British Ironman athlete Rob Johnson has had an interesting start to his pro career. 2008 was almost ruined before it started, with appendicitis, but he recovered after surgery to make it to Ironman Lake Placid - where he had two punctures! Ironman Arizona (9:03) was a much better end to 2008, despite injury worries before the race, however 2009 started badly with a DNF at Ironman South Africa.

So, a late entry to Ironman Lanzarote was going to be important to get his confidence back with a strong performance over a tough course - something he managed too, with a 3-hour marathon and a 15th place finish. Here is his report.

P.E. was always my favourite lesson at school, despite being surrounded by the typical school drop-outs who thought it would be easy. I would love learning about how the body could be trained and adapted to physical situations. Not till 15 years later would I learn first hand quite how far my body could go, ironically in a South Africa at a place called Port Elizabeth or P.E.

I wasn't able to complete Ironman South Africa as I suffered with heat stroke after getting a few things very wrong and ended up pulling out of the run at 8km in some searing heat. I was gutted, as this was a race I'd been looking forward to and hoping to do well in. The withdrawal from the race massively knocked my confidence and I was starting to question whether I could still be competitive at this distance. After a few heart to heart conversations with friends and family, I decided the best thing I could do was to try to race again asap.

I managed to get a place at Ironman Lanzarote after a fellow Pro Brit gave me a key contact (thanks!), and before I knew it I was out training in Lanzarote three weeks before the race, having sworn earlier in the year I'd never do Ironman Lanzarote as it was just for the loonies! I had massive admiration for the thousands who competed in 'the World's Toughest Ironman' every year having been training a few times at Club La Santa.

My week got better as I acclimatised to the heat and humidity of the Canaries, and by day four I felt strong enough to ride the Ironman bike course followed by a 60mins run. The following day I ran for two hours on the beach front at Puerto del Carmen, where the marathon was to take place. It was hot, really hot and I was having doubts again about my ability to cope in the heat again.

I decided to contact the 'Oracle' (brother in-law, Luke Moseley), on all things heat performance related to ensure I was able to complete the race. He contacted his fellow PhD friend (Jimmy Carter) who now resides in Dubai, where he puts his knowledge into daily practice with average temps being 40 degrees. I had done some heat chamber testing for Jimmy whilst at University - all in the aid of beer money!

I can remember the tests not being the most pleasant, as the only way to accurately measure one's body core temperature is with an internal probe... yes I said probe... then hooked up to a large thermometer monitoring device. The test performed over several weeks included sitting in a sauna letting one's core temperature rise by three degrees; which doesn't sound a lot but this increase in core temperature pushes your body almost to it's limit. The test was primarily being conducted for the Armed Forces, as the purpose of the Phd was to see what tolerances military personnel should be able to cope with during physical exertion in the heat.

I was told about one very big and scary Marine that participated and returned ready to start the experiment after inserting the wrong end of the very scientific apparatus where the 'sun don't shine'. How he got this wrong is beyond me, one end was like a pencil the other like a large piece of Lego! Apparently, the PhD students conducting the experiment didn't have the heart to tell him so they just carried out the test but "were unable to record any accurate data". I imagine he spent his beer money on haemorrhoid cream.

The (condensed) advise I received was that the acclimation typically take 10-14 days to acquire fully; quicker for endurance trained individuals. A continued stay out in Lanzarote before the race would have been ideal but, as with most competitors I unfortunately had to be back in the UK.

In order to continue with the heat acclimation once back in the UK or indeed develop this before a race, there were a few options that were suggested:

• Sauna cycling for 45-60mins of low intensity cycling to raise the core body temperature, as long as the body core temp could safely be monitored. This was a no go for me and probably one you shouldn't try unless you have a proper lab set-up with someone else there to monitor you too.
• Sauna/Steam room sessions after exercise can help keep the sweat rates high and a gradual build up of time spent in there whilst continuing to drink was effective. (I managed to go from 5mins up to 30mins prior to the race in my local steam room).
• Buy a cheap thermometer (ideally one that can measure temp and humidity); set up the turbo in one of your smaller rooms in your house; turn the radiator on and perhaps boil the kettle a few times and try and replicate conditions in Lanzarote (aim for 30-32°C and 75% RH i.e. a little harsher). Once achieved cycle for 60-90 min a day in this room before going outdoors for the rest of your cycle or run. Of course, monitor HR closely as a surrogate measure of heat strain. If you can replicate conditions, I would wear normal summer clothing to give your sweat a chance to do its job (evaporate and cool you). If you cannot, then wear long sleeves and 3/4 tights to increase the heat stress.
• When exercising outside, aim (if possible) for the hottest part of the day i.e. 12:00 - 15:00. Again, wear more winter-type clothing to increase your body temperature and attempt to maintain the acclimation. Keep monitoring that HR and, where possible, train with a partner (just in case you get a little too hot...).

Hopefully this will suffice to maintain the acclimation gained previously. The general rule is for every two days without heat exposure, you lose one day of acclimation. So, use this to maintain the time previously spent adapting from the training abroad. There are also some people that are just heat intolerant and there's nothing you can do about it, so if this is the case pick cooler climate races. Armed with the above knowledge I continued to train and then taper down for the race. I also knew that I could get massive benefit from wearing the correct clothing for the day. I approached Fusion Sports UK (www.fusionsportsuk.co.uk) and met with them to discuss the best race wear. They suggested their Multisport suit and were able to customise the race wear too. adding Gillette and Aqua Sphere sponsor logos to the suit. If you want some really professional kit and service take a look at their website and ethos. The white and black suit has a cooling and compression effect and along with the power arms and socks (that reduce muscle vibration), it gave me a big confidence boost. I was now set for both heat and a good day of racing.

Race day came and I had a solid swim with almost equal splits for the two loop course (53:54), then held back a little for the first half of the bike whilst trying to get the nutrition right. As I was climbing the first big climb, Ain-Alar Juhanson came past me like a rocket, pushing a massive gear with two calves that were wrestling to get out of his legs; it was the most impressive thing I've seen on a bike and needless to say he went on to break the bike course record that day. At this moment it also started to rain and whilst I was a little annoyed due to all the heat prep I'd done, I was thankful and knew it would only get hotter later. Finishing an emotional bike, 25km after the sign that said 175km....as if the mental battle wasn't hard enough (!), I felt strong and as the sun started to heat up the run route and the crowds, the new Fusion kit came in to it's own. My sister was on hand to pass me ice drinks at the special needs point and she gave me a present on the final loop, an orange ice-lolly – just heavenly!

I was running well but had opted not to time myself for this race as I wanted to 'complete not compete' and this seemed to work for me in this race. I shouted to some of the fellow pros, as I used to when competing as an age-grouper, but as with the song by Gwen Stefani goes “Ain't no hollaback girl” so I think I'll save the energy next time and concentrate on my own race. Thanks though to all the Brit supporters who gave me a shout, it really helps when you're feeling the burn.

I popped a Pro-Plus at 36km and this lit the after-burners for a quick 3:30/km last 6km. I crossed the line with a 3:00:56 marathon (new PB) and a 15th overall. Whilst not quite breaking top 10, or getting a Pro Hawaii slot, I was stoked to be back in the groove and really pleased with a solid performance and another run PB.

Well done to the top performing Brits, notably Rachel Joyce, who has only got one position to collect now on the podium and that's up! (3rd IMSA...2nd IM Lanza....tba?).

Thanks again to Jimmy Carter PhD, Luke Moseley PhD, my sister (Ice lolly PhD) and the guys at Fusion Sports UK for your support and advice. It has all served to make me hungry for it again, next race, no heat acclimation needed, my home turf mighty Bolton, IM UK.