2006 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon

My name is Anthony Palmer and I am very proud to say that I lived my ultimate sporting dream and became a Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon Finisher!

Ironman Background
My first ‘Ironman Dreams’ started when I watched Greg Welch win the 1994 Hawaiian Ironman. Fast forward to the year 2004 and it became a reality as I successfully completed the inaugural Ironman WA in Busselton. I then followed this up by racing the 2005 Australian Ironman Championships, the final Forster. I went back to Busselton for a second Ironman WA in 2005 where I qualified for Hawaii. I then ventured to the 2006 Australian Ironman Championships, at the new venue of Port Macquarie, to get ‘another ironman under the belt’ before the big one!

Training
Before my first ironman I became a ‘Budgie Boy’! Since then Andrew Budge has taken me to five fantastic ironman finishes. His guidance, attention to detail and friendship have been amazing. My Hawaii preparation was no different. My program was made up of 24 weeks, a 12 week endurance phase and a 12 week specific phase. The main objective of my program, besides to have me in the best shape of my life, was to make me a more efficient and stronger bike rider so that I could maximise my running ability on the marathon. Andrew always takes you to the edge, in a structured and methodical way, in the hope of getting the best race out of you possible. One of my ironman philosophies is that if you can complete a Budgie Program you will be ready for race day…..I was ready!

Race Week
The lead up to the race had it all! I arrived in Kona on the Thursday, nine days before the race. During the following days I experienced my first major earthquake, celebrated my Mum’s Birthday, swam with a dozen dolphins during a training swim, ran the energy lab with Luke Bell, rode the Queen K with Chris Legh, participated in the famous ‘undie run’, proudly took part in the athlete’s parade, made several visits to the expo, enjoyed a massage, fuelled up at the carbo dinner, registered myself, checked in my bike, met many other ‘first timers’ and much more. Although there was many things going on and to do before the race, I continually made sure I was getting rest. Staying off your feet during the lead up to the race, acclimatising to the heat and humidity, and keeping the fluids up would be a key to a good performance.

Also, during this time was the formation of ‘Team Palmer’. My wife, Sandra, my Mum and Dad, and brother had made the journey to Kona with me on Thursday. The following Tuesday saw the arrival of my sister-in-law as well as one of my best mates from the USA. Then on the Thursday before the race the team was bolstered by five with the arrival of two of my best mates from Perth, their partners and one of their brothers. Team Palmer was 11 people strong and was ready for race day with team polo shirts. I was extremely fortunate to have such great support crew.

Goals
1. To Finish!!! This was an absolute must. Considering that I took the second of two qualifying spots at IMWA by only 24 seconds, there was no guarantee there would be another chance.
2. Splits: Swim – Sub 1hr
Ride – Anything under 5hrs 30mins would be a bonus (if the wind is strong in Hawaii then a six hour ride would not be out of the question.)
Run – As close to 3.15 as possible.
3. Sub 10hrs. I have been lucky enough to go sub 10hrs in my previous four ironmans but to do it in Hawaii would need favourable weather conditions.
4. Top 200
5. Personal Best. This would be ‘cream on the cake’. Considering the weather was very good for the 2005 race I was expecting that 2006 would be a tough one!

Pre-race
Race morning started like any other ironman with a banana and nutella sandwich, a drink and the customary trip to the boy’s room. At this stage I tend to go ‘quiet’. I think this is my way of preparing for the day ahead. At 4:00am I caught the bus down towards transition. Upon arriving at the pier I handed in my special needs bags, got my race number, 1447, stamped on each arm and then proceeded to transition to get my bike ready. I then farewelled Sandra with a very tight hug, one that says she will be with me every stroke, pedal and step throughout the day. We gave each other one last ‘this is really it’ smile and I went back into transition to make my final preparations. My excitement and anticipation was building rapidly!

3.8km Swim
After watching the pro field begin their race it was finally my turn. I swam out to the start line and began treading water with hundreds of other nervous athletes. Having spoken to several people who have completed the race before, I decided to start on the left, away from the pier, in the hope of avoiding the crash ‘n’ bash of the start. Just before the start I made the decision to move further left as I was feeling like I was in a crowded elevator. I was a tin soldier in water! The decision to move proved to be a very good one as all of the sudden I was positioned on the front row with some comfortable space around me. A couple more anxious minutes passed and then the sound everyone in and around the bay were waiting for - the canon was fired and my race day had begun.

I got a pearler of a start! For the usually dreaded first few hundred metres of the swim I pretty much had clear water and had no major clashes with other athletes. This great start allowed me to quickly settle into a very comfortable rhythm and ‘race pace’. It was during my swim to the turn around boat that I realised how great I felt and how lucky I was that the weather gods were smiling. If I stuck to my race plan this could definitely be a sub ten hour day as the wind seemed to be low and it was still slightly overcast. The ball was definitely in my court now!

I got to the turnaround point of the swim feeling very strong and comfortable. After swimming around the boat that indicated the half way point of the swim, the openness of the swim disappeared as everyone tried to realign themselves. After exchanging a few pleasantries the pack settled back down but remained very tight for the journey back to the pier. Little did I know at the time that we were swimming back into a strong current. With one kilometre to go in the swim I felt my left calf muscle cramp big time! It had happened before at IMWA 2004 so I was pretty confident that all I needed to do was flex and extend my foot in the hope of stretching it out. I have a tendency to flick my left leg when I kick and together with ‘sighting’ for open water swimming I sometimes get the dreaded cramp. After a flex and extend I was back in business and swam to the pier still feeling strong. Upon exiting the water I looked down at my watch to see a time of 1.02. It was a bit slower than I had hoped for but I knew it was a good one judging by the space I had in the swim and that my age group rack was still ‘full’ of bikes. After swapping my cap and goggles for my helmet and sunnies I was off to find my bike. The day had begun well, very well!

180km Bike
Leaving transition was a party like atmosphere. The crowds were screaming their support, and like most athletes, knowing that leg one had been successfully completed, I was soaking up the atmosphere and began the bike leg with a huge smile. I quickly settled into a comfortable tempo, downed a couple of salt tablets and made sure I was keeping right! I passed Team Palmer, gave them the thumbs up and then continued through town. Coming back up Palani Road it was like the Tour De France with supporters lining the road either side, sticking their heads out for a quick glance or photo and shouting their support. Upon reaching the top of Palani it was left onto the famous Queen K Highway, which meant long rolling hills, where approximately two-thirds of the entire ride would be spent.

After crossing paths with Mat ‘Bulldog’ Jennings and exchanging AFL preferences (Go the Dockers!), it was time to focus on the nutrition plan, stay alert (like watching out for the guy who ran into a very large witches hat) and settle into my ‘race pace’. I had been warned about the high pace that occurs during the start of the bike due to the excitement of the occasion so I was very conscious to ride my own race. In theory the plan was to get to the end of the Queen K, ride up to the turnaround at Hawi, collect my special needs bag, ride back down to the Queen K and still have plenty left in the tank. Like the swim start, advice from people who had ridden these roads before was that if you were struggling before you got back to the Queen K you would be in for a very long day. Apart from having to stop to collect my special needs bag everything was on track as I went through the 90km mark at around the 2.30 mark and then journeyed back from Hawi to the Queen K still feeling in control. All was still good, the weather gods were still not frowning and sub ten hours was still definitely on the cards.

Upon turning back onto the Queen K I rode strongly up until about the 130-135km mark. Around this point my feet felt quite sore, tingly and a bit swollen (which I later found out would probably be due to the high humidity). It was also at about this time that it started to rain and the wind picked up. For about the next 20-25km I had to ‘dig in’ mentally, keep the nutrition plan going and try to hold my form. During this time John Albrecht flew by me sporting his new red aero helmet, the rain thankfully stopped (amazingly the road was wet then like going through a door it was completely dry), I rode over a huge chalk message left by Team Palmer (that gave me a great boost) and a ‘chick’ passed me! Despite the kick to the ego my pace was still reasonably good and my nutrition was right on track.

Thankfully for the remaining 25kms I found my legs again and the winds dropped considerably. The end of the bike leg was near and as I entered town Team Palmer gave me the big rev-up. I entered T2 with a bike time of 5.11 and was glad to be swapping my cycling shoes for running shoes. My body still felt strong and mentally I was ready for the run. Two down, one to go!

42.2km Run
As I exited T2 I still had 3.40 before the ten hour goal. With the party like atmosphere still very present and hundreds of people cheering their hearts out for you, it was not hard to feel good. Just around the first corner Team Palmer had positioned themselves. I gave Sandra a high-five and the thumbs up to the rest of the team and I was on my way, hopefully for my best ironman run yet.

The ten mile run down and back Alii Drive went very well, as I settled into a comfortable pace knowing that this section was probably the easier part of the run when compared to the final 16 miles. The great thing about Hawaii is that the aid stations are every mile (about 1.6km). My nutrition plan for the run, based on water, salt tablets, coke and Gatorade, was going extremely well and I was continually tipping water over my head and stuffing sponges down my race suit in an effort to keep cool.

Running back through town was once again a great buzz. As I turned to run up Palani Road I once again drew on advice, back off the pace and don’t cook yourself before hitting the Queen K. Concentrating on my form I made it up Palani and onto the Queen K in good shape. Once onto the Queen K there are just basically athletes, rolling hills, few spectators and little scenery. After passing through the half way mark of the run the 3.15 goal was looking a possibility as I was holding a little over 4.30/km pace. As I made my way along the Queen K I had a front row seat to the pro race. Macca was chasing Norman down and Michellie Jones had it sewn up. An Aussie double looked possible. Next stop the energy lab.

Into the energy lab, which is downhill, I backed off the pace a little to ensure I was ready for the return journey to town. During the week leading up to the race I went to a talk by Luke Bell who basically said that you must come out of the energy lab with something in the tank otherwise it is a long walk home! At the bottom of the energy lab the legs were coping well and I focused on climbing up to the Queen K. Once on the famous highway, besides the usual wear and tear of an ironman, I still felt very good and was steadily passing people. The focus now was to pass the person in front and then go for the next one and so on. All the way back into town I was picking up places, ticking off the miles and starting to picture the finish.

When I reached the top of Palani Road I had a glance at my watch. Sub ten hours was sewn up and now I realised that a PB was even possible. I high tailed it down Palani and at the bottom Team Palmer was going wild. I was running on adrenalin and had a smile on my face from ear to ear. With about a kilometre to go I continued to run hard, rounded the last two corners and I was onto Alii Drive with the finish and a PB in site.

The next 500m or so to the finish were simply amazing. If you could bottle the emotions and feelings of my Hawaiian Ironman finish, you could update your race bike weekly! The crowd had lined the streets and literally I could high-five both sides at once. Talk about being on a natural high! I made my way through the tunnel of supporters and into the official finish chute. As I ran to the finish line I was pumping my arms in the air, smiling like there was no tomorrow and soaking up every piece of atmosphere possible. Just before the finish line I turned and blew a double handed kiss to the crowd. Why? I am not exactly sure but at the time I think it was my way of saying Mahalo (Thank You) to everyone, from Team Palmer to the volunteers to the supporters to the organisers – all who had been absolutely fantastic!. I then turned around and walked over the finish line with both arms raised. I had achieved my ultimate sporting dream; I had finished the Hawaiian Ironman. How good was I feeling, bloody fantastic!!! To top it off, I had run a 3.17 marathon and finished in 187th place in a personal best time of 9hrs 38mins 10secs. The Kona gods had definitely smiled on me; I was an Ironman, a Hawaiian Ironman!

What next?
I have been extremely blessed to be able to participate in and complete five ironman races over the last two years. For now I will be trading in my ironman goals for some family goals as my beautiful wife is expecting our first child this February. I look forward to participating in some of the many great races in our state and, all being well, toeing the line at the Busselton Half Ironman.

Team Palmer
Although I was the one who completed the actual race, so many wonderful people have shared my ironman journey with me. Without them I would never have had the opportunity to complete my very first ironman, let alone the Hawaiian Ironman. My thanks go out to Team Palmer.

Sandra: My extremely supportive wife and number one fan!
Family: Amazing support and never miss a race.
Friends: Always interested and ready to share a beer.
Andrew: Super coach who always believed that I would race and finish Hawaii.
Marcel: Training partner rain, hail or shine. Awesome race tips!
Bell Tower Boys: Great long rides.
Ian: The best bike mechanic in Perth.
Wayne: Fantastic swimming coach.
Swimming Squad: Swim hard, play hard, drink coffee!
Taylah: Magnificent massages.
Sourash: Excellent chiropractic care.
Tri Travel: Very accommodating, excellent training sessions, made travelling easy.

Final Thought
Ironman is an amazing journey and opportunity. If you have had an ironman dream, hold on to it and live it!