16.04.07
MY IRONMAN
Danielle Broughton shares her story with broughton.id.au.
1253rd Place
(1531 Starters 278 Females)
105:22 Swim (663rd)
7:02:05 Bike
5:43:07 Run
13:50:35 finishing time
Where to start and where to stop before I bore you???
Can I start with thank yous, because without the following people there would be no race report and they deserve a special mention. Appearing in Alphabetical order…
AB: Public Relations Officer & Media Man. I am still receiving comments to how much everyone loved the website and felt like they did the race themselves. Yes, AB & I do get along as much as it comes across in the website. AB, who I am sure wanted to be the first in the family to do Ironman, happily allowed me to have it and I think he worked harder and with more success than any other public relations manager to even the pro’s.
Azza Farlow: The hottest Bike Mechanic going around. After 6 months of “My bike is dirty, I got another flat, why would I – I am a female, can you change my tires, can you put my new cleats on, can you put my new peddles on, can you put my aero bars on, I have a bag full of tubes that need patching, do you have ice cream, I am yet to receive anything but the best of help. I think no one is more appreciative than my old bike mechanic ‘Dad’! As for Azza, I know it was hard to sit back and watch, as I stole all the Triathlon lime light, but thank you heaps and not just for make sure I had the cleanest bike in transition.
Bank of Broughton: Official Sponsors and first class supporters. Never has a Bank offered so many interest free loans. The Bank Manager was a regular on many of my training rides and has been since he sponsored my first road bike in October 2003. He still smacks me up on the bike, and if he could still run, he’d be hard to beat. Thank you for all the rides, trips to Bright and being my NRMA.
The Bank Manageress – is always willing to travel to any race, as long as she’s packed her sewing. She’s an expert at carbo dinners and was influential in my most recent loan, as she convinced the Bank Manager that even she was embarrassed for me having to ride a ‘Learsport’.
Coach: This is where the goal starts, develops, maintains and delivers. If Coach had not have said ‘Let’s do it’ to my ironman dreams last year – well I simply wouldn’t have done it. There is no need for a second opinion when your training under Ben. Ben wrote the training plan that got me to the race injury free and in the best possible shape. It’s amazing to be part of a large club but feel like you have your own personal coach. Thank you Ben.
Craig: who claims to be the 5th Broughton sibling, and Roger’s favourite is another one who came on board the ironman campaign from day 1 and said “I’ll do what ever it takes to get you to Port” and that he did. He was always up to training rides & runs no matter the distance or how early they started as long as there was time for coffee and raisin toast. He kept me focused with inspirational quotes like ‘No one likes a fatty’ and allowed me to ‘Rate Myself’ on numerous occasions.
Team Danni #226: to all the members who came up to the race – a huge thanks. It was a huge high every time I spotted you on the course. I hope I didn’t disappoint. You’ll always be remember when I retell the story in many many years.
Also to the unofficial supporters in Port who offered unbelievable amounts of advice, support and encouragement from day 1 – even if it was just to make sure I did Ironman before AB.
The Running Ladies – every Tuesday and Thursday morning for over 12 months now I knew that at 6:30am at Lennox Gardens there would be another smiling face ready to run. The –5’c rule did not apply here. I hope you’ll all be there for many, many more early morning runs.
The Race
The swim is everything you can imagine but never experience till your 1 of 1600. I estimated my swim time of 1hr20 so I had been seeded at the back of the swim start with some 1200 competitors in front of me. The plan was to swim and keep swimming, no resting and no breaststroke and avoid a kick to the face for 3.8kms. The National Anthem was sung and the cannon went – this was it.
There was plenty of people swimming over your legs even straight over the top once you unintentionally got yourself caught on the buoy rope, arm slaps and people dunking your head. I kept thinking – oh I should be saying sorry. Then I was thinking I am a confident swimmer and found it overwhelming, imagine all of the not so confident swimmers. To exit the swim in 1:05:22 was amazing – It was far better than imagined.
Transition 1: This is one event where you are looked after from start to finish. Entering the change tent I was assisted out of my wetsuit. Someone actual pulls it off you!!, and then my cycling gear was handed to me and they even put my helmet on – this was great. Out of the tent and into transition. There were bikes everywhere. In my own mind I had smashed up the swim.
The bike: 3 x 60km laps of undulating hills and about a 10km long straight / flat section. The first lap out I was continually being passed, but I didn’t care the more that passed the more it meant I’d passed in the swim – I was still on a high from that. It’s amazing what goes through your head when you’ve got 180kms to ride. “Yeah, I smacked you up in the swim”. I was still riding the highs at the end of lap 1. I couldn’t go past Team Danni without mentioning how good my swim was.
Lap 2 the wind had increased and made for a head wind out and tail wind back still with all the hills of course. 100kms into the bike I picked up my feed bag consisting of 1 vegemite sandwich and 1 hot cross bun. The hot cross bun was gold “Yeah, I am eating a hot cross bun are you?” another crazy thought. Coming back in from Lap 2 I could hear the helicopter over head getting closer and closer, which meant the lead rider was approaching. I was looking over my shoulder waiting to be lapped at any minute.
By lap number 3 any climb was felt and any wind was hard. It became evident that I had been passed by many many slower swimmers. In true Natascha Badmann (Swiss 5 time Hawaiian Ironman Champ) style I kept smiling and thanked every aid station and marshal on my way back to town. I was hanging to get off the bike.
Transition 2: I jumped off the bike after 7:02:05 (nearly a whole working day) and gave my bike to someone else to rack and it was into the change tent for the final time. Once again I was undress and dressed, socks put on for me. Do you need Vaseline, do you need sunscreen? It was fantastic!
The run: The plan for the run change throughout the kms. Firstly it was to run to each aid station, drink, eat and then run to the next (2kms apart) for at least the first lap of 21.1kms. Once completing this I told myself I had to run until the 12 hour mark. It was great to be off the bike and able to talk to people. Running along side someone whether they were on there first or second lap and just talking about anything and everything was a real treat.
The 11 hour mark (or 5:30pm or 25kms) into the Marathon was when the body basically signalled it thought it had done enough. I am not sure why, but I knew it was time to walk. I think it was basically saying “Danni, you have never run more than 25kms in one go – and today is not the day to beat it!” I was not suffering cramps or pain, I was hydrated and fuelled, but I stopped to use a porta loo and then suffered a few blackouts and took one step forward and a few to the left.
Visions of waking up in a medic tent without a finishers medal having let myself and everyone else down was not what I came for. The next 2kms of walking felt like I was forcing myself to walk in a straight line – this did improve over the next 15kms but I remained walking. I did pick up the speed and I am convinced I was the fastest walker on the course – to the point of giving myself a stitch.
Once walking I was just concerned the others would be worried about my whereabouts and it also meant they would have to support for longer as I was walking the course. I just needed to reach one supporter I knew to tell them I am walking, but I am fine and still coming. Reaching the Team Danni supporters I was relieved. Mum & Dad went back out in the dark to just before the final turn around point to cheer. This was worth a million dollars to me at that point.
The finishing chute: it is such a blur of emotions, light and noise. Dad had told me I had to run the chute. Coming around the final corner, I was greeted my Sonya, Kat, Karl and Dean Chiron. ,AB was also there telling me everyone is on the right at the far end of the chute. I remember thinking ‘run’ and ‘I am going to be an ironman’. The emotions only hit as I stopped at the end of the chute and tears came flooding out. The man who assisted me to the competitor tent, kept asking me if I was ok – I was more than ok! Then it was a massage, obtain my finishers shirt, some food and the other reason I came to Port Macquarie – COLD ROCK ice creamery.
Ironman – I know where every single $ of my enter fee went. Every one of the 2000 volunteers was amazing. They cheered every competitor all day. Every aid station was fully stocked with fruit, powerbars, biscuits, vegemite on bread, jelly beans, gatorade, water, coke and they never ran out.
The commentator they put on the top of the really steep Matthew Flinders Drive on the bike course keep the crowd fired up all day “Competitor 226 – look at this girl go – cheer her on Port Mac” as you climbed bum out of saddle throwing your weight around to get you up. This was the 5 star of triathlon. From the time I woke up, to Azza putting my wetsuit on me (not a good look for people watching), to AB riding my bike from transition to the car and Dad eating half my ice cream I couldn’t eat, I had been looked after every minute of the day.
It’s an amazing event, race, day and I am so happy I was able to experience it from inside the finishers chute.
I came to get my medal and finish. Which I have now done. The next time/times I return to ironman will be back supporting where I am best. 
Thanks to all the others for card, even chocolates, texts, emails and words of encouragement. No amount of training can prepare you for your 1st ironman– it does help though.
Danni Broughton #226