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Ironman World Championships, Kona, 2012

I arrived a week ahead of the race armed with a limited knowledge of what to expect and my best undies for the annual pants run! Being my first Kona, I was determined to enjoy, learn and celebrate the ‘Mecca’ of triathlon.

On arrival, the atmosphere didn’t disappoint. Early morning swims in the bay alongside some of the best triathletes in the world, followed by drinking coffee, amongst the best triathletes in the world. Life felt pretty good and training felt easy. It was nice also to be away from the stress of work.

I caught up with Darren Jenkins @nevagiven he was coaching in Kona and is a previous racer, he gave me a tour of the bike course and kept me away from the draw of the coffee and expo reminding me I had a race to do.

The weather leading up to the race wasn’t what everyone said it would be yeah it was warm and the wind blew but nothing too much to worry about. I thought if this is hard, they should race Nice or Lanza.

Kona was pretty much as good as it gets for a triathlete, it buzzed and our minority sport was celebrated like football in the Uk.

Some Oz friends were winding me up about shark attacks and the frightening annual statistics. I didn’t believe them but I left that night with an element of doubt as they never did reply when I said, you’re joking right? The next morning you can imagine my fright when I was circled by dolphins 2km from the shoreline! The first thing I saw was their shark like fin above the water!! But I quickly chilled out in amazement when I looked under water and saw they were just dolphins playing around beneath. Has to be one of the best things I have ever seen.

To the race; transition was well laid out I’m not going to dwell for long here it’s the world champs, transition and organisation was faultless as you would expect. My spot was a little way away but I wasn’t too worried.

It seems I had the same plan as everyone else from the start; to go hard for clear water. It was a full on sprint and I didn’t get away, I thought hmmm plan b already? I was going nowhere fast, totally boxed in, and there I stayed as the swim went on and on. I was hacked off, as I knew I was going too slowly. I made a few bids for clear water, but it didn’t last, as I got taken out like a rugby tackle! I decided not to kick in order to save my legs and waited patiently for transition.

Out of the water, up the steps and onto dry land. No one can stop me now. I haven’t seen my T1 time but I imagine it was fairly quick compared to those with a similar racking position as mine. In fact I was too quick – I took the swimskin down to my waist, but forgot to remove it. I started the bike with the usual track stand, as people seemingly forget how to get on their bikes in a triathlon – it’s comedy gold at times watching people! But I found myself being patient again waiting for the crowd of athletes to get on and out the way so I could go.

There would be no easing into this bike, I was already way off where I wanted to be. Approximately 30 mins into the bike I started noticing some restriction in my glutes and lower back. I looked down at my legs, initially a bit confused by the black tri shorts – what’s going on here? Shiiiiit swimskin still on. What to do now? Tip for anyone reading you can’t take a swim skin off when cycling, you have to stop and you can’t leave it on, it just gets more and more uncomfortable. I tried, but at the 50 mile mark I decided I had to take it off. I pulled into a feed station and handed it to a volunteer, it took me a while to explain to him what I was doing, but eventually he agreed to get it back to transition for me.

Great back on with the race, I still felt I hadn’t got going and I was running out of miles now. Can we start again please? I wasn’t ready!

I never saw the swimskin again, but it felt a huge relief to take it off. I neared Hawi, the turn around, and bugger I could feel the wind, it was blowing much harder than previous days. I had underestimated it and now I was working hard. From this point on the wind did not ease up. I had forgotten a piece of advice I had been given earlier in the week on combating the wind and it played on my mind now. I felt vulnerable now and I had lost momentum and average speed was dwindling. I was riding badly and not how I knew I could, made worse as i was also suffering from another pre-race issue. I wanted the bike to end now but it dragged on and on, my watts were low and I couldn’t do anything about it. It was like the swim all over again i just had to be patient and finish off the bike and hope for a good run. Unhappy with my bike and swim so far, but it didn’t matter as I rode back into triathlon town. There’s no worries in triathlon town!

Run time, well those of you that know me will be aware a running injury has kept me out of running for sometime, so today wasn’t going to be sub 3. Believe me I needed it to be, but I made a realistic decision in light of my running base. It wouldn’t be wise to go for broke and risk blowing. I decided I would keep it easy and bring home a nice sub 10. It’s fair to say I haven’t found my running legs in an ironman yet, so with the heat and humidity and intermittent run training this year, I stand by my decision. I went looking for an experienced shoulder to pace off. Then I heard a friendly voice, it was Matt Molloy of @teamfreespeed. A chat to Matt was what I needed, it restored a bit of morale. I got back on to the queen k and I had jogged this section pre race, so I knew what to expect. By now I was ready to hear the words “congratulations you’re an ironman!”.

A finish was never in doubt but a PB was now out of the question. I found a pace that I considered respectable and would allow me to savour the experience.

I didn’t suffer in the marathon, except for the first few miles maybe as my legs made the transition and a small bit when I realised I had to run about two miles longer than I thought at the end of the queen k, but this detour enabled the finish along Ali’i Drive so I wouldn’t change it for a second.

Amazing race and I witnessed some incredible performances.

Final thought; the race didn’t go quite to plan, but its cool. It’s my first kona, the real race is getting here and I’m proud of that. I know now how it feels to race here and how to do it well.

Thank you Kona it’s been amazing. Will be back soon.

James - www.jamesbrownironman.com

If you’re interested, please email chairman@thamesturbo.co.uk for a copy of the role specification. We will be accepting applications until 3rd December 2012.

Results can be found at - http://www.humanrace.co.uk/lidl-bananaman-triathlon-2012-bunch-of-bananas-team-time-trial-results

http://www.racetimingsystems.com/public/results.aspx?raceid=2290

Tim, an ex-Olympic rower, has a reputation within the club as well as both the triathlon and rowing world for his tough racing attitude and the ability to push himself beyond his limits. This extract from his race report gives an insight to this:

“I am suffering so much. But if I can, I will finish this. I am leading an Iron Distance Race. I have a chance to win. This chance may never come again. So I can either suffer the same amount and risk losing, or see if I can go deeper and risk all to win.”

“Lap 5 was just gruesome, and even the compliments on my ‘strong running’ did little to distract me from the pain. But that wasn’t the point. The point was to find it, and devour it. The hamstring was now pinging to the point that I had to stop every 2k as it locked up. However, I got through to the final lap, and estimated I had kept enough of a buffer to keep in front. My hamstring and quad had other plans, though. As I reached the aid station for the final time both locked up completely.”

“I was screaming in pain and defiance at my muscles lack of cooperation, which bemused some of the aid station staff. I would have been embarrassed had it not been for the fact that I wanted to know how much of a gap I had. When I finally got moving again, I worked out that I had an 8 minute gap for the final 3.5k. Two minutes per k should be enough, but I was crawling. I was not going to blow it and the last lonely section was hardship in a bottle. Down the finish straight and WINNER!!!!”

Tim is part of the successful Thames Turbo PowerBar Race Team which is sponsored by 2XU, Newton Running and PowerBar.

]]> http://www.thamesturbo.com/archives/1897/feed 0 http://www.thamesturbo.com/archives/1887 http://www.thamesturbo.com/archives/1887#comments Wed, 15 Aug 2012 07:38:13 +0000 jenniemale http://www.thamesturbo.com/?p=1887 Thames Turbo was out in force at Worthing Triathlon this weekend. As one of this year’s races in the Club Championships, it proved to be a highly competitive event that saw a wide range of members pushing themselves to the limit to make their mark.

The fastest Turbo man of the day was Tom Higgins, who finished second overall. This is impressive considering it was Tom’s first Olympic distance race. First Turbo lady to cross the line was Women’s Captain Liz Pinches. Liz was second female home and managed to improve her time from last year by 11 minutes.

Special mention should go to Alex Rowe and Holly Clemens who won their Junior categories.  As both managed to beat their dads in the race, there should be a new phrase for this: offspringed.

Here are some quotes from our members’ race reports:

I entered this event way back when before I was a Thames Turbo member, so I was delighted when it was announced as a club championship event. However this was my first sea swim as well as my first Olympic distance so I have approached it with a bit of apprehension. Very pleased with my performance and delighted to be doing it in my new TT tri suit!! Well done to all Turbos taking part today- it is great to race with some many people cheering and encouraging each other around the course.
Tom Higgins

It was such a pleasure to race with so many Turbos – as always the club events are the most fun in the whole calendar. And this one is a great favourite of mine – its low key but they put on a great event and there is a nice area to socialise afterwards, plus they do some great cakes.
Liz Pinches

Had my best ever swim by 2½ minutes, best 10km in an Olympic tri by 4 minutes and beat my previous Olympic time by 10 minutes with 2h 38m. Stoked.
Richie Thorpe

There were some really strong turbo performances, including Wayne’s storming run, but toughest racing probably has to be shared by Tarsh and Birthday boy Andrew. They both had been utterly belted by the surf, and seeing them both grit it on the final 1k truly shows the Turbo spirit is alive and well. Great to support and be part of it. I know I live for racing, but supporting a group so dedicated comes a solid second.
Tim Male

Full results and pictures from the race:
Sprint distance: http://www.racetimingsystems.com/public … aceid=2440
Olympic distance:  http://www.racetimingsystems.com/public … aceid=2441
Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thamesturbo/ & http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.c … search.tlx

We have been asked by the BTF to reserve some spaces for novices at Race4 that we hope will sign up post the Olympics. The BTF will be promoting our event during the Games. As such, the race could end up filling quicker than usual. If you are planning to race this event, don’t leave it too late to sign up!

Sign up HERE !!!!

The Race Director