Ironman Melbourne - Professional Photos

Coming out of the Swim

Just out of the tunnel for the first time

Near the turn around point

Favorite photo

Moments before collecting medal and collapsing

Ironman Melbourne - Post Race Reflection

This is not my race report - if you want to read that, go to this link...

To be honest, where do I start?

During the race, I was exhausted - it was such a tough day. During the bike ride, small thougths crept through my mind about what I could have done over the last 6 months which could have made me a stronger rider so I could have escaped the change in wind direction. Was I riding in the right chain ring? Was I on the right gear? Was I riding at a good effort (zone)? I was starting to question my fitness as there was nothing else to occupy me on the 180km ride. This would have been the thing I enjoyed the least about the race itself.

Due to the swim and how I had changed direction as to not be accused of cheating on the course also played on my mind during the bike leg. I should have just followed my own instinct rather than what everyone else was doing...

My nutrition on the bike leg was as good as I could have handled. I started to feel sick from the raspberry gels I had in my flask and grateful that I had plan B along with me which was Gu packets of a variety of flavours. I didn't have coke on the bike leg but this may be something which I will change in the next season - to have it on the last 45km of the bike course to finish the bike off well.

On the run however, I felt strong and was 100% pleased with my effort. I had nailed my nutrition - 1 gel at every 2nd aid station along with coke from the start. Used plan B for my run nutrition and ditched the raspberry gel flask and used the variety I carried. They served small water bags on the course which tasted disgusting but I held onto the packet in my hand to relax my wrist as well as my grip. The water packets also acted like a security blanket as I had control if I needed extra water in between aid stations.

I decided at the last minute to wear my Nike Free 4.0 instead of the 5.0 as it was more flexible and I could feel the ground better and it worked. I currently don''t have shin splints and my feet did not slap the ground during the run.

Currently, I am feeling empty. Why? Because I didn't have my best race and I don't feel like I have completed a full ironman distance triathlon. I have done an Ironman event but not the full 3.8km swim. The perfectionist in me is not satisfied with the race and therefore, I don't feel like I am entitled to be an Ironman. I repeat that I did this race for myself (not for anyone else) and as I am not pleased with my own efforts, I am not content. I am not sure what I am feeling is what people deemed Post Ironman Depression as I am not coming down from (too much of a) high from the race...

I am happy that I have completed the event and from what I have heard (even from the pros) that the event was one of the toughest they had done. Feedback from other athletes have made me feel better that the ride was tough but I banked on the bike being more of a stronger leg for me than the run - it ended up being the other way around.

I did have fun racing and this is evident in the many comments from the supporters as well as some of the photos that came out during the day. Not sure if it was the caffeine I had been consuming when the photos were taken or I was just so bloody happy to see familiar faces that it made me smile...

Will I sign up for another one? Yes, but first I am praying that I actually get a spot in next year's event and that I do the race (and myself) some justice. Fingers crossed that I get a spot and my next A race will be Ironman Melbourne 2014. I am also planning on racing Busso in Dec 2014 as it is known to be one of the best Ironman courses in Australia.

I am officially in recovery month now and I will start to get my life and house back in order. I am not planning on attending many of the sessions over the next few days as I have dinner plans on Thursday night. Friday I may join the latte ride which will be a short spin on the roadie/single speed.

Ironman Melbourne - My Race Report

This post will just be about the Ironman Race event itself.

I will provide another post reflecting on the event later.
Swim - 37:51 - 52/63
Well, where the hell do I start? The swim course had changed from the original course to the following:

• 2 laps of a triangle course on Saturday
• 1 lap of triangle (1.9km) on Sunday morning as the winds did not die down
• Straight out 800m and back to shore - 1.9km
• The final L shape where we turned right at the Pier, swam around two IM buoys and then back to IM buoy and then back to shore.

I heard the last direction given by Mike Riley so I knew what the course was suppose to be. He also mentioned that the yellow/orange buoys were also out there for direction only. On the course, there was one directional buoy in the middle of the course after the last IM buoy which was there from the original triangle and that was the misleading course marking.

The swim start was amazingly chaotic - 2000+ people going into a bottleneck around the first turning point. It was carnage from the start. I fought my way through and kept swimming towards the next IM Buoy. The waves were big but I really enjoyed them. I had swam in conditions such as those several times in Elwood and I was comfortable as I have learnt how to read the waves. I did swallow water several times but that was unavoidable. The sharp turns around the pier and the buoys were a disaster in terms of logistics - it was bottleneck and we were vertical as we were going no where. The waves were high and it was hard to spot directional (yellow/orange) buoys and all you could do was follow the swimmers around you.

I spotted the last IM Buoy and knew that I had to swim to shore but no one else around me was...they were swimming towards the directional buoy and I didn't want to be accused of cutting the course short so I changed direction and swam towards the buoy and then back to shore. This was a fair way away from the end point which meant that I spent a minute or two running along the beach.

Nutrition: 2 gels + 200ml Gatorade

T1 - 9:07 58/63

Because my race plan was to wear my two piece bathers and remove the bottom half to put on my tri suit (to be worn as shorts), my T1 time was slightly longer than expected. This was because an athlete who competed last year mentioned how cold he was on the bike leg. I put on my jersey and placed all my nutrition in my back pockets. There is nothing I can change about where I place my nutrition as my top tube is too short to tape all my gels on. I also put on arm warmers but I rolled them down about 10km into the bike leg.

Nutrition: 1 gel

Lessons Learnt: Wear trisuit under wetsuit but wear them as shorts in T1/Bike. No arm warmers needed.

Bike - 7:28:19 55/63

There was a strong Northerly wind on the day. Due to the short swim, the bike course was so congested. I didn't want to break any official rules so I had pulled back whenever someone would ride past me, I would drop back as per the rules. Last thing I wanted was to sit in the penalty box on my first Ironman.

The ride into the tunnel was amazing. Surprisingly I didn't apply the brakes on the descents and going up the tunnel was not as bad as people made it out to be. I was so glad to turn around at Blackburn Rd as it also gave me a chance to stop to take off my arm warmers. There were a few Tri Alliance people supporting on the bike leg and that helped immensely as the bike leg was a lonely one (not spectator friendly).

The ride towards Frankston was amazing as there was the tailwind from the northerly. It was then back into the headwind riding North again towards the tunnel for the 2nd time. On the way up, I saw a few pros who were lapping some of the age groupers finishing their first lap. It was also not the best feeling when the faster riders are on their run leg whilst I am only half way into my ride.

I had a toilet stop at the 135km mark and then it was back into Frankston. Because I had spent so much time on the road, the wind changed (into a Southerly) as I was riding back towards Frankston. As you can see from my results, it was a slow ride back home. My race plan was 6-6:30 for 180km, it was just not my day that I ended up riding 180km in 7:30 - taking an hour longer than what I had planned due to the wind. Two things I took out of this - I am either not a strong cyclist and because of this, did not ride fast/strong enough to escape the change of wind direction or that I was conserving too much energy into the head wind hence a slower riding speed. Either way, this is something which I will need to work on more before my next race.

Mentally, I was disciplined on the bike and kept pedalling. I saw plenty of people who pulled out during the bike leg and even some who decided to stop at the 135km mark (with no mechanicals) and just placed their bikes on the back of the truck. I had never spent so much time on the bike in my life and although I didn't break down mid race, I was broken as I knew that I had not achieved my goal time for the bike (at that moment). Without having much feedback from other competitors and seeing hardly anyone on the road, I placed myself in a deep hole as a reaction to how far behind in the pack I was.

Nutrition: 15 gel, 250ml of salt solution (500ml with 3 tablets), 3 x 750ml bidons of water, 150ml of Optimizer.


T2 - 5:12 39/63

Nothing much to report but just put on socks (felt so nice), shoes (decided to run with my Nike Free 4.0) and pulled up my tri suit over my shoulders. Gels into back pocket and race belt on. My time was slightly longer as the helper had placed my sun glasses in my T2 bag accidentally when I needed it for the run so I had to empty out my bag again to find it. It wasn't too much of a stress as they are there to help out as much as possible. They were so lovely and apologetic. I joked that it gave me more time to rest on the chair.

Run 5:05:21 53/63



Running through the Great Provider



Coming out of T2, I was still slightly (mentally) broken from the bike leg. One of the squad members (who also worked as a TO for the day) saw me and cheered me on. She asked me how I was and that was the first time I broke down crying because it was such a hard day. We hugged for about a minute before she told me to start running. I was walking at that stage (not running as yet) but I realised how it didn't actually hurt to run. Another one of the squad members ran past me and also saw that I was in tears but she told me to not cry and I had to soldier on (which I did). The rest of the day consisted of running 2km to the next aid station asking for water and coke (and the occasional watermelon). I took a gel at every 2nd aid station but I had coke at everyone. Two toilet stops.



The run was fantastic. Even tho the results showed that I had a 7:30 pace, I knew that when I was running, it was close to 6-6:30min/km pace which was my plan. I saw many people supporting on the course which made me happy and I stopped at both the Tri Alliance aid stations (Parkdale and Mentone) to talk to the squad and to thank them for volunteering their time for the day. I also walked through the aid stations to thank all the volunteers.



Running through Mentone Aid Station



What I was most proud of during the run leg was that I didn't have one single person pass me during the 42.2km. I ran past many people who were walking or shuffling. I guess conserving my energy from the bike leg did help in leaving enough in the tank to run the entire way to the finish line. Not bad for my first marathon.

Nutrition: 10 gels, coke, water, 3 pieces of watermelon, 2 powerbar jellies.

Overall Results
13:25:50
55/63 for 30-34 Females

Race Reflection
See Race Reflection post

Twas the night before my first Ironman...

Apologies in advanced for not providing you with updates over the last 2 days. I have been running off my feet. So what have I been up to since Thursday? Here is a bullet point summary:

• No training for Thursday, all I did on that day was a sleep in, work and then went to Elwood to pick up our Tri Alliance supporters shirts provided by Giant (Bicycles). 
• On Friday, I had a casual breakfast at Two Bags Full in Abbotsford before I headed over to the LBS to pick up some last minute things. 
• Bad news regarding LBS trip, I tried to order some tubes and they promised me last week that it would arrive the next day, well 10 days later, I go to the shop to only get the bad news that they ordered the wrong size...
• Went to Southland to get my nails done. Doing nails for race day is something which my friend Lidia and Lee do. I got them done in Hot Pink as it is my friend Nola's favorite colour. 
• Massage appointment with Michelle at Physiosports Brighton - I have been seeing Michelle for about 3 months now and she knows my body and what it needs. 
• Home to shower and made more protein balls to share with the squad
• Registered at the Ironman Expo - got my bags, wrist band on, signed the waiver board. 
• Went to the Welcome Dinner at Docklands

Once I got home from the Welcome Dinner, I started to pack my ride and run bags. I have never done this before and boy oh boy...it is a chore in itself!!! I decided to lay my things down on a white towel so I can see what I have packed (and what I have forgotten if I did).

This morning, I rode around the block and double checked my gears with my race wheels. It was then it was off to Frankston to check in my bike and to drop off my run bag (into large bins) and hung my Bike bag on the hooks in the transition tents. I hung around to see some of the pros checking in their bikes. Took a few photos of my heroes (will post photos soon).

Back home to eat and then nap. I have now packed my morning bag (which contains my wetsuit, goggles, swim cap), my transition bag (all the things I put onto the bike) and my street gear bag (for after the race). I have eaten my dinner (rice, salmon and avocado) and now I am ready to go to bed...

If you follow my blog, thank you very much. I am excited that I am doing this event - my main goal is to finish. If you have downloaded IronTrac app and want to track me - I am athlete number 555.

See you on the otherside. XX

The days leading up to Ironman Melbourne (overdue post)

This post is well overdue - it is a bunch of photos leading up to Ironman Melbourne which I had on Facebook.

The Ironman Expo - where we buy crap we don't need and register

The last marker on the run route

Finish Chute (photo taken on Wednesday)

Race Nails - thanks to Lidia, Nola and Lee

I sign here?

Name is signed!!!

Signed and Done!

This is what I am doing yo!

Pete Jacobs, you should stop photobombing me...

Group Photo with Pete Jacobs



Transition 1 (yeah I know, the bag was wrong, I swapped it over)
Not shown - arm warmers and assos cream



Transition 2 (not shown - special needs bag with extra gels)



This was my riding into the head wind face

- little did I know on Friday night how true it was on race day....all 140km of it.



T1 bag in Transition Tent



Dale - All dressed for the party

3 More Days

WOW! Today, Melbourne has given us a taste of its temperamental weather patterns! Winds up to 120km/h in some parts were recorded.

As I drove into work this morning (at a normal time) due to no training scheduled before work, I noticed the number of athletes on their TT bikes, TT Helmets (aka Sperm Helmets, Wanker Lids), full kit riding along the run course. The sheer number of Ironman athletes in Melbourne are starting to become noticeable. How do you know if they are already Ironman? They wear their M-dot gear - you can't miss it! :)

So last night, some Tri Alliance athletes had a casual feedback session with the WTC for Ironman and Ironman Asia Pacific. We provided them with our personal views on the Ironman brand, what we liked, not liked, how we got into the sport of triathlon and why we chose to do an Ironman. We also spoke about the cost associated with not only the entry but also the training and gear.

It was an interesting session as we got to hear about the different reasons why people are training for this sport and their views on the cost associated and how it impacts (or not) on their everyday lives.

I guess I am lucky (my choice) that I don't have a family that I need to spend my money on more wisely. I do pour it all into the sport and whatever I have left over, I pay my bills and my mortgage with - it should be the other way around, I know, don't judge me!! :)

I never think of what I get out of the $900 I pay to do an Ironman race, to me, it is the amount I need to pay to have the privilege to be part of the starting line and to participate in the event. 

After the session, I drove to the end point and took a photo of the 42km mark of the run course. Fingers crossed that I will make it this far within the 17 hour mark. I know that I will be crying when I cross the finish line - not to the disappointment, it will be because of how proud I am of my own achievements.

4 More Days

This morning, I drove along Beach Rd into work and saw that the Ironman Expo tent was up at St Kilda. 4 More days.

I had my deep tissue massage last night in Bayside - Stephen at Bayside Sports and Remedial Therapies - Great Service and he has worked with many sports clubs before opening his own practice about a year ago. I have a flush booked in on Friday 12pm before I head down to the Expo to check in.

I got my bike serviced on Monday but will need to get it re-tuned with the race wheels (race wheels also getting new tyres).

Did my last swim session on Monday which was a 4km set (I didn't end up doing a Cool Down after 10 x 400m). Tuesday I did water running instead of my interval session due to prevention of further injuries and I will do a quick/short 40km ride today.

I have also been invited by USM to provide some feedback regarding Ironman Melbourne and the website tonight at Urban Hotel (as a first timer) at 5:45pm. Looking forward to this session.

It is a rest (nothing) day for the rest of the week and weekend leading up to Sunday's race. I might do an open water swim on Thursday night (just nice and slow), might not.

Fri - Register/Check-in at Expo, Welcome Dinner

Sat - Check in Bike at Frankston

Sun - Race Day