EMMA

TRAINING

My Ironman journey began in October 2024, when I picked up the phone and called Dave out of the blue to say, “I’ve got a crazy idea - I want to do an Ironman in Italy next year.” We talked through whether it was possible, especially with my honeymoon coming up and the fact that I’d already signed up for Pisa marathon in December.

The first few months of training were focused on that marathon. Race day was amazing - I ran with a smile the whole way round and came in under 4 hours, far better than I’d hoped. It became clear early on that running and swimming were my strengths, while cycling was my biggest weakness - a little intimidating, given it’s the longest part of an Ironman!

Before this, my training for triathlon had always been pretty sporadic so I loved having a proper structured plan to follow. Each week’s workouts dropped into TrainingPeaks and I just ticked off the sessions one by one, fitting them around work and life. Those early months brought plenty of highs and lows - what I thought were “long” rides of two or three hours (which turned out not to be so long after all), the odd rescue call to my husband when I couldn’t face riding home and even a fall off the bike for extra drama.

By June, training had ramped up. Some weeks hit 15 hours or more, but because it had built gradually it never felt too overwhelming. Long rides to Cambridge and back became the weekend norm and colleagues at work started to think I had gone slightly mad. What had once felt like an eternity (11 months of training) suddenly flew by, and before I knew it I was in my peak weeks in July and August, including one 24 hour training week that I’m still amazed (and super proud) to have managed.

Dave deserves huge credit for helping me juggle it all. We reshuffled training around a work trip to Paris, hen parties and weddings. In the final weeks I had a few emotional wobbles (mostly crises of confidence!) but Dave was always patient and reassuring.

Then came the taper, which was weirdly enough, one of the hardest parts of all the training. Every twinge felt like the start of an injury and I felt mildly hungover most of the time (without drinking!) convinced at one point I was coming down with the flu. Thankfully, organising all of my kit for race day kept me distracted until it finally arrived.

RACE DAY

After a few days soaking up the atmosphere in Cervia, race day rolled around. I was incredibly nervous standing in the swim pen and I couldn’t quite believe that after all the hours of training, thinking and talking about this race, it was finally here. We were set off in groups of six and, as soon as I lined up to go, my nerves settled. The swim turned out to be my favourite part of the day. I’d worried about it being a fight in the water, but thanks to Dave’s positioning advice I swam smoothly with little contact with other swimmers. I felt relaxed and really enjoyed it - even a few jellyfish brushes couldn’t spoil it. I had hoped to come out in 1h30, so was over the moon to be out in 1h16, knowing this gave me more buffer for the bike.

After what felt like the longest transition area ever - especially clomping through in my cleats - I got going on the bike. Considering how much I’d worried about it, I really enjoyed myself. The first part of the course went through salt flats (complete with flamingos!) before heading onto the slightly less scenic, but at least flat, motorway. The 28 degree heat and lack of shade were punishing, but I focused on fuelling and reminding myself that if I got through this, I would finish. After 7 hours, I rolled into T2 genuinely over the moon, knowing my weakest discipline was behind me.

The marathon started really well and I felt surprisingly fresh after 112 miles on the bike. The four loop course was mentally broken up by my family cheering in the same spot. Each lap I thought, “just six-ish more miles until I see them again” and that rhythm carried me through. From about halfway, my stomach turned on me. Water and gels were making me gag, so from mile 13 onwards I survived on flat Coke only. I kept reminding myself of Dave’s advice - it’s a long day and it’s about problem solving - so I just kept moving, even if my pace was all over the place.

Before I knew it came the infamous red carpet. It was such a magical feeling, and I was really overcome with emotion as I crossed the finish line - thinking about all the months of training and hard work that had gone into this moment. I know there is literally no way I could have done it without Dave and I’m so grateful for his support throughout this journey. It has been such an incredible experience, and I’ll never forget the sense of achievement at the end!