How I Found My First Ironman
Hey Rebels, it’s Juliette here, a pretty new Ride trainer at 1Rebel and I’m here to share my story on how I completed Ironman Switzerland 2024. An Ironman is a long-distance triathlon consisting of a 3.8 km swim, 180.2 km bike ride and a marathon (42.2km) and I completed this all in 13 hours and 24 minutes. I must admit I struggled to start writing about any of it because it still feels like a dream. I also believe I am not the most qualified person to talk about these types of events (but that may make it all the more relatable). Let’s dive in, shall we?
As the youngest member of my family, I was pretty eager to be just like my siblings who were all very active. At a very young age I signed up to ballet, swimming lessons, gymnastics and even took part in local running events. I was always very excited to practice sports and I know it made me happy and strong minded. Both my parents were extremely fit and both very eager for us to move and explore. Our weekends and summer holidays would be filled with family runs, hikes and skiing down mountains. I know their love for movement inspired my fitness journey hugely.
In my late teens both school and relationships were a source of stress and anxiety for me and I swapped sport for partying, leading to wasting my days feeling dreadful and incapable of getting out of my bed. Quitting all my sport activities made me feel weak and very insecure about how I really felt inside and out. In 2017 my mental health plummeted. My own dark thoughts and generalised anxiety started to take over and I desperately needed to find a way out.
One day I just put on a pair of old tired running shoes and went out on a run. No watch, no gear and no idea that this would be the beginning of an incredible and powerful journey for me.
When I re-started running it was primarily an escape. It was hard at first but I soon saw how much of an effect it was having. The short-term relief when I could flee my life for a while and find peace in movement was the most powerful feeling. I knew that every time I was running, I would momentarily be okay.
I signed up to my first 10 km race and then my first half marathon becoming the first family member to ever do that kind of distance. In lockdown I spent my 20th birthday running my very own marathon. Personal challenges made me feel extremely courageous and allowed me to face what I had been trying to avoid. I wasn’t running away from my dark thoughts anymore; I was running towards them feeling stronger each time. This enabled me to accept help and I gradually got better. After my first marathon I always fancied trying out something outrageous and completely out of my comfort zone. I stumbled on someone talking about their experience doing an Ironman and from then I was itching to do one too.
When I moved to London, over three years ago I was working as a baker in a café. It was intense and didn’t allow for much sport training, which definitely wasn’t ideal for me and I knew something was missing in my day-to-day life. I came across a YouTube video from Natacha Océane “I tried to run for 24 hours. It changed me.” In that video she ends up by saying in short that if there is something you have always wanted to do, just go out and do it and you won’t ever regret trying. That was exactly the motivation I needed to sign up to my next event.
And so, it began.
On the road to the Ironman, which I knew absolutely nothing about, I was encouraged to try out the half distance: Ironman 70.3 (1.9km swim / 90km bike / 21.2 km run) which I completed in June 2023 with very little training and minimal gear. I think I was more focused on the challenge than the training, perhaps a little avoidant because it felt so far from something I could achieve and I had very little guidance and general support (as it was still so uncommon). I am a bit ashamed of that approach but I definitely learned from the experience and had a massively different strategy from then on. I did the Ironman 70.3 triathlon and finished 7 hours and 30 minutes later. The whole experience was so fun perhaps because pace and performance weren’t a concern at all. Both my mum and I were a little shocked that I had made it across that finish line I immediately knew there was something more to come.
During the summer of 2023 I trained to become a Ride instructor at 1Rebel. Being a chef wasn’t fulfilling me enough alone and I had dreamed to become a ride instructor. What a year. I took a few months off running, because I was also struggling with my right shin. which turned out to be very beneficial. In November, I finally signed up for Ironman Switzerland. I was pleasantly surprised by people’s reactions to me doing this. Being surrounded by other incredible athletes, amazing 1Rebel trainers and members, I felt encouraged and supported on this journey. I felt like this time my training would be a priority but I didn’t feel over pushed by my coach into training. Of course, it’s not easy and it’s not a training that you should take lightly: it’s time consuming and relentless but it is definitely not ALL OR NOTHING. You can keep a well-balanced life without pressuring yourself to be perfect. I trained hard but in a really caring way towards myself. It was hours of solo bike rides, long runs and winter swims that sometimes felt endless and lonely but it was also such an exhilarating feeling to overcome scary sessions and be reminded of how much strength I had and was constantly building.
I had been thinking about completing an Ironman since 2020 so when July came round, I felt a little overwhelmed. All my family and close friends came all the way to see me and I just felt like I didn’t belong. I tried to push these thoughts away but they kept creeping in… Who was I to even attempt doing this? I could have trained so much more…? I basically didn’t feel and really “look the part”.
As I stepped my foot into that cold and foggy lake I had strong doubts about getting to the finish line. But… as the start gun went off and I began my Ironman, a sense of complete peace settled in my brain. I was doing this thing and there was no going back. I was okay because I was moving and I knew I could keep going because I had been through worse. I was doing what kept me alive.
The lake water was freezing and by the end of the swim both my hands and feet were numb. I completed it faster than expected and that really encouraged me for what was next: the bike ride. The first transition was pretty hard as my hands were too cold to do anything properly. I was trying not to skip steps, but just decided to leave some important nutrition behind to not loose too much time and (ah… what a mistake). The bike height difference (2200m) was relentless and the head wind was pretty tricky, but for some reason my mind didn’t give me a single ounce of doubt. I can’t explain how confident and resilient I felt. It was hard of course, but it was so much more enjoyable than I would have excepted at this point. I did however, really mess up the nutrition on the bike as I was worried that I didn’t have enough fuel and so ate the energy bars (that I had never tried before) provided at the pit stops. Please, never ever fuel your Ironman with anything that you haven’t eaten and tested before. It will destroy your stomach.
The last 50 meters on the bike before entering the run, is a moment I will remember forever. I had made it to the run. I was preparing to step off my bike after 7 hours and noises came flooding back into my ears. I could hear my friends and family cheering me on so loudly. I had told everyone that if I made it to the run, I would complete it and the energy was euphoric and very emotional. As we all know, nothing ever really works as we planned. And it turns out the run was the hardest part of the whole race. Although my energy for the run was in a great place, my stomach felt pretty terrible and I kept getting cramps (because of the bike nutrition mishap). I had to stop a number of times and face the Ironman toilets, which allowed me to regain my strides but every 2 to 3 km I would have to stop and try again. It was a marathon course split into three 14 km loops. Luckily my stomach settled down in the final loop and after almost 12 hours of effort my mind was just focused on one thing now: move forward. My lungs felt quite tired and I remember it was getting harder to take full breaths so I was breathing quite rhythmically and forgot to really focus on anything else.
The last 1.5 km was one of the best moments of my whole life. It is so hard to put into words. As I realised that I was minutes away from completing this incredible challenge and my dream of four years, I started to listen to all the cheering and chanting. I was trying not to cry yet but my emotions just came pouring out. I saw the red carpet. I got goosebumps. I rang the first timers bell high-fived my mum and sister and friends and a few others along the way. I crossed the finish line. I had completed it. I had done the crazy thing. I walked over to my family in tears of joy and relief. It all felt completely surreal… just like a dream.
I think I struggle to believe it happened because it didn’t feel like the hardest thing I had ever done. I had convinced myself I would not manage this challenge but it turns out I actually did and I enjoyed every single part of it. I am learning to feel proud, embrace this feeling and believe in myself a little more. I know now that I am strong enough.
I think I could spend ages talking about every single part of the physical and mental challenge that this whole experience was. There are definitely things I could improve and do better but for now, I will end on this note: training for this endurance challenge wasn’t just to see if I could achieve the race but because the training genuinely brought me so much joy and makes my life better. If you ever want to do something, just know that you can because it makes your heart happy. You don’t need the fancy gear you, or to be any good, you just need to find your ‘why’.
To quote Natacha Océane “This is your reminder to go for that big, scary goal you’ve been dreaming about! you squeeze absolutely everything out of life and explore the incredible things your mind and body can really do! You’ll never regret it”.
Juliette