The race has become a bit of an icon here in Perth, leading to it becoming the biggest Half Ironman event in Australia. It would certainly have to be one of the biggest events we have in the State and is one of my personal favourite races. What makes it so good really just comes down to the atmosphere. Busselton 70.3 is the last race in the local season and is also the WA Long Course Championships. So it seems like everybody who races in Perth is either there racing or watching. There are big crowds and a great buzz. Lots of fun.
It is also the race that I have been looking forward to the least this year. Busselton 70.3 was my second race as a professional. Racing in front of the home crowd, on a course which, if I am honest, doesn't really suit me. I wasn't entirely looking forward to it. Still it is hard to say no to such a great event, so when the 2nd of May rolled around, I was there, toeing the start line.
Despite my concerns, in the end I had a good day. My time was 4.10:24, which got me 14th in the MPRO category and 18th overall. At first I was a little underwhelmed with my result. But reflection and discussions with Daryl have helped me to appreciate the result more. In the end the race went very smoothly and I managed to execute each of the legs close to extent of my current capabilities. Really that is all you can ask for in a race and so based on that I count this race as a success.
In terms of what the race is like, well I did this race last year and so I won't go into a detailed description of the course here. If you would like a detailed description, have a read of this:
2014 Busselton 70.3 Race Report - which includes a detailed description of the course
As you can see from the below map, the only difference between last years course and this years course was that the swim went in the opposite direction.
This change was made because the usual start line was a construction site on race day. Still, not a big change, just meant going left around the buoys rather than right. We all seemed to manage it. I suspect that the revised swim was slightly long, but we all had to do it, so it wasn't a big deal, just made for slow times.
Other than that I think the course was identical to 2014, same roads, same aid stations, nothing major changed. The only real difference between this year and last year was the weather. This year we still had near perfect race conditions, but they weren't quite as nice as last year I think. This year the winds were still very light, although possibly a bit stronger than 2014, but the air temperature was near freezing (literally). When we started the swim the air temperature was around 3 degrees and it was still around that when we jumped on the bikes in our wet trisuits. It made for some chilly riding and some unhappy legs for the first 10km or so of the bike.
Whilst we have had very good conditions for the last two or three editions of this race, I will take a moment to reiterate my warning from last year. The weather in Busselton can turn nasty. It can be windy and rainy, windy and hot, still and cold, anything really. Don't assume that great conditions are guaranteed. When the conditions are good though, they are very very good.
So that is what the race course is like, what was my race day like?
As I said above, this was my second race as a pro and the field at Busselton was by far the strongest I have raced in. So the learning curve was always going to be steep. Moving to the start line and getting ready to go though I put that from my mind and just focused on what I needed to do.
Preparation for Busselton had gone quite smoothly. Other than a brief scare with a cold a couple of weeks ago the lead up had been a month of solid quality training. I felt like things were moving nicely enough and that I had a good race in me. The immediate lead up had gone well too. The night before the race I had got enough sleep, transition set up etc had gone smoothly. I got to the start line good to go. My only uncertainty at the start was whether I should have put on more clothes for the ride leg. In the end though I had decided to stick with my normal race kit and just put up with the cold until I got warm.
Standing on the start line, my plan for the race in front of me was a simple one. Do what I could in the swim, stick to the numbers on the bike, work with people if the opportunity presented itself and then run controlled. Beyond that I wasn't really sure what the day would hold. After a good warm up, I was on the line and ready to find out.
The gun went and the wade out was a long one, with probably three or four dolphins before I got to swimming depth. Once we were swimming my first thought was, 'this isn't to bad'. That was followed not too long afterwards with, 'oh yes it is'.
The swim leg was not a great one for me. I worked hard early to stay with the lead pack, but lost them after a few hundred meters. I kept working hard to get a good position in the second pack, but by around 700m I was really hurting. I remember thinking, 'I can't believe we aren't even at the turn yet' and knowing I would have to slow down. I did so and lost a bit of ground to the guys in front of me. Whilst I lost their toes I didn't lose sight of them though and managed to follow them around the turn and back to the beach. Once I slowed down I was feeling much more comfortable and was able to regain a little bit of lost ground. At the time I felt like I was bringing up the back of the pack, but looking at the results I was sitting in about 15th. I ran out of the water on numb feet just behind Stefan Kolm and David Mainwaring in a time of 26.41. At the time I was entirely unimpressed by how the swim had felt.
Running through T1 on numb feet and putting on my helmet with numb hands was an interesting experience. In the process I lost David Mainwaring but moved out of transition ahead of Stefan Kolm. I jumped on the bike and got on with the process of getting blood flow into my legs.
I knew that it wouldn't be very fun and it wasn't. Getting the legs moving up to race pace when they would really prefer to sit down and have a hot chocolate is hard work. On top of that the rest of the body was freezing too with numb hands, arms and feet.
Once out on the bike I was on my lonesome, with nobody nearby either in front or behind. I had sort of been expecting that situation so I just put my head down and got on with it. Find my numbers and stick to them. Riding like this got me through to the far turn, then not long after that Simon Billeau came past me. I made the decision at that point to drop back to 12m and stick with him, which I did all the way back into town.
Following Simon my power output started to drop and I was questioning whether I was doing the right thing by racing his race rather than mine. However, at the same time I was quite certain that he was riding faster than I would have done if I was alone, so I stuck with it as we headed out on the second lap.
During the second lap I started to regain feeling in my hands and arms and could now grip a water bottle with a bit more confidence. Still couldn't feel my feet though.
Moving through the Tuart Forest for the second time we picked up top age grouper Blake Kappler and then not long after that Giles Clayton. With a few more people in the 'group' our speed increased and we made good time back into Busselton. That final 22.5km of the ride was my quickest split.
At this point I should explain that whilst we were riding 'together' we were still maintaining the legal distance of 12m. At that distance there may not be much aerodynamic advantage, but the psychological advantage of riding with other people is huge.
Coming off the bike I was somewhere around 14th position. My split for the bike was 2:13:45, which was quicker than last year, but a bit slower than I had been hoping for.
Moving through T2 and onto the run I still couldn't feel my feet, but other than that I was feeling good.
Perhaps it was the numb feet, but for some reason I didn't head out too quick on the run for once. Rather I slotted almost immediately into my planned pace and tapped away. The kilometres went by quickly on the first lap and I headed out onto lap two still feeling really good.
My pace for lap one had been slightly quicker than intended and on lap two the pace came back closer to what I had intended. I was glad to see that it didn't get any slower than that though and I ran on at a pace that was feeling very sustainable. On lap two there were a lot more athletes on the course, with lots of speedy guys heading out for the first lap. I let those athletes go and just kept on ticking away.
Heading out on the third lap and my heart rate was still in my target zone and whilst I was feeling tired, I wasn't redlining at all. The first kilometer of lap three was a little bit slower and so to make sure I kept the pace moving I jumped on the heels of somebody coming past and made myself keep pace until I was close to the far turn. That got me into the final few kilometers of the race, and the rest really took care of itself from there. Once into the final kilometer I was back amongst the clubs and the crowds and it was like running downhill. I turned down the chute, along the carpet and then I was home. Run time of 1.26:47. Overall time of 4.10:24, 14th in the MPRO and 18th overall.
As I said above, initially I was a bit disappointed with my time. The time was a PB for this course and I was happy enough with my position, but I had been hoping to go quicker. With a bit of time to reflect though I have come to view the race was more successful than my initial impressions. It certainly didn't set the streets of Busselton on fire, but it was a solid, measured race, that I think I executed well. Those sorts of races don't happen all that often and so sometimes that is success in itself. I am certainly much happier with it now than when I first crossed the line. It may not be part of my career highlights reel, but it was definitely a race to be satisfied with.
As well as that, it was a great relief to get this race done. As I said above, I wasn't really looking forward to this race all that much. To get through it and to be happy with the day is a big weight off my mind. Plus to tick off pro race number two is also a bit of a big deal for me at the moment.
So that was my day at Busselton 70.3 2015. I think I will mark it down as a win.
As usual, before I finish this off, a quick shout out to everybody who helps me out. Mizuno Running Australia, Swim Smooth and Hammer Nutrition for supporting me. Break Your Limits for the cheering and the pizza. Tom Kroyer for the photos. Churchill Cycles for continuing to let me in the front door. Daryl Stanley for saying 'please don't over think this'. And of course Mum, Dad, Shell and the kids for putting up with me, cheering loudly and making this fun.
I should also say a big thanks to Traithlon WA and TriEvents for putting on a yet another great race despite the very difficult circumstances.
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