Ironman Arizona - T-11 weeks
It's been a while since I've updated this blog - over 3 years in fact.
A lot has changed, some things remain and in some aspects of my life I've come full circle. We have also just had the chance of a lifetime presented to us.
Life and work
We moved to Noosa in 2020, which was a dream come true, but which was bitter sweet for a while since Pete had been made redundant and essentially had to start his consulting business from scratch again. It was a very uncertain year or so but it did give him the opportunity to really focus on growing Wheelscience, which was a big positive. I was fairly busy throughout with my consulting work, especially the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) side of things. And in June this year, I went full circle and re-joined Dairy Australia in a policy role for a 13 month maternity cover. This means, since I have been allowed to continue work on the AMR strategy as well I am VERY busy with a full work load and lots of travel. Amazing and interesting work though, I genuinely love turning my computer on in the morning (after 2-3hrs training of course!)
My physical and mental state
Reading the previous couple of entries in this blog, I'd say I am in a better place than I was. But for what I want to do in my sporting life, it's still not great. I've been doing hamstring tendon (and quad tendon) rehab religiously under the direction of physio Brad Beer since March 2020, and been coached by Brad Kahlefeldt since late in 2019. Both have been outstanding. I have had age group wins in short distance tris, great results in runs up to half marathon. I am pretty fit. But tendon rehab isn't fast, and it doesn't follow a linear trajectory. And so far in long distance (over 21km) runs (training or racing) I just get to a certain point and the hammy pain becomes such that I can't run properly and have to resort to a shuffle (the most recent example being at Airlie Beach marathon in July). But I have come to terms with having been dealt this hand. I had about 14 incredible years where I knew that the longer I went in a race, the stronger I seemed to get. I will never forget that feeling of MOWING people down in the back half of an ironman marathon. But now, I look back with joy and pride that I could do that, and I realised at Airlie Beach that there is still no better feeling than finishing a marathon (or Ironman) no matter how much you may have to shuffle to get to that finish line. Long term, I may need to concede and just race shorter stuff. But read on and I'll explain why that will not be the case yet. So all in all I'm feeling really good mentally. I will have challenges on the work and triathlon front in the coming months, but I'm up for it and really excited.
Triathlon goals
Covid meant we had to defer from Ironman St George 2020, to Ironman Coeur D'Alene 2021, then to Ironman Arizona 2022. Not our original choice, but it was the last N. American Ironman on the calendar in 2022 and we had to use our entries in America this year. We have friends (the Coyles) in Tucson, so we thought it would be nice to visit them during the trip. As it happens, it may have been the best one to defer to.........
Pete became eligible to go on the Hawaii Ironman legacy list after Ironman Austria in 2019. Basically this is like a "frequent flyer" program (!) When you have raced 12 Ironmans (but not ever raced Hawaii before) you go on a list and every year some people from the list are given a spot in the Hawaii Ironman (Kona). Pete went on the list and in 2020 was allocated a spot in 2024. This meant, if we were going to realise our dream of racing Kona together, I had 4 years to qualify to race with him. When I signed up with Brad as coach, this was the plan - 4 years.
Well, things don't always go to plan do they? Since Ironman have now split the race into 2 days (for the next 2 years anyway), with the women racing on Thursday and the men on Saturday there are a lot more slots available in the race. This means a) Pete was sent an email to say his slot had been brought forward to 2023 and b) there are a lot more slots for women available at qualifying races. More on that shortly.
Now, when I first heard about the 2 day format I was devastated. I actually cried, since I realised it meant we would never actually get to race together. I also consider that this is Pete's turn in Kona - I have had 3 amazing experiences racing there and if we couldn't race on the same day, I may as well just be there to support him. But Pete doesn't see it like that. He still thinks it would be a great experience for us to both be building up for it together, and both travelling there to race. I have come around to his way of thinking, especially after recent developments. But meanwhile, we were going to ask if they could move him back to 2024, just to give me that extra time to continue my hammy rehab and try to qualify.
Then, a bombshell dropped. Last month, Ironman announced that the 2-day format would also be happening in 2023, but instead of distributing the extra female slots across all their worldwide races, they added 50 extra slots here, 65 extra slots there and.........
...........100 extra female slots in IRONMAN ARIZONA!!!!
This just blew us both away! It is unprecedented, and may never happen again as they may distribute slots more evenly going forward. Also the race was virtually sold out when this was announced, so there will be no sudden influx of people trying to get those extra slots.
Pete has downloaded the start list and calculated that (if the slots are allocated correctly) I could have over 15 slots in my age group (F45-49). There are 139 women in my age group, but this is still a great opportunity.
The strategy
So, how am I going to do it? Well I know that I will not be going into this race 100% and that my hamstring tendons are likely to cause me issues on the run. But so far I am managing a really decent training load, especially given my work load. Mostly that's thanks to Pete, who has basically picked up all household duties, allowing me to literally train, work, eat and sleep.
And I'm finding that, other than on my long runs, my hammys are holding up to a good run load (including interval sessions). I have done a couple of long runs on the treadmill and this allows me to hold my form throughout the run.
So, from my perspective I will do everything I can to get as fit as I can, while not aggravating the hammys. This includes being diligent around using my standing desk, so I'm not sitting for hours while working.
I have some anxiety about the amount of travel I have planned for work between now and Arizona, but
I know Brad K will factor all that in, and I'm happy to literally devote my weekends to training.
I'm also being very mindful of getting enough sleep. When I worked at Dairy Australia last time I was guilty of continuing to check and answer emails late at night. This time, I am being more disciplined on that front. It's funny though, colleagues who email me at night will sometimes get a 5am response before I go training!
I might do another update just before the race, but for now, its head down, hard work and here's hoping I can get a huge lead in the swim, have a decent bike and hold on long enough on the run to grab one of those Kona slots.
This is literally the chance of a lifetime. We are highly unlikely to ever get another shot at both racing Hawaii in the same year.
Mahalo for reading!
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