4. DAN WEEKES – IRONMAN 70.3 MOOLOOLABA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RACE REPORT
To tell my Ironman 70.3 World Champs story, I have to take you back to April 2015. I had just qualified for my fourth ITU Age Group World Champs – to be held in Chicago in September – but this time I would be training right past it, en route to my first half ironman in Ballarat in December. I had no expectations for Ballarat, and after some issues with a aero drink bottle on the bike, I put in a decent run and finished top 20. A couple of months later I grabbed an 8th place at Challenge Melbourne, but I secured a surprise slot for the 70.3 World Champs when I finished 6th at Cairns 70.3 in June of this year. Being new to the half – and enjoying finding my limits at the new distance – I had no expectations whatsoever for 2016. I certainly didn’t plan to be heading to Mooloolaba for the second time after the OD race in March.
There’s always a down side to qualifying for a World Champs race… they are typically biased to the Northern hemisphere countries which exit their summer race season and travel straight to the event. This means us poor souls in the southern hemisphere have to train through winter sometimes months since we last raced. Most of you reading this know what that means: gathering on the pool side in the dark and cold; turning off alarms and resisting the urge to turn over and hide under the doona; contracting wind burn from the northerly wind whipping across the bay…. Basically it’s not all fun!
After Cairns I treated myself to a couple of weeks off although the first few days of that were spent hanging out in Cairns after the race. With only 11 weeks before Mooloolaba, I didn’t have the luxury of starting my typical 23-week programme at the beginning with some slow volume and gym work. Instead, I worked backwards from the race date and found myself in the exact same sessions I had been battling through before Cairns!
With only one short bout of sickness, the 11 weeks went quite well, although I’m not sure I was as fit as I was before Cairns. Run Melbourne happened during the build-up and I wasn’t that content with my time, reminding myself that half marathon pace and the pain of a 40-minute 10km are very different beasts. Stay specific, I thought.
Having raced big events in London, Beijing, Canada and the U.S, the thought of a World Champs on home soil – at the end of a domestic flight – was very exciting. I had raced the OD in Mooloolaba multiple times, and knowing what’s at the end of that flight – what it looks like, where things are, what the course has in store – is a huge weight off the mind and eases race anxiety a great deal. On top of that, having friends there for support is also a huge bonus.
Before I even left Melbourne I knew that the Ironman version of the World Champs would be a more solo affair than the equivalent ITU event; there was no team as such, no-one checked my passport and I had been refused a GB race suit on the grounds that the race was not sanctioned by the ITU. Having represented AUS in the past I was quite looking forward to adding a red, white and blue suit to my wall… alas it wasn’t to be.
On arriving in Mooloolaba, the atmosphere was palpable. Although the set-up used different locations than the OD triathlon, I quickly got my bearings and set about registering in the huge Ironman village. Having collected my rather high quality race backpack, I soaked up the obviously international feel of the occasion before heading out to the Welcome Banquet in the impressive Ironman Big Top. It was an entertaining evening, and I even treated myself to a couple glasses of red wine which is very unlike me pre-race!
Saturday came and went with my usual pre-race run session and then the tedious business of racking my bike and gear bags in the biggest (and longest) transition known to man. After that adventure it was feet up time and the enjoyable task of pumping in calories and fluid every half an hour. With the sunny weather and wind reducing by the hour, Sunday was shaping up to be perfect conditions.
Sunday morning arrived, and again I had to battle my way through a very congested transition…. No question the worst and most anxious part of any race day at the best of times, let alone when bikes are racked so close together that pumping tyres was impossible without removing the machine and thus getting in the way of blokes either side! With this stressful part out of the way, I could return to my apartment, eat, and just let the nerves ebb and flow. No surprises there.
Once I had my race suit and half a wetsuit on, I wandered down to the swim start to see the sun dawn on an almost flat ocean with gentle, fat, rolling waves causing little worry on the faces of the less able swimmers. Having seen the elite men hit the sand, it was my turn to venture out to the deep water start buoys… 250 guys in the my wave is probably one of the biggest fields I’ve ever been surrounded by. That’s likely 100 times bigger than the Canberra OD race!
As usual, I set off comfortably from the gun and allowed myself to enjoy the location while picking off the other swimmers gradually. Firmly ensconced mid-pack on exiting the water, I was glad the day had finally started.
The first half of the bike leg follows the freeway course of the OD race: 40km of flat smooth riding, but it soon became apparent that drafting was not a battle of conscience to a lot of blokes. I stuck to my guns and stayed out of trouble before a mass of about 15 guys passed me at about 35km and I just had to shout to express my frustration. My reminder of a penalty did nothing to split them up, so I shook my head and dropped back. At round 43km the course diverted into a more rolling, technical landscape in the hinterland of Maroochydore. Also at this stage, my rear tyre became very bouncy and I realised I had my first ever race day puncture. Having fired Pit Stop into the valve I got going again, but pressure was much lower than I would have liked.
I got through another 30km – including the mother of all hills that needed 512 watts to crest it – unscathed but my mind couldn’t rest with the thought that the tyre could go again any minute. And then it did. Another CO2 canister later, I was glad it was just a slow puncture but with 5km to go it became very soft and I limped into town not a second too soon.
At that point, I was just pleased to be able to get on the run course. Barring complete disaster I would collect my Finishers’ medal. Although not a disaster, my feet rebelled after around 4km of fast running. Blisters were very obviously tormenting me, a problem I have never had before, certainly not so early in a half marathon. The pain grew and grew and every change of direction was very unpleasant. I knew if I stopped, the chances of getting going again were very slim. I kept at it, using the hills on the course to distract me. After 1h35m of running the finish line arrived and I was at the same time pleased of a good time but frustrated knowing that a run PB would have been on the cards if it wasn’t for the blisters… even on the hills and in the heat, the training was clearly working.
The bike issues didn’t really bother me once the race was done. I had no expectations for the year or for the race itself. It was a definite LSD experience… Learn See and Discover.
I hobbled around town for a couple of days while catching up on coffee, cake and pasta. The Closing Banquet was also fun on the Monday morning which involved all of the Age Group and Elite medal presentations. Good news all round with Holly Lawrence (UK) winning the women’s race and home-grown talent Timbo Reed claiming honours in the men’s. Sebastian Kienle was just two seconds behind in second place and even 24 hours after crossing the line, he still had a face like a smacked arse having missed the chance to gain a third 70.3 World Title.
Next stop? Challenge Shepparton and then Ballarat 70.3…. come and say hi!
W.
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