We got to PE on Wednesday night. It was quite cool seeing all the people on the flight with their Ironman shirts from all over the world.
Thursday was a beautiful morning, and we used it to do an ocean swim. It was flat and warm.
I had been doing most of my training in the pool at the gym, but I also did 4 or 5 swims at Bass Lake, where I discovered I get claustrophobic if my goggles fog up, even though I am in a huge mass of water. And that I get anxious when I can't see the bottom of wherever I am swimming.
I also did a sprint triathlon at Prime View to get a feel for the transitions, and we did the Midmar Mile to get a feel for swimming in a big crowd: my biggest fear (apart from the claustrophobia) was getting kicked in the head. We also swam the Ebotse Mile.
I learnt that my anxiety is less in murky water for some reason (Bass Lake is clean and clear).
I had spent the two weeks leading up to the 5150 on holiday in Indonesia. My plan was to run and swim every day.
I did two runs, and two dedicated open water swims... oops.
But, I snorkeled a lot, and got used to the rolling motion of the swell, and salt water in my mouth.
Ok, so Thursday before the event. The swim went well, I felt good, but tired. And I established that just the gentle swell coupled with me turning my head to breathe made me VERY green. Anti-nausea tablets would be a non-negotiable for Saturday!
Our bikes arrived on Friday morning, and we did a slow run followed by a shake-out ride.
On the ride, my partner's bike decided nope, and we had a puncture.
We headed to a LBS and they sorted us out with a new tube, and new spare tubes (I forgot I was still carrying MTB tubes, which could work in a pinch, but I decided to get something more suited to the gravel tyres/slicks). This is why it's important to test your kit a day or two before.
I'm going to do a full write up of my entire training experience, so I'm going to skip forward to Race Day here.
It was cold! 12C, and windy!
Bike check-in was from 05:30.
The Prime View Sprint triathlon helped here, as it was the same format where you lay out your kit next to the bike.
Marshals walk the check-in area, and are generally quite friendly. As you face your bike, your kit must be placed to the left.
There was VERY little space between the bikes.
Also, the bike rack slot for the rear wheel is narrow! An MTB tyre would be difficult to get in and out.
There were loads of portaloo's and they were kept clean.
After a nervous wee, we kitted up in our wetsuits, and I was grateful for the neoprene as it kept the wind out.
You could head to the beach and jump in prior to the start. I stuck my toes in, and fortunately the water was warmer than the air, at about 17.6C.
I use baby shampoo for my goggles, to prevent fogging, and gave them a rinse. And also filled them with sand in the process.
Fortunately after some spit from me, and gauze from the nearby paramedics, I had them nice and clean.
Then you herd yourself into the start pen.
There isn't a lot of fanfare here.
The start is 4 people every 5 seconds. This spaces everyone out nicely.
Timing is mat-to-mat: you have 4hr20 to complete the entire event (initially it was 4hr flat, but they changed it). The swim cut-off was 60min (previously 50min).
Some people sprint into the water, others walk, I opted for a slow jog so as not to spike my heart rate.
I was aiming for a sub-40, but did not factor in the conditions, and at the first turn I told myself that a sub-50 would be great.
It was rough.
The wind was howling, and the sea was choppy with big waves. I didn't feel much of a current, at least.
I did the majority of my swim "tarzan crawl" style where you keep your head up and swing your arms in a freestyle fashion. This made sighting easy as I was always looking at where I was going.
Fortunately the conditions distracted me from my fear of not seeing the bottoms, and my anxiety was kept at bay.
Now... despite the conditions, at no point did I feel unsafe. The salt water and wetsuit make you super buoyant. There were people on SUP's every 10m or so, and boats patrolling.
Swimmers were spread out, and it was only once or twice that somebody's feet came close to my head.
There was a sense of respect amongst everyone. And camaraderie. If people where taking a break and clinging to a SUP, others cheered them on. One guy decided he was done and rolled onto his back, and 4 other guys were there straight away, cheering him on and motivating him to continue.
The highlight for me was a pod of dolphins maybe 15m away. Even one of the surf rescue guys got super excited.
I did swallow water twice, and had to give myself big peptalks to not throw up. I had heard from a friend who has done several Ironman's that if they see you throw up, you get pulled out of the water and your race is done (choking hazard).
I managed to keep everything down, and mission on.
On the turn back to the start, things got easier: we were swimming downwind and the swell was such that I could get my head in the water and streamline myself.
I could feel the swell, and would time the crests and troughs with my breathing.
I used a mix of bilateral breathing (changing sides every 3rd stroke), and alternating left and right, depending on where the biggest waves were coming from.
I managed a 38min swim, which I am really happy with, given the conditions (my fastest open water mile was 33min at Ebotse, under calm conditions).
Ok, transition. It was quite a run on little stones. Take it easy.
I had a mini Bar One ready, and chewed that while kitting up: it gets the salt taste out of your mouth.
Put your helmet on first! Then do the rest.
Out of transition, it was on the bike and down the beach at a whopping 30kmh. I thought "sheesh, there's no way the tyres can make THAT much of a difference!". Then I remembered I had a tailwind...
The bike route is scenic. The road isn't the greatest, but it isn't terrible: lots of undulations.
The wind did shift from a tailwind to a headwind after about 6 or 7km, with rolling hills.
I tried to make the most of the tailwinds.
There was a marshal up and down the route on a motorbike, ensuring no one drafted. I was catching up to a guy, but two people already on their second lap were coming up behind me fast, so I moved behind the guy I was catching up to, to let them pass. Then I moved out, but saw the motorbike, so I moved back in to let them pass, and the marshal said "Stop drafting!"
I just said I was waiting for people to pass and he gave me a thumbs up and carried on.
There was only one water point, at about 18km, with water and electrolytes.
No gels (I thought Maurten gels would be supplied).
There weren't any tech stations. Nor any signs saying "if you have a technical, turn around/carry on". Some people were walking and would have had 5-6km before reaching the point where Ironman staff were stationed.
On the second lap they wind had picked up, but I have cycled in worse.
Transition for the run, super chilled.
I had gels on my race belt, which I put in my trisuit pockets as they weren't very secure on the belt.
The run started on a gradual climb, into the wind.
I thought my GPS was glitching as it said I was doing 6:35/km, and I felt like I was going a LOT slower.
I did take a few short walk breaks, just to give the heart a minute to calm down.
After about 2kmish of gradual climb, you reach the turn around and it's all downhill and tailwinds from there. Well, until you do the next lap.
There was a water point around 2.5km in, with portaloos (very clean, again), and they had water, Coke and electrolytes.
The final part of the run was chilled, and then you approach the final stretch, and you hit that Ironman carpet, and even though this wasn't a full Ironman, I couldn't help but grin.
It was such a cool feeling!
Lots of people, music, a really nice vibe.
Overall, I enjoyed it. I am very glad I did open water swims, and had spent time in the ocean prior to the event.
A lot of people who were struggling said that it was their first open water swim.
Even if you just do an ocean swim the day before, do something!
I enjoyed both the cycle and run routes, and overall, it was a good day out.
