Ironman Hawaii 2013 Race Report

 

Kona number 4 came and went so fast, it was a great trip as always, warm and friendly with a fantastic buzz in race week. We stayed on Ali’I Drive with our friends Una and Denny who are always fun and welcoming. I felt very little pressure this time around, I had such a messed up year approaching the race, always battling back to fitness after mishaps so I was just happy to be there.

Parade of Nations

Racing Copenhagen a little tired 6 weeks out I took a while to recover and missed quite a few sessions. Race week I was relaxed, and happy to accept any sub-10 time with how I was feeling. But 2 days out Alan had told me the numbers were looking not too bad, that I only had to drop one bike section by 10watts, otherwise we were good to go with race plan. I was pleasantly surprised but I only told Sarah as I didn’t want to get my hopes up or put pressure on myself by telling others who I’d been downplaying my form to. I found it hard to believe, but I thought if Alan is right (which he usually is) and I have a good race in me, then it is a bonus, but for now I will maintain the relaxed attitude, it was too late to get worked up over anyway.

 

I started in my usual wide left position, avoiding the craziness on the right side of the mass. I chatted to Nico Theopold and Alistair Duffield, keeping the nerves at bay and enjoying the atmosphere. I had planned to stay with Nico as long as possible, I can stay in his wake during pool sessions. When the gun went, he went and I got dropped within 50m and Alistair took off like a bullet, a proper swimmer! I managed to catch a few other feet and generally maintain a good pace and stay away from trouble for 5mins. But then the usual fun started, guys coming through from behind, swimming over the top, barging, punching, kicking. I got locked in again at one point and was very close to panic mode. I held it together and stayed with these guys, I wasn’t giving in this time. One of them gave way and I was swimming with the fast boys. I still got the odd guy coming through from behind but otherwise I held pace and seen 27mins approaching the turn point. I had one good draft from about 1km through 3km, then it got rough again. I got a fairly deep gouge in my hand were some gobshite was swimming all over the place left and right over me. On dry land I would have punched him, but in the ocean I try not to waste energy, it is hard enough to get around that course as it is. I came out in 1:02 and was smiling to myself, finally cracked a decent swim in Kona. I had done a 1:04 in the timed course swim the previous week, so I knew this was possible, but race day is unpredictable to an unnatural swimmer.

On the bike I pushed a bit harder out on the way to Hawi, I used legal paceline where I could but still got left alone a few times as I surged ahead and tried to catch people in the distance. At Hawi I was well under my planned time, but there was unexpected headwinds on the way back down. Again I tried to be smart and worked with a few guys, staying 20m back but going to front here and there to keep the pace high. I seen a few packs go by, it was very frustrating to watch and there were some people in the middle notably a few girls who were not even pedalling! I tried to go around them, but got swallowed up and spat out the back. I decided to let them go and sure enough seen some of them alone on the way back to town at a very different pace without their windshield. I was struggling a bit with gels and salt, I think the higher pace put my stomach under pressure and so I focused on getting more cals in using the Perform drink at the aid stations. I was pleased with the bike split, similar watts to last year but a lot faster. Conditions were obviously in our favour compared to last year so I thought if I can run any decent pace here I’ll be in a good position to get a pb.

Meltdown on Palani

Early on the run I was ok but didn’t feel as comfortable as normal. I had come in to T2 with David Condon so we ended up running together for a while on Ali’I. I knew David was strong (he was 5th overall in Ironman Hawaii 70.3) but I was following hr and so pushed on a bit after 4miles. After about 8miles I started to feel  a bit odd, Sarah came along side to encourage me but I was getting frustrated trying to answer her with yes and no answers, a bad sign that I was struggling. I hadn’t even reach 10mile yet! On Palani the real fun started. It is always difficult there, but this time I felt like I was in a furnace, I tried to take my top off then I stopped at the Palani aid station and seriously considered not starting again. 16 more miles feeling like that did not seem possible, but I kept moving. I had to stop and drink coke and get ice at every station after that. It became a war of attrition, I would feel ok for 2-3mins after an aid station – high on coke, then I’d die and struggle to make the next station. David came past again and gave me a shout, but I couldn’t go with him. Like so many others he disappeared in to the distance as I battled in my head to keep moving forward.

I seen Nico and Matt out there, but I had given up any ambition to catch people, I was constantly at war just to make it to the next aid station. On the way back I came alongside Matt at an aid station, we passed a few words but neither of us were looking too healthy, but he dug in and stayed within a minute of me. And so the run went on and I struggled my way to the line in survival mode. I knew then I’d get home but I didn’t care when, I stopped checking the garmin after 10miles. Nico went on to finish 2mins up the road from me, after training with him this was no surprise to me, the big man done well in such heat.

When I reached the finish line I was surprised at the overall time. I think it reflected some general fitness, but also better conditions than last year. The strong swim and bike times created the pb, but I’ve no doubt they came back to haunt me on the run. I had not run properly since Copenhagen, so maybe I should have dropped my run expectations instead of setting off at the usual 3hr pace.

The main positives are that I now know how to be fast on the swim and bike in Kona, I just need to get to the race without mishap and execute a full performance. It’s 2 weeks past now and I’m starting back soon for the Melbourne build. Since I started working with Alan Couzens, I have continuously improved my IM times, and knocked 10mins off my Kona time each year. I’m now looking forward to a hard winter of training with him and hoping for a season without mishaps or injuries to see how fast we can go.

Next year will be Kona #5 for Owen Martin and myself, the score sits at 2:2, but as I have whooped him 2 years in a row now, the psychological advantage sits firmly with me. Next year may be my last race there for a while, so it’s important I take it to the Silverbridge man.

The girls art work gave us a great lift during the day

I’d like to thank all my sponsors again, they stuck with me during a difficult early-mid season and for that I am grateful, see their links on the right hand column. Sarah was supportive during the year as always, through highs and lows, she is my stable platform without which training and competing at this level would be impossible.

Until next year, Mahalo Hawaii, Aloha!

Splits:

S- 01:02:42
B- 04:52:53
R- 03:16:23
Overall- 09:19:00
Position: 24