The start was across the 4 rowing bays. The rough idea was that the fast swimmers would go in bay1 (to the left), with progressively slower swimmers to the right. This meant that the faster swimmers had a straight line out, while the slower swimmers had to head left to get to the correct line. A few of us decided that as "moderate" swimmers, we would start at the back of the first bay, and let the faster swimmers go, but keep ourselves a nice straight line to follow. This actually worked out pretty well I think.

I don't actually know how they started the race. Kevin said there was a hooter, but from the water I missed it. One of the guys I was with said "we're off" and then everyone was swimming, so I joined in. Apparently I should concentrate more...

My plan was to get on the toes of a guy from our club who is just slightly faster than me. I started behind him, but then he was just gone and I never saw him again till the run. So that plan went out of the window. However, I managed to get on the hip of a guy who felt the right speed, and I think I got about 500m of decent drafting off him. It felt great, and I really felt like I was surging through the water. Unfortunately I lost him when other swimmers crowded in and I couldn't keep my position next to him. That was the only consistent draft I got, with a few short ones in between.

The start allowed for quite a lot of space, and at the start I concentrated on getting into my nice easy rhythm with my stroke and breathing. A few times it seemed rather randomly that everyone suddenly packed closer together, and it would be really hard to find space to swim, but then it generally opened out again, so I just kept plugging away.

Because it's a rowing lake and man made, the sides are completely straight. On the way out we were swimming into the sunrise, so it was pretty hard to sight. I mostly just kept an eye on the side of the lake and if it got much closer or further away I would adjust. As a result I think I was a little off the best line (although Garmin says I did 2.46miles, so couldn't have been too bad!). The other issue was that I wasn't looking ahead as much as usual, and was keeping my head low to be a bit faster. One of the outcomes of this was that I swam into one of the rowing buoys that are there to denote the lanes in the lake. Turns out those things are pretty hard and it knocked my goggles off! I sorted it out and got on with it, but became a little more wary about them after that.

At the far end we had to turn around two buoys. For the first time (possibly ever) I followed the advice of my swim coach and stayed a little wide of the buoys. I think I gave them about 3m clearance, and as a result had a clear swim all the way round. Definitely the right thing to do.

From there I think I had someone drafting me, which I don't have an issue with, except that they kept hitting my feet or dragging my legs down. I don't mind helping someone out, but if they're going to make me slower, that's not on. So I practiced my serious kicking until they backed off a bit. I had to do that 3 or 4 times in the end, which probably wasted a bit of energy. Considering there was clear water all around me that pissed me off. If I'm too slow, move out, or get on my hip. Don't just maul me under the water!

On the way back up the lake I realised that there were markers at the side of the lake for 750/500/250m. As I was passing the 750m marker I saw a spectator at the side of the lake turn round and clap for a cyclist going by. At that point I realised there were people out of the water and on their bikes already. I knew that the fastest swimmers should be out around 48min, but taking into account getting through transition and the distance around the lake (3miles) I thought that meant that it was already over an hour into the race, which meant I was rather slower than I'd hoped. But I just kept going. Turns out the first swimmer (relay) got out in 43min! So when I got out of the water and saw my swim time I was really pleased.

For some reason the results only show gender rank (not category or overall) for the segments. So I was 28th woman out of 107 out of the water.

This is the best iron-distance swim time I've ever managed, so I really can't knock it. I probably spent more time with gaps ahead of my than was ideal. If I could have got a few more drafts it would have been good, but I'm not sure I could really control that. I also wasn't swimming very straight, so a bit more effort on sighting probably would have helped.

This is the first time I've done transition like this, with bags and stuff. I'd carefully placed everything in my bag, so I took it out in order, which worked fairly well. In addition to getting my socks, shoes, helmet etc on I also ate a couple of vegemite sandwiches, had some electrolyte drink and applied suncream, which all added to the time but were really important for the day ahead.

There were also wetsuit strippers, so that was new. I just pulled my wetsuit past my bum and then sat down and let them pull it off. It stuck on one heel, but still came off in seconds.

Ran out of the change tent and got my bike. The racking area was quite big, but I got through it pretty well, and onto my bike.

Got out of T1 33/107.

Not much. The stuff I did that took extra time set me up well for the day. I could probably take a minute or two off if I was trying to be really competitive, but I think it was important to take the time to do those things for now.

The route starts out around the lake. I took it nice and easy on the way out to let my legs get warmed up, and then just concentrated on working as hard as I could without it getting "hard". As I was on the road out from the watersports centre I was suddenly overcome with a wave of emotion that I was fit, healthy and able to do this. I actually thought I was going to cry. It sounds really stupid, but I LOVE this, in a way that I just don't seem to be able to put into words.

My stretch target for the bike was 6 hours, which is an average speed of 18.6mph. I was really hoping I'd at least come in under 6.5 hours. As I was heading out my average speed gradually climbed until it hit 18.7mph and then just stayed there. I got round the southern loop for the first time and was comfortably staying at that speed, and was really happy with it. For the first time I also felt like I was in "the pack". There were people around me and the course was quite busy. I usually just get left behind on the bike, and I was feeling great that I was really in there with a lot of other people. I had to stop for a restroom break at the 2nd feed station, which took the speed down slightly, but was gradually getting it back up as I completed that loop and then headed up the straight section to the northern loop.

My parents were in Car Colston, which you go through in both directions on the southern loop, and my Dad was jumping around waving to me, which was awesome. That's also where the spectator buses went to, so there was a huge crowd with banners, cheering everyone through. It was great to have so much support.

As I got to the roundabout with the turn for the northern loop I ran out of water in my aero bottle. I knew that the next section of the route was the only hill on the course (at about 50 miles), followed by a feed station. I wanted to refill my aero bottle before the feed station so I could swap out for more water, and didn't want to try to fill it on the hill, so I decided to fill the bottle straight away (before the hill). I completely forgot to think through where the road went, so I was half way through filling my aero bottle with my right hand when I realised there was a 90 degree bend to the right immediately ahead. I did completely the wrong thing and took my left arm off the aero bar to try to get onto the bull horn to turn, and just skidded out onto my left hand side along the road for about 3 feet. I had road rash on my knee, elbow and a really big patch on my shoulder, but I got straight back up. A whole bunch of people shouted to ask if I was ok as they rode past, but I shouted back that I was fine. I'd also managed to crash in front of the on-course medics, so they came to check on me, as well as a marshal. I took a minute to let the shaking stop a bit, had them check that I hadn't obviously damaged my helmet (I didn't think I hit my head...) and then got back on my bike.

I got about 5 seconds down the road when there was a loud pop. I stopped and checked my tyres and the front was flat. The marshal who'd helped me shouted that he had a track pump, so I ran back down the road to him and took my wheel off. He took the tyre off while I got my spare tube out and we changed it over. I used my CO2 to get it back up to pressure and then jumped back on my bike again.

I felt a bit wobbly after that, partly from the shock of the crash, and then because the tyre had gone. I got up the hill with no dramas, and then stopped at the feed station at the top. One of the volunteers poured a bottle of water over my shoulder and the other injuries to try to clean them out a little, and I also started pouring water over my arm coolers and into my helmet (the joy of an aero helmet with vents!).

After that I tried to continue to keep the pace as high as comfortable, but I'd lost a lot of confidence. I was taking the bends and corners a lot slower, and quite a lot of people passed me as I was slowing down a lot. I was also convinced for a while that my front tyre was going to pop again, because I couldn't check what pressure the CO2 took it to and (I think because of the heat) I was convinced it was going to be too much pressure. I gradually improved over time, but never quite got over it.

I continued round the northern loop and saw Kevin by one of the chip checkpoints, which was nice. I shouted to him to get the hydrocolloid dressings that I'd brought with me (just in case!), and he drove past me shortly after with a couple of friends in the car. As they went past they shouted out of the window asking if I was ok, and I said I was. A lot of other riders commented that it looked painful etc. I also had quite a few comments from spectators (although a lot didn't notice till I was past because the shoulder was mostly on the back).

It was nice having people ask how I was doing but strangely, although it affected my riding, the accident didn't affect my mood. I was still smiling all the way round, because I knew that despite everything I could keep going. The road rash didn't hurt too much as long as I stayed aero, but when it had dried out a little it was sore when I had to move hand positions. My elbow was also a little sore on the aero bars, but I just sucked it up and got on with it.

I never managed to get my speed back from about 17.4mph, but kept going quite comfortably back to the southern loop and round again. I stopped at special needs and picked up the spare tube and CO2 I'd left there (the plan was to carry two of each, but if I used one to pick up the spares, so I'd always have 2). The volunteers there were really lovely and we had a nice chat while I sorted my kit out, refilled bottles and had a quick snack. I thought that in total the crash and flat had probably taken up about 20min of my time (including all the stops), but when I looked at the Garmin file it turns out that it was only about 12min in total, so I have less excuses than I'd hoped for on my time ;-)

With about 20 miles to go I started getting saddle sore. I figured that if I was noticing that it meant that my shoulder wasn't too bad(!). But the combination of that and the rising temperature started to take it's toll. I could feel myself slowing down and tried to keep pushing, but didn't want to kill myself before the run, and was gradually watching my average speed head down.

The last two miles of the bike go along a private road into the back of the watersports centre. It's in terrible condition, with potholes, about 15 speed bumps, and loads of gravel. A lot of it is in the shade so it's quite hard to see what's coming. They warn you about it in the briefing and tell you to take the opportunity to prepare for the run!

*** Thoughts on Nutrition *** Note - this section includes discussion of "digestive" issues, so please feel free to skip if preferred ***

Last year I had a bunch of issues at Ironman, where my digestive system didn't really cope and although I felt like I needed to use the bathroom really badly, I couldn't (despite stopping about 5 times to try). I realised earlier this year that when I shifted to sports drink on longer rides I started having "issues", similar to my lactose intolerance. So I developed the "hobnob plan". On the bike I decided to use solid food only. I drank water with high5 zero tablets for electrolytes and ate hobnobs (oat biscuits), along with a few vegemite sandwiches (they're very savoury, which is nice) and I picked up half a banana at feed stations twice. I hadn't really done the maths, and so my plan of a hobnob every 20min, a sandwich every 25 miles and half a banana at each feed station turned out to be far too much food. Once I got full I just ate when I felt like it, which worked quite well. I definitely didn't get low on energy at any point on the bike. I drank from my aero bottle every time I thought about drinking, which is what I've been practicing. It worked really well. In total I got through 7.5 750ml bottles of water. I had high5 zero (2 tablets) in 5 of them, and when I got sick of the taste and wanted a break I just drank a bottle of straight water.

I didn't have any digestive issues on the bike, although I did have to stop for the bathroom twice (although the first could probably have been avoided if I'd timed dinner the night before better - you live and learn!). The second time I stopped I was getting a little concerned because I hadn't needed to pee for about 80miles. Then I stopped and it turned out I REALLY needed to pee, and just hadn't noticed! That goes to show how detached it's possible to get from your body's needs...

*** End of nutrition section ***

I came in 49/107 females, so I lost a bunch of places, but I considering everything it could have been a lot worse!

Not crash! The worst thing about all of my bike crashes to date is that they all come down to poor judgement. I crashed on the ONLY 3 miles of the bike course that I'd previously ridden, and so really should have known that corner was coming. And having already got that wrong, I should have ditched the bottle in my hand, rather than just let go completely! But I guess the more mistakes I make the more I learn what not to do in future...

Realistically I don't think I had a 6 hour bike in me, but I think without the crash I would have been closer, and I definitely would have got under 6.5 hours.

The route into transition was down a little ramp with another couple of speed bumps, including one on a turn. I think this caught out quite a few people who were riding with their feet on their shoes. I landed up at the back of a group of about 8 people. When we got to the dismount line everyone got off and there were volunteers taking the bikes for racking. The two people at the front of the group decided to stop and have a little chat in the middle of the narrowest section, and none of the rest of us could get past. I landed up shoving my way through, throwing my bike at a volunteer and running past everyone (Kevin said it was funny, and he was really impressed, as no one else looked capable of running at that point).

I found my bag and changed into clean socks and running shoes. I had the volunteers put sun cream on what was left of my skin and ran out.

I came out of T2 46/107, so actually managed to improve my position just in there!

I don't think I could have been much faster. I did forget to take my gloves off, so had to stuff them in my back pocket at the start of the run, which was annoying.

My overall plan was to try to come in at 12.5 hours total, with a 4.5 hour run. After the problems on the bike I knew I was a little behind my target, but when I started running I felt pretty good, and I only needed to get the run at 4hr 20min to hit my target time, so I started off feeling like I might still have a chance of coming in on target.

My plan was to run between each aid station, and walk the aid stations while I took on whatever nutrition/hydration I needed.

The first lap of the lake I was running comfortably at about 9.30min/mile. I tried to slow myself down because I knew that was too fast, and I'd tire myself out too quickly. By this time it was getting REALLY hot, so I made sure to take my time at the feed stations, pouring water over my arm coolers, my top and into my hat. I had at least a sip of water at every station, and ate some orange segments, banana or whatever I felt like eating. I remembered reading Melissa's (from my mentor group) race report from Hawaii about cooling on the run, and tried to do everything I could to keep cool. Unfortunately the race organisers weren't quite set up like in Hawaii (or even Switzerland), so there were no sponges or ice. It was pretty much just the water on offer, although there was one area with a sprinkler, and a couple of people at the far end had sponges and were squeezing water over people's heads. One of the aid stations next to the river also realised that they were getting through too much water, so filled a bin with river water and were pouring bottles of it over heads. That was nice, although it came with the warning "keep your mouth closed, DON'T drink this!"

As I ran past transition after the first lap I saw Mike from the club coming out and starting the run. He's been really ill, so I was really pleased to see he was still going. We had a little chat before he ran on, but that was the last time I saw him running. After that he was walking every time I saw him.

The second lap of the lake I still felt pretty good, but could feel the heat sapping my energy. I was starting to slow down, but was still maintaining enough pace that I felt I could hit my target.

I started the first out and back section and met Helen at an aid station. She was running as part of a relay, so was a lap ahead of me, but she said she was really struggling with the heat. I ran with her for a little while, then decided I needed to slow down, so let her go. She got about 50ft ahead of me, and then never got any further away... I saw her run down the finishing chute with Becky and Laura (her team mates), which was pretty cool.

I saw quite a few people from my club at various points, which was really nice. I made sure to give them all a friendly shout and a bit of encouragement. As I was going out over the river I saw Dave coming back over the bridge. I assumed he was on his last lap and gave him a high five. There was a little bit of shade along the river for a few minutes, which was lovely. Unfortunately it didn't last.

By the time I was running back in for the first time (about 13miles) I realised that my pace had dropped significantly. I was still managing to run (jog) between the aid stations, and felt ok, but just couldn't run any faster. The heat was so oppressive, and although I was doing a good job of cooling, it was still incredibly hard.

I was trying not to let it get to me, but I was feeling a little down that I was so slow. As I was running back along the path to the lake I passed Kevin and my parents. I shouted to Kevin that all my target times had gone out of the window, and his response was to tell me I was absolutely killing it, and to keep up the good work. I was really surprised because he knew what my targets were. But he said that there were a few guys ahead of me from the club, and I was gradually catching them all up. The closest was 5min ahead. Turns out he'd been following us all on the online tracker, and was watching me get closer to them.

I ran around the lake again, and the next time I went past Kevin he said that the guys from the club were only a minute ahead of me and to keep going. A little further along the path I caught up with Dave and Owen, who were both walking. Considering Dave was aiming for 10 hours I was really surprised to see him, and knew things had gone horribly wrong. That was when I really realised that most of the people around me were struggling a lot more than me. The vast majority of people were walking, with a very few managing to alternate walking and running. There were also quite a few getting medical attention as they were passing out all over the place. I literally passed dozens of people on the run.

At the far end of the out and back section I stopped at the feed station over the bridge. I decided to try having some crisps, and stuffed my mouth full of them. I then asked where the water was, and they informed me that they'd run out of water! I had to drink something, so I swigged some coke, but wasn't impressed with that. Unfortunately the next feed station on the route was the same one (after looping back), so that was a long section with no water. They put on an emergency water station a little further on, but it made that section a lot harder.

And then I realised I'd passed Martin (the other guy from the club who was ahead of me). I was a little confused because I hadn't seen him, but it turns out that he'd stopped for a toilet break and I'd run past.

I went past Kevin and my parents for the last time and said I'd see them at the finish (I had to run round the lake). Kevin was cheering me on for passing the guys from the club. I stopped at the next set of restrooms for a quick comfort break, much to the dismay of a friend who was there supporting her husband. I also took my time at the last two feed stations (noting that Andy Murray had won Wimbledon, and Chris Froome had retained the yellow jersey!), keeping cool and taking on water. As I passed the 25 mile marker I glanced at my watch and realised that despite my worst fears I was definitely capable of coming in under 5 hours on the run, which meant I was pretty close to 13 hours over all. I picked up my pace briefly before realising that to come in under 13 hours would require me to run 0.8 miles in 4 minutes. So I remembered myself and pulled it back.

I ran down the finishing chute and heard Kevin shouting for me. I love when he's supporting me - he's the loudest cheerleader I've ever had. Martin then patted me on the shoulder, and I realised that he'd been immediately behind me. He came in 9 sec behind me!

I came in from the run at 39/107 females. Really happy with that, and although I was nowhere near my goal for the run, my original goal had been 5 hours, and then I decided to aim higher. So coming in under 5 was great under the conditions, and still half an hour faster than last year. I also felt better than last year, and never reached the point where I HAD to walk, or just wanted to sit down and stop. Maybe that means that I didn't push myself hard enough, but my marathon experience is severely limited, and this way I actually got to finish!

Of the 9 other guys from our club, there were 7 I was expecting to be faster than me. One was a DNF (pulled his hamstring in T2), and of the others, 3 finished ahead of me.

The weather forecast for the day had been 27/28C, but at least three different people told me that it had hit 32C (90F). That's just silly hot, and considering it had been around 21C (70F) up to 3 days before there was just no way to prepare for it. The run was where the worst of the temperature had it's effects, and it really took it's toll on everyone.

Look at my watch a little more often. Having realised that I was going to have to go into survival mode I stopped checking it. Which was probably good for my head, as I wasn't stressing about pushing myself - I don't believe in killing myself for this. However, if I'd look at the time before my last lap of the lake I would have realised how close I was to 13 hours. While I appreciate that the difference between 12.59 and 13.04 is only 5 minutes, it would have been GREAT to have got that extra 5 minutes. And I know that if I'd just got on with it, without all the faffing, I could have pushed myself hard enough to come in under 13. Not that it matters, but it would have been nice...

I picked up my finishers T-shirt and medal then went to the medical tent. I showed them the road rash, and suggested that I should probably get showered before they cleaned it, which they agreed with, saying I should try to get as much gravel out of it in the shower.

I went up the stairs (the signs said "good luck getting up the stairs Outlaw!", which had seemed really funny the day before...) and was going to look for Kevin. However I saw someone with a cup of tea, and without even thinking said "where did you get that?" and headed for the food area. I didn't really feel like eating, but they had soup, so I had a cup of tomato soup and selected a main and desert (as well as my tea). I stood talking to the volunteers while I drank the soup because I didn't have enough hands to carry everything, and I knew that if I sat down I wouldn't make it back up to go and find Kevin. After drinking the soup I felt MUCH better. I found my parents and Kevin in the cafe, so I sat down with them, and without really thinking about it started eating my food. I hadn't had any choice (there was only one vegetarian option out of the 8 items), so I wasn't really interested, but then I realised that I'd eaten it all and was working my way through desert! Considering last year I hadn't been able to eat properly for nearly 24 hours after the race, that felt really good.

I decided to skip the massage and get showered. We managed to find somewhere that Kevin could come and help me, which was good, because when it came to getting the gravel out of my shoulder, he had to rub it under the water because I couldn't reach. That was probably the most painful part of it all. Once I was clean and dry we headed down to the medical tent where they cleaned the wounds and put dressings on them.

Then we headed back to our accommodation via Pizza Hut, and had pizza and beers (mine was low alcohol) with our friends.

Oh, and I weighed myself in the morning, and then again when we got back to the cottage (before the pizza), and I was 0.1kg heavier in the evening. So I had NO weight loss overall. Kevin said he'd guessed I'd lose 8kg in water, so that's not bad...


Overall I think just the heat (and the crash!). Taking into consideration the conditions I think I pretty much nailed it. I didn't hit my targets for the bike or the run, but based on how I felt I'm pretty sure that I've got a 12 hour Ironman in me. Last year I wouldn't have thought I'd ever be able to say that.


This is a fantastic race. It's well organised and good value for money (it's half the price we paid for IM last year). The volunteers were fantastic, and for a British race it's really well supported (there were families sitting in garden furniture cheering us on for the bike - that's unheard of over here!).

It's a great, flat bike course, so good for getting fast times, and I'd love to do it again.

Oh, and I may be on telly! The guy interviewed me on the run when he saw my road rash. I think I probably sounded slightly stupid, but it was fun.