Noosa dreaming...

Where do you start?

Noosa is so legendary that no matter what I dribble about here I will miss pretty much all the best bits. But maybe it's better that way? Maybe the whole idea is that you have to actually get to Noosa for that first weekend in November and experience all that there is to offer for yourself?

Seriously though. Get the fuck to Noosa Multisport Festival.

Bondi Fit legends in our new kit

This year we had an extra couple of days which was great to hang out with some good friends just out of Brissy for a day before driving up the coast, catching some family and making it our sweet little pad in Little Cove in time to get out and enjoy a bit of mexican with some friends before crashing out.

Garmin Hill

The usual Friday morning course ride was a beauty, remembering that the sun comes up before you go to bed in Queensland which means by 6am it's freakin hot already, always nice. Looking back we made the mistake of caring too much about the race this day, as it was nice and sunny yet we decided that was the day to register and organise instead of soak up the sun and relax on the beach, rookies...especially considering that the rest of our time there would be cast in shadows... booo

Gatecrashing the Witsup Breaky ride

Saturday morning was played a little differently this year with Witsup holding their breaky today instead of Monday, not so bad. I gatecrashed the morning ride before breakfast and got to chat to a fair few people and hear some cracking stories that continue to make me laugh! Aimz came down and joined us for the breaky this year after a bout of food poisoning the night before ruled her out last year, good decision as she managed to win the Specialized helmet as well which means she is one step closer to getting on a bike... ;)
The panel was great; Blatchford, Granger and Snowy are a bunch of great people with a heap of experience and even more stories. You know it's a good panel when you have the likes of Mel Hauschildt and Jamie Jacobs sitting in the back row for kicks. Scored a kick arse goodie bag this year as well, Witsup flat caps? Well played Stef, well played!

Stef and the great panelists for the morning! Thank you all!
Photo credit to Korupt Vision

Saturday is the most awesome day of the weekend I think. There is just sooo much going on. Yes, yes the day before a race you should be feet up chilling out of the sun... But when you score VIP tickets to the Asics 5km bolt, the Legends race and the Women's and the Men's Crit then how could you possibly not go and watch?!?

Benny J from Noosa Bike Shop off the front of the Men's Crit

I did drag myself away long enough to jump in the water with the crew for a swim of the course. First time in my new Huub swim skin also which was good, surely this last minute purchase would dramatically change my race right? Haha. Rest assured that I have been thinking about one for ages as I race in a 2 piece suit, and if you have ever tried to swim in a 2 piece suit you will understand...! I liked it, felt sleek and fast and not restrictive, good sign!

Saturday arvo pre-race swim is always a good laugh!

Most nights before a race I like to sneak away and have a quiet diner to relax, although when in Noosa the race is just part of the trip, so what's a glass of wine and a meal with half the squad the night before? Love it.

Nothing new on race day = wine the night before

I'm not sure who decided to interrupt the weekend with a race (rude), but come Sunday morning I was with the masses setting the bike up for the day. Feeling relaxed and casual, which I'm never sure is a good or a bad thing? Either way my wave start wasn't for 2 hours again so I had time to go home, chill out and relax a bit.

Transition. Well not even half of it actually... crazy place!

Unfortunately my magic swim skin didn't save the day for me, I felt like I had a reasonably good swim to be honest, my wave must have been full of Poms as I'm almost certain that I was one of the first few out the water, as I don't wear a watch in the swim I didn't have any idea of how I actually swam (not great) which meant at least I was positive heading out on to the bike!
 

25-29 Wave start... Punch on lads

I love the Noosa bike course, that slow climb out of town to the bottom of Garmin Hill lets the legs warm up and the body settle down. We were lucky this year to not have the sun beaming down on us which I think made a difference, although it was windier than last year. I hit the base of the hill having no-one pass me which is always a nice feeling, keeping a solid tempo up the hill I let 2 guys go past who looked like they wanted KOM, all theirs... Across the top section I was caught by another 2 guys and couldn't quite hold on as they went past which was pretty frustrating, started to think that my Port 70.3 legs might be coming back to haunt me... From the turn I managed to pick up a TO for pretty much the entire leg back into town... They weren't watching me so much as moving from bunch to bunch up the road from me, although as I was moving quicker than the bunches ahead I kept catching and passing them... not really an issue until they decided to have a conversation with someone on the decent doing about 60km/h and I had to actually scream at them to get out of the farking way as clocked 85 on the way down (love that hill).

Love a bit of speed!

Off the bike in 1:04ish I thought was reasonable considering how I was feeling, 2mins slower than last year but that's cool. Really wanted to have a good run, so eyes up. Plus Tommy hadn't caught me yet where last year he got me as we came in to T2 so that was a good sign.

Telling myself I feel great heading out on the run

Hit the run and tried to settle down, running around 4:05-4:10's which I was comfy with as I just wanted the legs to come good so I could have a real crack in the back half. What's that saying about best laid plans? Hrmmmm.... Once again the few km's either side of the turn I struggled, slipping back to 4:20-4:30's for a while there... Someone always used to tell me to talk yourself through the run when you are tired and focus on form, so I was just going over and over in my head to run tall and have quick feet. Must have worked to some degree as I managed to come good (well better) the back half and run home reasonably strong. No where near what I wanted, but happy that I managed to dig myself out and come home strong, good mental win.

Anyway, that's enough race talk. Finish chute was amazing as always, over the line, grab a cup of water and flop back in the river. Done. Beer time.


Quick bite to eat and the first of a few vodkas for a mate who won't take no for an answer before heading to the Surf Club to enjoy the afternoon. Like every year th.... --INFORMATION MISSING-- ..r pizza which was delicious!

Epic party image

The next day in Noosa is usually beach day, but with the rubbish weather it was a let down... A quiet BBQ on our rooftop was about all that could be mustered. Pretty quiet night with some good people and not a drop of alcohol to be seen anywhere as we are all athletes.

Unlike last year, we managed to stay around for the Melbourne Cup this year. Excellent decision. Ended up a pretty good crew who stuck around for it.

Civilized and glamorous Melbourne Cup

It's a shame that the sun came out to play on the day we were dressed to impress. Really would have been a great day for an afternoon on the beach and a bit of a swim. I bet the water would have been warm and inviting... Shame that we will never know... Right?

What Watts? Port 63.7

It's official. Summer is here. And that's not just the sunburn talking... First race of the season under the belt in Port Macquarie definitely marks the beginning of Summer.

 

Port Macquarie in all it's morning beauty

It has been an up and down kind of winter, and a damn cold one at times... My running has come a long way which has been a good positive. Which reminds me, I never followed up on my last blog with an ambitious goal of 56min for the City-2-Surf... Well I'm happy to say that something clicked that day and I pulled out a 55:16... Winning!

That final painful km of the C2S

So really from a results perspective it was a great winter, perhaps the only up and down bit was inconsistent training and some mindless personal issues that are seemingly irrelevant. I can live with that.

So roll on the first race of the season. One of the most honest courses on the calendar but also one of the most scenic, Port Macquarie 70.3. It's a great tough course in a great little bogan town, and I say that with endearment.

This race has gone from a goal race, to a B race, to a don't care race, back to a training race and then to a what the hell have a crack race and back to a training race (see above personal ups and downs over the winter! haha) so when I checked the bike in on Saturday I really had no expectations at all and stomach full of nerves... go figure? At least I had my #1 fan up there with me this year to take me out to a pretty cracking lunch on the Saturday and put up with a 5:30pm dinner :)

Aimee's stellar lunch from Grape & Petal

This year was a strange start, we were herded into the carpark at the swim entry before the race start (missed out on a warmup swim!) and held until our wave was ready to start, then funneled into the water and out to the start bouys where we floated around and joked about waiting for instruction and then a horn went off! I guess that was the start then? Good thing we all knew what was going on... A 30 second warning would have been nice, but I guess not!

So the usual 25-29 age group start was amplified as we grew this year to include 18-29 which ensured that we started like there was a shark in the water (maybe that's what the horn was?). Pretty sure that I didn't punch anyone in the head this year which is nice, considering that I didn't get punched in the head either, maybe we are getting soft?

Swim start, no punches thrown...?

Spot's voice was ringing in my head as usual and this year I did listen (a little) and backed off a bit. The pack did it's usual swim the wrong way trick so by the time they had figured it out, corrected and half of them blown up already I was pretty much swimming next to them all again. I didn't jump on the back as they were still all over the place so I just swam my own way again. Turns out it wasn't a bad idea as I had a pretty good swim for me, well that or they all got lost out there somewhere... 27:14 and 11th in my division... I'll take that (and damn right it was short! haha). Even saved a spectators sunnies as I ran up the carpet to T1 (at the cost of my Huub goggles which I dropped...! :( )

Doing my duty, note the flying sunnies top left ;)

Heading out on to the bike I figured I had a pretty good swim, although I don't wear my watch in the swim so had no idea really, but I felt good and that's all that matters. I did wonder though if I had put in enough work on the bike lately to get through the next 90km on the bike at the speed my head wanted me to ride... Only one way to find out, hit the road and keep an eye on the power.
I said keep an eye on the power.
Shit.
Power meter not working... at all... Reset watch... Nope... No HR either...
Watts? What watts?
This is gonna be fun

Transition

I'd love to know what I was actually riding at out there, although it was great to ride blind to some degree as it definitely helps you to understand your body rather than rely on numbers, I think I may have pushed a little too hard considering the lead up I have had... haha. Not sure exactly when I figured that bit out, perhaps when somebody tried to slow me down by sticking 2 dozen knives in my quads the second time up Mathew Flinders... Fun

Heading out for Lap 2

The bike course was the same as I remember, just with less people. Maybe the early start wave? maybe the better swim from me? Or just less people in the field? All 3 I think.
Whatever it was, for the most part I didn't have anyone infront or behind. Was a pretty lonely 90kms, aside from the adoring fans up Mathew Flinders and my #1 fan clapping solo for me as I rode through the outskirts of town. I kinda like it that way.
Just wish I knew why the course was so slow this year...? I'm sure that we must have ridden over carpet at some point. 10mins slower than last year... anyway, that's starting to sound like an excuse, so I'll stop.

Coming back in to T2 feeling a sting in the legs

Coming in to T2 I felt every minute on my black pocket rocket. The quads were shot to pieces. Woo Hoo! So load up the crotch with some chamois cream, throw the Mizuno's on and hit the pavement. At least my watch decided to display my pace on the run, still no HR, but it was an improvement.

Feeling good at the 7km mark

Like I said, I felt pretty average, so forgot about the pace and just focused on form. I settled down eventually and the legs started to come around. Not where I would have liked them, but I was looking down the road at a 1:35 and thought I'd settle for that. This is a training race anyway. Right? I'm confused.
I carried on through the first lap holding that together somewhat, slowing a little up the hill in the back end which is normal. Although my body forgot to speed back up again. I got stuck in that gear. Either that or someone poured concrete in my legs while I was distracted. It took every ounce of mental strength not to stop when the nice lady gave me my 1st lap completed wrist band... The energy I had left after that went towards the walk/jog second lap. Hrmmm... Never quite had an explosion like this one. I had nothing. Slipped back to a 1:49. Ouch. Should have made this one a 63.7 rather than a 70.3...

Pretty glad that is over...

Nice to know that I found my limit. Now as I try and pick up the pieces and put the puzzle together I just hope that I can learn from this so that it doesn't happen again. I know that it might take a while (like forever) to get the balance right, but it was not a nice way to finish what started as a reasonable day in the water (no, I'm not a swimmer, stop smiling) so I need to take some lessons away

Now I have 2 weeks to remember how to walk before ripping what's left of my body to pieces in Noosa! Hell, at least there is a holiday and one hell of a party attached to that race. See you up there!

*note: I have learnt a lesson from this that is unrelated to my racing, although it's a lesson none the less... If someone has a bad race, you don't have to try and tell them it was a good race, they know they had a bad race, they are not looking for someone to pump them up and make them feel like they are a winner, not everyone wins a prize, it's OK to have had a bad race. I had a bad end to a race, that's OK, I know that, I'm not looking for sympathy, it's just a race, shit happens.
NB: I am absolutely totally 100% guilty of being 'that person' who tries to pump others up after a bad race... guilty as charged! I'll save you the long list of apologies that are due, but those people know who they are, and to them; "I'm sorry, you had a shit race hey" :)

Now lets work on the run...

That's what winter is for right?

After a little time off after a season full of ups and downs both in triathlon and in my life, with work and friends coming and going, it was a good time to get focused on my run. The run has been my weakest leg since I got into the sport, I just never had the speed. I would hold my own in the water and generally grab a few spots on the bike, only to watch people run away from me on the run...

It was time to fix this. The goal was sub 90min.

Gotta love a 10km Bondi Fit foot race to gauge your form!

First goal was the SMH Half in May.

I had pretty much dropped hard bike work and cut back a few swim sessions (wish I didn't!!) in order to both focus on the run as well as spend some more time at home with my fiance who I'm sure wondered if I was leading a secret life.

Progress was looking good, I was feeling reasonably strong although I knew that there was so much more in the tank I thought that it would be a good early run season race to see where I was at. Being the first Half Marathon that I'd ever run fresh. Spot was going to pace me through the first 10km at 4:20 pace and then wave me on for the back end to bring it home.

Although the Tuesday before the race that all came to a halt with a little slide in the wet on the bike in Centennial Park... Not the first, won't be the last... No serious damage besides a good bit of skin gone and a ripper bump on my hip that pretty much restricted me to a limp until the Friday afternoon... not the best lead up to a race... I managed a few 1km efforts at race pace on Saturday with a little bit of pain so I figured that I should be able to put up with it for 21km. Right?

Gotta love a bike crash...

Race morning I felt pretty good actually, besides the arctic weather that Sydney greeted us with. Couple of run throughs with the squad and the mandatory photo and we were off to the start line.
It's a bit of a downhill for the first few km's and I'm sure that even though coach always says not to go out to hard and get caught in the start line rush that we ran out too hard and got caught in the start line rush... but no harm was done and we settled into race pace pretty soon after without much trouble. No real pain. Sweet.

Traditional run throughs pre-race

The course is pretty windy and up and down so it was always interesting with stuff to keep your mind occupied. Well until you get to Pyrmont and those lovely hills! I lost coach on the hills a little and figured he was hurting, I was a little surprised that he stuck with me through those first 8km really as I hadn't seen him run for a while and wondered how he'd go! But after I came out of Pyrmont sure enough he was running next to me again, albeit a little out of breath and not interested in a chat!

All smiles on the start line

We stuck together till the 10km mark where he waved goodbye and jumped the fence to where his car was conveniently parked :)

The back end of the race was pretty good, nice views and I managed to stay pretty consistent which was nice as well as having that great feeling of running past a constant flow of people who had blown up! The only real time I was cursing was running past the finish chute at about the 18km mark and down to Mrs Macquaries Chair, knowing that I had to turn around and run back up... That is a shitty run... I held on though and pulled out a 1:32:57 with a nice 15sec negative split. Pretty happy with that considering!

SMH Half Splits

Official race timing

I'm still kind of happy with that, although there were a few people that suggested that there is more to give than I thought, so we re-evaluated some goals for the Gold Coast Half in a few weeks... Not just sub 90min, but 87/88min instead. Now that doesn't sound like much, but that's 4:16min/km pace for a 90min, or 4:07min/km pace for an 87min... that's a bit of a difference...

But it was about time I started believing that I was a runner, so what the hell. Lets have a crack.

After the SMH Half, Spot gave the reins for Track sessions to fellow athlete Julie, who just happens to be an ex AIS athlete with some pretty solid credentials. This was great for me as I was able to really work on some specific goals week to week to go after the goal. Julie was great and pushed me pretty hard, which I needed as I'd obviously been slacking in the past!

Coach Julie has me working hard under lights...

I was super lucky to have to spend the week before the race traveling around the state for work which once again wasn't probably the best lead up to a race, although the fact that I wasn't going to be able to fall off a bike I figured that it couldn't be any worse! Plus, I managed to have a taper run around Lake Jindabyne in stunning (yet freezing) conditions, so I suppose it wasn't that bad.

Ripper location for a taper run!

Goldy time!

Getting up to the Goldy on the Friday night, we scored an upgrade at the Crowne Plaza (thanks Aimee!) which also happened to be the official hotel for the festival which meant that all the elite athletes were wandering around. This was pretty cool, although depressing knowing how much faster they were!! haha
Having the Saturday to pick up the race bib, check out the expo, have a taper run and just generally be cruisy was great to be able to clear my head from all the craziness from the last week and get ready to run.

Room upgrade? Hell yes!

Come Sunday, we jumped on the free shuttle to the start line (probably cut it a bit fine!) and quickly got through a proper warm-up and stretch leaving just enough time to get into the start pens although not enough time to get to the front, so I started in the middle of a tight bunch just behind the bloke with the 1:30:00 balloon... not ideal...

Once the gun went I spent the first 1km jumping over people's feet and trying to get my own space and get around the people who had high expectations of themselves... In hindsight it may have helped slow me up a little and not get caught in the rush!

After the initial 1km was out of the way I settled down and found a rhythm. That rhythm was a little quicker than planned race pace at around 4:07min/km. But I was feeling good and comfortable so I just held it there. I hit the timing mat at 10km in 41:27 (4:08min/km) and was feeling pretty good. I had managed to grab at least a mouthful of water at each aid station so was reasonably confident, so I opened it up a little and tried to come home strong and see what was going to happen.

I wasn't really aiming for a pace on the way home, just looking to be slightly uncomfortable. That turned out to be between 3:55-4:00min/km pace. It was stinging the legs a little but it was only 10km and I was convincing myself that I was feeling good so I stuck with it, passing more and more people only made me feel better as well. Happy days!

Feeling good coming on the home stretch

About 19.5km in I copped a ripper stitch that brought me to tears and almost stopped me in my tracks... I jammed my hand in it so hard it made me cry although took the pressure off it a little... although it definitely slowed me down a little... With just over a km to go though it was just grit the teeth and get it done, deal with it later.

The last 500m was great with a huge crowd, always awesome to come home to support like that! Managed to get over the line in 1:26:11. Shaving a good chunk off the goal. Pretty freaking happy with that!! Although I couldn't help but be a little shitty that the stitch in the 20th km cost me a sub 40min 10km in the back end and an 85min split... but that's getting greedy :)

Goldy Half Splits

So with that I ticked that goal off my list. It's a good feeling ticking off a goal.

Official race timing. Happy with that

Unfinished business time...

Next on the cards is the unfinished business that I have with the City-2-Surf... the 60:17 I ran last year was so tantilisingly close to sub 60 that I want to smash that this year!

Spot agrees. Goal is set. Sub 56min. That should sting a bit. Sub 4:00min/km including that hill... Bring it on.

It's all about the bike

That's pretty much the mantra that I went into the race at the Gong with.

I had set a few goals earlier in the season and the bike leg at the Gong was one of them. It's such a smooth fast course* that when I first raced it last year I knew it was just begging to be ridden hard. So I had set myself a goal to ride sub 60mins this year.

Coach Spot did manage to snag a pic. I do love that Johnson Bikes frame....

One thing you learn as a triathlete is that triathlon is one sport. Not three. You can't approach the race with any other mindset or you will be in for a shock. Saying that, and knowing that, I decided that this race I was going to lay it all out on the bike. The swim was merely a warm-up and the run, well, I had made peace in my mind that it was going to suck...

Couldn't have said it better myself Clipper

Pre-race wasn't exactly what I had in mind... Driving down late Saturday night with Ribbons in the passenger seat was just the start. Stoked that we were able to crash at a mates place down there (super appreciative of that!!) and even more stoked that it meant I got to cuddle on a pull out sofa that night (might have been just what I needed... haha). The morning was alright, so I thought, until we got in to registration and realised I had left my aero bottle in the fridge. Winning. So had to buy a bottle to fit and then try find somewhere to fill it up which was a mission... lucky the Giant boys had a cooler full of something liquid. That'll do. Snuck into transition seconds before it closed to set up. Great start... ha

The warmup 1500m swim was nice. The water was stunning and I really quite enjoyed it. I didn't swim backstroke in the end I actually tried to hold a reasonable pace. Something about that start buzzer that just makes you race no matter how hard you try not to! The usual 200m fist fight was no different than usual, maybe amplified thanks to the boats in the harbour funneling everyone into the fight. Spot will tell you that I should have got out the water with the pack that was a bit in front of me, and he's right, but I'll take a 24:25 as I had other things on my mind...

Now I'm going to dissect my race data from here on, so if that kind of thing tickles your fancy then keep reading (sorry Spot, no HR data) if not then here's an escape: EXIT

TP Race data:
 - Bike: http://tpks.ws/pud3
 - Run (jog): http://tpks.ws/xP5E

So not really knowing or caring so much where I was in the field, I set about my mission of a sub 60 bike split. I took the first trip up the hill steady getting some fluid in and getting my head right, then once I hit the short descent into the flat I put my head down and just pushed numbers and tried to judge how I felt. I know my FTP from the months spent at Turbo Studio which meant I knew what I should be able to hold over a 60min TT. That was what I chased.

The first half of the first lap I was feeling sensational. I was flying past the age groups who went out before us and just before I hit the turn around I spotted the first of my wave. I made sure I went past at pace to try stop them from latching on.
At the turn, split of 10:14 with Normalised Power of 276W. Nice on track so far.

First lap out to the turn.

First lap out to the turn. Happy with the time and the power here

At this point I inherited a TO on a bike that would sit just behind me or in front of me for the rest of the lap, he was very vocal and don't think he enjoyed me utilising all of my 15 seconds on a number of passes. A bit further down the road I came across the main pack. They weren't really pushing that hard so again I put my foot into it and tried to get past swiftly in the hope they would let me go and knowing that there was a TO on my tail I hoped that I might actually get away with it. Nope. In fairness they must have kept the distance as there was a TO with us for almost the entire bike leg, but as I hit the hill heading back into town they filed past me (same gene that causes punch ups at the swim start causes "must go up hill first" syndrome). You can see in the data below from the turn on the first lap as I started to catch the guys I knew were in my wave I put the foot down a bit.
My peak power over 10 minutes (286W) and 12 minutes (284W) was spent in this lap trying (unsuccessfully) to put some distance between us. Second split of 9:25 with NP of 288W. Lovely.

Lap 1 back to transition

Lap 1 back to transition. Pushing a little harder here while passing but also taking advantage of being able to get out of the wind while I do.

Peak 10min and 12min power as I put the foot down to pass the group.

The complete first lap I was pretty happy with. A time of 19:43 was right on the money and I felt like it was a pace that I could hold for the full hour. The Normailsed Power of 282W was almost whack on what I wanted, so I am happy with this first lap of data.

The complete first lap data

The next lap I tried to play a bit smarter on the leg out to the turn. I paced off the pack and we worked together for the lap out to put the pace on, also gave me a chance to get some fluid and a Shotz caffeine gel in while I could keep tabs on everyone. Our mate on his motorbike stayed with us most of the time and spent plenty of time counting us and yelling at us but we didn't break any rules so he eventually let us go. Although just before the turn there were a few who started to feel the pace and slow up a bit, which gave me a chance to have a bit of a crack again.
Third split, 9:49 with NP of 284W. Still good

Lap 2 out to the turn, taking it a bit easier, and getting some fluid and gels in where you can see my cadence drop.

Lap 2 out to the turn, happy with the time here working with a few others

I spent most of this section back at the front trying to pull away without smashing my legs which had started to let me know they weren't to happy with how I was treating them. I thought I may have broken away, looking back there were only two guys I could spot that stayed with me, and I was a little upset when we hit the little climb back into town and they once again slipped around me. Maybe I need to ride more hills ;)
Fourth split, 9:41 with NP of 291W. Excellent. But those two pricks could have helped out a bit! haha

Lap 2 back to transition. Working hard at the front trying to open a gap, you can see my cadence and power maintained throughout for this effort.

Lap 2 back to transition, happy with this time, had to put in a bit more power this split

The complete second lap was again a pretty good time and I was happy with the numbers. The power was a little higher thanks to my effort on the leg back to town, starting to hurt a bit so focused on mentally getting on with it!

The complete second lap data

I chased pretty hard to stay with the two guys on the next lap. The wind had come up a little and I could definitely feel it in the legs. They were ready to give it away. Not to mention my head was telling me that there was that 10km run that I had to do soon. Luckily I overpowered that thought. Don't need that right now. I just hammered away at the numbers and don't really remember much else about the lap, besides cursing the wind every few minutes. Although what pleases me most is the data from this last full lap.

Fifth split, 10:16 with NP of 286W. Now this is slower, and right now you are probably thinking I blew up, as I am certain Spot is. And at first I was the same. Although looking closer at the data you can see that my Normalised Power on this split is actually higher than the first (276W) and third (284W) split, which would suggest otherwise! My average cadence actually lifted each segment also from 84rpm to 86rpm and on the fifth segment 92rpm. Also you can see my peak 1min (386W), 2min (313W) and 5min (296W) power at the start of this lap as I pushed to not get dropped by the two remaining guys riding with me. Interesting. I think this is a pretty good example of a wind effected segment. So. Tailwind on the way back then? Nope.

Lap 3 out to the turn. Had to put in a bit to stay with the 2 others

You can see my 1min, 2min and 5min peak power here as I chased the 2 others down

Lap 3 out to the turn, a little slower, but as I explain above the wind played a role

Sixth split, 9:51 with NP of 289W. Again slower than the second (9:25 @ 288W) and the fourth (9:41 @ 291W) although very very similar power over the three segments further suggests to me that the wind played a bit of a role on that third lap and even on the back half of the second. The other explanation is that on that first lap before hitting the climb into town I was starting to pass all the guys from my age group, which means that for a few km's I was able to cycle up behind each rider until I had to pull out to overtake which allowed me to keep out of the wind for a good portion of that lap as I made my way through the field. Interesting

Lap 3 back to transition. trying to hold what I could!

Lap 3 back to transition. Happy considering how that felt!

So the third lap overall was a little slower, although the NP of 287W shows that I was still putting in the work. So ultimately I am pretty happy still. Also this lap contained my peak 20min (279W) and peak 30min (278W) power figures.
This is what you want to see in your data. The exact same theory as racing on heart rate, you want to race steady and solid and if anything pick up in the back of the race

The complete third lap data

Great place for the peak 20min and 30min power. Shows that I pushed home hard with all I had left

Overall I'm pretty happy with my bike split and even happier that the data I have actually shows that I raced almost as good as I was able (always room for improvement) on the day.

Summary of the laps. From transition to turn and then back

Overall data

Overall averages and maximums

Oh. I almost forgot that 10km run. Well I'll say one thing. It was nice to know that I can still run at a pace like that when I could hardly throw my leg over the saddle coming into T2. Thought I was going to die. 43:56 will do just lovely. Although I would like to find out who hit me in the stomach with a nine iron in that last km. Had my hand pushed so hard into my guts that last bit trying to unsuccessfully dull the pain of an epic stitch!

Pic thanks to Spot

The lovely 10km jog on shattered legs

*Alright. This next bit is for all those people saying "Triathlon 40km, it would have been short, not that impressive".

Yep. Fair call. You know what? It probably was short. In fact my Garmin had it at 39.02km. Not hiding anything there. BUT. If you stay with me for a minute lets do some simple maths.

By the watch: 39.02km (lets call it 39km) in 59min and 24sec, gives about 1min 31sec per km. Lets multiply that by a full 40km. We get 1:00:55. I'd be freaking stoked with that. Now would I have held that same speed for another km? I'd like to think so, especially considering the first few hundred metres are spent mounting the bike and getting my feet in the shoes which would have bought the speed down a nominal amount. So I think I would have held that speed just fine.

Don't like the Garmin time? Lets use the official time that was from the mat around the corner after the dismount line of 59min 56sec. The same maths gives us an adjusted 40km time of 1:01:28. Yep still pretty happy with that.

So take which ever of these figures that helps you sleep better at night. I rode the course that was put in front of me and I rode it as hard as I could. Unless you were out there with me I'm not horribly interested in a discussion about it being a short course.

Peace!