Ironman NZ

Well I'm sorry for such a delayed update but after the initial high of completing my first Ironman my body has gone into a state of nausea and I've been doing nothing but sleep and work a little...And sleep some more.

Ironman is such a different kettle of fish to what I am use to in Multisport... It's relatively simple both in the race preparation and the execution of a destinct plan, but it is such a mental game too. After checking in all my gear on Friday I was so relaxed it was almost uncomfortable... What about the last minute gear checking, filling of bladders, taping of ankles, and thankfully... What about support crew notes?? Nope, it was all up to me and all the gear was in transitions waiting for my Saturday arival, so there was nothing to do but put my legs up and relax... a great but unusual feeling.

Saturday dawned calm and clear and with the buz of race day taking over Taupo I double checked my bike and headed on my own down to the water. Watching the haka and listening to my walkman was a great opportunity to focus on what I wanted to achieve and to channel my focus on executing my plan. The swim start was it's usual chaos but I kept clear of trouble at the back of the pro field and sat in for the draft. Unfortunately this only lasted 500m or so before I was spat out the back to swim on my own, no big deal as I had expected this. I pretty much spent the next 3.3 km on my own with the odd foot to follow here and there, so I was pleased to exit the water with a 57.02 swim, right on target.

I hadn't pushed myself too hard on the swim so going through transition and then onto the bike I felt relaxed and comfortable with the race so far. I had planned to stick my heart rate at 75% of max and control my speed from the start...but this was tough, as my heart rate was 185 and I was spinning! the crowd support and the adrenaline had amped me up so much. After 20 mins or so I finally managed to get it into the zone and from there it was smooth sailing. I had a couple of low patches where I didn't take enough food from aid stations but apart from that everything went to plan and my bike split 5.13mins felt easy. My average HR was 151 for the ride which was right on my 150 goal.

Out onto the run and here I made a few mistakes that cost me. Firstly I went out too hard running the first 10km in 43mins which was about 2mins too fast for me. I felt like I was holding back so much but obviously not enough! the crowd support is so crazy it's hard not to get caught up with it all. After this I pulled back and ran though the first half in 1.34 - right on target! but turning back and heading out of town the wheels started falling off and I started to slow. Every step was painful - my quads were killing me! It was here I ran out of my own gels and resorted to the aid station ones, which was planned, but a big mistake... I just couldn't keep them down! the last 10km of the marathon really is 'the race of truth' and I had to dig deep, probably as deep as I have ever before. I ran the final half in 1.50 for a run split of 3.25 and A finishing time of 9.37.

Overall I am happy. The time is not what I had hoped, but I think for where I am at with my training it is a good start. I'm really glad I made the decision to pass up the C2C for Ironman as it has really given my training new life and I am much stronger for it. So I finished 16th in Pro Men, which is an awesome result, I had hoped for a top 20, so this is great. I almost qualified for Hawaii as a pro with the 13th place athlete getting the call up.

So what now?? XTERRA first and then I think the C2C needs another krack... why not.

Thanks to all my friends and family that were there cheering me on. Also a big thank you to my sponsors: Deloitte/Scott/Pearl Izumi/High 5/Huka Honda.

See you,

Cam.