Busselton Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Set off right on the inside to go the shortest way round, whereas most people set off further to the outside. This made it the shortest, and quietest way round.
For the first time ever I think, I actually found feet to follow, but this was probably due to new OWS goggles that let me actually see! With my sighting not being the best, I also decided to trust the people round me and concentrate on the swim which turned out really well.
The swell picked up a little, but after all the choppy, nasty swelly swims I've raced in over in Melbourne all summer, this was like a duckpond in comparison. As such, I found it my most enjoyable swim ever. Also helped that my wetsuit, which normally stresses my shoulders, must have been pulled up just right as I could barely tell I was wearing it.
Cruised back to shore thinking I'd be out in around 37-38 minutes given I haven't swum quite as much as last year, and was amazed to see 36:07 on the clock. Result! And even better news once I saw Jeff's result of 36:07! Now if only I could bike and run as quick.......!!!!

Nothing really, perfect swim for me. Training more would obviously help, but given the training, this was the best I could ever hope for. A great start to the day.

676 overall, and 94 in AG.
Wetsuit off, socks and shoes on (which is the reason I'm fairly slow here), and off I went. I was racked right at the end nearest the swim which was great in finding my bike quickly but it did mean a long run with the bike both out of T1 and back into T2 which wasn't the best.

Sockless tri shoes..... been saying that for ages, but for next summer, a definite!

First leg out was great, into a reasonable headwind but kept telling myself I would reap the rewards on the way back. Got the HR down from 165 to a comfortable 155 and held it. Averaged 31.5 going out before coming back at 35.4 for a first lap time of 1:20:55 putting me right on track for my stretch target of between 2:40 and 2:45.
Then....... the wind picked up, a lot, and the 3rd leg was a painful ride into the strongest wind I've ridden in for a while. For a fair part of this leg, I was sat on 25kmh going as quick as I could without blowing up. It hurt when all the strong cyclists from the wave behind me started passing me on this part, but I did my best in telling myself I wasn't racing them, I was racing the other people around me also struggling. Averaged 27.8 on this leg.
The last leg, back to town was a tailwind again with more crosswinds which made controlling the bike a bit tricker but still got back to a 34 average. Nearly missed one of the turns when I was admiring a nice rider/bike/rear disc wheel when I heard the carbon brakes screech. Looked up and thought I'd better turn. Without that screech I would have probably gone headfirst into the barriers..... Oops!
So, an overall split slower than I wanted but this was down to the nasty headwind on that 3rd leg rather than my lack of fitness.

There's some seriously quick cyclists in my age group as can be seen from my AG ranks compared to overall.... Hmmmm
Lack of leg strength probably slowed my down. I'm fine when it's flat but wind and hills show my lack of power. More hills training.

644 overall, 104 in AG. Having to run a long way with the bike slowed me down. Tried to put my gels in my back pocket before realising I should just run and put them in afterwards.
Shoes slipped on no problems, and I was off.

Not much

3 consistent laps which was a huge improvement on last year.
First lap included a quick pit-stop but was round in 39:xx. Just kept plodding along, being passed by what seemed like everyone while hardly passing anyone at all, but did lap 2 in 41:xx and lap 3 in 42:xx with NO WALKING at all. This was huge for me, as I knew since last year I could run a decent (for me) HM, but putting it all together after the bike and swim was the big challenge. Couldn't have been happier with this, cardio wise I was comfortable, I just couldn't pick the pace up at the end due to tired legs.

Nothing, just work on running stronger and quicker.

Muffins, anzac buscuits, water, juice, bananas & apples.


The usual - talent. This was as good as I could have expected given the conditions. I wanted to go under 5:40 and thought a 5:30 was doable but the wind on the bike stopped that from happening.


Awesome volunteers and Busso locals make this the best race I've ever done.
Managed to catch up with Magda on the Tuesday, before I flew back home, which was was great.
It was also wonderful to get some sun on my back, given the summer we've had in Melbourne, and typically enough we landed to a temperature of 9C and rain!
Next stop, IM time, and have a day to decide whether to do IMOZ next year instead of the Busso half or wait until IMWA in Dec next year......