Kona 2009

My body needs to sleep but my head won't let it, probably a combination of too much sugar today and some residual adrenaline still pumping through me. If IMSA is anything to go by then I'll be dead to the world from Tuesday through till Friday. On the plus side this affords me some precious time to write my blog. An advanced warning, it's probably going to be fairly long.

Before the race I did my usual race plan, projected splits, HR and power limits, nutritional plan etc. All in all it was just over an A4 page in Time New Roman font size 12, so it isn't just GO FAST scribbled on the back of a beer mat with some speed lines drawn around it. To eke out every last second of your potential in an Ironman takes planning, discipline and some luck too, and all of this on top of the training, but it's all self-inflicted and I wouldn't change it for the world.

My goal time... 9:50.

Race week was incredible, in fact the whole build up was incredible. We'd chosen to stay a little way out of town and whilst this had its drawbacks it was nice to be away from the hubub immediately before the big day. All the admin went off without a hitch, a statement of how well this race is run. Bike check in took around 5 minutes, significantly less time than I spent pontificating on whether 8 gels would be enough for the bike or did I need 9? Should I take a chocolate energy bar or would it taste too sweet in the heat and, most importantly, could I get away with a full white race kit? The answer to this last question was yes, yes I could, a response which no doubt pleases the readers who refer to this blog as "John porn", you know who you are.

At 5 I headed over for body marking and enjoyed a surprisingly calm build up, there were nerves for sure, and the anxiety dreams had come think and fast (my favorite being the one where I forgot to rack my bike with wheels and only realised when I came to T1 to find just my frame in the rack) but when all was said and done I knew what was required. Having come out early I was prepared for the tough conditions, I'd taken on Madame Pele the week before and come out 2nd best, I wasn't scared but I was respectful and knew that hydration and nutrition were key.

Thanks to some solid advice, when the cannon went off at 7am I had a great position and had one of the best swims I've ever experienced, I found some feet and sat on them, when they moved and hopped onto the next convenient set. There was the usual argy-bargy but for my first non-wetsuit event I was real pleased to exit on 1:03, my target had been 1:02 but I always knew that was on the optimistic side and I felt I'd given myself a good start.

Onto the bike and up the first half of Palani I must have been passed by at least 50 riders. I was under strict instructions to keep the power below 260w and I was failing, those passing me were flat out sprinting and must have been pushing 400+ To give you an idea this is about 100 watts more than the QUICKEST cyclist of the day would produce, needless to say I saw many of these people again. Once we completed the in town segment of the course we went onto the Queen K to start the real ride, a 107m out and back ride along a landscape which is amongst the most barren I've ever experienced. As we left town the sun got stronger and I started to feel good, my legs warmed up and I think I had one of the best moments of my life to date when as I over took a line of about 10 cyclists going past a group of spectators I heard people shouting "go 1829". I saw people giving me the hang loose sign and when I responded even more people waved back. It was incredible, in 35 degree heat I got goose pimples from the excitement, the realisation that I was taking part in the race I had read about since before I even started this sport. For some people 3 years doesn't seem like an awful lot of time but for me it felt like ages since I'd first seen the video of the Iron War between Dave Scott and Mark Allen and Team Hoyt crossing the finish line within the cut off. It was a good thing I checked the power meter as this excitement seemed to have increased by watts by about 20% and I sure as hell wasn't going to finish the race fueled by adrenaline and fond memories!

At the turn around I still felt good and (probably in error) put in a push on the down hill. As we made the turn back towards Kailua the combination of a hot headwind and an increase in the temperature made it feel like I was turboing in a sauna wearing a bin liner. The power took a dive and my traps were killing me meaning I wasn't riding the aero position for long periods of time. This funk lasted from 35 miles to go until the airport, about 10 miles out, but as I went down the hill into T2 a combination of caffeine, sugar and a second dose of adrenaline pumped me up for the run. My bike goal was 5:15, I came in on 5:13. I was bang on target.

Leaving transition for the last time I knew there was still a hell of a lot of racing to do. As with the bike about 20 people immediately over took me and, once again, I saw most of them later. I settled into 7:30 miles whilst we had the shade and focused on taking in gels and water. As the race continued I felt as good as can be expected and made it to mile 10 in 75 mins. However, the remaining 16 miles were going to be 16 of the toughest I'd ever run. The hill up Palani made my legs scream and from then on it became a death march. The temperature was at 105F (40C) and the humidity was killing me. I must have drunk over 10 litres of fluid in 7 hours and washed the same amount over me again but I had only been to the toilet once. At mile 13 I began taking in coke at the aid stations and slowly began picking of the athletes in my AG, I had no idea how many were in front of me but I thought I might be in 6th of 7th. Seeing the solar panels of the Energy Lab was bitter sweet, only 8 miles to go but 3 of those were through one of the hottest 2 square miles on the planet. At mile 19 my intercostals cramped and I had to ditch my HR strap and my fuel belt, I was going to finish fulled on coke. I picked of another person in my AG and I worked out I was maybe in 6th. I figured there was no chance of making the top 3 so was racing for myself and my time. By mile 20 I was just telling myself to not walk, just don't walk. Mile 20 through to 22 were just under 8min pace but 23 to 24 was killer and I was over 8:30s. Some how I managed to take in a combination of coke, Gatorade, an orange slice, ice, water and another coke in one aid station and as I saw the last hill of the day I pushed for home. I picked of three more athletes and started the descent down Palani, my quads liked this even less than going up it some 100 minutes earlier but I knew if I went hard a sub 3:20 marathon was on. I went but didn't make my target and with it sub 9:45 slipped away, that said it was a big PB on a tough course on an even tougher day.

My marathon prediction had be 3:25 so going 3:20 put me 5 minutes under my target of 9:50. I'd clearly missed some athletes in my AG as I came in 8th, 9 minutes off a podium spot, which it turns out are 5 deep in Kona. I raced my heart out and there was no way in hell I could have made the top 5 with what I had today. Having said that, I was chuffed to be te first British age group athlete over the line and the 3rd British male over the line including PROs. It's a different game all together here and there were times I felt like I had brought a water pistol to a gun fight. To run a 3:20 in 40 Celsius and have only the 8th quickest split in my AG shows the depth of the field. I hadn't planned on coming back next year but am now reconsidering. I want to rock up fully ready and prepared with no niggles and uninterrupted training, then maybe I'll be stood on the stage with the men's 25-29 winners instead of in the crowd...

It has been a fantastic ride and I am very satisfied with my 2009-10 season. I've progressed massively in 12 months but feel I've yet to make the step upwards I know is within me. Time and patience are key in this sport and I have plenty of both.

Bring on 2010!