IMWA Diary – Day 7

My post Ironman sleep has become highly predictable - it's practically non-existant.  After nearly 4 hours sleep I was wide awake at 3:30am.  The only plan for the morning was to head to the race site to claim my Kona qualification slot.  Nightmares of my credit card being declined were unfounded as the machine showed 'APPROVED'.

After lunch my homestay family took me on a road trip to sight-see some of the surrounding area, namely Margaret River, famous for its wineries.  Along the way we drove past countless vinyards, stopped at beaches, visited a chocolate factory and tasted the delights of a local bakery (blueberry muffin was my choice).  We also saw first hand the damage that the recent bush fire around the region had caused.

This evening was the Awards Dinner, which again was extremely well organised.  We had a great table and I sat with second and fourth place finishers in my age-group, Andrew Tyack and Ryan Waddington.  The age-group presentations soon began and the top-5 in each category headed up on stage to collect our prized trophy.  It's always great to see some of the amazing performances throughout the different age-groups, especially amongst some of the older categories.  After the prize giving for the professionals we were shown a closing higlights video from the race, which included me coming down the finishing chute!  Showing the highlights viedo is always a great way to officially end the race experience.  I left before the party began, as I have an early coach journey back to Perth tomorrow, before flying to Singapore in the evening.  I'll say goodbye to Busselton, but I'll remember this trip with fondest memories.