Xiamen Ironman 70.3

WHAT AN ADVENTURE. I do not even know where to start!

I had been excited to race 70.3 Xiamen since entering the event back in August. Following the Ironman World Championships held in September I had a week off training. I found it really hard to find my mojo after this week off. It was only a short build to 70.3 Xiamen and I knew this would be my last race for the year and this provided me with some mental strength to get to this date and then I could have some time off.

2 weeks prior to the race I was run down. I caught a cold, had a massive week of commitments and events and took on way too much. One week before the race we left super early on Saturday morning and my husband and I made our way to Bali for what was meant to be a 10 day holiday or 'summer honeymoon' before I shortened our stay here to race 70.3 Xiamen! (opps!).
We spent 3 nights in Ubud and 2 Nights in Seminyak and it was lovely.
The pre race training was interesting! I was able to run. I opted for the safety of a treadmill and nailed these sessions. Swimming was non existent with the pools and beaches not allowing me to do what I needed. The bike - I managed 45mins in a Bali gym before walking out of there looking like I had completed my swim set!
Regardless, the weeks of training prior to this holiday were what I needed come race day, not this 'taper training' so this didn't concern me too much.

On Thursday, Andy and I left Bali in the morning and made the trip to Xiamen.
Bali > Singapore. Singapore > Xiamen.
And this is exactly when I feel my 'bad luck' started. For some reason so many little things just seamed to not be going right. It was one thing after another and I was starting to feel jinxed. I am superstitious so this doesn't help!

Friday I finally got in the hotel pool and enjoyed my swim set and being in the water again. I took a solo trip out on the bike course and Polly my P5 was good to go for Sunday. I decided to register for the race on Friday, freeing up Saturday to get race ready and relax. Relax, that was the plan.
Friday night we realised I did not have my passport and was sure I had left it a race registration as this is the only place I had taken it. Andy reassured me it would be at registration and to keep calm, we will pick it up in the morning.

Saturday morning I got up to do my training and then straight to the registration to find this passport. I was not there. Panic settled in, followed by a search for it, notifying everyone (hotel, staff, ironman staff) and then a trip to the police to file a missing document and so on.
Lets just say at this point my mind was as far from tomorrows race as it possibly could be and it was the last thing I felt like doing. Everyone was telling me not to worry, we will sort it on Monday and just focus on tomorrows race. Much easier said than done when you are in a foreign country with very little english and no ID! How was I going to get home, how much would it cost, how long would it take?

RACE DAY

Come race day I woke up somewhat positive and ready to race. The 9.45am rolling age group start allowed me to catch up on some sleep I lost the night before.
Walking to the transition area, everyone entering was searched and scanned for security purposes! It was like entering the airport as we were all body scanned, bags searched and made to take a sip of our fluids.
The athletes were called into the swim start holding pen 40 minutes prior to the rolling start time of 9.45am. This was not ideal as we were all suited up and fighting for that prime start position, sweating out rivers as we were all cooking in our wetsuits! Regardless, I started right at the front of the AG start. As soon as I hit the water I didn't feel good. Whilst the water felt somewhat refreshing I could not find a rhythm let alone any speed. This swim felt like an eternity and is my slowest 70.3 swim to date! I was pleased to exit the water and hit the bike. 

SWIM: 35.17

T1: 4.27

It was a fairly quick transition and I wanted to make most of the relatively clear roads ahead of me. The roads were closed to the public and were a beautiful road surface and a luxurious road 2-3 lanes wide. I was anticipating a fast ride. It usually takes me some time to find my mojo and settle into the bike but unfortunately it was not my day. I also seamed to struggle in the lack of wind. It was dead calm and made it difficult to gage how hard I was riding. I had a motorbike with a camera crew film me for 10 minutes on the bike!
The course was lovely although race day was far more smoggy than the previous days. It was a constant mental battle on the bike which turned into a physical one when I struggled to pass a male athlete on a mountain bike, in sneakers sitting upright. I simply could not bridge the gap and overtake!! Thankfully the layout of the course allowed me to break up the ride and what I thought was going to be a long day actually went relatively quickly.

BIKE: 2.34.30

T2: 2.48

Now feeling absolutely defeated and not wanting to run I entered T2 and again made a fairly quick transition. Now time to run.

As I started the run I could see Andy running towards me with arms waving and a massive smile. I thought he was cheering me on and I responded with "I have no will to run. I don't want to do this". 
What I received back was the best news I could have asked for.

"Your passport has been handed in! We can go home! Run! Run!"

I can not tell you how good that made me feel and what a massive weight off my shoulders that was. I let out some tears of joy and immediately turned on race mode. For me this is where my race began. Better late than never right? But I had some work to do. I knew Ling (the current leader in my AG) was a solid rider and anticipated her putting in at least 5mins into me on the ride. 
She had a big lead to catch up. So off I went hunting. I like chasing especially on the run. The first opportunity I saw Ling was approaching the 3km turn around.

I was focused. Nutrition, aid stations for water, ice, sponges. I wasn't stopping at these but made sure I took everything on board as I needed to. The volunteers were excellent at getting exactly what I needed to me, although I did pass up the opportunity for 'coka ko-ra'. At the end of the first lap I had put a lot of time into Ling and I wasn't giving up just yet! 

It was heating up and it was much warmer than I believe most athletes were expecting and this was evident out on the run. 
I also found myself with a young Chinese man who had decided to run side by side with me. I don't usually like this at all but with some sign language of thumbs up he stayed with me for almost that whole lap, until he asked if I was on my first lap, to which I responded with '2' fingers. And that was the end of my company!

By the end of 14km and the start of the final lap I passed Ling and didn't look back. I knew I had to make a solid lead as I had no idea of the true placings with the rolling start. I was able to finish the final km's strongly and as a result I was announced as the first female age group athlete across the line.
I was proud that Andy was there to share that moment with me.

RUN: 1.34.06

OVERALL: 4.51.08

Click here for a quick video recap of my race

Now, again an anxious wait. Had I put enough time into Ling for the AG win and was there any other athletes out there who had started later than me but had the overall fastest finish time?

More importantly, I was keen to leave the finish line and head to the hotel so I could get this Passport! So off we went and 90mins later I was the happiest girl in the world with the possession of my passport back in my hands. I can not tell you how good it felt to pick it up!! See below;

Me and my found passport outside the police station.

Back to the Hotel to try and search the results. Finally after some delay I was able to confirm the Ironman results had ranked me as 1st Female 25-29 AG, 2nd Age Group Female athlete overall and sneaking into the top 10 with 9th Female. 

Anything really is possible.

25-29 Podium

Relief, Joy and some stress for my now growing credit card debt. $1400.00 AUD for an entry to the Ironman World Championship but the best money I had spent all trip.

I had achieved my goals for this race with a first place, ensuring me a slot to the Ironman World Championships. The golden ticket!! I don't even like beer but you can count on the fact I had one at presentations with Andy and a the small crew who travelled from Perth. Cheers!

So happy to be returning to the big island again for 2017 and this time I will be more prepared and experienced. Bring it on.

As usual, I have to acknowledge the support my husband provides me. Allowing me to change our holiday travel plans to participate in this event. The cost of the $1400.00 Ironman World Championship fee - dam exchange rate! The time I spend training, time I spend hungry, grumpy, smelly and tired. The time he spends supporting, cheering, videoing and making race day clips! I love our adventures as a result of this sport and I am grateful you allow me to pursue my dreams whilst I can. 

I not long ago I mentioned to a friend 'I owe Andy big time'.
His response was Andy would be bored with out me. He owes me forever!

Following this trip it was certainly far from boring and I think will be a lasting memory for some time.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene 70.3

Monday 20^th June at 11.55pm I started my journey to the US. My route to Boise was going to be a long one but I was excited to finally see where coaches Kate and Guy spend their time when not in Perth!

Perth > Sydney - 8hr stop over, Sydney > LA - 9hr stop over and 40min delay! LA > Salt Lake City – due to the delay I found myself running through the terminal to catch my next flight - SLC > Boise, arriving at 9.10pm on Tuesday. All up, over 33hrs of travel!

After some much needed sleep the next morning saw me unpack and start to ‘settle in’ and more importantly, time to get the body moving again with a swim and ride. After a short run on Wednesday morning we packed and began the 7hr drive to Coeur d'Alene with a stop in beautiful McCall for a swim in the freezing water! Around 9.15pm we arrived at the Demoes who kindly let us stay with them for the race weekend. 

Friday bought cooler temperatures in CDA, with rain all day, some hail and temps around 16degress! Where was the summer weather I had come to the US for?! After waiting to see if the rain would pass (which it didn’t) I registered around 3.00pm before heading back home to have dinner.

Saturday had some cloudy skies but most importantly it was dry. A morning ride over the first section of the bike course and brief run enabled me to get the sessions done early and then check my bike into transition, followed by one last dip in the cool water. It was now time to head back and pack ready for tomorrow and try to relax.

RACE DAY

With two alarms set, one for 4.00am and the other 4.15am I was already well awake before hearing them. I got up, dressed and quite nervously ate my breakfast. I felt the nerves for this race 4 days out. I had put in some good, solid and committed training so was nervous to see what I could do!

Transition was packed and very tight! I did not realise how big this event was with 3500 odd individual athletes registering and teams on top of this. I was quietly pumped. Being half way across the world I felt at ease with no extra pressure or expectation of extra eyes watching me through out the day.

Once exiting transition Guy made sure my wet suit was on snug and I was ready to go. Kate and Guy walked me to the start and it was ‘good luck, go get them’ and off I went.

Knowing it was important to get into the water and warm up I did this as quickly as I could. It was my first rolling start and I was looking forward to it. I calmly made by way down the athlete line and then off I went, running into the beautiful clear water. It was a very easy course to sight. Simple - follow the buoys out on your left, make a left turn into the sun which did make sighting a little difficult for a few 100 meters, then take a left again and back into shore. Exit the water and run into T1. 

SWIM . 29.47

I had a fairly quick transition. In and out as quick as I could and off onto that stunning bike course. The first section had a few twists and turns through town before out onto the open road, which also featured the first couple of climbs for the day. Once crossing the bridge and heading away from town I felt like the ride course was really starting and starting with a bang! A steady climb that yes, tickled but it was awesome. It was a beautiful day and by now the sun was well and truly out and I was having a blast. I enjoyed the climbs and for someone who is always a little sceptical descending, a little reassuring talk to myself and I found myself enjoying these too.

At 65km I was feeling great. I had taken in my nutrition exactly when I needed to, hydrated well and felt awesome. My body and mind was totally with me today and I felt as long as I kept positive my legs would do what they needed to. 

The decent back into town saw the km's on my Garmin quickly grow from 70-85km and continuous chasing between myself and 2 other female athletes encouraged me to ride strong, knowing there was going to be a race on my hands.

I came into T2 side by side with another female in my age but I dismounted quickly and powered through the long run into T2.

BIKE. 2.43.05

Running through transition I looked around and the lack of bikes already racked gave me some real confidence. I put my shoes and race belt on and grabbed my hat full of gels and my watch and ran out of there.

The run was just as enjoyable as the bike. So many passionate and encouraging spectators cheering you on, it felt like a home race. During the first 5km I felt good. The run was not a flat course and I was feeling the pinch during the small, sharp inclines but it was a good hurt, as I still felt strong.

Out onto the second lap I had spotted Kate and Guy. At the far turn I had 5km, 5km to bring it home! I could feel the blister growing on my foot. I started to feel tired but positive encouragement from Kate and Guy pushed me further and I kept running. I groaned and sighed and at this point I had my pain face on. In the last 3km’s I was bringing the hurt and for the first time I could feel someone over taking me. I now know that person was professional female Erin Crum and as she passed me she was giving me so much encouragement and support. "Lets go", "Come on girl, you've got this", "Any thing is possible". I was a little surprised by all this support and tried to latch on but only lasted a short stint before falling off the pace slightly. I kept looking at my watch. 2km, 1.9km, 1.8km, then I saw 1.4km. I visualised by run route at home, which at the last turn is 1.4km to the front door. Pushing trough the pain by now any incline felt like a massive, sharp climb. They were no longer tickling, they HURT! 

Finally, I spotted the final sign 'FINISH LINE' and 500m to go. Over the road and one final left turn down Sherman. It was packed! There were so many people who had lined the streets and the Americans were so passionate cheering so loudly. There were only a few athletes at the finish chute so I really got to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy myself.

As I came down the chute they announced ‘Lisa Tyack, 1st 25-29 female and 1st female AG across the line’.

OMG?! What?! But as soon as I crossed the line I forgot about that and I was bent over, with hands on my knees to hold myself up! I was toasted. I stumbled through to Kate and Guy at the other end and was exhausted but excited! In my true style I even shed a little tear of joy!

RUN. 1.33.27

FINISH TIME: 4.51.16

If my 3.30am phone call to Andy back home didn’t wake him up I’m pretty sure he could hear my excited and loud voice from America! I was just so happy and still in shock. This result far exceeded any expectations I was a result I never thought I would achieve. It’s been a dream to win an AG title and I was very excited this might now have become a reality. As I mentioned I felt ready to race. I was excited to see what I could do, but that result, I still can’t believe it! Being a rolling start it was now a nervous wait. Had I actually finished first 25-29 and first female Age Grouper?

After walking to the nearest shop for some choc milk, pringles and a twix ice cream it was back to the finish line to cheer on fellow GKE athletes Katey and Geoff and soak up a little more of that finish line atmosphere. Once they had finished it was time to head back for a shower and have a brief sit down before heading back to presentations. By this time majority of athletes had finished and I checked the results again. 

1st female 25-29.

Female AG champion. 

And I set the inaugural course record! 

Still pinching myself!

Stress and pressure seam to get the better of me in races but for me this race was perfect. We all try to achieve perfection, knowing there is no such thing. We all chase bigger and better, want to be fitter and faster. Set new goals and chase PB’s.

This race was a spare of the moment decision. It surfaced as an idea but I never really acknowledged it as a reality until it was finally booked. Andy had booked me a ticket to the US and registered me for IMCDA 70.3 the day before my birthday, leaving me with a 5-week training block. I was committed to my program and trained hard. Most importantly, during this process I trusted the process. There were run sessions in particular where I wished I was recovering better and that my legs would feel 100%. A little self-doubt crept in, but you still need to trust the process. I told myself - I’ve done his before, I know what I’m in for. I have a coach because I am not a coach. Trust!

I felt in good shape, both strong and fit. I was quietly confident. Most importantly I had self-belief and great support.

For me I can reflect and know I pulled together a great race across all aspects and I think a big part of that was no pressure – I had so much fun out there and enjoyed myself. I was focused but also took time to enjoy the journey. I think this all contributed to executing for me, the ‘perfect race’. Not just my preparation, mental state, nutrition plan, swim, bike and run but most of all enjoyment was there too!