One day I became an ironman – Kate Sommerville

2014 Ironman start – my screen saver for the year as inspiration.

This report of my first ironman was over 20 years in the making. For all of you that say “One day I would like to do an ironman” this report is for you. It’s possible to train, work and have an awesome day out there.

University triathlon days

Whilst at university over 20 years ago I was into my triathlon, driving all over the state of Victoria to race during the summer, even smashing out a respectable a half ironman at the age of 19. For the first ten years of my career I mainly worked and did some kind of exercise wherever I was. I got into my running in my thirties, it’s an easy sport to do anywhere.  My friends drifted into triathlon a few years ago and I spectated a few half and full ironmans. My 20 year old passion was reignited and I wanted to do it again.

Spectating the ironman was fun but now I wanted to do one

For the second time I was spectating the ironman, I watched GKE’s Renee do the pre-race group brick session and was so excited to watch her and other people I knew. I had done a few 70.3 events by now and early 2015 I plucked up the courage to email Coach Kate and was excited to get a start. My goals were ‘70.3 with one-day an ironman’. Busso 70.3 was a great race and come June I emailed Kate with a ‘small change to race goals’.  I had entered the ironman and I was thrilled.

What’s your roadblock? – Gary Carlton

My road blocks to enter an ironman included work, my husband and my body. I can get busy at work, like everyone I guess, but sometimes I have to travel, work late and it can get stressful. Lots of people also deal with this and still do ironman, so ‘I will find a way’ I told myself. I tried part-time but that was an epic fail and I found what worked for me was the early morning turbo (record was a 3hr turbo starting 4am) and also being flexible at work, sometimes I arrived at 9am after a session. I also took a few half days off in the heavy training periods. Having Coach Kate took all the thinking out of training – my job was to do what I had been given each day. Each Sunday I would organise the week, load all my workouts into my Garmin watch and take all my clothes to work. I was not good at stretching so a weekly massage gave me some valuable downtime and a check on my body. 

My husband, was a concern for me. Understandably, I’ve dragged him on one too many running holidays and even made him crew a 100km running race for me. The weekends would be impacted and I would miss him. The big weekends are only for a few months and I had a bit of breakthrough moment when I realised we could sleep in on weekends and even go out to breakfast before I headed out training. Ironman was all day, so it didn’t really matter what time I started.

The last roadblock was that I didn’t like my weight. I was doing nearly 20 hours of training and not fading away. I have always struggled with weight, but usually its 10kg less when I run marathons. I saw Simone from Nutrition works and nailed my race nutrition and she gave me pointers on everyday eating (eat before training, each more vegetables). On reflection I started a bit too late in the weight loss campaign, I lost a bit, but not 10kg. I just had to be content that I was strong and healthy.

Stoked to get 3hours on the bike at Mandurah – Paparazzi on the run

  

September to November were epic months of training. Swim squad was business as usual, the running was manageable as I came from running. The rides were the challenge. I was always at the back of the pack and my bike legs took a bit of time to come in. Regardless of my slowness, I was excited to be having adventures on my bike. Every ride was bigger than the one before and it was fun, even when it was over 40 degrees.  At Mandurah 70.3 I clocked 3 hours for the 90km – “Well hello bike legs, nice to meet you”.

Ready to Rumble - Paparazzi on the Run 

Suddenly race week was upon me and the hours not spent training were spent sleeping, writing lists and packing. So much stuff. As usual I worried about leaving work and I worked until 7pm the night before, but knew as soon as I was on the road to Busso, my worries would melt away and the excitement would build. I had my latest tunes on in the car as I headed down the freeway reflecting on all the long rides I had done along this very freeway.

The Witsup breakfast: I love how women inspire and motivate - Janine Kaye

I arrived Thursday, unpacked, went for a ride and registered so I could lay out all my bags. A good sleep Thursday night to rise for the exciting Witsup breakfast to hear female pros including Coach Kate. I just love how women, in particular, organise events like this – it really helps us ladies learn more, be inspired and believe that we can achieve.

This year I am part of the GKE brick- Lyndal Tudehope

Saturday is the GKE brick session. This year I am not standing on the sidelines in awe, I’m part of the brick. I have coffee with GKE, pack, check in my bike, do a transition tour then head home for feet up.

Sunday game on. I awake, eat, dress and pack. It’s been a rainy and windy night, so conditions could be a little rough today. I’m happy as whilst I was happy to put myself out there in the heat, I am super pleased it’s a cooler day.

Renee and Kate ready to swim - Lyndal Tudehope

Swim. Guy helps me into my wet suit and I get good luck hugs from the GKE crew. I thought I would cry on the start line, but I don’t. The gun goes off and it’s time to swim. I try not to get caught up but it’s frantic, as expected. I search for clear water. I can feel it’s choppy. I just settle in and relax and ensure every stroke grabs some water. It’s a bit hard to see above the waves, I just try and keep swimming as I glance. It gets pretty rough and congested out around the end of the jetty and coming back in I can see life boats being busy. I think a few people might get pulled out in these conditions. I just continue to relax and enjoy it. I’m feeling strong and I’m having fun. I start to get a little frustrated as I head to the pines, I can feel myself being pushed toward the jetty with the currents. I see a cute little stingray sitting on the sand. I love swimming in the ocean. I exit the water feeling fabulous. I see a familiar face. I’ve no idea how I’ve gone – I just feel like I have gone well and that’s all that matters.

Swim exit – Dave Goodall

I head into transition and the volunteers are lovely. I change and I head out onto the bike. I see my supporters as I mount my bike. Heading out of town I see Ruth running on one side and up ahead I see two runners, a really tall one and a really short one- its Guy and Kate! I check my Garmin and I’m running low power and really high speed. It’s going to be a fun day with the wind today. I don’t seem to get the power and cadence I want, but I try to get there. I know I’ve got to hold this together, eat and drink and stay upright. There are wind gusts and rain showers, I see people fixing flat tyres everywhere, ‘please let me be ok’, I say. Riding was going to be my tough leg, I’d only ridden 180km once before so I knew I was in for around 7 hours. I saw the other GKE athletes out and we all yelled out to each other. When I saw Coach Kate at the turn around, I was a little worried I was not delivering. She had a phone in one hand, yelling encouraging messages and jumping up and down. I was aware I was probably the slowest GKE athlete out there and I was worried they were worried. I just had to do what I can. The weather was still a bit horrid and I passed a lady balling her eyes out. We only had 60km to go, I told her all the hard work was done, and let’s go. In 10km she passed me all happy again. No ironman comes without some challenges – and for sure today we were being tested. I had no idea how much time I was taking – I had my cadence, power, speed and a 10 minute alarm going. I don’t want to know how long I’m taking, just head down and do it.

Half the bike done and still smiling – David Goodall

 I come into transition and get ready for the run. I have lots of experience at running, but no idea how it’s going to go after a 180km ride. I just have to trust that Coach Kate knows what she is doing. I head out and start running at the required pace. I soon find myself needing the toilet. It’s annoying but I’ve just got to do what’s comfortable. The course is fantastic and each lap goes quickly. I have a bike top full with gels and snakes. I use none of it and ditch it halfway. I’m down to coke and bananas and it seems to be going ok. Just hope I don’t hit the wall. I see Coach Kate and she tells me I’m going to enjoy lap 3 as I will pass lots of people walking. I decided to use it and have some fun. Lap 3 hits and I start counting all the people I pass. I restart counting after the toilet, but still pass over 70 people. Kate and Guy are at the turnaround for the last lap, they make me feel like such a superstar saying nice things about my running, and it really helps me to keep running well. I think Kate’s gone when I come into an aid station to get my coke and banana – but she is there supervising that I actually eat something. I laugh. I am on my last lap, past 38km and know I’m going to make it. I start to get a little excited. 

 This is the best marathon I’ve had in a while, can’t believe it’s actually possible- David Goodall

I pass back through special needs where GKE’s Justine and Ruth run next to me for a short bit. It has been super nice to have so many people out there I know. Just a blast, best marathon in a very long time. I collect my last band and head to the finish. I get super excited when I hear “50 metres to the red carpet”. I slow down so I can hear the words I’ve been dreaming about “Kate Sommerville, you are an ironman”. I see my supporters on the side and I am presented my medal and towel from my supporter Jo and David. Jo’s from Healthway and got to kiss the winner Luke Mckenzie and she came back in to present to me. Sweetest feeling ever. Also grateful to David, who finished a few hours earlier, a good friend, my bike mechanic and previous running coach. They looked after me and we headed home for chips and champagne. I slept with my medal around my neck and a smile on my face. 

 The red carpet lives up to everything I was expecting – Simone Allen

Thanks to Coach Kate and the GKE coaching crew Guy, Paul and Ruth. Thanks to Simone from Nutrition works, Nico from Subiaco sports massage, Stuart at Eclipse and David Cane from DC bikes. Thanks to my training buddies Kim, Janine, Renee, Lyndal, Ruth, Courtney, Tara, Stacey, Sandra, Jo, Amanda and DC. Thanks also to my patient husband. I had a really great day and of course I would like to do it again sometime soon! 

I am an ironman – David Cane

GKENDURANCE at IMWA

Thought we'd get our two cents in prior to our athlete's blogs. 

A day Kate and I will look back on fondly (if there was one word we could use for Sunday's effort, it would be "PROUD"), because no matter what was happening we were proud of each of your efforts in different ways!!

We are not only proud because of your efforts on the race course, but because you're all amazing people before during and after each race and each training session.

When race morning rolled around I think I was more nervous that any of our athletes!!

So this is how this blog will roll out. In no particular order, here are your GKE IMWA athletes for 2015:

Janine Kaye, forever bubbly. Witsup ambassador, GK Coach. Watching the progress over the last few months has been wonderful.  She's grown in self confidence. Janine dealt with some serious stomach issues due to trying to drink the ocean on Sunday!! It was GREAT to see you staying positive, believing in yourself and finishing in a time you may have thought impossible. Proud!

Matt Bishop, Coached under Paul McVey, recently moved to Darwin with his family for work. In what I think was a VERY well put together day, Matt found the joys of coke after emptying his stomach on the 3rd lap. Coke and water diet is frowned upon most days, but encouraged on Ironman days. Matt  finished in a VERY impressive  10:36 and we couldn't be more proud!

Bianca Fitzsimmons coached under Ruth Chang. She's a life loving run ninja. Here she is putting the hurt on a couple of guys on lap 2 of the run. Always smiling and happy, I did see the determination kick in on the 3rd and 4th laps. when you really started focusing on the job at hand. I can say for a FACT, I have never seen anyone run that fast while holding a thermal blanket!! Proud.

Jono Considine. He's a mad man and biking machine. He's sometimes like cuddling a cactus, but under it he's one of the nicest dude's you'll meet. He didn't have a great day yesterday and unfortunlatey had to pull the pin due to an on going knee issue. However he didn't mope, he came out and supported and cheered for you all (as you probably noticed). For that we are VERY proud!!

Neil Hall, AKA Grumps according to his family. Neil put together a great day,  we didn't see any signs of his grumps and he even managed a few selfies on his last lap. Neil raced Kona last year and his IMWA effort this year was second to none. We are very proud that you stuck to the plan this time and got the job done! 

Marian Brennan, forced GK ambassador and mum to bobcat. You would have seen Mazzy dressed in a towel out on the bike and run course. Mazzy is forever giving her time to help us and our athlete's. She even helped support Kate at Ultraman this year!! Mazzy, you're crazy, but we're proud to keep your crazy company!! Thank you from us and all the GK team!

Dylan Brown, Margaret River local, 3 kids, full time job. First time Ironman athlete. We sat down with Dylan just a few days prior to race day talked through the race plan and as the day unfolded we watched him stick to that plan. With only a few "I'm hurting now" comments on lap 3 and 4 as he ran past!! You nailed it Dylan and in a GREAT time. Proud.

Lou Bishop, Coached by Ruth Chang, Lou is from Tasmania and you'll struggle to find someone more positive and friendly. Lou embarked on her IMWA journey earlier this year and throughout the race I was amazed at her positive attitude and pace even when her body decided not to play fair. Racing with bronchitis is hard core. This was Lou's comeback after fracturing her pelvis late last year. YEAH!! Proud!

Batman AKA Allan Amey. He's the run assassin !! One of our funniest athlete's, Alan always enjoys a good laugh "even mid marathon". Your positive/fun personality is infections!! The only man that remain's happy when half his body is
covered in chaffing.

Dave Bradley: Mr Muscles. I missed getting a picture of him yesterday in his Tutu and ear-rings. No joke... he had a bet with his wife Susan and like any 6 foot tall muscle mountain he agreed! Pretty sure not too many people were brave enough to give him grief about it. (Picture's to come) First thing Dave said to me was "I went out too hard". But what I was proud of was his ability to keep pushing on (at a great pace) and even laugh when he was deep in the hurt locker!! Proud! Dave, I hope you thought "at least this is easier than Norseman".

Renee Goodall, The magpie caller or deterrer? .. I only wish I could spell the call in words (think "aaayeeayayayyaya!!").  Renee Put together  a great day going faster than last year. Each Ironman is hard, but imagine doing it without really eating anything (that was Renee last year). This year was a different story with more planning and a PB. She'll be back for more even though I was told " never again". Never again only means "until next time"! Very proud.

Kate Somerville. The politest lady in Busselton. Not only did she say thank you each time we offered advice, but we were also address by name. Thank you Kate, thank you Guy. We could all learn something from Kate on how to pace and run long distance. An exceptional day over the swim bike and run. Proud!

Jarrad Bolton AKA Bolts. It's never a dull day when Jarrad's racing. he famously left all his nutrition on the fridge at 70.3 Busselton and raced on water (he still went fast)! This year at IMWA he got 3 flat tire's on the bike and still went sub 11 hours. The magic sub 10 is well within his grasp. Jarrad also has the best pain face in the business!! Although this shot was taken just a few K's from the finish so we missed it.  Very proud that despite the bike issues, you kept your head in the game!

Mick Hall dropping his coach (back right) by sticking to his plan 100%. Proud is a word we've used a lot in this blog and your performance on Sunday is one that will stay with us forever! Mick's had a few rough Ironman experiences over the last few years. But on Sunday he stuck to the plan even when he didn't want to and achieved something great. Confidence restored!! Onward and upwards Micky. Proud!

Jame's Martin. AKA Hard man. He's seriously fast and very talented. Jimmy had a series of blows leading into IMWA first his foot, then his hip. Most would have pulled the pin, but in his worlds. "It'll be alright, It won't kill me" he took on IMWA and was very successful. His first IM, sub 12 and despite having two blown out hip flexors he kept moving forward. A lot of you would have seen his running gait on Sunday and thought... "Ouch". Super Proud you got there Jimmy. Rest and recovery now!

Rae Dowling: Coached by Ruth Chang and another of our Tasmanian contingent! If you think training for IMWA in a Perth winter is bad, try Tassie! Rae trained in snow and lives 75min out of launceston... So that's a LONG commute to a swimming pool. Never once did we get a complaint (hard core). I took this photo in the last few Km's of the run and was met by an awesome person with great internal drive!! Proud!!

Paul McVey, We joke that he's the nicest guy on the planet..But really he probably is. He gives all of his attention and his knowledge. We are very lucky to have him as one of our GK Endurance coaches. Thanks Paul. Proud!! (I still want that branch)

Ruth Chang, Ruthy, RC and Super Ruth. The most educated and smartest of  the GK Crew. Although so humble that she'd hate me saying that! Ruth can fix your body like MacGyver can make a gun from a match box and a piece of cloth. Except Ruth carries a pack of needles with her!! She's been with us since day one and is forever giving her time and energy to make GKEndurance better! We're proud and lucky to have her as part of the team!! 

Kate Bevilaqua: The Queen of GK and probably the most feared person amongst the group.  Kinda weird for such a small person. She LOVES seeing you achieve your goals. Is VERY passionate about coaching and triathlon. To achieve something you thought wasn't possible is what Kate coaches for. She's so proud of all your efforts

Guy Crawford AKA Captain Awesome. What he lacks in normality he make's up for in crazy energy!! He's the mellow side of GK coaching, but equally passionate about seeing you achieve your goals!! He's so very Proud of all of you!

Jarrad's Epic Taiwan Adventure

Jarrad reports below On Taiwan 70.3. Oh and to Answer the question (YES HE DID QUALIFY FOR 70.3 WORLDS.) I'd call that a successful trip!

A last minute decision to enter Taiwan 70.3, with one thing on my mind!! qualifying for Ironman 70.3 Worlds 2016. 

The decision was made just 3 weeks prior to race day, while i was sipping cocktails in GREECE!!

I arrived in Taiwan late Friday night. The prior 3 days was filled with trains, busses, flights and Night shifts. It was awesome to see a smiling face!! what a face it was (guy). 

A quick bite to eat, and it was off to bed. I woke up early, quickly assemble my bike, had some breakfast before heading out for a spin. (we rode to transition)

Once at transition, it was a long (800m) journey to the racking area...  It was going to hurt race day!!

Race day:

With a 25 minute bus ride with Guy and Kate, we were at transition which meant it was time to race. 

As we got off the bus it was true tropical weather (raining and very windy!) -  over the mic all we could hear was  "due to strong winds the bike leg will be shortened", just hearing this is enough to freak out anyone!

I set up my new bike and before I knew it, it was time to put on the wetsuit on - and hit the surf. getting some good waves is an awesome way to warm up... 

About 5.50AM we get the call to exit the water and watch the pro's do their thing, sitting a few rows back it was time to hit the water around 6.10

Lucky i found some rhythm early and stuck to it, exiting the water in just under 30 mins. The swim was nice and clear, few bodies around but very calm and enjoyable (How can i say this about a swim??)

The run to my bike was enough to tire anyone, but before long it was out onto the bike course, for an amazing ride (only the landscape) up hills, and over bridges!! 10km into the bike i had lost one of my tubes so I had a quick stop to untangle them, and lost a few spots in the process. However the new bike basically rode itself and soon enough I had caught and passed them again.. the turn around was a nice down hill before some strong head winds.... coming around to the 2nd lap the course was full of bikes every where, I was yelling bike passing until my voice box hurt !!! 

Coming into the transition i could see guy out in front on the run. I was praying for him...

Onto the run 

It was weird coming into transition earlier that morning as it was windy and cold. And now heading out onto the run it felt like 40 degrees and humid as hell!! 

The run was tough, long and hot. I tried to get into a rhythm early and stuck with it for the first 12kms!! It was really heating up and the cocktails were coming into play, stomach was cramping and the finish line was still kms away. A quick rest at the aid station and it was onto the run again. The heat was getting unbearable and I was stopping at each aid station to cool myself in buckets of water.. Turning one of the last corners, i saw Kate and gave her a quick hi 5 and then the death march was on again.. The finish line was getting close, I was over taken by one or two guys moving quickly in the heat!! the final turn and the finish line (thank god) crossing in 4th place. Kate and Guy were there and we celebrated with an exhausted hug!!. I have never been so relieved to finish a race and it was even shortened.

I must say Taiwan is one race i got a thrill out of.. it had everything, the people were awesome, the after party was the best and the event was generally one of the best I've ever experienced.

Anthony Wilson reports on Mandurah 70.3

Hopefully the first of many race reports from Anthony Wilson. It's a quicker read than most. (not that all reports need to be long) Anthony's doing Ironman NZ in a few months time, So we'll get all the juicy details out of him for that one!! Thanks Anthony and well done!!

A light breakfast of 2 pieces of toast with vegemite & jam, plus threw a banana in there for good measure.

Drank most of a bidon of sports drink leading up to the start, one gel about 30 min before start. Logistics were a bit challenging so consumed these earlier than I would otherwise have done.

A current-impeded swim with the tide coming in so the course was a few minutes slower than last year, probably a 3-4 min difference. Had a bit of shoulder soreness so held back a bit on the swim. 36 min is not a good time for me. 32 min would be typical without current effects.

Ride started out at 260-270 watts, and slowly dropped off. Quad cramped at the start if 2^nd lap so backed it off to 240-250 watts for the rest of the leg. Found I needed to concentrate on keeping it there toward the end, not because I was getting particularly tired but losing concentration/getting lazy. 2 bidons of sports drink on the bike and a gel every half hour, total of 5 gels I think.

Temp on the run was ~26 deg compared to about 34 last year so that accounts for some of the time difference. Started out at a bit over 5 min kms from memory as I warmed up and brought it down toward 5 min, however as the run progressed I knew this was not sustainable with this course and the effort on the bike. Was able to rally last half lap with good pace down the hill then got into a groove as I gritted it out to the finish. Couldn’t have run much faster in the last half lap; felt like I ran it out fairly strongly. A half cup of Endura sports drink at most aid stations but did not try anything solid or gels. Stomach a little delicate for that.

My usual nausea post-race that took a few hrs to subside. A wafer helped things a bit.

So happy with the race and pleased to be under 5 hrs for that course but was hoping to run 5 min kms.

Looking forward to some fun at club champs this weekend.

Dave Bradley's Norseman Adventure

Probably the hardest Iron Distance race on the planet with a huge amount of  climbing!!

Dave Bradley tackled this monster earlier this year!! Here's the report!

After checking and rechecking we had everything the bags were packed. Had to adjust my handle bars and drop the seat to get the bike in its bag but otherwise all went smoothly.
Susan cooked me half a cow, jacket potato and salad which was awesome. Last bit of relaxing before hitting the road.

We set of for the airport at 6:30pm and got dropped off at departures leaving Josh the oldest to drive my nice new shinny car home. We haven't received any messages yet so fingers crossed the car is ok.
We have left the house with five kids aged from 16 to 24 and one dog, three of ours and two girlfriends. Trying not to think about it too hard and I'm sure the dog knows where the food is.
The flight was on an Airbus 380 which was very nice and departed just after ten. We travelled 11 hours through the night and arrived in Dubai around 5am local time having had no sleep. Not a good start to the trip.
Only a two hour layover before heading to Oslo.
When we went to board we were told our seats had been changed, panic set in for about three seconds until the delightful lady informed us we had been upgraded to business class and I think I heard her say something about my good looks and charm.
At this point Susan got very excited and was acting like a kid in a candy shop especially when she realised alcohol was free flowing.
More legroom than I can shake a stick at and champagne with breakfast and the second leg of our journey got underway with great anticipation of a few hours sleep.
Sleep I did but only about two hours. Felt much better for it and being able to sit with my feet up and stretched out helped with the cancles.
On arrival in Oslo it was the usual story, bike and two bags through quickly then a twenty minute wait for the fourth bag. Oh the joys.
Picked up the rental car without a hitch then we headed the 20kms or so into Oslo to fin fair bike shop. This is a result of not being able to take CO2 containers on the plane. Shopping done then on the road to the start town of Eidfjord.
We picked up the bike corse about 90kms from the start. Undulating would be an understatement and nowhere could be described as flat.
The last 25kms into town were down hill which meant they were up hill on race day. It took half an hour to drive down the hill. Scared the pants off of me thinking about cycling up it.
One tunnel on the hill did 1 1/2 complete loops as it descended through the mountain. Very spectacular.

We finally arrived on Wednesday night after 31 hours of traveling. The hotel was a bit weird, but sufficient. We headed into town for dinner where I scoffed down a hearty portion of meat balls and sweet potato mash.
We took our selfs off to bed at around ten with a rum and coke. Slept well until just after five. We made the decision to get up and exercise. I cycled 20ks following the river upstream whilst Susan chatted and took photos. On my return we both went for and easy 5k run prior to returning back to the hotel for breakfast which was very nice.

Thursday was registration and shopping day. Nothing too exciting to report. After lunch it was swim time. Susan went first in her costume. Only up to her waist but that was enough. I donned the wetsuit, hood, booties and ear plugs and dived straight in. We chose a spot near where the river flows into the fjord. Turns out to be the coldest place to swim. The practice swim on Friday is being conducted about a km away for good reason. The face and hands were crazy cold but my head, body and legs remained warm, even after twenty minutes. Looking good for Saturday.
On Friday we get the news the swim has been shortened to 1.9km due to the water temperature being 10 degrees. Bitterly disappointed as I was hopping the long cold swim would have a negative effect on the skinny cyclists. After a relaxing morning it was time for the race briefing. Nothing exciting here except I'm sat in a hall surrounded by the fittest bunch of people I have ever seen. I felt over weight and very heavy. It looked like everybody weighed under 75kgs and had a BMI in single figures.
After watching Susan take part in her duathlon (swim canceled due to water being cold but not for us in the morning) we had a lovely pasta dinner and headed off to bed at 10:30.
After a reasonable four hours sleep it was time to get ready for the big one. Wetsuit and booties on, breakfast then jump in the car and head to transition. After the usual set up, check and re check of all my gear it was time for a few happy snaps before boarding the ferry.

The boat was full of contrast from groups of competitors eagerly chatting to individuals trying to find a quiet spot to ponder the day ahead. I was with the latter group.
Smack on 4 the boat pulled away from the dock and a wave of emotions came over me. Mostly "what have you done this time". I sat quietly going through my race plan and thinking about all the advice I had gleaned from Guy Crawford my coach and various other people. At about 4:40 I headed down onto the car deck and started jogging around to warm up. Then it was off to see the man with the fire hose to fill my wetsuit up with water straight from the fjord at 10 deg. Big big shock to the system but just doing as I'm told. Off for another jog then time to head to the loading ramp.
I wait around a bit not wanting to spend any more time than needed freezing bits of me off. A check with a crew member and it's three minutes to race start. Time to jump in. The four metre drop went without drama and due to already being drenched with cold water there were no adverse reactions to the water temperature. I swim over to the waiting kayaks and push through to the front. Only needed to wait about a minute before the boat sounded its horn to start the race and we were off. Lots of bumping and kicking going on from the off and almost all the way to the swim exit. Due to the coldness breathing was shallow and laboured resulting in waves of anxiety whenever a single breath was missed. Not a nice feeling in the dark swimming in a thousand foot deep stretch of water.
I came out of the water in 33 minutes which I was happy with but had no idea how far up the field I was. Legs were going well, no stumbling or dizziness on the run to T1. Half way there I was met by Susan my support for the day. She greeted me with hot coffee that I drank on the fly before getting to my bike.

Not wanting to ride in wet clothes, the only thing I had on under my wetsuit was a pair of bathers. No changing tent and no time to be lost so I was stood in the middle of T1 naked and about five meters away from the crowd who were all cheering like mad. Susan helped me strip down and re dress before sending me on my way with a "love you". The first of many on the day.
The first 100 metres were flat then it was uphill for the next 40ks. I started out easy and had a steady stream of skinny people shooting past for the next hour. The route was spectacular to say the least. From small thin tunnels through the mountain to large road tunnels over 3kms long, then there was the old road which wound around the side of the mountain hugging the cliffs before darting inland and shooting upwards at up to 12% on thin twisty paths with precarious drops to the river below.
After about an hour I met Susan for the first of many pit stops. A quick chat and I was on my way. The hill continued upward until the 40k mark.
At this point a huge wave of relief came over me knowing I had made it up the 1250 meter ascent. So so happy. Then I see Susan ahead. It was time to re supply and rug up before heading across the plateau for the next two hours. Temperatures were around 6 deg. Having sweated up the mountain coupled with so short but very fast descents I found myself colder than I had been during the swim.
Finally got to the half way point of the ride to be met by Susan and a strange man she had picked up. I wasn't surprised as she does it all the time. Turns out his ride had left him behind in order to keep up with there athlete.

I stripped off the warm gear, grabbed more fuel and headed off once more. Rounding a bend shortly after I was greeted by a sign warning drivers of very long steep hills and the need for snow chains. This was accompanied by a lovely graphic showing three whoppers of a hill. My heart sank a bit when I realised this didn't even include the last significant climb.
As I reached the summit of each hill I was greated by Susan telling me how well I was going and offering up drinks and food. All most welcome.
The first couple of long descents were on good fast sweeping roads. I rounded one corner at just over 60kph in my aero bars to be met by a family of sheep in the middle of the road. No time to slow down and needed to choose in an instance which side of them to go around. Luckily I chose the right side as they bolted off into the scrub. Not funny.
The last hill climbed about 600 metres over eight of so kilometres. I was very tired at the bottom of the hill having already been on my bike for nearly seven hours. It dragged on and on. Again I was greeted by Susan about half way up, bubbly and buoyant as ever. Just after that point the road ramped up and I found myself looking for a lower gear. There were none to be found. 12% sat down churning out over 400 watts and barely moving, my heart was sinking faster than the Titanic. All I could think was don't walk, don't walk, don't walk.
Finally got to the top with my legs blown to bits, head down around my forks and sweeting like crazy.

Time for the promised descent. Couldn't find it anywhere. Turns out I had another 10ks of rolling hills to cover. Another blow to the confidence.
Started descending and quickly realised what they meant at the briefing when they said they were most worried about the final descent.
The road had lumps, bumps and dips in it. All very hard or impossible to see. Some were in excess of 30cm high or deep. One switchback had them mid corner. Luckily I wasn't on the brakes but even so I was nearly thrown out of my saddle. To make matters worse I got stuck behind a support car which meant I couldn't see the road ahead until it was to late. Not wanting to go any slower than needed I was left with no option but to over take. Pulled out and went for it on a nearly straight bit of hill. Glanced down and sore 76Kph. Not what I wanted on this road but it was too bumpy to hit the brakes. Just one of a few scary moments.
Finally I made it to T2.

The Garmin doesn't lie (that's alot of climbing)

Susan was waiting for me with all my run kit laid out. Thank you once again Dear.
A quick change and toilet stop and off I went.
On leaving T2 I was informed I was 211th. Can't tell you how I received that news but I wasn't happy. What a lousy ride I'd had.
Back to the running. The legs felt really good for the first 500 metres then fell off really quickly. I found it hard to run more than a few hundred metres before I needed to walk. The first 25km is advertised as flat. Turns out to be as flat as running laps of kings park.

As always Susan caught up with me every 2km and kept me fed and watered with what ever I wanted. I shouted chocolate, I got chocolate. There was only one problem and that was when I asked for salt tablets. I didn't have any for the run so off she went pestering everybody until she found some. That's my girl.
I was struggling more and more and km times were stretching towards 6 min km's.
Just before the 20km Mark we rounded a corner and there was the mountain in all it's glory. All nearly 2000 meters of it. What a wonderful sight.

I knew being so slow off the bike the chances of me finishing with a black tee shirt were very slim at this point. Another pit stop with Susan consisting of chocolate, coke and a bucket of caffeine and off I went heading to the start of zombie hill at the 25k mark.

Just before the start of the ascent the road is visible spiralling up the mountain at what appears to be a very steep angle. The next 12ks average 9% on good roads. I don't try to run but instead set a fast walking pace and manage to maintain 9 minute km's without to much difficulty. I'm catching other competitors every km or so. With a quick hello and "how you going" I push past and set my goal on catching the next person. All awhile Susan is driving ahead then running back down the hill to meet me before walking a few hundred metres with me then doing it all again.

I get to the check point at 32.5 km's to find out I've missed going up the mountain by about 20 minutes. Gutted but happy with my progress up the hill having overtaken 30 or so people. I set off on the alternate route to the finish.

 

                                  

I quickly discover my legs don't want to run on the flat or down hill but are happy running up hill so I'm doing the opposite to almost everybody else. After 4 km's I arrive at the hotel with two 3km laps remaining. I'm joined by Susan and we push on as fast as my legs would allow. Every time we go past one of the restaurants the patrons notice the Australian flag Susan is wearing and we get a huge cheer and loads of encouragement which spurs the legs on.

The last few hundred metres are down hill and we break into a slow jog crossing the line together waving the flag. Hugs and kisses all round then time to get into the hotel and off my legs.

What a race, it certainly lives up to all the hype and uses the word extreme in its title for good reason. 

I had a good enjoyable swim, underestimated the severity of the ride and suffered badly then made the best of the run on blown legs completing the run in just under five hours. No black tee shirt this time but still very happy with my performance. 226 km's and just over 4000m climbed in 13h 55mins.

Thanks Guy for the training program, I wouldn't of got there without it. To all my fellow triathletes at GKE and Fremantle Triathlon Club, thanks for the encouragement, support, best wishes and company on training rides and in the pool.

Lastly thanks to Susan, my wife and triathlon widow. She has put up with me never being around or with me being constantly tired especially over the last month when training went past twenty hours a week.

On race day she provided me with everything I needed and when I needed it from warm clothing to nutrition and everything in between as well as moral support and encouragement. Susan also organised the whole trip from start to finish. I couldn't of done it without you and I hope I can give you as much support on your Ironman journey over the next four months. Love you.

 

WELL DONE DAVE!!! AND HE'S RACING IMWA!! 
GOOD LUCK TO BOTH SUSAN AND YOURSELF!!