Since I
secured my place at Kona in September 2015, exactly what the event would be
like had remained a mystery. I kept hearing of places such as ‘The Queen K’,
‘Ali’i Drive’ and ‘The Energy Lab’ with no clue as to what or where they were.
I’d heard it would be hot, windy, humid and filled with over 2,000 budding triathletes;
well think extremes: very hot, very humid, very windy (in places) and so many
competitors focused on their single most important race of the year (or even
longer). Arriving at Kona 7 days prior to the race meant that I could find
these mysterious places, acclimatise to conditions and focus on relaxing,
registering, racking and generally preparing for the race.
I took my
approach to the entire Kona experience similar to how I approach my training.
Yes, the Ironman was the main focus of the trip, what I had been working
towards for the past 6 months and I was ready to give everything on race day,
however I was also here to have fun both before and after the race, meet lots
of like-minded people and get involved in everything Kona had to offer. Whether
it was swimming out to the coffee boat, doing the underpants run, hanging out
at breakfast, taking part in the Parade of Nations, or just lying in the sun,
these were all things that would give me fond memories of the place regardless
of how I may perform on race day, and besides who knows if I would ever have
the opportunity to go back again.
Race day was
on October 8th and it started at 4am for me. By 5:30am, I found myself amongst
the 2,300 other nervous competitors preparing to start their race. I was desperately
trying to ignore a slight virus that had come on a couple of days before, and
that would eventually catch up with me on the day following the race, but first
of all I had 140.6 miles to knock out. Here's how the race went....
What's it
like to be amongst the best part of 1,500 swimmers all heading for the same
buoy 1.2 miles out to sea and back again? Well imagine a whole lot of splash,
constant concentration not to get kicked, and no idea if you're heading the
correct way; with all this continuing throughout 60 minutes of the swim course.
At 6:55am,
the cannon fired. Immediately I
chose to go out relatively hard in order to try to find some faster feet to pull
me along, and there was certainly no shortage of them, as pair after pair would
continually appear in front or to the side. The carnage that followed was
something I’d only ever experienced at Nice Ironman in 2010, where the sheer
number of people in the water meant no let up in pace and using such concentration
to avoid being hit. It was relentless and, even after 20 minutes of swimming,
very little had calmed down. As we reached the turnaround point, the entire
field was once again pushed together into a narrow stream. Despite everything
going on around me, I felt good and a quick time check at the halfway point
suggested I was close to my 60-minute target.
After the
initial excitement of the start, I had chosen to take it more steady in the
second half, not risking the thought of surfacing from the water at all out of
breath. As I emerged from the water and into the packed changing tent, I saw my
time was 61 minutes, on target with where I wanted it to be.
Coming out of
T1 in amongst hundreds of other cyclists, I planned to go very hard and pass as
many as possible early on. Who knows what power I was doing, as my power meter
was broken from the outset, but it must've been 300-330w. Along the initial
short out-and-back, I caught Will Newbury, had a very brief chat as we compared our
swim efforts, before heading up on to the Queen K and the view of still
hundreds of cyclists stretched out ahead of me.
I continued
to put down a fair effort, being very mindful of not drafting anyone and trying
to catch some faster trains up ahead. Eventually I caught up with Paul Burton
and we sat off the back of a small peloton, cruising steadily down the Queen K.
After 30 minutes I felt ready to push on and put in an effort to go past the
lot of them. Whilst I potentially paid for this later on, it was my call to
race up to the turnaround point at Hawi. My lack of confidence to go much over
35 mph was going to slow me down on the return descent, and I felt I needed to
get some time in the bank as a consequence.
80 miles in I
was feeling good. I'd gone through at least 5 litres of water/Gatorade, a load
of shot blocks and a Clif bar, so was well hydrated and fuelled by my standards,
plus I’d had made a fair dent in the field. However the headwind and 'semi
bonk' was about to hit. Paul came back past me looking very strong and gestured
me to go with him, but I had nothing. That had been a very sensible ride from
him, and his decision not to get over confident early (on as I had) was a wise
one. The last 15 miles were a real struggle and I was pleading to myself for
the run to come sooner. I eased up, which may have lost me 5 minutes in the
closing stages however I felt that, by taking it steady, I was far better
prepared to start the run.
Now all that
remained was the 26.2 miles between myself and the finish line. No mechanicals
to worry about, no real possibility of penalties to be handed out, and the best
part of 250 other age-groupers to try to work through. By this point, the
temperature was well over 30 and I was grateful of the locals spraying us down
with hose pipes on Ali’i drive; I was drenched through within 5 minutes, but
that was fine.
My aim was to
set out at 6:35/mile pace, which should feel comfortable on any other day, and
that would bring me in with a 2:53 marathon. Along Ali'i drive I passed Paul,
who encouraged me to go and eat up as much of the field as possible.
The
atmosphere along the whole of Ali'i drive was fantastic, both from the spectators
and other competitors. I'll be honest, I could hardly muster an acknowledgment
but the support was much appreciated! As I progressed up the Palani Road (the
only major climb on the run), the heat was getting to me and all I was longing
for was the next aid station to fill my suit up with ice and take on more Coke
and water; this was the strategy I then adopted for the rest of the run course.
Whilst my
pace wasn't quite the 6:35's planned, I continued to work through the field and
each competitor became a target to chase down. At 15 miles, I was told I was the
35th age-grouper and, by the time I got to the Energy Lab at 18
miles, I'd moved up to about 20th. Things were going well however the irony was
that, shortly after coming out of the Energy Lab, I was so close to falling apart.
Now it was a
case of just closing out those last few miles. I looked behind and the road was
clear. Up ahead the gaps were too large. I accepted that little could be done
on changing my position and so put my head down and prepared to head for home.
With 300m to go, and to my surprise, another competitor, who’d obviously
gradually been reeling me in, overtook me. I wasn’t expecting that, so cue a
Greenleaf sprint for the line and any of the planned high-5'ing down the finish
shoot was scrapped. Over the line I collapsed into a volunteer's arms, relieved
to have held my position and finished in 9:08:27. I was too delirious to fully appreciate
what was going on around me and was more focused on trying to stay upright and
taking on water, but at last I’d completed the Kona Ironman.
I finished
53rd overall and 5th in the 30-34 category (turns out 6th place was only 14s
behind, so the sprint was worthwhile after all). The whole event was an eye
opener to the quality of other amateur triathletes from around the world, and
also an appreciation and respect to those professionals who swim, bike and run
some frankly insane times.
My race had
gone perfectly up to 95 miles on the bike, after which I'm still a little
frustrated about the time I lost in those closing miles. Perhaps I over did it
too early on the bike or perhaps I didn’t get my fueling quite right, but my
feeling at the time was to go for it and this required overtaking some fairly
significant groups. I also think I slightly underperformed on the run, however
there is little preparation you can do in the UK (or even anywhere) to
understand quite how to fare in a marathon of 30+ degrees and after 6 hours of racing.
I appreciate I'm probably being over critical of my performance, and I am
thrilled with my effort as I left everything out there on the course, but it
gives me an appetite to go back for more at some point.
Kona was more
than just a one-day race, it was the culmination of training for the past 6
months, and there have been a number of people who have supported along the way:
Huezkateers/RP
Stags/Cottage/Pub Laps for pulling me around many laps of Battersea, Regent's
and Richmond Parks, either running or on a bike. Thanks guys for putting up
with me for all those hours, there’s no way I’d have had the motivation to do
this solo.
Mum and Dad
for being there right from my qualification at Ironman Wales and then coming
all the way to Kona to support. I’m so pleased you were able to make it out here
and cheer first hand!
Richard and
my Teammates from Freespeed. Since joining the team at the start of 2015, it's
helped to give me opportunities to compete in races I’d never even considered
doing 3 years ago. Along the way I’ve had the chance to meet all sorts of
people across the sport, whether it's other triathletes, sponsors or just others
interested in the sport. Having teammates to draw upon for advice and support has
been extremely valuable, not only for Kona but also in the lead up and I’m sure
all this has helped enable me to racer stronger.
Thanks to all
of the individual sponsors who support the team and allow me to train with the best
kit and nutrition. Brett and the team at Skechers for providing us with fast
trainers and all the support for the team, the team at Clifbar for all
nutrition during long bike rides and races, Virgin Active for the use of the
gyms and enabling those painful Wattbike sessions, Blueseventy for wetsuits and
everything water related, Speedfill for all the equipment to carry water and
tools on the bike, Lezyne for all the tools, Precision Hydration for providing
electrolytes which are especially helpful when it's Hawaii hot, and Endurance
Conspiracy for great clothes to wear to races.
And finally
to Anna for all of your support along the way, and for helping me balance and appreciate
so many other things to life. I would have loved to have you there on the day,
but your enthusiasm and encouragement never ceased, all the way to the end of your
very own Kona party.
