Ironman New Zealand T-14hrs

I thought I'd pen a few thoughts as I have a few hours to kill, keeping out of the sun and resting up as much as possible before Ironman New Zealand kicks off in 14hrs at 7am, here in Taupo, North Island, NZ.

Another incredible NZ venue (Lake Taupo, 8am Friday 5th March '10)

This time last July I was in another hotel room, keeping off my feet and trying to relax before Ironman Switzerland.  Certainly there are a lot of similarities to that day, I'm pleased to say I'm pretty relaxed this time. Experience really does make these things easier.

I went into Switzerland thinking I was in 9:15 shape and in the end just touched under 9:30, albeit with a brief pause to fix a puncture.  After missing a Hawaii slot there by 15mins I said I'd come back here in sub-9 shape.  Now I'm not sure I'm there, I'm not going to put a time prediction on tomorrow, but I feel good.  I've had 12 fantastic weeks of solid training out here in NZ.  My mileage and training time is the highest 3 months  ever, across all disciplines, so I just hope the 12 weeks build is enough.

Conditions for tomorrow aren't perfect for speed, with a 20mph SE wind, we will get a headwind on the return leg of the two bike loops, i'm not looking forward to the last 45k back to town much!  The lake here is incredible, it's crystal clear fresh water. But, as we are situated at the north of the lake there will be a bit of a chop with the wind, that said it shouldn't be terrible and with only 1250 competitors it's not like some of the huge Ironman mass swim starts.  The run is also a two lap affair, with some gentle undulations. As we follow the airport road out of town to the South East, at least the last 10k of the run we'll have wind assistance.

There are 162 competitors and 7 World Champs slots up for grabs in the male 30-34 age grouper.  The last three years they have rolled down as follows; 2009 - 9:45.11, 2008 - 9:43.23 and 2007 - 10:05:24, so you'd hope sub 9:30 would be good enough for that golden ticket...  That's a big ask on a slow(er) course but I've got my support crew trained up as 30-34 male spotters and I'll do everything I can to get the slot...

I'm feeling good, the bike and all the bags are checked in and there's nothing to do but relax, eat and drink well and try to get to sleep in good time.  I'll post a note as soon as possible with an update but don't forget you can track results live at www.ironmanlive.com (race starts 6pm GMT Friday 5th March).

Thanks for all the kind wishes,  Laurence