At 7am on Saturday October 12 I’ll be standing on Kailua Pier with 1800 other athletes nervously waiting for the canon to fire to send us on our way in the 35th edition of the Hawaiian Ironman. Arguably the world’s toughest single day endurance event, the legendary Hawaiian Ironman comprises of a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycle and a 42.2km marathon run to finish. It is famous for it’s heat, humidity and ferocious winds that can punish the athletes as they race across the lava fields of Hawaii.
Having qualified back in March at Ironman Melbourne in my first attempt at a race over this distance the last four months of preparation have been a journey into the unknown as far as pushing myself to new levels of fitness has gone. Early starts, fantastic sunrises, aching muscles and many miles of swimming, cycling and running have set the tone around a busy family and work life, not to mention the enormous amounts of food that I have been consuming.<>
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Initailly I was concerned that wavering motivation may be an issue as the weeks went on but this has not been the case and the mind has been engaged the whole time, and when this is the case the body usually follows. A good swim squad and cycling group have been invaluable for motivation and support in more ways than one. Needless to say Holly’s support and enthusiasm, even if it has involved a kick to get out of bed for swim squad or a 4.30am bike ride, has been a driving force.<>
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As I write this I’m half way through my last big week of training and by this Sunday I should be as fit as I am going to get and the last three weeks will involve shedding as much fatigue as possible, recovering and training smartly to maximise performance on race day. Whatever happens on October 12 it will be a great experience that I’ll be able to share with family and friends who are coming over to support. The last few months I have learned a lot about myself and what we are capable of with a positive attitude and some hard work.<>
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If you are keen to follow the race then use the athlete tracker on the link below and we’ll be updating our SquareOne Facebook page in the week leading into the race. Once it’s all done and dusted, chafed, sunburnt and hopefully finished as planned then check our October newsletter for the post race stories.<>
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http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/world-championship.aspx#axzz2eYgWUTRT<>
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Ironman World Championships, Kona, Hawaii
Return to Blog ArticlesAt 7am on Saturday October 12 I’ll be standing on Kailua Pier with 1800 other athletes nervously waiting for the canon to fire to send us on our way in the 35th edition of the Hawaiian Ironman. Arguably the world’s toughest single day endurance event, the legendary Hawaiian Ironman comprises of a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycle and a 42.2km marathon run to finish. It is famous for it’s heat, humidity and ferocious winds that can punish the athletes as they race across the lava fields of Hawaii.
Having qualified back in March at Ironman Melbourne in my first attempt at a race over this distance the last four months of preparation have been a journey into the unknown as far as pushing myself to new levels of fitness has gone. Early starts, fantastic sunrises, aching muscles and many miles of swimming, cycling and running have set the tone around a busy family and work life…
