Karen writes: Report on the consolation 'Not-Ironman' race

With the 2012 Taupo Ironman being cancelled because of the 'unprecedented' weather, the organisers kindly pulled out all stops to run a half Ironman on the Sunday, for which I am pathetically grateful. Losing our first Ironman opportunity then going home with no culminating point of all that training and effort would have been devastating emotionally and physically. Getting to that Sunday race however was an event in itself, is it on, isn’t it?  That extra day of eating was a killer and it was hard to take anything too seriously about getting ready…in case the substitute was cancelled too.

Sunday morning, up at 5am, race breakfast of rice porridge and yoghurt, look at the weather and figure out gear, panadol on the way out the door, and down to race start.

The process was different because we had taken our bikes back home on Friday to keep them out of the bad weather so we wheeled our bikes, carrying our swim bags and wetsuits into the main tent with 1500 others. We had to strip to be marked in indelible pen, my race number on the right arm and leg, and ‘FF’ on my calf.   A bit of speculation about what that FF meant, some suggestions more flattering than others. Kate was FG, it was actually for ‘Female’ and the age group we were in.

We were able to check our bike and run bags, I swapped some gear around to suit the shorter distance and better weather.  The 2 day old sandwiches packed when we thought we were racing on Saturday were also replaced.

Hanging around in the transition area with everyone else, we checked out the amazing collection of bikes.   We found 14 out of the 1500 or so bikes without tri-bars, so my poor old Scott was definitely in the minority, as predicted.  She was also one of the older bikes, I was rather proud of her scruffy uniqueness as she snuggled in next to all those super-fast, super-expensive models!  Finally it was time to suit up and then head down to the water.   It was COLD.  We were told the water temperature was 15 degrees, I didn’t even want to think about that, having found Tikitapu cold at 20 degrees.   Being hypothyroid I don’t cope well with cold temperatures, I tend to want to go to sleep, but fortunately there was enough adrenaline to keep me going on the day.

2012 IM 70.3 Swim (picture by Glenn)

The elite athletes swam first, the water had a slight swell which seemed to get bigger as time went on, but nothing as bad as what I usually trained in at Maraetai beach.  We got in the water and it actually felt better than being out in the air, I stayed near the shore and jogged up and down in the water to keep the circulation going.  The men started, then it was our turn. I was thrilled that there was no sign of that anxiety problem I had been struggling with on and off since the Rotorua half Ironman and enjoyed looking at the rocks on the bottom of the lake.   It was a nice swim, but I did have trouble figuring out which marker to aim for and at one point suddenly realised there was no-one around me and I was heading for the middle of the lake.  There were a few people who got pulled out as I went along, I felt very sad for them but was relieved that I felt ok, and just kept taking it steadily, not working too hard. The cold did get into my skull and my head hurt though.  Swim was 50.51 minutes, similar to Rotorua.

Out of the water, onto the green carpet to take the 500m trek to transition and I realised I couldn’t feel my feet!   Up to transition, someone called my number out as I came through the entrance and my bag was handed to me so I could go straight into the tent to change, very efficient, lots of friendly, fabulous volunteers who made every effort to get things right.  The tent was busy, I dithered over getting my wetsuit off and over what to wear, which showed in an 11 minute transition time. Decided eventually on wearing pretty much everything including arm and legwarmers, just tying my jacket round my waist in case I needed it.

The bike chain came off on the first hill.   There is an ongoing problem with the front derailleur which a few trips to the bike shop have been unable to solve.   I avoided using those front gears at all on the whole ride which was fast on the way to Reparoa with the wind behind me, and slow on the way back up the long shallow hills to Taupo.   I wasn’t happy with the ride, and think this is an area I can definitely focus on, strengthening my legs more especially.  I did enjoy riding through the support stations, there were people lined up with bottles of drink, gels, bananas etc.  You slowed down as you rode in and yelled out what you wanted, there was then an efficient scramble to have what you needed further down the line ready as you rode past.  Drink, food, and hi-fives.

Couldn’t get over the noise made by the bikes with the fancy filled in wheels, a group coming through a closed in area was almost deafening, they roared.  Amazing how much stuff there was on the road too, lots of those little gas pumps, bottle cages, a few toolkits, and plenty of drink bottles.

Raced downhill through Taupo township, someone took the bike off me after my 3 hour 49 ride, and I went into the change tent.  I realised I still couldn’t feel my feet, got into running gear and was off for two laps out to rainbow point and back in the afternoon sun.  I would pay for not thinking about those feet more, I got some nasty blisters which I luckily (or unluckily) didn't feel while running, particularly my little toes, I seldom blister even in the worst of conditions.

First lap of the run (picture by Glenn)

There was one jarring note, I’ve said everyone was so friendly, but the official aspect was very noticeable at this event. I guess it had to be to make everything fair and run smoothly, but some were plain scary, like when an official at the turnaround for the run told me rather brusquely to concentrate on the job when I yelled hi to Kate over the other side of the road.  The people of Taupo were super friendly to make up for it, and on the run there was a chance to briefly have a natter to someone, which wasn’t there on the ride because you weren’t allowed to ride near another bike. 

One thing I did notice was how many people really struggled with the run.  I wondered how they would have done for the full distance.   My main problem was I wasn’t excited and didn’t stick to my strategy or to the eating plan, I really couldn’t be particularly bothered and that lack of enthusiasm showed.  It is also obvious I didn't work hard enough when I came out with enough energy to manage a busy evening getting home and organised, and able to be back to work with no signs the day after (except the blisters of course).  I thought about it as I ran, could I do the whole thing, and came to the conclusion that of course I could have, but was in no doubt that it would have been very Hard.

Over the finish line, lots of people cheering, my whanau were there too, and then it was all finished. 

So, our Ironman adventure for 2012 is over.  It is a strange place to be, we have the medal...a real Ironman medal...the  t’shirt, and the finishers towel, but we aren't Ironmen.  We might have done all the hard work to get there, might have gone through an event, but we didn’t really challenge ourselves as an Ironman should. I probably felt closer in the week before the event, when I couldn't imagine any reason I shouldn't achieve that title.  The only cure will be to do the real thing…hopefully next year.  Roll on Rotorua Marathon in 8 weeks.