1.9km Ocean Swim
13km Ocean Kayak 11.2km Trail Run 23 km Mountainbike 2.8km Beach Run = > 6 hours of pain It was going to be a " just for fun experience" at the end of the year after a long year of successful Mountainbike racing.
The swim was uncomfortable to start with: I was wedged in a tide wetsuit and could barely move my arms.
After overcoming the first panic finding myself in the midst of hundreds of moving legs and arms, my own legs started to cramp one after another and my lower back started to ache. Boy, was I happy when I saw the beach coming closer and closer...
After a 500m beach run to get to the kayak transition, we had to take the wetsuit off, take the kayak and paddle through the braking waves into the ocean... something I had never done before... except of a 20 min crash lesson with Liam the day before(thanks!), which assured me that I will be able to make it somehow. And here you go, I only fell in once but it took me around 45-60 minutes longer than most of the other competitors.
Finally I could put my feet on land! And I love running in the bush. But I wasn't used to jumping big rocks climbing up boulders and swimming across rivers... Overall my most preferred leg(at least before the rock section). I tried to avoid getting wet over and over again, being aware that I wasn't over my cold quiet yet, but here and there we had to swim underneath a bridge or jump into a river...crazy Adventure racers!
By the time I finally jumped on my Mountainbike, the first woman finisher got announced through the loud speaker ... it didn't bother me - I took my time in transition and wasn't worried about the fact that I was probably one of the last to leave for the last but not least leg.
I was a little bit tired by now and it started to rain, which made the tracks quiet sticky and slippery and my clothes wet again!... I was happy to pass a couple of other competitors, but the course offered a lack of excitement.
After a bit more than 6 hours(mostly in wet clothes) I was looking forward to finish with the final beach run. Over all it was a nice weekend with great people and good food and lot lots of sun and water.... I don't know if I 'd like to do it again, I should probably practice the kayak a little bit more...
Now I am very, very sore in every part of my body and have trouble walking stairs .......
A good finish off to my Mountainbike racing season 2007
The Kona 24hr race was a pretty awesome event in a very relaxed atmosphere and great weather at the Forrest footy oval within the Great Otway National Park.
The 3 different trails were fantastic but maybe a little too long for a 24hr race, especially for the solo competitor.
Comparing to all the other 24hr races I have done so far, it was surprisingly easy on the body because it was less technical and less bumpy.
You may ask, why did I go and start after all - having being sick all week?
Maybe because I was looking forward to THIS race and had saved my mind for it by doing less solo and more team racing lately.
And I honestly thought the cold would clear off after a couple of hours of riding.... I just thought I will be fine...
However I wasn't going to be as fit as I wanted and should have been anyway - during the last couple of months I was too busy in other parts of my life.
One thing always seems to happen before all my 24hr races - a deadline at work, that recquires me to work long hours. The same again the week! Leading up to the Kona I just wasn't able to recover from my cold in time as we had a deadline just the day before the race...
The week was anything but ideal for a high performance race and 24 hours of racing needs a little more respect.
Well, after only three laps I had to realize that my body and my mind weren't ticking together and that my body was sending out signals I couldn't ignore.
While I was sweating in the heat, I started to get cold at the same time and to hyperventilate. Trying to ignore it and to calming myself down did only help little.
I had to make a teary and difficult decision to stop and let the race go. I was relieved on one side and frustrated and embarrassed on the other.
For the first time during a solo race, I had the afternoon off and did lots of walking around the Event site and was pleased to be able to socialize so much. Everybody told me that I did the right move.
At some stage I was doubting my decision to stop as I seemed to still have so much Energy. As the hours passed by I felt like I really wanted to go out again and did a very relaxed lap with a friend. Also I couldn't resist to go out later and do two nightlaps because I love the peaceful riding at nighttime. And I wanted to pay tribute to my new sponsor "Ay up" lights. After a warm nice shower I went into the cosy tent where Andy(my moral support) was already deep asleep for a couple of hours.
After a good morning coffee and breakfast I headed out for my last two and final laps and finished second with an embarrassing number of 8 laps.
Jessica Douglas was riding her own race, having no competion behind she still kept going and going and took out Women's solo with a good number of 15 laps. Turi Berg finished third with the same amount of laps as I did. Both of us had a good night sleep!
In the mens race John Claxton smashed out 20 laps and underlined that he is not only fit, but fast. Karri Golding followed with 19 laps and Troy Bailey finished 3rd with 17 laps.
Over all I will look back at a nice and very relaxed, enjoyable event but at the same time at a race where I had to call myself defeated by something that I had no control over.
Great support from the Kona guys, pitching my transition tent up and taking it down again. Thanks to Ay up lights making my nightlaps so enjoyable.
I was a little bit tired by now and it started to rain, which made the tracks quiet sticky and slippery and my clothes wet again!... I was happy to pass a couple of other competitors, but the course offered a lack of excitement.
