Race Day!!!

Here is my race report, it's a bit long so if you aren't in to reading you can just look at the pictures!

I didn't sleep too badly the night before the race which was a surprise.  I woke up at 3:45am as I am one of those people that like to get up and have plenty of time to get ready and not feel rushed.

I pottered about getting in to my race gear, lubed up places that you really don't need to know about!  I tried to eat some breakfast but I was struggling.  The nerves had hit me!  I tried to relax and hydrate with Powerade so at least I was getting the carbs in.  Mum helped to put on a tattoo that would show that I was an Aussie!

Dad gave Craig and me a lift down pretty close to transition where we pumped up our tyres and put drink bottles and food on our bikes and put in our transition bags.  The atmosphere was really good, everyone was friendly and wishing everyone a good race.  However you could see the tension on some people's faces (probably on my own too!).

We then headed back to the unit to try and relax and eat and drink before heading to the swim start.

Dad again dropped us nice and close to the swim start and he wished us well and said that he would see us out there.  We followed the NZ Army moving the starter's canon down to the shore.  It made the whole thing seem very real!  Thankfully I found my good friend Jacque G and her support crew as well as Sophie, Chris and support crew so we all got in to our wetsuits together.  Sophie was celebrating her 30th Birthday by doing an Ironman.  I think I would rather have chocolate cake!

We headed in to the water and I gave Craig a kiss and a hug and wished him well.  He wished me a good race as he headed to where he was going to start the swim.  I was going to hang at the back of the swim start as I am not fast and didn't need to be pelted in the head.  I found a cylinder shaped thing in the water that a couple of guys were standing on and I stood on it too and was chatting to them and to Jacque and Sophie whilst we were waiting for the start.  They were veterans of mulitiple Ironmen events and wished us all well.

We could see the lights count down to the 3min mark and then the 2, 1 and then we were off!  I concentrated on staying calm and relaxed and tried to find a nice rhythm.  Thankfully because I started about 20mtrs from the start line I didn't encounter too many people overtaking me!  I managed to pick my way through the swim without really being too disrupted by any other swimmers.  There were a couple of times where I was fenced in, so I went behind and then around the other swimmers.  The water was beautiful and calm and you could see forever.  It wasn't too long before I found my first golf ball on the bottom of the lake.  They have a pontoon in the lake that people can try and hit a hole in one from the shore and the amount of golf balls on the bottom of the lake was quite a lot.  I kept an eye on the bottom of the lake and where I was heading and just tried to enjoy the swim.  Before you knew it I was at the turnaround buoys waving to the underwater divers that were waving to the competitors!  Very cool.  The way back in was just as easy and relaxed.  I was getting bothered by the smell of burning fuel by one of the boats that was following us along.  I was wishing they would kill the engines so that we didn't have to breathe in the fumes, but other than that it was a beautiful swim.  As I came in to the swim finish I glanced up at the clock and it read 1:37 and I was really disappointed as I was hoping for around 1:20.  However, I later learnt that this was actually the professional's time and not ours - we started 15mins later which put me at 1:22.  Here I am swimming:

After the exit I saw Mum and Dad and managed to give them a high 5, so that was great!  It is about 400m to transition and I walk/jogged it, then I walked up the stairs as I didn't want to do something silly like stub my toe or anything!  Into transition and I was helped out of my wetsuit and in to my cycle gear.  I realised that I made a few mistakes with my transiton bag!  My bike nicks were inside out and my arm warmers were all tucked up, so the volunteer helped me sort all this out and I was eventually all kitted up and away I went.  A spray of sunscreen on my face and neck and off to the bike.

Only 180kms of cycling to go...  I was feeling really good and was relieved to be heading out on the bike.  The crowds were awesome.  I headed through Taupo and then turned left to go up the hill.  I made sure that I was in a nice easy gear and just settled in to the climb. Here I am climbing up with Lake Taupo in the background:

There were cheers all the way and then I was up the top.  A short way along and Jacque G overtook me - she was in high spirits and we cheered each other on.  A short time later she overtook me again!  I asked how it was that she was overtaking me and she explained that she had to go to the toilet...  The ride out to the turnaround was OK.  I was only averagine about 20kms/hr after climbing the hill and I only got it up to around 25km/hr at the turnaround.  My race tactic was to ride easy and to always feel as though I can ride faster at any given time, so that is how I was riding.  On the way back in to town there was quite a bit of wind so I just ground down and kept my cadence around 85 and trudged through it.  I stopped at one of the aid stations and took off my arm warmers and jacket and filled up my bottles with electrolytes.  The lady was really helpful and she offered to put my arm warmers and jacket in to the lost and found so I told her my race number was 665 and unbelievably both these items turned up in my post race bag!  Just goes to show how dedicated the volunteers were - they were great.  Coming in to town was awesome - there was a downhill smooth road and the crowds started to get thicker the closer to town.  Vanessa called out to me and then I saw Mum and Dad and gave them a big wave and a smile!  Going through the town of Taupo was so uplifting with all of the crowd support and seeing the familiar faces - it gave me a real boost.  It also indicated that I was halfway through the bike.

I called in to special needs and picked up my extra bags of electrolytes as I realised that I was going to be out on the bike coures longer than I anticipated.  I asked the volunteers there whether they thought that the wind was easing or picking up?  They said that they thought that it was picking up and it looked as though it may threaten to rain.  So I put in my rain jacket as well just in case.

I manged to wave to others I knew out on the course. Oddly, I didn't see Craig, but I saw Jacque, Sophie, Faye, Bec, Mark, Gil, Mike, Suz and we all managed to holler out to each other when we saw each other which was good.

On the way out they sent us through a loop through an industrial estate and then there was a climb to get back into the main road - this section was hell!  The wind was incredible.  I was literally hanging on for dear life.  I passed a girl who had a flat tyre and called out if she needed anything.  She said she was fine and thankfully she passed me a short time later.  It was playing on my mind that if I got a flat tyre or two this would put my time back further and I was calculating that this lap was going to be slower than the last due to the increase in wind.  I did the first lap in 3hrs 45mins.  I was hoping to do the ride in under 7hrs 30mins, but at this rate it was not going to happen!  Everyone that I passed and everyone that I passed all manged to give each other support and ask how we were going.  A couple of people became familiar as we tag-teamed it due to either one of us stopping at aid stations and then being overtaken again.  I stopped at the aid station on the way out and refilled my electrolytes and they were huddled against the wind.  The wind was awful - it was blowing big gusts of dirt across the course.  I could see people coming back in to town really struggling with it and these were strong guys!

I passed a British guy down near the turnaround and asked how he was going and he said that he is thinking of pulling out.  "Why", I asked as he seemed to be travelling along OK, he said that he was really worried about the cutoff time and that he didn't think that he was going to make it.  I had been spending a lot of the time calculating times and I knew that if he continued on at the pace he was going he would have over an hour to spare so I told him that and said that if he just kept at it he would be ok, he would even have time to walk the marathon if he had to.   He thanked me and wished me well, I wished him well too.  I hope he made it OK.

I ensured that I kept up with my nutrition and hydration and seemed to have no trouble with any of it.  There was only one time where I caught myself feeling negative and then I quickly started drinking more.  Usually this is the first sign that I am going to come crashing down - once my mood starts to shift downwards I am usually lacking something, so I was pleased to catch it early!

I stopped at the aid station on the way home and filled up my bottles again.  They offered a milky way and coke which I took gratefully.  It was nice to have something different!  However the coke was fizzy and it didn't seem all that appealing so I ended up tossing it away.  The milky way kept me amused for ages trying to open it one handed in the wind!  Eventually I got it though.

Riding back was quite hellish, I was determined to remain relaxed, keep my cadence at an easy 85rpm and trudge through and that is what I did.  I overtook a couple of cylcists that were riding side by side and a short time later one of them rode up to me.  He was Irish and just wanted a chat really!  We chatted along for a little while which was great to break the monotony.  He kept his front wheel just behind mine so that if anyone was going to get done for drafting or blocking it was him.  He was really over the whole thing and asked me how many miles I had done.  I told him that I didn't have miles but that I had us at 160km's.  We were travelling so slowly with the wind and the gradual uphill that the kilometres were going so slowly it was wearing thin on everyone!  He groaned.  He was not in a good, happy place.  I reassured him that it was only another 10k's of hell and then we would be heading in to town on the beautiful downhill.  He dropped back on one of the climbs and I lost touch with him.  I missed his chatter.

Whilst it was excruciatingly slow, at no time did I suffer and think that I wanted to pull out or for it to be over.  I remained in high spirits and actually felt ok.

Riding back in to town was fabulous - I felt great.  I was pretty sure that even though conditions were horrible on the bike I hadn't overdone it.  Mum and Dad were there to greet me in to transition, it was wonderful to see their faces and it was even more wonderful to be off the bike.  I had consumed 11 bottles of High 5 electrolytes, 3 vegemite sandwiches, 1 winners bar, 1 anzac cookie and a fun size milky bar.

The volunteers took my bike as I entered transition, they handed me my transition bag and directed me to the change tent.  I got myself sorted and put all of my toe pads on and away I went.

I made the mistake of taking my drink bottle, but not filling it with fluids!  I actually felt good enough to run over the bridge that went over the road to the other side and then I saw Mum and Dad on the other side.  Dad told me that Craig was 2 hours in to the marathon and going strongly - this was great news.  Dad ran with me a little, I wasn't very talkative - I think that I was so worried about getting a good start in to the marathon that I didn't take the time to acknowledge them properly like I should have.  I think I was so paranoid about not making the cutoff that I wanted to make as much inroads in to the marathon whilst I was feeling OK!

This is me at the start of the run with my empty drink bottle:

I filled my drink bottle with coke/water around the corner thankfully and applied more vaseline to my legs as I am prone to rubbing my knees.  I didn't feel too bad.  I ran past many people that were on their second lap.  I didn't feel too cocky as I had never ran a marathon and had no idea what shape I would be in on my second lap!  I ensured that I stopped at each aid station and had something to eat and drink.  My drink bottle was great; I am a bit of a sipper, so by having a drink bottle it meant that I could sip my way around which seems to work better for me than stopping every couple of k's and gulping down a couple of cups.  I pretty much stuck to coke and water on the first lap. 

I saw Craig out on the run course coming in to do his final 10k, he said that he was walk/running it but he looked well and he seemed in good spirits so that was good. We gave each other a high 5 and a hug and congratulated each other.

As I was coming back in to town I started to get the start of cramps in my calf, so I was spraying "crampstop" in to my mouth at every opportunity.  This seemed to work OK as they never really took hold, although they did just sort of threaten.  I saw Faye, Bec, Jacque, Sophie all coming in to finish - they all looked so strong!  We all gave each other high 5's.


I was trying to calculate my pace and potential finish time but I was really struggling with it all.  When I saw Dad again in town I told him that I was worried about the cutoff time and he told me that I could walk from here and make the cutoff as I had just under 4 hours.  Fantastic!!  My breathing had become raspy from the wind causing all the dust in the air.  I am allergic to dust and have collapsed previously when we had bad dust so I was keen to walk it home and ensure that I made it.  I had contemplated asking a medico for some ventolin, but it has never really helped me and I didn't want to risk them declaring me unfit to contine.  I settled in to a brisk walk.  This seemed to work really well and certainly helped my breathing.

I picked up a jacket from my special needs, however I stupidly didn't pick up my thermal shirt or my vegemite sandwich.  I soon regretted this as once the sun set it became colder and colder and I really felt like my vegemite sanger!  My brisk walk was not keeping me overly warm.  I grabbed a plastic poncho and put that over the top.  I got a glowstick and trudged on.  The crowd was amazing.  They were still out there in the cold and the dark and there were wonderful.  There was a crowd that set up a disco complete with disco ball, there was another crowd that had a band, there was another crowd that were getting louder as the race progressed and were offering beer and spirits to the competitors along with high 5's!  I declined the alcohol but readily accepted the high 5's!

The competitors were all so supportive of each other also.  I chatted to a few of them and we all encouraged each other to keep going.  I felt good, I was well hydrated, I was eating and drinking well.  I ate a lot of pretzels on the second lap as that is what I felt like.  I also had oranges and I dropped the coke as it was starting to taste awful!

I was getting colder so I ended up grabbing another poncho to add to the jacket and poncho that I was already wearing.  I was still cold with all of this and ended up putting some packaging from the cups at the aid stations in to to the top of my tri-suit to keep my chest warm.  This seemed to do the trick.

Jacque, Sat and the kids came around and visited me; they were driving in the car.  Jacque showed me her medal.  I was so proud of her!  She had done such a good job.  I was so intent on keeping going at the same pace that I didn't want to break stride.  I kept going as they were talking and they promised me that they would be there at the finish for me.  This meant so much to me.

Eventually the km markers were getting me closer to the finish line, when I had just over 3kms to go Chris and co pulled up to me in the car and said that they were going to the finish line to see me in.  I was travelling at around 10mins per km so I told them that I was about 30mins away.  Thumbs up and a "see you at the finish!" and they were gone.  I was really looking forward to finishing and I started to believe that I was going to make it!

I was still in high spirits and a guy started walking beside me talking to me - he was on his way to see his wife finish and he offered a bit of moral support and a lot of congratulations and he was beaming that his wife was doing so well, it was really great to see.

As I came in to the finish I gave the loud Maori's at the corner my final high 5's and they offered me heaps of congratulations and then I saw Sat and the kids and everyone - it was great!  Sat helped me get out of my plastic ponchos and I deposited the plastic that was down my tri-suit and I was all ready to hit the finish chute at a run.  The first run since 21kms ago!  The lights of the finish chute were so bright compared to the darkness out on the rest of the course!  As I was running down the chute Mike Reilly called out my name and declared that I was an Ironman!  I patted him on the shoulder on the way through and thanked him. I managed to high 5 a heap of people on the way through including Chris and Sat, it was all a blur.

Here is the video that Craig managed to take behind the finish chute which is really cool:






Well, I am officially an Ironman!!! The feeling is euphoric. Craig asked me how I feel and I could only respond with "exhausted!". I gained 1kg which is good. It means that I had nailed my nutrition and hydration. I wasn't hungry when I finished the race which is a shame. I'm sure a good meal would have aided recovery but it just wasn't going to happen. Craig waited with me in the recovery tent and I got a massage and then Jacque and Chelton came in and congratulated me - that was wonderful. Hugs and congratulation all around. It was Chelton's birthday so he got special compensation to come in to the recover tent. Whilst we were in there some poor guy was being stretchered out. I got dressed in to my warm clothes and inspected my medal and soaked it all in.

Mum met me outside the recovery tent and I gave her a big hug! She was so proud. Even better; Dad was bringing the car around to just behing the recovery tent - woo hoo! I didn't feel like going any further than absolutely necessary!

I had a couple of goals goin in to Ironman New Zealand and there were, in order:

1. Get to the start line - tick!
2. To finish within the 17hour cutoff - tick I did it in 15:46.
3. To enjoy the race and have fun - half a tick - it was not all enjoyable, but mainly it was. I think I was too worried about the cutoff time to be able to enjoy the race!
4. To break 15hours - cross, this didn't happen, but at the end of the day I am not overly disappointed.

So, overall I couldn't have asked for more.

The race was an experience that I will cherish for a long time; the volunteers were absolutely exceptional and I spent the whole race thanking them all! The spectators were unbelievable and I made a point of thanking them too, particularly on the last lap of the run (or walk in my case!) as they were still out there in the cold and the wind! The competitors were also fantastic, everyone supported everyone else and it was a genuine feeling of comraderie.