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 Swim
Comments: While I was setting the bike up beforehand, I overheard people saying that last years, the course was short and had been fixed this year. As I had a goal of beating last year's 35:04, I wasn't sure what to make of this. Nothing I could control, so I just forgot about it and cracked on. Decided to follow the same plan as last year and hug the inside going for the shortest route even though it might be more physical there. I used to play water-polo so that sort of thing doesn't faze me at all. The gun went, and so did we - not much physical stuff at all really - quite disappointing :) Got into a groove and swam easily up the first leg drafting here and there but nothing major - whether that was down to them not swimming straight or me not swimming straight, I'm not sure! Headed back for shore and I couldn't believe how smooth and good I was feeling. Didn't push it at all, just wanted a nice cruisy swim to save energy for when I would need it. Got out of the water and saw 37:00 on the garmin - sweet! Will take that, and headed up into transition, as fresh as a daisy! What would you do differently?: Maybe push it more? Maybe seed myself closer to the front and try and draft, but this time, more than happy with how it went  Transition 1
Comments: 80th in AG for this. Ran easily into transition, got everything on as quick as I could then headed off with the bike. Put socks and shoes on in T1 as have bike shoes, not tri-shoes. What would you do differently?: Maybe invest in tri-shoes and go sockless for the bike  Bike
Comments: The BEST bike ride of my life! I just loved this! The problem I have with swimming being my strongest leg is that I get passed by everyone else when cycling and running! I know I got passed by most people on this ride, but I passed between 20 and 30 people - might not sound much, but to me that was huge! I count the people I pass as there aren't normally that many! This was the fastest ride I've ever done as well, the flat course made it a joy for me! Nutrition went to plan apart from losing the soft straw in the aero-bottle so had to adjust slightly to topping it up every now and then and lifting the hard straw higher so I could get a drink. I couldn't believe the pace I was doing, all easy efforts as well, then the headwind on the way back into town slowed me down a lot - this is where lack of power in my legs is shown up. More hill training I reckon. Did the first lap in 1:27:00 and hoped I could keep it up for lap 2. And I did! Amazingly, this was just as comfortable as lap 1, just pushed as hard as I could without going overboard on the legs or HR and it all just came together. After 55km though, my suspect knee started to ache & twinge, so I had a couple of ibuprofen to see if it would settle. I started to get a little worried about what would happen on the run, but got back into my thought process of only controlling now and tried to forget about it which really helped. Got back into the headwinds coming back into town and I thought it would be touch and go for a sub 3 hour ride, but I managed it. I know 3 hours isn't quick, but as my normal rides are 27-28km/h average this was huge for me. The flat course definitely helps, but I don't care - I loved it! And then came the run! What would you do differently?: More hill training to get more power so I could go quicker! Transition 2
Comments: 36th in AG! Back into transition, shoes off, runners and cap on, one runner back off, remove stray gell, and put runner back on, and out we go. What would you do differently?: Not leave the extra gel in one runner!  Run
Comments: Good news is that the knee didn't bother me one bit. Could be due to the fact I didn't run quickly enough, but I was happy with a pain-free run! Bad news is the lack of long running beforehand finally caught up with me. Lap 1 was good, nice and gentle 42 minutes. I hoped I could keep around 45 per lap but it wasn't to be. The 2nd lap out away from town was a real effort and I started walking the aid stations. Also walked for a hundred metres or so every now and then as my legs were shot! Lap 3 was a bit better, and I even thought I might break 6 hours - until I tried to push the last 2km and couldn't. Gave it everything I had for the last km though and was more than happy with what I did. I knew beforehand that the run would be messy purely because I hadn't done enough kms in training, but these last 2 laps really, and I mean really, hurt! Got into the finish shute all alone, the announcers announced my name as a first time HIMer, got some cheers, pumped my arms into the air and ran over the line. It was over. What would you do differently?: Not get a knee injury 3 months before the race which stopped me running Post race
Warm down: Collecting my medal and getting a muffin and juice What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of power in the legs for a faster bike leg, and a knee injury in February stopping me running. Event comments: Would just like to say, the volunteers, and spectators at this race are absolutely awesome!!!! A huge thankyou to everyone of them out there cheering all racers on, no matter who they were or how fast they were. The goals I had before the day, in ascending order, were: To finish To not be last To not be last in age group To beat 6:30:00 To beat 6:15:00 To beat 6:00:00 There is no way I thought I was going to break 6 hours, that was my ridiculous goal, so you can imagine how pleased and chuffed I am now with myself for doing 6:02:18 with such a lack of run training! This is the first time in a long time I feel I have really achieved something for me, and means such a lot to share it with you - thankyou for reading! Photo's to follow hopefully... Profile Album Last updated: 2009-12-31 12:00 AM
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Australia
Triathlon Western Australia
23C / 73F
Sunny
Overall Rank = 952/1243
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 117/144
Where to begin???? This has been a long journey for me! 18 months ago, I was 18kg heavier, hadn't cycled or swum for over 20 years and couldn't run 1km without stopping. Decided I had to lose some weight and get fit. Started running with a few guys at work, one of whom had done two IMs and two HIMs who reckoned we should enter a mini-sprint corporate realy event here in Perth. So..... I got hooked! Then we decided to enter a team in the 09 HIM where I did the swim in 35:04. Seeing people do the whole event, and follow the training logs of people on BT, I decided that I had to do the event in 2010!
So, a new bike was bought, a more structured training schedule put into practice and all was good......... right? Wrong! The office in Perth got closed down, my training partners got made redundant and I had to head to Sydney on a weekly basis to work!
Right at this time I also got IT band troubles that progressed into Patella Femoral Syndrome - I missed so much longer distance running I was worried I wouldn't even make the start. My physio said he would get me to complete the event and he kept his promise - he was awesome! The only issue was amount of run training I could do - my only runs over 10km were the 3 weeks before the event when I did 12, 13 & 15.5km. Not nearly enough, but....... I was at the start line!
Folks who have followed my training logs know how frustrating my knee has been for me so I must say thankyou to everyone who has kept me positive and kept me focused on the goal of this wonderful event!!
Anyway, we drove down to Busso on the Thursday afternoon, so that I could chill on the Friday and enjoy the expo without stressing too much. All good, got the bike checked in Friday afternoon, 10 minutes before the heavens opened and the bike no doubt got soaked. Glad I put some plastic bags on the saddle! Got a text from Jeff (grbelja) asking if I was staying close to him and if I was could I give him a lift in the morning. Well, we were right next door so no problem. Would be great to finally meet him after all the inspires and messages that have been flying back and forth!!
Packed the bags, then an early night Friday, then the big day arrived!!! Up at 5:15, panicked when I couldn't find my timing chip (hidden in with the wetsuit!) 2 pieces of raisin toast and a banana and orange juice for breakfast, then a drive to pick Jeff up and into town to check the bike out. Must have got into a bit of a flap because I couldn't work out if I'd pumped the tyres up enough and did both back and front twice, just to make sure! Got registered and body marked then time to get the wetsuit on, kiss my wife goodbye and head to the water.
Warmup was a 5 minute swim in the ocean. Was wonderfully still but a bit colder than last year, and not as clear. Was hoping the jellyfish had decided to not bother this year as well! (See last year's report for not-so-pretty photos!)
Then it was time........