2017 Tweed Enduro
This years Tweed Enduro was a very different race to last years.
This was not my first 70.3 distance so the excitement/ nerves weren't there
I knew the course pretty well from doing it last year
I knew I was definitely fit enough as the weekend prior I had done a massive brick session of 4.5 hours on the wind trainer and then a 5km run, however I knew that I was going to struggle in the swim as I'd had 5 weeks off swimming due to an AC injury and potentially broken wrist (I had not made my coach aware of the wrist as I knew he would have been disappointed with me doing the race if he had known)
Finally and in my opinion the biggest difference; Sapphire wasn't there
I got to Pottsville on Friday after working on the coast and racked my bike. It was such a relaxed atmosphere, a few other members of Team SST came by and chatted, all was good. We moved into our accomodation which was amazing. We had the same place last year which is literally only 50m away from the finish line. Greta and I decided to go to the local Pizza place. For me to try and keep with the carb loading and minimising all other Macronutrients I stuck with garlic bread and a few chips for dinner.
The morning of the race started off very similar to last years. I woke at about 4:30am to look out the window and see all the amazing bikes and the race precinct. Transition was about to open and so it meant I could get setup before it got busy and then head back to bed.
I was very methodical with my setup, I have learnt from prior races that if you don't slow down and make sure that you have everything, you will often forget something. Luckily I did, I had my towel, Multichill (to keep my neck cool on the run), visor, gels on the race belt, running shoes, running socks, cycling shoes, rubber bands (for cycling shoes), bike spares kit, visor, ANZAC biscuits, spare gels for the ride, gatorade and . . . Dammit, no water bottles or bike pump. This is why you just need to slow down. In the past I have forgotten things like running shoes which really puts a dampener on the day. With all the spare time I was able to go back to the unit, grab the bottles and the pump and finish my setup, Alright, "I am ready".
Just after 6:30 the unfortunate news came in that it was a non-wetsuit swim, this was a shame as it really does make a difference to the speed of my swim, any assistance there is always appreciated.
Seb and I left to head over to the start line at about 7:45, we met a few people and chatted along the way. It really is a great community to be a part of with everyone being eager to hear about your story, then tell you a bit of theirs. We headed over to the starting pen for the race briefing and start. during the briefing we were told that the tide had just turned and it was going to be a great race. While standing there my zipper came apart, the zipper was at the top but all the way down was unzipped, after about 5 minutes of playing with it I had it back up again.
The Swim
We were off. The first 50 or so metres seemed to go very well. No pain in the shoulder or wrist. My swim training felt like it was really paying off as we headed up stream to the first turning buoy. I was at the back but this was ok and to be expected. After turning, heading out to the middle of the stream it didn't feel quite so easy and then turning down stream to go with the current I was in for a shock.
The officials were wrong! The tide hadn't turned yet, it was still coming in which is why the first 50m was so easy. Due to the water being so clear, it was easy to tell the tide was still coming in, as I could see all the small debris coming towards me. At first I thought it must have been because I was going so fast. however I soon realised that it was rolling over the bumps in the sand and was being pushed by the incoming tide.
5 weeks off swimming and I was really noticing this tide. It must have been close to 30 minutes before I was really able to feel I was getting closer to my target landmark of the bridge. But by this time I was more tired than I'd been previously and felt like I was barely moving. This was when the mental game started to become a factor. I race to show my daughter you can do anything you set your mind to. In my opinion one of the biggest enjoyments from the race, is due to your support crew and my main little supporter wasn't there. "If I just get out now, I could potentially go get my bike and then head back to Brisbane to see her". I pushed past this thought, but then maybe 10 minutes later it went through my head again. I was starting to get closer to the bridge but barely. "Am I actually moving?" waves of other competitors were flying past me with no issues. "Should I just get out now?" I will try a little more.
Ok I have made it to the bridge not long to go now, my eyes and head are sore from the goggles. "One last buoy and Im able to head back in" I got to that buoy and it turns out it wasn't the last one. There was one more maybe 150m further along "I wonder if I will get disqualified if I just stand up and walk the rest, will they just send me home?" but I pushed through and finally started to feel the current behind me, the tide had turned and helped me for the last 100 or so metres, time to turn and I'm feeling a little better, it was time to stand up and walk in.
And my zipper popped again. I tried fixing it but not going to happen this time. "Oh well, such is life". I headed over to transition. I looked at my watch to see that my swim had been over an hour. "Right this is going to be more of a long training session" I had no chance of getting the time I was targeting. So transition wasn't done in record time, "Lets just make sure everything is ready to go".
Swim split 1:08:16
The ride
Out on the course, I was feeling a little different to last year, the swim took me an additional 30 minutes than the year prior, so that heavily delayed my nutrition and hydration plan. I also felt like my heart wasn’t in it. But no excuses. My target pace was 35km/h and I needed to get somewhere near this for me to get close to last years overall time. I was struggling. I had barely been able to get my average up to 30 by the turn around point on the first lap. What was going on, Cycling is my strongest leg. I was passing enough people but my average was well down. On the way back it was a difference story. I was able to climb to an average of 32km/h. I realised that there was a strong headwind on the way out which became a tailwind on the way back. Things just weren’t going my way. Near the end of this first lap, I wanted to throw in the towel once more. Getting back to the crowd cheering for me or in general it was enough motivation to push me through this lull.
Again on the way out for the second lap it was a struggle, I was trying to get back to my nutrition plan of 2 ANZAC biscuits per lap, my gel on this lap and some Gatorade. I could do the gel but the biscuit was a little harder to take on than usual. This could be because when I have been doing my practice rides, my heart rate has been targeting 130-140 rather than 160-170. I was still able to eat them but I was breaking it into bite sized chunks and washing it down with gatorade.
By the end of this lap, I had finished both of my drink bottles and needed to pick one up on the fly at the aid station, I threw one of my bottles away and caught the other one first attempt. Off came the cap, everywhere went the water in the bottle, in went the Gatorade powder, closed lid and I was set. About 1km later I was passed by Gerard whom I’d caught up with at the start of the race, he shouted out some words of encouragement and I figured I’d pick my speed up to try and make up some lost time. This worked but may have tired me a little more than planned. Coming into the end of this lap I really wanted to throw in the towel one last time. But seeing that crowd and hearing a few people cheering my name I figured, “One more lap, No excuses!”
The last lap was horrible, I replaced both my drink bottles, the first one I caught cleanly. I dropped the second but caught the third. This lap was all about completing it. I had my second Gel and slowly ate a few more biscuits. By the turn around point I’d consumed both drink bottles and was feeling very lethargic. I was sitting upright (rather than in the aerodynamic position) and was feeling really disheartened. Coming back into town the aid station had spread out to allow riders on both sides of the road to collect bottles. This was an absolute life saver. That one last bottle went down like I’d been in the Sahara all day. To give you an idea of how this years ride went compared to last, the time difference between my fastest and slowest laps last year was less than 60 seconds, this year it was over 7 minutes.
Time to come in off the bike. I saw my bike split and decided I’d take my time in transition, I stopped to apply another layer of sunscreen, put my shoes and socks on, my Multichill on, visor, race belt and now I’m ready.
Bike split 2:54:54, average speed 30.6km/h. Official time including both transitions 2:59:46
The Run
Out of transition and around the first bend, I saw a few Members from SouthBank Tri Club who gave me a few cheers. This was the best I’d been feeling all day. I was aiming for less than 6:00/km and the first one was 5:14. All is going well, Im ticking off the distance, feeling great and keeping my heart rate at around about 175BPM. I see other people from both SST and SBTC and we cheer each other along, as well as other friends that I’ve met on my journey.
Lap one done and I’m feeling great. My gels weren't going down well so I was taking on coke at each aid station. Water to pour over my head and ice to either put in my Multichill for my neck or down my back inside my tri suit (that got very cold when it got into areas that you just don’t want ice going). In the middle of the lap I found one person that I wanted to chase down. She even referred to herself as my bunny from that point. Once I’d caught her my next target was my coach that in theory was about 1km ahead of me, but I hadn’t seen him since the first lap. Instead a very good friend Trudy caught up to me and ran with me for a while. This was also the first lap that Id been able to have a quick chat to another legend Brent Simpson, he’s a bigger guy and was doing this event as his first triathlon, what a great guy (I later out found that he was doing it to raise money for his foundation relating to mental illness, for more information follow @the_heavyhiterz_foundation on Instagram)
Trudy and I were going great. We were on the last lap. I was starting to tire but she kept the pace around what I was targeting so I was doing anything to keep this pace with her. She eventually dropped me at the turn around point on this lap. That didn’t deter me as I could still see her and try and keep up. It didn’t quite work, but I still went quicker because of this. The crowd support was amazing, especially from the locals, at no stage on the run did I feel like pulling out. I don’t know if this was because I was feeling so comfortable and close to my plan, or if it was because of all the support on this leg from the locals, supporters and other competitors.
Run split 2:10:36 average pace 6:15/km
Overall time 6:18:40 (was targeting 5:20:00, last year 5:42:11)
Afterwards
Coming into finish, I didn’t have the same emotions as last year. I didn’t have my little supporter there and I didn’t get on the podium. But I was very happy that I’d done it. The mental aspect of this race was something I hadn’t really encountered before. Considering how many times I really wanted to pull out, the fact that I’d made it was a momentous victory.
I ended up with insane amounts of sunburn all over my face, lower neck, arms (luckily my shoulders were covered) chest (from where the zip broke) and thighs. I also had a bit of scratching from the broken zipper and just overall soreness from the race. I wasn’t as raw as I was last year as I now know that Bodyglide is one of my best friends.
I have also learned a few things from this race
Know your reasons for doing this. My main reason is and always has been to be there for Sapphire. So her not being there caused my biggest mental struggle
Always have a plan B for nutrition. I wasn’t able to take in the ANZAC biscuits that I’d prepared to have. I also wasn’t able to take in the gels on the run. Luckily I was slightly prepared with spare gels on the bike and I was able to take in coke on the run. Always have a plan B!
Don’t always expect your race plan to go to plan. With the swim taking a lot longer than planned. I had less energy, hadn’t taken in the required nutrition and the wind was stronger on the ride than I had expected. This stuff happens. Don’t let it deter you! Change your expectations.
No matter what, don’t give up. No Excuses!
Your support crew makes the difference, seeing them pushes you along
Make friends with your fellow competitors. You will see them on course and everyone that you see and say hello to will boost your energy and your mood
A big thank you to the following people and businesses
Drew Standish of Standing start Triathlon - your coaching has got me to where I am and will make me an Ironman
Team SST - you were my main support team during the day
My fellow racers from other squads including but not limited to Lisa, Courtney, Gerard, Sherrill and many more. Every time I saw you guys, you’d shout out to me to keep me going, thank you for keeping me honest
Pottsville and QSM sports - you put on a great event with the locals being great support and QSM for coming up with such a great event, just next year if you need to wait 15-30 minutes for the tide, do so :)
Coolcore AU - the Multichill really did help cool me down on the course
Wrightsock AU - even though my feet were saturated from the cool water, my feet didn’t blister after 21.1km
Brent Simpson of the heavy hitters foundation - you really did motivate me and keep me going. I am so happy that you were able to finish
