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Shepparton Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Shepparton, Victoria
Australia
Shepparton Tri Club
23C / 73F
Precipitation
Total Time = 6h 30m 29s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 25/28
Pre-race routine:

Headed to Shepp around midday on Saturday, a few hours and a missed turn off later we were finally at registration. and it was freakin' hot. 39C. According to the locals it wasn't cooling down, even with the giant black clouds looming.

We retired at 9:30pm after an afternoon of lying down and a night of take out pasta, chocolate and ice cream. I then endured one of my worst pre-race sleeps ever! I was wheezing constantly and ventolin was giving me no relief. I saw 11.00pm, 1:30am, 3:00am, 4:00am and my personal favourite 4:45am, 15 minutes before the alarm.

Getting ready per se was easy, getting breakfast down was near on impossible. It took a ridiculous amount of time to get an english muffin with honey down the hatch. I was just so panicked that I was STILL wheezing, had next to no sleep and no amount of ventolin was helping the situation. Jodi was also running a touch behind schedule and I had wanted to leave at 5:30am on the dot. Because as we all know, I'm anal. So that was freaking me out too.
Event warmup:

Setting up transition was a breeze. I totally managed to calm myself down and took my time, of which we had plenty. Then headed off to the tribal tent. I was a little worried that I only had one puffer that I had left in transition. I was just hoping like hell that I'd be ok, then discussing my night with Katherine, also an asthmatic, she offered me some longer lasting inhaler for which I am eternally grateful.

The next thing I know I have my wetsuit on, I'm sucking down a Gu heading for the swim start.
Swim
  • 38m 30s
  • 1900 meters
  • 02m 02s / 100 meters
Comments:

The lake that we swam in looked rather unappealing. Light brown and cloudy in colour with a squishy ground. More disconcerting was when you put your face under water it was bright orange. That freaked me out a little.

I seeded myself second from the front and this was a good move. It was only when we rounded the second buoy that there was space to swim. My navigation was on track, I didn't find anyone to draft off and a few negative thoughts crept in, like 'when is this swim ever going to end'. I quickly put the negativity to bed and just repeated glide, glide, glide to myself.

I looked at my watch as I exited the water and saw 37:00 on my watch, T1 is included in the time.
What would you do differently?:

I've lost 45 seconds since the HIM last year, so really I just need to make sure I do swim twice a week if not three. I was 20th out of the water in my AG.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

No issues at all, though I was a little surprised to come back to transition to see that my bike was wet. It took me a few seconds to register that it had been raining.
What would you do differently?:

I'd say this was close to 1:30, which is right on track.
Bike
  • 3h 22m 34s
  • 90.1 kms
  • 26.69 km/hr
Comments:

I took it easy for the first lap for a couple of reasons (a) I didn't know what the course held for me, ie road condition, turns, undulations etc (b) I didn't want to go too hard and die on the third lap (c) the heavens opened and it bucketed down, complete with lightening show. Sometimes it was hard to see where I was going.

There was a ridiculously windy part of the course where keeping ones bike upright was the main focus, this meant that heading back into the transition area where the crowd was cheering we had a tailwind, so that was pretty cool.

I really didn't feel like eating that first lap, but got down 25g of dinosaurs and managed to drink about 1/2 a bidon of Gatorade. At 15km I took a Gu.
The first lap split was 1:10:52.

The second lap cleared up and I focused on spinning into the wind and pushing a little harder with the tailwind. I had half a power bar and a Gu at the 45km mark. Second lap split was 1:04:52.

The third lap I had the other half of the powerbar, more Gatorade (though not very much) and another Gu. I thanked as many volunteers as I could and dished out as much encouragement as I could to the people I was passing. I was feeling ok, I had some minor lower back pain and some hip flexor pain which is new! I tried to push it slightly harder when I had the tailwind.

As I came to the dismount line a woman was holding a sign that said "You can do it, put your back into it". It made me laugh for some reason.

The last lap was closer to 1:07:xx and my time on the bike according to my speedo was 3:19:xx

What would you do differently?:

This is my slowest HIM bike to date. Undoubtedly the wind made it really tough. Had it been a warmer day I would have had to drink more, because in total I think I managed 2 bidons (gatorade and some water).

However I was conscious of having something left for the run. Unlike GC HIM last time, I actually felt like running and felt as though I could run 21.1km. Because that certainly wasn't the case last time.

I lost two places to others in my AG.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Didn't take my feet out because I didn't want my socks to get muddy. Instead got to put relatively wet socks into soaking runners.
What would you do differently?:

Turn my runners upside down if it looks like rain!
Run
  • 2h 29m 25s
  • 21.1 kms
  • 07m 05s  min/km
Comments:

The fun starts now!!!

I ran out of transition to the lake and got a massive cheer from the TriBal group. The next thing I know my parents are there with my dog, I nearly cried! I was like hell yeah, I can do this.

So the loop consists of running around the lake we swam in, heading around a housing estate and then into some bush land complete with suspension foot bridge. Yeesh, I hadn't visualised all the stuff off the beaten track! I almost let negative thoughts enter. I was like surely it's only two laps and not three, how can it be three? But then I remembered that 21.1km is a pretty long way and that there was no getting out of the third lap.

I ate my dinosaurs almost straight away and just took water for the first lap. I would savour the coke later. I had lots of encouragement from the people I had passed on the bike and there were also plenty of my club members still on the track. First loop split time 47:06.

The second lap was spent being excited that the next lap was my last. When I saw Ez & Kath at the entrance to the estate, I was like 'I am such a natural runner, I was totally born to run'. Then I had my first coke and a Gu and that was exciting too. Split time 50:46.

Last lap there was one Gu eating episode and a lot of self talk. 'I run, I rock, I do not stop' well only when walking through drink stations. 'Just keep running, just keep running' a bit of 'Lighter, Better, Faster, Stronger' to the Daft Punk sample cos I didn't want to even think about hard. And then the lovely woman with the sign again 'You can do it, put your back into it'. Bring on Ice Cube!!

It was probably in the last km that my lack of hydration got to me, that's when my head went all a bit fuzzy and my legs started to cramp. As I ran down the finishing shoot I high fived Ray & Kath who had supplied much support throughout the day and crossed the line with a huge smile.
What would you do differently?:

All I wanted from the run was to not have to walk. I walked through aid stations to get a drink and that was pretty much it. I wanted to remain positive even though I was getting passed by so many people, I did all that.

I lost another three spots in my AG on the run, taking the total to five places lost.

My level of talent wouldn't allow me to do it any other way.
Post race
Warm down:

I crossed the finish line and almost cried again when I saw my parents. I think more so because I was so relieved. A kind woman put the finishers towel around my shoulders and I limped over to have my timing chip removed.

Then I had some cantaloupe and a bowl of fruit and ice cream. BEST. ICE. CREAM. EVER.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I was 10 minutes better than my last hit out, but still 12 mins shy of my PB. I had almost ruled the Geelong 70.3 out, but having the opportunity to crack my PB makes me want to race it more than ever.

I need to find the right balance of bike/run. More bricks and consistent running will help me there. Losing a few kgs would certainly help too.

Average HR for the day was 164, which is pretty spot on in terms of effort. My old HRM did a great job. Kudos to you.


Event comments:

It is a great course, and I really enjoyed myself out there.

The volunteers for this race were just awesome. They endured some pretty crap weather all to hand out drinks or stop traffic. They rocked and were incredibly supportive.




Last updated: 2007-08-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:38:30 | 1900 meters | 02m 02s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Suit: Sleeveless Wetsuit
Course: The swim consists of an overlapping single lap of the marked course. Competitors will be walked around the lake from the transition area to the start where they are to enter the water as directed. They will swim anticlockwise around the West end of the lake, past the finishing line and then perform one complete lap of the marked course.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 22C / 72F Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
03:22:34 | 90.1 kms | 26.69 km/hr
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Wind: Strong
Course: Three loops of: Cyclists will exit the compound and left into Ganaway crescent. They will continue around Ganaway and then will be directed left into Kialla Lakes Drive, left into Archer Road and then right into Channel Road. Follow Channel Road through a number of intersections all the way to a 'T' intersection at Boundary Road, right into Boundary Road, right into Mitchell Road, cross Kialla Central Road, right into Archer Road and cross River Road continuing along Archer Road and left into Kialla Lakes Drive, right into Ganaway Crescent to complete one lap of 30 km.
Road: Smooth Wet Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:29:25 | 21.1 kms | 07m 05s  min/km
Age Group: 0/28
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2007-11-18 8:32 PM

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Extreme Veteran
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Melbourne
Subject: Shepparton Half Ironman


2007-11-19 12:26 AM
in reply to: #1059638

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Veteran
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Brisbane
Subject: RE: Shepparton Half Ironman

Another HIM bites the dust....... I still don't get how you guys can look forward to running 21k's after just finishing 90k's on the bike, madness!!!

I love the long report, especially the detail about the lake (orange water, eewww!!!) and the "OMG its 5.30 and we haven't left yet!!! LOL you make me laugh.

so what's next for Casie?? April Ironman??

2007-11-19 1:06 AM
in reply to: #1059638

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Veteran
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Perth, Oz
Subject: RE: Shepparton Half Ironman

Great work enduring the crap weather yourself not just the volunteers had to put up with it!  The Half here was raining on the bike course this year too.  I luckily had plastic bags and could bag my running shoes so they were nice and dry for the run.

I'm so impressed that your run sounded soo positive,  with wet shoes I could very easily have gone to pieces!  Great work Casie!  I love the I'm a natural runner I'm born to run.  I'm writing that down on my list of motivation thigns for the Ironman!  I'll give you full credit if it helps me

 I think you did really well with the drinking too.  if it was cooler weather its so much harder to keep drinking! 

I think you should be really proud of that effort.  you're turning into a Half machine!  whens Geelong? 

 

2007-11-19 1:09 AM
in reply to: #1059638

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Veteran
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Perth, Oz
Subject: RE: Shepparton Half Ironman

Oh and I forgot to add I totally get the freaking out about not leaving on time.  I now warn people before I go away with them that I need to be at the Race site at XXX time.  If they aren't happy with that then we need to take two cars. Because I will freak out otherwise.

2007-11-20 6:32 PM
in reply to: #1059638

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Regular
65
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Erskineville
Subject: RE: Shepparton Half Ironman
Congrats on another HIM Casie. Very cool report. That is very funny about the orange water colour. That brings back thoughts of last year. Maybe next year the weather will be right. 06, 42 and bush fires. 07, rain and lighting. Awesome.

Again congrats and again it's good reading your reports. I need all the inspiration I can get. Hopefully you can get that PB in Geelong and hopefully I will be there getting a PB also.


Edited by jmturvey 2007-11-20 6:33 PM
2007-11-20 9:58 PM
in reply to: #1059638

Perth
Subject: RE: Shepparton Half Ironman

hi ya,

Great race and race report...cracking job on the run..staying possative is a greater job than finnishing in my mind!...

Gees, another half coming up and you have already done 3 or more...if I didn't know any better, I would say you are mad...

good luck to you on chasing that PB.



2007-11-21 7:59 PM
in reply to: #1059638

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Subject: RE: Shepparton Half Ironman

Great race and super fun race report to read Cassie!!!

Enjoy your recovery!!

What's a bidons?

2007-11-21 9:30 PM
in reply to: #1059638

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Champion
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Sydney
Subject: RE: Shepparton Half Ironman

Go casie!!!! Sounds like you really picked it up for the run! Great job!

One of my favourite things is reading how you made a point of offering encouragement and thanks... Im sure it spurred you on too... smiles are good from other people too!

Congratulations

2007-11-30 9:40 AM
in reply to: #1059638

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Extreme Veteran
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50025
Brisbane
Subject: RE: Shepparton Half Ironman

Congrats on a great race!

Biking on wet surfaces is definitely a speed killer. You had a good, consistent run. It sounds as though you felt strong out there.

Félix

2007-11-30 7:55 PM
in reply to: #1059638

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Master
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Gulf Shores, AL
Subject: RE: Shepparton Half Ironman
Well done and a very enjoyable race report!
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