We invite you to read a short interview with our colleague, Delamode Baltics freight forwarder Andzej, who has “iron” endurance and never misses a single marathon or run. It is not the first time that Andzej has participated in Ironman competitions. This summer he participated in an Ironman triathlon (one of the most difficult one-day competitions in the world) and shares his impressions with us:
In a full Ironman – for the first time. Last year I participated in Ironman 70.3, where the distances were half as short (1.9 km swim, 90 km bike and 21 km run). I beat this event in 6 hours 4 minutes.
I participated in “survival” mode 😃. My goal was to fit the time frame and finish no matter what. I covered 180 km with the bike in 7 hours. 42 minutes, I ran 42 km. in 5 hours 29 min. 🚴 Unfortunately, the swimming was canceled this time due to dangerous weather conditions, the sea was rough. The swimming of the competition should take place in the Baltic Sea and it would be necessary to swim 1 km deep into the sea and back, making 2 laps. So, my total for the two stages was 13 hours and 17 minutes.🏅
It was not necessary to prepare in particular, because I constantly have physical activities. A month before the competition, I started going to the pool on the weekends, I cycled on the exercise bike in the gym and sometimes I went for a run outside, but I had never run more than 21 km in my life, so I was a little afraid of running a marathon, I wasn’t sure if I could do it.🏃
It was difficult from the very morning on the day of the competition. Going to the start line, it was raining heavily outside, it was windy and quite dark. The start of the triathlon was supposed to be at 6 o’clock in the morning. 20 minutes before it, they canceled the swimming and announced that we would leave with the bikes only at 7:15. We were freezing for the whole hour waiting for the start. It was very disappointing that the swimming event was canceled, because it was my strong point, where I could break away from other participants and increase my time limit for other races. It was difficult to ride a bicycle, you couldn’t accelerate from the slopes, because the road surface was very slippery, you could fall down on the turns. The weather was not bright either, half of the time it rained heavily, there was a strong wind and fog… While riding the bike, I had to ride a 1 km steep hill 3 times. It was difficult both physically and mentally, because during the competition you are not allowed to use headphones and listen to music, you just ride and try not to break down psychologically. I tried to talk to myself, to think about something, but the constant severe pain in my muscles blocked my thoughts and there was real chaos in my head.😵💫
By bike, the route was through forests/villages/highway. ⛰️ The monotony was just killing me… and the pain in my legs and back also contributed. After finishing the bike distance, the most difficult thing was to start running because my legs were numb. But it was a bit more fun because we were running in a city where there were lots of supportive people. Running from 21 km, every kilometer meant that I was doing more than I could, because as I mentioned, I had never run more than 21 km. I no longer felt pain in my legs, my body just got used to it. The feeling of crossing the finish line redeemed all the pain. 🏁 But it’s a sad that only 2 of the 3 competition events were left…
We are glad to have such stubborn, determined and goal-oriented colleagues in our team. 💪 We wish Andzej the best of luck in the upcoming competitions!