IMNZ : The Race – Chilled To The Bone

Lake Taupo is a place of extremes when it comes to weather.  It rained heavily throughout the race.  Not just an itsy-bitsy drizzle, but torrential,wish-you-stayed-indoors-nice-and-warm type of rain.  Howling winds.

For over 1300 competitors who stood at the Start, the wet and windy elements were obviously not the conditions they were hoping for.   1249 brave souls bit the bullet, for an incredible 96.7% finish rate!

According to Mike Riley (The Voice of IM, and IMNZ was his 100th IM race), IMNZ was one of the three toughest days he had encountered (the other two were Wisconsin and Lake Placid).

And to quote Cameron Brown (winner of IMNZ), “the swim was the warmest part of the race…”

Let me recount the day’s events…

Pre-race

It started drizzling the night before the race.  Although we knew from the weather forecast that it would rain on race day, we were still hopeful that the rain would stop.  Alas, it was not to be.  It poured the entire duration of the race, and we were wet from the very moment we set off for the race site.

Wung Yew & I got up at 4am to eat and get ready.  It was windy, wet and cold, and  I certainly didn’t look forward to stepping out of my dry, warm and cosy room.  Reluctantly, we geared up, put on our rain jackets, met up with the rest and walked to the race site.  WY growled, “The elements are already there.  You know it, so deal with it.”

There was a hive of activity at the race site by the time we arrived.  We got body marked, set up the nutrition on our bikes, pumped our tyres, found a spot in front of a heater in the tent and put on our wetsuits.  I had packed a bottle of hot Milo to drink before the race. and sipping the warm beverage somewhat calmed my nerves.

The Swim

It was time to head towards the swim start.   It was quite a long walk with many bottlenecks.  As soon as we arrived, I got into the water (about 16 degrees), and before I could figure out what was happening in the melee, “BOOM!” the cannon went off!  Everybody surged forward and so did I!  I couldn’t see any of the buoys in the dark, and the pouring rain didn’t help visibility one bit. All I could do was follow the bubbles in front. Panicking slightly, I swam slightly off course (must have followed the wrong person).  Stopping to calm my nerves, I swam back towards the buoys.  By the time I reached the next buoy, it was buoy number 5.  I must have swum past buoys 1-4 in the dark.  (The buoys have numbers written on them, but the numbers don’t indicate the distance).  To ensure that I didn’t swim off-course again, I deliberately swam close to the buoys and took note of each number.   I was glad to see the big light yellow Bonita buoys in the dark at the u-turn point (we had to content with small orange  buoys).  Spotted and waved to the cheery diver in the water, to ensure that we don’t swim beyond the u-turn.  He was quite noticeable because he had green and blue fins on!

On the way back, I tried to swim in a straight line, but a lady in front of me kept veering left and right like a woman gone berserk in the  frigid water, and it irritated me because I didn’t want to waste energy surging to overtake her.    Somehow I managed to squeeze past her and dropped her without getting hit.  It got brighter towards the end of the swim so sighting the buoys became easier.  I got out of the water at 1:22hr.  My swim was slightly slower than I wanted, but given the conditions, I think I didn’t do too badly.

Winnie & I got out of the water at the same time and we ran towards T1 together, holding hands and muttering words of encouragement to each other. It’s almost a 500m uphill run towards the changing tents.  By the time I arrived at the tent, my calves were burning from the run upslope!

A nice lady volunteer ripped off my wetsuit.  I took some time to wear my arm warmers, compression top, cycling jersey, cycling tights, head buff and rain jacket.  I wanted to be warm enough for the bike ride and the cold weather.  Off I went!

The Bike

There was a slight slope downhill out of T1.  However, after turning into Napier Road, I was greeted with the first slope.   The ride along Broadlands Road towards Reporoa was slightly uphill and against the wind.  There were a few steep slopes to climb on the way to Reporoa too.  All in all, there were 10km worth of climbs.   Looking at the slanted raindrops blowing in my direction, I realised I was cycling against the wind.  No wonder…  The tail wind pushing me back towards Taupo was certainly welcome.   The roads were very rough and my bike vibrated violently.

To my horror and dismay, my speedometer stopped working at the 80km mark, despite the fresh batteries I inserted the night before.  I stopped to try to fix it in the pouring rain, but to no avail.  I decided to ride on without it.  (Strangely, after I dried the speedometer in my room, it sprang back to life again!  So I think either the rain or the rattling on the rough roads must have dislodged something.)

Feeling tired on the second loop of the bike, I must have slowed down quite a bit because people started to overtake me.  My fatigued legs felt the burn on the second round as I tackled the hills.  Collected my first arm band at the top of Napier Road.  Glad and relieved!

Race participants also had to cycle into a private road, which was only open on race day, to make up the distance.   A long winding but scenic route, it took participants past a horse racing track, before joining the main route to Reporoa again.

The wind and rain picked up on my second loop and I was slower this time round.  It came pelting down and completely drenched me. My face, fingers and feet were numb from the cold.  Collected my second arm band after the Reporoa u-turn.  Happniess!

At this point, I had no idea how fast/slow I was riding – so all I had was my watch to tell the time, and I had make it back before 5.20pm!

Finding it tough fighting the strong winds on the second leg, I reached the transition area at 5.10pm.  The cut-off was at 5.20pm.  Glad to hand my bike over to the bike catcher, I dashed towards the changing tent, put on my running shoes and took off!   There was no point changing into dry socks because my feet would get wet anyway!  True enough, I stepped on a mud puddle outside the changing tent.

The Run

Glad to be on my feet, I started my run.  Collected my first arm band (white) on the way out, I high-fived friends along the way.   Looked out for Wung Yew and high-fived Andy, because I knew they were concerned about me completing the bike leg.

The run terrain was undulating and there were a few steep slopes which I decided walk up instead, because my ankles and knees were hurting badly.  Helping myself to pretzels, chips, chocolate, water and Horleys at the nutrition tables, I steeled myself to continue eating and drinking in order to stay warm.  Feeling dizzy from the cold, I staggered at a few support stations.

When I met Wung Yew again, he shouted that he didn’t see Andy after the first loop.  True enough, I didn’t spot Andy on my return.  Sadly, I learnt that Andy had collpased at the 15km mark due to hypothermia and was sent to the hospital.

In fact, on my way back at around the 28km mark, the aid stations were handing out plastic ponchos for all participants.  The temperatures had dipped so low that people were becoming hypothermic.  The race Medical Director had instructed that it was compulsory for all participants left on the race course to wear plastic ponchos.  They would not let participants continue with the race if they refuse to wear the ponchos. I gladly took one because I was starting to feel cold and dizzy in my wet clothes (even though I had three layers on).

Extremely glad to receive shouts of encouragement from Kam Meng, Kah Han, Winnie, Soon and Ben, I continued to walk and run in the dark, with my glow stick and honks of encouragement from passing cars from company.  I made it a point to thank the volunteers for staying out in the rain at all the aid stations on my way back to Taupo after the u-turn.

At the 30km mark, two guys (Sam & Luke) spotted me running the dark.   Standing in the rain, they were cheering for the participants who ran past them.  I must have looked pale, because when they ran with me in the rain for a short distance.   Then they ran back to get their car, drove past me shouting, “Come on Lynn! YAHOOO! YOOO!”.  I’d see them 3 km later, hear them calling out to me in the dark, run with me for a short distance, run back to get their car, drive past me shouting, “Come on Lynn!” … and this cycle went on till I was 2 km away from the finish line.  I was very touched by their gesture and they saw me through to the end of the race.  Because they stood in the rain for me, I made the effort to jog/run to the end, even though the pain in my ankles were really bad.  Apparently, they had driven 4 hours from Wellington to support their friends doing the Ironman.  Their friends had completed the race and they decided to continue supporting those left on the run course.

As I approached the finish line,  I remembered to take off my plastic poncho and visor.  (Gotta look good when I cross THAT line!)  People were cheering and I saw Wung Yew at the Finish.  He caught me, put a medal around my neck and ushered me into the Finisher’s tent, where I changed out of my wet clothes and had a cup of warm tomato soup. I finished in 16:17hr.  I may have been slow… but I did it!

Reflections

By far, this IM race was tougher than IMWA.  It was made tougher by the cold, wet and windy conditions.  As luck would have it, there had been no rain in Taupo for two months, but it poured on race day.

The support?  Wonderful! The volunteers at all aid stations were encouraging and it was comforting to know that they would stay out for the last participant.  Supporters stayed out in the rain to encourage participants, and cars honked in encouragement of your efforts.

It certainly wasn’t pleasant going through the race in wet clothes, totally drenched.  I later learned that the water temperature in the lake was 16 degrees, and the rain coupled with wind chill factor, was lower than that.

I felt Andy’s pain as he collapsed from hypothermia at the 15km mark during the marathon.  SL was shivering at the 150km mark during the cycling leg.  Concerned for her well-being, the marshals pulled her out of the race because her body temperature was too low. I salute both of my friends who didn’t give up in the face of adversity.  I’m sure they would have carried on to complete the race, given the opportunity.  The pros were feeling hypothermic too, with frozen fingers and all.  Kudos to all, who did their best under tough conditions.

The staff in my faculty were very generous  and joined me in my the effort I put in to raise funds.   Together, they donated $1921 in support of the needy students in my school.  It’s encouraging to know that people have a heart, and I’ve been able to put my skills to good use.

I’ve learnt that no matter how tough the circumstances are, it is our attitude and mental strength that will see us through in tough conditions.   Integrity and the ability to resist temptation not draft on the cycling leg, or break any race rules for that matter, during the race is important too.  Kudos to all who had the courage to stand at the start line at IMNZ!

Before I end, I’d like to quote the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

Indeed, anything can happen in an Ironman!

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