Lucy Williams - Race Reports

This race is just something else.... its hard to find words to express the medley of emotional stimulation, demanding physical and mental challenges and overall antagonizing determination that it takes to get to the finish line! When I first qualified I knew it was going to be tough race and I really made some big decisions (some were either fortunately or unfortunately made for me) to give everything 100% to this race. Training over winter was hard, but I always enjoy training and it was my first full winter in NZ so it taught me to get tough and get out there, it was so nice to know that I was going to be in Hawaii for 6 weeks before the race to train in the heat and the winds, that those athletes who had been before, always had talked about.

The build up to the race was unbelievable, so many people arrived on the island looking tanned and toned and very very fit and fast. Many people found this un-nerving but everyone I met was really down-to-earth and kind, always offering advice to newcomers and sharing their years of experience. By the Thursday of race week, it felt like race day down at the pier, where the race was going to start, purely with the numbers of people training on the course - now I felt sick to the stomach with nerves!

After packing all the transition bags and preping all my gear I went down to rack my bike and the best thing that happened was getting the Cervelo T-shirt as a "Thanks for riding our bike". My friend Lynette had been given one last year and I always loved hers...so I'd been holding out for this all week! I got an awesome purple one with big hawaiian flowers on the front! Thanks Cervelo! The Support Crew in Transition were brilliant.... walking me up and down transition as many times as I needed.... about 3 times! answering all the questions I had about race day.. had to get this right as the transition was huge.

Race morning was dark (as usual) but the weather was good, apart from a wind that I could here outside... oh well typical day in Hawaii then. All 3 of us in the apartment - Julia, Fiona and myself were busy in our own pre-race early morning flurry and then Julia and I headed out with Cody to catch the free shuttle to the transition. First thing that Cody said was "I can hear the swell already" ..... "if there's a breeze in town, we'll have a tough day out on the bike". Now there are two parts to that sentence and most of you will guess how I felt about it..... sick with nerves about the swell in the water and then like "oh yeah whatever" about the winds on the bike! I just laughed it off as I was excited to get down to transition and get ready.... I love race mornings... those final moments before the big bang! Sure enough when we get in to town there's a breeze! Hey Ho - Lets Go!

Transition was good, everything ready... chat to a few folk in the queue for the loo and head to the water... now things are starting to happen.... swim out there and hang with a guy called Rob from Kona who I've swam with heaps in the ocean and at the Swim 101 sessions at the pool. So there I am in my own little world trying to stay calm..... then BANG! The gun was so loud I screamed with shock and then just started to swim.... This is how it went from there : Thump, Thump, Kick.... Ow! Pretty Fish, lots of pretty fish, focus on the race! Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump! OW OW OW! Pretend you are fish... glide... get with the fish... glide.... swim, swim, swim. Thump Thump, Kick! Ow! Follow those feet.... oh heck... where did those feet go! Find some more feet! Okay not those ones!.... And this went on for some time.... so I was happy to get to the turnaround (always am), almost in one piece and then swim back in less turbulent waters (most of the fast swimmers had dissappeared by this point!). Getting out of the water to the cheer of the crowd (yep they were still there - yipee) was brilliant.... I was pretty tired though and wobbled through the showers to my bike.... now things are really starting to happen.... the fun part.

As I ran out of transition Bree and Caitlin were stood there screaming and cheering ...... I know it wasn't just for me but they made me feel like it was.... cool as. So I pushed it out there on the bike on the first loop out up on the course and couldn't believe how tired I was... that swim had stuffed me really but I kept on pushing all the way out up that Palani Road and out on to the Queen K Highway! I think I had gone into a bit of a Zone after feeling a pain in my side 9(first thoughts were someone had broken my rib in the swim) it was just a stitch..... then my friend Jose from New Zealand came up beside me and shouted

" What 's up you okay... I'm only cruising.. what's wrong?" ...and snapped me right out of it.." As I pushed the pedals hard again... I heard Jose shout from behind... "You GO GIRL" and I never looked back again so thanks Jose for helping me get it together again.. The winds started blowing at around the 40mile mark but I kept smiling as I'd trained in the winds.... none as strong as these ones though... the Island Gods were turning it up a notch especially for race day. It was really hard climbing up to Hawi and flying back down the hill was tricky with winds that felt like they were slapping you and the bike accross to the other side of the road.... but I was having fun. I always do on the bike so when I got back in to town, not quite in the time that I'd hoped for, I was still happy and looking forward to getting stuck in to the run.... all 24.2 miles/42km of it.

Alii Drive was good, hot and humid but good... I was on pace and feeling pretty good... a few problems with a cough that I'd got but I kept on trucking.... just before I turn up Palani Hill I decide now is the time to pull my cossie out my bum and Bree manages to catch it on camera.. ha ha! Palani Hill hurts... no other way to describe it but your legs are never going to like that hill... but when you get to the top back on to the Queen K you know that you are almost halfway through the run.. Into the Energy Lab.... now people tell you how hot it is in this part of the course and yeah you can train in it ... but when I said the Island Gods were turning it up a notch for race day... they also decided to turn up the heat!! It actually rose to 50 degrees C or 120 degrees Farenheight out there. The energy lab doesn't give you energy... it sucks it right out.... So when you get out of there you are stoked! I saw lots of people walking now and was really happy to have kept running to this point.

When I got out on to the Queen K again... I'm smiling as it's homeward bound but my cough is bad and I'm struggling to breath again... so I started to walk the aid stations... run in between (if you can still call it a run) then the walk started several meters before the aid stations.. and continued for several meters afterwards.

Your fellow atheletes and the supporters out there on the course are what get you home at this point... The Navy Seals were cool and we kept each other going with words of encouragement at several points in this last section of the race... not sure if I could still call it a race now as I was just happy with getting back to the Palani Hill and runnign all the way down... the legs even hurt on the way down but that didn't matter anymore.... Alii Drive was just around the corner!

Words can not describe how you feel when you turn this corner... Only those who have experienced it will know the true feeling of this finsih line..... the sounds, the lights, the crowds, the cheering.... the emotion just takes over so as I run down there choking back the tears... thinking how did little me get here.. I'm here running along Alii Drive to the finish of the race that has inspired me for the past few years.... all those Ironman Legends that have been her before me.... this is everything I've dreamed of since doing my first ever Ironman... I am here... I've done it... I cross the line.... here comes Lucy Williams... you are an Ironman.... a Kona Finisher.... the best feeling in the world.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me all the way through the year, on the day and beyond. My life is one of dreams, not only dreamt dreams but ones that are lived. I have met many new people and shared some of the most fantastic times with old and new friends... I have learnt so much from all of you and I am always inspired by the kindess and love that you always give me.

The whole 10 days in the run up to this race was brilliant... The weather was awesome... it made me giggle that everyone thought it was cold at 24 degrees in the sunshine. All week I met lots of new people in the town and I did an awesome ride from Yeppoon to Rockhampton and back and then up to Byfield. A good solid 5 hour ride taking in all the local area!

My swim went well, a sea swim which I'd not done for a long time. It was probably a bit faster than usual due to the current being in our favour but there was a good long run up the beach and that sure made your legs a bit wobbly. Out on the bike and I put the hammer down as I always do and was gaging the time I had to make up to meet the time goals I'd set my self for the race... I did the first 20km in 30mins so was on track for the bike split I wanted then just as I went by the crowds!!!!.... pssssssssshhhhhh bump bump bump on the road!! Gutted!

I jumped off and started trying to take the tubular tyre off the wheel to find that it was glued on like it wasn't meant to come off.... at all!! After struggling for over 10 minutes it came off and I cracked on with getting the new tubular on! This was going to be a task and a half! I'd been stretching the tyre all week and had it blown up to stretch it but would it go on the wheel.... now way jose! I just wasn't strong enough to pull it on to the wheel.... I almost gave up but the crowd wouldn't let me stop trying and told me that if I managed to get it on and get back in to the race they would stand and cheer me on for every lap I had left...... and they did too!!! Such wonderful people.

So a big Roar from the crowd as I headed off into my second lap! Off I went, took a wee while to get my legs back and my computer was not adjusted properly so I took a look at my watch and realised how long it had taken to change the tyre! Laughed to myself and thought I'd smack it out as hard as I could to try and claw some time back! The winds were getting quite strong as they tended to do throughout the days in Yeppoon but it was just like racing in Taupo or Tauranga back home in New Zealand.

I jumped off the bike, happy to be still racing and headed out in to the run! What a brilliant run course... half on road, half off road. I felt great and was doing some good splits for each Km off the bike, I was very happy to get out of the heat and into the off road section. This section was good but hard in some places as it was a really sandy type surface. I pushed hard, felt good all the way and did a 1.34 run.... which was the fastest run split in my age-group... Yay!

What an awesome day! Well quite a tough one but worth every single bit of pain! Qualifying for Kona was the ultimate dream come true for me today. One of the best things about the day was racing as a Taupo resident. The crowds of people supporting were amazing. When you race as a Taupo resident you have a different coloured number so everyone knows that you live in the town. From the moment you come out of the water, every time you pass through on the bike and when you lap through on the run the crowds go wild..... I can only imagine that this is what the Pro's feel like when they come through. Absolutely blew me away and made me smile so much so thanks to everyone who was out there in the rain!

So I spent a week in hospital on a saline drip and they blasted antibiotics through their too and after a few days things started to get better. I'm pretty certain that everyone thought I should have been put in to the Psychiatric Ward as after nearly killing myself in this race, I kept on and on excitedly telling everyone who came anywhere near the bed about my next race in Hawaii.

Well, I'm pleased to say that I had a great race today. The swim was very fierce... people were beating me up in the water, right to the very last few metres. I tried to move away and fight back but still found that I was still typically slow.

Out on the bike, I really had to pull myself out of the dissapointment of the swim and rode like death to try and pull myself back up to a decent placing. I felt strong but the winds were really tricky, changing from Head Wind to Tail Wind several times on each leg... I powered through and was pleased with the work I'd done but still knew there was some work to do on the run.

As soon as I set out on the run I had massive cramping and stitch like pains in my stomach, I really didn't think I was going to be able to complete it, right from that moment I thought my race was over and that I'd gone way too hard on the bike.... but I kept going and paced myself out to try and settle things. I took on heaps of water, and looking back now I think that I hadn't taken on enough water on the bike. The stomach cramps eased and I pushed my pace to see how I could go. I managed to hold on to second place and that made me really happy.

So the next 6 weeks are going to be very focussed with the aim of making enough improvments to place better at Ironman in March.

What a great day! I'm back to the racing and really pleased to have felt so good smashing it out there on the bike. Belinda Haper did the swim in 25 mins, I did the bike in 2hrs 36 mins and Lynette Warn did the run in 1 hour 34 mins. We were 2nd in the female teams and we all achieved our personal goals for our splits.

I'm on crutches and my brother is arranging for me to meet with a Sports Doctor who has recommended that I have an MRI scan. I can't put any weight on my leg at all at the moment so it's not looking too rosy. It seems it may have been fractured during the France race and resting it was making it better... I hadn't been able to do any run training on it prior to the race. Happy to say that it kept me going for half of the marathon at Ironman so it must have gotten somewhat better but unfortunatley it just couldn't hold out any more! I couldn't walk on it and so got pulled off the course for a check. They then called for the ambulance.

I'm gutted because I was way in the lead in my age-group and was in 10th position overall. I was on such a high on my second lap of the first run section to be passing some of the other pro's who were just heading out on their first lap. All my training and race strategy's were going to plan and even though the weather was awful I got all the splits I had been aiming for in the swim and the bike. I was feeling so good and knew I was going to storm home with a Top 10 placing, a Hawaii slot and a first in my age-group.... then the leg just went and the pain shot through me in every step. I tried running on the tips of my toes. I tried speed-walking. I tried dragging my leg whilst holding it to stop the pain... when the marshalls saw me doing the last bit I think they knew I was in trouble.

I sat at the side of the road and cried when I saw the other girls romping past but I tried to tell myself that I wouldn't have been able to race at Hawaii this year with an injury like this as pain like that out on the course tells you that sometimes you just have to listen to your body.

It's soul-destroying to know that I couldn't complete the race but I am going to focus on the memories of being up there with the likes of Hillary Biscay (she gave me a smile and cheered "Good Work Girl" when she ran by on the run). If I can do it now after such a short time in the sport then I can surely get back up there when my body is strong again. I will make it to Hawaii and I will race Pro next year just as I planned... I'm just going to have to revise my plans a little to make sure that I get there fit and healthy.

The swim was the most fierce I have taken part in yet. Boy did I know that everyone in the water was going to be competing with as much passion as myself but I really had underestimated how aggressive some of these girls can be. It was a battlefield with people scratching you, pushing you into the water, trying to get your zip down on your wetsuit and trying to pull your goggles off. I managed to battle through it and used my left hand to leverage of one girls face (no punching though!!) who had been trying to dunk me for long enough. She left me alone after that!

We had to climb out of the water onto the podium and dive back, so I'm sure I impressed the crowds! With my belly-flop come dive but I managed to keep my goggles just in place so it was all good! When I exited the podium for the last time and headed to bike transition I looked at my watch and was gutted!! In my mind it had taken me 1hr 10mins! No improvement on previous times at all... I kept on running trying to figure out in my head what could have happened and grabbed the bike. It was straight up a hill on the way out so I just got out of my saddle and went for it.

In the beginning on the bike I was still trying to figure out what had happend in the swim and really did think that there was no point trying as I wasn't going to get a medal with a swim so poor. I'd been hoping for 50 mins to be in with a chance! I quickly snapped myself out of it and decided to have a bit of fun out there and go for the fastest bike split on the course! And am I glad I did it... 2hrs and 08 mins!! This was the time I'd managed in training without doing the swim before hand. I then headed in to the run and was feeling good in fact I just kept picking the girls off in my age group and was just hoping that it was going to be enough.

When I crossed the line it was a great feeling to have completed. I knew I'd run well and biked well but still thought that the total time it had taken me was around 4hrs 55mins. It wasn't untill Emma crossed the line and told us that she had 4hrs 46 on her watch and she had started it at the gun on the swim that it dawned on me that I had acheived what I wanted to achieve with the time. At this point a whole heap of emotion came over me and I cried tears of joy because it felt so good (you've probably figured this happens quite a lot if you've read some of the other pages on the website!). what I hadn't known was that our swim start had been delayed by 10 minutes so that was why I thought it had taken so long. I still didn't think I'd got a medal!

At the awards dinner we sat and ate some wonderful food and everyone was really pleased with their results. Neil got a Silver for the 70+ age group and it was great to see the first Kiwi get up on the podium. Then as we sat listening to them announce the next age group they called out that I had got 3rd place. This meant everything to me! All the hard work and dedication had paid off! Being stood there on the podium, receiving my medal and rose, I was so proud to be representing New Zealand and being part of a team that made the whole experience so special. Kristen also got a bronze for the 20-24 age group so we were given the chance to be proud of another one of our special team members. Some of the others came so close to medals literally by a matter of seconds in time difference. Everyone worked so hard and did so well.

March 3rd 2007, what a day! The supporters that were there for us on the day, especially the team and the FootTraffic tent, made the day really special. Steve and Leanne had a massive banner made for me with "Go Juicy Lucy" on it... when I started reading it I thought there must have been someone else out on the course called Lucy until, I saw them both jumping up and down, cheering real loud. This was such a special moment. All of the Foottraffic crew were wearing our black and yellow trisuits and it was brilliant to see your mates out on the course! We must have looked good as the crowd just loved our team!

The run was really tough but I just kept going.. I had Walters words in my head and knew that I just had to keep turning my legs over! Andrew Davidson and I paced each other for most of the way until Andrew decided he needed to stop for some reason!! I carried on but was gutted that Andrew had stopped... I thought we were going to finish the race together, which would have made for a really funny end to the season after all that chasing each other!

The feeling you get when you cross the line is one that only those who have finished an Ironman will be able to understand! It's brilliant and well worth all the training. In fact I loved it so much I'm going to race Ironman UK in August 07, Ironman WA in December 07 and will then do Ironman NZ in March 2008. I might take a bit of a rest after this.... what d'ya reckon?

6th January 2007 - Tauranga Half Ironman - 5 hrs 21 mins
(2km swim, 90km Bike, 21km run)

After having the quietest New Years Eve night on record in the History of Miss Lucy Williams, I was really looking forward to Tauranga Half Ironman. It is a flat course, which I knew I could race well on the bike, and the run was also flat and being two laps it was quite good mentally too. Everyone was there from training squad and everyone had a brilliant day! I was really pleased to qualify for the World Champs in France.

After this it was time to focus on the big training for Ironman... the big sessions on the weekend were tough and it was both physically and mentally challenging! Everyone was really supportive and one of the things that kept me going was being part of the FootTraffic team. We all shared the same experiences, went out on some big rides and the first timers went to Walters Camp in preparation for the race...

19th December 2006 - Rotorua Half Ironman - 5 hrs 38 mins
(2km swim, 90km Bike, 21km run)

The big step up to Half Ironman Distance came at Rotorua. My friend Celia and I camped out together in our vans and prepped for the big day ahead of us. This was a tough event. Some very steep hills on the bike and on the run, in fact if Hooksie could have squeezed in a hill for the swim, I'm sure he would have done. I learnt a lot this day about how important nutrition is during a race. I couldn't keep my fuel down on the bike and lost my gels as they leaked out of a bottle all over the food I was trying to drink on the bike. I headed in to the run and it hurt... i kept going and managed a decent time of hrs 38mins but boy was I going to do some more work on the nutrition side of things. All in all it was a great weekend, a great experience and the after party is always good at Hooksie's events.

November 2006 - Panasonic Peoples Triathlon - 2hrs 37 mins
(Olympic Distance - 1.5km swim, 40km Bike, 10km run)

So the first race, It was hard. Very challenging as there are several distances raced on the same course on the day. I had no idea what would be a good overall time, or what good splits would be, as I realised during the race, it might have been a good plan to do some research so I had goals to meet. Anyway, I just put the hammer down on the bike and the run and was really pleased to see that I was chasing down one of my training buddies, Andrew Davidson on the run. He beat me but it was great fun to be racing like that. Funnily enough for most of the season Andrew and I were chasing each other down. My finish time was 2hrs 38mins and I thought oh that's okay for my first one and thought I'd go to the prize giving, to see how the winners got on and obviously to wait for the spot prizes! To my complete surprise, I placed 2nd in my age group and was absolutely stoked! It was the best feeling ever going up on stage to collect my award. Wow, this was the way to go... I wanted more of this. Bring on the next race.

26th February 2006 - SHE Triathlon - women only race
(300m Swim, 15km bike, 3km run)