Challenge Forster; my first Challenge event… and I’ll take
it and run. A new half distance PB and some definite areas to keep working on
as I know I can do a whole lot better.
I’ll buck the trend of past reports and make this one a
little shorter. Work, kids and training… I just don’t have the time at the
moment!
The swim
It was a relatively tight timeframe from Transition opening
to race start so I was a little rushed form the get go and ended up being one
of the last to leave the area.
Not a worry though as I still had heaps of time to stroll
down to the race start and dial in on what was about to happen. He probably
wont admit it as he does seem quite relaxed… I picture Chris Fuchs as a caged
animal before the race though… very hard to hold down into one spot and if I
blinked… he was gone. Small talk only, no handshake… as (as I said), I blinked…
No real fanfare before the swim. A moment silence for Jackie
Gallagher, then into the water. The Pros took off 20mins before the Age
Groupers… no gun, no horn or whistle… they were just off!
After 20mins the Age Groups went off in 2min intervals…
again though, no bells or whistles… just a bloke yelling out 20 seconds, 10
seconds… GO! Hard to hear with ear plugs in J
New habit by me of starting the watch 15-10secs earlier so I
am ready when the race starts… done… and I take off.
Surprised I held a good sprint for longer than normal, but
also… it probably burnt a few matches and I eventually slowed to my normal pace
before too long and the faster swimmers pressed on.
Race report for swim is straight forward… I swam.
It was an uninterrupted swim and uneventful… my only issue
was that I wasn’t fast enough to hold the fast swimmer’s feet… and I was too
fast for the bucket-listers… so there was little or no opportunity to draft and
I did all the work for my swim on my own whilst having a turkey or two use my
feet for assistance. Waste of time if you ask me!
Anyway, I was happy with my swim. I held good technique (in
my opinion) for 75%-80% of the time with only a few moments where I realised my
stroke was pants. Strong catch, head down, pull from the hips… and feedback
from Monsieur Brett Isaac… don’t wag like a dog. Done. Still slow, but
improving.
T1 – Boy this new Aquaman wetsuit came off like hot butter…
it melted off so easy! Basically a zip up and the arms just slide right out…
legs did likewise as soon as I stopped. Socks on, helmet on… gone. Everything
was already loaded on the bike and ready to go. After IM Melbourne, I was happy
with that.
The Bike
I headed off out of town. No idea what to expect. As we (me
and the missus) made the conscious money saving decision to drive up on the
Saturday and bring the boys with us… there was just no time to do any recon
apart from look at course profile charts to see what sort of inclines and flats
were coming my way. In the end, I just took it as it came and apart from the
climb out of Port Macquarie, I ended up likening the course to be very similar.
A few ups and downs and a road surface that gives you nothing.
I must stop here and give thanks to Peats Ridge for the road
surface practice… still not fun… but used to it form training.
Heading out of town had a slight head wind which made for
fast times. I kept a high’ish cadence and reasonably high Watt count… around
80%. I kept my head and let some people pass me with no issue and I passed
plenty as well… high cadence, decent power… I actually left plenty standing
still. No idea who was in my age group or not though. The only issue I did have
on this first part was my Heart Rate… the damn monitor was reading 0 from the
start. I undid my top and adjusted the strap to get it working… but then I
couldn’t do my top back up… so eventually I stopped for a few valuable seconds
and did my top up. Done… I pressed on. A minute later I noticed the Heart Rate
was 0 again… waste of time and effort… oh well… sh*t happens… move on. Some
numbers eventually started showing… and then before long, they looked realistic
enough to use… so I did.
Coming to the turn point I noticed Tim Lang… then Pete
Mauro… then Chris Fuchs heading back the other way… sh*tballs I thought… they
aren’t actually that far in front of me? Not that I was chasing them as they
started before me and they aren’t in my AG, but I figured they’d all be at
least 10mins in front, maybe more… I think Chris was at about 7mins at the
first turn, with Langy at 10mins. Going well then.
After the turn, there was a coming of inclines and wind. Not
heavy wind… but definitely more than the wind you get from half the Gosford
Velodrome… and the wind you get when you hit the higher parts on Peats Ridge…
but nothing too drastic. It WAS a pain though as it felt like it was
channelling direct down the road with no deviation… so… a headwind to the 2nd
turn it was… and it was annoying.
I lost some patience here… I lost concentration and got out
of the saddle a few times on the inclines and on the straights when it felt
like I wasn’t moving very fast at all. Fail… no doubt I burnt some matches here
and would pay later.
Why? Quite simple really… I was stranded and riding solo
with no one in front of me to chase and people coming from behind really
pushing hard to catch me… so I lost my patience and tried to stay out in front.
I didn’t go crazy though and was more than ok by the time I got to the 2nd
turn @ 50kms.
Heading back away from town again and the wind from behind
made for some more fast riding… back to form. Cadence had dropped a little and
Power dropped a little but I held my own. I did push the pace a little again to
try and make some ground… but I never ventured over 80%-82% Heart Rate… and if
I did hit the mark, then I’d back off and let it drop a few beats.
3rd turn… time to head all the way back to town.
Relentless headwind that was now a fair bit stronger = angry Smithy.
I tried to keep my head but some clowns finally cracked me
and I put some heat on. I still didn’t go over my heart rate limits… but I toed
the line for a very good chunk of the last 15 to 20kms, chasing down any bunny
in front that would let me. One clown… a Team Trihard clown in his yellow kit
was about 250m in front… I was reeling him in slowly until he gave up. He
started looking over his shoulder like a good Sprint rider at the Olympics nd
sat up and waited for me. When I passed him he dropped the hammer to keep up
and sat on my wheel… within millimetres of me. I tapped my brakes a few times,
I wandered side to side to expose him… h*ll, I even dropped the hammer and
sprinted once or twice to shake him… but each time he responded and just sat
there… I seriously could have sworn he was a much seasoned MDSS cyclist just
doing what they do best! For about 8km I towed this weak as p*ss clown back to
town. The Police passed once and he slowed down… only to speed up again once
they’d passed (as if they were going to arrest him for cheating)… and finally
the TO motorbike came from the other direction… I thumbed to them about the
clown behind me… and I never saw him again… actually… I saw him on the run and
he was toast… a mess.
I swore a couple of times, more under my breath… and gave
him some words of “encouragement”, but I doubt he heard anything… more for my
own frustration to blow off steam. I was working very hard in that wind with
zero cover… and it annoyed me.
Hands up… lesson learned. This fella got me. I lost my tempo,
technique and head… I have little idea what numbers I was putting out here but
I am sure they were probably over my limit.
All aside, I finished off the bike in decent shape. My
average numbers in HR and Watts indicated I hadn’t overplayed my hand… but I am
sure I had a few little burners in there that were not needed… overall though,
I don’t think I burnt more energy here that I could have saved on the run, so
its quite possible all things ended up equal.
T2 – Cant really remember it to be honest… just got off
bike, the brakes got could when I was racking it, but by and large I racked,
got shoes on and ran… cap, gels and sunnies in hand.
The run
A special note for bindy patch that was T2… wowzers. I am
not sure there was even grass there despite it being green!
I started off running well. Just over 4min pace as I settled
into km #1, this became 3:30 pace for kilometre 2… yes, yes, that was too fast…
so I slowed it down consciously to 3:55 pace… I did this for a couple of kms
before I came to the conclusion this was not a 4min pace course for me… at this
point in time in my training. Heart rate was climbing and I was feeling the
pinch. Later in the season maybe, but I wasn’t quite ready. It was my first
time doing this course so I had no idea what to expect really… in the end
though… after 1 full lap, I settled on holding my early sub 4 pace advantage
and using that to go sub 90mins for just the second time in all my 10 half iron
distance races. I had a few moments where I slowed on purpose on the incline
but I always made sure I made up for it on the flats and declines. By now, I
knew who I was racing and chasing and I managed to hold off everyone and chase
down all bar one that I could identify as being in my Age Group. I actually
thought I caught the guy who came second… but it ended up being mistaken
identity as his name appeared above mine in the results.
The run hurt and I gave it what I had. I had hoped to finish
off with a few more sub 4 min kms but when I applied the gas… there was just
nothing left in the NOS tanks though. What have I got to complain about
though?… absolutely nothing. Sub 90min run, I even heard one person in the
crowd up ahead say “hey, here comes that fast runner again!”, which was good to
hear…
I raced a fair half distance PB… and my highest pacing at a
race of this size ever. I’m stoked. 2 medals and away we go :)
From the Garmin:
Swim - 28:10:00
Bike - 2:28:38 / 226w
Run - 1:29:46
T1 & T2 are included.
226w is the highest Watt count I have had in a Half distance race or above.
My run split was the fastest split for the 35-39's AG.
Extra notes:
Challenge – Race brief was listed as 1 hour… and it went for
55mins. Take note Ironman… this is how to be considerate to families and stick
to a timeframe.
Take note also Challenge, your race brief could actually be
done in 5mins… 50mins of Pro panel interviews, while interesting, could be done
as an optional extra to the race brief… and you shouldn’t advertise a lucky
door prize to win a race entry to Roth, or a wetsuit if you aren’t going to do
it…
Post race Presentation… in a regional town… with 95% of the
people competing waiting to go home… do we REALLY need to wait for everyone to
finish? Yeah, it’s a 50/50 call and I understand why… however just 1 male pro
waited for it, and 2 females. Probably about 80 people all up… at best. Long
day, we waited… then left as soon as I got my bronze.
Nutrition – XLAB aero bottle on the Forster roads… my bike
and knees were COVERED in UCAN (which looks like milkshake) and electrolytes.
The only time I got a bidon from the aid station was to get a bottle of water
to spray it all over my legs!
Energy-wise was pretty spot on (although maybe a little more
hydration?). I boxed on to the line solidly with no dip in energy… my only
failing was a loss of concentration on the bike where I burnt power needlessly
and needed a moment to recover and I had no final extra gas to get me over the
line at the end.
I do make note, and I think I have said this before…
Powerbar Hydro gels… they come in Orange or Cherry… and both are disgustingly
sickly sweet. I hate the taste while racing BUT, they don’t give me stomach
issues AND they are full of sodium so I have no need for salt tablets. I will
be looking in earnest for a substitute though as they just aren’t nice!
Timing chip! – Time to get me a personal timing chip holder.
My chip just wouldn’t do up properly from the start… the Velcro strap was just
1cm too short and it was flapping about. As a result, by lap 2 on the run I
noticed there was no beep when I when over the time split carpets…
All failings aside, I hereby give absolute full credit to
the Challenge crew for not once insinuating anything about my race… apparently
it came off during the swim as they had no times for me at all apart from
starting the race? They wanted splits so they just took down my Garmin times
and used those. I offered to email anyone who might need them, the maps from my
race… but there was no need. Full trust in the competitor… hmmm… a note for
next time maybe? Hahaha… I jest of course.
So to anyone looking at my splits in Multisport Australia…
the T1 and T2 times are pure fabrication. I would suggest you even swap them
around as T2 was 100% faster than T1… but I guess I just gave them my Garmin
splits and they worked it out on average. Either way… who cares… 3rd.
Onward? – Keep working on all 3 basically.
Swim is coming back after a big drop in form, strength… and
enthusiasm. I’ll keep working on this leg my way for now BUT essentially I know
very well it is the big difference between me being a strong competitor… or a
race winner.
I will be continuing my current bike schedule of 4 rides a
week (2 turbo, 1 Peats Ridge + 1 more) and of course, I need to keep building
my run into an Ironman weapon...
I can easily identify a few areas on yesterday that I can
improve on… so that’s the goal… one step at a time.
Short report… who am I kidding.
Next stop, Going family camping for the Callala
Beach Classic in December (2/60/15)… then rest.
