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| So pretty..... |
By way of a spoiler….I AM A (half) IRONMAN J
When we left off it was just the start of week 15, the
second full week of taper. As a quick round out of the training program the
highlight of the week was the completion of an 18km run. After the dramas of
the calf and shoes of the past few weeks I was thrilled to be able to get this
run in…sure it was getting tough by the end but hey, it was 18kms on my own at
the end of a work day…happy days!
The Monday (start of week 16 – T minus 5 days) was a
short race simulation, last minute tweaks to bikes, wet suits and nutrition.
Had a great session and left feeling very energised. It was actually a perfect
session to have to burn off the excess nervous energy that was building up
during the taper phase!
After a final leg loosening run on the Tuesday night that
was it…all over! The past 16 weeks had FLOWN by in a blur and we were on our
own…3 days to go and the 70.3 on the horizon.
Pre-race day:
I typed up a pack list and broke it down between swim,
bike, run, other and spares. I printed out 4 copies (you know…just in case) and
proceeded to dominate the dining room table with all of my gear. I diligently
laid out my gear in the respective piles and ticked through my little
checkboxes and was finally (after about three or four repacks) happy that I had
everything I needed. |
| Remebered this time... |
Yet again my amazing wife took care of all the other
needs for the trip for the WHOLE family and left me to my own little world of
panic and excitement. She even took care of packing clothes other than race
clothes for me….
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| parc ferme - very tough leaving her overnight... |
Race Day:
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| EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! |
It was a cold and crisp morning (5c). There was a lot of
nervous excitement in the transition zone as the multitude of competitors
checked (and re checked (and re checked)) their bikes after they were left in parc
ferme overnight. For some poor person this resulted in them bursting their tyre
(presumably while adding air pressure) but the resultant BANG served as a great
tension breaker and after that the mood did lift for those of us still faffing
tweaking. I laid out my area and proceeded to walk away. I bumped into one of
my fellow teammates and we got to discussing the race after which I went back
to my bike and rechecked the tyre pressures, shoe positions, gels and water
bottles…..I then FORCED myself to walk the other direction out of transition
to my patiently waiting father!
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| Busy little transition in the morning... |
It was cold! Once I dropped my post race bag in the
competitor tent complete with my thongs (flip flops)…I was then barefoot on the
grass and boy was it chilly. The walk to the beach start was no less exciting
as now I had FROZEN feet and stones and metal walkways had my sensitive little
soles wincing along the way. My ever supportive dad reminding me not to be so
much of a sook and that I was going to be an Ironman…to which I replied I
wasn’t one yet so was allowed to whinge…
Wetsuit on and off for my now traditional pre race swim.
Calms the nerves and acclimatises to the water…I love it and find it very
settling! Much warmer in the water and much better in the wetsuit.
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| Excited much! |
The national anthem rang out…shortly followed by the horn
blare and then the pros were off to do battle!
Swim:
My wave 35-39 were the first age groupers into the water after the pros at 7:12. As we took our place and waited for the seconds to tick down the smiles, chatter and nervous energy built again. Last pats on the back and handshakes and well wishes and it was GAME ON!
We were off…a short dash to the waters edge and the next
thing spray and bodies were everywhere. I managed to keep out of the main fray
(or so I thought) but a short time after I was in the water looking for my
rhythm I took a beauty of a blow to the back of the head…some kind chap just
testing the strength of my fillings is all it was…but it did cause a short stop
and head lift…at which point I decided to take a wider line around the swim
course…
The waters in Busselton were beautiful, calm and clear. It was a good swim and apart from the hit and one slight mishap with my sighting (wrong marker) I was happy when I exited the water in 35:02. Felt strong and happy and still had energy in the tank for the ride!
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| Honest...I was happy with the swim! |
T1 – 3:56. Very pleased to see my family cheering for me as I trotted through the showers on the way to my bike!
Got the wet suit off without any issues and decided to
sit down to wipe my feet off prior to pulling on my socks…wasn’t going to risk
the sand/blister saga again…especially as my feet were still frozen from the
cold morning temps.
The best thing about the wave we were in was the fact
that we were in the first bike rack and as such it was a straight run through
to the bike exit. The bike course consisted of 2 x 45km loops. As we made our
first trip out of town I was grateful for the start of the suns rays hitting my
back. The course in not overly technical and is very flat and by default fast.
As I am on a road bike with areobars I alternated between areo and upright
siding position dependant on conditions and comfort. We rode a portion of the
course through the state forest…in the shade…in the COLD!! I tell you what I
have never been so happy to emerge from the shadows into the sun in all my
life…I was cold.
The ride back to town was uneventful and I don’t actually
remember anything about it…before I realised I was at the turn around and
starting lap 2. At this point in time I was sticking to my nutrition plan
(electrolyte every other 5km and shot block/picky bar/gel in the in between).
At some point on the next outbound lap I did loose count and as such missed a
gel but didn’t feel any the worse for it…in fact I think it was a welcome break
from them.
The third lap I did tire a little…it felt like a long
time in the shadows and it was at this point that I noticed that I still
couldn’t really feel my toes so I started to clench and unclench them in my
shoes. My speeds for the 4 laps were 32.3 ; 33.4 ; 30.9 ; 33.4 kph. I can only
assume I was overly distracted by my feet in the third lap…
On the way back into town we were about 3kms from
transition when a bloke passed me in full areo and his back tyre blew out…poor
bloke my heart went out to him as we were so close it would have been a tough
call as to change or run in…not sure of my choice on this one!
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| Unclipped for super speedy dismount and still time to keep it real! |
T2 – 3:25. Thanks to the brilliance of the athlete tracker my family were able to see me coming back into transition from the bike. It was great to see them and it definitely gave me a boost!
Racked my bike and again sat down to switch shoes. I
could feel some sand in my socks so for the first time ever I decided to swap
out to clean dry socks for the run. Pull off the old socks, pull on the new one
and my foot tears right through it…well turn the old one inside out, dust off
and pull it back on. Shoes on and off we go!
The run course is an out and back course. 3 loops. At the
start/finish area all of the spectators are set up and there is music and
cheering and a great party atmosphere going on. As you leave town and head up
the road things get quieter and longer and in truth tougher.
I looked at my watch and was slightly ahead of my goal
pace (but still comfortable) which I was happy about as I knew I would slow
towards the end. Back for the first turnaround and by coincidence there was my
wife and youngest (toilet run!). A well timed boost.
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| Start of lap 2! |
On this outlap however I was starting to hurt. Firstly I
needed to pee (sorry but its true…at least I was hydrated!) and secondly, my
left knee (or rather the muscle on the inside of it) was starting to twitch and
cramp. I stopped at a port-a-loo and solved the immediate issue but the stop
did nothing to help the knee…in fact it felt worse when I tried to get going
again.
Sadly, my “run” deteriorated into a combination of walks
and jogs and walks and shuffles. It was a tough day on the run course for me.
It was my weakest leg (excuse the pun) but I did have higher hopes for it.
The finish chute was all mine and i hi-fived my way to the end of it...happy and elated and yeah...pretty tired too!!
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| Long arms ensure minimal chance of last second overtaking ;) |
I would like to thank my amazing wife and ever supportive family for putting up with me and all the amazing support and strength you gave me on race day!
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| Best race crew...Thnaks (and thanks to Dad for his calming influence too!) |
I have set myself a benchmark for the next one and I think
I have learnt that what I can eat on the bike for a long ride is fine but I may
have to adjust for what I can eat then get off the bike and run with in the
future. I also plan on going for a couple of km run off as many bike sessions
as possible in the future…I will work on and strengthen these knees!!
So the burning question is what’s next.
Well the “off
season” has started here in Australia now and as such everyone is enjoying a
bit of down time. I can admit to having done nothing over the past 7 days. I
have however signed up to a half mara on the 24th and will back that
up with the traditional City to Surf Half in August.
During this time I expect to start my training for the
Busselton Ironman (140.6) in December, and as I type this now I plan on
completing the Mandurah 70.3 in November as a final hit out before the main
event.
So, you are not quite done with me yet.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to sharing the
trials and tribulations of the next steps towards my end goal........
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