Busselton 1/2 Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

By now I know I am not a speedy swimmer. I usually try to go too hard in the swim trying to keep up with everyone and get puffed out and then my stroke falls apart. I had made a concious decision to just swim at my own pace and try to maintain a pace where I would still breathe bilateral and not to worry about what was going on around me. I seeded myself at the back and off I went. It was a super swim! I swam steadily and breathed well, and even found myself keeping up with a small pack of girls which allowed me to draft a fair bit. And all I could think of was "OMG I am actually doing the HIM"!!! Swimming in Busselton is glorious! We swim alongside a 2km long jetty, so navigation is easy. Also, the water gets deep very slowly so even 900m out to sea, you can still easily see the bottom and the water is probably only 3m deep. There were no waves or current. The only pesky thing are the little stinging jellyfish and these were out in force, luckily their sting is not too bad but there was a gazillion of them out there. Anyway, I had a feeling I was swimming well but I didn't want to stop and look at my watch and ruin it. On the return leg I started getting tired and anxious and just wanted it to be over, I should have relaxed a bit and focused more. Pretty soon though it was over, I ran out of the water and was amazed to see 40 mins on my watch, I was expecting to take 45-50 mins! Go me! I ran under the shower nozzles and into transition. My coach saw me and said I was doing a good job.

Not a lot. This was a brilliant swim for me. Maybe stress a bit less on the return leg, stay calm and focused.

No problems here. Suit came off easily, got the helmet on, race belt, sunnies, threw some Powerbars into my back pocket and I was off. I saw my family yelling encouragement and waved to them, they'd made up a big sign to cheer me on!!!

Not a lot.

The swim was over, now it was time to cycle. The bike was 3 laps of 30k. I tried to focus completely on doing a good cycle and tried not to think about what was up ahead (ie the run!!!). During training I discovered that I could maintain about 30k/hr on the flat so this is what I set out to do. I also focused on drinking every 10 mins, eating some Powerbar every 20 mins and a gel every hour, I also had two more Immodium about an hour before I was due to finish. On the first lap I just familiarised myself with the course and tried to get into a routine. The first lap wasn't my best but on the second lap I was feeling strong and did my best time. By the end of the third lap I started flagging a little and lost a bit of focus in the last 15k, my lower back was hurting and I was a bit worried about how I would feel on the run. Overall though, it didn't feel like a 90k cycle, more like a 60k! Probably because I had so much to focus on to take my mind off what I was doing. I really enjoyed coming back into town at the end of each lap and seeing familiar faces cheering for me. There were lots of bikes out on the course and there were lots of technical officials looking out for drafting, I had to be really careful not to be too close to the bikes in front of me. A friend of mine got done and had a 5 min time penalty, I also saw lots of other people sitting in the penalty box! They had a bidon exchange going on, I had brought an old spare water bottle to exchange because usually they have Busso HIM branded bottles, but not this year! They were branded with something else so I didn't bother :) My total bike time was just over 3 hours which is an amazing result that I am so pleased with!

Not a lot! For someone that used to average 23km/hr on the bike, to now be able to hold 30k on the flat is amazing and something I didn't think I could ever do.

It took me a few seconds to find my spot on the rack!!! Once I'd found it, it was easy - helmet off, bike shoes off, running hat & shoes on, I'm off! More cheering from my family & friends. Yay!

Not a lot.

This is what I was the most worried about. I had done a bit less running training than I probably should have and almost no brick work. Also, at the end of my cycle my lower back was hurting from pushing hard in aero position so I was worried how that would go to. However, surprisingly, it wasn't that bad at all! I am a super slow runner and even more so at the end of a swim & cycle, but I just found a pace and kept plodding along. Even though my run time is super slow comparatively to most, I actually did run 98% of it! I stopped to walk through every aid station, and maybe 2-3 times on the course for less than a minute at a time, and I ran the rest.

At the beginning of the first lap I was a bit daunted by the whole thing and the distance I had to run, so the urge to walk was pretty strong. At the far turning point of this first lap I saw that Sef was just behind me, he was on his second lap. He always pays me out big time when I walk and I didn't want him to do this, so I told myself I would just keep running until he passed me, then allow myself to walk. But he didn't pass me until 1 1/2 laps later!!! So all that time I ran LOL!!! It just goes to show how much of running is psychological! Another thing that kept me going after Sef had finally passed me is that I hate playing cat & mouse with people, once I pass them I don't want to see them again, so whenever I passed anyone on the run I would just keep running because I wanted to stay ahead.

I was very worried about how my gut would go but the Immodium worked beautifully and there were NO toilet stops for me the entire race! Yay! I held off on the gels initially on the run because I was worried, I had one on the second lap and that was it. I should have had more. I allowed myself some Coke on the last lap and holy crap I have never drunk Coke that tasted so good!!!

The support on the course was amazing. Not only did I have friends & family there but complete strangers had taken it upon themselves to just spend the whole day cheering on anyone and everyone. There were even people dressed up in costumes! Some people that had houses along the run course had music playing super loud from their windows, at one point they played "Eye of the Tiger" which made me giggle, and then I heard "All Fired Up" which brought a tear to my eye! There were a few times on the run course that I almost shed a tear (of joy) but I forced myself to stop and told myself that tears of joy were for when I finished!!!

On the last lap there were significantly less people on the course. I tried to be encouraging to everyone that I passed, and I passed quite a few people! Early at the start of the last lap I passed a girl who I chatted to, I said to her "one lap to go hey" and she said she still had two laps to go, that was if she made the cut off time. I tried to be very positive and give her encouragment. I looked up her race number later and found that she did finish after all! As I got closer to the finish line I was struggling and I just wanted it all to be over, the finish line seemed to far away! I made myself keep running and when I got close to the finish line you couldn't wipe the grin off my face. I couldn't stop smiling! I must have looked like the biggest dork because I also think I had my arms in the air LOL! My mum saw me and ran into the finishing chute with me and we crossed the finish line together. I'D DONE IT!!!!!!!!!!! I hugged and kissed my mum and hugged friends that had finished about 10 mins before me. I couldn't believe that I'd done it! And surprisingly, I didn't cry! I always thought I would. I just felt strangely calm and at peace. I went to get my finishers bag and was a touch disappointed that they didn't have finisher's towels this year, that was my sole motivation for training LOL!!! Ha ha not really! They gave us a cap that only the finishers get and I was very pleased with that :)

I think my swim and bike times were competitive but my run time was super slow. I would have loved to do this quicker but I did the best I could. Something to aim for for next time hey?

I didn't have much of a stomach for food, but I ate a muffin that they provided for the finishers and drank some water. I milled around and chatted with friends, my coach, Sef and our families. Then we got our gear packed up and drove back to the accomodation. The plan was to go out to dinner with the family, then to a party my coach had organised, and then onto the official Meltdown party. Except my stomach didn't agree with this plan - I started getting stomach and gut cramps which just got worse and worse. At the restaurant I couldn't eat anything and instead went for a long walk with my mum, walking made me feel better, a bit like a horse with colic! After our long walk I was able to stomach some plain grilled fish and plain boiled potato, but then the cramps got 10 times worse. I thought I was going to hurl. There were no pharmacies open so we just canned the evening activities and I went back to bed. After a few hours the cramps passed but I wasn't able to sleep much at all, I was wide awake most of the night! Thankfully by the morning I felt better and was able to stomach some hot boiled water. My pee was bright orange I was so dehydrated!!! The hot water went down a treat and pretty soon I was able to have a nice breakfast. I really don't know why I got these cramps and I'm really disappointed I missed the after party!!!


Erm ... lack of natural athletic ability? LOL. Actually I think I did brilliantly, especially the swim & bike. The run needs improvement but that will come with more training :)




I. DID. IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was a brilliant, brilliant race. I am soooo pleased. The weather, the town, the beach are all perfect in Busselton. The event itself is amazing, so many people do it and the atmosphere and support are electrifying. I highly recommend this race :)