The racing season is always long, with cross country running in the winter then the proper season starting in April and finishing in September. This year however has been longer than ever with me staying on in the Gold Coast to train for the World long distance champs 3k swim, 80k bike, 20k run) which were in Perth on 25th October. Being on the Gold coast and training in nice weather and on new routes really helped me to keep on going for that month longer than normal, however my body was really starting to fall apart at times with new and unusual niggles coming and going over the last few weeks. Saying that though I made it to Perth injury free and felling a good shape for the race and really looking forward to it.
This was the first time being part of the long distance GB team, so I didn't know anyone going into the race, but I quickly made Friends with several of the guy's Scott from Cornwall, he was mad he had done a double Ironman that year already and was planning to do the triple next year and the deca Ironman (10 times the Ironman distance) the following year, now even I think that's crazy. I also met Robbie a really nice guy from Barnsley, Simon the team mechanic, John and Aurelie (Aurelie was the team masseur, and she was really good, I was really needing that massage, it had been a while) and Tim the Team manager who was from Carlie.
From there race info and the briefing the race looked like it was going to be fast with a flat bike and run course. However Perth being the kind of place it is and the bike course being so exposed the wind could end up playing a major part in the race. And play a part they certainly did, however it was more in the swim than on the bike. With the strong winds on the morning of the race the normally flat and calm swan river became very choppy and tough to swim in especially with the first 1800m being into the wind, so it was hard work. Thankfully unlike Gold coast, my breathing issues were all under control, starting the race breathing every 4 strokes for the first few cycles has solved the problem. A lot of people went of really fast at the start of the swim, as I was nearly at the back of the Field after the first few hundred meters, but I wasn't concerned with that as 3k is a long way especially in those conditions. As I got into the swim I started passing a lot of those swimmers who got too excited at the start of the swim and also those from the wave before mine and the wave before that, which really gave me a boost that I was swimming well. At the turn point I was really looking to make the most of the tail wind and blast the last 1200m, that was wishful thinking as the current must have been with us on the way out as when I turned even though the chopped died down I still wasn't moving anywhere fast. By this point I must have passed most of those in my wave as I didn't see anyone else until the last few hundred meters of the swim.
At the exit of the swim the water became shallow quickly so I thought I would use a method of getting my wetsuit off that Brad showed me in the Gold coast and which I had practiced the day before and it worked perfectly. What you do is unzip your suit then grab the neck and pull it down slightly then duck under the water allowing your suit to fill with water, then as you stand the water pulls your suit right off you. This technique worked perfectly, I had the top half of my suit down before I even reached the steep steps to get out of the water, perfect, or so I thought. AS I was running to transition I heard Tim shouting at me "Martin pull your suit up" which I thought was really strange as I had pulled it down, why should I pull it back up. It wasn't until I looked down that I notices my tri suit had also come down when I pulled my wetsuit down, I had to try and get it back up as I was running through transition, which isn't easy with these new rear zip suits.
Suit back on and fully zipped up it was on to the bike course which was an X shaped out and back pan flat course, which I wasn't particularly looking forward to as I hate flat course, I prefer something that has some climbs or at least is undulating to break up the monotony. The first out and back was tailwind out head wind back, but the rest of the course seemed to be head or cross wind the whole time. As is always my aim for the bike, I was trying to not loose too many places after the swim, and I'm really happy to say that I only lost one place to the guy's in my category, the long swim must have been playing into my favour. It was a hot day, with the forecasted temperature to be 31Oc so I was taking in plenty of fluids on the bike in preparation for the run. At the start of the final lap of the bike I needed to pick up a water bottle as I had finished my 2. I picked up the 1st bottle at the aid station and put it in my bottle cage, then quickly grabbed another one to pour over my head to cool off. After I pured half the bottle over my head I squirted some in my mouth, and it was then that I realised I had picked up one of the electrolyte/carbohydrate bottles. Great I was now covered in a sticky carb drink, thankfully it was not that strong and a quick spray from my water bottle managed to clean most of it off.
For the run I decided I need to have a strategy, after my Ironman marathon last year where I just had planned to run about 50min/10k and ended up running the first 10k in 43mins and suffering big style at the back end of the race. So for this race, even though it was shorted I planned to start steady and pick up the pace after the first 10k. Going through transition I quickly out my GPS on (Garmin 405) to help me monitor my pace, and it was a good think I did. After the first 500m's when I had settled into a comfortable pace, which I thought was steady, was actually 3:35/km pace way quicker than I had planned to run, I slowed it down to about 4:20 pace and was able to hold that.
Unlike the bike and swim, someone decided to turn off the wind and turn up the heat, After the race I heard it hit 36Oc on the run and there was no shade. With the temperature heating up a lot of people were suffering, but I was not wanting that to happen to me, so every aid station, which was about every 1-1.5k I was grabbing 4-5 cups of water to drink and throw over my head and at one aid station they were giving out ice, at that one I was taking 2 cups, one to pour down the front of my trisuit and the other to pour down the back, it was so nice. I think the combination of water, ice, pacing, nutrition and probably the acclimatisation on the Gold coast I managed to keep running well through out the run. I planned to pick up the pace on the final 5k and I thought I was as I was passing a lot of runners from my wave and other waves, however it wasn't that I was speeding up, it was just that I wasn't slowing down compared to the rest, and I finished the run in 1:27hrs and 4:40hrs for the entire race, 22nd in my category.
It was a great race, but also a tough one with the conditions, I couldn't stop sweat all night, even after a cold shower and having plenty to drink. I was really pleased with the outcome of the race, it was a great way to end a long and mixed season. And I would like to thank my sponsors for helping me throughout the year, Westwoods health and fitness (www.westwoodshealthclub.com), the fitness box (www.fitnessbox.co.uk)a nd Tunnocks biscuits (www.tunnock.co.uk), thank you to you all for your support it has been a great help during the season.
Now the racing and training is over I can have some time to chill out, so I'm off to Melbourne to visit a school friend for a few days before heading to Fiji for 3days then on to San Francisco for 4days before flying home and getting back to winter training, oh yeah and work, thats going to be tough going. I better make the most of the sun while I can :-)
