Anything is possible if you want it enough

 I awoke the morning of Ironman Lanzarote to the sound of my 4am alarm. I had unusually slept like a log. I pottered around got my kit on, ate some weetabix and was down in transition for 5.30am. As per usual I felt sick whilst walking around transition the battle with my stomach resumes as I trying to fuel myself with food and water for the huge day ahead. I did all the transition rituals; pump tyres, put nutrition on bike and relieve my bike from the racking as it was zip tied on due to the wind the day before. On that note the wind did seem to have died down but it was only 6am and too early to tell anything. Before long I was going for my final toilet trip and putting my wetsuit on. I managed to see my family one final time through the barriers before walking down to the beach.
 The air of anticipation, nerves and excitement always causes a certain calm around area...the calm before the storm. I felt this a lot more this time as I was nervous for Nathan as well as myself this year. He has come such a long way not being able to swim 8 months ago and after all it was me who told him it was possible for him to achieve. It would be the first time I would share an Ironman course with a boyfriend even if I didn't intend to see him until I was on the run. My swim time gained me 30 minutes on him and with my cycling at the level it is I didn't want to see him on the ride. After bumping into some more friendly faces it was time to part.

 Nathan headed for the back of the swim pen whilst I headed to the front. Last year the swim was a nightmare. I had started around the 60min sign and stayed to the left. This error left me with cuts and bruises as I was pushed into the line of buoys. This time I decided to go to the middle-right to avoid the washing machine as much as possible.
 As I entered the pen I had to fight and squeeze as much as I could just to get to the 75min sign. The narrowness of the pen meant we were crammed in like sardines and I physically could not get any closer to the front which I was already angry and upset about as wanted to be in the 65min gang. A friend, Marc, had noticed me and I explained. He suggested I came further to the right with him with the view to overtake people to get where I wanted to be. It was a better option than mine so he put his hand out and pulled me over. I was annoyed but I had no option so had to stop fretting. I ended up speaking to him and another lady called Vicky who I then called pissy Vicky as she had no qualms in telling me she had pissed twice since standing there. The horn sounded and it was the start of Ironman Lanzarote 2015 - it was time to see if my hard work had paid off...

The Swim
 I had hoped that the 500 less entrants from last year would've eased the congestion. No such luck. Lanzarote really does go down as the most brutal swim for the faster swimmers I feel and I did Wales in what seemed like a real storm last year. My decision to go right did enable me however to overtake the people who I should've been in front of on dry land. However, my tactic must've pissed others off as by 400m I had my wetsuit zip pulled down. Shit. Strangely the only Ironman dream/nightmare I had in the weeks before was this exact scenario. The guy who did it got a loud 'You prick' and a kick in the face. I can give whatever I take. The rest of the first lap was me deciding what to do. Do I stop and ask someone to help me do my wetsuit back up and waste 4 minutes and end up behind the ones I overtook again or just suck it up? I decided to look at my time when I exited and assess it. I thought given how slow I felt I was going, the constant battle with competitors and my streamline having been compromised I was on for a slow 37 minutes. I came out in 35 minutes - not bad I thought. I looked around for help as I ran to my next lap but even if I had seen any I think my mind was made up. I was sucking it up. The second lap seemed to go much quicker even if in reality it didn't. I couldn't wait however for it to be over and that thought got me through. 1 hour 12 minutes later I emerged from the water for the final time. I was and am still disappointed with this as considering all the long sets of training my potential was way better. However, considering my bad positioning and my wetsuit being open for the majority I can't complain too much as that would've added a fair few minutes on. At least my wetsuit was quick to get off! I ran out to my transition bag to see the other girls in my age group were still in the water. I shouted 'YES' which got me some looks but I was so chuffed. I stormed through T1 in 5m16 which considering the run up off the beach and the long transition really isn't bad! Despite my nightmare swim I do owe a huge thank you to my sponsors HUUB as even with an open back I still felt comfortable in my second skin.

The Bike

Racing around El Golfo

 This was the discipline I was looking forward to. I knew the route off by heart. I knew how to push and when, I had done it countless times. The trick with this course is not to push hard too soon, there is a lot of climbing all the way through to 120km. The exit out of Carmen was a little different to last years however. We would be going along the highway with no wind protection for a good 8km - it wouldn't take long to see if the winds had picked up. It didn't even take me to the highway to realise they had. This was going to be a long painful day on the bike. I saw Bella at around 4km and she shouted a mantra I used the whole day "Be patient, be strong". Be patient really played to the brutal wind as that can really mentally get you down and frustrated and be strong just speaks for itself. Along the first 10km the majority of people were diagonal on their bikes as the crosswinds were truly awful. My new 60mm rims were really catching the wind and it was only my confidence and bike ability that kept me up. How people were coping with 80mm, 90mm and discs is completely beyond me.
 I kept to my plan throughout the race really. I pushed hard going downhill and chicked more surpised men than I sought possible when on the highway to El Golfo. I was pushing hard early on but I needed to take my advantages when I had them and as climbing isn't my strongest I had to use the downs. I saw my friend JP on this stretch and played a great game of cat and mouse along that fast section. As I exited El Golfo I saw one girl in my age group just starting the 11km loop...you've got this Hollie I thought.
 Timanfaya climb was into the wind which just made me feel like I was going backwards. However with that conquered and not losing the pack I was in I pushed on.

Climbing Timanfaya, fire mountain, and still smiling

 It was around here that every swig of my gels made me wretch and feel like I wasn't actually stomaching it. I pushed it down to La Santa and got some amazing cheers when there. Shortly after I began to feel rough. The road from Famara to Teguise is named 'the oven' as although there was relief from the no wind it heats up funnily enough like an oven. Surprisingly it wasn't the heat that seemed to get me here I just seemed to have run out of steam. I was climbing efficiently and strongly in the TT position during The Volcano triathlon on this stretch but that just seemed impossible. The thought of any fuel was making me feel sick and I had a hell of a lot of climbing to go...in fact I had only just started the hardest part of the day. Once out of the oven I hit the halfway mark and was cheered up by seeing my family even if all I wanted to do was get off, cry and hug my mum. I as always smiled through the pain so not to worry them, it could be a long day for them if the few seconds I see them I say I feel rough. Climbing through Teguise was phenomenal, I had an absolutely amazing amount of support from my friends. Even that nearly made me cry! I can't thank you all enough.

Climbing through Teguise

  The next section was the hardest bit. It was a 17km stretch of climbing into some brutal wind. It was a tough slog all the way to the top of Haria where I also found out you can be sick on a bike! My new plan was to just put my head down and plod - when I got to Mirador I would make my time up. This was were I saw Twitter mate Pete come past me looking too damn fresh! My hopes of a 6h30 bike flew away but I had to get myself back on track mentally. I knew once I had got to Mirador, the last major climb at 120km, I would push as hard as I could with or without fuel to get home. I stuck to water until then and when I felt flushed I had some nutrition and did just that. I flew 89kmph down that hill and stuck and pushed my way back on the TT position along the highway to Tahiche as if I was training on it, hitting a steady 36kmph average. I passed pretty much everyone who had got me climbing including Pete. I was heading home! My mental and physical state stayed up all the way until I made it home. In the final 5km one guy I had been cat and mousing the whole ride stated "Bloody hell girl, Rosie would be so proud"...and that is the only moment I actually cried that day.
 Coming back along the highway and back into transition I was determined to make more time up however after a little wobble decided to come off the TT bars. Thank god I did as 3 lorries in quick succession on the other side of the road coupled with the 40mph crosswind nearly wiped me off in one flick. Again had I not had my bike handling skills or been on the bars that would've been game over for me. It's hardly surprising that around 350 pulled out on the bike leg!
 The smile on my face when that bike was over was huge. 7h09 was not what I wanted but considering at just over halfway I was looking at a 7h30 and managed to claw back 20minutes in the final 60km I was pretty pleased. Furthermore that wind was something else and Bella was estimating 40-45mins ontop of peoples time. The best bit though was that I was still in the lead in my age group and Nathan hadn't passed me. I had a long T2 of 6m19 as my friend in the suncream tent forced me to sit the hell down. In hindsight I think I needed it!

The Run
  I was seriously concerned about the run due to my tight calves. I knew they were going to hurt it was just how bad and when would the pain would start and ultimately when the cramps would kick in. The pain started almost instantly which pissed all over my good mood coming off the bike. The support coming down the strip however was mind blowing.

Running down the strip

It really was testament to the friends and supporters I have made on this island and I was truly blessed they were out to see me and my fellow competitors race. I saw my dad at the first aid station who gave me my requested Snickers. I appreciated the effort as this was normally my fail safe but I still couldn't stomach solid food. By 3km I was limping and had Helle a competitor and friend from La Santa wrap her arm around me and ask me what was wrong. At the second aid station I saw Julia and Georgia Abbott and their support throughout the whole day was nothing short of amazing. They had all the volunteers chanting my name every time I passed. The first lap was a half marathon - 10.5km out past the airport and back. I had managed to push the pain to the back of my mind and focus. I wasn't hitting my desired 6min kilometres but I was running. I saw Nathan at around 14km and we stopped for an embrace. The lack of movement then resulted in my most romantic show of affection yet. The piss I had been unable to let go of for hours came streaming out. As Nathan was expressing how proud he was of me I was casually pissing myself. Classy bird me. I have to say however it was one of the most painful experiences I have ever encountered as the chaffing around my arse made it feel like I was pissing razorblades.
 I did the 21km in 2h25 - not ideal but I only had two 10km loops left. It was a great way to mentally break the marathon down. At the 16km mark I had seen one of the girls in my age group - I was 9km ahead of her and the next was 11km behind. I needed this push and when I saw Bella at 17km I shouted "I'm number 1". Her reply, "That's great BUT you still have a way to go, if you start walking it could be over. Stay focused, be patient..." to which I shouted "BE STRONG!". The rest of the run was actually a run and I was only walking through the occasional aid stations to either relieve myself and then throw water over me or to actually get some liquids in. I was in complete tunnel vision. My mind didn't wander and I stayed focused. I didn't let my form falter, in fact I have had many supporters tell me since finishing I looked strong and consistent throughout the marathon which was amazing to hear. The only blip I had was on the last lap when my calves cramped up which caused my legs to buckle and me fall down. After some painful stretches against a lamp post I carried on pushing on. I had a lead of 8km on the number 2 in my age group and on my final 3km shouted to her as she passed the other way "You're going to Kona" whilst I knew I was getting number 1 on the podium.

On the final 2km of my last lap still smiling and somehow running!

 As I neared the finish line the cheers as they were throughout were amazing and I thanked everyone I could. I saw my niece, Amber, and nephew, Tom with my parents ready to run down the finishing chute with me. They went sprinting off as if they were doing Ironkids again and had to reign them back in. Crossing that line with my niece and nephew was just amazing and a poignant moment considering who I race for. I hope Rosie was watching us cross that line together.

Running down the finishing chute with my niece and nephew

I finished in a PB of 13h29 and first in my age group. I was 2 hours 27 minutes quicker than last year - I can finally say I have put my demons to bed in Lanza and had the wind not been so bad I know full well I would've gone sub 13 hours. I was now a four times Ironman at 24. What a day!

 I then ventured back out on the course to see Nathan finish. An hour and 10 minutes later he came running from the distance. I took his hand and we ran in together. Another hugely proud moment for me. What an amazing achievement.

Now an Ironcouple

Some pictures need no words

 We had some dinner and with medals and finishers tshirts on with pride (Aled joined too). My mum said it had been the best one to spectate as I had finished in the light for the first time! I was happy I wore my sunglasses to the end because I needed them not just because I was about to cry or just trying to cover as much face as possible!

Aftermath

 The morning after Nathan and I drove Aled to Club La Santa to see if he would get rolldown for Kona as he came second in his age group in an epic time of 10h54, an incredible talent considering he is only 21! Unfortunately it was not his day. I have to admit I did have great pleasure in hearing my name being called but having to decline as I had already qualified. I made one other girl very happy and it was by far one of the best moments in my Ironman career. Knowing I have qualified as number 1 in my own right really is one of the most amazing feelings ever. Considering some of the comments I have got for going to Kona based on my shape it really was a massive middle finger.  This was further cemented when I got on the no1 spot on the podium and was awarded my age group trophy. Hearing the words "Here is your AG 18-24 female CHAMPION" with my name shortly after was truly spectacular. My dad expressing his pride and hugging me was oh so worth the pain. I thought when I was up there, "What do you do when you have achieved all you set out to?". The answer that night was to celebrate with alcohol and dance the night away. Now I have had time to reflect I believe you will find something else to satisfy your wildest dreams and to challenge and better yourself whether that be as an athlete or as a person. The experiences, the friends, the journey I have been on is truly amazing and that journey is what makes and changes you; "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you". I have achieved my wildest dreams but there are always more dreams to be had. My journey to now all started with an 'impossible' dream to one day become an Ironman. To reflect on what I have achieved is almost unbelievable. It is better than a dream. Anything really is possible if you want it bad enough!

This will have pride of place at home

One of my post Ironman celebrations

A celebratory BBQ with Tri Activ friends and my coach Bella