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I'm back, this time with an aviation theme   http://cavoknz.blogspot.com

Life after Kona

Its now eight weeks since Kona. It seems a lifetime ago. Long enough to mostly forget how much it hurt.

But I'm not about to even think about racing an Ironman distance race for quite a while yet. Having 'time' back to follow other interests is, well, priceless. Sure, I'm not over racing, in fact, I can now race more often, and this summer I'm going to hit as many sprint and olympic distance tris as I can. Racing a few weeks ago at one of these shorter races was FUN. Lots of short-term hurt, but easy to train for, and immediate feedback on effort.

I've not quite got back into as much flying as I would have liked, but that is because the weather has been especially crappy. I'm over Nor'Westers. It will get better soon, and when it does, I'll be back in the air with a vengeance.

Corrie and I did our first trail ride of the season yesterday, his first on his new 'adult' motorbike. His XR200 is a good step up for him, and he nailed the 25km of rough country in style, making it up a particularly tough climb that saw many adults falling off. We did three circuits, each taking approx one hour. That's Corrie in the picture.

So do I change the name of the blog, and keep posting adventures? I haven't decided, but I'm of a mind to keep recording the odd thought and expedition...

Last Post

I've had a week since the race to reflect on both how I went, and what it all means. The awards ceremony/dinner on the Sunday night (day after race) started that process. Our good friend Jon Ackland grabbed us some seats with Terenzo Bozzone and his family, and we had a good night. It was pretty interesting comparing notes with Terenzo about how his race went.

Terenzo was NZ's best placed male at 11th, and this was a pretty solid result in his first appearance at Kona, and only his 3rd Ironman. He's the reigning world half-ironman champ, and defends his title at Clearwater, Florida, in November. Jon has been Terenzo's coach for the last 5-6 years. Jon and Teresa worked together at the Institute of Sport in Auckland in the late 80's, and Jon and I did most of our training together for our Ironman NZ and Kona campaigns in 1988. Whilst I've seen a bit of Jon in recent years, Teresa hadn't seen him since we left Auckland in 1991!

Jon and I talked some about where things like Ironman fit into life, and if anything, that is the theme for this post. We came to the conclusion that its all about living life to its full, but having balance in that process.

Sadly, and this is certainly only my opinion, far too many people meander through life without much to show for it. I'm not talking material possessions. I'm talking experiences. I think humans are explorers; we have an instinct that propels us into wondering things like just how far we can go, what lies around the next corner, how can we do things better and so on. Essentially its about harnessing our initiative and our imagination - what's possible.

Many people seem to be satisfied that they have enough on their plate with job and family, and fair enough too. For me personally, that's not enough. Sports and recreational pursuits provide me the extra dimension, whether its competing or completing in triathlons/multisport/other athletic events, or flying, or tramping or kayaking and so on. Its hard to put into words where they fit in, and I can only imagine that these things to a degree satisfy the explorer/inventor/hunter-gatherer instinct we all share.

Back to the ironman. Jon and I talked about how to the vast majority of age-group athletes at the world champs, their actual placing and result is almost immaterial. Even now, I'm only vaguely aware of my placing in the race - I actually don't much care to be honest. Racing at Kona is just the final act in a play that lasted a number of years. Most of the challenge really lies in just getting there, from making the decision to try to, through the hundreds of hours of training, through racing one or more qualifying ironman races to qualify, and then completing the final training block for Kona itself. Its a bloody long process. At the end of the day, its actually really about putting a goal in one's mind, accepting and committing to the challenge, and then doing what it takes to achieve the outcome. In that respect, my satisfaction in completing Kona is really about having completed the bigger journey of thinking about, and preparing to get there; the race is to a degree just the conclusion. That the process takes at least a year makes it just that more memorable and special. Its the journey, rather than the destination that provides the most satisfaction.

But its a great metaphor. Nothing of value come easy, and closing this chapter is satisfying in that I have completed my dream to race at the world champs again after wondering whether this would be possible, and giving me confidence that almost anything is possible given desire, planning and commitment. This is a pretty handy reminder as I plan my transition into establishing my own business in the near future.

And as to tips for anyone wanting to do something like the ironman (or any other significant project or challenge), I'm only going to offer one piece of advice. Simply, you have to really want the goal, and believe that it can be achieved. If we don't really want it, or believe in ourselves, we are almost destined to stumble at the first hardship or hurdle, and give up. Wanting something, and backing yourself through all the challenges and hardships, is surely the key. So, get out there and do stuff.

I've enjoyed writing this blog. Its made me think about quite a few things, and of course many of these I've kept private, naturally enough. Its been an interesting journey, and I hope that you've found it worth the read, even if only for curiosity's sake.

Over and out.

Rest and recreation...

Well, I just didn't get near to the internet the whole week, from Monday morning when we left Kona, through until tonight, home in NZ. Probably a good thing, as Teresa and I just took the opportunity to unwind and enjoy some time together.

We spent our time based out of Waikiki, which proved a good escape from the all-encompassing atmosphere we experienced in Kona. The highlight just has to be Tuesday, when we hired a car and drove around Ohau. We checked out the famous surf spots, Sunset Beach, the Banzai Pipeline (above), Waimea, and so on. Surf, sand and sun, but too chicken to take on the BIG waves which apparently were actually only babies.

Tomorrow will be the the big kahuna wrap up. I'm pretty shagged tonight as we flew through last night and I didn't really get much shut-eye. One more night to compose my thoughts, and I can put this little journey (and blog) to bed. Thanks for your patience.

Feeling pretty shagged today.

And I suppose that's fair enough. Though I'm not as sore as after the Taupo Ironman, I think that's mainly due to running a slower marathon here, by about 25 minutes. A faster pace always hurts later!

It was so nice going out this morning with Teresa for a big cooked breakfast, eggs benedict with 'extras', thanks goodness for good old American supersizing...It was nice to having the pressure off at last, goal achieved. Its felt like a long time coming.

So, the race. Everyone, pros included, are saying how much harder yesterday's race was than recent years. And, yet, Chrissie Wellington sets a new womens' record. Unbelievable. I don't know how she could do that.

I was happy with my swim. I started at the back of the field, and hard right. I was determined to avoid the 1800 strong fight, and was quite prepared to give away a minute or too to avoid the stress of fighting for space. As it turned out, it was only partially successful, as my more direct line took me well up through the pack, but by that stage, after about 1km, it wasn't too bad. My time was a little slower than anticipated, but that was mainly due to being unable to swim at my pace for the first few minutes. Overall, however, I got out of the water not having wasted mental effort, or being bashed up.

It was hot as soon as we started cycling. I was planning on building into the pace over the first 60km, as its just too easy to go too hard too early, and really suffer later. It was all going pretty well up until about 75km, when I started to feel quite nauseous. The cause was most likely that what i was eating and drinking just wasn't getting absorbed; the extreme heat was making my stomach shut down. It was like cycling on only half-charged batteries, and it felt pretty horrible. Worse was that I stopped sweating as the lack of absorption meant I wasn't able to sweat. I was pretty worried about then that the day wasn't going to work out that well. My coach has talked to me about this being a possibility if it was an especially hot day, so at least I had a plan to work through it - this consisted of simply slowing down, and drinking only water to try to reduce the concentration of what was in my stomach. Well, it took two hours and another 60-70km, but it worked. From 150-180km I came back to life, and rode the sort of pace I should have been doing all along, and despite the wind. It was too late though in terms of the race, as I was around 30-40 minutes down on what I was capable of doing. In some ways I was lucky though - lots and lots of people ended their race on the bike, with the same problem I had. It was a tough ride, hotter than I'd experienced here, and the wind was testing.

I started the run in reasonable form, but knowing that as I'd not been able to take in the fluids and food on the bike that I really needed, I'd have to be more conservative in my pace. I was able to run strongly, if not super fast. That said, my 3:41 was an OK sort of time under the conditions, and I wasn't passed by anyone, but I passed perhaps 200 people.

Even so, the run is always a bit desperate. The body is fair aching by then, and by the half-way point of the marathon, it sure isn't pleasant. Its a significant challenge to keep running, and not give in and walk. You also seem to be on the verge of cramping, and keeping cool is a constant battle. Ice was a pretty constant companion being put down my race top and bike shorts. Not very pleasant, but effective.

Teresa and I went back down to the course at 10.30 last night to watch the final finishers come in before midnight. It was a carnival atmosphere, and pretty special.

In some respects, I'm more pleased with how I came through the challenges of the race, than if I'd set a faster time. I faced some considerable demons, and stuck with it. That is pretty satisfying in retrospect.

Well, done and dusted so to speak. I can't see myself coming back to this race again in the near future. I have satisfied my curiosity as to whether I could again qualify, and complete, this race, so its time to move on to other challenges.

A huge thanks you to everyone who has offered words of encouragement over the last few weeks. The support is much appreciated. The biggest thanks though has to go to Teresa, Jordan and Corrie for putting up with my ambition to race here again. They have been unlimited in their support. Mahalo for that.

I'm going to make one final post in the next few days from Honolulu; perhaps some lessons learnt from the experience, and advice for anyone wanting to race an ironman. Now, its time to head down to the awards ceremony for the party.

Mission Accomplished...but boy was it tough...

I'll post a full report tomorrow, but today's race was probably the hardest race I've ever had.

It was brutal out there; regulars are saying that today was the hottest its ever been, and we had near continuous head winds to cap it off. It looks like there is a record number of non-finishers.

I'm very happy to have survived the day, my time was about 30-40 minutes slower than anticipated, but I can assure you I couldn't care less about that. Finishing was a real battle. My two neighbours where I am staying both failed to finish.

Time to put my feet up.

Calm before the storm...

It might just be me, but a week or more out from the race, the days just slowly and serenely drift by, with the event only faintly visible on the horizon, and nothing more than a concept. This close, though, the days are a blur. There is a also a vague sense of dread - knowing that there is something a bit nasty creeping up, and that it cannot be avoided. Its a strange mix of emotions indeed. As I tap this out at 6 pm on the eve of the race, I'm excited, a little scared, and generally just on edge. It helps some that I've been in this frame before, but its probably the least enjoyable part of the race package.

Today's been mainly one of resting, interspersed with some necessary periods of activity. First up this morning, Teresa and I went down to the swim start and I did a very easy swim/bike/run session of around 40 minutes. There is absolutely no training benefit in this; its all mental. First, it allows some release of the tension that is building up. Second, it serves as a confidence builder. This is because over the last week my hours of training have dramatically reduced. In the final weeks before leaving home, I was training for 18-20 hours a week. My first week here saw that drop to 14 hours, and this week its only been 3 hr 10 min. As a consequence, my body has had the chance to catch up on, and consolidate, all the training. I was taking it very, very, easy this morning, but I felt fantastic; it means I can start tomorrow knowing that I feel in good form.

I spend around an hour making final checks of my racing wheels, all bike components, checking cable attachments, screws, bolts etc for tightness. All my racing gear was laid out and checked, then packed into separate bags for the swim to bike and bike to run transitions. It pays to use a list!

Around midday, it was time to take the bike and my gear bags down to the transition area. I was prepared for the bike/helmet check and gear hand in to take forever, but I was in and out in under 10 minutes. very impressive. We each had a guide allocated, who proceeded to walk us to the bike rack, explaining the flow of both transitions in the process. Bags for the swim to bike and bike to run transitions were racked. Very slick, very good.

The rest of the day has been focused on resting and drinking. I'll probably spend half the night up peeing, but its absolutely critical that I hit tomorrow fully hydrated. That's certainly more important than sleep. I slept pretty well last night, so its really redundant whether or not I am restless tonight. I've done many races after a less-than-perfect sleep, and its never been a problem.

Its a little weird thinking that I've been focused on competing in this race for two years, and this time tomorrow, it will be completed. What's next? Certainly not another ironman, for quite some time.

As to my predictions for tomorrow, I'm mainly concerned with racing well, than racing for a time. There are just too many variables to predict an accurate time. The closest that I'm prepared to predict is between 10 and 11 hours.

Its been great having T here. Its made the last bit of waiting so much easier, and of course, having completed this race herself, she knows what is going through my mind. It matters.

So, adiós. Lets wait and see what race day serves up. You can check out live coverage at www.ironman.com starting from around 6 am NZ time. I am race number 779. Wish me luck!