Chris lives the Lanzarote 3 H's to the extreme

Lanzarote IM - May 20th 2017

Race reporter: Chris J Hey It's Lanza... Lanzarote is renowned for its 3 H's: Hills, Heat and Headwinds. For the Ironman, with over 2500m of elevation on the course, the Hills are always going to be there, so it's then just the lottery of what combination of wind and heat this island is going to give you....Although this time around the forecast was remarkably benign: 25kmh with 35kmh gusts (a very calm Lanza day!) and 24C for race day. It was almost due to be a "normal" IM... Ironman Day starts early. Breakfast about 3 hours before the 07:00 start...well actually about 4 hours before the start as it turns out because your phone thinks you're in Spain and not the (Spanish) Canary Islands which are on British Time (true in so many ways, none of them good). Then down to the quiet tension of transition as everyone adds nutrition to bikes, pumps tyres and makes final checks. Into the wetsuit for a pre-dawn warm up in the sea then time to line up for the start. The Swim is one of the few mass starts left in Ironman races now with the gun going and 1600 competitors piling into the sea creating a 400m long tuna broil as the last competitors enter the water just as the pros are turning the first buoy. Sighting is virtually impossible on the first 900m out leg as you're swimming straight into the rising sun, relying instead on the pack in front of you to be going the right way and concentrating on the mass of bodies around you.