My Kona 2015

It’s now almost 2 weeks since I raced at Kona World Champs and to be honest, I’m still a little shell shocked or is that deep fried…?

I have read quite a few blogs and race reports over the last 10 days and the one thing that has struck me is that most of us had similar fears, doubts and insecurities; both before and during the race. You imagine that you’re the only person at the start thinking “What the hell am I doing here, why am I doing this to myself?” I will never forget that feeling when I was standing on the beach ready to enter the water. As it turns out, most of us are thinking the same thing. The other similarity is that during the race, we all think we are having the worst race and that everyone else is cruising. 

I went there with a specific aim, to finish in the top ten and to do a sub 11 hour Ironman. I am not one of those people that can race simply to enjoy the experience (sometimes I wish I was like that), I want to RACE and finish with the best possible result. I believe my preparation was close to exactly as it should have been; I stayed healthy and injury free. Well Desi…welcome to Kona!! It was an extremely humbling experience, especially in those times where I could only focus on finishing the race let alone chasing a specific time or position. I don’t think there is anything that can prepare you for the brutal conditions in Kona, and I don’t think I need to go on about the heat, humidity and wind; but what I have learnt is that you have to believe that everyone else is also flesh and blood and going through exactly the same physical and mental battle that you are. The important thing is to stay focused and believe in your game plan.

I made some silly mistakes that literally made the difference between 12th place and 10th place, and to be honest, I am disappointed with that. But like my friend Kim Dovey says, “Cry like a winner on the inside and not like a loser on the outside!” Believe me, I had a little chin quiver in the last 40km of the bike! After the race when I saw my team mates Craig, Corinne and Desmond, I think we all agreed that if we never saw lycra, chamois cream or an energy gel again, or if our bikes fell to the bottom of the ocean, we wouldn’t bat an eyelid; but it took about 2 days for me to start contemplating what I could’ve done better and to want to chat to Lucie about what’s next. To some extent I have been spoilt in that qualification came quite easy to me where some people dream of this opportunity. I definitely appreciate it more now…

They say Ironman is the great teacher, and these are some of the insights I would like to share about this journey and this race:
1.    People care. And not just my amazing family and friends…colleagues, friends of friends, friends of family.          Acquaintances that have somehow been inspired and motivated by this thing. People gave money, time,          support and love to something from which they literally were getting nothing in return.
2.    Just when you think you’re special, an 83 year old or a double amputee finishes the race! Wow!
3.    Just when you think you’re not special, you read all the messages on Facebook, Whatsapp etc.
4.    Kona is a mystical place; I would go back just to experience the vibe of the pre-race week and to be                among all those amazing athletes.
5.    The human body and mind is capable of so much more than we give it credit for.
6.    This is not about a race, it’s about a lifestyle.
7.    There is nothing wrong with chasing a dream, no matter how unrealistic it may seem, it is worth every            second of sacrifice.
8.    The difference between the younger and older age groupers is the amount of loose skin, lol!
9.    Sun cream, Desi, sun cream!
10.   If you told me five years ago, when I was 42, that I would win Ironman SA, then compete at the World          Champs in Kona and come 12th in my age grouop, I would’ve taken another sip of my beer and laughed        hysterically. That is the amazing thing about triathlon; not only do you get to participate, you get to                COMPETE, and I love it! It’s never too late…

There is nothing particularly unique or special about my story, or something that necessarily differentiates me from the other 2000 “odd” (pun intended) athletes who competed in Kona, but I am a woman in my late forties who has been given a surprise gift; and I am so grateful…

Lastly a special mention to my peeps that literally did the race with me on the day. Kim had to rally 10 people to make sure that they saw me as much as possible. They made it “all about me” in the week leading up to the race. They had flags, they had posters, they had T-shirts, they had the loudest voices, they endured the heat and the very long day like true champions. You will never know what a difference it made.

Desi

​I’ll just start by saying racing overseas is awesome and I would highly recommend Mallorca as a place to visit and to do an Ironman!
 
Ironman Mallorca was going to be my first Ironman. I have only finished five 70.3’s (three this year) and was keen to step it up to the full Ironman distance.
 
My wife and I arrived on the island of Mallorca a few days before the race and stayed in a little town called Cala D’or. Mallorca is an island off the coast of Spain. Cala D’or is a quaint little town with lots of restaurants and little shop that surround a few cove beaches which are only about 100m wide. It was a perfect start to my Ironman Holiday.
 
A few days later we drove to Alcudia where the race would take place. Alcudia is a built up holiday town/destination and is far more developed than Cal D’or. The beach of Alcudia is quite amazing with its white sand that stretches for kilometres. The water was crystal blue and had a temperature of 24.4 degrees – borderline wetsuit legal J.
 
It was only the second time Mallorca has had an Ironman (2014 was their first race), and the organisation was exceptional. The registration and expo area was set up in massive marquee tents along the beach close to where we would race. The expo was quite big and there was a whole marquee filled with Ironman branded gear, which ranged from babies bibs to travelling suit cases. The Euro Rand exchange rate certainly didn’t help me in this marquee tent.
 
Two nights before the race, our Hotel was kind enough to invite a Celine Dion wannabe to sing at the top of her lungs on a stage that was built on the top section of the pool area. Needless to say the Ironman athletes weren’t too happy and complained till 11h30 that night before they switched off the music. We were quite lucky that the UK athletes put up enough fuss that the scheduled second night performance was cancelled and we could get some sleep.
 
We had to check our bikes in the afternoon/night before the race and also go to race briefing. Race briefing took place on the beach in the finishers area where they had built a massive stage and eating area. Race briefing was combined with a free pasta party. It was really great to have Paul Kaye as the commentator at Mallorca and really pumped up the crowd and gave South Africa and the South Africans many mentions.
 
On the way to bike check 30 minutes before it closed I got a flat L With a bit of stress and a bit of running around to the local bike shop, I managed to change the rim tape on my disc wheel and put in a new tube and check in before transition closed.
 
Race Day
 
The swim start was the rolling starts which we experienced at Durban. But it didn’t work out that way. I seeded myself in the under hour category but didn’t push myself right to the front as I did in Durban and I paid the consequences for this. The under hour category was a very large group of people and they didn’t let us off in batches of 10 like they did in Durban. They literally let the whole group go which must have been about 200 to 300 people at least. The swim became a bit of a fight for me to get through and with a few shots to the head and body, I found some clearer water after the Australian style beach exit. After 2.5 km’s of swimming, we ran along the beach for about 50 metres and then went back into the water for the last 1.3 km’s. The water was beautiful and had probably 20 metres or more visibility.
 
I exited the water after 55 minutes and made the long run to transition. The transition area itself must have been 500metres long and I grabbed my bike and was off on the 180km one lap bike route. It was the prettiest and hardest 180kms I have ever done (not that I have done many 180’s J). The first 110kms was quick, had only a few climbs no descents to recover. We went mostly through the farmlands and little villages of Mallorca and a nice long section along the sea. The last 70kms was something else. We started a mountain climb which can only be equated to something out of the Alps or Pyrenees, it was 20km long and it wound up the most beautiful mountain range with spectacular views (like I said this was Ironman Holiday and I could take the time to have a quick look). With a very steep descent with loads of switch backs we made our way back to Alcudia. The organisers had thrown in a few nasty little steep climbs in and out of the local villages just to test our legs and to see what we had left after that mountain pass.  
 
Back into transition, I was quite happy to get off my bike even though I still had a marathon run of 42.2kms to come. I set off and found a comfortable pace and thought, ok let’s see if we can keep this pace up until the 30km mark and see how we go from there. In the back of my mind I hoped I could get to the 30km mark, after only having run one 21km run, 2 months before at Durban 70.3 (an injury to my knees had held back the run training).
 
I managed to get to the 30km mark still feeling great and in my head I knew I only had 1.5 laps to go of the run course and I would finish. The run was awesome, half of the course was through the town and streets of Alcudia and the other half was along the beach and Marina area. The amount of spectators along the course were phenomenal and really helped. The last few kilometres I slowed a bit but I had managed a comfortable 4h19 marathon run. I never pushed myself and I think that’s what got me to the end. TYRONE WALKER – YOU ARE AN IRONMAN! (11 hours and 8 minutes)
 
The finishers area was brilliant, there was loads of different kinds of food but the best bit for me was the cheese cake and free beer!      
 
I will definitely do another overseas Ironman next year, racing with close to 3000 people from 52 countries was something special.
 
We spent the last week of our holiday in Barcelona which was amazing and also a must see!
 
I have to thank Lucie and my wife for all their help! And thanks for reading my race report, if anyone would like to find out more info of the Ironman Mallorca I am happy they give me a call or pop me a message. James Cunnama came 2nd at Ironman Mallorca and he said on twitter that he rates it as one of the best courses he has done.
 
Cheers
Ty