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Balmoral Triathlete Carly Phillpotts Reports on her 2010 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon

5/11/2010 5:23:53 AM

 

I think that 2010 will go down as one of the great days to have have raced the Hawaii Ironman. I know that we got lucky, the weather and conditions on race day was almost as good as it gets. The conditions in the water were calm. The usual gusty conditions were present for the last 30km out to, and back from the Hawi turnaround, but they weren’t as nasty as they can be. The temperature was pleasantly Hawaii warm and humid, not the frying hot temperatures that I experienced out on the bike in 2007 and not the searing heat during the run as it reportedly was in 2009.

 

I had a really great race. I was happy with my swim, my weakest leg, and the 180km on the bike was one of my most consistent efforts. I had a swim tempo trainer going off in my tri top every 7.5 minutes on the bike to remind me to alternatively eat and drink, the same plan as in 2007. With the lower temperatures, this year I over hydrated a bit, but better that than under hydrate. I came off the bike in under 6 hrs only a couple of mins over my lowest estimate. My legs were tired but they always feel good again as soon as I start my favourite leg, the marathon. I pretty quickly settled in to my target pace of 5 min k’s (8min miles), but lost some time getting up the Palani Rd hill out of Kona just after the 16km mark and struggled to get back to 5 min k’s on the rolling flats out to the famed Energy Lab. I have trained enough in the Energy Lab over my two trips there to know one key thing... no matter how hot it feels, because the course turns to run right along the beach there is always a breeze. However, being able to feel that breeze is often masked by dehydration and fatigue .

 

As I made the turnaround in the Energy Lab I re-did my maths on my pace, I had made it back to 5 min k’s in my run down in to the Energy Lab. I calculated my finish time as a matter of seconds over 11hrs. For the last 12 km home I focused as much as I could to keep my legs moving as fast as they could without blowing up. I manage sub-5 min k’s on the way back to Kona, but that run back down Palani hill was a killer on the quads. I reached the finish line on Ali’i Drive in 10h 58m 5s, a personal best in Hawaii by 29m and 44s, achieving my goals of; reaching the finish line in one piece, a faster swim and bike time than in 2007, before the sunset and under 11hrs.

 

After a year off work, training full time, I’m really, really happy with my race.

 

I now plan to return to racing Half Ironman/Long Distance Tri’s this season and to make a couple of attempts at breaking 3hrs in the marathon during 2011. Maybe a couple more Ironman races in 2013 or 2014

 

Cheers,
Carly

By: Carly Phillpotts

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Carly Phillpotts Hawaii Ironman