by Ultan Devaney, June 11th, 2025.
This story has several beginnings so let’s start in a hotel room in Copenhagen.
It is 5:45am in the morning of August 18th, 2024. I awoke a little hungover and lay in bed when a plan started to form. I was on holiday with my family, and we had spent the previous day wondering around the city on electric scooters visiting various locations. The ubiquitous cycle lanes began to clog up with budding Ironmen making their way to the split transition zones for the Ironman event the following day. They were everywhere with their expensive bikes and branded calves.
As I lay in bed, a couple of threads came together in my mind. In 2020 I had trained to enter a full distance Ironman, but it was cancelled due to the pandemic. After training for most of 2020 and never actually completing an event that year, I put it on the long finger.
During 2020 I had also taken up a hobby of mixology. I told myself many things but few of them were honest. I did have the wherewithal to record my intake with the aid of a sobriety app. Throughout the year of 2021 I consumed on average 25 units every week. It was becoming normalised. Maybe this sounds like a lot to you. Maybe, like most of us, this doesn’t sound like a problem. There is no rule for all. It was too much for me and I know now that it was making me deeply unhappy.
During 2022 I completed my third 70.3. It was in Marbella, and I was still regularly having a 40-unit week believing that it was manageable. That 70.3 was miserable and disappointing and I began to think, maybe endurance events were not for me. I enjoyed the training and the events themselves were necessary to motivate me to train. However, maybe surprisingly, I would cross a finish line more defeated and with a level of self-loathing that was difficult for me to express. I would hate myself for being so below average, surrounded by elated athletes’ achieving their goals.
Another thread that morning, in June 2025 I was due to turn 50. Somehow, I still believe I was physically somewhere in my mid-thirties. There was no way to think about turning 50 without having a sitting up straight moment.
These thoughts came together lying in bed and I sat up straight. I did not allow my wife enough time to wake before I blurted out, there’s something we need to talk about. Her eyes were tired, weary, fearful even, what now?
I would like to conduct an experiment, I was afraid to say it, but I would give up alcohol for a year and instead train for a full distance Ironman. I’d be turning 50 next summer and I dread to think of waking up on June 3rd, 2025, hungover and unhappy. Instead of always underachieving, I would set a challenging goal and take it seriously. The Ironman itself was not what was important, it was everything else. I would use it to place myself in the best possible position to hopefully feel something other than disappointment.
That evening I told our kids my plan for the year ahead. No back tracking now. I couldn’t live with my daughter’s silent disappointment if I failed to follow through.
August 19th, 2024, I recorded in my phone… “So, this time next year. Waking up feeling exhausted, sore and hopefully satisfied whatever the finish time. Time to commit. Weight 89.7kg (high for me), VO2 Max 46 (my lowest in four years), Resting HR 48bpm, FTP test that day: 236W.
September to December I attempted to put in a ground level of general fitness. I wasn’t starting from scratch, but all three elements required attention. Those first four months were dogged with minor injuries (calf strains) and niggles and a very unfortunate dose of salmonella. It was brutal and I couldn’t train for most of October. The only positive outcome from the salmonella was that I lost some of my excessive weight, 5kg in a week, but this was not the ideal way to lose it. There was a ‘stop-start’ feel towards my experiment. It was not what I had hoped for or expected but I still felt there was time for it to come good. I also slightly changed my race goal of moving from Copenhagen IM to Hamburg IM. The reasons being that Hamburg was at the beginning of the summer, and I knew that I was not good at dedicated training while I was on family holidays during the summer months. Also, as I already mentioned, I would turn 50 on June 3rd, Hamburg was June 1st, so it seemed an obvious choice given my state of mind.
November and December were productive; my training was still making it up as I went along. I was experimenting with several new training methods and life improvements. I maintained yoga and a S&C session once or twice a week. I included a heat training session on the bike at least once a week [1] (note 1 : notes appear in an appendix at the end of this post). I experimented with Maurten’s Bi carb mix[2] and gut training[3] on runs. I took up coffee[4] and began to take a range of supplements[5]. I took a hot & cold session[6] as many times per week as I could fit in. This was all part of my mentality at the time that this was not about doing an Ironman, this was about changing my life for the better and using it as a motivator. As cliched as it sounds, it was the about journey. The end did not justify the means. The means justified the end. Terrible grammar but that was my mindset.
At the beginning of January 2025 dedicated Ironman training began. At that stage several metrics had already improved. Weight 85kg, VO2 Max 50, Resting HR 50bpm[7], FTP 255W at a guess, see footnote 2.
On TrainingPeaks I found an $80, Phil Mosley 20-week full distance Ironman training program. That gave me a structure on which to build my own specific program. For the most part I ignored Mosley’s swim sessions as I found it more rewarding for me to train with T3 in the pool. My intention was to attend the Monday and Friday sessions but in reality, Mondays were always hijacked by other events, or I was too tired from the weekends training. On the final six weeks prior to the Ironman, I also backed out of the T3 Sessions as well. I felt they were too short and high tempo for what I needed. Instead, I did one 4km pool session per week with a few other wet suited outdoor sessions sprinkled between. This may not be enough for some, but I knew that for my Ironman my aim was to complete the swim section round 2:00 min/100m pace. A conservative pace but as it is the first event of the day my goal was to come out of the water without any anxiety and comfortable to start the race on the bike. Swim lovers might not like my approach but as there are so many unknowns during the swim leg, if you emerge unscathed and fresh for the bike it is a great moral booster.
I adjusted the program to include the T3 training camp at the end of March and other family obligations until June. For the most part Mosley’s program was the periodisation structure I kept to. A building block of three weeks of training followed by an active recovery week. I’d guess I managed to complete 90% of the scheduled sessions. Consistency is the name of the game with Ironman training.
This experiment was also going to come at some cost / investment! I attempted to justify it with the savings I was making giving up alcohol and my new relatively simple lifestyle. I also told myself that any significant outlay could be part of an early 50th birthday present to myself. The most significant cost was always going to be the bike[8]. One other aspect to Ironman Hamburg is that it is a flat, fast course with a good road surface. If there is any Ironman course that is suited to a TT bike it is Hamburg. Of course the Ironman could be completed on my regular Canyon (I’ve been a Canyon cyclists since 2013 and it’s a bit like the type of phone you use, once you fall in with one it’s hard to switch) but due to my own vanity, ego and if I was going to take this experiment seriously I would need to invest in a TT bike. I ordered it from Canyon in January, but it didn’t arrive until April. My first ride on the bars was a terrifying experience. It didn’t help that it was a particularly windy day, and the thought did cross my mind that this was a terrible mistake, and I was going to revert to my regular bike. On my second and third ride I slowly become more comfortable on the bars. This is not an insignificant skill as it proved on the day of the Ironman[9].
During my build phase I continued with Mosley’s recommendation of once per week having a run speed workout. When possible, I would get into the UCD track at lunchtime on a Wednesday. This might not be seen as ideal for Ironman training, but I really enjoyed the variety[10] and anyway this was about more than the Ironman.
That said during the month of May my training became more race specific, and it culminated in several 4-hour bikes followed by 90min – 120 min runs off the bike. Luckily the weather during May was ideal for outdoor cycling[11].
I loved the months prior to the Ironman. I loved the structure to it. I loved the confidence it gave to my day. It sometimes can feel like having a secret superpower. Completing five hours on the bike before lunch had a positive effect on my mental health. I loved the security of keeping to the plan. This can be a double-edged sword, if you miss a session or fear missing a session due to life’s unpredictability it can have an out weighted effect on your mood. There were some really difficult times during this period. Life and death does not stop because you need to fit in a three-hour run. This level of training can be a period that some use to escape from reality. I’d like to think, I used some of my time productively to process my thoughts.
With the best laid plans something can always go wrong. For me, seven days prior to the Ironman I tore my hamstring playing a game of tag rugby with my son. With hindsight I probably have taken more care but I loath regret and had to just accept it.
The week prior to the Ironman became dominated by the hamstring tear. It was hopeful as I had a great physio[12] and it was a grade one tear. There were real moments of doubt. I tried to jog 20 meters at the back of Physio 64 on the Wednesday before the race. It was so tight and uncomfortable to jog that I could not imagine running 400 m never mind 42 km in four days’ time.
I kept telling myself that this was all about the journey and not about the Ironman. The Ironman was just the motivator, and I knew inside that I had dramatically improved my life over the past nine months. But I was telling myself more lies. The days before the Ironman, it was all about the Ironman, without it none of this had any meaning! You begin to see how hard I must be to live with and how strong, loving and supportive my wife is to listen to my roller-coaster of consciousness daily.
I had a great Ironman partner in Conor Spencer in Hamburg. Ironman is such a lonely sport, but it is so much better to have someone with you if you can during all the build-up and registration, swim practice, the night before, the morning of. Support crew are great but also having someone in the same boat as you is invaluable.
The race itself was kind of dream like. The morning of the race, the start was delayed by 40 minutes because of a localised and dramatic weather event. High winds, thunder and lightning and extreme heavy rain rolled in at 6am. By the time we were all in our wetsuits and ready to go the squall had passed. The delay also gave me an extra couple of minutes to knock back a Maurten Bi Carb and a gel. The swim went exactly as predicted. It was perfect conditions, in a freshwater lake. No tide, current or swell to deal with. There were a couple of pinch points under the arches of bridges where everyone comes together, and it gets a little rough. I got a kick to the left eye socket that left me a little stunned but my weekly 4km swims prior to the race had me at complete ease.
At T1, I regretted attaching my bike shoes to my bike as my socks were sodden by the time I exited. But as it was warm I don’t remember my wet feet at any point on the bike. The bike was a manageable intensity. On such a flat course you are constantly assessing your position to avoid drafting. After 30 minutes on the bike, I began to feel a pull on the left hamstring. This was a concern as I hadn’t expected to feel it on the bike. I had thought the run was going to be the problem for the hamstring. A new strategy formed in my head… go strong on the bike and not hold back for the run. I thought that if the hamstring was to go after ten minutes on the run, then at least I would have a bike to be happy with. Your thought process gets all messed up in the middle of an Ironman. Prior to the race I had thought that I should be able to manage about 30 km/hr for the bike section and be alright for the run. This belief was untested but in training I had run for two hours after a four-hour 31 km/hr bike, so I was confident. However, with the rain that morning, and the forecasted high winds, I had to revise down my 30 km/hr prediction. Now, 30 minutes into the bike on race day and maybe fuelled by Bi Carb I was averaging over 33 km/hr and constantly surging to pass other riders to avoid a drafting penalty. The bike section consisted of two laps of 90 km. On the second lap I began to easy slightly. My averaged dropped to 32 km/hr but there were a lot less surges and it seemed to flow a bit more. My fuel strategy was to keep eating and I had enough fuel on the bike to give me about 100g of Carbs per hour for six hours. I did not need to stop for a toilet break throughout the bike and slowed at several aid stations to collect ‘PH 1000’ bottles only. It was warm and sunny on the bike but not excessively. It is a bit of a blur but I believe I drank what I had planned, which was about 750 ml of electrolyte water per hour during the bike.
Dismounting from the bike at T2 the hamstring was so tight that I couldn’t jog with the bike to the rack and had to walk with it. Switched socks and put on runners. Gobbled down another Bi Carb, stuffed my tri suite with two disposable 500 ml soft water bottles containing carb and electrolyte mix as well as a handful of chews and gels. Feet were cramped a little from the bike and the hamstring was sore, but it was great to finally be on the run leg of an Ironman. My Garmin watch had malfunctioned at the beginning of the bike so I stopped it and just used the mounted Garmin on the bike to give me readings of speed, power and HR during the bike, so I had rough idea but no real times. I started the watch again at the beginning of the run so I would have a good idea of how I was doing during the run. It was a blessing as I did not have any overall time in mind, I wanted to push what I thought I could do on each section and the rest would sort itself out.
Three minutes into the run, the heavens opened. I was grateful that it hadn’t happened on the bike as it would have been so dangerous but on the run, especially at the very beginning of the run it was fantastically refreshing. The intensity of the downpour was amazing, and I did feel utter joy for the 20 minutes that it lasted. It was also a distraction as before I knew it I had completed my first of four 10km laps of Hamburg. After 10km the hamstring was sore and nagging but manageable. After 20km other parts of my legs began to hurt as well. After 30km other parts of me began to hurt more than the hamstring. At the 30km mark a relief set in as I knew that at this point even if the hamstring blew out and I had to hobble the rest I’d make it before cutoff. It also boosted confidence that at this point in the marathon the majority of the other participants were really beginning to suffer and walk. I walked briefly at aid stations to drink electrolyte and maybe grab a gel but at no time did I feel the need to walk. I had been that soldier many times but this time I knew I had the training in the bag. The majority of Ironman’s come down to this moment. 30km’s into the run. Have you overdone it or can you kick on. I cannot tell you how strange it is to feel content at this moment. I knew I felt good and happy to keep going.
My stats will show an overall average running pace of 5:56 min/km but in reality, this was closer to 5:45 min/km pace if you take out the three bathroom stops and several aid station pauses. 5:45 min/km was the pace I had hoped for.
Towards the end I knew I had some left in the legs, so I picked up the pace and ran the last 1km at 4:55 min/km. I was delighted that I could run down the red carpet.
On the evening before the Ironman, I gave my predictions…
I hoped for 2:00 min/100m pace on the swim which should bring me in under 1hr 20min. I did it at 2:04 min/100m pace and came in 1hr 18 min feeling fresh and comfortable.
On the bike I hoped I could maintain 30km/hr pace and come in around 6hrs. In reality averaged 32.87km/hr pace and arrived to T2 in 5hr 28 min. This was way ahead of expectation.
On the run, if you had asked me prior to the hamstring tear, I think I would have said that maybe I could aim for 5:30 min/km pace. But all the leading advice is to be conservative for the first 10km- 20km and try a negative split from there[13]. I don’t think the hamstring negatively affected me. It forced me to be slightly conservative on the run but that was probably for the best.
My experiment was complete. I turned 50 last week and I felt something unusual that can probably best be described as pride.
I hope to complete a few Olympic distances during the summer. After that I’m switching codes back to Hyrox and have signed up for an event in November with my daughter. That’s another bit of advice I have been given by several others. After an Ironman make sure you have something in the Calendar. You need to rest and soak it up but have something planned.
Post-race; Weight 85kg, VO2 Max 50, Resting HR 46bpm, FTP 266W.
Appendix – notes.
[1] My heat training sessions were roughly 45 – 60 minutes in duration. My turbo trainer is setup in our shed. I would dress in outdoor winter bike gear, several layers, leggings, ski gloves and hat and turn two heaters on full. First 15 minutes at about 170 watts to get sweaty and the next 30 – 45 minutes at 120 watts. Seems like a really easy work out but it is quite taxing on the system due to the amount you sweat. Reportedly good for increasing red blood cell capacity as well as a lot of washing.
[2] I took a ‘shot’ of Maurten’s Bi-Carb mixture for the first time prior to an FTP test in December. My FTP 16 weeks previously was 236W. My fitness had improved during the 16 weeks but fuelled with Bi-Carb my FTP ramp test scored 290W! This was way over my actual FTP which in reality was probably at that stage in the 250w range. It proved to me that Bi-Carb definitely has a significant effect pushing your upper limit and VO2 max range. Even though 290W was not my true FTP, my feeling is that it still had an effect of increasing my FTP in general. Periodically training with Bi-Carb on threshold sessions running or cycling, in my opinion, contributes to increasing your FTP and VO2 max range. The downside is that it is expensive.
[3] Recent fuelling studies point towards an increased intake of Carbs at around 70g – 120g per hour. For me, this translated into any session over an hour I ‘trained’ my gut to handle a gel, bar or chew (of 30g – 40g) every 15 minutes. As well as around 500ml – 750ml of electrolyte water per hour. There is a lot of talk online of training your gut but I did not find it difficult at all. The main challenge for me was how and where to re-fuel, especially on runs.
[4] I was a tea drinker and caffeine gels tended to give me the shakes, so I thought I’d train myself to optimise my use of caffeine.
[5] Supplements are a world on to themselves. I’m not sure what works and what doesn’t but there were a few things that I now take and will probably continue to take and maybe they give me benefit and hopefully no harm. Two, three or four times per week I would take protein powder, creatine and AG1 in an almond milk shake with banana. Irregularly would take Symprove for improving my gut (my gut also saw a remarkable improvement as the months of sobriety developed which I don’t believe is a coincidence.) I also came across an Irish producer of Beetroot concentrate that you can order online. I take a shot every morning. It can turn things a funny colour and I can’t prove any benefit but I’m going to continue taking it.
[6] Hot & Cold sessions for me are roughly an hour long. 15 – 20 minutes sauna followed by 2 – 3 minutes in 4-degree cold bath. Two rounds. Drinking 750ml of electrolyte water.
[7] Resting HR appeared to be going in the wrong direction, but I think the data was flawed. Before Christmas I had a Garmin Fenix 5 watch. A bulky piece of kit that I could not and would not wear when I went to sleep. At Christmas I was gifted a Garmin Forerunner 965. A slimmer and lighter watch that did not bother me when sleeping. The result was that before Christmas my resting HR was only recording while I was awake but after Christmas it reflected a more complete resting HR. As a result, my resting HR now appears to have lowered but I am unsure as to how much of that was due to increased fitness or more accurate data.
[8] I will keep the actual costs private as it really is not the important part of the story. You can achieve greater results than I did on a lower budget. I wrestled with my purchases, ultimately the path I chose was right for me.
[9] Despite the Hamburg IM bike course being suitable for TT bikes, at a guess 95% of all bikes in Hamburg were TT bikes, I came across several accidents on the bike. At one point, I had to suddenly slalom between road traffic cones and at 35kmph it would have resulted in an unpleasant end to my Ironman. Being comfortable at bike handling is very important and can only be improved with more experience. It is also worth mountain biking and or gravel biking to improve weight adjustment on the bike and overall confidence on bike balancing.
[10] The sessions were normally 50 – 60 minutes involving reps of some sort, like main set 6 x 3 minutes or 5 x 5 minutes).
[11] I am a fair-weather cyclist. During the winter months, or most of the year, I am happy to turbo train indoors. It’s safe and warm and I get to dull the boredom with Netflix or watching sport. However, it has its limits and especially for the TT bike you need to ride it in real world conditions. There is an open secret for TT cyclists in the Dublin Wicklow area. Our own TT track beginning at The Wilds Café (Beehive Pub). From there you have a relatively quiet, straight, flat and wide 12.5km stretch of road that is as ideal for TT biking as you can get in Ireland.
[12] Your Physio is a bit like your GP. But on the run up to an event like an Ironman don’t be afraid to pre-book a session per week if you can afford it. My Physio, Sinead in Physio 64 is an unbelievably kind, positive, professional and beautiful human being and I am lucky to have found her. I don’t think it is hyperbolic to say that without her I would not have completed Ironman Hamburg, and I think it would have had profound unforeseen negative implications on my state of mind.
[13] Not if you listen to David Roche and his wife Megan. They are inspirational and unbelievable athletes, he is currently documenting a lot of his training techniques, nutrition and novel ways to approach endurance sports. David is a ultra-distance trail runner. I highly recommend watching some of his YouTube videos. One of his many novel strategies is to not hold back or be conservative at the beginning of endurance events, rather, lean in and go hard and fuel hard from the get-go. However, this approach takes many many years of training, and I don’t think I am there yet!