All too soon my time in Cairns has come to an end. It has been a fantastic trip. I am sitting by the pool at the motel on one of those pool chairs (there is no martini though) waiting for my airport shuttle.
The race was really good, but very hard. My feet are still sore from the blisters. I have never had them so bad during the race, nor have they troubled me so much afterwards. Apart from that I feel I have recovered well, although I do know that the post ironman-distance steamroller can pay a visit anytime after the race. It usually visits on day three and today is day three. I have my flight to deal with still, but so far so good. It is perhaps an adrenaline thing, and so I could be fine until I get home tomorrow and start to relax.
What did I learn? I feel that I am getting my swim and bike times to something more respectable, and I now expect to go close to 6 hours in future bike legs, provided I can do the training. I need to do this without trashing myself though, so I can set myself up for that all elusive sub-12 hour time. I'm still 90 minutes away, which sounds a lot, and it is, but then I have come more than three hours in 12 years, and I still feel I have yet to put things together in an ironman-distance race like I can do in the shorter distances.
Will I come back? Yes to Cairns and yes to the race. But perhaps not next year. Entries open next week and I am not ready to make that decision. I don't want to fall into the "survivor" trap here as well. I am already under that spell with Challenge Wanaka, and my investment in Ironman New Zealand is too big just to throw away. So that is two races I am more or less committed to doing every year, especially Wanaka. And I don't want to add Cairns to that list, so if I miss next year I am out of the survivor's club. Besides there are many more Challenge family races I want to experience.
I would also like to come back to Cairns for a holiday, and that could be after the race one year. There is a lot to do here, and another trip to the reef is a must. With the direct flight from Auckland, and some pretty good special prices at certain times, it isn't a bad option for a holiday. Or it could be combined with a visit to the Gold and Sunshine coasts.
I'm looking forward to going home and getting back into the swing of every day life again for a little while. This will probably be my last blog posting till I head for Tokyo and Beijing in September. I am excited about that, but I need to settle down into a routine of work and training between now and then. I have a new lease of life on my work at moment after going through a dull patch for the last while. the new web technologies that are emerging are really exciting for me, and there is so much I want to do with them. Watch this space (or rather the one just around the corner).
No comments:
Post a Comment