Wow. I realize this blog has pretty much been decommissioned but I'm still going to use it for this race report. Maybe I'll be inspired to write more once I am settled back into reality. Maybe a blog-worthy change will be coming up soon. Maybe I'll change my blog picture.
I had 8 weeks of sabbatical time to burn so what better way to spend it than training for an Ironman? I can't think of any other way! Wanted to escape at the rainiest/crappiest/most depressing time of year in the Pac NW. Also wanted to use the extra time to travel internationally. So my choices were
1. Ironman New Zealand - Pretty but tends to be a little cool-ish as I understand it. It is also inland, and I wanted to be on the ocean. Not necessarily to swim in the ocean, but to look at it.
2. Ironman China - Seriously considered this one, as it would be pretty adventurous and almost assuredly hot. But I decided I was not adventurous enough to swim in a river in China (won't even swim in the Willamette)! As it turns out they cancelled the swim this year, so at that time I instantly regretted my decision. Totally should have done it. But then they cancelled the whole thing. That would have been kind of a let down!
3. Ironman Australia - Yes! I've never been to Australia, Port Macquarie is on the ocean, and Hawaii is "on the way".
So from Hawaii I was off to the Land Down Under. My time in Hawaii might be a separate blog post, or a pictorial essay at least. I posted a lot on Facebook while I was there so I'm sure my FB friends got pretty sick of hearing about how wonderful it was. Transporting a bike Down Under turned out to be more of an ordeal than I expected. Since I had 2 different tickets on 3 different airlines, I had to claim my bike in Honolulu and again in Sydney to take it through customs, then finally in Port Mac. That means I got to pay twice too. Just glad it wasn't three times. When I landed in Port Mac on Wednesday night it was raining- arrgggghhh. This is what I was running away from! Luckily the rain diminished each day and race day was totally clear.
Race kit, courtesy of Christine. Note the band-aids are open for use!
Race monkey, courtesy of Chris
Hello Kitty came from Hawaii, in the bike box. The wine? From Australia of course.
And my brother came from LA!
