Before I get into the juicy details of my Noosa triathlon
experience for this year, I just have to say a massive thanks to
Claire for wrangling the kids, both on the day of the race and during
all the lead up things I had to do. A task which was made more
difficult by her back pain. And also thanks to Graham, for road
tripping for up the day to add to my cheer squad, take photos, and
help wrangle kids.
Pre Race
Due to the massive number of competitors at Noosa, check in and
kit collection is done on the Friday arvo or Saturday before the
race, and bikes are racked the day before.
So Friday arvo arrived, and I joined the far queue for check-in,
and of course it was in the blazing hot sun...
After getting the race kit, and checking that my ankle timing tag
worked, I ventured into the expo. I wasn't happy with my current aero
water bottle, I wanted one of the torpedo style aero bottles...
Bingo! I found one in the expo, and I was going to do something that
you should never do on race day, try something new...
Saturday morning we headed back into Noosa, so I could rack my
bike. Unlike some races, where you get an allocated rack position
based on your number, the racking at Noosa is a free for all, with a
section for each age group.
Bike racked... Tyres deflated... Row number noted...
Now off to the beach to find Claire and the kids. Once I found
them, the next stop was the beach coffee cart – the fact the
barista was in a bikini was just a bonus...
After I had a little play in the water with the kids, I felt like
a short swim around the “swim between the flags” buoys. I forgot
how much my board shorts acted like a parachute... That was harder
work!
Then it was off to the Noosa Surf Club for light lunch a few last
minute liquid carbs.
After lunch we came back to Coolum, spent the afternoon relaxing,
and got my race day kit together.
It was then time for an early, dinner, and early off to bed...
3:30am … BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!! …
RACE DAY!!!!!!
With so many
people racing Noosa and the relatively tight course, wave starts are
the order of the day.
The Elite men
and women start at 6:15 and 6:16 respectively, followed by another 41
waves of age group competitors, then 12 team wave starts. Totally 55
waves from 6:15 to 9:44... I was due to start at 8:26.
Due to the
early start time transition closed at 6:00, which meant being at
Noosa by about 5 am – which was very early for the awesome support
crew!!
After my
transition was set, I had breakfast, a coffee, ensured I remained
hydrated and watched the Elites (and early age groupers) set off...as
well as the Elites finish.
Downing a
bottle a gatorade an hour before start time and I was ready to go!!
SWIM....SWIM....!!!
Unlike many triathlons, where the event starts from the beach and the masses run into the sea, Noosa is a deep water start. About 20 minutes before i was due to start, i made my way from watching the Elite male winner cross the finish to the start.
At this stage i'm always nervous that i've got the wrong time for my wave. Luckily, each wave has a different colour swim cap - my wave had pink! Quick check...yep, plenty of pink caps mingling and warming up. So into the lagoon i dove...trying to forget about the sea-snake which had freaked out the Elite females, at their start!
Rolling the arms around, with a few efforts, felt good. Out of the water i got for a few minutes rest before the start, and i ran into a mate who was starting in the wave after me. All of a sudden, the pink caps all entered the water...wished Andy good luck and then it was GO TIME!!
I know i'm not the world's fastest swimmer so i started toward the back of the wave. Last year at Noosa i copped a few punches and kicks in the swim, which freaked me out a bit and i struggled for the rest of the swim. This year my plan was to relax, concentrate on my form and breathing and what ever happened - DON'T STOP SWIMMING!
Well it worked...my swim was a few minutes faster than last year (and apparently it was long - with people's Garmin data showing between 1650m and 1750m.)
RIDE...!!!
So into transition i ran, goggles off, swim cap off. Some people just ditch the swim cap - but mine was pink, and Em loves pink...so swim the cap was saved!
...ok...where's lane 42...ah there it is. Now, in my previous attempts at Olympic distance races it's been quite easy to find my bike ... this time however, there were actually a number of bikes around mine still racked!! WOO HOO!! My swim is getting faster!!!!
OK...gel down ... drink some water ... helmet, sunnies, bike shoes on (still keeping it simple and not trying the flying leap into shoes whilst running with bike) shove a few gels in pockets ... grab bike and off i go!!
The first bit of the ride is quite technical - narrow sections, round-a-bouts, speed humps - then the roads open up and it's a great rise...
About 10 km into the ride we head up! It's about a 100 m rise in 3 km - so it's not tough but it does interrupt your rhythm.
As i started to ride the hill, i sat up out of the aerobars and thought i'd take a drink...well...that didn't go too well! I grabbed the bottle from the cage behind me seat, and it slipped out of my hand and started to roll back down the hill...
FUCK!
... ok... pull over, get off bike, run down hill after it... Ordinarily i would have left it, but as it was hot i wanted to ensure i had enough water (with electrolyte).
So, back i the bike i jump and get about completing the rest of the hill...
I found the ride a bit tricky to pace - i didn't want to go too hard, as i knew i still had to run and it was only going to get hotter. There were a number of cyclists on the road who were significantly slower than me, and a few who were significantly faster. In theory, Noosa is a non-drafting ride, meaning you can't just sit behind somebody else. But in reality, the course is pretty crowded, so to not draft you need to sit a bit further out in the road... So now we have people passing some people, people passing everybody, and people trying not to draft. This leads to a lot of looking around and general upsetting of rhythm. I suppose with experience this'll get easier.
Now it was time for the downhill - which drops the same 100m, but in about 1500m. Long term readers of my drivel may remember that I'm the world's worst descender, so while others were smashing down at speeds approaching 80kph (or more) i was gently rolling down in the mid 40s. My max speed for the ride was actually recorded on the slight downhill just after the turnaround.
Passing the local Primary School, i can see the temperature has risen from 29 C to 34 C while i was on the bike... aarrgghhh...this run could be fun!
Back into town was uneventful, again dodging weaving, and being dodged and weaved, as the course tightened again...and through the cheering crowd.
there's my entourage "Woo, Hoo! Hey Gang!!" - and on to the transition.
RUN, RUN, RUN...!!!
And off the bike i get...my legs give it a bit of "whoww...what are we doing now..." but after a few seconds it's all good. Before i enter transition a quick look to the right and i can see those who started earlier finishing and relaxing under the hoses...ok, focus, rack bike and go!!!
Quick change of gear, mouthful of water/electrolyte, grab a gel, and GO!!
Onto the run, quick thumbs up to Claire, the kids and Graham and run!
The. Run. Was. HOT!!
Last year the run got the better of me, so this year i was determined to go a little easier, monitor my HR, and get through.
The first few km's were good, HR at a good level, pace good, and i was grabbing a sip of water at each aid station, running through hoses - everything i could to keep cool and assist my body to keep cool so i didn't put that extra stress of cooling on my system.
Through 5k, still feeling pretty good - but at 6k the wheels fell off...i think i was just cooked! Between 6k and 9k I employed a run / walk strategy. I downed a gel at 7k but that didn't really help - having said that, it didn't actually hurt either.
By 9k I was feeling ok again, and with the noise coming from the sides and knowing I was almost home I was able to run properly again!
The support toward the end was great (actually it was great for the entire course), cheers from random people - supporters of other athletes, other athletes, and just random supporters, and High 5's from kids is enough to get you home!
It was also great to get the cheers of support on course from the other MPTC crew competing!
AND DONE!!
At the end of the day i was pretty happy with my performance - yes, i would have liked to get through quicker - but for my first hit of for the season (and getting back recently from injuries) there's no complaints. I'm really happy that i got through the race without injury!!
After a quick dip in the lagoon, a drink of about 47 litres of sports drink and water, and eating 16 watermelons, it was time to go and find the family...
There they are!!
Not sure what i'm saying here - but was i was suggested that i was saying how far off winning i was, to which Claire replied "there, there dear - you've had too much sun..."
Massive thanks to Claire and the kids for the support, and Graham and Cameron from coming up from Ipswich!!
And look... Em and Cameron were cute on at least one occasion!
