Australian Ironman 2008 race report

Ironman Australia

Pt Macquarie April 6^th 2008.

Well where to being? The training was now complete other than 4 days of quick “freshening up” work and a swim every day.

Wednesday prior to the race, I jumped on a plane with Jess, Jimmy & Fay heading for Newcastle. From there, a hire car was the means of transport to take us up to Pt Macquarie on the north east coast of NSW. Once we arrived, we unpacked and I caught up with Komo and we went down to the Panthers Club for a massage which we had booked a month earlier.

So let’s cut to the chase …… Sunday morning arrives (an extra hour of sleep was gold – due to daylight savings finishing and we were to set our clocks back an hour)

Well the heavens opened up and down it rained ….. And did it rain. Once we had checked it, we all crammed into a tent hoping the rain would stop …. And it did (just) and off to my bike I went to make the final check, add my nutrition & water in my jetstream and really just make sure all is ready to go.

So do you think I could find anyone? Not a chance. I managed to get some shelter for some random chap (he was a top fella) and we just chatted for a while – helped me take my mind off what was just about to happen!

Just as I was making my way down to the water with my bag ( I was thinking I was going to have to leave my bag under a tree) I found Jimmy D. He took my bag, zipped me up and off I went ….. On my pat Malone!

I happened to see Kerry & the girls just before the race and after a cuddle & kiss from team Komo... Off I wondered into the water.

The Swim

Into the water I go and feeling as calm as I could. I had a couple of 20 mtr “sprints” as to try and warm up my arms. So once I was settled and the National Anthem was played (and the goose bumped died down) I was waiting for the 1 minute countdown … not sure if I didn’t hear it however the gun goes BANG ….. Yep, I’m off in my 2^nd Ironman …. GIDDY UP.

So after the first couple hundred meters of chaos, I managed to settled down and find a rhythm. All was going well and the madness starts again. This year they have made the course a little narrower hence a lot more “Bang & Crash”. While I got my fair whack, I kept the “western suburbs” theory in mind …. An eye for an eye. I dished out plenty! As I completed the first lap (of 2) I was feeling quite strong and happy with the thoughts going through my mind. I managed to find some feet and I stuck with them for quite some time. So as I was leaving the water, I look up at the clock …1:10:20 …. WTF!!! Aaarrrrrrr …. And I felt so good in the water too. Dam … naturally I was hoping to go quicker than that. As it turns out, it was a slow swim so I’ll take that as ‘not a bad result”

Into T1 …. I just took my time. Dam wetsuit didn’t do me any favours with it getting all scrunched up around my feet. Nothing much to write about …. Everything else when OK. Over to my bike, a quick drink of 30grms CHO …. Grab my bike and off I go.

RIDE

Well my plan was to ride at a low HR so once through the township of Pt Macq and onto the flat my HR was settled and into a rhythm I went. Nothing much to talk about on the first lap. I saw Komo and he was on a mission ….. Gee he was riding strong. Then I saw Pistol Pete. I was about 4-5 minutes behind him so while keeping my HR in check; I was trying to peg him back. Into the second lap I was slowly closing in on Pistol while Komo was smashing it up …. He was riding away from me at a rate of knots! So into the 3^rd lap and Matty (Coach) tells me to slow down – I think he may have thought I was over riding (which I wasn’t) but I followed his instructions and slowed down. While on the 3^rd lap, I had a piece of plastic get caught in my wheel and while it didn’t seem to effect the bike I decided to stop and get the plastic out from my wheel ….. This was a good time to take a leak so off to the bushes I went.

Back into town and all was going well. I slowed down for the last few minutes with a marathon in mind! The conditions on the ride were varied, clearing skies in Pt Mac while we had rain and wind out at Lake Catheye – so we got a bit of everything.

Into T2 … once again, no hurry.

I changed my socks, runners on and took the cap of choice and out of the tent I went … what to do next? Stretch …. Yep, I sat myself on the ground and had a dam good stretch of my back and hips …. And yes a few comments came my way!

Up I got, sun screen added and off I go. The best thing happened to me as I left T2, I ran straight past a guys leaving T2 and he was hurting! … GOLD … I thought to myself – I’m in better nick than someone else. So off I went and at the boat ramp turn around a few k’s down from the village I saw Pistol. I took note of his position and then went back into my own world of concentration. Back into the village and off to the other side is where I saw the Team Crankit crew who were giving us all great support. It was time to relax and flex the guns for a few pics and keep the crowd happy ….. Always the entertainer. At this stage I was feeling well and I had found some sort of rhythm.

Into lap 2 and I had already downed 1 ½ flasks of gel (I run with 2 – 1 per 20 k) and I thought to myself .. Go easy pal! I was adding water to the empty flask and utilising every ounce of energy I could find in the flask. I go past the place I spotted pistol on the last lap so I’m thinking, just keep the pace and there could be a chance that we finish this race together (we had discussed this during many of our training days that we spent together) As I get back to the team CrankIT crew, I was starting to get the wobbles …. Here I am at the 28 k mark ….. Hold it together! As I went up windmill hill for the second last time someone yelled out ….. just have fun & enjoy it. Yeh I thought to myself … enjoy it. And off I ran for the final 14 ks of this great race. By this time I knew I was behind where I wanted to be in terms of my run time (but not a massive way away).I ran into Shannon from WSTC and he was having ITB issues … so as the good bloke that I am, I told him that he had to run with me … and he did for about 5 K … he then had to walk for a couple of minutes …. I kept plodding on. I then get to the place where I spotted pistol and here I was still catching him …. Yep, by about the 38 k mark I should meet up with my training buddy and then cross the line together …… well someone forgot to tell Pistol that. The Pistol … or is machine gun got to the 38 K mark and then hit the gas button and off he went …. In a great display, the big fella had a great last 4-5 k’s and ran away from me. As I get close to home, I zip up the race suit, brush the hair …. Add some lippy and off I head down the runway. I have been thinking about what “signature move” I was going to offer the screaming crown and a favorite WWF wrestler John Cena was going to be rewarded with a “you cant see me” manoeuvre. So I’m heading down the runway all alone, I see Jess a give her a high 5, a few steps later a few fist pumps leave the body all ready for the “signature move”. I get 2 steps from the line, pump the fist again and turn back to the screaming crown who could sense that something special was about to happen J And something special almost happened .. as I turned, two maniac’s were sprinting down the finish line and almost took me out ….. No signature moves for the crowd …… well you know what that means ….. I’ll just have to come back and do it all over again ….. And a lot faster too J …. Oh yeh, I had a 55 min PB from last year and a small goal was to run the marathon …. Aid stations and all …..And I did.

MASSIVE thanks to the ETPA crew who made there way up to Pt Mac and supported us all before, during & after the race – it make a massive difference and helps so much. Thanks to all that sent me messages of support …. Every bit helps.

To Pistol & Komo – thanks gents …. And gents they are. Two awesome men who trained extremely hard and had great races in what was a hard day at the office. They helped me out before, during and after the race and their assistance is & was very much appreciated.

Time for me to now flood my body with COFFEE; add a kg or 2 to the waist enjoy the next week or so before I get back into a long winter of training looking forward to a quicker 2008 / 2009 season.