Super Slow Bloke's Iron Triathlon

Capricorn Half Ironman - Doing it dumb

The Capricorn Half was my first serious foray into the world of triathlon. It seemed a little ambitious to attempt a half-ironman as your second ever triathlon, particularly when swimming was something that you couldn’t manage 12 months earlier.

It was a short 4 hour drive to Yeppoon. I booked, registered for the race and then spent time with the family, before making sure that all my equipment was ready for the race. The race briefing the night before revealed that the waters were very choppy and they had a contingency plan if the conditions made the swim unsafe. This was not a good omen for someone who classes not drowning as a brilliant swim.

Waking up very early on the day, I ate a little cereal thinking there were a couple of hours before race start allowing the food to digest. I was so nervous that I had to be reminded that the transition was going to close in 30 mins. I ducked down to transition to get numbered and rack the bike. Finding that the bike had to get checked by officials first came as my first shock for the day. This was a rusty second hand bike I picked up for $70 with the handlebars re-taped and that was about it. Luckily they passed the bike so I could start.

The swim was going to be hard. Walking past a baby shark washed up on the beach was a worry. That was compunded when the race starter jokingly suggested that the competitors would be going out to find it's mother. At least I hope he was joking.

With the swim being my weakest leg, the choppy conditions had me thinking of bailing out after just 100m. By then I'd reached my planned fluid intake for the entire event in seawater alone. The waves were coming from my right, which is the only side I breathe on. There were times when I got a mouthful of water on 3 consecutive attempts to breathe. On the way back to shore, I spotted a buoy and realised I must have been a long way out, so decided to swim along for a while longer. When I saw the white 1k buoy, I decided to keep the arms going and finish the swim. Later on I took time to ask a volunteer on a surf-ski how far to the finish. I was 60 odd metres short on distance, but close to 100m too far out to sea.

Eventually, I beached myself coming out of the water in second last place.The swim had me stuffed. As someone who just learned to swim in the last 12 months and only ever practiced in the local pool, the conditions were an eye-opener. At this stage, I thought I was going to be a non-finisher.

Onto the bike where I managed to overtake 2-3 people. First couple of laps were hard into the wind, but coming back was closer to the speeds I was used to from my trainer. I quickly realised that my 3:15 target was not going to work. I hadn't done anything after a long swim in all my training. It was clear that I was well and truly out of my depth. Doing a 3 hour ride fresh is one thing. Doing it after a long hard swim is completely different. Especially for a poor swimmer.

My food intake was supposed to be a couple of energy bars I’d picked up at the expo the day before. I’d never tried these things and when I went to have a bite, realised the folly of taking food that you’re not familiar with. These things are as chewy as hell. There was probably more energy expended just trying to get these things into my stomach than they contained. I decided they weren’t for me and slipped the ¾ chewed power bar back in it’s wrapper and kept it with it’s mate in my pouch. By the end of the third lap, I’d gone through both of my bidons, so topped up at the drink station. At least there was some fluid coming in. It’s about the only part of my race that I did do well.

The final slog into the wind had me down to just on 20km/h, but I knew that I had 10 minutes or so up my sleeve to avoid the cut-off. By this time, the thought of not finishing been banished. Other competitors who passed asked how I was going. Each time I replied the same "I will finish". There was no way I was going to quit this event. No matter how much it hurt, I was going to get to the finish line.

I was confused when an official directed me toward transition before going down to the end roundabout. I thought I was inside the cut-off time, but I followed the directions, thinking that I'd stuffed up. Should I have ignored him and kept going down to the end? At this stage, I didn't really care. The officials point, I go.Onto the run and I'm the only person in transition. I head out with jelly legs and shuffle/walk along the path. Checking my times, I'm going to be close to 3 hours on the run (OK, I'll admit, walk/run).

The run was very, very slow. It was plod a hundred metres, walk a hundred. I’m not sure the plod was much faster than the walk, but both kept me going in the right direction. I got a big cheer from the crowd as a late finisher as I came into the pool area, just to wave at the crowd and yell that I had another lap to go. Thankfully the race director, Nick, held the finish open for me as I came in last of all in around 8 hours. That was 1/2 hour slower than planned. It may be that I get disqualified for the bike leg, but I know that I covered as much of the course as the officials allowed. I’ll be back next year, looking to cut at least an hour off that time. What kept me going was the encouragement from the crowd, other competitors along the way and the advice I got from a triathlon forum discovered a couple of days before the event, called Transitions. Otter told me, “Dont f#$%en quit. Walking is fine, limping - fine, crying - no problem, complaining - absolutely,,,,, but do not quit.”

I learned a few lessons at Yeppoon in 2007

1: Make sure you have done a swim or two in the ocean before you attempt a HIM. Make sure there are a few waves when you train as well. It's totally different from a pool.

2: Bike trainers may be good for peddling away at night, but you need road practice especially on windy days.

3: Good equipment helps. Using Speedos for the swim and a rusty old road bike with no aero bars does not assist in making good times.

4: If you think an official has given wrong instructions, double check. It's too late at the end of the day.

5: Nutrition is important and needs to be practiced as well.

6: There is a huge difference between doing the individual legs and putting all three together on the same day.

7: If you’re new to triathlons, get help. Join a local club, train with people who have raced before. Use their knowledge to help. Don’t do it all alone.

posted by Kevin Paine @ 7:58 am