In short, it was a good day and a relief to finally get back to half ironman racing. It was perfect weather conditions and I put in a consistent performance that I think was reflective of the way I prepared for the event in a short amount of time.
Swim 1.9km
– 33:56
T1 – 04:03
Bike 90.1km
– 2:38:57
T2 – 03:44
Run 21.1km
– 1:37:59
Total –
4:58:37
Pre-race
I felt good
in the few hours pre-race. I had some scrambled eggs and rice for breakfast
about 2 and a half hours before start time and a short black coffee as well. I
was one of the first few to show up at the race site eager to set up in
transition to allow as much time as possible to warm up. I got an awesome car
park too.
I had my
mate, Dallas, keeping me company, which was terrific. He also put me up for the
night. He has done several half ironman races before but like me it hadn’t been
since Ballarat in December 2016. Even the day before the race he was wishing he
was competing. Being around the race and feeling the pre-race vibe only made
him want it more. The whole atmosphere around a triathlon event, especially a
well organised and supported one like Geelong, is quite invigorating.
I spent
about 30 minutes doing a variety of DNS (see my previous blog)
exercises as my warm up before getting in my wetsuit and heading down to the
swim start. The swim start was changed from mass wave starts for each age
category to a rolling start. This was due to the presence of sea urchins having
taken up residence close to shore off Eastern Beach so the organisers made a
special chute with rubber mats lining the sea bed for us to enter the water. This
chute was very narrow so, to ensure fairness for each athlete’s race, we filed
in gradually and our individual race time only started just as we entered the
water.
The Swim
As with all
of my training leading up to this event, my swimming had been limited. I had
focused on technique as much as possible during training without doing much
volume. My longest swim session had only been 2km and the swim in the race is 1.9km
but my focus was on engraining more quality technique into my swimming ability.
My aim for
the swim was to put in a consistent effort where I didn’t feel I was exerting
myself greatly but was not losing a lot of ground. However, it didn’t take long
for the fatigue to set in through my shoulders. After the first few hundred
metres I set myself little targets such as swim freestyle to the next marker
buoy and then have a brief breaststroke break. The breaststroke helped to
relieve the fatigue slightly and I mostly achieved my objective for the opening
leg of the race. Clearly, the lack of volume in my swim training was the
biggest limiting factor to why I didn’t go faster or why I couldn’t maintain my
freestyle the entire way but I wasn’t unhappy with the start.
The Bike
I didn’t
rush through transition because I knew if I did it would unnecessarily spike my
heart rate and waste energy that could be used elsewhere. As I did for the
entire race, I tried to keep my heart rate and breathing under control. It
didn’t help that my heart rate monitor wasn’t synching to my watch or bike
computer for almost the whole race. However, I have developed a good
understanding of my perceived effort over my ten years of triathlon as I didn’t
train with a heart rate monitor or bike cadence (RPM) until about two years
ago. Once onto the bike I focused on trying to remain as comfortable as
possible in my aero position while maintaining a consistent turnover of
approximately 85 RPM.
There are
two significant uphill sections on the course at Geelong during each of the two
45km laps. Initially, you go uphill from Eastern Beach, shortly after mounting
the bike, for approximately 300 metres and repeat this when you start the
second lap. Then, at approximately 22km, there is a steeper section, also of
approximately 300 metres in length, which is repeated at around the 67km mark
of the 90km bike leg. Each time I completed these uphill sections I controlled
my effort carefully. In my three previous participations of this event, I
pushed hard on these uphill sections but without having as much training behind
me for this race I knew that approach would not serve me well.
As I
started the second lap I was feeling quite tight through my hips and lower
back. This was a concern and I thought it may last for the remainder of the
ride. Fortunately, it subsided by about the 60km mark and I was able to
continue my consistent effort through to the end. My second lap was only a few
minutes slower than the first which was pleasing.
The Run
Once again,
I didn’t rush through transition and I needed a toilet stop too which indicated
I had either taken in too much fluid during the bike leg or I hadn’t absorbed
it very well. This will be something I carefully assess before my next half
ironman race at Challenge Melbourne on April 14.
I felt
really good as I began the run. I didn’t struggle too much to get my legs
moving and I was maintaining about a 4:20min/km pace for the first 6km. From
that point on, my average pace slowed gradually and some of my latter
kilometers were up towards 5:00min/km. However, I just tried to keep moving as
consistently as possible, maintain technique and take in sufficient fluid and
sugar. In fact, I walked a number of aid stations to ensure I didn’t miss
taking in enough as it was heating up quickly.
I was able
to find a bit more spring in my step as I went through the last 2 – 3 km and
cruised down the finish chute to enjoy crossing the finish line. There was a
sense of relief as well as satisfaction and a feeling of ‘I’m back’.
Nutrition
Up until
approximately 18 months ago, I followed a very low carbohydrate, high fat
lifestyle which included a lot of intermittent fasting. This included racing
with fat sources as my race nutritional intake and not taking in many calories
overall during long races. This had some benefits for me but, ultimately, I
found it wasn’t conducive for achieving my best performance.
In the past
18 months my nutrition approach has evolved further aimed at helping my
training and race performances. I now consume a relatively even balance of
carbohydrates, protein and fats and time the consumption of certain types of
foods around training sessions.
However, compared to the general dietary
advice, which I generally disagree with, I have a lower intake of carbohydrate
and higher consumption of fat. I still do occasional fasted training sessions
and intermittent fasting to ensure I maintain my fat adaptation but I also
train my body to use carbohydrates efficiently for race day too.
I have
returned to using sugar based energy gels during races and some longer, high
intensity training sessions. However, this is still lower than what I was
consuming during races and training 4 – 5 years ago. During the 2014 Ironman
70.3 World Championships, in Canada, I consumed eight gels and a can of ‘V’
during a 2 hour 26 minute bike leg and then a couple more gels and some coke during
the run. About 1400 calories in total because I thought that’s what I needed to
perform.
Compare
that to this race where I had six gels in 2 hours 38 minutes on the bike and
sipped a combination of water, electrolytes and coke during the run. Probably
only 800 calories in total. My energy from nutrition was never an issue.
I will always
be aware of how I eat and evolve to get the best out of myself but I am
confident I am on a good thing with my current approach as I look towards next
summer and a return to challenging for the top spots in my age group.
What’s Next?
I will be
racing the half ironman distance at Challenge Melbourne on April 14. I have had
some great swim and run training building for this event but I haven’t done as
much as I would have liked on the bike. However, I am excited to race again and
finish the season on a high. This will be followed by a couple of weeks of
recovery.
Cheers,
Lincoln.
