I originally got into this sport for three reasons. 1) A few of my friends (Wendy Ewen, Scott Morison & Blair Larsen) & my favourite Body Attacker, Bevan James Eyles were all competing in the sport & I admired them so much for being fit enough to train for three disciplines. 2) The hot men (bare legs & calf muscles - heaven). And 3) A new challenge. Obviously number two is what drove me to sign up...clearly.
Last year when I was overseas, one of my best friends (and a truly admirable athlete), Chris told me she wanted to do an Ironman before she turned 40. We had done a few sprint distance triathlons together & I said I would sign up for a Half with her and see how we felt after that. She agreed and when I came back to Australia, we signed up online & there was no turning back. By July, we had bought our bikes, a mere 3 months before the race, and the reality started settling in.
The last 7 months have involved a lot commitment, dedication, hard work, time away from family & friends and several mental breakdowns. When we originally signed up, I never knew how much of an emotional roller coaster it would be. I envisaged a typical day as training, then going to work & then training some more - my ideal life! Here I was thinking I could put my body through 2-4 hours of exercise a day, 6 days a week & still manage to live a normal life, injury-free & no worries. Boy, was I wrong. I started off on such a high & then hit the wall about half way through, with massive self doubt, wondering what the hell we had signed up for & how we were going to pull it off. Then I found out from some very positive & inspiring people at my Thursday running club (The Death Squad) that it was ok to have lows & that I wasn't alone. Chris also reminded me that I was also teaching group fitness classes so I was putting my body under loads of stress. I guess I was just too focused on trying to be the bionic woman.
TRAINING
Chris & I were lucky enough to train together most days during the week. Dave (her husband) did the majority of his training on his own, in between hectic work commitments & a very high stress job. Chris & Dave also have three children. I can safely say, without a doubt, I would not have been able to do this without Chris & I have massive respect for people like Chris & Dave who can train by themselves for an event of this magnitude with family & work commitments.
Chris & I would do 2-3km swim sets in the pool or at Balmoral Beach and when we couldn't train together, I would do swim squad & send her what I had done. We would go for long runs (10km-18kms) as well as hilly bike rides at West Head/Akuna Bay (30km-70kms). We were fortunate enough to attend two invaluable triathlon training camps; one in Forster which was run by TriNSW & one in Port Macquarie on the actual course with Coach Mel (who ran the tempo run session at Forster). Both of these gave us the confidence we needed to ensure we could get through the race. We learnt so much about nutrition, transitions and the most important thing for me, how to change a flat tyre. We also formed new friendships & this is another reason why I will always love competing in triathlons - the camaraderie in this sport is just amazing.
RACE WEEK
Two weeks before race day, Chris suffered a minor tear in her calf, on top of having an emergency tooth extraction. I got some awful flu-type illness after the triple triathlon that knocked me out of training for a week. And it seemed that everyone we knew who was racing that day had got some type of injury/illness as well, so we were definitely not alone. We started to get anxious but realised there wasn't anything we could've done in our last two weeks of training that was going to make or break the race.
We drove up to Port Macquarie on Friday morning which was the start of our carbo loading. Cereal, toast & an electrolyte drink for breakfast. Bread rolls with meat for lunch. Fruit/sports Bars for snacks. Pasta/rice for dinner. Lollies for dessert. It sounded great initially; until we had to actually do it. Because we weren't exercising, we felt bloated & gross. But nutritionally, it helped us SO much on the course & I wouldn't have changed a thing. Thanks for the tip, Coach Mel!
We registered on the Saturday & we were fortunate enough to have great weather. The place was buzzing with fit-looking people but there seemed to be a lot of tension; probably just nerves. I felt like I was the only person smiling & excited to do the race. I am pretty sure this had a lot to do with denial. But my goal was to have fun, finish the race and enjoy the atmosphere on the day. Tony Abbott was interviewed at race briefing, as he was also competing. So my new goal became focused on beating The Liberal Party Opposition Leader of our country - haha!
RACE DAY
4.30am wake up call. Not ideal at the best of times, and worse when there is a wedding on at the same hotel the night before, with music blaring until 11.30pm. But we arrived at the race, found our bikes, made sure everything in transition was where we wanted it to be, got numbered, put our wetsuits on & got ready to hit the 20*C water.
THE 1.9KM SWIM
It was going to be a mass start & there were 5 groups with different coloured caps, depending on your estimated finish time. We were at the back & everyone was just warming up, chatting and getting ready. I looked out to see an insane amount of people in the water & huge crowd support on the sidelines. Then all of a sudden, before any kind of warning, the horn blew - I had a quick panic & then thought, shit I better start swimming! Later I found out I wasn't the only one!
Now I know what a washing machine is like - 924 athletes kicking and moving between each other. Thankfully I didn't get kicked in the face & I was able to get in the drag on a few people's feet, which helped a lot. There were so many people, I couldn't see where I was supposed to go so I just followed the masses. When I was about 50 metres from the finish, I started swimming faster & when my hands hit the bottom of the ramp, I felt so relieved; one down, two to go. I ran as fast as I could out of the water. I looked up - 40 minutes. I was aiming for under 45 so I was stoked. Goggles & cap off, wetsuit pulled down to the waist & into transition.
THE 90KM RIDE
Wetsuit off. Helmet, sunglasses, and cleats on. Energy gel in the mouth. Unracked my bike & off I went. There were loads of people in the first 30 mins on the course & it was pretty windy. Going out was great but at the turn around point, the wind was so bad, I was barely doing 19km/hr. And it got worse on the second lap. I headed up Matthew Flinders (the worst hill in the history of the world) the first time & was greeted by The Townleys (Robyn & her 3 kids live across the road from Chris & Dave). There were insane screams of 'GO BEL!' I wanted to cry with excitement every time I saw them. They were so amazing. And so were many of the others on the course. I even mastered the art of drink bottle exchanges at the aid station without falling off. Suzanne Colby & Erin Vicary (who I met on Tri Camp) were also on course, taking pictures of me dying & encouraging me to keep going.
The last 30 kms on the bike were tough. The wind was getting worse, I felt like I was coming last 'cos there was hardly anyone around me, my legs were hurting, and I overdid it on the nutrition side of things because I started to feel bloated & ill. I even had a couple of mini vomits; the awful kind that come up & go back down - gross. I desperately needed to pee with about 15kms to go but just couldn't bring myself to do it on the bike (and not from lack of trying). I thought to myself, I will just wait til I get to transition. When I rode down the hill, I could already see people running & this made me feel like absolute crap. I was in a bad place mentally but I thought, wait a minute, I love running, its my strongest leg & I WILL be fine. I looked at my watch; 3h35. 5 mins slower than my plan but I didn't get a flat tyre & I wasn't dying, so it was ok. I managed to overtake the fast girl on the pink bike (which means that just because you have fancy, expensive, colour co-ordinated gear, doesn't make you a better athlete)!
I wiped the pee off my legs (hehe), put my runners on and fastened my lucky yellow cap to my head & off I went. Two down; one to go.
THE 21KM/HALF MARATHON RUN
The path was very narrow & by the time I started running, people were already doing their second or third lap (you got given a yellow scrunchie to put on your wrist after the first lap, then an orange one after the second lap). I started the first 10 mins doing sub 5min/k's. Whoops. I didn't want to blow up half way through, so I made myself slow down. I went into the run thinking I could make up for lost time on the bike but I knew straight away that I wouldn't make sub-6hrs. So instead, I made it all about the atmosphere. I really wanted to soak it all up so I started yelling out to people I knew on the course. I was encouraging people the whole time, random strangers who were walking, giving kids on the sidelines high fives; anything to keep my mind off my own pain. I saw lots of other familiar faces (Tracy, Rhona, Gabby, Amy, Ben, Sarah & loads of others). In hindsight, I probably should've conserved my energy but I had a good time & I wouldn't have changed anything. I was doing between 5.15min-5.45min/k's, sometimes 6 min/k's when the going got tough, & my legs were on fire but I was determined not to walk or stop. And I didn't. Even on the hill. I think I smiled for the first two laps then it all went a bit pear shaped! Although when I grabbed that orange scrunchie & headed out for the final lap, I yelled 'thank the lord' to which the guy replied, 'its not the lord honey, its all you!' Love it.
The last lap was the longest 7kms of my life. I was in a world of hurt, beyond belief, but I knew I just had to dig deep because it was the home stretch. I stopped at every aid station to pour water on my face, over my head and in my mouth. I also inhaled the flat Coke they had. That was my saviour. Word of advice to all you long distance runners - flat Coke is the best energy hit you can find.
As I turned to run up to the finishing chute, I thought, ohmygod, THIS IS IT - this is THE moment I've been waiting for all year. I am going to relish in this moment & this feeling forever. I ran towards the timing mat, with the announcer calling out my name. I made a double fist pump in the air like I won the bloody race & yelled out a massive 'YEAH' as I crossed the finish line. I looked up at the official clock - 6 hours & 17 mins; a two hour half marathon off the back of a 1.9km swim & a 90km bike ride, not to mention the longest I have exercised in my whole life! I got a towel wrapped around me & walked towards the recovery tent, trying to breathe & stay upright. Then as soon as I spotted Chris, Dave & Mel, I broke down in tears. A mixture of exhaustion, relief, and excitement. The feeling was indescribable. I later found out that Chris did 5.59, Dave did 5.12 & Mel came second overall in the Teams Event that she entered with two other girls (she did the run). But special mention has to go to my Scottish friend Rhona who came first in her age group! Wow! After a few minutes, I grabbed some water & electrolyte & lined up for a massage. I started feeling nauseus & dizzy & Mel took me over to the grass to lie down. After a few mins I started to get really cold so she went to grab my clothes from the baggage area. My body went into shutdown mode & I had no idea what was going on. Mel said it had happened to her before, so she knew what to do. What a lifesaver! They put me in a wheelchair & took me to the medical tent. When they asked my name, I started slurring. I had pins & needles running down my right arm & my first thought was 'holy crap, am I having a stroke?!' So I started bawling my eyes out! Paranoid much? Thank god Chris & Mel were there to help me. I was a mess!
My blood pressure was down to 90. I was severely dehydrated but not the worst person in the medical tent. A guy beside me had foil over his body & another girl was on a drip! Once I got the all clear, it was back to the hotel for a shower & a lie down. I couldn't move off the bed for half an hour. I just lay there in my towel, unable to move & trying to comprehend the last six or so hours. I'd never felt that much exhaustion in my whole life. It was very surreal.
We drove to Flynn's Beach Surf Club for post race drinks but I was so tired, I could only manage one vodka cruiser. So much for getting on the piss! I hadn't eaten since the end of the race so I grabbed one sausage sandwich after another. It seemed to do the trick after four, by which stage I needed to sit down. We left around 7pm with a compulsory McDonald's stop where I continued my eating binge - this time, a McChicken with chips & an Oreo McFlurry. It was so bad it was good. And I figured I was deserving of it. A salad was just not going to cut the mustard.
After a few texts and phone calls, we called it a day & i went to bed with a big fat smile on my face - as I closed my eyes, I thought, wow, I can't believe I just completed a Half Ironman. And I made it to the medical tent which officially makes me hardcore!
I want to say a massive thankyou to everyone that has supported this whole journey. For a lot of people, I am sure this seems like another one of those crazy fitness things that I can add to my list. But it really was a major milestone in my life that I never thought I would achieve. And I couldn't have done it without the help of some pretty amazing friends.
Chris & Dave have been the best training partners & friends anyone could ask for & they deserve a medal for putting up with me for the last 7 months. My virtual Tri Coach, Mel who offered so much guidance & support before, during and after the race. My running coach, Steve & all the guys/girls in Death Squad who kept saying how crazy I was for doing this but having faith in me to get to the end. They helped me get through A LOT of the mental stuff. All the girls I met on Tri Camp (the pro's & my new triathlete friends) who offered so much encouragement in the last few months. My fellow competitors - Tracy, Amy & Gabby who all competed in their First Half Ironman! And to anyone that has sent a card, a message or made a phone call - it truly meant a lot to me that people took even the slightest interest in this crazy adventure.
Whilst I can't say I have any desire to do another one yet, let alone have my sights on a full Ironman anytime in the near future, everyone who knows me knows that I like a challenge, so never say never. Definitely not in the 6 month plan but putting it in the 5 year plan. Maybe.
FIVE THINGS I TOOK AWAY FROM THIS EXPERIENCE:
1) Learning to accept that doing a Half Ironman is actually a big deal.
2) Anyone can do this sport. You just have to commit to the cause, whatever the distance may be.
3) I wasn't the best athlete. I wasn't the worst. But I finished & gave everything I had. And I am really proud of that.
4) Do your own race by concentrating on one leg at a time, enjoying the atmosphere and most of all, you have to SMILE.
5) The feeling of crossing that finish line is everything you dream of...and more.
Oh, and yes, I did in fact beat Tony Abbott :)
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