Iron Jack

I’m so far behind in my blog posts! I always think up these ‘amazing’ pieces of prose when I’m out running, and then as soon as I get back to reality, life, children, getting dinner on the table or work, they promptly go right out of my head!

So unfortunately its now a whole week since my2.8km swim for the King of the Bays event at Takapuna, Auckland.

This is an event I have literally been looking forward to for a whole year. I have been attempting to do this swim for five years, but for one reason and another, never quite made it. By the time last year’s event rolled around I had set my Ironman goal, but just in my head and Ironjack and this website certainly didn’t exist!

Probably just as well. I’d been watching the weather all week, and the forecast just started looking worse and worse. The day finally came and it was really lumpy and really cold. In fact, it got rougher and rougher the longer I was out there. The distance itself was also a huge shock to the system. I ended up breaststoking an doggy-paddling most of the way. But I did at least finish - 1hr35 minutes later - and that was more than most people. A lot of people pulled out along the way. At certain points I thought I would have to pull out too. But I learnt to swim at those beaches and even though it was really rough, I was still in my comfort zone. I was so proud to finish that event - it was a tough swim in tough conditions and I was pleased to get to the finish line.

But I knew I could do better. Conditions aside, I knew I should be able to (a) swim the whole way, and (b) do a better time. And I need to - the Ironman swim is 3.8km and I need to get out of that swim feeling refreshed enough to get on a bike for eight hours and then run a marathon. So while this year’s event was a personal, individual milestone - its also an important step along the way to the ultimate goal.

I have never spent so much time checking weather forecasts as I did the week leading up to the 2010 King of the Bays. I desperately wanted better conditons than last year. The day before was calm and still, and race day dawned even better. There was literally not a breath of wind around. The only problem? The race wasn’t starting until 2:30pm! Plenty of time for the wind to come up - and it did! Not too bad, and nowhere near as bad as last year, but not the still, lake-like conditions I was hoping for.

The start line early Saturday morning - was quite different by the afternoon!

I caught a lift to the start line with my brother in law, and also met up with Mike’s boss from Rotorua. Nice to have friends around.

We suited up, sat through the briefing, and hit the beach. In my entry I had estimated my swim to take 1h15. This meant I started in the third wave of four. We started a minute apart. The final wave started before I was even half way to the buoy, and most passed me before that first buoy. I don’t know what they estimated but they were way faster than me.

It was very cold, but I was feeling very comfortable with my stroke. My wetsuit felt good and my breathing was settled. I felt good and knew it would be great. I also knew there would be no breaststroking or doggy-paddling.

The briefing was really comprehensive, and I knew there were nine buoys along the way. Its a great way to measure distance, and they seemed to pass really quickly! I resisted looking at my watch until the halfway point - 35min. I was on target to go under 1h15 - not only my time estimate, but also my goal for that race.

The buoys kept going past - and I just kept swimming. I finally rounded the Takapuna Boatramp an started heading for the final buoy. Once I turned the final buoy and could see the beach, I picked off a couple of people to pass. And I did.

I finally hit the beach and felt great! I literally sprinted up the beach - Oli tried to give me my glasses on the way but we ended up dropping them in the sand! I was on a roll and I didn’t want to stop.

Final time: 1:10:49

Sprinting up the Beach!

I knocked 25 minutes off my time from last year. I was absolutely stoked! I think I could allow ten minutes of that saving to the improvement in conditions, but I’m happy to claim 15 minutes as solid improvement.

Its not nearly fast enough for Ironman. But it gives me a boost for winter - and a base to work from.

PS: Congrats to my Mum who entered the 750m event just two days before! Am very proud.

PPS: Thanks to everyone at the finish line! Awesome to have the support.

Mike and I after the race - Oli took the pic!

Its not every day that you end up being interviewed about your Ironman journey on TV. Not once, not twice, but actually three times in one week! Its all part of my goal to not only keep myself honest and motivated towards my own goal, but hopefully motivate others to get going as well.

Here’s the interview on Rotorua TV:

Ironjack on Rotorua TV!

I am sore. Very very sore. Challenging bunch ride for me on Sunday which left me not only feeling stiff and sore in every part of my body, it also left me quite disheartened. But that’s a blog post for another day.

Important to move onwards and upwards and what better way to restore the faith than by a run on part of the Ironman course in Taupo!

Whenever I go to Taupo for work I always make sure I drive through Reporoa along the Ironman cycle course. By travelling it every second or third week I’m starting to get quite familiar with its dips and dives. Of course, that will be nothing to actually riding the course on my bike, but its a good start.

Today I also had enough time to take a very early lunch break and fit in my run down there as well.

I set off at a decent pace - heart rate zone three to be exact - and managed to maintain that for most of the run. I started just up from the swim/start finish, and then ran along the lake front until I got to the Napier/Taupo Highway - a good milestone turnaround point, and exactly 25 minutes, theoretically making it a 50 minute round trip. The loop back was slightly faster so I finished in just over 45 minutes, having run just under 6km. This is getting slightly faster for me, so I’m pleased with today’s effort.

Of course, the big reality check is that isn’t even one quarter of the Ironman marathon, but it still felt great. I’m a big one for visualisation, and as I was running I could literally picture the path on the day, with crowds of people on either side. I could feel the heat, and the exhaustion, and while it was nowhere near an accurate re-enactment of the day, I do feel like it was a good start. Even just realising I would be running on cobblestones for around half of the Ironman run was an important note to take.

So all in all, a good day out.

Postscript: Having the theme song to Rocky coming on the MP3 player may have been over-doing it just a little however.

Set your calendars, book your accommodation, the date for the 2011 New Zealand Ironman in Taupo has been set:

7am, Saturday 5 March, 2011

According to the countdown, 366 days, 12 hours, 20 minutes and 33 seconds to go.

Hmmmm.

Now’s probably a good time to include another inspiration quote from Stu’s site:

“The purpose of the swim is to get you on the bike. The purpose of the bike is to eat for the run. The purpose of the first run lap is to put money in the bank to pay the monkey that will jump on your back the second lap.

“The Second Lap Monkey. He is very a big monkey. If this is your first Ironman, you have probably felt in your training everything that you will feel on race day, except the Second Lap Monkey. You can’t train for that. The Second Lap Monkey carries a big stick, and its name is Pain. Love it, hate it, get angry at it. Breathe it with every breath, feel it with every step and use it.

“It lets you know you are still alive, more alive than most people will ever be in their whole lives. The clock keeps on ticking and everything bad must eventually come to an end. All you have to do is keep running in a straight line until someone tells you to stop.”
(Anon)

Also, here is a link to my friend Stu’s blog about his incredible journey towards and through 2010 NZ Ironman. Its a fantastic read and very real insight into the journey leading up to the event - and more importantly, on the day. Hopefully he doesn’t mind me sharing!

http://no-more-shadows.blogspot.com/

Enjoy and happy training.