Before the race I had a good few days at Trinity Beach getting use to the heat. A big thank you to Glen and Mark for training with me over there and being some extra bait for the crocodiles. It was fabulous. Pretty much the same temperature as I set the heat pump to in my office at work so the heat wasn’t bothering me too much. Really enjoyed getting up early in the morning and only having to wear a single and shorts to bike or run in. The water at Yorkeys Knob where the swim start took place was nice and warm. The only scary thing was the signs everywhere saying no swimming, beware of crocodiles! We had a practice swim a couple of days before the race though and were feeling safe enough with the jet boats following. To be honest, the water was so cloudy that you couldn’t tell whether it was someone’s hand touching your foot or a crocodile anyway.
Right on to the race...
Got to transition nice and early arriving in our van from Rent A Bomb. Lucky the weather wasn’t any hotter as no air con. Was pretty dark and I was feeling a little nervous. I entered in the open section for this race and it was my first time in this category. Wetsuit on and down to the start line. My wave started one minute after the open men. It was good to be starting in the earlier waves as once that gun goes off the nerves leave.
The swim was sort of an M shape so was a little hard to tell where we were going. Seemed like a lot of back and fourth. Also felt as though I had been swimming forever and thought I was having a really slow swim. That was ok though as I was use to playing catch up out of the swim. When I got up to my rack in transition I realised there was only a few bikes gone and thought this can’t be right I must have missed part of the swim! (Don’t worry I didn’t).
Off on to the bike I was feeling good. I hadn’t been eaten by a Crocodile or stung by a Box Jellyfish and was on to my favourite part of the race. The majority of the roads were smooth and I was speeding past people. The course was quite full with people by this stage as Challenge Cairns Iron Distance Race had started before us and was out on their bike leg also. Yay I made it to the turn around and was still feeling great. Was looking well on track for a PB on the bike but thought it was time to slow down a little as the run was going to be tough in the heat. On the way back I wasn’t quite sure of my placing but knew there must have been a couple of girls ahead of me.
20km from the end of the bike and oh no, I hit something. I saw my friend Glen on the side of the road who was also competing. He had a flat tyre and it sounded like the same had just happened to me. I stopped to check but all was fine. Hoped back on my bike and said "ill see you soon" as I was expecting him to come screaming past me again. He never did. Turns out he punctured both tyres at once and only had one tube. He ended up having to ride the rest of the bike on his front rim. Poor guy and poor front wheel which now looks a little square!
There was a little head wind towards the end of the bike but nothing major. Was time to get the bike back into transition and put those trusty Newtons on my feet. Was trying to stay positive as I knew I had 21km to run left and it would be on the side of a hot hot highway road with no shade and one big straight line! It was going to brutal but hey I didn’t take up this sport because it was easy.
Got to transition nice and early arriving in our van from Rent A Bomb. Lucky the weather wasn’t any hotter as no air con. Was pretty dark and I was feeling a little nervous. I entered in the open section for this race and it was my first time in this category. Wetsuit on and down to the start line. My wave started one minute after the open men. It was good to be starting in the earlier waves as once that gun goes off the nerves leave.
The swim was sort of an M shape so was a little hard to tell where we were going. Seemed like a lot of back and fourth. Also felt as though I had been swimming forever and thought I was having a really slow swim. That was ok though as I was use to playing catch up out of the swim. When I got up to my rack in transition I realised there was only a few bikes gone and thought this can’t be right I must have missed part of the swim! (Don’t worry I didn’t).
Off on to the bike I was feeling good. I hadn’t been eaten by a Crocodile or stung by a Box Jellyfish and was on to my favourite part of the race. The majority of the roads were smooth and I was speeding past people. The course was quite full with people by this stage as Challenge Cairns Iron Distance Race had started before us and was out on their bike leg also. Yay I made it to the turn around and was still feeling great. Was looking well on track for a PB on the bike but thought it was time to slow down a little as the run was going to be tough in the heat. On the way back I wasn’t quite sure of my placing but knew there must have been a couple of girls ahead of me.
20km from the end of the bike and oh no, I hit something. I saw my friend Glen on the side of the road who was also competing. He had a flat tyre and it sounded like the same had just happened to me. I stopped to check but all was fine. Hoped back on my bike and said "ill see you soon" as I was expecting him to come screaming past me again. He never did. Turns out he punctured both tyres at once and only had one tube. He ended up having to ride the rest of the bike on his front rim. Poor guy and poor front wheel which now looks a little square!
There was a little head wind towards the end of the bike but nothing major. Was time to get the bike back into transition and put those trusty Newtons on my feet. Was trying to stay positive as I knew I had 21km to run left and it would be on the side of a hot hot highway road with no shade and one big straight line! It was going to brutal but hey I didn’t take up this sport because it was easy.
Starting off on the run I was feeling ok. It was hot but the heat wasn’t bothering me and my breathing was fine. A few people were yelling out "the lead female is just ahead". I was thinking that is cool I must be in second place. Hmm now to keep it. That brick wall we all know came mighty early. I hadn’t even hit the 3km mark and suddenly my feet were killing me. Harden up I thought, you still have bloody 18km of this to go. Hit the 4km mark and could feel myself wanting to stop. Oh no! My legs are not even tired, my breathing is fine, the heat isn’t bothering me so what the hell is up? My feet were swelling in the heat. It felt as though I was running on stubs. Come on chubby feet I still have a lot of energy in me, don’t quit on me now! The rest of the run was a battle. I had to stop at every aid station for at least 15-20secs and pour about 4cups of water into my shoes. I am sure I was giving the volunteers a good laugh. At around 6 or 8km two open females passed me. I wasn’t too worried as my race plan had turned into just wanting to finish. Its amazing how small as having burning hot feet could ruin my race. I didn’t go all that way over there not to finish so I had a plan. Shuffle to each aid station. Stop. Pour water on feet. Run. Repeat.YAY I made it to the finish line. That was after previously already trying to run down the finish before I had done a lap around the pier (I have a habit of always doing something dumb on the run)!
Those dark moments on the run were worse than the brutal head winds on the 180km bike in Challenge Wanaka for me. Now that is saying something.
Fourth female in my first professional race. Had a great day apart from frustrating hot feet but ah what can you do. I got PBs for my swim and bike. My run was a disappointing 7mins slower than usual. But I learnt a lot and can’t wait to race again.
Time to head in to my new sponsor Physio Plus for a rub down to get the body ready for another event.
A special thanks to the McSkimming clan for their hospitality and my mum Lynley for supporting me over there. Couldnt have done it without you guys.
