'You're not here for the sing song!' Ironman Hawaii Race Report 2012

Some of the squad at the Parade of Nations

This was my 3rd attempt in Hawaii and I had some demons to quash. I love the Big Island and the trip is always special, but this year I was determined to not get distracted by good coffee and the relaxed, friendly atmosphere. My friend Una from Tyrone who lives on the island said this year I’m not to be ‘coming for the sing song!’ I was on board with this and ready for action. When I raced Tri-Limits 70.3 in Tyrone in June, a chat with Owen Martin kicked me in to action. I found discipline again and after 4 months non broken training and diet, I knew I was going in to the big race in good shape. I missed an opportunity to race a 70.3 three weeks out when I couldn’t get a flight to the Lost Sheep tri in Kerry. Instead I raced the London duathlon Ultra distance in Richmond park on the same day, I seen decent numbers on bike power and run pace, my swimming at the club was also looking half decent. I had also spent 10days in Lanzarote hitting some key bike and run sessions in the heat. I was swimming every day and even fitted in a couple of sessions with Dan from SFT who were there on an openwater camp.

We arrived in Kona 10days out and I struggled as usual for 3-4 days with sleeping and of course bike power numbers were down. Running was good though, and I enjoyed the daily swim from digme beach as it got busy leading up to the big day. Owen and myself had a couple of very good hit outs of around 2.5k with 5mins wu and cd. In one key session we swam 2.6k at 1:33/100 pace, no mass start to deal with but at least our straight open water swimming was in a decent place.

Nervous times (photo - Richard Melik, Freespeed)

As always before a big race, things go wrong and I had a few technical and physical based concerns, but all were fixed with various levels of stress before race day. Sarah had picked up an infection on the trip over and the first few days were a bit difficult but she got antibiotics and picked up quickly to start enjoying the trip. I was relaxed the day before race and had a decent sleep, but when race morning came I could hardly eat anything, the nerves were kicking hard, but I had prepared well and guess felt I had a lot to lose by not performing well.

Lining up at the swim start was the usual slow advance forward with the paddle board officials shouting for us to move back, the line was straight…almost! I started my timer close to 7am to avoid having to start it when the gun went and getting swallowed by the monster, but I seen it was at around 3mins before the madness began. I think in all my sporting life it’s the most violent and energetic experience I’ve ever been involved with. The atmosphere and nerves makes it even more aggressive and I love it in there. Scares the hell out of me but as they say go in hard and you’ll come out better.

Not for the faint hearted (photo: Richard Melik, Freespeed)

Like last year I went at it pretty hard for the first 5-6 minutes, but it was less constant this time, people were being thrown around a bit and although I had a few brief drafts they would shift quickly, I’d get blocked in, then a gap would open again. The outward 2k was hard work and inconsistent, I had my goggles knocked off twice and got a very hard shunt at the turning point, I was jammed against the ropes and 2-3 guys were on top of me, but bit by bit after a few stops to see where I was I got some space and rounded the buoy to come home. I found a great draft again like last year, it was the perfect pace and about 3-4m left off the main pack. The guy I was drafting was drafting someone else who seemed to have great sighting from the checks I made on progress. Now and then the pace would surge but I knew from experience how important it was to stay on his feet and went in to the red to stay there, it worked and I stayed with them for prob 1500m on the way back. About ½ way back some guy came in from outside and tried to steal my draft, we had a tussle but I held him off, although he did manage to knock my garmin 310 off, I very briefly thought about turning to dive for it but realised quickly that was a foolish idea.

As I stayed on the draft I started to formulate a backup plan for hr on the run now as the 310 was sinking it’s way to the bottom of the ocean! I let my draft go about 200m from T1, the surges were becoming too fast for me and I was hyperventilating, I decided I was close enough to shore to let them go. Running through T1 I was asking other guys the time, sounded like we were out around 1:06 so similar to last year and I was happy enough as the Kona swim is so arbitrary, you could produce same output and get two results 5mins+ apart depending on draft/blocking, etc.

In the last days before the race my power had come back and I was confident of what needed to be done on the bike. I was keen to stick closer to Alan’s power plan this time, and be patient. I felt good, relaxed and the power numbers were strong at the start, I kept an eye on upper caps. The wind changed a lot and at a few sections near Kawaihae the side winds were strong and shifted direction, almost throwing me off. This normally only happens at Hawi and so I knew the wind was irregular and we were in for an interesting return journey. The road up to Hawi was it’s usual full on head wind but I was on a decent pace and felt a lot better than previous years at this point. I was keen to stick to nutrition/hydration plan, 3 salt tabs\hr, 1gel per hour, 2 bottles per hour of electrolyte (perform) including my own 2 made up with perform, H5Extreme and nunn. I had serious issues with cramping last year and Alan had prescribed me around 2250mg of sodium /hr this time and I was keen to hit that.

With my power numbers up significantly from last year, it felt easy enough to hold the power plan and still eat / drink. My previous Hawaii experiences are riddled with nausea and difficulty with absorbing calories but this time it was different. I had also popped a Biestmilch booster race morning about 90mins out, one at bike start and then one nearing bike end 4.5hrs in which seemed to help.

On the way back down from Hawi we had the side wind but when turning back at Kawaihae I realised the big head winds had turned and were not going away. I kept the head down and stayed within watts and remained patient. I knew from avg speed that it was becoming a slow day, but I kept an eye on power now starting to think about the run. My running has been going well and I thought it would my chance to make up some places. The last hour coming past the airport I felt unusually fresh and knew I had some running legs, at least to start off with! Rolling in to T2 the times were not fast but same for everyone and now I was ready to roll.

I felt good from the start on the run, carrying the fuel belt is a pain but I lost 5kg last year and Alan was keen for me not to create more than 1L per hour deficit inc hydration taken on board, so it was necessary even with the 11 bottles on the bike. I managed to get a backup garmin for the run, it was not set up for me and only reported hr, so I had no idea of time or pace.

I kept what felt like a decent pace out to the 5mile turnaround and back in to town. Judging from those I seen on the way back in and where they were, I knew I was on a decent race. I started to feel the start of some fatigue coming back in to Kailua, but it was manageable and I felt better than most people looked to me. Sarah was positioned at different points and apart from some great encouragement also picked up my used fuel belt to save me some weight when I threw it.

Running up Palani is always hard and I stayed calm and waited for the start of the Queen K before stepping it up. I had a chat with Adam Zucco who I raced in St Croix, before getting hr back to plan for the next 16miles. I noticed some mild cramps lurking, but I kept on top of the aid stations drinks and sodium tabs (these tabs had 330mg sodium each), using perform as well as coke this time to get the extra electrolytes. The Perform bottles have 550mg so well loaded and so far it seemed this was working as it was now extremely hot yet I was running faster than last year. I passed a lot of people and very few stayed on pace with me but I noticed a few guys ahead who were hard to catch. One guy was wearing all black and had a similar strong running style to Owen Martin with little upper body movement, but I knew Owen was behind (thank feck!! ;-) As I approached this guy I thought I recognised him, it turned out to be Alan Ryan. I’ve never raced Alan and had only read about him so was unsure how he operated, but I was aware of how dangerous he could be, experience is huge on the Big Island. We passed a few words to each other and I pressed on, I remember thinking jes that’s a hardy boy! Alan has done 13 consecutive sub 10 Ironmans and used to hold the Irish record so I didn’t want him coming with me!

My pace seemed consistent to the energy lab and a surprise breeze there was very welcome. Sarah was out there shouting me on again along the Queen K telling me I looked good, but I thought she’d tell me that anyway! It is such a lonely place, all you can see for miles ahead is the long hot road of the infamous Queen K. When I reached the energy lab I was ready, ready for the heat, ready for the run home. It’s intimidating, being tired yet knowing you have 8 miles still to run, but you also get the feeling you are almost home. My friend Una who is a teacher in the Energy Lab (NEL) was there as always at the special needs station, orchestrating the kids. The whole course was full of tri-colours and messages for the Irish team, the NEL was green white and orange everywhere you looked! As I reached the Special needs Una shouted something to the kids, they had been prepped, and about 50 of them started screaming at me, it was very sweet and had me laughing my head off to the turning point a mile later. When I came back I asked her for the salt tabs only as I didn’t feel I needed the 2nd fuel belt I had left in special needs. Having a good friend with that much clout in the energy lab is a definite advantage so apologies to my fellow competitors :-)

From then on, I was able to step it up a bit on the way back, but was cautious too as it was still hot out there and the wind on the bike had had its effect on all of us. A few runner lads who I’d let go at the start of the marathon were coming back in to view, and as I passed each of them they came with me and after the elastic band broke they’d each fall off. On the return route you get to see who is behind and how far, Alan was still there, Ivan O'Gorman was moving up and Owen was still looking strong, but for a change he was outside striking distance – btw that’s 2:1 Owen, I'm catching you :-D New lad Mike O'Brien was on the chase as well as Liam Dolan, all within minutes of each other.

Reaching Palani I felt good and thought I’d pace up for a strong finish, I started off to a sprint pace and was amused by the amount of guys who tried to come along, even though it was still a mile to go. I covered the last mile in 5mins so was pleased to still have some life left in the legs. I was strong over the finish line and pleased with the time.

The conditions were hard out there and overall times seemed 15-25mins slower than previous years depending on category. I went to medical as a precaution but certainly wasn’t in the state I ended last year! I was 9mins faster than 2011, so considering the conditions I was happy with the outcome. I was 19th in AG and 108 overall inc pros, first time I've been in top 50 in Kona.

Splits for the day:
Swim:     1:07:11
Bike:    5:10:18
Run:         3:05:51
Overall:     9:29:51

There was 12 Irish finishers this year and as the sport grows in popularity and participation at home, so does our qualification numbers on the big island. Matt and Rob had some trouble on the day, and Sharon suffered in the heat but did great in her first visit to the Big Island, but they all finished, 6 of us went sub 10, that's 50% of our whole representation! Alan never lost much time on me being the hard nut he is and gave us all some pride by getting his 2nd podium on the big island with a 3rd place. Seeing him lift the bowl at the Awards ceremony inspired me and will help me get through the tough winter ahead - we all dream of that podium.

Hawaii is always an immense and magical experience, the long trip out, the nervous build up, the breakfasts at Lava Java with live music looking over the ocean. Race day comes so soon and then it’s over and you’re celebrating at the awards ceremony, the K-Swiss party and hoping you can just stay another week.

It’s my best race there yet in the hardest conditions I’ve experienced, but I enjoyed it and realised I’m starting to get a handle on how to execute in Kona, I’ve already started to plan my attack for next year. Now taking a break of course, but again we’ve discovered things that need to be worked on this winter. Back to the rain and cold with no holidays now til the new allocation in April, it’s been a great year, with some brilliant experiences.

The next few months may include some cross country and off road bike/du races, I look forward to catching up with some people who have not seen much of me this year. After Sarah spent the first few days in Kona sick, she recovered to enjoy the last 10days of the trip and I'm looking forward to doing some normal things with her before I return to monk mode.

We're all missing Kona already but we look forward to our next visit. Someone told me that Madame Pele was not happy this year, but she didn’t punish me more than anyone else, I’ll be back to see her again before long, I'm not finished yet.

Mahalo Hawaii
Aloha!

Sponsors and thanks.
A few mentions to my helpers along the way, to Alan, the guy who adds value and constantly tells me stuff no one else can, a genius who knows me better than I do. To Kinga for her great work as a physio/massage therapist, keeping me moving through those big weeks when the body is complaining so hard! I usually train alone but have regular bikes with Rowan, when he's in the mood he hurts me more than anyone and no doubt helped my bike power build over this season, strong and full of mind games, the perfect bike buddy ;-) To Geoff Bamber and David Vaughan for both providing me with a front wheel after I bust my Zipp in Lanza, and for both givimg me a good test on a training ride! I spent an hour weighing up the 2 wheels before going with the HED. Thanks to Sarah and Richard Melik for great photos. My sponsors have all been so helpful in getting me to race day in various capacities, to them I am grateful for their support, please see the right hand colum for their links. To Sarah, for always being there, always.

The fun bits.
We had all been sacrificing and working hard for a long time but there is plenty of fun things happening around the race, here's a few photos of the fun bits.