2012 Ironman World Champion

It’s been 8 days since the race, and it still doesn’t seem like I’ve won. It hasn’t sunk in at all. Chatting to Chris McCormack and Chrissie Wellington after the race they said it won’t, not for a long time, maybe not till the lead up to next years race. I really appreciated the opportunity to chat to them.

After leaving Kona Jaimie and I spent 5 nights in Waikiki, and I did get stopped in the street, a lot. It seemed like every Australian triathlete was there this week, as well as plenty I knew who were there just on holiday. It is weird when I am asked how it feels, and I am just blank. I can hardly recall the race without a pause for deeper thought. It all seems like a dream I had several years ago. Funny, because that is exactly what it was.

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Here are my most relative tweets to my training, state of mind, and my approach to training in the lead up to Hawaii Ironman World Championship 2011. If you want more detail about any of them please comment below and I’ll explain them. Cheers. PJ.

12/7/11 – So I did my research and Computrainer is the only stationary trainer that does it all.

13/7/11 – Ride, swim, run. All in a good days work. 6hrs total.

14/7/11  – Change is better than a holiday. Swimming for first session of the day felt great.

18/7/11 – I predict an all Aussie & German top 5.

– 1hr 50min long run with Jaim this AM. Stoked I ran that long. Good training session for us both for Philippines.

23/7/11 – Running in the rain and dark (it was neither when I left home) was just the adrenaline fuelled, fun, relaxed run I needed to get my stride back.

25/7/11 – hardest computrainer session yet. 4 x 30mins. I should have had a 3^rd @shotzglobal gel, last 15mins was in another world. Loved it!

- good long run with @johntmarsh talking about improving my diet – more protein + fats on rest day, more omega fish oil everyday.

-  My rest week totals; 9k swim, 10hrs bike – all on computrainer, 3hrs run, 1hr pilates.

27/7/11 – found some speed & Kona rhythm in the pool today. #happyboy

28/7/11 – Good run, ordinary swim, good bike. U can’t win them all so choose your battles.

30/7/11 – “time to get off he coach & go swimming.” “Yes boss.” – a conversation with myself.

1/8/11 – Sweet, got my Kona qualification letter.

4/8/11 – I’ve had a phlegmy cough for a few days, I took and extra rest day, but testing it & some new zero drop shoes today.

7/8/11 – Flying to Philippines with Philippines Air & I’m in the inflight mag J

13/8/11- Registered for KONA! Feet up today b4 Ironman 70.3 Philippines tomorrow.

14/8/11 – Stoked to defend my Iroman 70.3 title in the Philippines today. A solid ride set up the win.

14/8/11 – Done; Press conference, photos, bikes packed. Now quick cable wakeboarding, then presentation. And 2 winners in our room today.

14/8/11 – Jaim took out her age group, but Kona slot was passed in. Maybe better to work up to that with more experience J

22/8/11 – A very exciting day. After months of searching & worrying, today I finally found it….My run form.

24/8/11 – Solid solo six hour ride, & I smashed it. Very fulfilling day at the office. A huge thanks to all my sponsors making a huge difference.

27/8/11 – 2 x 6km tempo run felt surprisingly brilliant. Amazed how quick form, pace & fitness has kicked in.

– I’ve been grinding away for months feeling terrible, & suddenly I’m running with ease. How good it feels, the next 6 weeks will be fun.

– World Champs in Hawaii – 6 weeks today.

29/8/11 – Long run today was ordinary, but after the awesome week I’ve had I don’t care. Big ride/run week & quality #happytiredboy

1/9/11 – 4hrs on computrainer & it wasn’t even raining. Felt easy. Riding better than ever…?

1/9/11 Ran awesome. 3k, 2k, 1.5k, 800m. A great day today. 2 weeks ago I thought Kona was too soon…but now…heaps of time J

5/9/11  – Chicken legs you did it! After disappointing long run last week you really brought it on today. I owe you lots of massage.

- Had an amazing training week because I delayed starting by an EXTRA rest day.

19/9/11 – Biggest run week for this Kona prep done. 95km. Also 15hrs bike & 18km swim. A good week.

21/9/11 – I’m in the best shape of my life, so today I didn’t train, I went back to bed.

27/9/11 – 18km swum in 4 days. Last year I swam thatfar in 3 weeks. Everything is going accordingly to plan.. J

29/9/11 – Everything is ticking along like clockwork. Thanks to my awesome sponsors for making IT happen.

1/10/11 – I’m here in Kona. And #I’mheretowin J

2/10/11 – Heading out to ride the queen K highway for my first kona session/appearance. Perfect weather!

- Great to catch up with Hawaii Hall of Famer John Maclean & chat about inspiring moments in his 2^nd book “Full Circle” & our current pursuits.

3/10/11  – A good massage goes a long way. Every other day from now till race day.

5/10/11 – Sorry I didn’t make the athlete parade today. Slept all day & had to ride late this afternoon.

7/10/11 – Last training done. A very light roll. Bike is ready.

- 1^st time I’ve skipped Ironman Banquet in Kona. Very relaxed dinner by the pool & resting on the coach instead. Much better than in the rain.

8/10/11 – I felt like a faster runner last year, but I feel like a faster triathlete this year.

– Thanks everyone for all the tweets & messages of support. I feel ready to race hard & prove u right J

– Heading to bed @ 7pm. So relaxed & prepared I feel I’ve forgotten something. Just a simple time trial training session tomorrow…

Pete Jacobs - Kona 2011

Why wait for an interviewer to ask the juicy questions? I’m ready to bare all, prompted by my need to share my knowledge, experience, and myself.

As you may have noticed in Part 1, I enjoy trying to teach people how to get the most from yourself, whether through improving technique, changing your mental approach, or any other tips I can share. But I am far from perfect. As much as I tell people “this is how I do it, just do it like this”, everyone is different. But for those who are like me, but get told they are wrong and try to be like the others, now is your time to say to yourself “relax, be happy, this is the right way for me, this is who I am”. I am who I am. And I’m not perfect. Constructive criticism is my favourite term. I love to hear it, and I love to give it.

So where am I going with this? Ummm….that’s right I was going to talk about my result in Kona and what it means to me. Firstly it means Jaimie can take a day off work once in a while and the mortgage is ok J. Secondly it means I have to lift my work off the course up to the level of my on course results. I’m an athlete for 2 reasons. One – my ability for organising and data entry is a fail so an office job is out of the question. Two – my ability to know where my body is and what the muscles are doing is top of the class. I was asked today why I can run the fastest off the bike, and that was my answer (and yes, everything else you can think of helps too).

But my lack of organising skills is now becoming a problem. With success comes responsibility (“with great power, comes great responsibility” from Spiderman the Movie), and I’m not good at it. I think it might be time to employ a PR firm. Any offers? I need to be able to run competitions, mail prizes, make videos, write blogs, contact magazines, and everything else this technological age requires while incorporating my sponsors and fans and give everyone something. That is a big part of the job for a professional athlete, and although I love parts of it, I can’t do it all. I’m not perfect.

I owe part of my success to a good friend who was previously someone that advised me and then became my manager last year. He is incredibly handsome and wise (he also seems to have access to edit my website). He’s not a yes man and we disagree on plenty of things but I believe more and more we come out with the best outcome. He has single-handedly got together my sponsors for this year – he doesn’t just manage me, he manages the entire Formula 1 team that is team Pete Jacobs. It is this formation of people and companies that got me to the Kona podium. Being able to concentrate on training and the race, knowing he had the team of supporters/sponsors organised was an unprecedented experience. It took a huge weight off my mind, so I was happy. That’s when I race best. But now the pressure has risen again. I basically just got a huge promotion at work, more money, but more pressure, both external and internal. We’ve spoken about it and how I need to handle that moving forward. It is something that is part of “the business” and as he reminds me, I need to be aware of that along with train, eat, sleep, race, repeat.

But back to Kona and the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship. My mind was more at ease in Kona than ever before because I had full confident in my gear and I had the full confidence of those who supplied the gear. A big difference this year was I had a solid nutrition plan, tried and tested and more planned and thought out than ever before thanks to the brains behind Shotz Nutrition. Here is a guy that will ring and speak to an age grouper who has questions just the same as he rings and speaks to me about my plan for Kona. The same guy, Darryl, had Chris McCormack, fresh off his win in Kona last year listening intently to every word and asking questions at the BPM-Sport training camp in Sydney.

My plan was a few gels every hour, along with bottles of Shotz Salt tabs with an extra gel in each. We had planned for the inevitable – missing special needs on the bike – sorry but the volunteers out there must not get much training and direction because I rarely get my bag at Hawi. So when the inevitable happened, I was prepared with a concentrated bottle of Salt tablets, and plenty of gels. They were packed like sardines into the XLAB stem bag, into my back pocket and even my tri short legs.  Being prepared was the difference this year. Both in the weeks and days leading up to and during the race I was ready early.

And as we enter 2012, with my sights set on winning the World Championships, my sponsors are raising the bar with me. Boardman, the bike brand by legendary cyclist Chris Boardman will get us together for some wind tunnel testing in 2012, It will be my first time in a wind tunnel, my first time focusing on my bike with a world record setting cyclist guiding me. And as I climb the triathlon global ladder, there will be plenty more firsts in 2012 I’m sure. And I do hope in the race results too.

I’m currently up in Byron Bay, after just a day at home between a holiday/race with Jaimie on Hamilton Island for the sprint tri and ocean swim. It was one of the best places we have ever been or raced and didn’t want to leave (as you can see by photos on my facebook page). So now I’m in Byron and Jaimie arrives tonight, and for bout 36hours we get to relive our Honeymoon at the incredible Byron at Byron Resort as guests of the Movember celebrity luncheon (no I haven’t grown a moustache, my excuse is I had a November photo shoot). And a few days after we get home, I head to Busselton to work with the video/commentary/VIP crew at Ironman Western Australia. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

So the “job promotion” of being more in demand and wanted is actually very nice. It does mean more travel, but I’m not complaining about the destinations! Now please excuse me, I have to get back to editing a video of some amazing Hawaii footage for the Movember at Byron at Byron appearance.

Thank you everyone for your support, kind words and encouragement, and I look forward to seeing you at a race soon.

Have some fun over Christmas.
PJ

I have no idea where to start. How far back to I go? I guess I’ll go back before the start of Kona training, but keep it brief. The reason to do this is to try and give you the background info that will allow me to explain my state of mind as I went into race week. And I will finish with my post race thoughts, where I’m heading, and how finishing second at Hawaii has affected my outlook.

Second at Kona 2011

In winning Ironman Australia on 5 May I sustained a stress fracture in my second metatarsal. This meant zero exercise for 2 weeks and very little exercise for another 3. Swimming started in late May, cycling started mid June, and running began very tentatively in late June, after 7 weeks off!

My sole focus was Hawaii, and I was buoyed by my quick improvement in my swimming and cycling without serious run training happening. Swimming was at my equal best ever, and I was happy and motivated to be stronger than ever on the bike for Kona. Running wasn’t going so well though, and when I raced on August 14 at Ironman Philippines my run felt average, and the weeks were counting down to the big show. I had been doing the sessions but not feeling like the runner I was before the injury. Running wasn’t feeling natural and easy, possibly because of muscles that grew in from swimming and riding first, and that my foot and lower leg muscles were feeling tight and causing me to be cautious and concerned.

On August 18 I had my first run which felt natural. I knew I was cutting it fine to get in the quality miles before the race, but I felt I had just scraped in under the cut off point for my own peace of mind. From that point I was in lock down, and focused entirely on Hawaii. This meant very minimal social outings, and almost none during daylight when if I had spare time I was sleeping, training, massaging, or eating. I was doing roughly 5hrs more per week than the previous year (3 more on the bike and 2 more swimming). I knew I was getting in the best shape of my life as a triathlete. The three disciplines and my body were finding their own equilibrium as I got closer to the race – my swimming lost some speed, my running improved, and I was spending more time on the bike than I had consistently done before and feeling great for it. But I was still conscious and slightly worried of my foot’s phantom pains and muscle tightness right up to race week.

As I’ve written about before, I have a stomach parasite (blostocystis hominus) which so far I have been unsuccessful in killing despite some serious measures earlier this year. In the months before Hawaii this had flared up and was causing me some inconvenience. Sometimes it took 3 attempts before I could leave comfortably for my run, and then I still had to stop again during. I was thinking it would settle as it usually does, but as I entered race week and race day it hadn’t. I was apprehensive about my food each day, and what I might feel like race morning and while racing.

I had arrived in Kona on Friday September 30^th, 9 days before the race. On Saturday I rode 3 hrs and had never felt stronger on the bike. I was able to push a high heart rate and power through the big undulations on the Queen K highway out to Kuwaihai and back. On Sunday I was a bit tired from the ride, and I swam 40mins pretty solid, before driving out near the energy lab and running 75mins, during which I had to have an emergency toilet stop. I didn’t feel great on that run but I was happy to get my last training run done and my foot survived. Just 40mins easy on Wednesday is the only other running I did race week.

I was a little worried about my taper, and my body/health as race day drew near. On Thursday I only rode, Friday complete rest, and all my race gear was ready earlier than any other year, mostly thanks to awesome support from my sponsors, especially all the work the Zipp and Sram guys did getting my bike ready.

I ate lightly the day before the race because of my concern about my guts, but I still had to go the bathroom 6 times before leaving home in the morning, and once again before the race. Despite this I was relaxed, and happy to be about to race Hawaii again. I had my amazing wife Jaimie there since Sunday, my awesome parents Jenny and Geoff since Wednesday, and 5 other very good friends there to hang with before the race. No doubt having such a close group there is very calming. Seeing them so excited about what I am about to do is very humbling, and it is a once in a lifetime moment. Nothing else comes close and it is a memorable moment of calm and clarity.

With 15minutes to go I head to the beach and stand there while I focus on the task ahead, do some warm up stretches, and pass the time with the other professionals. As the start drew near I swam out to no particular point along the deepwater start line – just wherever there was some space. I soon found myself feeling a little crowded. It’s likely a few people were looking out to start near me as they know I’m a strong swimmer and have possibly read/heard that Chris MacCormack had his best swim ever thanks to starting next to me last year. Some of the other pros were definitely looking for the drafting advantage at the swim start. With a minute before the start I quickly swam 20 meters to my left to where the line was more spread out and I had extra space. The cannon went and I sprinted almost as hard as I could, quickly separating myself from those next to me. After a few hundred meters I could see only one other swimmer a few meters to my left, I figured it was Andy Potts and I made my way onto his feet. For a minute the race was one connected group, until Andy and I opened a gap on everyone else. My race plan was to sit on his feet for the whole swim, but after seven hundred meters he was slipping away and I settled into my own pace very happy and relaxed to be on my own between the leader and the big group following. I swam easy, and the group caught me at 2.5km. I stayed at the front of the group, still swimming very easy, drafting off a swimmer next to me until the last 400m when I picked up the pace so I could be second out of the water and make transition a little easier for myself.

I hadn’t felt awesome in the swim, and didn’t feel awesome as I ran through transition and onto the bike, but I didn’t think about it too much, it’s a long day and there’s plenty of time to come good. I rode hard near the front of the pack for a while after hitting the Queen K highway, ready to be in an early break if it happened, still trusting my ability based on how I’d felt the previous Saturday and hoping I would start to warm into the ride. It became clear no breaks where going and slowly I slipped back to about 15^th in a pack of about 25. I was easily staying with the pack, although gaps would open up as we crested hills and they powered down the other side, I seem to be more comfortable on the uphills and was closing the gaps easily. On one particular uphill at about 70km, I slowed down with the guys in front, not seeing a gap had opened up 3 people in front of me. By the time I saw the gap the group was powering down the other side. The other cyclists around me were all feeling tired and only 1 other guy went after the group just ahead of me. I powered solo trying to bridge back up. I rode well, and gained on them up towards Hawi, uphill, into a strong headwind, but it wasn’t enough. Once they turned ahead of me I had no chance to catch them on the downhill tailwind section of the course, that’s not my strength.

I started wavering then, admitting to myself I wasn’t feeling great today and it just isn’t my day. I would have liked to stop and make the mental and physical discomfort end. But I followed Rasmus Henning and Frederick Van Lierde as they came past me, and we swapped turns all the way back to T2. I felt like I must have lost 10minutes to everyone. I felt so slow. Into transition I went through the motions, but relatively quickly as I was happy to be finished the bike and that lifted me. As the volunteers put a cold wet towel on my head, one of them said “5 minutes to Craig Alexander”. Wow, only 5 minutes, that sounds good relative to how slow I thought I’d ridden. I sped out of transition and  focused on setting a good pace.

I decided this year to run without a watch not be distracted by calculating how far to the guys at turn arounds, or how fast I was running. I just ran. The first 5km felt very hot, and the muscles tight, but after settling into a comfortable pace, and getting into a routine of ice, water, and sponges at the aid stations the heat became bearable and I started to enjoy the run as I loosened up. Before I’d got to the top of Palani rd and the Queen K highway (20km) I found myself in 4^th, at 21km I couldn’t believe I was in 3^rd. MacCormack and Nick Gates were out on bikes and yelling at me to win it. They said (as many others also had) I was running better than the guys in front and I could catch them. I didn’t really believe them but I kept running all the same.

As I reached the Energy Lab road I could see Andreas Raelert, I couldn’t believe it. I was going to get second! I passed him after the turn around at the bottom of the Energy Lab and just as I passed him he stepped into the portaloo. I couldn’t believe my luck. I was feeling a million dollars and the nearest competitor to me just stopped for the toilet! Too easy! Or so I thought.

I had some bad memories of running up the hill from the Energy Lab last year and how I’d had to walk the aid station at the top. In my training run a week earlier I’d also found the hill tough. And now, in second place, I went from feeling a million dollars, to feeling like 2 cents at the same place. As I crested onto the Queen K highway my quadracepts exploded and from every race I’ve ever had this happen there has been nothing but a continual deterioration of speed, and increase in pain. I was in trouble, and not about holding onto second place, but just to get to the finish. I went into immediate damage control. I tried to relax, run more on my toes so the calves took more impact than the quads, and I had to walk about 3 aid stations to give the body a moment to relax, cool it down with lots of water, ice, cold sponges, and mentally relax too. The mental strain of trying to keep running while in such pain and discomfort and holding a slither of technique is incredibly challenging and stressful elevates the heart rate beyond an efficient level.

Andreas Raelert caught me with about 5km to go. I was now thinking if I can just keep moving I can hold onto third. But as Andreas ran past me I knew I had to try to stay with him. I had to at least try. And this is where experience and confidence matters. I’ve been here before, I’ve been in agony when someone has run past me and I’ve tried to go with them and I know there is always something there to dig deep into, even if only for a minute, it all depends on confidence and controlling the body. So I stood tall, leant forward, worked my arms to pick up my stride rate and closed the 4 meter gap quickly. Then a funny thing happened, it was easier to go hard than it was to go slow, and I kept up that pace and went right past Andreas. It was like a sprint for the finish in slow motion with 5km to go. I never looked back until I got to the top of Palani Rd hill, because I knew the way my quads were that downhills were going to shatter them even more so than before, and running the last 1.5km were going to be very tough and almost impossible.

I think I let out a few smiles between the grimaces as I ran down that hill, as I knew I was getting close to the finish, and I was in 2^nd place, no matter where third was, I was there, guaranteed a podium finish at the world champs. I looked behind me plenty of times in that last mile, and I was getting slower and more useless, but I was getting closer and with only a few hundred meters left to run I grabbed an Aussie flag as I knew I had 2^nd place for sure. It was an incredible feeling, and never lasts long enough. Shortly after crossing the line, I was getting interviewed by Aussie legend Greg Welch and got told I had the fastest run split for the second year in a row. That was awesome news. This year I didn’t wear a watch. I didn’t want the distractions, or care how fast I was running. I just want to run.

I was obviously very happy to finish 2^nd, there’s only one person on planet earth better than me at long distance triathlon in 2011. I saw Jaimie on the other side of the fence with my friends and family and as I hugged her I just couldn’t believe it. The pain was over, and it was worth it! It was worth it for me, and it was worth the sacrifices Jaimie has given for me and this race over the last few months. It is a strange ritual getting ready for this race, all the changes that take place, but for now that is all forgotten. I’ve taken the rest of the year as casual training and fitting in as much socialising as I can. Surfing, golf, dinners & drinks, ice creams, and everything else I give up for most of the year.

Thanks so much to Jaimie for being so supportive and caring, and my parents who also come to Kona every year, and my good friends that were there this year and believed me when I said it was worth the trip (a lot more have already booked for next year! Haha).

And this year was extra special because every single sponsor was new this year, and all came on board purely on their belief and confidence in my ability at Hawaii. To have their support emotionally and physically was a huge benefit this year, especially since I only approached and aligned with products I believed completely in. This made for the formula 1 team I have been waiting my career for, and it showed.

Huge thankyou’s to Boardman Bikes, Urban Hotels, F2P Sport, BPM, Rudy Project, ISM, TYR, Shotz, Lazer, Alaska Milk, Healthwise Active Travel, Gaerne, Computrainer, and X-LAB.

Stay tuned. Thanks for watching and especially those who cheered!

PJ

P.S. I’ll write part 2 soon with insights into the future and what getting 2^nd place at Hawaii means and does for a 29 year old from Sydney with a goal of winning next year. Cheers.