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Ironman New Zealand 2017

 

Words and story by Alistair Harsant

 

It was an epic day IMNZ 2017. It was a day that could have gone a whole heap better for a number of reasons… But then again, it almost didn’t happen.

 

A health scare 5 weeks out, the most important time in the schedule, cut my training right back, with no training at all in the final 2 weeks of it. A decision to go was only made on the Wednesday before IMNZ, after clearance from the specialist I saw on that day. Then there was the weather on race day… A westerly is the one wind you don’t want in Taupo. We got it alright… in abundance. In saying that, I am incredibly satisfied with my day/time. It was tough… but at no point did I want to give up… Mentally I was better than the day… if somewhat short-changed physically. So, to the race…

 

Race Morning:

I was up nice and early race morning… and what was immediately noticeable was the wind… It was westerly and strong. As I do, I had given myself plenty of time to get in and prepared as I liked to get ready early and then relax. The breeze was very noticeable as I walked into town/transition. It was just before I got to the domain that I realised I didn’t have my timing chip on. As I looked through my gear bag I started to grow concerned as it suddenly dawned on me that I didn’t remember where I put it before going to bed. It wasn’t in my gear bag, so I made my way back to the car to search my other gear. On the way I called the people I was staying with. Their search turned up nothing. The next 30 odd minutes was me in panic mode, heading back to the house, pulling everything out and still not finding it. I was going to have to head into transition and sort another chip out urgently, then go searching afterwards. By the time I got into transition, got a chip, and got myself sorted I had about 10 minutes to spare before transition closed. I was, however, good to go. I had my pre-race gel and met up with family who had come down to watch the race, at which point we headed down to the swim start. Final good luck hugs and I was into the throng of people waiting to enter the water.

 

The Swim:

By the time we kicked off the westerly was up and only getting stronger. The water was quickly turning into a washing machine and it was something I had not trained in, to my detriment. While I felt I headed out okay, as I was swimming the top end I managed to smack my hand on one of the permanent white markers… damn that hurt… Then heading back I was all over the place, I seemed to get onto a group, but then found I had drifted out. It was a constant battle and I found no rhythm with the building waters. I would find out afterwards that some 50+ people were plucked from the water and a rip had formed part way along the course… By the time I headed into the shore I found I was floating just under the water. I felt like a drowned rat… Unfortunately, it was not going to get any easier on the bike.

 

The Bike:

For obvious reasons (the gusting westerly) I felt reasonably good on the way out to Reporoa. I took the pace moderately as I knew it would be a tough ride back in. I cared not for anyone passing me, or anyone I passed. My main focus was all about getting a feel for the out and back and this wind… It was not long after the turnaround that I got a real understanding and feel for the wind… It was relentless, in your face, gusting (just to keep you on your toes) hurt. By the time I got into town to head back out I felt toasted. The wind had also built by this point as well. Again, I headed out in reasonable comfort to Reporoa, although I had noticed that the hammering my shoulders took in the swim was coming back to bite me. They were starting to tighten up and I knew I may be faced with coming back into the wind unable to get onto the aerobars. The last 40-45km’s were probably the toughest I have ever ridden. I was happy when I got back to transition, happy that I had battled through it… While I hadn’t run much over the last 5 weeks, from this point I knew I would finish.

 

The Run:

Ultimately the run was the most enjoyable part of the day. Not only was there the crowd support, I had family, the Boost training team and many others in the crowd (and at aid stations) giving me support and encouragement. I did miss the extra you get when you hear your wife and kids cheer you, but I knew they were following me at home. Of the 3 laps the 2nd was the hardest. I felt flat and really thought I would be walking a lot of the final lap… As I got onto the waterfront, however, I decided that I didn’t want that. I wanted to finish as strong as I could… and it would start with the end of the 2nd lap. As I upped my tempo I found myself lowering my cadence and lengthening my stride… and feeling comfortable with it… This continued all the way back to the turnaround and then back out along the waterfront again (apart from the long steep rises). I allowed myself some easy run/walking out the back, but once I collected my final band, that was it… tempo up again… I was quite blown away with how well I moved over the final few km’s… I even caught and passed a number of people. The cheers from the crowd along the waterfront and main street to the finish line is something special and still blows me away. As I hit the red carpet happiness, exhilaration and total and utter satisfaction came over me.  Then as I crossed the line the exhaustion hit me like a wall… but at that point I didn’t care.

 

It was a battle royal that race… but in reality it started 5 weeks earlier for me… And while I could dwell on the “what if’s” and “maybe if’s” I knew the training schedule I had been on, coupled with hitting the big weekend sessions, meant I always had a good chance of completing this race… Once I let go of time, the mental battle was won by me…

 

Interestingly enough, while battling the wind on the way back the 2nd time I had an epiphany on where my timing chip was. Low and behold I was right. The Velcro had caught on the inside of the shorts I had been wearing the day before…

 

The rest of the season:

While IMNZ is now done, I still have one more major race to finish off the season. This is the World Masters Games Standard Distance Triathlon. The race is at the end of April, with the last of the Panasonic Tri Series Races – 36th March – as my warm up race. Then it’s into a well earned rest for a little while…