Race report by Rob

So does the weather get any better? When we arrived down South at our accommodation in Dunsborough it was blue sky, sunshine and 27 degrees….a perfect afternoon for our planned leisurely sojourn around the bike course at 3pm. When we arrived at the Goose, we had a total of 7 that would make their round; competitors Paul, Jill, Em and myself along with spectators Ronny, Lorraine and Tanya. Our 30kms was filled with much discussion about the course, the race itself and general social banter…did anyone notice the glistening sun off the Bay that is Geographe?? We also managed to identify a prime location for the massive spectator contingent we were expecting on the day – right next to the bike and run course ready for much cheering and encouragement from loved ones et. al. Registration & bike check in was like nothing I’ve experienced before – with 1100 individual competitors and 300 teams, it was a seething mass of carbon, shaved legs and the usual ‘sizing up the competition’ stares in the eyes of many. There is always a real mix of people at these events – those that are there just for the experience and happy to simply make the start (and finish!) to the true ‘hard core’ tri-dudes that look like they’d thump you if you got too close to their P2 pimped up ride. Paul and me kind of sit somewhere in the middle of this (or at least we like to think so….).

After a massive meal of pasta and ice cream (love the night before race day) and a fitful night of waking up every hour, Paul and I headed into town at 6am with the usual butterflies playing out the finals of the Red Bull Air Race in our stomachs. It was my 4th crack at the Busso ½ and Paul’s 1st – both aiming for a PB today! A relatively easy transition set up and getting our stuff together then saw time for catching up with a few others who were toeing the line. Hunter and Dean were ready for action – Dean having scored the prime position for his transition with possibly the shortest run to the bike entry/exit right on the end of the bike racks. He even had all the room in the world to lay out what could only be described as a Sunday picnic worth of bars/gels/fruit etc along side his shoes and run belt. We then proceeded to indicate that he’d better get out of the water before us or we’d make sure to fling what we could lay our hands on as far away from his bike as possible….just kidding Deano…we wouldn’t really….not really…..! Christoph was there with 2 of his charges having their 1st crack at the ½ along with our NZ long course champ Rachael. Declan was also up for the task – although indications were that his mind had failed him once again in keeping him away from this “god awful race!”.

So after race briefing and the announcement that there were a significant number of stingers in situ, we headed to the water to get on our way. It’s always here that the nerves start to bubble up to the surface and there’s a bit of jostling for position. I bumped in to Shao at the waters edge and wished him well for the race. It really is great to have so many people on the course that you know. The hooter goes and we’re off. Nothing like the washing machine of the full IM, but still tough to hold your position. I think I’ve just about got it down pat in terms of knowing where to start so that I don’t get crawled over but I’m also not banging into people up front. It only took about 150m for the field to thin out and I was able to get into a nice rythym. I was also making a conscious effort not to swallow too much of the Bay this time round given the previous issues I’ve had with gastro during the run. The swim was actually really uneventful, even at the turnaround bouys. No real scrapping and clawing going on and a general breeze to get started on the return journey. On arrival back into the beach, I looked at my watch and realized I hadn’t pushed the start button hard enough when we took off – oh well, there goes the opportunity to operate on the basis of “data” – back to the tried and test “see what it feels like” option! Running up the beach I was greeted with our supporter base of Ronny, Tanya and Lorraine all calling out to me – this encouragement from the side would prove to more than a significant contributor to our success on the day.

After making it into transition and donning the requisite appurtenances for the next leg, I promptly got caught up in a stray wetsuit lying in the middle of the exit passage causing me to drop my bike and lose my tubes/levers/gas out of the biddon cage. Much cursing and picking up/re-positioning of things saw me grumbling out to the mounting line. That’s racing I guess. So, we’re off on the bike heading West up the Bay Road which is probably the bumpiest section of the course. I was only 3 – 4 kms in when a guy rides up next to me and asks if I had anything in my “other” bidon cage? I said “Yes”, to which his reply was “Not any more you don’t”! Appears I didn’t re-position my tubes/levers/gas properly, and was now going to ride the 3 laps on the luck of the Gods and hope I didn’t flat out. Racing huh?
So, with the volume of competitors in the race this time around, there was always going to be an opportunity for a fast 1st lap – it was going to be up to the TO’s to try and work out who was breaching the no drafting regs and who was just trying to make there own way round. Now, as everyone knows, I’m a stickler for the rules, and would NEVER grab a lazy wheel in a race, even if the opportunity was there….but then with SO MANY wheels around and it being SO HARD to try and find your own place on the road, how could I POSSIBLY succeed in being good?? Oh well, hitch a ride and go with the flow…I think my max on the first leg out was 46km/h – it was just really difficult to get away from a pack of riders….honestly, it was…..

Anyway, with the TO’s out in full force, it actually didn’t take too long to sort out the wheat and chaff and by the end of the first lap there was already a line to get into the Penalty Box. With the 2nd lap it was very much into TT mode and getting on with the job. I felt comfortable on the bike and had made my mind up to try and knock it over with an average of 37/38. Riding past our support crew with the girls all jumping around on the side line really helped with the giddy up too. It’s about 2/3rds of the way into lap 2 (50km mark) that my mind starts to question what the hell I’m actually doing out here. The legs started to feel the effects of the constant pushing and my hamstring started to seize a little (and I remembered now that I didn’t even stretch before the race!). Time to engage my well thought through nutrition strategy….peanut butter and jam on white bread – food of the Kings I say! Gels and bars tend not to agree with me, so I was determined to see what whole food and water might yield in terms of preventing the bonk. With a little bit of food and rounding the turn into the 3rd lap, I started to feel a bit better – animated supporters again really helping the cause to keep the hard RPM’s going. The TO’s were well into their role too, with what seemed to be every 5th rider being shown the yellow card (Mr Owen…of should I say “Droped in Dalkeith…?” Anything tio report here???). By the 3rd lap, everyone is really hurting and the urge to grab a wheel is pretty strong. I had a couple make a few tired attempts to grab me as I went past, but without much success.

Coming into T2 to get ready for the run, I felt really good. I’d timed the ride to be about 2:26 which was an average of just under 37km/h so was OK with that effort. Now I just had to knock off a lazy ½ marathon and we were done. Pulling the shoes & hat on, I ran out on what felt a little like concrete blocks swinging under my bum for the 1st 2 kms. Always takes a while for them to get some blood back in and pumping around – particularly down to the feet. Anyway, the first lap ticked away just nicely with the odd pouring of water over my head and occasional sip to quench the thirst. The return journey is always better because you can site the Jetty. Also knowing that the support crew is waiting for you to give you the encouragement makes a huge difference as well. Running up to a group of familiar faces that are all cheering you along is a real motivator. The 2nd lap was like the first, with a really nice rhythm and cadence – the main thing is not to get fixed on trying to keep up with someone else or getting frustrated if someone in your Category overtakes. You really have to just run your own race and trust your own rhythm. It was at about the 17k mark that it all exploded on me – my head started to falter and legs commenced their ‘shut down’ routine. And I was soooo close too!! Nothing for it but to try and make it to the Aid Station any way I could, which meant as fast a walk as I could manage. On arrival, I implemented my unplanned nutritional supplement strategy – coke and lollies. I figured I just needed to get an immediate hit to help with last 3.5kms. And wow – did that work! After another 500m’s, they really kicked in and off I took. I think the last 3kms would have been taken at sub 4min k’s, overtaking 50 or 60 people along the way. Felt pretty damn fine coming over the line and nailed it with a PB of 4:51:49. Stoked! Paul came across the line in just over 5 hours (something about a 3 minute delay in a Penalty Box??) – but with a target time of 5:15, that’d probably have to go down as the performance of the day, particularly as it was a first ½ hit out!

For those interested in my nutrition strategy, here’s the low down:
•    ¾ of a peanut butter/jam sandwich – white bread
•    2 x 750 mls water
•    6 sips of Electorlyte
•    6 liquorice allsorts
•    3 cups of Coke

(And I reckon if I had had the last 2 items on the 2nd lap of the run I would have made it without hitting the wall too!)

Everyone’s times that I could find (Please correct me if I’m wrong with these…):

Rob: 4:51:49
Paul: 05:02:56
Declan: 06:22:12
Rachael: 4:44:52 (3rd place 30-34 women!!)
Hunter: 04:40:48
Dean: 05:26:24
Shao: 04:49:15

Thanks to all our support crew too – it really made the day a fabulous event to have you there with us all the way. Oh, and if anyone finds Lorraine’s mobile, please give her a call to tell you have it!!