Just
3 ½ months after competing in Ironman Arizona I toed the start line of the 30th
anniversary of Ironman New Zealand. This meant recovering as fast as possible
and training through winter in Colorado.
Just
before leaving I got an acute bronchitis and armed with prescription medicine I
headed for the airport on February 21st to LA continuing to
Auckland, arriving February 23rd (love the date line). Then a 3 ½
hour ride to Taupō, the location of the race. To say the whole town is in
Ironman fever is quite the understatement – there were Ironman logos, signed
race memorabilia and flag everywhere. I would even go further and say – this
town loves Ironman more than Kailua-Kona does. This would manifest itself even
further on race day.
Race
week was slow – Monday I headed to the Yacht Club for mandatory wetsuit dipping
to avoid brining bacteria into the freshwater lake (Didymosphenia geminata) and
get a little practice swim. The lake is clear as glass – you can see everything
– which makes for an amazing swim. Being able to drink the water is a huge
bonus – no bad or salty aftertaste. On Tuesday I made my way back to Auckland
to pick up Michael Stone from the Airport. On Wednesday I was in for a treat –
my old wetsuit was very loose, so I ended up buying a new Blueseventy Helix
Wetsuit from Warren Benney. Part of this purchase included a test swim, which
unfortunately happened at the Yacht Club, about ¾ of a mile away from the store.
So if you really want to know if a Wetsuit fits, a 1.5 miles walk does give you
a pretty good idea. Thursday’s
registration process was smooth and painless – very organized and the swag bag
was worth lining up for. Our bag included pre-numbered transition bags (not the
usual plastic ones – these were more like gym bags), socks, food samples and
lots more.
The
welcome buffet on Thursday night had real quality food and Mike Reilly and Cameron
Harper introduced the history of this oldest Ironman outside Hawaii – amazing
people, amazing stories and an amazing evening. Thanks to Arthur we had prime
seating to the spectacle.
Friday
came faster than we could believe and it was time to rack the bikes, let some
air out of the tire (thanks Michael for reminding me) and check the transition bags.
Since the bike helmet was to be left on your bike, my bags felt strangely
empty, so I repacked them two to three times. We picked up out special needs
bags and went home to rest. In the evening, I met Ann and Felicity – the other
part of Michael’s “Kiwi Family” – they were angels on the next days – being
there to transport us, cheer, lend a hand, get bikes and bags after the race –
I felt very lucky and privileged to have such supporters.
During
the week my bronchitis had its ups and downs and was joined by some discomfort
swallowing.
With that we went to
bed and I slept until 3:30am on Saturday – race day. Once I got up, I took my
medicines, finalized my special needs bags with frozen items in order to have
cold items out on the course and had breakfast. The only two things worrying me
were the wind and the water, which was quite choppy. Later I found out that if
the race had started at 3:30am, it would have resulted in a run-bike-run
Ironman. Thankfully the wind and water calmed down for a spectacular day.
At
5am we had our personal race transfer service thanks to Ann and Felicity to the
transition area fence – it does not get better than that. Dropped my Special
Needs bags on my check-in and then headed to my bike to put my bottles in the
cages, pump my tires to 100psi and then headed into the tents to keep warm. Not
being able to access your transition bags in the morning definitely made it a
lot less stressful. Put my new wetsuit on and we were driven to the start –
true VIP experience.
Swim (3.8 km / 1:17:35 / 2:00 – 100m)
The
swim at IMNZ was amazing – it is a deep water start, but you can see the bottom
of the lake at all times. The course is marked very well, even though I thought
the whole week that the buoys were a runway for water planes. If I had noticed
otherwise, I would have counted the buoys or remembered the numbers on them.
This way the swim course seemed long. Hydration is thankfully not an issue, as
the lake is freshwater and perfectly safe to drink. Overall I did get my space
/ bubble and finished the swim in a great time (PR).
T1 (15:46)
T1
starts with a 400m (1/4 mile) run over carpeted streets and stairs to the
transition area. In order to keep my heart rate down, I walked all of it and
was happy to see Ann and Felicity cheering me on. The change tent was a little
mayhem (it seems the faster you swim, the more mayhem you’ll find), but once I
found a spot, I changed and headed for my bike. There I found Arthur with a big
smile on this face, but luckily for me he did not follow through on his promise
to zip tie my bike to the rack – thanks J
Bike (180km / 7:40:39 / 23.48 kmh)
The bike course can
only be described as interesting – there is not a flat section on the course
and most sections have a very rough chip seal trying to loosen every bolt on
your bike. Again – I did not drive the course before (yes, I made a mental note
to do this next time), so I only had a few markers I recognized – like the
intersection of Broadlands and Centennial – the highest point on the course.
Both laps were great and after some time, my butt got more used to the chip
seal sections. Based on Arizona experience I even stopped at a porta potty on
the course, which can only be described as luxurious. During the bike I
executed my race nutrition plan, drinking from my bottles at about ½ bottle per
hour and having a gel after 30 minutes. The hills though took a lot out of me
mentally and probably strength wise, so that the bike took quite a bit longer
than expected.
T2 (12:46)
Again
I decided to take my time in T2 to change, apply more chamois cream for the
run, eat a bar and get ready. When heading out I filled one of my bottles with
water and chips and took off.
Run (42.2 km / 6:51:34 / 9:45 min/km)
It applies to the run
course, too– no flat section and a variety of surfaces – road, sidewalk, cobblestone
and grass. Right after kilometer three, two things though were clear – my legs
were not firing the way I was hoping for and the run course was also unknown to
me (always learning the hard way). During the first lap I suffered, did not
force myself to eat and drink as I planned and went as far as turning my
run/walk and nutrition alerts off on my watch. Even seeing Michael running did
not help - mentally I was going to a dark place convincing me I did not have
enough time to finish and to call it. I ran into Arthur at the turnaround and
contemplated giving him my timing chip. I did not do it, because after all he
had done for me, I did not want him to be disappointed – so I chugged on hoping
to find an unknown race official to give my timing chip to. I saw Michael again
on the run and he had all the wristbands, so I knew he was going to be an
Ironman in a bit. I don’t know if it was that or something else, but at around 20
kilometers I decided to make a serious effort to finish this – I went from a
dark place to “I really want this and am willing to dig deep”. I reset my watch
at a distance marker (apparently I stopped it somewhere), turned on all alerts
again, forced myself to eat and drink on schedule and picked up the Aleve and
Mucinex at special needs. I did compete my 2nd lap and knew I could
finish the last 14 km if I could keep “wanting
this”. The only thing I would have wished for was my running sweater in
my special needs bag, as it was getting chilly after dark. (PR)
Finish Line (16:18:20)
The
chute is very similar to the one in Hawaii, including the ramp portion, but as
soon as I hit the carpet, I was hovering – no ramp could have stopped me.
Michael, Ann and Felicity were there and made for a special moment. I don’t
know who called me an Ironman (I’m fairly certain it was Cameron), but I
definitely high fived Mike Reilly as I was coming down the finish chute. After
getting my medal, finisher towel and finisher shirt, I headed for the buffet,
which included ice cream and pizza!
Final Thoughts
I
was lucky – very lucky. If you sign up for an Ironman 3 ½ months after your
last, you hope to be lucky to recover quickly. When you get sick while in
training, you hope to be lucky to get healthy fast. When you get sick a few
days before the race, you hope to be lucky and have it not get worse. When you
pick a race, you hope to get lucky with your race venue – the whole town of
Taupō loves and embraces this race. During the day and late into the night all
streets are lined with spectators from the town as well as race families. They
not only line the town, they line the most remote areas, too, so that you never
feel alone. That and the amazing course
(not to forget the starts in the sky after dark) made me very lucky.
I
was fortunate – very fortunate. To have a coach, who knew the race, knew what
it would take and was there by my side (which counts both for Scott for AZ and
Michael for NZ). I was fortunate to meet Ann, Felicity and Arthur – the most
amazing and kind people – words can not express how thankful I am for
everything you guys did for me during race weekend. I hope that our paths will cross again and
that this is be beginning of a great friendship.
I’m
blessed – for having a wife how loves me and did not once complain about my
winter training sessions. I love you so much.
No
Ironman is a gimme, but Ironman New Zealand was a lot harder for me then
Arizona. I really had to dig deep and want to be an Ironman on this day.
One more thought:
If
this sounds a little it like a love letter to Ironman New Zealand and Taupō,
then you might be right – this is an amazing race, run in an amazing location
by amazing people.
