IRONMAN COZUMEL

Ironman Cozumel had been on my radar for a few years and I was really looking forward to taking on a new course in such a beautiful location. I swam conservative on the feet of the leader throughout as the currents and chop made it hard to make any significant moves to pull away. I exited the Caribbean Sea with a large group and once we hit the bike leg Dirk Boekel made it obvious he wasn't going to be easing into the three loops around the island. Dirk pulled clear very early and I followed soon after and that was the last I really saw of anyone the whole ride except for the German guy riding with me who seemed very content to follow my pace all day. I started the run in 2nd about 7 minuted down on Dirk and went out at a very steady pace. I had no idea what sort of margin I had over the chasers as I got no updates out on the course besides the deficit to Dirk. 

Jay Prasuhn - Lava Magazine (c)

At the first 7km turnaround I got swamped by several guys all running together at a crazy sub 2 hr 40 minute marathon pace. I went from 2nd to 7th in the space of a 1/4 mile! Later I was very disappointed to learn that a large bunch of riders had formed about 2 minutes behind me but what can you do? I kept the focus on what I could do and knew if I ran smart some of these guys would not be able to sustain this speed. I held steady and kept a few guys within sight and ran in 7th till just after the 21km turn around. I went through an aid station and about 30 seconds later I was vomiting, dry reaching and came to a complete standstill. I sat in the gutter for a few minutes to try and collect myself and watched as a few more guys passed me. I have to thank Michael Lovato and Jimmy Johnsen for both encouraging me to get up and keep going. For half a second I contemplated pulling out of the race then I snapped out of it and got back to me feet. I started to walk and then slowly jog and began to recover. I knew I couldn't face a DNF going into the off season and was going to finish. From that point on it turn into the "coke marathon" as that's all that seemed to stay down and kept me going. 

Jay Prasuhn - Lava Magazine (c)

There were a few more periods where I went through the vomiting but nothing that was going to stop me. I still couldn't quiet pin point what exactly set me off from feeling strong and solid to feeling sick. It had to be something I took at that one aid station but it's all lost in the Ironman haze now. Making the turn onto the final 14km lap I now had a lot of lapped athletes to pace off and it definitely made it easier to keep a better pace. I thought I was well out of contention for a top ten finish and I was a bit disappointed to learn that I was passed in the last 3km for 10th place. I was getting lot's of encouragement from Amanda and Siri in the last 10km as they could see how rough my day had turned. I crossed the line in 11th place in 8.45.

In the past two years both my post Kona races have gone south (Busselton 2011 went much the same) and although it's good to get a validation race done it's clearly hard on the body to back up. I know some athletes do it successfully but I seem to struggle with the turnaround so I will have to access this approach in 2013. 

On the bright side Amanda really enjoyed our time in Cozumel. It's definitely a race I would recommend to everyone and I will be going back in the future for sure. The island is magical and it makes for a great race/holiday to end the season. For now it's time to head home to Australia, have some time off and look forward to 2013. I am determined to fight back to the top of Ironman racing after the rollercoaster past two seasons.