Ballarat Ironman 70.3

Dec 16, 2015
4 min read

Ballarat was set to be my last race for 2015 and the last in a fairly hectic schedule that I'd planned for myself that included a sprint distance, a standard distance and four 70.3 events in the space of 12 weeks. Needless to say the signs were there that it was time for a break but I also felt as though Ballarat could be an opportunity for a big result with a lot of other athletes also having one eye on their break and perhaps leaving the door open for a breakthrough performance.

With only two weeks between Western Sydney and Ballarat I knew the focus had to be on rest and recovery and having also come down with a bit of the flu after Western Sydney this was even more important. Regardless of that, once I arrived in Ballarat I felt ready to race and was keen to see what I could do come race day. It was another big field in Ballarat which seems to be the common trend lately with almost every race being announced as one of the biggest pro fields assembled in Australia. The swim was in the regatta venue which made sighting one less hassle and the 900m straight line swim to the first turn buoy was plenty of time to sort out the field. A small group had escaped off the front and I found myself positioned comfortably in a large chase pack as we ran through transition. It was actually a lot bigger group than I'd thought and it almost felt like an ITU-style transition with everyone so tightly bunched.

I knew that the first 5-10km would be really important and I pushed hard to stay near the front of the group and pay attention to any moves I saw. We got the chance to gauge time gaps to the leaders at a few U-turns early on into the 90km but what turned out to be of greater significance was the conditions we were riding in. Our large group quickly splintered with a lot of guys finding themselves isolated or in smaller groups of 3-4 riders in what felt like a continuous cross wind for the majority of the 45km loop. I found myself in a good rhythm after the first 5-10km and even though a few guys from our swim pack had ridden away from me, I was holding a good pace and was making time on a few other guys who had dropped away from the leaders. I went through the first 45km in 1:05 and was making sure I stayed on top of my nutrition as much as possible but after 55-60km I really started to struggle. Whether it was the crosswinds, the flu, the amount of racing I've done or any number of factors, there was little I could do to keep up the pace I had been riding. I don't ride with a power meter but if I did there would have been a significant drop in the last 20-25km as I could do nothing but just watch as 5-6 guys rode straight past me. Thoughts of finishing high up the results were replaced with thoughts of just getting to the end of the cycle leg before even beginning to think about the half-marathon I then had to run. Dismounting the bike with a split of 2:17 meant a drop in over 10 minutes between the two laps and pointed to anything but a positive mindset for the run I was about to begin. There weren't many positive thoughts going through my head at this stage and I started the run off at a much more conservative pace than I normally would. In all honesty the thought of wanting to stop and sneak away into the shadows and call it a day entered my mind more than once but each time that happened it was only just defeated by the embarrassment I would feel having to tell people why I didn't finish the race. I've always considered myself a mentally strong athlete and Ballarat tested every last ounce of that but I wasn't alone and I have to thank Brad Clark who was also having a tough day as we ran/ shuffled side by side for much of the 21km. Not much was spoken but the company made the run bearable. I crossed the line in 19th in 04:13:52, a far cry from what I was aiming for and a sure sign it's time to bring the season to a close and refresh the body and mind before beginning preparations for 2016. In all honesty the day to date was my toughest day as a professional athlete and the demons I battled in my head out there weren't pretty but it's days like that that make the good days all the more satisfying. For now it's time to put those days behind me and rest the mind and body before beginning preparations for more of the satisfying days in the future.