Ironman WC Kona Race Report 2014

Well guys, this was a tough one. I was looking for another sub-11 race but did not come in mentally prepared to make that happen. Every leg of the race took much longer than expected for various reasons but it all boils down to underestimating the course difficulty. Overall I did finish, 21^st in age group with a 13:02 time. It is time for me to take a bit of a break and recover but the next season will be a new age group so I’ll have to get speedy!

Pre-Race Week

Hanging out in a volcano crater, for funsies. 

We got to Kona a week before the race and got to see some amazing sights. Good news

about vacation is you can keep busy all day but still sleep plenty! We got to snorkel, zip-line and hike all around the island!

Food wise, fish here is excellent. Sushi is one of the most affordable dinners on the island. We did pack a lot of dry goods (cereal, quinoa etc…) which saved a lot on costs.

Race morning

This one luckily was a bit calmer than the morning of Ironman Texas. No long bathroom line and transition was right at the start line so we didn't have to factor in a long walk. We got there and were ready with plenty of time to wait.

 

Swim

All is well and good before I hop in

By far the most emotionally charged swim start I've been in. We had about five minutes treading water listening to drum beats and waiting for the cannon to go off. The anticipation along with the excitement of seeing the other three waves start made me a bit antsy on the start line. I knew coming into this race I would not be the first out of the water by any means so I tried to just set up a steady pace and finish it up. I felt great in the water, a bit choppy but nothing like Galveston was. The salt water also introduces some interesting factors like the face numbness and taste. Overall I came out in 1:35 which was far from what I was hoping for, but I looked forward to getting out on the bike course.

Bike

I started off very excited to get on the bike. It’s the leg I am typically best in and enjoy the most. At first it seemed like it would be great! Held a good pace the first hour, even in some of the hills and I felt less discouraged than I did immediately after the swim.

Then around mile 30 the winds picked up.

Now, I know everyone said the course was windy but I figured ‘Hey it’s windy in Texas I’ll be so prepared!’ I quickly learned my mistake. While Texas coasts have a strong and steady wind, Hawaii has a strong and steady cross wind with frequent gusts that were storm worthy. At one point I was going 8mph DOWN a hill pushing into the wind and a gust took me right out. I failed to keep myself upright and was only 40 miles in at this point. Mentally this was starting to break me and I pushed through the remainder of the bike course for a 6:30 total time.

Unfortunately I planned nutrition based on my past race times and only brought three Bonk Breakers which was enough food for about 5 and a half hours which put me in a bad starting position for the run.

Run

At this point I was just mentally pushing myself to finish. This entire course was well beyond the difficulty I expected and I was not prepared and not proud of that. I did know that I did not come to Kona to DNF and so long as I had any say in it I was going to finish.

First ten miles is relatively flat with strong crowd support and I was simply trucking along. Getting to see Meg and several family members along the way helped significantly. It did get a bit difficult once the sun set (6PM in Kona) and I strongly recommend bringing a headlamp or flashlight for this race if you plan on having over an 11 hour race. Good news is the entire way back from the energy lab I could hear the finish line crowd getting louder and louder. I start my trek down Palani and see Meg who has a whole crowd riled up. This helped with one last flat stretch that was much longer than expected. We all know that you have the run the last stretch though because everyone is watching after all. I got through the finish.

Lessons learned:

• Just because the water is calm on Friday doesn't mean it will be Saturday. Never ever assume race course conditions.
• This is not a course for small riders to ride deep rim wheels. Reducing the cross section would have likely helped more than having the aero wheels.
• Also not a great course for long-tailed TT helmets. The wind sweeps up underneath and it pulls up and strains the neck the entire ride. A Rudy Project Wing 57 would have been much more suited for this race.
• There are only two stations for sunscreen, if you burn easily consider carrying some or covering up. I also brought a sample size tube of Ruby’s Lube which helped when the run just kept going.
• Always pack more food than you need, you never know what the course has in mind. 

     Might be a while until the next check in, everyone enjoy the holiday off season!