I really enjoy
heading to Cairns each year. It’s a fantastic week long festival that has a
really great atmosphere, culminating with the ironman and 70.3 events, which
were held last Sunday. Ironman Asia Pacific do a great job of making the 70.3 feel just as important as the ironman event and not just an after thought as the ironman hype can truly be overwhelming.
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| Great Barrier Reef |
This is my third
year in Cairns and I was lucky enough to get out the Green Island on the Great
Barrier Reef for the Quicksilver Reef Swim held on the Thursday before my main
event, the 70.3. It was a good little hit out and a great experience to swim out
over one of Australia’s most famous natural wonders.
The tropical north
was living up to its name as we had a mix of rain, wind, heat and humidity
leading into the race. Every year I seem to forget that Cairns doesn’t experience
winter but only sauna like conditions.
For race day however we had rain, and
lots of it. The swim was choppy, and I found it really hard to get into a
rhythm but I still managed to maintain a good position up with the leaders. I
came out in third after picking up a little wave onto the shore. Out of T1 we
formed a pack of about 8 or so guys which included all the pre race favorites.
The rain was still coming down and I was pretty cautious around some of the
sweeping corners that we had to negotiate on the beautiful coastal ride. Tim
Reed put a surge in early up one of the climbs and I came to the front to
help him out as I was really eager to try and get a gap on the faster runners,
in particular Brad Kahlefeldt whose raw ITU speed is not matched by many in the
world. I was feeling really good on the bike and our group had whittled down to
5. I was trying to create an opportunity to get away with another rider perhaps
Clayton Fettell or Tim Reed as I was little apprehensive about my run speed as
I had sustained a mild but annoyingly persistent foot injury that had reduced
my run mileage since racing Busso 70.3 five weeks prior. The reduced run miles had
allowed me some more time to focus on my bike, which was paying dividends during
the race. I was pushing a higher wattage than I ever had before in a race but I
was unsure how the other guys were feeling as well. The last 20km of the bike
turned into a little game cat and mouse as it seemed that we all were resigned
to the fact that the podium would be decided in a foot race.
The 5 of us
started the run together and I found myself running with a good stride but
locked in a battle for 3rd place with Clayton Fettell. True to form
Brad had taking off and had established a slight lead by halfway, Sensei Tim Reed
was looking great in second. I was trying to get some more breathing room on
Clayto but by 18km we were running side-by-side. I wasn’t able to go with his
surge as my legs just seemed to turn off and shut down after the days hard
racing. I made it home in 4th.
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| Tears |
Coming so close to
the podium always hurts but I am still happy with how I raced. Its great to
be able to be really consistent with my results and see some tangible improvements in my biking ability which has come a long way in the past 12 months. Full credit to Brad, Tim and
Clayton up front who all raced really strong. Thanks for all the support and mostly
to my sponsors in my corner who make all this possible!
Train Safe!
*Race photography credit: Lucas Wroe
*Race photography credit: Lucas Wroe
