Iron Jack

The first race of this season’s Tri Series was always going to be a big ask, but even I had under-estimated how tough it would be. You can’t take five months off serious training over winter and expect to toddle around a sprint tri with ease! While my four week concerted effort started building a good base, it wasn’t nearly enough. But, having said that, it was fantastic fun and in some of the most challenging conditions I have ever seen anywhere, let alone at the Blue Lake!

Leading into the event, my biggest concern was the temperature of the Blue Lake. The lake is my favourite training and racing venue, but it can be cool in the peak of summer, let alone in the spring! We went out to have a “splash” on Labour Day (our new James whanau tradition) and it was so cold I couldn’t actually keep my face in the water to  be able to stroke. So to say I was worried was a bit of an understatement!

The day didn’t bode well as we were literally shivering in transition getting everything set up. I didn’t actually start warming up until I put my wetsuit on and by this time I’d managed to work myself into a total state! I went into the water to start getting used to it and it felt as cold as it did two weeks ago. I had bought myself a neoprene swim cap to help keep my head warm and it did give me a bit of a boost mentally, but I was still bracing myself for the worst!

After a 10 minute delay while the Surf Lifesavers reattached one of the buoys that had blown free (yes it was THAT windy!) our gun finally went. And…the water was fabulous! It felt really pleasant and totally fine on my face! With that fear gone I could concentrate on swimming. And it required every ounce of concentration I had - really rough, very windy and on the return leg I felt like I was getting sucked backwards! It was a tough swim and I was very pleased to be out of the water.

Heading up the hill to transition I managed to hand over the neoprene cap to Leonie who was bracing herself for the Olympic distance. I felt like I had the longest transition ever - I need to remember that I’m not on “Ironman time” for these Sprint events! I finally got myself layered up and pulled my beautiful new bike out of the rack and out onto the course. It’s a Specialized Ruby and I’d only picked it up from Cyclezone the day before and managed one quick ride, so I was a little nervous. But it rides so smoothly and the frame is sized for me so it’s much more comfortable for me to ride! Even though I was dreading the hills, I was so looking forward to getting on my beautiful bike.

Kelly waved me off out of transition in her marshalling capacity and I was off up the road. And pedalled up, and up, and up! This must be one of the hilliest bike courses in the series. Up Tarawera Rd to Okareka Loop Rd, down the wiggles and  then up and up and up again! I was determined to get all the way up that hill but my legs just didn’t have it. A quick walk to the top and then I was off again. I love the next part of this rolling course, and a long downhill to the Buried Village. Unfortunately the turnaround wasn’t here for me this time and there were more hills out to Lake Tarawera - and then back again. I managed the Green Lake hill really well - with Ironman Mel behind me in the tail car!

Then it was finally off the bike and into transition. The run leg was always going to be a run/walk for me as I’m still carrying an ankle injury and haven’t been able to run. And, I simply hadn’t trained for this period of time! I had managed all three of the distances in training - and in fact over the total time on the bike - but hadn’t put all three together and my body was feeling it. I actually managed to jog the whole way up to the lookout carpark, but struggled through the forest on the uphills - and then on the downhills as I just didn’t have confidence in my ankles. It was still incredibly pleasant in the forest and I thoroughly enjoyed the course which is one of the most scenic in New Zealand - and it’s our training playground, we are so lucky. I vividly recall laughing at myself most of the way around - it wasn’t that long ago I was doing Ironman and here I couldn’t even run the 5.5km! But the finish line kept getting closer, and there was quite a support crew waiting for me!

It was a huge relief to get over the line and to get the first one in the series finished. It was a tough day - but that was all my own fault - and I still had a fantastic time!!! And the only way is up!