You can also see them here with tags and descriptions http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/galleries/ironcaro/
Posts
Bundoran car show.
1 month ago
Showing posts with label world championship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world championship. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Sunday 14th October - Post Race Blues
Sunday 14th October
The day after. Predictably I was feeling pretty rubbish so only managed to make it to the pool. I had to do an interview and the guys kindly came to the hotel to meet me there.
I was pretty badly burnt and had blisters coming up on my lower back where my tri top had ridden up when I was on the bike. My shoulders were badly fried too. I wasn't feeling my best so spent the day at the hotel.
We headed off to the awards ceremony. Both Chris and Chrissie made great speeches and all it made me want to do was get back there and give it another shot. I hadn't achieved what I set out to do.
The day after. Predictably I was feeling pretty rubbish so only managed to make it to the pool. I had to do an interview and the guys kindly came to the hotel to meet me there.
I was pretty badly burnt and had blisters coming up on my lower back where my tri top had ridden up when I was on the bike. My shoulders were badly fried too. I wasn't feeling my best so spent the day at the hotel.
We headed off to the awards ceremony. Both Chris and Chrissie made great speeches and all it made me want to do was get back there and give it another shot. I hadn't achieved what I set out to do.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Saturday 13th October - RACE DAY Kona 2007
Saturday 13th October - RACE DAY
Up at 2.30 because I couldn’t sleep and gather my things together. Got on my funky little tri outfit with my sponsors names all over it and caught a cab to the start. First thing is to get body marked where you get stamped on both arms with your race number from your shoulder to your elbow in big black numbers. Then I headed into transition to pump up my tyres and put my drink bottles on my bike and give everything a last minute check over. I put on some 6-hour sunscreen and headed out to find everyone. I had about 30 mins before I wanted to line up and get in the water. It was already getting hot. For the past 2 days around 2pm it clouded over and the temp would drop a little. I was really counting on that because according to my plan I would be starting my run around that time.
Load of pictures later I headed off to get in the water. Because it is a mass start you have to seed yourself according to your ability. I wanted to be in the middle about 2/3 of the way back in order to take advantage of the draft.
The pro race started 15 mins before the age groupers and we were off at 7am. I was amazed at how I couldn’t see a thing. The water was just white due to all the arms and legs thrashing about and it was like this for about a hundred metres. There was a bit of jostling but is wasn’t too bad and I got into my rhythm quickly. Because of the swell it was hard to sight so I wasn’t sure how I was doing. I got to the turnaround point in 40 min, which meant I was dead on target. I had enjoyed the first half of the swim but could feel my Zoot suit scratching the back of my neck. This only got worse and as much as I wriggled it around the damage was already done and the salt water was making it sting. My swim back into the pier took 50 mins and I felt tired. I felt like I was putting in lots of effort and not getting anywhere. I caught a couple of draftsbut the field was really spread out and I was finding it difficult to get someone going the right speed. I was also conscious I was outside of my estimated time and was trying to make it up.
Out of the water in 1:30:27 in 1587 position. I ran straight into the showers they set up and there was load of volunteers so someone had my bag ready for me. I stripped off my Zoot suit and had my tri suit on underneath. Rob was waiting in transition for me and was filming me getting my shoes and helmet on and asking me about the swim. It really bothered me that there were very few bikes in transition. I am not a strong swimmer but this made me realise that I had missed the main pack. I got out on the course and did the loop through the town. Because I was 10 min down on my plan I really went for it, a tactic that had worked well for me at IMUK. I knew that in order to meet my target I needed to do 38min 20km splits.
I achieved this on the first 2 and was at 40 min for the 3rd one. I was finding the bike really hard going and it was so very very hot out there. There was a strong head wind and I was ill prepared for how desolate the scenery was. I was finding it easy to stick to my nutrition plan of eating a gel every 20 mins but I was becoming increasingly worried about my plan and how far I was down. It was also very apparent that the main pack had gone and I was closer to the back, something I had never experienced before in a race. This was really getting to me. The bike course is out over what is called the lava fields and that is exactly what they are. There isn’t anything to look at except black rock. There weren’t any spectators and the only human contact was at the aid stations. I gave up saying hi to people as I went passed them, this clearly wasn’t a friendly race, which was something I had really enjoyed about the UK race.
At around the 60km mark I developed cramps in both feet and this spread really quickly into both calves. I loosened my shoes, I tried moving my feet around, I even tried cycling with the sides of my feet but nothing worked. It was impossible to push any of the big gears and I had to stay in the lower ones. Anything too hard and I had pain shooting up both legs. I was slowing down and people I had over taken were now catching and going past me at speed. I was beginning to become really demoralised. At body marking you have your age written on the back of your left calf. I could now see that women in their 40’s and 50’s were going past me which frustrated and infuriated me. I would try and make a move to pull them back in and would have to almost stop pedalling to ease the pain in my legs. I wanted to cry with complete and utter frustration, as I knew my Kona goal was slipping away.
The course is an out and back and I experienced a head wind for the entire way. I knew that in the afternoon the wind changed direction and it wasn’t unusual for people to experience a head wind both ways. On the way out there were times I was down to 10km an hour due to the hills and the strength of the wind. It was infuriating to watch the KM’s tick by so slowly. Every metre felt like a KM. I could see people flying back in with the wind at their backs and that spurred me on. I knew I needed to get to the turnaround and get some respite from the wind that was sapping my energy.
I got around the corner and picked up speed heading back but the wind had already changed so Iwas getting a side wind rather than a full on tail wind. It was better than a head wind and I was going to take it. It really picked up, so much so I had to miss one of my feeds simply because I couldn’t take my hands off the handlebars. It was so bad out there one of the pros was blown off her bike.
My back was aching quite badly because it was too windy to use my tri bars and my upper body was stiff with the effort it was taking to keep my bike upright and on the road in the incredible wind. The respite I had hoped for only lasted around 40 minutes before I was faced with the headwind once again. I was still suffering with cramps in my legs and I could feel my skin burning as I caught the sun and the sunscreen was starting to wear off. I was feeling really low and thought a lot about pulling out of the race. It isn’t like me to give up but I was already so physically exhausted I wasn’t sure I could make the cycle back let alone run the marathon.
My average speed by this time had dropped and I was finding it difficult to focus. I had a few brief moments where I would get some strength but these didn’t last long and each time it took a little more out of me. I was continuously being over taken and this was really messing with my head. The only saving grace was that Eric the cameraman had filmed on the way out when things were not as grim. I was thankful there wasn’t anyone around to witness my rapid decline. I got back to transition 1:15 later than planned but by this stage I was in survival mode.
I came off the bike in 6:59:52 and in 1504th position. I had a long T2 as I tried to decide if I could continue and gave myself a mental kicking to get out there and finish the race. Rob was filming me come out of transition and I managed to hold back the tears of pain and frustration until I had passed him. I broke down where I saw my friends and they helped me to get going again.
This was the only day where the clouds hadn’t come over so the respite form the sun was not going to be had. I was now also thinking about the prospect of having to finish the race in the dark, something I hadn’t thought would happen to me. I almost pulled out of the race again when the same old cramp under the left side of my rib cage appeared and I had to walk it off. I got going again and made the turnaround on Alii drive, I even managed to pick up the pace slightly on the ay back to town.
It didn’t last long and once through Kona I had no idea how I was going to run the remaining 16 miles out to the Natural Energy Lab and back. My friends were at the top of the hill and I started to cry again saying I couldn’t finish. Sam, Antoinette and Corinna ran with me for a while and Sam continued on with me for about a km in bare feet, which got me going again. I kept telling myself I had to keep running because walking would take too long. Everything was hurting and I was in considerable pain from severe sunburn and chaffing. I was managing to get a gel down every 20 min and was trying to get as much water and ice down as possible, but I knew it wasn’t enough. It was just impossible to drink enough without getting more cramps.
Eric the cameraman found me on the run and I was really struggling, but I guess that makes great viewing. I kept running but I wasn’t getting anywhere, I have never run so slowly in my life. Mentally I was just taking it one step at a time trying to distract myself from the ever-increasing darkness that was falling and the huge number of people running back into town.
I held out getting a glow stick for as long as possible, I was in denial that I was going to have to run in the dark, but the worst was yet to come. I had incorrectly read the run route and thought the turnaround was at the top of the road to the NEL. As it turns out it was about 1.5miles down a hill on another road. It almost destroyed me. My pride was the only thing stopping me from pulling out and it was all being recorded on film. I put on a brave face, held back the tears and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
It was so dark along the route you wouldn’t see the other runners until you were right on top of them. I was running alone and it was so tough but knowing I was on the way back kept me going. It was getting grim and there were people still heading out of town, but some were in really bad shape. People were throwing up and collapsing on the side of the road and as cruel as it sounds it gave me strength to know that there were people in a worse state and it kept me going.
About 10km from the finish I started to run with this Canadian guy. We were both in a bad way but having someone next to you makes a huge difference. I was lucky that the times I wanted to stop, he kept me moving and I did the same for him. I don’t know if I could have finished without him. We even managed to pick up the pace slightly as I was getting slower and slower. I just had nothing left.
Corinna and Antoinette were waiting about a mile from the end and ran with me. I couldn’t even speak by this stage and their words of encouragement fuelled me for the last mile. Sam was waiting for me in the finishing chute and I was so pleased to be at the end. I crossed the line hand in hand with my new Canadian friend. I don’t even know his name and I lost him as we were both swept up by our respective friends in the finishing area.
I did the run in 4:16:36 and finished in 1368th place with an over all time of 12:56:08.
I did an interview but I don't really remember what I said. I went and got into the water to ease the pain in my legs and went and collected the most impressive medal in the world! I knew something was wrong when I couldn't eat or really walk without support so asked to be taken back to the hotel.
Things went down hill pretty quickly and in the space of about an hour I was pretty much out of it and on my way to hospital. I was put on a drip straight away and given drugs for the pain and nausea. The doctor ended up giving me 3 bags of saline and I was only in for the night. Not exactly how I had planned my Kona race to go!
Up at 2.30 because I couldn’t sleep and gather my things together. Got on my funky little tri outfit with my sponsors names all over it and caught a cab to the start. First thing is to get body marked where you get stamped on both arms with your race number from your shoulder to your elbow in big black numbers. Then I headed into transition to pump up my tyres and put my drink bottles on my bike and give everything a last minute check over. I put on some 6-hour sunscreen and headed out to find everyone. I had about 30 mins before I wanted to line up and get in the water. It was already getting hot. For the past 2 days around 2pm it clouded over and the temp would drop a little. I was really counting on that because according to my plan I would be starting my run around that time.
Load of pictures later I headed off to get in the water. Because it is a mass start you have to seed yourself according to your ability. I wanted to be in the middle about 2/3 of the way back in order to take advantage of the draft.
The pro race started 15 mins before the age groupers and we were off at 7am. I was amazed at how I couldn’t see a thing. The water was just white due to all the arms and legs thrashing about and it was like this for about a hundred metres. There was a bit of jostling but is wasn’t too bad and I got into my rhythm quickly. Because of the swell it was hard to sight so I wasn’t sure how I was doing. I got to the turnaround point in 40 min, which meant I was dead on target. I had enjoyed the first half of the swim but could feel my Zoot suit scratching the back of my neck. This only got worse and as much as I wriggled it around the damage was already done and the salt water was making it sting. My swim back into the pier took 50 mins and I felt tired. I felt like I was putting in lots of effort and not getting anywhere. I caught a couple of draftsbut the field was really spread out and I was finding it difficult to get someone going the right speed. I was also conscious I was outside of my estimated time and was trying to make it up.
Out of the water in 1:30:27 in 1587 position. I ran straight into the showers they set up and there was load of volunteers so someone had my bag ready for me. I stripped off my Zoot suit and had my tri suit on underneath. Rob was waiting in transition for me and was filming me getting my shoes and helmet on and asking me about the swim. It really bothered me that there were very few bikes in transition. I am not a strong swimmer but this made me realise that I had missed the main pack. I got out on the course and did the loop through the town. Because I was 10 min down on my plan I really went for it, a tactic that had worked well for me at IMUK. I knew that in order to meet my target I needed to do 38min 20km splits.
I achieved this on the first 2 and was at 40 min for the 3rd one. I was finding the bike really hard going and it was so very very hot out there. There was a strong head wind and I was ill prepared for how desolate the scenery was. I was finding it easy to stick to my nutrition plan of eating a gel every 20 mins but I was becoming increasingly worried about my plan and how far I was down. It was also very apparent that the main pack had gone and I was closer to the back, something I had never experienced before in a race. This was really getting to me. The bike course is out over what is called the lava fields and that is exactly what they are. There isn’t anything to look at except black rock. There weren’t any spectators and the only human contact was at the aid stations. I gave up saying hi to people as I went passed them, this clearly wasn’t a friendly race, which was something I had really enjoyed about the UK race.
At around the 60km mark I developed cramps in both feet and this spread really quickly into both calves. I loosened my shoes, I tried moving my feet around, I even tried cycling with the sides of my feet but nothing worked. It was impossible to push any of the big gears and I had to stay in the lower ones. Anything too hard and I had pain shooting up both legs. I was slowing down and people I had over taken were now catching and going past me at speed. I was beginning to become really demoralised. At body marking you have your age written on the back of your left calf. I could now see that women in their 40’s and 50’s were going past me which frustrated and infuriated me. I would try and make a move to pull them back in and would have to almost stop pedalling to ease the pain in my legs. I wanted to cry with complete and utter frustration, as I knew my Kona goal was slipping away.
The course is an out and back and I experienced a head wind for the entire way. I knew that in the afternoon the wind changed direction and it wasn’t unusual for people to experience a head wind both ways. On the way out there were times I was down to 10km an hour due to the hills and the strength of the wind. It was infuriating to watch the KM’s tick by so slowly. Every metre felt like a KM. I could see people flying back in with the wind at their backs and that spurred me on. I knew I needed to get to the turnaround and get some respite from the wind that was sapping my energy.
I got around the corner and picked up speed heading back but the wind had already changed so Iwas getting a side wind rather than a full on tail wind. It was better than a head wind and I was going to take it. It really picked up, so much so I had to miss one of my feeds simply because I couldn’t take my hands off the handlebars. It was so bad out there one of the pros was blown off her bike.
My back was aching quite badly because it was too windy to use my tri bars and my upper body was stiff with the effort it was taking to keep my bike upright and on the road in the incredible wind. The respite I had hoped for only lasted around 40 minutes before I was faced with the headwind once again. I was still suffering with cramps in my legs and I could feel my skin burning as I caught the sun and the sunscreen was starting to wear off. I was feeling really low and thought a lot about pulling out of the race. It isn’t like me to give up but I was already so physically exhausted I wasn’t sure I could make the cycle back let alone run the marathon.
My average speed by this time had dropped and I was finding it difficult to focus. I had a few brief moments where I would get some strength but these didn’t last long and each time it took a little more out of me. I was continuously being over taken and this was really messing with my head. The only saving grace was that Eric the cameraman had filmed on the way out when things were not as grim. I was thankful there wasn’t anyone around to witness my rapid decline. I got back to transition 1:15 later than planned but by this stage I was in survival mode.
I came off the bike in 6:59:52 and in 1504th position. I had a long T2 as I tried to decide if I could continue and gave myself a mental kicking to get out there and finish the race. Rob was filming me come out of transition and I managed to hold back the tears of pain and frustration until I had passed him. I broke down where I saw my friends and they helped me to get going again.
This was the only day where the clouds hadn’t come over so the respite form the sun was not going to be had. I was now also thinking about the prospect of having to finish the race in the dark, something I hadn’t thought would happen to me. I almost pulled out of the race again when the same old cramp under the left side of my rib cage appeared and I had to walk it off. I got going again and made the turnaround on Alii drive, I even managed to pick up the pace slightly on the ay back to town.
It didn’t last long and once through Kona I had no idea how I was going to run the remaining 16 miles out to the Natural Energy Lab and back. My friends were at the top of the hill and I started to cry again saying I couldn’t finish. Sam, Antoinette and Corinna ran with me for a while and Sam continued on with me for about a km in bare feet, which got me going again. I kept telling myself I had to keep running because walking would take too long. Everything was hurting and I was in considerable pain from severe sunburn and chaffing. I was managing to get a gel down every 20 min and was trying to get as much water and ice down as possible, but I knew it wasn’t enough. It was just impossible to drink enough without getting more cramps.
Eric the cameraman found me on the run and I was really struggling, but I guess that makes great viewing. I kept running but I wasn’t getting anywhere, I have never run so slowly in my life. Mentally I was just taking it one step at a time trying to distract myself from the ever-increasing darkness that was falling and the huge number of people running back into town.
I held out getting a glow stick for as long as possible, I was in denial that I was going to have to run in the dark, but the worst was yet to come. I had incorrectly read the run route and thought the turnaround was at the top of the road to the NEL. As it turns out it was about 1.5miles down a hill on another road. It almost destroyed me. My pride was the only thing stopping me from pulling out and it was all being recorded on film. I put on a brave face, held back the tears and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
It was so dark along the route you wouldn’t see the other runners until you were right on top of them. I was running alone and it was so tough but knowing I was on the way back kept me going. It was getting grim and there were people still heading out of town, but some were in really bad shape. People were throwing up and collapsing on the side of the road and as cruel as it sounds it gave me strength to know that there were people in a worse state and it kept me going.
About 10km from the finish I started to run with this Canadian guy. We were both in a bad way but having someone next to you makes a huge difference. I was lucky that the times I wanted to stop, he kept me moving and I did the same for him. I don’t know if I could have finished without him. We even managed to pick up the pace slightly as I was getting slower and slower. I just had nothing left.
Corinna and Antoinette were waiting about a mile from the end and ran with me. I couldn’t even speak by this stage and their words of encouragement fuelled me for the last mile. Sam was waiting for me in the finishing chute and I was so pleased to be at the end. I crossed the line hand in hand with my new Canadian friend. I don’t even know his name and I lost him as we were both swept up by our respective friends in the finishing area.
I did the run in 4:16:36 and finished in 1368th place with an over all time of 12:56:08.
I did an interview but I don't really remember what I said. I went and got into the water to ease the pain in my legs and went and collected the most impressive medal in the world! I knew something was wrong when I couldn't eat or really walk without support so asked to be taken back to the hotel.
Things went down hill pretty quickly and in the space of about an hour I was pretty much out of it and on my way to hospital. I was put on a drip straight away and given drugs for the pain and nausea. The doctor ended up giving me 3 bags of saline and I was only in for the night. Not exactly how I had planned my Kona race to go!
Saturday 13th October - RACE DAY Kona 2007
Saturday 13th October - RACE DAY
Up at 2.30 because I couldn’t sleep and gather my things together. Got on my funky little tri outfit with my sponsors names all over it and caught a cab to the start. First thing is to get body marked where you get stamped on both arms with your race number from your shoulder to your elbow in big black numbers. Then I headed into transition to pump up my tyres and put my drink bottles on my bike and give everything a last minute check over. I put on some 6-hour sunscreen and headed out to find everyone. I had about 30 mins before I wanted to line up and get in the water. It was already getting hot. For the past 2 days around 2pm it clouded over and the temp would drop a little. I was really counting on that because according to my plan I would be starting my run around that time.
Load of pictures later I headed off to get in the water. Because it is a mass start you have to seed yourself according to your ability. I wanted to be in the middle about 2/3 of the way back in order to take advantage of the draft.
The pro race started 15 mins before the age groupers and we were off at 7am. I was amazed at how I couldn’t see a thing. The water was just white due to all the arms and legs thrashing about and it was like this for about a hundred metres. There was a bit of jostling but is wasn’t too bad and I got into my rhythm quickly. Because of the swell it was hard to sight so I wasn’t sure how I was doing. I got to the turnaround point in 40 min, which meant I was dead on target. I had enjoyed the first half of the swim but could feel my Zoot suit scratching the back of my neck. This only got worse and as much as I wriggled it around the damage was already done and the salt water was making it sting. My swim back into the pier took 50 mins and I felt tired. I felt like I was putting in lots of effort and not getting anywhere. I caught a couple of draftsbut the field was really spread out and I was finding it difficult to get someone going the right speed. I was also conscious I was outside of my estimated time and was trying to make it up.
Out of the water in 1:30:27 in 1587 position. I ran straight into the showers they set up and there was load of volunteers so someone had my bag ready for me. I stripped off my Zoot suit and had my tri suit on underneath. Rob was waiting in transition for me and was filming me getting my shoes and helmet on and asking me about the swim. It really bothered me that there were very few bikes in transition. I am not a strong swimmer but this made me realise that I had missed the main pack. I got out on the course and did the loop through the town. Because I was 10 min down on my plan I really went for it, a tactic that had worked well for me at IMUK. I knew that in order to meet my target I needed to do 38min 20km splits.
I achieved this on the first 2 and was at 40 min for the 3rd one. I was finding the bike really hard going and it was so very very hot out there. There was a strong head wind and I was ill prepared for how desolate the scenery was. I was finding it easy to stick to my nutrition plan of eating a gel every 20 mins but I was becoming increasingly worried about my plan and how far I was down. It was also very apparent that the main pack had gone and I was closer to the back, something I had never experienced before in a race. This was really getting to me. The bike course is out over what is called the lava fields and that is exactly what they are. There isn’t anything to look at except black rock. There weren’t any spectators and the only human contact was at the aid stations. I gave up saying hi to people as I went passed them, this clearly wasn’t a friendly race, which was something I had really enjoyed about the UK race.
At around the 60km mark I developed cramps in both feet and this spread really quickly into both calves. I loosened my shoes, I tried moving my feet around, I even tried cycling with the sides of my feet but nothing worked. It was impossible to push any of the big gears and I had to stay in the lower ones. Anything too hard and I had pain shooting up both legs. I was slowing down and people I had over taken were now catching and going past me at speed. I was beginning to become really demoralised. At body marking you have your age written on the back of your left calf. I could now see that women in their 40’s and 50’s were going past me which frustrated and infuriated me. I would try and make a move to pull them back in and would have to almost stop pedalling to ease the pain in my legs. I wanted to cry with complete and utter frustration, as I knew my Kona goal was slipping away.
The course is an out and back and I experienced a head wind for the entire way. I knew that in the afternoon the wind changed direction and it wasn’t unusual for people to experience a head wind both ways. On the way out there were times I was down to 10km an hour due to the hills and the strength of the wind. It was infuriating to watch the KM’s tick by so slowly. Every metre felt like a KM. I could see people flying back in with the wind at their backs and that spurred me on. I knew I needed to get to the turnaround and get some respite from the wind that was sapping my energy.
I got around the corner and picked up speed heading back but the wind had already changed so Iwas getting a side wind rather than a full on tail wind. It was better than a head wind and I was going to take it. It really picked up, so much so I had to miss one of my feeds simply because I couldn’t take my hands off the handlebars. It was so bad out there one of the pros was blown off her bike.
My back was aching quite badly because it was too windy to use my tri bars and my upper body was stiff with the effort it was taking to keep my bike upright and on the road in the incredible wind. The respite I had hoped for only lasted around 40 minutes before I was faced with the headwind once again. I was still suffering with cramps in my legs and I could feel my skin burning as I caught the sun and the sunscreen was starting to wear off. I was feeling really low and thought a lot about pulling out of the race. It isn’t like me to give up but I was already so physically exhausted I wasn’t sure I could make the cycle back let alone run the marathon.
My average speed by this time had dropped and I was finding it difficult to focus. I had a few brief moments where I would get some strength but these didn’t last long and each time it took a little more out of me. I was continuously being over taken and this was really messing with my head. The only saving grace was that Eric the cameraman had filmed on the way out when things were not as grim. I was thankful there wasn’t anyone around to witness my rapid decline. I got back to transition 1:15 later than planned but by this stage I was in survival mode.
I came off the bike in 6:59:52 and in 1504th position. I had a long T2 as I tried to decide if I could continue and gave myself a mental kicking to get out there and finish the race. Rob was filming me come out of transition and I managed to hold back the tears of pain and frustration until I had passed him. I broke down where I saw my friends and they helped me to get going again.
This was the only day where the clouds hadn’t come over so the respite form the sun was not going to be had. I was now also thinking about the prospect of having to finish the race in the dark, something I hadn’t thought would happen to me. I almost pulled out of the race again when the same old cramp under the left side of my rib cage appeared and I had to walk it off. I got going again and made the turnaround on Alii drive, I even managed to pick up the pace slightly on the ay back to town.
It didn’t last long and once through Kona I had no idea how I was going to run the remaining 16 miles out to the Natural Energy Lab and back. My friends were at the top of the hill and I started to cry again saying I couldn’t finish. Sam, Antoinette and Corinna ran with me for a while and Sam continued on with me for about a km in bare feet, which got me going again. I kept telling myself I had to keep running because walking would take too long. Everything was hurting and I was in considerable pain from severe sunburn and chaffing. I was managing to get a gel down every 20 min and was trying to get as much water and ice down as possible, but I knew it wasn’t enough. It was just impossible to drink enough without getting more cramps.
Eric the cameraman found me on the run and I was really struggling, but I guess that makes great viewing. I kept running but I wasn’t getting anywhere, I have never run so slowly in my life. Mentally I was just taking it one step at a time trying to distract myself from the ever-increasing darkness that was falling and the huge number of people running back into town.
I held out getting a glow stick for as long as possible, I was in denial that I was going to have to run in the dark, but the worst was yet to come. I had incorrectly read the run route and thought the turnaround was at the top of the road to the NEL. As it turns out it was about 1.5miles down a hill on another road. It almost destroyed me. My pride was the only thing stopping me from pulling out and it was all being recorded on film. I put on a brave face, held back the tears and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
It was so dark along the route you wouldn’t see the other runners until you were right on top of them. I was running alone and it was so tough but knowing I was on the way back kept me going. It was getting grim and there were people still heading out of town, but some were in really bad shape. People were throwing up and collapsing on the side of the road and as cruel as it sounds it gave me strength to know that there were people in a worse state and it kept me going.
About 10km from the finish I started to run with this Canadian guy. We were both in a bad way but having someone next to you makes a huge difference. I was lucky that the times I wanted to stop, he kept me moving and I did the same for him. I don’t know if I could have finished without him. We even managed to pick up the pace slightly as I was getting slower and slower. I just had nothing left.
Corinna and Antoinette were waiting about a mile from the end and ran with me. I couldn’t even speak by this stage and their words of encouragement fuelled me for the last mile. Sam was waiting for me in the finishing chute and I was so pleased to be at the end. I crossed the line hand in hand with my new Canadian friend. I don’t even know his name and I lost him as we were both swept up by our respective friends in the finishing area.
I did the run in 4:16:36 and finished in 1368th place with an over all time of 12:56:08.
I did an interview but I don't really remember what I said. I went and got into the water to ease the pain in my legs and went and collected the most impressive medal in the world! I knew something was wrong when I couldn't eat or really walk without support so asked to be taken back to the hotel.
Things went down hill pretty quickly and in the space of about an hour I was pretty much out of it and on my way to hospital. I was put on a drip straight away and given drugs for the pain and nausea. The doctor ended up giving me 3 bags of saline and I was only in for the night. Not exactly how I had planned my Kona race to go!
Up at 2.30 because I couldn’t sleep and gather my things together. Got on my funky little tri outfit with my sponsors names all over it and caught a cab to the start. First thing is to get body marked where you get stamped on both arms with your race number from your shoulder to your elbow in big black numbers. Then I headed into transition to pump up my tyres and put my drink bottles on my bike and give everything a last minute check over. I put on some 6-hour sunscreen and headed out to find everyone. I had about 30 mins before I wanted to line up and get in the water. It was already getting hot. For the past 2 days around 2pm it clouded over and the temp would drop a little. I was really counting on that because according to my plan I would be starting my run around that time.
Load of pictures later I headed off to get in the water. Because it is a mass start you have to seed yourself according to your ability. I wanted to be in the middle about 2/3 of the way back in order to take advantage of the draft.
The pro race started 15 mins before the age groupers and we were off at 7am. I was amazed at how I couldn’t see a thing. The water was just white due to all the arms and legs thrashing about and it was like this for about a hundred metres. There was a bit of jostling but is wasn’t too bad and I got into my rhythm quickly. Because of the swell it was hard to sight so I wasn’t sure how I was doing. I got to the turnaround point in 40 min, which meant I was dead on target. I had enjoyed the first half of the swim but could feel my Zoot suit scratching the back of my neck. This only got worse and as much as I wriggled it around the damage was already done and the salt water was making it sting. My swim back into the pier took 50 mins and I felt tired. I felt like I was putting in lots of effort and not getting anywhere. I caught a couple of draftsbut the field was really spread out and I was finding it difficult to get someone going the right speed. I was also conscious I was outside of my estimated time and was trying to make it up.
Out of the water in 1:30:27 in 1587 position. I ran straight into the showers they set up and there was load of volunteers so someone had my bag ready for me. I stripped off my Zoot suit and had my tri suit on underneath. Rob was waiting in transition for me and was filming me getting my shoes and helmet on and asking me about the swim. It really bothered me that there were very few bikes in transition. I am not a strong swimmer but this made me realise that I had missed the main pack. I got out on the course and did the loop through the town. Because I was 10 min down on my plan I really went for it, a tactic that had worked well for me at IMUK. I knew that in order to meet my target I needed to do 38min 20km splits.
I achieved this on the first 2 and was at 40 min for the 3rd one. I was finding the bike really hard going and it was so very very hot out there. There was a strong head wind and I was ill prepared for how desolate the scenery was. I was finding it easy to stick to my nutrition plan of eating a gel every 20 mins but I was becoming increasingly worried about my plan and how far I was down. It was also very apparent that the main pack had gone and I was closer to the back, something I had never experienced before in a race. This was really getting to me. The bike course is out over what is called the lava fields and that is exactly what they are. There isn’t anything to look at except black rock. There weren’t any spectators and the only human contact was at the aid stations. I gave up saying hi to people as I went passed them, this clearly wasn’t a friendly race, which was something I had really enjoyed about the UK race.
At around the 60km mark I developed cramps in both feet and this spread really quickly into both calves. I loosened my shoes, I tried moving my feet around, I even tried cycling with the sides of my feet but nothing worked. It was impossible to push any of the big gears and I had to stay in the lower ones. Anything too hard and I had pain shooting up both legs. I was slowing down and people I had over taken were now catching and going past me at speed. I was beginning to become really demoralised. At body marking you have your age written on the back of your left calf. I could now see that women in their 40’s and 50’s were going past me which frustrated and infuriated me. I would try and make a move to pull them back in and would have to almost stop pedalling to ease the pain in my legs. I wanted to cry with complete and utter frustration, as I knew my Kona goal was slipping away.
The course is an out and back and I experienced a head wind for the entire way. I knew that in the afternoon the wind changed direction and it wasn’t unusual for people to experience a head wind both ways. On the way out there were times I was down to 10km an hour due to the hills and the strength of the wind. It was infuriating to watch the KM’s tick by so slowly. Every metre felt like a KM. I could see people flying back in with the wind at their backs and that spurred me on. I knew I needed to get to the turnaround and get some respite from the wind that was sapping my energy.
I got around the corner and picked up speed heading back but the wind had already changed so Iwas getting a side wind rather than a full on tail wind. It was better than a head wind and I was going to take it. It really picked up, so much so I had to miss one of my feeds simply because I couldn’t take my hands off the handlebars. It was so bad out there one of the pros was blown off her bike.
My back was aching quite badly because it was too windy to use my tri bars and my upper body was stiff with the effort it was taking to keep my bike upright and on the road in the incredible wind. The respite I had hoped for only lasted around 40 minutes before I was faced with the headwind once again. I was still suffering with cramps in my legs and I could feel my skin burning as I caught the sun and the sunscreen was starting to wear off. I was feeling really low and thought a lot about pulling out of the race. It isn’t like me to give up but I was already so physically exhausted I wasn’t sure I could make the cycle back let alone run the marathon.
My average speed by this time had dropped and I was finding it difficult to focus. I had a few brief moments where I would get some strength but these didn’t last long and each time it took a little more out of me. I was continuously being over taken and this was really messing with my head. The only saving grace was that Eric the cameraman had filmed on the way out when things were not as grim. I was thankful there wasn’t anyone around to witness my rapid decline. I got back to transition 1:15 later than planned but by this stage I was in survival mode.
I came off the bike in 6:59:52 and in 1504th position. I had a long T2 as I tried to decide if I could continue and gave myself a mental kicking to get out there and finish the race. Rob was filming me come out of transition and I managed to hold back the tears of pain and frustration until I had passed him. I broke down where I saw my friends and they helped me to get going again.
This was the only day where the clouds hadn’t come over so the respite form the sun was not going to be had. I was now also thinking about the prospect of having to finish the race in the dark, something I hadn’t thought would happen to me. I almost pulled out of the race again when the same old cramp under the left side of my rib cage appeared and I had to walk it off. I got going again and made the turnaround on Alii drive, I even managed to pick up the pace slightly on the ay back to town.
It didn’t last long and once through Kona I had no idea how I was going to run the remaining 16 miles out to the Natural Energy Lab and back. My friends were at the top of the hill and I started to cry again saying I couldn’t finish. Sam, Antoinette and Corinna ran with me for a while and Sam continued on with me for about a km in bare feet, which got me going again. I kept telling myself I had to keep running because walking would take too long. Everything was hurting and I was in considerable pain from severe sunburn and chaffing. I was managing to get a gel down every 20 min and was trying to get as much water and ice down as possible, but I knew it wasn’t enough. It was just impossible to drink enough without getting more cramps.
Eric the cameraman found me on the run and I was really struggling, but I guess that makes great viewing. I kept running but I wasn’t getting anywhere, I have never run so slowly in my life. Mentally I was just taking it one step at a time trying to distract myself from the ever-increasing darkness that was falling and the huge number of people running back into town.
I held out getting a glow stick for as long as possible, I was in denial that I was going to have to run in the dark, but the worst was yet to come. I had incorrectly read the run route and thought the turnaround was at the top of the road to the NEL. As it turns out it was about 1.5miles down a hill on another road. It almost destroyed me. My pride was the only thing stopping me from pulling out and it was all being recorded on film. I put on a brave face, held back the tears and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
It was so dark along the route you wouldn’t see the other runners until you were right on top of them. I was running alone and it was so tough but knowing I was on the way back kept me going. It was getting grim and there were people still heading out of town, but some were in really bad shape. People were throwing up and collapsing on the side of the road and as cruel as it sounds it gave me strength to know that there were people in a worse state and it kept me going.
About 10km from the finish I started to run with this Canadian guy. We were both in a bad way but having someone next to you makes a huge difference. I was lucky that the times I wanted to stop, he kept me moving and I did the same for him. I don’t know if I could have finished without him. We even managed to pick up the pace slightly as I was getting slower and slower. I just had nothing left.
Corinna and Antoinette were waiting about a mile from the end and ran with me. I couldn’t even speak by this stage and their words of encouragement fuelled me for the last mile. Sam was waiting for me in the finishing chute and I was so pleased to be at the end. I crossed the line hand in hand with my new Canadian friend. I don’t even know his name and I lost him as we were both swept up by our respective friends in the finishing area.
I did the run in 4:16:36 and finished in 1368th place with an over all time of 12:56:08.
I did an interview but I don't really remember what I said. I went and got into the water to ease the pain in my legs and went and collected the most impressive medal in the world! I knew something was wrong when I couldn't eat or really walk without support so asked to be taken back to the hotel.
Things went down hill pretty quickly and in the space of about an hour I was pretty much out of it and on my way to hospital. I was put on a drip straight away and given drugs for the pain and nausea. The doctor ended up giving me 3 bags of saline and I was only in for the night. Not exactly how I had planned my Kona race to go!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Press Release 03 October 2007
13:53:07 o'clock BST Feeling Happy
Press Release
This is the press release put together by AOL's press company, enjoy!
WORKING WOMAN AIMS TO BRING WORLD ‘IRONMAN’ TITLE BACK TO BRITAIN
Amateur triathlete beats viral meningitis and pro athletes to get chance to represent UK
LONDON, XX XX – Holding down a full time job is tough enough for most people, but not for 29 year-old Carolyn Hewett, who is set to represent the UK in the grueling Ford Ironman World Championship in October 2007 - two years after being told she would never run again.
Carolyn, from West Kensington, London, qualified for the World Championship by winning the Female 25–29 age group at the IRONMAN UK competition on August 19th 2007 - beating the existing course record by 21 minutes in the process.
But unlike many serious triathletes, Carolyn is still only in her first year of triathalon and has to find time to for 17 - 20 hours of training a week outside of her busy full time job with internet portal AOL. And even more impressively, she was told she would never run again in March 2005 after being diagnosed with post-viral chronic fatigue following a bout of viral meningitis.
But the challenges she faced only made her more determined to succeed:
Carolyn said: “I didn’t want to believe the Doctors, so after 7 months off training I went for a short run and ended up in bed for a week recovering. So I waited a month, and only ended up in bed for 4 days – which I saw as progress”
Carolyn then built up her strength over the next year, finally making a comeback to competitive running at the Rome Marathon on 17th March 2006 – the anniversary of her diagnosis with post-viral chronic fatigue. Carolyn competed against 1574 other athletes at IRONMAN UK, the UK’s only official World Championship qualifier, going on to claim the only World Championship qualifying slot for her age group. The Hawaii championship will feature athletes covering a combined total of almost 250,000 miles on race day.
The Ironman is a long distance triathlon in which participants cover 226kms or 140.6 miles broken down into a 3.8km or 2.4 mile swim, 180km or 112 mile cycle and a 42.2km or 26.2 mile run completed consecutively.
Alison Boon, Race owner of Ironman UK said: “What Carolyn has achieved is nothing short of remarkable. To achieve this result in her first year of triathlon whilst holding down a demanding job is a great testament to her dedication”.
All the Athletes training for the Ford IRONMAN World Championships are expected to cover over a million miles – 40 times the circumference of the earth at its equator.
Carolyn said: “I can’t wait for the Hawaii Championship. Race morning is one of the most electric times with 1500 athletes waiting nervously to start a race to the finish line 140.6 miles ahead”.
She continued: “I’ll give the competition my best shot. I’ve learnt that almost anything is possible with the right attitude and determination”
Carolyn’s achievement is so significant that she will be the subject of a triathalon TV feature for Channel 4, ESPN and Fox TV.
A blog, photo archive and video coverage of her training and the competition are available at www.AOL.co.uk now, so supporters can keep up to date on her progress and achievements.
AOL is so impressed with their employee that they are also sponsoring Carolyn for the event.
Video: http://uncutvideo.aol.co.uk/videos/day/d242ce6c9c638f504f00fd231f5eb1f7?index=0
Blog: http://journals.aol.co.uk/ironcaro/my-journey-to-ironman/
Pictures: http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/galleries/ironcaro/
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors For an interview with Carolyn or further information, please contact Alex Wood on 0207 861 3013 or awood@resonate.uk.com.
Press Release
This is the press release put together by AOL's press company, enjoy!
WORKING WOMAN AIMS TO BRING WORLD ‘IRONMAN’ TITLE BACK TO BRITAIN
Amateur triathlete beats viral meningitis and pro athletes to get chance to represent UK
LONDON, XX XX – Holding down a full time job is tough enough for most people, but not for 29 year-old Carolyn Hewett, who is set to represent the UK in the grueling Ford Ironman World Championship in October 2007 - two years after being told she would never run again.
Carolyn, from West Kensington, London, qualified for the World Championship by winning the Female 25–29 age group at the IRONMAN UK competition on August 19th 2007 - beating the existing course record by 21 minutes in the process.
But unlike many serious triathletes, Carolyn is still only in her first year of triathalon and has to find time to for 17 - 20 hours of training a week outside of her busy full time job with internet portal AOL. And even more impressively, she was told she would never run again in March 2005 after being diagnosed with post-viral chronic fatigue following a bout of viral meningitis.
But the challenges she faced only made her more determined to succeed:
Carolyn said: “I didn’t want to believe the Doctors, so after 7 months off training I went for a short run and ended up in bed for a week recovering. So I waited a month, and only ended up in bed for 4 days – which I saw as progress”
Carolyn then built up her strength over the next year, finally making a comeback to competitive running at the Rome Marathon on 17th March 2006 – the anniversary of her diagnosis with post-viral chronic fatigue. Carolyn competed against 1574 other athletes at IRONMAN UK, the UK’s only official World Championship qualifier, going on to claim the only World Championship qualifying slot for her age group. The Hawaii championship will feature athletes covering a combined total of almost 250,000 miles on race day.
The Ironman is a long distance triathlon in which participants cover 226kms or 140.6 miles broken down into a 3.8km or 2.4 mile swim, 180km or 112 mile cycle and a 42.2km or 26.2 mile run completed consecutively.
Alison Boon, Race owner of Ironman UK said: “What Carolyn has achieved is nothing short of remarkable. To achieve this result in her first year of triathlon whilst holding down a demanding job is a great testament to her dedication”.
All the Athletes training for the Ford IRONMAN World Championships are expected to cover over a million miles – 40 times the circumference of the earth at its equator.
Carolyn said: “I can’t wait for the Hawaii Championship. Race morning is one of the most electric times with 1500 athletes waiting nervously to start a race to the finish line 140.6 miles ahead”.
She continued: “I’ll give the competition my best shot. I’ve learnt that almost anything is possible with the right attitude and determination”
Carolyn’s achievement is so significant that she will be the subject of a triathalon TV feature for Channel 4, ESPN and Fox TV.
A blog, photo archive and video coverage of her training and the competition are available at www.AOL.co.uk now, so supporters can keep up to date on her progress and achievements.
AOL is so impressed with their employee that they are also sponsoring Carolyn for the event.
Video: http://uncutvideo.aol.co.uk/videos/day/d242ce6c9c638f504f00fd231f5eb1f7?index=0
Blog: http://journals.aol.co.uk/ironcaro/my-journey-to-ironman/
Pictures: http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/galleries/ironcaro/
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors For an interview with Carolyn or further information, please contact Alex Wood on 0207 861 3013 or awood@resonate.uk.com.
7 MORE SLEEPS!!!!! 03 October 2007
So I have been working on my plans for the race which is really starting to get me fired up!! I am definitely getting into the zone as Sam calls it :) The zone for me is somewhere that I really get centred and focused on my race and I visualise all the things I am going to do and how I am going to absolutely kick butt and meet all of my race day goals.
We fly out next Wednesday, so a week to go! I had the film crew in here on Monday filming me at my desk which was great, they just asked lots of questions around how I got into triathlon and how I manage a busy work and training schedule. The presenter, Rob Walker, is very good, made me feel very relaxed. I checked out his website, he has done some cool things! http://www.robwalkertv.com/
Sam and I are meeting them tomorrow to do some cycling. Sam freaked out when I told him that he would have to be on national TV in lycra hee hee hee!
Apparently it is a beautiful 30 degrees every day in Kona at the moment, so the acclimatisation is going to be interesting! Corinna, Antoinette, Sam and I or CASC as I have started calling us have a gruelling 22 hour flight with a stop over in San Francisco to get there. I am really worried about my ankles and legs swelling up, it always happens when I fly so I am committed to stretching every hour on the flight and moving around.
Leanne has kindly put together a map showing where each of us are staying, each with our own TV show that has been filmed in Hawaii. Maybe I should think about getting my hair cut short? :) So Baywatch Hawaii is James & Kaisha, Magnum PI is Steve, Fantasy Island is Leanne and Dan and Hawaii 5-O is CASC. As Leanne pointed out if anyone complains, it could have been worse. Godzilla and Jurassic Park were also filmed there :)
My aim this time is to race for myself and not have to be picking off other competitors. I have 3 main goals:
1) Complete the race in sub 10:50 - this means a 15 min improvement on my qualifying time
2) Run a sub 3:25 marathon - this is a 5 min improvement on my IMUK time. As it stands at the moment, I have the fastest marathon qualifying time in my age group and ideally I want to have the fastest run time on the day.
3) Secure a top 20 place in my age group
Saying that, my race plan actually has me finishing in 10:38. The distances are the standard IM distance, 3.8km swim, 180km bike and a marathon, or 42.2 kms. I have an advantage in that the IMUK course is considered one of the most difficult ones to qualify on because it is so hilly, each one is difficult for different reasons and Kona is going to be tough because of the winds coming in off the lava fields and a combination of the heat and humidity. I am really going to be calling on my body to remember all that run training I used to do in the heat in Australia. The breakdown of my race is as follows:
Swim 1:20
T1 5 min
Bike 5:45
T2 3 min
Run 3:25
Total time 10.38
The race starts at 7am Hawaiian time, or 6pm UK time or 3am Sydney time on Saturday 13th October. I am sure you have better things to do on a Saturday night/morning, however if you really wanted to you could check out the action online at http://www.ironmanlive.com/ and http://www.ironman.com/
We fly out next Wednesday, so a week to go! I had the film crew in here on Monday filming me at my desk which was great, they just asked lots of questions around how I got into triathlon and how I manage a busy work and training schedule. The presenter, Rob Walker, is very good, made me feel very relaxed. I checked out his website, he has done some cool things! http://www.robwalkertv.com/
Sam and I are meeting them tomorrow to do some cycling. Sam freaked out when I told him that he would have to be on national TV in lycra hee hee hee!
Apparently it is a beautiful 30 degrees every day in Kona at the moment, so the acclimatisation is going to be interesting! Corinna, Antoinette, Sam and I or CASC as I have started calling us have a gruelling 22 hour flight with a stop over in San Francisco to get there. I am really worried about my ankles and legs swelling up, it always happens when I fly so I am committed to stretching every hour on the flight and moving around.
Leanne has kindly put together a map showing where each of us are staying, each with our own TV show that has been filmed in Hawaii. Maybe I should think about getting my hair cut short? :) So Baywatch Hawaii is James & Kaisha, Magnum PI is Steve, Fantasy Island is Leanne and Dan and Hawaii 5-O is CASC. As Leanne pointed out if anyone complains, it could have been worse. Godzilla and Jurassic Park were also filmed there :)
My aim this time is to race for myself and not have to be picking off other competitors. I have 3 main goals:
1) Complete the race in sub 10:50 - this means a 15 min improvement on my qualifying time
2) Run a sub 3:25 marathon - this is a 5 min improvement on my IMUK time. As it stands at the moment, I have the fastest marathon qualifying time in my age group and ideally I want to have the fastest run time on the day.
3) Secure a top 20 place in my age group
Saying that, my race plan actually has me finishing in 10:38. The distances are the standard IM distance, 3.8km swim, 180km bike and a marathon, or 42.2 kms. I have an advantage in that the IMUK course is considered one of the most difficult ones to qualify on because it is so hilly, each one is difficult for different reasons and Kona is going to be tough because of the winds coming in off the lava fields and a combination of the heat and humidity. I am really going to be calling on my body to remember all that run training I used to do in the heat in Australia. The breakdown of my race is as follows:
Swim 1:20
T1 5 min
Bike 5:45
T2 3 min
Run 3:25
Total time 10.38
The race starts at 7am Hawaiian time, or 6pm UK time or 3am Sydney time on Saturday 13th October. I am sure you have better things to do on a Saturday night/morning, however if you really wanted to you could check out the action online at http://www.ironmanlive.com/ and http://www.ironman.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
