I rolled out of bed about 8.30am on Sunday and after
packing, checking out, leaving the hostel and dumping my backpack at the hire
lockers at the Taupo Superloo (of all places!), I hit Fine Fettle for
breakfast. Best Latte in Taupo – and the
buckwheat pancakes with blueberries and yogurt were heavenly. Their pancakes were in fact so wonderful that
I stopped at the bulk food store just down the road and grabbed a pack of Orgran
apple and cinnamon buckwheat pancake mix to take home.
I walked around a bit more, waiting for midday
so that I could attend Jon Ackland’s first-timer Ironman presentation. I found an awesome Balance Nutrition protein
shaker at Rebel Sport, which has a little metal spring shaped like a ball in
it, that acts as the mixer (for the record, it mixes perfectly). I went and grabbed a quick bite to eat, then
went back to the Great
Lake
I watched in awe as the Kona qualifiers
collected their T-shirt, Lei and congratulations from the qualification
desk. One day that could be me! I want to do Kona by my 40th
birthday, which is just on seven years away – so there is plenty of time to
achieve that goal. I have to admit I was
a teeny bit jealous, but that was soon replaced with the common sense knowledge
that I have to actually do an Ironman first…walk before you can run, qualify
before you can Kona, etc.
Jon had his old training diaries for sale so
after helping the girls from Performance Lab setup their EFTPOS machine I
grabbed a copy. They are as rare as
hen’s teeth now, so I was not letting that gift horse get away. I then realised I had no paper to take notes,
so I shot over to Whitcoulls and bought a notebook with “anything is possible” on the cover. For the uninitiated, that is the Ironman slogan,
so it was very fitting for the occasion.
I also did not have a pen, so it was off to the Merchandise store for an
Ironman NZ Pen.
Jon’s presentation was fantastic. I learnt many useful tips that I can apply in
any triathlon, not just Ironman. Many
were also Ironman-specific, so they are now in my notebook to refer back to in 2011
while I am training for Ironman NZ 2012 (LOL).
Jon talked about legs, lungs and head.
I prefer “legs, lungs and lobes (as in brain lobes)”. Ironman mostly about your legs, then about
your lungs – but the most important factor is your mental game. If you do not have your head right, you are
going to fail.
I think the “lobes” aspect applies to
everything, not just to Ironman. Your
heart may be in it, but if your head is not, it will go pear-shaped. If you know your legs will carry you the
226km, truly believe it, and can keep believing it the whole way, you are
okay. However, your brain needs to tell
you constantly during those 226km that you CAN finish. If you think you are in trouble, you are in
trouble. Crikey.
Jon also said that if you were sitting in the
audience, you were going to do an Ironman.
Yep, busted. I so want to do an
Ironman. I love triathlon as a sport, I
love two of the three sports as individual sports (yes, if you guessed that I
don’t love running as much as the other two then you would be correct!), I love
the gear and the anticipation and the fun and the excitement and the feeling of
finishing. It is fantastic to be able to
cross the finish line with a smile on your face, regardless of how long it took
you to get there.
The very act of
finishing with an endorphin-induced smile is what drives me. If I can do that at Taupo in 2012, that would
be worth it.
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