Shepparton 70.3

My last Ironman 70.3 of the season in Shepparton Australia was a great success. 

I went back home to Auckland for 10 days after Taiwan to rest, recover and get ready for the short trip over to Australia for this weekends race. That was a big mistake, the trip was anything but short. 4am start back home and I didn't arrive at my home stays until about 3pm NZ time, so about 10-11hrs of travel. The Griffen's made me feel right at home and their 12 year old daughter MacKenzie was great entertainment in the days leading up until the event.

I knew I had a couple weeks off after this race so wanted to make sure I had a strong one and finished the season on a high. There were several top Aussie's I knew would be a threat and after hearing about the "Non Drafting - Drafting" a few weeks back my goal was to try and isolate the field and make everyone ride solo.

The swim while you couldn't even see the outline of your goggles due to the sediment in the water was actually quite cool. It was a lap and a half around the perimeter of the Kialla Lake, I knew Joe Lampe was a gun swimmer and the guy to watch out for. Unfortunately I missed getting on his feet and was stuck swimming just off the back of him for the whole swim. I was really stoked when I managed to limit the deficit to only 40seconds by the end of the swim. Then there was about a 1minute gap to the group behind.

I settled into a good rhythm at the start of the bike and while I was not too concerned about bridging the gap to Lampe immediately I did want to keep tabs on him which I did by timing the difference when there were turns in the road.  We held fairly even for 30km then I think he realized I was not far back and sat up to wait for me. The 2 lap course was cool in the fact that you came back into town and could see where the other guys were but the fact that you are back in town and have to do the whole thing again was an average feeling. Checking the time to the chasers I thought we would have put in more of a gap at the pace we were riding but I knew the 2^nd lap would be where the race was made or broken. I made sure to keep the pressure on which was tough at times because the wind seemed to have picked up. By the time we got into T2 we had built our lead and had a good 5minutes over Tim Reed who I knew would give me a run for my money.

I got settled into my own pace heading out onto the run and wanted to keep the pressure on myself as long as possible to see what would happen. It was a 3 lap run course and every time I ran past the transition my fatigue levels dropped and the great spectators out there lifted my spirits. I did gradually slow through the laps but not by too much. There was one point about 3km from the finish when I got the worst stitch and had to slow right up, it was funny though, after a minute cruising I managed to change to a whole new gear and motor my way home to a 1:12 run split. Booya!

Big congrats to Joe Lampe for an epic race and Leon Griffin for hanging in tough for 3^rd place and Rebekah Keat for winning the girls.

It is great to finish the season off with a bang. I am particularly glad that I can now have a couple guilt free weeks of indulging in food. I just have to make sure I don’t let it slip too much as I am getting measured by RJB design for my wedding suit in a couple days and it would be slightly embarro if the buttons were bulging on the big day.

Next stop for me is the Nutri-Grain Taupo Half on the 8^th December.  We auctioned off the spots to race in a team with me to raise money for Life Education and thanks to Sean Cox and Tod Penberthy raising $2000 Harold will be a very happy Giraffe

I am looking forward to catching up with the 2XU crew here in Melbourne tomorrow. Apparently I am doing a photoshoot but not too sure how zoolanderish I will be waking up the morning after a hard race.

Taiwan 70.3

It was a whirlwind of a trip and the last week is somewhat of a blur but I am glad I made the efforts to venture out to Kenting in the south of Taiwan. When I signed up for the race I didn’t notice that it was a Saturday event, not a Sunday race and totally forgot about the crossing of the date line. So what I thought would be a 7 day turn around ended up being 5 days between Miami 70.3 and yesterdays 70.3 race here in Taiwan.

It was probably one of the earliest race starts I have ever experiences, 6am. It worked fine for me as due to the time difference I was up waiting for my alarm to go off at 2:45am. The swim was a 2 lap formation with a run up on the beach which I liked. Daniil Supunov and I managed to gap the field and I lead out of the water.

 

I was unsure how Daniil would race in this distance as it was his first Half Ironman stepping up from the ITU draft legal races. I noticed he has represented the Ukraine at 3 Olympics so I did not want to take any chances. I put the pressure on in the early stages of the bike and formed a breakaway, which I managed to grow on during the race. It was a rolling hill 2.5 lap course and after lap one we had to start weaving through the amateurs. This tested your bike handling skills and was very character building when you had to ride through the aid stations to grab drink bottles.

I had formed about a 3.5minute lead on Daniil coming off the bike with the next guys a few more minutes back. My legs had started to struggle a little at the end of the bike and I wasn’t sure what I would have left for the 13.1mile run.  I managed to get in the zone which I needed as the run was 14km (9miles) in one direction then 4miles back to the finish. A mentally challenging format.

I kept pushing the pace and grew my lead to almost 8minutes by the finish. The wind and humidity made it a tough day for all, but aside from a few minor crashes in the event it seemed everyone had a great time.

I am about to start my trip back home to New Zealand, it has been just over 2months on the road. I have visited 6 countries, 3 of which I have never been before, won 3 races, got a second and a third but have some unfinished business, which I hope to see to next year in Las Vegas at the 70.3 World Champs.

2 weeks to recover then onto my last 70.3 race for the year in Sheparton.