Benji didn't make things easy for me though deciding to have one of his worst nights the night before the race! He always wakes up usually 3 times per night but usually goes straight back to sleep. This night however he decided to stay away from midnight till 2.30am, so I didn't have a great sleep! but never mind I am used to being sleep deprived and I wasn't going to let it affect my race.
The weather in Wanaka had been very windy but it was due to calm down for race day, no such luck!! The swim was therefore very choppy. One thing I noticed as soon as I arrived in Wanaka this year was how low the lake level was. This meant the water was only knee depth at the start and for quite a way before it deepened. The race was a beach start which meant a run in the water which was all different levels. One step at knee the next up to ankle and then deeper etc so I was quite scared to run in case of falling and twisting ankle right at beginning of day. I was also scared to dolphin dive in case of diving in shallow part, so I decided to just start swimming straight away. Well no one else decided to do this so as I was swimming half the field were running and dolphin diving past me!! So I had a lot of work to do to try and claw my way back to a group which I eventually did. So at the end of the swim I was first out, but I didn't have the lead on the other girls that I would have liked. Oh well I just had to put it behind me and focus on the bike ride.
The bike I was really happy with. Every time I come to Wanaka it is a solo effort just me against the elements. This year was no different. It is really hard to be out in front and not have a clue what is happening behind you whereas when you are chasing people are giving you splits. It wasn't until 110k when I saw Brett in Cromwell that he let me know that a group of 3 girls were working well together to catch me. This is perfectly legal. They can keep 7m apart and change the lead and this saves them so much energy especially when going into a tough headwind like we started to from the 110k mark. So I had to really grind into this wind and I did stay in the lead but it would of course mean that I would have not so fresh legs for the run whereas if you were in a group you would have nice fresh legs. So I was a little worried what would happen on the run. So anyway I was very happy with my bike ride. I really had no low patches at all and this hard effort will stand me in good stead for the next few races. It will help me to continue to increase my bike strength.
So onto the run in the lead and I had Britta Martin behind me in 2nd who had passed the group of girls either on the bike or the run I'm not sure. I knew Britta would be my main competition in this race although the pre race media didn't mention her at all for some strange reason! Anyway she was about 4 min behind me and I had Brett letting me know how it was going. The lead kept ranging from 3.30 to 4.45 throughout the first part of the run. This was because unfortunately I had to make two porta loo stops! Damn, I really need to make sure this doesn't happen in Taupo! I felt really good for the first lap but didn't want to push too hard and ruin my race as I really am not used to running a marathon and didn't know how my body would cope so I wanted to play it safe I only need to win by one second. In the second half I wanted to push harder but when I got to about 24k I had some troubles with my stomach muscles. This is a posture problem one I have been working hard on but it didn't come together yet for race day. I need to stand up straight with shoulders back but when you come off bike bent over for 5 hrs or so you sometimes think you are standing straight when you are not. So my posture was off. I had to breath through this and concentrate hard to improve form. So at 34k I learnt Britta was only less than 3 min now behind me. I had to go down hill then which I didn't like. I felt good going up like I could for the whole race but my stomach muscles didn't like the down hill. But I had to pull myself together and I managed to make the time back up so at the end of the marathon Britta and I ended up with just 5 seconds between our run splits!!
My main worry with racing an iron distance race so soon after having Benji was the breastfeeding issue. How would I feel after 9.5 hr racing without stopping to feed Benji? Well by the end of the race I felt like I had had breast implants inserted! But it wasn't as bad as I thought it could be. I guess you are in enough pain already that any more doesn't really matter. Plus the other worry was that the race would shock my body into not making any more milk, but again that never happened, things are straight back to normal. So all good and things will get a lot easier in future races as Benji hopefully starts drinking less and eating more. At 6 months though he is a big fan of milk and not so much of food. Hopefully that will change soon!!
So my goal had been to break the course record. I was off by 10 min in the bike. But it was a lot windier than the previous years I had done this so I didn't think that was too bad, and then on the run there was a change of course which I checked on google maps that added about 2k to the run from previous years I think. So all run splits were slow, none of the men went under 3 hr when in previous years there had been 2.50 etc. Also the gravel chip on the run was much more stony when previously it had been a very fine gravel easier to run. So again I am happy with my run, but there is improvement that needs to be made between now and Taupo if I am to have any chance of a win there. But it does give me a goal for next year. To break the course record despite the lengthened run course!!
So all in all I am super duper happy. Hard to believe I have been able to win an iron distance race just 6 months after having Benji!! He was a good boy during the race practicing his crawling on the grass and playing with other babies. He really enjoyed our whole month trip away in Christchurch and Wanaka especially all the attention from his grandparents and uncle and aunt!
So now I am taking this week off. The body feels very normal, no muscle pain but I just want to make sure I am 100% recovered before the next 5 weeks of work towards Taupo.
I want to thank my sponsors so much for believing in me and helping me win Challenge Wanaka. KSwiss for the speedy running shoes which have meant I have no muscle pain just a few days post race. Ceepo and Rolf Prima for my bike and wheels which enabled me to battle into the wind and stay ahead of the competition and BlueSeventy for the wetsuit which enabled me to win the swim despite the poor start. Thanks a lot!!
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