Gold Coast Marathon: July 07
3hrs 10 minutes
About 3,000 people ran the marathon this year and over 16,000 were involved in the events. I had a good day. Two years earlier I ran my first marathon here, and this time it was a pleasure to watch the kilometre markers drift past in a much healthier state. Ironman has made me appreicate that any kilometre you've already run in a marathon is one you don't have to walk if everything suddenly goes wrong.
3hrs 10 minutes
About 3,000 people ran the marathon this year and over 16,000 were involved in the events. I had a good day. Two years earlier I ran my first marathon here, and this time it was a pleasure to watch the kilometre markers drift past in a much healthier state. Ironman has made me appreicate that any kilometre you've already run in a marathon is one you don't have to walk if everything suddenly goes wrong.
I'm now very appreciative of those "bad days". The most important thing about them is they are in the past. I've done the suffering, I've been to that place and all that they can do for me now is remind me that I've been in worst situations than this. So I'll take the good out of them now.
There was a huge contingent from Central Queensland at the events. The Frenchville Frogs Triathlon Club, Gladstone Roadrunners and Rockhampton Roadrunners were all out in force. A happy reunion for those of us living in different places.
Mount Perry 6 Hour Enduro Mountain Bike Race
My introduction to mountain bike racing,came four days after I was introduced to mountain biking. I got a Felt Hard Tail, with a team issue frame and snazy componentry. The bike was definitely the strenth of the team, as my mountain biking skills left a lot to be desired.
The event was really well organised, well attended and really, really friendly. Out there on the course everybody was polite and supportive. I guess the suvival element of the sport makes it a bit more condusive to comradory during events. I think I ended up doing nine laps of the course and I fell off a similar number of times. However, I did improve througout the event so the majority of these falls were in the first laps.
Port Macquarie Ironman, April 2007
10hrs 13mins
I had a tough day. Maybe I rode to hard, maybe I didn't have enough electrolyte, maybe my training wasn't good enough, maybe I just muddled something up. Whatever the reasons, I started the marathon feeling quite wrong and after a bit more running I started feeling even more wrong. It was my longest time yet for an Ironman but it didn't detract from the satisfaction at all. Race day is about pushing myself to my limit, and if I do that I give myself a 10. My first comment after the finish line was "I don't care what the clock says, I never expected to get through that thing, I did and I'm proud of myself." Of course however I have to look for the learnings and whilst some of them appeared immediately, others turn up a little later. Reflecting now, I feel fortunate for my "bad days," because they're the ones that make me appreciate the good ones.
Mount Perry 6 Hour Enduro Mountain Bike Race
My introduction to mountain bike racing,came four days after I was introduced to mountain biking. I got a Felt Hard Tail, with a team issue frame and snazy componentry. The bike was definitely the strenth of the team, as my mountain biking skills left a lot to be desired.The event was really well organised, well attended and really, really friendly. Out there on the course everybody was polite and supportive. I guess the suvival element of the sport makes it a bit more condusive to comradory during events. I think I ended up doing nine laps of the course and I fell off a similar number of times. However, I did improve througout the event so the majority of these falls were in the first laps.
Port Macquarie Ironman, April 2007
10hrs 13mins
I had a tough day. Maybe I rode to hard, maybe I didn't have enough electrolyte, maybe my training wasn't good enough, maybe I just muddled something up. Whatever the reasons, I started the marathon feeling quite wrong and after a bit more running I started feeling even more wrong. It was my longest time yet for an Ironman but it didn't detract from the satisfaction at all. Race day is about pushing myself to my limit, and if I do that I give myself a 10. My first comment after the finish line was "I don't care what the clock says, I never expected to get through that thing, I did and I'm proud of myself." Of course however I have to look for the learnings and whilst some of them appeared immediately, others turn up a little later. Reflecting now, I feel fortunate for my "bad days," because they're the ones that make me appreciate the good ones.
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