Australian Olympic Distance Cahmpionships, Perth, WA
Sunday 3rd February 2008

The national championships are always good to race at. In theory, it's the most competitive race of the season...however in practice it's mostly the people who have the means to get there. Either way, the only way to give yourself a chance at the title is to be in it and thus I journeyed to Perth for the Aust Olympic Distance Champs after 3 years at Geelong. I also went there with record at Geelong of 1st, 2nd, 1st...so I was there to race hard.

Perth is a hot city. Hot and rich and with great water frontages. Since my brother lives there it's all a little familiar. And having raced the 2000 World Champs there, parts of the course were familiar, too. But each race is different...the conditions, your fitness, experience, and most importantly the competition. When you're eyeing a placing, it's important to know your likely competition and their strengths and weaknesses...it's racing due diligence. In scanning the start list for my AG in Perth, no names were familiar which is both good and bad - there's always some dark horses to look out for. This is the Aust Champs, afterall, although most people seemed to be there seeking selection for Vancouver world champs.

The race course was flat and fast, although open to wind on the bike. 28 degree water temps also meant non-wetsuit, with questionable water quality complete with dozens of dinner plate sized jelly fish!! Yuk!! But it’s the same for everyone so you prepare for and deal with it in your way. For me, I don’t get nervous, rather excited at being able to put all the training into practice and eyeball my rivals on course!! A bit of white line fever…

I was in the second wave, at 5mins, which was my AG (35-39) and older. This was good since it gave me a better chance to see how I was progressing, especially in the swim. I felt great in the water…usually a minnow without my wetsuit, today I felt relaxed and comfortable. And that’s how I started, in the good position to the right for the 700-800m stretch to the first turn buoy.

After 100m or so I was pleased to find myself in the top-10, with the leader only 20m or so in front and no ‘bolter’ off the front. This was good since it meant I had the field covered. Feeling great I swim up to the leaders at about 500m and swim the rest of the way on their feet, nice and comfortable…this was perfect game plan!!

Out of the swim and into T1 I head the MC call “There goes Matt “Bulldog” Jennings, sub-9 at Busso IM 2 months ago leading his age group.” Sh*t!! There was a name I missed, and if he’s sub-9 that means he can ride a bike well. All of the sudden the race took an undesired turn and I was into chase and damage minimisation mode…cycling is my weakness. And so it was, Matt rode about 30sec per lap (4 laps) into me even though I was averaging 40kmh on course. He was strong and I wasn’t…and my mind was going over all the possible scenarios that might play out in the run. Each one came up with the same result…he’s in the box position, and it’s so much better to race from the front.

Out of T2 and he had 2:10min on me, and my stride didn’t have the spring I’m used to. And it was hot. The 3-lap run was an ‘M’ shape with plenty of opportunities to eyeball each other… First cross-over and I felt dead and flat and he was 2min up and looking good. This wasn’t looking good, and I seriously wondered if I would catch…he’s a sub-9 IM athlete after all. But the race was still on the road ahead of me, and that’s where I was focusing.

End of the first lap and the gap was down to 1:20min. All of a sudden I felt a bit of spring in my stride. He was catchable…maybe. Don’t wonder, just run after him. While my pace remained constant, relative to everyone else I was flying as they all over heated. And that gives you confidence. Just run hard, concentrate, run hard, relax and run hard. It was damn hot, but geez, it’s only 10km…c’mon, Campbell.

Half way mark and the gap was 50secs and he was really slowing, and he could see me chasing hard behind. End of 2nd lap and the gap was 20sec…I was going to catch him. I was really happy, but still had to keep running and make the pass. 500m later it happened. With a quiet “Great racing, mate” and a pat on the shoulder I went past…and he wasn’t going to respond. I was leading and felt relief, happiness and satisfaction. Just keep running, relax, and the finish will come soon.

It’s really great feeling in this position as you approach the finish. It’s not obvious to anyone on the sideline, but inside, you know it and it feels great as you look for the finish banner. Around a corner, onto the grass and up the finish chute…oh yeah!!! The harder it is, the greater the sense of satisfaction. Today was hard, but I was really pleased to race hard and well.