What can I say ... the Hawaii Ironman lived up to its expectations and more. I had one of the best weeks of my life in Kona. It was a very eventful week. We arrived on the Saturday afternoon the week before the race and after spending the evening recovering from the flight from Australia and unpacking I was really looking forward to getting out and exploring the town the next morning! So as I am striding down the famous Alii Drove towards the Kona Pier early on Sunday morning, pumped for my first swim in Hawaii I was stopped in my tracks. What is that noise? It's a really loud rumble? Wow ... that must be a massive wave?! Next thing the ground starts to shake violently and the trees and powerlines above me are swaying from side to side. EARTHQUAKE! Wow ... I have never experienced anything like that! Next thing you know people are screaming, "get to higher ground, TSUNAMI"! What? Is this real? OK ... run! I run back to the hotel a few minutes away to find my girlfriend Shelli all shaken up and worried. At that second we went to hug each other ... AFTERSHOCK! The whole apartment is moving! We later found out it was one of the strongest Earthquakes to hit Hawaii measuring 6.7 and 5.8 (they weren't small!) So that was an eventful first morning in Kona! We were a little edgy for a few hours but in the end I decided to replace my swim with a ride so I went on my first ride into the Hawaii Lava Fields. I was so excited, like a kid in a candy store. This was the road I had watched all the champions ride on for years ... now I am here! Gee ... it's
windy!
The rest of the lead up to the race was pretty uneventful. The week seemed to drag on and I was just hanging for the race to start. Being my first Hawaii I was more excited than nervous. I couldn't wait to get out there!
Finally race day was upon us and I was barreling down Alii Drive in the dark towards
transition at 4.30am. Excited! The tension in the air was amazing. Standing at the waters edge at about 6.30am I looked around and saw the who's who of Ironman Triathlon. I was stoked. I finally get to race these guys in the worlds toughest and most talked about Ironman.
Waiting for the starting gun with a massive crowd along the shoreline, TV jetski's, boats and helicopters hoovering above ... this was huge! The atmosphere was amazing. BANG! I was off and swimming in my first Hawaii Ironman. Good start settled in besides Chris McCormack and Pete Jacobs of Australia. We were close to the front and swimming comfortably. The ocean was choppy but that's the way I like it. The turn around was rough and I got smashed in the face a few times. Goggles came off, nothing too serious. All is good. Coming out of the water I had dropped a little far to the back of the front pack which meant as I went to get my swim to bike bag it was very congested and I had to try and muscle my way through the change tent. Exiting the tent I was shocked to see the back of Norman Stadler! Oh no, I better rush ... I need to be in front of this guy on the bike otherwise I am going to struggle. Riding through town looking at the back of Norman was NOT fun! I can't hold this pace, I am going to blow up! As we went up the Palani climb and out of town on the Queen K I had settled into the main pack, Norman already out of
site! I was riding well and very comfortable. Around the 60km mark the pace dropped for a second and a few guys ahead sat up on their bars. What's going on? Next thing you know I have the draft buster beside me telling me I have a 4 minute draft penalty at the Hawi turnaround. What? What about the rest of the pack? We are almost at a stand still!!! How could I be singled out? Get over it Luke, plenty of guys have had drafting penalties in Hawaii and still gone on to good results. So after the long climb into the wind up to the Hawi turnaround I had to stop and wait for four agonizing minutes till I could continue my race. Problem was I was basically left in no mans land. No one close ahead and no one close behind. This was going to be a lonely ride back to Kona. I probably spent too much energy trying to make up time down the Hawi descent because I paid for it when I got to the Spencer Hill climb at around the 120km mark. A small group passed me including my training partner Mathias Hecht from Switzerland, but I couldn't stick with them. I was
burnt from the solo effort down Hawi. I struggled back into Kona around 20 minutes or
more off the pace now.
I felt fantastic leaving transition and looking forward to the marathon. I may not have been in the position I have expected but in these circumstances you have to change your goals and refocus to make the most out of the situation and finish this race no matter what the result. Running to the first turnaround along Alii Drive it was almost embarrassing to see how far I was behind the leaders. Norman must have been over 35 + minutes ahead of me! O'well, one day when I have a little more luck I might be the one 35+ minutes ahead?! I felt great during the first 15km and running back through town I was really enjoying the experience. I saw Shelli, my parents and my support crew Cliff and John and they looked stoked and happy to see me. Soon after I was out on the Queen K and left all alone to my thoughts. It's quiet out there, just a few runners up in the distance and a lot of lava all around. It was around here I started to struggle. My knee had started to ache and I went through a rough patch were I felt I was close to bonking. At 21km I walked my first aid station. I was 1/2 way home but I am not feeling good at all. I am trying not to favor my left leg but it has started to swell up pretty bad. My pace reduced to a crawl but I never had any thoughts of quitting. I was going to finish this race. All the leaders came back the other way having already run through the Energy
Lab. I hope I am up there somewhere next year?! The Energy Lab was long and boring. I was so happy to see my special needs there. I opened my little packet of Vegemite sandwiches and I got a little surprise. Shelli and my dad and cleverly placed a little motivation note inside. It read "keep at it, you can do it". I was going to do it! Just over 10km to go. After reading my note I looked up to see Michellie Jones the leader of the womens race coming the other way. Oh no, I hope I can hold her off! MJ caught me with about 5km to run and I felt like I was leading the race. We had NBC TV cameras on motorbikes, cars and a helicopter hoovering above us. I got a taste of what it was like to lead this great event. Too bad I was leading the womens race ... lol! Ah well, it will make for a good story in the future when I win the race :-) MJ dropped me up the final hill and into town and I was actually glad. I didn't want to have to run down Alii Drive with her ... too much pressure!
It was a very emotional feeling running down Alii Drive. The crowd is going nuts and a lot of my friends and sponsors were pocking their heads out of the crowd to congratulate me on my first finish. Then I crossed the line and Mike Rielly yells "Luke McKenzie, you are an Ironman" and you feel on top of the World! I finished in 9 hrs 20 minutes which I know I can go A LOT faster in the future!
I was so happy to see Shelli, my parents and Cliff and John after the race. I was so
grateful to have such a great support crew. They kept me going through a tough day. They got me to the finish line ... thanks!
So now I am writing to you from the North Shore of Oahu. Shelli and I have been relaxing and unwinding from the race. Shell has been getting some awesome photo's and I have been laying on the beach and swimming and snorkeling. I am off to San Diego to continue training on Monday. Two weeks till the World 70.3 Championships in Florida.
Again I would like to thank all my amazing sponsors for there support for my first Hawaii campaign. Even though I didn't get the result I expect they were all very supportive and encouraging of my future here.
Thanks so much to my sponsors and supporters that were an amazing in the build up and during the race:
John from Early Learning Services (my support crew) I couldn't have been here without you!
Kate from STA travel, I really appreciate all you have done for me this year!
Chris from Jade Finance who worked tirelessly to help me gain the support in needed to get to Kona!
Cliff my strength coach, you are a great mate! I know Kona was life changing for you and I hope you get to race here to one day!
Marco, Jim, Peter and Dave from Descente USA and Australia, thanks for making me look
good in my custom Flame suit! You're a great bunch of guys and love hanging out with you all!
Herbert from Litespeed has always been so supportive and has looked after me well. It was great to catch up in Kona!
Suzette from Fi'zi:k, great to finally meet you, hang out and hope those ribs get better. Stay on your bike :-)
Thanks to my beautiful girlfriend Shelli who had put up with me preparing for this event for the past 3 months. I love you!
Thanks to my parents. You have supported me from day one and I was thankful to have you in Kona to enjoy my first of many experiences in Hawaii! I love you both!
Thanks to everyone that sent supportive emails, phone calls or text messages. I really appreciate it!
Look forward to catch up with everyone soon!
Cheers
Luke
