Ultra-Trail Australia 100km

Short Report

13:43:03 = sub 14hours = one SILVER Buckle

 

       

Long report (warning VERY long report)

Why?

In August 2013 I had entered the Sydney Oxfam TrailWalker event (post somewhere on here). As a team we completed the event in something over 21hrs. So it was indeed a TrailWALKER. Since then I had been mildly interested to see how a solo 100km event would go and whether I would enjoy it more. Over the last few years I had done a couple of trail runs (Coastal Classic & Six Foot Track). The original plan for 2016 was to do Mt Solitary in April and then consider The North Face 100 (TNF) or the Ultra-Trail Australia100 as it had now been re-branded for 2017. However a mate and colleague Terry (of Oxfam fame) convinced me to do another event (Oxfam, Port IM, the list is expected to grow over time) when he entered. It took me 2 mins to put my name on the waitlist. Then sometime in January/February I got my place. So what with the bike races I had planned for February that gave me 12 weeks to get ULTRA ready.

Training

The training went pretty well. I broke a few rules and ramped up the KM's almost over night and went from 20-30ks pw to 45 to 70-90s. I then held that for 10 weeks until tapering. I did end up seeing a physio towards the end as I was having trouble with my right knee. More strengthening was recommended - the same exercises from post breaks my leg in 2008. Clearly I had stopped them too soon. The hope was that the requirement to swing my leg over rocks, like was required in Mt Solitary Ultra wasn't required in the UTA. Or more than that the slight niggle didn't develop into a debilitating or race ending issue.

Training was mostly done solo. HURTSquad was out because my knee didn't like pace work and the pace work wasn't fitting into my training plan and probably more to the point I didn't want to turn up knackered and look like a tool. So lots of hill work was required. I rep'd a lot of my local hills for hours at a time and also turned to using the stairwell at work. My office being on the 28th and 29th story of the Glasshouse building. In the end I think that really helped, albeit it wasn't nearly enough to compensate for the number of stair reps that were required on the UTA course.  

Almost all my training was done road running. I did two trail runs in total one being the MT Solitary Ultra (run by Running Wild) and the second a 30 odd k jaunt through LaneCove National Park and up the Great North Walk Trail.

Race Weekend

I had been preparing my gear for weeks. The requirement to or rather ability to get your gear check done ahead of time meant that I was getting ready well in advance of the race. It also meant that my gear changed through that time and the process. Best of all was the new rain jacket I got for my birthday (end April) which saved me 1kgs as I didn't have to lug my mountaineering gore-tex around. LHS replaced w RHS. 

Especially as when my jacket was checked at CP3 the lady remarked that it was the smallest rain jacket she had ever seen?!?!?

My bags were packed the night before. Check-in and bad drops were required the night before so travel was to be done on the Friday. Terry had offered to drive so all was set. The final preps were done Friday morning. Dropped the kids off at day-care and went for a 3km leg loosener. I then had some paleo breaky from About Life, grabbed some bananas and salad for lunch and was all set. Despite it being a run I still had an entire Mountain Equipment duffle bag full of stuff. Clothes for before and after, my running gear, rucksack and three cooler bags for Check Point (CP) 3, 4 and 5.

Drove up at lunchtime and had an easy journey in. I had a room in the CMS which was literally throwing distance from the start and finish line. The room was a 4 bunk room there were two others staying in the room (Neil and Morgan). Terry was intending on sleeping in his swag in his car. Conveniently enough he parked right outside my room to drop me off and then kind of just stayed there - perfect.

We had a look at the Scenic World, checked-in, wondered around, dropped our drop bags off, wondered around, listened to the pro's and the race briefing, smashed down the buffet at 19:30 and then turned it in. The views from the Scenic World were great and we had a good look as we knew we weren't going to be stopping to take in the views much the next day....

 

Rise and shine time was set for 5am. For the 6:20 or 6:25 start time. Yes that was how close our room was. I had my alarm set for 4am so that I could get some food down early. Didn't need it in the end as I woke and checked the time at 3:59. 1 up and go, 2 bagels and back to sleep - all consumed in my bed. On waking I smashed some coffee, had time for a shower and was all set with plenty of time. At the last minute I grabbed a spare plastic bottle form Terry and stuffed it in my bag. The night before I had discovered a leak in my bladder. I had covered it with some trusty duct tape, but reckoned it was better to be safe than sorry. Plus an empty plastic bottle doesn't weigh anything. I also had my new butterfly lacing to try out that Neil had showed me the night before. As a nine time finisher (i.e. Every year it had run) I (and Morgan) quickly tried to suck up as much information and as many tips as possible. 

Race Day

The first group went off at 6:20, I was set to go at 6:25. I heard the start from the nearby errr portaloo, yes the race start was so well set up that even with 1300-1400 starters set to go within a c45 period, I could do that. 

Our wave set off and it was a few k's of out and back on the road before descending the Furber steps and on to the trails proper. The out and back allowed the pack to seperate out a bit and it was surprising how much it did and how much the group 1 had done so, given the groups were seeded. I was towards the start of my group by the time we started descending. Over took people on the descent and we were off. The weather was crisp and cool, felt like it was going to be a good day. I had the previous nights race briefing in my head. Not too much water, no ibuprofen, but what about constant eating and drinking a little bit. Don't drink until you are thirst vs once you are thirsty it's too late. All very confusing. I kept sipping at my bladder. I could feel that my pack was a little wet which meant the duct-tape wasn't working 100% but the bladder was holding water so should be all a ok.

I started munching on some energy jellies as we crossed the landslide. It was indeed slow going (as we had been warned). Then up the golden stairs. The sun was rising on a beautiful day. Once up the stairs the run along the top fire trail (Narrow Neck I think) was beautiful the views were fantastic. I really seriously considered stopping for a photo, I didn't. I was having fun. All was going well and picking up places. I was happy that I was eating regularly and sipping my water regularly. 

CP1 - Narrow Neck (11.4km) 

CP1 came and my bladder still had plenty of water. In fact my bladder held 3L which I later found was a lot more than most took with them on the race. I took a couple of cups of liquid (water and electrolyte) and a few sweets. There were those who were filling their bladders. As I had heard the day before some had started with no water and were filling up at CP1 for the next 20k to CP2. Didn't stop long and was on my way.

On the way to CP2 we got to the Tarros ladders. There was a queue (the alternative route was offered, but I wasn't going to miss the ladders). I noticed that Neil (room mate, who had started in group 1 (and previous sub 14 finisher) was just a few people ahead of me. I stopped to take a few photos while in the short queue before descending the ladders.

I caught Neil with a k of the bottom of the ladders and had a quick chat. I was feeling good so I pushed on. 

CP2 Dunphys Camp (31.6km) 

As we emerged from the forest for CP2 the views were great. It was the nicest looking check point I had seen. Really pretty in a little forest glen. I went to the loo, which pleased me because it meant I was keeping hydrated. I took on more water and electrolyte. My bladder still had water in it so I didn't refill. The next aid station was CP3 where I could get my first drop bag and it was in 14k. I grabbed a fruit bun and butter and scoffed that on the way out. I remembered Darchy's advice to try and eat real food if possible. I had already been trying that with my supplies I was carrying. From experience I knew that later on I would probably get dehydrated and not want or be able to eat the more solid bars I had so was trying to get them down early leaving the gels for later.

Out of CP2 and off I went. Was tracking well. We had to tackle IronPot ridge on this segment which contained a little out and back along the ridge. We also had the pleasure of hearing the didge being played. On the way back along the ridge I was feeling bouncy enough to jump up onto the top of the ridge and run along that rather than squeezing past people on the path.

Dropping down from IronPot ridge was seriously steep, it was hard going as the ground was neither sound under foot not loose enough to scree run. Neil reckoned his butterfly lacing technique will have helped me here. The route was pleasant enough through to CP3 a bit more open with grassland in between the trees, bits of farm land etc. One annoying bit was seeing the double back on a bit of course but then taking a good few k's to come back to the other side of the field.

CP3 46k

Coming into CP3 - Six Foot Track I was feeling ok. I was perhaps a bit dehydrated. But given this was now the same distance as Mt Solitary I was feeling vastly better than at the end of that....That said I was just over 5 hours in rather than the 6:30 at the end of Solitary. There was a gear check on the way into CP3 (rain coat and head torch). I then went to find my drop bag. I took a chair in the tent and got myself sorted. I changed my t-shirt, sun visor and socks. Despite having my calf guards over the tops of my socks and mini gaiters on my feet were still black with dust when I took my socks off. Apart from that and a bit of peeling my feet look ok (considering). I loaded up on gels, took some of the bars out to make more room for gels. In hindsight this was a sign I was already quite thirsty. I filled my bladder and took on some coke, water and electrolyte. I also had my vegemite bagel in hand and ran out of camp. I tried to get the bagel to go down but my mouth was too dry. I wanted to make sure I ate it because a) it had calories, b) it was real food and c) it had a lot of salt - not that I needed salt to protect from over hydrating.....I had to keep taking water on to get the bagel down. I gave up with one mouthful left. I was pretty much now that the trouble started.....

I had realised I was thirsty/getting dehydrated on the way into CP3 but also didn't want to gulp down too much liquid as with all that sloshing around wouldn't that slow me down or prevent me from running? Wasn't the key lots of little sips etc? So I carried on taking water very regularly. I was belching and generally not feeling very chipper. I didn't want to run any inclines and just wanted the famous Nellies Glen to start, as at least then there would be no debate on run vs walk. That was definitely a walking hill. Plus I felt I would be able to take on more water while not moving so quickly. I hit Nellies or rather it hit me and hard. I felt awful. I was hating it and not knowing what to do. Energy was down, mood was down, I was so thirsty but couldn't seem to solve that. More gels? More energy jellies to suck on whilst sipping water. It went on and on and I slowed several times thinking I could actually be sick. Each time I felt bad I saw someone else who I thought "mate I feel how you look" but then I went passed them when they pulled to the side and I thought "nope, they must be worse than me, keep going".

When I arrived or left CP3 I was in 111th place. When I arrived at CP4 (c12k's later) I had lost 27 places. By the next water station 10k after that I had lost another 13 places.

I considered whether I could do this, would I give up at the next check point. Could I admit defeat, could I keep going. I wanted a hug from Em, I wanted a little Henry 'duddle'. Going into the next checkpoint (CP4) I felt tears coming as I pictured Em being there. But there was the cold hard pragmatism too, I needed to fix this, I needed to sort myself out and I needed to get it back on course. I reckoned I would fair better on my own (at the checkpoints), without anyone to shout out or get frustrated at. I needed to HTFU and get myself sorted. It felt like I dragged myself to the top of Nellies Glen and crawled over the top. I didn't its not that steep at all. My running was more like trotting now but I needed to keep moving at a pace quicker than walking or I wouldn't have "run" an ultra - it would just be another TrailWalker. All thoughts of sub 14 were out the window. All thoughts of ultras being the new safer mountaineering I had potentially been looking for were also banished. I was almost laughing at my stupidity in getting carried away before I had even attempted to run 100k let alone 160k/100m.....I was no ultra runner. I was just someone out of my depth and getting my pre race dreams shattered. 

I was never doing this again, anything like this. Why was I doing this now? What benefit was I gaining at the moment. Darchy had said to enjoy myself - I WAS NOT ENJOYING MYSELF. But I also remembered what Justin had told me. Whilst Darchy had given me some practical advice, Justin had gone for the mental advice. Words akin to "you will have dark moments, then darker moments, but you will come through the other side". Jesus wept, there were going to be darker moments? But I was going to get through them.....or so Justin said.

As I ran up the road to CP4 at the aquatic centre I was forming a plan of what to do when I got there.

CP4 Aquatic Centre 57.7k  

I grabbed my bag and some drinks and sat on a chair and stared straight ahead. At one point there was a guy sitting a few feet from me staring straight back, with what I assumed was the same vacant expression. Nothing was said, not even a knowing look or nod. I went back for more coke and electrolyte. I had some watermelon and then some more and then some more for good measure. More coke, more electrolyte. I decided I needed more electrolyte out on the course. I was regretting only having one liquid supply. Then I remembered the crushed plastic bottle. So out that came and I filled that with electrolyte and stuffed it in my bag and took another cup for good measure. I tried a hammer gel, threw it straight in the bin. They are ok(ish) when fully hydrated but rubbish when not. Every time I had one of my SIS gels I furiously drank them down. A few jelly sweets as well, anything I thought I would eat. The bagel stayed in my drop bag and I also ensured I only had gels with me. Not that I had had that many recently. I was there for a total of 11 mins but it felt like longer. 

Out and off I went again, a bit of liquid and I....well I wouldn't say I was feeling better but I wasn't ready to give up just yet. Surely it wouldn't or couldn't remain this hard or get harder. We were on the top now no? Wrong. The next 10 or so K to the water station at Sublime Point Road was Tough. Stairs up, stairs down, stairs up, stairs down, fucking stairs everywhere you turned. And no water. All I wanted was cold water, ice cold water, ice cold margaritas - that would have worked.... Onwards up and down. I did notice that the views were occasionally pretty good in this section. But I wasn't really enjoying them. The km's were ticking through so slowly, so so slowly. I had heard someone say there was water at 66kms. OK good lets go to that. But it wasn't 66 it was closer to 70 (or at least it felt like that). Took me 1hr50 mins to cover that c9kms. Up and down. By the time I got there I had my bottle in my hand and was drinking the electrolyte. I actually thought it was energy drink at the time but apparently it was just electrolyte. 

Got to the golf course water stop and it was exactly what it said a water stop. No electrolyte. No cups. Just some crisps, mmmm salt let's have some of them. You ever tried eating ready salted crisps with a dry mouth? If not, let me tell you now, it doesn't work very well..... My bladder still had water in it but I filled my bottle up then set off (after changing a sock - I was carrying emergency socks). I then got less that 50 metres and thought this is stupid and smashed the rest of the bottle and stuffed it back in my pack. 

Still don't know what happened really but I started to feel better over the next 9k to CP5 at 78.4km. I picked up 7 places apparently. And I remember over taking people and running all along kings tablelands road. I remember running inclines. I remember looking forward to the next section. Which was down. I normally detested downs compared to ups. Downs hurt physically, ups hurt cardiovascularly. I had done the reverse of the final 22k as the second half of Solitary, so I knew what to expect and that familiarity breed positivity. 

CP5 Queen Vic Hospital (78.4k) 

I grabbed my drop bag, changed socks again and put away my sun visor and took out a buff and my head torch. I also took on lots of fluid. Lots of coke, electrolyte and water. I even smashed a sachet of salt as well. Ensured I had enough gels with me, refilled my plastic bottle w electrolytes and was set to go. This was done sitting in the tent. Chatted to the physio. Was looking foe Eliot, but he was scheduled on at 6 and it had just gone 5. 

Sending estimated times to the Mrs and the family back in the UK

Estimated timings carried with me during race

The other thing in my mind was that of the sub 14 time. Whilst earlier on at CP2/3/4 I had been inside or at the lower end of the range I was now at the upper end of my estimates which meant the sub14 target was slipping away. That thought was mixed with over 3 hrs to cover 22.6k. Surely that was do-able? Wasn't it? I knew the first 10k was largely flat or down, So I needed to make good time to ensure my time on the up didn't rob me of that silver buckle. Hopefully I wouldn't break, which must have been why my estimates showed a big slowing in the next section. I set a good pace and was off. I was determined to not let the down get the better of me or slow my progress.

I was happy to see the first few k's clicking by at 6min k's. All was going well. The sunset was pretty cool over Solitary (no time for photos though - time to keep pushing). Soon the head torch was on and it turned to running by torchlight. This created a very odd sensation of wearing a mask. I could see the light but there was big dark patches outside the light. I started moving my hand around from the dark into the light. The feeling was really weird. I couldn't work out whether I was getting disorientated, was I hallucinating or was everything a ok and this sensation was just a by product of the wind in my face and the sharp contrast of the torch light and the darkness surrounding it? Walking by torchlight was something I had done quite a lot of when mountaineering, but maybe not without other lights or star lights. It was very wierd. 

All the chat in the final stage was of sub 14, surely if nothing goes wrong it should be doable? Unfortunately on the way down my bladder ran dry. Bugger I hadn't filled my bladder nor checked properly how much was left in it. So out came the plastic bottle. Looks like the rest of the race would be undertaken with bottle in hand. 

Most of the downhill k's were accomplished in c6min k's some under, some over. I found the key was getting to the 90k marker. Then it would be 10k to go and the maths would be easier for what was required. Arrived at it with 2 hrs 3 mins to go. That was over 12 minutes per km, surely that was possible. Then became the game of checking each km against 12 mins. First was 10 mins, that was 5 mins in the locker. Next was 9:50, that was 7 mins in the locker and so forth. I knew the last km included the Furber steps and whilst I couldn't remember how long it took, I knew it was a lot longer than 12 minutes. 

Shot of the head torches on way up to three sisters

At 91.2k there was a water station. I filled my bottle and was off. The down was done with and it was up, up, up. Hence the 10 min k's. I was moving well up hill and slowly gaining or moving away from those around me. Striding purposefully on the ups and running (trotting) any flats downhills or even slight up hills. Got off the fire trails near the old sewage works and then it was onto single track trail. I was trotting along this as well. Not overly fast as didn't want to trip and fall but I needed to keep gaining time. With 5k to go I had 1hr15mins, surely this was all done now. But need to be careful and keep going. By the time I got to the final k and the base of the Furber steps I had 35 mins to get it done. Easy..... Er no. I realised that a I was running on empty. My water/electrolyte had run out and I had a gel 4.5k ago but not much more than that for the last few hrs. Also I had mentally aimed for the steps not the finish and I suddenly started to feel very weak and nauseous. Damn it, always play the whistle. I found myself dragging myself up with both hands on the rails, hand over hand. I even started to ask if I could do this - stupid question, but "weak I was feeling" at that point.

The stairs went on and on, but as with Nellies Glen, I saw people who were worse than me. Stopping to the side, leaning over railings as if to be sick. Finally I saw the buildings at the top...only minutes away. I made the wooden baordwalk and trotted along that. Round the corner and there was the finish line. There was someone else there with me so I stopped. I wasn't racing them. I was under my 14 hr target by 17 minutes. Let's soak this up and go over on my own. The announcer was encouraging me on. I mimed "what for". And ambled up to the finish line looking around before trotting across in 13:43 mins.

Highlights of the race from Ultra-Trail https://youtu.be/W5Q9Z3X0gDU

Teaser video https://youtu.be/5hYJlmGCats

Strava link https://www.strava.com/activities/575452739

Post race

Done, it got my silver buckle (and large towel) now for coke. As much coke as I can guzzle. What no coke? Just water or electrolyte??? Some of that, hungry. What have you got? Chicken soup yum. Quickly started getting cold so put on my rain coat to stop the wind chill. Grabbed another water and took my pot noodle back to my room. Within seconds I was shivering and barely able to hold the cups. Made my way into the room as quickly as possible put the heating on and tried to get some clothes on. I also rang EM and got to speak to her and Amy. I wasn't in a particularly good state and couldn't stop shaking. More electrolyte. Needed to get warm. The pot noodle helped but needed more so popped over to the shower block in the hope of a warm shower. Luckily there was enough warm water when just using the hot tap to wash myself. On with the thermals and several layers on top of those and I could feel some warmth coming back into my body. On the way into the showers two guys had asked if I was ok I was shaking so much. But now feeling much better. After sorting out my clothes and some stuff I headed over to the runners lounge for some food. More chicken soup on the way through mmmmm lovely salty chicken soup. I basically ate for hours. In the end I had fish and chips, another pot noodle, a golden gay time and a chicken burger. Along with several large cokes and a few beers to help wash it all down (think I also had an up and go and another chicken soup). 

Post race fueling

The post race vibe was excellent just chatting to random people who had finished the 100 or 50 or who had DNF'd. Neil came in sub 15 and I spent hrs chatting to him and Nick (a friend of his) waiting for others to come in. Terry unfortunately had to pull out at CP5 due to dizziness (Nick had pulled out at the same CP after pissing blood...). Terry joined us in the runners lounge to recuperate. Morgan the other room mate was due in at c2:20 am so decided to stay up to welcome him in. Given the state I was in I thought he would appreciate some help. I was also half planning to watch Saracens in the European Cup Final on my IPad but the wifi didn't have enough bandwidth to get a smooth stream. So had to turn off all notifications on my phone and try to remember to not check it. Went outside when Morgan was due in to find he had just finished but with his arm splinted and in a sling. He had a suspected broken elbow (turned out that it was indeed broken). So helped him with getting his warm clothes and cans of coke etc. Nothing could be done until the hospital x-Ray department opened the next day so he was drugged up and came back to the room to sleep as best he could. So ended up turning in still buzzing at 3:30am.

Back up a few hrs later for breaky and then a hassle free drive with El Tel back to Sydney. A thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding weekend (in hindsight....).

Lessons learnt

- have multiple sources of liquid so you can access water and energy/electrolyte while on the move;

- butterfly laces

- proper 'ultra' style rucksack would be beneficial

- fuelling is key

- toed socks like injinji appear to be the go

- wear longer socks so that calf guards stay connected and reduces the amount of dust getting in

- stay hydrated - for me anyway this appears to mean drinking a lot and not listening to the warnings of over hydration....

- stair work is key. So running the stairwell was excellent training but should have done it more.

Reflections

In the weeks leading up to the race and two weeks out in particular (family holiday to Fiji) I had finally found the time to read Born to Run. An excellent book that I would recommend regardless as to whether you like to run. I loved it and whilst I had bought it ages ago and knew all about the barefoot running etc (I had transitioned to mid foot striking in 2011 after my Copenhagen IM) I had never gotten around to reading it. Add to that my brother had just done the Boston marathon and getting a photo with Scott Jurek and a photo of Arnulfo Quimare, I was loving ultra running - noting that I was tapering in Fiji and any runs I did do were pan flat. This had me looking up best/worst ultras in the world. Asking my bro if he wanted to do the Leadville Trail 100 or the Western States 100 before I had even done one. The other point to consider was that after Oxfam I was in such a foul mood for days. So I was clearly getting carried away.

So having declared to one of the cameramen c60k in that I was going to tell my wife to punch me in the face if I ever suggested doing anything else so ridiculous. Add to that the title of my Strava entry for the UTA noting "never a f'in gain" how do I feel now the dust has settled? In hindsight the mind has a wonderful ability to forget pain, or at least mine does. I am so absorbed by the UTA and thoroughly enjoyed the experience (in hindsight). The event is a really good one and I would recommend it to everyone. Very well run and a great atmosphere as well as being super easy to get to and participate in. Will I do it agin, almost certainly not, but not because of the event itself but because there are so many other things out there to do. Generally I have one A race per year that I train hard for and this took up 12 weeks of training which meant minimal cycling during that time. For that sacrifice again, to me, it has to be something new and different. Would I do a similar event again. Put it this way I have been on the following websites in the last three days - The Great North Walk (100m), Alpine Challenge (100m) both Australia based, Leadville Trail 100m, Western States 100m and Hardrock 100 all to assess entry requirements and logistics etc. Next year will potentially be the Norseman but that's only a 10% chance. So I wouldn't be surprised if a 100m event pops up in the future, especially when the pain has faded, the wounds have healed but the glory is still with me.

Now to get on with reading Scott Jurek's Eat and Run...

Official race photos:

 

Western Sydney IM 70.3 - "coming from behind"

Short report:

Swim      47:52 (850/1050 overall, 131/162 AG) 81st percentile overall and AG

T1.          01:43 (194 & 24) 

Bike.       2:27:50 (188 & 38) 18th / 23rd perc

T2.          01:24 (232 & 42)

Run.        1:30:57 (80 & 14) 8th / 9th perc

Overall.   4:49:48 (198 & 35) 19th / 22nd perc

Long report:

Entered this race as soon as it opened. It was pay back time after recording my first DNF (details in previous report - simply put: gastro from kids) at the inaugural race in 2014.

It was also supposed to act as a second attempt at going sub 5 if I failed at Challenge Forster. Given that I had gone sub 5 I was now wondering why? I knew the non wetsuit swim would make it hard to get a PB and the heat could hurt the run. On the plus side I knew I had the sub 5 I wanted in the bag, so could risk going hard and blowing up etc. But I think one of the main motivations was that this was a big tri with a big field and with places up for grabs in the worlds (Mooloolaba in 2016) the field should be strong. This would provide a good testing ground wrt percentiles as to whether the improvements seen in recent tri's were real or just statistical anomalies based on smaller fields and the competitors turning up.

One thing I do need to look into (if I do 3 tri's in 4 weekends again) how best to recover and train in between - no idea if I managed that well or not. Evidently I managed it well enough but could it have been better?

Race day:
Alarm at 3:30 quick bit of food (bagel with butter and honey, up and go and a banana) and then into the car for 4. Drank my iced coffee in the car on route to Penrith that and electrolyte. Made good time despite not being able to see properly as my contacts weren't working properly. Got all my stuff into transition without a fuss, and dropped my bag in the bag drop. Now had c45 mins before my wave went off at 6:33. Walked around in the drizzle made several trips back to the boat house to have a drink of water. Saw Nick and his mate chatted to them for a bit. Did some stretching, but just wanted to get on with it....

Swim:
Called down for the start. I took up a position on roughly the 3rd row to the RHS. I had decided to swim down the rope on the inside. This would be the shortest route around the course, but would potentially leave me open to being swum over by the waves behind. I made the assumption that the faster people that over took me would be capable of looking ahead and avoiding me - this proved largely to be the case. I just wanted to get my head down and try and stop my legs dredging the bottom of the lake. Turned around at c21mins - the second half of the swim is slightly longer. So I knew I wasn't going to break any records ;-). Was a tough swim all in all with no wetsuit and struggling with the lack of buoyancy and extra drag which highlighted the significant flaws in my stroke. Felt like the stroke was short and my legs were hanging. Was surprised that my watch read nearly 48mins when I got out. That was slower than i had expected and not that much quicker than last year and I had thrown up three times on that swim, rolled and called for aid before doggy paddling out by myself.....

More importantly 48 was nearly 9 minutes slower than at Challenge Forster 4 weeks ago - when I set my HIM PB. There went my chance of a PB. I was still hoping to set a PB on the bike and run but not expecting to be able to knock that much off...

Bike:

Set out on the bike hard, wanted to gain time (and places) on the people who are still stuffing around after leaving transition. Felt good on the bike and quickly got down to business. Taking places and ticking along at a good rate. Started switching places with a female rider. This continued for most of the first lap. Not sure who was surging but she often got away and then I would come rolling passed a few minutes later. This came to a finish in some traffic and she got the jump on me and I didn't see her again until the run. Rode solo most of the bike passing a lot and getting passed a fair bit as well. Was happy to overtake some people with disc wheels and full aero helmets. Got passed by the pro's on the second lap - they were motoring. The drag was unbelievable. They all came passed at c40k/hr one by one. Clearly all benefiting from the draft, but them's the rules. Maybe if I could get out of the swim with people higher up I would end up doing the same thing?!?!

Felt my effort start to drift by the end of the first lap. I was concerned I had gone too hard to early and that I was going to pay for my "go hard or go home" attempt. On the second lap I felt I got into a better rhythm. I found a level of pain and cadence I was happy with and cranked it out. Guessing it was me surging on the first lap then. Had a real low spot coming up to 80k could feel the pace slipping. As I got passed by a road bike with clip ons I was getting concerned it was all falling apart! I grabbed some water and had a gel and came firing back. I smashed back passed the roadie and pushed hard until the end. Again I was looking for time benefits vs the people easing off into transition. The last 10k hurt and was relying on being able to hold the run together. I felt I had worked really hard on the bike and was equally as happy that I was going under 2:30 (my aim). Ended up over 2 mins under, which was a 7 min pick up on Challenge Forster. Clearly I wasn't able to do the maths properly. But I knew that was a big gain and by checking my timing on way out of T2 I knew a 1:30 run would get be a PB run and a PB HIM to boot. So through transition quickly and off to see if I could hold a 90min half....

Heart rate high at the begining again and then trending down before pushing hard in final ten 10k. Cadence at avg of low 80s is lower than I would have liked. Found myself reverting to pushing out a lower cadence in higher gear, rather than spinning a smaller gear. 

Lap 1 Avgs: 36.7km/h 155bpm 241 Watts (est'd by Strava)

Lap 2 Avgs: 36.2km/h 147bpm 230 Watts

Run:
Out on the run the usual strange running feeling for first few k. Feels like running slowly but then the Garmin starts buzzing at 4:05s and 4:09s so I know I am running well enough. Was happy with the pace so set out to hold it for as long as I could. Had a few people for company early doors - a group from a younger AG (the lead one running in energy link kit). Held them off for a bit until he kicked and came past. I was still holding sub 4:15s which meant sub 1:30 was still on (in theory) but a while still to go. 

Coming round to get my first band and was overtaken by a balmoral person. I had been cheering on (as much as I could) other balmoral athletes, but without my Club kit on, they were probably wondering why I was. I tried to stick with him and managed a couple of k, but then he started to pull ahead. That was at about the 12k mark and also the mark at when the going got tough....


The times just started to slip northwards. First it was over 4:15s then over 4:20s. Then a few over 4:30s and it was all starting to slip away. The aid stations just couldn't come quick enough. I was taking on a couple of mouthfuls of water on the run at each aid station and that helped for a k or so, but then back to holding out for the next aid station. I didn't want to stop and take a proper drink for fear of not being able to start again, so I kept going and hoped I could hold on. The last few ks were painful - the sun was fully out and the temperature was rising. I was checking the watch over and over trying to do the maths. Was I going to make it, what did I need to do. I knew that a sub 90 was off the cards. But was a run PB and was the overall PB??? I knew I had some time in the bank from the first half, but not that much that too many 4:30s wouldn't soon erode. But how much did I have left to give. I upped the effort level after 19k but that didn't impact the timing with that very very minor incline over the bridge.... 20k click passed and I had to go for it. I couldn't let this slip. I really pushed and people I was over taking would have heard me either shouting "come on" at myself or swearing when I saw the time slipping by. I wasn't on the finish shoot with less than a minute to go. How long was the shoot??? F*** its all gone wrong, I can't make it in time.

Pushed all the way down the shoot, no effort spared. Seconds ticking by all the time (as they do) and crossed the line with a new PB....just. 8 seconds to be exact. Looking at the km splits below it shows how my last k was 20 seconds quicker than the one before and that was what got me over the line. So I was pretty pleased crossing the line and taking home a PB after that god awful swim. Quite chuffed all in all.

I have never drunk so much liquid post race, I just stood in front of the water cups refilling or grabbing more. Then occasionally grabbing an ice cream before heading back for more water. But I had the medal and towel, had avenged last year and taken home an unexpected PB to boot.

Heart rate climbing throughout the run (start 151 - end 178). Pacing on the other hand tailed off as the k's ticked by only picking up for the burst at the end.

Last k shows a pick up in pace which was the difference between getting the PB and not. Run was going well until just over the half way point when it started to get tough and increasingly so.

Reflection:
Logistically I couldn't complain, I had my electrolyte in transition. The bike bladder worked well and having no bottle in the rocket launcher meant I didn't lose one over the rough ground like last year and all the bottles over the road pointed to this year. Given the 45mins since leaving transition and race start I could have done with extra liquid then but the trips to the fountain gave me something to do.

Having come out with such a slow swim I was ecstatic to get a PB over all. I pulled back c9 minutes. Which in turn meant I set a big bike PB (7mins) and a run PB (1min). I also had to and subsequently managed to fight for that PB in the last k - so a great sense of satisfaction. As the yellow highlighted kms above show the extra effort in the last k got me my PB. It was by no means guaranteed but I scraped over the line.

However, my swim was a disgrace again and I need to get on top of that - but that is not new news. The comparison to a larger and deeper field also meant that my "improvement" on the bike in recent events was put into perspective. Whilst I am in no doubt I couldn't have pushed that avg speed a few years ago the percentile was c20th (few years ago I was c50th) there is still some improvement to be had. I am not one of the big boys pushing out 40km/h for k after k. So in keeping with the increasing interest in cycling and crits, 2016 will be more focused on the bike with Mt Solitary thrown in to keep me honest on the running side of the equation.

All in all, 3 triathlons in 4 weekends (and 3 PBs) meant a well earned trip to Maccy D's for some nuggets and a quarter pounder. Luckily I remembered the TT bike on the roof and didn't go for the drive through option!

Husky Olympic Distance - "if only I could swim...."

Husky Olympic Distance (TriSeries by Elite Energy) - "if only I could swim...."

Short report:
Swim    00:31:59 (168/235 Overall 36/42 in AG)
T1         00:01:38 (38 & 8)
Bike      01:07:04 (13 & 2)
T2         00:01:14 (68 & 13)
Run       00:40:19 (16 & 4)

Overall  02:22:16 (33 & 7)

On land  13th overall and 4th in AG

Long report:
Entered this race as a mate was doing it with a group. He was coming back from ankle opps and this was his first step back on the road to an IronMan. Plus it was relatively close to Sydney and a chance to see Jervis Bay AND have another dig at going sub 2:30. I also thought it would act as a good last training session ahead of Western Sydney 70.3 (if I needed to still break the 5hr barrier there that is.....).

Drove down with Chris on the Saturday afternoon and arrived at the house in Vincentia at c4:30. After tinkering with all our race equipment (there were four of us doing the standard distance) we headed into Huskisson to get some early dinner at the Huskisson Hotel. We checked out transition before heading to the pub. A quick beer and fish and chips (professional athlete food!) and we were on our way back. I organised all the bags and kit for next day and then took the opportunity for an early night, turning in at c8:15. That would mean 8hrs sleep as the alarms were set for 4:15 - hadn't had 8 hours sleep for a while!

Race day

Alarms went at 4:15, quick breakfast and then time to pump tyres before rolling the 6k into town. I had been having problems with my valve (requiring the entire valve to come out in order to unlock the top bit). Thus I knew it wasn't quite right but it had been like that for a while now and always worked. However, this time it decided to not hold air anymore, so a quick change of inner tube was required but all went well and no real time lost. 

Registration was easy, as was Transition and the cold coffee (brewed the night before) had done its job so all was well. Race briefing was undertaken just before heading down to the beach.

Swim

Swim was a two lap course set out as a triangle. The water was flat and the setting was lovely. 7:03 my wave went off, just about negotiated the large rock on the RHS of the water start and then just tried to get into a rhythm. Swim was fairly uneventful apart from the rubbing on my neck, obviously hadn't done the wetsuit up properly around my neck - this was going to be sore. On exiting the water I saw a time of just under 32 mins. Which was what I would have been happy with before, but felt I had been having a good swim (for me) so was hoping for closer to 30. But hey ho, neither would make much difference.

Bike

Had to run up some stairs to transition (and struggled somewhat with legs not working so well). Before grabbing the bike and heading out on to the course. It was a two lap out and back route. The route was undulating with two rises of note. One about half way out, which I got wrong and allowed a guy going at a very similar pace to get by - took until town both times to get back in front. Probably more to do with him easing up in town as opposed to anything else. The other was the last k before the turnaround, which was just a long gradual grind.

I was reasonably happy with the level of effort maintained. Although I did go out a tad bit hard. Will need to look at the difference between the two laps. HR was 160+ for a good while on lap 1 whereas I would have said was lower c150 for the rest. 

Bike leg - HR clearly higher at beginning and tailing off on the second lap (Lap1 - 161avg, Lap2 - 154avg)

Had 3 gels (1k, 20k, 35k) which worked well and the bladder with energy in it. No aid on course and found myself a tad thirsty towards end of bike. Tipping the bike up when fixing tyre before hand meant I lost some liquid which I forgot to top up. Plus I hadn't bought liquid to transition before the race. Need to ensure have a bottle in transition next week. All up I was happy with effort on the bike (would have liked to be able to maintain early race pace but probably not achievable and had gone too hard), but didn't realise quite how well it would stack up versus the rest.

Run

Legs felt worse than usual as I hit the run. Given I was thirsty I didn't take my caffeine gel immediately. First 2ks were c4;05. Got to aid station and managed to throw water down my throat in my excitement which caused coughing and spluttering...real professional like. Next 2ks slipped to c4:20. Was planning on gel at 5k, but took it early and the benefit was almost immediate. Energy levels up and times dropped again. Whether mental or physical it worked....

Run leg HR - start 155, finish 170. Small scale but shows holding steady for first half increasing in the second. 

At beginning of the run also had to contend with what felt like my left leg / calf beginning to cramp. Or feeling like it was going to. So another reason for easing myself into it in the first half. I certainly didn't want to blow up. Leaving T2 at 1:42 I knew that barring a blow up I was well on for a sub 2:30. After the gel started feeling better and on the second lap the 'cramp' feeling and 'stitch' feeling that was present at the beginning of the run had gone and I could push on. On my second lap I saw Dave, Jon and Chris all out on the run course (they were in the RaceYaMates wave which set off 9 mins after me - Dave must have been reasonably close to catching me on the swim....).

With the final turnaround done I remembered that sometimes these courses run short compared to what my garmin is telling me so that was extra incentive to push hard and try to get close to 40 mins. My garmin was not telling me this was on, but if it was running short then could be feasible??? I couldn't see anyone ahead who was looking like they were on their 2nd lap so didn't see anyone to chase down. Continued to pick up the pace and finished the run well in 40:19 (as I has suspected the garmin was running long versus the actual course).

Finished in 2:22:16 which was well within my PB of c2:36 and well below 2:30, so I was quite chuffed. I was even more chuffed when I looked at the full results which said I was 2nd and 4th respectively in my age group for the bike and run (5th & 10th percentile). And 13th and 16th overall (5th & 7th percentile). This meant my bike was better than my run for the first time ever, which I was very pleased with. It does raise some questions as to whether if I had fueled better would my run have been even better? Was all the running I had done this year allowing me to go harder on the bike and hold up on the run? Was my bike now better than my running? Should I just have pushed harder on the run?

But the main question was wrt my swimming - 86th percentile in AG and 71st percentile overall. As my run and bike have gotten better, the swim was becoming an increasingly big limiting factor. Maybe it is time to learn to swim properly or at least put in more time in the pool......

Lessons learnt:

• don't turn your Shiv upside down when the bladder is full
• take two spare inner tubes so that if you use one pre race you have a spare for the race
• take a drink with you for pre-race and leave in transition
• ensure wetsuit is done up properly and nothing rubbing
• learn to swim before the age of 10
• no matter how many races you do there are always mistakes made, usually similar to previous races. Maybe one day I will remember everything and have no lessons to learn?

Jon finishing strong in first triathlon

Chris matching his first Tri time post opp