Well what a day!!!!!
Am stoked to be writing about an absolutely awesome day and a performance that put a smile on my dial. Have been limping around all day absolutely wrecked, but the feeling of a good race under your belt really makes it worth it.
Short StorySwam - 36:39
Bike - 2:29:22
Run - 1:30:18
Total - 4:36:20
45th overal, 13th on AG
Long StoryDidn't get a great nights sleep as Lisa seemed to be more restless than me and I was woken every couple of hours. Never recall support crew duties being that stressful, that sleeping the night before was a problem, but each to their own. We all have a cross to bear and hers was worrying about sleeping in. By 4:45am enough was enough, and we rose and got ready. Packed and down at Ridges by 6am. The day didn't start with to many good omens after dropping my bike on the ground twice and getting flustered multiple times when I forgot my pre-race routine and doing some silly sh#t, like forgeting to put my timing chip on when I woke. Nothing like a bit of mass panic to start the day. In the end, it was lucky we got there early so that I could get all that out of the way and have time to relax and then get in a 'leisurely' walk down the beach. Nothing like racing to tune your performances.
The wait for the start took forever and as the minutes ticked by the nerves rose terribly. I think in future timing your walk so that you get a quick swim in and then straight to the start for your wave is the way to go. One consolation was the preloaded 'doof' on my phone was great to listen to and was in the zone, only problem, that zone was ready for some drinks and some dancing. But good to get the blood flowing before a race.
Finally at 8:22 the gun went and I was away. I remember thinking that I would take it easy and build into my race, but what happens when the gun goes off is just insane. You race to the first turning bouy like your life depends on it. I made it in good shape and in the lead group of my age group, but that was the last I saw of them. Not long after turning I remember thinking I can't keep this pace up and steadied up, just ticking over between bouys. In hindsight, I could have swum harder, but I am not sure what that would have done for the rest of the day, but with the amount of swim training under my belt it was probably representative of what I deserved. I have to admit my heart sank when I saw the time as I got out of the water and realised I was already 7 minutes slower than my previous PB. Looking at the times, we must have been paddling against the tide as everyone was 5 mins slower this year.
Got great support right from the get go with Lisa and Stacy at the race start, then the Blakes on the sand dune yelling and Gill chasing me into T1 (which made me go faster). T1 was pretty slow and again lack of racing was the culprit, but got out on the bike and away without troubles.
First time I have ridden the P2 in a Half and it was a missile, compared to my previous bike. Stiff, solid and aero sums it up, pity the rider doesn't quite have the same power to maximise its performance. As usual, I got out of transition and with all the best laid plans went way faster than I should be going with my heart rate way up over the planned 145 bpm. Everytime I looked down it was either 157 - 160, which was not sustainable for 90km. In terms of my race plan to stick to a heart rate, this just went out the window and I pretty much rode at a rate that felt a bit harder than comfortable. Kept looking down at the speedo and it was ticking over at a decent rate depending on which direction the wind was coming from.
Got round to the end of Lap 1 and again the support crew was out with their "Wayneski" signs which made me giggle to myself.
The major issue for the bike came in the form of a mechanical issue. Half way through Lap 1 I realised my seat was loose and was tilting up and down depending on where I shifted my weight. Stopped at the start of my 3rd lap to fix the problem and was amazed to see the difference it made to your speed. That adjustment worked for about 1 lap and slowly the tilting came back unfortunately. I wasn't going to stop again and just made do as best I could for the rest of the race. Lesson for next time is to make sure you tighten with an Allen key from both sides on that bike mount.
Nearing the end of Lap 5 and was definitely time to get off the bike, as the roughness of some of the road sections were making life difficult and not as fun as Lap 1. 150psi in carbon tubulars is not very forgiving and is good for speed but not for comfort. I didn't feel to bad, but was definitely not super fresh. At the time, I wasn't aware of my bike time but knew it was in the ballpark of where I wanted to be. My only concern was whether I had burnt to many of candles I had, getting to that point and then having a shocking run. Again good support got me fired up for T2 and a nice midday run.
T2 was uneventful, other than the near cramp experience of my hip flexors realising they had more work to do after racking my bike (note: bike rack didn't fall over today). Then the running started. OMFG, my body had forgotten that feeling. I felt like death warmed up. Stomach churning, legs wobbly, head not interested, motivation gone, is there anything else......
Have to admit, it wasn't the most pleasant part of my day, but just concentrating on one foot in front of the other and keep the mental demons at bay was my plan. Looked at the watch and pace was in the ballpark, just have to run through this feeling I kept saying to myself. Had real stomach distress for the first lap and very close to a cramp in my Left VMO which added to the battle, so I got straight into coke and enervit at every opportunity and step by step the km's ticked over. Am starting to cramp a lot more with age, so definitely need to start adding salt to my nutrition.
Once I got through that first lap things started to feel better and I really did some good running in the 2nd lap. Started passing some people and then ran into some crazy lady at the back end of the bush section. Lisa had made her way out there and was great encouragment to me and all. Gave me a buzz and fired me up to keep striding along. Not sure of my split times, but I am sure that was my quickest lap.
Through the pool area to the cheers of the supporters (thanks all again) and out for the final lap. pity Lisa wasn't positioned at the 15km mark as the wheels started to fall off there and things became pretty tough. Again the mantra of 'one step at a time' kicked in and I got some comfort in that I was still passing people. Neared the start of the bush section and Spartan smoked past at some ridiculous pace, looking at the results he ran himself into 7th overall, so had a really great race, with a 1:22 run.
I knew my time was looking pretty good, but breaking 4:30 wasn't to be, so rather than fire up and chased up I just concentrated on "surviving" for a sub 4:40. Pushing that little bit harder in that last bit just didn't make sense and really once I knew sub 4:40 was covered, it came down to enjoying the last section and I must admit to feeling very pleased with how the day went. Not even a "shut up legs" at the 18km mark from Lisa could get me going, lol. Crossing the line, I didn't have a lot left as I nearly fell, but the catchers got me and a chair for a few minutes as nice after a good race. Is a good feeling finishing a triathlon after a 2 year hiatus from the sport.
As the times above suggest, damn pleased with the bike and run. If only I had known how close I was to breaking 1:30 for the run and I reckon I had those 18 seconds in me. All easy to say in hindsight though and really you have to be happy with what you deliver on the day.
Wasn't long and got to cheer Matt on his last lap and then to see him finish his first Half Ironman and the look of satisfaction on his face was great to see.
Great day and was fun racing, especially with Ronnie, Jon, Special K, Goony, Steve and Trish, Shona and Woody, Matt and Stacy, Smitty, Lisa, Gill and Dave all out there to keep me company. AWESOME.
Some other pics that Lisa managed to grab of the action:
p.s. Jon still remains the swim king over Ronnie :)
Thinking after a rest period of a couple of weeks, 3 x 8 week blocks of sport specific training to work on both Bike and Run, then a 14 week IM specific build for the race itself. This is obviously the perfect world however and combining this with Life, Work, Social Events and the inevitable lack of motivation along the way, shall be interesting. As usual the secret with this stuff is consistency, as I pour another Celebration Bourbon......
Didn't need to do a whole lot during the day other than get the bike ready, a gentle ride, get my gear packed and register. Good to catch up with Matt and Stacy during the day and for a first timer was hiding the nerves very well. 
The famous Solarer Berg is the highlight of the ride. With pictures like this, I suspect climbing it could be more fun than pain....
Agnes Waters was the next destination with Gill, Dave and Jolie, which turned out to be a great week away. With part training, part relaxing and some quiet partying we really didn't want to leave, but as life goes you have to return to normal at some stage. I think there could be a return trip to this location. The weather for the week wasn't the greatest, so it would be good to go back and be able to go for a swim
