California 70.3
This was the earliest I’d ever tried to seriously race in my relatively short Triathlon career. Bridge (my coach) and I had picked this race as a good way to kick the year off and it would be interesting to see how I did so soon in the season. I came into the race having seen very pleasing results in our performance tests though and I was optimistic of a good (for me) performance. As normal, my only target was to execute a race that saw me perform to the maximum of MY ability on the day and we’d see where this left me……
A good restful and reasonably settled week leading up into the race (see my Blog for more on this) meant I felt in good form come the morning of the race. A very chilly but clear morning greeted the 2000 athletes as we got ready in transition. The water temp was showing as 60 degrees and the forecast was for a clear, sunny and eventually warm day. I was a little worried that the early morning chill would make the first 25 miles on the bike a bit too cold, but put it out of my mind as I entered the marina with the rest of the Pro’s, the echo’s of the American national anthem being sung in the back ground in our ears.
The Gun went without any warning and we were off….. With it being SO early in the year, I’d not been able to get much swimming in my New Orca 3.8 wet suit and was worried that the normal arm ache that comes with getting back into a wetsuit would cause me a problem… but thanks to the amazing fit and movement the new 3.8 suit provides it felt fantastic! I settled into a good pace behind some feet and let him do the work. I knew the main pack was pulling away but for the first time in a field THIS strong they weren’t MILES ahead as normal. With about 300m to go Leander cave came past (as I’d expected before the race) and I took it as my queue to pick up the pace. I’d been a bit too comfortable for most of the swim and so kicked on for the last bit to put a bit of time between me and the remaining men and try to keep up with the lead women for the last bit. Coming out the water in a fraction under 28mins it was my best ever swim and felt the easiest too… a testament to the wet suit for sure, but hopefully a sign that at last the last 3 years slog in the pool was starting to make a difference.
A HUGE transition meant I had a good chance to catch up a little more time and legged it as fast as I could all the way up to the top of transition past the queuing AG’ers waiting for their wave starts and then all the way back down through transition to my bike… unlike Clearwater, I wasn’t the last Pro out the water and counted about 5 other men’s bikes at least in T1.
Quickly onto the bike and the COLD air soon hit me. I had no choice but to go a little harder early on in order to get some serious heat working through my body. Once into my rhythm I settled just above 300watts feeling very comfortable and got ready for the next 50 odd miles through the beautiful California landscape.
It was GREAT to be back on my Sigma Kronos again. It just feels SO comfortable and you can feel the extra speed it gives you. I found I was having to hold back on the watts I was putting out as my legs felt THAT good. I knew it’s not simply about a fast bike split and I had a target of a 1h15 run in the back of my mind.
Having not seen most of the bike course it was really enjoyable to ride somewhere completely new. I loved EVERY minute of it and was catching guys in front of me at a steady rate. A short out and back quickly brought me back down to earth though as I saw Andy Potts 8 MINUTES in front already… I had no idea he’d swum a 22min 1.9k (6mins faster so I was actually not doing that badly)…. I tried to stay calm and forgot about counting back the other guys in front to give me a position. I was trying to stick to my race plan watts and let whatever came of it be what it was. Despite this, I still found myself creeping above this target if I wasn’t careful, getting carried away with the enjoyment of it all and feeling good.
With about 10miles to go I went past IM champion Michael Levato and knew that I must be doing OK…. We tussled for a bit and then he dropped back the 10m required by the rules and sat in for the rest of the ride. In doing so he also dealt with one of the other guys who’d literally sat on my wheel for about 10miles. Without realising it Michael pushed my a little harder and we dropped the other guy, on reflection, this time of slightly over-goal pace effort might have done some damage I’d later regret but I felt good enough at the time and in races you sometimes have to push beyond the limits you set yourself to see how far you can go… you learn more peering over the edge (and sometimes falling over it too) than you do by sitting behind any barriers.
By the time T2 was approaching I still felt pretty good. I was pleased with my nutrition and felt that a good run was still on the cards. As I approached T2 I saw the first glimpse of my 3 supporters… my girlfriend Arwen, and best friend from home Danielle (who’s been working in LA for the past 9 months) plus her flat mate Emma who’d all made the trip to come and see me race. The extra kick this gave me was fantastic! Again a massive run through transition met me, but it served to confirm that my legs felt pretty good. I tried to count the number of bikes in transition and saw roughly 12…….Trainers (and this time socks too) and hat on and I was through the run start with about 2hr52 on the clock. I knew that the winning time last year was just under 4hours, so if I could run as strongly as I’d hoped to, I’d be within 5mins of this…. Putting me right in the mix.
The sun was well and truly out by now and whilst not uncomfortably hot, it would mean that I’d need to take on fluid on the run (something I’ve had trouble with in the past). I quickly caught the next guy in front, but could hear Michael Levato bearing down on me. I knew he was regarded as good runner in IM circles, but I’d out run him at Timberman 70.3 last year and was disappointed to not be able to stay with him as he strode past me. However, I decided to pace off him and managed to keep him within 50m for the time being.
The run was a 2 lap out and back, with the first 1.6 miles pretty flat and the next 1.6 miles far more undulating. However, despite not feeling like I was running that fast I was delighted to see 37mins on my watch as I hit the end of lap 1….. I was on for a 1h14 half marathon! That would be a PB for me and leave me at about 4h06 ish for the race…. My new Orca 226 race kit designed especially for longer distance races was proving to be the most comfortable I’d ever worn and served my well by keeping me cool in the California heat. Sadly though, my lack of race fitness and leg strength eventually caught up with me and by mile 10 I suddenly began to slow. The last 3miles saw my pace drop me back to a 1h17 run time and whilst not all that bad I was disappointed not to hang on to the pace I felt possible. During the run I moved up 3 places to 9th including passing Hawaii 4th place finisher Luke Bell! Plenty more vocal support from the girls meant that the run past pretty quickly and despite my dropping off towards the end was actually fairly enjoyable.
I crossed the line in 4h10, 9th / 2000 place and feeling pretty satisfied with the race all in all. The only real disappointment was that prize money for some reason stopped at 8th place!!!..... I’d narrowly missed out on paying for the cost of my flight out there, but other than that was feeling good about my first target of the 2007 season. It had been a great race, my support had been fantastic and I was full of optimism for the coming season that there’s plenty more to come.
Thanks to my 2 sponsors Sigma Sport and Orca for their continued fantastic support of me for this race.