A bit of background
about this - this is my third ironman, so I know a bit more what to expect than
previous races. Mentally I have been really focused on my training and am
seriously trying to improve my times. I've spent a lot of time in the pool
trying to improve my swim. My last two races I've done 1:25ish for the swim, so
thought it was fair to aim for 1:15. This is also the first race where I really
cared about my time compared to other girls in my age group. So I had put some
pretty high expectations on myself and was hoping I could pull it off. I had
been super nervous for about a week before the race, but race morning I was
pretty calm.
The swim was an in water start, so I made sure I got on the pier and into the water in plenty of time to have a gentle, relaxed swim to the start and line myself up in a good position. Was aiming for a bit more forward than the middle of the pack and I got there. All was good. I tried to find someone to chat to because that normally puts me in a good mental place, but everyone around me seemed to know each other and be in conversations. Before I knew it, the gun went off and we were on our way. The start was a mess. 1400 people all swimming madly! I thought about trying to sprint to get up further, but there was just no way. Too many people were clawing, kicking and swimming over me. It was just survival mode. I got a bit unfocused and pissed off with the crowd. I wanted to swim harder and faster damn it! Not have to be dodging people and getting clawed!
The course was two laps of a rectangle. It took till about half way round the first rectangle to thin out enough so I wasn't getting beaten up. By then I just wanted to get away from other people and swim out on my own. I knew I should be drafting, but I just didn't want to! The water was murky so it was hard to see legs and hips anyway. I remembered to breathe left and right and be constantly aware of what was around me. I was sighting well too. I just wasn't mentally in the racing mindset! I just wanted to have a nice, relaxing swim and have the other people f**k off! Somewhere near the beginning of the second lap I started finding people to draft off and felt like I was doing a better job of my swim racing technique. Good. I wasn't tired, but just wasn't mentally pushing. The tide seemed to be making the return to shore slow too. But eventually we were climbing up the stairs to the pier. Quick glance at the garmin and I was a bit bummed to have missed the 1:15 time, but happy that it was less than 1:25! Long run along the pier to grab the gear in T1. No changing, just out of the wetsuit, apply sunscreen, grab bike shoes, put on helmet and off I ran to my bike!
The swim was an in water start, so I made sure I got on the pier and into the water in plenty of time to have a gentle, relaxed swim to the start and line myself up in a good position. Was aiming for a bit more forward than the middle of the pack and I got there. All was good. I tried to find someone to chat to because that normally puts me in a good mental place, but everyone around me seemed to know each other and be in conversations. Before I knew it, the gun went off and we were on our way. The start was a mess. 1400 people all swimming madly! I thought about trying to sprint to get up further, but there was just no way. Too many people were clawing, kicking and swimming over me. It was just survival mode. I got a bit unfocused and pissed off with the crowd. I wanted to swim harder and faster damn it! Not have to be dodging people and getting clawed!
The course was two laps of a rectangle. It took till about half way round the first rectangle to thin out enough so I wasn't getting beaten up. By then I just wanted to get away from other people and swim out on my own. I knew I should be drafting, but I just didn't want to! The water was murky so it was hard to see legs and hips anyway. I remembered to breathe left and right and be constantly aware of what was around me. I was sighting well too. I just wasn't mentally in the racing mindset! I just wanted to have a nice, relaxing swim and have the other people f**k off! Somewhere near the beginning of the second lap I started finding people to draft off and felt like I was doing a better job of my swim racing technique. Good. I wasn't tired, but just wasn't mentally pushing. The tide seemed to be making the return to shore slow too. But eventually we were climbing up the stairs to the pier. Quick glance at the garmin and I was a bit bummed to have missed the 1:15 time, but happy that it was less than 1:25! Long run along the pier to grab the gear in T1. No changing, just out of the wetsuit, apply sunscreen, grab bike shoes, put on helmet and off I ran to my bike!
I was happy with my T1.
It seemed organized and quick. I jogged with my bike to the mount line, avoided
the crowds and rode away. But immediately I felt sharp pain in my right
hamstring/butt cheek. Ouch! This was bad. Why was this happening to me?! The bike
is my strongest leg and I was feeling good! I wasn't even past the crowds and I
was already cramping? I kept thinking maybe I had pulled a muscle. How was I
going to ride 180km when each pedal stroke hurt like hell?! And then run a
friggin marathon?! I had trained so hard for this, I couldn't believe what was
happening. Somehow I managed to tell myself to calm the f**k down. Now what is
the sensible thing to do here I thought. Ride easy so you're barely working,
keep cadence high and get some electrolyte in you. So that's exactly what I
did. The cramp stayed painful for the first 40km or so, but eventually subsided
to the point where I could ride pretty comfortably. I just wondered how it
would be to run on. Oh well, not gunna find that out till T2, so execute the
race as planned for now.
The first 80km were awesome (apart from the cramp). I saw Sam Warriner leading the 70.3, and there was quite a tail wind. Heaps of people were passing me, but I was mentally prepared for that. According to coach, 80% of people overbike the ironman ride. I wasn't going to be one of those. I stuck to the HR zones and nutrition plan coach and I had agreed and enjoyed the pretty scenery.
At the 80km mark we went through the turn around at Port Douglas. Crowds were cheering loudly and it was a huge mental pick me up. Maybe it's cuz I went past them trailing Luke McKenzie, the race winner! Heaps of fun anyway. Still feeling great on the bike and the 80km hadn't made me feel tired at all. I wasn't looking forward to riding back into the headwind though!
We had to do about 40km out of Port Douglas to the turn around, all into the wind. It was starting to really warm up now too, so I had started pouring water over myself to keep cool. The wind significantly slowed me down and lots of people were drafting to save energy. Now after being done for drafting at Tauranga, I am super careful with this and keep an eagle eye out for draft busters. But it pissed me off that so many people were getting away with it! It's cheating in ironman! We hit a particularly windy section and I had just overtaken a bunch of people. Silly move - I was leading the pack! While I was race legal for drafting, the 12 people behind me were saving heaps of energy. Of course as soon as we got off that section they all passed me. Grrr. At this point my mental state improved heaps. If they want to cheat, so be it. I'm going to be out here, race by the rules, race hard and have fun. Stuff everyone else.
After this my day picked up heaps. I was having a blast, making supportive comments to people when I passed or they passed me. What a great day! The second lap back to Port Douglas went pretty easily and I only really started to feel tired about the 150km mark. I just made sure I was well hydrated to get off the bike and spun my legs out to prepare for the run. Yay, I was looking forward to the run! Coming into T2 was a welcome sight. I passed my bike to the catchers and ran off the grab my gear bag. Quick change of the shorts and shoes and into the toilet. I had been way too stubborn to stop to pee and I still can't bring myself to pee on the bike! (probably TMI, sorry!) Sunscreen applied, cookies in my mouth and a HUGE thank you to the awesome volunteers. I was on my way with a shout-out from the announcer that I was all the way from New Zealand!
The first 80km were awesome (apart from the cramp). I saw Sam Warriner leading the 70.3, and there was quite a tail wind. Heaps of people were passing me, but I was mentally prepared for that. According to coach, 80% of people overbike the ironman ride. I wasn't going to be one of those. I stuck to the HR zones and nutrition plan coach and I had agreed and enjoyed the pretty scenery.
At the 80km mark we went through the turn around at Port Douglas. Crowds were cheering loudly and it was a huge mental pick me up. Maybe it's cuz I went past them trailing Luke McKenzie, the race winner! Heaps of fun anyway. Still feeling great on the bike and the 80km hadn't made me feel tired at all. I wasn't looking forward to riding back into the headwind though!
We had to do about 40km out of Port Douglas to the turn around, all into the wind. It was starting to really warm up now too, so I had started pouring water over myself to keep cool. The wind significantly slowed me down and lots of people were drafting to save energy. Now after being done for drafting at Tauranga, I am super careful with this and keep an eagle eye out for draft busters. But it pissed me off that so many people were getting away with it! It's cheating in ironman! We hit a particularly windy section and I had just overtaken a bunch of people. Silly move - I was leading the pack! While I was race legal for drafting, the 12 people behind me were saving heaps of energy. Of course as soon as we got off that section they all passed me. Grrr. At this point my mental state improved heaps. If they want to cheat, so be it. I'm going to be out here, race by the rules, race hard and have fun. Stuff everyone else.
After this my day picked up heaps. I was having a blast, making supportive comments to people when I passed or they passed me. What a great day! The second lap back to Port Douglas went pretty easily and I only really started to feel tired about the 150km mark. I just made sure I was well hydrated to get off the bike and spun my legs out to prepare for the run. Yay, I was looking forward to the run! Coming into T2 was a welcome sight. I passed my bike to the catchers and ran off the grab my gear bag. Quick change of the shorts and shoes and into the toilet. I had been way too stubborn to stop to pee and I still can't bring myself to pee on the bike! (probably TMI, sorry!) Sunscreen applied, cookies in my mouth and a HUGE thank you to the awesome volunteers. I was on my way with a shout-out from the announcer that I was all the way from New Zealand!
Dang it was HOT running
out of T2! Suddenly the heat from the bike became way more intense. But the
good news was that I didn't feel my cramp from earlier on the bike and my legs
felt great! I was a bit tired, but running at my targeted 5:40-5:45/km was no
issue. Good, cuz I was supposed to keep it up for 4 hours! I was really
surprised by the number of people walking. I didn't think my bike had been that
slow, so I still expected most of the field to be running at this point. I
guess the heat really was affecting people.
I just kept a
steady pace with a routine of 1 gel every 30 mins, plus water and ice at every
aid station (ice to tip down my shirt and water to sip and pout over my head).
I wanted to save electrolytes till at least 20km so I didn't have stomach
issues. I had taken a few salt pills on the bike so figured that would help
with the loss from sweat. This worked really well and my running felt easy and
relaxed right through till about 20km. Lots of people commented on how strong I
looked and cheered me on. I remember one guy saying "Geez girl, have you
only just started? Everyone else looks like they have been racing for
days!". These were all huge mental pick me ups. Lots of women seemed to be
cheering on every girl and there would be lots of "it's a girl, GO
GIRL!". Awesome.
Running through kms 10-26 was mentally tough. It was on a main road through the sugar fields and on a highway with no shade at all. Hardly any supporters were there either. Never mind, I had my target. 5:45/km or less. I just stuck to it and ticked them off km by km as my watch beeped. Good work legs.
I found there was quite a headwind from 15-25km which was tough. Lots of people walking, but I just kept my pace and overtook them with a smile. I was feeling competitive. At an aid station around 18km a guy handed me a water and said "hey gorgeous!" What a friggin distraction! He was hot! I giggled and kept running. I'm sure I didn't look gorgeous at this point! But another big mental pick me up. The volunteers were AWESOME.
Finally about km 25 we turned onto the esplande. YES, people again! I knew my Dad, his GF and Mark would be out here somewhere. I was starting to tire. Not hurt, but tire. Never mind, less than a half marathon to go and I've finished an Ironman! Come on legs, you got this. I saw them cheering madly as I ran close to the pier. What a huge pick me up! There were hundreds if not thousands of people cheering there. I felt like a friggin celebrity running through there! I couldn't help but grin madly and high five people. Damn it, I still had two more laps of the esplanade to go. Hurumph. Running away from the people was a come down. It was starting to get dark (at about 5:30) and the skies were opening up with rain. We'd had showers throughout the day, but nothing like this. It was torrential downpour! I was LOVING it!! Well, until my shoes got heavy and it was so dark I couldn't see where I was going anymore. The course wasn't well lit. Oh well, keep on going legs.
I kept up my routine with nutrition, but couldn't stomach anymore gels so tried cookies at about 32km. It was about then that I saw the first guy unconscious on the pavement. Holy crap! There were paramedics around him, but he wasn't responding. They were telling people to keep moving so I did. I guess that's just a harsh reminder of what ironman in 30+ temps with humidity can do to your body. I saw another guy unconscious a bit further up.
I fell apart at about 34km. I was tired, grumpy and I wanted the friggin race to be done! I knew I wasn't going to make my 4hr marathon first goal. I was really justifying failure to myself. It's ok, there really is no difference between 11:30 and 12. Who cares, just walk. You're going to PB, who cares by how much? So I walked. For about 200m and then I said to myself, WTF are you doing woman!? You didn't come here to let yourself do that! Run! You can rest in 45 mins! So I ran. I picked off runners in front of me and passed them. I counted down the minutes. I was SO tired! And my knee hurt. (I need new bike shoes) That last lap running out into the darkness was one tough mental challenge. I would not let myself walk. Run slow, yes. Walk, no. I averaged about 6:30/km and felt like I was running sub 5:00/km. Finally I saw that much anticipated 40km mark. YES! There was also a girl who looked about my age running in front of me and faster than me. She had two lap bands on so was running to the finish line just like me. Crap. I wanted to catch her, but I didn't think I could run that fast! I just tried to stay behind her and not fall too far back. Then it was my lucky day! She stopped at an aid station at about 40.5km! YES! I took off. Such a mental high running past her and towards the loudly cheering crowds. I could not wipe that grin off my face running that last km. I high fived and fist pumped with no shame! The crowd really picked up on it and knew I was running to finish. Running into the chute I caught a glimpse of my Dad and Mark and heard them yelling for me. Grinning wildly and high fiving! The announcer called out my name as I came in. "Louise Shrimpton, you are an Ironman!" Love those words. When Pete Jacobs put that medal around my neck and told me I'd done well, I just about exploded with pleasure. Wow.
Only two regrets about the finish. One - I ran too fast and didn't high five my Dad and Mark. Two - I chicked a guy. (Well, I don't know if I should regret this or not. What do you think??)
Awesome day. Finish time: 11:41:08. (1hr 11min faster than last year's IM)
13/43 in my age group. 87th female and 398th overall.
Running through kms 10-26 was mentally tough. It was on a main road through the sugar fields and on a highway with no shade at all. Hardly any supporters were there either. Never mind, I had my target. 5:45/km or less. I just stuck to it and ticked them off km by km as my watch beeped. Good work legs.
I found there was quite a headwind from 15-25km which was tough. Lots of people walking, but I just kept my pace and overtook them with a smile. I was feeling competitive. At an aid station around 18km a guy handed me a water and said "hey gorgeous!" What a friggin distraction! He was hot! I giggled and kept running. I'm sure I didn't look gorgeous at this point! But another big mental pick me up. The volunteers were AWESOME.
Finally about km 25 we turned onto the esplande. YES, people again! I knew my Dad, his GF and Mark would be out here somewhere. I was starting to tire. Not hurt, but tire. Never mind, less than a half marathon to go and I've finished an Ironman! Come on legs, you got this. I saw them cheering madly as I ran close to the pier. What a huge pick me up! There were hundreds if not thousands of people cheering there. I felt like a friggin celebrity running through there! I couldn't help but grin madly and high five people. Damn it, I still had two more laps of the esplanade to go. Hurumph. Running away from the people was a come down. It was starting to get dark (at about 5:30) and the skies were opening up with rain. We'd had showers throughout the day, but nothing like this. It was torrential downpour! I was LOVING it!! Well, until my shoes got heavy and it was so dark I couldn't see where I was going anymore. The course wasn't well lit. Oh well, keep on going legs.
I kept up my routine with nutrition, but couldn't stomach anymore gels so tried cookies at about 32km. It was about then that I saw the first guy unconscious on the pavement. Holy crap! There were paramedics around him, but he wasn't responding. They were telling people to keep moving so I did. I guess that's just a harsh reminder of what ironman in 30+ temps with humidity can do to your body. I saw another guy unconscious a bit further up.
I fell apart at about 34km. I was tired, grumpy and I wanted the friggin race to be done! I knew I wasn't going to make my 4hr marathon first goal. I was really justifying failure to myself. It's ok, there really is no difference between 11:30 and 12. Who cares, just walk. You're going to PB, who cares by how much? So I walked. For about 200m and then I said to myself, WTF are you doing woman!? You didn't come here to let yourself do that! Run! You can rest in 45 mins! So I ran. I picked off runners in front of me and passed them. I counted down the minutes. I was SO tired! And my knee hurt. (I need new bike shoes) That last lap running out into the darkness was one tough mental challenge. I would not let myself walk. Run slow, yes. Walk, no. I averaged about 6:30/km and felt like I was running sub 5:00/km. Finally I saw that much anticipated 40km mark. YES! There was also a girl who looked about my age running in front of me and faster than me. She had two lap bands on so was running to the finish line just like me. Crap. I wanted to catch her, but I didn't think I could run that fast! I just tried to stay behind her and not fall too far back. Then it was my lucky day! She stopped at an aid station at about 40.5km! YES! I took off. Such a mental high running past her and towards the loudly cheering crowds. I could not wipe that grin off my face running that last km. I high fived and fist pumped with no shame! The crowd really picked up on it and knew I was running to finish. Running into the chute I caught a glimpse of my Dad and Mark and heard them yelling for me. Grinning wildly and high fiving! The announcer called out my name as I came in. "Louise Shrimpton, you are an Ironman!" Love those words. When Pete Jacobs put that medal around my neck and told me I'd done well, I just about exploded with pleasure. Wow.
Only two regrets about the finish. One - I ran too fast and didn't high five my Dad and Mark. Two - I chicked a guy. (Well, I don't know if I should regret this or not. What do you think??)
Awesome day. Finish time: 11:41:08. (1hr 11min faster than last year's IM)
13/43 in my age group. 87th female and 398th overall.
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