{"id":25,"date":"2014-09-03T05:09:29","date_gmt":"2014-09-03T05:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/?page_id=25"},"modified":"2014-09-04T03:21:59","modified_gmt":"2014-09-04T03:21:59","slug":"cairns-2013","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/?page_id=25","title":{"rendered":"2013 – IM Cairns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"good<\/a><\/p>\n

After my last 3 big races with bad stomach issues and poor running, I had 2 obvious areas to work on when I signed up for Cairns \u2013 work on my nutrition, and work on my run!\u00a0 Whilst my bike and swim aren\u2019t exactly strong points, my run has been weaker.<\/p>\n

I posted some of my gut issues on Transitions (an internet triathlon forum) and received a lot of helpful replies, including a few about fructose.\u00a0 After several weeks testing, I worked out I have an issue with fructose in large amounts.\u00a0 Solution? Custom made gels of brew-shop maltodextrin and dextrose, with salt caps thrown in.\u00a0 Problem 1 solved.<\/p>\n

Problem 2 – Running.\u00a0 I threw more running into my training, including hard surfaces and had high hopes on not falling apart (as much) on the run.<\/p>\n

Goal time:\u00a0 13:30.\u00a0 Broken down into swim 1:30, bike 6:30, run 5:30.\u00a0 Based on my training this might have been doable, if everything went according to plan.\u00a0 But, as we all know, plans change.<\/p>\n

After spending a week driving up to FNQ, and a week in Port Douglas doing touristy rainforresty things, I hadn\u2019t done so much of a taper as a complete end to exercise.\u00a0 And to add injury to insult, whilst having a go at a race in PD the weekend before, I managed to tweak a calf muscle whilst trying to \u201chygienically\u201d use a nasty portaloo\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n

Anyway, race day.\u00a0 After getting almost to the start of the jetty, I realised I\u2019d managed to check my Garmin GPS watch into my street gear bag.\u00a0 After a hasty run back to bag drop (via a VERY long way around transition and the 70.3 bike exit crossing) I was back, and moseyed out onto the pier to get in the water.<\/p>\n

SWIM (3.9km)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As I was hanging around in the swim waiting for the start, I saw how many folks were still waiting to get in the after and thought they would hold the start a wee bit.\u00a0 NO!\u00a0 Bang, and everyone was off.\u00a0 I found myself a bit of water and a comfortable pace and plodded along. \u00a0Halfway around the first lap I looked at my watch and figured the swim course must be long \u2013 turned out to be around 500m too long.\u00a0 I then managed to trap a stinger on my lip, which hurt like a bugger for a while.\u00a0 On the second lap I stopped to see if someone was ok, as they had stopped and looked to be in trouble \u2013 but all ok.\u00a0 On the way back in I guessed the current had picked up, as well as the wind and waves, as my pace slowed considerably.\u00a0 After exiting the swim, we had a 900m run back down the pier to transition get on the bike.<\/p>\n

BIKE (180km)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the first couple of kms, I was almost taken out by a cop who just wandered out in front of me after stopping the cars, and then saw another cyclist go down on railway tracks.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t look good.\u00a0 I knew hills weren\u2019t going to be my strong point, so I settled in and took them in my lowest gear.\u00a0 I figured it would add time to my bike split, but might save me time on the run.\u00a0 The course was from Cairns up to Port Douglas, back to (? somewhere?), back to Port Douglas, and then back to Yorkeys Knob.\u00a0 So after a slow but uneventful bike, my legs feel pretty good and I pull off the main road towards T2.\u00a0 That\u2019s where things got interesting.\u00a0 Through a combination of fatigue, rain and downright stupidity, my normal bike dismount turned into a flight over the handlebars, landing directly on both my knees.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The last time I did that I fractured my kneecap \u2013 so I wasn\u2019t feeling positive.\u00a0 (and no one got it on camera!). As it was, I could walk.<\/p>\n

RUN<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So then came the run.\u00a0 Or what I call \u201cthe last bit\u201d, as there wasn\u2019t as much running as I had hoped.\u00a0 With my knees beginning to blow up, I did a run\/walk\/hobble thing for a few kms, trying to work out what hurt and what was about to hurt.\u00a0 My knees seemed to be holding up ok for the moment, but I knew they\u2019d stiffen up at some point.\u00a0 My biggest problem though was my feet.\u00a0 For the first time ever, the balls of my feet were really sore from the outset- – possibly from the bike.\u00a0 Then, when it started raining, I could tell they were starting to blister up.\u00a0 I stopped at Yorkeys Knob and put a blister patch on each foot, and that helped.\u00a0\u00a0 The next few kms were sort of on track, but then my knees started to give me some bother, so there ended up being a lot more walking than running \u2013 but I was okay with that.\u00a0 My head was in the right space and I was happy with a finish and being able to walk at all after my less than gracious dismount that could have ended the whole thing.\u00a0 We ran down the highway to Cairns in the dark, which was earie, but ok, and then 3 laps of the Esplanade in Cairns. \u00a0They put your name on your race number for the run, so it was great having so many folks in town cheering you on by name and it gave me some momentum for the other dark lonely kms the rest of the laps.\u00a0\u00a0 There were also heaps of people in cafes and restaurants cheering us on, including some folks who knew me, but I couldn\u2019t see who they were!<\/p>\n

FINISH<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It was I finally crossed the line in 14:50, and got my medal and a hug from Pete Jacobs, the Aussie who is World IM Champ (2013) \u2013 woohoo!!\u00a0 (poor bastard).<\/p>\n

AND THEN there was the beer mile\u2026\u2026..\u00a0 I came, I drank, I ran, I didn\u2019t barf, and am claiming unofficial female beer mile champion for Cairns 2013.<\/p>\n

(the Beer Mile is an event the afternoon after the race.\u00a0 You have to be a member of Transitions (internet forum) and have finished the Ironman the day before.\u00a0 Basically, you drink a beer, run 400m, drink another beer, run another 400m, drink another beer, run another 400m, and finally drink another beer and run another 400m (so 4 beers and 4 x 400m). \u00a0If you barf, you run another lap. \u00a0Disgraceful eh?)<\/p>\n

Oh, and my GI issues were solved \u2013 for the first time in 5 years I didn\u2019t spend half the run on the toilet\u2026\u2026..\u00a0 YAY !!!!!!!!!!!.<\/p>\n

Oh yeah, the rest of the holiday was awesome.\u00a0 We hiked through Porcupine Gorge and the Undarra lava tubes, snorkeled through the rainforest down the Mossman River, did a zip line through the canopy up at Cape Tribulation, rode the skyrail and historic train at Kuranda, snorkeled out at Green Island, visited a croc park and ate the exhibits (just like tough chicken), ate kilos of prawns and fish, spent 3 days fishing at Hinchinbrook Island, more fishing at Bowen, caught a rodeo in the back bar of a pub at Rocky, etc\u2026\u2026\u2026 \u00a0Oh yeah, with a little triathlon somewhere in the middle.\u00a0 Yep, a good trip !\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After my last 3 big races with bad stomach issues and poor running, I had 2 obvious areas to work on when I signed up for Cairns \u2013 work on my nutrition, and work on my run!\u00a0 Whilst my bike and swim aren\u2019t exactly strong points, my run has been weaker. I posted some of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":33,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206,"href":"https:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25\/revisions\/206"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathsoutdooradventures.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}