When Kerryn came to us 12 weeks ago to help her with the final part of her build to her first Ironman, our goal was to ultimately hear the words at the finish-line “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!” And not only did Kerryn hear those magical words, the follow day it was followed with “YOU’RE HEADING TO THE WORLD CHAMPS!” “I still can’t believe that!” she said after she qualified.
Kerryn had a fantastic 3 months leading into Busso. We’d done enough to feel confident and capable, but not too much that we over cooked it. We logged some big training days (and weeks) in preparation, trialled and dialled in nutrition, done the heat prep and planned for all the ‘what if’s’ that can happen in an Ironman race day…
“Completing Ironman Western Australia in Busselton was one of the most physically and mentally demanding things I’ve done but also equally the most rewarding. It was capped off when I received a qualifying slot for Kona…I still can’t believe that!
Overall, for me, it was about finishing my first ironman and ideally hoping to do it in 12.5-13 hours. I found the windy conditions tough, so to sneak in at 12 hours 58 minutes was a relief! It was my first ever marathon and I wasn’t sure how I’d go doing it off the back of the swim and ride. I’m proud to have run most of it. I realised it was going to be touch and go on the last few km to get under 13 hours, so I told my brain and legs to shut up and ignore the pain I was feeling so I could pick the pace back up! Running along the famous foreshore past the crowds in that last km is something I’ll always remember and I felt like I was flying! 😀
Thanks to Sarah for your coaching support over the past months to help me achieve this goal. I’ve learnt a lot from you.
I’m looking forward to the next chapter and training for Kona… but also looking forward to a little break and eating icecream! I also now appreciate what the ‘post-Ironman walk’ feels like!” ~Kerryn
Swim: 1:38 Bike: 6:27 Run: 4:37 Overall: 12:58.11
Congrats again Kerryn, welcome to the IRONMAN club! And here’s to another Ironman build next year! ;-p
“Sarah – you believed in me this entire journey and we blardy did it!” – Matt
When most individuals set themselves a goal of completing their first Ironman, as a coach, I generally always give the advice of ‘first and foremost, the goal is to complete the Ironman, from start to finish, in as best shape possible.’ For most, that is enough, for many, even that won’t happen. Ironman is a long day. For most, anywhere from 10-15hours is where their day will finish. And for many, it will incorporate walking.
But when you are someone with natural ability, with an engine built on a swimming background, the willingness to do the hard yards and an eagerness to get the most out of himself, I knew this was going to be more than ‘just finishing’.
So starting his Ironman campaign in June, local to Echuca Moama, Matt Brooks set about the task of first racing in just his second Half Ironman at Sunshine Coast in September where he nailed the target goals we set and came in in 4:52.
As another ‘general rule of thumb’. If all things being equal, double your Half Ironman time and add 30min (give or take) and it can give you a rough guide on what an ironman time may predict. So for Matt, a rough prediction for him was a 10hrs:15min. He told me he would be stoked with that.
But as his training progressed, I knew we would be working on a faster time, as he continued to train, absorb the training load and improve. Matt was knew to cycling and so another few months in the legs and he was only going to get stronger. Plus the work we were doing with his race nutrition and hydration plan – including a sweat test which confirmed what we already knew – he was a prolific sweater! This was going to be super important going in to a race like Busso.
Fast forward to the weekend at Ironman Western Australia 2024, and Matt was so well prepared. His training went relatively stress free, he ticked off session after session, wekk after week. He trained mainly solo – which is no mean feat! And worked on keeping his body healthy and injury free during that time. Which is imperative to an Ironman build!
My main message going into the race: Ride your own race! We knew Matt was going to get out of the swim at the pointy end of the field, but I also knew there would be a lot stronger riders around him. So it was imperative for him to settle in and ride his own race. To not get swept up in the moment and with others. And he stayed true to the plan and this paid dividends to his whole race overall!
THE RESULT: A sub 10 hour Ironman!
Based on the training and the conditions on the day, check out my predictions v’s Matts actual. Impressive!
“I couldn’t have imagined a better first Ironman experience. I was so nervous about the weather and conditions, with heavy chop in the swim and crazy headwinds and rain on the bike and run… But I stuck to our race plan and just enjoyed the entire day! We can’t do it without the volunteers who are literally the best. And the support from home has been overwhelming so thanks to everyone and particularly Coach Sarah – you believed in me this entire journey and we blardy did it!” ~Matt
Congrats Matt – you deserved that result wholeheartedly!!
2024 saw the first time the women would take on the Ironman World Championships in Nice, France. And what a spectacularly beautifully tough course it is!
CPC athlete Jacqui Graham qualified for this race at Ironman Western Australia in December 2023 in her first Ironman, started coaching with CPC in February 2024 and we’ve been working towards this since.
Ahead of the race, Jac was spending 5 weeks travelling around Europe with her bike in tow, and runners and swim gear packed. With this, we opted to take the roadie and therefore would race the course on the roadie too. This race was for the challenge, the experience, to race against the best in the world and to challenge herself against a super tough course, and she did all that and more!
Jacqui shared some of her thoughts post race…..
Woweee. That was humbling!
Swim I was stoked with. Was pretty rough out there so I was very happy with how I went especially how much swimming I’d managed in the last two months.
That bike course was something else. It was tough! 2400m of elevation in the first half of the race and a relentless headwind on any flats, but absolutely STUNNING descents! There were so many strong riders. Everyone seemed to be quite conservative descending – probably as they were on TT’s, whereas I found I could handle the descents well on my road bike. So would have been interesting to have my TT but I’m glad I had my roadie for the previous 5 weeks so happy with my decision. Also gave me confidence on the descents – which is where I actually felt I did my best!
The run was tough. A stitch for first few k’s and the stomach wasn’t overally happy, so started conservative but the legs felt good! I was overall happy with the pace given the course. Only overtaken by Lucy Bartholomew and one other person on the run course so that’s a win! (we say a 3:30 mara after a TOUGH bike course is well and truly a win!) But I know I can do better and my best run is still ahead of me, so that is exciting!
Overall a killer day. The most spectacular days racing, with amazing support on course on a very humbling course. 37th in age group. I don’t think I can complain about that !
The end result? After coming out of the water in 60yh position in her AG, Jacqui rode and ran here way through the field finishing 37th in her Age Group and a super proud Ironman World Championships Finisher!
Swim: 107:58 Bike: 6:29:16 Run: 3:29:24 Overall: 11:18:45, 37th F30-34 Full results HERE
Next up is the mens Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on October 26, 2024. We can’t wait to watch this one too!
Ironman Athlete Shane Kervin shares an insight into his prep for the Aquathon (run / swim / run) Multisport World Championships.
I am the first person to admit that I probably have no real business donning the green and gold and being any part of an Australian team, but hey, if you qualify and are lucky enough to snag a spot, you would be mad not to take it, right?
Once on the team, the reality of toeing the line with some of the fittest and fastest 50-54 year olds in the world started to hit me, sh*t I might have bitten off more than I can chew here. There will be no where to hide on race day. Don’t get me wrong, there is no shame in coming last, but if I can help it I would prefer not to.
Thankfully Sarah was kind enough to squeeze me onto her busy roster of athletes and agreed to an 8 week training block to drag the few fast twitch fibres I possess out of hibernation.
The first week consisted of some testing, with the results pretty underwhelming on my behalf and some of the efforts had me gasping and questioning my choices.
However, I soon learnt the difference between ‘exercising’ and ‘training’.
I was suddenly ‘training’ and loving the variety and Sarah’s approach to it, moulding the program around my work roster and family life.
By the time I flew out to Townsville I could clearly see the improvements in both my run and swim paces, and in my training I felt ‘strong’, which had me mentally in a great space and excited for the race.
I was hesitant to set a goal time, because I hadn’t raced this particular format of the Aquathlon and the conditions always play such a big part, but I had some reference times in my head.
If I went over 45 minutes I felt I would walk away disappointed, if I went under 44 I would be really satisfied and if I went under 42 I would be rapt.
So to finish in 41:51, in the top half of the field (by one spot) and having enjoyed every second of it, I could not have been happier! (Race distance 2.5km run, 1km swim, 2.5km run )
Looking back at my qualifying event times compared to the World Champs the improvement is considerable.
A HUGE thank-you to Sarah – what she achieved in such a short period is amazing!
I love racing. I do. I love the feeling of pushing my body to it’s limits, against every other athlete out there on the day and seeing where that lands me.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been competitive. No matter the sport. I don’t generally half @arse things. I go all in, otherwise I’m out. Growing up I played team sports, netball and basketball both at a high level, and I had a dabble at soccer too. I love the competitiveness, and I love winning.
Then came along triathlon in my 20’s and I went all in there. Wanting to learn the craft, finding out how hard I could push my body and what result that would bring on race day. I would thrive off racing, and I didn’t want to settle. I was by and large ‘all in’. Racing results were my main motivation for training. And I’ve done that for 15 years, with some great success, but not with a LOT of hard work. I trained to race and I thrived off that.
BUT over the past 12 months or so, racing hasn’t been my main motivator for training anymore.
I still train every day. Sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. I still put myself through sessions that I give to my athletes so I know what they feel like / should feel like. I still like pushing myself and setting myself goals and challenges. I love the feeling of feeling fit, and healthy.
But I don’t actually have the drive to want to race to win anymore. I know I could. Because I’m stubborn like that. And I know if I wanted to, I could. But I don’t. I’ve still dabbled in running and cycling and triathlon races, but not with as much focus or as much gusto. Old me would not have raced, if I wasn’t fit and strong enough to give it my best, I wouldn’t have put myself on the start line.
And it has been hard to reconcile in my head at times. My last ‘competitive’ race was Port Macquarie Half Ironman in 2022. I finished 4th in my age group, as a full time coach, and full time mum to a 3 & 4 year old. Before that, it was 2 years prior at Geelong Half Ironman where I qualified for the Half Ironman World Champs. (Ironically being held this year in New Zealand) with a 1 & 2 year old. That was tough, but oh so satisfying!
Back then all I wanted to do was win. And I was fully engrossed in it. My whole identity was wrapped up in it. I prioritised training and racing to win over just about everything else in my life. I just wanted to WIN. Until I didn’t want to anymore…..
I saw a post a couple of years ago by another coach and it said something along the lines of a coach must be able to walk the walk, and not just talk the talk. And it didn’t sit well with me. But at the same time I was like, shit I better keep racing to be able to ‘prove’ that I can and prove that I can coach – BUT then it dawned on me. The two are mutually exclusive, they don’t have to go hand in hand. Sometimes they do – which I’ve done for years. But they certainly don’t have to and we all know LOTS of successful coaches that don’t race at a high level anymore – or at all. So, with that, over the last couple of years as things have shifted, my mindset shifted and so did my priorities.
I am always saying to athletes that intrinsic motivation should be first and foremost. Of course use extrinsic motivation to aid you, to continue to drive you to be better, but your main motivator should come from within. Yet here I was, using a post I came across on facebook and the perception I thought others must have of me to continue to drive me. But like most people who rely on extrinsic motivation, that can often only last for so long….
When I had our first born (nearly 7 years ago) I wanted / needed to get back racing. I didn’t want to loose that identity as an ‘athlete’. That’s what I had known myself as for so much of my life. The satisfaction I got from it was huge and all my energy and focus was on those goals.
But in come children, two at that in quick succession and things slowly shifted. My want and need to have a singular goal and focus for myself has become lesser as our children have grown. And my growth and personal satisfaction has come more from the athletes that I coach, the group we have built, of the Club that I support, the community that we now live in and of course – my family.
I don’t need to race at the top level anymore if I don’t want to – to simply ‘walk the walk’.
I don’t need to race for external satisfaction.
I know I can now race if and when I want to.
I can race because I CAN, because I know HOW and because I LOVE to. Not because I feel I have to.
I have learnt that it is the training itself and the discipline it brings that I actually love the most, not necessarily the racing. The racing is a by product – a bonus if you will…. Perhaps, deep down that’s what has always driven me, I just didn’t realise it …. I don’t have to force myself to train or exercise, I do it because I love it.
Which is why I stay fit. Which is why I train every day. So I can, if I want, when I want, where I want. A quick little prep will have me ready and I’ll enjoy returning to those feelings. But I most likely won’t go ‘all in’ like I used to, not because I can’t, but because I choose not to.
Now that all may change again at some point. What feels right now, may not be the same in another few years. We all go through seasons in life and I love embracing all of them.
And that’s what I also love about coaching each individual athlete I have. I have some athletes in the early stages of their athletic journeys, going all in, and I fully embrace that, support that and help foster the environment and training that they need. I have other athletes who prefer a softer balance to their training, competing when they can, and training as it fits into their life. I have others who don’t compete – at all. They simply love the structure and discipline of training in their lives, and staying fit. Just as I do. And I have the pro and inspiring pros. The high achievers. Those chasing PB’s, wanting the most out of themselves, and I love being on the sidelines for all of that. I love being part of each of their journeys.
So no matter the athletes path, or where they are at in their journey. I love all of it, because it is THEIR journey. Just as I am on my own journey. And as a Coach, I love that I’ve been through all facets of it. I’ve been the beginner, the green and keen athlete, the top age grouper, I’ve dabbled as a pro, a mum juggling it all, and the one still here for the long haul.
And I am grateful to be part of that and still join in on the ride!
I had mentioned recently to my athletes that it was 10 years since I raced in Kona. My Ironman World Champs experience was in 2013 – the year that Mirinda Carfrae won her second Ironman World Championship Title and had the 3rd fastest run split of the day – including the pro men. Simply incredible! She then went on to win and break her own run course record again the following year in 2014. And only now, have we just witnessed a new run course record thanks to Anne Haug with a 2:48.23 in 2023!
I could have sworn I did a race report / recap after my Kona race – and I thought I found it, but it was actually a recount of my first Ironman – Ironman Melbourne in 2013 when I qualified for Kona in a time of 9:23 (year the swim was shortened). Read about that race experience and how I qualified here.
So I don’t have my recap to share with you, however I did find some of my pics and what I can say is, what an awesome experience it was. And I got to share that experience with my parents – something they still remember fondly. As well as long time friend and athlete Narelle Crooks who was on the sidelines supporting, along with her hubby Nathan who was racing and fellow training buddy Brett. Brett, Nathan and I spent countless hours together training. So many long rides and long runs together, hundreds of laps in the pool, open water swims, trainer sessions, interval runs around the tana and along the beach…. Brett and I even travelled to Port Douglas in the lead up to Kona for a Half Distance race – trying to acclimatise for the heat before we arrived.
But honestly, nothing can really prepare you for the heat and humidity. It truly is a HOT and brutal the race is. But how spectacular and magical the Island is. I get why athletes all over the world still want to compete at this race. It’s not about becoming one of the best in the world in your age group, it is the experience. Living and breathing Ironman the week leading into the race, swimming in the crystal blue waters amongst tropical fish, turtles and dolphins, riding along the Queen K and through the lava fields, running along Ali’i’ Drive, up Palani and through the Energy Lab. And that finish line line. Simply incredible! The visuals from race broadcasts are exactly that. But being there, experiencing it, putting your body through it, truly is something else. And in that moment, the result matters little. Especially for those going there for the first time….
My Kona result? Swim 1:11.38 Bike: 5:34.14 Run: 3:45.22 Overall: 10:39.53
For anyone who has the dream of racing the World Champs, talk to me. It truly is an incredible experience and something that is possible with the right training, hard work and race planning… I previously wrote an blog on how to qualify for the Ironman World Championships. So take a read if you want to find out more on how and what it takes to qualify for this magnificent race…
