Ironman Malaysia - 26th of Febuary 2006

I felt good leading up to race day but new I was a little under trained as I’m more concerned about Hawaii and being ready in October. When I heard that Jason Shortis was racing I new it would be a tough day.

The race got off at the usual delayed start time of 7.30am and a group of us got away included myself, Chris Lieto, Boyd Cronick, Pete Jacobs and Glen Gore. I tried to brake it up a bit but there were just too many good swimmers and we all exited together so I raced through transition and tried to get a quick break.

Only Pete and Chris could go with the pace I set then at around 20k Chris made his move and it was a decisive one. I managed to stay with him for 5k but the gap grew and I had Pete sitting with me. For the rest of the flat ride Chris powered away and gained on me but we all gained on the others. Coming into T2 Chris had a lead of 12mins on me and I was 3mins up on Pete with Shortis another 9mins back. I felt good and was running time straight off Chris so had hope of winning the race.

Then the race really changed. Jason was storming and my feet started to blister under the toes from the oppressive heat, it was unbelievable. I managed to get within 2mins of Chris when Jason flew by me, and I knew he was on for the run. I started to struggle with Cramps and Blisters and was walking the aid stations with Chris walking the same ones. I could see him at one stage but the cramps would stop me in my tracks forcing me to walk, and the gap would open up again.

The last lap of 4k on the run was super painful Jason looked great but Chris and me were suffering I tried one last charge but could close the gap so was glad to see the finish line. I walked the whole 500m of it as I was super happy that it was over. I got 2 IV’s and also lost a grand total of 6 toenails; a new record for me. I look forward to the rest of the year, as I know that I can suffer and hope this will pay off in KONA!!

Race Results: