So after years of being asked the question "When will you finally step up and do the half?" The time came to finally attempt a long distance race...
With a turn of events, and the second round of the Dextro Energy World Triathlon Championships in Japan cancelled due to the recent devestating circumstances there, I finally decided 48 hrs out from the event to race.
Not the ideal preperation to go into my fist Half IM, but with a whirlwind of organising myself it was set in stone and I was very excited to finally have the opportunity to race the full distance. With my training and focus still clearly being on short course, I went into the race wanting to use it as training and race preparation for my races coming up in Europe. I was not concerned at all about the load as my normal training regime covers what is required for a Half anyhow,..but I must admit the specificity of the training for this race had not been there at all, so was honestly going into this race with no idea on how i would perform over the new distance.
A 9 degree chilly race morning was a little stressful as I left myself a little short on time to get organised, and the vital last minute toilet stop que stole my last much needed minutes of preparation! So running to the start line throwing on swim caps oil and goggles on the run got me there with lets just say minimal time to spare.
Gun blast! We are away, on this iconic water start, with the sun still rising, the jetty to our left and 2100 nervous competitors lining the swim, what an awesome race to kick start a Half IM. My swim went ok, nothing super, nothing catastrophic, just a lack of ability to swim staright lost the feet of the front pack which i was quite unhappy with myself about. None the less, a positive start exiting the water with a 25 second lead on the second female, it was out to the bike, which is where I anticipated would be the most challenging leg of the day for me.
I had decided to race the bike leg quite conservatively, not knowing if i had the 90km of intensity in my legs. As the leading girls cycled about 8 mins on the bike into me, i'd love to say was all because I didnt have a sperm helmet!..but alas im sure it was their stonger legs! I followed my race plan.
The run was honestly so enjoyable for me. The amazing local support, combined with some surprisingly light footed legs, and realing back in time on the leaders..well I felt great! Coming into the final lap i thanked my body for still feeling good!, uped the pace and successfully ran into second in the final km!
With a massive thanks for all the energetic support from my mum and dad, friends, family, sponsors, and local triathlon community, I am certainly stoked to walk away with such a positive and special experience from my long awaited half debut! And as always the enjoyment of seeing so many people complete their first ..or multiple half IM's, makes that finish line so electric. Strangely enough that electric feel always seems to run over onto the dance floor that night!
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