Campbell's Ironman 70.3 Shepparton18 November 2012
1.9 / 90.1 / 21.1
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My second (consecutive) half ironman race at Shepparton, and fifth half ironman (70.3).
Excellent conditions for swim and temperature wise initially, and there was no danger that it would not be a wetsuit swim this year, it was cool, but probably slightly warmer in the water than out, before the start. Unfortunately there was a fairly strong (head) winds that seemed to affect about 40km of each 45km bike lap. It did warm up during the run, but not as much as the previous year..
Did a easy 3km run at home in the morning before leaving for Shepparton on Saturday, as I hadn't done my usual Thursday pre-race hit-out. A quick spin to check-out the bike before checking it in .
Swim: Felt OK, took a while to get into some sort of rhythm. Was questioning why I do this nearing the half way mark, remembering I don't like 2km swims in race conditions, and that I would rather 500m or less. As for last year it seemed like I was middle of my wave, was more like 3/4 (138/193) with 43:39, more than 4 minutes slower than last year (39:18), 6 minutes off my best. Swim overall 776/1096 = 70% (was 60% in 2011).
T1: No issues 1:55 my fastest T1 in a long tri.
Bike: Started pretty well, moving along at up to 40km/h with the wind, consistent passing other competitors. Didn't see any big packs this year, but there were a few riders in groups of 2 or 3 making no attempt to spread out. I only saw one person warned, but apparently the penalty box was quite full! My pace dropped off, during the middle (or main) section of each lap. The road surface is course, for much of each lap, and again many riders "flatted", I run my tyres at a bit lower pressure (100 psi) than some, maybe that helps. Tries to work hard and maintain pace, but my back started to give me pain (on the opposite side to where I saw the physio on Saturday morning), and I needed to pee, and it was windy, and the other riders were more spread out, and some other excuses...;) Ended up with 2:45:15 (average speed 32.7km/h), almost 10 minutes off my 2011 time of 2:36:48, but about what I had guessed, as I buggered up the Garmin around 60km by bumping the lap button which switches it into transition mode (then had cycle thru a new swim, T1, to get to "bike" again). Overall 356/1096 and 76/193 for the age group, making the bike my best leg of the swim/bike/run.
Ate 2 x PowerBar energy, 4 x Endura gel, and almost 3 x 750 Powerade.
T2: Again went well enough 1:22, again my fastest long tri T2, and also my highest ranking "leg" of the day breaking into the top 100 (for something1) with 92nd overall, and 16th in the age group. Critically I decided to go without putting on socks in order to save time.
Run: Started run OK, first 3 km probably a bit too fast at around 4:30 pace, but felt OK.Then had to make a quick pit-stop, and resumed at around 5 mins/km for the next 7kms or so, thereafter I slowed to about 5:30. Much better run on the whole then in previous half ironman races, no upset stomach, and no walking, but still another couple of pit stops! Finished with a nice sprint down the finish shoot, and without the need to collapse in a heap just after the finish line. Still not the run time I hoped for but OK 1:53:48 @ 5:25 pace a good improvement over the previous year (2:05:07 = 5:56 pace) 84th in the age group and 379th overall
Overall:
- Missed 5 hours target, again!
- No PB (5:18:27)
- Just under 1 minute slower than Shepparton 2011
- Slower swim and Bike than 2011
- 10 mins improvement on 2011 run, and 2nd fastest HIM run (vs. 1:47:44 Geelong 2010)
- Happy to finish!
- Beat my (younger - and "second timer") friend Fiona by only 1 minute.
Garmin Connect details: Swim T1 Bike Bike_p2 T2 Run
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