It was a whirlwind trip to Canberra and we were there for less than 48 hours. Not ideal but worth the trip!
After leaving Perth Friday afternoon a 4 1/2 hour flight and a 3 hour time difference it was unfortunately close to midnight by the time we arrived at our hotel in Canberra. And by then we were all hungry again….Blake, Robbie, Mum, Dad, Guy and myself! Canberra is not the easiest place to find food after midnight but were were desperate and ended up with Domino’s pizza!! It was then time for a goodnight’s sleep!
No one was awake before 9am and Guy and I joined the rest of the family for breakfast at 10am. It was then time for them to explore while we prepared ourselves for the next day. Putting our bikes together, swimming, biking and a short run in the rain! Registration, bike check in and shopping for food for breakfast pre race. We than still had a few hours to relax and get some quality Recovery Pump time before an early dinner.
We were back to the room and ready for bed by 8.30pm but there was no sleep happening! A combination of the 3 hour time difference and an extremely loud 21st Birthday party downstairs we getting me very annoyed! Less than 2 hours sleep was not ideal.
Race morning and we were ready to go with a 6.15am start!! I had a grand total of 4 weeks consistent training following my biggest break from training in years so was under no illusions about what to expect. The goal was to get some race fitness back and brush out the cobwebs. I really had nothing to lose!
It wasn’t long before I found myself on my own on the swim and unfortunately drifted a little bit off course on the return leg, lining myself up with the tower rather than the flag pole! After realising my mistake, adjustments were made but time was definitely lost! Onto the bike and the usual Ironman transitions wasn’t too bad…..although maybe I should make a new years resolution to improve in that area…..free speed!!
Onto the bike and I rode conservatively, don’t get me wrong, I normally just go for it, that is how I race and how I love to race, but today, I was realistic of where my fitness was at and wanted to play it smart. After the first lap I was feeling comfortable and really enjoying the ride. It was easy to break down with 5 laps but definitely got extremely crowded by lap 3. I felt like I was riding Ironman pace, which is a reflection of the purely aerobic training I had been doing. Unfortunately not able to take it to the next level, but that didn’t worry me at this point in time.
Onto the run and Michelle went flying out of transition and so did I, but this only lasted about 10km. The pace started to drastically drop as the head wind increased. But I was so excited to be out there, racing, feeling the hurt and at the same time excited to get to the finish line. After passing Lisa who was unfortunately not having a great day, and realising everyone else in front of me was getting further away, I shut it down a bit for the last 3 – 5km and just focused on my form and breathing.
The amazing girls in front put on an incredible show but for me it was a huge victory and I have gained a lot of confidence from it and excitement for the 2013 season. The building process has begun!!
Thanks to all my amazing sponsors for your support this year!
K-Swiss, Novatron, BlueSeventy, FELT, Rolf Prima Wheels, Computrainer, Recovery Pump, Swish Design, SRAM, Quarq, GU, Ryders Eyewear, Rock Tape, Paul Newsome at Swim Smooth, amazing Physio Ruth Chang, Antonio and the crew at Tri Town Boise and Matt and the gang at Churchill Cycles in Perth, TWA and off course Mum and Dad!
MERRY XMAS!!!
SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEW YEAR!!
