I should go to bed… First a very quick report.
The top-line figures: Overall 10:04:47 for 24th overall and 3rd in my age group!
The Swim: Firstly it was long, very long. That’s the main reason I took 1:08. Given that time put me 112th in the field I hope that confirms the length! Only issue was a calf cramp at the turn around for the second lap. Never happened before and left me much concerned I’d suffer on the bike or run. I was tentative in T1 running slowly to the transition tent and carefully getting changed.
The Bike: Challenging is definitely the right word for it. This is not a fast course by any means. A combination of the constant undulations and climbs and strong winds. I worked to keep to my goal heart rate zone and whilst I’ve been too lazy to download the data (you’ll get charts another time) I think I did a better job at this. As I so often find the later laps felt better and I really pushed the final 30km to transition. My 5:36 did a good job of moving me further up the field.
The Run: I felt fine as I set off on the run. A little worried maybe I’d pushed to hard on the bike or spent too much time out of the saddle. Pushing that aside I settled into a comfortable pace. Biggest frustration was the complete lack of distance markers making it impossible to track pace. So I stuck to feel. The run course has a few nasty up hills to contend with, but also it’s share of faster down hill sections. Somewhere around 2:30 into the run I decided to push and see what happens. I had no idea how far in I was, but figured I had 40 to 50 minutes to go. It paid off and I did my first sub-3:10 Ironman marathon. Very pleased with that and once again I finished strong.
Hawaii? There are two slots allocated to my age group as far as I’m aware. I’ve been informed that Alex Brooks, who took second place in my age group already has a slot. If that’s the case as long as I’m at the roll down to take the place I’m going! Hopefully I’ll be posting the news tomorrow!
Bed time now.