Philip
Speeding Up
- Feb 15, 2007
- 765
- 11
In 1978, a group of US Navy Seals based in Hawaii started an argument about who was the fittest athlete. They agreed the best way to decide would be to combine the Waikiki Rough Water Swim, the Around Oahu Bike Race and the Honolulu Marathon into a single endurance event . . . whoever finished (first) would be the iron man.
Thirty years later, there are 22 Ironman races held around the world throughout the year. At 21 of these races, the leading athletes from each age group will qualify for the Ironman World Championships held in Hawaii. Each race attracts between 1,000-2,000 participants. See here for details.
On June 22nd I participated in Ironman Japan held in Goto-Fukue, a city on the Goto Archipelago of islands just west of Fukuoka and Nagasaki. It's an attractive location . . .
In order to qualify for the world championships in Hawaii I would need to finish in the top 5 of my age group (40-45 years old). That would require me to finish in under 9 hours 30 minutes which was not going to happen because I don't have the talent. My goal was to finish in a respectable 10 hours.
A kind person would describe my goal as aggressive or optimistic given my previous race result. I completed my first Ironman in Japan last year in 11 hours 54 minutes. I came into triathlon from running and my ability to run is above average for my age. However, both my swim and bike are relatively weak but improving. Will they have improved enough to go under 10 hours?
The race begins at Tomie Bay at 7:00am with 1,000 wet-suit clad racers completing a 3.8km open water swim. I felt good during the swim and came out the water in 252nd position having completed the swim in 1 hour 10 minutes - 12 minutes faster than last year. You leave the beach for transition, grab your change bag, peel-off your wetsuit (you wear your race suit underneath), put on your bike gear (helmet, sunglasses, shoes, gloves), put your swim gear in the change bag, ditch the bag and head for the bike racks.
The bike course circumnavigates the island twice covering 180km. The scenery is amazing; not that you get much time to enjoy it. By Ironman standards the bike course is difficult. It has 2,000 meters of climbing and there are some great switch back climbs and technical descents. I failed to eat properly (lesson learned) and struggled at the 120km point until the Powergel kicked in after 150km. The bike took me 5 hours 43 minutes (includes swim & bike transitions) - 38 minutes faster than last year and the 146th fastest bike time of the day. The bike ends in a steep climb and then a series of officials telling you to slow down, and finally a stop point before which you must dismount. Someone grabs your bike, another thrusts your running kit bag into your hand and another pushes you in the direction of the transition tent. Your legs turn to jelly.
With your running shoes on you start out on the run course which is two laps around one of the many volcanoes on the island for 42km. Like the bike course, there is a lot of up and a lot of down and not much in between. After 10km the jelly legs are replaced by just very tired legs. I picked a shirt on the horizon and set about catching it. Then another, and another, and another . . . I started the run in 150th overall position and ended it in 94th overall position. My marathon time of 3 hours 26 minutes was 44 minutes faster than last year and I ran the 49th fastest marathon of the day.
I crossed the finish line in 10 hours 19 minutes. I missed my goal but was very happy with the result. I also learnt some valuable lessons and now feel confident I can return here next year and qualify for the Ironman Championships in Hawaii
Thirty years later, there are 22 Ironman races held around the world throughout the year. At 21 of these races, the leading athletes from each age group will qualify for the Ironman World Championships held in Hawaii. Each race attracts between 1,000-2,000 participants. See here for details.
On June 22nd I participated in Ironman Japan held in Goto-Fukue, a city on the Goto Archipelago of islands just west of Fukuoka and Nagasaki. It's an attractive location . . .
In order to qualify for the world championships in Hawaii I would need to finish in the top 5 of my age group (40-45 years old). That would require me to finish in under 9 hours 30 minutes which was not going to happen because I don't have the talent. My goal was to finish in a respectable 10 hours.
A kind person would describe my goal as aggressive or optimistic given my previous race result. I completed my first Ironman in Japan last year in 11 hours 54 minutes. I came into triathlon from running and my ability to run is above average for my age. However, both my swim and bike are relatively weak but improving. Will they have improved enough to go under 10 hours?
The race begins at Tomie Bay at 7:00am with 1,000 wet-suit clad racers completing a 3.8km open water swim. I felt good during the swim and came out the water in 252nd position having completed the swim in 1 hour 10 minutes - 12 minutes faster than last year. You leave the beach for transition, grab your change bag, peel-off your wetsuit (you wear your race suit underneath), put on your bike gear (helmet, sunglasses, shoes, gloves), put your swim gear in the change bag, ditch the bag and head for the bike racks.
The bike course circumnavigates the island twice covering 180km. The scenery is amazing; not that you get much time to enjoy it. By Ironman standards the bike course is difficult. It has 2,000 meters of climbing and there are some great switch back climbs and technical descents. I failed to eat properly (lesson learned) and struggled at the 120km point until the Powergel kicked in after 150km. The bike took me 5 hours 43 minutes (includes swim & bike transitions) - 38 minutes faster than last year and the 146th fastest bike time of the day. The bike ends in a steep climb and then a series of officials telling you to slow down, and finally a stop point before which you must dismount. Someone grabs your bike, another thrusts your running kit bag into your hand and another pushes you in the direction of the transition tent. Your legs turn to jelly.
With your running shoes on you start out on the run course which is two laps around one of the many volcanoes on the island for 42km. Like the bike course, there is a lot of up and a lot of down and not much in between. After 10km the jelly legs are replaced by just very tired legs. I picked a shirt on the horizon and set about catching it. Then another, and another, and another . . . I started the run in 150th overall position and ended it in 94th overall position. My marathon time of 3 hours 26 minutes was 44 minutes faster than last year and I ran the 49th fastest marathon of the day.
I crossed the finish line in 10 hours 19 minutes. I missed my goal but was very happy with the result. I also learnt some valuable lessons and now feel confident I can return here next year and qualify for the Ironman Championships in Hawaii
