Sparke Helmore Olympic Distance - Its been a long time coming!

A long time coming for 2 reasons... a) It has been a long season so far... training training training training training... and training for Ironman Australia which is on May 5th. I've been training all the way up until NOW. My first race outside a small handful of local club sprint races at the start of the season last year. Believe me, when training for Ironman, minimal racing is tough as all there is in between is miles and miles and miles of ground being covered in preparation for the big day.

b) It was my first official big race win!! Well, I have only won 1 club race as well... so even then it is only my 2nd EVER win.
To say I was surprised was an understatement as I did make some rookie errors again... as I did last year in the same race. Surprised good though... surprised great... I won my Age Group fair and square, and by a good few minutes too :)

Here's a quick race report. Bare with it... I actually wrote 2 reports. An immediate post race report based on how I felt it went... and then further thoughts the next day. Hopefully it makes sense!

Run 1 - 2.8km (the swim had been cancelled due to poor conditions during the week. the Water was full of debris... logs, sticks etc...)

POST RACE - Done in an absolute canter. Not sure on time as Garmin includes transition and start of bike but I was cruising easily @ sub 3:20 pace. 5th overall.

UPDATE – reflection on this run has given me great confidence. I seriously did this without breaking a sweat… and to think the first 2 kms were sub 3:17’s on the Garmin is great food for thought.

I held the pace easily. Others bolted out of the blocks straight into the headwind where as I stayed about 15 back, hid from the wind and checked out the pace before unloading after the first turn and had the wind in my back. Not poor tactics from the others, just mine worked better… I had already gone and done my warm up on the exact same stretch of road as the race start so I kinda knew what to expect. I didn’t hide from the wind on purpose, but my plan was not to bolt and it worked.

Bike - 40km of pure ugly.

POST RACE - I did NOT learn my lesson of last years HED3 wheel selection and got blown from pillar to post. Overtaken by plenty but still managed to drop a few that I started with. I asked one mate who I dropped later on what had happened… 185km of Saturday Ironman training was the answer. That’ll do it I guess. I still rode 155-160 on Saturday though so wasn’t exactly fresh myself and this ride hurt.

what else did I drop? I also dropped my one and only water bottle without realising... BANG... the whole bike done with zero hydration.

Slower than a 30km/h average I think.

UPDATE – I can’t reiterate enough that I just didn’t learn from last year apart from the fact I actually took up spare training wheels to put on if I thought it was too windy.

Fail. I got out of the car on a sheltered side of town where the breeze was only very light and thought it was fine. Fail 2 was that I walked around to registration and felt that the wind was a little more brisk than I first thought… no problem I thought, its still nothing like it was last year.

Fail 3 was using brand new bottle holders… nice little lightweight carbon ones… trouble is; they couldn’t handle the bumps of the course. I reached back on lap 2 of the bike to grab my drink only to find it gone…

Fail 4 – That was my only bottle of fluid I had available for the entire race. I didn’t even leave one in transition… gees my transitions were pretty fast though!

All in all, when I was shielded form the wind I rode well… when the wind was at my back, I was punching well over 50km/h.

6 laps though, 3 tough climbs into the breeze each lap, with a 4^th for good measure that was wind assisted… makes 24 short sharp climbs within 40km… this was not a fun ride people. On a couple of occasions I had to swerve at least a metre when hit from the side with wind and thought I was going to come off.

I also dropped my tool kit that was in a small canister in the other bottle holder… I stopped to get that though.

All in all, this was a roadies course 100%. If I race again, I will not even bother taking the race wheels no matter how good the weather is, as the lure of the good looking TT bike with Zipps was too strong to resist!

  

Run 2 - 10km of bloody awful wind.

POST RACE - A 4 laps 2.5km circuit. Transition was a good one. A quick second to locate the black Avanti... as I have been used to locating my now dearly departed blue Cervelo. Bike found, it was s uper quick transition. I headed out of the poorly signed compound, around a few grassy corners and it was straight onto the Breakwall heading out to the lighthouse. Down the break wall was fast, damn fast. Wind bellowing at your back, at least 22km/h fast... the way back up it was NOT. The wind so fierce the sand was whipping my face, legs and arms and I had to turn my head just to shield away. Still, I just concentrated on small steps / fast cadence. Kept telling myself it’s only wind and that can't stop me from running.

I THINK I did sub 4min pace which was tough going. Garmin reads 39min and that included a small walk at aid station 1 just so I could put 2 cups of water down after my dry bike leg AND it included the time spent in T2. Had I had a bottle on the bike and it not included T2, that was easily a 37-38min run.

UPDATE – 10km of not nice. I did manage sub 4min pace after all. 39mins does include bike to run transition apparently, so it was quite quick.

Description above is pretty apt… I just kept reminding myself its only 10km. I found so many people were just packing up stumps and slowing to a trudge when faced with the wind and sand… sure, its not comfortable and if it was a training day I would simply go and run somewhere else rather than run in that cr*p… but please… its only wind and sand people! Wind and sand don’t curtail ones ability to run…

Conclusion - very glad I now have a race under my belt. Disappointed not to have a full Triathlon but with the water as it was, it was the only call they could make.

I can't wait around for the preso as they are taking ages but I will be VERY surprised if I'm not top 3 in my age group.

UPDATE – Chuffed. I won my Age Group!! J

I’m pretty sore in the quads and glutes today, so today is 100% rest day apart from a slow walk around the park at lunch.

Obviously I looked online later and saw that I had won… surprised for sure as I knew I wasn’t in the top 10 for the overall honours. I knew I would have to be top 3 though… its just a shame no one gives you a tap on the shoulder to let you know. Had they done that, I would have absolutely stayed and claimed my glory in front of the masses. Turns out the preso was at about 1pm though… 4+ hours after my race.

It was quite funny seeing Tim Lang come second overall… well not funny he came second... but he must have been 1 run lap in front of me as he was running past when I exited transition (gees that fella can ride!)… I actually thought he was battling big time because I came out and just went past him and ran away from him. If only I could ride! I beat him in the first run, but he beat me out of transition by only a metre or so… and BOOM, he was gone... in an absolute instant! No wonder others are riding well on that coaches program!

Onward we march, TEAM BSR hasbeen represented and represented with a win!

The Zoca Gear kit was super comfortable the whole way around the course and I cant wait to get it out and do some training in it before the big day on May 5th... Next Stop, Ironman Australia!

pics here - http://www.marathon-photos.com/scripts/event.py?new_search=1&event=Sports%2FJRAU%2F2013%2FSparke%20Helmore%20Triathlon&match=1888

Team BSR

Put simply... I applied
http://www.chris-mcdonald.net/team-bsr

and BOOM! I got in!
http://www.chris-mcdonald.net/2013-team-bsr-announced
http://bigsexyracing.blogspot.com.au/

Absolutely a great opportunity for me to be part of what appears to be a great team for this season!
A great concept by Chris "Big Sexy" McDonald which is being backed by some of the biggest brand names in the business... all of which are doing their best to give us some great support :)

I have to say I appreciate the opportunity. It gives me another goal to strive for other than to be the best that I can be and to represent my family with pride... I now also dont want to let this group down with a lacklustre effort, or with slack training. Being part of the team is going to keep me honest in every little last detail that I put into my training and racing.

If there is anyone out there actually reading this page, please look at links to the right. All of them deserve recognition and a round of applause for giving the Age Groupers a go!

Update - Harry Philip!! Team Big Sexy Racing!!

Well well well, I must say, a lot has happened since I last added to this blog...
In chronological order...
1. I got select to be part of a racing team for 2013. Chris McDonald's inspired Big Sexy Racing!
2. I got a new job. Same parent company, promotion... same pay... for now.
3. My second child came along :) Welcome to the world Harry Philip Smith!
4. Of course Xmas and New Years has been and gone,
5. I've signed up to do my 2nd Sparke Helmore OD race in Newcastle, NSW,
6...and last but not least I am now heavy in training for my second crack at Ironman Australia.

To touch on some of the above... this time in importance:
Harry Philip Smith! Welcome to the world champ. What a blessing it is to have 2 little boys growing up side by side only 21months apart. Wee Eli is not so wee anymore and is just about to turn 2, while Harry has just hit 2 months.
Happy, healthy, little Harry came out a little smaller than Eli and 2 weeks early... which meant he came out smack bang on MY Birthday! Really, who can ask for a better birthday present than that... would have been nice for him to come some time in the afternoon rather than in the dark hours of the morning, but I'm not complaining at all... I have 2 boys!
All the thanks in the world to my wife Amanda who did a brilliant job and gave me the best present of all.

Thats number 1 out of the way... everything else comes equal second.
I do have a new job... its closer to home for me. Well, geographically its the same, but traffic and travel wise, it is a lot closer. I now leave for work 30mins later and I get home an hour earlier some days. More training time in the morning and more family time at night :)

Big Sexy Racing - I will touch on this on a separate post. In short, I submitted an application to be part of an Elite Amateur Team for 2013... Big Sexy Racing... and I got in, alongside my good friend, Matt Porta.

Ironman Australia beckons. Hard in training already... its been interesting trying to get my training and sleep, and family time, and work all fitted into one day, but I am managing, albeit I am on the little tired side of things at the end of my first full training block. Thanks be that this week is a rest week and I can recover a little with some lighter loads and longer sleeps... back to it next week. Already though... leaner, fitter, faster than this time last year. My swim is taking some time to get back to Ironman 2012 levels, but we will get there.

Before Ironman though, I have my only planned race (so far) on March 10. The Sparke Helmore Olympic Distance Triathlon in Newcastle, NSW. I did this very same race last year in order to break up the long training hours and give me some race practice, and it worked out well with me coming a surprising 2nd in my Age Group. So, I am having another crack. Different tactics this year, we'll see how it goes... no pressure to perform though, as I said; practice for the big one.

Club races so far are my only planned races before Ironman. I've done 3 so far and finished top 4 in all 3. I was placed 2nd on the Club ladder but missed the last race of the series and have dropped back to 4th. Onwards to February's race... it would be nice to get some silverware from CCTri for the garage.

Anyhoo, thats all to report. A more detailed report on BSR and its sponsors (all now listed on the blog) coming ASAP.

IRONMAN AUSTRALIA 2012

Well... in the euphoria of having completed my first Ironman race, I completely lost all motivation to keep the blog up and running... well not really motivation to keep it up... just more motivation to get on with other things. I just never got around to it as the race was over and I had moved on to other focuses. Immediately after Ironman, Amanda and I took our long awaited Honeymoon to Vanuatu... it had been a month in coming after getting married on April 13th; nearly a month earlier... and since we got back, I have ripped into the second half of the local Football season and been training hard to adapt to that sport, while also keeping up a base for the next Tri season... and of course, we have our wonderful little prince, 17 month old Eli keeping us very busy :)

Anyhoo... I digress. Ironman.

Early on in the peace, we decided Thursday was the best day to head up there. 1 day to drive and settle in and go for a ride, Friday to relax and go check in, Saturday to do a pre-race set and get everything organised... then race day. Plenty of time!

The drive up done, we found our modest accommodation exactly as described... modest. Unpacked, quick sit down, then it was off for a ride to stretch the legs out and meet up with a couple of lads for a 20 - 30k ride including one run through of the fabled, and feared Matthew Flinders hill... to be honest, I dont get the fuss. Sure is a sharp stinger of a hill with some sort of crazy gradient... but its only about 50-70m long and is over in under a minute... in Ironman, we ride it twice for good measure to keep those who trained and those who have Ironman on their bucket list honest.
Ride over, it's back to the unit to collect the family and have lunch. Its been so long now I really cont recall if we had lunch at home or in town, however probably to save money it would have been bread, fruit, lollies and Pepsi... then into town for a short trip to check out IM head quarters and the expo briefly.
Done and dusted, the expo wasn't really anything special and the merchandise on offer wasn't that great either... the 2xu gear was expensive as always and there wasn't much on sale at the other stalls as well. I didn't need much, so money saved for us.
Following this little recon mission was a trip out to a strawberry picking place with the Isaac family... worth the bucket price entry fee just to see wee Eli fascinated with all the strawberry plants and to try anything put in front of his mouth :)

Thursday done.

Friday was parents arrival day and check in day.
My parent arrived around lunch time at the same complex we were staying at and found their modest accommodation to be the same as ours... modest :)
Nothing planned for this day so I really cant remember doing much apart from eating like a pig, knocking down an ice cream and checking in, before we had dinner with my parents at the local all-you-can-eat bowling club. Spag Bol, on Spag Bol, on Spag Bol... with a side of fries for me... how imaginative. That's me to a tea though :)

Saturday.
Pre race set fist thing in the morning with Zim. Met a couple of the boys for a swim first up, then a ride with a few lads as well... then a short run with Zim and Roo Mildren for good measure. Nothing long or strenuous... just enough to get the blood pumping and some of that food consumed during carbo-load week moving right along...
Done.
Go home and play with the bike time now... time to set up gear bags, special needs bags, and my race day bag... dot all my T's, cross all my I's and make sure I have absolutely everything covered so race morning and race day is 100% drama free.
All good intentions... there's a saying about that somewhere...
My first obstacle was the rear XLAB wing. Of course you leave it to race eve to decide you are going to add an X-Nut so you can carry Co2 and canisters on the back of your bike... of course you have never trained with this... and of course it isn't very easy to get on... and of course it doesn't really fit that well and you don't have much in the way of tools to fix it.
We plough on. I manage to jam a few washers in there to tighten it up but its still loose... so I wedge the spare tube bag on top of it finally and bingo... solid as a rock... well solid as a rock while sitting stationary in our modest accommodation anyway. Lets not think about how it will go on the road for now :)
Bike fixed, next step is to check it in.
This is a whole family trip... Amnda, Eli and I head down with mum and dad in tow, coming along to see what all the fuss is about. We get down there, park moderately close and in I go. I pass Zim on the way in... surprise surprise, he is having troubles with this bike again... actually, it is a surprise as this is his brand new bike. I offer encouragement before heading in with my own bike.
Largely a straight forward affair, I find my spot, then continue walking through the Transition compound and hand my Bike and Run transition bags in.... then its out for some family shots under the Swim exit archway.

A crucial error just occured at this point...

Anyhoo, its home time now after some light strolling.
At home, I set about quickly just going over my stuff and getting it all layed out for the morning. Tri suit ready... check, compression... check, race numbers are in my Transition bag with race belt, special needs packed... check check check... we are good to go... OH HANG ON. Where's my race timing chip?
Was I supposed to have one? I do in every other race... do I get it in the morning with 1700 other punters all trying to get ready... err... no. I confirm with Zim that I have had an epic fail and I contact race Admin. Get there early I am told and we will have some spares at the main front desk.
Queue worrying about it all night and dreaming of missing out on a spare chip... missing the start, sleeping in... in short; crappy sleep.
Next morning, very dusty, I head to the race start 15mins before gates open. I'm one of the first there. I get in, state my case, and get told a lady will be there shortly with a spare one... tick tick young man, how could you forget? Simple I said... there was no signs and nobody told me. Well, there wasnt!

45mins later, I'm in. I'm running to set up.

The Swim
After the quickest race prep ever I am off to the swim start. I've lost all the people I know and I'm dodging and weving through competitor traffic trying to catch up to anyone.
I briefly catch Zim, but all is lost in the entry to the water and I start the race solo.
the Swim start was actually a bit of a shambles with the tide the way it was... hundreds started well in front of the start line, leaving rookies like me scrambling back at the starting buoys... I'm a fair way behind already right from the get go!
The swim, although pretty uneventful did provide me with some lessons learnt for next year. a) if people are going to start way in front of the starting buoys... then I am too. Some may say it is cheating, but my stars there were plenty of people in front of me that really shouldnt have been. Overtaking in this scenario isnt the easiest thing and I got pushed and buffeted all over the place just trying to get through the pack. b) get away from the inside ropes!!! While it may be the shortest route around the course, it was also quite uncomfortable to be getting shoved onto the ropes constantly and the rope burn accross the top of my foot wasnt that awesome despite what you may think...
Apart from that, uneventful. I swam, I got out. I didnt swim quite as fast as I wanted, but it wasnt too bad either... only a couple of minutes down on predictions.

Transition was a bit of a nightmare. No seats, all volunteers taken up elsewhere and no sunscreen person... so I was pretty much left to my own devices to get in and out quick as I could... which wasnt all that quick in the end.

Onto the Bike.
I actually had a really good ride but my pre race prediction standards :) There were a few club mates out in front of me they proved good targets to chase, and some behind that I was trying to stay ahead of. I didnt ride above myself as I was concious of going too hard and bonking later on, so I just kept a steady working pace. Along the way I passed the Cobra who was fixing a flat, then I got passed by Fresh Legs Greg Sewell, who I then re-passed as he went into the penalty box, and I went past the Maddog Steve MacKellar himself... all mates of mine from the club. Roo was behind in hot pursuit as well as some others I am sure.
5:20 for the ride... I had predicted maybe a 5:40-45 ride, but the weather was perfect I thought and I made the most of any tailwind that came my way and stayed solid when heading into it.

The Run...
My strength,
My saviour,
My crowning glory...
The icing on the cake if you will...

My failure.
I felt AWESOME when I started the run and I headed out at what I think was about 4:25min per km pace? I thought this would be fine as most runs I do off the bike start off quite fast before I slow down to the tempo I am supposed to be running at eventually... in this race, that would be about 4:45 - 4:59 pace.

Fail... I got excited didnt I, and I kept that pace up for as long as I could... and I was happy to be doing so as I passed many people I know from the Club, including the superfish and bike Animal, Zim.
I pressed on even though I could feel myself tiring.
I pressed on even though I could feel my back tightening.
I pressed on as I could see some, that I had passed earlier, coming up from behind...
I passed on the offer of my special needs bag after the 2nd lap (about 20km in) which contained panadol thinking I could keep this pace up for at least the 3rd lap before I would finally take the pills... how wrong I was.

By about 23km my back was killing me and I had started to walk in patches.... slowly.
I went for the nutrition and salt tablets... Fail again. Nutrition was fine, but the salt tablets has desintegrated in my pockets... leaving nothing but a plastic gel-like substance and some clumps of dirty salt.
Next time... put them in a sweat proof container!!!
Anyhoo, trudging along I was met by Club member, Tim "Skinny wiggle" Fryirs who proceeded to slow down from his current pace and to encourage me to press on as best I could. Wiggle was a saviour. What an inspiring fellow he is in pumping me up but also having fun going round the course hollaring at the crowd and encouraging many many others... Wiggle finally got me to Special Needs... and Panadol! Along the way, Zim had also caught up and we were running as three.

Eventually I got my legs back and my back subsided and I found I was able to run properly again... too late for that awesome time, but just enough time to round up some stragglers and finish the race in good spirits and looking good for the crowd at the finish line.
Cheeky Amanda had moved a few times during the race and I struggled at first to find her in the finish chute, but I finally found her, gave a hug and kiss and went for the line... crossing the exact same time as Zim... poor Wiggle still had 2 laps to go!!

Hindsight is a beautiful thing isnt it. While I did feel awesome in the run at first, ALL my training told me I wasnt going to be running a Marathon @ 4:25min pace... so why did I set out that way??? I have no answer other than that I was excited!!
Plans are already in place for next year and training is already focussed on fixing this anomaly up... my run is my strength... and while I am hammering the bike for more time, the goal is to be the strong runner I know I can be. 3hr 50mins is not good enough... I didnt run that slow in any of my training runs, so I shouldnt be doing it in this race.
I expect nothing less than a sub 3:30 next year, but I will be hoping for even more savings. Training is going well.

All in all, I have the bug. This was a fantastic day, despite the hurt, and I want more of it! Best parts of the day (in no particular order) were:
Skinny Wiggle's generosity in helping me on the run... what a bloke!
Finishing with an identical time to Zim after so much training together.
Sharing the moment with my family... we shared acramped little motel room, but I wouldnt have it any other way... well, we will next year :)
My bike ride was fantastic.
I learnt frommy run.
I have knowledge of my potential...


(pictures to come)

A break from the Ironman training... Sparke Helmore Olympic Distance, Newcastle, NSW, March 18th

This is a race that was in the planning since about the turn of the year when I was mapping out the Ironman program and dates surrounding the wedding in April. Ideally I should be doing longer races to get up the distance, but travel and money can take a toll... and so can all the long hours in the saddle or hitting the pavement. So the Sparke Helmore Olympic Distance race was seen as ideal. Only an hours drive from home and relatively cheap made it the perfect outlet to get some match practice, or race experience in.

In addition to this, with one eye on the ITU selection criteria for NZ 2012, I thought a good result at a reasonably popular OD race might help my cause. I cant actually do any of the official races this season due to 70.3 conflict, the World Champs in Vegas and getting married the same weekend as the Sydney leg, but it would be nice to still be in with a shot as to be honest, ever since my good result in Nepean earlier in the the season I have felt there may actually be some damage I can do in OD races yet. Do the Sparke, get a good result, then send a letter off to Tri Australia for consideration... not sure I can even afford to go in the long run, but it's nice to know you can do it.

Anyhoo... I digress.

The week leading up to the race... as has been the case a few times now... I fell victim to a virus. I went running on the Saturday (weekend before the race weekend) and had my best training run yet. 36km in 2hrs 43mins was 2 mins faster than the week before and this time I did not stop the watch for anything... no stopping to drink, go to the toilet, traffic lights, people in my way... nothing... so in reality, it was probably about 5 or 6 mins faster than the previous week. I got home and all was well... I felt a little tired and weary but I felt ok. as the day went on though, I started feeling sore and quite tired. Next morning I got up as normal for the Sunday ride and cruised out with my good friend Zim over towards Ourimbah for some efforts of fun.

Something wasnt right though... I was struggling to keep up just while heading out..

Long story short, I peeled off from Zim (as planned) as he joined Brett the Animal 1.0 Stewart for extra efforts and went to meet Allen (Angry Little Man) Pearson before joining back up with Zim and Animal 1.0. Anyhoo, after a struggle of a ride through some hills, I finally stopped where I was to meet ALM and it hit me. The plan was to ride back to Ourimbah to join in with some efforts, but I just didnt get there. I was struggling to keep up with ALM on his Road bike, when normally it would be no problem and I was cold... damn COLD! Shivering all over and feeling quite weak... so passing near my house, I decided the right thing to do would be to ignore manly toughness and bravado and go home to bed.

Good decision... I went home and crashed... then had Monday off work. I would have had Tuesday off too, but I was ok enough to move, and having a day off at home with a 1 year old, isnt really resting anyway, so I may as well not waste my sickies and get to work!

Good taper! I didnt train that week until Thursday now... until I was sure I was as close to 100% as possible. I ditched swimming for the week and just touched up my legs a bit with some runs and rides. By Saturday arvo... I actually felt really good, and ready to tackle this race :)

The morning of, I got up nice and early in order to wake up properly for the drive and to have some breaky. I'll save time and put my kit on before driving as well I thought... too easy.

Rego opened at 5am, Transition closes at 6:55 for a 7:30am start... I aimed for 5:45 arrival.

Bang on time, I parked the car and walked about 1km to rego.

Did I mention it was cold and windy... with a little rain? Well it was.

I get to rego and check in... the wind is picking up. Fantastic I thought... I've got my race wheels. Should be ok, but I'd rather not.

Rain stops, although there's plenty of dark clouds around, but the wind keeps going and it remains cold.

Over to transition, I set up camp pretty much where I want... the area looks confusing so I go the neutral zone and go bang in the middle. Too easy. A few copy my lead and make it a little cramped, but its all good. I've set myself up next to a bright yellow bike, so assuming I exit the water first, I'll have no problem seeing my bike!

I'm done and its only 6:05am or something like that... NEVER have I been ready early... and NEVER will I be this early again! What to do... its dark, windy and cold! I walk over to the local surf club, as this race is right on the foreshore in Newcastle, I find a little nook in the building and sit down and play games on the phone and put some tunes on :)

ok, now here's where it gets funny... I guess I must have been thrown way out of whack from being early, or maybe I was in some sort of payback mode toward the gods of being early, but I ended up sitting there oblivious to the race raucus going on around me until about a minute or 2 before race brief! I still had to strip down, get my wetty out, vasso and sunscreen up and put my bag in the gear tent!!! I get up and run back over to rego which was about 500m... stopping half way to get the wetty on half way. I look at the clouds and decide sunscreen can pass and I forget the vasso. I nearly throw my gear in the tent until I realise I still have to get my goggles out... and my race issued swim cap... not my training cap :)

I throw the bag in and bolt back to the race brief in transition.

All good, if it hasnt started, I'm not late... its a mantra I live by and I'll stick to it... why stand there in the cold for no reason? My way was much more exciting and I utilised all my minutes as effectively and efficiently as possible!

Race brief done, its down to the race start... a 1.2km walk away.

I dont know anyone at the race, so its a contemplative walk... hammer the swim and bike and give what I have left on the run. dont be stupid though... I've been sick, and this is only an Olympic distance race. It's not the big picture.

Arrive at the race start and we all get filed into the water... the men first, then the women to follow... just two big waves. Not how it was advertised, with wave starts, but thats what they decided to do based on the weather and the strong current in the water. I get in, and I dont feel it.. the current that is. I just mill around, do a few laxadazicle waves of my arm in an attempt of some pathetic warm up... its either the warm up of someone who thinks he's the sh*t and doesnt need to warm up... or that of someone who is being terribly blase about the whole affair... for those that know me, it was definitely the latter today as I never think I'm all that and a bag or patato chip when it comes to Triathlon. I'm not small fry, nor am I large... I'm medium fry out there having a crack :)

The gun goes... without much warning I might add and I miss the jump... dammit... I missed the fast swimmers feet!!... worse still, some of the slower people get the jump on me too and I have to really battle to get through some of them... all flailing arms and bodies rolling all over the place... it would have been easier to just duck dive and go underneath if it were physically possible. Tactic I decided to eventually take was strong arm... get stuck in and bump and hit a few people... and MAKE the roll in another direction so I can pass through!

I dont know what happened, but soon as I passed a few people, the seas seemed to part and I was in open water :) It sucked a little as I had missed all the fast feet I thought, and I was out swimming on my own with people visible on either side... which was just as well... as I couldnt site the buoys at all due to their being a little chop in the surface and wind about. I just aimed at a land mass in the distance and it seemed to be the right way to go.

I pretty much hit the buoy straight on... pot luck! :) I turned tight and headed to shore... having a little race with a couple of people along the way as we battled for bragging rights of positioning of exiting the water... in all likelyhood it was the battle for 40th or 41st I reckon! Not being a great swimmer, I usually lose these battles... and so it came to pass, I relented.. as I nearly always do.

Not to worry, there was a run into transition to negotiate yet and I ran past a few people up to the bikes.... and the timing mat :D keep swimming boys... I'll get you on the run!

16:26 was my swim time for 1.5km... crazy fast! I guess there was a current after all! Not sure where that had me, but there was plenty of bikes still around, so not that bad.

Out on the bike I went and it became apparent almost immediately that this was not the course for my wheels :( Sure they were great in the dead spots and with wind ant front or behind... but this course follows the coastline for the majority of the trek and constant side winds were buffeting me everywhere on a tight and winding course. The were spots I really had to hit the breaks and hang on otherwise I'm sure I would have blown off if I had stayed aero!

And so it came to pass... I passed everyone in the no wind zones and on the climbs (which there were a few)... and I got slammed on all the fast downhills as they were conveniently in the wind areas!!! PainInTheArse.com

Bike time was easily maybe 3 or 4 mins slower than it should have been and I even averaged under 30km/h for the trip which is just unheard of these days.

Lesson learnt.

In actual fact, my bike time probably wasnt that slow, but there was no separate transition times, so part of the swim to bike, and the ridiculous bike rack to bike ride run was terrible.

As I finished my ride leg, I dismounted the stead and headed for transition and just as I was about to enter I was pointed to go to the left of the compound... actually, everyone was. Shambles... you had to do nearly a full lap of the compound running with your bike before you could enter... why? I dont know... perhaps it was just to confuse people to make you think that all spots in transition were fair? I seriously dont know... would be keen to post a map up so I can work it out!

Anyhoo, bike racked, socks on, as I was keen to avoid blisters (purely so I didnt disrupt my ironman training) and as I saw Crowie do in Vegas (thanks Amanda for the great shots of the great fellow leaving T2).. I grabbed my hat and sunnies and put them on while running. Not a bad changeover and I ran well... 3:41 for the first km, 3:37 for the second...and from then on I easily just sauntered along between 3:42 and 3:57 at the tougher windy end... all the time though, I ran every km under the 4min mark. Forget the official run time of just a tick over 40mins as this included some transition running again, I know I ran about a 37:30 - 38min run. It was a good solid hit out without busting everything I had. It was solid though, dont get me wrong, and I felt it by the end.

The run was good, the only hiccup being when I entered the finish shute I grabbed my belt to bring my number to the front and I actually snapped it right off... so I stopped, went back and got it and carried it over the line, holding my number in front... looking slightly stupid, but regardless, happy with my run.

Conveniently the bag tent was right next to the finish, I got my things and after sitting and eating a few pieces of fruit I headed off to get changed and get my bike and go... I didnt give my result a second thought as truth be told I thought I had blown the race on the bike and wasnt too enthused to hang around too long. I ambled through the expo, pined over a P4 being sold by some Pro on the cheap and got on my way.

2 days passed before the results were posted.

1.5km swim - 16:26

40km bike - 1:24:00

10km run - 40:38

Total time - 2:21:04

Cant say I was too enthused at the official times... but they were a victim of the transition running and the wind on the bike and I knew that.

What I didnt know... and had no idea of... was that this time was the 13th overall across the finish line, and I was 2nd in my usually tougher 30-34 age group :)

Quietly chuffed to say the least and the race was now deemed a successful hitout!

I'll leave this report here as I really do have to get back to training for Ironman, but suffice to say 2nd is a great result. It's given me a boost to the confidence and while I still wont be swanning around in the water before the swim thinking I'm all that... maybe I'll have just a little bit more confidence than usual?

http://www.marathon-photos.com/scripts/event.py?event=Sports%2FJRAU%2F2012%2FSparke+Helmore+Triathlon&new_search=1&match=474

oh, I also have a 2nd place medal that is going straight to the pool room... should I ever get a pool room...

Falls Creek Long Course Australian Championships - Feb 11, 2012

Straight off the bat I’ll be honest here and admit… I still look at the time I do for all of my races and ignore the conditions, the course, the location etc… I still look at the time and wonder how I could have gone faster.
 
In all honesty again… all over the park is the answer.
 
There is a possibility I was semi beaten on this course even a week before going. I had to work night shifts to make the trip doable, accommodation plans were late, the weather forecast looked bleak eg. Rain… and it also looked as though it was going to be bloody cold at 8 or 9 degrees, getting down to 3 at night. It looked on iphone (as opposed to paper) by all intents and purposes to be a tough gig and planning for the race had uncertainty about it. What do I wear on the bike? Do I need a neoprene cap for the swim, am I going to soaking wet and freezing on the run? All thoughts you don’t really need leading into a big race on your calendar, it should just be a case of pack the same old gear and away we go.
 
Anyhoo, the drive down was uneventful, apart from a “how far is the next servo?” question that popped up and even had me knocking on a rural resident’s door to get my answer... the result of which was a 25km drive back to Wodonga as the next one coming wasn’t for 50km in our destination of Mt Beauty… which we wouldn’t have made it to as I had already been driving with the fuel light lit up for a good 15km already…
Unfortunately, as I had worked night shifts and Amanda had picked me up from work for this drive, she ended up doing quite a lot of hard work. I had a go, but by and large, Amanda got us down there.
Arriving safely, we took up our accommodation and settled in.
 
Next day was a recon mission up to Falls Creek and a look around town of Mt Beauty. Nice day to begin with, I got in one lap of the bike course (26km) and did a 5km jog before getting some groceries. It rained HEAVILY in the afternoon before I then headed back up to Falls on my own to attend registration and race briefing. Wisely (as it was raining up in Falls), Amanda stayed behind and got Eli ready for bed xx
 
Done and dusted, dinner cooked and eaten I was bang on course for a nice early night. The race had been moved forward 1.5 hours due to expected bad weather in the afternoon. I had been surprised that day that the weather, while reading 9 degrees, didn’t feel like 9 degrees… it felt a little warmer than that. I’m told it was because we were at altitude and hence, closer to the sun… but really, in the context of the sun distance from the earth, how much difference can 1000m really make? Regardless, although I had wished I’d worn gloves on my bike ride, it wasn’t terrible.
 
Next morning, up and at ‘em!
Ready to go already, quick trip to the communal camp site facilities, in the car and off after a very brief breaky.
Arrive in the dark… race starts in 30mins apparently… and we still have to get all my gear out of the car and walk 1.3km with tri gear, Eli in pram + Amanda’s provisions for the day. I walk ahead…fast.
No gents, we weren’t late… it was just a VERY small window for transition to be open as they’d moved the race to an earlier start time… just because they did that though, it didn’t mean they could shut the roads in and out of Falls Creek any earlier…
Anyhoo, get to the gate for transition… “g’day mate, would you mind putting your helmet on for us please?”
“ahh fck”… *insert mini panic… “ok, I’m just gonna leave my stuff here and run back and get my helmet…”
“Gees, you better hurry mate… they are running a bit late this morning, but you don’t have long!”
*insert me not listening and getting ready to take off down the road.
“why don’t you ride you bike back… oh wait, you don’t have your helmet…”
*insert me making a bolt for it… 2.6km sprint warm up should be fun.
 
Warm up done, gear picked up, getting ready in transition… quickly… and hoping not to miss anything.
I had decided to go Endurance Junkie Tri shorts and wetty only for the swim, after which I would towel down and put the EJ Tri top on AND an  EJ Tri suit over the top. I thought this would do and be quicker and more comfortable than putting on a jacket (as so many others were). I hung them up nicely for an easy getaway. Towel down, towel over runners done as well. Nutrition put in Tri shorts pockets already for convenience, wetsuit half on.
Big T3 time. Run down to Amanda with overflowing Tri bag… she looks at me… I look at the messy bag… I look at her bag… and Eli in pram… and blankets hanging off pram… then promptly run the 100m or so back up the hill to transition to leave my bag with the gear lady.
Back down to finally get my T3 out of the way… bewdy, now we’re down to race weight J
 
Wetsuit on, jog down to water and straight in. Quickly ask one fella where we are aiming for and within 15 seconds, then gun goes off… mid pack I am… right in the middle of the washing machine. Bollocks. I know I stand by the saying, you’re not late if the train hasn't left… or you’re not late if training hasn’t started… technically, I wasn’t late here either…. But I was… I hate the washing machine part of the swim pack and much prefer to be on the front line. I don’t care that I swim like a r*tard at the best of times… let people overtake me and I jump on their feet if I can instead of me having to swim over the top of those worse than me and being left behind.
Apart from the debacle of a start, the swim was pretty uneventful… there was a slight odour of sewage in the air… or more like the smell of someone who had cr*pped themselves and were swimming close by… but apart from that, it was water and it was not salty. Hence, I was slow and heavy… as per Vegas, only this time I had a wetsuit. There’s something about these freshwater swims that just don’t agree with me. I’d prefer it to be chlorinated actually as I’d swim faster in Gossy pool 9 times out of 10.
Swim done, not sure of time, but it wasn’t awful and it wasn’t great. 35mins or something like that, plus small jog on uncomfortable rocky path and transition took it to 38 or 39mins… not great.
Transition was smooth and methodical. There was stuff to be done in order to get warm and in all honesty Im pretty sure I was in and out quicker than those that decided to don jackets, arm warmers, beanies etc… The only tricky part for me had been deciding to have shoes on the bike already or put them on and run in them. It was only about 30m so I decided off the bike would be best. Good call in my opinion as the emerging sun was starting to thaw the tarmac in transition and some pebbles were coming loose and sticking to socks of those who chose shoes already clipped.
Ride started. I knew from yesterday’s ride that this was going to be tough. I thought it might still be fast if I put in… but tough none the less. Lots of climbing to get through followed by some fast downhills.
Turns out my assessment of the course wasn’t that awesome and lots of climbing x 3 laps wasn’t that fun!!! Although it was a bloody though course, it remained as a 30+ km/h average ride (due to powering down some hills instead of some recovery rolling which I may have done in normal circumstances) which I am pleased with however I did have 2 fails.
Fail 1 was the loading up of the nutrition in the EJ Tri shorts before the swim… can anyone guess why?? I’m not telling why… see if you can guess!
Fail 2… shoulda woulda coulda… used toe covers. Booties would have taken way too long… but my feet were rock solid frozen by the end of the trip. It literally felt like I was running on frostbite riddled stumps when I first started my 20km sortie on the trails of Falls Creek.
 
Transition 2 came with frustration.
Bike shoes off, runners, cap, OJB’s on, swig of caffeine shot and away we go… umm no we don’t.
By now it was a bit warmer on the mountain top and the tar had melted a little more. In trying to do transition standing up (as you normally do) I had inadvertently gotten a few bits of tar and rocks stuck to my socks. I started running, and felt them immediately. I stopped (while standing), took off shoe 1 and removed rocks. Shoe on, repeat for 2^nd shoe. Start running. Stop… rocks had fallen off socks and into shoes. Repeat shoe removal process and removed rocks from socks and shoes this time.
Start….stop… more in there.
I retreat the massive 5 metres to my base camp, sit on a towel, remove shoes, remove socks and put 2^nd pair of socks on, then shoes (AFTER INSPECTING!) and finally I’m off. Brett mentioned the macca helmet episode in his husky report… this was me with my shoes. There was a couple of expletives in that moment let me give you the tip.
 
Off we go.
Straight off the bat, you leave transition and head straight up a grassy hill. I didn’t get to see the trail the day before as it was all roped off, however if this was the order of the day then I was in for a LONG DAY!
Hill done, onto a winding track for about 1.5km then BANG… Hill 2… much much much worse than the first one and I raise my had… I was one of just about everybody who walked a few steps on that b*tch. Brilliant, 1.5 to 2km in and already I’m walking. 3 laps of this garbage to do….
(I point out now it was only 2 laps… however I thought it was 3… so that was a mental battle for me for sure!)
Turns out it was tooo bad after that. The track wasn’t awful. It was pretty solid with just a little loose gravel and was reasonably flat although with plenty of gentle rollers and little sharp up and down ditches (for drainage?)
At the end of lap one I was seriously considering my Ironman future. I was struggling to maintain sub 5min pace (which I thought was an absolute disaster) and I was hurting. Melissa Rollinson loomed as I was completing lap 1… buoyed, I ran a little better for a little bit in order to not look like a complete spastic… until she was out of sight and I resumed in my rut of “this run time is sh*t”
I stopped to p*ss at the very beginning of lap 2. I kinda had the sh*ts but yeah, I was also busting and would have wet myself soon. If I was feeling great in my run there was no way I would have stopped and possibly even done it on the run… but I wasn’t happy, so I stopped and let all those regular faces I was running near go off in the distance.
Snakes hiss done, back to the trail. Being the start of lap 2, I knew there was the hills to get through first and foremost… win #1 was that Hill #1 was gone from the 2^nd lap and the 2^nd hill was the only one to get up… or so I thought at the time.
I walked a little more this time on the hill…as were most people… trust me, only Roo would run up this hill… once at the top, I took off. I felt good for a few steps until a clown going the other way had a case of premature gel ejaculation and squirted his chocolate gooey gel right down the side (and inside) my right Newton!! Gimme a break… you fcking cnut!!! I thought…
 
such anger.
 
Quick scoop of gel out of my shoe using my finger on the run and I continued on. I didn’t stop as it was only gel and it wasn’t coming out anyway.
Surprisingly I had a new found grin and bare it attitude to this lap (post hill) and I ran quite well for most of the lap. I got to the end of lap 2, by now knowing it was only 2 laps, however the Garmin only read 18… km. Where’s the extra 2kms… if I had have known it was 18km surely I would have been less cranky with my poor run and been able to speed up?
..oh there it is… just up ahead there was a detour UP and over/around transition. Nice hill to finish off the course, there was jog through a bit of an overgrown bumpy outcrop above the transition area then back down a much more civilised track on the other side. We then turned almost 180 degrees and headed back to the finish line which was on a loose gravel road and ending in a 300m gradual incline. Excellent and just what the doctor ordered.
 
Race over, pat on the back, bit of fruit and a GIANT branded water bottle… with water. No medals, no towels… just kudos from the MC and a hug and kiss form Mandy and Eli. To be honest, the last bit is all that really matters in these races now… to see their smiling faces at the finish line. It tells me 2 things… they support me & 2, they care enough to know when I am finishing!
Eli, then used one of his new favourite toy shiny rocks and scratched my sunnies good and proper! Blees him, I like think he was only trying to give me a hug J
 
Immediate post race reflection… bloody hard course that one… and happy I finished it. Quite pleased I stuck it out actually. Not very happy about the time though… actually I was annoyed at the time (4:59:13) seeing it was slower than my best 70.3 which is longer distance by 10km riding and 1.1km running. I knew inside me though that I had nothing more to give in terms of speed though. Sure I could have stumbled some more kilometres but they wouldn’t have been any faster.
I’m a hard task master with my results and I immediately questioned the worth of travelling all the way down to Victoria to do this race… it was bloody tough that’s for sure… but in the end it was just a race, and I am just an average Joe competitor. I’m no superstar, I don’t win, I don’t come top 5 or top 10… why do I make Amanda and Eli up sticks and travel all that way for the race of an amateur?
Who knows?
Chuffed to hear I came 15^th in the end as I expected a lot worse… I expected this result to be Canberra’esque… so 15^th put a smile on the dial and it clicked that (although I wouldn’t be using them) these were my first ever ITU qualifying points J Double points at that. My time wasn’t great, but it wasn’t that bad after all. I could have been fresher for the race but I put that down to nightshift work all that week which took the stuffing out of me..
Nutrition I believe was bang on. 
 
Feedback on the course? Not sure I’ll go back, unless it’s a decent family trip and there’s a few days for the kid(s) to enjoy themselves in and around Mt Beauty, which in my opinion was a much better place, and a cheaper place to stay than Falls Creek itself which is purely a ski resort area with exorbitant prices for hotels or Share accommodation only. Not much I could find for the budget conscious family unfortunately.
The course itself did not suit my strengths at all (freshwater, hills with sharp descents, trail running) so in many ways it became more of a practice session in mental toughness and a body strength training exercise (at pace) than a race as such. I think the experience will have me in good stead for Port IM though as I know whatever Port throws at me, despite being only half the distance, this was a much tougher track.
 
Lastly, the cold… don’t listen to weather reports. The forecast had miserable weather all the way up to and including the race. The reality was the days were beautiful, the arvo’s were wet… yes the nights were a little chilly, but it didn’t feel anything close to the freezing I thought it was going to be… The 2 Endurance Junkie suits did the trick perfectly for the ride and run and I was fine... apart from my toes on the ride. Those in jackets were p*ssies and would have been sweating buckets. I could have used arm warmers and even a wind vest instead of 2 suits, however I was quite comfortable.

Cheers - photos to come when I can afford them!!

http://www.marathon-photos.com/scripts/event.py?event=Sports%2FJRAU%2F2012%2FFalls+Creek+Triathlon&new_search=1&match=305

The last big one for 2011 - Ironman Canberra 70.3

On Sunday, December 11, 2011 anything that could go wrong did go wrong.

At the end of the day, it was a huge case of putting in the training required and getting yourself in a good position to get a great result and then….boom!

Unlike Nepean’s "what if?" where I know the parts I can improve on my race in order to get the position… this one is just a huge "what if" based on performance of both myself and mechanics.

Errors were made… and while I’m all for learning from errors… do they have to come on miserable torrential rain days, where you have a 5 hour drive home on a Sunday night, with everything wet… and being in one of your big races for the year… an Ironman 70.3 no less????

….Give me “lessons learnt” at club races next time please!!!

Ok, as the disappointment is still there with this race, I probably haven’t got the energy to write something as comprehensive as I normally would… however I’ll give it a go.

The week preceding the race was good. I’d done some good sets and solid training sessions in the few weeks prior to the race and post Nepean… I’d even run and won my first Club race ever… so spirits were high. I was confident; I’d done a few 90-100km ride / 15-20km run combs on the weekends with great results… perfect I thought. I’m ready to give this a shake and try and go top 15 with a PB.

As we travelling down the motorways on the 4 to 5 hour trip to Canberra, I could see the clouds building ominously on the horizon. It stayed relatively and surprisingly clear though so I had some hopes of decent weather. The afternoon down there was ok... sunny patches including searching for the shade with Andrew Mildren at the race brief... however during race brief we were warned... "at some stage in tomorrow's race, you WILL get rained on... all we ask, is that you be careful!" Awesome. I remained hopeful regardless of the resoluteness of the forecast..

The morning of the race was peaceful enough. Unfortunately it was going to be too difficlut for Amanda to get everything ready and have Eli packed and fed in time to leave at the same time as I had to for Transition, so they stayed in while I got ready and crept out the door and hasilty walked through town on my 20min amble to the race location. Turns out it would have been the better option for her though as I believe she had a terrible time packing up the car on her own with a 9month old wanting all her attention as well... poor lass. The weather for my walk was fine and there were clear patches to look at hopefully as I wandered through the remaining hundred or 2 struggling (or strong) revellers from the night that was... I got wished well by a copper on crowd duties and was feeling pretty good to go.

Swim was ok… wetsuit swim. Bit choppy as the rain started to belt down mid swim, but overall, it wasn’t too bad. Dirty water though, couldn’t see the ground for love or money and the grit in the water actually caused me to get a huge burn / graze on the back of my neck from my wetsuit which stung most of the way… more vasso in murky waters perhaps? A minor inconvenience… but little did I know it was just the start… Anyhoo, I just ignored it and swam on. Anything under my Vegas swim of 42 mins was the goal here… however realistically, I just wanted to go under 38mins… 2 mins per k. I can do it in the pool so no reason why I cant here… especially with a wetsuit on. Swim, all good. Out of the water in 35mins + and the run to the T1 line stopped the clock in the 36’s. Happy enough.

Got on the bike and immediately (despite going over my entire bike during the week and while checking in the afternoon before), my saddle flopped forward... and I mean, immediately. Unrideable. I got off, spent some time getting my allen key out of the tightly packed gear bag behind the saddle (which I ingeniously had my bike sticker wrapped over), fixed it and got back on. Rode no more than 600m and felt the saddle sticking into me where I don’t really want it to… so off I get, get the tool again and re-position and tighten. Back on and riding again…Looked at the Garmin… 1.2km done in 6+mins… nearly 7min… great start.

Interesting course… some nice hills to get up, but I didn’t find it too bad as I don’t mind getting out of the saddle and grinding away…. I overtook heaps doing this. Never understood why so many stay in the saddle on short sharp climbs like this one or Matthew Flinders in Port when I feel it so much easy to just get up and go? Anyhoo, I digress…The downhills were steep at times… however they were offset a little from the wet roads. I tried to fly down them, but I’ve never been too confident on a wet road so I took it safely. Not too bad though and I made up plenty of time after the wasted start and did the first 30km in 55:40mins in the end. The second 30km was uneventful. No rain, but roads still very wet. Second lap was done in roughly 52 – 53min mins. I figured I was on target for a 2:40 or just under with a strong 3^rd lap? On the 3^rd lap though, disaster struck… 2 flat rear tyres. Not at the same time though so not from debris I’d left in the tyres… just rotten luck. Both rear tyres too… bike upside down stuff! Debris on the road from the rain, I must have just gone over some glass or something as I didn’t see anything either time. I had however, already ridden over bottle cages, pumps, spare tyres, bottles… you name it, due to the heavy rain, it was on the road! There was so many people walking back to the start and pulling out on the bike course. It was incredible! After I fixed the 2^nd flat, I started riding and I heard a clicking noise down the back. I didn’t want my bike to fall apart so I got off and checked it out… nothing more than a bit of tape on the wheel that I use as a valve cover… took about a minute to locate and fix though as for some reason I didn’t just spin the wheel when I got off… so much time wasted! In the end it was only 88km on the bike and I finished in 2:50 or so… 10mins down on where I thought I would eventually get after the saddle mishap… and 10-15mins down on what I believe was possible. I really was just a massive waste of time getting on my bike today!

Get back to transition and another lesson learnt… if it looks like rain, cover shoes, or turn them upside down at the very least. Runners soaked, socks felt like they had been thrown in the lake. I look at both and I choose no socks. Why did I not cover them??? I’ve done it at least 5 times at Club races… and that’s just when the sky is looking grey and not actually raining!

Immediately I feel it… blisters. I could only really feel one, so I blocked it out and just kept running… Doing a good clip at about 3:55 per km I felt like my target of 1:25 was easily within grasp…even at 10km I was still tracking easily at just a shade under 4min per km pace. At 4min per km for 21km, that’s 1:24 so I still had a minute to spare. I eased up just a touch and started going at 4:03’s. By 12.5km-13km, event number 2 for the run… stomach cramps… agonising stomach cramps. I tried to keep running, but I aint Crowie or Macca and couldn’t get more than a few kms in, in such a painful state. T3!! Disaster and boy was I pissed off! I checked out the feet while T’ing and saw the blister damage too… awesome. That done, I came out and started running with attempted speed again… although I’d lost a little in the legs from stopping and was now going about 4:15 – 4:20’s… 1:25 was gone with the dunny stop… but even more so as I’d lost my legs and knew they would probably get slower from here on... just like a Saturday afternoon or morning when you stop finish a session... try getting up and running at the same pace again... it just doesn’t happen that often does it. I tried to speed up but the damage was done. Got pains again at about 17km but I just thought bugger it, you’re not stopping again… so I rain in pain for the remainder of the race… constantly thinking I should just stop and pull out… hey, my race is buggered already so why bother! Anyhoo, I didn’t and plugged away in what was still a decent run time in 1:33’s. Approaching the line, Amanda and Eli were waiting near the banner… seeing the smiles on their faces erased everything the course threw at me for a split second and all was good. A cheeky kiss for both and through I went. Upon crossing the line, I got my towel, had my chip taken and went straight through the exit tent to the potaloos…

All in all, I had hoped to be top 15. I actually still finished 44^th with all that wasted time, when I thought in the wash up that I’d be around 70^th or 80^th… even over 100^th. The wet weather was a real equaliser and when I was actually racing unaffected by anything, I felt good and was making heaps of ground on everyone. Not one soul overtook me on the run… well except for when I was in the loo… and I still equalled my fasted ever 70.3 half marathon in the 1:33’s… and that’s with a loo break and a very slow 2^nd half of the run due to cramps… I ended 24 mins from my coveted 15th… so maybe it was too loftier goal when my highest 70.3 finish thus far is a 33^rd (excluding 6^th from Port Mac in May)? I’d love to go back and tackle that b*tch again next year as I reckon I could k*ll it once and for all… but we’ll see what next year brings. All in all it was a very tough day for Amanda with Eli and the pouring rain so I think I’ll have to earn double points to get her to agree to this trek again for the next few years… but as said, we’ll see.

Last but not least was the weather… deplorable weather for a race. Awful for the competitor and awful for the spectator. As said above, poor Amanda had a very tough time watching the race with Eli… even after the race, when I finished and was getting ready to get changed… massive downpour.. with nowhere to hide. We all got soaked!

Whats next??? Falls Creek, VIC is the next stop in February where we’ll be camping in our new tent, then the Sparke Helmore Olympic Distance, Newcastle in March… then after that its all guns out for Port Mac in May.

oh, the stomach cramps? nothing learnt...

Didn’t try anything new.. perhaps there was one ingredient in the spag bol my aunty cooked that didn’t agree with the stomach? Usually I’m made of sterner stuff than that though and can eat anything without too much trouble… but yesterday I dunno, it just could have been anything… dodgy old drink bottle (you know how you grab your cr*p ones to discard in these races)? Not quite cleaned fruit? Something off? Dodgy Lake BG water? Anything… all I know is it was painful and seeing as I am not Crowie or TGE I just couldn’t continue blocking it out as much as I tried to. I tried to hide it behind the OJB's and clenched jaw but was eventually beaten down in the end! The murky LBG water seems the most plausible at this stage… so nothing I could have helped I guess.

Other lessons? Cover shoes, wear socks in these conditions, triple check tyres, don’t put race sticker over saddle bag, triple check saddle position and tightness, more Vaseline when the water conditions look less than clear… or change the wetsuit cord positioning? don’t forget to fix valve cover tape after changing a tyre in a race… and I’m sure there’s many more I’ve missed that went wrong on the day!!