For these, who are wondering which one of the CRs have the most fittning nickname I've got an answer- EverReadyBunny! Her run leg was just amazing. When I saw her running, I thought she just started 10 km run not a marathon after 180 km bike leg. And she kept going like this until the finish line. Congratulation Allison!

As for me it was a tough day. Swim was actually quite good considering the tide but I wasn't feeling that weel on the bike leg- my stomach was somehow upset. And being a slow rider I copped a face wind, which just decided to increase inforce for my third lap. At T2 I knew I wouldn't break 14 hrs, 4.40 marathon leg was rather out of my reach. So I settled down to comfy pace (read:crawl), trying to settle my rebelious stomach and watching ERB flying past. Finished at 14.33, which I'm happy with- I did my best on the day under given circumstances and conditions. Had a pleasure to be cheered on the course by GR cheer squad and to talk to Aunty K and Dazza K at the presentation.
Congrats to all finishers and thanks to all supporters!

We are just back home from Port.

Rob was an absolute star - I was so excited when he ran down the finishing shute!

We had a great week. I promise a full report soon and may even get Rob to sit down and commit his thoughts to this forum.

Well done to Mango, AK and our Balance tri club Ironmen. You are all amazing.

And, yes, Rob did spend 13 minutes in T1 - he told me some tale about portaloos, lack of dunny paper etc etc.

More later

wt

Hi Everyone,

Arrived back from Port yesterday afternoon and am still on cloud 9.

I will post a proper report when I get a chance to collect my thoughts but I quickly wanted to thank EVERYONE for the amount of support I received on the course, from this thread and the sms's through my chief cheerleader It meant a lot to me and I can't thank you guys enough

As far as the race was concerned I was extremely happy to finish with a smile on my face and also achieve my secondary goal of finishing in sub-12 hours.

Congratulations to all the CR Ironwomen and Ironmen. You are all champions.

'I did the best I could do on the day with what I had' i heard this from CR lezan and it sums up my day nicely.

I loved the day & I hated it all at the same time.

My swim: I got kicked, poked, punched, swum over, swum into etc.etc.etc... I didn't panic once & stood up at the end feeling very good. This particular swim I decided was progress when I considered how much of a sooky lala I've been in the past.

My ride: Well... if it had been 2 laps, I was doing ok. The third lap was a shocker. I was mentally GONE!! I didn't want to face that third lap & it took every ounce of my being to continue and finish the 180k... enough said!

My run: Running on emply sums this up. I went through about 1000 different mind sets on the run. One minute feeling ok, the next feeling awful. Not much more to add then this.

My finish: It still amazes me the buzz you get at the finish. Having Diane there for me was absolutely wonderful & I look forward to having her there again next year! Love ya Diane!!

Summary: Not disappointed at all. I know that I did make a couple of mistakes in my lead up to this event. Daz & myself have gone over the previous day's to the event & it seems that my mind was not completely on my game. Sh*t happens & I have learnt a valuable lesson from it.

Conclusion: Will I back??? OF COURSE!! Although, I did retire 3 times during the run to my ever faithful and wonderful Coach... he ran along beside me on the run course for a few minutes at a time & this lifted my spirit and took my mind off that empty feeling I was having.

Thanks: Where do I start??
B+ - the most patient coach/person/mentor I think i've ever met.
Hills Club - they errupted with cheer's everytime I rode/ran past.... just awsome.
Balance Tri Club - my new club & new buddies... Coach Helmet looked after us each Tues/Thurs night.
CR Support - Amazing!!
Friends - where do you start with this one? and not miss anyone. I have to say a massive thanks in particular to Winky (not a CR) but a beautiful girl who encouraged and pushed me through alot of my cycle/run training. She had a awesome race & I believe broke the family record (Shotis will have to work alot harder this December in Busso to beat her).
Family - Daz, Tom, Clare, James..... without there belief and constant support to me, none of this would be possible & I love them all dearly.

Congratulations: To all that finished & achieved goals on the day. ERB was simply awesome. Seeing Marie Doke compete at her first IM & receive a spot for Kona is inspiring to me also.

See you all in Busso

Cheers,
AK

Well done Aunty K!

I think you are an absolute bloody legend.

well done every one of you!!!!!! You are just all inspirational!

Question for you all: Approximately how much slower can you expect to run the marathon leg in an Ironman race? If I can run a 3:15 marathon on its own, how much longer (approximately I know) would it take?

Congratulations to everyone!!!
I would be interested to hear what you are doing for recovery/how you are recovering???

Thanks for all the CR applause, whistles and shouts of encouragement out there on Sunday. Coming past transition so many times on the run and receiving a hollering of support was uplifting. Equally pleasing was the support elsewhere on the course.

Racing in front of an enthusiastic crowd and being helped by similarly supportive vollunteers are two of the main reasons I keep returning to Ironman Oz. It is the people around the race, as much as those competing, that make it such a memorable day.

Lot's of walking & eating for me.

I'm going to go to the pool tonight for a paddle. It will be nice to get the legs moving in the water.

AK

I've pulled up well and am hanging out for Canberra this weekend.

I didn't follow all of my customary post-race schedule but my usual Ironman recovery involves the following:

* IV fluids. Not required this year, but most years I find myself carted into medical and a needle stuck in my arm. A couple of litres is sooooo good for recovery.
* A decent feed (once my stomach has settled).
* Light stretch, gentle massage and walk about when I feel able.
* Anti-inflammatories (nurofen/asprin).
* Bed
* Beach the next morning. Hopefully the waves are up so I can enjoy a body surf. The cold water is so good for the legs and affords a range of movement that may be uncomfortable on land.
* Maybe a light run, but generally spend a fair bit of time walking around town the following day.
* More food, fluids and stretching.
* About half a bottle of wine at the awards dinner.
* Post dinner grooving on the dance floor. (Music and DJ were unfortunately crap this year).

Unfortunately, a real 'piece of string' type question DR. There are enough variables in your average marathon which could go wrong. Once you start factoring in the logistics of potential mis-hap during a 10-17 hour Ironman, including swallowing sea water, mechanicals, getting goggles dislodged, punctures, and the vagaries of nutrition, nutrition, nutrition, the figures relevant to how fresh you start your marathon get more than a little rubbery.

I remember reading something about the top IMers from the 80s, 90s (Scott, Allen, Tinley, Newby-Fraser etc..) which suggested their best marathon times were around 10-15 minutes quicker than their IM times. But they were freaks. For your average athlete, where all things may well fall into place on the day, I would suggest it's closer to the 30min+ mark. For example, I think the average marathon times from the last couple of IMOZs has been around 4.30?

Our very own EveryMan would be one of the better examples for a test-case seeing as he's now up to 21 IM finishes (great effort on the weekend Paul).

As for myself, it's been closer to a 90min differential

That's only because you had a little nap in T2 last year

Thanks Miners.

For what it is worth (probably not very much), my marathon PB is 2:49 and my Ironman run PB is 3:18. I've run quite a few sub 3 marathons and sub 3:30s off the bike, so when I'm properly trained for Ironman I'm generally about 30 minutes down on my marathon time.

On Sunday I ran a fairly consistant and comfortable 3:55 off not a great deal of bike and run training. I suspect I'm currently in 3:05-3:10 marathon form.

As a general rule the slower one races the greater the time differential. It is probably a better indicator to work from a percentage differental but I'll leave the maths to someone else.

Uncle Dave's marathon/ironman differential is around 20 minutes, but he is an exceptionally strong runner. Most triathletes come into Ironman with, what I would consider, too few long training runs in their legs and it shows badly on race day. Not surprisingly, those with an ultra running background generally pull back places and time on the run. The late Nigel Aylott being another good example.

Thats assuming they don't drown first as i would. I'm working on it though (swimming not drowning).

Well done Paul and Will and ERB and all the others whom i don't know personally.

Good to hear no medico had the pleasure of a 16gauge needle and your arm this year, Paul

Tim

From my very short tri experience:
It all depends on how hard you went on the bike. Go too hard on the bike and you will feel it big time on the run. If you stay within yourself and force yourself to stay at an easy and comfortable pace on the bike, I believe you can pull a great run.

Miners is right, its a 'piece of string' type of question.

I've done 2 stand alone marathons and 2 IMs. For each IM I was well prepared (2007 & 2008). For each of the marathons I wasn't (Canberra 2006, Melbourne 2007). Marathon times 4:26 and 4:23 (bad I know). IM times 4:12 and 4:06 (excluding transition). So for me, my IM times have been quicker I think I could run an 'easy' 3:40 marathon with a good preparation and edge under 4:00 in the next IM. So for me, maybe 20 minutes different with perfect races.

My wife has done 5 IMs (Forster + Hawaii 2002, Port Mac 2006-08) and 1 marathon (2007 Melb). IM times in order are 3:36, 4:20ish, 3:42, 3:45 and 3:23. Her marathon time was 3:18. I suspect that a fully trained marathon would be real close to 3:00. I also believe that she is capable of knocking off another 5-10 off the IM run and hopefully that will happen in Hawaii this year For my wife, probably a similar difference of 15-20 minutes between IM and marathon.

My race report. Sorry it is a bit long..

Preparation:

My experience in triathlon is very short. I have bought a bike last july because I couldn’t run due to injury and wanted to cross-train. I quickly enjoyed it and set my sight on Port Half-Ironman for my tri debut. Very painful experience as I learnt the consequences of going out way too hard on the bike ruins your run. I finished in 5:38. Very painful but I loved every minute of it, so decided that I would enter the full one in April.

As I had no idea of how to properly train, I hooked up with Alan Pitman who designed my program. My training over December, January and February was very consistent and I hooked up with some great people for the long rides who gave me plenty of advice. I also did a lot of the ocean swims around Sydney as I love them and are perfect training for the IM swim.

At the end of February, I was losing a bit of motivation and was sick of just training. I entered Huski Long Course and really had a perfect race. I finished in 4:36. I really stayed within myself on the bike and it payed off on the run. 2 weeks later I ran 6 foot track as a long training run and finished comfortably in 5:45. I really had a ball at both races and they gave me a boost of confidence for Port. Added to this was a great last hard training week-end during Easter over at Forster where everything was indicating for a decent race.

Since Port HIM, I really felt that I dramatically improved on the swim and the bike, while keeping a decent running fitness. Just to compare, at Port HIM I pushed very hard to stay at an average 30km/h over the 90km to then struggle to a 2:03 in the ½ marathon. At Huski LC, I stayed within myself over the 83km bike averaging just over 33km/h and ran 1:28 over the 20km run course.

The plan for IM was:

Swim: 1:10
T1: 0:05
Bike: 6:15
T2: 0:05
Run: 3:55

Total: 11:30

I drove to Port on the Friday morning and enjoyed the atmosphere leading into the race. The bike had been fully serviced a week before and I was feeling 100%. Enjoyed the carbo dinner and relaxed on the Saturday. I slept well the night before.

RACE DAY

Pre-race:
Woke up at 3:30 to have brekky and went back to bed for another hour sleep. I have found that this really works for me. I was at transition around 5:15. It was pouring rain and was thinking that it was going to be a fun day. But 20 mn before the start, the sky opened up to a beautiful sun. I headed to the swim with Gizmo. Had a last chat with my supporters and we finally entered the water. We were almost the last one in. I had a white cap putting me in the second wave and couldn’t wait to get started.

Swim:
The canon went and I quickly settled in a nice comfortable pace. The strategy was to take it easy but to focus on my stroke. I found a group that I stayed with for the 1st lap. Time went by pretty quickly, I was thinking about plenty of other things than the race like the amount of junk food I was going to have in the days following the race. I went a bit of course twice and lost a bit of time there, but I felt comfortable all the way. I got kicked and punched as usual but nothing too bad, my goggles came off once. On the second lap, I was more on my own, I felt the current was stronger on the way back but still felt good. I came out of the water in 1:10:55. I was secretly hoping for a slightly faster time, but was very happy to feel great after the swim.

T1:
found my bag easily, ran into the tent. I had my tri top and knicks under the wettie. I took the time to put socks and my bike shoes. I would usually leave the shoes on the bike, but because it had been so wet I didn’t want any mud on my socks. Sunglasses and also some sunscreen and I was off in just over 5mn.

Bike:

The plan was to really take it easy at the beginning and to start eating/drinking early. Lots of people were overtaking me, but that wasn’t worrying me. I was racing my plan and did not want to get caught in many of the groups that rode past. I settled into a nice and comfortable pace. I don’t use a speedometer on the bike, just riding on feel. My nutrition plan was very simple. I had a full bidon of very concentrated opti for 90km (I had another one in my special needs bag), and for the other bidon, I would alternate between Gatorade and water at every aid station. Half a powerbar, or half a nutella sandwich every 30mn, the occasional banana and one salt tablet every hour as well. I kept that for the whole ride and it worked very well.

I reached the 30km turnaround in 1:01 I think. Everything was going well except from the fact that my bike was beginning to give me some issues. First I couldn’t go into the big chainring and that was a bit of a problem, but once I reached Lake Cathie, my left pedal arm (crank arm I think it is called) started to go a little wobbly and loose. This was really starting to worry me. Well 2km later, I was on the side of the road with my left crank arm and pedal in my hand, not knowing what to do. All kind of thoughts were going through my mind then. How in hell are they going to fix this? DNF due to mechanical problems was really the worst thing that could happen. To make things even more fun, it started pouring rain and I was really getting cold. Some guys were telling me to do it with only one pedal. I had thought about it, but I was thinking that if I wanted the shimano guys to stop to repair, I better make it obvious that I was stuck.

The shimano guys arrived after 45mn. When the guy first looked at it, he looked at me with a sorry look and said something like “It looks like it’s finished for you mate…”. I begged him to try something. He then asked me what was more important, to finish or the well being of my bike. I said to finish. He managed to block the crank arm by hammering it, but because the axle was bent inside, the pedal arms couldn’t be aligned, I had only the small chainring at the front and I had to stop at every lap to retighten everything. I didn’t care because I was so happy to be able to keep on going. I had lost around 50-55 minutes so I knew I had nothing to worry about the cut-offs.

I took off, quite happy to be able to keep on going and also warm up a little bit. The next 100km were quite good with a lot of overtaking. I finished the first lap in just above 2h40. It wasn’t very comfortable to be on the small chain ring all the time especially on the long flat bit, but the pedal was looking like it was hanging on, so I was pretty happy with that. I rode on my own for most of the way, overtaking people but also trying not to push myself too much, and play catch-up. I finished the second lap in just above 2hours I think.

I was still feeling good heading out on the final lap. Once I reached the flat bit, the wind had picked up quite a lot, and things were getting a little tough. I started getting some cramps in my right hamstring. I tried to focus on staying relaxed and comfortable, but my right leg was really starting to cramp badly. I realised that because the 2 pedals were not aligned, my right leg was working much more than the other. I eased off even more, had a quick pee break at the last turnaround and finished the last lap with the cramps coming on and off. I ended up finishing the ride in 7:00.

T2:
Finally glad to arrive in T2. Put on a new pair socks, just grabbed a couple of salt tablets and headed off after a 3mn transition.

Run:
I was feeling very good apart from that right leg that was very fatigued. A quick calculation told me that if I ran a 3:45 marathon, I could still go under 12hrs. I set off a bit quick at 4:45mn/k and eased back to 5mn/k. The breathing was very easy, but I soon realised that my leg wasn’t going to cooperate and cramps started to come after the 6th kilometre. My easy stride quickly turned into a shuffle and cramps were forcing me to walk quite frequently.

It was nice to see so many familiar faces on the course, and waving to spectators. The finishing chute came sooner than I thought. I ended with 12:34 for a 4:18 marathon.

Post-race:
I went into the recovery tent. I couldn’t be bothered to wait for a massage so went straight to the food area and had about 3 plates of pasta/rice/…and plenty of that great pumpkin soup as well. It was nice to speak with all people around.

Didn’t stay too long in the finishing area as I didn’t have any dry clothes. Went back to the house. One hour in the spa (Can’t recommend enough renting a house with a spa..) drinking a couple of beers and having some more food was the perfect end to a marvellous day.

Conclusion
The day did not go as planned, but I really loved the event.
I have to thank a lot of people:

- First of all, the shimano mechanic to spend more than 10mn on my bike to fix it.
- Gizmo, for giving me heaps of advice, for all the training we did together and you were the one who introduced me to most people in the tri community. Thanks mate!
- Rog, Rooster, Mel and John McNamara for coping with me on all those long rides
- Brizza for the wetsuit
- All the CRs and trannies that supported me on the day and before.
- And of course all the volunteers out on the course

And I’ll be back for more!

I know things didn't go to plan Will but at the end of the day you are still an IRONMAN.

Congratulations.

Fantastic race report Will - thanks for taking the time to write it.

Even with all those problems, you should still be so proud of yourself for finishing your first Ironman. Congratulations - the only way is up.

Where's the tattoo going?

Bravo Will! Félicitations!

Bloody hell, you are an Ironman.

That was a bummer with the crank arm but you did it, and I'm sure the uneven cranks caused your cramps. To do it like that, the hard way really proves how much you wanted it.

If read it correctly the bolts holding the crank arm in place probably loosened with the vibration on the rough road out to Lake Cathie... but it would have had to be a bit loose (not torqued right) to start off.

Makes you wonder that you were riding ok all the time, yet it comes loose after a service... I suspect they had it off for a lube and didn't torque it to specs.

You don't have to tell us here who did the service....have you spoken to them since?

Congrats Will. Welcome to the club.

Will - I read it on your blog earlier this evening. Truly inspirational. Congratulations.

cheers Plu

As promised here is my full self-indulgent, no-holds-barred, unadulterated IM race report. Enjoy.

To say my preparations leading into the race were perfect would be misleading. To be honest I would’ve been lucky to complete 90% of my programmed training sessions. Sorry coach B+ but that was the reality of trying to fit what was effectively a ‘second job’ in and around everything else. Did this affect my race day performance? Probably. Do I have any regrets about my performance on race day? Hell no !

In retrospect I was too optimistic in the number of weekly hours I thought I had available to commit to training. If and/or when the time comes to do another one I will (hopefully) be a little wiser and set a more realistic training schedule.

Race Week
This week came around very quickly. Mini-Mango (MM) and I travelled to Pt Mac on the Wednesday which allowed time to settle in before getting caught up in the IM fever that had taken hold of this beautiful coastal town. Our accommodation at the salubrious Flynn’s Beach Resort was the ideal place to set up camp as it was sufficiently close to town to be convenient but also removed enough to avoid the crowds. And to top it off I’m sure I spotted Chrissie Wellington and definitely saw Luke Bell staying in the same place.

A short 5km run with MM along the scenic (but hilly) Pacific Drive was a good way to spend the afternoon as I had to release some nervous energy and MM was just itching to go for a run.

Thursday was busy with registration, being taken for a tour of Pt Mac with one of my adopt-an-athlete sponsors and drinks & nibblies with another sponsor - such is the life of a wannabe pro triathlete Seriously though, both sponsors were very welcoming and it was great to be part of an initiative that got the local businesses involved in the whole event.

In between promotional obligations I managed to get out for a short ride to check out the bike course and the infamous hill on Matthew Flinders Drive. It certainly lived up to it’s reputation but the first time I rode up I noticed how difficult it was to climb. When I got to the top I checked my rear derailleur and noticed I still had two gears available! In the words of Lance Armstrong ‘I didn’t get it’, so I turned around went back down and climbed back up in the easiest gear which was much better.

More members of Team Mango arrived on Thursday with only younger sister Mango and two niece Mango’s due to arrive on Saturday afternoon.... Or that was what I was led to believe but more on than later.....

Friday was an early morning swim followed by lunch with Miners and the Mango clan with a surprise visit from ‘Uncle Kel’ a six-time Ironman. The carb loading party at night was a great event. Ben Darwin was the guest speaker followed by some quick interviews with the leading male and female pros. All good inspirational stuff and got the adrenaline pumping.

After the compulsory briefing on Saturday morning there was memorial service for Ian Green aka ‘Green Machine’ which was a fitting way to farewell the legend. It was here I met a member of Transitions, Big Chris. Such was the charisma exuded by Chris that in the short time I spoke to him he left a real impression and I remember walking away thinking that regardless of what happened the following day I would be back to do another IM and I would do it faster, better and smarter.

The rest of Saturday comprised of bike check in and then kicking back, relaxing and watching some movies until around 5pm when I received another little surprise. As I previously mentioned I was expecting my younger sister and two nieces to arrive but when there was a knock on the door I not only saw them but my older sister and her family as well (they had all driven up from Canberra) ! And in addition everyone (16 in total) was wearing a ‘Team Mango’ t-shirt with their respective Mango names like Mini Mango, Brother Mango, M.I.L (mother in law) Mango, etc. This was all too much and I’m not too proud to admit I had a bit of an emo moment.

It couldn’t get any better than this. Here I was about to take on one of the biggest challenges of my life and I had the most important people in the world with me in a show of support that is unrivalled. Thank you guys so, so, so, so, so much.

At this point, particular mention should to go to the chief cheerleader of Team Mango who organised all of this without my knowledge. Well done Mahal. I can’t wait to return the favour


Race Day
0300 – Had set the alarm but didn’t need it as I was already awake. Breakfast consisted of 4 slices of toast with nutella (real Ironman food) and a concentrated dose of Endura optimiser. Back to bed for an hour and a half before getting ready for the day ahead.

No more sleeps to go. This was the day I had constantly thought about since the seed had been planted and I made the decision to commit.

My mantra for the day was: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast

0515 – Arrived at swim check-in to a torrential downpour which had everyone absolutely soaked before we had even started. All I can remember thinking was, ‘thank God I had trained in the wind and rain’.

0620 – T minus 10 minutes and counting. Entering the water I was completely calm but I recalled that it was a mere 12 months ago that I was standing on the same shore that I was now looking at and at that time I was in absolute awe of these ‘super’ athletes in the water.

BOOOMMMMM !!!!

The Swim
The cannon blast signalled the start and I was past the point of no return.

As expected I was punched, kicked, kneed, elbowed and swam over although I will admit I did give some (ok a lot) back as well. After about 1k I found some relatively clear water with only a few other swimmers around me which allowed me to find a nice rhythm and focus on my stroke without having to worry about getting knocked out by a wayward elbow.

At the first turnaround heading back to the start the current was quite strong and it felt like I was swimming and getting nowhere. Fortunately everyone was experiencing the same thing and we battled on together. The second lap was somewhat easier as the field had spread out a little although the bottlenecks coming into the finish still provided some physical entertainment.

My goal for the swim was 1:15. I came out of the water and the clock read 1:13:xx. I actually thought I might have gone faster but I was still happy to come out of the water feeling good apart from not being able to feel my feet for the first 5-10mins.

T1
I had decided earlier in the lead up that I wanted to be comfortable throughout the day. I wore nothing but speedo’s under my wetsuit which meant I would need to do complete change in T1. No problem, the volunteers are absolute champions in helping you out. I took 7ish minutes to put on my tri knicks and top, apply sportshield, shoes and socks, check the hair and makeup but it could easily have been double that if it weren’t for the fabulous volunteers. Thanks guys.

The Bike
Once on the bike I noticed my heart rate monitor had decided to stop playing so I had no idea how hard I was working which basically threw out race plan number 1 which was to do the bike leg at sub AT for the first two laps then step it up a notch on the final lap if the legs were feeling good.

The contingency plan was to go on RPE (rate of perceived exertion) which is something I guess most people do anyway. Fortunately, throughout the course of endless hours in the saddle I had familiarised myself with how I felt at a given HR intensity level and I figured I could get through the bike leg without too much drama as long as I held back and saved my legs for the run.

Aside from the adverse weather conditions which at some stages was quite character building, the first lap of the bike was uneventful I stuck to my nutrition plan which was drinking every 15mins and alternating solid foods and liquid carbs (endura opti) every time I had a drink. I completed the first lap in a shade over 2 hours.

The second lap was a bit more interesting as I think my nutrition plan was probably geared towards hotter conditions because once I had ‘broken the seal’ I needed to make pit stops every 45-60 mins. Now I have read and heard about the hardcore guys out there that do their thing on the bike whilst on the move but I’m afraid that’s not for me and besides each toilet break provided an opportunity for a break albeit a very quick one.

Lap 2 and 3 were both roughly the same time which allowed for some fade but I certainly didn’t factor in the multiple pit stops. On the positive side I was pleased that each ascent up the MFD hill presented no real problems and in the scheme of things really is over-rated. I know making that statement will probably come back to bite me but that’s merely my opinion.

It was a great feeling to roll into town on the final lap as I was looking forward to getting off the bike and onto the run.

Goal time for the bike was 6:15. The official split is 6:30:xx but I think that includes T1. Mental note – adjust hydration requirements to suit weather conditions.

T2
A quick change of shoes and socks, re-application of sportshield on the sensitive bits and a bit of a wait for the application of sunscreen had me through T2 in less than 5 mins.

The Run
I started the run feeling strong and really didn’t feel the effects of being in the saddle for over 6 hours. Once again without the heart rate monitor I was forced to go on RPE so my focus was to maintain that ‘easy and comfortable’ feeling for the first two laps then put it all on the line on the final lap if the legs were up to it.

I had initially attempted to gauge my pace by checking the splits off the 2km markers but found there were some incredible variations in time and given that I didn’t feel like I was slowing down or going any quicker I figured the markers were out and decided to give up on that exercise after 12km.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

I kept repeating that mantra every so often and found it helped immensely in keeping me focussed on the here and now rather than the seemingly distant finish line.

The cool weather once again played a factor during the run. My race strategy was to walk through every aid station and alternate drinking water, Gatorade and cola with a gel at 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 km. This strategy worked a treat from stopping me from getting dehydrated or but it resulted in 3 or 4 (can’t remember) pit stops including a memorable one where both portaloos were occupied. I was waiting patiently when a female runner comes up and upon seeing that she would have to wait a while proceeded to go into the bushes and did her business right in front of me and a number of other people!

After the initial shock I felt somewhat embarrassed that she had to go it alone so in a show of camaraderie I went to another bush some distance away and did my thing. I can’t recall seeing her again so I assume her no-portaloo-required pit stop did the trick and got her quickly moving again.

Apologies for the distraction.

The final lap is a bit hazy but the memory that stands out was when I was coming through the IM village for the final time I spotted the whole of Team Mango standing on the side of the course and they gave me a cheer that lifted and gave me a burst of energy the likes of which I have never experienced. I roared out as loud as I could, “ I’M COMING HOME !! “. According to the Ironman Live website I apparently I ran the last 5.2km in approximately 21mins. I don’t know how accurate that is but if it’s true I would put it down to the cheer I received from Team Mango.

Bright Lights & Blue Carpet
There it was.

I had lived my dream and it was absolutely everything I expected and more. As I entered the shute it was empty and I was so overawed with the occasion that I could do nothing but smile and pump my fists in the air.

I looked for Team Mango and found them exactly where my beautiful bride to be and chief cheerleader said they would be. I gave Mini and Jen Jen Mango a kiss and hug then continued onto the finish line where Mike ‘The Voice’ Reilly called me in and welcomed me to the club….

Post Race
I spent about an hour in the recovery tent having a feed followed by a massage and getting my prized finishers t-shirt.

Afterwards I met up with Team Mango and shared some very special moments with each and every one of them. In my mind I truly had THE BEST support crew in the world.

I can’t thank the volunteers enough for the level of commitment, dedication, enthusiasm and professionalism shown throughout the week and even moreso on race day. You guys are all champions in your own right you my respect.

Thank you to the fabulous CR cheersquad (including the online cheering) and if they are reading this, all the Panthers and Trannies that gave shouts of encouragement. You guys made a world of difference when things were getting dark - literally and metaphorically ;-)

Coach B+. Mate, I’m a convert and you can expect a call in the next few weeks as I have some unfinished business to attend to with this IM caper.

To all my fellow Ironmen and Ironwomen, congratulations. You all deserve a quadruple scoop of hot fudge chocolate ice cream with m&m’s, mars bar and flake all mixed in

Post Race Thoughts
For such a self indulgent sport where the focus of competitors is often me, me, me I am simply amazed and extremely humbled by the amount of support we triathletes receive from friends, family and even complete strangers.

I find it difficult to express the gratitude I feel for the level support and understanding I have received throughout my training campaign and particularly on race day from Team Mango.
Whether they realise it or not, every member has played a major role in getting me to the start line and pulling me through to the finish. For this I am eternally grateful.

I have nothing but my deepest heartfelt thanks to give to each and every one of you. The journey I have undertaken couldn’t have been possible without you. I might have been able to do an IM but it would never have been complete without the people that mean the world to me.

Finally I couldn’t sign off without making special mention of the two people that give my life meaning.
RJ – my ebullient daughter. You are my rock and I gather strength from the way you have grown into a young lady that shows wisdom and compassion beyond her years.

Jen – my beautiful fiancée. Thank you for making me believe dreams can and do come true.

Mango out.

Edited for typos.

Well done mate! You looked really strong out there. I have some unfinished business as well with this IM stuff, so I guess I'll see you sooner or later.

Oh, you're bloody right, Nutella sandwiches is ironman food!

Fantastic reports guys and congratulations once again

still no reports in respect to the pre cut-off 4th leg though ...

Thanks Will.

Sorry to hear your day didn't work out the way you had hoped for but I guess that's the nature of the beast. Put this one down o experience.

BTW, after reading your race report I think our nutrition plans on the bike were very similar if not the same with our weapon of choice being Nutella sandwiches and endura opti

Congratulations Will and Mango on your fantastic races and brilliant reports.

First up MANGO....WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!! Everythnig you do in life from now on will be seen through a changed set of eyes. Probably tired stiff ones for the next week or so.

Secondly congratulations to all the Ironman athletes at Port it was great to watch all of you race on a day which offered plenty of challenges.

To Aunty K and Mango the 2 CR's I had the pleasure of being involved with in their preperation for this race. You both made myself and all those close to you very proud with your conduct and performances on the day.
This is a tough event that can really test your mental and emotional resolve all day long and to get to the finsih line with a smile says a lot about the oustanding character you both displayed out there.
See you both there next year!!

To all the Panthers who raced so well on the day well done too.

Train safe

To all Ironman finishers - well done! Huge congratulations to all of you, especially Aunty K, Mango and Will, who I have had the pleasure of meeting. Welcome to the Ironman family and thanks very much for sharing your race-day stories with everyone.

Not to mention my Forster club-mates who all excelled themselves and became Ironmen - some for the first time.

It gave me much pleasure (and very itchy feet) to be there for cheersquad duties on the day, especially to spend time with Team Mango, which was every bit as impressive as Mango makes out. Well done guys, especially Jen. Your support meant so much to your athlete - that is obvious.

Great to also catch up with Kazz (we'll see each other again I'm sure, we're almost neighbours in the big scheme of things), Miners, Portrunr and also Milov and Clare - who I met for the first time.

Fantastic to see Paul Every, Luis Lopez, Dave Ross and other legends of IMOZ who intially inspired me (and others I'm sure) to take up the sport in the first instance.

Now I can't wait for NZ 09!

Enjoy your down-time and I guess I will see a lot of you at NSW Club Champs on 3rd May.

M

B+ - you also deserve a big congrats for your coaching services. ;)

From my count I believe you had myself, Mango, Alicia, Rod, Tania all finish the day at IM. I have to say that Rod finishing in 10:20ish was a absolutely sensational effort from him.

Not sure if I have missed anyone else?

K

ps. I forgot to send a big hug to my very good friend 'Rooster'... he had a 20min PB this year, and i don't think i have ever seen him sooooooo happy!! Congrats Carm

Congratulations to all of the competitors!

Will, Helmet - you guys both looked really strong all day! Sorry to hear about the mechanical problem Will; you will absolutely smoke that course next year.

Mango - looking forward to bringing the "Team Mango" t-shirts out again next year. BTW I can give you the manufacturer's details when it's my turn

If anyone is interested, there are a couple of photos on my blog of Mango's day.

Nowhere.

While I really think the event in itself is fantastic, I have to admit that I was a bit dissapointed by all this Ironman thing.

For me, the M-dot logo just represents a company that is trying to make as much money as they can out of you. the entry fee is just ridiculous, the official merchandise is very expansive (I wanted to buy presents for all my friends that made the trip to support me, all I could afford were the beer coolers at 10bucks each), carb dinner was really good but too expansive if you want relatives to come along and I found that everything during IM week is about showing off.

Don't get me wrong, the organisation is tremendous, the volunteers were fantastic, and because of the challenge in itself I will be back. But I would rather tatoo the M logo from macdonald's than the Mdot.

I reckon we should organize a fatass ironman and we would have as much fun!

Great idea, now that got my attention. I'm in... giddyup!

BTW..Well done Will, nice finish when faced with such adversity.

Each to there own Will

I love my tattoo & I'm very proud of it!! It represents more to me than a race I did for 13+ hours... but that is a whole other topic.

K

Good for you Aunty K! I'm thinking of getting some kind of "42.2" commemoration when I complete the GCM.... not sure what form it will take yet..... possibly a tatt, maybe a personal number plate

PlodBod - that is fantastic & why NOT?!?!?

I did see a number plate at IM '10HOURS'... which I thought was a little wanky... but who cares, if the guy wants to pay $500 a year for it, then that is up to him.

K

"42.2"

So that would be superseded with "50", "100"...hey Plod, now that would make very interesting conversation !

there use to be one getting around at Forster that said TRI 226 (as in 226kms for Ironman)

all personal plates are wanky, but as soon as I ordered my new car I immediately went on the RTA website and started punching in variables with 42.2 in them... came up with a couple of crackers

And that's all that matters.

I don't know when, or if, Helmet will get his A into G and post something on CR about his Ironman experience. Given the length of time he spent in T1 we could be waiting for a while - so here I am instead.

Helmet did his first triathlon at Nepean in November last year. Afterwards he told me he wanted to do Ironman before he turned 40 (June 2008). At this time he was training sporadically (as usual) and frustrating the hell out of me - he obviously had way more talent than me but, while I was out busting a boiler in training, he sat on the lounge with his cereal and talked about doing Ironman.

Eventually my frustration boiled over and we had a rare barney about his lack of training. I told him that he was dreaming if he wanted to do Ironman on his current training regime. We now fondly referred to this episode as "the rocket" - ie. I shoved a rocket up his a**se! At the same time I conspired with a fellow tri club friend to trick Helmet into getting to the pool. Ice rang Helmet and said he was having trouble getting out of bed to training and would he mind coming along for company/motivation. Well, it worked. (By the way Ice thought that I was his perfect woman - actually harassing my husband about NOT TRAINING ENOUGH)

Helmet started training in earnest and the more he trained the more he wanted to train. His swim went from struggling to complete 1 km to swimming a 37 min 2km at Husky long course in February. Weekly rides of 130km+ became the norm. He started leading some informal running sessions for some tri club members and his running took on great shape too.

He arrived in Port Macquarie as ready as possible. He isn't one to make predictions about times. When asked about what he wanted to achieve he answered: "I'll just take it as it comes". If you really gave him a squeeze he said: 1:20 swim, 6 hour bike and 4 hour run for a grand total of 11:30. Although his general answer was "anything under 12 hours would be great".

I thought he would probably give 11:30 a good nudge (there's your answer Ewen).

He came out of the swim in 1:21:21 (approx as predicted) although I was a bit worried because I didn't see him until after 1:30. This is because he spent an astonishing 13:45 in T1. WHAT THE!!!!!! He has claimed a toilet stop got a bit complicated when the portaloo was out of what we call bog roll. But I am sure he probably wouldn't want me to divulge that here!

His bike was without incident. He completed each lap in just over 2 hours for a total bike time of 6:15:09 (incl T1). He is so strong on the bike and I know he will continue to get stronger on this leg.

The run became a bit of a problem when he started having knee troubles. I knew something was up when the normally grinning Helmet's smile started to fade. Thankfully one of our tri club members, who was also racing, slipped hime some nurofen and the change was amazing. He powered home over the last 14km fror a run time of 4:13:55 (incl T2).

Finishing time: 11:50:26

Rob Lutz you are an IRONMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The buzz of the finishing shute is incredible and to have my best buddy finish so strongly was the best feeling ever. I was jumping up and down and yelling and clanging my cow bell like there was no tomorrow.

Big hugs to our tri club Ironmen: AK, Helmet, Winky, Koppo, Ice (the most selfless person I know), Shoes, Noel, Nick, Sascha and Bek.

Helmet and I will be back next year without a shadow of a doubt.

wt/kb

PS I ran the 5km fun run on the Saturday morning and recorded a season best of 32:21. That sub 30 is getting closer. Bring on Gold Coast HIM (for me) and Busso (for him).

re: Fatass ironman. Count me in.

That is seriously the best idea I have heard in a long time.

Thanks for posting the race reports guys, was very interesting reading!!!

I found it amusing that in the expo tent there were Mdot wedding rings!!! Each to their own though.

giddy up

actually, we've held a fat ass Long Course here in Port the last 2 years for anyone who can't make it to Husky. Maybe I'll have to invite you guys next time!

hmm ... Forster would be a good venue for the fatass IM - call it the 226 or something

I hear ya, Miners!

Remembering that after Forster lost the IM to Port, we tried (and failed) to set up our own Iron Distance race a la Roth Challenge et al.

Not quite fatass but from tiny acorns ...

Thanks to all for the great race reports, it brings back lots of memories of a fantaaaastic weekend. Being a spectator rocks. I had so much fun. I literaly cheered myself hoarse and acheived my dream of staying at the finish line till the every end.

CR dinner on Saturday night was great. I got to meet the famous Miners and hear first hand the story of how his front wheel was going to win IM 2008. Then after dinner came my life-changing experience for the weekend - when TigerAngel and sfGnome introduced me to Baskin and Robbins chocolate and peanutbutter icecream - OMG!

Race day dawned with pouring rain but fortunately for us spectators it didn't hang around. I spent the whole day chasing friends and Pulse Tri club buddies around the course, so I only caught fleeting glances of the CRs - Mango looking very strong on the MFD hill, Will cruising up the parking lot hill on the run course and making it look easy, ERB running like the wind and passing everyone in sight, Aunty K seemingly smiling the whole day and Paul Every holding up his "legend" race number as he finished.

The absolute highlight of the day was the last few hours in the finish chute. Everyone was dancing and cheering, the emotion was so high. Chrissie Wellington stayed till the end, had her photo taken with everyone, danced with the volunteers and she was crying at the very end too. The last finisher, 4 minutes before the cut-off, was amazing. He crossed the line not once, not twice but three times and by the third time he was sobbing. To anyone thinking of doing this event, get yourself there and watch the finish, you won't be able to put it off anymore.

PS - I am going to start a seperate thread on Fatass Ironman.

How would you do the fatass? What I mean is make it easy, hard or something known. I have had a course in mind up here in Qld on the gold coast for the last year or so. It is HARD on the bike though with the run being mostly flat as a tack.

Swim Lake Hugh Muntz (freshwater enclosed, no sharks), 4 complete laps
Bike Tamborine, Canungra, Oreiley's, Beechmont, Springbrook and back
Run Lake Hugh South east to Miami, north to northern turn of Gold Coast marathon course and back.

It would be fully awesome.

As I am doing my best to document the journey from where I came via the net, it would be totally unfair and pretty poor if I did not put the bad up with the good. 18 months of massive pb after massive pb came to an end I am actually a whole lot more comfortable with the day now. Turns out I walked the marathon quicker than a number of people I train with who ran the whole way Aaaaaah, what could have been......