Iron Man March 2010 here I come!

Phew - done and dusted! Today was the Port Macquarie Half Iron Man race, which also acts as one of the full Iron Man qualification races in Australia, and my target race is the Iron Man here in Port Macquarie on the 28th of March 2010.

To say I was nervous from Saturday afternoon onwards would be an understatement, I was shitting myself. Especially after driving some of the cycle course which turns out to be pretty hilly for the first 10km or so (which was all I drove). So, armed with the thinking that the whole bike course consisted of hills only, and really worried about the cycle leg, I got up at 4am this morning, with my packed bag (I packed and unpacked this bag 3 or 4 times over the past 2 days) and headed off for Transition 1 (T1). I was there at 4.45am, one of the first athletes, christened one of the porta loo's with could very well have been some sort of abominable byproduct of nerves, chicken stir fry and 'Up n Go'! that out the way, I it was 5am, and the bike transition was open. It was awesome to see all that equipment, lined up, realising just how many athletes there were, and then, realising that the full Iron Man has double that number - sensational!!
I finished oggling at the bike porn, and started to get my gear sorted, checked, double checked, checked again, pumped my tyres up and went for a nervous run with andrew and jase. they were pretty relaxed which was good to see. 10mins warm up, back to T1, wetsuit on and into the water to get going. what felt like ages treading water, we were off for the 1.9km swim! I felt very comfortable throughout, except for the leach on my feet and ankles. Gave whoever it was a few boots to sort them out and remind them to do their own work, and I was out of the water in about 23mins. Not sure exact position, but apparently that was pretty much with the front group - great! And I felt fresh still! I was able to easily get into a rythm this time and stretch the stroke out.
Into T1, onto the bike and away we go. Through the hills, HR right up there, and already getting passed by the strong riders. It was great, about 20mins into the ride, you actually get onto a highway which is pretty much flat for 20kms or so, and I sat on about 37km/hr pretty much all the way back to the hills. There was some serious drafting going on, but the draft busters were out in full, and showed a fair few yellow cards throughout the day...I did not get one. This race I did none! 2nd lap I tried to back off to 33km/hr but actually ended up a little faster. Got really hectic cramps going up the steep Flinders hill, and knew I was going to have a tough run. I knew I had over extended myself on the ride and coupled with heat and cramping it was making me worried about running a whole 21km and finishing.
Into T2 with a bike split of about 2.34 (nearly 30mins faster than I had budgted for) couldn't find my runners because some muppet had put his bike in the wrong spot, about 40secs later, swearing at my socks because I had them on upsidedown, gels in the back pockets and we are off. 1st 4 kms at 4.10pace, feeling okay, but breathing heavy with cramps reminding me they are there, I come to the one and only hill on the course, slow down, and start to back the pace right off....I am feeling the fatigue and badly. I finish the 1st lap feeling knackered, over heating, cramping and now with a stitch which is inflicting pain in my gut which limits my ability to take deep breaths! 2nd lap was a dark one for me.....I was doubting my ability to finish, I walked a bit to try and relieve the cramps in the legs and gut, started taking in coke, High5, water at every aid station and pouring heaps of water over myself trying to cool off. My feet were on fire, my head was probably steaming, mouth dry, gut bloated, legs cramping, stomach sore, but with Rollo telling me I was looking strong (yeah right....) I soldiered on. Highlight of lap 2 was an Indian bloke (who looked like Jesus) with budgy smugglers on....what a site, but good on him for doing it. Lap 3, 4 Gels later, coke, High5, lots of cold water over me (my shoes were now sqwelching), stitch gone, cramping residing I was back to sub 5min/km (after being near 6min/km on lap 2) and feeling much much better. I was into a rythm for the 1ast time on the run, and now knew I was going to finish. The question was, in what time? I knew I would be close to 5hours, but it was not until 3km to go that Rollo said "sub 5 hour mate!" I picked the pace up, and like a horse, smelt the finish line. INto the finishers chute....had some ardvaark want to sprint, held him off and through the line in 4.47! WOW! I nearly shed a tear at the releif of finishing....Andrew M was a few mins (4.52) behind me, so a sensational race from him.

INto the medical / recovery tent. The ardvaark who wanted to race the last 100m was poked....needed to be carried in. Serves him right for making me sprint! Good on him for finishing though. A couple of gallons of coke, water melon and ice-cream and fruit salad and NAdrew and I were off to cool off in the water.

Just a quick note...in my opinion, the race organisers did a sensational job. There were 800 fantiastic volunteers (almost one per racer) made everything so smooth and easy. They were all so helpful, and friendly so alot of that experience is down to them making it so good. I will write to the organisers to say thanks, because I dont think people get told enough about the good things they do, we tend to focus on the negative, however, this was nothing but fantastic! Well done and thanks to them all!

Also a quick note thanks to all those who supported me : my family (obvisoulsy), Rollo and Mitchell, Eddie and his family, Tony and Renee, cheers to you all for yelling out and keeping me going.

Unofficially, I came in79th overall, and 24th in my age group which is beyond anything I thought I could do. This race certinaly shows I have a long long long long long way to go to be able to finish a full Iron Man, but Rollo, you have my trust sir! (he predicted I would do between 4.45 and 4.50), the mans knows my level better than I!

SO, the unofficial summery from the race, with my goals I said last week are :

Swim : 23mins (30mins)
Ride : 2hrs 34mins (3hrs 15mins)
Run : 108mins (100mins)

The run was a blow out because I pushed on the ride, but I learnt about that today!

I will post the official results next week, but all in all, a really satisfying day, and I am so pleased and grateful I was able to do it.

Brett