Challenge Shepparton - You Can Run But You Can't Hide

I've never been so nervous to lace up my running shoes and go for a walk. It's been five weeks since Sunshine Coast Ironman 70.3 and I've spent a lot of that time just thinking about this moment. Injuries suck but they're part of sport and that was something I accepted pretty quickly as I was going from specialist to specialist to eventually come to the conclusion that I did in fact have a stress fracture in my foot. With each cautious step I looked down and almost tried to feel some sort of pain but instead I was greeted with the euphoric feeling of running. As each session passed the ratio of walking to jogging ever so slowly changed but as I laced up my running shoes on Sunday, my longest walk/run had been 45 minutes - how on earth am I going to get through the next 21.1km!?!?

Even as I entered Challenge Shepparton I knew I had a monumental challenge ahead of myself to make the start line. I knew my running was going to be underdone but I was confident that I could run the half marathon and cross the finish line uninjured and put a respectable performance forward. I had been training really well and there was progress in almost every session so I took a lot of confidence into race weekend.

The siren went off and the calm Shepparton Lake quickly changed to whitewash and the battle for positions as we raced towards that first turning can. After the initial flurry and whitewash that goes hand in hand with every race start, I managed to settle quickly into a good position in the front pack of swimmers. I focused on maintaining my position but more importantly making sure I wouldn't make the same mistake that I did at Sunshine Coast Ironman 70.3 where I slowly drifted off the back of packs to no mans land. We navigated the rest of the course without too many issues but also with the knowledge that Dan Wilson wasn't waiting around and had cleared up the road as we exited the water. The task of rolling my Zone 3 Speedsuit off and pulling up my sleeved trisuit proved more difficult than anticipated and I was on the back foot and back of the pack as I started the ride. A frantic 10 minute period followed as I watched my heart rate and power reach new highs but it was all worth it as I bridged myself back up. The 20m draft zone meant the pack was much more spread out and while I was fighting my way to the back of it, a few athletes had ridden clear of it without my knowledge. I was riding well so made my way to the front of the group and stayed there for the rest of the first 45km lap. The gaps to the 4 riders in front of me seemed to be in control but I also knew there were a few stronger cyclists coming from behind me. After about 60km a few of them came past me and I just didn't have the energy to kick up another gear to go with them and I had to just watch as they and a few from behind me rode into the distance. I felt the gaps to them and those already ahead of me were growing and my energy was slowly dropping but knew I was still riding well and nearing the end of the ride.

We entered transition and I prepared myself to again nervously lace up the running shoes. The plan was simple - keep things conservative. Running out of transition with Leon Griffin and going through 2km at 3:35/km pace was not part of the plan and with limited running miles under my belt I paid for this in a big way. Lap one went by at an average pace of 3:52/km but things didn't get much prettier from there and by lap 3 I was playing the survival game to get to the finish. In the end I crossed the line 13th and did run the whole 21km, something that wouldn't have been possible only a few weeks earlier.

The race leaves me hungry for more and also really positive about the progression I have made while being injured. My swim and bike performance were much improved on Sunshine Coast Ironman 70.3 and if my running had been anywhere near what it was in September I could've been a lot higher up the results board. Challenge Shepparton is a must do race and after a DNF result in 2014 due to a bike mechanical, it's great to get to experience the finish line atmosphere and I'm already looking forward to being able to line up again in 2018.

There's only two weeks between Challenge Shepparton and Western Sydney Ironman 70.3 and the key word there is progression. I'm not expecting miracles in my run performances in only 14 days but progression I am. There have been some really positive signs working with a new coach but a stress fracture has made these signs a bit harder to see. I'm really excited about what I can put forward in 2018 and these last few races of 2017 are about setting the foundations for that - and I love racing too!

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