That's really it up until the race on the weekend. So Saturday I was packed and ready to go. I had no body complaints so no excuses. Adam showed up around 11am and we headed up to the regatta center. As usual there was a lot of people around doing their thing. They had a practice swim that day and the iron kids events. We headed over to rego and signed in. It was inconsistently sprinkling which maybe it annoying but kept it cool. Checked in and the usual shopping for gear completed we headed to lunch and then Richmond for the night.
After the traffic issues getting into the race last year and only having a short setup time we thought that we would stay a little closer to the race and come in from the north as most people come from the south. The motel was nothing fancy but was only 15min drive away.
Sunday morning started at 3:50am. As usual I didn't have a great sleep but enough I guess. A quick breakfast, change, pack and we were on the road about 4:20am. Maybe getting there earlier this time we found that there was very little traffic issues, What we did find that the stupid parking attendants made all the early people park the furthest away. Whats that all about. Turn up last and you get the prime parking. What a joke. Anyway we made it to transition as it opened and had heaps of time to sort out our gear.
Unfortunately the rain was still lightly falling so everything was going to be a little wet.
Being the first group after the professionals I didn't have that long to wait until my group was called to the start. The plan was to start out wide and move in then try to draft for the swim. The hope was that starting out wide I would get into my swim pace and when I moved across I would find others of a similar pace. The race started and I followed my plan. The swim was ok. While I don't mind drafting I find that I am always touching the feet in front while getting touched up from behind. Not hard to deal with but a little annoying when the guy behind pushes your feet down.
Coming out of the water I felt pretty good. I took my time in transition and put on my now wet socks. The plan was to push really hard on the bike so I thought that I would get myself sorted in the first couple of kilometers before putting the power down. After getting on the bike I took a few good peddles to get moving and I felt the inside of both legs twitch. Hmm maybe I kicked more than normal in the swim so this could be fun. Then I bumped my watch button and it told me I was now in transition two. I stopped the watch and then had to put it into ride mode and do everything manually from that point on. Later that would become annoying as I didn't know where I was up to for overall race time. The ride while reasonably flat was still crap bumpy roads. They did change the course this year a little so the first lap had some new parts that I had to see what they were like. Stupidly while I know that the roads are still technically open I wasn't expecting to be almost hit by a truck during the ride. I was heading to the second turn around point on the first lap and I see a truck parked on the side of the road. Not thinking anything of it I just ride up as if I was going to pass it and then to the turn which would have been 20m ahead. Just as I am almost beside it the truck moves and pull out on me. I pull the brakes on quickly. The truck moves 20m up the road and just stops right where I want to be. I almost come to a complete stop before sneaking past it and making the turn. The worst part of it was there is police there doing nothing about the fact that this jerk is just getting in the road.
Anyway moving on past that I pushed as hard as I could. I was taking my tablets to stop cramps and they seemed to work well. Being in the first group there was not many people around. You find the quick guys and girls from the groups below catch you but that's about it really. Near the end of the ride I know I had gone pretty hard. My hips were feeling it and my legs were tired. The sun had started to come out when I got off the bike and while I felt tired I seemed to be ok.
I put on my shoes and race belt and put another packet of tablets in my back pocket. The plan was to go as hard as I can for as long as I can and then just hold on. I knew already didn't have a heap left but I thought that if I can get through the first 7-10kms in one big chunk that would be a great start. I went up the first small hill over a bridge and I felt cramp pain from both quads. Obviously due to me pushing on the bike. Its ok I have felt this before. The first time it almost stopped me. The second I managed it with my tablets. I had planned for this so I felt I was good. Knowing that I was very close to the first aid station I went to get my tablets out of my back pocket and they were gone. Nooooo.. Bugger I had dropped them.What a crapper. Oh well nothing I could do so I moved on. It took some time to to think of how to manage it and I decided that if I increased my run cadence I would then take smaller steps and not land so hard on my legs. Then if I can get a lot of fluid into me I should be able to get through it. While I did feel a few moments of pain during the rest of the run it generally worked. I did make it to the 7 or 8km aid station before I walked so I was happy with that. Then the plan was to run between aid stations where I would walk, take in some nutrition and reset. That's how it was for the rest of the run. The sun was really hot when it was out but we did have some clouds so we were lucky that the heat was not on us all the time. Crossing the line I was done. I found a bag of ice from the medical staff at the finish line and sat down. Actually the medical staff do a good job. At one stage I was in the recovery area and I wanted to get out of the crowds. I found a nice patch of grass and had a lay down on my towel. I started to stretch my leg while laying down and before I knew it I had a medical person over me making sure I was ok. We had a quick chat about some good recovery techniques and then he moved on.
Anyway in the end I was about 17.5min faster than last year which was a good feeling. Its just a shame it hurt so much. haha. Final results.
