On race morning everything went smoothly until I tried to top-up my tires with air. The valve was stuck inside the valve extension and let more air out than went in! When they started ordering everyone to clear transition it was time to panic! I spotted a grey haired bike mechanic and sprinted across with my bike. He whipped off my wheel, tire and inner tube and fiddled with the valve. At the same time I climbed into my wetsuit. Before I had even got both legs on, the bloke had everything back together and was pumping up the tire in a flash!! Now this guy’s good!! ;-)

More relaxed, I wandered onto my beach and wished Katy and Pip good luck. I found Jonny in my pen and we stood to attention to the America national anthem and a prayer – well at least everybody else did…It was quite special in a way.

We started 10 minutes after the pro’s. The water was a balmy 24 degrees and as flat as a lake. The 30-39 AG pack, however, seemed hungry and as usual I started near the front to get clear water – mistake, I was almost drowned. It was like the days when I was a struggling MOP swimmer!! After the turnaround buoy I found a bit of a rhythm and arrived back on the soft white sand in just under 30 minutes. Oh well, a couple minutes slower….lets see what the bike can do (now with rock-hard tires!!)?!!

T1 went okay but I found out later that my wetsuit bag sticker had got wet and came off resulting in a stressful next day chasing lost-property to locate it.

The bike started okay. My swim must have been alright because riders kept passing me but I held back in true ironman pacing style to save the legs. After 5 miles it started though….the packs. I got such a fright I almost hit a cone. Not one rider but about 30 riding 3-abreast in a close-nit peleton passed me. I heard the whirrrr of many disk-wheels passing by my left ear. Then another pack and another, each one getting larger with everyone adopting a “if you can’t beat them join them” attitude.

I don’t know why they did it. They may as well have taken a short-cut because if you draft, your time is meaningless!! Well, I didn’t come all this way to do a half ironman holding onto a conveyor-belt/train/bus. It was frustrating to have to slow down just to keep a 10 metre gap all the time but my challenge was to try to keep the groups in the distance in view. The course suited me: flat and fast and I knew I was on for a PB without any benefit of drafting. Bike time was 2:20, almost 24mph.

I started the run strongly, running across a long causeway over the bay. It was beautiful but a steep uphill and we had to do it four times. It was also getting tougher in the heat. I don’t think I ate or drank enough because I started fading at halfway. Part of the course went through a shady residential area which was nice and the aid-stations were superb, but my stomach was going into revolt. The clouds came over to cool things a bit but I wasn’t feeling great. I kept looking over my shoulder like Normann Stadler being chased down in Hawaii. I had a few SA mates and our flat-mate Neil just behind. The second half was ten minutes slower but I finished the run in 1:39.

Overall, a new PB of 4:35:56 (please update the HoF Dr Tom). I am pleased with it but with a flat course like that it should be quick. I will definitely do it again. It was like a mini-Hawaii ironman but tailored for the HIM distance. I’m sure the organisers will address the drafting issue seriously next year….You can’t have all these age-groupers beating half the pro’s.

Thank you to all the other Turbo mates and supporters: Katy, Pippa, Jonny, Rachael, Steve (Pips other half), Jess (KT’s friend), Neil (flatmate who puts ALL of us “long-distance” types to shame with his 100 mile Death Valley Desert-run) and Clare (Neil’s girlfriend who runs shorter stuff like the NY Marathon the weekend before). We had a great time but the loafing on the beach afterwards was too short. Perhaps just as well because we would have rolled home eating all that good cheap American food ;-)

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