Irishman Ivan’s Journey to Kona Slot Winner

I am very pleased that Ivan from Ireland agreed  to be the first athlete to be interviewed by me. Ivan won a Kona slot last month at the Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene. He finished as 22nd overall and 3rd in his age group (30-34) in a fantastic time of 9:31:52.

Ivan, first of all, congratulations for your great race! How does it feel to win a Kona slot?

Ivan: Really great, when I started leaning how to swim 3 years ago I never thought I would get this far, once I got to finish a couple of Tri’s I really began to enjoy racing but my swimming was a big limiter for me. As I progressed I can’t say Kona was the immediate goal as it seemed too far in the distance but when I finished Roth last year I had confidence that I had at least completed the distance and Kona became my main goal.

Please tell us, how was your race?

Ivan: Swim: 2450 people mass start swim, absolutely bonkers with 2 loops. Only the very good swimmers got a clean swim, most of the AG were fighting for space especially at the 6 turning buoys. I swam 1.10 in IM St. George earlier in the year (DNF, 2 punctures on the bike) and I had hoped to swim something similar but I knew with fighting for space, the time could be slower but I just kept pushing as if you ease up in that situation you just get destroyed by the shoal of swimmers coming after you! Came out 1.15ish a little disappointed but not surprised, I quickly reminded myself how long a day IM is and got on with it. I’m used to coming out of the water in a poor position so I guess I was mentally prepared if I didn’t swim my best.

Bike: 2 loops with plenty of rollers (hills), I knew it wasn’t a fast course but I had hoped to ride it without getting into the red and really set up the run which is how it nearly panned out. I had practiced race nutrition in training and stayed on course until about 20 miles to go and I had used my planned nutrition with the back up nutrition gone too. I started to bonk (drunk feeling) and had stomach issues because I was really trying to ride at my threshold limit and this caused me to go through the fuel a little quicker and cause some digestive issues. I had one last aid station available to me so I planned to get in 1/2 banana just for taste and grabbed a bottle of perform which I hadn’t tried before, whether it would stay down or not was the issue but I knew it needed to go in or it could be a disaster. I got it down within 4 or 5 mins and it was like I had got a bolt of electricity. It was nearly instant because I had let my energy levels get so low so the hit brought me right back, could have been a disaster and following that scare I am duly trying new amounts of what I can tolerate to digest whilst racing and training. I got a really good rythm going and cruised into T2. Note: Concentration is so important on the bike to keep up to your work and not lose time day dreaming! This needs to be practiced in training when you’re chasing a time, its easy to lose time by switching off….

Run: Came out felling good and aiming to run 4 good 10km sections and I knew the heart would get me home if I was in with a shout. My wife Anne-Marie shouted at me coming out the shoot that I was in 15th so I knew I needed to run a solid marathon. Set a nice pace and felt really comfortable and just hoped that I could pick off some of my competitors into maybe the top 5 for a slot. One runner came past me with a slightly faster pace about 6km and I really thought about going with him for some shelter but I promised I would stick to my guns on the race plan and let him go. (I passed him with 4km to go and I was moving like a locomotive. My advice: “Race your own race” & “Stay in the moment”. I refused to think about KONA during the race, not until I was 500m from the finish It was a great motivator to have Anne-Maire’s support and help with my position in the field and as the race unfolded. I stuck to my plan of not forcing the hills and spiking the lactate, this worked out really well. I was aware coming down the home straight I was in 3rd with a bit of space to 4th so I really savoured the finish, the crowd at CDA were great and they had over 3000 volunteers so the event was class. I still didn’t want to let myself believe I had the slot until the rolldown on Monday but I was fairly sure 3rd was good, what a feeling…

Lots of emotions flooded my mind and I thanked my mother and brother in heaven for looking after me.

All the sacrifices Anne-Marie and I had made had been rewarded.

Ivan, you finished 22nd overall and even let some PROs behind you. How did you manage to get in such a good shape? How much training per week did you put in?

Ivan: I have been very disciplined regarding food and I haven’t really drank alcohol at all which is very un-usual for an Irishman…. I put in big blocks of endurance earlier in the year, and then start to get specific on various parts of the jigsaw including some warm up races during the year. I get help from Richard Laidlow of www.sancture-sportifs.com. My advice is to get some form of help/coaching as many AG’S try too hard and many over train or do too much high intensity etc. I guess I work off a monthly cycle of 3-week build, 1-week active recovery depending on time of the year. Recovery/Nutrition are so important and not to be underestimated.

We all have busy lives these days. How did you manage your time?

Ivan: If you really want to do something time should never be an excuse……

I have a very patient wife who is enormous support to me, I’m really spoilt because Anne-Marie is very health conscious and we have great food in our house, all homemade soooo gooood. It would be impossible for me to achieve the results without her, I am a bike fitter with www.Retul.com and I meet about 15 riders per week so I would say I do about 35-40 hours work per week. I get up at 5 or 6am every day swimming the 5 weekday mornings, get a second session in after or before my fit schedule and it leaves me a little time for paperwork, usual stuff and I get home to my good wife for some food and a catch up on how her day went and I’m wiped out by 10pm. Active recovery weeks are a little easier and when you take time off after a race you really enjoy just hanging out, meeting friends for beers/coffee/food or all of them… After CDA I went out with Todd Plymale www.tri-massage.com my physio and Raul Furtado a pro from Brazil and we got drunk for 2 days… Extreme at everything we do…

Was the Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene your first attempt to qualify for Kona?

Ivan: No had a shot at IM St. George in May but got 2 punctures on the bike so pulled out and saved my legs for another day. I ended up paying the IM Foundation entry fee of 1000 USD to get into CDA because St. George kind of threw my season and I was going so well (sold a pair of wheels and my joule from the powertap I had, to pay the entry and borrowed a tent from our neighbours and we camped in CDA, we slept on the foam out of the bike box for extra comfort and we brought our own pillows!!!!). IM is really expensive and the hotels were over 200 USD per night so the camping saved us a lot of money, we are young and we have no kids so camping was fine). Really expensive but it paid off…

What kind of sportive background do you have?

Ivan: I was always sporty as a kid playing hurling, riding horses and later playing rugby. About 10 years ago I left my health go and was working long hours and got really fat, like 40lbs/17kg heavier for my height at 5ft 6. I was a fat barrell. I got doing Tri’s because I jumped off the back of a boat 4 years ago on a bachelor party and nearly drowned, scary time. I decided enough was enough and learning how to swim as an adult was one of the most difficult things I have achieved. So from being this fat poodle I began this journey all the way to Kona

What’s your advice for people who want to qualify for Hawaii? Can you please give my readers some tips?

Ivan: Well you have to be realistic and set gradual goals to build not alone your fitness on but your confidence, Believe, plan well, learn from your mistakes, prepare for setbacks and remember to keep things in perspective, Kona will be great but family, health, friends etc. that’s what makes the journey special, sharing the whole experience is much more than the final race. I am very lucky to be able to work, train enjoy life etc. and I’m privileged to get to the race line, I never forget that….

On the other hand: What should athletes avoid? What mistakes did you do?

Ivan: Like what I said before regarding the training. My mistakes have been failing to prepare for big sessions, nutrition is a constant learning curve, try not to train when you’re worrying about work or family. The session suffers and you still don’t get the work or time spent with your family. I would skip one session and get things in order so i can get the most out of the next few rather than chasing my tail. Learn to identify the tell signs your body gives you from over training or being run down. You’re not a pussy to take a day off, better to miss a couple of poorly performed sessions than 2 weeks of illness because you didn’t listen to your body.

In October you will be racing in Kona. Any goals for that?

Ivan: Simple, enjoy every minute of the experience because I might never get there again, race strong with a little bit of luck on the day it will go well and finish. If I complete that, the finish time will just be the by-product.

All the best for Kona! Thank you for the interview.