This is a prelim to the main report (still in progress), but thought it was fun and I'd slap it up. Also have Frank Burke working on same!

For the record:

Swim: 1:24

Bike: 6:24

Run: 4:13

Finish: 12:17

1. What was the high point of IM Frankfurt 2011 for you?

Cycling up the ‘Hell’ (Bad Vibel - km 80/ 170) with a couple of hundred Germans yelling “HUP!” , to the beat of the Black Eyed Peas ‘I Got a Feeling’, bellowing “Mazeltov!” every fifty metres.

2. ....and the low point?

Throwing up on the shoes of the misfortunate volunteer who was putting my medal around my neck.

3. Swim, bike, run - which split/ performance made you most proud on the day?

I was really happy with my bike split – all those months of painstaking Zone 2 training, stubbornly falling off the back of the peloton to stay in zone finally paid off.

4. Were you disappointed with any of the legs of the race (swim, bike, run)?

My run was a bit slower than I would have liked but the battle with nutrition took over for the last half. My tragic swim should probably not be discussed.

5. Any mistakes in your race strategy?

I managed to avoid the scrum in the swim so well that I ended up in totally open water for the majority of the distance, and got absolutely no draft advantage. Hellooooo, where are you, swimmers?

6. How did your race kit work out on the day?

Froze my proverbials off on the bike due to my lack of belief that the weather could be 14degC and raining, in a race for which I had prepared for epic heatstroke. Also – don’t wear anything white. My fancy new compression sleeves will never be the same colour again.

7. Did you learn anything major from the race day itself?

Flat coke good; fizzy coke bad. Hicburp.

8. Carb depletion and loading - yes or no?

God, yeah. One day depletion, one day loading. I’m not sure was it the carb loading or the massive taper but I felt like I’d been drinking rocket fuel on the bike for the whole 180km.

9. With what delicious nutrition did you fuel your attack on IM Frankfurt? (Breakfast and race nutrition).

Breakfast: scrambled eggs; Bircher muesli and a croissant. (There is a long, sad story about the porridge.)

Gel pre and post swim, then stuck to around 55-60g/ hr carbs on bike – High 5 4:1, Powerbar Ride Shots, bananas, Bounce Bars and a breakfast cookie. On the run – High 5 Isotonic gels, coke and water.

10. Speaking of which, do you now truly understand the meaning of "GI Distress"?

See nos. 2 and 7 above. Hicburphicburp. I’d had some rocky training days dealing with the full carb load, so although I battled stomach issues for the last two hours of the run, I was pretty happy to keep it all down for, oh, 12 hours and 17.5 minutes. After that – sometimes things are better out than in.

11. Most prized piece of memorabilia from the day?

It’s a tossup. Am busy wearing all my IM branded stuff (free and the stuff I shelled for). Hell, I’d wear my finisher’s shirt to work if I could get away with it as office wear. Did I tell you I did Ironman?

12. Tell me about that run down the finisher's chute!

Aidan’s Carol has great video footage of me shimmying down the red carpet, commandeering an Irish flag and thoroughly milking my moment of glory. Best piece of advice (from a Kona veteran): keep your hands in the air as you cross the line victoriously to avoid muffin top...

13. What would you change about your training regime if you were to do another IM distance event?

I’d spend some more time getting a really good bike base – 2010 wasn’t a big year of cycling for me so it was a bit of a shock ramping up for the longer spins.

14. Are you an endurance snail now or do you want to go back to being a speed bunny (sprint/ Olympic)?

` I have to say I love the long stuff, but it’s fun sometimes just letting loose and putting down the foot on the accelerator. I’m good at the long dark teatime of suffering, though.

15. Knowing what you know now on the training and the event itself, would you do it all over again?

Like childbirth (I can only imagine), the memory of all those 7am start six hour bike marathons is fading fast, but – yes – absolutely. The race itself was magic; I thoroughly enjoyed it up to the last crampy hour or two. Did somebody say SUB TWELVE? There’s work to be done.

16. Running or triathlon?

There's space in my life for both. Triathlon (especially the longer distances) just seems so incredibly sporty, due to the ineffable amount of gear and technical stuff to fiddle with. Nothing beats the marathon running high, though.

17. Best gem of advice for a novice hoping to attempt IM distance next year?

Having done one or more marathons really helps if you can try one the year before attempting IM as your legs are accustomed to the run distance and it’s not such a challenge at the end of the race. I didn’t even think about the M-word. Working out your nutrition strategy is also key – although I struggled, I had practised a lot which probably helped me hang on.