Florida 70.3

I just finished my first race of the season. Ironman 70.3 Florida in Haines City. The race venue used to be at Orlando Disney World but has moved down here the past couple years and while I would have been exciting to race with Mickey Mouse the venue down here was pretty awesome.

Training the past 5 weeks has gone well. My fitness and strength has come up nicely and I was looking forward to seeing how my body would step up in my first race. The course was not your typical Florida pancake flat race. The bike was undulating throughout and the rolling hills were good little power climbs. Dirk Bockel was an absolute axe on the bike today and did most of the pushing out front. With the hot pace the 6 guys that had formed the front bunch slowly started dropping off and by the time we got to the last 20miles it was Dirk, Kevin Collington (who is a new name on the scene but is performing really well in his past couple races) and myself. Dirk and I managed to get a little 1minute buffer on Collington going into Transition. 

Again, the run was the furthest thing from what you would expect for a race in Florida. A 3 lap course with a couple good climbs that you really felt on the 2^nd and 3^rd lap. Dirk and I started at a pretty relaxed pace and when we got to mile 4 and saw Collington closing in I had to pick up the pace. Soon I was running solo up front counting down the miles to the finish.

I ended up crossing the finish line over 1minute up and am really please with how the day unfolded and where my fitness is at. I feel that I have strong base to grow on through the season and am looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year has in store.

Next stop for me is going to be the ITU long course World Championships that are in Belfort France, up near the Swiss boarder. This is a new distance for me but I thought that the 4km swim, 120km bike and 30km run will be a good stepping-stone between the Half and Full Ironman distances. Mark Allen used to kill it over this distance before he started winning Kona so hopefully I can learn a bit more about my body over the longer distances.

If you are interested here is the link to coverage from Nutri-Grain Ironman NZ -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBGsBn-FKeI&feature=youtu.be

and below is a little interview about what has been going on and what’s next.

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon-news/articles/2013/05/bozzones-back.aspx#axzz2Ti8bl4mI

Nutri-Grain Ironman NZ

Hi Everyone,

So last weekend didn't really go to plan down in Taupo. I was really looking forward to Nutri-Grain Ironman NZ this year as it has been a while since my last full distance Ironman and this year for the first time in my Ironman career the weather down in Taupo for the race was going to be magical. 

There had been something going on in my body through the build up and I couldn't quite place what it was. I had been struggling with headaches after hard training days and had not been recovering at my usual speed, I thought I had a handle on it but on reflection I realize I actually didn't.

Throughout the race on Saturday I was slightly off pace in the swim while Marko Albert and Bevan Doherty took it out in close to course record time. I was out the water 1min40sec behind them, which wasn't bad considering how off course I was going the whole second half.

Running up to transition was a pretty amazing feeling. The 600meter run was lined 4 people deep the whole way cheering me on. The amount of energy I received from them was overwhelming. Then off onto the bike flying solo. I had no intention of bridging the gap immediately. I knew from past experiences that even pacing was the best way to pace the bike and I knew what my pace was. 120km riding in the middle of the lead group and the chase group which included Cam Brown. Finally the chasers caught up and I hung with them until the 150km mark where it all really went pear shaped. A headache like I have never experienced before came on and I could not for the life of me keep pushing. My power dropped from the mid 200's down to under 200watts and keeping my eyes open was difficult.

By the end of the bike I was actually feeling very distressed. I am used to pushing my body but this was different as the both body and brain were completely at odds with doing anything remotely like running... So as it transpired I had to stop and pretty much collapse on the side of the road. I have never felt so awful in my life.

Bevan and Marko had very impressive days to take 1st and 2nd with Brownie coming in 3^rd respectively.

We are now 5 days after the race and my headache still persists. I saw a Neuro specialist yesterday and she diagnosed me with having a concussion caused by the bike crash into the car door back in January. Unfortunately the only way for this to heal is with rest.

I am still hopeful to start my 70.3 campaign in the middle of April.

Thanks to everyone for all the support and I am sorry I couldn't help put on a show down in Taupo that would have been one for the books.

 

 

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.