Tales from the trenches - Nicole Alexander, Ironman Busselton
A few days on and I still can’t believe I AM AN IRONMAN!!
No matter what life threw at me on Sunday, the rough conditions, illness, nerves, forgetting to pack things for transition; I was on a mission to give IMWA 2024 my everything! After such a long journey it is crazy to think that it all came down to just the one day to be able to earn that title, but every Ironman can attest, it doesn’t come from just one day! It is a journey, and it takes an army to get there!
Reflecting back from where I began in the novice course in October of last year, it started with a sole focus of extra fitness, expanding my passion of running to also include finding a love for swimming and cycling. Interclubs was my first ever event and at this point I had absolutely no aspirations or beliefs that I could or even wanted to do an Ironman. However the great comradery, friendships, support and a little bit of competitiveness from FTC members that started my IMWA story. Before I knew it registrations opened and somehow I had signed myself up, no time to think twice, just commit!
I had thrown myself into training, attending as many FTC sessions as possible, growing so many incredible new friendships and having the time of my life. I decided 2024 was the year about ME, my fitness and my goals. Busso100 came and I had the absolute best day, I couldn’t have had a more enjoyable time out on the course, smiling from ear to ear the whole way round. I often think to myself I should pay more attention to the course rather than constantly trying to spot people I know and screaming in excitement as they pass, however if I’m not having fun out there, then what’s the point!? Busso100 was the first moment I actually believed Ironman was possible!
Life was busy, juggling shift work, got a puppy, represented Australia at the Touch Footy World Cup in the UK and tried to maintain a social life. My IM journey took a turn, my training was disrupted and I struggled to get back into the swing of it and my passion for it began to decrease as the sense of enormity of the event loomed ever closer. The sense of overwhelm grew however I was determined to make it work without giving up my own sense of self! I came to the realisation that I wasn’t going to be as fit as I once wanted to be for it, regardless of a perfect training schedule. So I adjusted my goal posts and just made sure I achieved what training I could around my life, fitting in whatever workouts I could, when I could, even if it wasn’t what was in the ‘training plan’ for that day (or even at all), as long as I was moving I knew it would all add up. I also sought out friends to train with to keep me accountable and happy which helped immensely, this journey was never one that I had wanted to do solo, I was doing it for the experience in its entirety. I am always motivated by my friendships, i have made and grown so many during many workouts. My friends give me the desire to do more sessions, to train that bit longer, and to push that little bit harder.
IM weekend was finally here! Did I feel ready for it… definitely not!…. But would I ever feel ready for such a HUGE event!? I doubt it! So regardless I was going to go in with everything I had, knowing I am strong minded and that consistency was all I wanted and needed.
This sounds silly but I have to admit my most stressed part of the weekend was getting my transition bags right the day before! However once they were sorted, along with my personal needs bags which i packed almost everything but the kitchen sink into, I definitely felt a lot calmer. Any future first time full Ironmaner’s I will happily give you a dumbed down tutorial well in advance as I know this was something I seriously wished I had of understood more about before the weekend!
Standing on the beach, cheering on the 70.3er’s as they started to brave the crazy seas I couldn’t even think about my race ahead, it was like I had completely blocked what I was about to attempt to do from my mind. As the time came to me standing in their position I thought only of the swim, pretending to myself that a 3.8km swim was all I had to achieve. Having been sick all week I wanted to keep my heart rate from spiking so I focussed on a steady pace, never aiming to push my swim to anything other than comfortable. I embraced the wild waters and slowly started to enjoy my time in the water. I soaked in the atmosphere and the smiles as I ran around the beach instead of any dreaded thoughts of having to return to those nasty waters for lap 2. Before I knew it I had solid ground beneath my feet, and I could finally for the first time that day, allow myself to turn my thoughts to the bike….
A little secret of mine is that prior to IM, the furthest I had ridden was about 110kms, well and truly short of my 180 I was about to attempt. But even if I had to have a sneaky toilet break as an excuse to get off my bike for a rest, I knew I’d get there eventually! I focussed on finding a pace that was comfortable, never aiming for a particular speed, conserving energy in the headwinds and making the most of the tailwinds.
I spent nearly the entire first 90km loop on the constant lookout for FTC members passing in the other direction, from 70.3 or the full, always giving them a shout out, one of my greatest tips for passing time out there as well as the adrenaline boost when I do see someone! At about the 60km mark I started to get pain in my right foot from swelling and pressure within my shoe. I had expected this might happen, but not so early on! I don’t recommend this, however I pulled my foot out of my shoe and rested it on top of the shoe still locked into the cleat, and managed to ride pain free in this manner for the remaining 120kms!! Unfortunately I was wearing my bright yellow socks, so I couldn’t easily hide my unusual adaptation! However I was again feeling great and before I knew it I had clocked 90kms in 3:10, I was stoked! Only 1 lap to go! Same tactics applied here as the swim, I could still only allow myself to think of the bike and my remaining 90kms, if I started to drift my mind to the marathon that was still looming, it would have become too much to deal with. At the 100km mark it started to pour with rain, so now I was not only facing the gusty winds but I also needed some windscreen wipers. Despite whatever the weather gods had in store, I had settled in and managed to feel probably more comfortable in the 2nd lap than the first! I also did more mathematics this ride than I have done all year, setting small goals, calculating my bike time if I continued to hold certain paces and used these small goals to drive me to completing my ride unbroken in 6:30, absolutely over the moon! I dismounted the bike and started to jog through transition like a kid waking up on Christmas morning, so happy from the bike that I wasn’t even concerned about the run!
Off came the wet bike gear, running gear on, and I was off and out of there, smiling, laughing and feeling like I had already succeeded! 2 down 1 to go was all I had in my head. Never have I ever loved a run course that made me do 4 laps! Having the incredible FTC and GK crew at the far back water station, the FTC tent in prime position and then a few friendly faces scattered around the course, I felt like an actual celebrity every time I ran past, picking up speed without even realising. I understood the power of the atmosphere and made sure to embrace it, making the effort to high 5 every child who put their hand out and thanked or cheered back just as loudly to any stranger who yelled out my name no matter how tired I felt at any stage. I was going to be out there for a long time, so I might as well make it a fun time! 4kms in and I had bargained with myself that I would jog the whole first lap, promising to re-assess if I needed to add in some interval walks on lap 2. Before I knew it I was being pumped up from the FTC tent cheers, leaving me with enough adrenaline to push me into non-stop jogging lap 2. By the time it got to passing the FTC tent to start lap 3 I think I almost could have cried in happiness as I came to the serious realisation that I was going to do this, I was going to run this whole damn thing, prove any doubters wrong. As I passed Eveline on my final lap with about 8kms to go, I actually said, ‘I am an Ironman’ and any discomfort I had just disappeared, my pace quickened and I sent it all the way to ring that bell!
I don’t think I have ever been so proud. And just like that I am now and always will be an IRONMAN!
Completing the Ironman would never have been possible without many amazing people in my corner, however there are 3 extra extra special ladies I’d love to give a special shout who impacted my journey in ways that can’t always be explained; Eveline, Leslie and Cath; forever grateful!
Now it’s time for a tattoo!
-Nic