I AM AN IRONMAN !!!

Wow! Yippee! Wahoo!

Yes - I did it! Believe it or not, I got through the swim (yay!!) and of course, through to the finish.

To say that I was overjoyed that I got through the swim, is an understatement - as my supporters will vouch for. And, as amazing as it might be, it was probably the most enjoyable part of the day. How is that for a complete turnaround ????? Perhaps miracles can happen.

If you haven't seen me finish - click on the following link:
http://ironman.com//events/ironman/newzealand/?show=tracker&y=2008&race=/events/ironman/newzealand/&bib=1005

So - how did the day go?

I got up at 4.30am to get breakfast, which I took back to bed to eat. However, when I started to take the first mouthful, I started to feel very sick, and just couldn't eat my breakfast at all. The butterflies had started big time. So, not wanting to lose my breakfast as soon as I ate it, I flagged it and took endless drops of Rescue Remedy instead!

Then it was time to get ready, dressed and ensure I had everything I needed to take with me to the start. Kate (my step daughter) and I left our apartment at 5.30am and walked to T-1 to get body-marked, get the bike ready, then head to the swim start.

The lake was lovely and flat, calm - thank god! However the weather forecast for the day was NOT good ... But for the swim, it was ok.

While sitting by ourselves having a quiet moment, Tony O'Hagan and Liz Goer came past, and said to come with them to the swim start - so being a good student, followed obediently.

There was time to sit and try to chill - more Rescue Remedy. I was trying to not listen to the Maori challenge and the atmosphere around me and just concentrating on trying to stay as calm as possible (not an easy task, I can ensure you).

So, wetsuit on and the time to head into the water arrived .... it's now or never.

The cannon went for the start and everyone took off. I started near the back, and reasonably close to shore. For the first 10 minutes my heart rate shot up and I stopped a few times doing breaststroke to try and settle it down. A kayak came up beside me to check I was ok, and I said I was. Then, I somehow got into a calm frame of mind and started swimming, and didn't stop swimming.

I just kept focussing on each orange buoy ahead to get to, and when I saw the big yellow one at the end of the first leg, I knew that I could do it. I was so excited inside, but had to stay calm, as still had more than 1/2 of the swim to do.

Just past 1/2 way, my friend Pete Weaver, who was the Race Official on the water, came up alongside me to see how I was going. I told him to tell everyone I was OK and going well - he was texting some of my supporters with my progress (it helps to have an eye on the water!!) - so they knew how I was going.

Then, the final yellow buoy was in sight which was just before the end - wow - I was feeling sooooo excited. After scrambling over the rocks at the end, I was in cloud 9 when I ran through the exit. Most of my supporters were there - tears in their eyes - so happy and excited that I had done the swim. I hugged and kissed them all - I didn't care how long transition took - I wanted to savour this moment, as the swim has been my hardest thing to overcome (if you have read my earlier blogs) so wanted to celebrate it then with my friends. This moment is one of my happiest moments in my life.

So, off to transition, where another friend was waiting for me in T-1 and helped me change into bike clothes. Thanks Toni for the personal service.

The bike .... I don't want to dwell on this, as I was not happy for the entire bike ride. My stomach felt like vomitting for the whole time, so my time was slower and at times I didn't think I would make it, as I felt so ill.

The weather was also a nightmare. Heading out to Reporoa was a strong, gusty NE wind - so was a perfect head wind - YUCK! At least it was a tail wind back to Taupo. It rained the whole time, going between heavy rain, to light rain. The cloud also came down so low, that it almost looked like fog - so not great for the helicopters that were flying around trying to televise the leaders. At least it wasn't cold with it being NE - just windy and wet.

Somehow, I got to T-2, and took 23 minutes after talking to the medical team etc... about my ill stomach. I could have tossed it all in, and nearly did. But - got underway to see if the stomach would settle down. Thanks again to Toni (my personal transition assistant!)

Out to the run - the first 21kms my stomach didn't improve at all, and most of the time I had to power walk as the jogging motion was impossible for my stomach to handle. My legs felt great and strong though. It was very disheartening watching everyone running back into town with 2 armbands on, which meant they were heading for the finish, when I had most of the run to do .... not a great feeling at all.

At the 22km mark, the Medical Director, Lucy, was waiting with my friend Toni (from T-1 + T-2) with an injection to help with my nausea - it was great! Thanks guys!

Lucy said it would take 15 minutes to take affect, but it took about 1, and I started running - as I said, my legs felt good. Now my stomach was better (not perfect, but better was pretty fantastic) I could run again. Yay! So with feeling better and with a tail wind out to 5 mile bay, I took advantage of this to try and gain back some of the lost time.

Coming back for the last time into town, the wind had picked up to almost gale force (or it felt like it) with rain on and off. I did a combination of power walking and jogging - but knew that I was going to make it, so was very happy all of the way.

To say that I hadn't dreamed of how it would feel running down the finish shute, would be a lie. I had.

Now it was coming true. The bright flood lights and the huge crowd was just incredible. Most of my support team were there, high 5ing me as I went past. What a feeling. What an incredible experience. I never thought that I was going to achieve it, and here it was .... Raewyn Corser, you are an Ironman. Wow!

Now, I have to make a special mention to the fantastic support team I had on the course - who popped up endlessly around the course all day during the bike and run. Thank you doesn't seem to say enough - but thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

(in no particular order - as you are all so special)
- my sisters Penny and Judy
- my brother-in-law Roger (who videoed me the whole day)
- step daughter Kate
- Emily, Bronwyn, Natasha, Wendy, Fenella, Barney, Jason, Sharlene
- Jules, Judy, Rob, Pete
- Vern Colman
- Mark + Cam
- Tony O'Hagan - super coach
- and of course Steve Guy from Alpe d-Huez !!

Thanks also to my other supporters who couldn't make it to Taupo - thank you for your many text messages, phonecalls, etc.... I really appreciate all your encouragement, support and wishes you sent me.

A big congratulations to Kathy, Emma, Graeme and Kieran who are all Ironmen as well. Graeme - special congratulations for qualifying for Kona. We will all be following your training over the forthcoming months as you prepare for that. Well done!

Now for a bit of rest, but I am starting to feel lost with not having to train. I have been asked by quite a few people if I am doing it again next year ... The answer is I don't know - ask me mid year ...

Thank you again to everyone for your support of getting me through this journey to NZ Ironman 2008. It has been an incredible experience, and one I am glad I took.