My Ironman Race in Taupo, New Zealand
HI!
I’m finally getting down to a post report of the ironman race. I somehow think penning it down wont do justice to the experiences and emotions during my NZ trip, but I’m glad to be able to share snippets of it with all y’r.
Photos and videos: (Don’t know how to put pics and the you tube visual on the blog)
I grabbed someone else's link from YouTube but it give you a very good account on the race. You also get glimpse of the eventual winners Cameron Brown and Jo Lawn in this clip.
Arriving in lake taupo from a 3.5hrs drive from Auckland, you are first met with the descent into the town of Taupo with the views of the water. The lake is beautiful, serene and inviting. The lake was created by one of the biggest explosion known on earth and is bigger than the size of Singapore. The perimeter is the lake is 160km and I believe there is a yearly event to commemorate this distance.
I arrived 2 days in taupo before the race and had to register that day. Big tentages have been set-up to house the registering, massage area, changing room for the swim-bike transition and the finishing area. After registration, I went to try out the wetsuit I rented from Auckland. BlueSeventy is the brand of wetsuit and I feel it is so much better than orca suits. It really feels like a skin. Touching the water for the first time was a mixture of prickly cold and clean freshness. The suit felt fine but I wasn’t used to the floating feeling with my CG being higher. I also did a warm-up run and bike. 20min swim, 20 min run and 20min bike.
That evening we had a carbo-loading party to attend. We had to pay $50 for lyn to join me for an array of guess what?? Carbs. Different types of bread, potato salads, lasagne, 2 types of pasta and tons of athletes around. The atmosphere is electric and I have never see so many fit and super-healthy people in one place! There was a maori performance and the introduction to the top 3 pros for women and men. It was also advised to newbie ironman athletes to not push it on the first try and just complete the ironman. If anyone was feeling good, the last 21k run would be good to push the body.
Friday started with a 9am meeting and the briefing was quite inaudible. I ended up having to have a personal chat with the organisers to confirm certain details; bike routes, where to place certain things, etc. Better safe than sorry. The better part of the day was spent with lunch and more warm-ups. I had to pop by the orca shop to get a head warmer for the swim as I experienced a little light-headness from the quick drops in temperature of the water and the head is the fastest place to feel any temperature change. Besides head warmers, I also got leg and arm warmers and also a wind-proof vest. All with the purpose of keeping my joints warm and chest from cold. The stuff cost alot. All means from the organisers to squeeze money from this event.
Lyn cooked a fantastic dinner and we slept by 10pm. Woke up slightly before 5am on race day. Swim starts at 7am. I ate a full breakfast and let go 3 times in the toilet at our accommodation and once more at the bike area. I had to drop by the bike area to pump up my bike. I was surprisingly not nervous. I had no expectations and wanted to just soak up the experience.
The swim was a water-start which means no run-in from land. There was another maori performance but I think all the athletes were focusing on their own race. A couple of choppers from the media were flying around. The swim start wasn’t as messy as I thought it would be. It helped that I positioned myself right in front. One comment about the swim… Kiwis are strong swimmers! Their stroke might not be the nicest but man they know how to bull-doze. I was pacing and drafting some dude but backed off after 1.2 to 1.5k. That guy was going too fast. Most probably a 50min pace. I didn’t want to come out of the swim exhausted and wanted a more stretched out swim. I let a couple of swimmers past by to recover my breathing. The swim was only a 1 lap of 3.8km. I found my pacer by the turnaround point and wanted to tail him as much as I could. This guy was also fast, but slower than the initial guy. Any thoughts of going any slower was banished by the thoughts of saving 30% energy just by drafting. Came out of the swim and had a 400m run to the bike area where I met rows of the bike bags. Shouted my number and went into the tent to change. Volunteers were there to help me strip out of the wetsuit, put on my bike gear, spray sun block and pack all my swim stuff. There was 1500+ athletes but more than 1800 volunteers for the event. Top-notch race.
My transition for both my swim and run was about 10mins. No point rushing… wanted to stretch before each start. The bike route started flat but faced a huge climb getting out of town, 4k from the bike start. 2 laps of 90km. It was still relatively early in the morning there was morning fog at ground level where you couldn’t see past 300m. I started off strong the 1st 45k. Going above 40 to 45kmh with a lot of ease as My body was cold and I just wanted to warm it up. The next 45km heading towards taupo town was a different story. Head winds are no friend to biking. Managed to complete my 1st round of 90km in 3hrs. Another 90 to go. I received my special needs bags at the 90k mark which I prepared the day before. You can basically out anything into the bag. I had some ginger snaps, a power bar and a gel. Eating bars in the early morning made my jaw hurt. The bars were practically frozen. I took a 10min break to pee, stretch and eat. Next pit stop was around the 120k mark at the support station. This time round, my pee was hurting!!! Dont know whether you've heard of the saying... peeing out knives. That was what I felt! Took 3mins to pee as I was on the aero position for so long. The next pee stop at around 150k was equally painful but at this support station, there was the introduction of Coke! Which tasted so good after blend powerade and water. Something about ice cold fizzy drink is pleasing to the mind when the body is being pushed to the limit. The last 45k was slow. A big contrast to my bike start. A combination of head winds, fatigue groin and many undulating rises on the road. Finished the bike in 6 and half hours. The bike really tire me out and I took my time in the bike to run changing tent.
The 2nd transition is located in a different area from the bike area (2km from the original start). I ate oranges, pretzels half a bar and fluids before my run. Started the run slow with the advise of other experienced athlete who advise to use the first 2km to slowly transfer the bike muscles into running muscles. However, my run never did take off. I somehow didn’t foresee preparing salt tablets for this race. I somehow thought power bars and gels were enough. Was I wrong. Within 30mins of the run, my calf muscles kept cramping up. So I decided to walk the uphills and trot the downhills. I was pretty much trot-walking the entire marathon. I planned for a 5:15 run but ended up a 6:47hrs run. An additional hour and a half! However, I made the best of it and really soaked in the fantastic views of the lake and support from the entire town. The run went into residential areas of taupo where a lot of residents were many were seating on their garden lawns and some BBQing and drinking beers. The finish of any race is a wonderful feeling. However, the ironman finish was was awesome. People patting on your back along the way, calling your name. Even those seated in cafes and bars were cheering. The whole town stopped for the ironman for that day. My face was of pure happiness and pride enter then finishing compound with the rows of grandstand crowds going wild and making so much noise. A big projection screen like those on NFL games was at the finish line and you could see yourself running towards the end tape.
I did the swim in 55mins which I only found out after the ironman. I didnt know I was going that fast. There was almost 1000 guys racing. I was number 70 out of the water, but ranked 900 in the run. Hehe!
It was a tremendous race and I still am feeling the moments of it which includes the soreness in my ankles and knees still. I would like to thank Calvin Tia who sponsored Sundog shades for my race. I would also like to extend my thanks to the National Youth Council(NYC) and the Triathlon Association of Singapore(TAS) for their support.
Phew... such a long report. Hope you guys have the patience to read it all. :)
posted by Bern at 3/19/2007 11:17:00 AM
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