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.

Goondiwindi's Hell of the West

Well, the day had arrived!  I was feeling ready and I was pretty sure that I had done all of the preparation that I could have done.

The alarm went off at 2:30am.  I got myself ready and got down to transition nice and early.  I think I was about the 5th one racked.  It was still dark and I had trouble reading the numbering on the racks, however after squinting I managed to work out where I was supposed to be!

I went and got numbered and then I was set.  I still had an hour before race start, so I went and sat in the car and relaxed and ate some nutri-grain and drank gatorade and water and just tried to remain relaxed.  Dad met me there and then at 4:30am we made our way to the swim start.  I gave Dad my thongs so that he could pass them to me after the swim start as it is a bit of a run up to the transistion and I didn't want to risk my feet getting hurt!

I met up with Ali, Karl and Vanessa at the start and we chatted for a bit.  The atmosphere was really good.  It was still dark and there was a big headlight on the swim start so that you could just see the swimmers ready to go in the water.  The girls were the 3rd wave start, so after the 2nd wave start had left we got into the water.  The water was really good - nowhere near as warm as in previous years.  They set us off and away we went.  There was a bit of argy-bargy in the water, but I just tried to get a clean line and keep relaxed.  The swim felt OK, I felt as though I was swimming OK, although I ended up getting some argy-bargy the whole race which was annoying.  At the turnaround I was 22mins which was really slow. I was hoping that I was swimming against the tide, but when I exited I was 44mins, so it was just a slow swim.  I'm not sure why but I didn't let it get to me. I was also not as relaxed in the swim as what I normally aim for, I think it was because there was constantly people running into me.  Dad was standing there at the exit with my shoes at his feet and he also had my half finished water bottle at his feet, so I grabbed both - thanks Dad!  I was feeling a bit dizzy, so  I walked up the levee bank and got my breath back and the blood back to where it should be before I jogged up to transition. 

I took my time in transition.  I was wearing my tri-suit so I put my bike shorts over the top of them and I made sure that I had everything I needed before I headed out.  I wanted to be comfortable because I know how horrid the ride is!

I took off out on to the course and quickly found my rhythm.  I got down on my tri-bars until we hit the bumpy roads and then I was basically off them for the whole ride.  I was averaging around 33-34kph on the way out, just cruising with very little effort as I was treating this as a training ride.  I was mindful that we were going to copy a headwind on the way home so I was watching for movement in the grass and trees and it was very still.  Was I not going to get a massive head wind on the way back?  As I progressed I took in the beauty of the roads and the crops, the dead snakes on the road, the dead pigs on the side of the road, the squawking cockatoos, the sights and sounds of the country.  There were many families that had come down to the entrance of their properties to cheer us on and I gave them a friendly wave as I rode by.  I watched Luke McKenzie go back into town behind the lead ute and wondered if he was getting much of a draft advantage and figured that he would have to be getting something, but good on him - at least he wasn't drafting mm's behind someone elses's back wheel like his followers were!

At the turnaround the questions about the wind were answered - it was incredible!  Immediately I was hit with it, a fresh wind in the face.  So I knuckled down, changed down gears and settled in for a windy ride back in.  I was careful not to push too hard as it wasn't my goal to put in a good bike time, however I found myself dodging along pretty easily and I ended up plucking away and overtaking quite a number of riders which was good.  There was a girl called Leslie who I played tag-team with, I would overtake her, then she would overtake me - it was quite fun.  At one stage when I overtook her she asked why I didn't get down on my tri-bars.  Good question, I thought, maybe I'll give them another go.  So, I got on them and was really uncomfortable through my shoulders and could only give them a few minutes at a time.  The wind picked up the further we got down the road; I found myself going down gears the further I went!  At times I was having to lean the bike into the wind to try and stop the bike being blown across the road.  Average speed on the way back started out at around 28, then quickly dropped to 26 then dropped progressively down to 23kph (19kph if I stretched!).

And then, I spotted the silos!  Leslie was beside me overtaking me and I pointed them out to her and we both rejoiced!  It was great coming into town, I knew that I wasn't fried and I was feeling ok. 

I manged to get in front of Leslie just prior to transition and I started to get ready for my run.  I took my bike nicks off, put some more sunscreen on and grabbed my insulated drink bottle from my sandwich esky, a bag of jelly beans on with the shoes and socks and away I went.

I settled into the run quite well.  It wasn't very hot at all.  The heat that I had been training in with my  lunchtime runs was much harsher than this.  I knew I was going to be out there for 2 hours though, so I wasn't going to be too cocky about it knowing that it can turn very quickly.  Having the drink bottle was great.  I'm used to running whilst holding a drink bottle and it meant that I could just sip on the water and not stop at the aid stations.  Once I went through my water I got them to put ice and water in my drink bottle which was great.  I could squirt icy cold water over my head and the back of my neck to cool me down.  It worked really well.  The 3 lap course had aid stations every 1km or so.  Once I finished my jelly beans I started to grab cola through the aid stations which tasted fantastic, even if it was warm.  It wasn't flat which for me was ok, I didn't mind that, but I know that a few others weren't as keen. 

I treated the run the same as the cycle leg and just kept a nice easy rhythm, I enjoyed the views of the river and the cockatoos in the trees and the other competitors and the volunteers and I found that it was really enjoyable.  I wasn't feeling too bad other than something going on with my pinky toe which turned out to be a nasty blister.

Like the cycle leg I found that I was overtaking people in the last lap and still feeling great, so I was more than happy with the result.  I will have to check the overall time, it was just over 6 hours.  I took just over 44 minutes in the swim, just under 3 hours in the swim, ages in both transitions, so just over 2 hours in the run.  More than happy with that!  All in all it was a great day, Dad was out there cheering me on, which was great.  Dad was on the phone to Craig when I went through from the bike to the run so I gave Dad the thumbs up to let him know all was good.

All in all I consumed 3 bottles of Hi-5 electrolytes on the bike, a bag of jelly beans on the run and about 4 x 1/2 cups of cola on the run.

Gold Coast Half Ironman Race!!!

Well, unbelievably I completed the Half Ironman. I really didn't think I was even going to make it to the start. Brisbane was hit with some severe dust storms in the lead up to the race. I am allergic to dust and these storms wrecked havoc with my respiratory system. I tried to train indoors mostly, but had to cut the training right back as I was quite sick with allergies. I ended up fainting 1 week prior to the race after attempting a wind trainer session at home.

So, for me, just being in the swim area prior to the gun going off was a really emotional experience. It was great to share it with the other girls too. We all knew that we had done the work and we had all overcome adversity to some degree to get here.

My swim went well, it was a wetsuit swim and my goal was just to be relaxed. Thankfully this worked OK and I was able to swim the whole race without getting my heart rate up too high. Then it was on to the bike. My goal here was to not go out too hard. I wanted to get off the bike and have plenty in the tank for the run. So, I eased into the first lap. My bike computer had me averaging just over 30km/h. I was expecting around 27, but I was very comfortable and my HR was not high, cadence good, so I kept on eye on everything and all seemed good. My hydration goal was to drink 4 bottles of electrolytes on the bike, so I had sectioned off the course into quarters so that I knew when I had to have my bottles consumed by and this worked well. I also had 2 vegemite sandwiches and a chocolate/brown rice bar to eat.

Craig's parents were out on the course, Craig and my parents were also out there, so after the first lap I sung out to them and gave the thumbs up - "everything is good" I yelled out, I wanted them to know that I was OK. However, it soon went a bit pear shaped...

Just after that first lap I ended up with a glute cramp which was really uncomfortable and worsened to the point of excruciatingly horrible! I tried stretching, I tried wriggling around on my seat, I tried not thinking about it (impossible!). In the end I just ended up struggling through and plenty of people that I passed whizzed by me as I watched my average go from just over 30km/h down to 26km/h over the next 60km's. The second lap when I came back in I yelled to Craig that I had a sore bum! As I progressed through the ride the glute cramp ended up expanding into a hamstring cramp. I got off the bike to try and stretch it out and it became a toe cramp too!

Needless to say, I was getting really worried that these cramps were going to be with me all through the run and I realised that this was going to be a really tough day at the office. I had taken to not pedalling down hills and I was in a really easy gear just spinning it home.

Finally, I finished the 90km's and could get off the bike! Longest transition ever to put on sunscreen, hat, take some of my sustagen sport that I had frozen overnight, put on my hat and away I went - just a half marathon to go.

I have never run a half marathon prior to this and to be fair I still can't claim that I have run a half marathon... My strategy was to plod through in my Cliff Young shuffle and walk through the drink stations.

This strategy worked really well and I was able to hydrate, eat and enjoy the crowds. It was a 3 lap course and I had supporters all around it which was just great. I really looked forward to the turn around where Craig and his parents were, I also had Mum and Dad floating around the course which was great, it was awesome for both of them, particularly Mum to see that I was OK and that I was enjoying myself.

There was also a guy from my work called Paul who was a great cheerer and took some photos, then there was the BTS tent where there was always a lot of noise and then there was Trisha who was great and talked me through a bit of it where I was extending my walks from the drink stations!

The finish was great - I really appreciated Jacque G coming back to the finish line for me. She had finished almost an hour earlier! We had our photos taken with our finisher's towels and it was a really proud moment.

All in all, I can say that I felt good the whole way through with the exception of the horrible cramping on the bike, my nutrition and hydration was good. My recovery was spent on Daydream Island with Craig which was fabulous. I was very sore for a couple of days afterwards, but I'm sure that this is from the cramping rather than anything else. Once that subsided I felt good.

It took me a couple of weeks before.....

I signed up for IRONMAN NZ!!!

OMG - what have I done!!!!

PB in the rain!

Today was Race 6 of the Raby Bay race which was a 400mtr swim, 15km cycle and a 4km run.

I got there nice and early; I think I was first! I went for a ride on my bike just to make sure that all is OK. Registered, helped out some team members from QR that were giving it a go, got my back into transition and was doing OK.

As we were waiting to start it started raining - not just spitting, but raining. I started freaking out about riding in the rain in a race. It's a 3 loop course and it is quite bendy so there were a number of turns and U turns to be navigated. I was starting to get quite worried. Craig was there after riding out from home and suggested I hammer the swim, just get round on the bike not worrying about my time, etc and then hammer the run. I thought that was a great idea! It kind of took the pressure off me too.

So I headed off to the start after reluctantly removing my warm gear as it was absolutely freezing. I thought that I would get into the water early as it would probably be warmer in there, but it actually wasn't. They measured it at 21 degrees, but it felt much cooler.

The gun went off and we were away. I managed to get mainly clear water the whole way around which was good. I concentrated on having a nice clean long stroke and ended up clocking a time of 6:34 which I was thrilled with even if the course was short!

The cycle we just won't talk about other than to say that it was just awful, it was wet on the roads, it was raining, the ambulance was out attending to 2 people that had fallen off and there was a girl that came off just behind me around a turnaround. So, I didn't worry about trying to chase anyone down, I didn't get on my tri-bars or drops, I just chortled around. I really do need to get more confident riding in the rain... Time (not that we are counting it was 38:02 - not pretty).

The run I struggled with motivation. Normally Jacque is chasing me down however she is in marathon training at the moment and didn't compete. I had to visualise my time on the spreadsheet results afterwards and imagined comparing it to other peoples times that I train with to get some form of motivation going. It must have worked as I broke the 5min/kms again just scraping in with a 19:53. So, I was thrilled with that. (More thrilled when I got off the bike though!!!).

So, I can say that it is a PB for racing in the rain and the fact that I survived it without falling off is a positive that I can draw on next time I'm out on a ride and get caught out in the rain.

Overall time: 01:04:31.

Mooloolaba Olympic Triathlon

Today's the big one!

Alarm went off at 4am and I went through my pre-race routine of toilet, drinking water, toilet, dressing, toilet, organising drink bottles, toilet. I put anti-chafe body glide on my legs and around my bra and Heart rate monitor.

Transition opened at 5:15, so we headed down there just after 5am. We were staying at the Cilento Apartments so we were literally opposite the transition area. This was a bit disconcerting as Mum was watching the security guards last night and we actually saw some guy rack his bike in at around 8pm. There was another guy racking his bike in first thing this morning, so I don't know how that works! Mum was convinced that the Security guards weren't doing their job and kept reporting back on what they were up to.

I was fairly calm, I had written a list of what I had to do, I had to put my Polar S725x on the bike, put the gear bottle on the back, put my two Electrolyte bottles on and set up my towel with bike shoes, socks, run shoes, cap, race belt and number, helmet and sunglasses on the bike. I also put in a bottle of Sustagen sport in transition just in case I needed extra energy after the bike. I had a water bottle in there to wash the sand off my feet.

I pumped the tyres up and I helped Jacque pump up her tyres and we were set. I did a last minute check to make sure I was in an easy gear and that my peddles were parallel with my left pedal at 3 O'clock and I was then happy that all was good.

We went back to the unit to drop off our stuff and prepare for the walk down to the swim. Jacque dropped in her pump to leave at our unit so that she didn't have to walk all the way back to hers. Mum was coming down to the swim start with us to take back our thongs, clothes, drink bottles, etc. We all headed off down to the beach for the swim start and I was chatting to Jude when Jacque realised that she left her goggles in the unit! Craig went back with her and Mum and I headed down to the beach. Luckily there was plenty of time. I was still feeling pretty calm. With about 15minutes before my swim start I went for a bit of a warmup swim, I could see fish swimming around and the water was beautiful. It was like when we went for a swim on friday so I was very relieved. The day looked like it was going to be great conditions. Unfortunately it won't be overcast for the run, but it looked like there wasn't going to be too much wind about.

Jacque and Craig returned and everything was good.

Because of the great conditions for some reason they changed the swim course around to be a M shape instead of straight down the beach, so we watched a few different waves go through so that we knew where we were going.

Jacque's wave start was 3 minutes after mine, which was a bit different, we are often in the same wave start as they usually do the Female 30-39 in the one wave start. However, today was seperate wave starts. I lined up with Sarah, Kaye and Alex although I didn't see Alex at the start.

The buzzer went off and I settled in pretty well for the swim. I was feeling OK and I didn't cop too much jostling. I managed to spot the buoys pretty well and felt as though I was on course pretty well all the way through. The water was pretty calm, I managed to overtake some of the wave in front of me and then I was overtaken by two waves behind me - oh well! Overall I was pretty happy, I did a bit of breastroke just to spot buoys, probably only a handful of times. I had a bit of a struggle getting back in to shore, there were two waves that I ducked under, I got caught in a rip and was swimming towards shore without moving, but eventally a wave carried me in. It was then the horrible run up the beach, then the stairs into transition. I saw Kath at the stairs cheering me on and I think Ixchel and Dan were there too. It was nice to have support along the way.

In transition I watered off my feet, took a few good gulps of water to get rid of the salt in my mouth. Put my bike shoes and socks on, put my helmet and sunnies on and I was off! I was all alone, there was nobody else about, so it was good to have my own space. The cycle course went up around first avenue past the entrace to the Cilento and then on towards the Coles supermarket and around the corner. Then the hill climb up and through to Buderim Avenue. I really struggled with this climb. I always seem to struggle with the bike while not warmed up so I felt like I was crawling pretty slowly! Once in Buderim Ave there are some rolling hills through here and when I got to the downhill I went to shift into my big chain ring and dropped the chain.... I slowed right down and manged to get it back on by downshifting to the small ring and got the chain back on. The next hill I did the same thing - you would think that I would learn by my mistakes! I couldn't do anything about it this time, the chain was twisted. So I pulled over and tried to get it back on without touching the chain - no luck! I eventually got the chain back on and grease all over my fingers and I was away again. Mental note, have the chain in the middle of the cogs at the back before going into the big chain ring!

I turned right to go down the Sunshine Motorway exit which was closed off to traffic, so I pushed it a bit down the hill to try and get some speed up. I was starting to feel OK. The Motorway was great, the road surface was smooth and because I was on an early wave start it was relatively quiet. I managed to overtake a few people and settled into my tri-bars. I was struggling to keep my cadence at 90, I had to keep changing gears, I prefer to ride at a lower cadence. I really need to work at this! I ended up riding with another 2 girls - I would overtake them and then they would overtake me, after playing tag several times when I overtook again I said 'my turn - we'll play tag', then she would overtake me and say 'tag - my turn'. It was quite good actually as it probably kept both of us consistent. If I was drinking from my bottle she would get away and vice versa - I need to work on that too!

The turnaround was good, I hit it at just over 40minutes. I would have preferred to be a bit quicker, but never mind! The way back was a bit more windy and a lot more traffic. A lot of the faster girls and guys were in pelatons and at times they don't give much space as they overtake. I saw one girl overtake and it looked a beautiful tactic. She was moving quite quickly, but she would draft behind, duck out and overtake cut back in and draft off the next one - because she was going so quickly she was within the rules of 15 seconds to overtake, I would like to one day get to this stage. Because I am not quick o the bike it takes me a while to get to overtake. I would be using up all of my 15 secs in some cases!

I managed to stay on my tri-bars the whole ride other than when drinking. I should probably start to practice using my tri drink bottle, this would make more sense! I can change gears pretty neatly while on the bars, I tried to relax and keep my head low. Can't say I fully succeeded with this but at least I was conscious of it.

I tried to have most of my first drink bottle gone by the turnaround and then I started on my second. I was feeling a little bit queasy and I wasn't sure why. I think my accelerade was just a bit too strong and sweet. It smelt like fairy floss! I think next time I will make up the drinks with just 1 1/2 scoops of Accelerade.

Whilst the wind was definitely stronger on the way back it didn't really bother me, I was feeling OK. My HR was around the 140's for most of the ride, so I really need to figure out how to push this more. Somebody called out to me on the way back along Buderim Ave, I think it may have been Ria. I scooted back along the Esplanade to transition, I got off my seat and stretched my calves and hamstrings.

Overall I was pretty happy with my ride other than the problems I had with the chain coming off - twice!

I got into transition and took my helmet off, I skipped the Sustagen sport as I didn't want to mix it with the fairy floss accelerade! I took another few gulps of water though. Put my running shoes on, did up my laces with double grabbed my hat and race belt and I was off. I put on my hat and race belt whilst running out of transition - not that I was doing a quick transition, but still!

The run was awful, there's a bit of a hill out of transition which was hard work, my legs were threating to cramp, I decided to do small steps until I settled into the run. Unfortunately I had to run like this for the first few kilometres. Every time I tried to step out my legs threatened cramping, so I shuffled along. Mum cheered me on, Trish, Kate, Ixchel, Dan and Trent were all there cheering - it was nice to have the support. I had no idea what pace I was running at but it sure felt slow. I glanced at my HR though and I was at 160 - 170 so I had a bit in the tank but not a whole lot. Eventally I managed to get a bit of rhythm happening and find my pace. I walked through all of the drink stations and the hill certainly sucked! Garry and Jo were up on the hill and the first time I came up the hill I was not in a great way, Garry called out "I know you can do this Emma!". So I took a last gulp of water and started suffling along again. The last time up the hill Shannon from work overtook me and gave me some words of encouragment. I knew that Jacque was very close to being only 3 minutes behind me so I tried to really push it home. I managed to finish fairly comfortably. My overall time was 2:57:18

Splits were as follows:
Swim: 31:33
Cycle: 1:29:46
Run: 55:58

I did the run last year in 1:10:19 in a team with Dad, so I wasn't running off the bike, so a 14:20 PB on the run this year off the bike is a fantastic improvement.

I was a bit disappointed that I didn't beat my Noosa Triathlon time of 2:54:58 which is 2:20 slower, but what do you do. It's funny, I thought that I did better at the cycle at Mooloolaba, however it was almost 6 minutes slower than my Noosa time, so I'm not sure why. I can only put it down to different conditions. Apparently it was much windier today than last year. Many were saying that today's course was up to 10 minutes slower than last years.

58:24 is the time that I did the Noosa Triathlon run so I was thrilled to run 2:26 faster than that today considering the hills.

In summary, I need to focus on my cycle. I really struggle with this. I'm going to have a few weeks off and then reassess my goals through winter and work out a training plan forward.

I am pretty happy to have achieved my second Olympic distance triathlon and for it to be Mooloolaba as I always said I would never do this one due to the ocean swim!

I pulled up very sore in the legs and shoulders, so I will be happy to have a few days off. I had a really uncomfortable nights sleep after the tri as I was too sore...

One of my 2008 goals ticked off!!!!

Today was the Gold Coast Luke Harrop Memorial Triathlon. This was a 750/20/5 distance race.

We got down there early and it was quite cool and windy. We had jumpers on (I thought it was supposed to be summer!). I rode around on my bike to make sure my race wheels are all good and that everything is in order and then went and registered and racked up. There were no pre-race dramas, everything was all good.

My wave start was with quite a few of the Brisbane Triatlon Squad girls, so we all headed down together and sussed out where the buoys were and where the best spot to start is, etc. There was quite a current on the swim so we started a fair bit right of the buoys and this proved to be a good line to take. I had quite a strong swim, I was with Kay a fair bit at the beginning. I was pushed around a bit by a girl on my right hand side so I ended up swimmig quite close to Kay. It was good that we do a lot of practice at this as I coped OK with it. I didn't do too much breaststroke and kept a relatively good line. My time ended up being 13:22.

A slow transition, as usual and I was off on the bike. Ixchel was just in front of me. I could feel the wind as soon as I headed south for the first turnaround, it was quite strong. Going north was great, I was flying along! I saw Ixchel come out of the second turnaround, she looked like she was working hard. I knew why as soon as I turned around as the wind just when wham! It was a slow trip back! It was a two loop course so I just tried to tuck in low and try and keep an easy gear and get through it. I was regretting the Flashpoint carbon wheels as I thought they were going to send my bike flying, it felt quite wobbly once the wind picked it up. I managed to pass Ixchel on the next North section - I was flying again, you've gotta love a tailwind! I didn't see Jacque out there, but I knew she wouldn't be too far behind.

I got into transition and unbeknown t me Ixchel was on my tail for the start of the run, apparently she couldn't hang on and dropped back. I was running scared as I knew that Ixchel and Jacque were behind me. Jacque is a far stronger runner than me and Ixchel and I are pretty similar at the moment so I was just waiting for them to pounce on me! This ended up being a good thing as I ran scared the whole race and was just pipped at the post by Jacque! But the amazing thing was that I did my run in 24:58!!!

24:58!!!

One of my goals for 2008 was to run 5kms in less than 25mins. For me to do it today in a triathlon is unbelievable! I really did not expect to be able to run 5min/kms off the bike. I am absolutely thrilled with this result. I am also a little dubious that it was actually 5kms but that is only because I can't believe that I did it...

Mark hasn't seen me run for a while as I have been running on my own or with Robson and he commented on how strong I looked out on the run. So that's good, I'm thrilled.

My overall splits are as follows: 1:23:39 total 16th out of 32 in the 30-34 Female category. Swim split: 13:22, Bike split: 45:18, Run split: 24:58.

My transition's are still letting me down. I insist on wearing socks on the bike and on the run and also rinsing my feet off of all sand from the swim. I probably lose a good minute or so with this, but I'm not prepared to risk it yet and get the blisters, etc. I might try for the last Raby Bay where it won't matter if I take a little longer to recover blistered feet!

Bribie Island Triathlon Team

Craig and the kids all came along to watch and cheer for BTS. Craig didn't compete so he was my strapper after me being his strapper at Geelong Half Ironman last weekend! The team wave was last so I didn't get out onto my run until 9:17am. It was quite warm but not exceedingly so.

My run was about 46 minutes. I was really happy with this considering how I had been feeling lately. Yesterday, after my bike ride I was shattered and it was a really easy cycle. So, I started the run with a bit left as I didn't know how I was going to go. As I built into the run I started to feel really good and felt quite strong. I ended up doing the first lap in 24mins and the last lap in 22mins so I managed to negative split it. I don't remember ever doing that in a run before! My HR was quite high, it was between 164 and 175 so I was working very hard.

I know that Team Hulme didn't come last as I passed another runner in the same category! However, we didn't set a new course record either! It was good to do an 8km run, it is probably the longest run I have done in a little while. I will start to build these up over the next few weeks in preparation for Mooloolaba.

Goondiwindi Hell of the West!

Well, this is the big one!

We had a BTS Fundraiser on the Friday night which meant that we didn't get to bed until midnight which is not ideal preparation! We slept in until 6am on Saturday morning and then madly scrambled around packing up our gear and making a getaway for the 4 hour drive out to Goondiwindi. Dad, Craig and I went out together and because we were all competing we were madly hydrating. Needless to say it was a slow trip out! Many toilet breaks were had!

We got out there and checked in, unpacked, grabbed some lunch and then decided to drive the cycle and run course. I was doing the cycle in a team with my friend Trisha and her mate from Sydney; Ross. Craig was doing the swim and run in a team with Dad doing the cycle, so we were keen to see what we were up against. We did the cycle first and it was good to see that at every 10k they had markers as my speedo has been a bit sporadic with working (it is mostly not working). The road seemed like a very long way out - it is a very dead road with no shoulder.

The run took a different road and it seemed a long way as well, I was very happy to not be doing the run - poor Craig!

We went for a bit of a swim and cycle just to make sure that everything was all in good working order. The water was quite warm, about the temperature that I would have a bath at home! Some places it was cool, but they were few and far between. There was a little bit of weed in the river, but not too much. We found out after the race that the river had a bit of algae in it until the recent rain washed it all away! There was a 3 legged dog hanging around transition area and we were joking that it fell into the river one day and that is how it lost its leg!

We then registered and picked up our goodies and listened to the race briefing. I went back to the unit and heated up my lentils and rice in the microwave whilst Craig and Dad did the Carbo loading dinner. We stayed at the Country Comfort Motel on Marshall Street and it was great. I think we will stay there again next year.

I was feeling nervous, but not too bad. I managed to eat, I was well hydrated, I washed my bike, oiled the chain - I was good to go.

We had an early night and we all slept like logs! Maybe this was attributed to the 12am bed time the night before! The alarm woke us at 2:40am and there was a mad scramble of 3 panicked people getting themselves organised in one room with one toilet! It all worked out and we left there at 3:20 to head to transition with Alex, Trish and Ross. I had a minor panic when I went to put my bike into an easy gear and found that the gears were not changing nicely. Luckily Dad was there and he tweaked them for me and it was all made better again! They didn't give me any problems thank goodness.

There is nothing like not having to queue for numbering and racking, etc. We got in without any hassles and then went to relax and hydrate on the picnic tables near the toilets! We had everything we needed right there! We watched the numbering queue get longer and longer and the time to go to the swim start get closer and closer and it really amazes me that people don't get there 20 minutes earlier as it makes a huge difference to your stress levels pre-event.

Dad, Ross and I went down to the swim start to see Alex, Trish and Craig off and then we headed back to transition to await their return.

My teammate Trish had a blinder of a swim, she actually got out of the water just in front of Craig which she was thrilled with. Craig came into transition first as there is a bit of a run from the swim to T1 and he had overtaken Trish, he sung out to me as he went past that Trish was right behind him. Trish and I must have done a great transition because as it turned out I was out quicker than Dad onto the bike, but he quickly caught me.

Riding out of Goondiwindi felt OK, I wasn't overly nervous, I felt prepared, I had 3 bottles of Accelerade on the bike and 4 anzac cookies. Probably overkill, but better not to take chances. I concentrated on my race plan which was to break the ride into 4 chunks of 45 minutes. I aimed to do each 20km in under 45mins. I wanted to concentrate on keeping my cadence at 90-95 and my HR below 155. I also wanted to sip from my drink bottle every 5 mins. I tend to not get good gulps in so a sip every 5 minutes was going to be the plan.

This plan worked a treat, Cadence - tick, HR - tick, Hydration - tick! The 45 mins was blown out the door though - I was doing the 20kms in 40 minutes. I got to the 40km turnaround in 1hr 20min. I had figured out earlier that I obviously had a tail wind and this was confirmed by Dad yelling out "Head wind!" to me as he headed back in towards Goondiwindi. I managed to discard a bottle and rotate a bottle from my newly setup rear bidon holder to the front and take on a water bottle and put it in the rear without falling off - no mean feat!

The support crew out there were great, they were every 20kms with water and bananas, they did a great job.

I also managed to stay on my tri-bars for pretty much all the way out other than when I was drinking or eating. I had two bits of anzac cookie on the way out. I was a bit concerned with my left hamstring, it had the beginnings of thinking about cramping and funnily enough it was whilst I was not on my tri-bars that I really noticed it. So, that was more incentive to stay down on them.

After the turnaround things got a little bit tougher! I could immediately feel the head wind. I ducked down into my tri-bars and just made sure that my cadence didn't get too low. However, it was shortly after the turnaround that it was really starting to bother me on the bars, my bum was hurting, my shoulders were hurting, it was just getting really uncomfortable! The road was just really hard going, it was very dead and bumpy and not conducive to a comfortable ride. Between the 50k and 70k mark I really struggled with it. I saw others struggling as well, the wind was up, although we did get a bit of a reprieve when there were trees either side of the road which was a welcome relief.

My motivation was that Ross my runner would be running in less heat the earlier I could get back and I believed that the sooner I got home the kinder the winds would be for me. Usually they pick up as the day goes on so I was really keen to keep moving forward.

When I saw the 70k mark I decided that I would really try and hammer it home, I could endure the pain for another 10ks - surely!!! There was a woman that overtook me and then dropped a water bottle, she stopped and pulled over to pick it up and I overtook her and then we played cat and mouse all the way in to town. I was so happy to see the grain silos as I knew that this was only 4 or 5kms into transition from there. Also, the road started to get smooth - at this stage my race plan had converted into just finding the smoothest part of the road and riding on this - it was all that I cared about!

I pulled into transition and ran my bike into the racks and found Ross waiting for me. He took my timing band and he was off - into the heat for the run! It was about 8:40 in the morning and he had 20kms to go - I can not imagine having to run 20kms after that ride!

Dad and Trish were also in transition, I thought that Dad must have already returned from his shower, but Trish tells me that I was only 7 minutes behind him on the bike, so I was tickled pink with this - I was able to do the cycle leg in under 3 hours. I think it would be a time of 2:56.

I was pretty sore, my hamstring and glutes were screaming at me. I guess the lesson for me was that I need to get more comfortable on the tri bars as this is what held me back rather than my fitness. My HR on the way out was mid to high 140's, but on the way back it dropped to high 130's to mid 140's, but I just couldn't ride any harder. I felt good hydration and nutrition wise, I was just incredibly uncomfortable!

All in all it was a fantastic weekend, we all had a really great time and Goondiwindi turned on the hospitality in the way that only a country town knows how. Can't wait for next year!