Report by Rob (on behalf of Paul and Brendan)

Well, another ½ under the belt and this one didn’t disappoint. The weekend started with everyone making their separate ways down to our accommodation in Dunsborough; Tanya and me arrived first, shortly followed by Brendan and Jody with Lorraine not too far behind them. Nico and I had already decided to do the course recon ride with the ladies taking the Goose coffee option (the ‘smart’ choice as you will soon realise!).

We got ourselves kitted up and met up with Mad Mike, one of Lorraine’s errant mates doing his first ½ and not really having much of a clue about any of it. It was going to be youthful exuberance that got him through as he has this in abundance! So, we headed out on the road and filled Mike in on the course route and some of the things to expect during the race (us being such hardened veterans and all…!). A nice easy spin out to the Tuart Forrest and it was all going so well until just after we turned around to head back into Busso when the heavens opened up and drowned the three of us with little mercy offered. By the time we got back to the Goose carpark, with the ladies conveniently wandering our way at the right moment, we were quite the sodden rats. Oh well, the bikes were due for a wash anyway….

We led Mad Mike through the registration process (“Really? We leave our bikes here in Transition overnight??”) and then headed back to the house for a warm shower and pasta night.

Paul and Nicole arrived by 7pm and after a nerve filled evening of carbohydrates followed by Lorraine’s fabulous Citrus Ricotta cake & Brownies (carbo loading of kings) we headed off for a fitful night’s sleep having agreed a 5:30am departure was required.

Race Day

There is something about getting up at 4:50am to get ready for a 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride and 21.1km run…the nerves are pumping and the mind traverses the full spectrum of thoughts and emotions. “Why am I doing this?” “Can’t wait, it’s going to be unreal!” “Hope I remembered everything….” Etc. etc. The concern of getting a flat tyre or burning up on the run; maybe being dragged down in the Bay by an errant hand attached to the muscle bound arm as it rotates around the shoulder of your stronger, fitter more capable opponent – just another day’s racing really.

A short and virtually silent breakfast of champions (Nico – do Coco Pops really count here??), we piled into our 2 cars and headed into town. I was driving with Paul next to me and Nico following behind. ½ way into Busso I see Nico weave off to the side of the road and come to a halt. “Wonder what he’s forgotten?” I say to Paul. We later found out that he was so keen to remember his racing band and HR watch that he’d put them on top of his transition bag before going to bed – “First thing I’d see in the morning” was the rationale…so then to put them in your bag in a sleep induced daze and promptly forget that this is what you’d done….but only AFTER you’d driven half way to the race start, come to a screeching halt, phoned your sleeping fiance in a mad fit/panic to ask if they were on the window sill…..mmmmmm, love the nerves of race day.

Anywho, we all managed to get to race transition with everything we needed, got ourselves marked up with numbers and category letters, set the SPR tent up and then had time (LOTS of that since they’d pushed our category race start back to 8:10am from the original 7:20am) to try and calm the nerves, get the wetsuits on a prep for what lay ahead.

The girls all arrived by 7:30am and got themselves set up ready for a riveting day supporting on the sidelines – they are soooo lucky to have us….(and we them of course)! We all made our way down to the water for the obligatory ‘get wet & warm’ (a reference to anyone who’s worn a wetsuit – and if you haven’t then just use your imagination). Once in the race start zone with the 165 other starters in our category (‘old’, but not ‘old farts’), I decided to make my way to the front of the pack while Nico and Paul opted for the back. There’s madness in the method of both choices here and it depends on what you’re thinking at the time – start at the front and potentially get swum over, but maybe get some clear water if you’re off quick enough; or hang back, get the clear water first but then possibly have to fight your way through the pack if you start to swim stronger than those in front. Hard to tell, so you make your choice and see what happens.

The Swim

When the hooter blew, I followed the front row in and started thrashing away trying to get a lead out and establish some clear water early. Experience has shown me that if you’re soft in the first 500 you will get knocked about and taken out – so better to go in hard and make your mark around you – that way you get the space you’re after. I think I managed to kick the odd person out of the way and grabbed a shoulder or two at the sides. By about 250 I’d secured the space I wanted and set about getting into my rhythm. Worked a treat and I had clear water right through to the 900m turning buoy and even across to the 1000m (although the direct sun into the eyes of fogged goggles made spotting it a challenge!). After rounding for home I found that everyone was again battling for their space and the most direct route back to shore so another 100m or so of push and shove before getting the clear space to aim for the shoreline finish chute (thankfully a whopping blue blow up thing that you could probably sight from South Africa – love knowing where to go in the water).

I came out first with Paul and Nico about 2 minutes back. So far so good. I really felt that I needed to put a good bit of distance between us as I didn’t feel like I’d have the legs on the bike to hold either of them off for long.

Transition was faster this year thanks to a new 2XU wetsuit (came off easier than hooke….sorry, I’ll leave that for the pub. ;-P) and new tri-specific riding shoes already clipped into the pedals. Helmet, sunnies, race belt, GO!

The Bike

After rounding the first turn out of transition and down past the SPR tent, I slid my feet into the shoes, buckled up and got going for real. Couple of sips of water to get the taste of Geographe out of my mouth and started to focus on bringing the heart rate down and getting the blood down to the legs. Pushing a slighty bigger gear to start usually does the trick and then after a couple of k’s bringing the cadence up a bit to get the rythym right for the next 85k’s of pain – excellent!

I figured if I could get to the first turnaround marker 23k’s out before Nico caught me I’d have done well, and then it would be just about trying to keep as far in front of Paul as I could – if he caught me on the bike I didn’t think I’d have a hope on the run. Sure enough, about 2 k’s after the turnaround I heard the familiar ‘clunk’ of Nico selecting a bigger gear (he just loves to rub it in) and then a “Hey Rob” as he strides on past. Noice. I managed to keep him in my sights for about 5k’s and then that was that. Passing back through on the first lap around the Mariner, there was a crash where 3 people clearly collided and came down – apparently a broken collar bone on the girl and the guys clearly looked like their day was done too going by the look on the faces. We all agreed after the race that triathletes can’t ride in a straight line (except us of course – but we’re SPR!).

Coming around for the first lap through and I wasn’t feeling too bad, the SPR supporters tent cheering as we go past made me decided to step it up. I’d averaged the first on just over 36km/h so was aiming to increase that if I could. I hadn’t sighted Paul on the way back so could only assume he was breathing down my neck so needed to maintain the effort for the next 45km just in case he was really on form.

The trip out really hurt this time though. It always does when you’re really searching for the turnaround point and it just feels like someone has gone and moved the marker further away – not for everyone else, just you! Your mind plays lots of tricks at these longer distance events. Anyway, I finally got to the turnaround and decided to pile it on to get back into town while trying to keep an eye out for Paul – Nico was long gone by this stage. Alas, we must have crossed over again while I had my head down between the bars praying for the hurt to stop because I arrived back into transition with no real clue how much time into the run a really had.

Another quick transition (LOVING the tri-shoes), socks/shoes/hat and out for a lazy 21.1km run – bring it on.

The Run (and where the REAL race begings)

The first 2k’s always feel like rubbish coming off the 90 bike so you just have to get through it before you can get any real rhythm going. I’d decided to be conservative on the first 7k lap, and then re-evaluate for the 2^nd and 3^rd. After the turnaround 3.5k mark and a quick sip of coke and water I looked up to see Paul coming the other way – he was about 30 seconds off my back and looking strong. Here we go then!

I hadn’t seen Nico on the first pass but assumed he’d be motoring if he had the legs. I didn’t panic though and just maintained the rhythm I’d set for myself and stuck to the game plan. Wait and see what happens. Passing by the SPR tent for the end of the first lap I was feeling pretty good and was happy with the form I had at that point. Didn’t feel like I had any more so to speak, but happy at that point. No sign of Paul as yet. Heading back out for the 2^nd 7k, I was about 1k down the path and I heard Nico’s voice call out from behind me on the other side of the road “Hey Paul!” Nico and I hadn’t seen each other pass on the road, but he’s clocked Paul – and he was STALKING me!! Classic runner style – find your mark, grab their rhythm and then sit 20 odd feet back and wait…watch…strike! And then he did (probably because Nico gave him up!!). He comes up along side me, we have a bit of chat, share feelings about the race so far and then I say “Mate, don’t lose your rythym…get going, you’re killing it!” So, off he chugs….and so I grab his rhythm, and sat…and sat….and stalked. Then all of a sudden Nico’s back looms up in front of us about 2km’s before the 2^nd lap turn and he’s snapped. Paul and I run past providing the obligatory sentiment and acknowledgement of how bloody hard it is.

I continued to stalk Paul up past the SPR tent but then the girls gave me away!! He goes past and then hears them calling my name out 10 seconds later. The gig’s up I thought – time to strike. Feeling strong, I surged up to Paul just after the turn around – it looked like his rhythm was starting to falter a bit but then I’d seen him like this before and new that his tenacity and competitive spirit wouldn’t let me go without a fight. After passing him by (and some kind of sandbagging comment like “My legs are shot…cramping…you go ahead….) I aimed to put a little on it to see if he’d come with me but I wouldn’t know until the turnaround at the final 3.5 mark whether it’d work…ladies and gents, I give you Declan!! Thanks mate, for calling out to us both on your way back – I was being stalked – AGAIN!! Only one thing for it – kick at the turnaround, try and shake him and then hang on until the end…if possible. A quick swig of coke, and a snakes head (Allens – not real!!) and I took off. My legs were screaming, heart rate went to 172 bpm and my head started to muddle – but I wasn’t slowing down. I couldn’t look back to see if Paul had come with me so just had to maintain what I could and hope it was enough. 1k to go and still no sign of Paul – and now I started to feel as though I may have bagged it – just. Down the finish chute and over the line in 4:52:50 with a look on my face that clearly sent the message to our fantastic support crew that I’d pushed it hard. Paul crossed (collapsed?) 49 seconds later in a PB over 9 minutes better than last year (4:53:39) – Nico in 5:10:59.  An awesome outcome overall for our part of the SPR group and all very pleased with the results.

Other results of interest

Declan: 6:28:12

Hunter Shipp: 4:31:20

Dean Shipp: 5:16:26

Rachael Smith: 4:31:32 (and AWSOME 1^st place in 30-34 and first female Age Grouper across the line!!)

See you all out there. Ride Safe.