Road Tripping to IM Australia
Wednesday 22nd February 2006

Downunder in Australia we're at peak season for racing. Sprint, Olympic, Long or Ironman, it's all available during the first 3 months (plus 2 days for IM Oz) in every state of our sunburnt country. So what more reason does one need to exercise your travel legs - and credit card - in the pursuit of hot competition and great preparation for IM Australia on 2nd April? I could barely hold myself back.

So after an 8 week gap since the Canberra 1/2 IM in Dec - and a stack of good training - I'd lined up three races in three weekends. I love racing. I train to race. I love putting myself on the line and seeing what this happy little vegemite (aka a happy Australian!) can do. The tougher the better...as long it stretches my limits and I come away with a new experience of racing and how my body responds. With my mind willing and my body able it was off into the fray.

The three races began with a "long" sprint race (800m-26k-8k) and then two long course races (2k-80k-20k) being the Australian Championships in Jervis Bay, NSW and then the Victorian Championships in Torquay, Vic. Back-to-back long course...perhaps a little ambitious but as I said to some friends I need to maintain the perception that I'm (still) a bit crazy!!

The first was a local race in most competitive sprint series in the state. The venue was a place called Portarlington in Victoria

(800m-26k-8k) and it was the 20th running on this course...I can remember back to racing in the 2nd edition, as a junior, back in 1988. It's a bit of favourite race but I haven't raced over sprint distance for 2 years...it was going to hurt!!

I guess you'd call it "white line fever"...but despite a 1-day taper, when the hooter went I was racing...hard!! Talk about pushing the envelope - even in my 35-39 age group these guys can really hammer on the bike. A little bit of experience helped with quick transitions and fortunately my running legs came for the trip and I pulled out an age group win, 4th age grouper and 13th overall in a field of 600 plus. A good start but the big race was the next weekend.

The road trip to Jervis Bay involved planes and mini-buses, but was a great weekend getaway with some friends also looking for keen competition. Jervis Bay in NSW is absolutely beautiful - clear water, squeaky white sand and national park surrounds. Although part holiday the main reason was to race the Australian Long Course Championships over 2k-83k-20k and worth double-points for selection in World Long Course Championships team.

The intervening easy week was most welcome and I was feeling pretty good and ready to race. One tricky thing about racing interstate is not knowing who or much about your rivals until the race starts. This is a double-edged sword since while my best races are when I'm focused on my own race I am also a competitive beast and like to have the field covered...in my age group, at least. But this race was the one to hang it out and go hard from the start and hang on.

A choppy swim was good for me. A 400-500m short swim was not - frustratingly. Alas before we knew it we were on our bikes for 3 laps and I found myself leading the 35-39 age group from very early on. And then it rained...really rained...and continued on and off for the whole ride. I was passed into 2nd place at the start of the 2nd lap and remained there until the end of the ride, although fading a bit from taking it out quite hard.

Usually my strength, running this day was little to be excited about - I felt washed out and lacking my usual strength. The age group leader was about 6+ mins ahead and although pegging him back I just didn't have it in me to chase hard...I was more concerned about hanging on, eventually crossing the line in a daze and totally empty. But I kept 2nd place, 1:05min behind the winner but the 3rd to 6th less than 1 min behind me. But as is the Australian way, a good BBQ was just the tonic for post-race recovery.

It was back to Victoria for the third race one week later for the Victorian Long Course champs at the beautiful south coast location of Torquay, more famous for surfing than triathlons. The intervening week had been relatively easy from a running point of view, but with two very hard wind-trainer sessions so I wasn't exactly jumping out of my skin but still feeling quite strong nonetheless.

This race was kind of a bonus, local event amongst friends and another excuse for a weekend away. To cut a long story short, I had one of my best ever races, feeling strong and in control the whole day. It's days like these you train for, where everything is on cue and you could leap tall buildings. The kind of day to savour. But another 35-39 age group guy had a better day, putting me in 2nd again but 5th overall in the whole field.

So three races later I've got a great marker about where I'm at with 6 weeks (5 1/2 at time of writing) until IM. They helped re-establish a race groove and routine and how to look after my body to get the best out of it. I reminded myself about the importance of pacing, of being relaxed pre-race and balancing the appropriate arousal level going into a race. I learnt a bit about fine-tuning my taper and more about optimum race strategy.

Above all the three races just reinforced the love I have for competition and the opportunity it provides to explore the full capabilities of my body - physical and mental - and squeeze every drop of ability I can from it. What an experience!! Can't wait until Sunday 2nd April...