It began with 2200 people clad in wetsuits and yellow caps and a mass start to a 2.4 mile swim in Lake Zurich. There was a false start while I was still getting in. The organisers couldn't call back 500 people for a restart so they let it go ahead. It took 600m before I got used to the tightness and restriction of the wetsuit, but the water at least was clean and tasted okay. We were grabbed and hauled out of the water onto the carpeted ramp leading to the bike transition area.

In the transition area I again changed into run specific clothing and taped up my nipples (more later). The changing tent had no ground sheet so I was standing on the grass to get changed (more later). I ran the first lap and felt good. The swim and bike didn't affect me. On the second lap ITB was tight so it turned into a stretch run walk. Halfway through lap 2 of 4, I stopped because my left big toe was a little irritating. Pulling off my blood stained sock I removed the small flint that had put a quarter inch cut into my big toe. Slapped a load of Vaseline on it and set off again.

The crowd were very encouraging, shouting Tony hopp! hopp! (you can get bored of that), and Tony, you are awesome (I didn't get so bored of that but it seems Dave, Jane and Hans were also awesome). One man who looked liked he'd competed in Ironman before called my name and said 'Tony, …take it easy'. Those shouting hopp! hopp! didn't look like they had done an Ironman so I took his advice. I walked each of the aid stations, sipped energy drink and water and took the water sponges to cool down.

A little later I saw Angie (a training partner who brought her husband and sons to support) who was walking. Her legs were fine and dandy and she runs marathons in 3hr30 and her longest training run is 90 minutes. The problem was she had been throwing up and was lacking energy (she and others). Walked the last 13 miles and my shins never hurt so much.

Hotel opened for breakfast at 4am. I couldn't sleep so decided to get there first at 03:45 – with ten others. It was soon full of triathletes stuffing their faces.

Arrived at the lakeside about 05:40 and draped cycling gloves, sunglasses, scalp cover and helmet on the bike and made sure the food etc was packed in the jersey rear pockets.

The event was well organised. Realising we'd all need to change they supplied a bag for the clothes we arrived in. After pulling on the wetsuit we took the bags to a store area.

Many people wear a triathlon suit for the whole event. It has a pad for comfort during the bike ride but it is thin enough to be able to run in and it dries off surprisingly quickly during the ride. Since my target time was unachievable I'd already decided not to rush during transition from one discipline to another and I was going for a complete change of clothing. There was a 6m by 6m changing tent which I had to myself. If I'm going to cycle 180Km then I'm getting dry first and the pad is going to be nice and thick.

There were two laps on the bike ride which was initially around the lake but after several kilometres is headed into undulating hills. It took in two hills named 'The Beast' and 'Heartbreak Hill'. In the first 30Km it seemed like another bike was passing me every minute. I'd been told previously that in order to complete the run you had to leave the bike feeling fresh, so I resisted chasing after other cyclists and using up all my energy. However, for a few days before the event my right calf had occasionally twitched. It twitched when I stood up on the pedals under quite light load, so I was worried about cramping because would have been the end of the event. At some point there was a sharp right turn then a steep-ish hill. I asked another rider if this was The Beast and he nodded. I had to select a low gear but it looked alright to me. After 500m of straight it turned leftward and revealed a procession of bikes trailing up a zigzag road hewn in the rock. I couldn't help gasping and a few riders around me laughed (they obviously knew the hill already and realised it was my first time). What we were not told was a little while later there was a long, long drag. I think it was worse than The Beast. Of course, what goes up must come down. There was a steep and scary descent. Each time I reached c.35mph I put the brakes on yet others were speeding past. That was the most daunting part of the ride.

We had to eat enough during the bike ride to supply energy for the 180Km AND for the marathon that was to come. A man in the hotel had advised us to take more food than we could possibly think we'd need. If we ran out we'd have trouble during the run but if we had too much left over we could simply dispose of it. I found it difficult to eat for the first 50Km. I forced down two ham and cheese rolls, a banana, two chinois, half a bag of salted nuts, a few jelly babies, three bites of a bagel and that was it. There were fairly frequent aid stations with water, Power Aid drinks, cola, energy gels and bananas. I took another banana but no energy gels.

Heartbreak Hill came towards the end of each lap. Only about 800m long, but very steep. I made good progress and passed a few people but got held up near the top because of the crowds gathered around and were closing in. There was only enough space for a single rider in the final 50m before the peak. On the second lap the crowd reduced. I was able to stand on the pedals and womp up passing a few riders. The commentator saw I was climbing faster than any of the other riders (who were as slow as me and near the back of the field) and read out my details and was getting excited. I felt I had to go along with it and put in a bit more effort to overtake the remaining riders ahead of me. Luckily there was no-one on the other side and I could pant and gasp and look exhausted without being seen.

There was a very scary descent. Someone else reported being passed at 40mph and later seeing a rider on a stretcher and a bike in two parts. Luckily, I have an overactive wimp gland and started to brake when I saw 38mph on my speedo and kept it to 34mph thereafter.

When I finished the ride and was in the transition area I changed into run specific clothing and taped up my nipples (more later). Unfortunately the changing tent floor had no ground sheet so I was standing on the grass to get changed – as I found to my cost (more later). I ran the first 10.5Km lap (1 hour) and felt good. The swim and bike didn't affect me.

During the second lap my ITB started to hurt so I ran and walked and stretched in between. I walked all the aid stations and only sipped the Power Aid and water. They had a great selection of dried fruits, salted snacks and even a clear soup as well as wet sponges to cool you down. After a while I felt like I'd eaten too much so didn't take on anymore until the feeling passed. After a while I felt a slight sting/annoyance under my left big toe. When I stopped I saw it was a very small but sharp flint that had cut a 6mm gash along the underside of my big toe and covered the sock in blood. I was carrying plasters and also a small tin of Vaseline so applied a liberal finger-full over the toe.

The crowd were very encouraging, shouting Tony hopp! hopp! to get you running when you are walking (you can get bored of that), and Tony, you are awesome (I didn't get so bored of that but it seems Dave, Jane and Hans were also awesome). One man who looked liked he'd competed in Ironman before called my name and said 'Tony, …take it easy'. Those shouting hopp! hopp! didn't look like they done an Ironman so I took his advice. And what great advice. Most importantly I wanted to finish the event and if that meant walking then that's what I'd do. I decided its better to walk the last two laps and finish than get a good time for 95% of the race and get stretchered off.

It so happens, Angie, a training partner, was walking only 100m ahead of me. She runs marathons in about 3hr30 and sub 4hrs during an Ironman. Her legs were fine but the problem was she kept throwing up (as were others) and was lacking energy, so was forced to walk. Although I still felt able to stretch/jog/walk I walked with her. On the last lap she was stronger than me and was forcing the pace. She was scared to stop in case she cramped up. It was a great help as it forced me to keep going at her pace. At one point I tried to pick up something from the ground and could barely get up again.

During the last lap I felt quite lucky. Walking down a ramp I heard a yelp from behind. A woman had fallen over. I went back to help but she was able to stand and only wanted to know if she was cut. She had blood along the line of her sunglasses where they met her nose. Oh, and her nose was now pointing in a different direction. Amazingly she carried on and finished – mad.

By now the balls of my feet were making me anxious. They felt squelchy and I thought they were softening up ready to become the blisters they became. The last two kilometres seemed to drag on but as we approached the Ironman village we could hear the commentator cheering each of the finishers. We decided we'd cross the finishing line together running and that's what we did. Because it was quite late many of the people in the grand stand had left. To keep the atmosphere alive they moved the pompom dancers from outside the village to the finishing arch where they performed a flourish and formed an arch for us to walk through. As well as the pompom dancers Ironman Switzerland also had a an event mascot in the form of someone dressed as a lion. The finishing video shows me going through the finish line and being greeted by someone putting a medal around y neck and giving me a towel. Unfortunately the video also shows the lion passing through the pompom dancers and slapping peoples' hands. It looks like I finished just ahead of the novelty fun runner!

We finished the marathon in 6hr15 and crossed the finish line 14hr41min after the 7am start. I came 114th in my age group.

Jason (the third in our group of three) and Angie's husband told us of a man who finished the race with a very unusual vest. It was white lycra with two red rings each with a vertical red line below it. It seems had no nipple protection and the weight of a wet vest managed to scrape the skin of his nipples OUCH.

Jason, was waiting for us where the photos got taken. A bit more good planning - they gave us a (small) commemorative towel. Now came what might be the worst part of the Ironman. Passing through the food marquee there was a changing marquee. It was unheated and initially unlit. We were groping around in the dark, naked, trying to put the running clothes in a heap next to changing bags. The shower was on the back of a lorry trailer across a lawn and it was now cool. With just a towel to hide my modesty I winced up the steps. The shower was great. Hot and like being blasted with a water jet. Unfortunately there was no shower gel supplied, but I think the water jet could have removed a layer of skin. It was quite muggy in the shower trailer so not possible to dry properly. That made it feel even colder when crossing the lawn back to the changing marquee (that now had lights). The event organisers did provide free food and soft drinks which were very welcome.

Training started slowly and there were some breaks. I underwent very minor surgical procedure that stopped me running for three weeks. I suffered a foot injury that held me up for two weeks. I was also work overseas for a few days for three weeks out of four. During this time there was little possibility of regular training. Finally, on Sunday 4th July a car entered a roundabout without looking and knocked me off my bicycle. I ended up c.8m from the bike. Neck and back injuries stopped me doing anything for a week and then curtailed any training in the last three weeks before the Ironman. Well, they are the excuses. Now for the weekly average from the new year until 3th July.

Swim 5Km a week average
Bike 63 miles a week average, but April, May and June average 350 mile a month with May being 537 miles.
Run 9 miles a week average, with January, April, May and June seeing 50 miles a month

Lesson: I've weighed 11 ¼ stone for several years now and struggled to hit 11 stone on the odd occasion I've tried through strict diet. In the last three months of training my weight dropped to 10 ½ stones and I didn't even try. So, if you want to lose weight simply increase your cycling from 50 miles a week to 150 miles a week. A month after the event and I'm happy to say I'm back to my normal weight.

Lesson: Marathon training need only take 90 minutes a week
Lesson: Marathon training might only need 90minutes a week, but if the marathon comes at the end of an Ironman then I need to do more running.

If interested - website:
www.ironman.ch