 Photo from elite energy | 4:04:24 1st Swim 33:03 (5th) Bike 2:09:17 (1st) Run 1:19:04 (1st) |
I walked in the door after being out all morning riding hill reps up and down the mountain at Falls Creek, VIC. "How would you feel about racing this weekend?" Jared asked. It's Wednesday today, the race is Sunday. It's about 7hours away by car. "Sure!" I said. So that was it, Friday morning we spent road tripping to Huskisson, NSW to race Husky Long Course Tri. Even with the short notice and the heavy week of training, I was excited to get another race in to try correct all the mistakes I made in Geelong 70.3 a couple weeks ago. Despite getting the win at Geelong, my race was far from perfect and was quite unpleasant to say the least. There were many kinks that needed ironing out for future races.
Swim start - inHaus photo
Huskisson is a small beach town on the scenic Jervis Bay on the South Coast of New South Wales. It took us a bit over 8hours to drive there from Falls Creek, including plenty of stops to stretch the legs. When we finally arrived, it was well worth the long trip. I immediately felt the salty, humid air coming from the ocean. The temp was north of 30deg and it was just what I needed after a crazy cold snap just came through Falls Creek a few days before. The weather, the town, the ocean and the river all made me feel just like home!
The Husky Tri festival is a 3-day long multisport festival put on by Mark Emmerton and Elite Energy. The weekend is jam packed with ocean swin races, fun runs, sprint and Olympic distance tris, kids mini tris and is capped of with the iconic Husky Long Course Tri on Sunday. The whole event has a small-town, relaxed feel to it and is welcoming in every way. There are minimal pre race commitments, race briefings are conducted prior to race starts and are kept to a light hearted, nerve-soothing 5mins. That said, the event still attracts serious, world class triathletes to race each year. This year alone included three world champions, two Olympians along with many others. Jared and I had plenty of spare time over the weekend to relax and enjoy the events, which was very unusual for me in the days leading to a race. It was a very refreshing change.
The Husky Tri festival is a 3-day long multisport festival put on by Mark Emmerton and Elite Energy. The weekend is jam packed with ocean swin races, fun runs, sprint and Olympic distance tris, kids mini tris and is capped of with the iconic Husky Long Course Tri on Sunday. The whole event has a small-town, relaxed feel to it and is welcoming in every way. There are minimal pre race commitments, race briefings are conducted prior to race starts and are kept to a light hearted, nerve-soothing 5mins. That said, the event still attracts serious, world class triathletes to race each year. This year alone included three world champions, two Olympians along with many others. Jared and I had plenty of spare time over the weekend to relax and enjoy the events, which was very unusual for me in the days leading to a race. It was a very refreshing change.
Photo by Rob Sheeley
Race morning!1am...on and off through the night, it was heavy rain outside. I was concerned for poor spark out there in the drenching rain in transition. By morning, the rain had stopped and the air temp was a little cool but, nice for racing. The swim was a non wetty, two lap triangle course in the beach. It was supposed to be 2km but I was told post-race one of the buoys drifted so we had a little further to swim to try get around the moving target. I was pleased to hear we swam further than 2km because it made my 33min swim time seem a little more acceptable. I felt good in the water but did lose 3min to Radka out front. I'm putting this down to Radka being a phenomenal swimmer and not that I suck 🤔
On the bike we had three loops so at no point could you see your competition unless you passed them. After coming out of the water in 6th I started picking them off one by one and was soon into 2nd place. At the 35km mark I overtook Radka to take the lead. The bike leg was pretty uneventful. The looming rain held off for the most part except for some light sprinkles here and there. The age groupers all seemed to be riding safely and sticking to the left when not overtaking even though the roads were quite bumpy and rippled. I was worried that being a three lap course the age groupers would start to fill the roads and it'd be difficult to get through but the age group race starts were split into separate sections. The first section starting about 2hrs before the next waves began. This spread out the competitors and prevented the course from getting too congested which I thought was a really clever idea.
On the bike we had three loops so at no point could you see your competition unless you passed them. After coming out of the water in 6th I started picking them off one by one and was soon into 2nd place. At the 35km mark I overtook Radka to take the lead. The bike leg was pretty uneventful. The looming rain held off for the most part except for some light sprinkles here and there. The age groupers all seemed to be riding safely and sticking to the left when not overtaking even though the roads were quite bumpy and rippled. I was worried that being a three lap course the age groupers would start to fill the roads and it'd be difficult to get through but the age group race starts were split into separate sections. The first section starting about 2hrs before the next waves began. This spread out the competitors and prevented the course from getting too congested which I thought was a really clever idea.
Photo by Rob Sheeley
I reached T2 with a 4minute lead to Radka so had enough spare time to sit down and sort through my drenched transition gear floating in a puddle. Earlier in the morning I'd set up my shoes and socks in the dark next to my bike in transition. The ground everywhere was wet, but I didn't realize till daylight that my gear was also in a pothole filled with water next to my bike. Sometimes it's just luck of the draw. So I sat down next to Spark who was now resting on the transition rack after his job-well-done. Sloppy socks on, calf sleeves on and wet shoes on. Gel flask, number belt and visor in hand and I was on my way.
The run was a two lap, out-and-back course that ran along the coast line. It was beautiful. There were spectators most of the way along, as the path ran between the coast line and a row of houses so many of the locals were out on their balconies and in their backyards giving us a cheer. On my way back after the far turnaround I passed Radka going the other way. I figured I had about 1km lead so kept chugging along at a comfortable 4min/k pace. Half way through my second lap, 15km down, 5 to go I still felt pretty good so I picked it up for the last 5km to 3.45 pace and extended my lead by another minute.
The run was a two lap, out-and-back course that ran along the coast line. It was beautiful. There were spectators most of the way along, as the path ran between the coast line and a row of houses so many of the locals were out on their balconies and in their backyards giving us a cheer. On my way back after the far turnaround I passed Radka going the other way. I figured I had about 1km lead so kept chugging along at a comfortable 4min/k pace. Half way through my second lap, 15km down, 5 to go I still felt pretty good so I picked it up for the last 5km to 3.45 pace and extended my lead by another minute.
Photo by Rob Sheeley
I was really happy with my race. I didn't make any silly mistakes, I had all my technology working and I felt good. I think I successfully ironed out the kinks of two weeks ago. I know I still need to continue slowly building my running to get my run back up to scratch but I was really pleased that I felt strong the whole way and had plenty left over to pick it up the last 5km. Can't wait to return to Huskisson again next time. But for now, it's back to the beautiful high country training in Falls Creek.
Photo by Rob Sheeley
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