Kona Race Report

Well I have been a bit slack over the last couple of weeks getting things updated, but finally the race report from the Ironman World Champs is here.

Dawn, the 10th of October in Kona was the same as all the others had been in the 2 weeks leading up to the race. Not a cloud in the sky, calm pacific waters and thousands of trim looking athletes from all over the world hovering around the peir. The only difference was today was the day to get down to business, yah finally after 6months of hard slog. But the Kona ironman was not like any other race day, I knew Madam Pele the island god was cooking something up when a local volunteer at check said "be careful out there today it is going to be hotter than hell", apparently she could tell by the way there are no clouds around the Volcano that stood nearly 9000ft above Kona. Boy was she right.

Swim Start: 7am

2000 athletes just does not go into a area no wider than 50 meters and I was made very aware of this over the first 2 km of the swim. After getting my ear drums blown out by the massive cannon that started the race I was caught in a frenzy of athletes fighting for the same peice of water.

After an eventful swim that invovled a few kicks and elbows to the head I was out in the late 1:04's which wasn't to bad but still 5 or 6 mins slower than what I know was capable of and wanted to do. I can put that down to a tactical error as where to start the race, next time I start further left. Next up 180km of Hell on Wheels across lava feilds.

On to the bike and I went out hard, as I usually do for the first 20 to 30km, by that time we were well out of Kona town and on the Queen K Highway heading out to Hawi. Having trained on the course for two weeks I became very familar with the next part of the course through the lava feilds and into the feirce trade winds. This was a part that if you went to hard early could ruin your day further down the road so I settled into comfortable pace up to the turn at Hawi. Things turned a little pear shape here when my specials needs bag with my special nutrition for the last half of the bike didn;t turn up. Oh well these things happen but it meant I rode 7 miles with out any fluids and 14 miles with out food. This may have been the beginning of the end but I soldiered on and actually put the foot down heading back into the lava feilds for the run home. At this stage tempratures had been turned up, 43 - 46 degrees according to tempreture readings on my SRM and the famous head winds had come to play. By the time I had got back to town and T2 I had been oven roasted nicely by the Kona conditions. My Bike time was 4:59 and I rode within myself the whole way staying below my watt targets. I knew I would need this on the run.

Next up a 42.2KM Marathon run through the gates of hell (ok maybe an over exageration but it was probably as hot).

The run didn't start great when I seized up in T2 and required a bit of medical assistance. For those of you who may not have been aware I was carrying a back/hip injury into the race which had forced me off all running up till Sunday before the race. This started to give me some trouble at this stage, but some treatment and some time at transtiton helped that and I headed out on Ali'i drive for the first 10 mile out and back section. I was running pretty well to start picking up alot of places. But at 8 miles things started to un ravel very quickly and at 9 miles I new I was in trouble when I started to feel bad. Then at the top of the big hill up Palani rd !BANG! DENTONATION!!,OH THAT HURT. Everything went at once, my legs felt like they were going to fall apart and was not going to be able to walk to the finish. But I did not come all this way to the World Champs to pull out, so the next 16 miles was a long lonely walk along the Queen K highway through the lava feilds and back to the finish line along Alli drive. I did manage to run over the last mile, the presence of the huge crowd and the prestige of this race had me determined to run the last 800m down Ali'i drive to finish, that hurt alot but it was worth it.

After a 4hr plus marathon I finished in a time of 11hrs 1 minute. A little dissapointing as I knew close to 9hrs was a possibility. But as Mark Watson said to me after the finish, "you should be proud you have finished the hawaiin Ironman" he was right and that alone made me alot more positive about the experience, also alot more determined to come back in future and make up for unfinished business.

Finally let me say what an amzing experience the whole trip was, one that I enjoyed from start to finish. I must give a big shout out to my fellow house mates Craig Kirkwood, Richard Swan, Andy McKay and big Jo Carrel thanks for all the laughs and good times. Also to Kylie Kirkwood and Leslie who turned up on the Thursday before the race and were a fantastic to have around in the days leading up and during the race. Thanks for the support.

Also to my sponsors ENZA in Association with Turners and Growers, Bay Canvas, Young Read and Woudberg, Smiths Sport Shoes Tauranga, Jamis Bikes, Leppin Endurance Products and Bodyzone Health and Fitness with out your support this all would not of been possible.

Now it is rest time, then bring on 2009/2010 Season.

Beating the winds.

Well we are a t - minus 4 days until the start of the Ironman World Championships here in Kona on the Big Island of Hawi. Since i last posted i have been busy getting to know the course and finish off my race preparations.

I have been down to the swim start at Kona Pier for a open water swims with fellow kiwis Craig Kirkwood, Richard Swan, Jo Carrel, Andy Mckay and Cameron Brown. It is an awesome swim, the water is crystal clear and you can see all of the fish swimming and reefs below you.

Over the weekend it was out to Waikoloa where a group of us rode up to the Bike turnaround in Hawi. The conditions were pretty kind to start with as the trade winds seem to be hiding but as we got closer to Hawi, bang they decided to jump out at us and I mean that literally. It can be fairly calm at one stage then bang the wind kicks in and your in for a ride. The ride back down was awesome as you decsend from 700 ft with views of the Kona Coastline and the Pacific ocean with the wind at your back.

We concluded the ride by making our offerings to Madam Pele (the Hawaiian Volcano Goddess) in the Lava Fields on the Queen K and an afternoon on the couch with some American College football followed.

Sunday and it was out to the famed energy lab for a run in the afternoon heat. Now I have had a niggling injury in my hip and back which has been preventing me from getting some quality run training in. After some good imporvements I tested it out in the lab for a 70 minute run and seemed to get through the run well with out any major complications so all is on track for Saturday.

Rock n Rolling on the Big Island.

Well it has been a few days since my arrival in Hawaii and it has already been actioned packed.

My first morning the island decided to put on a show in the form of a rather large earthquake, what proceeded was a high tsunami warning in Kailua Kona so no swimming off the peir at race start and a number of large after shocks through out the day and night. I later learnt that a tsunami did occur and whipped out the islands in American Samoa, not great stuff at all.

Kona and the big island is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. The landscape is a amazing you are at the foot of a 13,00 ft volcano ( thats taller than Mt Cook) which goes straight up from the ocean. Out on the queen K highway which is what you ride on come Ironman race and it is lava flows as far a the eye can see, it is described as riding on the moon which would be a pretty fair description. Then there is the heat, in town it is hot but bearable but out on the Queen K oh man is it hot, MY SRM read 46 degrees yesterday out in the middle of the lava flows on the way to Hawi. Oh and not to forget the wind, i thought it can be windy in Tauranga but nothing can prepare you for those trade winds out on the bike course. You gotta hold on tight.

The last few days have been a bit of whirl wind really and i am ready to settle down and get into race mode over the next few days. I have just come from the Kona Aquatic center and a pool session which was done with the ironman stars. In lane 1 was 2004 & 2006 Champ Norman Stadler and his team of european Pros, Lane 2 2007 Champ Chris McCormack, Luke McKenzie and NZ's own Terrenzo Bozzone and then there was myself in Lane 3 with 2008 World Champ Craig Alexander and fellow Turners and Grower sponsored kiwi athlete Joanna Lawn, pretty awesome.

I have also been able to catch up with fellow Tauranga athletes Brain Foster, his wife Margie and Lyndy Wickham for a bbq by the beach at sunset last night. I am now looking forward to the rest of the crew to arrive including Craig Kirkwood and moving into our condo along Alli Drive.