And so she should be proud, as we all are of her. I hope she's ok.

Just got a text from Wildthing.

She says it was a tough day - very hot and windy. She's sad but philosophical as there was always a chance of this happening however she'll be back next year for another crack at it.

Entering and taking part in a HIM is massive!
Ladies you're an inspiration and should be very proud of yourselves

Great stuff Wildthing. Similar conditions last year made it a tough day at the office but it's good to hear you are backing up for another one Thanks TA for the updates.

I also received an sms update from nite time runner and he said mouse finished in 8.10. He is understandably very proud of her

Congratulations WT, Mouse and all the other CR's. You have shown true grit, character and determination to tough it out under very trying conditions. Awesome work. You are all

A truly great effort by everyone ....congratulations, not only for finishing, but for being courageous enough even to start what must be such an incredibly difficult event! Wildthing....worthy celebrity! LL

Congrats to all the CRs that took part today. WT you are a legend, what an inspiration

Well done Wildthing, great effort, very inspirational to this wanna be

kazz.

I'm just glad I finished today. Had a bit of a shocker all round but for my first tri I can't complain too much. At least now I know what kinks to iron out for my next race. Got kicked in the head pretty good in the swim. Was that you Tyno? Well done to everyone out there today, especially those who did the half caus I don't know if I could have done it in this heat.

Well done to all CR's out there today Wildthing well done - Amazing

If you were far enough back in the swim to get kicked in the head by me, you deserve what you get.
It was a bit tight around the buoys and off the start.
I ran into/got run into a bit, but nothing too bad.

The tiredness has finally kicked in!

I tried to lie down for a rest this afternoon but was too wired to sleep - maybe I am not a true kb after all.

I really don't know what to say. Thanks so much for all your support out there today. It was tough. Very hot and windy. I am sad but philosophical about my day. I will be back next year - fitter and thinner - built for speed.

I had the fitness to finish but just not the speed - in the end time beat me. I DNF'ed but not by my choice.

In my heart I really didn't deserve a finishers towell but I got one anyway - after all I spent more time out there than 99% of those that did finish.

Now it's time for a little holiday.

wt/kb

well done WT. not the finish you wanted, but full respect to you for your effort and hard work. you are a true champion.

look forward to seeing you at another race again soon

does anyone know how Mouse got on?

I know that feeling and I was only out there for 1/3rd of the time you were.
Awesome effort WT
Enjoy your time off, you've earned it.
Kay was horrified when I told her you'd be trying again next year. She thinks you're mad.
I think you're awesome. And also a little mad.

Been working this afternoon / tonight.

NTR sent updates throughout the day.

One very proud partner of Mouse.

She was able to finish in 07hrs:54mins:35secs.

I will let Mouse tell her tail, I mean tale.

Wildthing, you did yourself, your family and CoolRunning brother/sisterhood proud.

As you said another years training under your belt. I say look out!!!!!

Plazbot finished in 219th place and did 05hrs:01min:04secs. He is a person to speak to about his journey, he has loped off a great deal of time from where he commenced his triathlon career.

A bit late, but i just want to add my congratulations to all the CRs for their efforts today. A HIM is such a mountain of an event to tackle.

Wildthing - you're an inspiration.

slowmo

Wildthing, I think you deserve that towel. The hardest parts of this endurance caper are the relentless training and the mental strength required, and you have excelled in both departments. I hope you and your towel enjoy some well-earned R&R.

Well done to the other CRs too, I hope we'll get some reports.

Wildthing, congratulations on what sounds like a tough day at the office. You are a SUPERSTAR!!

Wildthing, although it's not the result you had hoped for, it is a HUGE step up for you. Next time you will be stronger, fitter, tougher and hungrier. And that finish line moment will be all the more sweet and rewarding for what you have experienced this weekend.

We don't do these things because they are easy, we do them to rise to the challenge. I have no doubt you have what it takes.

I take my hat off to all those who finished yesterday. It was the most unpleasant conditions I've ever run in (well I've run in hotter ,but only short distances).

I remember hearing last year about the harsh run course and that they also ran out of water last year?

sounds like every one deserves a HTFU bonus point for competing.
well done all.

That is why you didn't see Tim, you or me in the results.

Congratulations to both WT & Mouse on a bloody gutsy effort yesterday. WT, you deserve that towel so make lots of (public) use of it!

Hope the recovery goes well !

Sunset - the course was slightly different last year. Although I believe the bike / run leg covered some of the same territory, this year's race started / finished at a different place. And yes, they ran out of water. I can only hope that they learned from that mistake this year.

During the sprintman run leg there seemed to be plenty of water available.
4 stations on a 7k course is pretty impressive, but the course was very unforgiving.
No shade, no shelter, just reflected heat from fresh bitumen and concrete, except for the short section along the board walk.
Thankfully it was flat. If there had been hills too, it would have super-sucked!
I'm glad I was being driven home at 10:30 or so instead of starting a half marathon run though.

Wildthing, you are amazing. Just to do all the training and get to the start of a HIM is an incredible achievement. You did so well and I'm sure you will be stronger and better for the experience. Use that towel with great pride..

I am now back at my little apartment after a gorgeous bbq lunch with NTR, Mouse and the kids and then dropping Rob off at Gold Coast airport.

Mouse was about 30 mins ahead of me on the course yesterday and I was thrilled that she was able to finish. We had huge sweaty hug, some tears and I gave her her finisher's towel. NTR and their kids were great cheerers out on the course. They have even invited me to come to Movie World with them tomorrow - of course I am going.

Mouse and I had a good debriefing at the bbq today and compared sunburn and chaffing.

She asked me what I liked best about the course and I said the flat smooth section of bike course back into Calypso Bay - and that took a bit of thinking!

She couldn't think of anything

Unforgiving is certainly the word for the day.

I always respected Ironmen but Mouse and I both agreed today that we have a greater respect for what they go through after our race yesterday. It was so tough.

Physically I feel pretty ok today. My quads are a bit sore but that's about it in the hurt department.

But not to sore to hit Movie World tomorrow.

Thanks again for all the great comments on this thread. CR support is amazing.

My parents and hubby were great over the last few days. Cheering and looking after me. Mum cried as I knew she would whether I finished or not. I love them! Rob can't stop grinning even though I didn't finish. He is very proud.

Massive thanks also to my tri club buddies who sent loads of messages to me yesterday and to my coach who was there until the very end after finishing his own race. His words of wisdom were much appreciated by a teary (almost) half ironman.

Enough mushy stuff from me.

Cheerio and hugs.

wt/kb

Thanks mate.

I ended up going backwards this year about 20 minutes slower than last. pb swim though and OK bike but mad no mojo on the run and jogged it in just under 2 hours. Had a bit of the 'couldn't be f#ck%ds' with run training the last month and it showed. Still was good fun.

I have set myself a few goals based on my last few runs in triathlon and am focusing on running fast for once. Too hard riding off the front and trying to hold on during the run. Have been speaking with some guys in the know about a way to approach it and am pretty excited with the new angle. The usual method is getting a bit stale after 2 years.

Was a great event and I will be back again for next year for certain.

got a pic off a mate and I look far from happy. LOL




Well done everybody especially those doing their first. They were fairly tough conditions on the bike I thought.

Bribie International next I reckon!!

Well we are home, have picked up our Beagle from the boarding kennels and I am now in a good headspace to write a race report...

The day started well, I had swam in the bay on the Friday and the water was fine, no nerves in the open water which was great. Same thing on the Sunday morning as I was warming up but once the start gun went my brain went into "panic mode". It was horrible, everytime I put my head in the water I felt like I couldn't breath, I considered pulling out about 1/4 through the swim which totally surprised me. My swimming is definitely my strongest leg so I really disappointed with how that went. Lucky I have played water polo and was quite comfortable swimming with my head up for a few hundred metres!! I calmed down at the turn around and managed to get into a good pace towards the end. It was the start of a long day....

The bike was gruelling, I hadn't trained on any rough surfaces and the road was gravel for the most part. I did not expect it and found it really tough. By the half way mark on the bike leg I was again thinking of quitting but seeing WT just behind me spurred me on every time that thought came into my head. They opened the road before I finished so I had a few touch and go moments turning onto the course in an out of traffic!! On my way back to transition I thought I should (again) pull out but once I had my runners on I realised I had come too far to quit by my own accord.

I usually dislike the run in any triathlon but I really enjoyed plodding along for the whole 21km. I was walking and running but generally having a very good time. I saw WT on my last leg of the run and she told me the news, I was pretty shattered, we had both come so far I really wanted us to finish together but I knew I had to get to the finish for both of us before they pulled me out too!!

Get to the finish I did, my coach ran the last 200m with me and as I ran through the finish it didn't matter that I was the last one coming in, or that people were probably at home already putting their feet up. It all came to a head and the tears flowed as I realised I had finished it. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, not necessarily physically but mentally. Being out there on your own for so long is bloody hard work and sometimes your thoughts turn pretty negative. I was not prepared for that at all....

HUGE thanks for WT and Rob - you guys are awesome and I am so glad we shared the experience together. I could not have got through it without you WT!! Also big thanks to my coach and my training partner (she is not on CR yet so will remain nameless but she knows who she is!) Biggest thanks goes to NTR and the kids. You guys made my day and made the past 6 months worth it. NTR made t-shirts for him and kids and the cheering and support they gave me was awesome. NTR Jr even ran with me for some of it, even offering to run the whole thing with me for support - very, very sweet.

All in all it was an amazing day, opened my eyes a lot to what triathlon is all about. The hard work before and during, the mental strength needed and the simple reward of having those who believe in you right there all the way, no matter what the outcome. I will be back - that can be quoted, I will finish within cutoff time next year and I will hopefully come back stronger both mentally and physically.

Thanks to all the CRs for their support, particular mention and thanks to Mango and Jen, Thomo and Benny R. Your messages of support were fantastic and made me so proud to have finished. Sooooo... this is to be continued in 12 months time!!!

Top stuff Mouse.
You should be very proud of your achievement!

Fantastic report Mouse
You are a legend and have done your family and friends proud !

Congratulations on this awesome achievement and you can be assured your written commitment above won't be forgotten

Great effort by WT & Mouse. I've watched them both at our swim squad each Monday night and both girls always give their best. I'm sure that the event on Sunday was just the beginning for both of them.

I have to add my HUGE congrats to my beautiful training partner 'Prima Donna'. This lady has gone from being extremely overweight to a wonderful athlete, who has a wonderful coach (mine). She is well & truly on her way to IMOZ. I look forward to having her train with me over summer. Donna you are my inspiration!! and yes there will be tears

Cheers,
AK

What are great report Mouse. You are indeed a star and I am so happy to have been able to share it with you.

You and NTR have the best family - the kids are great and I loved being able to enjoy Movie World with them on Tuesday. There is nothing like spending a day going on rides with kids to make you realise what is important in the world.

Huge congrats to Donna too. I saw her quite a bit during the day - she seemed to be doing it a bit tough on the run leg but so was everybody else. I am so glad that she posted a stellar finish.

Next on the list for me is Nepean Triathlon in November and I do believe I heard that Mouse will be there too.

Go Mousie

wt/kb

Mr Plaz
quite interested in this angle - can you elaborate at all just now? I thought the way to go was "all about the bike" for the longer tri's? Just wondering where this trade off line should be? If it's a long story there's a thread somewhere (transitions etc) could you either link it just give me the name of it please?
Cheers
PH
p.s. don't take any notice of Kandingo's 4:46 and apparent whipping , i think you know the story there?

After two weeks sick with the flu I was a little worried about this race, even though I was only doing the sprintman, but it all came together on the day and I had a good solid race.

Mouse & WT, well done to both of you, what an amazing effort. Getting through the training and making it to the start line is an amazing accomplishment in itself, and WT the race will be there next year!

I saw you both out on the bike course as I was leaving (we had to get back to the Gold Coast and couldn't stay until the end - plus the heat and no food optons (the pub stopped serving food) all meant I was fading fast), and I thought to myself what awesome brave rocking girls you are!!

Hi Mouse,

Well done on and thanks for the report. It's always good to read about how people coped and felt. We thought of you often during the day and wondered how you were going with the harsh conditions.

Like WT, you have learnt so much and grown through this experience and I have no doubt that you girls will give it a real beating next year. But first, take some time out and have some fun.

See you somewhere soon,
TA

Pretty simply, I worked on my cycling a whole lot and my running not so much. I was of the opinion that I was running a fair amount and the improvements would come in my running through the JFR (just f%%^n run) principle. pretty much, I am usually in the top half dozen on the bike and was in 8th at IMOZ last year but as my run is nowhere near the same standard, the whole world runs by. It is no surprise that the guys on the podium usually have the 3 fastest run splits. I have no doubt that I could ride a 4:40 or high 30 180km TT (Busso) which would be in the very top few but at best, I could run a fresh 3:20 marathon where the guys riding those 4:40s are running 3 - 3:10 off that bike and would be running in the 2:4X range fresh.

I am looking at the recent marathon World records and those guys are all ex 10km studs. there is something in that i think. I never had a short course career before 'stepping up'.

Hot and windy. These two words sum it all. I had one of my best swims - 39 minuts. and then the bike (and the wind) started. Being at my best slow on the bike I had a hard time battling the gusts. and on my second lap it got worse. Clocked 25 km/h averaqge and was spent enough that just only walked to my bike rack- couldn't find the energy to jog with the bike! On the run went into steady, easy jog. This time I was thankful for the cooling wind. As quite a few I walked through drink stations, taking fluids on board and pouring the water on my head. On the run saw the Mouse distinctive in her Coolrunning hat with her nickname on the back. Finished the run in 2.12 clocking the overall time at 6.38. In general i wasn't expecting much better being slightly underdone with my training specially on the bike.
As for the event organisation- the organisers could learn a lot from Port Macquarie. Especially the recovery area was poor to non-existant. But to be fair have to say that the number of drink station on the course was very welcomed in these conditions.

WELL DONE to all who tackled the GCHIM this year, especially first-timers Mouse and WT

It sounded like truly tough and trying conditions.

Onwards and upwards, gang.

Oh, and good job to Runitloveit in the Sprintman - hope you are fresh for next weekend!

M

That was a good segue to http://eliteenergy.com.au/forster/index.html

As an interesting (and yes, biased) observation, I'm curious to hear of other comparisons between the GC and Port HIMs.

A lot of locals have come back from that race (which had around 1500 competitors) and indicated that Port Macquarie has perhaps taken for granted how good the Port Mac course and organisation is. The swim is challenging, the bike course the same with great scenery and the run course is electric with spectators along it's entire length. So far, the logistics of the race have been handled well also from all accounts.

However, current entrant numbers for Port are around 266, and I personally reckon they'll be lucky to get much over 750.

I know that virtually everyone has to travel to Port, whereas I'm guessing the majority of entrants for GC sleep in their own SE-QLD beds the night before. The Gold Coast is obviously one of the more popular spots to take the family on holiday also. But the negatives I've been hearing about the GC course have been interesting.

I have only experienced last year's course which was OK, but lacked any "character" or personality - i.e. there was no particular difficulty or feature of the bike/run course that stood out. I've been advised that this year's course was even less so. The other complaint I've heard is that once you left T2, you turned a corner and suddenly you were alone. No spectators or activity along the course (or shade, reportedly). Presumably this will improve once the location continues to develop. Lezan's comments above are also of interest.

As I've stated before, I have no vested interest in the local HIM here, and am just curious to see what everyone else's reactions are - particularly as the critiques will only assist in making both HIMs (and all future Tris) better events.

Website shows 627 for Port and 964 for Gold Coast.

I know you are local, so is there another event?

I would suggest that School Holidays timing really helps.

Triathletes with family have got to factor in family activites to keep the peace with all the training required for a HIM.

Miners, this year's course had even less personality. As a 'race' course though, it is great. You get a good look at everybody a few times and the bike is undulating enough to make it interesting.

I think the Port Course is fantastic. The only thing that turns me off it is that swim. It is the one and only time I have ever been concerned for my safety to the point of panic when I nearly ended up under a boat. Something really has to be done about it. If the swim were to be entirely inland (ie away from the sea wall) from the expo area, it would be much better. That starting straight is no good. I would also like to see something done about the path section around the finish line area. Waaaay too narrow and the three times I have raced there have had hard contact with people running. Apart from that, it is fantastic and I would actually live there and hope to do when the airport gets busy enough for my mob to open a tower (not far off I hear).

As far as entrants go, I think there were a few hundred Victorians this year. Very easy to fly to Cooly airport for them and cheap.

I still believe that validating has destroyed the half IM series 'experience'. Unrelated I know.

yeah, while the qualification system was a relatively new construct in itself, I think the IM has lost a lot of credibility and part of its mystique under the new validation system. IMHO, I can see the HIM/70.3 becoming the next big thing in the triathlon world.

The Port swim is reportedly being improved - and why the boats weren't totally removed from the first channel for this year's IM I will never understand. While the run course needs to be improved also, they need to make a firm decision and stick with a set course if they want to establish a tradition here at Port. Notwithstanding, a longer and wider finishing chute should be a priority. And Council recently unveiled plans for a significant revamp of the entire foreshore area, which includes the widening of the breakwall pathway, and a new pedestrian bridge over Kooloonbung Creek (which would then allow for 1-way traffic to be established in the last 1km).

The public exhibition documents for the planned improvements is here
if anyone's interested.

However, as to when these changes will be implemented is another thing. As with Forster, I can see a lack of improvement to infrastructure (the foreshore, quality of road surfaces and clearly the airport which has had an upgrade on the table for over a decade) will cruel the big race here in years to come. I can see the IM moving and becoming a fixture of the Gold Coast in coming years.

Hey Miners
a couple of Q's ....

- is the loss of credibility because of the previous method of having to qualify for IM? for beginners like me, the IM is more enticing whereas before i thought it would be out of reach. and therefore stick with distances that let anybody in.
- 70.3 next big thing? is this because of the nature of the event distance or
- IM gold coast. is there room for a third IM in Oz, say in Mar/Apr, or would the East coast IM be better to have just one? I guess this relates to the issue of mystique as well as numbers? i can think of some great course options up here

love to get there one day. family time is the scarse commodity at the present time.

PH

OK thanks. I thought you implied doing less bike work, or a new race strategy for the bike rather than just extra focus on running.
Will watch with interest.
PH

sorry mate - haven't been checking regularly

IMHO, the notion of the loss of credibility of the Ironman really only applies to those who were regular fixtures of the Tri scene itself anyway. i.e. the fact that it's now opened up to all-comers is seen as a slight on the integrity of the sport - average finishing times will likely increase, DNFs will increase, etc.. The difference between someone like Oprah running your average City marathon against the qualification system of the 6FT would be a good comparison.

I believe the 70.3 format will eventually actually get a little media coverage in Australia and world-wide. It's a more accessible distance and for a greater proportion of competitors it can be raced not just 'survived' - the half-day commitment is more palatable to the media, volunteers, officials and spectators - the national series seems to have solid support - competitors can back up to compete in a series of races rather than just 2 or 3 in a calendar year etc...

And no, much as I'd love to see the Ironman stay here in Port, I would not be surprised to see the Gold Coast taking the race after the 5-year contract expires - therefore, still only 2 IMs in OZ - which is really only 1 national event if you consider that (in the Triathlon world) the east and west coasts of Australia may as well be separate countries.

I've set a goal of doing this in 2010. Planning on some short courses next year culminating with Noosa. I'm a plodder so I'l just be doing it for the experience and fun.