At 7am on Saturday 22nd May, I stood on the start line for my 4th Ironman triathlon. The usual pre-race nerves making me question why I decided to enter the toughest Ironman race in the world… the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run on this course is feared by many due to the extreme conditions and volcanic, hilly terrain.

As I stood on the sand with 1400 athletes, I realised that although I was surrounded by so many other people with the same goal of getting to the finish line under the 17 hour cut-off, it was one of the loneliest moments in my life. The tension in the air caused by anticipation, anxiety, fright and excitement was breathtaking. With about 25% of the field from the UK, there were plenty of athletes who were concerned with how their bodies will cope with the predicted 30 degree mercury on race day after many long, cold and wet training sessions through a bitterly cold English winter.

The start gun went off, and spectators were treated to a mass of white-water, with bodies being pushed, pulled, kicked, punched and dunked while desperately trying to find some clear water to swim the 2.4 mile, 2 lap ocean swim. As with all mass-start triathlons, it can take a good 10 – 15 minutes for the field to spread out. I was particularly nervous about the swim. I knew that my swimming training had been less than adequate, and I realise how spoilt I was coming from Melbourne where there is no shortage of 50 m Olympic standard pools, and miles of beaches to practice open water swimming in. 3km swim sessions in a 25 meter pool is hardly rewarding! I completed the first lap in 33.5 minutes, and the second in 35 minutes, giving me a total swim time of 1 hour 8 minutes and 30 seconds. Not bad considering the lack of training, as I was hoping to go under 1 hour 10 minutes. There was a tricky run up the beach to the transition tent, where I found my bike kit bag and made my way to the female change area. Suffering with the usual coordination challenges from the sudden change in position from horizontal while swimming, to running and trying to remove a wetsuit at the same time my transition time of 6 minutes 35 seconds was slower than hoped, but at least I was changed, dry, comfortable and ready to tackle the challenging bike course. I was treated to a visual mass of naked male triathlete bodies while running through the rest of the transition tent to get my bike!

I knew that I’d done some consistent bike training for this Ironman campaign, and after having a week in Lanzarote as a training camp over Christmas I knew what to expect (although for some athletes, I think ignorance would have been bliss!). A pothole in the first 5kms, which I managed to ride straight into, resulted in a horrible cracking sound, and made me think my race was over from a cracked frame of broken wheel spoke. Lucky for me they build carbon fibre bikes very strong these days, and after pulling over to check everything was still working I set off again. This course is regarded as the toughest in the world due to the hot temperatures, hilly bike course and strong winds. We were lucky on the day in that the 30 mile p/h winds that were gusting the few days before died down to about 10-15 miles p/h. The bike course was one lap of the island, taking in some popular tourist spots. There was cloud cover for about the first 2 hours, but when this burnt off it was full sun, and the temperature was getting hotter. The first 60kms of the bike were taken relatively easy, as I knew it was going to be a long day, and the biggest climbs were yet to come. I got to Club la Santa in just over 2 hours, and thought I was tracking well. The next 80kms consisted of headwinds, some dodgy road surfaces, 2 big climbs to Haria and Mirador del Rio (and I remembered to look over my left shoulder at the top of Mirador at the most spectacular view) and some tricky descents. The slightly changed bike course resulted in an additional climb into the headwind up to Teguise, but from then it was mostly flat, with either tail or cross winds back to transition in Puerto del Carmen. 6 hours 20 minutes for the bike. Pretty good, as I would’ve settled to be happy with anything under 6 hours 45 minutes. I ran into the longest transition area in Ironman history (it was about 200m long to accommodate all the bikes along the esplanade), found my run bag and headed into the women’s change tent. I was the only female in there, and the volunteer who helped me change into my running shorts and smother sunscreen on told me I was in the top 20 females off the bike. Awesome, I remember saying to her. Second transition time was 5 minutes 53, but again, I was changed, comfortable, covered in sunscreen and ready to run.

A quick stop at a porta loo and I was off on the first lap of the 3 lap run course. Lap one was 19 kms, and the second and third laps were around 12 kms each. By now it was 2:30 in the afternoon, and it was getting hot. I had managed to get my nutrition and hydration spot on during the ride, so felt very fresh at the start of the run. By the end of the first lap I was still feeling strong and was blessing all the long 15 mile runs off the bike coach McKinnon had me do during training!

The heat was starting to affect me, and a lot of other athletes, but as I’d been sensible and walked all the aid stations to fuel up on water, coke and sports drink my pace didn’t slow down much. Some friends of 2 of my training partners had come to watch, and they were the most vocal group out on the run course which gave me an energy boost every time I saw them. I was noticing how many people I was actually passing on the run, and figured that I had an advantage with my Australian blood, as I could adapt to the heat better than most. Sadly, a lot of athletes races came to an end during the run from dehydration, heat stroke and exhaustion.

As I rounded the turnaround for the last lap, I was still feeling strong, but was prepared in my mind that I could hit the wall at any time. Fortunately I didn’t, probably due to the fact that there were so many spectators on the run course cheering everyone one it kept the adrenaline going. Competing in a sport in that only about 10% of the field is female, I do tend to get a lot of encouragement from other female spectators.

Rounding the turnaround to head back to home, I was on a high. I knew that if I’d kept up that pace, I would be home in less than 11 hours 30 minutes. Bearing in mind that my initial goal was to be happy with anything under 12 hours considering not many PB’s are recorded on this difficult course, you could imagine that last 5 kms were run with a big smile on my face. About 500m from the finish I overtook about 5 men who were also headed for the finishing chute, to make sure I had it to myself. That last 100m in an Ironman, running onto the carpet with the spectator-packed grandstand makes every early morning, long training session and social sacrifice worth it. Run time 3 hours 38 minutes, with an overall time of 11 hours 19 minutes, just 6 minutes slower than my PB recorded at Ironman UK in 2008. 16th female overall and 3rd in my category. Very satisfying.