It has been over 15 months since my last blog entry. It was not an intentional absence, life simply got very busy and I didn’t have time to squeeze in blog posts.
When I originally started this blog in 2011, I was doing occasional programs for other athletes, but mainly just coaching myself and Elaine. Then in the second year I coached Mark to his first Ironman. Since then the number of athletes wanting personalised programs have increased significantly and at times I have have been coaching up to 10 athletes, which becomes quite time consuming. On top of this I changed jobs early 2014, and the new job is 1,000 times more mentally challenging than my old job, so the need for mental stimulation outside of work has dramatically decreased.
But now I'm on an Easter Break, most of my athletes are finishing off their seasons, I've got big plans for the upcoming season and the desire to start blogging again has returned.
I thought I'd start with a recap of the Events since my last blog post.
January 2014 - Gatorade Sprint Triathlon, St Kilda - Won Age Group
I was originally entered in the Olympic Distance race with the aim of setting a new PB. I suffered a back injury in November that saw me miss several weeks of training and then I became very ill over Christmas. So I'd barely trained and was a long way from Peak fitness. With this in mind I had my entry changed to the Sprint Distance race.
With all the fast competitors racing the Olympic Distance, the field in my race was quite weak and I won my age group by a large margin. My second Sprint Distance Triathlon Age Group win, the first at a Gatorade event. However a bit of an anti-climax due to the lack of competition and with the sickness and lack of training it was actually one of my slowest races in years.
Elaine raced the Olympic Distance and surprised herself by going quite well.
February 2014 - Challenge Melbourne, Brighton - 4h40m
Due to my illness and absence of training I actually withdrew from this event. Then after a couple of days thinking about it, I rang the organisers back and withdrew my withdrawal. It was the first time a Challenge race was being held in Victoria and the first time a Half Ironman was being run on Beach Rd. Despite my lack of fitness, I believed I would regret not being part of this event.
After the Gatorade Sprint Triathlon, I managed 3 weeks of fairly good training. Unfortunately trying to squeeze a Half Ironman prep into 3 weeks predictably resulted in injury - the same knee injury that caused so many problems during my Ironman training. This meant my run leg was going to be very slow. Pre race forecast was predicting a top of 40 C (about 110 Fahrenheit). I actually welcomed this as I thought it was help hide my lack of preparation.
Race day was quite warm, but otherwise perfect conditions. Tactically I picked the wrong swimmer to draft off and was a little slow out of the water. But the bike leg was ridiculously fast. I averaged 40kph for the 90km and would have gone faster except for the bunches that started to form. I was continually being shunted down the pace line due to the conservative gap I left to the rider in front and was chased down every time I tried to break away. The heat picked up on the run leg, but no where near the forecasted 40 degrees and the aid stations were well stocked with ice.
I finished with a time of 4h40m, one minute off my PB. My run was very slow, but the fast 2h15m bike split made the overall time look OK. My pre-race target was 4h29m and I believe this was vey achievable had I been fit.
Elaine was also racing (her first Half Ironman) and was going extremely well. Unfortunately they closed the run course early due to the heat. Extremely disappointing and frustrating. Firstly Elaine had been pacing her run well to accommodate the heat and secondly it didn't really get that hot.
May 2014 - Puffing Billy Fun Run - Beat the train
It took a while for my knee injury to settle down after Challenge Melbourne and when I finally started running again my achilles played up.
After fighting through slow runners for the early parts of the previous year's race I managed to seed myself much better this year. It made a huge difference for the first 4 or 5km as I was not wasting energy dodging, swerving and surging past slow runners. Unfortunately my fitness was no where near where it was last year, but luckily wet conditions meant the train was also slow and I actually beat the train by a bigger margin.
Elaine wasn't in good run form either. She finished with no problems, but was well behind the second train.
June 2014 - Salomon Trail Run 1, Medium Course, Kew - 2nd in Age Group
In 2013 Elaine and I competed in the Short Course races. This year we decided to jump up to Medium Course. Not only was the course longer, but the competition was also much faster.
I took off with the lead group but quickly discovered they were way too fast. I then settled into the second pack and stupidly made moves in the first 5km to try and break things up (stupidity has no bounds). By the 7km mark I was starting to struggle and lost touch with the second pack. Around 8km the 3rd pack appeared and by 9km it had disappeared out of sight ahead of me. Approaching the finish line of the 10km race competitors from the fourth pack were closer in.
One of my worst ever paced races. Smarter racing would have seen an easy age group win. Elaine raced well and loved the Kew run course.
July 2014 - Sprint Duathlon 1, Richmond - 3rd in Age Group
We usually don't race the first Duathlon of the season as it is run by our Triathlon Club and we usually spend the day as Marshals for the race. However this year I had ambitions of winning the series in my age group and the 2nd Duathlon would clash with the 3rd Salomon Trail Run. With the series win being judged by your best 3 races, I needed to do race one to be a chance.
With a couple of running races already under my belt, I ran quite well but my bike leg (always my strength) was not as dominate as I would have liked. I was comfortably in 2nd place in my age group coming into T2 but was run down in the last 200m by my new nemesis Gordon. Another competitor Daryn easily won the age group. I have never beaten Daryn (raced him many times). I mistakenly thought he was going to move up to the next age group - there goes my chance of winning the series.
July 2014 - Salomon Trail Run 2, Plenty - 2nd in Age Group
Last year we raced the Short Course which was ridiculously tough. The Medium Course follows a different track which did not have the stupidly steep hills, but instead contained a lot more technical sections.
Learning my lesson from the previous race at Kew, I let the leaders disappear and took off at a much more maintainable pace. The super fast guys quickly disappeared out of sight and the rest of field started to thin out without any real packs. After a few kilometres I started picking off runners ahead of me. By half way myself and one other competitor had broken away by ourselves. The leaders were out of sight ahead and there were a few other competitors just in sight behind us.
For most of the second half of the race myself and the other competitor had a great tussle. I was faster on the non-technical sections, but he would close back up quickly as soon as it got technical. Luckily for me the technical sections meant it was impossible to pass, and as soon as a passing opportunity arose I was able to pull away. But the other competitor stayed patient and an opportunity arose with less than 2km to go (of a 12km race). Once passed me, I tried to hang up but he slowly gapped me and that was pretty much the end. I cruised to the finish line only having to put in a spurt over the last 400m as some of the competitors behind started to close the gap.
Elaine loved the race, especially the two rivers crossings that were above knee height. In fact I say it was her all time favourite event.
August 2014 - Salomon Trail Run 3, Olinda - 3rd in Age Group
I had been happy with my Plenty race, but with more training under my belt I was determined to win the age group this time. At 15km, this was the longest race and also the hilliest. Being in the Dandenongs that pretty much goes without saying. In fact the race started at the top of one of the famous Dandenong riding climbs called 'The Wall'.
The first 3 or 4km were all downhill. I hate downhill running as it really wrecks your quads. However there were some sections that I could find a flow and put in some good speed. The steepness continually changed. It was funny that each gradient change advantaged a different runner and we were continually passing or being passed by other runners depending upon who the gradient favoured at the time.
Once the downhill section finished I found myself in a good group and knew there were not too many runners ahead. I assumed that I was probably leading my age group, then disaster struck.
We were running down a gravel road when we came across an arrow pointing right. The runners in front simply moved off the road and up onto the grass next to the road. At the time I thought it strange, but I would often fear we were going the wrong way during these races and decided to simply trust the runners in front. Half a kilometre later we encountered two runners ahead running back towards us. They told us we were going the wrong way and had missed the turn off. As we ran back we informed all the other runners behind us of the situation and a big pack formed as we ran back to the missed turn point.
This meant that all the competitors I had gapped were now back running with me, plus I had also run further distance than all of them. There were also other more alert competitors that hadn't missed the turn off and were now well ahead. But following the course is part of what trail running is, so I cannot complain as I only have myself to blame.
The last 3 or 4kms was all brutal up hill. The fatigue combined with the disappointment of going the wrong way made this final section extremely difficult and I did not finish strong. I was beaten in my age group by competitors I had beaten in the previous 2 races, but at least I had comfort knowing that my running form was pretty good, just needed to work on my sense of direction.
Elaine did not enjoy this race. It was not only the longest, but by far the most difficult. After loving the previous race at Plenty, she was beaten by the Olinda course today.
September 2014 - Bayside Classic - King of the Mountain
After my disappointing bike leg at the first Duathlon, I upped my training on the bike from one ride a week to 3 rides a fortnight. One of the key factors was doing the North Road Ride roughly every 2nd week - this is a very fast and hilly ride with A grade cyclists.
In the past Event Rides I have contested every Sprint and every KOM, so far this strategy has not worked very well. This time I decided to skip the Sprints and save myself for the KOMs. My main aim was the Arthurs Seat climb. I thought I'd save energy by skipping the Olivers Hill KOM and use the Balcombe Hill KOM as a warmup for Arthurs Seat.
Obviously no points up Olivers Hill, but I scored a second place behind Clint up Balcombe just ahead of Brent in third and young Martin in 4th. On Arthurs Seat I didn't have any plan, but felt good through the first hairpin and decided to attack. Griff jumped onto my wheel while Brent and young Martin were happy to ride at their own tempo assuming we would blow up. Arthurs Seat is around 9 to 10% for the first 2km and then eases off a little for the last 500m. I believed I could hold 400 watts for the whole climb, but it seemed Griff could as well as he was glued to my back wheel. About 1.5km into the climb Griff finally started to drop off, much to my relief as I was not looking forward to a sprint finish. He held on for 2nd with Brent in 3rd and young Martin in 4th.
The last KOM up Beleura Hill is very steep but also very short. However Clint starts the actual KOM about 20km before the Hill, so it is a 20km flat out race. Clint, Brent and Griff all managed to sneak off in a breakaway. The rest of us were pretty stuffed, so it took a little while before we organised ourselves, but thanks to Ozzy and Ben we soon had a good chase pack happening and were just keeping the breakaway in sight.
With 3 kilometres to go I could tell the guys in our chase pack were starting to tire and we hadn't really pulled back any distance. So I told them to jump on my wheel and I made a charge to close down the gap. I'm not sure if the others didn't hear what I said, but nobody came with me, so it was a solo charge. I picked a slightly downhill section so that the disadvantage of riding solo would be minimised and absolutely smashed it until I reached Clint, Brent and Griff. It wasn't until then that I discovered Griff had refused to help with the pace making and it had been just Clint and Brent doing all the work - a massive effort to hold off the chase pack of about 10 with just 2 riders doing the work.
Having me reach them, took away a lot of their motivation as they now had 2 riders (Griff and I) just sitting in not doing any work. So it didn't take long for the two packs to join back into one. Once we got to Beleura Hill, the interest level for the KOM was not that high and it was essentially fought out between Griff and myself. Griff had me completely covered, but misunderstood the finish of the KOM and backed off too early handing me the win and the overall King of the Mountain title.
I also tried to contest the final sprint for the overall win, but wasn't able to get into the right position and ended up leading the peloton with 1km to go. Predictably all I did was give Clint a good leadout before everyone else flew passed at the end. The end result was a tie between Clint and young Martin with Brent in third.
September 2014 - Duathlon 3, Richmond - 2nd in Age Group
This was a qualifying race for the 2016 Age Group World Championships to be held in Adelaide. A home World Championships always means strong field for qualifying races and this was no exception. Not only was it a huge field, it was very strong with lots of competitors coming from interstate (especially Sydney) to chase the points for qualification.
I was very happy with my first run. In was right on 18m30s 5km pace, but just eased off a touch in the last 500m in preparation for T1 and the bike. On the bike I smashed it. Much happier than my efforts at the previous Duathlon and felt good running out of T2. This time I held off my new nemesis Gordon and took 2nd place behind Daryn.
The results from this race were enough to secure places on the Australian team for both Elaine and myself.
October 2014 - Bright Alpine Camp
With my riding form looking good, I posted new Strava Personal Bests (PBs) on Mt Buffalo, Tawonga Gap and Mt Hotham. A very promising sign for the upcoming season.
Elaine was also extremely excited about climbing Mt Hotham for the first - an absolutely brutal climb.
November 2014 - TeamUp Triathlon 1, Brighton - 2nd in Age Group, 15th Overall
The main focus was the upcoming 2 Half Ironmans - Mornington and Challenge Melbourne. However I knew this was the last season before some of the gun triathletes from the category below aged up, so my last chance for a while to have a go at the Sprint Distance series win.
A reasonable swim, a devastating bike and a good run saw me take 2nd place, only 10 seconds off first, but importantly ahead of a fast finishing Gordon (my new nemesis).
Including all elites and age groupers, I finished 15th overall and had the 3rd fastest bike split of the race only seconds off the fastest.
November 2014 - Mornington Half Ironman - Won Age Group
While not in the same category as extreme races like Norseman, the Mornington Half Ironman is still one of the toughest Half Ironman races in the world. The bike leg has 4 twisty and undulating laps with no flat sections at all. This is followed by a 4 lap run which turned out to be even more difficult.
The tough course removed any pressure of getting a good time, so it was all about correct pacing and smart racing.
I disappointingly exited the swim about mid field but raced through transition and charged out on the bike in chase of Lynchie, Aurel (my old nemesis), Ray and TriathaDan who all had a good gap on me (my new nemesis Gordon was not racing). By half way I had reeled in all but Ray who was having the race of his race of his life.
I was the 6th Age Grouper overall into T2 and headed onto the run about 30 secs behind Ray, but with a 2 minute lead over Lynchie and TriathaDan. Aurel was too far back to worry about. The run leg was extremely tough contain 3 hills on each of the four laps. The first hill was very steep, the second hill was very long and the third hill wasn't too bad. However it was the downhills that were wrecking my body.
Underestimating the difficulty, I went out a bit too hard and paid for it on the second half. At the half way mark I still had 2 minutes on Lynchie and TriathaDan. TriathaDan was showing signs he was about to fall apart, but then my back started to go. This coupled with the fatigue from starting too quick saw my run go downhill in a hurry. In the end Lynchie beat me by 6 minutes and even TriathaDan managed to pass and beat me by 2 minutes. The only consolation was that my bike leg had given me such a big lead over the other competitors in my age group, that I still managed to hold on for an age group win.
Elaine had a great swim. Her bike was quite slow as expected on such a tough course, but she finished well within the bike cutoff times (ie. when they reopen the road to cars). Once on the run it was not only the hills, but it was also very hot. And in November the heat in races is worse because you haven't acclimatised yet (whereas by Feb your body is used to it). So her run leg was quite slow, but she finished, there were numerous competitors behind her (some a long way behind) and she won her age group.
December 2014 - TeamUp Triathlon 2, Mordialloc - 3rd in Age Group
Being only one week after Mornington, I was originally not going to do this race. But after only missing the win in the previous TeamUp race by 10 secs and believing I had 30 seconds potential improvement in me, I decided to aim for the series win and entered the 5 race series.
Things didn't start off well. It had been absolutely pouring rain all night and it continued to pour rain all morning. Due to flooding on the course the already short bike leg had been shortened from 16km to about 13km. And I arrived at our club tent to discover I had a puncture in my rear tubular tyre. Elaine ran back to the car to get a spare tubular and pump while I tried to rip off the old one (it had been there since 2007 and was well stuck on). Once I had everything fixed, there was no time for warmup, in fact I just managed to sneak my bike into transition before it closed.
We were second age group wave and the first age group went way off line, swimming towards the wrong buoy. I had one of my best ever swims finishing in the lead pack of 5 (including Swanny and my new nemesis Gordon) with only 2 individual swimmers ahead of us. We also swam through most of the previous wave who were fighting the rough conditions to get back on course after they all swam the wrong way.
Once on the bike I quickly set about chasing down Peter (an athlete I am coaching) who like usual had led the swim. I caught Peter before the half way mark, but my new nemesis Gordon was also charging and we both swapped the lead for the entire bike leg (which at 13km was ridiculously short). I would usually have a big gap over Gordon coming into T2, but this time we were side by side and he flew through transition and started the run ahead of me. Being a faster runner than me, I knew the best I could hope for was 2nd place and settled into holding a good rhythm.
We were 2nd age group wave, but had swam through most of the first wave who swam off direction. With the Elites well down the road, I completed the run leg very much alone. It was still pissing down rain and as a result they seemed very short of Marshals (who wants to stand in the rain all morning Marshalling). There were several times I wasn't sure of which direction to go and just continued on in hope (memories of the Olinda Trail Run coming back). Luckily the turnaround point was well manned and I hadn't taken any wrong turns.
The first 3km was paced perfectly with all the kilometre splits within a second of each other. Then for some reason (possibly boredom from running alone for so long) I lost concentration in the fourth kilometre and dropped 15 seconds for that split. With less than I kilometre to go I looked behind and saw Swanny charging me down. I immediately began a surge hoping to discourage his chase, but to no avail as Swanny passed me in the last 200m and beat me by 10 seconds pushing me back to 3rd. To make matters worse, when I checked my Garmin the run course was measured 200m long. The athlete who won the first race did not race due to the bad conditions, but was at the finish line to see how we all went.
Elaine did not race Mordialloc as she was still recovering from Mornington.
December 2014 - Bayside KOM - King of the Mountain
After my great climbing form at the Bright Camp I was favourite to take out the King of the Mountain title and other club members were now scheming how they could team up to beat me.
The first climb '1 in 20' is about 7km long at a fairly constant 5% gradient with a small false flat in the middle. Not steep or long enough for me to really get much gains from my power to weight advantage. My plan was to simply sit in and not really contest this first climb hoping the others would tire themselves out trying to surge against me. Surprisingly the main group was still together with less than 1km to go so I tried a sudden surge to see if I could break away. Brent, who I considered my biggest threat, jumped on my wheel so I immediately gave up the effort. Clint was still in the pack and I was confident he would win any sprint finish, so I was happy to sit back and save energy. Clint won as expected, but unfortunately Clint had changed the scoring system this year from 5,2,1 to 5,4,3,2,1. So it was a tactical mistake to not at least try to pick up some points, especially since I rolled across the top in 6th place with zero points and last year's winner Andrew scored 4 points for second (Brent was 3rd, Ben was 4th and Kon was 5th).
Second climb was Perrins Creek Rd, about 3km long averaging 8%. Of all the climbs, this one suited me the best (the only climb I won the previous year). As soon as we started the climb I exploded off the front and predictably Brent was immediately on my wheel. I believed I could hold 400 watts for the entire climb, so this is exactly what I sat on, but Brent was still sitting on me. We had quickly cleared out of sight of all the other riders and then about half way up I sensed Brent was starting to struggle so I put in a big surge to put some distance between us. A few corners later Brent was out of sight which meant I could hold a more realistic pace to finish, a relief after last year when I had a sprint finish with Andrew for the win. Brent faded and the next group caught and passed him with Andrew scoring another 2nd place and Kon in 3rd.
The Wall, was next, another climb that suited me - about 6km long with a very steep pinch at the start and another one in the middle. Again I exploded off the front from the start, but this time nobody tried to follow. It seemed the last climb had destroyed Brent and everybody else was now scared of blowing up. This was excellent news for me, because it meant I could climb at my own pace without worrying about any surges to try and drop people. I crested the climb well out of sight and still felt like I had a fair bit left in the tank. Luckily for me Andrew only managed a 3rd place this time.
One climb to go and with Clint's revised scoring system, the title was still up for grabs. I had to finish more than one place ahead of Andrew (last year's winner) to take the title by myself. If there was no one between us, we would tie or if Andrew beat me he would win.
The final climb was Inverness back to Olinda. Some short but extremely steep climbs early on, followed by a longish steady climb of around 5% before undulating roads to the finish. Clint liked to describe it as 'like a finish to one of the Classics' (although I think he was always imagining himself winning when he though of it that way). This time I held back at the start and didn't break away until we started to approach the first very steep pinch. Again nobody went with me and I was able to slowly build a gap. Once back on the Tourist Rd I had ridden out of sight and with the steady 5% climb ahead of me, I simply held 300 watts believing nobody could catch me at that speed. Once I finished the steady climbs and hit the undulations is where the problems started. Without the steady gradient I could no longer hold the 300 watts. I knew I would be losing ground and hoped to see the finish line around every corner. After what seemed like an agonisingly long stretch of road I finally recognised that I was almost there. It was at that point that Andrew and Kon appeared on the road behind me. Brent had been helping them by towing them through the undulations and now Andrew and Kon were on full charge trying to chase me down. Luckily the finish was close and I had enough energy to surge to the line. Andrew crossed only seconds later with Kon not far behind.
Coming second meant Andrew had tied with me for King of the Mountains title.
I also scored Strava PBs on the last 3 climbs.
December 2014 - Ben Griffin Classic
3 days after the Bayside KOM, I backed up again for the Ben Griffin Classic. A 170km ride with KOM and Sprint points along the way.
This ride always attracts a huge field (over 100 riders) and also includes some 'A' grade riders who are not members of our club. I discovered this when I made a surge to race up Olivers Hill for the first KOM climb and several other riders flew past me.
The second KOM climb was Balcombe Hill and I was now more prepared. I positioned myself behind two of the very good riders and sat on their wheel as we ascended Balcombe Hill. We quickly disappeared from the rest of the field. But just when I thought I was handling the pace well, the two riders in front both started a series of surges attempting to drop each other. Rather than completely blow up, I let them get a bit of distance. Then each time I would start to claw back some ground one of them would surge again. I never completely lost touch, but was never a chance of beating either of them and was happy with my 3rd place and a new Strava PB.
I'd skipped the first 3 Sprint point competitions, but my aim was to contest the Beleura Hill KOM and then save myself for the overall win at the end. Unfortunately I suffered a puncture at Rosebud on the way back and was never able to rejoin the group.
January 2014 - Back Injury
The day before the Olympic Distance at St Kilda, my back finally gave out. Extremely disappointing seeing as the St Kilda race was one of my two 'A' races and I would also end up missing Challenge Melbourne as well, my other 'A' race.
This also meant I didn't do any more races in the TeamUp Triathlon series, that I had just bought a series entry for. My back would have actually been OK to race the last 2 races at Sandringham (our Club Champs) and Mordialloc (Olympic Distance), but with all the missed training my general fitness simply was not there and I would have been very frustrated with the times had I raced.
Elaine raced both the Olympic Distance at St Kilda and Challenge Melbourne before calling an early end to the season. Having struggled for motivation to train after her huge effort at Mornington, she pulled out of the St Kilda race on the run and didn't make the bike cutoff at Challenge Melbourne.
Elaine's Challenge Melbourne race was extremely frustrating for her. After not being allowed to finish last year due to the heat (which she felt very unfair), she received a free entry to this year's event. The weather this year was terrible. Pouring rain, extremely rough water on the swim and heaps of wind and heavy rain on the bike. The race start was delayed by 10 minutes. Elaine had a much slower than normal swim due to actually feeling sea sick in the water. Then she lost her chain on the bike and took about 5 minutes to get the chain unstuck from between the frame and the chainwheel. Coming in to start her 3rd lap (of 3) on the bike she was told she had missed the cut off by 3 minutes.
Challenge (Supersprint) has offered Elaine a discounted entry for next year, but we will not be trying for 3rd time lucky. Instead Elaine will race her first WTC Half Ironman at Mandurah in WA instead (the WTC races are referred to as 70.3 instead of Half Ironman).
March 2015 - 3 Peaks Challenge - 11h45m
It was a late Winter or early Spring Sunday night after a few glasses of wine that Andrew contacted me suggesting I should join his team to do the 3 Peaks Challenge. A 235km ride over 3 mountains. Rated in the top 10 hardest single day ride events in the world.
Ultra endurance has always been a weakness. I'm excellent over 100km of riding, but my ability starts to drop off pretty quickly after that. I figured training for an event like 3 Peaks will help me get passed this problem. Instead the extra training I undertook ended up being the main cause of my injury. But maybe that's a good thing in the long run, because now I'll stop ignoring my back issues.
This event was always going to be very difficult, but going into it severely under trained was really going to test me. I tend to lean towards races to see how fast I can go and avoid races that are more about toughing it out. This was now definitely going to be about toughing out.
Starting at the top of Falls Creek we had a wonderful descent down to Mt Beauty in the dark. It was quite crowded and initially a lot of the riders around me were too slow, but they slowly thinned out and soon I was rolling down at a nice comfortable pace.
The first of the 3 Peaks is Tawonga Gap. About 7km and averaging roughly 6.5%, but it is far from constant. It is more like 'The Wall' in the Dandenongs with steep sections, followed by the normal climbing sections. Having done this climb several times before, I cruised up without any hassle deliberating going several minutes slower than my PB time. The descent on the other side is one of my favourites, but other riders still managed to crash - where ambition exceeds talent.
From Germantown to Harrietville I sat in a fast bunch. Probably a touch too fast, as I had to put in a little effort to stay in the bunch, where I would have preferred to just sit in and cruise. I should have stopped at the Harrietville rest area, but decided to continue on straight up Mt Hotham.
Mt Hotham is a brutal climb, but this was my 4th time up and all fear has long gone. I simply took a steady pace and crested the peak 14 minutes off my PB climb time. The lunch rest area was in Dinner Plain the other side of Hotham. I expected to descend the whole way and was disappointed to find undulating sections between the peak and Dinner Plain. By the time I arrived for lunch I was completely wrecked and didn't think I'd be able to continue.
I stopped, picked up my special needs bag, refilled the water bottles, dumped clothes to be sent back, went to the toilet, applied sunscreen and then went to collect my lunch. Whilst having lunch they announced that the 9h30m group was about to leave, but any thoughts of a finishing time had gone, now I was just worried about making it back to Falls Creek. Still feeling terrible I went across the street to a cafe and bought a coffee. After a bit more relaxing my body had loosened up enough to allow me to do some stretching - this immediately started to make me feel better and let me think I could still maybe finish.
Realising that not stopping at Harrietville was a mistake, I stopped at every subsequent rest area, lay down, relaxed, ate, did some stretching.
At the Omeo stop, one rider went to the aid station complaining about a sore throat. The aid workers told him that he had obviously swallowed something and that it would work its way down by itself. The fact that he could still talk and ride meant it was not blocking anything and would be fine. But the rider was insistent that the pain was not going away and that he thought it was something more serious, so eventually the aid workers got a torch to check down his throat. The problem was a bee stuck to his tonsil (ie, stinging his tonsil). Immediately the tone of the aid workers changed and they rushed him to the hospital which was luckily just across the road.
While snoozing on the grass at Anglers Rest, Hayley, Adam and Sarah caught up with me. Adam, after suffering badly up Mt Hotham, was on his second wind, Hayley was going through her first bad patch and Sarah was stressing about the cut off times (even though she was miles ahead of the sag wagon). With Adam in the lead we all rode to the base of the last climb that started at WTF corner. The last climb up the back of Falls Creek is about 35km long, starts at the 199km mark of the ride and the first 9km averages 9% gradient. This is not a recipe for fun, hence the corner's very apt name.
The back of Falls Creek climb is all about the first 9km and it is worse than brutal. Maybe it would be downgraded to brutal if riding fresh, but with 199km already in the legs, it is somebody's extremely bad joke. It starts off rotating between stupid steep and very steep every 400m or so. Initially I thought this is not going to be too bad. Then in the middle there is a stupidly steep section that just keeps on going. You look down at your speedo and five minutes later the distance figure has not changed. For most of these steep sections I was doing 4 or 5 kph. The battery in my power meter ran out at Dinner Plain, so I couldn't see my cadence. But without a compact crank, I'm guessing my cadence was something like 40rpm. Around 5km into the first 9km section I told Adam I couldn't keep this up and was going to walk. He encouraged me to go around one more bend, but with the gradient not easing off I couldn't go on. In fact it took all my effort and coordination to clip out without falling off. Once off the bike I was walking almost as fast as the riders going past. When the gradient did ease off I hopped back on my bike and felt 100 times better for the break, passing back a lot of the riders who went passed when I was walking.
One last stop with 25km to go. There was no nice grassy area to lie down, but having the terrible 9km stretch behind me was relief in itself. Adam and Hayley were now ahead having not stopped at this final rest area. Sarah arrived and was still stressing about the cutoff. The last 25km were mostly uphill but not too bad. It just seemed to take forever, but finally made it to the top.
An extremely tough ride, not sure if I'd ever want to do it again.
As for other members of the group Andrew and his friend Andrew (yes same names) smashed the ride in 9h14m. Shane finished in around 9h30m. Adam and Hayley took around 11h30m, Sarah finishing just after me, but because she started later her time was a few minutes quicker. Mick snuck in around 12h40m. Unfortunately Mark had to pull out with bad muscle cramping, tragically only 25km from the finish having completed all the difficult sections.
Elaine is far too wise to attempt a ride as silly as this.
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