The day has finally arrived and gone. I have completed my Ironman in Tallinn—all 140.6 miles of it. So, after all my training, how did I do?

The day started at 03:30 in the morning with a healthy breakfast of toast and muesli with natural yogurt, rounded off with a cheeky coffee. We set off to catch the bus, which would take us to the start at 04:30. The race would start at 06:30, but before that, I had to make sure my bike was ready, giving it a final check and putting on my wetsuit.

The weather forecast for the day was grim: 19 mph winds, heavy rain, and a chance of thunderstorms. A hard day had just been made harder.

Before I knew it, it was time to race. The 2.4-mile swim was first. This is a long swim, and I’d learned from my practice races not to go out too quickly. Pacing is incredibly important in an Ironman. Go out too hard, too early, and the end of the race will be even more painful. I took it fairly easy all the way around the swim. I had a few close calls with people swimming into me, but on the whole, it was a steady swim. I came out of the water at 1:14:59. I had aimed for under 1:20:00, so that was the first job done.

Into transition 1, and it had started to rain. My swim-to-bike gear change was pretty wet. It took what felt like an age to get my wetsuit and bike gear on. I managed it in 5:45 and was off on the bike.

The bike was a 2-lap, 112-mile course. I felt strong on the first half of the ride and made pretty good time. I had a strong tailwind for the first half of each lap and a strong headwind on the second. The headwind was tough to deal with—Tallinn is very open in places, and with the 19 mph wind, I got blown about a lot. I stuck to my race plan, paced myself well, ate every half hour, and drank plenty of fluids. I had to stop for three toilet breaks on the ride, but I knew I needed the fluids for the run. I somehow managed to maintain a decent speed on the first lap, but on the second, the weather worsened. The bike route is normally fast, but on race day it was tough. I finally arrived at T2, finishing the bike in 6:05:31.

I was in and out of T2 fairly quickly, but nature called again. This time it was a slightly longer break, but it gave me a moment to check the time. I was just over 7.5 hours into the race, leaving me 4.5 hours to complete the 26.2-mile marathon. Getting under 12 hours was a real possibility!

The run was a 4-lap, 26.2-mile route around Tallinn city centre. I started the run far too quickly. I struggled to adjust my cadence from the bike to the run. I needed 10-minute miles to complete just over 4 hours 20 minutes for the marathon, which would bring me in under 12 hours. I was running 8 minutes 20 seconds per mile for most of the first lap. My legs finally adjusted, and I started running 10-minute miles, at least for a while.

I got through the first two laps okay. I was hurting, but it was manageable. From past experience, I knew the third lap would be the hardest. I was mentally prepared for this—but that didn’t make it easy. I kept thinking about the 12-hour goal and constantly fought the urge to stop. This lap was tough, but seeing family and friends supporting me helped a lot. My pace dropped to between 11 and 12-minute miles, but because of the fast start, I was still on course.

At the start of the final lap, I had 1 hour 15 minutes to get under 12 hours—1 hour 15 minutes to complete 6.5 miles. I had fantasized about being in this position, thinking it would be a dream, but in reality, I struggled to figure out how I would do it. My legs were shot, I was in pain, and I was slowly checking out mentally. I stayed as strong as I could—I had to. It is unlikely I’ll ever do this again, so it was now or never.

I got my head down and pushed as hard as I could. I was so happy that I had paced the swim and bike well—it now gave me what I needed, just. The last lap was a blur. I gave it everything. Halfway through the lap, the timings were tight, very tight. I reached the last mile and a half with just under 20 minutes to go. Easy, right? Not so much. My head was down, and I was running as fast as my body would allow…

Emotions were high as I crossed the finish line. I had given it absolutely everything. There was nothing left. I didn’t know immediately if I had done it. I was in a daze and didn’t really know what was happening. Then I heard my sister shouting that I had done it. I checked my watch, and it read 11:58:35. Wow! I had done it. The effort was worth it!

This race was hard, and until you do it, it’s difficult to understand just how hard. The emotion and feeling of crossing that finish line are indescribable. It took me three attempts to succeed. I’m just happy—this part of my life goals has now finally been ticked off.