Port Macquarie, Australia is a very beautiful place. The race is well run and the course is excellent – albeit a bit hilly.
The funniest thing happened
on the bike. As I have mentioned before
(here)
performing math functions in the head while in these races is nearly impossible
– even single digit addition. So get
this: I am feeling real strong on the first of three bike loops. Almost no one has passed me and I am
flying. I look down at my bike computer
and see that I am moving along at 22mph at that moment … but have averaged just
over 24mph so far! I was giddy. I contemplated what it would be like to finish
the 112 mile bike leg of the race in well under five hours and how even the
pros behind me would be miffed at this performance. A few minutes later, my speed is still
hovering around 22mph yet my average speed was up around 25mph. How this happened I was not sure … but so it
must be as the computer does not lie. So
I continue to quietly chuckle to myself about my extraordinary power. Soon I see my average speed is almost
27mph. Now this caused me pause. It was like a riddle. How could this be? Wait a minute … I look closer at my computer
and see that this incredible average speed was really “total distance
travelled!” What an idiot. I flip the computer display over to average
speed to find out my real average speed … 19.5 mph! Ughhh.
This, I must admit, broke my will.
The next 2 hours I coasted a lot and averaged about 16mph. What a loser.
Here a new swim tip for
hackers: When you are near the back of the swim you will find some people
swimming the breast stroke. Remember to
avoid these folks. Their frog-style kick
can deliver exceptional beatings to your head.
I was reminded about this 2-3 times in the first 20 minutes of this
race. As I reflected on this over the
next few miles of swimming, I was quite sure this was karma caused by my inappropriate
behavior during the UK Ironman (ref: Kick
to Kill).
On the subject of deadly: While
driving around we discovered a giant spider (at least 3” leg span) climbing
down my window inside the car. Knowing Australia
has lots of deadly critters, I was quite panicked. The good news is … I was able to use the map
to throw the spider out the window. The
bad news is … I threw the map out the window. Michelle says “Needed map!”
Actual Important Things If You Are Going To This Race
1. Make sure bike has no dirt
on it when you land in Australia. They
will check your bike tires at Customs at the airport to see if you are bringing
dirt in. Getting your bike quarantined
would be bad.
2. Be prepared for hills on
the bike, humidity, and maybe some rain.
3. I recommend you get in the
water and swim a bit up the river before race day. There can be strong currents. During my test swim (that made my arms sore
because I had not swam in months) it took 45 minutes to swim up the river and
15 minutes to swim back down. Had I not
tested the water, this might have spooked me race day.
4. The road is a bit rough in
places on the bike course. And due to
the rain, there were a number of folks with flats. So I swapped out my tires for thicker ones
and rode with 110 PSI and had no
problem at all.
5. I learned to drive on the
left side of the road for the first time. Although this had always been a fear, this is
a great place to learn.
6. Watch for spiders and get two maps.
RELATED POSTS:
Hacking the 2008 UK Ironman: Kick to Kill
Malaysia Ironman versus South Africa Ironman – “Tastes like Mango”
Preparing for the 2007 New Zealand Ironman in Singapore?
Handicapped at the 2006 Arizona Ironman
Surviving the 2006 France Ironman and How Intelligent are Chimpanzees?
Dumb and Dumber: Consequences of the 2006 Silverman Triathlon
What sharks? Reflections on the 2005 Western Australia
Ironman
Good too hear you made it!
Re driving on the left - I learned a trick many years ago - try not to think in terms of left and right, but relationally. Just remember that you, as the driver, have to be situated nearest to the center line of the road. If you look out your driver's side window see the center line, you're OK, otherwise you're probably in trouble....Very handy for coming off one way streets, highway exit ramps, etc.
Once you've got that mastered, the hardest thing is the wipers where the turn signals should be.
Posted by: Brian Benz | April 20, 2009 at 08:46 AM
I came across your blog since I'm looking at doing the Port Macquarie IM in 2010 (if offered - I didn't see '10 registration up on web yet). I'd love to get more thoughts on the race and logistics if you don't mind. Thanks.
Also, very cool how you have completed several IM around the world. I'm looking at doing several international ones too (I'm in LA).
Posted by: Mike Kim | May 10, 2009 at 05:07 PM