Ironman Melbourne 2012

It's a brand new Ironman for Australia - it sold out in 4 minutes (I woke up at 4:30 am in London to make sure I got in). Jaimee and Janine are friends from our time in Japan, both teachers with new jobs, too - we all signed up together.

Thursday: managed to leave school right on time with the kids to make my flight!
The days leading up.......FREEZING and so windy. It's only a 2 hour flight from where I live to Melbourne, but the weather is very different. I could never return to living in a freezing climate...ever!!!
Night before the race, we are at Janine's mum's house - they did a house swap so that we could sleep closer to the start. Janine had forgotten her goggles in the city - her little sad face, stressful! Stu (husband) to the rescue, went back to get them for her. We watched Kona Ironman videos and stretched........panic setting in. Surprisingly good sleep. 4:15am, wander into the kitchen - the genki girls are there! Crumpets and oatmeal and COFFEE...pile into the car. Dark. Arrive, people everywhere, spotlights shining down on transition area. Pump tyres, put the drinks on the bike, check on the girls...done....Our little spot for putting on our wetsuits was great, had lots of time to get organised, photos :) The pros are off 15 minutes before us...time to line up to head down to the beach. waiting waiting, finally through, less than 5 minutes until we're starting...quick! Walk in up to waist deep.........sheeeeesh FREEZING. No time to be wimpy - head first dive under....gotta warm up this wetsuit!!! ;) We swim to the first of the two bouys that mark the start line and suddenly the horn goes.....not really in the best position - but off we go regardless. Swimming with a slight current at the start, looking for the left turn, looking, looking, where is it!? The problem was it was such a wide channel of people, they actually needed to squish us all in together a bit more so that navigation wasn't so much of  a problem. Finally turned onto the long back straight section...........it went on forever, swimming into the current...choppy waves when you go to breathe. Again, wide channel, hardly any canoes to keep you in close...turned the final corner to come back towards the pier - flying along with the current again...thank goodness...Looked at my watch underwater..1:15...initially I was disappointed (I swam 1:09 in Germany) but then I sort of checked how I was going, I felt good, not over-doing it...it was cold, arms and hands frozen.
Felt good coming out of the water at 1:17....current and poor navigation. Ran up to the transition tents - run through and pick up a bag, run further into the change tent....tip the bag out on the floor - NOT MY BIKE SHOES..........quick, stuff it all back in the bag - run back into the other tent...against the traffic of sodden wetsuits, replace the bag and pick up MINE.....oh dear oh dear...transition take 2! No help required, got the suit off, put on the talcy socks, arm warmers struggled to go on over the damp freezing arms.....grrrrr, so cold. Go!
Got on the bike and felt SO happy to be on the bike. I was expecting to be going into the wind but it was behind me, so I felt great heading out onto the bike. At about 40km we experienced the TUNNEL...massive motorway tunnel. Speeding down at about 60km/h but it was just so WARM! Turnaround, I was expecting to be hit with the wind in my face, but it was more of a crosswind, so still was able to go quite easily. So needed to peeeee...WHAT?!?!?! In Strongman and Roth I didn't pee once on the bike....but I was not sweating at all here.......so I was just totally over-hydrating myself. I just could not pee on the bike. (I did that in NZ once.....and I didn't like it!!) 70km - ouch, started to feel the dreaded left hamstring thing....it's been really bad over the last few weeks......90km, pick up special needs bag and pop 2 panadol.....pain got less..thank goodness!!! Third section - headwind....pee stop..again!! Unbelievable!!! Cold wind. Lowest emotional state of the race....Grrrrrrrrrrr. Finally, turnaround for the last time, wind behind me, heading back towards town - last 45km let's go!! There's Jaimee - Go Jaimeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...more panadol... there's Janine!! Go Janineeeeeeeeeeeeee.......not many cyclists around now, everyone just struggling for home. 180km...so happy to get into transition...jumped off the bike, good transition - vaseline on the toes...fresh socks...lets go! Started out tentatively, but soon I realised that my legs felt amazing!! Started my stop-watch........did the maths......right....slightly slower bike than planned....I need to run 4 hours to get 12 hours....oh dear...I feel ok though, DO IT! All the people were shuffling, I felt like I was flying, felt in my element. Everyone cheering, Great running girl, go girl...bla bla bla....Supporters pushing me on....picking off one person at a time...Keep the gels up....coke....gatorade....

sloshing in my belly, what can I eat?...solid food.. bananas...bananas....power bar...yuck...bananas...Absolutely beautiful course; running beside the sea - little trails and sandy paths, bike paths. 34km, big cheer crowd.....8km to go....how's the time....never give up, never give up...I was actually chanting this to myself out loud over and over and over........legs felt great. Only 2 tiny twinges in my calf towards the end. Will I make it under 12 hours.....it's so close, under 4 hours for the run? Keep running, keep running!! Screwed up my face and cried at 41km...almost there, so close....come on come on...finally I can see the finish and can hear the commentary...running down the finisher chute - there's big Ben with his hand out - slapped it and crossed the line 12:01...not bad. Not my best, but was so happy with my emotional state - I'd managed to remain genki throughout, no stomach issues (Roth I was walking defeated and had terrible belly). The lady with the towel...I hugged her and sobbed! Sobbing now as I type. lol. Medal. BEN, DONAAAAAA & Steve!!! Fabulous! Dona was an unexpected surprise - I thought she would have already gone to the airport, so it was lovely to see her genki face. Fair respect to any supporter on that day, it was C.O.L.D. I then took myself off for a massage - so cold, got a space blanket, got my kit bag, had a hot hot shower in the St. Kilda Sea Baths VIP venue, got a plate of food then went out to find Tez and Stu. Found Jaimee's friends too - lovely. Then I sat there and literally froze for 5 hours; I couldn't eat any of my food - just the soup...couldn't do it. I've never been at the finish line until the end before, but it was amazing.............watching all these people finish, such a wonderful thing. Even though I was cold, I was genki and happy. Jaimee finished, she looked so happy!!! She looked FRESH and in good shape! We had contact with Janine's teachers, they were about 2km out from the finish and were going to run to the finish with her - so we knew when she was close. She came across the line with the biggest grin, a huge achievement :)

It was a high level race - not many average people....finished up 31st in age group out of 49...but still so happy with the mental state and the run; I've felt drained this week, but ready to put my bike together and go for a spin, maybe tomorrow!
The hamstring thing is a problem. 12 weeks until Japan 70.3.......unbelievable! Exciting!!! I need a few weeks of rest before ramping it up again!!

Excited to be doing it all again next year!!! :) 

Now to begin the 2 weeks of Easter Holidays....beach....reading....harping...eating...drinking...chilling! :)

Update from July 2011 to March 2012

Quick update on my life:
Returned to Australia in August after an extended holiday in the UK, enjoying the sights and sounds that are so familiar to me. Lots of friends to catch up with, lots of leisure cycling with old training friends. Lots of shopping, lots of eating, a fair bit of drinking.
I played the harp with the band Fenech-Soler. We recorded a track and performed on a boat on the Thames. It was fabulous, a day in the life of a rock and roller :)
By the end of August, I was ready to head back and as a newly qualified teacher, it was time for some hard job hunting and WORK.
At first, plenty of CVs flying around the local area - a few volunteering days. Playing on my strengths took me to supply teaching music for a few days. A violin teacher observed me and realised that I was to be the answer to their current dilemma - they had a gap to fill for the rest of the term - 7 weeks of work teaching stringed instruments soon came my way. Right, I'm a harpist, I can deal with the musical aspects of different instruments. Now I was teaching kids how to play the violin, viola, cello and double bass. End of term reports were due - end of term concerts!! It was hectic! But it felt very natural for me and I was soon learning the violin myself so that I could get a firmer grasp of why they were finding certain areas tricky. All ended at the end of term, and it was a great experience. The kids are very lucky to have free music lessons at school!!
Christmas holidays came, as did the sisters. Eilidh brought her family from Singapore, and Kirsty had announced that she was moving to Manly, Sydney. The weather was much better than the previous year. The 5 weeks went extremely quickly!!
Towards the end of my instrumental music contract, I had applied for a job on seek.com - which is just a normal jobs website. I had simply uploaded my CV for a 'primary' position at an Anglican College.
Much to my surprise, I was called for interview and was offered a job teaching year 4 for semester 1 - 2 terms. I was thrilled, but terrified. I've never had my own class before. A huge opportunity and so wonderful that they had the insight to look at my character, my skills and past experiences. In the first weeks it was hectic, but the children are so good - they realise that they are lucky to be at the school, they wholeheartedly believe that they are at the best school in Australia. All the staff are hand-picked, everyone has sport in their background - ex-olympic sprinter, ex-pro ironman triathlete, cage fighter, marathon runners, ultra-marathon runners, ex-elite cyclists......such an interesting staff-room. Because all the students are so good, there is none of the usual whinging and moaning at morning tea time...Everyone love their job, and it is a dream come true really; I love my job. It's extremely hard work, but very rewarding. I now understand why teachers get these holidays - your whole life gets put on hold during term time!!
I had signed up for Ironman Melbourne - March 25th. Was it a good idea with a new job? As it turns out, yes. Although I was super busy, it was achievable and I think it kept a good balance in my life. It's essential to have interests outside school to keep your mind and body healthy!! :)