When I first joined the Hamilton triathlon club in late 2015 and completed a 12-week beginners program to prepare for the standard distance Tri Maori triathlon I never thought I’d do a full ironman triathlon. I guess I didn’t realise how contagious the triathlon bug was.
The last two years of training and events have been focused on building up to ironman by getting a couple of marathons under my belt, Aoraki Mount Cook Marathon 2017 and Wellington Marathon 2018, racking up many kilometers on the bike and getting in the Around Brunner cycle ride, and doing the Port of Tauranga Enduro triathlon 2018 and Tauranga half ironman 2019. The training required to do an ironman just keeps on building until you find yourself swimming three times a week, running 2-3 times a week with a 25 km run midweek and then cycling 180km in the weekend. It is safe to say the training is where the real challenge is!
Then, before you know it, race week arrives. You are starting to feel a little crazy from the reduced training for the taper and worst-case scenarios are constantly bugging your mind. After all, this has been the goal for two years and the fear of something ruining that is so real.
When we arrived in Taupo on Wednesday before the race the town was buzzing with athletes and all things ironman. Ironman really does take over Taupo for the week. There were so many ironman related activities on the days before the race that you had to just pick a few so you didn’t exhaust yourself ahead of the race. I got along to the welcoming function, meet the professional panels, and first-timer seminar.
The Thursday welcoming dinner with waiata and haka performances, and inspiring words from the voice of ironman, Mike Reilly, really set the scene for the days to come. The first timer seminar with Verna Cook-Jackson on Friday morning before the race was a perfect time to be reminded that we are all out there to have fun and we will get to the finish if we eat through it bit by bit – but sometimes sh*t happens. After racking my bike, handing in my transition bags, and hearing the banter between the pros on the panel it was Friday afternoon and time to rest up before the early morning wake up. After a few winks of sleep, the 4:40 am alarm went off and it was finally here – race day!
Tick one, making it to race day and the start line in one piece.
The swim start atmosphere was incredible. Experiencing the waka coming ashore, the haka, and blessing of the lake for our challenge ahead was spine tingling and made me reflect on the enormity of the day, but in a good way. Just getting to the start line is an achievement – now it is time to enjoy the celebration of all the mahi.
One of the most daunting but exciting things about Ironman New Zealand is the mass swim start. Words cannot describe how incredible it is to be in the water with 1600 other people who you are about to begin a big challenge together with. Even more special was finding super coaches Nikki and Cor just before the swim start and Richelle who also joined the beginners’ triathlon group in Hamilton in 2015 and was also lining up for her first ironman. To add to the extraordinary swim, the start is marked by a canon – just to get your heart back in rhythm. Most swim starts you have a bit of congestion for the first hundred meters and then it is pretty smooth sailing. This was solid congestion for the first half and I was constantly trying to escape wild arms and legs. Here I was thinking the start was going to be the worst – no one talked about going around the buoy at half way. However, on the way back there was a lot more clear water and I even got a moment to appreciate the beauty of Mt Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe, and Mt Tongariro in the background. The clarity of the water is amazing and spotting the golf balls on the bottom of the lake is entertaining – they look so small! The finish of the swim is just as incredible as the start. You get to swim down the outlet of the Waikato river over coral like weeds and with a nice current to the swim finish. The swim was so incredible that it is just about reason enough to do ironman NZ again. Stage one complete, 3.8 km swim in 1 hour 21 minutes – about right.
Tick two, surviving the swim with no battle wounds.
Transitions at ironman NZ are something to write about. Volunteers help you do everything! They help take your wetsuit off, help with shoes and socks and even put sunblock on you. Talk about feeling like royalty.
Then on to the bike for a 180 km spin. Although, don’t dare think of it has one 180 km ride or you’ll never get there. Rather, it is a nice 4 times 45 km legs. The first 45 km out to Reporoa felt brilliant. Then reality hit when I turned back and was smack into the wall of wind. I thought the forecast was for light winds? Safe to say they got that one wrong. Not long after a solid stretch of the headwind it became a gusty cross-wind with a decent headwind element. Now the focus was on staying upright. Gusty cross-winds are one of my biggest cycling hates. Time was flying by though even though my average pace was a lot lower than I hoped for. When I went through town there were heaps of cheers – I thought I was a superstar until I heard on the loudspeaker Terenzo was just behind me and finishing the bike leg, at least he didn’t lap me!
The special needs bag collection point near the start of the second lap was packed with athletes having a pit stop. I took the opportunity to get off my bike, shake it off, and stock up on some more snacks. I even gave away a P+J sandwich to someone that was missing their special needs bag. Then onto the last lap. The backwind out on the first lap had now changed to a headwind in parts, more gusty crosswinds and then a bit of a backwind towards the turn-around point. The last 45 kms back to Taupo were gusty and tiring but the aid stations now had coke! The addiction is real at events even though I never drink it outside of events. Coupled with a caffeine gel I buzzed my way back to transition and was beyond happy to have survived the bike leg. If something was going to derail the day it was most likely going to happen on the bike, there are just so many more things that can go wrong. Stage two complete, 180 km bike in 7 hours 50 minutes – about 1 hour slower than I’d hoped for.
Tick three, finishing the bike with no mechanicals.
After another trip through the royal transition, I had my feet on land again and just had a marathon standing between me and the finish line. Fortunately, I really like the marathon distance but you have no idea how much you are going to like it after biking 180 kms. Just out of transition I spotted Chris, my number one supporter, and got in a sneaky kiss. My legs were feeling really good and it was so awesome to see all the supporters and in particular the Hardcor supporters. I spotted Michele and complained about the wind on the bike. It felt a bit like déjà vu as she said similar words to me in about the same spot 2 years earlier when she did ironman – they had a much winder day though! The aid stations on the run were so amazing, especially the Sweat 7 aid station that had a lot of Team Hardcor members handing out drinks. Coke and pretzels was the combo that was working for me on top of my gel regime. I was absolutely loving the run and managing to pass a good chunk of people that blitzed me on the bike. The three lap course was so great to keep seeing all the supporters, especially the Ramekas (these guys are the best ironman supporters!) at the far end of the course and Chris near the start of the course. There were so many supporters all along the run course and a lot of groups and areas with mini-parties going on. It really felt like a celebration. I was so surprised how quickly the three laps zoomed by and before I knew it I was heading in for that sweet finish line. This was by far the most enjoyable marathon I have run and my legs felt surprisingly good the whole way. The aim was to only walk the aid stations and I managed to do that. Stage 3 complete, 42.2 km run in 4 hours 30 minutes – about 30 minutes quicker than I’d hoped.
Tick four, running a marathon after all that swimming and biking to become an IRONMAN.
Coming into the finish line I spotted Chris, and got a high five from the super coaches Nikki and Cor. Then it was time to run along that red carpet, reflect on the achievement while keeping it all together, and hear those four sweet words from Mike Reilly – YOU ARE AN IRONMAN! A random fear before ironman was that Mike Reilly would be on a toilet break or something crazy when I came down the finish line so it was quite a relief that he was there saying the sweet words. To top it off, Michele gave me my finishers medal as I crossed the line. Ironman complete, 3.8km swim, 180 km bike, 42.2 km run in 13 hours 55 minutes.
Tick five, having Mike Reilly announce that I am indeed… an ironman!
After a quick shower where you suddenly find out about all the chaffing you got and some normal food, we headed back to the finish line for the final hour with the hardcor speedsters, Nikki, Cor, and Drew. The cut off for ironman is midnight, 17 hours after the 7:00 am start time. The final hour is an absolute party at the finish line, the pros come back to hand out medals and the true heroes cross the line.
Then it is time to try sleep. You think you would be tired after just under 14 hours of exercise but it was harder to sleep than the night before! The almost 2 litres of coke probably didn’t help.
The next day is when the real pain sets in. I woke up and wasn’t sure how to get out of bed but I managed to get down to the merchandise store for some essential paraphernalia and to Otumuheke stream for some hot pool soaking. Then we wrapped it all up with the awards dinner. The mood was much more relaxed than the welcoming dinner but it was a bit sad it was all over.
So what is next, and will I be back for another ironman? Before writing this post I was having a flick through my other blog posts and realised I say at the end of every post how much I loved the event and that I’ll be back… so maybe these final statements are not very trustworthy. But, I’ll be back! It was such an amazing day and especially doing it alongside all the other hardcor athletes. In the shorter term, another marathon is on the cards – probably the Christchurch marathon.
Thanks for reading,
Julie
Julie Mugford 
Awesome read, makes me want to go to taupo! And potentially do the ironman, or support haha.
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