19.06.06
2006 Victoria Half Iron Triathlon
It was Easter 2005 the last time i entered the open water in a triathlon. It was the Australian Olympic Distance Champs in Geelong and i had a pretty ordinary race, unbeknown to me at the time i was suffering from Glandular Fever. The temporary move to Canada meant i had two winters in a row, which was great for skiing, but meant that I was starting to get withdrawals from not racing.
I decided that I was going to do a half ironman and after looking around for a good race i decided on the Victoria Half Ironman on Vancouver Island. From all reports i had received it was a good race, with a bike course that was demanding, and a run that was flat and on firm trails around the lake that you swim in.
I had been worried that i had not done enough training. I knew for a fact that i had not done the swimming i would have liked. Saturday rolled around and it was time for registration and check in and it all suddenly came flooding back to me. Spares taped to the bike, gu’s loaded, nutrition plans contemplated and Thomo’s words of wisdom that he passed on to me before the first long course race i did in Port Macquarie running through my thoughts - “In a long course race if you think you are at the right pace you are probably going to hard.”
Sunday i was up at 4:15 for breakfast and waiting for my ride out to the lake at 5:15. Unlike most big races i have done in the past there was no overnight stay for the bike. Transition was a shite fight to get the good spots in the morning. I wasn’t too concerned so i just looked for somewhere with some room and set up there.
Finally 6:45 arrived and it was time to return to racing. The swim started badly, and i was thinking this is going to be a long day, i was out in front of the main pack but struggling to get my heart rate and breathing under control. The water was 20c so i couldn’t blame the cold water, i quickly blamed it on the lack of swim training. It took me a while to get all that under control, but once I did I started to reel back some people and got into a nice groove. I exited the water from the 2k swim in 31:42. Not a great swim, but ok considering.
I got onto the bike. My big hope was that my new bike could ride itself. I have bought myself a new bike (thanks to my Sponsors back in Canberra - The Bank of Mum and Dad) and was hoping it could do the 93k bike for me. The course was full of rolling hills, false flat straights and nasty sharp 90 degree right hand turns. It was a cyclists course! I had been told it was a hard bike course but after the race I’d describe it as an ‘honest’ bike course. There was a out section to where the 3 laps took place and then an inbound section. On the first lap i linked up with two others and we paced off one another. I found myself pushing the pace on the hills and letting them dictate on the flats. I made the mistake of going to the front at one point on the first lap and having to pull into a head wind up a false flat. (That’s what happens when you don’t ride the course before race day.) I didn’t make that mistake the next two laps and sat right on the 7m draft limit. I arrived back into transition after 2:39:13 on the bike, and was ready to run.
The run was 2 laps around the lake that we swam in. It was all on nice trails, flat and fast. I had been doing a lot of running lately leading into a half marathon that i ran in May and felt confident i could run a lot better than i had in the past. I set out at a pace that i felt confident i could maintain for the whole run. It was a little under 5 minute k pace. I probably should have done a few more runs in my new shoes than i did before the race, but they were not causing me any real problems, besides i had promised the Brooks Sales Rep that i would run in them when he gave them to me. (The joys of working in the Shoe Business.)
I maintained the pace i was running and at the start of the second lap i ran some quick sums in the head and thought i could be a chance for a good time. As I ticked off the remaining k’s i was more and more confident that i could break the 5 hour mark. With 5 k to go the switch to the mental side happened as the body started to give out and it was the classic battle of mind over matter. Inside the last k i knew that i had it done. I came across the line in 4 hours 52 Minutes and 29 Seconds. And to say i was pleased would be an understatement.
For me to go sub 5 was a huge achievement and I think i owe a lot of it to my friend Laura for all her work getting me out and running when i could have just stayed in bed. And also to Art my bike training buddy.
So 4:52.29 for 6th in my age group and 51st overall out of 580 finishers. Not bad in a race that was also the Canadian Long Course Championships.
Am i eligible to represent Canada in Canberra????
Aaron Broughton