Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz 2024

“Life is too short to put your dreams on hold.”

3.8 km swim ????♀? 180 km bike ??♀? 42.2 km run ??♀? and 12 hours 54 minutes 14 seconds later... I AM AN IRONMAN!!

Reflections and lessons learned from one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world:

On January 1st, I wrote down on my 2024 goals list: “Complete an Ironman.” This goal had already been sitting on my bucket list for a while. I was determined to train and achieve this goal this year. And on Sunday, July 14th, I was able to tick that off both the 2024 goal list and my bucket list.

A full Ironman is considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world. Considering that I had no experience in cycling other than family bike rides when I was a little girl, and having completed my first running marathon just the month before in December with a time of 4h 20min (not even close to an outstanding time), it did seem a bit ambitious. But reflecting on it now, and being honest with myself, I believe that was part of my fuel—to do something completely out of my comfort zone.

From the age of 12 to 23, I was a competitive swimmer in Spain and the US, but when it came to the other two disciplines, especially cycling (as I didn’t even own a proper road bike), I was a complete newbie. I stayed committed to the goal, made a plan, got a coach, invested in fixing a road bike - big thank you to Ironman record holder Ben Khoo who kindly gave me his old one -, and followed a strict training plan combining swimming, cycling, and running.

However, what is an adventurous and entertaining training journey for an Ironman without any setbacks? On March 18th, when I was at my best training pick, especially in running, feeling fast and strong, ready to take on any challenges, sign up for any training events, my left leg had enough and I got injured. It was a hilly Monday running session, and I still have the Strava day training marked. I did not know what it was, but when I finished the session (because why would I stop right when you feel a little pain? You just keep going and hope for it to go away, runners will understand me here), I remember limping back home, and that night was a nightmare. After seeing two physios who told me it was a muscle injury and advised to get back to running slowly, I was convinced it was something else. I found Liam from HelloPhysio in Singapore, and I am so grateful for his patience and knowledge. After an MRI and a sports doctor appointment, we found out I had a grade 2 stress injury on the neck of the femoral. In other words, almost a fracture on my left leg. No wonder it was hurting me even when walking.

The next couple of months were a rollercoaster of emotions. Feeling quite down at times, trying to stay as positive as I could at work (as I spend the day with students and you have to be able to put your personal life aside and be professional), the Ironman remained my goal, and crossing that finish line was what kept me going. I obviously couldn’t run for 6 to 8 weeks, but my determination was too big. I started to aqua jog every day after work, 1 km at my condo pool. It was this or nothing. I also took that time to practice and get more familiar and confident with cycling. I fell down four times on that road bike because I forgot to unclip my pedals—a classic rookie mistake for a cyclist. I did have imposter syndrome every time I was cycling and saw a big group of cyclists passing me at 5 am, but I kept going. I did my first 100 km, then my first 110, 120, 130, and so on. I also took the time to swim and get stronger at swimming. Yes, I was a swimmer when I was younger and during my college career, but any competitive swimmer reading this knows how hard it is to get back at it once you stop for a while. I had never been a long-distance swimmer; I was in the sprinting group during college and mainly practicing backstroke. Now, here I was training long distance, doing sets of 4x800s, 24x100s, time trials of 1000s, 1500s, and 2000s... all in freestyle, as my injured leg wasn’t happy every time I tried to kick backstroke.

Five weeks after the first MRI and sports doctor appointment, I was feeling better and started combining jogging and walking. The first two weeks were great, but my impatience didn’t allow me to keep that slow pace, so I pushed a bit too much and it started to hurt again. I stopped for a week and started again, this time as slow as I could, and really followed the physio's and doctor's orders of jog/walk and slow. Progressively, I did my first 10 km. But Ironman was three weeks away and in one week I was flying home to Spain. I would be lying if, at some point in this tedious process, I hadn't doubted whether I could do it or not. But patience and staying positive kept me grounded. On top of that, I had a purpose behind it all as I committed myself to help raise money for the Propsr Foundation, an amazing NGO helping and empowering youth in Tanzania. So all my social media was already full of this challenge. I couldn’t quit now.

Once at home in Spain, two weeks out from the Ironman, I kept training but decided to focus on staying home and spending time with my family. I went for a few runs with my brother and my dog, one bike ride with my dad, and a few swims at the lake to try the wetsuit, and at my hometown pool, the pool where I actually trained and qualified for my first nationals when I was around 13 years old. I was so happy and motivated, not very nervous but excited, as some of my friends would be there and my parents and brother were supporting me. Living away from home for almost 10 years now makes you appreciate these moments; it’s not every day that you have your mum and your brother cheering for you and taking care of you, or some of your best friends making posters of you and taking videos of you. So the happiness was bigger than the nerves.

Race day, I was calm. From all the advices that I gathered during this 7 months, I was told by almost everyone, that the night before? I would not sleep at all. I actually did, not a lot because we had dinner with my friends and family the night before. But once I got to the hotel, I already had the bags and everything ready to go for the next morning, so I went to bed and woke up at 5 am the next morning. We had some breakfast with my brother and went the bus. Off to the lake we went, sitting right behind one of the pro male athletes. The lake was beautiful, calm, and with the sunrise cracking on. I went to the bike to put some air in my tires, leave all my water bottles on the bike, and the bike comp. I went to T1 to check my bag and I was ready! I did not go for a warm-up swim. I just put on my wetsuit, hung out with my brother, and waited for my friends and family to get there, kissed them goodbye, took some pictures, and walked to the start line. I put myself in the 60-minute slot. I was confident I could do the swim in one hour. I had some doubts the days before as I wasn’t feeling myself swimming—feeling heavy with shoulder pain and not used to swimming with a wetsuit, but my brother told me it was normal and not to worry about that. He is the open water expert of the family, having gone to World Champs in Israel in 2018, so I trusted him. He was also the one helping me with the wetsuit, telling me how to start, where to go, and even how to take on the buoys. I don’t think I did any of it, but I am so grateful for him being there with me every step of the way, literally. We even have a picture together during the run next to each other, with him checking my times and cheering me on.

Standing there, listening to the speaker and his motivational words before the start of the Ironman, was such an emotional moment. I teared up a little bit and had goosebumps. Once we were about to start, one of the guys next to me said that this was the 60-minute slot mark, meaning that only people who could swim the distance in one hour should be there. I assumed he didn’t think I could swim 3.8 km in 60 minutes, not knowing about my swimming background. On top of that, I think there were only two other women ready to go in the 60-minute slot. Well, guess what? I did it in 58 minutes, finishing first in my age group and second overall for women.

I took my bag, took the wetsuit off, put my bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses on (which I almost forgot), put gels at the back of my trisuit, and off I was to do a 180 km bike! It was great to hear my friends and family cheering and seeing them there.

The bike course taught me a lot of patience. I am good at being on my own and in my own thoughts, so that was not a problem for me. After all, all my training bike rides were on my own except for a few at the beginning with a friend, Laurenz. There was still a long way to go, with quite a lot of rolling hills and a full marathon to do afterwards! So patience and calm were key. I also kept smiling because in a way I couldn't believe I was actually doing it! Even though everyone was passing me, I kept calm and trusted my race. I already knew I would be passed by a lot of them—I did such a good swim and was quite ahead, so it was normal. I did not panic. The last 20km were hard and very very hot and windy. I finished the bike, did a good transition even though I freaked out a little bit once I got off the bike. I was so relieved that the bike part was finished and excited to see so many people and be in the city again, that I lost focus for a little bit and unclipped one shoe while the other one was still on the bike. When I gave the bike to the volunteer, one shoe was in my hand and the other one was clipped on the bike. He was so nice and supportive, took my shoe, and asked me if I had everything and took my shoe and he said they will put it back. There are so many rules in the Ironman world and so many ways you can get disqualified that I had a little heart attack as I thought I did something wrong. After this, I started to run through the red carpet to get my bag, put my hat and running shoes on, and take my bike stuff off. My family and friends were waiting for me at transition and it was such a nice fresh air to see them and smile at them!

The run was such an adventure. In the beginning, I was motivated and with the adrenaline from the people cheering, I felt like I was going fast. I looked at my watch and was definitely going faster than I should have been. I also needed to pee so badly but couldn’t find any toilets until about km 5 when I finally found one. The struggle to take that trisuit off and sit down after 8 hours of exercising, with my legs shivering, was a funny one. I was ready to go then, keeping the same pace until the second loop. That is when the real marathon race, physically and mentally, started. I had the strategy to walk at every aid station, but the loops were getting longer and longer. My brother was running next to me at times, and I was passing him and Sarah at different points. That gave me a lot of energy. I saw people vomiting, cramping, crying, some super motivated, and some ready to be out of there walking, and I even saw one woman receiving medical assistance.

The end was near and what I visualized the day before—crossing that finish line—was getting closer and closer. I realized that day how mentally strong I am. I did not have a thought of quitting throughout the entire event. I did not want to quit for 12 hours and 54 minutes. Yes, I did walk, and yes, the second half of the marathon was a real struggle, but I did not want to quit. And that is what took me to cross the finish line, to hug my little brother, to get that medal, and go find my parents to celebrate. I was very emotional and I think the first thing I said to my brother was "I don't even know how I did what I just did". Well now I know - determination, resilience, not giving up when everything seems to go wrong, and being consistent with good habits.

I realized that other people's opinions don’t matter, even if they think you’re crazy for jumping straight into a full Ironman without having done triathlons or a half-Ironman. Many doubted me, especially when I was injured. But the biggest lesson I learned is to always trust myself and my abilities to achieve anything I set my mind to. WHAT A DAY!