Becoming an Ironman…by Zoe King

Since the Ironman people ask me – are you now made of Iron? I tell them yes, reinforced steel. It’s true though that training for and competing in any personal challenge toughens you up mentally whatever your chosen event, from a 5km fun run to an Ultramarathon it’s all relative to the individual and that’s the important part.

In November last year I got a roll down spot for the IM, I had two weeks to decide whether to do the race or not , would mean giving up a lot of social activities and making more time for the training. Kristian just said to me one night at the track ‘why not, just go for it’ so I did. Making the decision and committing to the task was the hardest part, once I had and made it my focus the rest fell into place.

For me the Ironman was a bit like a jigsaw puzzle, there are a lot of pieces to fit together – training for three disciplines, nutrition before during and after training, recovery techniques, mental focus, food supplements, bike set up, even down to what clothing to wear! While of course continuing a full time job and trying to maintain some social contact with friends and family. Gradually though the pieces start fitting together and it really helped when I let go of a lot of distractions and noise that are prevalent in day to day life but until that point I hadn’t realised how much energy and time they take up – pointless television programs for one!

The best part was really having the support of Kristian and TriSpecific group during the three months of training, it motivates you to get up and train hard. The encouragement, support and understanding was tremendous and something that I will always treasure and remember. The more energy and effort I put into the training the more time and support Kristian gave back to me, I value his no nonsense, and calm approach and his never failing confidence in my abilities which helps push me to rise above my own expectations.

Having a good training base I think was key at the start, the distance didn’t really start to increase too much until the end of January so maintaining the half-IM training up to that point gave me a great base from which to work from. It can be very easy to get caught up in the hype and train too hard at the beginning and burn out and lose interest before race day but Kristian got my training schedule spot on down to the last week. The weekends were tough with training and gradually I let go of trying to fit it socialising in the final few weekends as recovery was becoming crucial and I really feel that made the difference in helping me move up a level.

Two significant milestones for me during training were the Huskisson Long Course race when I had such a great race and realised that I had gone up a level in my abilities and then a big training weekend at Port Macquarie a fortnight before the race. It hit me then what I had achieved over the summer and felt really happy that I was at the point of being ready. It was a matter of getting out there and enjoying the day and making myself and Kristian and all the supporters proud of me and that’s what I promised myself I would do.

The day itself was one of the best days of my life so far. From start to finish I just felt so happy and excited and really enjoyed being out there with all the competitors and spectators in such a unique event. We did our pre race warm up together with the TriSpecific group and had a lot of laughs and I think that set me up for the day. The only time I felt a bit nervous was just about 1 minute to go before the gun went off but after that I settled in and tried to keep my mind in the present as much as I could. I can honestly say I did not have one single moment when I thought I could not finish the race, I was ready to get off the bike I admit at the end of the bike leg but had no really bad times at all- I feel very lucky! But I also know it’s down to Kristian’s training plan and being consistent that made me really prepared. The run was the favourite part as I felt so good and did not stop at all and knew then I could beat my race goal of 12hr 30minutes – it’s amazing how many people you overtake if you keep running the hills! The final section of the run back into the town was great – half of me didn’t want it to be over but of course the other half wanted to get to the finish line so I had made it! Before you know you are in the finish chute and it’s an incredible feeling – and something I hope everyone gets a chance to do at least once.

The best part of doing an Ironman is having that knowledge for yourself that you did it. No one can take that away and it is one those incredible memories I have now that when I think back to the day I smile and feel a real sense of achievement and happiness. There is definitely a sense of respect from people as well when they hear what you have done and it’s important I think to always remind yourself of what you did. It’s an intangible achievement, different to buying a new house or a promotion at work, it’s hard to actually show in context but I think it’s even more special as it’s a crazy, unique, tough but immensely rewarding achievement all in one that will always be there. Thanks to Kristian my coach and mentor and all the TriSpecific gang for their support, belief and fun through a truly special time – bring on the next one!