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KONA 2005 Arriving in Kona 10 days before race day was one of the best things to do. I always feel it takes a good 3 to 4 days to start to feel normal again after the flight and this trip was no exception. I made the trip to Kona with my brother Blake, Terri, Marcel, Lauren, Dave, Barb and their support crews and spent the first couple of days swimming, eating sleeping, shopping and setting up my bike! It gave me chance to adjust and enjoy the sunshine that we hadn't seen in Perth yet! After registration on the Monday the next big event was definitely the "Undie Run". After convincing my brother to run in it and buying him some tight, white, Ironman boxers he was ready. It didn't take much to convince Marcel and 8am on Wednesday morning we were witnessing one of the biggest undie runs in history with a few hundred runners including plenty of woman. The parade of nations was later on in the afternoon, which culminated in the opening of the expo, which we were all waiting for! Lots of freebies if you were there early and of course Australia was one of the first countries in the parade which ment one of the first to arrive at the expo! Gotta love those Fig Newton Bars!! Thursday night was the Carbo dinner and the food was delicious! Most of us decided to start our carbo-loading early and get a good feed in! It was then what I consider for me the most important nights sleep as I don't sleep much the night before the race! Friday was a day of "R &R"! I was up early to meet the gang for the traditional "Trysport" swim, bike, run. This was the last chance to check everything is working and ready to go before bike check in at 3pm. Back to the apartment and I spent the rest of the day eating, drinking and watching DVD's not thinking too much about what I would be doing the next day. RACE DAY With 5 mins to go the three of us could hardly move with not even enough room to tread water. It was going to be rough when the gun when off and I would have to be ready. I didn't find any clear water until 3/4 way into the swim and heading back to the jetty but I had come through unscathed! Transition was chaos (which I would consider relatively normal!) and before I knew it I had completed the 10km loop through town with cheering spectators and was on to the Queen K! Beginning the climb into Hawii (the long long climb!) I realised I was really enjoying myself and felt good. I much prefer to be riding up hill then along tedious flat and knew I would be turning around to head downhill soon enough. My brother and Andrew and his family had made the drive to Hawii and it was great seeing familiar faces in the crowd to spur you on. The second half of the bike I was focused on my nutrition in preparation for the run although I must admit the last 10km of the bike seemed to go forever! Coming back into transition to the screaming fans was awesome and for a minute it was easy to forget the 42km run that still needed to be completed. I had a quick glance at the watch and had realised I had just ridden a PB. Fantastic! Now if I could just hold it together for the run! I wanted to be able to get out on the run course and just get into my rhythm and my pace and hold it for as long as I could (hopefully until the end!). The first 16km is great because it is along Alii Drive with people everywhere, in some spots there can even be a little bit of shade. It was about this time that I realised that some of the females I had been passing with a "Y" on their legs were Pro's! I must be having a really good day!! 10km into the run I came up alongside a woman from New Zealand called Vicki. We actually had a bit of a chat and were both determined to finish strong. I have memories of walking up Palini last year as I struggled through a 5 hour marathon, but not this year! I ran all the way up and turned onto the Queen K relieved to have that part of the run behind me. It was now all about rhythm, technique and one foot in front of the other. The "energy lab" is famous for it's heat and this year was no different. Running into the lab is fine because it is all down hill but coming out was a completely different story. Uphill, the air was completely still and you could feel the heat rising from the black road. Ice, sponges, water! I threw all of it over me! Once back on the Queen K there was a slight breeze but it made a world of difference. With less than 10km to go Andrew and Blake were out on the Queen K yelling, "keep going", "stay strong" all those words that help you make it to the end. I thought I was looking forward to running down Palani because it ment I was close to home but the quads were screaming with the impact all the way. But once I turned left at the Hot Corner I started to smile. I saw Robyn, Kim and Suze in the crowd before turning onto Alii Drive where the crowd was so thick there was only room for one and at that time it was me!! After crossing the line and feeling a little sick for about 5 minutes I found Vicki who had won her age group and she told me I had come 3rd in mine! I couldn't believe it! I had made the podium! I limped my way to the ocean and sat down in the water, only to realize I was not going to be able to get up again. I decided I would stay until hopefully, my brother would walk by! 20 minutes later he did, thank god, and he helped me to the shore. The phone kept ringing from then on! My parents had gone to my girlfriends house (Bec Halliday) to watch the race on their computer, my older brother had it up on the big screen at Sandalford Winery and my friends in Canada had seen me cross the line! What a day! Did I sleep that night? Not a chance! I pigged out on Pizza, pringles, coke, anything with alot of fat! It took a while to sink in. I raced a PB, I finished 3rd in the 25 - 29 AG and the next morning after coming across a local paper I found out I had finished 32nd overall and the 1st Aussie Female AG home. The next day I also found out how well all the West Aussies had done, especially the women! It was a successful weekend for everyone! What now? Everyone keeps asking! Another Ironman? ABSOLUTELY!!
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