To sit here and try and write my feelings about the race is going to be hard. There were so many emotions that I had throughout the day. ALL of them positive!
I will try and remember the days events as I have been jotting down notes over the last few days so that I try to include everything! There will be a whole lot more photos added when I get home as I know plenty of people who took photos through out the day and will obtain a copy.
Here goes:
Awaking at 3.58am race morning was gold as my alarm was set for 4am and I knew that I had a great night sleep although I did wake a few times to go to the toilet (Hydration was on song!).
Eating my usual Jam & banana sandwiches for breakfast, washed down with a few coffees things were looking sweet. The support crew arrived at 4.30am, which instantly made me nervous. Nothing that they did, but having them that early could only mean one thing. It was RACE DAY!
I had been really good in the lead up, a little snappy at times (as we all are in race week) but overall, I didn't really feel that I was like previous races. As someone did tell me over here, I have nothing to prove, nothing to Qualify for as I am here at the BIG DANCE! Go enjoy the race for what it was going to throw at me.
Talking to Andrew pre-race about tactics was a surprise as he said nothing different as far as the way he wanted me to race. "Just race like you have raced every other race, that seemed to work right?" I couldn't really argue with that now, could I? The only different thing that Andrew said to me was along the lines of, "Just make sure whatever you do, you smile, smile at everyone you know, everyone that supports you and just smile because you deserve to have a good race and you are racing the World Ironman Championships"
Done deal. That was going to be my motto for the day. Smile!
So with that in mind, I was going to make my day fun. This started in the morning when Paul decided that he was going to support me the best way he could.....Wear the same getup! Now I do have the same race suit and due to getting 2 race numbers in the race bag this was possible. I knew that if I saw him throughout the day, I would not only smile, but laugh.
Check the pic:
He was going to be hard to miss!! We knew that he would get some funny looks, however that's what mates do!! And I loved it!
After a few little antics, the nerves were building rapidly. I did warn the family about my pre-race nerve routine....A vomit here and there, I just didn't realise that it would happen so early this race. Off to the bathroom, 2 vomits and done, feeling better.
We then strolled down towards the race start and this was just an amazing feeling, an amazing place to go to knowing that I was going to race. Going through race numbering was amazing, getting those famous stamps on my arms made this race have just a little more than previous races. After all, this is where we all want to race.
Getting to my bike to inflate the tyres, something went wrong. My tyres wouldn't inflate. No air would go into my tyres....enter a fair bit of panic here.....I checked my watch, 5.30am, ok I still have time to get it fixed. Going to find the bike mechanic, he was unsure what the issue was, so he simply grabbed my wheel off my bike and ran off with it. GONE, there I was standing with my bike, with no front wheel. Unsure how long he was going to take, all I could do was wait, and that I did, wait.
15min gone, 20min gone and I was still waiting. The other mechanic told me that even if he was back by the time the swim started my bike would be in place by the time I got out of the water. Now that would have been a fun swim, wondering if my bike was going to be there with 1 or 2 wheels, am I going to be able to race etc. Um nope, I couldn't handle that. I tried to continue my pre-race routine, eating and drinking my nutrition.
25min gone and still not back. I was now asking about what time the transition closed. By now it was 6am and the pro's were starting at 6.30am. I still had 1 hour, but I like to really relax pre race. The mechanics came back, 30min had gone but he was back. He told me that he took the tyre off re-glued it and to be careful once I first get on the bike, especially around corners as it might roll off. That firmly in mind, I was just happy to see the bike fully assembled and with tyres fully inflated.
After getting the bike fully ready, I headed out to see the support crew for one last time before the race. Giving them all a hug, I started to tear up as I knew how proud they were of me getting here.
Time to get into the water...
Getting into the water, I headed left, away from the hustle and bustle. This was where I decided I wanted to swim. Heading over there warming my arms up, I was feeling really good. I allowed myself 15min in the water and with a mixture of sculling and freestyle, I was ready to go.
The cannon sounded and we were off. Off for the start of the Ironman World Championships, everything that I have trained for over the last few years was now a reality.
I had a great start, found some good feet and really worked my way into the swim. I started to swim passed a lot of people and then started wondering if I had started in the best place. The closest that I got to the buoys was 50m until the turn around point. I had a quick look at my watch as I was swimming around the boat, 31.14min, ok a fair bit slower then what I wanted but I was feeling good. I picked up the pace a little on the return and found myself picking off people left right and centre.
Heading back towards the pier I was feeling really good and was starting to think about the rest of the day. Getting out of the water in 1hr 4min was a little disappointing, however I was not going to let that destroy the fun I was going to have. I also knew that I had made an error in starting way too left, however, that was done and lets get ready to ride.
Into T1, was awesome, it was crowded and I loved it. A quick banana, sunscreen applied and off I went to find my bike. I was just hoping that the tyre were still inflated. A quick check and I was happy. Time to get this show on the road!!
Swim and T1 done.
For Now...
X-Man
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