Becoming an Ultraman

Just over 1 year ago I made a post about my journey to triathlon. At the time I was a few months out from my first 70.3 event. To say the last 12 months have been a roller coaster is an understatement.

I completed the Ironman 70.3 in May before quickly stepping it up to Ultra 355 in September. Ultra 355 is a 3-day event with a total distance of a 5km ocean swim, 300 km of road cycling, and finished off on day 3 with a 50km run. As it turned out I fell in love with everything about the event.

That night having dinner with the event organisers and other competitors the dream of Ultraman was born...

Ultraman is a 3-day, over-double iron distance triathlon, limited to a small field of competitors fit enough, and crazy enough to take it on. Over the 3 days, athletes start with a 10km ocean swim, then complete 421 km of cycling on open roads with a total elevation of around 4000m before rounding off day 3 with a double marathon that sees the athletes complete an 84.3km run.

Ultraman is an unsupported race, meaning you need to supply your own crew. They will follow you around for 3 days and assist in carrying your nutrition and helping make the race possible- so not just is this an enormous commitment for you and your family, but also your crew who travel hours and dedicate days of their lives to helping you achieve this goal.

My build for Ultraman started in late December and for the following 5 months, I averaged around 25 hours of training a week with a few 30-hour weeks thrown in for good measure. To break this down, each WEEK was somewhere in the ballpark of 13km of swimming (biggest week 21kms), 250kms of cycling (biggest week 500kms) and 60-70kms of running (biggest week 90kms) per WEEK- safe to say, mix all three of them into the one week remembering the build is around 22 weeks, and the training alone is not for the faint-hearted.

Crossing the finish line at Ultraman with my family and support crew was by far one of the highlights of my life. To see the months of training and commitment come together, and to share it with people who had so willingly given up their time to help me achieve this dream is a life-changing event.

There's so much to say, but instead, I think I can summarise the main lessons into a few bullet points:

• Know your why- the long training weeks take their toll, training in rough weather is draining, the commitment is hard and the hours cannot be 'faked' Whatever it is that is driving you needs to be clear, and strong
• Planning is everything- This covers everything from your weekly training plan to your packing list, meals, nutrition, your calendar for the race days around arriving in Noosa, etc. There are a lot of moving parts when undertaking something like this- especially when you need to coordinate your crew/ accommodation etc. Having things planned will relieve stress and ensure the race weekend works. I used excel, carried out a basic risk assessment and then used this to create a schedule and action list- simple and effective
• Consistency- We all have lives, some weeks won't go to plan, but thats life. Everyone's training will have ups and downs, the people who finish will be the ones who find ways to overcome this.
• It will hurt- perception is everything, telling yourself it wont hurt and your tough may work...until it actually hurts. Make peace with the fact it will be bad at times, accept, and welcome it, just keep going, thats why your here.
• You're not done- At the 60km mark of the run I was sure I was done, my thinking was distorted, the pain was immense and every step hurt. I managed to run another 24 km after I hit what I thought was my 'limit' When you think you are done, just keep running
• Community- By far, the most important thing is your community/ family. Without them none of us would make it across the finish line, running down the beach with your family and the crew that have supported you is truly a humbling experience. Take the time to soak it in, have a look around you and reflect on what you have done

Reflection: The biggest takeaway of this event for me is how much it takes a team to get you over the line. I said in a post on Instagram ' Even if you could finish this event alone, why would you want to' The crew, family, and people around us made the event so much more special.

There is also alot to be said for the ultra community. This group of people are some of the most incredible, supportive humans I have had the pleasure of meeting. The sense of community within this event is really something that is hard to put into words.