Finally!!!! I am so excited to say FINALLY I have won the Busselton 70.3! I have been competing in this event for many years, and love it!! I consider it a home race and also the last of our summer season in Western Australia. So everyone makes the annual trek to Busselton to either compete or support. It is the place to be!

The last 3 years I have been on the start line I have had great days and finished 2nd every time! Not quite able to crack that top position. One year…I kept telling myself….just keep plugging away. You have to be in it to win it!!

After trying to do probably a little too much early in the year with not enough training, there were no expectations going into the race. Guy and I had a reasonably easy couple of weeks following a failed attempt at Challenge Taiwan where we realised we were pretty tired and it was time to step back and reload before the USA summer season. But we just could’t say no to Busso!! We love everything about the race too much and were still excited about it.

What the body was able to do was going to be a different story! I knew I was in pretty good swim and bike shape, but unfortunately nothing I had done in the previous 4 months had indicated there was any sort of run form. I was just going to have to wait and see!

A few minutes after the Pro Men we were off!! The pace was on from the start and it took a while to settle down. It wasn’t until over half way I found my own space, guessed that Annabel was the one way off in front and settled into a good rhythm. I was pretty excited to exit the water in 2nd place and even more so when I heard the gap was less than a minute!!

The first lap of the bike was great as the roads were clear with no one around. A real solo effort for everyone! I felt okay and gave my parents a big smile at the turn around. Nutrition was going well and pace was solid. Coming back into town I had made up ground on Annabel in 1st and was making the turn just behind her when she pulled off the side of the road. Unfortunately she had not fully recovered from illness. This put me in the lead! The 2nd lap was a little more congested but everyone was great at keeping left and the amount of support I was getting out on the course was amazing!! I had to remind myself a number of times to concentrate and stay focused in the middle of waving and yelling back to everyone I knew out there! With about 15km to go the flying Bec and Anna had caught me and together the three of us entered T2. Here we go!! Run Legs…I hope you are there….somewhere!!!

Anna went out flying and I went with her! I had no idea how fast we were going, just that I was going to go as long as I could!

By 3.5km I had a slight gap on Anna and I was back in the lead of the race! It was now my race to lose!! I just had to hang on!! So much easier said than done though!! Bec was the one running through from behind and looking strong! But still had the time to yell and encourage me with every loop!! The crowd support was just amazing! I was lucky to have Marian at one end giving me splits and Andy at the other. I just couldn’t let this go!! This was my chance! That last 3.5km seemed to take forever!! All those little voices in your head! Where is that aid station? I took in an extra GU Gel just in case! Then came Club Alley…then came the smile…and there was the finish line!! FINALLY!!!

One of the best things about racing at home is sharing it with all this people that are so close to you, have been there through all the ups and downs. The team that you could not have achieved any of this without!

A big thank you  to the incredible support team I am surrounded with! Ceepo, Rolf Prima Wheels, Coeur Sports, Challenge Tyres, Profile Design, ISM, Ryders Eyewear, BlueSeventy and SwimSmooth. Churchill Cycles, Tri Town Boise, Novatron and RaceMate Storage Solutions. Computrainer and Brooks Airbrush Studio. Keeping me fuelled GU and Upbeat Beetroot Juices and recovery by Ruth Chang, Mark Eden, %110 Play Harder, Compex Coach and Recovery Boots! Finally Kel at Swish Design!

It has been a busy few weeks and we are now all settled in Boise, Idaho for the US summer of racing! But first we are looking forward to a good solid block of training! 🙂