New Plymouth Half Ironman 2015

New Plymouth Half Ironman 2015 Race Review       

  Throughout my triathlon racing career I have never gone into a race with as little running as I was heading into the New Plymouth half with and as an athlete that would say the bike/run legs of the race are my strengths that was needless to say a little daunting.

I guess I was about to truly test the theory that to be able to run faster off the bike you have to rack up your bike miles and I had definitely done that over the last few months, not by choice however but due to a forced hiatus in the swim and run training on my return back from the USA in October with a torn Plantar Fascia and an inflamed Bursa in my shoulder.  

Thankfully the shoulder injury didn’t linger too long but I was still in for 2 months of no running and then a very slow return to run program that by race day had still not progressed back to full run training and race day would in fact be my longest run since September by 6-7kms.

However after having to sit on the sidelines for two of my favorite races in the NZ racing calendar – the Taupo Half Ironman and Ironman Auckland 70.3 I was determined to get into a race again and test out my body. I had decided that if I could get myself really swim and bike fit and could run an hour relatively well then I would enter the race and just rely on that swim bike fitness to get me through the run. And to be honest as long as my foot handled the distance and I wasn’t going to risk reversing the months of rehab I had done on it then I would finish, and take it as a positive, regardless of the result.  I had done a total of 3 runs off the bike since September and I had a rough idea if all going well what I maybe able to run, If the swim bike fitness pulled through and I was smart about how I paced myself.

This all seemed like a great idea until the race week arrived and I realized that perhaps it was a little bit ambitious of me to just launch into a race not fully prepared, but I was committed now and I tried to focus on that excitement and confidence I had a few weeks ago… Besides it would be an adventure right…having to back my swim/bike instead of my bike/run!!!

Race day arrived and it was answer to prayer for me and I would assume the organizers and pretty much the whole of the startlist, as after a horrendously windy day the day before where to be honest I struggled to stay up right on my bike ride in the gusts of wind, and had in fact weighed up the benefit/risk factor of whether to even ride in the conditions as fear of been blown off, so it was a huge relief to have a near perfect day weather wise, a calm ocean and beautiful sunshine.

It was a stunning morning, the kind that enhances your excitement to get out and race and we had a beach start which always works for me as I much prefer waiting around on the sand rather then treading water. Especially since the water here was freezing compared to Auckland!

The gun went off and I got off to a great start and position. Realistically I knew Sam was a great swimmer and that I wouldn’t catch her feet so I jumped on the next two girls and managed to just sit behind them for pretty much the whole swim. It was slightly choppy but I felt good and strong and as far as I was concerned as long as I stayed with these girls I would be exiting the water in the top 3 which would set me up for a great bike.

As we excited the water two of us dropped the other girl and I was just relived that my foot was not complaining about the run up the beach, (as I had been in huge amounts of pain exiting the water in Ironman Chattanooga back in September) So already a good sign on the foot front.

Its been a while since I have raced so I lost some time in T1 but still headed out in 3^rd place only 2 minutes down on first place. My goal was to ride conservatively for the first 20-30km and then build it up progressively for the next 2 blocks of 30km, aiming to finish strong and not kill my legs in the first few hills out of town. Sticking to this plan I managed to move into 2^nd place in the first 15km, which was great.  However I struggled to ever find that 2^nd and third gear of energy and power and so I managed to ride a really strong bike leg on what I would call a very tough course but wasn’t able to nudge into that upper power range I had planned to and lost a lot more time then I had wanted on 1^st place.  It’s a stunning but very quiet bike course and as one big 90km loop which constantly moves either up hill or downhill you don’t see a lot of other people. In fact its exciting when you do see in the distance another rider up in front…. and especially exciting to see a real live competitor when the last rider you chased that was just off in the distance was actually on closer inspection just a farmer’s letterbox!

I entered back into town a little frustrated with my cycling legs and a bit apprehensive as I was nearing the completion of the my two strengths for the day and entering into the unknown. I didn’t know how the foot would hold up and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make any inroads on first place and didn’t know if I had made enough of a gap on third to be able to hold my 2^nd place.

But I put all the concerns aside and left transition, and as I headed down the road I was stoked to feel no pain in my foot. The last time I raced back in September from the first tentative step off the bike I was in huge amounts of pain, so it was a huge relief to know that my months or rehab and repair was holding well… so far so good…. Only 21km’s to go… J

The run course was a 3 lap course and this allowed me to see where I was each lap compared to 1^st and 3rd place as we thankfully were spaced out enough to all be passing by each other at the one point in the course that had the out and back routes pass right next to each other.

It was obvious I was too far behind in my current run shape to catch first so I concentrated on holding 2^nd. It was tough and got tougher as the laps progressed, but I dug deep and just kept ticking the legs over. It hurt as it always does but the key for me was that my foot wasn’t hurting and that gave me the strength to just push through. It wasn’t a pretty run, but it was consistent and I felt strong. And to be fair it wasn’t by any means my fastest run split but I have been a lot fitter and run a lot slower in some races, so I was absolutely stoked to run what I did.  As I closed in on the last few Km’s and the realization that my foot was going to handle the whole distance and I was going to finish and hold second a huge feeling or relief started to creep up on me and as I crossed the line I was just hugely thankful. 2014 has been a hard year and here I was finally racing again almost a year to the day since my last race that I actually finished and didn’t have to DNS or DNF and it had all gone smoothly and as far as the run was concerned had gone better then I thought.

 So post race I am stoked as although I have a lot of work to do in running my foot is no worse off than it was before the race despite the huge step up in miles it had to cover on race day, and I fronted up to the race having to back my swimming and biking skills and then just trust that overall fitness rather then my specific run fitness would get me to the finish and it did…positives all round!!!