I thought the nerves would be starting to settle in by now but all in all we’re pretty happy where we are at. It’s 2 weeks to race day & we’re on our taper, the hard work has been done, could we have done more , probably. What I have come to learn with Ironman is that getting to the start line in one piece is half the challenge, finishing is the other half. Comparing the distances we’ve done on the bike this time compared to our last Ironman is interesting, this time around we have completed about 1000 klms more & there is a noticeable difference in our speed & leg strength which we are feeling good about.
However the reality is we are also both looking at a 7 to 8 hour bike leg so we have to make sure we get every thing right from bike preparation to fueling. I’m currently averaging about 24kph on the bike at an average heart rate of 135bpm, to give you an idea of the difference between what I do on the bike compared to a Ironman with similar training I did a comparison on the weekend. Riding side by side for 10 k at a speed of 27kph my heart rate average was 158bpm, the other cyclist averaged 116bpm, he was comfortable & I was closing in on being hypoxic. I started triathlons 2 years before his first race & have raced more frequently.
After finding & watching a youtube video of Melbourne Ironmans bike course, I’m feeling a lot happier than I was before I did Port Macquarie Ironman, those hills cut me in half. Smooth rolling road surface with a tunnel sounds good to me & hearing reports from some riders that they are 2-3 kph quicker on this course gives me confidence that we will beat the cutoff time for bike leg & give us enough time for the run.
Russell & Leanne