Ironman Cairns - Will I or Won't I?

Today we have reached the 4 week countdown to Ironman Cairns.

As I was writing this, 4 weeks today I should be starting the run leg and will have hopefully executed a pretty good bike leg strategy in preparation for Kona.

Kona!  

Yep, the fact that St Pete and I are going is still a bit of a "pinch me" moment although, to be honest, a lot of the excitement has now been replaced by the reality of planning, saving and preparing for the day of my life.

A lot has happened in the last couple of months, primarily around planning for Kona.  The first question that people started asking was would I still do Ironman Cairns?  And then the first question Coach Dave asked (after we had collectively returned to earth!) was what my goal was for Kona.

Ironman Cairns was a tricky one.  On one hand I didn't need to do it anymore.  The primary focus of that race had been to serve as my 2nd IM of each year as part of my long term goal of getting 12 IM finishes and a Kona Legacy Lottery slot.  With a Loyalty Lottery slot that long term goal was now kicked out of the ballpark.  If I didn't do it we would save some dollars (which could be redirected towards the Kona trip) and annual leave (which could also be redirected towards the Kona trip!). On the other hand I wouldn't get back a lot of the entry fee for Cairns, so would lose out there.  There was also the question of recovery from Cairns - could I do the race and recover in time to then do a decent build up for Kona?

While we were busy tossing around Cairns pros and cons Coach Dave was busy tossing around a new training plan.  I had been able to give him some good guidance on my goals for the day - I won't be at the pointy end of the field and I know how tough the Kona conditions are likely to be.  People (including pros) are known to blow up and suffer big time in the heat and wind and it's a non-wetsuit swim, making my weakest discipline that much more challenging.  So with that knowledge in mind my whole objective is to not have any time expectation but rather focus on finishing (before midnight!), soaking in the atmosphere and appreciating the experience and opportunity I have been given to race at the Mecca of ironman.

The Kona Finish Line

On that basis Coach Dave figured that I could keep Cairns in the schedule.  He believed I would have enough time to recover, provided we use it as a training day only and a practice run for his Kona race day strategy for me. No ego allowed on the bike, no chasing of a PB...!

So Cairns here we come.  It'll be a flying visit, literally.  Pared to the bones, to minimize cost and annual leave, we'll be flying in on Thursday for a Sunday race and returning to Sydney the day after - afterall it's all about Kona!  And the funniest thing of all?  I've been guilty of that typical mad triathlete statement of describing my next half iron distance race to non-triathlete friends as "just a training day" and receiving their gobsmacked reactions.  Imagine the response when I start describing IM Cairns as "just a training day".

Maybe I'll just keep that little detail to myself...