Ironman 70.3 Ballarat

Sunday, November 16, just 10 weeks after the Ironman 70.3 World Champs, in Canada, I competed at the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Ballarat.

I had a short preparation for this race because my wife and I did another 4 weeks of travel around the USA after the World Champs event. I did some exercise where possible on our travels just to keep the body ticking but nothing of any significance.

Upon returning to Australia, fortunately, it only took a couple of days to get back into the time zone and sleep normally so I was able to begin training again without any trouble.

I saw my Chiropractor, Dr. David Riordan, at Holistique Health + Spa, in Ballarat, within a few days after getting home and my body began returning to normal. It was incredible to feel the difference from just one session with him. I saw him in the afternoon one day and when I woke the next morning, I felt like a new person. I have seen him once a week since then and I got to race day feeling well and truly aligned. This certainly put my mind at ease after my experience in Canada.

I focused on strength during the short preparation. Plenty of bike sessions on the trainer using my biggest gear and low cadence. I was using paddles, pull buoy and ankle band in the pool more than I had previously, and I did some long easy runs honing my technique with better posture and arm carry. I probably lacked a few 4+ hour rides and longer swims but I was quite pleased with how I trained for the event.

The most satisfying part of this build up was my running. I focused really hard on improving my posture as, after seeing some photos on the run, in Canada, I could tell that I was leaning forward too much and my arm carry was crossing over my centreline which is not efficient. So, I tried to change this while maintaining a 90+ leg turnover when training at race pace.

My long easy runs were essential in helping to fix my technique. I performed many easy runs between 1 – 2 hours at a pace between 5:00 – 6:00min/km, and only about 80 – 85 cadence. During these easy runs, I was constantly checking my form reminding myself about posture, arm position, relaxed shoulders and arm swing, as well as my foot strike being below my centre of gravity. This transferred over to my race pace sessions where I was performing 1mile repeats, initially on the treadmill to dial in a fast turnover of 92 – 94 cadence at 16kmh+ and progressing to the bike path, near home, closer to race day. I am really pleased at how I was able to return to great running form so quickly.

Race week was a bit strange as I had a few early shifts at work. I had been sleeping really consistently for 8 – 9 hours while working late shift for nearly the entire 5 weeks previous and I didn’t adjust well to these early shifts. I had about 6 hours only for three nights in a row which really set me back. I got so grumpy that I’m probably lucky to still be married. Fortunately, the final 3 nights before the race, I got about 7 – 8 hours each night. This was helped by the fact that the race start time was pushed back to 8:30am, from 6:30am, due to the cold weather predicted. I had never slept so much before a race in my life. If only all races could be that way. However, I did feel a little fatigued from the lack of sleep over the course of the week and I think this played a minor role in my performance on the day.

This is how my race unfolded:

Swim – It was almost a complete rectangle course with just the last 400 metres that veered across to the right towards transition. My shoulders felt heavy and tired all the way to the first turn at about 900 metres. Once I made the turn and started heading back in, they started to free up and I began to find a nice rhythm. I think this comes down to not doing a swim warm-up. I did an extensive warm-up before putting on my wetsuit but, it seems, this wasn’t sufficient for a good swim. I was very disappointed in my swim time of 34 minutes.

In transition, I took 4 minutes as I decided to put on a long sleeve top, which is very difficult when you’re wet, along with full bib knicks and gloves. I don’t regret the extra layers as I was really feeling the cold air for almost the entire first 45km lap.

Bike – My aim was to be consistent for the whole 90km. I felt I was strong going into the race and I knew that would be crucial since the wind was up. It became even more important when I got onto the long out and back section, which covered approximately 30km of the 45km lap, along the Avenue of Honour, to Burrumbeet. This entire section consisted of very strong and gusty crosswinds and remaining strong and consistent in the aero position was essential to maintaining momentum and speed. I was pleased with how I handled the conditions and particularly happy that I got through both laps with almost exactly the same time/speed. My bike split was 2 hours 26:57 minutes.

I went through the second transition a lot quicker than the first and was looking forward to carving up the run.

Run – The course was 2 laps for the half marathon with about 8km of each lap being on the ‘Steve Moneghetti Track’ around Lake Wendouree. It was really cool to be able to compete on such familiar terrain having lived in Ballarat throughout my teens. I felt comfortable out there and found my good run legs after about 4km. I was then in a really good rhythm until just before half way when my right hamstring began threatening to cramp. Fortunately, I was able to prevent it from going into a full blown cramp by trying to shake it out with each step and then resorting to running backwards for about 20 metres. This method proved to be effective as I didn’t feel any potential cramping for the rest of the run. I was able to produce a personal best half marathon split of 1 hour 26:17 minutes.

 

I was really happy with how my nutrition went throughout the day. I had been training on slightly less calorie consumption in the build up because I felt I was getting onto the run with a slightly heavy gut and not digesting fully. Even, sometimes, feeling like there was still water sloshing around as I started running. Previously, I had used up to 8 ‘GU’ energy gels (about 100 calories each), half a banana and a ‘V’ energy drink during the bike leg. So, for this race, I decided to go with just 6 energy gels and the ‘V’ energy drink. It proved to be a very sufficient amount of calories. Also, I only took one drink bottle on the bike, to save a little bit of weight. I filled it with a strong electrolyte mix and drank water as I passed each of the 4 aid stations on the bike course. This was also effective.

On the run, I had decided to not carry my own energy gels but, instead, use the ‘Shotz’ brand that were provided on course along with the ‘Shotz’ electrolyte drink. I looked at their products closely before the event and determined they were similar enough to what I normally use so I didn’t expect to have any issues. There were five aid stations on the run course, plus an extra one at the half way turn around, making 11 in total for the run. My plan for the first run lap was to take some electrolyte drink at the first, third and fifth aid stations and water with half a gel at the second and fourth stations. At the turn around aid station, they also offered diluted Red Bull, which I was looking forward to at that point. For the second run lap, I repeated my lap 1 strategy for the first two aid stations, and then went onto coke and water for the last three for those quick energy hits to get home over the last 5km.

This race was, by far, the best I have felt in terms of nutrition consumed in relation to how my stomach felt along with my energy levels throughout the entire race. It’s just another thing that I have developed over the past few years and I’m certainly more confident that I can adjust it accordingly when conditions make it necessary to do so. For example, the Geelong 70.3 earlier this year saw extremely hot conditions and I didn’t fuel myself appropriately, therefore paying the price late in the race with dehydration. I know I would deal with that situation far better in the future.

Overall, the race wasn’t perfect, and my swim is a concern still, but I took several positives from this race to take through my preparation for Challenge Melbourne on February 1^st.