Well, it's late and it's been a long day but here goes.
We got to Busselton on Thursday evening just in time for the Trannies dinner. Met up with lots of new faces and promptly forgot lots of names- so apologies there. Nice to meet Steve Blum after so many years and it was good to hear Melchski's voice after watching her mouthing away on the Forster video! Tudjmeister kept us all entertained and it was good to see Slowman and his missus as well.
Friday was spent putting the bike together and that sort of thing. We went down to Meelup beach for some R & R but the swell was coming in hard along with the rains. The local area was lurvely, especially the grass trees and the peppermints which were in flower.
Saturday was the last dawn bike ride and I'm sure everyone was please to see the ocean was like a millpond. Not much wind but fairly warm. Then race briefing and bike rego and back home to watch the weather forecast which predicted a front to come through overnight.
The alarm went off at 3:15 and the first thought was "Why do I do these things?" Force fed myself some museli and we headed off to find that all the roads leading to the carpark seemed to be shut. Still we found a good spot and headed over to the compound for all the usual stuff like tyre pumping and bottles on the bike.
I was feeling somewhat anxious as I'd had limited training and a bad flare up of the achillies but I figured that it might all settle down once the gun went. So we all headed down to the water. By this stage the front had moved in and the waves were picking up. Nothing real serious but probably a concern for people who weren't brought up on the coast. Some local aboriginals did a smoking ceremony for our benefit and then suddenly we were away.
It was a nice wide start with not too much bumping and smacking but the waves made navagation difficult. It became a matter of sighting the buoys as you crested a wave and then crashing down the othe side. Quite a giggle really. Unfortunately, most of the swimmers ahead seemed to have forgotten that the course was rectangular and after rounding the buoy came straight back at the people behind. Still it seemed to sort itself out. I bumped into Tudjmeister at the far turnaround. I wonder how many people can say they've had a quick chat with a mate during an IM swim?
Out on the bike and the wind had really started to pick up. Heading out of town it was wonderful but at the turnaround it was right in your face.The forest had the effect of tunnelling the wind rather than blocking it, so it felt like you had a head wind for about 70% of each lap. Coming back into town was a long, long slog. I think the wind was responsible for most of the dnf's. It certainly sapped my strength.
I was having a few tummy problems but they were manageable, however my feet were in agony down the outsides. I've had this problem before and don't know what to do about it. It mainly seems to happen in tris rather than just cycling but it is agonizing and makes 180km a long way. I was suprised to see how many people had arm warmers on. It certainly wasn't cold.
A quick word on drafting. The only people I saw drafting were pros. Not only were they drafting but they were littering and abusing the volunteers. If these are the leaders of our sport then quite frankly I reckon we can do without them.
Off the bike and out on the run. My feet were really hurting and for the first 100m or so I couldn't put my feet flat on the ground. But it went away and I ran a fair bit of the first lap. By the time the second lap came around it was pretty hot and I slowed down a lot. My tum was at the stage where it didn't want anything in it and I had to balance the coke and the high 5 so that I didn't loose the lot. Eventually I settled on ice cubes and orange quarters.
I caught up with Slowman who must have gone out hard at the start of the run but was doing it tough. I think he'd cramped up and had settled in for the long walk. Conversely, as the sun went down my spirits went up and I was able to run most of the last lap. I stopped to help a Mexican girl who was still halfway through her second lap and was upset because she thought she wasn't going to finish. I hope she did.
As the finish line came into sight my head went up and my stride lengthened. There were still loads of people in the stands and the reception was warm. Isn't it a great feeling having all those people cheering for you?
All up, I'd say Busselton is a great course. Having 3 laps is tough but hey, it's Ironman so it's supposed to throw up challenges. The volunteers were great and the locals seemed very keen to let us take over their town. It was excellent for spectators. I saw Snoo and Rosella loads of times and there was plenty of shade and parks and stuff. Lots of wineries and shops too. So if you're thinking of going, I'd recommend it. Also, if you're looking to set a PB, this could be the course for you.
Yurtie- nothing now till Six Foot Track.
We got to Busselton on Thursday evening just in time for the Trannies dinner. Met up with lots of new faces and promptly forgot lots of names- so apologies there. Nice to meet Steve Blum after so many years and it was good to hear Melchski's voice after watching her mouthing away on the Forster video! Tudjmeister kept us all entertained and it was good to see Slowman and his missus as well.
Friday was spent putting the bike together and that sort of thing. We went down to Meelup beach for some R & R but the swell was coming in hard along with the rains. The local area was lurvely, especially the grass trees and the peppermints which were in flower.
Saturday was the last dawn bike ride and I'm sure everyone was please to see the ocean was like a millpond. Not much wind but fairly warm. Then race briefing and bike rego and back home to watch the weather forecast which predicted a front to come through overnight.
The alarm went off at 3:15 and the first thought was "Why do I do these things?" Force fed myself some museli and we headed off to find that all the roads leading to the carpark seemed to be shut. Still we found a good spot and headed over to the compound for all the usual stuff like tyre pumping and bottles on the bike.
I was feeling somewhat anxious as I'd had limited training and a bad flare up of the achillies but I figured that it might all settle down once the gun went. So we all headed down to the water. By this stage the front had moved in and the waves were picking up. Nothing real serious but probably a concern for people who weren't brought up on the coast. Some local aboriginals did a smoking ceremony for our benefit and then suddenly we were away.
It was a nice wide start with not too much bumping and smacking but the waves made navagation difficult. It became a matter of sighting the buoys as you crested a wave and then crashing down the othe side. Quite a giggle really. Unfortunately, most of the swimmers ahead seemed to have forgotten that the course was rectangular and after rounding the buoy came straight back at the people behind. Still it seemed to sort itself out. I bumped into Tudjmeister at the far turnaround. I wonder how many people can say they've had a quick chat with a mate during an IM swim?
Out on the bike and the wind had really started to pick up. Heading out of town it was wonderful but at the turnaround it was right in your face.The forest had the effect of tunnelling the wind rather than blocking it, so it felt like you had a head wind for about 70% of each lap. Coming back into town was a long, long slog. I think the wind was responsible for most of the dnf's. It certainly sapped my strength.
I was having a few tummy problems but they were manageable, however my feet were in agony down the outsides. I've had this problem before and don't know what to do about it. It mainly seems to happen in tris rather than just cycling but it is agonizing and makes 180km a long way. I was suprised to see how many people had arm warmers on. It certainly wasn't cold.
A quick word on drafting. The only people I saw drafting were pros. Not only were they drafting but they were littering and abusing the volunteers. If these are the leaders of our sport then quite frankly I reckon we can do without them.
Off the bike and out on the run. My feet were really hurting and for the first 100m or so I couldn't put my feet flat on the ground. But it went away and I ran a fair bit of the first lap. By the time the second lap came around it was pretty hot and I slowed down a lot. My tum was at the stage where it didn't want anything in it and I had to balance the coke and the high 5 so that I didn't loose the lot. Eventually I settled on ice cubes and orange quarters.
I caught up with Slowman who must have gone out hard at the start of the run but was doing it tough. I think he'd cramped up and had settled in for the long walk. Conversely, as the sun went down my spirits went up and I was able to run most of the last lap. I stopped to help a Mexican girl who was still halfway through her second lap and was upset because she thought she wasn't going to finish. I hope she did.
As the finish line came into sight my head went up and my stride lengthened. There were still loads of people in the stands and the reception was warm. Isn't it a great feeling having all those people cheering for you?
All up, I'd say Busselton is a great course. Having 3 laps is tough but hey, it's Ironman so it's supposed to throw up challenges. The volunteers were great and the locals seemed very keen to let us take over their town. It was excellent for spectators. I saw Snoo and Rosella loads of times and there was plenty of shade and parks and stuff. Lots of wineries and shops too. So if you're thinking of going, I'd recommend it. Also, if you're looking to set a PB, this could be the course for you.
Yurtie- nothing now till Six Foot Track.