Steph's Kona Experience

My Kona Experience

Someone wise once said to me: “Think of the Hawaii ironman as just another ironman in a different location. Prepare to accept all conditions that will be thrown at you on the day, control the things that you can and manage the things that you can’t.” These words of wisdom have stuck with me ever since I qualified for the 2005 Ironman World Championships and helped me prepare mentally for the day.

My training over the winter months had been somewhat more casual than my preparation for previous ironmans due to a number of personal reasons. Also, my main focus for this race changed as I no longer needed to qualify; I wanted to enjoy the experience and soak up the atmosphere like my fellow hillbillies Tim and Margreet who always seem to have so much fun at races. I usually don’t remember much about my race, everything seems like a blur. I wanted to remember this one as I knew this would be my last ironman for a very, very long time.

Declan and I arrived in Kona on the Tuesday week prior to the race to acclimatise to the hot and humid weather for which the Big Island is famous. But it wasn’t as hot as I had imagined, at least not while standing still. Once I started to unpack my bike, sweat just began pouring off and I hadn’t done any training yet. I thought there was no way I could do an ironman in these conditions. But we were also treated with some mild days and evenings with cool sea breezes.

I rode almost the entire bike course in sections during the following week, taking notes of conditions and distances that might help me to break down the ride. True to legend, it was fairly windy. The Hawi loop was the hardest part of the course but also the prettiest. It has fairly strong crosswinds at the early rolling hills which gradually turn into a headwind for the last climb to the town of Hawi. With sudden gusts from time to time and semi-trailers passing, it’s “hold on if you can” time. However, the days I was out there, the wind was not strong enough to blow me off my bike! Hawi was also beautiful with great coastal views, especially when descending. It is definitely a nice change after spending time in the desolate lava fields.

I normally dread the swim. But once I got in the water, I was surprised how nice it was. The ocean was crystal clear, extra buoyant and the temperature was perfect. There were lots of tropical fish and coral as well. It’s hard not to be distracted! There’s always a bit of chop in the ocean, but it wasn’t a problem here. It was definitely no worse than Busselton. It did seem quite daunting to swim in a straight line for 1.9km. I couldn’t even see the last couple of buoys. But it didn’t matter because I never swam the entire course.

The run course is pretty much in town, at the highway and a lap of the famous Natural Energy Lab. When I first heard of the energy lab, I thought it was a popular tourist spot. I now know why it is famous. I think every person who has run a lap of it during the day will have a lasting memory of the place. It was H-O-T in there! Especially when there is no breeze, the heat just gets trapped in there. Apparently, it radiates the most amount of energy in Kona, besides the active volcano on the island.

There wasn’t much other sightseeing to do and shopping in Kona was non-existent. We did spoil ourselves with going out to dinner every second night and managed to catch up with Mal and Tess for dinner a couple of times. Luckily, we had a lovely beachfront unit. Declan was happy laying by the pool or on the balcony catching up with his novel and working on his tan. I was busy finishing my assignment which was due while I was away. Suffice to say it didn’t feel like I was going to do an ironman soon.

It did really hit me when I rocked up at registration on the Tuesday of race week. It was a big affair in a function room packed with tables, chairs and volunteers. Each athlete gets to sit down for a heart-to-heart chat with a volunteer. Mine was so nice and caring, went through everything in the yellow envelope and made sure I understood it all -- not to mention making me sign three forms before I was allowed to leave. The process made me nervous. I thought to myself; it’s the real deal! I was used to going to registration to get my name marked off and walk away with an envelope.

The next few days were pretty relaxing, going to the race briefing and carbo dinner hosted by Mike “you’re an ironman” Reilly. The food at the carbo dinner was pretty ordinary but the entertainment was spectacular. They had Polynesian dancers performing a ritual which included throwing flaming sticks in the air. They also introduced an interesting aspect of what is truly Hawaiian called the “mana”, it’s your soul and spirit.

Race Day

I woke up at about 4 am to have a High5 breakfast and made sure everything was ready to go. As soon as I arrived at the start, I was on autopilot, going through body marking and getting my bike ready. It seemed like well rehearsed, this is after all my third ironman in eleven months. Drop off the swim bag and it was time for a quick loo visit before I entered the water. The swim start is big and wide with lots of space. The ocean was quite calm and after treading water for about 15 minutes, a canon sounded the start. All I could hear was spectators clapping, the beeps from the starting of hundreds of stopwatches and the churning of water in front of me. The journey had begun.

I settled into a good rhythm, just kept a constant pace within myself and tried to get out of everyone’s way. This is by far the most civilised swim. I remembered the mass beach start at Busselton where I was kicked in the chin and grabbed by the arm before I even got into the water. The swim felt long, especially when swimming towards an open sea, there were supposed to be two ships at the turnaround but I couldn’t spot them until I was well over half way through the first part of the swim. The second part of the swim is harder as you cross a slight current parallel to the course and navigation becomes more difficult.

I was thankful when I came out of the water, happy with my time as it wasn’t much longer than I anticipated. In transition the volunteers even gave me my bag, I got changed, picked up my bike and the longest part of my day started. One thing I noticed early into the ride was the absence of wind. Normally there is a crosswind along the Queen K highway and it becomes stronger further out. Still I rode conservatively, not knowing whether the wind would pick up later. I didn’t drink as much as I had planned because it wasn’t as hot and windy as I thought but still I focused on my nutrition, making sure I was well hydrated and fuelled. Teresa went past me about the 40 km mark - she’s such a terrific athlete. I rode up to her and said `‘hi’’. I tried to keep an eye on her as she has far more experience on this course. The wind did pick up at Hawi but that was to be expected. I lost Teresa after the turnaround as she hammered down the hill with the wind at our backs. I continued with my own pace. After turning back to the highway, I cheered myself up as I was in the home stretch now and still feeling good. If all went well, I could finish before nightfall.

The run went very quickly. The afternoon breeze was beautiful and cool. I saw Lisa Bentley not long after I started the run. She was crying and walking. It was terrible. The town was packed with spectators from all over the world. Every time I ran past Japanese spectators, they would wish me the best in Japanese and I would wave back. I was so excited when I saw Declan for the first time on the day outside where we stayed. I waved and smiled. I was jealous when I saw Daryl from Steam sitting outside his complex with a beer in his hand. I saw John when I was running up Alii Drive and he was coming down. I said “hi” and John said “well done”. He was calm and steady as usual, little did I know he was actually sick. I saw Tess just after the Alii Drive turnaround, she was walking, and I tried to encourage her and told her not to give up. I knew even if she had to walk the entire marathon, she would still finish within the cut-off. I saw her again just as I was coming out of the energy lab and she was running again. I was proud of her not giving up. Her time will come.

The saying “when you got to go, you got to go” is true. I needed to go when I got off the bike but I thought my level of tolerance had increased overnight. An hour later, I saw my stomach swelling up and a cramp coming on. The cramp was so bad; I almost had to walk Palani Rd, the only descent on the run course. That was my lowest point on the day. I popped into the next loo I could see. I immediately felt better and I was happy again.

The last few hundred metres were very special. The crowd was fantastic; I was waving and thanking them. I felt like an artist taking a bow at the end of a concert. It was the perfect farewell.

Lastly, I would like to thank Steam for their generous contribution to my race entry. I’m extremely grateful. To Paul, who has been helping me with training and achieving my goal of qualifying for Hawaii. And to Dec -- what more can a girl ask for.