Date – 12/12/10
Why Canberra? Checked the Australian Half Ironman series dates. Narrowed it down to Port Macquarie or Canberra – They were the closest to Sydney and didn't fancy travelling too far for my first half ironman race (Yes – this story does have a happy ending and there could be more races J ). Port Macquarie was few weeks after the Sydney Marathon. Canberra suited me well as it gave me enough time to prepare for it and more time to ride.
My garmin watch doesn't lie..since 1st July, approximately 780KM running, 1520KM cycling and 70km of swimming was done. That's about 175 hours of training and I was ready for the Canberra Half Ironman on 12th Dec 2010..
Training and tapering went to plan until the weather gods got it mixed up & decided to take away the summer weather and dumped ACT with rains and floods. Lake Burley Griffin, where the swim was to be held was flooded and the bike course was flooded.. It was time to panic – I didn't need any training to panic, it came naturally! Despite the uncertainty with the weather, the organisers finally decided that the race will still go ahead but the swim will be replaced by a 4k run. I am not a fast swimmer but fast enough to come out of the water quicker than most of my fellow back of the packers.
Got to registration early on Saturday and found out that the bike course has also been changed from a 3x30k loop to a 5x17k loop as Coppins crossing was still underwater. So it was going to be a 4k run followed by a flat(ish) 90k bike course and a 21k run... The 'hardest half ironman course in Australia' had now become a super fast half ironman course with less than 24 hrs to go. I wasn't complaining about it, but with no swimming and a flat course, I knew everyone will be going a lot harder – atleast on the bike course.
I couldn't help but think of a quote from one of my idols and favourite author – Professor. Randy Pausch.
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.
He lost his life to Pancreas cancer few years ago but just before he passed away, he used the quote in his 'Last Lecture' on "Really achieving your childhood dreams". Half Ironman or triathlons (or sports or fitness or being healthy or dieting) wasn't a big part of my childhood and half ironman was definitely not a childhood dream – I only dreamt it about 8 months ago! But somehow that quote made all the sense to me as I lined up for registration – I decided I was going to play the hand as best as I could and enjoy my race!
Registration was quick (Probably because I was one of the excited few to line up just when the registrations opened!).. checked in the bike. Did all my Christmas shopping at the event expo – I think I now have enough Canberra half ironman clothing to last me a while! Came back in the evening for the compulsory race briefing. It was easy to pick the newbies from the regulars. The regulars did not have the slightest interest to be at the compulsory race briefing at all..Us newbies were way too excited to be there and was getting a bit annoyed when others in the crowd started talking amongst themselves. I also felt like the odd one out with hairy legs – I should've waxed ! Or atleast should've worn pants!!
Went to an Italian restaurant with Shyamala for Dinner and loaded on Pasta and bread and off to the room for an early night. Alarm goes off at 4am. Woke up and treated the morning like I'm preparing for a (very) early ride.. Had cereals, honey and banana for brekki and followed usual routine and out of the room by 5am. Got to start/transition area by 5.20..
Getting into the transition area was like trying to get into the Establishment bar in Sydney. It took me a few attempts to enter the transition area! – Now I know, I need to:
- Wear the helmet
- Wear the wrist band
- Apply the small sticker on the helmet!
Was finally let in...I set up my transition and pretended to do a final check of my bike like my neighbours at transition. I had no idea what to look for, so spun the wheel and checked if the brakes work. Final check – Pass! Now it's go time!
Transition closed at 6am. Official race start was at 6.30am and they had wave starts based on the age group. My age group – Males 25-29 started 20 minutes later.
Leg 1 – 4k run
6.50 am – I start my first ever half ironman race along with about another 100 guys in my age group.
Unlike a swim leg, where you could only see faces floating out of the water with goggles on, in this run start, all of my age groupers were clearly visible. I could see who they are and their race numbers. This wasn't really a good thing as my race plan of taking it easy was not in my mind anymore – The combination of adrenalin and maybe a bit of pride forced me to keep up with the group atleast until about 1.5ks which was done at 5:29/k pace. Once the initial thrill was over and I was away from all the cameras and spectators, I decided to do my own pace and so did most of the group. I placed myself in front of a couple of guys and behind most of the group.
Time: 22:03
Garmin link - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/59572292
Rank: 82 out of 142
Quicker than planned and a good steady pace for my standards but was still at the tail end of the group.
Transition 1
Running shoes off, bike shoes on. Slow walk / steady jog to the bike mount line. There were only 2 bikes left (in my row) waiting for their owners to finish the run leg and there was another two guys in my row exiting with me – rest of the group decided not to wait for us!!
Out of T1 in 02:46
Bike Leg – 18k x 5 loops
Lap 1 – Got on the bike, quick drink and settled into aero position. Never felt so comfortable on the aero bars – it took me almost a year of tinkering to find a good position! Had my first GU gel about 10 mins after starting the bike leg. Despite the plan to take it easy earlier on, I was still peddling hard but the bike seemed to move quicker than the effort was putting in! I was averaging 33-35km/h. This half ironman thing looks easy!
The bike loop was a nice 18k undulating loop with the biggest incline at the lady Denham Dr turn to Cotter Rd. The support at the end of the lap (at the start line) was tremendous. I had 3 different cheer groups - My parents, bro and Shyamala, then the Hills Tri club crew and then Nikki from the Tri club who had her own beach chair and was enjoying the race go past – I heard a 'GO DINEISH' chant from all 3 groups.
Lap 2,3 – Nothing much to report. Gel on each lap, continuous hydration, getting off the aero bars occasionally to rest and stretch my back – But always on Aeros when I saw the official photographers and at the start area where most spectators were – As you do!
Started seeing athletes withdrawing from the race and/or giving up. Felt terribly bad for them to have trained so hard only to withdraw at that point..
Lap 4 – Heading out from Commonwealth Park, the head wind was noticeable but yet manageable. But the cross winds on Lady Denham Drive was strong. The Aussie flag on top of the parliament was flying strong and high thanks to the strong wind. For the first time, I was not looking forward to the long and fast downhill to the bridge. The strong winds were pushing me to the side and I honestly thought my day could end here with a bad crash. The aero bars felt so uncomfortable and painful!
Saw more and more athletes off the bike and withdrawing.. Most of them looked like they've had enough for the day and given up! I don't think I was too far from them at that point. Lap 4 was more of a planning lap for me to pick the strategic spots where I could withdraw in Lap 5 if the need arises. I had specific some criteria for the spot – Had to be well away from the spectators and photographers but not too far from an aid station or support vehicles..
This planning helped me get through lap 4 and finished it with a quick toilet break – Still haven't learnt the art of 'doing it on the go', so made use of the toilet at the aid station.
Lap 5 – Most fast cyclists had already finished their 5 laps. The pros were almost on the second lap of the run. The spectators had already moved to the run leg area. The volunteers assumed you've done your 5 laps and get ready to guide you through to transition, only to realise that you've got one more to go. The start of lap 5 was both tough mentally and physically. I headed out for my last lap on the bike. Didn't have much left in the tank and started wondering how I could run a half marathon after this and I may end up withdrawing at one of the planned spots and promised myself that I would train harder next time!...
Throughout the race I didn't notice too many draft cheats except for some of the fast guys hanging onto each other. But I saw the most obvious and strangest draft cheat of the race on this lap. It was obvious, because she was drafting off another guy all the way on Lady Denham Dr. There was probably only a few cms gap between them. Strangest, because the guy didn't have a race number and was wearing a fluro hi-vis top – It almost looked like she's hired a guy to help her cheat!! It was also strange because the ladies started almost 10-15minutes before my start and she was still out on the course despite the drafting and averaging atleast 35km/hr on the last lap.. On the positive note, my curiosity kept me distracted for a while and before I knew it I was heading into transition. One more gel and more energy drink and then a flying dismount off the bike while trying to make sure I don't fall off the bike right at the bike dismount line. This certainly did not add any time but definitely felt and looked good – just what I needed before I headed out to do a half marathon!!
Split | Leg Time | Time of Day | Time Taken | Average Speed | Pos | Cat Pos | Gen Pos |
Bike-18k | 0:37:55 | 7:49:58 | 0:35:59 | 30.01 | 822 | 81 | 662 |
Bike-36k | 1:13:54 | 8:25:57 | 0:37:25 | 28.86 | 816 | 80 | 657 |
Bike-54 | 1:51:18 | 9:03:22 | 0:39:46 | 27.16 | 816 | 79 | 657 |
Bike-72k | 2:31:05 | 9:43:08 | 0:41:03 | 26.31 | 814 | 80 | 658 |
Cycle | 3:12:08 | 10:24:11 | 3:12:08 | 28.2 km/h | 810 | 81 | 656 |
Garmin link - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/59572294
Transition 2
Prior to the race, my aim was to 'beat' the first guy to T2 – i.e. I wanted to be out of T2 before the first PRO athlete finishes his whole race. Unfortunately, the first guy had finished his race already and so did a few others. They were being interviewed as I tried to get my socks and shoes on and resisted temptation to sit down and relax for a bit.
In my row, most bikes were racked already – This meant that most athletes are already out on the run. This was not the best place to be and I'd be lying if I said that all of this doesn't play with your mind. Quick look at my watch and it was only 3:34:11. I also saw and knew there were many others still on the bike leg. I realised I had about another 3hr30mins to run the 21kms before hitting the cut off point. Provided I get my running legs back, I knew I would be able to do it.
As a form of last minute impulse buy, I had bought a hydration belt with 4 bottles at the race expo the day before. They had 2 bottles of V for the caffeine and some high salt drink in the other two. For some reason, I felt really good and decided I didn't want to carry around that extra weight anymore, so took it off and ran out of transition wondering if I would regret not carrying any V or salt with me.
Time in transition: 02:09
Run: 10.5km x 2 loops
Felt surprisingly fresh and good. Did the first KM in 5:17. I knew this wasn't going to last, so decided to slow down and kept going. Ran past the aid station 1 and only grabbed some water to pour it on my head and cool me down. I was surprisingly still feeling good and kept running a constant pace and started to pass people who were walking or doing a walk/run combo – I knew I could pace a lot better on the run than the bike leg! It is always a nice feeling to pass people towards the end of an endurance race as it shows that you've paced well.. It was even better to pass my own age group athletes who had sprinted away in the first run leg and then the bike leg. I also got passed numerous times too..
Finished the first loop and was expecting to hit the wall any time now. But didn't see the point in slowing down even more or loading myself on gels or energy drinks to avoid it – So decided to run based on how I feel and I was feeling real good..
Rest of the run was a mixture of, getting passed by some runners, passing more runners, coke, water, jelly beans, energy drinks and chatting to various athletes on the way.
Top of Form Split Bottom of Form | Leg Time | Time of Day | Time Taken | Average pace (mins/k) | Pos | Cat Pos | Gen Pos |
Run2.7k | 0:16:30 | 10:40:41 | 0:16:30 | 0:06:07 | 721 | 74 | 589 |
Run-10.5k | 1:08:35 | 11:32:46 | 0:52:05 | 0:06:41 | 763 | 75 | 617 |
Run-13k | 1:27:07 | 11:51:18 | 0:18:32 | 0:07:25 | 760 | 73 | 615 |
Run21k | 2:23:22 | 12:47:33 | 0:56:15 | 0:07:02 | 758 | 75 | 607 Bottom of Form |
Garmin link - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/59572298
My rank in the age group for Run leg 1 was 82. The bike leg was 81 and this run leg was 75. My overall position on the bike leg was 810 and the run leg was 758. I was definitely passing many runners!
The home stretch back from the Museum was getting tougher and hotter. The course also looked like it doubled in length since the first lap!! But things certainly did change when I came under the bridge for the last time. This was the point of realisation that all the hard work and the long training hours had paid off - the finish area of my first half ironman journey was visible! It was about a KM away but the sight was definitely a memorable one - My 'running partner' (some random bloke I ran with for the last few Ks) and I stopped briefly to enjoy the view (and take a quick rest)! – After about 110kms of cycling and running and almost 6 hours of constant movement, it was a great feeling to know that the finish line was now in sight and less than a KM away. It was a quick pause, a quick smile, a quick adjustment of my visor and race number (so I can be spotted easily in the finish line photo) and off for the last KM. The support at the Hills Tri Club tent was so loud that I almost thought I still had a shot at a podium finish!
Crossed the finish line at 5:57:33!!
Overall category position - 80
Will post the photos and videos from the finish line soon.
Overall, had a great day and definitely pushed my boundary even further... Couldn't have done it without the support of the coaching from Pete Goldie and the rest of the tri club crew – Great guidance from the experienced clan and some fun rivalry amongst us newbies got me there..
My parents – You've questioned my intentions and plans..but never stopped my journey – you always supported and guided me instead!
Shyamala – Thanks for putting up with my crazy training hours. When I woke up at 5/5.30 on most mornings, I was heading out to do what I enjoyed... you..well, i never gave you an option other than to wake up and have brekki by yourself and worry if I was ok.. and congrats, now you know most Triathlon terms including T1, T2, taper & bonking (and you don't even find that funny anymore!)!
Thanks also to everyone who wished me luck and kept track of my (sometimes useless?) facebook and twitter updates! J
Looking forward to faster times next year! J
