An ancient British Military motto - (The 6 P's, - Planning and
Preparation Prevents Pi** Poor Performance)
On numerous times the above motto rung true in my Military career, andis still used more than occasionally to this day.
This last year's training has been fragmented (at best) to say the
least. Working 6 days a week, supporting a family, trying to get a new
business venture going and last and not least the opening of a training
facility in Didsbury (Jan 08). With the best will in the world Ironman
was going to have to take a rather small back seat. I can only thank
the human body for keeping a degree of base fitness from last year.
This year Hawaii was sold to the girls as a 'family' holiday with a
little race in the middle of it, (Ironman is all consuming). The normal
route of travel is Manchester - Chicago - LA - Kona , which can take up
to 22-25 hours depending how lucky you are with times/pilots/weather
etc. So with a bit of disbelief I boarded the plane with the Clarke caravan, Colette - wife, Caprice - No 1 and the No 2 - Arabella. We
arrived the weekend before the race so we could watch the build up and
I could get the opportunity to do a bit of last minute training/tanning
(remember legs from last year!).
Kona Bay, Last minute training ?
The week before this year was fantastic. Kona seemed to be boiling with
atmosphere the moment we landed, far better than previous years and so
it should be as this is the World Championships!.
The Race.
As most of you know the pro's start 15 min's before the age groupers at
645 am, this is because of hyped up age groupers previously getting too
aggressive during the swim/bike. The start had a different feel this year, it almost seemed too relaxed. Maybe it was the US Navy parachute display team doing their bit before the canon went off that took your mind of the impending water ruck. Who knows!.
Anyway the hardest thing I find while swimming (apart from swimming) in Hawaii is the underwater wildlife, just try and ignore it when racing -
you can't. If it's not that blue fish over there it's the orange one here - fantastic!. The only problem I faced was on the return, I had this guy constantly grabbing my ankles, touching feet etc for a good 10 - 15 min's. That's when it happened, I went all rugby!, I turned 180 degrees and charged (not the best thing to do and I bet it's not on the
official video). However it worked and I continued to have an uneventful swim back to Dig Me Beach. On exiting the water I peaked a look at the watch and had gone 5 min's quicker than last year, bonus!.
Time 1:08:51/786th position
T1 was an absolute disaster. It seemed that everyone in front of me was is the tent all at the same time - madness. I still managed to put on
the factor 30 though-slightly important as post race I was informed it
was close to 98 degrees at 815 am on race day.
Those of you who know me I try and do most of the damage in races on
the bike as it's the easiest thing for me to do at home when looking
after the girls. The 112 miles in Hawaii consists of a little spin in
and around Kona then it's up Palani Drive and onto the Queen K. The
Queen K is the main road that takes you through the famous lava fields
up to the north of the island. You then take a left then a right up to
the bike turnaround in Hawi. The bike portion of the race is also
renowned for it's trade winds which can blow from any direction up to
and sometimes over 60 miles an hour. However looking across at the
various wind socks that litter the road side we had a slight head wind
up until the climb to Hawi. That's when it started to get a bit crazy.
It's never easy going up hills but when you have the wind in your face
and the risk of getting blown off your bike when passing gates/gaps in
the walls etc you have to cautious. There is a plus side though, after
the turn around they were a distant memory as I hammered it towards the Queen K at 35 - 40 mph, (still being weary of the cross winds).
Unfortunately arriving at the King K that same wind sock that was
showing an easy ride to Hawi was now pointing to Kona and a lot higher, (boll**ks!!) the wind was again in our faces - time to roll my sleeves up. On the way to Kona there did seem to be a larger than normal amount of athletes in drafting tents which were now on the course - Cheats !. The only other highlight was getting belted in the face with a stray bottle, hoorah! a cycling companion in the form of a fat lip and that familiar taste of claret. Nearly there...
Time 5:05:53/233rd position
Coming into T2 I felt good as I hadn't pushed the bike despite the head
winds nearly all day, and felt fresh getting off.
Coming out of T2 was a different story - there was no spark in the
legs, nothing. I tried everything even running through the first couple
of aid stations still nothing. Then that's when I realized - heat/sun
stroke. The sun had fried me, I was in a bad way. the factor 30 I had
been using so far had, well, been a bit sh*t. I was so burnt the body
was directing the blood/energy/ and everything else for that matter
trying to keep my surface cool instead of helping me go forward. Now
for an impression, (think top gear) and on that bombshell the vomiting
etc started.
On the run there are aid stations every mile which is great news if you
want to eat, drink or share your heat illness with anyone - not today.
The first 10 miles were probably the more enjoyable because I managed to keep a few things down and from hitting the spectators, however when I got up to the Queen K the vomiting was more frequent and had become more of a retch as there was nothing left. The distance between the aid station was broken down into 3 stages - throw up water, - dry retch, then cramp all the while getting even more burnt because I was going backwards, so frustrating. I passed a few pro's who themselves were having bad days too, you then tell yourself it's okay, it happens!, it's still crap.
The run was concluded with an awful running/cramping attempt for the
last mile. Even Caprice had to wait for me, she was gutted that Dad
went backwards on the run so the promise was made - never to take
racing lightly again.
Time 3:41:13/340th position (also my slowest).
On weighing myself post race I had lost nearly a whopping 8 lbs, on
reflection I was happy with the finish and the massage.
But the beer tasted great after I warmed up with a few (lots!) pints of
chicken soup and a long hot shower.
At the bar in the King K, - Chris Fast and Chris Slow.
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