Ironman New Zealand Race Report 2005 Report

I must confess my New Zealand Ironman trip started with an expensive hitch. We arrived at Melbourne airport ready to head over to NZ when we soon discovered Air New Zealand, one of the major sponsors of the Ironman, no longer had bike wavers. The lady working behind the desk told Scott and I, that we had $500 ($10 per kilogram) worth of excess baggage as we exceeded our 20kg limit!! After haggling with her we got the price dropped to $390 and then once we arrived in Auckland I was stung another $200 for having an apple in my backpack, I had no idea it was in there but customs had no sense of humour and I had to pay up or go to prison and miss the Ironman, no chance of that happening. The few days leading up to the race were fairly cruisy, I was enjoying my taper and going around doing the necessary jobs such as bike check in, registration and attending the carbo-loading party. It was fantastic a huge tent full of great food and triathletes, what a combination. Before I knew it I was at race briefing and the pre race nerves were beginning to kick in. I had brought my sister along who is a chef and she cooked up a storm for the Geelong crew the night before the race, we were definitely carbo loaded! Race morning finally arrived and I woke before the alarm, a little keen and a lot nervous. I put on my MP3 player and read some words of inspiration given to me before the race. We left the bike compound after doing some final checks and the Cannondale was raring to go. We then proceeded to the swim start; the atmosphere was inspiring and electric. We all wished each other good luck and awaited the sound of the cannon to start the race. I remember looking at the huge crowd, those flashing orange lights that indicate the countdown till race start and hearing the song 'Right here, right now' by Fatboy Slim, then the cannon went and the race had begun. I enjoyed the swim, the lake was so clear and the water drinkable, mind you I didn't start sipping until half way as I didn't want whizz contaminated water. It was then a fair run, about 400m, to the transition. I had to remember I wasn't in a Gatorade race so there was no need to bolt to T1, its all about pace! I have to say that the volunteers were amazing, they made sure you were on track for a great race and I think without them helping you in the change tents your transition times would be double. Then it was time to unleash the Cannondale and head out for the ride, loaded with plenty of food and carbs in the drink bottle. It was quite brisk for the first hour on the bike but then the sun came through the clouds and thawed me out. The bike course was mostly flat with little undulations and it was 2, 90km loops. The conditions on the bike were really good up until the last lap when a head wind decided to enter the race. It was just a matter of choosing the right gear and pushing through it, and then I was able to find a bigger gear and give it herbs on the last 5km which was pretty much a downhill ride into town. The crowd was amazing when you entered town and it was time to trade the bike in for the runners. Heading out onto the run my coach, Jarrod Evans, said that I was sitting in 2nd place in my age group and 15th female overall. With these stats in mind I knew that I was going to give this run all I had and more. I must admit the first 5k were absolutely hell on my legs and it wasn't until the 6km mark that they started to get into rhythm. The run course was also 2 loops, but of 21km, people had said that it was flat but let me tell you there were a few good hills out there! Mark had told me to make the most of those downhills and that I did. I think we were very lucky to have great weather for the race, the sun certainly had a bit of sting to it. I headed back into town after the first lap to our awesome cheer squad from Geelong, those guys rocked! It s amazing how much the crowd fires you up. I collected my second scrunchy indicating I had 1 lap to go. Jarrod met up with me on the run course and told me I was still sitting in second and to keep drinking, I guzzled coke, pro4 and water to keep me going until the end. I remember Jarrod told me the race begins with 10km to go, I had reached the 32km mark and thought to myself, here goes! I planned to give the last 10km everything and thankfully I had paced myself well enough during the day to be able to go hard at this point in the race. With 6km to go people are cheering and telling you that you're almost home, you are heading towards town and you begin to hear the music pumping and you can see the finish area nearing, it s awesome. Next thing I know I'm counting down the km's 39km, 40km, 41km then it becomes real, I see the finish chute and I'm running on the Ironman carpet with 100m to go and all the pain in my legs has gone, temporarily. Then Mike Riley says 'Belinda Harrison you are an Ironman'. I crossed the finish in 10.55hrs, placed second in my age group (25-29) and won a Kona slot, it was one of the most amazing days of my life and I was so grateful that all my training had come together for race day, as I can see that when things go wrong, which does happen out there, the Ironman can be one long, hard day out. After the race it was into the big tent for a massage and some tucker. All my training buddies who deserve a mention, Paul Rabbas, Paul, Pawlak, John Crockett, Malcolm Leszczynski, Kane Airey and my husband Scott all raced hard and put in great performances to become Ironmen, then we all sat in the grandstand and soaked up the atmosphere watching many others become Ironmen. The next day the legs had seized up but a good stint at the thermal springs had loosened them up a bit, some quality chill time was in order. That evening we went to the presentation dinner where I got to go up on stage to receive my trophy from Greg Welch who said welcome to the family when he handed me my trophy. We then got the Geelong crew together and headed out to an Irish pub for a few hard earnt bevy's on the dance floor! My first Ironman experience was nothing short of awesome, I enjoyed every minute and as much as I'm looking forward to a break I'm looking forward to gearing up for Hawaii. Before I sign off I would just like to thank a few people for helping me get there. My sponsors 100% cycles of course, Seona the chef/sister who has looked after my appetite for months, Pete, Millie and Vanessa for keeping me in good nick, Jarrod, Leash and Tam - you guys are inspirational and have been with me every step of the way, my Ironman training buddies mentioned above - many long km's shared between us, and last but not least my husband Scotty - thanks for putting up with me and supporting me always, couldn't have done it without you!