Short Version:
Overall: 50th 4:34:55 solid
Swim: 34th= 28:35 sigh…
T1: 127th= 01:53 ouch!
Bike: 57th= 2:25:58 chuffed
T2: 98th= 01:31 hmm..
Run: 86th 1:36:58 I’ll take that
Category: 6th 30-35 age-group
Another solid race, was expecting a bit more for the swim and run and it seems my transitions are pretty average (not surprised on T1, my timing chip came off in my wetsuit, panic ensued…). The swim was a disaster organisationally with the pros and female age-groupers getting at least 50-100m head start and a huge current assistance (to put in perspective the lead pack of age-group males hit the first 500m turn buoy at the same time as the female age group main pack!! The pros were well ahead). Rode hard for a nice improvement in time over last time out with little payback on the run. The run was a significantly tougher course than Shepp and I had cramping in my quads from early that came and went, so reasonably happy with the time (managed to even split the first and second 10.5km). All in all, I’ll take a 2min PR, would have liked more. It was great to race in front of home crowd.
Long Version:
Race day conditions were pretty good. The sky threatened to open up prior to the race but only a short shower on the bike resulted. There was some blustery onshore winds that played a little havoc on the disc riders (of which I was one) on the 50/20/20 three loop course and there were a lot of puncture sufferers (of which I was not one, phew..). It got pretty warm on the run.
Because they held the race briefing the previous evening, pre-race went smoothly… other that the 3 portaloo stops required! I now know that double dosing on Ultra-muscleze for the 3 days prior had an extreme laxative effect on me. Not an ounce of discomfort but I am talking liquefied!! Not a good idea. I know it was the Muscleze because the day after stopping it things returned to normal.
I got into the water with a few minutes to warm up and find a good position for the start which was positive.
Swim:
The swim was a double triangle course in a bay beside Mount Maunganui, exiting the water between laps (for spectator value). The first lap was slightly longer than the second. The swim start was a deep water start at a jetty at one end of the bay. There is a significant current running in the direction of the first 500m leg that gets seriously stronger the further out you get. The age-group males were positioning on the shore side of the jetty, the females on the ocean side with the pro field just in front of them. In the last few minutes before race start the pros followed by the female age-groupers swam out from the jetty to get more current assistance (smart move). They then proceeded to drift towards the first buoy. Meanwhile, the age-group males were questioning the race official/starter about this and things were getting heated. The starter then began his speech about good luck etc. and half the male pack took off. I was expecting a call back prior to starting which never happened and then a pitiful hooter signified the race start and we took off. I was angry at myself for again missing the start and had to work very hard to catch one of two lead packs of age-group men. At the first turn buoy the pros were a good 200m ahead due to a head start and strong current. The pack I was in hit the first buoy with the female middle pack and we had to swim through a mess of slower swimmers. I then started to pick off some slower pros. Once in clear water I had a pretty solid swim, the other male lead pack had managed to get a drop on us in the mess and I ended up about 10th out of the age-groupers while the majority of the pros came out well ahead of us. I felt good coming out of the water, though a bit annoyed that I had not had the swim I had wanted.
T1:
I came into T1 feeling fresh, I whipped of my wetsuit and then realised that my timing chip had come off with it, I had to dig around in my wetsuit to find it and then had to reattach it. Precious seconds ticking away!!! I was glad not to have a “Macca” moment with the aero helmet and got away smoothly.
The Ride:
I felt good once on the bike and got up to speed real quick and managed to get rolling. Jumping onto a legal “pack” of three other riders that were moving at a good pace I got to work. I didn’t have the pain in my legs like I did in Shepp and I really noticed the tapers affect on my power and rhythm. I loved the new aero helmet; it really helped me focus on staying aero. The course consisted of a dead flat 50km loop and two 20km loops. Each lap went twice over about 6 large speed bumps, which was a pain in the ass. A lot of people lost nutrition on these, thank goodness for the attention I put into this leading up to the race and I was glad to have no problems with ejected bottles on the bike (though a runaway bottle rolling down the road came close to causing me grief!) The first lap was windy blowing the disc and deep rim front around a bit, not enough to be a real problem but enough to keep me awake. I lost a few places on the ride and managed to gain a few back. Maintaining focus and pace became difficult on the two shorter laps because the entire field of 800 + 200 team riders was squeezed on the 20km loop by the end and a lot of newbies seem to find keeping left difficult and have a tendency to weave while drinking etc. A few close calls and some shouting was as bad as it got luckily. I managed to get though all my nutrition and I feel this helped later in maintaining my speed. I still feel that something was missing from my nutrition plan on the bike as I cramped on the run again. More analysis is needed.
T2:
I had all my run kit in a plastic bag after the squelchy shoe incident last time out. I had a dense moment when I tried to take everything out of the bag individually before figuring out that the dump on the ground method would be faster. I got sorted pretty quickly after that, not rushing the socks, not wanting to pay with blisters later. Looking at my transition times/placings there is definitely time to be gained and this will be something to be considered next time for sure. Some was just that “shit happens” kind of stuff some was need for practice. I will work on this before next race. Free time is good time.
The Run:
Coming out of transition I felt strong and hoped that the faster ride was not going to hurt me too much on the run. I pulled in behind two guys that seemed to be running strong and used them to pace off while I concentrated on relaxing and getting my stride sorted. At about 3km I started to cramp in my VMOs (the tear drop shaped quad muscle just above and to the middle of the knee) it was pretty bad and I was in some trouble for a few km. I was cursing for not organising salt tablets before leaving Australia and not being able to find some in NZ. I grabbed water and Balance Electrolyte drink (race sponsor) at the next aid station and got a bit down while trying to stay with the two guys I was pacing off. It wasn’t enough, so at the bike aid station a bit further up the road I crossed the road and grabbed a bottle of Balance and a bottle of water. I drank half of each pretty quickly and poured the cold water on my quads. The effect of the fluids inside and out was pretty quick and I was able to run pretty freely again after a few km. Then we hit the dirt path surrounding the Mount. The path is an undulating dirt path around the bottom of the Mount. It has a few nasty sharp hills and these do a number on your legs. I felt pretty strong on the path but definitely felt that my pace dropped off significantly on this section of the run that had to be covered twice. At the turn around I knew going under 1:35 for the run like I had hoped was a long shot and a negative split was needed. I picked up the intensity but it seems not the pace as I covered the second lap in the same time as the first. I found a second wind on the second lap of the Mount and managed to pass a couple of people that had passed me, making it stick and running strong into the finish. Though had they made a comeback I would have been in trouble, as my legs were going into meltdown over the last 1.5km flat stretch to the finish. I crossed the line pretty happy with a personal best time of 4:34 and headed straight for the massage tent.
It was great to have a solid performance in front of my family and to do a similar time to my last race on a tougher course was pleasing. It also indicates that I am where I am at the moment and this gives me food for thought as to how improvements can be made. It seems that the most benefit would come from improving my run and probably some free seconds in transition. To do this I need to ride faster with less fatigue going into the run. I think my swim is very close to where I want it and on a good day will get me to the right place at the right time.
On a side note, my age-group placing qualifies me to race for NZ at the World Long Course Triathlon Championships in the Netherlands in August. However because I am not a financial member of TriNZ and didn’t tick the box saying I wanted to be eligible, I wont be selected. Maybe I will consider a serious crack at this in the next few years (I have 4 more in the 30-35). The distances might suit me well with a 4km swim and 120km bike and a 30km run.
Thank you:
A big thanks to the ETPA crew, Coach Tippett, the great friends that lent me go fast gear and the support texts from Australia. Thank you to the friends and family that cheered me on during the race and to the other half of Team Duncan, Fay.
Cheers.
J.
