My pre-race plan was to go out hard and post a very fast 5km run split and then keep going hard for as long as I could on the 20km bike and second 3km run - I was confident I could beat Aurel (who I had never beaten) this race. I positioned myself 3 rows back from the start line and even though the first run always starts off at breakneck speed, after about 100m I found myself hemmed in. My body wanted to run faster, but a quick check of the pace on my GPS watch showed 3m30s pace which I figured was plenty fast enough, especially since my target pace was 3m45s. I sat in this pack for the next kilometre, but as soon as the group's pace started to drop off I pulled away.
Having run so fast (for me) I was seriously worried how much I would have left in my legs for the bike. However the knowledge that Peter was close behind was enough to make me push hard from the beginning. At the turnarounds I would note what position Peter was behind me, and was very much encouraged to discover I was extending my lead each lap. Then at the half way mark of the bike leg I caught and passed another competitor called Sam. Sam is in my age group and has beaten me in every Duathlon we have ever raced together. In Somers he beat me by over 3 minutes and at Kew he finished ahead by 2 minutes. So I never considered myself a threat of ever beating him, but now I had a chance to build a lead on the bike. I have always been a faster bike rider, but he is usually so far ahead after the first run that I don't see him again until the medal presentations. And in the absence of legend David Meade, passing Sam probably meant that I was in the lead of my age group - I could be state champion. With these thoughts acting as inspiration I was able to maintain the hard effort on the bike.
The rule of thumb with race nutrition is that you do not need anything for a race that lasts less than 1 hour. I usually go a little longer than an hour in Sprint Races (Triathlon or Duathlon), so usually have half an energy gel and a few sips of water on the bike. Unfortunately with the later than expected start time, my normal race preparation was thrown around a bit. I spent an hour before the race trying to fill in time and forgot to put the energy gel in the pocket of my tri top. When I realised this, my original thought was that I would run out of energy on the last run, but then I figured the faster I go, the closer my time will be to an hour and therefore the less I will need the nutrition. With this sort of backward thinking I surged on and probably ended up going faster because I didn't waste time eating the gel and drinking water.
On the last lap of the bike my calf muscles started to cramp. Naturally I immediately blamed this on not having my usual gel. But the reality is that I cramped because I had been pushing my muscles much harder than usual. My average power for the ride was 277 watts, 1 watt higher than Kew which is very good considering the very fast first run. With the cramps not going away, I started to have serious doubts about my ability to run a good 3km run and it would need to be one of my best final runs if I was to hold off Sam.
I came into an emptier than usual transition and then headed out on the run. My calf muscles felt like they had been replaced with bricks, but this feeling slowly wore off and after the first 500m I had regained my normal running stride. It felt very slow, but my watch said it was 4m00s pace which should be just enough. At the run turn around I had a good chance to see who was behind me and there was a small pack forming that included Sam. He had already made up a lot of ground and at that point I thought he probably had me. It was a fair distance further back that I saw Peter and further back again that I saw Aurel for the first time in the race.
I now knew that I had both Peter and Aurel comfortably beaten and regardless of what happened, this had definitely been my best race ever. There was a huge temptation to ease off the pace (and therefore lessen the pain), but the thought that I still had a small chance to being state champion kept me going.
The end of the run leg moves off the road and follows a winding trail through bush before opening up for the last 100m to the finish line. Once I was into the bush I knew I was out of sight of my chasers and this would be a big advantage - nothing spurs people on more than being able to see your competitor just ahead. With about 50m of bush left and 150m from the finish line I started my sprint home. I didn't look behind, I just put every ounce of effort into getting to the finish line as quick as I could, but I could still sense that the other runners were right on my heels.
I made it to the finish line without being passed and then immediately started to vomit. Luckily with the later start and no gel or water on the bike it had been over 3 hours since I had consumed anything, so the vomiting ended up only being dry retching - still not really a pretty sight. It only took about 20 seconds for me to regain my composure and I immediately went over to the timing guy to check my result. I could not believe it - 2nd place in my age group. Another competitor Austin, who usually does the Western Suburbs Duathlons, had decided to enter a race in this series for the first time (maybe because it was the state championships) and beat me by 90 seconds. 3rd place was only 2 seconds behind me (another competitor I had never heard of before) and Sam finished in 4th place a further 3 seconds behind - the first time this season Sam didn't finish first or second.
Despite not winning the state championship I am immensely happy with my race - it is definitely my best race ever !!! In the end my finish time of 1h03m02s saw me beat Sam by 5 seconds, Peter by over 3 minutes and Aurel by nearly 5 minutes. The very fast first run by Peter had a negative impact on his bike split and Aurel seemed to have an off day.
Elaine has continually improved throughout the season and her Richmond time was 14 minutes quicker than her first Duathlon of the season at Knox. And naturally she won her age group again making her the state champion and series winner. Peter came 5th in his age group and Jeff 9th.
My training up till now has been mainly focused upon these Duathlons with the intention of peaking for this race, the state championships - I think my training worked. In fact, I am in such good form, it now seems a pity to waste this speed by training for Ironman. The sprint distance races are all about speed over a one hour duration, whereas Ironman is about endurance for an all-day event. Training for the two different types of events is not really compatible. So now the focus of training shifts towards the Alpine Classic ride and Ironman.
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