever seen. It was however a pretty spectacular sight. The road to the top cuts through the mountain to create a road that is 7miles long with 60 corners and climbs 1,249 metres and has also been said to be the greatest driving road in the world. We were also told that the Brownlee's train around here and after landing and two hours sleep they had climbed it - that's what makes world champions! By the time we got there the sun had gone down (not that we could see it anyway as it was so cloudy and would you believe it...rainy!). I joked with mum that she couldn't come with me as she would bring the rain with her (running joke in our family) and she retorted saying it would be a miracle if that happened. Well miracle or not it rained in Abu Dhabi! As much as I appreciated being treated it did seem like a long journey to make for very little gain.
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| Mum and I halfway up Jebel Hafeet |
It was absolutely boiling on the way to transition and even by walking we were sweating profusely. The humid air and the beating sun was stifling. As I was putting my helmet on to enter transition who else was I holding up other than Jonny Brownlee! I apologised and once we recognised eachother wished one another good luck. I joked to my mum once I had racked everything that he was following me - much further from the truth. The transition was much like an Ironman system whereby you put your kit in coloured bags for bike and run as opposed to having it by your bike. The walk back made us feel the full affect of the heat and made us very lethargic and sticky. Having worn trousers to be safe I just wanted to get them off! The excursion for that day had been cancelled so we were left to our own devices for the rest of the day. I found it odd how one day was so full on and the other had no contact at all but didn't really complain as I had a lot to sort out.
There was a pasta party at 17.30 but I wasn't really hungry enough after a big lunch and also seemed to be stuck to my bed. I was in one of those sleep trances were no matter how hard I tried I could not haul myself out of bed. I did make it to the race briefing at 19.00 though which I found very beneficial as without going I probably wouldn't have got my laps right on the bike leg (something which lost Jodie Swallow 40k and most likely the title). After a run back due to it pouring down mum and I had built up an appetite. Although I got dinner for free mum did not and it was pretty expensive especially as she is not a massive eater. We decided to just order room service together and we sat in the room having a girls night in which consisted of burger and chips. It may not have been what the pros were having but it suited me just fine, the burger was protein right?
Race day;
Mum and I got the shuttle bus to transition at 6am. Once at transition I had to rack my run bag and change where I had racked my bike. The big decision I also had to make that morning was whether to race the swim with or without a wetsuit. The temperature again was 24 degrees which made it optional. Looking around it was a spilt bunch. I knew the temperature was perfect for no wetsuit and meant I had the extra advantage of not having to take it off hopefully speeding up T1. But as it is widely known the wetsuit can aid buoyancy and stroke technique. I did however think this margin would be what I would gain by not having to take it off when getting out of the sea and as the sea was very salty the buoyancy was naturally there. I thought if I did my 28 minutes like I did in practice non wetsuit I would be happy with that so made the decision to go non wetsuit (it also meant my tri suit was on show the whole time). Mark had given me the instruction the night before to just draft the swim anyway and take it easy and knew I would enjoy it more without a wetsuit.
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My favourite saying and a great sign to see on the morning of the race in transition
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I watched Frederick Van Lierde and Jodie Swallow lead the swim long course and cheered them in. Before I knew it I was due to get ready and narrowly made it in the pen and got myself amongst the group when the gun went off. I didn't even have time to think and as you can see me in the picture as the swim started I am so startled I'm stationary (either that or I'm starting my Garmin!).
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Where's Hollie?
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| Running out of the sea to transition |
The highlight of the course was obviously going around the Grand Prix track which we did twice and as promised I did make the F1 car noises around the bends. However, on my second lap of the track I was beginning to feel rough. I had got through 4 high5 energy gels up to that point but although normally loving them was struggling to take anymore. I needed to keep drinking due to the heat but had a feeling it was this excessive amount of liquid that my body was not used to that was making me feel ill, either that or it was the dodgy stomach I had had since Lanzarote. By this point at 60km I had probably drunk and discarded 5 bottles of water and Aqualyte (an electrolyte drink). I found this the most refreshing but also feared it was the massive glugs of it that I was take that was my downfall, either that or my body wasn't used to it as I have never used it before. I did however get a boost around that time as a Team4Talent member slowed down to shake my hand and to ask me if I was the Hollie the inspire winner. He said he had read my story and wished me all the luck for my future goals. I sped up a little but it wasn't maintainable. At 65km I was out of the race track circuit and things got continually worse from then on. At 70km I had to slow down as I thought I was actually going to be sick. It was at this point I saw a guy who I had been playing cat and mouse with the whole course overtake me. I don't know why I was so desperate to reel him back in but it was the incentive I needed to take my mind of my sickness. This guy had a TT bike that was probably 3 times the cost of mine and had an aero helmet on yet I had overtaken him. He obviously was displeased by this and had passed me twice until I had a lead throughout the race track. I managed to pass him after my sickness blip and kept him away until the end of the bike leg.
I finished the bike in 3h21 - obviously 20 minutes slower than the time I had really wanted but also 40 minutes quicker than the time I made for myself prior to coming out here. By this point in the race though I was just happy for the bike leg to be over. I felt increasingly lacking of energy and patience on the bike and for the last 15kms had been counting down to the finish which seemed to never come. It was during this time that my mood was low. Mark had warned be previously about mood swings being a sign of low energy and I was getting them bad. I began seriously doubting myself and my goal. Was I being stupid for going for this ridiculous goal of getting to Kona and could I ever do it? I felt stupid and naive for even suggesting I could do such a thing. The calibre of athletes here made me feel weak, would they just be laughing as they pass me and my trisuit? Even the thought of carrying on for another 80km on that bike seemed like an impossible feat and I wondered how I had ever done it. I got off the bike with the same low attitude only made worse with the searing pain I got in my foot upon landing. It was also in this moment that I felt the full force of the heat hit me. Being on the bike it hadn't seemed so bad but when I stopped it felt like a wall of heat pushing against my face. I began to run with my bike shoes on and could not, I had to stop on my way to transition to take them off but still struggled to run barefoot. My depleting confidence and energy was not helped by this revelation. I knew from that moment it was going to be a painful run and one that for the first time in a long time I dreaded. I have never been a fast runner but tend to come into my element on the run and enjoy the feeling of being out on a triathlon run course. I spent 4 and a half minutes in T2, longer than in T1 which wasn't great considering I only had to put my trainers on. I think this was the first time in my triathlon career (if i can call it that) that I procrasinated during transition. I would've sat down but thankfully I wasn't that low. A volunteer put some sun cream on my face as I realised I hadn't done that yet and knew I needed it as there was no cover on the course from the sweltering heat. I hobbled out of transition with a grimace on my face. I really wanted to run past my mum with a smile but this wasn't looking likely. I began to see all the people on the return leg of the run and wished so badly I was on that side of the pavement. I also wished I was doing the 5k run instead. I saw mum about 1km into the run/hobble and exclaimed I had a bad foot. I instantly regretted the decision as knew it would get to my supporters at home that I was struggling and worried about my mum worrying about me for the hour (I hoped) I would be out on the course. Shortly after seeing mum I made another decision and that was to stop complaining and just buckle down and realise this would be the hardest 10k of my life. I also came up with a new race strategy. I was not going to take on any more nutrition be thats gels or bananas as instructed on the run as firstly I couldn't face it and secondly feared they would make my stomach feel worse. I decided however to keep myself hydrated even if it felt excessively. I walked through the first three/four aid stations at one point going so slow I hit 14min/km! My hopes of a 1hr 10km had been blown. I had been and was being overtaken by people I would never have wanted to overtake me and the 'chicked' written on the back of my trisuit looked like an embarrasing addition to my kit.
The run was an out and back course and by 5k I was relieved to be at the halfway point. When I was at the turnaround point around 6km I began to feel better physically and mentally. A woman wished me good luck and we exchanged a few words until she had passed me. Her words picked me up a little. By this point I had got my time splits increasingly healthier and was around the 6m30/km. By 7km I was taking water on the move and grabbing the ice cold water sponges and squeezing them over my head whilst running. On the way to the 8km mark I started seeing the professional long course males on their first laps and I clapped them all as I saw them even shouting 'Go Freddie' when I saw Frederik Van Lierde in fourth place, not that he noticed as he truly was 'in the zone'. When I turned the corner to the final 2.5km straight to the finish I felt well enough to really pick up the pace. I took my last water of the run and grabbed some ice which I put down the back of my trisuit. I have no shame in admitting it felt truly bliss when one dropped down to my bum. When I hit the 8k I began to speed up. I was now hitting my desired 5m45/km - my run was only just beginning. The previous 8k had merely been a warm up for me and I began overtaking the people who had overtaken me when I was weak. My foot pain was still there but since I said those words to myself after seeing my mum the pain had been pushed away. I don't think the pain was physcially any less, I just think my endurance brain kicked in and tried to push it out as there was no way I was not completing this event. Us Ironmen are hard! For the first time since my swim I was enjoying the race and as I rounded off to the red carpet which indicated the final 200metres although I wasn't actually ready to finish I was happy to have made it to that point. As I turned onto the red carpet a woman volunteer shouted at me "Go on Hollie - do it for Rosie". She had obviously seen my story previously and I was grateful to hear such support even if it did make me well up and shed a tear. I highfived the hand she had held out and overtook everyone in my sight, including the woman who I had chatted to 4kms earlier. I ran past my mum and sprinted across the line in 5h04, completing the run in 1h06 (in hindsight considering all the challenges 6 minutes over my desired time wasn't too bad). So here are some stats for you all; I was the 49th woman out of 193, 6th in my age group out of 23, and 630th overall out of 1277. I chatted again to the woman I had just overtaken who was genuinely shocked I had overtaken her after she had me at the 6km mark - how did I come back from that disadvantage? I lost mum briefly which made us both panic but once reunited we shared some of the free athlete food on offer and then I stood at the finish line to see the long course pros come in. Mum by this point was boiling hot as a spectator and took some shelter from the beating hot sun. Watching all the pros come in was great and afterwards I got to see Alistair and Jonny Brownlee be awarded their 1st and 2nd medals on the podium after finishing together with the Yorkshire flag in their hands. They truly are amazing athletes. I got my kit from transition and walked back to the hotel with mum.
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The Brownlee brother's on the podium
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Me with my medal
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The day following the triathlon mum and I were cultured and went to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. We had a nightmare trying to hire the Abaya's as we were unaware we needed our passports but eventually managed to get in and were grateful to do so upon looking at the beauty of it.
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