Sodium Hyaluronate 22/11/01

Sodium Hyaluronate is a substance which is injected into the articular joint to provide increased lubrication and shock absorption. It will adhere to the joint surface [1]. It will replace diseased synovial fluid, which in the case of osteoarthritis has had its viscosity reduced [2]. So far it appears to have only been approved for use in knees for which it has been found to be effective [3]. There has been a study of its use in shoulders with rotator cuff tears [4] and it was found to be an effective treatment. It is manufactured from rooster combs [5] and has a number of trade names such as Synvisc, Hyalgan, Hylan G-F 20 and Vitrax to name a few.

Treatment involves a number of injections, around three up to five usually once a week. Its use in athletic populations has not been studied but the results in the general population are promising and this could be an effective treatment, which could possibly be repeated any number of times. There are some side effects which rarely occur, see references for a list and their impact.

Anecdotal evidence shows that local experience has been poor (see the guestbook entry by Matt McEwan a local physiotherapist).

References

1. Bernhardt G, Osteoarthritis, Part 2, Ultrafit's e-Tips For Endurance Athletes April 2001Volume 4, Number 4 ,
http://www.ultrafit.com/newsletter/april01.html
2. http://www.nursespdr.com/members/database/ndrhtml/sodiumhyaluronatehylangf20.html
3. Evaluating Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Hylan G-F 20
http://www.medscape.com/medscape/cno/2001/AAOS/Story.cfm?story_id=2070
4. Shibata, Midorikawa et al, Effect of Hyaluronate Sodium for Rotator Cuff Tears , American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 1999 Annual Meeting ,
http://www.aaos.org/wordhtml/anmeet99/poster/119.htm
5. http://www.jraworld.arthritisinsight.com/medical/meds/hyalgan.html

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Stem Cell Research and Cartilage Repair 28/08/01

There is new research with stem cells that shows some promise in the future of being able to grow replacement limbs and organs, how this can be adapted to joint replacement or repair is just beginnning to be seen. There has been some work with mesenchymal stem cells which has been successful in generating fibrous cartilage (mainly composed of type I collagen) which is useful for small defect repairs but is inferior to arcticular hyaline cartilage (mainly composed of type II collagen [1] ). Articular hyaline cartilage is what covers the ends of the bones in moving joints like knees and hips. It has spongey qualities and can take heavy load bearing, and provides a smooth surface for smooth and frictionless movement. Gene therapy is used to create hyaline like cartilage cells using transforming growth factors[7] ( TGF-ß, TGF-B, TGF-S). In one case stromal cells, which would have become fat cells were transformed into chondrocytes[8], that is, cartilage cells - this has implications for ACI. Morphogens (such as rhOP-1 aka rhBMP-7)[2,3,5,6] and how they are affected by modulators (such as Chondroleukin aka CL) [4] appear to be the key to promoting stems cells to differentiate into chondrocytes, which looks promising and may well provide "self healing" capabilities for humans with respect to cartilage repair and regeneration

References

1. Cole BJ, Taksali S, "Management of Focal Chondral Defects", Operative Treatment Options for Osteoarthritis of the Knee and Cartilage Defects, From A Special Report: Osteoarthritis of the Knee Keeping Aging Adults Active,http://www.physsportsmed.com/asr/knee/cole.htm

2. Flechtenmacher J, Huch K, et al, Recombinant Human Osteogenic Protein 1 is a Potent Stimulator of the Synthesis of Cartilage Proteoglycans and Collagens by Human Articular Chondrocytes, Arthritis & Rheumatism, Official Journal of the American College of Rheumatology, VOLUME 39, JANUARY 1996, NO. 1 at 1896, http://www.rheumatology.org/ar/1996/1996toc.htm

3. Wolfe MW, Salkeld SL, and Cook SD, Bone Morphogenetic Proteins in the Treatment of Non-unions and Bone Defects: Historical Perspective and Current Knowledge, University of Pennsylvania Orthopeadic Journal 99, http://www.med.upenn.edu/ortho/oj/1999/html/oj12sp99p1.html

4. Rose L, Moseley T, et al, Chondroleukin, A Novel Cytokine in Cartilage, CARTILAGE DEVELOPMENT
AND REPAIR International Conference: Bone Morphogenetic Proteins 2000, June 7-11, 2000 - Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe, California, http://www.jbjs.org/abstracts/bmp/AbsBoneconf10.htm

5. Takegami K, Masuda K, et al, Effect of Intradiscal OP-1 Injection on Disc Height and PG Content in the Rabbit, CARTILAGE DEVELOPMENTAND REPAIR International Conference: Bone Morphogenetic Proteins 2000, June 7-11, 2000 - Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe, California, http://www.jbjs.org/abstracts/bmp/AbsBoneconf10.htm

6. Jelic M, Pecina M, et al, Rgeneration of Articular Cartilage Chondral Defects by Osteogenic Protein-1 (Bone Morphogenic Protein-7) in Sheep: One Year Follow-Up, CARTILAGE DEVELOPMENT AND REPAIR International Conference: Bone Morphogenetic Proteins 2000, June 7-11, 2000 - Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe, California, http://www.jbjs.org/abstracts/bmp/AbsBoneconf10.htm

7. Moskowitz RW, Cartilage Growth Factor (TGF-ß) in Osteoarthritis, Hotline, March 1994, http://www.rheumatology.org/research/hotline/cartilagegf.html

8. Crafting Cartilage From Fat Cells, Reuters, Washington, 11:10 a.m. Feb. 27, 2001 PST, http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0%2C1283%2C42052%2C00.html

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Celebrex How Good Is It? 20/08/01

Celebrex is a new NSAID (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug) on the market that is the latest trend in medicine that is being prescribed for treatment of arthritis symptoms. It has less side effects than other anti inflammatory drugs tested to date on the evidence so far. Of course, since this is a recent drug that has not seen long term use yet not much is known about what might happen in the long term but so far the data is promising.

My own personal use of it confirms its effectiveness for reducing pain and remaining active. Of course how effective it will be will depend on many things. The acuteness of the arthtitc joint change, the activities being performed and how they are performed will also have an effect.

Celebrex is manufactured by a pharmaceutical company called Searle and is a registered trademark. It is used to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The recommaned dosage is 200mg per day for osteoarthritis and double that for rheumatiod arthritis. It comes in powder form in capsules and is taken orally with fluid/water. It is best to stick to the recommended dosage as there is a warning about overdosing and some of the effects on a leaflet that comes inside the box. A box of 30 200mg capules costs about $21-$23. It used to be the same price for a box of 60 capusles but recent changes under the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) saw a doubling in price. When I asked my parmicist about this 100% increase he said it came about because it was being over prescribed dosage wise. The changes were meant make the cost the same for a month's supply whether you had osteoarthritis (30 capsules/month) or rheumatoid arthritis (60 capsules/month). So the hint seems to be that you can get it cheaper if your doctor prescribes the dosage for rheumatoid arthritis.

The use of cox-2 inhibitors such as vioxx and celebrex have been linked to increased risk of heart disease and strokes. Here is a report on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/conditions/08/21/arthritis.drugs.ap/index.html . This next link is to what looks to be a report of the case study on which the CNN article is based:
http://rheumatology.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2001/08/08.22/20010821epid001.html . It appears that there is no need to panic and even though there is some increase the risk is still small. Although some question was raised about the interpretation of the results.

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Forster, If By Sea, Not By Half: Half Truths at the Half Ironman - Craig Vernon 22/11/2001

This Forster Half was one to remember for a number of reasons. First, the club turnout was quite high with some fourteen club members competing, which is only four short of the record we set at club champs. Second there were a number of first timers at this race and seeing the smiles on their faces made me forget all my excuses and slight disappointment in my performance, if only momentarily. Thirdly, I don't think I have competed in worse weather conditions, although to be fair it was pleasantly warm under all that rain. Fourthly, one mishap that could have been a major disaster but instead turned into a ringing endorsement, was when I did a little product testing and ran over my X-Treme front wheel with my car on Saturday after riding over the run course. The wheel to my relief was unscratched and remained true in all ways. I knew it would be! How many other wheels could take that?

Sacha and Wayne had good solid first time races and were both pleased with their work. In retrospect, going for a surf the day before might not have been the wisest thing. I should know better after years of surfing what it does to me. I felt a little burnt and energy sapped that evening, and maybe that is why those two beers really made me feel like a zen master. Oh well it was good at the time. The weather Saturday was just too good to let go without jumping into that emerald sea. The colour of the water up around Forster is such a beautiful emerald and turquoise that I am simply mesmerised by it every time. I commented as we crossed the Forster Tuncurry bridge it looks like it had been dyed such was the corona of the hue (there is some technical art talk for you). The colours could have been right out of a blazing Dali or perhaps Magritte, who is probably a more realistic surrealist.

The swim was okay and I think the time was a little slow because I spent some time zigzagging about, what happened to those big cans? Anyway the bike course was nearly wetter than the swim and when the thunder and lightning started I wondered what next, but at no point did I think about this being madness. Madness is only defined by those not participating in it, or don't get it! Anyway I think my wheels were weighed down by the extra water or something as they never seemed to turn quickly enough and that lovely wind that was everywhere was helping dry me out, good intentions, I'm sure, indeed. The run was decent by my own standards but I was glad to end it just before the eventual sunshine turned the roads into a steam bath. I never really saw or noticed anyone on the bike as I felt enveloped in my own little wet world but on the run it seemed much more social and I was able to give time estimates to club mates of the gaps between them. I saw all but Ben on the run, who would have finished just as I was running back into the finishing area. My role as club sweep and lantern rouge continues unthreatened.

My training and preparation since returning from a stint working for big blue in New York seem to have been hampered by a continuum of minor infections and mishaps of one kind or another, including a broken meta carpal that happened swimming of all things (thanks to Paggo - the toughest 60 year old I've ever seen)! None of them serious but enough to never feel on top of things. It might have been only taking 3 to 5% away from me but I need everything I can get! Don't we all? Everyone wants to do their best and as I look at my time which is slower than last year it was only a measly four minutes but my goal of breaking five and half hours will have to wait a little longer. Here's hoping for Canberra.

Sacha's report.
Ben's report.

Results of club mates and people I know:

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MTB and Arthritis 27/07/2001

The question here is what effect does mountain bike riding have on arthritis, if road riding can cause aggravation? The simple and obvious answer is that it can be worse, but it really depends on what type of bike and what type of riding you are doing. Downhill is probably going to ruin your health in so many other ways anyway so does it really matter? Since suspension is the part of the remedy a downhill bike is probably going to give you as much suspension as current technology will allow. If that isn't enough then it is decision time.

The kind of mountain bike riding I do is cross country and the type of bike I ride is a hard tail with front suspension but with the addition of a suspension seat post. This seems to do a good job of insulating me from all the bumps and the aggravated inflammation that they would otherwise cause me. I have to admit though that it is still tougher going than just road riding but I think that may be not so much the riding but the climbing, running and walking that I do too. My skill levels mean that there are still things that I have to walk over.

This does cause some extra aggravation because my MTB shoes need a build up in them. Unlike my road shoes where I have a spacer between the cleat and the shoes to compensate for leg length difference, it is no good with MTB shoes when you have run in them too. For MTB shoes if you have a leg length difference I recommend an orthotic build up if possible. That way when your heels are on the ground the compensatory device is still effective. With a spacer between your cleat the moment you get off the bike and put your heals down it has no effect, except to lift your toes higher than the shoe without the spacer. This of course means that your hips are now lop sided. If you have arthritis in the hip this will cause aggravation.

For anyone with arthritis in any of the leg or arm joints I would not recommend MTB riding on an older style bike without suspension. Without front suspension your arms will get a real rattling. I remember my wrists used to ache after a couple of hours and I don't even have arthritis in them. Rear suspension of some kind is a virtual necessity for arthritis in the hip joints. For knees it will help too but I think a dual suspension bike might be the go. I say this because it will take the stress out of the big hits because you can remain seated rather than stand like you normally would on a hardtail and use your legs, mainly the knees, as the springs. Of course it may not be so bad if you keep your knees bent. Standing with legs straight would allow the shock to travel straight up your leg and would probably impact both joints (ie. knee and hip) so avoid that. Of course whether you need rear suspension or can get away with just a suspension post if you have bad knees will vary. Lets face it, if your knees can't take the stress of the force pedalling places on them, suspension probably isn't going to help. However, if you are okay on a road bike then you should be able to work something out. It is just a matter of trying both and seeing what works.

I use a Trek 9800 carbon fibre MTB with an RST Mozo Pro font fork and a Rock Shox 2000 suspension seat post. This gives me 3.5" of travel and the front and 2" of travel on my seat post. The frame as well probably soaks up a little more than say an aluminium frame. Although I must say that riding an aluminium frame with front and seat suspension, for me, is fine too. I recently bought a Specialized Rock Hopper A1 Comp which is quite light and handles nicely even with a big ding in it! I'm still sorting that out with UPS, follow this link for a the rest of that story!

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Mud, Ticks & Snakes 31/05/2001

Howdy partners,

I rode Stewart Newburgh Airport "buffer zone" on Monday. This place is recommended on a few sites (for reviews see http://www.mtbr.com/trails/NewYork/MTA(StewartAirport).html). This place has old bitumen roads running through it but are slowly degenerating into gravel. The sections of wood and bush in between host some really good single tracks that have been used for racing. There are old arrows spray painted on the bitumen pointing out the race course. The arrows are there when you come back onto the road from one single track loop pointing you to the next. By following the arrows quite few of these trails get looped together, which makes for an interesting and fast ride. There are little gullies with some minor stream crossings and steep little pinches (like about 10' elevation) which would probably be jumps for motocross bikes, although the tree branches might coathanger you. Motorised vehicles aren't allowed in here. But horses and shooters are. Seeing horse manure and empty shells on the ground made me keep my eyes and ears open. I was amazed to find some of each even on some tight single track deep into the woods.

I guess for the locals it's like seventh heaven if you can ride a horse and shoot things too. They sure like to shoot things over here. Lucky it isn't hunting season at the moment, it would be safe otherwise. There are quite a few snow gueese that call this place and the little lagoons home. They are agressive too they hiss at you if you get too close to them and their family. While riding I saw a black side winder snake moving quickly to get out of my way. There are warnings about ticks and Lime's Disease (I think we call it Ross River Fever), so I am going to buy some insect repellant because I found a tick burrowing into my leg the next day. I had to dig it out with a knife. I put some isopropol (rubbing alcohol) and that seem to kill it which bought me some time while I figured out the best method of extraction. The funny thing is I could swear it was half buried but after I dug it out I couldn't find a hole! Just a red blotch, it is all scab today.

The trails are quite fast and windy and tested my skills but stil allowed me to have plenty of fun. I got going early (0800hrs) but by about 1100hrs there were a few little groups of 2 and 3 here and there. I hope to ride this place under dry conditions. It has been raining lately and it is quite muddy which makes the rocky sections quite slippery and dangerous. I managed one fall with a few lacerations but nothing serious. Hopefully all this MTBing will lead to a major MTB skills upgrade, whatever, it's all a lot of fun (and work too >;-).

Regards, Craig

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Rattle Snake Run 23/May/2001

On Sunday I went for a ride up Mount Beacon (see http://www.mtbreview.com/trails/NewYork/MTBeacon.html)and then down again. All told the ride lasted about 3 hours but could have been shorter or longer. There are some pretty neat trails up there but also some deadly ones. I never really found the "one" good trail that unified all the others, but then that is to be expected when you don't really know your way around. On the other hand this is MTBing at its best, just exploring somewhere you've never been before. There is something special about discovering places for the first time and MTBing certainly gives to acces to this.

Like the 1st rule of cycling : there is always a headwind, I think there must be a similar rule in MTB and that is you will always pick the worst trail first. I found some decent sections of trail here but also some impossible stuff too. I should have known when I saw this 20kg (42lb) downhill thing parked at the "deli" at the bottom of the hill. Let me get one thing straight, this place did not look like what I would call a delicatessen, the place is called "Bobs" and it is a sandwich and burger joint. Anyway I'm sure "deli" in local vernacular means Bob's Shop. This is kind of critical to understand because most of the directions in the reviews in the link above use Bob's as a reference point. Another thing to understand is that a quad trail means a trail made by these guys that ride these quad bikes. They are really popular over here and I am amazed at where these things can actually get to. The nice thing is that they carve out some nice tracks for MTBers. They are another thing you have to look out for!

There are a a few things you have to look out for in NY bushland (they'd say woodland) as there is some local fauna. So far I have seen rabbits and deers quite commonly. I've heard the "bear" word mentioned but I don't want to run into one at all, but I don't think there are any around here. I'm waiting to see if they have some equivalent of foxes, which would probably be coyotes but I've not seen or heard of any. I have seen 2 snakes so far. In fact I ran over a black snake on Friday at some speed and I wasn't stopping and avoided coming back that way. Now on the "blue" trail on the way up Mt Beacon I was riding up this section which was going from dirt quad trail and turning into a rocky section that was getting steeper. Eventually my front wheel hit a rock that lost my steering and so I dismounted to walk over this section. As I probably had taken about 3 steps and I heard that unmistakable (thanks to all those westerns) sound of a rattler. I couldn't see it but the sound guided my eyes to the tail and then my eyes traced the rest of the snake. He was reared up and ready to strike, I gently but quickly took about 3 steps backwards and then about 10 more to get right out of range. I was initially about 4 feet away. This rattle snake was about 4 feet long and apparently they have a striking range of about twice their body length. It was a muted caramel brown colour with cream coloured diamonds with a thick charcoal border on their edge. Amazingly effective camoflage, as I watched this snake slither away off the trail into the bush, I glanced away for second and when I glanced back I could not see it anymore.

From this point on I was keeping my eyes really really open! I followed this trail that seemed to marked out by blue paint dots on every few tree trunks or so. Eventually this merged with another trail with yellow dots and then white too. The trails seemed to be converging as I was reaching the peak. When I reached the peak I took some time to check out the view. Unfortunately there was some mist around but I can see how on a clear day you could see all the way down the Hudson River to NY City. The Hudson is pretty wide and long and is one of the most asthetic features of the landscape in this area. As another colleague said about the Hudson, "without it I think the area would be in trouble." Anyway after enjoying the view somewhat I chose a trail to go down and of course I was way out of my league. The slope on this was bullshit and it was full of granite stones the size of grapefuit and larger even though I walked half or more it still only took 20 minutes for the descent. Some stretches were good and I pearled once because I lost the front wheel over loose rocks, only the size of plums - they don't hurt!

The bike I'm happy to say goes well but unfortunately was damaged a little during transport but I am pursuing this with UPS.

Craig 23/05/2001

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Who am I?

My name is Craig Anthony Vernon and I was born in Sydney on 17th October 1958. I have lived in Sydney all my life and after travelling around I'm pretty happy to say it is one of the best places in the world. Other places I've seen and liked are New York and parts of California and Hawaii. I have been to some Asian countries and while I enjoyed the difference, they made me appreciate where I live.

Anyway, I am an age group triathlete. That just means I am nothing special. I have competed at every distance triathlon, well at least up to ironman, I'll leave the triple and deca ironman events to the really crazy people.

I hold degrees in computing science and law and work in the computing field for a very large blue computer company, which from time to time sends me globe trotting. My job involves diagnosing software errors in our operating system software (MVS and all its bits). I read dumps and traces and speak fluent hexadecimal, binary, machine code and assembler. Don't I sound interesting? I find my job intensely interesting at times but I know now not to talk about this stuff when I'm out.

In the earlier years of my life (up until 30) my main sporting pursuit was surfing, that is, boardriding. When I was at school I played rugby but once I left I concentrated on surfing outside of work and study commitments. I grew up and lived mostly in the Sutherland Shire which is in the south of Sydney and includes the surfing beaches of Cronulla and the Royal National Park (RNP) beaches of Garie, Little Garie, North & South Era, and Burning Palms. The beaches are beautiful in this part of the world. My primary interest in them was surf and as I was getting older I was becoming a little frustrated at the lack of consistent quality and moreover the running around and time I would spend trying to find some decent surf. I wanted to stay fit and as I aged and surfing just did not seem to provide the exercise to do this. This of course was my own fault for being too choosy, but really, nobody likes to just go out and paddle around for the exercise when it is small and chopped up by the onshore wind. Anyway, I started to take notice of all these cyclists that I'd see on the road and I even noticed that some of them were guys that I'd regularly seen in the line up but now only surfed rarely. I wondered about the attraction.

In the meantime I started running to supplement my fitness. I found a few more ex-surfers there too. One of the guys I used to surf with on occasions, Tony Unicomb, who had also gone to my school, had taken up triathlon. He was a kneeboarder and like some, a little tubby but it didn't stop him from getting quite good (he held the Queensland kneeboard title one year). He earned the nick name "chun belly" out at Cronulla Point but in time he was starting to get quite fit. He took up triathlon's in order to lose weight and gain the fitness required to get into the Police force. He got into triathlon seriously and then he too left the line up. The next thing I heard he was coming third in some race that was being broadcast on the radio, it might have even been the old Triple M Ironman. By this time I'd joined the running team at work and then one day the captain asked me if I'd like to do a the BRW Corporate Teams Triathlon. This was the excuse I needed to buy a road bike and join those countless others I'd see cycling along the roads. I didn't do anywhere near enough training on the bike but I could swim and run in those days. The course was 500m swim/15k cycle/5k run. The format was a team relay. Each member, of a team of four, would do the whole triathlon, one after the other, passing a wristband to the following team member. Even though the distances were small, it was big day and there was plenty of atmosphere and excitement. I was hooked.

I joined the local tri club, which was Engadine Gym Tri Club. It was a good friendly club and had just formed under the patronage of the local gym owner, Steve Sproule, as Cronulla was too big . Tim Ahern was the first president and Jody and Steve Purcell were doing well. Jody was semi-pro then and we had a host of names join too like Clinton Barter and even my old surfing mate Tony Unicomb but I never saw much of him. Even though the club was small we had a critical mass of regulars. For our Saturday morning runs we had 20 or more show up and a dozen or so for Sunday morning rides. Inevitably things change and people go here or go there, others give up, I became injured and I was out for a complete season and the following season wasn't much better.

The club lost its critical mass of regulars, and its patronage as the gym closed, and by the time I could train seriously again nobody was showing up for the Sunday morning rides. This is when I started riding with the Bushies, which is where some of the regulars had gone. Our Tuesday and Thursday morning rides were always attended by some older Bushies, in fact it was their ride, we just tended to dominate it for a couple of years. Now it is just back to Crocker, Johnno, Pete and Kev, who used to amuse me endlessly how they criticised one another for the most of the ride. Anyway through them I came on one of the Bushies' Canberra Tours and rode with the Bushies regularly on Sundays from then on. I've since done a number of these tours, the most recent being March 2000 last year which was called the "Back to Bright 2000 Tour" which was a six day tour of the area. Even though I rode with the Bushies I never went to their Saturday morning runs as I'd become secretary of Engadine Tri Club and ran with them instead.

Even now, though I've been living in the northern beaches area for about two years, I still ride with the Bushies on Sundays, although I have changed tri clubs. I only moved over this way due to "partner pressure". Although it made perfect sense practically, because I am now closer to work and closer to my children, although I always believed that choosing a place to live went beyond mere practicality. Frenchs Forest is a nice place to live and is conveniently located to beaches, Garrigal National Park which includes quiet roads similar to those in the RNP, work, and the city. I still miss the Shire, in particular the rides to Wollongong and back. Anyone who has done the Gong ride will know why, but all in all I have exactly the same kind of amenities here, it is just north instead of south.

I am currently secretary of St.Ives Tri Club (SITC). St. Ives is a northern suburb of Sydney, just a little inland (10 minutes by car) of the northern beaches area. The club is only small, currently there are 24 members, but it is personal and friendly. As I live in the Warringah Shire and not the Kuringai Shire of which St. Ives is part, I suppose I should belong to Warringah Tri Club but then I noticed the contact for Waringah lives in St. Ives!

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The 2001 Forster Chronicles

SITC members and former members,

here is a complete wrap up of Forster 2001 with 5 reports, 4 coming from the participants themselves. SITC enjoyed a presence and a place at Forster this year not felt before. Even though the number competing was modest, the number of supporters we had was fantastic. I want to join with my fellow competitors in thanking all those supporters who came, for what is also a long and arduous day. The changes to this year's run course, I believe made for a greater number of supporters along the run course. As we all know now, the ironman comes down to the run, as a friend of mine and 13 time Forster finisher said "The swim and the bike are for show, the run's for the dough."

Please enjoy the following reports and if you are in any way inspired think about what you might want to do next year. I'm not suggesting everyone do an ironman but perhaps you could be thinking about taking the next step or even just renewing your SITC vows in the religion of triathlon. SITC this year, has undergone a resurgence as you'll see from the record number (18) in the Club Champs. We are gradually organising ourselves into the club that we want for tomorrow. If you haven't already, come and join us.

Regards, Craig Vernon, Secretary St. Ives Triathlon Club Inc.
==============================================================
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE LEGS by Alan Macedo

After Ironman 2000 being told by Mr G.P.(Doctor) that pounding the pavement was the last thing that somebody with dodgy hips should be doing, and would inevitably lead to titanium implants, I made the (albeit) reluctant decision to delete the run leg from my training regime. After persistent lobbying of Triathlon Aust, Tri N.S.W.,& The World Triathlon Association to remove running altogether from triathlon so that I could still compete I was abruptly told to #@*& off, (why are people so unkind). Anyway from here on in I was destined to be a swimmer and cyclist. After numerous club races trying out different runners for "Team Macedo" namely Cindy Dean, Julie Eather, Amy Havachat, Jamie Murcutt and my own son Ryan, I was fast running out of people to help me out on the first Sunday of each month.

As the Ironman 2001 qualifying races were fast approaching the Saturday morning long rides were well under way and after finishing these and feeling good I made the decision (with the blessing of my sponsor) to have one last crack at Ironman 2001 and ("honest darling, I promise this will be my last). I was confident of being competitive in the swim and bike legs but as far as the run was concerned, well, as the Club Motto goes "Whatever happens - happens". With this much relaxed attitude to running I was able to concentrate on my swimming and cycling and with ten weeks to go until race day I decided to start running training, so with fellow Club members Neil, Cindy & Pete it was a quick 11km after swimming each Tuesday and Thursday with a couple of 20's thrown in for good measure, "Forster here we come".

We settled into our lodgings at Boomerang Beach (with thanks to Club member Sam Garland) on the Thursday before the race with the greatest of ease as it closely resembled the Park Royal Hotel, and after a good night's sleep and an athletes breakfast the next day, we got into a bit of light training with a ride into town, our ever faithful team of supporters started arriving on Friday and for their support we are truly grateful.

Race briefing on Saturday morning, bikes checked in, and a relaxed afternoon led us into a hearty evening meal and then off to bed for a good night's sleep (not tonight dear I've got a big day tomorrow!). We awoke at 4.15am to be greeted by the sound of constant rain (shades of Ironman 1999). Into transition and the rain was now becoming heavier, and it looked like it was going to be a real p#@sser of a day, but the forecasters said "it would clear" and they are never wrong. Bottles filled, food organized, chain oiled, tyres pumped  and wet suit on it's time to wander down to the water's edge, a quick kiss for my kids, and sponsor, and into the water for a nervous one. As this was going to be my last Ironman race I decided that I was not going out of the sport I love wondering "what if", so it's right up the front of my yellow capped wave and if you want to pass me then it's over the top. As the starter's gun sounded everybody around me just seemed to move away as if I had been labelled with an infectious disease and this gave me a trouble free start at least until we reached the first turning buoy, with a little bit of push and shove at this point and around into the straight, the rest of the swim was incident free. Whilst I had hoped to swim 58-59 minutes I was far from disappointed to see 1 hour on the timing clock at the end of the swim 3.8 km, time to smile for photo No1. Pandemonium is a good word to describe transition and it is very easy to get caught up in all the hype and excitement and forget something, this is where experience and a little lady luck helps and fortunately I was onto the bike with a minimum of fuss with the clock showing 1.04.

The rain was still falling although not to heavy it made the roads quite hazardous, the temperature was pleasant enough and everybody was optimistic of a clearing day. Ben passed me at 5 km and this left me wondering was I second or third of the Club members, as we moved further along the Lakes Way, approximately 25 km, I came across Craig, my fellow Club member in the Physically Challenged Category and after exchanging a few pleasantries I roared off into the distance with the power of Lance Armstrong, as truth would have it, it took ages for me to put some distance between myself and Craig (who would go on to have a super race) as I saw him at the Tarbuck Bay turnaround and I was only about 3 minutes ahead. The first lap continued and continued and continued and finally we were on the road back into town, this is where your adrenaline kicks in and the roar of the crowd seems to overshadow your aches and pains, at least for a while anyway. At the turnaround it gives you the opportunity to see where you are compared to your friendly rivals and as luck would have it I was sitting in second place in the S.I.T.C. stakes. My first lap was clocked at 2hrs 30 mins so times this by two and that makes for a five hour bike ride WRONG, Forster is notorious for it's afternoon nor'easter and just because today was Ironman Day, him upstairs made a concerted effort to make sure we struggled on the second lap. 40 knot head winds back into town made a five hour bike ride something I would have to wait another year for and as the bike leg came to a close I was more intent on trying to conserve some energy for the run, anyway a bike ride of 5hrs 26mins was still satisfying (or should I say getting off the bloody thing was satisfying).Smile for photo No 2.

Into pandemonium mode again, and this is the time where all of your marbles have to function properly as the run leg can sit you on your toosh very quickly and spoil all of your earlier work, so, take your time and sit down, wipe yourself down, put silicone on toes, put on socks, put on more silicone socks, put on run shoes, tie run shoes, put on shorts-hat-number belt-pack gels and don't forget the sunnies, pray to Allah, cross yourself and say thank you to the volunteers who are dragging you out kicking and screaming to start the run-walk-run-walk-run leg.

In total contrast to last years race I came out of the tent to start the run feeling really good and, believe it or not, quite looking forward to tackling the next 42.2 km, well at least the first 21.1km. At this point the first person I saw was my darling sponsor, who, if I could lip read was saying something like "I love you my darling have a lovely run" I later found out it was " you look like s!%t you silly old ba#!$rd I didn't come all this way to watch you D.N.F. so keep running" love is so grand. As I was finishing the bike leg and going through the transition process I reflected on my accumulated time and judging by the way I was feeling I thought that maybe, just maybe, with a reasonable run leg, a spot for the Hawaiian Ironman may be on offer, but I knew I would have to run under 4 hours, and there was more chance of Neil Connelly marrying Madonna, than me running under 4 hours, anyway without thinking I said to my sponsor, "go and book two tickets to Hawaii baby", as I strode away to sound of people laughing I thought "that comment could come back to bite me on the bum" we all say silly things in the heat of the moment, (don't we Craig).

As I neared the end of the first lap I was feeling really good, and as I reflect back I think it was more the time that was on my watch that left me feeling in such a state as it read 1hr 51mins at the 21.1 km point with some quick calcs this left me with a 9 minute buffer to be home in 4 hours but being well aware that this race really does begin at the half way in the run leg I was trying not to get too excited (well just a little excited). As there were changes to the run course this year we were able to see other competitors at each turnaround, I saw all the other S.I.T.C. lads and it was encouraging to see them all having a good race. Crossing the Tuncurry Bridge for the last time was something of a challenge in itself, as by now the wind was howling at 40-50 knots, up the hill into transition to be uplifted yet again by the thousands of supporters and then out on to the back doubles of Forster, they say that to race Ironman you first have to overcome the mind game, this is the point in the race where focus plays it's biggest part. At the turnaround at Cape Hawk Drive a volunteer kindly informed me that we had only 6 km left to run so at this point, as was my race plan, it's onto cola and water to up the sugar content and hopefully carry me home in under 4 hours. At the 4 km point the Virgin Mary lowered herself to the ground and ran past  me although not sprinting, it was quicker than my pace, I knew that if I was going under 4 hours I had to lift my pace so as drafting in the run leg is not illegal I got into her slipstream and if you'll pardon the expression "let her break the wind". We both ran the last 4k in record time taking turns to lead, and as luck would have it with 750 metres left to run I passed a guy in my age group who had passed me early in the first lap and if I was going to Hawaii every spot was like Gold. I left my celestial guardian with the finish chute in sight and with only 100 metres left I started looking for my sponsor, family and friends, with a glance at the finish clock I saw 10.hrs 25 mins and I knew that any time under 10hrs 30 mins would give me an excellent chance at a Hawaiian qualifier's spot but no matter what the stakes or reason for one competing in an Ironman event you should never forget about the people who helped you get to the starting line, be it family, friends, training partners or even the volunteers, they have come to support us all, and without their help and patience you may never have made it to the finish line. I managed to find my Darling Sponsor and kids, Cindy, Bianca and Holly and with a glance over my shoulder I could see that the other old guy in my age group was far enough away not to steal my thunder, so, with a quick kiss and hug and over the line to complete Ironman Number Three in the time of 10 hrs 25 mins 30 secs and surprise, surprise still feeling o.k..

After a massage that seemed to go on forever, and a quick feed, it was out into the madding crowd to listen to the dulcet tones of Mr Ironman Mike Riley calling in the athletes. Ben and Noel had already finished but I was able to catch Neil and Craig finish and whilst there were grimaces on their faces during the run leg, these had turned to pearly white smiles as they soaked up the atmosphere of the finish chute. My congratulations go to all the S.I.T.C. lads for a sterling effort Ben and Noel for very credible times in their first Ironman race, Craig for an enormous P.B. and a special mention for Club President Neil for having amassed 18 Ironman Races.

The next day saw an anxious wait to see if I had qualified for Hawaii, as I had finished 8th in my age group, and there were only 5 available spots, I was told to come back later when the roll down was being done. I went back at 2.00 p.m. to see my name marked with "spot available" "and did I take it?"" you bet I did". Whilst I was completing my entry form I experienced the same butterflies in my stomach that we all experience when we fill out that very first triathlon entry form be it Kurnell, Maxim or B.R.W. there is a sense of apprehension or in my case should I say amazement that I could get this old body to run as fast as it did (thanks to Smith-Kline-Beecham). It's been 3 weeks now since Ironman and I am just starting to feel human again, but with every thing booked Airlines accommodation etc I'm still on cloud Nine and with only 197 sleeps to go, it's going to be a long cold lonely winter.

Once again congratulations Ben, Noel, Craig and Neil for a great effort and thanks for the company on those long training sessions, thanks to Nico, Simon, Kym, Sam, Peter and Cindy for your company whilst training be it swimming, running or cycling and to all those who came to Forster to watch and support, a very special thank you, and last but by no means least big hugs and kisses to my Dear Sponsor and Wife Donna for being so supportive and patient for the last seven months. "I promise, just one more Ironman and that's it :-).                           
 
                                                        Thanks Again     Alan             10.25.30
                                                                                                      SWIM    1hr
                                                                                                      BIKE      5.25.10
                                                                                                      RUN       3.54.25
                                                                                                      TOTAL    10.25.30
==============================================================
Kym Pardey's comments:

The morning downpour re-assured me that it was a bloody good decision not to
race Forster 2001. I sat around with Sam, yelling at competitors, drinking
beer, talking to strangers (after drinking the beer), happy that I was not
putting myself through the whole ordeal....then people began to finish. The
crowd going nuts, finishers in tears (I thought we were IRONMEN!!),
expressions of total exhilaration/satisfaction/exhaustion. It came clear
again why we do this stupid sport, it provided all the motivation I needed
to re-kindle the fire.
Well done to all finishers, & special congrats goes to Allan, I look forward
to the training we do as you set yourself for Hawaii and I for IM Asia/Japan
2002.
==============================================================
FORSTER IRONMAN
RACE REPORT from an IRONMAN VIRGIN by Noel Annett
 
Having had a week to reflect on the events of April 8 it is time to sit down and write of my memories of the day. 
 
My aim as stated on my entry form was to complete the course in 11:00 hours, the fact that I hurled myself over the finishing line in 10:59:56 was a testament to the support of the people I knew along the course and the huge vocal crowd.  The feeling of exhilaration as I crossed the line was truly indescribable, like nothing I've ever experienced before in my life.  If you'd asked me half way through the marathon "would you ever do this again?" my answer would have been an emphatic "NO WAY".  At the end however my view started to change.  As the hours passed, the race 'debriefings' occurred and the awards night unfolded thoughts of next year started to fill my head.  I set this as a personal goal, a one off never to be repeated event, now I cant wait to have another bash.
 
The amount of organisation and thought prior to this race is like nothing I've ever experienced before, it's no wonder you need to get there a few days beforehand.  The day before the race went quickly, the race briefing, the 20km spin on the bike, the last minute checking of equipment were all fairly short activities in themselves, but the feeling of being pressed for time never left me.  Eventually it was time for bed and a relatively good nights sleep.  The sound of heavy rain woke me a couple of times, the connection between the race and the rain didn't really occur to me until I awoke at 4.00am.  Having had a few Saturday morning training sessions in the rain I knew just how unpleasant 180km in soggy shoes can be.  As we drove into town ( Vicky and Anton, my support crew, had braved the dark wee hours to join me for the ride to the start line ) sheets of rain washed across the windscreen and all I could think was how unpleasant this was going to be.  As it turned out the rain eased off leaving almost perfect conditions for the start. 
 
I was a little bit late heading towards the swim start and found myself still on the bank of the lake as the hooter sounded.  As it turned out this wasn't such a bad move as I was away from the 1250 pairs of thrashing arms and legs.  The start was very congested, I spent a lot of the first 200m with my head up trying to see where to go.  I rounded the first set of cans quite wide trying to keep free of the chaos.  Towards the end of the first back straight I found myself moving through the pack towards the guiding rope.  I was told many times by the more experienced campaigners to steer clear of the rope because it was the best place to get mauled.  Everyone else must have had the same advice because when I got there I found relative peace and clear water - so here I stayed for the remainder of the swim.  I should point out here that I swim like a brick with no sense of direction - thank goodness for wetsuits and ropes.  My time out of the water was 1:07:30, which for me was quite pleasing, I didn't get kicked, punched or gouged by anyone along the way, better than many wave starts I've experienced.
 
Transition was slow and careful, no point rushing at this stage ( little did I know how the seconds were going to count ).   The help in transition was great, the guy even put my food in my pockets for me while I put on my socks. The first few screams of support were heard as I exited the tent and I was on my way.  Being a slowish swimmer there is usually some traffic to wind through on the bike at the start, this was no exception.  I had dropped my bike computer while in the car in the morning so I had no idea how I was travelling, maybe another good thing.  My first encounter with a member of the St Ives team occurred on the Coomba Park Rd.  Neal was motoring along and I caught him, as I pulled along side I said     " if I've caught you I'm going too hard".  After riding near each other for some time I decided to back off a bit and Neal pulled away.  A short time later I passed him again, only because he had a flat, poor bastard.  Not long after that I passed Craig who was making steady progress - we chatted for a while and lamented Neal's misfortune before I went ahead.  My time for the first lap was about 2 hours 30 min which had me on a 5 hour bike split, way out of my league.  I backed off for the second lap and was around the 3 hour mark this time giving me a fairly comfortable finish before the run.  As I passed the Smiths Lake turn-off for the second time I spotted Vicky and Anton again.  I fact I couldn't really miss them as Vicky was playing the 'Siegfried Horn Call' on her french horn as I passed.  I'm sure I was the only person on the course that day that had that kind of support.  I don't think that in all his heroic deeds  Siegfried ever rode a bicycle.  As the riders thinned out on the road I found myself in no-mans land for the final 20km.  Quite boring really.  The crowd in town got the blood pumping again as I headed into transition. 
 
Relieved to be off the bike and running I felt quite strong at the start of the run, this was of course an illusion created by the atmosphere around the transition.  3 km into the run I decided I needed to visit the toilet ( big mistake ).  As soon as I stopped my body said " oh good, we've stopped - lets not start again - we've had enough now".  I walked for a little through the next aid station, far earlier than I was hoping to, and took some ice to place in my hat.  This helped and I was on my way again - but my body had tasted the joy of walking and I felt compelled to succumb to this new found addiction.  I made a deal with myself, a pact with the devil in my own head.  We can walk through the aid stations and over the hills, but we must run the rest of the time.  This got me through the first half of the run.  Normann Stadler ( the eventual winner ) passed me on his second lap after about 10km.  I ran with him for a while but was unable to keep up even though he wasn't going that quickly himself. 
 
Passing through the transition area for the second half of the 42 km I really hit the wall, I kept running because I didn't want to look bad in front of the crowd, but inside I wanted desperately to stop, which is what I did not long after.  I decided to walk, get some food into the system and give the body a chance to recover some strength. The wind had been building in strength all afternoon and was now blowing at quite a ferocious pace.  The crossing of the bridge between Forster and Tuncurry was very difficult, even when walking.  I walked for about 3 km before I felt steady enough to run again.  This break was the best thing I could've done.  Soon after with about 15km to go I started to feel good again and on a diet of cola I started to wind up to a decent pace.  With 10 km to go I started to run with a guy from Tokyo, we were keeping the same pace and decided to try and go under the 11 hour barrier together.  At the last timing point I asked how far to go, 7km I was told.   I did the math and decided that if I kept a steady pace I could do it.  Mr Tokyo was still with me with about one km to go, I needed to put the foot down and draw on all the energy I had left to get to the line under the target.  On the final hill I pulled away and headed towards the finishing line where I could now see the clock - the seconds were ticking away and the crowd ( spurred on by the commentator ) were determined to get me over the line before 11:00:00.  I had been advised by many experienced campaigners to savour the moment and take my time in the finishing chute, unfortunately I didn't have this luxury.  I sprinted for the line and scraped in just under my target.  The moment wasn't lost, it just didn't quite go as I had planned it.  Mr Tokyo finished 30 seconds behind me, still very happy with his time.
 
After receiving a massage and getting some food into me I headed over to collect my belongings and race finishers shirt.  At this point things went 'pear shaped'.  The official informed me that according to his records I couldn't be given a finishers shirt because I had withdrawn from the race - prior to the race start!  In other words the last 11 hours hadn't happened.  Needless to say I was quick to assure him that I had in fact completed the race, the medal around my neck and my physical state should have been enough to make that clear. After some debate I was given my shirt and bag then it was off to the timekeeping tent to check that I had actually been timed throughout the race.  I later found out that competitor 93 had withdrawn, I was 83 and this is where the mistake may have occurred.  I had a time and a place and everything was O.K., much to my relief.
 
Watching the final competitors cross the line over the next few hours made me start to realise why this is such a special event.  Should I ever have the opportunity to participate in or even watch this race again I will always try to stay to the end, that's where the real heroes are.
 
Noel
==============================================================
Ben's 2001 Forster Ironman Report (by Ben Larsen)

After more than three months of early morning swim squads, long runs and pre-dawn Saturday morning rides, five SITC'ers (Alan, Ben, Craig, Neil and Noel) and two acquaintances (Scott Taylor and David Price) were amongst the
1200+ field that finally made the start line for the 2001 Australian Ironman on April 8.

The St Ives Tri Club base camp was set up in three houses at Blueys Beach and proved a fantastic spot with ample space for our considerable support contingent. I arrived around midnight on Thursday and crashed out almost immediately, knowing the weekend ahead would require a rested mind and body.

After the short ride around the revised run course on Friday morning, we proceeded to race registration where we were issued with cool ID cards and bracelets, along with the small forest of promo pamphlets for races and products in our race packs.

Friday night was the Carbo Party, with both competitors and supporters present to eat and get excited about the upcoming spectacle of the big race. Four time race winner and race record holder Pauli Kiuru of Finland was special guest for the night but failed to ignite the crowd with his Arnie-like responses to most questions. He is now retired from Ironman racing but mentioned that he intends to make a comeback when he is 50. Defending champions Norman Stadler and Lori Bowden were brought up for a quick round of Q & A's. By and large it was a fairly quiet night until the real entertainment came out in the form of a stand-up comedian who would probably go down a treat after 6 or more beers at the local working mans club. Unfortunately, his old jokes and yobbo humour could not stimulate the largely sober audience and half of them simply walked out and left him to die a slow and painful death in the spotlight. Ultimately, some well timed heckling brought an early end to his show and we retired for the evening.

Saturday morning was the race briefing and we learnt all the necessary do's and don'ts about racing Ironman, along with some humorous anecdotes from the "voice of Ironman" Mike Riley. These stories ranged from a drunken Hawaiian falling from a moving vehicle to the driver of a sag-wagon spewing all over the dash and prompting Mike to get back on his bike and finish the race he was in the process of abandoning. The stories were funny in that wacky American way and broke up the serious mood of the "if you do xxxx, you will be disqualified" speeches.

Saturday afternoon was bike and transition bag check-in and last minute visits to the expo for power bars and the like. One thing worth mentioning is the fantastic organisation of the entire event - everything happens on time and all problems can be overcome.

Race day started at 4:15am after precious few hours sleep. After three days of glorious sunshine, the weather had turned foul and rain drizzled from darkened skies. I rushed through my can of creamed rice and three bananas, drunk my meal replacements and got half-way to the start only to realise that my race drinks were still sitting in the fridge at home. Thank goodness for support crew! I taped several GU's to my bike, pumped up my tyres and got my wetsuit on to make my way to the swim start.

The race itself started without incident and I began swimming well before getting kicked and punched as the first swimmers of the second grid began to swim through after 150 metres. This prompted me to swim conservatively, as the effort to swim faster did not seem to justify the gains of doing so. While the starting grid system used at Forster spreads the 1200 odd starters over 80 metres, it is still an incredible number of people going in one direction and unless you are strong and confident in the water, it can be quite daunting. I swam relatively easily for the entire swim and felt fresh coming up to the shore at 1:01:39.

T1 was organised chaos and I took the time to make sure I had everything I needed. I jumped on my bike pumped up and headed out of town at a solid pace passing Craig after 10 km and settled into a good rhythm. Paranoid of the hefty 10 minute sin bins, I made a conscious effort to move quickly through the packs that formed out on the road. Whilst these packs looked bad from behind, most riders were in fact observing the anti-drafting rules. That being said, riders sat on my wheel as I came through on several occasions and three guys were subsequently shown the yellow card off my back wheel - much to my satisfaction! After a short port-a-loo stop on the second lap, I rode with a small group of three to four riders who were observing the rules and did not follow the surge and slow motion of the bigger drafting packs. The wind increased as the day went on and the last 30 km back into town were a real grind.

T2 was a pretty sight and I never thought I would be glad to start a marathon, but for the last half hour on the bike all I wanted to do was get off. I spent a few extra minutes taping my feet and cleaning my arms, legs and face with Isocol - this may seem a little odd but starting the run feeling fresh and clean without the stickiness of sweat, PB and GU more than compensated for the time lost.

Never having run more than 25 km before, the run was always going to be an interesting experience. By now the sun was well and truly shining, so I made sure to drink plenty at every station. I kept my HR below 150 and just tried to hold an economical pace with the horror stories of "hitting the wall" at the back of my mind. K after K fell away and seeing so many familiar faces out on the course cheering me on made it all a little easier. At the end of lap 1 of the run, I knew I had 2:10 remaining to finish the second half of the marathon and make the 10 hour barrier which was a mini-goal of mine coming into the race. While I never "hit the wall", I definitely felt the duracells starting to fade in the second lap. I imagined the little bunny not being able to hit his drum any more and just kept thinking about getting over the hills on the way home without walking. With 3 km to go, I started running with two other "B's" (my age group). We ran along three abreast and some guy started screaming at me to drop them as these guys could be snatching my Kona spot. Coming into the final kilometre, I told the other two guys that I didn't want to go to Hawaii, but I did want to have my moment in the finishing chute alone and therefore would appreciate if they ran ahead. One guy dutifully ran ahead, the other just looked at me as if to say "Do I have to?".

Finishing the race was an absolute trip that I was not fully prepared for. It is really hard to describe the emotions you feel finishing a race like this for the first time. I floated the last 300m and snaked back and forth high-fiving the crowd on both sides and generally soaking it in. Tiffany, my parents, sister and friends were all there at the finish but got lost in the sea of faces.

I finished in 9:40, ran every step of the marathon and never really had a bad moment all day. The post race massage was good but all I really wanted to do was get out and watch some of the others finish their races. I managed to get back to the grandstand in time to see Alan come down the finish chute and danced, screamed and yelled for the next couple of hours until all the SITC and Co crowd were over the finish line.

All in all, it was a really great experience and one I'm sure will be repeated. On reflection, I think I can potentially go sub 9:20 over the same distance in Denmark this August and believe a 9:00ish race is a possibility within two years. On the other hand, maybe I'll do a Pauli Kiuru and try a comeback at age 50.

Ben
Swim 01:01:39
Bike 05:04:54
Run 03:33:54
O'all 09:40:28
==============================================================

Forster Ironman 2001: A Race Oddysey (14/04/2001)

This year five members of St. Ives Triathlon Club (SITC) competed in the Australian Ironman held at Forster and all five finished. In finishing order they were Ben Larsen (9:40:28), Alan Macedo (10:25:30), Noel Annett (10:59:56), Neal Connelly (11:49:53) and Craig Vernon (11:51:05). Everyone had something that was a highlight, Ben and Noel were doing their first and had blinders. Alan achieved a dream and qualified for Hawaii while Neal enhanced his reputation as the "enduro man" and completed his 8th ironman at Forster and his 18th overall. I beat last year's time by nearly forty minutes.

Today it appears that ironman has taken the status of a rite of passage. It seems that it is recognised, by all and sundry, that those who complete the journey, have reached some higher level of achievement, of exactly what I do know, I can quote the distances. But exactly why and what this means I don't know. If I were to guess at what it is, I'd say it was a mixture of bravery, character, determination, brawn and brains too. You might wonder at what brains are required but it becomes apparent when a mistake is made. Mistakes will cost you and they might even stop you from finishing. Mike Riley said it at the carbo party "please think while you're out there". Competing in ironman means exposing a bit of your soul, to the crowd and to each other and that is why it is like joining a family. By making yourself visible in this way you are vulnerable, you can be judged and there is no hiding, you end up with the time you do, you finish or you don't. However you are judged not so much on whether you finish or not, or how fast you go, I believe the important thing is that you have decided to take on the odds and try, to take that leap of faith. That is when character really shines through, in the face of such odds. To me, this is what glory really is, and the crowd at the finish line bring it to realisation, nourish it and feed on it until the last man or woman comes home. For me it is this glorious celebration of spirit that makes ironman what it is.

Perhaps this is what the increasing attraction to ironman is, people seeking glory, people on a quest. From the ancient Greeks, through to the medieval knights of Europe, quests of glory were well known. In modern times it seems that these quests have become commercialised to the point that much of the passion and emotion have disappeared because only the bottom line matters. For certain enterprises this is as it should be but not for all things as our humanity needs to shine through otherwise the world is bleak.

These few words above are intended to encapsulate a little of what the ironman spirit is about. This spirit transcends the race itself but in order to reach this "spirituality" the journey is necessary. What follows below is a summary of my personal journey on the day.

Early Morning

Somewhere in the night it started raining. In the evening we'd seen the weather start to close in and rain had been predicted. It was hard to believe possible after the couple of preceding day's beautiful weather. Somewhere, though, there was a little relief as this might mean the temperature would not go too high on the day.

I had a pretty good night's sleep. For me it is usually the night before the last night that I might get a bit restless. I think it is because the second last night is the night of the carbo party and the speeches and the process gets me worked up a little. This restless sleep turning from side to side is what I call sleeping on the "ironman rotisserie". On the day the plan was to get up at 4AM and be ready to leave at 4:45AM to get there at 5AM. The starter's gun would go off at 6:15AM and that would give sufficient time to pump tyres, play with water bottles and do some nervous last minute checking. Kathryn drove us there and was going drop us at the checkin. The traffic jam however made us decide to walk the last few hundred metres. Just as we arrived, and were walking past the transition area, one loud bang was followed by another. The crowd gave out a low sympathetic moan in unison. I'm sure that would be about the last thing you'd need! For those of you who don't know these loud bangs are someone's tyres blowing out, generally because they have put too much pressure in. More is not always better.

Race Checkin

What a sight! A very sombre mood indeed as the rain dampened and silenced all who were there. About a month ago on one of my seven hour rides it rained the whole time and I wondered then if this was not a sign of things to come. I even said as much at the time to those present and at the same time remembering the cold and wet 1999 ironman at Forster. Even though that year had been held almost a month later than usual, in May, which obviously had some influence, we were under the influence of the la ninya weather pattern, which everyone by now must know means lots of rain. Luckily it was not cold. I had packed some arm warmers just in case and with this rain had every intention of using them. I had been drinking plenty of fluids and needed to relieve myself, which is never a pleasant experience in those portaloos, all that dry reaching just for the sake of a leak, perhaps I should have put my wetsuit on and done it in the water!

The Swim

After being too conservative last year, this year I put down a more realistic estimate of 60 minutes of my swim time, considering that is what I swam last year, to the very second. This placed me in the yellow caps, just behind the white caps, who only had the pros in front of them. It wasn't long after I got into the water and made my way out to a spot I liked, that the starting horn sounded. I was at the front of the yellow caps and in some clear water. It wasn't long before I was in the middle of the white caps. I always start out hard and quickly but my progress through the white caps made me concerned that I might be going a little too hard powered on by the adrenaline rush that everyone feels at the race start. I went through a mental check of how I was feeling and I certainly didn't feel like I was going anaerobic, I was swimming nicely and relaxed but holding good pace. As Judy, my swim coach, had said, concentrate on long strokes, good roll from side to side and pull a stroke rate not so fast that you are thrashing, that is, going too fast and not getting much gain in speed and therefore using energy in efficiently.

This year, the swim was more aggressive than last. Perhaps because I was closer to the front although I don't think so because I managed to swim my way up into the same group last year anyway and it was nowhere near as aggressive. I was kicked in the face three times with a heal and I think one was a deliberate attempt, although that might have been coloured by a conversation I overheard just before entering the water where someone with the wrong attitude was telling a first timer to kick anyone if they were hanging on their heals. Things like this make my blood boil a little. This sort of thing just is not the spirit of ironman in my book. We are all out there for a long day and no-one wants to be taken out in the swim by someone who thinks this is the racing attitude. Let me get one thing clear, drafting on the bike is illegal but in the swim it is perfectly legal, and at a mass start of 1200 people there is no way to avoid it anyway. I also had my goggles ripped off my face once. I saw one guy swimming with no goggles beside me at one stage, obviously he suffered a similar fete. I was most concerned that my timing chip was going to get torn off my ankle but fortunately that never happened.

Out wide wasn't too bad but every time I went to for the inside line along the ropes, which is the shortest distance, I copped a hammering and would find myself boxed in. I eventually sprinted across the top of one soul so I could get into some free water about three metres off the ropes. I eventually found myself swimming on the feet of someone at about the right speed and someone else was on my feet too. The three of us worked well together for the whole of the second lap, sometimes swapping turns at the front. We found "our" water and concentrated on a good pace all the way to the finish. I was very pleased to see the time clock at about 58:46 as I was just beginning to wade and knew I'd easily go under the hour, which I did in 59:05. I can only wonder at how the girls fared in the swim as I noticed a couple along the way.



The Bike

After a good swim, I was feeling confident about having a good bike and for the most part, it was. Ben glided past at about 10km out of town, which confirmed to me that I had probably taken the swim prime for the club! Alan came past me at about the 20km mark and finally Neal somewhere around 25km. Somewhere after the getting back onto The Lakesway after Coomba Park I came across Neal again who was busy changing his front single. A couple of minutes later Noel caught me and we chatted for a bit before he pedalled off ahead into the oncoming wind. The first lap I did in about 2:46 and felt okay but noticed the NE headwind on the way into town. It was not too strong at this stage but the onshore was up. As a surfer I knew that it was more likely to get stronger as the day wore on, and it did. I hoped that it might be of some assistance on the way back out of town but after about 20km along The Lakesway it was a cross wind and wasn't helping anyone in either direction and continued to freshen.



Getting to the Tarbuck Bay turnaround for the second time psychologically is a good feeling as you feel like you are now starting to return, until you have to head out again along Coomba Park Road. I think I was still feeling strong as I managed the short sharp little hill again easily but I started to notice that my left hand STI lever was progressively getting looser. Damn these roads! It got to the point where I had to use both hands to change up into the big chain ring. One hand to push the lever and the other to hold the hood and the rest of the STI assembly in place so it wouldn't just get pushed across to the right as I pushed on the big lever to up shift. Anyway I thought I could remember a Zipp mechanic's van at a couple of the drink stations out here. So I kept riding thinking that I would cope for up to 50km if I needed to by minimising the amount of changing the front derailleur. Luckily I came across a mechanic sooner rather than later. Funny, I don't know why, but I had a short debate with myself about whether I should really stop once I found the mechanic, because stopping woud mean losing time. Anyway, common sense and logic prevailed, it had to, and I stopped and with a quick adjustment and tightening of the loose lever and a check of the other derailleur, I was probably on my way again in under 5 minutes. It was at this point Neal passed me, while I was having the bike attended to. I thought that would be the last I'd see of him. Finally I reached the Coomba Park turnaround and felt relieved as it was all homeward from here, at least as far as the bike leg was concerned. The sun was now out and the temperature was pleasantly warmer but the wind was even stronger which made for a laborious grind along the Lakesway back into town.

The Run

I was very relieved to get off the bike. I was a tad disappointed to see I hadn't gone sub six hours but given the strong winds and the delay due to the mechanical problem it wasn't too bad considering. Well there is always next year. Nevertheless I had still shaved 7 minutes off last year's bike split. I had good transition and got out onto run fairly quickly and feeling like I could run for a while. My plan was to only walk the aid stations, this gave me a mini break and allowed me to get down what I needed. My thanks to the organisers and PB for having PB gels at the aid stations on the run. By making sure that I had water, electrolyte drink and gel at every aid station I never bonked and was able to run the whole marathon, even the hills, albeit at very modest pace.

For the first few kilometres I didn't feel all that well, but I was managing. By about the 8km mark somewhere around One Mile Beach I started to feel good and it was because the couple of gels I'd consumed started to take effect and top up my glycogen supply. I ran up the hill at One Mile Beach and down Kularoo Road past Woolworths and back out onto The Lakesway up to the Cape Hawk turnaround beside the high school. I was slowly beginning to feel quite comfortable on the run.

The amount of people I knew and that knew me out on the run course this year was phenomenal. I had people shouting my name from every corner, it seemed and I recognised quite few. The Bushies were camped just in the park along Pebbly Beach and of course were going to give me a bit of a stir in some way and so they did. I could here Simon, or maybe Shorts scream "I'd recognise that run anywhere, it's Craig!" The Engadine Tri club boys were on the course in the usual spot near the scout hall and gave me a shout as I passed. On top of this there were the "St. Ives Wives" (or widows depending on how you look at it) and family and friends spread about at various locations going off as we all passed. Crowd support this year was absolutely fantastic and in many ways I think the run course changes contributed largely to this. From the last little hill at the Pebbly Beach reserve to the finish chute on Forster main beach is one long straight of about 800 metres, and it fits a lot of people along either side.

On the second lap I caught Neal walking at the Tuncurry Beach turnaround. I thought that this might make for an interesting result. I reasoned that the flat tyre had probably broken Neal's rhythm or had unsettled him until he broke his rhythm. After his flat it seemed to take him quite a while to get moving again as this was on the first lap of the bike and he didn't pass me until well into the second lap, almost a whole lap, perhaps 60 or 70km. This surely contributed to it all. Anyway he said he had stomach problems but confirmed he'd still finish. This was at about the 23km mark. I decided I had better try and make as much ground while I could. However, I wasn't going to have it all my way. By about the 37km mark Neal came running past grinning that he felt better again. I continued to plod along and watch him as the distance between us increased. He passed me on the way back along the Lakesway, halfway between the high school and the Woolworths shopping centre. As I reach Kularoo Road I could see Neal further up the hill walking again, and I was starting gain some ground again. It was like I was lifting my pace by willing him to slow down. By the time I had run down the other side of the hill past One Mile Beach and reached the Golf Club I was within 100m and Neal was walking again but he was turning his head constantly to see if I was coming. I should have ducked behind other competitors, because as soon as he spotted me he started running again and never stopped until the finish and came in 72 seconds ahead of me.

By this stage we had about 3 km to go and if my calculations were right we were going to do maybe 11:45 to 11:55, at any rate I was fairly certain of a sub 12 hour finish. In the last kilometre and a half a short barrel chested guy came past me followed by a woman. I decided to run off their heels and take the draft. We started to talk and I mentioned we were looking at a sub 12 hour finish but I was getting concerned about how long this last kilometre might be and started to lift the pace. I wanted to make absolutely sure that I didn't miss that milestone. I dropped the short guy but the woman seemed to still be in contact but appeared to be fading and the last little hill I ran as hard as I could to the requests of the crowd who were yelling or chanting "finish it off you're an ironman, run the hill". As I crested the hill in full stride (well it seemed like it at the time) the crowd showed their appreciation and started cheering.

A slight left hand turn at the top and I was now in line of sight of the finish. It was 800m down the line. The high fives started here and the calls of "well done" and hooting continued all the way along this straight. Once I entered the finishing chute proper the crowd was being revved up by "the voice of ironman" Mike Riley and erupted. I was in the chute by myself. This time I was going to spend a little time and savour the crowd and the applause. It was a real high. As I approached I raised both my hands to the crowd indicating they should lift their cheering and applause and the noise exploded as they responded to my request. This communication between myself and the crowd was a real thrill and in the midst of this I found my girls and kissed them both and asked where Kathryn was and she was opposite. I ran across and kissed her too. At this point I noticed all the St. Ives supporters were on both sides grinning and shouting and sharing the moment with me. I was aware the other competitors I'd dropped before were now entering the chute and I continued over the line, as much to get the time and let them have their personal moment too.

Across the line I received my finisher's medal and the catchers put the $500 towel (that's what the entry fee is) around me and walked me out the back to prevent any congestion at the finish line. The time was 11:51:05, I had estimated 11:55 on my entry form but I didn't really think I would achieve this let alone go under. They say it all comes down to the run in an ironman and I'd have to agree as a marathon is no small thing and most of the gain I made on last year's time was made on the run. I still want to get the bike down to a 5:40 if possible and as it turns out I have gained a pre qualifying spot for next year's ironman on a roll down, so it looks like I'll get the chance to try improving.

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Fortser 2001 Training Programme (26/03/2001)

This year's training programme is a little different from last year's. Year on year improvements in form have allowed me to cope with a bigger training load. The volume on the whole is about 10-15% more but it is definitely a little more phased. I'll also include the supplements, anti-inflammatories and other theraputic adaptations made because of arthritis.

To start with I am taking Celebrex 200mg twice daily, 2 heaped teaspoons of glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate in the mornings and 2 deer velvet capsules in the night. With this regime I am basically pain free the whole time. Any pain at all is rare, which is a nice change. This has allowed me to run better this time around and recover from the long run much more quickly.

Here is the basic peak volume week which occurs 4 weeks out from race day:
Monday: long run 28km
Tuesday: morning cycle 40km; lunch run 8.5km; evening swim squad 1hr.
Wednesday: morning cycle 40km; lunch run 8.5km; evening cycle track 1hr.
Thursday: morning cycle 40km; lunch 8.5km.
Friday: morning MTB - this is just for fun!
Saturday: morning cycle 200km; deep water pool run off the bike.
Sunday: morning cycle 65km with the bushies through Royal National Park - 1 "big park".

I built up to this slowly over 12 weeks with 4 week macrocycles, where every 4th week was "easy", with 4 weeks to go to the big day the programme changes to put more emphasis on quality work , less volume and more swimming. I am now doing 1.5hr swim squads on Wednesday and Friday mornings, and, on Saturdays we (club mates and I) are doing 4km swims at Manly Dam and then a 100km ride afterwards although that is being shortened as the big day approaches and I enter the taper phase. The main thing is to keep the weight down by not over eating and watching what I eat. During peak volume I was eating the house down.

I have alternated actual runs with deep water running for some of the long runs, particulalry in the early parts of the build up phase. Once I started taking Celebrex I did 4 weeks worth of actual runs and found that arthritic pain was non-existent if not rare. On the bike I made some changes too. I was already using "seat suspension" to reduce road shock, by using my Softride (Solo) as the training workhorse and a suspension post (USE RX) in my race bike (Trek OCLV). So in addition to this, I put cleat spacers under my right bike shoe of about 8mm (to accommodate my right leg being shorter by about 12mm due to surgery - a high femoral osteotomy), I now sit more evenly and balanced on the saddle and my legs seem to work more in unison and feel more like they used to. This addition of the spacer has almost been like a revelation as I feel stronger and spin better when climbing. I also moved my seat height up by about 8mm too, everything felt too short, it all feels good now. I just wish I had done this sooner. I have a heel build up in my running shoes of about 8mm too and have had for years now - ever since I started running again post operation. So that's an inclusive list of adaptations I have had to make to accommodate my arthritis and the leg length discrepancy due to surgery.