Race report: Ironman 70.3 Canberra

Prior to last weekend’s Canberra 70.3, my most recent long course race was Ironman Australia back in May 2011, where I learnt a hell of a lot about myself and how to race long course triathlon. My last shot at the Canberra Half Ironman was the 2010 edition, which was my third ever long course race and was run in the midst of the Canberra floods which closed Lake Burley Griffin and Coppins Crossing, resulting in no swim (replaced with a 4km run) and a shorter, flatter bike course. That day was one of my toughest on a race course, as I had a foot injury flare up during the second run and I hobbled my way to a 1:43 half marathon off the bike.

This year I went in to the race with a very clear plan covering race tactics, pacing and nutrition (thanks in no small part the knowledge and experience of Kim Crawley), as well as having the benefit of two full seasons of additional experience, base, speed and technical development. While I slightly departed from the plan at a couple of points which arguably cost me time late in the run, overall I’m very pleased with how the race panned out and I have a few lessons to build on for next time. Here is a blow-by-blow account.

Swim – 28:32

Due to the all-too-common situation of inadequate port-a-loos at the race site, I had to rush to the start line and the hooter went off about 90 seconds after I had got there and pushed my way to the front. The start had the aggression of a sprint distance race and I was caught a little off guard as the pack disintegrated within the first 20 metres. As a result I was isolated for most of the swim, and judging by the splits of those who came out ahead of me it appears the frontrunners failed to form a coherent pack. We also swam through the tails of three or four earlier waves which provided a bit of traffic to keep things interesting. Conditions were smooth and calm, with good visibility.

My plan was to maintain a smooth, efficient sub-threshold pace without using too much energy, which I achieved successfully. According to the GPS the swim was a shade over 2km in length so my pace was bang on target, giving me the 11th fastest split in my age group, 2 minutes down on the leader. In future I will aim to go out a little harder in the first 100m to try and get on some feet, which may help me find another 30 seconds or so.

T1 – 2:46

The run into transition from the swim was quite long at about 300m. The experience of lots of short course racing definitely helped me as I had the second fastest split in my age group (12th overall!) and leapfrogged several people, including eventual age group winner Hayden Armstrong.

Bike – 2:24:33

The three-lap Canberra bike course, while not ‘mountainous’, has some steep, moderate length hills along Coppins Crossing Road as well as many rollers and false flats, some sections of poor quality road and a few technical descents. Conditions however were ideal for fast racing – very little wind, cool temperatures and overcast skies. My plan was to maintain a reasonably consistent wattage at approximately 85% of Functional Threshold Power for the whole bike leg, keeping the power up on the flats and descents while moderating my efforts on the steeper climbs to avoid burning matches. I also planned to use my local course knowledge and reasonable bike handling skills to make up time on the descents and carry speed up the ensuing climbs. Despite the hills, I ran a rear disc wheel and 85mm deep front wheel to optimise aerodynamics.

Roughly 5km into the first lap Hayden Armstrong rode past me like a rocket coming out of the Glenloch Interchange underpass. For a moment I thought about trying and go with him but I worked out pretty quickly that he was pushing about 40-50 watts more than I was so I sensibly decided to let him go. Hayden went on to record the fastest age group bike split overall, the fastest split in M30-34 by almost 2 ½ minutes, and the 6th fastest overall.

I was isolated for much of the first lap and found myself riding about 15 watts over my goal wattage until I picked up David Washbrook about half way around. We were joined on lap 2 by Kevin Branagan, who was behind out of the water, as well as Scott Chancellor – a pro mountain biker racing in the M18-24 age group who had dropped back to us as a result of a poor swim. While keeping our 12 metre draft zones and not ‘actively’ working together (legally or illegally), the four of us stuck reasonably close together for the remainder of the ride.

My legs felt a little more ‘dead’ than I would have liked after the first lap as a result of pushing a little harder early, however they came good again on the third lap and allowed me to maintain consistent lap times for laps 2 and 3. In the end my normalised power was within 3 watts of my goal, although my variability index was a bit higher than ideal (mainly due to the technical course but also fast first lap). My nutrition plan went perfectly and I felt well hydrated and fuelled throughout.

T2 – 1:09
Run – 1:31:31

The run course was another 3 lap affair, this time pancake flat with no shortage of aid stations along the way. The cool, overcast and still conditions continued, although the cloud cleared around midday making it a tough slog for those athletes still on course. I got off the bike in 4th place, a few seconds ahead of Kevin and David, and with another good transition headed out on the run. Kevin and David caught up to me again at about the 1.5km mark and we ran as a group for the next 5km. This was where my ego got the better of me – I expected to be able to break Kevin after running 2 minutes faster than him at Auckland ITU Worlds last year. However after running well under 4:00/km pace for the first 5-6km (I was aiming to hold around 4:10 pace) it became apparent that Kevin and David had the better of me and I dropped off the back, hoping in vain to see one or both of them again later. Kevin and David both went on to run 1:23 (David took it out in the finish straight), indicating that  Kevin’s 40 minute 10km in Auckland was somewhat of an aberration!

Early on the first lap, Jared Owen fired past us and went on to post a 1:19 run split, the fastest in M30-34 and 9th fastest overall.

My first 7km lap took me 28:26, but it became clear by the time I downed a gel at the 8km aid station that the early effort was going to cost me. I concentrated on maintaining a smooth, efficient stride, as I knew that was what would keep my pace up as my stabiliser muscles fatigued. Lap 2 took me 30:18. It was clear that muscle fatigue would be my biggest challenge over the last 7km – the engine was working fine but my stride was falling to pieces. I kept telling myself that now was the time to dig deep. Strength of character isn’t defined by how you perform when things are going well – it’s defined by how you respond when things get tough.

Despite a further slowing of my pace on the final lap (32:47), I managed to hold my position to the finish. I went into the race hoping to run around 1:27-1:28, and while I didn’t achieve that it was clear with improvements in my pacing and muscular endurance I am capable of running even faster than that. Given that my training volume has been somewhat less than optimal this year, there is great cause for optimism.

Finish – 4:28:34
7th M30-34
30th Overall

It seems the predictions I made in my last post were pretty good – the favourites all finished in the top five, and I came in amongst the ‘contenders’ (as I’d quietly expected). As is usual in long course racing there were a few exceptional performances and a few people who didn’t have great days.

I would like to acknowledge and thank the many people who have supported me, both in recent times and throughout my time in this sport. My club Canberra Bilbys (who just happen to run the best aid station in the history of aid stations), our truly amazing club president Emma Fielder, often-coach and mentor Gary Rolfe, my long-suffering parents Julie and Glenn, race nutrition planner Kim Crawley, my sponsors OnTheGo Racing (Mick Spencer and the crew), Zone3 (Bobby Buck and James Lock) and Solestar (Caleb McInnes), and a million other triathlon friends and training buddies, who I won’t name individually because I’m sure to forget lots of names!

Now that the Christmas period is upon us I’m back into the swing of things to prepare for Lake Wanaka Half, and I’ll be in Jindabyne for a week in early January to train my brains out while basking in the fresh mountain air. I also have ANOTHER GREAT SPONSOR to announce soon, stay tuned! Have a fantastic Festivus everyone – be sure to partake in many ‘feats of strength’ – and I’ll see you all soon.

Welcome to my new sponsors!

Just a quick-and-dirty post to welcome my new sponsors!

I’m very excited to announce that I will be a brand ambassador for Zone3 in 2014, and will be racing in their super-exotic, seriously awesome Victory wetsuit! As I’m sure you gathered from my review of my Zone3 Vanquish, I’m rather smitten with Zone3’s excellent wetsuits and approach to design. Their suits are highly innovative and built for speed in every area – buoyancy, body position, flexibility, range of motion, energy return, transition speed, and so on. I can’t wait to put on the Victory in early 2014 and break some speed records!

As I briefly mentioned in my last post, I have also joined the OnTheGo Racing team. OnTheGo are an exciting new Canberra-based brand who believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to live an active and healthy lifestyle. They manufacture high quality, attractive gear for a range of sports including cycling, running and triathlon (and many more) to facilitate just that, and they are actively involved in a number of charitable projects. They also produce great merchandise and custom clothing, and are the official merch suppliers for Ironman events in the Asia Pacific region.

I’m getting to the latter stages of my taper before race day on Sunday – feeling good, and focussing on staying loose, relaxed and hydrated. Can’t wait to get out there and see what I can do!

Ironman 70.3 Canberra form guide (M30-34)

It’s less than a week out from my first long course race in 2 ½ years, with my taper well underway and my preparations sharpened up with a nice little hit out at the ACT Sprint Distance Championship on Sunday (I was particularly happy with my bike leg considering I did the whole thing with what turned out to be a twisted chain – my gears were jumping like crazy, and it was a real test of my pedalling technique to keep the power down without slipping and knackering myself on my stem).

This weekend I’ll be racing with the support of some great sponsors who I’m extremely grateful to have. First of all, it will be my first outing as a member of the OnTheGo Racing team. I’ll also be using my Solestar insoles – Solestar have been a very loyal sponsor and they make the best cycling insoles money can buy, bar none.

I’m also on the cusp of finalising some other new sponsors, which I’m extremely excited about. Watch this space.

As part of my preparations I’ve run my eye down the start list in my age group and pulled together a little race preview of the contenders I’ll be battling with on race day. This year’s field of 190 30-34 males can only be described as HOT! Some of Australia’s best long course age groupers have signed up for the final running of the Canberra race under the Ironman banner, and to chase a small number of qualifying slots for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Mont Tremblant, Canada (2 slots have been allocated to M30-34). Here is a summary of the most notable ones:

The Favourites

Hayden Armstrong: If recent results are anything to go by, Hayden will be very tough to beat next Sunday. An experienced and talented athlete who has been to Kona four times, he broke the 9 hour mark this year (8:58) to finish eighth behind the fastest age grouper in the world, Kyle Buckingham. Wins at Auckland and Sunshine Coast 70.3s, a third place at Busselton 70.3, and 4^th place at Ironman Melbourne punctuate his 2013.

Jarrod Owen: Like Hayden, Jarrod has been a dominant feature of age group long course racing in Australia for many years now, dominating his category and even lining up for a few pro starts. Jarrod will be behind the leaders after the swim, but he has a deadly run which more than makes up for it. He took out 2nd place at the 2012 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas, and qualified for Kona this year with second place at 2012 Ironman Western Australia. In the last 18 months he also notched up wins at Yeppoon and Port Macquarie 70.3s.

David Washbrook: David is an expat Englishman with a very strong swim and a well rounded bike/run combination. I raced David at the Australian Sprint Champs back in January, where we got off the bike together at the front and he ran away from me to take second (I finished third around a minute down). After qualifying with 7^th place at Ironman Melbourne this year, David went to Kona and pulled off a lightning quick 9:18. A second place at Yeppoon 70.3 in August and 6^th place at Canberra 70.3 last year add even more depth to his palmares.

Luke Martin: Luke’s results in recent 70.3 races recently have been very impressive. Luke took 3^rd place in M25-29 at Port Macquarie 70.3 in 2012, before ageing-up and taking another 3^rd place at Yeppoon 70.3 in August, right behind Jarrod and David.

The Contenders

Robert Johnston: Robert has been a consistent performer on the Australian age group long course scene for a few years now, and nearly made my ‘Favourites’ list. He got a shot at Kona in 2012 off the back of second place at Ironman Australia, coming home from the Big Island with a 10:08. This season he has had some more solid results at domestic 70.3s, taking home 4^th at Port Macquarie 70.3 and 5^th at Shepparton 70.3.

Tim Green: Tim is the NT Long Course Champion and has had some excellent results against quality OD fields including at the Devonport Triathlon (6^th place M25-29) and the Singapore Triathlon (4^th outright).

Jared Medhurst: Jared is an unknown quantity over the longer distances, but has had some stellar results in Olympic Distance races on the South Coast of NSW against quality fields, including 7^th overall at Wollongong and 10^th overall at Nowra in 2013.

Kevin Branagan: I had a solid race with Kevin, an Irishman, at the Auckland ITU Worlds last year. An excellent cyclist with a solid swim, he will definitely be one to watch. His run speed lets him down (and allowed me to catch him in Auckland), but if he can run steady and solid off a hard bike ride he will be in with a great chance of a high placing.

The Dark Horses

Daniel Edge: A Novocastrian who now lives in Canberra, Daniel’s recent results include a 13^th place at Auckland 70.3 in January off the back of his 8^th place in M25-29 at Ironman Western Australia the month prior, and 10^th outright at the 2012 Batemans Bay Ultimate (2/120/20). I beat Daniel by 4 ½ mins in a local duathlon (5/30/2.5) in August this year, but Daniel is a strong swimmer (54 mins at IMWA) and as we know form in August doesn’t necessarily reflect form in December!

James Lukassen: James finished just behind Daniel Edge and female pro winner Michelle Wu at the 2012 Batemans Bay Ultimate, and had a good result in a stacked field at Ironman Melbourne this year clocking 8:52 for 16^th place (albeit on a fast course with a shortened swim).

Russell Peacock: Russell had a strong 7^th place finish at Busselton 70.3 in May, with a strong 4:23.

Ryan Palazzi: Ryan picked up an 8^th place finish at Cairns 70.3 in June (4:34).

Matthew Knox: Matthew went 8:55 on the shortened-swim Ironman Melbourne course in March, after a respectable 4:36 on a challenging Port Macquarie 70.3 course last year. Both results netted him 19^th place.

James Marsden: James has been around the traps for a while, and I’ve raced him once or twice in the past at the Olympic Distance. In recent times James got a spot for the 70.3 Worlds in Las Vegas last year, coming home in 4:46 on the tough and hot desert course. More recently he picked up 13^th place at Port Macquarie 70.3 this year.

Scott Donaldson: Scott pulled off a 4:32 at Shepparton 70.3 a few months ago, good enough for 13^th place. I did 4:34 at Shepparton in 2010 in my second ever long course race, but by all accounts the new 2 lap bike course is slower than the 3 lap course I raced on (plus we had very good conditions).

Of course this list isn’t exhaustive, and there were lots of names on the start list I didn’t know or couldn’t find any results for online. Where do I fit into this list? Well I have my thoughts, but sharing it on here would ruin the suspense! Lets just say I’m confident of a solid result if everything goes to plan. In any case, I hope this ‘form guide’ gives you some entertainment on race day, whether you’re on the side of the course watching or just perusing the results on Ironman Live later.