Western Sydney Ironman 70.3

A DNF was the last thing I planned for at Western Sydney Ironman 70.3 but after a few costly mistakes, I wasn't left with many other options and found myself on the sidelines shortly after exiting T2. I've had the past few weeks days to mull over this race and the disappointing outcome but as much frustration, anger, embarrassment and any number of other emotions I have felt, I know deep down that it was the right decision in the heat of the moment - it'll just add fuel to the fire for next time!

The race was talked up as having one of the deepest fields outside of a World Championship and being an Asia Pacific Championship, you wouldn't expect anything less. Coming off Challenge Shepparton I knew what I was capable of and with constant progression with my running, was confident in my abilities. In all honestly I would've needed an awful lot of good fortune go my way and a lot of misfortune for everyone else if I was going to be contesting for the win but a potential top ten and improvement on Shepparton was realistic. It's not often I'll go to a race without some expectation or aim of wanting to win but that was the reality of this race. My return to running has been slower than what I first thought and expected but the chance to see where I am at against some of the best in the business was an opportunity I couldn't let slip. There was never a moment that I felt out of my depth with the competition surrounding me and once I am back in top shape, am excited about the results I have the potential to produce.

I made a few small mistakes at Challenge Shepparton with my swim and lining up on the start line these were at the forefront of my mind as part of my plan for a better result. The course at Penrith couldn't be made any easier with a straight out and back with the help of lanes from the rowing course. The one mistake I did make was swimming too close to those markers and at one point felt my timing chip get caught. A moment of panic quickly followed while I scrambled to see what was pulling me back but once that subsided it was back to the task at hand. I had to put in a fair few surges to get back to the group after this but managed to position myself towards the front of it as we exited the water. I was surrounded by some similar faces from Challenge Shepparton and knew I needed to get on the bike quickly to avoid being punished for the first 10km again.

I should know better by now that no matter where you get on the bike, the first portion is going to be chaotic and this race was no different. Even though I was towards the front of the group, there were a few riders up ahead that forced us all to chase hard to bridge up. The pace was all over the place with constant surges to bridge a gap followed by a lull in the pace before it kicked off over and over again. I was feeling good and pushed towards the front of the group as we entered what was deemed to be the technical section of the course. By technical what was really meant was very uneven road surfaces and a few U-turns. Normally I would've driven the entire course pre-race but for some reason I didn't this year and on that first lap, managed to ride straight through almost every bump in the road. At first thought, not a big concern because I was still attached with the group but when I next went to have a gel I realized that one of those bumps had claimed all of my race nutrition.

My heart sank, I knew in Shepparton that I had neglected my nutrition a little bit and had put measures in place to avoid that this time but now I'd lost all of it. As the kilometres ticked by it was playing on my mind as much as it was playing on my stomach. At approximately 70km it really hit me, I had been surging on and off the back of the group but I could no longer maintain that. Over the bumpy section of the course my mind was wandering - I was riding in no mans land with no race nutrition and no one around me to try and pace off. The last section of the bike course was a huge mental battle, I watched as my power dropped so much that the difference between lap one and lap two was 25%.

The negative thoughts had set in but I knew in my head that I had three gels ready for the run. Normally I will only consume one or two during the run but the third is my emergency, it's a peanut butter flavoured Hammer Gel and tastes incredible! As soon as I was running out of transition I was squeezing that into my mouth. One wasn't nearly enough and within the first kilometer I had already downed all three of those gels in a panic move to try and regain some energy. It wasn't much longer before I was walking, my energy levels were too far gone and with a very hot 21km ahead of me I knew I would do more harm than good if I kept going. I slowed at the first aid station and made use of the water, electrolyte and cola and never got going again.

It still sucks reading and writing this now but what's done is done and I'll learn some valuable lessons from Western Sydney. And if there is one positive, I got to watch Dan Wilson cross the finish line to take the win in his final race!

It's not the way I wanted to end my racing year and straight away I'd set my sights on racing a local triathlon this weekend to redeem myself but the reality is my body needs to be at 100% and that just isn't going to be the case. There haven't been many races for me this year because of injuries but the races that I have completed have showed positive signs - maybe not as positive as what I would've liked but I am confident that when I am back at 100%, the results can reflect those positive signs.