Flat, flat, flat and flat. My second attempt at Busso’ and it is fast and did I mention it is flat? This race seems to attract a significant number of first timers so the swim seems comparatively tame with minimal elbowing, head knocks etc. I have heard that in previous years (2006???) the water can get a bit choppy and smash you up against the barnacled jetty stumps. 2008 proved to be pancake flat and the return swim was aided by the tide coming in and the waves helping you along. The swim is a straight out and back around the end of the jetty with lots of fish, crabs and sea colonies to look at in the 20deg water. The 3.8km is very easy to navigate, especially if you’re a ‘right-side’ breather, using the jetty as a reference. Don’t worry about the stingers (early this year), they help distract you from pain elsewhere. My heart rate monitor later indicated that I averaged 166bpm for the swim.

Out of the water, there is a short jog to T1 via the fresh water showers. In 2007 I took my time in the showers but this year I was on a mission to break 10 hours. As usual my heart rate peaked at 176bpm whilst my body adjusted to being vertical again. Well worth the investment to take it easy on the first 10 minutes of cycling whilst my heart rate got into the right zone and to take some nutrition. It took discipline and patience as the road is coffee table smooth and a slight westerly breeze behind. I just take a mental note of those going lickety-split early as they may well fade later. This year the air temperature was 10deg at swim start and not much warmer for lap 1 of the 180.2km ride. As such, I drank too much water and had to pee twice and I may have done myself better drinking a little less early on and a little more by lap 3 when it started to get hot. Only my third Ironman so I still have lots to learn. I went in with the idea of taking lap 1 easy, building up lap 2 and then holding it for lap 3. My average heart rate for the ride was 153bpm (81%mhr) and I missed out on breaking the 5 hour mark by 2 seconds. I felt like I was always going too fast but I stuck to the 240watts recommended by Andy and trusted that I would have enough in the tank for the marathon. The westerly wind picked up at the end and it was rude finish to an otherwise polite track. It is well worth doing a lot of back stretches and time in the aero position during training in preparation for this flat ride.

I love bike catchers: Another reason not to do Half-Ironman’s or shorter! Did the post-ride shuffle to T2 and slapped on buckets of sunscreen to cover my sensitive Tasmanian moontan. Felt that my early running had all the grace of a sack of mashed potato on breadsticks and didn’t get my rhythm until 8km. A lot of people overtook me on the first 7km but my results later showed that I was already doing 4’20”/km and that I ended up catching most of them. Got to the third lap and the timer indicated that I needed to do the last 14km in 68 minutes if I was to break 9:30. In 2007 I had been faced with a similar prospect regarding breaking 11 hours and I went hard only to walk from 32-36km and ultimately finish with 11:16. This experience was playing on my mind when I decided to again crank it in 2008. Difference was a year of Andy’s program particularly the stretching, core stability and weights. My wife’s photos show that my arms were not crossing my midline as much in 2008 and there was a better leg lift and head position. Just as importantly I was mentally tougher after some chunky lead-up sessions. The last lap was accentuated by the hottest Busso’ Ironman conditions on record with 29 degree heat and 50% humidity. One bloke went to hospital, people were cramping and vomiting and those who had paid homage to the Marathon since 6:15am that morning were permitted to keep on running. My left medial gastrocnemius seized up like I have never felt before and I popped salt pills like a druggie craving a fix. It proved hard to cleanly obtain the Coke, ice and water on the third lap with so many opting to walk through the aid stations. My polar print out later showed that my 3 laps averaged 156bpm, 159bpm, and 163bpm respectively and I had enough to run the last 1300m at 166-169bpm at 3’30”/km. I finished with 4’48”/km average for a 3:23:17 trundle.

I am thoroughly happy with my race because I stayed within my planned limits. I cruised the swim and dragged on toes when I could and did my best not to irritate others with an unwanted foot massage. I stayed within the prescribed 240w limit on the ride and didn’t allow speed to bother me. It is true that the Ironman doesn’t start until the 30km mark of the marathon and that the rest is a warm up. Thankfully I was able to keep on going at my planned 4’50” pace although there was minor fluctuation due to wind and conditions. I was overwhelmed to see my 9:28:47 time which is something I had written as a goal for a year later.