Ironman Cairns 70.3 2015… with a bit of Background and Insight

BACKROUND AND INSIGHT

I always love returning to a race setting that I am familiar with, regardless of how successful those previous races have or haven’t been. Especially when I am traveling by myself. Its always cool to visit the new towns but the familiarity amongst the nerves can be a huge advantage when sorting pre race day logistics out. Cairns been a split transition needs a bit or sorting out the day before, with bike transfers, bus trips and sorting rides out post race briefings all of which I personally find quite stressful. But this race despite the familiar course was also a big first for me. This was my first international race with me starring in not just the Pro Athlete roll but also in the role of Coach.

Since the end of last year I have been coaching myself. This came about due to necessity rather than choice as my current circumstances at the time dictated. I absolutely loved my previous coach Michael Lovato. I had huge respect for him and viewed him not only as a trusted coach but also as a really valued friend. I had learnt so much about myself, Triathlon, training and life under his guidance and most importantly he believed in me and had my back. I was hanging onto his support as I re entered back into NZ nursing both a shoulder and foot injury. The last thing I wanted was to stop working with him, but after a year of putting all my resources into stepping up to the full Ironman distance and coming out the other end with a DNS, a DNF and what felt like a bag load of injuries, I had pretty much exhausted all my resources and as life sometimes has impeccable timing it was then that my trusty old car decided to throw a tantrum and it failed its warrant.

Bottom line is I needed my car and I had to use the money I had put aside for my coaching to fix the car.  At the time it was the harsh reality I didn’t have a choice.  I joked with myself and thought of great headlines like “Car fails W.O.F – Athletes Career finished” and at the time to be honest I  felt like letting it all go and giving in. But the thing was that I wasn’t ready to finish on that note. Deep down if I was honest with myself, below the surface doubts that I felt swamped in, I knew I had more to give and I wasn’t going to give in. So feeling a mix of failure and embarrassment about where I was at I decided to just quietly put my head down and do the what was needed to first fix my body and then find my way back into racing form. I was going to have to coach myself and at the time I didn’t have time to over think or doubt that choice I just had to get out of the hole I was in.

Over there Summer months I surprised myself a bit and was able to successfully achieve my first goals as “Coach” by getting myself first injury free while also getting a couple successful race results on the NZ racing calendar.

The build up to Cairns however was a bit more challenging and the straight forwardness of the summer months seemed to elude themselves and my build up seemed to be a mismatch of periods of illness or other frustrating interruptions, so although I knew I was still in really good shape and was still very fit and strong been the perfectionist I am I was worried about the up and downs of my training weeks. In the summer I had appeared to be a very easily coached athlete, however in this training block the coaching side of things was now proving to be quite challenging.

 I was excited, motivated and driven for the race and yet I was also at times feeling very isolated and doubting my ability to coach myself.  I missed having a sounding board and most of all I missed been able to debrief and celebrate the little successes or milestones along the way with someone who was 100% on board with the plan and to which it meant as much to as it did to me.

I had to work really hard to bring myself through this patch and to find a successful balance between the passion of me as the athlete and the rational thinking of me the Coach. Been able to allow myself to feel the ups and downs of the emotions that come with training hard towards a goal that you are passionate about but also having to be the voice of wisdom, reality and sane reasoning. If I as the athlete doubted the session that I was doing, I as the coach had to explain to myself the reasoning behind the session. This I have learnt is more challenging than may sound and I had a slight indication of how hard I may have been to coach over the years!!!!

Through the last few months though I have been forced to learn a huge amount about myself and despite the challenges I can honestly say that I was in a good space mentally and physically to race the Cairns 70.3.  Had I nailed the balance of coach athlete 100% -absolutely not… but was I making progress -absolutely yes!

THE RACE

I love The Cairns Course. It was the first ever international race that I podium on in the PRO ranks (the inaugural year of the Challenge race) and I was super keen to be back and able to give it another shot. I was Healthy, I was injury free and I was ready to race!

The day before is always busy with a split transition and sorting race logistics and prep out, so it was great to meet up with fellow Kiwis Anna Ross and Erin Furness, Max Woodhead and Jamie Hunt in T1 and then other kiwis, Michelle Bremner and Cam Brown at the race Briefing.

By the end of the Saturday I was to be honest feeling pretty shattered, and pretty tight in my sacrum but as I tucked in bed at 7pm ready for the 3am wake up call I was excited to get things under way.

It was dark and wet come race morning and I was first to the Pro bus pick up which never happens! So I was stoaked to get the day off  to a good start. It was a super quiet almost solemn drive to Palm beach. The anticipation in the bus was thick but under control. We had to queue to get into T1, as it wasn’t open when we arrived and despite the rain and darkness there was the normal pre race mix of excitement and nerves in the air.

The whole warm up and T1 set up was done in darkness and thankfully about 10-15mins before we started the sun raised enough for us to see the buoys and daylight arrived!!

Palm beach is a beautiful bay and to my delight the water was warm and calm and the rain had cleared J The race start was as normal a bit crazy but we thinned out quickly and I swam most of the race with one other girl. I didn’t feel great in the water and at the last buoy she and I had some confusion on where to turn in and I wasted a bit of time having to turn back a bit. For some reason I just struggled to get going in the swim, and was really glad to be touching sand and running up the beach into T1.

The swim wasn’t super fast but was okay and I came out behind but with some good company. I had planned a progressive race building my effort in 3 x 30km blocks, I started off conservatively as planned, and even though I was supposed to be holding slightly back effort wise and my watts showed that I was in the more conservative race range. I didn’t feel great and I had an ache in my right side of my pelvis. I tried to settle and ignore it, but I felt weak on the hills and I was finding things a lot harder than they should have been. I persevered through the first 30km block but as I tried to nudge up the effort and watts for the second 30km block, the reality of my concerns started to become clear.

The more power /effort I tried to put in the more ache I had in my back and it was spreading like a burning pain down my thigh. I kept trying to sit up a bit and stretch and ease the pain, but as I hit the wind and hills on the return leg the pain and weakness just got worse. I gave my self a good talking too and I tried all avenues to fix things. But in the end I backed right off and had to sit up a lot and had to just aim to make it back to T2.  It was demoralising to have so many people power past you while your trying to make yourself stay down in aero despite the pain, fully aware that your left leg feels fine and almost fresh but your right leg is on fire.

I eventually made it into T2 and racked my bike I was pretty stiff and sore but been able to get off the bike and upright had eased the pain so I decided to try to run, and to my delight I was able too and as I had had to ease up so much on the bike my legs felt okay to start with so I decided to continue.

As it worked out a few other pros also must have had some issues as they were  still around me in the run and it was a real inspiration to still be in the race even though things had just gone so badly on the bike. There was a real camaraderie between us, which helped me push through the tough bits in the run and finish the race. I finished up 11^th Pro in a time that I am not happy with and I was gutted to not have been able to see where I was truly at and get a more accurate indication of how my training had gone, but the reality is that the day didn’t go well, I had to deal with some major obstacles on the bike and although I felt like giving it all in I still carried on and made the most of the day and the experience.

I am so thankful I was able to complete the race

So I am in the process now of the Coach/Athlete race debrief, and about to have the coach/ athlete coffee planning session with myself. Where I will again figure out how to manage the two delicate sides of the coach athlete relationship... Passion and rationality.

A huge congrats to all the kiwis who did have some great races!! And a big thank you to Heather and Nick for been the most amazing hosts and opening up there home for me to stay with them. To my Sponsors and there amazing continued support, of course Mum and Dad Lawrence my family and Marc, but also to Debbie Lawrence, Tom Patrick, Marnie Oberrer, Matt Merrick, and Michael Lovato, for been there to support me through the injuries and the challenging times at the end of last year, helping me believe in myself, get through the other side and continue my dream.

Pre Waiting while I have a pre race swim in the Lagoon Pool on a wet stormy Friday evening

Pre and I Crocodile spotting along the Barron River on a sunnier moment in Cairns

The view of the run course from where I was staying

Friday Morning breakfast view- not bad ahy!!

Auckland Half Ironman 2015

Auckland Half Ironman 2015 – Race Review

Matt Tuck's voice echoed over the loud speaker as we gathered in for the final race day briefing of the Auckland Half Ironman " This is definitely the worst swim conditions we have ever had in the 12 year history of this race...." Awesome just bloody awesome... I muttered to myself and questioned seriously as to whether I had a history making worst weather conditions cloud following me to every race... Seriously though putting my pessimistic inner monologue aside this time I wasn't feeling intimidated. I had done a big swim block in the last 5 weeks and had seen some pretty significant break throughs in the pool and was determined to bring that new found swimming confidence with me to the race. I was excited to do this swim regardless of the chop... Although let's be honest I was not born a natural 'fish' so a clear, calm, flat, pool like ocean would have been much more inviting! 

So far my morning and race prep had gone really well and to plan. Marc was away doing the Tour of Northland so I had enlisted the help of good friend Malcolm Tweed to be my support person for the day and I was looking forward to not having to do an 'at home' race by myself.

The swim start was fast as usual and I got off into a great position... Well actually I couldn't see the buoy at all and there was no colour differentiation between the male and female caps so I just followed whatever feet I could and just kept swimming. There were no big buoys today only Kayakers attached to anchors. Visibility was bad and maybe I have failing eyesight and it was just me, but they were pretty hard to see in the conditions. Getting to the first buoy was fine as it was just a follow the feet kind of affair, but as we all turned the groups spread out, I felt like I was just swimming blind as I had no idea where the buoy was and just could not get a sighting of it no matter how hard I tried, so I just followed whoever I could, but I obviously picked the group that swam a bit off course and we seemed to have to do a bit of a detour to get to the kayak once we eventually sighted it.

Heading back to shore the group thinned into a line but the feet I was on dropped off a bit and it was too late to get around and back on the next feet so from then even though I ran as fast as I could to make up that ground at the lap 1 turn around once we hit the rough water again I couldn't bridge the gap and then had to swim solo for the most of the second lap. And to be honest I don't think I did that very successfully, as at one point I thought I had finally seen the kayak and I started swimming hard towards it only to realise that it was also moving and was just a random kayak not the anchored kayak I had to swim around.

 At that point in desperation, thinking I was last as couldn't see anyone else around me I stopped and just tried to figure out where the '^#~<>,!?,' the buoy was only to realise I wasn't alone someone was on my feet and they swam into the back of me. They were like 'what the hell you stopping for?' Anyways we finally sighted then swam more directly to the correct kayak and then headed back to shore.

I have not had many more race days that I have been more relieved to touch land and exit a swim, (okay so maybe the day I swam sick with an infected gal bladder was worse!) that is until I got up and started to run out of the water only to trip and fall flat on my face into the water again...right in front of everyone...."Awesome just bloody awesome"... That pessimistic monologue was back and still had a bike and run to go...

I gave myself a short sharp kick in the backside and telling off and got back into race mode, leaving the thoughts of the swim in transition and headed out onto the bike.

I had still managed to exit the swim in 5th but was a about 4-5mins behind the lead girls and they were mostly together. There weren't to many guys around me either for that matter and so for the most part it was a pretty solo ride. The positive was it allowed me to just put my head down, settle into the day's work, ride my own race and not burn to many matches in the first 30kms out to Kawakawa Bay, which can be very tempting to do and then cause you to potentially struggle from Snake Hill onwards which is where the real hard work of this course begins. I felt strong on the hills (thankfully as in this race there are many!) and in the wind and I rode consistently - maybe a tiny bit to conservatively but I still gave it a solid race effort, and came into T2 confident that I could still run well.

I was aware though that I hadn't made up much ground in the ride on the other two girls and that even though I had ridden myself from 5th to 3rd that I still was about 4 or 5mins down on first and second who were still on each other's heels.

 My running had definitely improved in the last training block since the New Plymouth Half and I had an idea of what my legs could handle pace wise but I wasn't sure it was enough to make up that time difference. I had planned to again focus on my swim/bike today and look after myself in the run, but obviously as quite often happens in Triathlon the 'A' plan hadn't gone to plan and I was going to have to dig deep in my reserve or back up plans to pull this win back.

I still didn't have a lot of confidence in my run, and after the first km when I felt okay I very quickly felt like crap. My back hurt, my hips were stiff and I was feeling the lack of my yet to be gained strength in the hills. But I gave myself another quick kick in the butt and firm talking too, refocused and just put my head down and concentrated on my form and on making the best of what I could do in this moment.

Somewhere on the last part of lap one people started to tell me that I was gaining on second place but I didn't believe them, going off how I felt it couldn't be true and I couldn't even see her.... But then somewhere on lap two my hips suddenly freed up and my running legs returned! Gees, finally something was going right today! As I neared the end of lap two I stumbled upon and passed second place, and then kept chasing. I came around to the turn around and got a split from someone that said first place was about 40-50 sec ahead and that I was closing that gap quickly.

Malcolm had been giving me splits at the end of each lap and this time he didn't he just told me to keep focused on my form and hold it together and I would catch her. I yelled at him for a time split but in reality it didn't matter the tables had turned for the better. It's been a very long time since I have felt like I had the upper hand in the run leg of a race and the realisation of that came with a refreshed confidence and self-belief.

Somewhere on the course spectators’ s comments of encouragement had changed from "your doing well" to "your looking good! You’re going to catch her!" and suddenly there it was, the forever coveted lead bicycle and the lead female. As soon as I saw her I stuffed in some cliff blocks and put my head down and closed the last of the gap, and then the bike was mine :)

Even if I had let myself fully believe I may catch first I didn't think I would catch her with almost a whole lap to go, and now I had the lead there was no way I wanted to loose it, but.... my legs still haven’t done the full mileage in training yet and today running at this pace was still a big ask... My right calf was flicking signs of a full blown cramp and I knew if it went and I had to hobble home I would loose the lead, so the rest of the lap was about maintaining a pace that was fast enough to make and keep a lead and keep the cramp at bay. I had been chugging down cramp spray the whole run and with 3 km to go i wanted to pick up the pace but each time I did the twinges of cramp warned me not to push my luck... I was on my last few drops in the bottle of cramp spray... I desperately wanted a split to know if I had to risk the cramp and pick up the pace to not risk loosing my lead but I didn't get one. The last one had said she was a minute behind and I had to just trust that that hadn't shortened.

I wouldn't allow myself to look back or get too excited in the last few km's. I needed to make sure that I sealed the deal and crossed the finish line first before I allowed any celebration so I just kept pushing. I eventually relented and allowed myself a few quick look backs as I entered the final patch of grass leading to the finish and when I was sure I couldn't see her a huge grin opened up on my face, first with the realisation that I was going to do it and then the reality that I had done it as I crossed the line....

I was so relieved to get the win. I had backed myself quietly before the race that I could win on this course but I had used my confidence in my swim and bike to feel this way, so when they had both really not gone that great, it took a lot to allow myself to re-establish that confidence in my running ability that has been on the back foot for a long time with injury. So yes it was exciting to win, but it was also a huge relief to see that my running legs are well on there way to returning to full capability and that although it was not an overall fast race time, that after all the setbacks and disappointments of last year that it is possible to pick myself up, overcome them, and continue to move forward into been the athlete that I really want to and can be.

It was far from a perfect day, and once the excitement of winning had settled I felt a hint of frustration at how I had not swam and rode to a level that expressed the hard work and improvements I had gained in training, but putting that aside I have to look to the positives that on a day that wasn't going to plan I managed to hold it together mentally and stay focussed and in the race, right to the end, and regardless of how the day panned out still managed to achieve the desired outcome/result and with that I am very happy :)

In Hindsight It's almost as though my swim, bike, run had a conference without me pre race and decided that the buck was shifting back to the run, that if the legs felt they were ready to prove to me that they were back then the swim and bike would back off to allow the opportunity for the run to shine again... And that they did :)

Photo Credit: Scottie T Photography.

The run course out along the very beautiful Kawakawa Bay Coastline

Out on the run

The Finish!!

Team Celebration

New Plymouth Half Ironman 2015

New Plymouth Half Ironman 2015 Race Review       

  Throughout my triathlon racing career I have never gone into a race with as little running as I was heading into the New Plymouth half with and as an athlete that would say the bike/run legs of the race are my strengths that was needless to say a little daunting.

I guess I was about to truly test the theory that to be able to run faster off the bike you have to rack up your bike miles and I had definitely done that over the last few months, not by choice however but due to a forced hiatus in the swim and run training on my return back from the USA in October with a torn Plantar Fascia and an inflamed Bursa in my shoulder.  

Thankfully the shoulder injury didn’t linger too long but I was still in for 2 months of no running and then a very slow return to run program that by race day had still not progressed back to full run training and race day would in fact be my longest run since September by 6-7kms.

However after having to sit on the sidelines for two of my favorite races in the NZ racing calendar – the Taupo Half Ironman and Ironman Auckland 70.3 I was determined to get into a race again and test out my body. I had decided that if I could get myself really swim and bike fit and could run an hour relatively well then I would enter the race and just rely on that swim bike fitness to get me through the run. And to be honest as long as my foot handled the distance and I wasn’t going to risk reversing the months of rehab I had done on it then I would finish, and take it as a positive, regardless of the result.  I had done a total of 3 runs off the bike since September and I had a rough idea if all going well what I maybe able to run, If the swim bike fitness pulled through and I was smart about how I paced myself.

This all seemed like a great idea until the race week arrived and I realized that perhaps it was a little bit ambitious of me to just launch into a race not fully prepared, but I was committed now and I tried to focus on that excitement and confidence I had a few weeks ago… Besides it would be an adventure right…having to back my swim/bike instead of my bike/run!!!

Race day arrived and it was answer to prayer for me and I would assume the organizers and pretty much the whole of the startlist, as after a horrendously windy day the day before where to be honest I struggled to stay up right on my bike ride in the gusts of wind, and had in fact weighed up the benefit/risk factor of whether to even ride in the conditions as fear of been blown off, so it was a huge relief to have a near perfect day weather wise, a calm ocean and beautiful sunshine.

It was a stunning morning, the kind that enhances your excitement to get out and race and we had a beach start which always works for me as I much prefer waiting around on the sand rather then treading water. Especially since the water here was freezing compared to Auckland!

The gun went off and I got off to a great start and position. Realistically I knew Sam was a great swimmer and that I wouldn’t catch her feet so I jumped on the next two girls and managed to just sit behind them for pretty much the whole swim. It was slightly choppy but I felt good and strong and as far as I was concerned as long as I stayed with these girls I would be exiting the water in the top 3 which would set me up for a great bike.

As we excited the water two of us dropped the other girl and I was just relived that my foot was not complaining about the run up the beach, (as I had been in huge amounts of pain exiting the water in Ironman Chattanooga back in September) So already a good sign on the foot front.

Its been a while since I have raced so I lost some time in T1 but still headed out in 3^rd place only 2 minutes down on first place. My goal was to ride conservatively for the first 20-30km and then build it up progressively for the next 2 blocks of 30km, aiming to finish strong and not kill my legs in the first few hills out of town. Sticking to this plan I managed to move into 2^nd place in the first 15km, which was great.  However I struggled to ever find that 2^nd and third gear of energy and power and so I managed to ride a really strong bike leg on what I would call a very tough course but wasn’t able to nudge into that upper power range I had planned to and lost a lot more time then I had wanted on 1^st place.  It’s a stunning but very quiet bike course and as one big 90km loop which constantly moves either up hill or downhill you don’t see a lot of other people. In fact its exciting when you do see in the distance another rider up in front…. and especially exciting to see a real live competitor when the last rider you chased that was just off in the distance was actually on closer inspection just a farmer’s letterbox!

I entered back into town a little frustrated with my cycling legs and a bit apprehensive as I was nearing the completion of the my two strengths for the day and entering into the unknown. I didn’t know how the foot would hold up and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make any inroads on first place and didn’t know if I had made enough of a gap on third to be able to hold my 2^nd place.

But I put all the concerns aside and left transition, and as I headed down the road I was stoked to feel no pain in my foot. The last time I raced back in September from the first tentative step off the bike I was in huge amounts of pain, so it was a huge relief to know that my months or rehab and repair was holding well… so far so good…. Only 21km’s to go… J

The run course was a 3 lap course and this allowed me to see where I was each lap compared to 1^st and 3rd place as we thankfully were spaced out enough to all be passing by each other at the one point in the course that had the out and back routes pass right next to each other.

It was obvious I was too far behind in my current run shape to catch first so I concentrated on holding 2^nd. It was tough and got tougher as the laps progressed, but I dug deep and just kept ticking the legs over. It hurt as it always does but the key for me was that my foot wasn’t hurting and that gave me the strength to just push through. It wasn’t a pretty run, but it was consistent and I felt strong. And to be fair it wasn’t by any means my fastest run split but I have been a lot fitter and run a lot slower in some races, so I was absolutely stoked to run what I did.  As I closed in on the last few Km’s and the realization that my foot was going to handle the whole distance and I was going to finish and hold second a huge feeling or relief started to creep up on me and as I crossed the line I was just hugely thankful. 2014 has been a hard year and here I was finally racing again almost a year to the day since my last race that I actually finished and didn’t have to DNS or DNF and it had all gone smoothly and as far as the run was concerned had gone better then I thought.

 So post race I am stoked as although I have a lot of work to do in running my foot is no worse off than it was before the race despite the huge step up in miles it had to cover on race day, and I fronted up to the race having to back my swimming and biking skills and then just trust that overall fitness rather then my specific run fitness would get me to the finish and it did…positives all round!!!