Ironman France is over now with all its ups and downs. It was another experience at Ironman racing. This was my fifth Ironman finish. The race started off with a 3.8km sea swim in the calm waters of Nice. They didn't remain calm for long as 3000 competitors had to aim for the same bouy. I had a reasonably good start but after a few hunderd metres I started to get smashed from the other swimmers. Eventually I managed to settle into a good rythm. We had one big lap of 2.1km and a small lap of 1.8km. I finished the swim in 59mins 22sec in 100th position and 17th in my age group.
After a relative quick transition, changing from swimming clothing to cycling clothing, I set off on the bike for the hard 180km bike course. The first transition took me 4mins 29sec which wasn't too bad considering I had to put a cycling top & arm covers and run a total of 800m to get to the bike rack. The bike course was much harder then I thought it would be. Fair enough I knew there were mountains but if you are not trained for them you cannot expect to come off the bike to run a marathon fresh. After 30km on the bike course we had the first difficulty of the day, a 1km climb at 10%. This actually helped me to wake up and get into a good rythm for the rest of the bike ride. I started having my nutrition as planned with gels every 30mins but I was getting way too thirsty since it was very hot. In between every aid station (20km) I was drinking two bottles of energy drink. After 50km we had the first mountain, 25km on non stop climbing, and this really killed my legs. I was being careful to keep my heart rate effort between 160 - 165 so that I dont blow up and looking back I am glad I was cautions. After that mountain it was always up and down, up and down. In the end I was glad to see the finish of the bike section. I covered the 180km bike ride in 5hrs 43mins at an average speed of 31.41km/hr.
After another quick transition, 3mins 40sec I set off for the 4 lap marathon course. For the first 2 laps I was doing quite well, and was predicting that I could finish comfortable under 10hrs 30mins. But once I started the 3rd lap my legs just blew up. I had some gastric problems as well and I was reduced to a walk / jog action. The last lap on the run was just a long walk. I was suffering from a heat stroke, and although the temperatures were up in the 30 degrees region I was feeling cold, not a good sign!!
I finally finished the event in 11hrs 05mins 20sec. I came 405th overall and 44th in my age group (25 - 29yrs). The result was certainly not what I was looking for but I also did it for a good cause, which is very important for me and helps me getting over the disappointment of this result, because whatever everyone tells me, it was a disappointing result. I'm not saying this because I am down, it takes much more to break me. What matters with finishing is that I raised funds for the Malta Hospice Movement in doing this race so that gave me the energy to overcome the bad moments during the run to push myself to finish, and I am glad I did.
I would like to talk all those supporting me all the way, my girlfriend Johanna for her constant support throughout the preparation and on race day, my parents, my great friends William and Pam who got me a Malta Flag to run through the finish with it, which was a fantastic experience, and all those who followed the race on internet. I would like also to thank my sponsors KIWAMI, DIADORA, Profile Design, Powercranks & Starbene Health Shop for their help.
A special thank-you goes to all those who supported my fundraising activity for the Malta Hospice Movement. This was my first personal venture to help other people in need and would like to dedicate it to my friend Dr. Michael Aquilina.
Currently the sum is around €1350.
Those wishing to give their last donation can do so through the following channels. By sending an SMS to: With Dermot Galea - Ironman
5061 7384 €2.33
5061 8100 €4.66
5061 9234 €11.65
By Bank Deposit:
HSBC Bank (Malta) Ltd: Account No. 011 089 901 051
Bank Of Valletta Account No. 102 106 450 12
APS Bank Account No. 111 983 100 19
Lombard Bank (Malta) Ltd Account No. 014 401 041 08
Banif Bank (Malta) plc Account No. 000 035 651 81
Thanks to all for your support
