The big day out!

To be honest I am absolutely stoked with the entire day and the whole Ironman experience at Taupo.

With 22 weeks of training behind me I had a reasonable level of confidence that I had prepared well and would be in a good position to put together a solid effort come Saturday 1 March. So this is how the week and race panned out.

I had a pretty relaxed week leading into race day, making sure that I had plenty of rest and sleep. Wednesday was spent doing a short sharp 60 km bike, checking gear, cleaning the bike and a bit of quite time contemplating the race ahead. At that time the weather prediction for Saturday didn’t look flash and it was time to start thinking about adjustments to the race plan. I had some pretty firm target times in mind which I had worked out a couple of weeks earlier based upon a couple of time trials. Clearly the weather was going to be a factor, how much would be determined on race day.

Thursday was travel day with a short break in Auckland for work. The rest of the day went by pretty quickly with registration, a get together with the Alpe Team and then the carbo dinner.

Friday started with a 10 minute swim, 20 minute ride and 20 minute run. This session and the ones earlier in the week were changes I had made from previous years and followed the plan to reduce the volume over a three week period. Gear bags were packed and the bike checked in. All this was done early by 11.30 am so the rest of the afternoon could be spent relaxing with the feet up. The final adjustments and bike check had been done at home earlier in the week at the local Avanti bike shop. Everything that could be done prior to getting to Taupo was taken care of.

Friday night Ben and Laura arrived about 10.00 pm. Time to catch up and then it was off to bed. The alarm was set for 5.00 a.m. however it wasn’t needed. I had a pretty restless night.

Taupo certainly knows how to turn it on in its own way with the day starting out calm, with little wind and a flat swim, but soon disintegrating into squally showers, a brisk northerly and later gusty winds and rain.

Prior to getting in the water I had worked out where I wanted to be on the start line and I was also conscious that navigation wasn’t going to be that easy with the majority of swimmers wearing orange caps, orange marker buoys, kayakers with orange vests combined with my short sightedness were going to make it hard.

My swim training had focused on strength and getting out of the water in good shape. About 90% of my swim training is done with a pull buoy and/or paddles, generally reps of 500 m of 1000 m up to 3.5 km per session 4 times a week. Nothing flash, scientific or complex in that. The target for the day was to crack one hour. Throughout the swim I felt pretty strong. I was swimming well, and throughout the mindset was positive “I was having a great swim.” At the lake edge looking up I could see the time tick past the one hour mark….bugger was the thought initially, that changed quickly with the realisation that it was my quickest swim ever.

A quick change and then onto the bike. The plan for the ride was to follow the nutrition plan with an emphasis on ensuring that the tucker went in during the second 90 km, maintain an average of 33 kph, (5 hours 30 minutes) and to concentrate on a 90 + cadence. The nutrition plan was simple. Leppin in the aero bottle on the handle bars with a good gob full every 20 minutes, washed down with water, a whole banana every second aid station, and 2 or 3 Hammer E-caps every hour.

Riding into the wind on the way out whilst still relatively fresh went pretty quickly, the brisk northerly from the turn at Reporoa back to Taupo was welcomed. The first return leg was over and I was feeling pretty comfortable, not pushing to hard and saving the legs. From the top of Broadlands down into Taupo was pretty quick and turning back into the main street with the crowd around was a real boost and the personal support team certainly made themselves heard.

As I started the climb back up towards the road to Reporoa at the start of the second lap an ugly wind and rain squall whipped across, probably the worst weather on the bike all day. Much of the outward leg was into the wind and rain so it was a case of keep the cadence up, staying aero, keeping the tucker schedule going and looking after the legs. Once the turn at Reporoa came the tail wind kicked in again and it seemed to have picked as well. Back to transition and off the bike in 5 hours 35 minutes.

A quick transition and it was out onto the run. The target time for the run was 3 hours 40 minutes and the plan was to take it easy over the first half and save plenty for the last hour. Going out with a tail wind I was running around 5 min kms but that soon dropped as I turned to head back towards town. I soon hooked up with another guy running at a similar pace and we took turns running on each others shoulder trying to shelter from the wind. Again the nutrition consisted of Leppin and the hammer e-caps washed down with regular water and the odd half banana. The second half of the run seemed more comfortable than the first although the legs were really starting to feel it by that point.

The last 4 or 5 kms the pain seemed to disappear as the thrill of another Ironman finish loomed. The crowds and atmosphere at the finish line were truly amazing, in fact the atmosphere through the entire couple of days in Taupo was. Getting to the finish line I was welcomed with the words "Graeme, You are an Ironman again!" in a total time of 10 hours 35 minutes.

I didn’t muck around in the recovery tent too long and quickly caught up with Tricia, Ben and Laura who were absolutely ecstatic. They knew I had finished 4th in the 50 to 54 age group and we had talked about Kona spots in my age group. I had qualified. A long held goal had been achieved and the Ironman journey continues.

Congratulations to Emma, Kiernan, Kathy and Raewyn on their remarkable achievements. It’s been great to share the journey.

To Steve thanks for the opportunity to be part of the Alpe d'huez team. I'm sure the book will be a huge success and an inspiration to all.

To Ben and Laura thanks for being there to support and encourage me.

Finally to Tricia, thanks for your outstanding commitment, patience and endurance without which I couldn't have got to the finish line.