Ironman Port Macquarie Race Report – Shannon Fulwood
Race Date: May 6th Results: 2012
- Swim 3.8km: 1.11
- Ride 180km: 5.38
- Run 42.2km: 4.06
- (+ Transitions)
In 2011 I had
pretty well conceded defeat over my Ironman Australia 2012 dream and
had decided to ‘pull the pin’ on the race. I had lost a
huge amount of condition in recent months and I knew that I had a
very long hard road ahead of me if I were to get my body back to that
of first Ironman six months prior. Fortunately however I did not
withdraw there and then; and after MUCH consideration decided that I
would front up and take the daunting task ahead by the scruff of the
neck.
Training started
on the first day of the New Year, during which I struggled through a
1km swim. Whilst I had continued to cycle and run (albeit quite
conservatively), I had not swum a single lap since Challenge Cairns
in June 2011. Throughout the course of the next four months I worked
extremely hard in all three disciplines to gain back the condition,
strength, and musculature I needed for the Ironman distance. In fact
I should say four disciplines, because at this stage nutrition (and
in particular my metabolism) took on a life of its own in the process
of laying down new muscle and gaining strength.
I went into
Ironman Australia with a lot more bike strength than I’d had
before. For this reason I must thank Ethan for accompanying me on no
less than eight 180km rides (plus a few 120-160km rides) including
several trips up and over our good friend Mt Bingleburra. Ethan may
not be aware of this but I had tears in my eyes the final time I
crested the ‘mountain’… of not only relief, but
also joy and appreciation of what we had been able to experience and
achieve together over the previous two months. It’s a
tough enough gig to head out on a 5-7 hour ride for eight consecutive
weeks when you’ve actually got an Ironman race coming up; but
to do it just for the sake and benefit of a loved one? There are not
many people who would do that.
In the month
leading up to the race I had a few niggles and injury scares, however
I was overall very grateful to have stayed healthy and relatively
un-affected by injury throughout the entire lead up. It’s one
thing to hope for a good race, but I believe just getting to the
start line is a blessing for every person who dons a race number. I
remembered to be thankful for this on race morning!
Speaking of race
morning, it was cold. The previous day in Port Macquarie was blowing
an absolute gale, and it only became windier as the day wore on.
Riding down to transition with the fancy 808’s on I was looking
quite the novice, just trying to hold a straight line against the
strong gusts of wind. I think everyone was hoping that the wind would
settle for race day, otherwise there was going to be some major
carnage during the back half of the bike leg. As it turned out, race
day itself was nothing short of perfect weather wise, despite the
(very) cool ambient temperature before we hit the water.
I wasn’t
feeling too bad about the swim given that I had done (more than I
like to recall) full distance wetsuit swims in the three weeks prior
to the race. Even though it was a mass start with ~1399 other
triathletes (~1200 of which were men) all battling through a course
narrower than 20m in some parts, I wasn’t too stressed about
the swim start… that is, until the canon went off. It was at
this very moment that I thought my race was over. There and then.
I was unfortunate
enough to sustain an unusual triathlon related injury, when someone
elbowed me (very) hard in the lower jaw, causing me to bite my tongue
so hard on both sides, my mouth immediately filled with the
unmistakeable taste of blood. My primary concern was that I had
actually bitten off part of my tongue. After checking both
sides and the tip were still attached I started ‘swimming’
and gained comfort in the thought that at least it would get a salt
water bath for the next hour. The swim was, in a word, terrible;
3.8kms of being dunked (it’s hard not to get dunked when you’re
54kgs and fighting 80kg+ men for space!), kicked, punched, scratched
- you name it. 1 hour and 11 minutes of ‘biffo’ later,
and I was out of the water. A very disappointing start to the day.
Into T1 and I was
a happy the swim was over. I donned my $15 Cotton On turtleneck to
keep me warm for the first hour or so and grabbed the P3 for the
180km bike leg. The Ironman Australia bike course appeals to me for
several reasons; it is hilly, scenic, and while I was cursing it at
times, the road surface is mostly pretty ordinary chip seal and quite
rough in sections.
In total there’s
1790m of climbing with only one very short steep (200m @ 14%) hill,
being more of a mental barrier than anything; given that it’s
within 8kms from the end of each lap (of which there are two).
The next five and
a half hours on two wheels passed in a mostly enjoyable fashion with
the exception of a mild but somewhat expected wave of fatigue between
150-170kms. Despite my regular hydration I did however experience an
absolute thumper of a headache which was among the worst I’ve
had, made no less thumping by the state of the roads. This was to
abate toward the very end of the ride until I was head-down on the
massage table later that evening.
Lake Cathie,
Bonny Hills and Laurieton were all nice places to visit, and as
always I enjoyed the hills more than the flat stretches. The hills
afforded me the benefit of staying away from pace lines; and thus
avoid the risk of drafting. I was probably over paranoid yet
determined to stay out of the penalty box this time. As is only ever
acceptable on race day I was able to avoid stopping for nature breaks
during the ride, in the process saving myself some time. Although I
loved riding the P3 and thoroughly enjoyed the bike leg, I was also
quite relieved to be (albeit awkwardly) dismounting and handing my
steed over to a volunteer in preparation for the marathon that lay
before me.
It was noted by
my lucky volunteer in T2 that my feet “look very swollen, dear”
and my shoes (complete with elastic laces) “seemed very tight”,
while I was rolling around on the floor wrestling to get them on.
Maybe I should have paid more attention to this observation. The legs
felt more like cement than ever before and I took a while to get them
moving in anything better than a robotic fashion. My feet were
another story altogether.
From the first km
both feet were killing me. In my altered state of mind I simply could
not work out why my feet were hurting sooo much. I felt as though
I was running on balloons and even though they were ‘numb-ish’,
they were also incredibly painful. All sorts of things ran through my
head (though nothing of any value it would seem): “should I
stop and put my legs up in the air for ten minutes”, “maybe
I should stop in the medical tent for assistance?”, “is
there even a medical tent on the run course?” and I eventually
decided that I would keep running despite the incredible pain in both
feet until I could ask Ethan for his advice. What I did know is that
I could not run a marathon on these balloons.
“Ethan I
cannot feel my feet, but they hurt soooo much! I just don’t
know what to do!!”
“Have you
tried loosening your shoelaces?”
“Ahh no,
but I will”
And there it was.
A simple solution, though one which I was completely oblivious to, in
my fatigued state of mind. I loosened off the laces and ‘heavens
above!’ I actually started to get some blood flow to my feet,
hooray! Needless to say the next 34kms were relatively comfortable
compared to the first 8kms. Unfortunately, I discovered a substantial
sized blister had developed in my arch area. This grew for the next
20kms until ‘pop’ - it finally burst, oozing into my sock
and shoe. So much for the mass of Vaseline I had put in each sock (to
prevent blisters).
The run itself
was not too far off pace and I cannot be disappointed. Given that my
best road marathon is only a 3.33, a four hour Ironman marathon is no
blow out. Unfortunately though, including the three port-a-loo stops
and a small drop off in pace out at Settlement Point between kms
36-40ish, I could not make a sub eleven hour Ironman happen with an
eventual 4.06 marathon and subsequent total time of 11.02. In reality
I had left myself with too much work to do after a 71 minute swim
(that’s pretty slow in a wetsuit, for those playing at home).
With 1500m to
the finish and the final hill crested, I could finally unleash my
legs. The fast twitch muscles finally got a turn of the action as I
came as close to ‘running’ as I would all day. I am
grateful that I was able to really enjoy those last few minutes; the
feeling of running down the finish chute is the ultimate feeling of
liberation which I hope will stay with me forever. It truly does make
it all worthwhile.
Following the
race I was feeling quite worse for wear and I feel disappointed for
competing friends that I didn’t have it in me to go back down
to the finish line. Sleep that night was intermittent at best but I
knew a big morning was ahead as Mum and I braved the crowd at the
Finisher’s gear. Overall Ironman Australia was an awesome
experience. I loved the carbo night, I loved the expo, I love Port
Macquarie in general and the race itself was all I ever hoped it to
be. I loved the presentation night and I certainly never dreamt that
I would be on an Ironman podium (NB: Ironman podiums go to top 5 in
each age group). It was (almost) amazing enough for me to want to
sign up for next year.
Thankyou to all
those who know they deserve it, for the patience, support,
understanding, encouragement and love that one needs to even
contemplate taking on Ironman. I would not be re-counting this
race if it were not for you all.
Until next time.
