Then the season went a bit pear shaped. I cracked a couple of ribs out running. Not a very exciting story at all, just a dumb trip and tried not to land on my hand – and ended up taking the full force on the edge of the concrete on the rib cage. After 4-5 days I could do around 40-50min of easy swimming or cycling but running was murder. Sleep was not a happening thing either! Kinloch was wiped as even the thought of someone taping my ribs made me cringe – mass swim start in a sprint triathlon was not going to happen! By mid February I could get back into training again, mostly normal. Running was still a little uncomfortable – both breathing and lost fitness wise. I was still hopeful of being able to roll through Ironman, around 10 hours I thought – under with a good day, over with a hard day in the office. Around 12 days out I got a dose of man flu – so that killed my main (and only) long run I had planned. Just had to get well for the start.
As race week unfolded, Ironman became a half Ironman and a day later. That was really a get out of jail free card for me. I was still a little flu-ie, but felt much more able to get through a half than an Ironman. I felt if I had a good day, a kona spot was even possible. Mostly because half the field would have thrown their toys because the race was now a half, and I was just going to get on with the job.
Race morning and conditions were pretty good really. A little cold and a bit of a breeze, but that was better than a little hot and calm (for me at least)! 200m into the race I knew things were going to be a struggle. I was operating on half a lung still and there was just no top end. I battled through the swim and just tried not to lose too much time. I did manage to get some good feet for around half the swim, but when I needed to bridge a gap, there was just nothing there, so ended up drifting back a bit, quite a bit in the last 400m or so. To add insult to injury a random encounter with another swimmer managed to rip my garmin off my wrist – adding another $500 expense to the day. I went out reasonably strong on the bike, and did feel much better than in the swim. Passed a few and though I could make 3rd grouppo, or possibly 2nd after seeing where people were at the fist little out-and-back early on. Unfortunately behind me there was a large pack developing that was swallowing up everything in its path. When that rolled along, it was time to sit in. Non-drafting was not a term a number in this group were familiar with. I decided to sit at the back a little more and wait for people to tire a little, and see what opportunities arose. At around the 35km mark the Matt Illingworth express opportunity arrived. He rode straight passed the “bunch” and no one followed. I thought a few would try, but they just let him go. So after he was 2-300m up the road, I popped out of the bunch and bridged up to him. I sat at legal distance and held on for around 5km, in which time the bunch I was in was out of sight! But the pace was just too hot for me! I probably could have held on longer, but it would have added 40minutes to my run time. I sat up, had a drink and a couple of gels and waited to be swallowed by the bunch again. Pretty much just sat in for the rest of the ride, with a bit of an effort up the last hill with 10km to go, which did shell out quite a few. I was pretty stiff and a bit sore when I started the run, but felt OK within myself and just tried to be controlled. At around 7km things started to feel a bit wobbly, so figured it was survival now. The flu was taking its toll and a few cramps were appearing everywhere. Fingers, legs, chest, all over the place – little spasms rather than crippling cramp. Downed salt and gels to try and stave off the worse of the cramping. Then, just to add a little more to the equation, it was toilet stops almost every aid station. I am sure I lost a vital organ or two in those port-a-loos. At one point I could not see how I was going to finish, but just focused on one foot in front of the other. Each step was a step closer. Finally I got to the finish line, and was happy to survive. I am sure if it had been an Ironman I would not have survived the bike. Ticked off another one – sort of anyway.
So that was the season. A couple of good results all things considered, and one crappy day in the office. I then decided to take it quite easy for a couple of weeks, which turned in to 5 weeks. That did mean I was well recovered, or “reconditioned”. I did manage to pack on 5kg in 10 days post race, which was pretty good (probably more like 10 kg from when I crossed the line).
Next is the build-up to world champs in Auckland October 2012! First up is to be regular with the training, aiming to do 15 hours per week, excepted for the easy weeks. I will also hopefully do the cross country season. And hopefully it is better than last year, missing most of the season with injury or sickness.
I also plan to be a little more committed to the blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment