Ironman New Zealand 2025: Ironman NZ # 15

March 01, 2025

Ironman New Zealand 2025:
Ironman NZ # 15

Categories:

Date:

March 01, 2025

This was bad. The worst I’d ever experienced at Ironman. The usually calm Lake Taupo had turned into an ocean and I wasn’t coping with it. Whenever I turned to breathe to the left, I was getting smashed by a wall of water. I was struggling to breathe and I’d ingested my fair share of water. My legs were heavy and I had no strength in my arms. There were no other swimmers around me other than a kayaker who had been following me for a while now. The thought of giving up crossed my mind like a record on repeat. But I knew I wouldn’t forgive myself. “You better hurry up or you won’t make the cut off”, the kayaker finally exclaimed. What! Where the hell did that come from? I never had to worry about the swim cut off before. I picked up my cadence and kicked harder. When I reached the final yellow buoy which was the signal for turning into the swim finish, the same kayaker was there waiting for me. “Will I make it?” I gasped out. There was a long uncomfortable pause. “I don’t know. Keep going” he responded impassively. When I crossed the swim finish, I was almost completely broken. The supporters were sparse and there was no cheering. As I walked up the hill towards the bike transition, a gentleman with a race official vest made a beeline towards me. “You’re two minutes over the cut off time. Your race is over” he barked. Torn between being respectful and having pushed myself for over 2 hours and 20 minutes despite wanting to give up I retorted “But I know I’ll pass most of these people on the bike and run anyway”. My wife who was watching this all unfold added “This is his 15^th Ironman”. The race official bent down, removed my timing transponder from my ankle, and walked away. That was the end of my Ironman before it barely started. That was last year – Ironman NZ 2024. My first ever DNF. And that memory is as clear as if it was yesterday.

I made it! Happy to have finished the 3.8km swim at IMNZ 2025

Success is a poor teacher. After 14 NZ Ironmans, I was habituated to following the same training plan that had worked so well for me previously. I’d also learned where I could take short cuts and for me it was in swimming (which also happens to be my least favourite discipline). For the last 5 years or so, I’ve managed to complete the Ironman swim by training solely at my local 50 metre swimming pool without any open water swimming. I knew it wasn’t ideal but like most Ironman athletes I was time poor, and it worked. Remarkably, I had my best ever training leading up to Ironman 2024. My times on the bike were significantly faster and I was managing to back up big swim/bike/run sessions. I was feeling strong and quietly confident that I’d do well. That was until I developed shingles two weeks prior to Ironman. Though I managed to scrape through the Tarawera 100 Miler run, in retrospect, backing it up with Ironman was a bridge too far. So if success is a poor teacher, then failure is the best teacher. These were some of the lessons I learnt:

Don’t leave your race legs (or race arms) on the training course. I had the best ever training sessions leading up to the event but I was spent come race day.
I can’t keep training like I’m 20 years old. I’m now over 40 years old. Over 20 years, I’ve developed a lot more mental strength which has allowed me to push my limits physically. However, I pushed too hard and in return my body gifted me with shingles. I successfully made the start line but I was not healthy. I needed to adapt my training accordingly.
Not only was I overtraining but I was overliving. This came at the expense of rest, recovery, and sleep. Recovery and sleep are crucial leading up to an event. I also learned that I needed to do less of what didn’t matter in life.
I needed a complete swim overhaul. Like most wannabe triathletes, I just assumed that you get better at swimming by swimming more (this approach seems to work for biking and running). This is not the case. You get better at swimming by focusing on technique. I’ve learnt that swimming is 80% technique and 20% fitness. I subscribed to online swimming teaching, started doing swim drills, and began to use training aids such as fins, hand paddles, and pull buoys. I returned to open water training sessions with a friend (thanks Rob)! For many years, I’ve unknowingly got through the Ironman swim on my fitness. As I age, this is not sustainable. I need to focus more on my technique.
I was a rigid two side breather (breathe every 5 and 3 strokes). Though this worked in calmer waters, I was exposed in rough waters. I introduced more breathing flexibility (2 stroke, 3 stroke, 4 stroke, and 5 stroke breaths) so I could adapt to variable conditions. In particular, I worked on prolonged unilateral breathing on both sides (i.e. 2 & 4 stroke breaths). The Lake Taupo swim is a rectangular course that you swim clock wise. On a rough day, the waves come off the lake and crash towards the shore. This means you’ll need to be adept at breathing to one side for a prolonged period of time (i.e. the side away from the waves) to avoiding swallowing water and starving yourself of oxygen. When you reach the opposite side of the rectangle, you’ll need to be able to breathe to your other side for a sustained period of time.
Wear a watch while you’re swimming in case you need it. Also, stop being a tight arse and invest in a good wet suit and googles. Good equipment helps.
One bad day does not define you as a person. How you respond to it does.

At the start of the 180km bike ride

Happy to have finished the bike!

Which brings me to Ironman 2025. Back at the start line again but this time feeling healthy. Focused, determined, and on edge. It felt like I was lining up at my first Ironman all those years back. Ironman has no respect for your reputation, pedigree, training plans, or past achievements. Like a 100 miler, an Ironman is what I call a ‘no guarantee’ race. You still need to deliver on the day. For me, Ironman this year was all about the swim. I made sure I swam in Lake Taupo a couple of times during race week. I familiarised myself with the swim course, buoys (there are 24 numbered buoys), sighting landmarks, important turning points, and entry/exit points. I did all the things I did on my first Ironman that I’d neglected over the years. When I woke up on race day, the winds were light and Lake Taupo was calm. I had trained and prepared for rough conditions yet as if mocking me, the triathlon gods had delivered almost perfect swimming conditions. When the starter’s cannon went off, all the suppressed adrenaline was released. I took nothing for granted and swam like my life depended on it. All the attention to detail during training paid off as for the first time in years, my googles remained clear and I suffered no leaks. I was less wayward with my sighting and hence my navigation was sound. I concentrated on reaching, gliding, rotation, and making every stroke count. Unlike the previous year when I neared the final turning point by myself, this time I was surrounded by other swimmers with purple and green caps. When I crossed the 3.8km swim finish in 1 hour and 33 minutes, for once, the overriding emotion was happiness rather than relief. I knew that I still had a lot ahead of me but I was quietly assured. I’m a mammal, not an amphibian or a fish. I can handle a bike and run. I was also grateful to have the opportunity to bike after missing out in 2024. When my 180km bike ride finished 6 and a half hours later, I was even happier to get onto the run course – my strength. As I neared the end of the marathon there was a sign that resonated with me which read ‘You have earnt this pain’. There is a certain power in suffering, in overcoming adversity, in returning to your sites of previous failures. I learnt so much from my 2024 failures and was able to grow and adapt because of this. When I crossed the Ironman finish line, 13 hours and 18 minutes after starting, there was a huge sense of satisfaction. It was my 15^th NZ Ironman but it ranked up there with my first Ironman as the most memorable. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson. When you fail, don’t make any excuses. Reflect but don’t dwell on it for too long. Accept, adapt, make the required changes. Get back in the pool, hop on your bike, and go for a run. Repeat this as many times a necessary. And before you know it, you’ll be back at Ironman NZ again! Running is medicine.