WOW
The double, doing a full distance 3.8K Swim, 180K Bike and a 42.2K run and then backing up a week later and doing a 70.3 ..OUCH and OUCH...
The pain side of things didn't disappoint .
We arrived home from Challenge Taiwan Late on the monday night and drove down to Busselton home of the 70.3 on Thursday the 9th before racing on the 11th.
It was an exciting week with "School Visits, Chat with the pro's, A charity breakfast for this madman Mark Simpkins running 400K from Albany to Perth. But all for a great cause in "Cerebral Palsy".
The week produced some quite wild conditions, the ocean looked like a shaken up iced coffee and the wind was lashing at the trees.
Race day once again dawned and I dragged my weary body out of bed had my morning coffee and brightened up.
Kate and I didnt have too much stress leading into the race as it was going to be the "unknown" for both of us, so with that my pre race nerves weren't as high as usual.
Into transition we set up our bikes, put our wetsuits on and walked down to the start and YES the ocean was flat and the wind was at a whisper.
We got into the water did our typical warm up and then it seemed we were in the "starters hand"
As soon as the gun went off I found nice clean water and after a few hundred metres drifted onto the back of the lead group of 5 PERFECT... I was waiting for my body to reject the pace, but I settled in nicely and found a good rhythm.
I looked over my shoulder about half way out to the turn around and noticed we had a decent gap, but due to a school boy error I got droped as we turned one of the buoys when my arm got tangled in the rope. I tried to bridge back up, but didnt have the gas to do so... I wasn't too concerned I thought if I had good legs on the bike I could bridge back the 30secs they might gain.
Out of the water in 5th and I heard loads of people cheering for me. (My second home and an awesome local crowd)
I transitioned quickly and got onto my bike, I could see the group just ahead and I went to put the hammer down, but it seemd the hammer had transformed into a teaspoon. OHHH NO!!
I tried to put the watts out but the legs refused. At about 10K the main pack caught me, I sloted into the pack and was sitting at 12metres thinking this is way easier than riding solo. Even at the greater drafting distance of 12 metres you get a benefit.
So there I stayed till the end of the bike. We jostled around a fair bit, but Courtney Ogden and Matty White did nearly all the work while the others (including myself) stayed in the train. Although I beleive most of us were policed quite well.
We came into T2 in a massive pack, I'm not even sure how many of us there were, maybe 10. I had a quick transition and started to run out laughing to myself because trying to run fast felt so very bad!!! I was very comfortable running just over 4min K's but that doesnt cut it when your racing these boys.
Still I wasn't going to let that spoil my day, I ran as fast as my body would let me, but also enjoyed cheering people on, talking to the commentators and pretending I was Ok. (but inside I was in the hurt locker, I was just going slowly)
I saw Kate out there a few times and thought, 1) How the hell is she doing this , 2)I think she's running quicker than me, 3) I'm sure she's running quicker than me, 4)I Owe her a bottle of wine if she pulls this off without blowing into a million pieces... I know she is a bit of a hard ass so I was pretty sure I'd be buying her a bottle of wine.
Down the finish shoot and I celebrated, because WHY NOT? I wasn't first, I wasn't even 10th today. But I tried to fight even though my body didnt want to play. The race itself is amazing and I never want to miss it. The athletes and supporters are awesome, a race I would recommend to all.
I finished in 4:03:29 in 15th
Kate finished in 2nd in a time of 4:22:30. Totally awesome result being she just raced an IM 6 days earlier. Made me feel a bit soft for an average performance. Haha
We celebrated, drove back to Perth, packed our gear and the next day flew to New-Zealand, then Los Angeles, then Oakland CA, and finally onto Boise (Where I sit writing this) "OUCH"!! Not sure what was more painful the double or the flights.
We have an exciting year planned with some 70.3's and Ironman's on the horizon so stay tuned. I might also dabble into a few Xterra's.(On the MTB hunt as we speak)
Thanks again for all your support. It's been an awesome year to date.
My body is the best it's ever been and I'm excited to get back into racing here in the USA.
I look forward to seeing all my state side friends and sponsors soon.
To all my sponsors and supporters, Thank-you and Thank-you. See you soon.!!
blueseventy, Wattie INK, K-Swiss, Ceepo, Infinit Nutrition, Vision, Rolf Prima, 110% Play Harder, ISM, Recovery Pump, Churchill Cycles, Super Ruth Physio, Rocktape, nuun, Challenge Tyres, CompuTrainer, Ryders Eyewear, TriTown, Jeff Shilt, Swimsmooth and Pete Mckenzie at Race Pace Coaching.
Guy Crawford
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