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.