2 Poles, 7 Summits, 13 Ironman's and 196 Countries

Ironman Taiwan 🇹🇼 Waking up at 4:00am we were fed dressed and downstairs and on the bus in 30mins. It was the pro bus we caught and there was a French guy living in Perth who had a bit to share about drafting from the Canadian two seats down that he blames for costing him his prize money. He told of the tough life of pros, having to pay there own way and race for the prize money. US$8k for a win. Checked in and it was down to the beach, a quick swim and soon the pros were of, then the woman, followed by us. A rolling start into the ocean, it was beautiful clear water, over the waves and out into the ocean. The current was not too strong, it seemed to push at across the 600 meter top of the T swim and was against coming in. Two laps and all went well. Onto the bike and I was moving well at 31km/h, eating well every 10mins, then my stomach started churning and consuming food became harder. The water bottles were only half full from the drink stops and the lids fell off. I be...

Ironman Port Macquarie, Australia 🇦🇺   Woke up at 4:30 stretched, ate, visit to the boys room and it was soon 5:00, Graham was waiting outside with another friend and we were off. Still dark we walked to transition where I did the last of the packing, in with the nutrition. The tires were still inflated which made me happy, the money spent on redoing them seems to of been well spent. To the swim start where a long queue for the toilets was well worth the wait. The rolling swim start began at 6:38. In the second wave I skipped over to the first, walked down to the ramp and was off. The water was warmer than I expected, though could not see much as sand was churned up from the swimmers. Out between the boats I was conscious of keeping with the group, drafting and staying on course. Success was mixed but it was not too bad.   Turning at what I dreamed of being the half way point was a dog leg into the next stage, shortly after it was a walk over a bridge, into a...

Ironman New Zealand 🇳🇿   Early to rise with dad dropping me off in the car, it was a little cold so I used my wetsuit for warmth. One of the few people to do so….had me concerned it was not a wetsuit swim. One of the advantages of going to the briefing would have been to find that out…oh well. Thankfully my bike tyres were still inflated, which I was very happy about, so the checkin was brief and I was back out where dad and I walked to the swim start and then dad left to pick up mum. Two canoes of Maori warriors paddled in from the dark and performed the Haka on the shore of Lake Taupo where the race would begin. It was a special site and shows the great journey and places Ironman has taken me. Following this I entered the water, it was cold, clearly I am used to the tropics. Swimming out to the start, the water was clear and once there it was treading water for about 5 minutes, shivering, before the mass swim start. While a great spectacle, the start is annoying as I r...