Ironman Tallin Estonia 2018
Competing in Ironman Tallin Estonia, Dundalk athlete Paul Savage Cairlinn Triathlon Club completed the full Ironman distance in a finish time of 10 hours 23 minutes and 41 seconds.
“Ironman Tallinn in Estonia proved to be a memorable and challenging race. The race began with a 3.8 km swim in the Seaplane Harbour. Water temperatures had been borderline in the days leading up to the race and conditions on the morning proved difficult. The cold water made it hard to settle into a rhythm and the swim turned into a struggle from early on. The swim was completed in 1 hour 25 minutes.
After exiting the water, the cold temperatures made transition particularly awkward, with some difficulty removing the wetsuit before heading out onto the bike.”
“The 180 km bike course was fast and undulating, enabling momentum on the longer sections of road while still requiring careful pacing over the rolling terrain. The early stages were spent trying to recover from the cold swim, with the body taking time to warm up properly after the difficult start to the day in the swim. After about an hour on the bike things began to improve, the body finally starting to thaw out and heart rate gradually returning to normal.
From that point on it became easier to settle into a sustainable pace, focus on nutrition and maintain a consistent effort across the remainder of the course. With the legs beginning to come around, the aim was to ride efficiently and conserve as much energy as possible ahead of the marathon run to follow.
The bike leg was completed in 5 hours 10 minutes.”
“The race concluded with the 42.2 km marathon run through the historic streets of Tallinn. The course wound its way around the medieval old town, creating a lively atmosphere with strong crowd support throughout the city centre.
The run consisted of multiple laps, with one stiff climb of roughly 300 metres each time around, which gradually began to sting and take its toll on tired legs.
Despite the challenge of the hill, the atmosphere around the old town and the encouragement from spectators lining the streets provided a welcome lift during the later stages of the run.
The marathon was completed in 3 hours 34 minutes and 52 seconds.”
Read more race reports from Cairlinn Traithlon Club