Cairns Iron Man 2011
Posted on by Gary Land
After 7 solid months of training and a hell of a lot of swimming, running and riding, we all had our wetsuits on and nervously awaited the starting siren in the water. After a rough start catching a few elbows and legs, the swim flew by and I felt great coming out of the water, time for the real work to begin. Riding along the North Queensland Coastline provided the perfect backdrop for every competitor on the day. The course itself was undulating and whilst the way out was fast we had the notorious North Queensland Southerly wind to work against on the way back. The ride was easily the best of my life and in the end, faster than my goal time by 15 minutes. The run leg was particularly tough as the course was incredibly exposed for the first 20km. The pain in the legs kicked in as soon as I hit the Esplanade and I was praying that the knee would hold up! Eventually, after a tough last 20km I was able to run down the chute (uninjured!!), feeling what I can only describe as the best feeling of accomplishment I have ever experienced! I can’t speak more highly of the organisation of the event and the volunteers on the day, I’ll be there again next year.
6 out of 6 of the T:Zero Performance squad on the day finished and all satisfied with a tough days work. A huge thanks to Gary for his help in the prep for the race, without the right setup I’m not sure if the race would have ended the same way! Time to start planning for the next race...
Joel