Challenge Melbourne 2014

Wow! can i firstly say what an awesome experience it was to fly Emirates for the first time! -Huge comfy seats with amble leg room
-great selection of new release movies
-Gluten free meals! (What a great concept for an airline to actually serve gluten free meals when they say they can and not to just get a blank stare and a blatant "no Mam we don't serve gluten free meals even though i know your travel agent has called the airline and pre-booked you one and i see it on your itinerary.....")
- no excess luggage charges for my bike

......... oh and did i already mention no charge for my bike.... ? Yip brilliant airline all round..... Enough said!

Needless to say we arrived happy in Melbourne despite the fact that it was super late Aussie time and I am sure in the early wee hours of the morning NZ time and were very relived to finally make it to our motel and into bed!

I knew as soon as I woke up the next day and first ventured out on the bike and found that we were right across the road form the beach and only a couple kms away from Transition that this race was going to fun! the roads were smooth ( compared to NZ Roads at Least !) and a rolling a 3 lap course out and back alongside the Brighton coast. My legs felt good, Wellington ( my bike) was rolling smoothly in Marc's Profile wheels and i started to grin- it was my kind of bike course and I was excited to get out there sunday and race!

Pre race prep was going well and even though I had struggled with recovery post Ironman Auckland 70.3 I now felt rested mentally and physically and was excited to get out there.

 Predictions were for major heat and cautions were been advised along with a shortened course for those who didn't feel confident or motivated to do the whole Half in the heat. It was going to be a hot one, but as far as i was concerned yes it was going to be tough but I didn't care as long as it wasn't cold i was good to go!

Saturday pre race went near perfect and I was all tucked up in bed for an early 8pm sleep when an eruption of sound suddenly invaded our quiet secluded apartment flooding it with music...... your kidding me i thought as i realised the reality of my relaxing pre race sleep disappearing fast as really you cant really complain and get music turned down at 8pm because who in the real world would understand that ..

so ear plugs in and trying to find mind happy place amongst the 'doff doff' beats we got through the night as at 10.15pm Marc went down and managed to get the music turned down, huge relief!

Despite the shortened night as the norm on race morning I couldn't wait to get out of bed at 3.15am and let the day begin. To be honest though not sure if its the excitement of the race or the anticipation of real coffee after half a week of caffeine deprivation that is the strongest lure out of bed!

It was still  dark out when i headed down to transition to set up , but the roads were alive with fellow triathletes arriving and Transition was full of the familiar pre race 'Buzz' as I set in and got ready. I was just about to leave and go warm up when a lovely official waltzes  in and calls out "no wetsuits, its a non wetsuit swim for all of you PRO's" - Crap and a few other less desirable words flashed through my mind as i am sure all of you non water babies whom the wetsuit is there  best friend on race day would associate with.
Some serious self talk went on as I told my inner self to 'calm down it was the same conditions for every one'  and that 'I couldn't do any thing about it so just deal with it' and the likes as I visualised my speed suit hanging in my closet at home in NZ -yip the one that didn't make it into my bag when packing Thursday!

However Marc was to be on form this morning and to the rescue as he raced up to the not yet opened expo tents and managed not only find someone willing to help us but talk them down to a great deal on a Scody speed suit so by the time my transition was set up I had a suit ready and waiting. Always a risk to wear something new at this point in the race prep but as a bike runner in a smaller pro field  I didn't really have a choice I needed all the help I could get and to be honest the suit fitted perfectly and felt amazing!

So decision made i ventured off into the dark to warm up and wow my legs felt fantastic ! Apart from the nagging fear that I may come across a snake and continually watching my step I was getting more amped for the race the closer the start time ticked!

When I met up with Marc to get my speed suit on he had my wetsuit out and Johnny Polson was with him sitting in his wetsuit. "What's going on? " I asked? Marc looking very chuffed said he had managed to find the race rules in regards to water temp and the cut off was 23 degrees and the official had her reading at 22.8 so he had challenges her decision  and she had to back down. So it was then a start line with every pro opting for the wetsuit! Hmm think I should try and take Marc to all my races! Nice to have someone watching my back like that:)

It was a beach start and it was kinda nice getting to wait on the beach for the delayed start rather then treading water I lined up next to Annabel and her shadow Caroline that is until at the last minute Annabel did a sneaky shift to the opposite side of the start line and Caroline trying to act casual slinked off to follow her.... I guess her race plan was becoming obvious!  As the gun went off and we all took off in to the mill pond of an ocean I was stoaked to get a great start and settle into a good position. However with the smaller pro field with the likes of Annabel leading out, we spread out quickly and I got onto the feet of a girl but as we turned the first buoy and made our way towards the next with the ocean rolling a bit we both lost there group in fronts feet and it was just us. I didn't feel great on the swim but was putting the effort in and staying in contact, that is until the age group men came around us on the second to last buoy and I lost the girl in front amongst the chaos. After having such a great swim at Ironman Auckland this swim seemed to drag on for ever and the reality of the men catching us meant our time was obviously not going to be stunning.

So I exited the water a bit down on the next girl but she was in sight. So the swim didn't go to plan but I was excited to get on that bike course and backed myself on making up the gap on the girls in front.

I was borrowing a new helmet for the hotter conditions and as I put it on the attached visor was completed fogged up and I couldn't see a dammed thing. So I must have looked really onto it when I started riding with my helmet tipped so far up my head so I could see out the bottom of the visor that all aero dynamics would be rented useless! But lessened learned it soon cleared and I tucked in and headed out. Legs felt good and the power was coming easily all the tell tale signs of a good ride were there! I settled in my rhythm and just got the legs ticking over and focussed on riding my ride and just trusted that the gap would close.
It was a brilliant rolling course with only a slight cross wind. The first two laps were okay traffic wise but as I came into the third lap I was swallowed  up by a pack and had to sit up and let them all roll pass.

I was still sitting in 7th at this stage and 3 mins down on the next pack of girls so I put my head down and dug in to catch up them. It was a bit of a frustrating last lap with a lot of matches been burned power wise trying to out ride past the pack and get out of the mess but in the end I just sat up and let them go as I could not once passed stay in front and my attempts were only killing my legs and only splitting them up temporally. Feeling a little discarded and frustrated i was very surprised to pass 6th place as neared the end of lap 3 and see 5th place still in transition as I arrived. Marc was there yelling at me that 4th and 3rd had only just left T2 and that I had rode myself right up into the mix! Brilliant!

Transition was quick and smooth and as I headed out my grin was getting bigger as my legs felt great and I was naturally just settling into a good rhythm and turnover was great. 5th was still ahead but only just and I was gaining without consciously trying to. I kept telling myself not to rush the pass as once I had made it i wanted to keep it so I had to be in control of the effort so I could sustain it.

I had felt flat and lost it mentally in Ironman Auckland and for some reason not had my normal strength to "race" the girls and fight for my position on the run. SO my goal was to stay on top of it mentally and stay in the game today  and I did.......the pass came easily and as we headed up the first hill and onto the sandy off road part of the course I could see for myself how close 4th and 3rd were. Brilliant ....... That is except for the fact that suddenly my legs were starting to get really heavy and sluggish and I was loosing my turnover quickly. Dam it.

The run course was hillier than I expected which should have played into my strengths but I guess In riding the second fastest bike split i had burned too many matches and and I was now paying for it. So despite my frustration I managed to stay positive and focussed and I absolutely gave it my best however i didn't  have the leg strength today and I had nothing to respond when at the half way point i was passed for 5th and was not able to make up any ground on the girls in front.

It was a 16km race in survivor mode and i was just relived and thankful to get to get to the finish. It was 36 + degrees and my legs had nothing left. Gutted to have been been in the mix coming into to the run and to have rode so well, and then loose it on the run. But i was stoaked as well as the main areas i wanted improve on from the Auckland Race I had and i was still finishing 6th in a very strong field, still in the money. I had held it together mentally on a day that my body was not quite there for.

Always a blessing to cross the finish line on days like that and to be greeted by the very cute little kids placing the medals around your neck, and of course the ice baths and awesome post race feed station !!

Huge Congrats to Annabel, Caroline, and Rebecca, for the podium spots!

Challenge Melbourne is a fantastic course and event and I would definitely head back there next year to do race again.

Over all its been a great 7 weeks of racing here in NZ for me coming out with 3 solid
 performances. I still don't think I have nailed the race that i am capable of yet and really been able to express the improvements i have been making in training with my new coach but I know I am close to it so after a week off this week its back into it, re tweaking the training and building from what I have learned in this last race period.

Its early in the year and although January has kind of been tail ended  into my 2013 season. I am excited about the space I am in and looking forward to the year ahead- Bring it on!!!