The story starts in
December 2016 with a good friend Pam. We made a commitment to each other to
build to her first Ironman. During the year each of us had our own goals and
races that we aimed for but the road lead to Busso (Busselton)
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| Pam and I at Busso 2017 |
As a warmup to my next Half Ironman, I completed the Great
Vic Swim Series and Great Australia Day
Swim at Brighton. All events where 2.5km or longer. At the Great Australia Day
Swim Pam, Fik and I did both the 2.5KM and then backed it up with the 1.4KM.
Ironman Geelong 70.3
The week leading into Geelong was warm, however race
delivered it all, Wind, Rain, Sun, more rain, hail, Wind more rain wind and
wind. Did I say it was Windy? This race
had it all, it started back Mid 2016 when my Ex and I said we said we would both
race this together. Sadly the relationship didn’t work out and we split
up. I spent many days and nights dealing
with these Daemons, I confined my thoughts with Pam and she kept me honest to
the point we spoke at least once or two a week away from training. The build was with a good crew, I felt ready
until the two weeks before the race my calf become tight after 2km of
running. Eliica why is myo did her magic
and I was careful but not over doing and
make sure I stretched a lot. On the Friday before race day I packed up the car
and drove down to Geelong town. As my Hotel room was not ready I drove the
course both the bike and run. After checking in I went across the road to rego
bumped into Carly (another Club Team Mate) once we completed the Rego bit we
headed into Expo for that shopping experience. That night I heading out for a
Pizza then an early night, the following morning James (Another Team Mate) and
I rode about 20km of the bike course before heading back to the Hotel dropping
the bike off then heading down for a swim and quick run. I spent the Saturday
stretching and preparing the bike before the Saturday afternoon dropped off.
Saturday the weather changed from a warm 25c to cold 18c. I dropped my bike off caught up with Pam for
a Coffee during a rain storm. That night the team went out for dinner then an
early night. I did really sleep well but I got up around 4am got ready. Just as
I was about to leave to Transition the fire alarm for the building sounded.
Most of the building was full of Triathletes we all just headed off to
transition. Here I am hoping I had a place to stay that night as 4 Fire Trucks
showed up. I hung out in the team tent
then got myself ready to race. I did my warm up swam saw my good friend Pam as
I lined up for the swim. The horn sounded and off we went. The Break water
protected us from the wind, once passed the water become rocky and wanted to
push me off course. I aimed for the turning buoy and swim towards it, then we
all got the push down the next turning buoy. We had to head back into the waves
and final turning buoy then into the beach and transition. I grabbed my Helmet
got the wetsuit off and headed out. I had a nice tail wind out towards Point
Henry then out on the Point Henry road I got blasted with the wind and salt
from the salt farms. On the road out to the Port Arlington I got feel the rain
and hail on the helmet and my back you could hear and feel the stones. At the
turn around was time to head back into the town into the wind. I felt strong I
felt good. As I came to the turnaround I took it easy as the roads where wet and I suspected slippery so I took it easy and headed out again for
another lap. More wind, bit of sun more rain and hail. I dropped the bike off
and headed out for the run. Felt ok until I got to the hilly bits the calf
started acting up. My lower back also felt tight. Most likely from head winds
on the bike. My run end up being a walk run walk run job. Got the over the
line.
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| At the Swim start ready to do this |
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| Coming out of the swim feeling good |
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| Heading out on the 2nd lap in the wet |
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| Get pic of the rain |
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| Getting more wet on the run |
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| Home and glad to get this one done |
Time 6:31:01
Swim 0:36:54
T1 0:03:43
Bike 3:11:06
T2 0:04:14
Run 2:35:03
St Kilda Mile Swim
With Pam doing her first Ironman we; Fik, Pam and I thought
it would be a great idea to sign up to 3.8KM Mile Swim. Conditions where perfect flat, the idea was
to complete the distance a big training day not a race.
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| Fik now working for MI6 |
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| Almost go time |
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| People you meet at these events |
Time 1:01:53
Whittlesea challenge
110KM Ride on the bike through country Victoria, big day out
with Pam and Fik (again) riding our roadies, I got a flat as we headed up the
biggest climb. It was not safe to change the flat so I ended up walk about 300m
to safe place to change the tyre. Was something different and good day out.
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| Pre Event |
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| First Hill Climb |
Mothers Day classic
As part of my build to Cairns I signed up for some race
craft 8km around Tan followed by another 8kms of postrace fun / build.
Time 47:43
Cairns
2nd Half Ironman in 6 Months – OMG – what have I
signed up for ? After Geelong I thought it would be a good idea to get some warm
weather in June before the Cold Winter of Melbourne. The Crew existed of 5
doing the Full IM and 2 (including me) doing the Half IM. Cairns is an
interesting race it’s has two transitions areas one in Palm Cove and another in
Cairns. I Fly into Cairns on the Thursday did the hole rego and expo bit and
kept to myself as I was not in the main area of Cairns. I rode part of the bike
course and run part of the run course. Saturday Morning I walked down to T2 and
dropped off my runners then headed back to the Hotel room to grab my bike and
ride up to Palm Cove. I took another pair of shoes to change into once dropping
the bike off. During the ride up there where lots of people also riding up. I
came across another competitor having issues on his bike. So stopped and helped
him sort out his gears. We rode up
together. When we got to transition I stopped and changed out of bike shoes
into runners and walked my bike in. After racking my bike I noticed that the
rear tyre had got flat, not much you can do except change it. Better to do it
now that tomorrow morning. After catching up with a few friends I found my way
to the bus and trip back to Cairns. Another early night and very early morning.
I had a good 15min walk to the bus which left Cairns to Palm Cove from 4am. I
got up at 3:30am got ready and started my walk to the bus. We got on the buses
and headed up the road for 25min trip. Most people wanted to try and get a
little sleep except for the 2 first timers in front of me who wanted chat all
the way up. Once we got off the buses we all headed into Transition. Good news
my tyres where ok no more flats, but I did pack and extra 2 tubes just in case.
After getting everything ready I dropped my gear bag off then headed towards
the bathroom. A trick I learnt from another team mate duck into one of the
hotels and use their bathroom as the queues for the public/portables would be
long. I changed into my wetsuit and started the 2km walk down the beach to swim
start. I got in and did a bit of a warm up and over heard some locals say how
cold the water was. 20cish compared to Melbourne’s 15c. Warm to me. We wind was
blowing up the bay perfect for us. This race was a rolling start we lined up
and off we went. I could feel the push of the waves up to the turning buoy and
into the beach. A very long run to my bike, I had a wonderful lady help me get
my wetsuit off and she packed into the bag ready for the truck trip back to
cairns. I grabbed my bike and ran for what felt like forever to the mount line
and on the bike. We headed up towards Port Douglas. The bike course is magic
and fast at the turn we head back towards Palm cove and then onto Cairns. As we
came close to Cairns you duck in and around the Airport and down along the run
course. Little scary as there are cars (stopped/moving) while you’re flying by.
Certainly didn’t feel happy being in aero, so much I got up out of Aero. I came
into T2 dropped on the bike off, unwrapped my T2 Bag got my socks and shoes on
and headed out for run. Was feeling too great had some tummy craps. I kept on
going hoping things would settle down. They didn’t. At the 10km Aid Station
they Cramp Ease, it was like gasoline and need a couple of waters to get rid of
the taste. Clearly I had the wrong mix on the bike which caused these issues.
My plan had to change slower pace, but at the next turn point I felt a change,
I felt less heavy and cramp had gone. The 2nd half of my run was way
better than the first. I crossed the line to complete Ironman Half #5 and 2nd for the year. I grabbed my gear and headed
back to the hotel for quick shower and change of clothes before heading back
out to the crew doing the following. Great to see the club get 3 Kona places in
this race.
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| The welcome at Cairns Airport on arrival |
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| Bike Ready to Roll |
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| With the crew out riding |
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| Find you name on the wall |
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| Getting all the gear ready for T1 and T2 |
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| T2 Bag Drop |
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| T1 Bike and Bag Drop |
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| Happy with the Swim |
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| Enjoying the views on the ride |
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| Back into Cairns and heading for T2 |
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| Out on the run |
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| Two half's done and dusted in 6 Months |
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| Beer time and Support Duties |
Time 6:26:55
Swim 0:34:57
T1 0:07:03
Bike 3:06:43
T2 0:04:10
Run 2:33:59
Post Cairns race we had a team meeting, the Busso crew all
started working on me to race Busso. While I was going there to support Pammy I
had no plans to do a 3rd Half in a year. Lots of talk that I need to race Busso, I
turned to the Head Coach Ollie and said well? I got the approval to race, but
only a Half not the full. Later that night I signed up for half #6 and 3rd
for the year
Sandy Point Half
10KM, big year so far but far from being over. Sandy Point
again was just another training day as we build towards Busso. It was cold,
wet, crappy day. I felt good 5km out, 5km back. Fairly straight forward, but
was a case of keep warm, race and get warm again.
Time 57:50
Mornington Running Festival
Another 10km event, again the weather was crap, rain, wind,
etc. I had rode the day before to trash the legs. My plan was to use another
build race and get the race craft right.
Time 1:01:32
New Bike
Giant Released the new range of 2018 Bikes. They a deal in
September for the new arrange, time to race the old TCR roadie with a new one.
Disc Brakes, DI2, all the good bits.
Melbourne Marathon Half
Long run with 21,0000 mates, yet another build race. This
was all about race craft and just a long run. I felt great on this run magic
moment running in and around the MCG.
Time 2:11:33
Busso
Well 3 Half IM’s in one year! OMG what the hell have I done!
After getting the talked into during a team meeting by Ash, Julies and Pam with
the sign off of the Head Coach I signed up for Number 3. My commitment to Pam
was to help her through her training for the full Ironman turned into my own
training block. Every Friday Pam and I would chat about our plans for Saturday
and Sunday. Build weeks we would head
down past Mornington, Rosebud, Sorrento, Portsea/Point Nepean. Recovery weeks –
loops of Mordy to Frankston on the flats. Our Biggest day 193KM. Runs off the
bike just great team work. We had some
18 racing at Busso, 5 in the half and rest in the full.
Thursday morning before race day was the flight over to
Perth. As we showed up to the airport we got told of flight delay and change of
plane. Once we arrived at Perth I called Fik who had flown over with Tiger. I
got my bags meet Fik, picked up the rental car and started the 3 hour trip
South to Busso. Lots of laughs and stories. Fik and I where sharing a place
with Pam, her hubby Sam. After we arrived and unpacked the car Fik, Pam and I
went for a drive over the bike course mainly flat but technical. After that we headed
out for Dinner with Sam and I called it quits and went to bed. The following
morning the crew all meet at the pier for swim. A few of us did about 20km on
the bike course. Later that day we all headed down for the Expo and
Registration later that night the crew went out for dinner. Me I was sitting on
some very big news, which I shared with Fik and Pam who screamed very, very
loudly in my ears. At dinner I shared the news that I was off to race Escape
from Alcatraz in San Francisco in June of 2018. Saturday morning Pam and I
headed out for a little run nothing too big, then big prep of bikes, bags, etc.
ready for check in. Being a hot day the thinking was to do the checking early
and chill out for the rest of the day.
Race day, big day ahead. We drove
down parked and walked into transition. Prep’d everything and got out. I left
my bag with Fik along with a Battery Bank and went to start my race. This was a rolling start, I got some 350-400m
into the swim when I noticed the chopper came in low and I started thinking
they are filming us, then I heard the water safety people all blowing whistles
and asking us all to move to the pier. There was a fish problem. 2.4M fish. I
felt no concern for my safety at any time. Once I climbed up the ladder onto
the pier I started running towards swim exit only to be told that race would be
reset. All Athlete’s in the half regrouped new swim exit and full where asked
to go to their bikes. They need to account for everyone. Emily another TA team
mate and I talked and removed our wetsuits. We basically restarted run into T1
picked up our bikes and headed out. Em and I spent the day out on the bikes
swapping places nice and fast. This stopped after another competitor was hit by
a roo. Emily who is a medical professional stop gave assistance while I headed
to the next aid station to report the accident then kept going. The temp
started increasing, at the aid stations I made sure to grab water to pour over
me to keep me cool. Once I got back into T2 racked my bike on with socks and
shoes and headed out for a very hot run. On the way out I stopped for a pee in
the port-a-lou and I thought to myself these will be rip a little later in the
day Out on the course somebody had put a shark crossing and couple of people
had a blowup pool shark called Bruce (from Finding Nemo). It was super hot, I
searched for water and relief at every point.
I finished the race and was helped by a volunteer through to
recovery they wanted to make sure that we the athlete’s where ok. After leaving
recovery I started looking for Fik and Sam. After getting my bag and Hotel key
I grabbed my bike and headed back for shower. I then headed back for the next
job of supporting. Time to get all our Ironman home. Fik, Em and I took
position just near the pier with cowbells and Sun Smart Sun Hats and brought
everyone home. During our supporting we noticed a fire north of us. We later
heard that the bike course had a change due to the fire. Around 10pm all the
our crew where home, Fik had a card to pick up Pam’s bike and gear which we did
and headed back to the Hotel Sam waited for Pam and would meet us there. Fik
and I had where hunger so we stopped at the only thing open Maccers. There we
were at the Hotel drink beers and having Maccers. After Pam got back, she was
stuff, blisters on her feet, sweaty and tied. We all chatted for a hours before
we called it quits and retied. I gave Pam some of Compeed Blister pads.
Next morning we all went for a shortish walk and then headed
down the roll down. Most of the day was chilling taking it easy and starting to
clean and pack up. That night the 4 of us headed into Busso for dinner and race
to remember
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| Bikes about to be loaded. Hoping mine is the one upside down |
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| Busso Pier |
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| TA Crew doing a practice swim |
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| TA Crew doing a Transition walk through |
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| Typical Triathlete Shared House - Bikes and Bags everywhere |
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| Ready to race |
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| Swim under way until a Fish caused a problem |
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| Time to get out of the water |
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| Em, I and everyone waiting for the race to restart |
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| Race back on off to T1 |
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| Heading out for fast 90km |
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| Enjoying the ride |
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| Heading back into town |
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| I can almost see T2 |
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| Out on the Super hot run |
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| Number 3 for year in the bag |
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| That Great Sweet Red Carpet |
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| Done |
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| 3 for the year in the bag |
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| 6 Half IM's Done |
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| Beer time |
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| Supporter Duties - What Happens in Busso stays in Busso! right? |
Time 5:57:34
Swim ------ - Fish Issue
T1 0:03:30
Bike 2:53:38
T2 0:04:14
Run 2:56:11
2017 might be over but here are some stats
407hours of training
6191km
25258m elevation
243 days of 365 training and racing.
Longest ride 193.2km
AWA Bronze Member
2018
Off to Southern California for Escape from Alcatraz Tri a
bucket list I have spent 6 years trying to gain a spot. After last year getting
a spot and turning it down during to Cairns this year. I am a very lucky person
to receive another bid offer and I have accepted and paid for.
