It's been 2 weeks since the race and I feel it's time to put pen to paper and scribe my thoughts on the race that was, or in my case, wasn't quite what I had expected. I fear that this could turn out to be War and Peace but I hope for anyone reading this that it isn't the case. I have much to say but might just hold back a tad.

Firstly, here is the "Executive Summary" so you needn't read the novel but If you choose too then read on. My splits were as follows:
Swim: 1:03:09 (Slow) 283rd
T1: 03:59 (Pedestrian)
Bike: 5:13:51 (Conservative) 69th
T2: 01:52 (Nice)
Run: 3:49:56 (Blew) 232nd
Overall: 10:06:56 (Average) 134th

Now for the detail!

The Race
Well, I am disappointed with the outcome. Bottom line, I am far from happy with the end result. I set myself a goal of KONA qualification and anything less was not going to be good enough. Given I didn't get that spot therein lies the answer. I've asked myself the question over and over again as to WTF happened out there but I can't quite work it out. All signs leading in pointed in the right direction, I had no injuries, completed my sessions without issue and mentally I was positive and had no doubt that a slot was on the cards and a PB of 10+ mins was a realistic outcome. I expected nothing less.

The lead in
The lead in to the race was as good as I could have hoped. I'd hardly missed a session and got through the heavy volume feeling quietly confident that I was right on track for a great race. I was looking forward to the taper after a solid heavy overload phase. I purchased my new P3C about 4 weeks out from the race and felt that it was plenty of time to adapt to the new rig before the race. The added bonus of riding a new rig was great for the noggin too. The taper went well, I wasn't as lean as I had hoped but I was lean enough. The 7 days out from the race consisted of 2 pre-race massages by Stan the man up at Port Mac, some fine tuning in and out of the water and the body felt good and ready to race. I'd carb loaded sufficiently and this was probably the first IM races where I did not feel sick with respect to the carb load and I suspect the reason behind this was the strategy of following a mainly liquid diet from Sat Midday up until the race morning. I will continue to use this approach for all of my races going forward.

Race Day
After a perfect week leading into the race without rain, the heavens opened on race day and T1 was nearly underwater as I arrived to prepare myself and the bike for the riggers of racing. Eventually, the rain eased in time for the swim start. Heading to the swim, I was happy to find the girls just before entering the water and gave them all kisses and hugs and it was time to get ready to go to war.

Swim
It was quite difficult to get into the water at the start due to the congestion and they would not let the blue caps into the water until 2-3 minutes before the start. There went the warm-up that I had hoped for. On entering the water, it was evident that a strong current was heading towards the swim turnaround which would make the homeward leg interesting. Within 1 minute of treading water, I'd drifter 15m down current, it was rather strong. Well, off went the gun and it was absolute carnage, this had to have been the roughest IM swim that I have encountered to date. There was a whole lot of argy bargy at multiple points on the swim course, the swim marshals seemed to be funneling us at various sections which caused mayhem. I gave and received a few during the course of the swim and found it hard to find a rhythm for the entire swim. Heading back after the 2nd lap of the swim, I expected to post a time close to 1:00 and was surprised to find it had blown out to a 1:03:09.

In hindsight, it was a more difficult and slower swim this year due to the current and most competitors from 07 commented that their swim times were slower too. So heading into T1, grabbed the bag, found a seat and must have been graced with the wetsuit remover from hell. He could not get the wetsuit over my feet and it ain't that hard, I may have snarled at him, I'm almost sure I swallowed him whole in the process and ended up doing it myself because he was a tool! It cost me a bit of time hence the rather pedestrian 3:59 in T1. Ouch!

Bike
I said to myself as I got on the bike, now the race starts. I felt awesome on the bike and was running amok in the first 10km before deciding to settle down into a nice rhythm and conserve for the run. The plan was to ride high E2a+ to ensure I didn't spend all of my pennies on the bike. One lad in particular passed me on that 1st lap and pulled away but I'd decided to let him as I'd figure I'd catch up with him again before the run. Well, the remainder of the 1st lap was uneventful apart from the lashing rain that seemed to hover over the course towards Lake Cathie. The wind was also rather strong out on the open road too and as each lap progressed, it seemed to get stronger and stronger. Back in town though, the rain stayed away.

Well, lap 1 came and went without any issues, the nutrition was going down a treat, 100g/hr and I was keeping up the liquids too. Just towards the end of each lap opposite town beach, I'd pass the Team Crank-It Support crew, Kerry, Zara, Mia, Sienna and the guys up for the race all going nuts so I'd show off for them which is the least I could do. Heck, it must be one hell of a long day to watch a race for 10+ hours. That's endurance for you, especially with 3 kids in tow.

Into lap 2 I was pleased with my progress, I decided to hold my current pace and not push any harder. At about the 100km mark, Matty Lewis passed me and I thought about going with him for a second and decided against the move to get on his wheel. He was moving and it would have been lights out. I just plugged away and made sure I held my own as I felt somewhat flat at this stage. Nutrition still bang on target. Well by the midway point of lap 3, it was all about survival. I had the standard thought of "Get me off this phuking thing". Not sure if it's just me but by about 150kms I just can't wait to start running, I was over the bike by this stage and just wanted off. I pushed the last 30km hard and felt good on that final stretch into town. Overall, I was happy with the ride, it wasn't fast or slow but average and I felt I held back and rode to my game plan (5:13:51) including T1 which had set me up for a good chance of a going sub 9:50.

T2
Was a much better experience that T1, I was graced with the best possible volunteer, an Ironman winner nonetheless in Chris McDonald. Extremely helpful, made sure he gave me the left sock / right sock in the correct order (x-socks) and for me it was a quick T2, in and out in 01:52, I was happy with that.

Run
All signs were promising initially. I felt composed, my pace was good, nutrition was going down as planned. The 3 laps tend to phuk with the mind though, my preference would be for 2 laps but I'd rather 1 than 3. I guess 3 makes the spectators happy. Team Crank-It positioned themselves nicely near the start of the hill climbs and to high 5 the girls each time was ace! Admittedly, I gave them heaps to cheer about on the bike but on the run, not so much. Same can be said for Caff and Pistol, they received the little flick of the wrist, a subtle wave but no booming CRANK-IT!

So laps 1 and 2 proceeded without concern but as lap 3 started I noticed the legs were suffering and the pace was hurting as a result. At this point I was jamming whatever I could into the maw, fruit, biscuits, Coke, Gatorade, water, and it was good, damned good. At about 30km, the lights went out and I ATE THE PAIN SANDWICH! The hills on that final lap caused PAIN, lots of PAIN as the quads were shattered by this stage. All I could do was run as fast as the legs would allow which was slow, any quicker and I'd feel cramping kicking in. I figured I dropped at least 1m/km in the last 10-12km and hence the time blowout of 10:06:56 with a final marathon time of 3:49:56.

In hindsight, it could have been far worst but I crossed the line knowing that I had no more to give and there is not much more I can do than that. I guess I've gone out expecting to shred minutes off my PB and in the past, that has happened at each and every IM that I have raced and HIM for that matter. I guess there was going to be a time when I did not have that ideal race and unfortunately for me, this was the one. But I persisted when the going got tough and still came away with a good results, not a great results.

C'est La Vie!

I have to say a HUGE MASSIVE ENORMOUS thanks to the good wife for putting up with me and allowing me so much time to myself to prepare for the rigours of racing. The 4-6 weeks out from the race to the race itself are testing times that occupy so much time. Preparing for Ironman racing is tough and not just for us competitors but on the other halves who at times seem widowed ;) She's gold! The kiddies too are just pure gold, they love watching me race and I love having them there too. So I guess we'll have to take that family summer holiday to Kona in 2009 instead ;(

To the other support crew up from Melb, thanks heaps, it was ace.

So where to from here?
I've decided that a 4-6 week period of anything goes is called for. I will not follow a program until June 1 and plan on spending the rest of April and all of May just going with the flow and doing whatever I feel like. I'll still train, but I don't want to be tied down to a set program. If I feel like a swim, then a swim it is and the same can be said for cycling and running.

I am going spend this period having some quality family time and clear the mind because when I start the assault for the 08/09 season I'll leave no stone unturned.

But alas, the season has come to an end and on that note, tt's time for me to work on the off season lid and relax that belt buckle just a tad.

Komo