Port Macquarie Ironman 2008-04-07
4th Female, 10:00:02

I found Nicole Ward just before the race. We were both nervous flurries putting on our swim caps and trying to get to the start. I said to her, “Nicole, I’ve been bad, I haven’t been going to swim squad, I will next time.” I felt instantly better with my confession out there in the open. We found Leanne and giggled as we climbed under the finish shoot stands to get into the water.

It wasn’t a good swim. I knew as I approached the chute that I’d had a longer than usual experience in the Port Macquarie Water. I’d got a bit scared in the churn, there had been a current. I hadn’t been going to swim squad.

Once I was on the bike I was happy. It’s easy to get a bit daunted by the hills at Port Macquarie but if you don’t mind a few of them, it really is a very spectacular course. The hills rejuvenate. We sailed into town at the end of every lap, the spectators’ cheered and we smiled. It was a good time not to think too far ahead.

The second lap we had rain. Quite heavy rain really. I had a lovely moment as I tasted the water running into my mouth thinking how little it bothered me. On race day it’s just one of the experiences that are thrown in. Just as I thought this someone rode past and said, “this is miserable.” I felt lucky.

Port Macquarie put on a show for us once again. It’s such a spectacle for first timers to see. They don’t see it all either. At every aid station there are scores of volunteers, lining up in formation to deliver, water, Gaterade, Anzac biscuits and bananas on the fly. They have to run with us as we come past on the bikes. In the first lap there’s always a bit of a high failure rate as competitors and volunteers sort out the process but throughout the day it gets better and better until there are hardly any tell tale signs of squashed Anzacs appearing on the road.

I had chasing to do in this race. That bad swim, had to be made up with by my legs. The race leaders were out in front and getting further with every lap. They really are amazing to watch Chrissy Wellington and Kate Major. I’m glad they’re the best in the world! We get to see them out there all day and gosh they do a professional job of it.

I just set about riding my bike, not being too cocky about the hills, but using what I had in my legs. I felt a little sluggish for quite some time but things got better. It’s nice having a few races in my experience nest now as I can refer back to each.

In the last lap and a half of the run I started to feel in my zone. My legs felt strong, like they could withstand something if I asked it of them. I’ve done this race before and to change the experience I have to get out of “survival” mode in the run, and turn into race mode. This is what I did.

I ran harder, faster down the hills. I know my legs can take this. I took the tail wind and ran with it. I took my goo to make sure I had the energy there. I ran to get there fast.

By the next turn around I realised I was getting a lot closer to a few girls in the women’s field. They were all looking good. They’d been looking good for hours and I had no expectation of catching them. But I had to run at my new pace and the fact that I was catching people became an easy motivator.

By two-thirds of the way through the last lap, I was within site of Sarah in 5th. I train with Sarah. She’d been looking fantastic all day and I know there is not faltering her. I had no expectation of catching her but I kept running harder. At the next turn around I was only 100 metres behind. It still seemed like a very long way. Friends kept cheering and the race became exciting. As I came past Sarah she said “well done Prue, 4th’s only 100 metres ahead, have some coke and go and get it.” It’s one of my favourite moments in an event. The best sportsmanship I’ve ever personally witnessed.

I ran harder thinking to myself “I’ve always wanted to run with a bike.” The bike was the 4th place marker. I caught the bike before I caught Ali and I was tempted to be happy with that.

This was all in the last kilometre. Sarah had also found more inside her, and was running superbly from behind until we got to the finish shoot and she was 25 meters behind again. We finished with 1 second between us in a sprint finish. I am so excited and so thrilled to be part of this. Sarah and I have very different strengths and races in triathlon. It’s wonderful seeing that the sport caters to different approaches and I’m so proud to be one of two Sunny Coast Girls off to Hawaii.

Port Macquarie Ironman Training

I give myself two marks out of ten for each Ironman I do. The first one I receive before stepping foot on the start line. It’s the mark I give myself for my preparation, and no bad race can take it away. The next one is for what I do on race day; it’s about what I did during the race, if I stay tough, if I give it a good go, if I’m proud of what I do. I’m an engineer, so I deal with lots of numbers but funnily enough I keep the numbers to a minimum in my sport. Last year I got to the finish line of Port Macquarie and I said, “I don’t care what the numbers say, I never expected to make it through that thing, and I’m just so proud of myself for doing so.”

I’m happy I said that, as I can remember saying in conversation one day, “if I finish an Ironman and I’m not happy with myself, then it’s time to find a different sport.” Too much goes into an Ironman, to not feel a sense of accomplishment, no matter what the outcome. So anyway, that was last year. This is now and this is a reflection on the last few months which has been my preparation.

It’s been an unusual lead up to Ironman. I’ve done a 12 hour all night mountain bike race, my first off road triathlon, a choose your own adventure triathlon course (I got lost), and I’ve been back to Goondiwindi - Hell of the West Triathlon to question why I do endurance sport.

Things have gone to plan and things haven’t gone to plan. I’ve raced and pulled up great, I’ve trained and pulled up not so great. One day I didn’t make it out of the garage after my long ride and had to commence recovery with a bowl of muesli from there. Another day my long run turned extra long with bonus adventures as I got lost in a forest, found in someone’s back yard and soggy in a Queensland bog that was a sports oval before the rain started back in December.

I became an inaugural member of the 9km an hour club, which Al and I formed on a steep 5km climb on a memorable mountain bike ride. AlI I could think was “I have to go faster than 9km an hour, I can’t do this for 35 minutes.” Jeff didn’t hang around for the invite to our club.

I’ve enjoyed mixing long road rides, with mountain biking adventures. When I first went off road it was like running on a bicycle. I’m still scared of the rocks I’ve made improvements and it feels great. It also seems to make all the other sports seem easier.

I’ve experimented with less than optimal bike positions (my cleats were too far back on my time trial bike), and out of alignment on my mountain bike. I’ve done long runs with my camel back, to finish runs hydrated and fresher. All these things seem to tell me a little bit more about my body and how it works in perfect and less than perfect situations.

Twelve hours on a mountain bike at night became a great experiment in managing nutrition. Lapses quickly showed up in the dirt as the first thing to was co-ordination and cadence. I drank blueberry juice, coffee, coke, water and sports drink. I ate easter eggs, tuna sandwiches and home made biscuits. I tried to swallow some kind of baby food but thought better of it.

The Sunshine Coast and the active people here are continuing to surprise and inspire. We have over 20 people from this area competing in Ironman this year, we all have different stories. We'll all be out there again together on race day.

Tre-x Off Road Triathlon
March 9th 2008
http://www.tre-x.com.au/
http://www.photoevents.net.au/gallerytre_x.htm
Someone decided to make triathlon fun.

(1st Female), 2hrs 18 minutes.

Imagine you’re about to do a triathlon. You’ve got your goggles, your bike and your running shoes, you’re setting them all up in a transition zone, but something’s different, you’re in the forest.

So what’s different? You rack your bike (you need one of those ones with bobbly tyres), you bring a towel (because the ground is leaf litter) and you might choose to bring an older pair of running shoes if it’s been raining.

The off road element makes the whole race heaps more fun. Suddenly the bike isn’t just about saving something for the run, it’s about going as fast as you can where you can, enjoying the hills, chatting to other riders and getting better with each lap as the course gets more familiar.

Even the run, which I always see as the assessment element of a triathlon, was made more of an adventure and an experience. In this race we ran around the lake, and whilst there was one hill that made the legs shudder a bit, there were sections of the run you just couldn’t help but enjoy.

The bush setting, the mountain biking, the festival type mode, all make this a wonderful way to spend a morning, push yourself or train.

AYUP 12 hour Dusk to Dawn Mountain Bike Race
March 2nd 2008
Two Wheels Promotions
(2nd Female Solo)
http://www.twowheelpromotions.com.au/home/index.php

I blame the adventure racers!

Triathlon, mountain biking…adventuring racing. I’ve never done an adventure race or a 24 hour but that hasn’t stopped what “they” do, influencing what I do.

I thought Ironman was kind of it, as hard as it gets and as long and overwhelming as the challenge becomes. I trained so hard for my first Ironman just to survive it and now I discover that it is just one of many adventures that someone has conjured up, and someone else has decided to follow. What they do destroyed all the nice neat boundaries I had around what I thought was possible. I guess this is how I ended up sitting on my bicycle at 7pm getting ready to ride all through the night.

I don’t really know what happened to the night. I can say I went, around and around and around that track because someone counted me doing so twenty times. If you asked me I’d probably guess half that number. I don’t know if it is fatigue or darkness that hides the memories.

In comparison to a day 12 hour, I’d say it is cooler and a bit more of an adventure. It makes you search deep for things to keep your mind and body active, carefully timing a cup of coffee or a bit more coke. It’s a bit more social that a day race in some ways. Everyone’s looking for distractions and whilst the course gets kind of bare in those early morning hours, anyone you do come across is grateful for a chat. You get to sleep in which is a nice novelty before a race.

The real challenges of night racing, as I could see it, were faced by the support. I just don’t think I could stay awake all night if I wasn’t peddling, and I just don’t think I could drag myself out of bed every half hour to organise a drink bottle. Jeff and Al were my support and they didn’t get an easy customer. I’d done better than last time in that I didn’t forget to bring all the food I’d prepared but I hadn’t got it organised. Despite this they managed to concoct some superb beverages (my favourite was water, coke and blueberry juice), hand me easter eggs (no one can complain about that), and deliver my tuna and coriander sandwiches at just the right moments.

The course was great. After doing one lap I thought to myself that there really wasn’t one part of the loop I didn’t like, and there were many parts I liked a lot. The start, finish area comes just after a fun down hill at Kooralbyn so we always enter in good spirits.

I’d been riding harder since about 4am when I found out Alex was not so far ahead of me. I put what I could into those next few laps, trying to concentrate on nutrition to ensure I kept going. The sun crept up and more people came out on the track again. I expected to feel refreshed by the light but I started to worry more on my descents and felt the tiredness. With two laps to go, I was just trying to keep going. I gave a few pretty despondent looks at my support crew who were offering me extravagant platters of lollies, sandwiches, juice, coke, fruit and easter eggs! The easter eggs seemed to be the preferred option at that time of the day. On the second last lap, I slowed right down and tried to hit survival mode. I stayed there for a little while and decided it just feels too uncoordinated on a mountain bike. I’m much better off peddling at a decent rate to keep steady on the climbs. So I enjoyed waking up the last bit of determination I had to use in those last two laps. And I enjoyed meeting Alex at the finish, I’d heard a lot about her.

Goondiwindi Hell of the West 2008
(2nd female) 4hrs 29 minutes

“A proper triathlon, not one of these fancy city races, a tough, hot, flat race, The Hell of the West.” That’s how Mike Mason described it three years ago, when it first appeared on the horizon of my imagination as a possibility. It’s nice to come back each year, a little more comfortable with the prospect.

The Goondiwindi Triathlon Club puts on a fantastic race. So well organised, so welcoming and away from the rain!! We were treated like special guests by the whole town. It’s a hot, tough race, but there is plenty of water, ice, coke and encouragement out there on the run, and if you need more to keep you going, you can start dreaming of anything you want, and it will probably be there in the recovery tent. They really do a good job.

There was a moment on the run when I thought, “why do I do this to myself” and just as I was about to start looking for answers, I had to laugh. I’m quite sure I thought exactly the same thing last time I did this run. Well, now I’ve got an idea, it’s a hard flat race, there’s no hiding from effort and persistence to get through. It’s a perfect build up for Port Macquarie, a perfect tester to assess what’s going well in training and what might be lacking.

Busselton Ironman 2007
(9hrs 34 minutes, 6th Female)

“Welcome back Prue.” That was my welcome to Ironman Western Australia. I wondered how the lady behind registration desk knew I was coming for a second time and then realised the smile was familiar. Anne registered me last year and we were both back for more. “You look much more relaxed this year” she said.

I moved to the Sunshine Coast this year and started training in the “garden of Eden” as Henry from swimming describes it, “you’ve arrived,” he said, “from now on good things will happen.”
The coast is a fantastic place to live: we have the beaches out the front and the Hinterland, out the back. The active people here are prevalent. They’re positive, they’re fun, they’re welcoming and they’re making the most of living in such a place. Triathlon was my ticket into this community.

And that’s what brought me to the registration desk smiling. I arrived there with friends, friends I never would have known if it wasn’t for this event and this lifestyle. I learnt a lot from these people over the last few months.

They’re good at living. They have families, some have children, some have grandchildren, some have just stopped being children, some ride mountain bikes, some don’t have bikes. Some are fast, some are a little more relaxed.

My event contained the highs and lows that each race seems to provide. Learnings and lessons. I tried to smile as I rode out of town for the third time on my weary legs. I really wasn’t sure they were going to bring me back again. I grabbed a banana at an aid station and that seemed to help, so at the next I went for another but I missed. As the banana slid away from view an Anzac biscuit was suddenly in front of me, and with nothing to lose I gave it a go. It wasn’t really on the nutrition plan for the day, but it tasted good and I started reflecting on the hard times Anzac biscuits were created for. I ran into transition smiling and looking on the bright side, “I’m just so glad to get rid of that bike” I said to the ladies in the tent.

I stayed chirpy for the first part of the run but mid way through the second lap things started to change. I’m sure I was doing some kind of stumble. I looked up at the 20km marker and thought “this isn’t sustainable.”

I gave walking a go. I walked fast and stretched my legs, the rhythm of running was still inside me, it wouldn’t leave and I didn’t let it. A woman came past and said “run with me”. It felt wrong to turn her down. I looked up and saw my friend Karen running cheery and strong. Maybe I gave her some kind of despondent smile. I knew I hadn’t given up, and though I would enjoy surprising her later.

I might have walking for a minute, it might have been three, I don’t know. I turned my hand and hoped, as I would if I was trying to start a broken down car. I started running and it worked. My legs were loose and I was moving to my rhythm.

On my last lap I saw Karen again, I smiled and waved.

Felt bicycles partner me in all these crazy adventures. I've been riding a 48cm B2 Time Trial with 650 wheels since June last year. I'm 163cm and it fits me perfectly. It can be hard to find time trial bikes that fit "little people". It's amazing how efficient this bike feels. I call it "the fast one." bicycle.

I also ride a Felt RXC Team hard tail mountain bike. It's light and it's very forgiving on me being new to mountain biking. I've been doing 6 and 12 hour endurance races and it's perfect.

JAGGAD. I love my Jaggad Sprint Jersey. It's completely breathable and has pockets to carry all the things I need in long races. Jaggad are an Australian company and they put a great deal of effort into making clothing that suits women with all different body shapes. It's lovely to have so many choices in the women's range.

Brooks. My feet aren't the easiest customers to please and if my shoes aren't right, they're not afraid to let me know. Brooks provide luxury accommodation for my feet. I run in Brooks Trance and Brooks Adrenalines. In all races including Ironman distance I use S3 Racing Flats.

All these shoes offer really good support but one of the best things about them is they seem to last longer than previous runners I've had.

Noosa Enduro - July 15th 2007
100km Mountain Bike Race (almost 6 hours for me)

We'd just climbed a fairly large hill, which had come not long after a similar fairly large hill and we were making our way up a ridge which was really just another fairly large hill. At this stage we'd come out of the forest and it was a pretty ordinary place to be if you were a cow. But we weren't cows, we were mountain bikers, we'd been pushing ourselves for about 4 hours and as I felt myself nearing my "brink", I felt sure the two cyclists next to me were feeling the same. I couldn't help laughing and saying to the others, "we're a strange bunch."

And that's kind of the celebration that an event like the Noosa Enduro is. It puts the challenge out there and the people come. I feel really lucky that people have been out there for years, building up the mountain bike scene, so that people like me can stumble into it. Everybody out there today was giving it a go, giving something a go, giving a life a go. It doesn't mean they're superhumans, but in my opinion, they're often interesting people.

It's funny that we like to push ourselves to the brink, it's funny exposing ourselves like that amongst a group of strangers. Really they're seeing us at our weakest but strangely enough they're also seeing us at our strongest. It's amazing howmuch you can know about a person from riding beside them in a situation like that for a day. The same person you don't recognise without their cycle jersey and bike.

http://www.usmevents.com.au/enduro/gallery.html