Well, you can't win 'em all...why not??
Thanks to my new iPhone and its ability to turn off alarms for no reason, as well as unsigned road closures, we were slightly late arriving on race morning. However we got there with just enough time and i managed to get my transition set up...just. I then had to try and put my wetsuit on in the rain...bloody difficult! Oh rain? It rained for 6 hours....straight, honestly not one second of relief! Very interesting conditions.
Before i knew it i was on the front line of the deep water start ready to roll...the horn went off. I lead to the first can where three or four guys in my age group proceeded to come around past me. I tried to jump on their toes however couldn't quite get there, a little disappointing, but i was still swimming ok. The rest of the swim, myself and another guy led the rest of the "chase pack" around the course. I came out of the water 30 mins flat, slightly slower than i expected but more importantly i was feeling excellent and raring to go.
As i ran into transition i saw Seano standing next to my bike (he should have been well onto the bike as his wave was 30 mins before mine). It turns out in his rush to get to the start he had jumped into the water, straight onto a rock and severely bruised his heel :( an unlucky start and premature end to his day. I had a usual blinder transition and was onto the bike into the pouring rain and occasional tough winds.
From here i settled into a nice rhythm and made sure i was careful about where i was riding, the conditions led to carnage everywhere. I was riding excellently, exactly on required race pace. I was feeling extremely comfortable, keeping my nutrition on track and just feeling great. I was really happy and confident. That was until 75 k in - psshhhhttttttt. Flat on my front tyre. A lot of profanities came out in the next 30 seconds but i realised i had to get into action.
I pulled of the front wheel, got out my can of pitstop and filled the tyre up. I looked up at the tyre, the hole was so big the pit stop was flowing out, dammit!! I looked up and there were two people 100 meters up the road, i ran up to them and asked if they were out and if so if i could use their front wheels? They were waiting for a mechanic so it wasn't to be, but a really nice girl there helped me change my tub. After close to 15 mins after i originally got my flat (pitstop, running up the road, changing the tub), i was finally off again and with a vengeance.
I looked down and was cranking 47 kph on the flats. I told myself that this was stupid and settled into a more reasonable pace of 40kph for the last 14 k. I rolled into transition with a 2.28 bike time however with the flat it had been stretched out to a massive 2.44 :(
I ran out of transition and onto the run, feeling really good. I settled into 3.50 per k pace and set in. Before i knew it, i had completed the first lap of 3 and i was feeling good! I set out onto the second lap, with renewed confidence. Here i was joined by a fellow age grouper who wanted to stick with me. However i wasn't in the mood to help pace anyone else so i put my foot down for 2k's and dropped him, quite satisfying. I started to get a few little spasms etc through my calfs and thighs about 10k in, but i wasn't worried and continued to take in electrolytes and water, as well as my gels.
Bam, 7k to go. Well this is it i said to myself make it hurt, make it worth it. I held my pace until about 2 k to go where my body decided it had had enough and started to shut it self down. This was extremely painful but i was determine not to drop under 4 min k's for the whole run, and i didn't. I crossed the finish line extremely happy but massively exhausted.
The next thing i remember was waking up in the medical tent, which is a little embarrassing to admit. I had horrible cramps in my legs and jaw (in my jaw?! why??) and was pretty dizzy. After half an hour in there i checked myself out and met up with seano.
Hindsight is a beautiful thing and it has been really interesting to look back at this race. I now know what i need to do in the future to get my race up to the next step and beyond. More wetsuit 'race pace' swims are required. It was really nice to see my bike split (with out the flat time) go well under a 2.30, on a tough day on a tricky course. Not only that but i felt extremellyyyy comfortable riding at that pace, a really good sign. I'm glad to see my extra winter riding is really paying off.
Finally, for me my run was excellent. Not once did i dip under 4 minute k's and ran really solidly for a 1.21 a top 20 time overall!!
I am still extremely sore and tired but can't wait to get back into it!! About a week off to let my body and blisters recover and i will slowly start to get back into it. Thank you everyone who has offered me support during the whole experience, with out that it would have been a LOT tougher. (Mum and Dad, Lisa, Kate, Paige, Andy, Seano, Dan and so many others, good on you all).
Keep training hard and see you on the track!
