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Ironman New Zealand This journal was originally written as a series of e-mails, mostly for the benefit of my fellow Dragons in the Downingtown At Dawn Triathlon Club. There were three reports covering the days before the race. Use these links, Tuesday, 2/19/2002, Saturday, 2/23/2002, Thursday, 2/28/2002, to jump to those sections. The actual Ironman New Zealand Race Report starts here. Or, you can just start from the top and scroll down as you go. Tuesday, 2/19/2002 Kia Ora, Boys and Girls - It is 6:30 Tuesday evening here in beautiful, warm New Zealand. The sun is still shining brightly and I'm relaxing in shorts. And, with nothing better to do before dinner, I thought I'd send a little note. Nothing like 32 hours of travel, door to door, to make you think you've actually gone somewhere. This is certainly a little more than last year's jaunt up to Lake Placid. The trip was uneventful. Although it didn't start off that way. My suitcase was 25 pounds overweight. Hammer Gel and Sustained Energy are not the lightest of things. Rather than pay the exorbitant overweight cost, we moved about 26 pounds from my suitcase into a box supplied by the ticket agent. So we just had to pay a minor charge for having too many bags. And that gave me one more thing to worry about. All my training and race nutrition was in that flimsy box. I had visions of Hammer Nutrition products being scattered everywhere between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Auckland, New Zealand. Did I mention that it's warm. And I'm sitting in shorts and drinking a tinny of Waikato Draught. But, everything made it safely. The bike box about 15 minutes after everything else. I had visions of Switzerland when the bike didn't show up for a couple of days. I was going to call Bianca's Mum to see if there was an old bike laying around that I could use. Fortunately, it didn't come to that. As they say around here, "no worries". Renate and I cleared immigration and customs with little difficulty. Although I had to open up my bike and wheel cases to prove that they were actually a bike and wheels. Then they were x-rayed. It's pretty neat to see the x-ray of a fully packed bike box. And then, with everything in tow, we went off to get our rental car. Actually, SUV since we had a ton of luggage and my brother and his wife are joining us next week. That rental car process took almost an hour. It was while waiting for the car that we decided to drive directly to Taupo (site of the race) instead of spending the day and night in Auckland. Our original thought was that we would be too tired after the long flight to deal immediately with a three to four hour drive on the wrong side of the road. But we were able to sleep a bit on the plane (an allergy pill washed down by a couple of beers was my potion) so we figured on just getting the whole travel thing over with. (Bianca, I didn't get a chance to call your parents. I hope to later in the week. Just to say hello.) The driving itself wasn't bad, although there's an awful lot of concentrating necessary. Backing up while looking over the wrong shoulder is also weird. But, compared to driving, being the passenger is a whole different carnival ride. I really thought Renate was going to smash into the guardrail a couple of times. (She said the same thing about my driving.) It's certainly a new perspective sitting on the left with no steering wheel. Fortunately, the gas and brake pedals are where they should be. Although the turn signals aren't. I had the cleanest windshield in New Zealand because every time I would go to use the turn signal I would turn the wipers on instead. Finally we made it. A nice hotel that's a little bit out of the center of town. And right on the lake. I went for a "why bother" run around this part of the lake to shake out the legs. An early dinner and a comfortable bed wrapped up the first day. Today was another beautiful, warm day. I put my bike back together. It's always nice when there are no parts left over. And then went for an easy ride on the bike course. I missed the road to head out of town, not realizing that it's directly across from the hotel, so I had to backtrack a bit. But then no problems. Other than the brutal headwind on the way back. And the fact that the Kiwi version of asphalt is slightly rougher than ours. And that this must be a big logging area since I was passed by huge trucks loaded with logs pulling equally huge trailers also loaded with logs. On roads with no shoulder. While riding on the wrong side of the road. But I was dressed in just shorts and a t-shirt, so it couldn't be all bad. I did mention that it's warm here, didn't I? And now, I've reached the end of my Waikato Draught. And it's dinner time. So, I'll bid you good day while Renate and I venture out for something to eat and somewhere to watch the sun set. Cheers. - Steve Saturday, 2/23/2002 Kia Ora, once again. That’s a Maori greeting meaning “your good health”. According to the guide book, you’re supposed to answer with the same words. The culture lesson is free. Something else I learned, the Silver Fern is the national plant. One of our club mates would probably be considered a goddess over here. Not that we think any less of her. When I last left you, it was Tuesday evening and I was gloating about how nice the weather was. I guess I’ve pissed off the weather gods since today (Saturday) has been rainy, windy and dreary. I was supposed to ride one lap of the two lap bike course today. Just the basic three hour ride. One of the nice things about being 18 hours ahead of Pennsylvania is that I was able to send a message to Coach Devlin Friday night before I went to bed asking about doing the ride on Sunday (scheduled to be a rest day) instead since I was aware of the forecasted bad weather. And, lo and behold, I had an answer when I got up Saturday morning. Daddio gave me permission to be a softc__k (ask Fern or Bianca) so I went back to bed for a little more sleep. I finally made it into the beautiful waters of Lake Taupo on Wednesday. (Thanks to all who answered my query about canola oil spray. Both the serious replies and the foolish.) The water is on the chilly side and there was an initial shock when putting my head in. But after a few minutes it’s nice and comfortable. I’m using a full wetsuit, but I think I could’ve gotten by with a sleeveless version. The actual swim course isn’t open for swimming. There are Jet Skis and boats. And a “Hole In One” carnival game where shore-bound golfers aim for a platform in the lake. The Ironman information booklet said to stay away from this as golfers apparently get more points for hitting a swimmer than for a hole in one. I guess it’s closed on race morning. I’m hoping it’s closed on race morning. Or that all the golfers are like me and couldn’t hit anything they were aiming at. Of course, with 1000 bodies out in the water, I’m sure a launched golf ball would have good odds of finding someone. But, I digress. There is a training “course” set up. Three buoys that are 500 meters apart from each other. A start buoy, a middle buoy and an end buoy that gives a 1000 meter lane and a full lap gets you 2000 meters. Piece of cake for all the expert swimmers in the DAD TC. Sighting is kind of a pain. At least in one direction (going away from town) there’s a big hill in line that makes it easy to follow. Coming back there’s not much. And something else that’s weird. I usually drift towards the right when I swim. Down here in the Southern Hemisphere I seem to be going more towards the left. Anyway, I did one full lap on Wednesday, two laps on Thursday and another lap on Friday. Eight thousand meters in Lake Taupo. After yesterday’s swim, Renate and I noticed lots of people standing around on the sides of the road. Apparently the Queen of England was coming to Taupo. I didn’t know she was an Ironman fan. Actually, she’s just here until Monday morning for a little vacation. Since her motorcade was due to go by in about 15 minutes, we decided to get a cuppa (Kiwi for cup of coffee) and wait. There certainly wasn’t any pomp and circumstance. Just a group of about five cars zipping by. I caught a nanosecond glance of the Queen. As my Dublin Marathon T-shirt says, “One Less Thing To Do In Life”. And now it was time for an easy run. I don’t know if I mentioned this earlier, but our hotel is at about the 5k point of the run. It’s a two lap course with the turnaround outside of town being at about the 11.5k mark. The other day, for my last long run of training, I did the section from 5k to about 20k. This time I did the remaining part, from the hotel into town. I would describe the course as rolling. No major hills, but a bunch of ups and downs. And very little shade. But some nice views outside of town for those that are sightseeing. Since it’s a two lap out and back course, I’ll be passing the hotel four times. I’d better leave my room key with Renate. So, now, I’ve run the run course. (Actually, I biked it as well). And I’ve biked part of the bike course and driven the rest. Tomorrow I’ll bike one lap of the two lap course. I haven’t swam the swim course, but I’m guessing the water a thousand meters towards town is pretty much the same as the water I’ve been swimming in. Next week’s schedule (pronounced shedyule down here) says it’s time to taper and relax. And go to registration. And get the bike checked. And go to the mandatory meeting. But, as they say down here, no worries. Cheers. - Steve Thursday, 2/28/2002 G’day Boys and Girls. I know that’s an Aussie greeting and it’s probably pissing off all the Kiwis, but I’m a tourist and I know no better. I’m sure y’all will be glad to hear that I stiffened up last Sunday and successfully negotiated one lap of the bike course. It was nice to get the call from the Host-A-Run crowd and if I needed any extra incentive to get out the door that call provided it. The weather was nice, maybe a little chilly. I put on the arm warmers I picked up at Rodzilla’s Going-Out-Of-Business sale and set off on a three hour cruise. I started at about the 5k point (similar to the run, it’s right at the hotel) which is kind of the start of the most significant climb of the course. Significant for here, minor league compared to the things Coach Devlin likes to drag us on. I think the only ones intimidated by this climb will be those from Kansas. The first 7k or so of the loop (including the 5k that I didn’t do yet) is through town, a few corners, but nothing too bad. Then it’s on to Broadlands Road. For 38k to Reporoa and the turnaround. Broadlands is mostly flat, with a few minor rises and falls, and in good shape. Most of it seems to be wide open and I was starting to get warm, contemplating taking of the Rodzilla Arm Warmers. Then I got to a wooded area and damn near froze. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a slight bit. But, it was cold and I was glad for the armies. This was about the same time I’ll be out on the course on race day, so if weather conditions are near the same I’ll be prepared. I did take them off a little after clearing the enchanted forest and put them in my jersey pocket. My racing costume doesn’t have good pockets so the arm warmers will probably be deposited at an aid station and I will have gotten my $5 worth. (Thanks Rodz. By the way, I paid Vincent.) Anyway, I’m moving briskly along Broadlands towards Reporoa. This being Sunday, there’s not much auto traffic. And, fortunately, no logging trucks. There are quite a few of us biker people out enjoying the beautiful weather. I knew from my past rides that I was getting a little tail wind and that it was slightly downhill so the high average speed was taken with a grain of salt. I saw the sign welcoming me to Reporoa. I knew from when Renate and I drove the course that the actual roundabout was still some time in the future. About 20k in the future to be exact. I made it. Round the roundabout and back the way I came. And into the head wind. It really wasn’t too bad for the first 15k of the way back, but for the 20k after that it was pretty brutal. And with a very slight incline to the road. That section is the 60k to 80k section of the lap. The last 10k is fast and gets us back into Taupo from the north. Then, on race day, through town and back onto Broadlands for the second lap. Today, I stopped at the hotel. I ended up with 55 miles in just under 2:45 with an average heart rate in the high A2 zone. Fairly comfortably. There’s a little bit of an extra loop on the second lap that I didn’t do. Overall, the course seems to be on the quick side. Depending on the wind. I guess, from listening to the locals, it’s mostly tail on the way out and head on the way back. I’ve since seen a lot of disk wheels in town, so I guess it’s not often that it’s a cross wind. That section from 60k to 80k could be mentally tough on the second lap (which will make it about 150k to 170k). But then that quick finishing 10k and off on a little “why bother” run. That ride pretty much finished up my training. This week has been lots of “why bother” workouts intermingled with rest and relaxation. Yesterday I took the bike in for inspection. Rita was a little loose at the front end, but passed. I tightened her up when I got back to the hotel. In the more information than you probably wanted to know category: Rita is short for Margarita, from Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, as in wasted away again . . . Roger and Mary Ivy, my brother and his wife, got in around lunch time so we went into town for a leisurely meal. Then wandered over to the expo for a look around. Not much there. I did chat with Cameron Brown for a few minutes and got his autograph. He came across as a real down to earth guy, asking about my training and goals. And he seemed to pay attention to my answers, even asking follow-up questions. It was nice. I left him with “Cheers, mate. See you in Kona in October.” This morning I went through the registration process. It was quick and painless. I got my wrist band, kind of a puke green, and all the other goodies, including a bunch of Kiwi food products. Anybody up for a can of Watties Creamed Rice? (It’s 99% fat free.) Now, I’m just slowly moving through the day. The gear is in piles and has to be moved into the proper bags. The pre-race meeting is tomorrow at 9 AM. Kind of early in my book, but I guess it’s good to get it out of the way. Later in the day, everything gets checked in. I got my pre-race pep talk message from Coach Daddio. Among the bon mots were suggestions to "keep the rubber side down" during the bike. And to try not to supplant Craig as the T2 Master. Thanks, Coach, I got a good chuckle from those. And, as always, the other focus points are very helpful. I guess that’s about it. Saturday morning all hell breaks loose. Sunday morning I get my Hawaii slot. No worries. - Steve Saturday, 3/2/2002 How do you say “I’m not very bright” in Kiwi? More on this later. Race day dawned dark and wet. It was raining. Hard. Actually, it started raining the day before when I checked in the bike. Some entrepreneur was selling bike bags for $20. That’s $20 in New Zealand dollars, probably about $8 US. And they were pretty nice bags. I thought about getting one for Rita, but decided that since it was supposed to rain all the next day, she was going to get plenty wet anyway. The alarm was set for 0 Dark Thirty, but when I woke up at 0 Dark Fifteen I decided to get out of bed. Fifteen minutes of looking at the clock every thirty seconds wasn’t going to be very restful so I might as well get the long day started. Threw my pre-race meal into the blender and fired that up. Fortunately, being in the Presidential Suite of the hotel, we had plenty of room and I don’t think I bothered any of the sleeping crew. They would need their rest for the big day. I went through my usual morning routine and was feeling pretty good. I have a very experienced crew and they knew to be ready 15 minutes before I told them to. Everything and everybody into the car and off we go. Oh, by the way, it’s raining. Renate drops me off at the transition area, and Roger and Mary Ivy get out to keep me company. And relatively stable. Renate goes to park the car near the bike to run transition, making it easier later that day to get the bike. I go in and get body marked. Of course I’m one of the first ten people there. (If only that was part of the race. I’d win all the time.) Over to visit Rita and see how she survived the night. With no problems. I put my fluid bottles in and check the air in the tires. Everything looks good. I visit the portaloo. Everything looks good. Check the air in my tires again. And again. And again. Finally, I leave the transition area. I have this urge to check the air in my tires. It’s still raining. I find Mary Ivy standing under a large umbrella. Roger had taken my bike pump back to the car. And Renate went with him to make sure he didn’t get lost. It took them forever to get back. I take the delay surprisingly well. At least I thought so. Then all of us take a leisurely walk to the swim start area. I go out for a little warm up jog and the crew camps under the awning at the front of the Lake Taupo Yacht Club. Lacking the proper credentials, they weren’t allowed inside. By the time I get back, there’s quite a group under the awning. I change into my wetsuit. Roger and Mary Ivy go to stake viewing ground for the swim. Renate accompanies me down to the water. A quick kiss, then I’m on my own. Into the water for some warm up. At this point, I no longer notice the rain. A few minutes of standing around neck deep in the water and then the cannon goes off. Ironman New Zealand, my seventh race at this distance, is under way. I have lofty goals and ambitions. Heck, I packed a Hawaiian shirt for the awards banquet. The swim went well. The wind was out of the north. I think that was the first time since we got here. According to the locals that was good. It meant that the lake would be calm. Which it was. It was also crystal clear and it tasted good. And, with ‘only’ 1000 competitors, it wasn’t as crowded as some of the other rubber coated masses of humanity I’ve had the pleasure of swimming with. There was still body contact, but it was minimal. And I was happy that the course marker buoys were on our right, since that’s the side I turn my head to breathe. I got into my rhythm pretty early. I tried to keep Coach Jeff’s words in mind. “Think long relaxed strokes.” I just concentrated on being smooth and rotating my shoulders. The outbound leg of 1520 meters was parallel to the shore, about 100 meters out for the most part, and went by quickly. I tried to draft off others, but didn’t do so well. One time I was following a guy for a bit and he suddenly started with the breast stroke. I swam right up his butt. Not a whole lot of fun for either of us. I was able to keep in the middle of a group so I got some benefit out of that. There was some minor congestion at the first turn buoy (a 90 degree turn) and again at the second (another 90 degree turn), only 80 meters from the first. Then, again, parallel to the shore. I had a minor cramp in my right calf shortly after making that second turn, but I was able to get myself to relax and it went away. I also lost the group I had been swimming with, so I was on my own. I was able to use a swimmer on my right as a navigation aid so I didn’t have to do much looking up. This leg was 1550 meters and took us back to just beyond the start line. (This is the standard time for me to kind of get sick of swimming. I’ve been in the water for about an hour. I have fifteen or so minutes to go. Why couldn’t this be a two mile swim? Who needs that extra four tenths of a mile?) At this point a sweeping right turn around another marker buoy and into the Waikato River. About this time I noticed people standing on the piers. They all had umbrellas. And the umbrellas were in the open position. I guess it was still raining. And then there was the flock of ducks. Contrary to popular belief, or at least for this group of ducks, they were not paddling furiously below the water. They were as calm below as they were on top. I, on the other hand, was doing my usual thrashing about, getting through the last 650 meters. One final big marker buoy and the steps to get out of the water. Hoisted out by a couple of volunteers and under the big clock. The time of 1:14:27 was my fastest Ironman swim so I was happy. On a side note, apparently my swim has improved some. I guess my stroke has gotten better because my crew complained the next day that they didn’t see my unique swimming style going up the river so they missed me at the end. I think the blazing speed threw them off, as well. Anyway, Renate started to get concerned when she thought I was still in the water at the 1:20 mark. Mary Ivy noticed that my bike was not where it was supposed to be. Mary Ivy called her mother using Renate’s cell phone and had her try and find results on the Ironman New Zealand web page, but she wasn’t able to see anything. Renate ended up finally getting Stuart on the phone and when he looked it up on the Internet, I had, indeed, finished the swim and was out riding my bike. Satisfied, Renate, Mary Ivy and Roger went out for breakfast. Now, back to the race. It was a hike to T1. Not quite as far as in Lake Placid, but here in Taupo they threw in a big flight of stairs to climb. I knew to take my time going up these. A stubbed toe (or worse) at this point in the day wouldn't be very good. The tent in T1 was fairly crowded and I had to push to get a spot. The wetsuit came off with a little bit of a struggle, but not too bad. Socks, shoes and sunglasses on and out to the bike. (There was no foreseeable need for sunscreen.) I had put cleat covers on my shoes, which was a good idea. All the rain the day before and race morning made the area a bit of a quagmire. I've never tried to have my shoes on the bike and then load my feet as I go, my coordination and balance (particularly after a long swim) are not great. Plus running through mud in my socks wouldn't gain me anything. Anyway, I got to the bike mount area, ripped off the cleat covers, and started on my ride. The transition time was just over four minutes. I didn't have any problem with that. The bike went, mostly, well. I had strapped on my heart monitor for the swim and had the watch mounted on my bike stem where I could easily see it during the ride. I concentrated on keeping in the A3 zone (up to 153 bpm) and staying smooth. It was almost two miles before the climb out of town, so there were a few minutes of easy spinning. And going up the hill I didn't worry about who or what was passing me. Tri-studs on Softrides or little old ladies with walkers. It made no difference. I just kept my heart rate under control. And for the first 20 minutes or so I just drank water. My goal was to ride the first lap easy and then gradually pick up the pace. Did I mention that it was raining? And that it was windy? Well, it was. It was coolish, but I didn't feel cold. I had arm warmers on and was fine. The north wind was the opposite from all my training in Taupo. That made it a head wind going out on the bike. And that's the mostly downhill section so I guess it was good. I didn’t get as much benefit from going down the hills, but I didn’t have to expend as much energy fighting the wind, either. The course was pretty crowded for the first 25k and it was difficult, on occasion, to stay clear of all the other riders. I was warned once when I tried to pass a group and got stuck behind some guy who swung out to pass the person in front of him. Things like that make the bike a pain. I guess if I would swim faster I’d have fewer people in front of me to worry about. The first lap was much like the training ride I did the Sunday before the race. Except this time it was raining. (Had I mentioned that? So much for Fern’s connections to the gods.) And the wind was blowing in the opposite direction. And it was colder. And there were a few extra people out on the road. I was still intent on keeping my heart rate under control so I didn’t go out and catch everyone in front of me. I was surprised that not very many people were passing me, though. Happy, but surprised. The turnaround at Reporoa was reached for the first time. It was very helpful to have actually ridden the entire course during training. I usually drive it for races, but it’s much better to see it up close and personal. I knew what to expect. And, after making the turn, a relief from the wind. An uneventful ride back into town. Cheers from my crew. (I guess this was the first time they had actually seen me racing. And, after that brief glance, it was time for them to go to lunch. What a way to do an Ironman.) And then off on the second lap. At the steep hill to leave town we got a red wrist band signifying completion of one lap. This was also where the bike special needs bags were. I had mixed up three bottles of a 'double strength' hammer gel and sustained energy concoction (eight tablespoons of hammer gel, two scoops of sustained energy, four endurolyte capsules, four enduro capsules and two race capsule for those who want the exact recipe) which was just a tad over 600 calories per bottle. I also had a flask with five servings of hammer gel. My plan was to have a half a bottle of fluid (300 calories) an hour. And supplement with the straight gel as needed. I had plain water in my JetStream and was sipping from this pretty continuously. I would just take a little sip of the mix from a water bottle at a time, and 'chase' it with water. I thought I did well following that plan. I ended up not having any of the gel. Originally, I was going to start the race with two of the bottles and pick up the third at special needs. I decided, because of my misadventures with handoffs while on the bike in Lake Placid, to minimize the times I would have to grab things and I carried all three bottles right from the beginning. I figured the extra weight of one bottle of fluid wouldn’t hinder me much. So, all I was getting at the aid stations was water. And, I’m sure everyone will be happy to know, these handoffs were flawless. Just following Coach’s orders to “keep the rubber side down”. Getting off and walking the bike through the aid stations also helped. Just kidding. Now back to the race. Outbound on Broadlands for the second time. Into the enchanted forest. By the way, it’s the Tuahara Forest. Ok, another aside. There are big forest service type signs with little forest fire danger pie-chart sections. Every other time I had passed this sign the danger was “High”, the middle of five levels. Today, after what seemed like two days of continuous rain (I did mention the rain, right?) the danger was all the way down to “Moderate”. I wonder what it took to get it the bottom, which was “Low”. At this point in the race, on the way to Reporoa for the second (and last time), I’m starting to pick up the pace just a little bit. It’s still raining. And the wind is still blowing. And it’s still a head wind. So, maybe it’s not so much that my pace is picking up, but the others are slowing down more than I am. I’m starting to pass more people. One of the problems here, though, is that bikers are riding just on the edge of legal. That is, there are not necessarily seven meters between riders, but they’re not right on each other’s wheels, either. And everybody is pretty much on the far left of the road where they belong from a New Zealand point of view. The problem is that there might be a string of about seven bikes. And there’s no real room between bikes so I have to pass the whole train. For the most part it wasn’t bad, although my heart rate would get higher than I really wanted during the pass. So, I would get to the front and let it settle down. If the whole train wanted to re-pass me, more power to them. It was entertaining to see the motorcycle marshal wave over and penalize three guys at one time on one occasion. I reached the Reporoa turnaround with my odometer showing about 86 miles. I figured about an hour and 15 minutes, give or take, to get done. And this last bit started fine. But the section from 90 miles to 105 didn't go well. It was tough physically. But it was tougher mentally. I'm kind of guessing that the winter training, and the lack of six hour rides, was a factor here. (I went to a Q and A session with Cameron Brown after the race and he mentioned it was at this point on the course where he felt the need for some sugar type thing to pick him up. He used the Pepsi from the aid stations. I don't know if something like a chocolate bar would work. Or if I should have had some gel here.) Even the fact that the rain stopped and the sun came out didn’t help much. I had taken off my sunglasses at some point during the endless rain and stuffed them in my pocket. Some time later they fell out, so I didn’t have anything for the sun. Probably just as well since the sun didn’t last long. Anyway, I got through the ride. I thought the first 90 miles went well. The first lap I kept under control and was right around 2:45 at 90k (I realize I’m mixing miles and meters, but deal with it). And the second outward leg, because of the head wind, was also under control. A little harder, but I knew there would be a tail wind on the way home and I was hoping to pick up the pace a bit on this section. The second 90k was right around 2:50. I was hoping, after what I thought was an easy first lap, to stay at 2:45 or even do 2:40. But that 15 mile stretch took a bit out of me. I ended up rolling into T2 with a 5:35 bike split. I don't have my past race splits here, but I think that was my fastest Ironman bike. And it’s always a nice feeling to get off the bike and hand it to a volunteer, grab the run gear bag from another volunteer and then head into the changing tent. The second transition took a little longer than I wanted, about 4:45. But, it included a portaloo break. I'm still not entirely sure why it took so long. I did change my shirt, but that shouldn't add more than a few seconds. Whatever. I started off on the run and the big clock was under seven hours. And I felt good. My plan was to start off at a five minutes per kilometer pace (about a 3:30 marathon), hold that for the first lap, plus or minus, then pick it up to around 4:30 per kilometer. And, I did well. Going out of town there was a tail wind and the hills weren't bad. I did the first 10k at around 48 minutes. The way back was tougher with the wind and the hills, but I was still pretty comfortable. The second 10k was around 51 minutes. The next three or so kilometers were fine. Now, for some notes on the run. I couldn’t believe the number of spectators on the course. The weather was bad and had been for pretty much the entire day, but there were wall-to-wall spectators. And they were very vocal, as well as sympathetic when things weren’t going so well. The phrase here was “good on you”. And the aid stations were also done very well. The only thing missing was the chicken broth. There were several occasions where I was feeding on chocolate chip cookies, potato chips and pepsi. That combination tasted surprisingly good. I’m not sure it did me a whole lot of good, but it was calories into my system. Like the bike, the run was a two lap affair. It’s great from a spectator point of view and also means half as many aid stations, but I’d just as soon go out and not come back until I’m done. Passing the finishing chute two times before being allowed in sucks. The way the course is set up, after dropping off the bike I headed towards the finish area. That was 1.5k into the run. I passed the finish chute (although I don’t remember being aware of it then, probably because Cameron wasn’t close to being done) and just a little further I got a blue band for my wrist noting that I was on my first lap. Around the swim to bike transition area and then out on the major road. From this point it was pretty much two way traffic with runners. As I mentioned, it was kind of a tail wind here and no major climbs. The rain would stop and the sun would shine on random occasions. When this happened it would go from coolish to hot. I would douse my head with water to cool off. Then the sun would go away, it would start to rain, and I would freeze. A lovely day in Taupo, New Zealand. In the little neighborhood where the run turnaround was located (as well as other spots on the course), the locals and the tourists were set up on the sides of the road with their big beach umbrellas and their coolers of beer. The one thing I didn’t notice was much music. And this applies to the aid stations, as well. From past Ironman remembrances, loud music was very prominent on the run. Maybe it was just that I was brain-dead this time. The turnaround was a little over 11k into the run. As I mentioned, the first 20k went pretty well. Past my cheering crew. Past the finish chute yet again. Getting a white wrist band. Around the transition area. Past the crew again. And back out towards the turnaround. This was about 23k and at the bottom of a little hill. Then the wheels fell off. A major bonk. And this is where I was stupid. Actually, prior to this. I had started off the run with a water bottle belt that had the single strength mix of hammer gel and sustained energy in a water bottle and a gel flask. I didn't use any of that stuff for the first lap. It really didn't appeal to me and I didn't force myself to partake. So, I mostly had water and then some Pepsi at the aid stations. And I #@$%ing know better than that. (I guess I'm still beating myself up.) The water bottle belt was bothering me so I gave it to my crew around the 20k mark. I thought very briefly about holding on to the gel flask. But I didn't. And I #@$%ing know better. The gel worked so well for me in Dublin. How could I be so #@$%ing stupid? The stretch from 23k to about 38k was the basic run / walk style of movement. I was trying pretty much everything at the aid stations, anything to get some calories into my system. Once I finished the last hill I knew I was going to break 11 hours. And I knew if I could pick it up just a bit I could have a decent time. I wasn't going to hit my goal, but it would still be a PR. So, I ran to the finish line. I won’t comment about the idiot who sprinted past me right at the finish line. Just so he could finish 191st instead of 192nd. And I know that there are reasons for doing these races other than the finisher photo. But this jerk messed up my ‘clean’ picture. It turns out, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. But after almost 11 hours and a fair amount of disappointment, I wasn’t thrilled. But, I finished. I was escorted by a volunteer to a scale. They slapped me on the butt. I screamed. They weighed and measured me. Just kidding about the slapping, screaming and measuring. All they did was weigh me. I lost 2.5 kilograms during the race. The volunteer wouldn’t let me leave until I was questioned by a medical person. I said I was fine and she believed me. She mentioned that I should try and replace fluids as soon as possible. So, after my ten minute post-race massage I had the crew take me out for a beer. The finishing time of 10:47:49 was a PR by more than 20 minutes. The marathon ended up just under 3:50, my fastest Ironman run. And, after going to the roll down meeting, a 10:30 wouldn't have been good enough. I would have needed about a 10:20. Something I should have been able to do, but I didn't. But, at least I learned things. I have to work on my mental toughness to get through that tough section of the bike that always happens. I have to try and get a few more calories in on the bike, particularly when it’s on the cool side. And I have to make sure I start with the calories on the run right from the start. I guess that’s about it from Taupo, New Zealand. See you all in Madison, Wisconsin! Cheers. And no worries. - Steve
Thanks, everybody, for reading. Hope you had a good time. By the way, Coach Devlin can be reached here.
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