I've taken my time with this report, trying to make it more interesting. But nothing really catastrophic or entertaining happened on race day. I know that's good, but makes for a boring race report. Wardrobe malfunctions, falling over, puking- all good blog material but sorry, you'll just have to suffer on through what really happened.
Swim
I showed up bright and early for at 6 am for the practice swim on Friday morning, and was the only one there. Hmmm. Where are all the other type-A triathletes? The race director was there setting up the swim start and advised me to wait until a few more people showed up, which finally happened about 6:30ish. Interesting.
I did 2 practice swims before the race and felt a LOT better going in than I did at CDA 2 years ago. The water was comfortable in a wetsuit, and since the swim was actually in a river instead of the ocean it was calm without chop or swell. There was a current, noticeable only in that my "back" time was significantly shorter than my "out" in practice. The course was a "lollipop" - deep water start, swim out, loop around twice, and come back to shore. My only worry was missing the loop turnaround point- which was silly as I knew there would be a FEW people in front of me to follow. In fact, my plan was to stay behind someone/anyone as much as possible for the drafting benefit.
Mass start. Hurry up dude, you're behind already!
I started somewhere in the middle which was new for me, usually I move to the back so not to get clobbered and swum over. Although I did get clocked more times than I can remember, it paid off in my swim time. Along with several 4k+ pool workouts and ocean swims in Kona! Swimming outside made those long workouts SO much more enjoyable. I might even go so far as to say I liked swimming. Went to masters practice a couple times a week too, that was a lot of fun (seriously). There were 10 people in my lane one time!
Swimmers streaming in
My goal for the swim was to PR (anything under 1:26) and I ended up with a 1:15- super excited!!!
Bike
The bike course was 2 loops. I pre-rode some of the course including "Heartbreak hill" which was a doozie but not super long. You could see the top anyhow. But even in the granny gear it was sure to lay down some hurt on the second lap, since it's near the end. Overall the course was pretty hilly, comparable to CDA. Some long flat sections but a decent amount of climbing. The weather on race day was pretty close to perfect with the exception of some wind; headwind on the way out and tailwind on the way back which is the better scenario. After a couple of nasty windy rides on the Queen K, I was prepared for that. Launched a bottle almost immediately after I started riding...damn, tires are probably overinflated. Oops. I had the bike shop pump them up and didn't really think to check the pressure other than noticing they were "full" and figured that would be fine. Not so fine after mile upon mile of chipseal- ouch.
Coming into town after the first loop
Overall the bike was slower than I expected, after seeing 3:08 near the end of the first loop I was a little discouraged, but stuck to the plan and was able to hold almost the same pace on the second loop. The week after, I compared average wattage to CDA (where I biked 6 hours) and Aus was only 2 W less, so then I felt better about it. Had a much more consistent effort this time around. I didn't have aero-anything at this race either, unlike CDA where I was lucky enough to have a friend loan me some sweeet aero wheels and dorky helmet :)
Bike time 6:20- I had hoped for something closer to 6 hrs but without knowing the course or conditions, hard to predict.
Run
My run mileage was pretty conservative for this race, since I was coming back from injury. The goal was really just to make it to the start line. I started running again last October, which seems like plenty of time except that I was starting with a half mile run/walk. I kept telling myself in training that I didn't have to run fast, I just had to keep running. That's really what an Ironman marathon is all about! Did a few split runs where I ran once in the morning and then again later in the afternoon. My longest "day" was 18 miles, split 5/13. My longest single run was 17 miles, which I did once. Did quite a few in the 13-14 mile range. I didn't have any injury problems, with the exception of a slight twinge during my biggest training week 3 weeks before the race. Think I tweaked something during big ring intervals on the bike, and one knee bothered me a bit while running. Pushed and rearranged some runs, took extra days off, and all was fine. But it did freak me out. Glad to know that I have a healthy sense of paranoia about such things, now!
Early in the run, apparently.
As for the race, I was targeting an 8:45 pace and basically hit it, although the first miles were closer to 8:30 and I fell off pace a little in the last few miles. I walked through a couple of the last aid stations and up a ridiculously steep but short hill, but was never forced to walk due to the stomach issues I've had in past IMs. A very good thing! I noticed a couple times near the end that my pace was slowing- actually didn't feel like I was slowing down, it was just happening. Eventually it got even slower due to congestion on the course (disadvantage of a 4-loop run) and getting dark. After each loop you got a wristband to put on- your last wristband was a different color indicating you could veer off to the finish line shortly. The hardest point in the race for me was finishing the second loop, as my legs were starting to feel fatigued and I was only half done! My brother was race photographer extraordinaire and I saw him on every lap, though I never knew exactly where that would be.
Run time was 3:53, PR for an IM marathon.
Finished! 8 min faster than CDA and 20 min slower than IMC. Three very different races.
I got to hang out in the med tent for a while, again. I'm always really nauseous after finishing, but that's about it. Really, REALLY sore the next few days- had forgotten about that part! The next several days were also spent eating and walking our way through Australia, so much fun!
Rugby game- the Waratahs
Waterfront dining by the Harbor Bridge. We also climbed the bridge as part of a tour.
Took a ferry out to Watsons Bay
Saw the Opera house inside and out. An engineer's dream, or nightmare?
Wine country with Hello Kitty
The Blue Mountains
More silliness
Got the nerve up to take a dip in the Newcastle ccean baths on my last morning. Holy crap it was cold! Was a VERY short swim.
Haven't decided on the next Ironman, but it will probably be late next summer or fall. Considering IMC again, IMAZ or Cozumel. As for this year, I'm deciding between the Soma 1/2 or Austin 70.3 on Oct. 23rd. Any opinions on either?
Congratulations on another impressive IM finish! Fun to read the detailed race report. Nice photos by your brother too! Is Hello Kitty picking her nose or telling a secret? LoL.
Posted by: Sarah | June 13, 2011 at 12:49 PM