Port 70.3 - The Silver edition...

Port 70.3 was the talk of the town and with a large Bondi Fit contingent prepared to drive 5 hours North through the devastating fires in NSW for a chance at snatching glory (or silver perhaps boys?) it was always going to be an emotional season opener!

Scroll down to the race if you can't be bothered with my pre-race dribble!

The amazing painted rock wall at Port

The team arrived throughout Friday afternoon and all but took over a small motel in the heart of the sleepy seaside town. It seemed as though everyone escaped the fires and made it in one piece, some travelled faster than others (not pointing fingers... AC) and at dinner it was clear that everyone was feeling something ahead of the big day... Some had nerves, some had excitement, some had terror, but one thing was for sure, everyone was starving.

Team Bondi Fit! CHA CHA CHA!

Saturday morning came around all too quickly. Despite it being a little fresher than hoped down at the bike exit (and forgetting the fact I almost didn't make it, as a close encounter with a car at the one set of lights we had to ride through on the way there had my life flashing before my eyes...) it was good to have the whole crew together for a quick ride through of the hilly section of the course in an attempt to extinguish the fears surrounding the infamous hill on Matthew Flinders Drive.

It was hardly a hill (ask me again Sunday morning the 2nd lap round...) and I'm pretty sure that everyone was put at ease after riding it once and then watching head groupie (and newly Pro! Wooo Hooo!) Laura ride it 10 times.

Actually I need to correct that, almost everyone was put at ease. A small dummy spit (definite bike toss) from the token Englishman (yes it is relevant that he is English, it makes the story better) after deciding on Friday night it was the perfect time to (try) remove his chain and thoroughly clean it, resulting in him totally destroying it in the process. As it turns out the token Englishman was only just beginning of his woes for the weekend...

Coffee.... Mothers Milk

Anyway... the standard cafe stop on the way back home made getting out of bed worthwhile with the familiar taste of caffeine hitting the lips thoughts turned to the tasks required for the rest of the day.

This is where 70.3 and I don't get along just yet...

The registration the day before the race I can handle. Coming from a short course background (yes = precious) this was a little different but I was happy to go along with it. But racking my bike on Saturday and leaving it over night? That's going to take some getting used to!
For those unaware (those who are can stop laughing now), I'm a little bit attached to my new Johnson bike (thanks Ben from Noosa Bike Shop and Computa from Happy Wheels!!)... it sleeps next to my bed and is generally within arms reach (or at least eye sight), so having it sit out on a cold metal rack over night was a tough experience... Then it started to rain... I still maintain that I didn't shed a tear, but I may have been visibly upset for a while there....

What? I'm supposed to just leave it here? Overnight?

All jokes aside (I'm not really joking) the day before the race was a very relaxed day, people pottered around doing bits and pieces and nobody was showing any signs of stress. It was a relaxed, stay out of the sun, hippie vibe going on all day. Yep it was strange. But nice.
Spent some time wandering round the expo and started to realise where all my registration fees had gone! Ironman have everything! Then on top of that if you don't have everything you can buy it at the expo. I'm pretty sure that it's compulsory to buy merchandise if you do something IM branded. It's a cult. For sure.
Side note it was great to see my nutrition of choice Shotz being the partner for the race! Can't speak highly enough of their stuff and it was great to see the team there fielding questions from all walks of the triathlon world all day.

A quick swim in the afternoon was a great way to get a feel for the water, see (guess) the course and get an insight in to what it takes to get a 6 foot Italian into a wetsuit...!

This is where things started to get interesting... the dinner conversation (at a Triathlon friendly 5:30pm) was a little different from the previous night, with the addition of our head groupie, talk turned to goal times... followed very quickly by a round of complex bets... all started by which individual? (yes for those of you playing at home, the correct answer was AC)
Wow, that got out of hand quickly, I'll summarise the boys outcomes only as the discussion was one that will never be forgotten!

Scenario 1: Each individual is to set a goal time, furthest from that time buys the first round. 
Scenario 2: AJ should beat AC in every leg of the race. If so then AC will buy a round of beers 
Scenario 3: If AC beats AJ in 1 leg of the race AJ will buy a round of beers 
Scenario 4: If AC beats AJ in 2 legs of the race AJ will buy beers for AC for an hour 
Scenario 5: If AC beats AJ in all 3 legs of the race, beers are on AJ all night!

Let the banter begin.....

9:00pm. Bed time. Some very welcome encouraging and supportive words from good friend and head groupie before putting the head down for a typical restless night-before-race sleep.

Race day...

4:30am. Awake. Poo (sorry but that's just the way it works race morning alright), quick shower, some toast, poo, quick check of the transition bag, think about having another poo... nope, out the door and down to transition.

At this point I'm pretty happy to see my bike still where I left it, so I set about setting up the transition for the first time of the season. I feel like a rookie again, but I'm pretty sure I have everything laid out and strapped on that I need, towel, helmet, glasses, shoes, hat, race belt, electrolyte bottles, 14 gels (Jebus yes 14) and some trusty nut cream (I'll explain later....)
Wetsuit goes on and we start the wander down to the swim start, stopping for a cheeky look at the pro start to see the line they take (they actually looked right this time....), quick gel and some final motivation from head groupie Sid (thank you, I owe you) and it's into the water. Before I know it I'm floating on the start line of my first 70.3....

Boys getting ready to tear it up!

My plan for the swim was different than usual, I actually wanted to make sure I built throughout the swim this time, rather than busting my gut to hold the quicker guys until they slowed enough to be comfortable.
It didn't work so well, but probably as my swimming leading in to the race was hindered by a little bike crash that kept me out of the pool for a few weeks... Either way I'm pretty happy with the lines I swam, direct can to can as per coaches words of wisdom the day before, swam almost the entire leg by myself as I watched the pack drift around cans and weave their way through the course...
I'm being honest, getting out the water and seeing a time of 35mins was less than ideal. But it's too late by then to let it worry you so it was on and through T1.

Now, the aforementioned token Englishman will brag at this point by beating me in T1, even with the fact that he ran through with his bike shoes on, stopped at the line, clipped in, then rode off, so I'm going to list off some excuses from the Norrish Handbook: #1: It took me 3 times to get my helmet on (rookie), #2: you may have crossed the timing mat 4 seconds ahead of me, but by the time you had mounted your (un)reliable steed I was off in the distance #3 It's all about the look.

Out of T1 and into the shoes...

The bike leg is an interesting one, the first half of the lap is rolling hills, all the time climbing slightly, followed by a (roughly) 22km stretch of road that is pretty much flat, then up the infamous hill on Matthew Flinders Drive and back through the rolling hills much more rapidly thanks to the gradual downhill.

I had my race plan based on power this year thanks to the time spent at Turbo Studio and the new Quarq power meter I had acquired.

I took the first lap pretty easy, consciously taking the hills easy and watched everyone cruise past me, by the time I hit the flat section I was relaxed and feeling good. A quick check of the power data showed I had chewed more than I was supposed to, although given the hills I though I would just focus on putting out my goals on the flat section and see where that got me by the end of the first lap.
Early on the flat section a group of 6 or so riders went around me one by one, I decided to lift the pace a little and use them to pace off, although I quickly realised that I was over my target by a fair margin and decided to back right off and let them go (yes it was hard...!) and focus on my race.

First time up the infamous hill, trying to take it steady

By the turn around after the first lap I noted that they had put 2-3 minutes into me, not to worry, my lap time was better than I'd hoped and I was feeling good so I set about round 2.



This time I took a similar tactic into the rolling section, pushing maybe a little harder but wanting to conserve so that I could give it to myself a bit on the flats to see what I had.
I hit the flats and pushed a bit harder, feeling really good, and enjoying the feeling of going past people I had been watching ahead for the 1st lap.
Also at this stage I saw the Italian Stallion very close to that token Englishman, which made me smile knowing the bets that were flying around last night were about to get interesting!

Over one of the rolling hills and back on the bars

By the far turn around point I had pulled back to within less than a minute of the majority of that pack that passed me in the first lap, that was a massive boost! Turning around I found the headwind, it had picked up a fair bit since the first lap and was proving to be a bit of a pain in the arse... never the less I put my head down and worked away, and to help ease the pain I started to pick off members of that group in front as I went. This boosted the confidence again!

Round 2 up the hill, pushing a little more this time

Up the hill on Matthew Flinders for the 2nd time, where head groupie was as loud as ever shouting and screaming at me, I don't think I even gave her a look let alone acknowledged that she was screaming at me (encouragement of course!). Round the bend at the top and I caught sight of Joe, some quick motivation on the way past and it was on to the quick descent, with coach Pink Tiger Pants in sight ahead, again a quick 'we love hills' on the way past and it was on to finding the last member of the pack that went past me earlier. Going through town I caught sight of him and in the last few hundred metres I snuck past him, ensuring that I went into T2 with a smile :)
A bigger smile later when I realised that I'd ridden a 2:36, with a negative split for good measure! Pretty stoked!

Data from the bike leg.

Check the lap splits! Gotta be happy with that!

I remember a conversation with Reidy I had a few weeks earlier that involved a painful lap of the run looking for the lady on the point with a tub of vaseline... so I was prepared with a tub of my own nut cream in T2. A quick handful down the pants (not in front of the kids Spotty...) what a life/nutsaving decision that turned out to be!

Starting the run I had a goal to hold 4:45's (or 4:30's according to my pushy parent), so I let my legs settle down and 4:35's felt comfortable, so that what I went with (Yep, I made that typical mistake so many triathletes make...). The first lap I felt pretty good, I was that annoying person chatting to people on the way past, smiling and enjoying it, asking spectators if they wanted to run a lap for me, etc, etc.. Then I realised that I actually had to do a second lap.

By this stage I had seen that AC had got the better of AJ, with the poor English gentleman looking rather broken making his way towards the line.
And it was about now that my feet started to burn... it felt like I was running on fire for the last 10km, and I lowered myself to walking through aid stations so that I could take on as much water and electrolytes as possible... It was a painful final 10km... between aid stations I still held 4:40's although with the added slow sections my time blew out a little... I managed to push through and cross the line with a 1:41 half marathon.

4:56:36. Sub 5. Stoked ! Broken !

Happy to be finished? You bloody bet!

I ran into the boys at the massage tent and there were some pretty broken faces looking back at me.
Turns out the Italian Stallion got the better of the token Englishman (AJ) in the bike and the run. AJ may have blown up on the bike, but his knee injury got the better of him on the run. So we can't be too harsh...


Regardless, AJ escaped the first round at the pub (after a quick burger and chips) with Joe, having a day to forget and being the gentleman that he is, carrying the first round. From then AC enjoyed the open bar provided by AJ, although he was polite (or still not warmed up) and didn't bankrupt the poor boy. The whole team was now back together at the pub and many a war story was told over many an ale. So many great efforts by everyone on the day, the team was full of smiles and broken bodies.

All smiles post recovery, even the Tiger was happy!

I can't thank the team enough, Bondi Fit is such a great team and the support flows from everyone at all times! There are a few individuals who deserve a special mention, although they won't get it here (they know who they are! :) ). The one special mention goes out to my wonderful fiancée for being so understanding of my time consuming addiction! Finally the volunteers at the event deserve a massive thank you, they were outstanding all day and I still can't believe that they are so enthusiastic and energetic that entire time...

Thank you!!!

PB Festival at the Gong!

A weekend full of PB's!

Glorious day for a swim!

Well what a weekend for a race!
It wasn't so much the weather or the place, but the people. Specifically team Bondi Fit.
It seemed that everyone was out for a PB. And boy did everyone deliver!

After getting down the Gong late Saturday arvo to erect the Bondi Fit temple in the most obtrusive position we could find (in the process upsetting one of our medal hopefuls with our casual attitude...) it was a gentle ride of the bike course that got the blood flowing for the following days race. It was fast. Gloriously fast!

So off to the pub we went to discuss tactics, by tactics I mean how to safely dodge the beers coming from the coach rather than race tactics, everyone was looking forward to it and it was early nights all round (I think...)

Team Bondi Fit! (photo by Bondi Fit)

Sunday morning was a beauty, little bit of wind around but mainly clear.
It was a bit of a late start with some confusion with the buoys on the outside of the harbour, they didn't want to stay put, and I still don't think they ever got them to stay put... hence the swim was a bit of a nightmare. Not to mention the shape of the swim... perhaps "Squashed M" is the best way to describe it... It was brutal. head on collisions all over the place due to swimmers drifting mere meters off the straight line between the cans. Wasn't much fun!

Although lets not let the brutality of it get in the way of the fact that it was a fast swim and there were PB's flying around!

Spot had a ripper in his category, again coming out of the water leagues in front of anyone else (although on a results check it seems that young Scotty may have got the upper hand...!)

Spotty killed as usual

A 20:53 was a massive PB for me, shaving off over 4 minutes! It was bloody nice getting out of the water, looking at the watch and seeing those numbers staring back at me!

Feeling good about the swim

Although it was a little short lived as I jumped into T1 only to find Tommy Tuckerbox's bike wasn't in the rack... Surely not. Little bastard.

It felt great to get out on the bike. After the ride the afternoon before I was really looking forward to getting stuck in to that course.
Quickly found my rhythm and settled in with 2 other guys sharing the work (not drafting I swear!) over the first 2 laps. The road surface was sensational and it was a very enjoyable ride.
There were a few little bursts from each of us trying to drop the other 2 over the first 2 laps but we all managed to wind it back in... I was still feeling strong so put a big effort in at the turn around to start the 3rd lap and managed to put a big enough gap on the other 2 that I didn't see them for the rest of the ride. That was a good feeling!

Off the bike and into the run. That bloody run that breaks me everytime.
For the last half a lap on the bike I had been going over my strategy for the run and trying to get myself mentally prepared. It was getting hot as well which I knew was going to cause some issues, but I threw a gel down and went into T2 strong.
My plan was to hold 4:45min/km's for the first half and then try and build.
I know I should be able to run much quicker, but time and time again the run has broken me, so I wanted to simply run well and run to a plan to get some confidence.

Feeling good early

The first 3km's I ran to plan, but I could already feel my legs wanting to give out. I tried to grab a mouth full of Dextro at each aid station to try subdue the feeling but it really started to slow me down. From then it was a 5km mental battle with myself to stop listening to my legs and just bloody run.
The final 2km's I managed to get to a stage where I was able to convince myself that the pain was only going to be short lived and push through.
Although, coming past the crowds on the way to the line, I was able to put some pace on (gotta love that crowd boost!) grit the teeth and go for it!

Until...

That last 1km...

The final brutal km...

Wow, that was cruel. Having to run past the crowd and the finish chute and off into the distance for a painfully hot and long loop before being able to turn and shoot for the line once again... Definitely a blow mentally and it took a lot of digging to find enough to carry that pace over the line...

2:16:03 - Massive PB of over 15 minutes. Gotta be happy with that!

Tommy smashed out a 2:02:24 for 4th (he was robbed by a Kahlefeldt who killed it in 1:57:20!)

And there was Gold for Lisa in 2:13:39 (I'll get you one day soon Lis....)

Gold Gold Gold! (Photo by Lizi Hamer)

 What a ripper weekend of racing!

Huski Tri Festival - Long Course

And I thought Saturday was a good day!

Sinking beers with the team while enjoying some pasta and listening to some of the worlds best, including  Macca, talk about their careers and their passion for the sport I thought the weekend couldn't get much better

I was wrong

Macca went and made a comment about Spot and before you know it Pete had a mic in Spots hand and there he was on the panel. Gold.

 

Photo credit: Laura Siddall

Waking up Sunday morning, again at the crack of dawn, I was able to experience for the first time, life on the other side of the fence, as a part of the groupies.

WHAT A BUZZ!

Starting the morning off down on the beach, watching our first three guys getting ready for their Long Course race I could see the look in their eyes, and I knew that I had that same look the day before, although with the beauty of sitting on the side lines relaxed I could now notice it in others, where as previously it wasn't something that I have ever noticed. A quick pat on the back and a rev up and it was time to watch the pro's hit the water.

They are an uncooperative bunch. The men starting well forward of the line even while the race director barks at them, the women while initially holding back were just as quick to move of the start line a good 10m before the starter went.

Spotty was his usual entertaining self on the start line, showing of his gut and doing his best to sneak off the line. It wasn't enough though, and with the pro girls only 5mins ahead he threw the challenge out to catch the girls. Much to everyone's laughter.

Untill he caught them

Our two boys had great swims and both came out of the water looking strong heading up the stairs to transition.

It was a good feeling watching the team race and the support crew grew and grew as the morning went on.
Some breakfast while waiting for the next start group and the first bike lap was just what the doctor ordered and I was relishing in the relaxed atmosphere of the day.

Then all hell broke loose

Before we knew it, the bikes were punching out laps, controversy with Spot still out in front at the end of the second with our man in the sin bin (guilty as charged!), there was swim wave starts for the rest of team Bondi Fit, more laps on the bike, run transitions, more laps on the bike, more running, more cheering, more everything!

I think from the time I finished breakfast I didn't stand still for more than 30 seconds for the next 5 hours.
There was so much action that I spent the entire day running around the course cheering and taking photos.
I didn't even get to see any of the pro race as Team Bondi Fit were everywhere!

I think I was honestly more excited Sunday than I was Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I had absolutely no desire to be out there on the course with them, but it was exciting to see them push themselves and succeed!

There were so many good moments although the following highlights are what have stuck with me:

Adriel Young

A.K.A Bacon. This bloke is a machine. His ability to punch above his weight is amazing. Coming through the field to finish in 3:51:41 to finish in 10th overall is incredible. More incredible is the bloke rode the 220km home from Huski the next day.

"Lassie"

This bloke was having such a good day on the course that there were 3 specific times that he made me realise that there is more to it than your finish time. You have to love this guy.

#1: Blowing a kiss to the photographer as he strolled up the stair case

#2: Sneaking a kiss off his better half as he left T2

#3: The dog paddle, mid 20km run

Macca & Ambrose

These guys were out for a training run as part of a team. Some training run. They ran shoulder to shoulder for 19.5km at about 3:50min/km, then the race started. The last 500m was as exciting as it gets with an all bets off, elbows out sprint to the line! One for the memory bank!

Tommy v Macca

Our man, Tommy "The Kid", as part of the Bondi Fit long course team with Laura and Scottie, after winning his maiden gold the day before and polishing off some beers in celebration, put together a sub 76min 20km sprint to NOT ONLY snatch team gold for Bondi Fit, but to out run Macca by a full 15 seconds.

Man of the match:

Huski Tri Festival - Sprint Day

What a weekend!

Having only been in this triathlon business for a short time, I have learnt very quickly that race weekends are always good fun. Full of enthusiasm and anticipation as well as a general good vibe between all competitors, even if there is a strong sense of rivalry!

Although I wasn't prepared for what was going to happen at the Huski Long Course Triathlon Festival...


Leaving the office early on a Friday isn't anything new, I have been fine tuning the dispreading act for a long time now, although Friday of a race weekend always gets the pulse going a little more. Anticipating the traffic heading south is the priority of the day, even though this time Tommy The Kid and I didn't quite nail it... By the time we squeezed all our gear in the back of the little subie and hit the road, we discovered that we weren't the only ones taking a (well earned) early minute. It was a slowish drive with cramping legs through to Nowra, which always seems further than I remember... Although forgetting how close Huski was to Nowra was enough to turn the tables and lift the spirits!

Rocking up at our bed for the night we discovered that we were in fact staying at a Triathlon brothel. There were more beds than rooms, more people than beds and more bikes than people. Our kind of place!
To make it better we were surrounded by our Bondi Fit team, the best (and loudest) support crew anyone could ever ask for, and the excitement and energy was contagious, with every new face the energy grew. It was the most fantastic pre-race feeling and after we managed to roll out swags, pump up air mattresses and squeeze into a corridor for a little shut eye (at 11pm if you don't mind...) it dawned on me that the usual pre-race nerves weren't there, only excitement and the feeling that race day was going to be a good day!

4:30 is very early. Although getting out of bed and getting moving isn't usually a problem on race morning as you are mentally in another zone of running through the morning pre-race routine. Shower, muffins with strawberry jam, electrolytes. Bike check, sense check, out the door.
It was a gloomy morning and sure enough as we were setting up in transition in the pitch black it rained.
Feeling the nerves creep in a little at this stage.
Although after heading down those infamous stairs at to the beach, we were greeted with the loudest, brightest bunch of muppets and the nerves once again turned to excitement!

A quick high five in the water before the gun goes is enough to get the blood going, and as usual the pack heads off at full speed... at least leading the right direction (which is better than usual). I grab onto the feet of one someone as I take the conservative approach to the first 200m and I notice Tommy doing the same on my right hip. Sure enough they start falling off the pace one by one. I was lucky (or maybe smart?) enough to be able to jump a small gap and draft off a few more guys that managed to hold the pace a bit longer, and then jump another small gap when that pack broke up again. By the time we hit the first can I was feeling good and had settled into my stroke and we were starting to pass some of the earlier waves which was a good boost, although I lost sight of the other guys in my wave in the process. I hit the beach and felt relaxed and ready for the bike. I know I heard the Bondi Fit circus cheering and I'm pretty sure I heard someone shout I was out in the front. As it turns out I was 3rd out the water.

The crowd carries you up those long stairs and through to transition, trying to keep the heart rate down is tough.
Although getting away on the bike while relaxed lets me settle in and put my mind to what I want to achieve over the next 20km, 35min on  the bike. I really wanted to make sure I played the Bondi Fit way and negatively split this race. To be honest I really needed a confidence boost as I had struggled through the run at Kurnell a few weeks earlier and didn't want to suffer the same fate.
For that reason it was hard to not put the chase on when Tommy and Cam edged past me about 4km in to the bike leg... Checking my splits every 5km was such a boost as I watched my times drop a little each split and I managed to execute my bike leg to plan, almost to the second. Definitely a boost going into the run. And feeling good!

Hitting the run I had the same argument with myself as always, SLOW DOWN, it always feels so good running out of T2 with the crowd going and music in the background... Although it's been my downfall in many races to fall into a false sense of security early then fade horribly as the km's grow... This time I wanted to have a good run, I wanted to run sub 22:30 and I wanted to negatively split. Lets face it, I wasn't racing for a medal, so I wanted to race for something, that something was the confidence that I could race to a plan and that I could feel comfortable doing it. So I backed off and tried not to watch as I was passed by all sorts of people through the first km or two. Although as I started to wind it up through km 3 and 4 I watched a lot of those same people head backwards. Now that's a good feeling,
By the last km I was pretty much on my limit and still feeling good. Coming round the corner past transition was a great feeling, so much so that I even managed an Ironman moment with a wave to the camera, for which I received a healthy dose of sledging from coach Scotty. Sprinting down the chute and past the Bondi Fit Temple was awesome, with the crew cheering over the fence and handing out high-fives it was an awesome way to finish!

Besides the heckling and sledging that followed regarding my honourary membership to Team Ironman, I was absolutely stoked that I was able to race to plan. What a fantastic feeling! I absolutely understand the negatively split plan. It really does make such a difference to your mind set later in a race when you can lift the pace instead of fall off the back...!

To top it off even more I later found out I managed to snatch 7th in a field of 49 with a time of 1:12:08.
Tommy managed his first ever gold with a time of 1:05:19.!
Celebrations were in order and we put away a 6pack under the Bondi Fit Temple while watching the Miniman race. Epic.

And that was only the Saturday.... What was to come on the Sunday was maybe even greater...