MEN'S HEALTH IRONMAN AUSTRALIA TRIATHLON

Simply put, my training for Forster had been great.

I completed all the sessions Bill Davoren had timetabled, including some ten and a half hour days. I felt fitter than I think I have ever been. I was confident that I had improved my swimming, my biking was as strong as ever, and I was increasingly surprised by my running speed.

In short I was sure Forster would be a great race for me.

Nicole and I arrived into the twin towns on Wednesday morning. There seemed to be even more hype than normal, with everyone expecting an exciting day with a record deep field. As last year's first Australian home, I felt some pressure to perform well at this race.

However, my own expectations outweighed everybody else’s.

Then on Friday the unthinkable happened - I started to get a sore throat and what seemed to be a head cold. I tried to talk myself out of it, but this had well and truly set in.

Now we all know the last days before an Ironman are the worst. The waiting is a killer. It is bad at any race, but this time I had more things on my mind than usual.

There were memories of the time I raced Hawaii in ‘93 when I was sick, and finished doing the dance of a thousand headless monkeys. The fact that I didn’t train or race for a year afterwards was not lost on me. Nor was the story of good friend Bruce Thomas’ experience when he raced while ill. He is now unable to compete due to a heart condition.

All too soon, race morning arrived and surprisingly I felt less apprehensive than normal. In fact I was so relaxed that after I got up and ate and made all of my final preparations, I fell asleep on the lounge room floor watching quality 430am television (I think it was Coneheads!)

I had realized that being sick was beyond my control and that I had to be a little philosophical about it.

I had decided to race, and was prepared to go out there, see how I felt, and make decisions from that point.

Just before the gun went off at the swim start I had a sudden rush of nerves. There was a lot of tension in the air. In the first lap of the swim I started off well, and then later had some trouble breathing and so I backed it off about half way through the first lap. Progressively I was struggling for breath and dropped off the pack.

From then on I held that position and gradually I began to feel a little better.

What stood out in T1 was the incredible crowd support as I ran to the bike. It was truly amazing! At that point, though steeled by the support from the crowd, I was still unsure of how I felt.

Soon after I got out on the bike I heard a split that said I was thirty seconds down on Peter Reid. So I rode a bit harder than I normally would have.

I also found myself not getting into the rhythm I wanted and so backed it off at Tiona.

Then I found the beat. Just before the turnaround past Tarbuck Bay I rode straight through a small pack. It was also there that I saw Macca and Walton and I couldn’t believe how far ahead they were!

Soon after these guys followed a pack including Peter Reid, Jason Metters, Chris Legh, Thomas Hellriegal, Mitch Dean, Luke Bell, and Sean Forster. I found myself thinking two things: that I wished I was riding in that pack, rather than doing it hard on my own; and secondly, that some of these guys were going too quickly for that early stage on the bike!

I caught the second pack at Coomba Park Road. When I went straight through I was surprised nobody came with me. At that point I thought I must have been riding okay.
When I approached the turnaround in town I had ridden by myself for quite a while, and I was riding strongly, but not flat out.

It was at that time that I felt I was at the point of no return. Though I was still feeling below average, I decided I would put the idea of being sick out of my mind.

The good signs were that when I saw others riding the opposite way, Walton and McCormack had remained in pretty much the same position, however the group chasing them had begun to fragment.

Once again the crowd support was huge. On the corner of Head Street where you turn onto Lakes Way to go out of town, the big contingent of Hills Tri Club support didn’t go unnoticed!

Just before Tiona a big pack of about twenty guys caught me. A short while after, they slowed and I found myself getting away with SBR boy on the climb before Tarbuck Bay. Roughly 5 km later I fell back and proceeded to ride the rest of the way by myself.

Coming into T2 the crowd support was the best I had received so far that day, and I was looking forward to the run. I was calm and focused in transition and systematically prepared myself. I’ve since been told I was nineteen minutes down on the lead out of T2.

When I started running over bridge, I wanted to set solid pace but also build into a rhythm, so didn’t go as hard as I possibly could have. I noticed how far in front Walton and McCormack were – nearly five km. At that point though I still thought Olivier Bernhard would win. I also thought Luke Bell was putting in a good performance, looking fresh and in good shape.

I must say I really enjoyed running through the crowds near the bridge, and going up the hill out of T2. I found the crowd support here really energising; it was an awesome feeling. It spurred me to put on a good show for all the people out there watching, and for those who had come out to support me.

I felt I was running the hills very well and holding my form consistently. I concentrated on running each kilometre the best I possibly could. I maintained this for the remainder of the marathon, and just felt stronger and stronger. It was not until the final straight that I realized that I was going to place third – and suffice it to say I was ecstatic!

I know I have mentioned several times already the crowd support - but really - it was the most phenomenal energy I have ever received. So to all of those reading this who gave me a cheer – a great big huge THANKYOU – your performance was second to none the world over! I hope to see you all again there next year!