Wednesday 17 August 2011
New Kit
Work in Progress, my kit sponsor Champion Systems are currently producing some new gear for me including cycling and tri outfits, here's a sample of the tri kit:
Ironman Austria 2011 Race Report
My preparation had been good and I was feeling confident, race day arrived and my goals were as follows:
1. Sub 9
2. Irish record
3. kona slot
in that order where each goal was likely to take care of the proceeding goal, etc. (i.e. if I went sub 9 there was a high possibility the other 2 goals would have also been met). In any case if I was slower than 9:15 then all goals would have passed. Europe and Austria in particular are fast so there is no room for mistakes, a puncture or a really bad swim and you’re out of the game already.
With almost 2500 people trying to start in a relatively narrow area, there was really no way to avoid the violence. I got away well but as usual I had people swimming all over me within seconds, Owen Martin (Setanta) had warned me it would be like this so I had resigned to the fact that the first 1km was going to be contentious. I tried not to waste too much energy with the constant grabbing and nudging but there was a lot of stop start action as I got blocked and also had people coming up behind me using my legs as part of their catch!
At times during the swim some spaces appeared and I tried to use them, I got a couple of decent drafts but nothing consistent. After the turning point we were facing in to the sun so I just used the feet in front for coordination as I had no idea where I was going. I reached the turn point in around 22mins but the way back was much longer, I reached the canal at around 45mins so I knew my goal of a sub 1hr swim was at risk.
The long run up to t1 was surprisingly quick and I was out on the bike within about 4mins. The start of the bike is fairly flat and fast for the first 20k, having recced the course back in May with Matt Molloy I knew this section well and didn’t concern myself with the low wattage. High speed for low watts was the plan, I knew the power would rise later as I reached the hills as that’s how it happened during the test weekend. I felt good on the bike and loved the fast pace out along the lake.
My coach Alan Couzens’ advice was ride hard when the race is slow, he has written some excellent papers on power distribution during the bike. This is the strategy I had practiced and was following during the race. Unfortunately early on the bike my Quarq crank stopped emitting a signal, the watts blanked then came back with a huge figure of 2500 watts (not even Cancellara could reach those figures J ) I was a bit shocked as I had done 6months training on power and now I had no idea how many watts I was pushing! Quarq crank worth almost £2k and it was malfunctioning, great!
Luckily I have also done a lot of work with HR so Alan also had given me precise numbers to follow on that. For most of the first lap I was alone passing a lot of people, but a few really fast guys went by, I assumed they were either too fast for me to go with or they didn’t know what they were doing, either way I was staying in my own race plan range. Seemed quite windy out there and I stayed down on the bars on the flats and up for the hills to modify the position when possible.Half way through the first lap I couldn’t find my salt stick container, I had it in a small side pocket and my race belt riding upwards seemed to have squeezed it out without me noticing, 40k in to the bike and I had lost my salt!!! This stressed me so much I started shouting at other athletes on the way past if they had any – no luck. I seen Joyce Wolfe on the main climb and she didn’t have any either. She was going well and high up in the womans race.
Later in the 2nd lap I came up behind a group of guys who were doing a good paceline, there was 5 or 6 who seemed to be working together. I tried pacing with them back and forward but would drop off when the pace or HR didn’t suit me. They seemed to be good at pacing together staying well outside illegal distance so the referee motorbikes were happy with them. Keeping them within eye shot from time to time helped me maintain focus and pace.
I took on most of my nutrition in the first lap of the bike as planned, keeping one of the h5 extreme mixes with the electrolyte as I had a limited amount of this. Also picking up a powerbar bottle each time one emptied. I had 3 powerbar bottles from the stations in total and grabbed some quick water sips in the aid station before throwing the bottles within the station area. In the 2nd lap I finished off whatever energy I had on me. Rolling back in to t2 I seen the split was good at 4:49 and I got through transition in around 3mins.
I took on most of my nutrition in the first lap of the bike as planned, keeping one of the h5 extreme mixes with the electrolyte as I had a limited amount of this. Also picking up a powerbar bottle each time one emptied. I had 3 powerbar bottles from the stations in total and grabbed some quick water sips in the aid station before throwing the bottles within the station area. In the 2nd lap I finished off whatever energy I had on me. Rolling back in to t2 I seen the split was good at 4:49 and I got through transition in around 3mins.
Early on the run I felt good, keeping my hr to Alan’s plan between 135 – 150, sitting around the 140 mark mostly until I settled in. The garmin was reading around the 4min/k and often dipping under so I wondered if it was accurate because it felt very easy. The only issue was that my stomach felt slightly bloated though not quite enough to stop me running. My buddy Matt Molloy was out ahead, he’s an incredible swimmer and I knew he’d have at least 10-12mins on me there. I’d recced the bike course with him few months back and so I knew he wouldn’t get any time on me on the bike, I estimated that he was around 10-12 mins ahead on the run because of his swim split. The course layout was good for spotting other people ahead as you turn back on yourself quite a lot. I seen Matt about the 5k mark and he was coming back at around 7k so I estimated about 8-10mins between us.
I knew he was going to be strong and I would have to run my socks off to catch him, but my stomach cramps were getting worse and after about 8k I decided to pull in to a portaloo. I tried but just couldn’t go, the mental pressure and anxiety just seemed to block any chance of this happening so I just got back out on the run after a few minutes. I was panicking that I had lost approx. 2minuutes here and I thought it was the start of me having stomach trouble. Strangely though I started to feel a bit better when I got back up to pace, perhaps the drop in hr with the unsuccessful toilet stop was the reason.
From here I started to get in to rhythm and really started to enjoy the run. The garmin was consistently reporting sub 4min/k and I started to believe this was accurate when I calculated some of the run splits as we passed the km markers. Could I really be running 6min miles here??? My worry now was that this was unsustainable. Something will blow if I keep this pace! But my hr was only 140, in fact sometimes dipping down below 140. Since Italy 70.3 three weeks earlier I knew my running was good, but I’ve had so many injuries and run issues in the last 2 years I still thought it was too good to be true.
Rory (Maguire) was coming the other way and giving me splits, Owen and Rory were both flying at around 8-10mins back and I knew if I had the slightest issue these guys would have been past me like bullets (They were both running sub 3 pace!!). At the far end turning point in the town (around 15k in) I seen Matt again coming the other way and counted about 7mins between us, considering I had a 2mins toilet stop I knew I was reeling him in. I kept on the coke for energy and Iso for electrolyte. The temperature was perfect and I felt no urge to slow down at any point, in fact I had to pace back a few times when I seen my hr go above 140 as it seemed so natural to speed up. I thought I’d save that for the 2nd lap.
In to the 2nd lap I felt very good and was starting to realise I was on for a sub 3 marathon, the pace was improving and I started to move my hr up cautiously towards 145. I reached the spot where I seen Matt in the first lap but this time hadn’t yet seen him, I carried on for a few minutes and still no sign, this made me think I was getting close so I had to keep controlling my hr as I was getting carried away in the chase by raising hr above 145, only ever for a few seconds as I then brought it back to within Alan’s orders.
Matt is an amazing natural athlete all round, he wins just about everything he enters and has little if no weaknesses. Coming in to this I thought my only chance if getting him was to chase him on the run and just outpace him, here’s a guy who runs 1/2marathons in 1:13 so I knew he wouldn’t be running slow. When I came up behind someone who looked like Matt at around 26km, I was surprised to see him so soon. As I approached I noticed his pace had dropped a bit and he was suffering, I felt great so I knew I was going well past, but I worried that Matt was dropping his head so I shouted that he was still well inside the Kona slots. He said afterwards he was in a bad place at that stage but he picked up and got motoring again. Matt did a 3:11 run in his debut and matched the previous record Irish record at 9:02. This is one of the fastest debuts on record.
When I pushed past Matt I again seen Owen and Rory in the opposite direction, still flying and looking good. We were all giving each other some acknowledgements and encouragement, but now my thoughts turned to something very exciting, the small subjects of the Irish record and a sub 9. It got me slightly emotional, I had dreamt of being in this position and visualised it so many times. My main priority was to keep getting nutrition without slowing down, and most importantly to keep running fast. It occurred to me that this was my chance, opportunities like this do not appear often in life and I was going to hurt myself as much as it was required to make this happen.
I had the motivation, the thought processes in place, and importantly the legs. I had a slight hard patch about 30k in and my right thigh was getting tight but I thought I’m running 6min/miles here of course it is going to hurt!! I had to keep an eye on hr as the prospect of breaking 9 got me so excited that a few times I got carried away and hr went up to 150. Soon as I realised I quickly brought it down and stayed calm.
With about 8k to go I knew I was on target and all I had to do was keep moving, I seen Rory as I raced the last 5k towards the line and he shouted I was going to smash the record, then Michael (Joyce Wolfe’s husband) shouted something similar as I sprinted for the line. Strangely I still felt good and the last few km seemed to fly in.
I showboated a bit over the line which is unusual for me but it was like a dream happening before my eyes and I couldn’t contain myself, I don’t remember some of the race but I think the brain shuts out painful memories in the same way trauma is removed after accidents. I do remember seeing a lot of people I knew out there and us all shouting at each other. Some nice Irish girl handed me a small Irish flag and I waved it heading over the line, I still don’t know who that girl was!!??When I realised what had just happened I felt a deep sensation of joy, I knew it would take some time to sink in, but I’ve worked hard for a long time to realise this dream and I was going to enjoy it. I’ve had so many kind wishes and shouts since, I’m on a great high that will last a while.
As if I wasn’t happy enough my good friend Owen Martin came across the line also inside 9hrs, we were both so excited we were practically dancing around. I met Owen in Germany 2 years ago in my first Ironman, we both went under 10hrs and Owen was even back then a focused and strong athlete. To see how he has turned himself in to an elite is a huge inspiration and he’s the guy I look at to make myself feel guilty when I am having lapses in focus or will power. Before Switzerland last year I was having one of those lapses and he brought me straight back in to line! We celebrated together in Hawaii last year, and now in Austria. We are racing again this year in Galway, Vegas and Hawaii, it’s very exciting and in the best hearted way we will be fighting it out in every one of them!! J
Matt came in at 9:02 for a great finish and a huge achievement, he had pressure on him to perform and he delivered, top athlete and much deserved kona spot.
A few minutes later and young maguire was sprinting to the line in 9:06, for someone his age he is such a great example to all those kids at home in Ireland on what you can achieve if you really want to. Rory has a big future and I hope I’m part of it for a while yet, anyway maguire needs someone’s heels to look at on the run! :-D
A few very strong Irish athletes are racing the fast Roth course this weekend so my record may not last long but I have set these guys a good target, if any of them get under 8:49 then they will fully deserve the title. These are exciting times in Irish triathlon and Ironman and I love being a part of it.
I’m joining Owen in Kona again this year as he was also top ten in my age group. Matt got a slot too and although he was unsure at the time of taking it, I told him he would regret it later if he didn’t take it, will be good to have him along. Rory came 6th in his age group but just missed out on a slot, he may try again in Regensburg, but he has years and so much potential. He is verging on sub 9 in a tough sport. All 4 of us will be fighting it out in Galway, let the smack talk begin!!! J
My splits for the day:
SWIM | BIKE | RUN | OVERALL | DIV.POS. |
1:03:16 | 4:50:19 | 2:49:03 | 8:49:45 | 3/444 |
# fastest amateur run at 2:49 (including a toilet stop! J), 5th fastest run including pros.
# 3rd M35 AG, 28th overall inc pros.
Ironman 70.3 Italy 2011 Race Report
Ironman 70.3 Italy 12th June 2011. Race report, Martin Muldoon.
Ironman Italy is a new course so we didn’t really know what to expect from it. I like to study the details but the website was poor on the low level details that we geeks live on so I had to wait until we arrived in Pescara. The temperature was hotter than London but manageable, the water was beautiful and fairly calm day before race. We drove the bike course on the Saturday and although very scenic Italian countryside, it was seriously hilly, we knew this was a biking course and there was no conservative way to get through it fast. Bel sat in the back seat looking more and more worried as we drove hill after hill (as we all were J ), she ended up having a great race with 9th in her AG so she needn’t have worried!
On race day the start times were very relaxed with pros setting off at midday and then waves of 250 or so setting off in 10min intervals until 12.30. I was off at 12.20 and in the largest AG, we also had some M40-44 with us for the beach start. From the start the swim was completely chaotic, I’ve been racing for a few years now and this was the most violent confusing swim I’ve ever been in. The wind had picked up and the waves were quite big but the first 100m were still in shallow water and so it was a mix of dolphin diving, swimming and surfing (and a bit of karate)! There were people all over the place arms flying, feet in the face, I got quite a few hard knocks to the head but the worst was when the pros coming back to shore met us in the middle between the buoys (the course went parallel to the beach up and down one loop always keeping buoys on left), the pros were being pushed in by the waves and we were trying to stay out of the beach so we hit them head on. I got punched full suck on the nose by a pro in a silver hat (might have been a woman J ). I found sighting difficult and I had to tread water a few times to find the beach to check direction, the waves were significant enough that I couldn’t really see the buoys so I just followed everyone else with the same swim cap as me. After a lot of energy wastage we got back to shore and I was running through the long transition in around 32 mins which left me about 4-5mins down on the front guys.
As soon as I grabbed my bike I noticed the back wheel would not move and it was squealing as if the brakes were on. It was fine when I checked before the race but the direct sunlight seemed to expand the tyre and it was now jammed against the frame so I had to take the wheel out and reset it with a gap to the frame. This worked and stayed in place but I lost about 90seconds or so before getting out on the bike course. My T1 time of 3:17 was about 90secs slower than the leaders in my age group.
When I started out on the bike I felt good right away, Alan had me tapered in to the race a bit and the rest had me feeling very strong and ready to go. The bike started flat but in to a head wind, though very quickly we were climbing and I felt very strong passing people with ease and enjoying the buzz. There was only a few guys out there that seemed to match pace but they soon dropped off and I was hunting down the leaders as the athletes thinned out and I worked my way through the earlier waves on the hills. It was hot and although the wind was fairly strong the watts were high on the Garmin (705) and my HR seemed to be under control below 150. I had decided to go with one bottle on the bike to save weight and hassle, this meant I needed to hit the aid stations at 30k and 60k to pick up and replace my energy drink to have 3 in total during the bike, but I rushed through the first aid station and picked up water by accident as I couldn’t hear the volunteers properly. I knew after a taste that this was trouble; it meant I had to do the next 30k with just water and at the threshold I was pushing I was not in fat burning zone! I did have one gel and an energy bean pack but 200cal would not get me far, I also topped up with a few salt stick tabs, but I did notice a slight drop off on watts as I went through the hills over the next hour or so before reaching the 60k mark. I made no mistake this time grabbing an energy drink and a gel before settling back into rhythm.
The hills got harder and I knew I’d gone off a bit fast but I guessed I was fairly safe as this was ½ distance I could hold on for the last 30k. My wheel choice of disc back and 404 front was the perfect combination as I think it was too windy for the 1080 front wheel. On one of the fast descents I overtook some guy in the middle of a corner and the back wheel left me. I just about held on to it but a passing referee on a motorbike looked at me like I was crazy, no rules broken so I got back to work.
The last 20k was tough because although it was the flattest part of the bike there was a strong and constant head wind and I was still slightly low on energy below race plan. It was a long grind on my own riding through a now very sparse field of the front end guys, I kept the head down to avoid wasting energy in to the wind and soon enough I was back in town.
I squashed the last gel down, it was horrible but I knew I needed it for the run so I just got it done. As I came in to T2 some guy 50m ahead went head over heels while getting off his bike so I was extra cautious dismounting.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how few bikes there were in T2, I knew I was up there and just needed to execute the part I was most worried about – the run! I’ve had a terrible winter again through injury and running has been the discipline that I had to avoid, but over the past month I started again and Alan has allowed me to run on a treadmill so I was keen to see if I could still produce some leg speed. I’ve had issues with calf, knee and Achilles injuries but I’ve been doing more stretching and foam roller work, always being on the edge spoils confidence and keeps you worrying.
½ way through the first lap I seen Rowan in the opposite direction and he was moving well with very good stride and posture. I have more of a running background than him but he had pretty much held me on the swim and bike, as we train together I knew this would be the case. This meant he was a good ‘carrot on a stick’ for me to push towards. I slowly closed the gap on him but this was hard work and took some focus. While doing so I passed a lot of runners and the only person who passed me was in running shorts so a relay runner, but I got him back later. I got past a few of the pro men in the run and knew then I was running well.
As I closed on Rowan we shouted at each other and agreed starting the last lap that if we blew now it didn’t matter with 5k to go, I upped my HR to 158 and dug very deep to hit that 1:20 mark. Rowan held strong and upped his pace for a very respectable top ten AG finish and 29thoverall, the result of some consistent and well organised training. The last lap of the run was the only part of the race where I really suffered greatly but it was a safe place to do so and I think I timed it well as looking at the results the run times were quite slow out there after a tough bike.
I had the 7th fastest run of the day (1:20) including the pros to finish in 4:32 and a minute off winning my age group. I ended up 4th amateur and 18th overall including the pros, my fear of not being able to run was quashed and I got some confidence back. It’s been a tough winter of training but it seems to have been productive as this is my first ironman 70.3 podium.
I have spent a lot of time and money on kit and technique this year including bike power, I also had a Retul bike fit. All these things chip away at the time splits, but the main thing I changed was my coach. After a very big rest from Hawaii I started with Alan Couzens in December, a proper scientist at work, I have gained a lot from working with him. I hope now I can execute over full distance, time will tell. Roll on Austria!
Splits:
Swim (1.9km) | T1 | Bike (90km) | T2 | Run (21.1km) | Overall |
31:14 | 3:17 | 2:33:20 | 1:54 | 1:20:45 | 4:32:45 |
Position:
Age Group M35-39: 2nd
Amateur overall: 4th
Overall inc. pros: 18th
Full results:
Ironman Hawaii 2010 Race Report
Ironman World Championships, Kona Hawaii 2010. Race report by Martin Muldoon.
I arrived Monday 27th September, almost 2 weeks before the race on Saturday 9th October. The idea was to acclimatise to the heat and 11hr time zone change. The flights out from London and LA had quite a few triathletes on them, obvious from the bike boxes and skinny physiques. The atmosphere had started already and I wasn't even on Hawaiian soil yet. The hotel was recommended by Jenny Gowans and couldn't have been more convenient, a 1min walk to the swim/race start! Jenny ended up having a tough time on race day with a stomach infection, she was wise to withdraw during the run and they kept her in hospital for 2 days. She's well on the mend now. The build up to race day was fun meeting athletes from all over the world. I did a normal taper, careful not to tire myself for the big event.
Race day arrived and I’d slept very well, almost 7hrs straight which is the most I had in the previous two weeks. Being so convenient to race start I didn’t have to stress too much, I woke at 4.30 for a 7am start, I had a quick breakfast and headed for number marking and swim check in around 5. This was pretty straight forward and I then checked bike tyres and placed drinks bottles for the ride. I was keen to get to swim start on time for a change so I then went back to hotel and got swim gear together. I was nervous but not overly so, I worried slightly that I was a bit too relaxed!I got down to the beach start area just before the pros set off, they had the starting ceremony with traditional drums and dance. It created a really nice atmosphere, but nothing could take our minds from the huge task ahead. The very powerful cannon from the pro start was the first time when I really felt a touch of nerves, it was the realisation that this was it, show time…
Just after the pros left shore I swam out to the floating car, warming up a bit and hanging on to the buoy and trying to negotiate with the marshalls that we should be allowed to go left of the floating promo car as it would otherwise be too tight. Through sheer numbers of swimmers they gave in and we were able to go well left of the car and spread the mass start a bit thinner. I was using a Polar 625x with time of day display along with lap time and HR, the HR monitor blanked 5mins before start and in fact never came back until I reset it on the bike. I knew they wouldn't count us down so I was ready from about 2 minutes to go, the loud cannon boomed and we were off.
I started fairly aggressive to find a bit of space but I didn't waste energy by fighting anyone, trying to avoid too much kicking and seeking a pair of feet to draft. I once got a huge shunt from my left as I turned to see NED in large letters, couldn't see the face to check if it one of my Dutch friends :-) I did get caught a few times at the start thinking, wow can't believe I’m here - in the crazy start of Kona, shouldn’t have been thinking about this but it just seemed a bit surreal. I never really suffered too much in the water, I enjoyed the swim and felt as if I was moving along nicely. I was surprised and disappointed with the time of 1:15 but thought I had a long day ahead to make up some time. I excited and had a fairly uneventful T1, although my neck was cut up from the swim suit. I was out on the bike in around 3mins.
The start of the bike was a bit awkward with people all over the road and lots of corners and the non-overtaking Palani Road before the turn around and back in to town. I took it fairly easy at the start of the bike and was keen to find a good rhythm, but the headwinds started out pretty soon and I was working at 140-145 early on the Queen K. I had hoped to get on a pace line but there was no one similar pace and I ended up going it alone. I noticed quite a bit of drafting and people grabbing my wheel while I passed, but I didn't waste any energy getting annoyed about it. The road to Hawi was long and the head winds never ceased, what lifted my mind from the effort was when the pros passed in the opposite direction. The helicopters in the distance meant they weren't far way and I was wondering who would be behind Lieto. I probably shouldn’t have been paying so much attention to the other side of the road but I’m such a huge fan of the sport that I couldn't help get excited to see all the big names fly past in the opposite direction. Lieto was smiling, Stadler, Macca and Voenecker were all up there. I was surprised how far Crowie and Lanos were back but they obviously made up ground in the closing stages. Later as the pro women came past I noticed Julie Dibens had a big lead as expected with Chrissie Wellington out of the race.
The last 10k or so towards Hawi was all up hill and the wind although sometimes from the side was strong and I had to work a high HR to get any decent speed at all. I recognised a few guys coming the other way and I realised then how far I was behind from the swim, I tried to ignore this and keep pushing. By the turn around in Hawi I was feeling the work and my stomach started to play up. I started thinking that my recent efforts to reach race weight had resulted in me losing a bit of power on the bike so I was working harder than race plan. Regardless of the dodgy stomach the road down from Hawi was good fun, I love downhill and the extra challenge of the powerful back to side wind was quite a rush. At one stage I was doing over 45mph but the bike was at a huge angle as I fought the side winds. Each time I passed a gap in the hedge a gust of wind would throw me 2-3m across the road, it took a lot of lateral work to prevent me coming off on the decent – all that core work was paying off now!I overtook a lot of people on the way down from Hawi but as soon as it evened out again I was disappointed to feel the notorious headwinds in the other direction again. As I continued to work against this my stomach was stirred up and I was sick a few times, the high 5 extreme didn't appeal anymore so I stuck with water and coke from the aid stations. My average speed came and went and my HR was always a little higher than I wanted, but I got back in to Kailua with an average of around 21.5mph for a split of 5:11.
T2 was again pretty clean, not very fast but without mistakes and I was on the run in around 3mins feeling relaxed and immediately trying to get to my target HR of 140. I had planned to keep it here for most of the run until the latter stages where if possible I would step it up for a strong finish. In the first section out to the turnaround point I had to stop at an aid station cubicle, felt like the longest pee of my life but then I was in a rather big race! About ½ way out to the first turn I noticed a tri colour on a fence that had the names of all the Irish squad on it, a cool gesture that give me a nice lift – no doubt the work of Owen Martin’s wife Ashling!
I kept my policy of water, ice, cola, sponge through all aid stations and felt comfortable at 140, never allowing myself to sneak above that. I had put on a fuel belt in T2 that had 3 small bottles of high5 extreme and one water. Idea was to have something to wash down the salt tabs with and the H5 extreme for an extra kick. Even early in the run the high5 bottles tasted terrible, so when I seen Ashling on the way back from the first turn around I dropped my fuel belt with her and kept just one of the small bottles. I was now packing light with the salt tab bottle and one h5 extreme bottle each in a side pocket which seemed much less burden than the clumsy fuel belt. Not only did the extreme taste bad, but I was getting enough energy from the coke so I think in future I’ll just take a small bottle of water for emergency between aid stations and mainly for washing down the salt tabs. You don’t want a salt tab on your tongue without water, I’ve tried and don't recommend it!
As I turned on to Palani my HR started to rise as we climbed but I immediately slowed to hold it below 145. I remembered the short steps and high knees an old coach Paddy Downey taught me when I was 15 – that’s a while ago but the method works. A lot of people were walking up Palani but I never felt the need to lower cadence. As I reached the QueenK I spoke with a few guys about the mens race as the pros were passing the other way to the finish line. Timo Bract, Faris Al Satan and Eneko Lanos had just went past for their top ten finishes. I wasn't aware yet that Macca had dropped Raelert in the last 2 miles for the win. Very inspiring to see him come back after an average year for such a big win.
Meanwhile back on the Queen K things were heating up a bit with reports of ground temperatures of 120F, and as a precaution I was putting 2 lots of ice down my front and back at each station. This was becoming 2nd nature now and I didn't really slow down at the aid stations at all. I was still focused on keeping my HR at 140 in case the heat or humidity started to play with me but it never really felt that difficult, I had lost weight before the race to help handle the heat and this seemed to be working. I decided that when I reached the energy lab I would step it up to a more aggressive pace if I hadn’t started suffering too much at that point.
It seemed like a long old way out there but I reached it feeling fine and ready to step things up. I seen fellow Serpie Rachel Joyce pass the other way, I shouted that she was in the top 5 but she was well aware of it anyway as she had been battling it out with Yvonne van Vlerken for 5th place for some time. She eventually dropped Van Vlerken and went on for a 5th place pro finish!
As I reached the energy lab I felt good so I put the hammer down and moved my HR up to 145, this felt like a considerable step up in pace as I started passing a lot of people but I was comfortable and knew I could hold it there without trouble. I found out afterwards that my pace from entering the energy lab with 9miles to go changed to 6:36 per mile, I held this pace til the end but wished then I had stepped up the pace earlier because I never really suffered on the run.
On the way back in on the QueenK I passed a lot of people and some that I knew, some of them had blown but I encouraged them to hold it as they were so close to the finish. Most of these guys held on for a sub 10. As I had lost full race timing from earlier in the swim, the only way I could work out overall time was from time of day setting on the polar, this turned out to be fairly accurate as I knew I was fighting to get under 9:50. My calves were so tight as I turned off the Queen K on to Palani but I was thinking this is my last race for a while I would keep sprinting for the line, my knee was fine throughout. Running down Palani was fun, I let go and ran like a child with no control arms wailing all over the place, the crowd was amazing.
As I turned on to Ali'i drive the atmosphere was incredible and for the sake of 30 seconds I wish I had slowed down to soak it up a bit. Coming over the line in Kona is a fantastic thrill and one that I hope to do again many times. The clock read 9:48 and for the tough course of Kona things could have been worse for me. As a triathlete I’m very self-critical and I was disappointed that I didn’t hurt myself more in the first ½ of the run, a 3:15 run is not fast and it’s frustrating to have finished so fresh and reflect on how I could have done it differently. It’s wise to respect Kona as many big people have fallen apart in the heat, but I gave it too much respect and left my surge too late. I think the heat plays with HR and next time I will use a GPS system to monitor pace and avoid following HR so closely. My HR for Switzerland was similar but the pace was completely different. I know I can go a lot faster, I’ll have to wait a year but I’m positive and look forward to getting out there and doing some damage.
My usual post-race nausea soon set in and it was an hour or so before I could eat or drink properly. A nice mellow atmosphere surrounded the finish area with pros and age groupers mixing and chatting about the race as the sun went down. As a competitive triathlete I soon was analysing the race and finding things that I could have done better and realised areas I need to work hard on this winter, namely swimming and bike power. I’ll take a month off now to recuperate and try get my leg strength imbalance issues sorted out. I’m signed up for Austria next year where I hope to get another World Champs slot. Kona is an amazing experience and I look forward to trying again next year. Mahalo Hawaii, Aloha!!
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