As the East grew red with the first light of dawn I stripped off and joined the other 999 competitors in the clear still waters of lake Taupo. What was I doing here? I certainly wasn’t planning to set any records, win any prizes or challenge for a Kona spot. Could I honestly claim to be lining up at the start of an Ironman ‘for fun’? Was I deluded to think that I could last the distance with only a scattered handful of modest training sessions in my training diary? And how DID I come to be here in the first place… ?
Last Spring I spent two weeks cycling and hitch hiking from Christchurch up to Auckland via Motueka, Picton, Wellington, Havelock North, Napier and Taupo. Lush green hues, enchanting birdsongs and captivating mountainous backdrops made riding all day a genuine pleasure. Back home in Surry Hills I looked up the IMNZ website and called the race office eager to find an excuse to return: “Hi my name is Dunstan, I represent Total Immersion Swimming. Your Ironman looks like a great event and I’d like to give away some state-of-the-art swim coaching in return for some exposure.”. I met with and enthusiastic response from Jane and they somehow persuaded me to take part too!
… so there I was, waist deep in the lake at 0700 and ready for adventure! My ‘taper week’ had consisted of early mornings at/in the lake giving swimming tips, coaching sessions at the local pool and co-presenting seminars on “What makes good swimming?” and “How to achieve your perfect Ironman swim” with Terry Laughlin, Mr Total Immersion himself! I felt pretty confident that I would be able to complete the distance but I knew that it would take a bit longer than my other 3 Ironman races - Forster ’04 and ’05 and Kona ‘05. I had trained pretty well for those and managed two that were close to 9:30 and one that was well inside. My plan for today was to swim relaxed, survive the bike and walk/run the marathon as best I could.
I started at the back and took my time as the start gun sounded. My goggles leaked so I discarded them pretty quickly, feeling grateful for the clean, fresh water. I used focal points to work on different parts of my stroke and core rhythm for 20 strokes at a time. On the way out to the turn I cruised past a good number of swimmers, ‘feeling my way through the pack’ and did my best to avoid the thrashing legs I encountered! On the return I cruised with the pack, feeling great and saving energy.
Onto dry land and my lack of wetsuit raised a big cheer from the crowd. Speedos off, nicks on then out onto the road armed with dates, tamari almonds, a bag of fresh apricots and a couple of sandwiches. Feeling fresh, powerful and loving the crowd! 60km later it was a different story … speed dropped right off and I switched to survival mode. Back into town, the halfway point, a big wave of energy from the crowd carried me back out to the turnaround... and dumped me there. I chuckled to myself as I realised that I was empty. I truly had nothing! I lay down by the side of the road and really didn’t care if I looked ridiculous! A couple of minutes eased my discomfort slightly and I continued the struggle to get home. Reaching the final right turn was pure bliss; I had never imagined that a yellow arrow could make me feel so happy!
Through T2 and changed I walked out onto the run course. What a pleasure to be upright with a straight spine after 6+ hours hunched over my bike! I worked in some brief sections of super slow jogging, relaxing into my best form. I figured that I had about 20km of running in me and I didn’t want to ‘use it up’ too quickly! By 32 km I really was all used up. Fully spent! Walking in the marathon was a new experience for me but it really wasn’t that bad. I enjoyed some good chats and for the first time I took full advantage those wonderful aid stations. I mustered something resembling a run for the final kilometres and scored top for high 5’s in the home straight. My finish was happy but not especially glorious. My adventure had lasted close to 13 hours and the experience was quite unlike any of the others. Thank you IMNZ for a fantastic day. Yes I DID enjoy it, yes I AM deluded and yes I MIGHT even do it again sometime…
