Hmmmm........where to start........... My lead up to IM this year was better with the health issues I suffered last IM still there but not as bad.
Arrive in Port Macquarie on Thursday. Had a friend doing his first IM so I was really keen to get down there and help settle his nerves!!
Friday nite we realised we were in trouble when the niteclub across the road started up. It wasn't so much the music but the drunken people fighting outside. That finally stopped at 4am! Tired
Saturday nite - OH NO!! Same thing!!!!!!!!!!! With Mr CC being a migraine sufferer, I was more than a little worried!
Come Sunday morning, Mr CC didn't look well, but off we trooped down to transition. It was really dark, but thankfully no rain this year.
Swim....Well, this year I didn't have to stop every few minutes (previously mentioned health issues) and just chugged along. My goal was to swim comfortably and come in under 1 hour 40. I got smacked on the back of the head heaps of times and got hit so hard in the face it knocked off my nose clip. I seem to be a magnet for great big men who want to swim over me instead of around me. I seed myself exactly where I should be in the swim, so I guess its just one of those "things"! I stopped and looked up and the water was dead calm with a fog over it in the distance - WHOA it was beautiful!! So I kept going. Swim swim swim .....boring....can't talk while I'm swimming!!
You can't imagine my delight when I got out at the ramp and the clock said 1h26m. It was a PB by 21 minutes! I was soooooo happy I was jumping around screaming. I heard the commentator saying "do you think she knows she has to cycle 180 k's now?" !! Hahahaha!! Happy dance over - time to cycle!!
Bike ...... I have done far more cycling before this year's race, so felt more confident. I'm just a plodder though and LOTS of people passed me!! IMOZ is a three lap bike course which is very hilly for the first 10 k's, mostly flat for the next 10 then hilly for the last 10 - you do this 3 times. There is one particular hill called Matthew Flinders Drive (MFD) which is short (maybe 100metres) but very sharp (around 20% gradient). The first lap was okay. I felt comfortable, but lots of people passing me. I was sitting on about 33-34 kph though and knew I had to stick to my own race plan. The second lap was okay until I hit MFD. I stood up to pedal and terrible cramping started in my left quad. I have NEVER had cramps before on the bike. This pain had me on the side of the road reduced to tears. Awful, I cried harder and harder and couldn't stop ...... crying because I'm tired, crying because I'm frustrated, crying because I'm hurting, crying because IM is so damn hard!! Damn..............can't talk while I'm crying either!! After some trial and error, I realised if I could say seated, the cramping didn't start, the minute I stood up, agony!!! On the third lap the wind had come up and was blowing at 30knots. Pedalling into that headwind was AWFUL!! I was struggling to do over 21-22 kph.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, at the 170k mark (on the last lap obviously), I passed a legend (10 or more Ironman Oz races). I made some innocent comment like "wow, the wind has made the last lap hard work...keep going mate". He proceeded to tell me that in all aspects of life, whenever you are at the back you get all the shit, so get used to it love!! Oh dear, happy days!! Get off the bike ................ bike happy dance - YAY!! Also PB on my bike (not by much but who cares!!)
Run ............ WOW!! It's really all about the spectators and vollies. Firstly, I had Mr CC's voice in my head saying "just keep your legs turning over - you might want to stop, but you don't have to"!! I had also read a coach's advice about not stopping just because you are tired! I walked each aid station, walked Windmill Hill ( a hill that goes for around 400m) but I ran (albeit slowly) for the rest of it. I picked up around 150 places on the run - just by running!!! The run is a three lap figure of eight, so the spectator support was fantastic!! The glow sticks came out at dusk and with it, the supporters became even more vocal!!
I felt a bit panicked on the run because I knew Mr CC had been vomiting on the bike and run. I have seen how he suffers when he has migraines and thought for sure he'd been carted off. Another reason to keep running - wanted to keep crossing his path to make sure he was okay! I had all of the sickly sweet gels and electrolite drinks swishing around in my stomach and was really struggling to take in nutrition. I found sucking ice became the most effective thing to do. At least I was getting fluid.
Net result, did a PB on the run as well!!
Pam Green was my catcher again this year. Pam's husband was an Ironman legend who died during the swim leg of Ironman Oz three years ago. Two years ago (at my first IM) I was there when she spread his ashes over the swim course. This year she was my catcher again. That made it extra special!! I was super excited to see I had bettered my last IM by over an hour. Still a plodder and a BOP'er, but I was really excited none-the-less!!
Got into the recovery tent and the first thing I did was have a massage - ouchy!! I then went to get my finishers shirt and my gear bag (so I can get some warm and dry clothes). A lady spoke to me and I started to cry again!! There was absolutely no reason for this ...... I was just feeling tired and overwrought!! I was so embarrassed when they went and got a doctor to talk to me. It took me a couple of minutes to convince him I was fine - just emotional and exhausted!!
All in all, a HAPPY day for me!! Delighted for my friend who did just over 14 hours for his first ever Ironman. Really happy and relieved that my husband was okay and really proud of my own effort!!I plopped into bed just after midnight but found it very hard to settle down to sleep!
Every time I feel it's all too hard, I think of my daughter and my students who suffer (or have suffered in the past) from depression or anxiety. I think about how hard it is for them to face the world every day and remind myself that this is just for one day!! So, I do it not only for myself, but for them!!
End of Cupcake report!
PS Thank you my beautiful Warren for you endless love, support and caring. You are my best friend now and forever!!
Arrive in Port Macquarie on Thursday. Had a friend doing his first IM so I was really keen to get down there and help settle his nerves!!
Friday nite we realised we were in trouble when the niteclub across the road started up. It wasn't so much the music but the drunken people fighting outside. That finally stopped at 4am! Tired
Saturday nite - OH NO!! Same thing!!!!!!!!!!! With Mr CC being a migraine sufferer, I was more than a little worried!
Come Sunday morning, Mr CC didn't look well, but off we trooped down to transition. It was really dark, but thankfully no rain this year.
Swim....Well, this year I didn't have to stop every few minutes (previously mentioned health issues) and just chugged along. My goal was to swim comfortably and come in under 1 hour 40. I got smacked on the back of the head heaps of times and got hit so hard in the face it knocked off my nose clip. I seem to be a magnet for great big men who want to swim over me instead of around me. I seed myself exactly where I should be in the swim, so I guess its just one of those "things"! I stopped and looked up and the water was dead calm with a fog over it in the distance - WHOA it was beautiful!! So I kept going. Swim swim swim .....boring....can't talk while I'm swimming!!
You can't imagine my delight when I got out at the ramp and the clock said 1h26m. It was a PB by 21 minutes! I was soooooo happy I was jumping around screaming. I heard the commentator saying "do you think she knows she has to cycle 180 k's now?" !! Hahahaha!! Happy dance over - time to cycle!!
Bike ...... I have done far more cycling before this year's race, so felt more confident. I'm just a plodder though and LOTS of people passed me!! IMOZ is a three lap bike course which is very hilly for the first 10 k's, mostly flat for the next 10 then hilly for the last 10 - you do this 3 times. There is one particular hill called Matthew Flinders Drive (MFD) which is short (maybe 100metres) but very sharp (around 20% gradient). The first lap was okay. I felt comfortable, but lots of people passing me. I was sitting on about 33-34 kph though and knew I had to stick to my own race plan. The second lap was okay until I hit MFD. I stood up to pedal and terrible cramping started in my left quad. I have NEVER had cramps before on the bike. This pain had me on the side of the road reduced to tears. Awful, I cried harder and harder and couldn't stop ...... crying because I'm tired, crying because I'm frustrated, crying because I'm hurting, crying because IM is so damn hard!! Damn..............can't talk while I'm crying either!! After some trial and error, I realised if I could say seated, the cramping didn't start, the minute I stood up, agony!!! On the third lap the wind had come up and was blowing at 30knots. Pedalling into that headwind was AWFUL!! I was struggling to do over 21-22 kph.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, at the 170k mark (on the last lap obviously), I passed a legend (10 or more Ironman Oz races). I made some innocent comment like "wow, the wind has made the last lap hard work...keep going mate". He proceeded to tell me that in all aspects of life, whenever you are at the back you get all the shit, so get used to it love!! Oh dear, happy days!! Get off the bike ................ bike happy dance - YAY!! Also PB on my bike (not by much but who cares!!)
Run ............ WOW!! It's really all about the spectators and vollies. Firstly, I had Mr CC's voice in my head saying "just keep your legs turning over - you might want to stop, but you don't have to"!! I had also read a coach's advice about not stopping just because you are tired! I walked each aid station, walked Windmill Hill ( a hill that goes for around 400m) but I ran (albeit slowly) for the rest of it. I picked up around 150 places on the run - just by running!!! The run is a three lap figure of eight, so the spectator support was fantastic!! The glow sticks came out at dusk and with it, the supporters became even more vocal!!
I felt a bit panicked on the run because I knew Mr CC had been vomiting on the bike and run. I have seen how he suffers when he has migraines and thought for sure he'd been carted off. Another reason to keep running - wanted to keep crossing his path to make sure he was okay! I had all of the sickly sweet gels and electrolite drinks swishing around in my stomach and was really struggling to take in nutrition. I found sucking ice became the most effective thing to do. At least I was getting fluid.
Net result, did a PB on the run as well!!
Pam Green was my catcher again this year. Pam's husband was an Ironman legend who died during the swim leg of Ironman Oz three years ago. Two years ago (at my first IM) I was there when she spread his ashes over the swim course. This year she was my catcher again. That made it extra special!! I was super excited to see I had bettered my last IM by over an hour. Still a plodder and a BOP'er, but I was really excited none-the-less!!
Got into the recovery tent and the first thing I did was have a massage - ouchy!! I then went to get my finishers shirt and my gear bag (so I can get some warm and dry clothes). A lady spoke to me and I started to cry again!! There was absolutely no reason for this ...... I was just feeling tired and overwrought!! I was so embarrassed when they went and got a doctor to talk to me. It took me a couple of minutes to convince him I was fine - just emotional and exhausted!!
All in all, a HAPPY day for me!! Delighted for my friend who did just over 14 hours for his first ever Ironman. Really happy and relieved that my husband was okay and really proud of my own effort!!I plopped into bed just after midnight but found it very hard to settle down to sleep!
Every time I feel it's all too hard, I think of my daughter and my students who suffer (or have suffered in the past) from depression or anxiety. I think about how hard it is for them to face the world every day and remind myself that this is just for one day!! So, I do it not only for myself, but for them!!
End of Cupcake report!
PS Thank you my beautiful Warren for you endless love, support and caring. You are my best friend now and forever!!