On the way home…
All good things must come to end and as such we am now sitting in Auckland airport awaiting to board the Spirit of Australia...
After returning from Topo or Ta-U-po or whoever you choose to say it, we spent the night on the harbour in Auckland. A great location and well worth a visit next time we race in New Zealand.
I never thought that food would be good here but to be honest I have eaten some truly great meals, perfect for a recovering marathoner and Ironman athlete and yet again last night was one of those moments.
After a somewhat interesting race day, I received the results from the marathon and contrary to my thoughts on placing, it ended up being 14th overall and 5th in the age group, not bad for a bad running day and something I can use to drive me into the next one.
When sitting in the airport I always tend to remember the key events of the travels and as such, here are just a few of those:
- The hire of Juicy Lucy - the little buzz box got us through the New Zealand.
- Hilton Lake Taupo - a great place to stay but somehow I don't think they charged us enough. We checked out the 3 bedroom apartment and could well just be the place come March next year for team Break Your Limits. The view of lake Taupo from the Hilton is unbelievable!
- Moss Wood Cabernet - in true BYL fashion a bottle of Moss Wood 2002 Cabernet was consumed to celebrate a Hawaii slot for the big man.
- Driving 5+ hours and over 150km extra in a hurry to miss the finish of Ironman.
- The cheerleaders at the after party.
- The same aforementioned cheerleaders with their costumes literally painted on!
- The way my legs felt after crossing the marathon finish
- The way my legs felt after seeing the aforementioned cheerleaders.
- And finally, the Qantas Club...I will now become a member!
So, tomorrow it's back to business as usual and back into the Break Your Limits world as we know it. Thanks to all for the well wishes via the Break Your Limits, my dead mobile and Farsebook.
Catch you soon!
5 years of Blob, to Ironman Blog
I asked JP to write a snapshot of his day for those back in Perth and similarly to those who spent the day driving through New Zealand...here it is!
After a 5 year hiatus from Ironman it was now time to have a crack in the old-snoozers age group. At least that it was I had planned.
On March 6, 2010 it started with a 5.00am awakening, 6 weetbix and 3 no dose tablets to try and wake a body that had been tired all week.
A mate of mine from NZ, Andy, came down from Auckland to fill the role of Ray who decided that he needed to run a marathon the same day, rather than to help an old mate get a spot on the big island. As a non-racer Andy was asking some helpful questions but also making some interesting statements, ‘Geez, you’re looking flat today?’, and ‘How do you think you’ll go?’, and ‘You probably should have flown in earlier?’… Bascially, everything you don’t say as a spectator.
Into the car, headed to transition to hear the beautiful voice of Ironman (Mike Riley), quickly followed by a bang and a blown tyre…..(fortunately not mine). What seemed like minutes later I was hirded into the cattle gate, to walk to the swim start, with the words of my children still in my head, ‘Why are you in New Zealand Dad’ and ‘Are we going to Hawaii?’
After an 8 stroke warmup, we were away and 1.03 later I emerged from the water with 50% eyesight due to an allergic reaction to the anti fog in my goggles. I now couldn’t see. This wasn’t the perfect start! With one eye closed and the other doing it’s best to find the way, I resembled Mr McGoo in transition.
Onto the bike with the plan to have a conservative ride. At the 145km mark all was going well (As good as it can with a 40km/h cross winds, one eye and a retro bike…) until an overzealous official pulled me over for a gel wrapper falling out the back of my jersey. A polite conversation and 4 mins penalty on the side of the road, had me thinking, ‘It can’t get any better than this!’
I then rejoined the race with a fire in the belly and 35km of headwind.
Pleased to be off the bike on a personal worst time 5.13+4 I now had time to make up on the run. During my 5 years of retirement I forgot how hard Ironman can be… I was questioning whether I had made the right decision. After a brief internal discussion and the thought of going over 10 hours it was time to get the race face on and attack the marathon.
First 21km well…1.39 split and feeling pretty good, onto the 26km mark I was gently reminded via a massive cramp that this Ironman caper still hurts. Having done a number of Ironman (8) races I knew it’s a game of mental toughness.
Through to the finish in 9.52 and 11th in the age group and although disappointed with my performance, I knew I had come through as best I could given the circumstances. With a trip to the medical tent and hospital for treatment on the eye, I now looked like Captain Feathersword sporting n eyepatch.
Now, it was going to be a nervous wait to the Kona rolldown as there was only 9 spots available in the 40-44 age group, finishing 11th there was still no guarantee.
I am pleased to say I picked up my place to race Ironman Hawaii. I now have the opportunity to test my myself against the best athletes in the world and celebrate the occasion and a well earned family holiday with Wendy, Samuel and Isabella!
Looking forward now to getting home and having an easy month of training and then starting my preparation for Hawaii.
more Photos @ BRW
Wuzer's fast team who came 2nd... Wuzer runs fast in Red 2Xu kit
at least we didnt have insects on our kit... unless ray get a new BYL mascot
Photos @ BRW
this is what happens when you write the wrong race number on your arm.. then ask your husband to fix it....
Aaron crosses the line for 3rd
Bella a seasoned pro BYL supporter
Mmmmmm Swan River Sludge....
3rd in honored company, can this go next to my Uni Degree on my office wall??
More Photos @ BRW
Wuzer-Tim-Michael loitering at the team change over
Aaron out of the Swan River...
Yes, that the swim start.. no one in it.. dont know why i took this pic but there you go, a swim start.
- Michael found someone else to loiter with
Alistair after killing a few more road cones
BYL @ BRW
Raymond must have us all well trained these days, he off tens of thousands of miles away in NZ and like good little worker bee's we roll up for another race in they city.
Thankfully Raymond was not here today as many of the crew were forced to wear other kits other than the traditional BYL black suits as we were representing many different corporate teams today.. Cardno, Worley etc... (Raymond would not be impressed)... however Alistair, Claudia & Nat raged against the corporate machine to wear BYL colours (Raymond would be impressed).
The BRW race is a three person Tri Team event where each member of the team does a 400m swim, 10km bike and 4km run the passes the baton (timing chip) over to the next member and so on...
Below is the snapshot from my discussions with the BYL crew hanging around transistion:
Alistair Press:- dislikes orange traffic cones and killed a few for good measure
Michael Smith:- is doing Ironman this year...
Tom Kroyer:- team came 3rd (all thanks to Aaron), happy to actually win something and noted that we got excatly the same prize pack as Wuzer who came 2nd (where is the incentive Wuzer??).
Claudia Dohr:- has many overdue Uni assignments
Mara Kroyer:- enjoyed her swim desipte the swan river sludge, yes went into the water wearing a white trisuit, came out in a brown trisuit.
Natalie Grundy:- saw you out running Nat...
Arron Robertson:- anchored our team to 3rd overall and enjoys his new role as contracts manager for Cardno.
Shao Wu:- was flying, beat me by a couple of mintues, came 2nd overall (and got the same prize pack as me, whats with that!!!).
Will post pics later...
BRW Corporate Triathlon
The triathlon world continues and yet another triathlon day today with quite a few of the BYL team competing in the BRW Corporate Teams event.
The race includes a 400m swim, 10km bike and 4km run.
Race is down at the Swan River, Langley Park.
Competitors include:
- Alistair Press
- Michael Smith
- Tom Kroyer
- Natalie Grundy
- Arron Robertson
- Shao Wu
All the best to everyone competing today and we will be cheering for you back in New Zealand!
Yet again, the limits were broken!
I write this post from a cafe overlooking the Ironman here in Taupo. A little warmer and more protected than those athletes out on the course...
New Plymouth marathon done, 3.09. Not the quickest of times but another marathon and an honest one at that. Sitting in the hotel room last night I decided to use the racing flats for the race, a lightweight racer with little support and a decision I would later (25k mark) regret. The course itself had a bit more decline than I expected, over 500m down.
We started at a place called Mt Taranaki, a mountain at 2148m (we didn't start at the top). From there it was downhill and I think this is where the problems started. Ensuring I didn't run to fast at the start, it only meant the good ol' quads were going to get a hammering and they did.
A lesson to be learnt! The last 10km were similar to that of a tortoise, I lost big chunks of time due to my legs saying... NO MORE!
The course itself was all on road and the edge of the road at that, no road closures for NZ and similarly if you running on roads, make sure its the main highway. So, all in all a little different than normal but yet another experience.
The plan after the race was to drive straight back to Taupo to watch the finish of the Ironman. At least that was the plan before getting in the car. I now resemble someone who has sat on a horse for the last 5 days and can't move properly. The manual transmission proved an interesting task every time a gear change was made... They have mountains in New Zealand and you have to drive, up / down / around / through and change gears every second moment... Would have looked quite interesting to a passer by.
I was half way home and thinking I was on track to see JP finish and then a momentary lapse in concentration and I was headed away from Taupo. Instead of taking 3.5 hours to return I was in the car for just over 5 hours and the whole time thinking I was getting close. 300 gear changes later... My bottom is sore!
Needless to say, I missed the finish and the finish of the pros and JP is still lost. All I know is he finished in 9.56.05. Not bad for a guy who hasn't done anything for 5 years!
Will post again shortly.
Taupo
We are definitely in the land of Ironman. I am writing this from the Laundromat in Taupo. Not the most fanciest of places but it does the job, keeps the clothes clean and the opportunity just to sit around and put pen to paper.
Taupo lives for Ironman. Every shop in town has some sort of Ironman paraphernalia hanging in the front window. Just think Busselton but a lot bigger, the people are friendly and everyone talks Ironman. We are staying a little out of the main townsite which is perfect for keeping it nice and quiet. It's been quite relaxing.
The Marathon draws near and tomorrow I will be driving across to New Plymouth, a 3.5 hour drive away. A few people have asked how I'm feeling and to be honest I'm not quite sure. I feel good but in the back of my mind you still have the standard thoughts of, Have I done enough?, What will the outcome be? Where will I finish?…All these factors will take care of themselves come race day.
I ran over the actual Ironman course today and for those ever wanting to race in NZ, it would be a cool race. They call it a flat run, but it's anything but! Quite a few decent rollers and somewhat of an interesting course (not a fan of the flat stuff). I definitely think the race is on the agenda for next year, so mark it in your diaries now… A possible Break Your Limits New Zealand expedition.
During the day I also had a discussion with the K-Swiss (Shoe Manufacturer) representative and can confirm it wont be too long until we all have the opportunity to run in the K-Swiss brand. We will be having a miniature shoe shop set up at the gym! (Thanks to Tom for arranging this catchup) I will advise all the details when I return but in the meantime check out the range at www.k-swiss.com.au
Happy Training!
Taupo, the home of Ironman.
We have finally arrived in Taupo and are now in Ironman Central. Tom, you would love it here. Triathletes everywhere!
We left Perth at 7.00am Tuesday morning and arrived at our airport accomodation in Auckland at 1.00am, not a lot of sleep gained and the body clock a little all over the place. I was voiolated twice by random security screenings and these things are so random that I get chosen every time... Go figure!
This morning we left for Taupo in our hire car, called the Break Your Limits 'Buzz box'. It makes noises similar to that of a lawnmower and a chainsaw. We (JP) hired it from a rental company called Juicy Lucy and needless to say, there were no Juicy Lucy's in site. We drove down in a Daihatsu Sirion, I think JP is as long as the car is long and lets just say I am lucky I don't take up to much room.
Taupo is around 3 hours from Auckland airport. Time just seemed to fly by and we needn't ask for directions as a Triathlete can be spotted miles away.
Check in complete and now we will be calling Taupo the Break Your Limits headquarters for the next 5 days. We will post updates as they come to hand.
Friday I leave here to travel to a place called New Plymouth, a coastal town 300km to the West of Taupo. JP will be staying here in readiness for Ironman on Saturday.
Stay tuned!