Form is a very delicate beast, and often it
balances on a knives edge. I was somewhat unsure of how I would go in Cairns.
Since my win in Busselton 5 weeks prior I felt I wasn’t reaching the same
numbers in training as I was earlier in the year. I felt a little tired,
despite my total training volume not being dramatically high and without
nailing all my key sessions I was a little unsure of my form. Knowing I race
best when well rested Tim and I scheduled some much needed recovery into my
taper to get me to the start in my best possible form. I always feel like its
better to be underdone than overdone and with that I toed the line drawing from
my past results this year as confidence in my own ability.
The pro field was bolstered with some big
names, including coach and 2nd world ranked 70.3 athlete Tim Reed, 5
time World Champion Craig Alexander, multiple 70.3 winners in Tim Berkel and
Clayton Fettell and other names capable of being extremely competitive.
The swim in Port Douglas was fairly choppy
due to the stormy days leading into the race which would make it tough for the weaker swimmers. I started out well and removing any thoughts of being
croc breakfast, I settled into third place. I was given a brand new Blue Seventy
wetsuit the day before the race and not being able to test it out pre race
produced some mild anxiety that was quickly removed as soon as we started swimming. The wetsuit felt great and I was happy to emerge from the murky drink in 3rd.
I wanted to try a similar tactic on the
bike that I employed in Busselton, this time swapping out Terenzo Bozzone for
Tim Reed to try and get a break at the beginning of the bike. We had discussed
this pre race and I was excited that the post swim scenario played out in
similar fashion to our plan. I saw a few
guys yo-yoing off the back after the swim so I went to the front as soon as I
mounted my bike to string it out. I knew that Tim is tactically smart enough to
not bring up the whole group of riders with him and I thought he had let me go
to make the solo bridge up to me shortly after.
After about 5 minutes a glanced back and
couldn’t see anyone behind thanks to the weaving coast line roads. I kept the
pace up, waiting for Tim to come. I started to get a little lonely and by the
first u turn at 30km into he ride I got my first glance back at the chasers.
Tim and Craig Alexander where about 45 seconds down with another pack of guys
about a minute or so further back. I fully expected Tim and Craig to make the
bridge across to me as the next 30km of the ride is quite undulating and I was
starting to feel the pinch of the earlier effort creep into my legs. I wasn’t
comfortable at all and was getting in and out of the saddle. It wasn’t until
60km when we hit the flat highway that I started to feel good again, and still
on my own out in front I locked myself down into the most aero position I could
muster to squeeze as much time as I could out of the chasing athletes.
Coming into T2 I got a wave of adrenaline
and I trotted out onto the half marathon at perhaps a slightly too ambitious
pace. After running through the crowds for the first few kilometers I was soon
out on my own at a much more sustainable pace, left to my own thoughts which
mainly revolved around pondering if the 2 minute gap to Craig and Tim would be
enough for me to clench the win. 2 minutes is an uncomfortable time gap. If
you’re running well, it would be enough, but with the run speed of the guys
chasing, 2 minutes can be eradicated very quickly if I was even slightly off my
game.
There are 3 u turns each lap, and I was
mildly surprised to note that my lead was slightly increasing. I was still
feeling controlled at half way and I got some encouraging words from training
mates Tim Reed (who had dropped to 3rd behind Craig) and Clayton
Fettell. The last 5km dragged on but I knew if I remained controlled I would
win. I eventually found my way to the finish, ecstatic to take break the tape
first.
I honestly never thought I would have lined
up against guys like Tim Reed, Craig Alexander, Tim Berkel and Clayton Fettell
(to name a few) and beat them like I did. Even being mentioned in the same
sentence as these guys is something I am still getting used to.
I wanted to send a shout out to the guys
from Bahrain Endurance who were in Cairns over the weekend. They made sure
everything was taken care of leading into the race and to have that added
stress removed made a huge impact on my weekend.
Thanks to all my sponsors, Reedy, training
mates and to everyone for the support. I appreciate it all!
I have just arrived in Boulder, Colorado
where I will base myself for the next 4 weeks before racing Vineman 70.3. I am staying with a wonderful homestay couple
here in Boulder, Pam and Warren Shuckies and I am looking forward to seeing
what all the fuss is about over here!
Until next time,
Sam
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