I came into the race feeling pretty good. I’d done some good sessions and been consistently training for 3 months. Or so I thought.
When my arms fell apart at half way in the swim, I started to question if the weeks without swimming more than 3km total set me back than the one week of swimming 10km a week before the race.
Andy Potts had dropped me about ¼ through the swim, then gained a little time in the first 30miles of the bike, and then another 15minutes to fly through the course in all three legs and win by miles and miles.
When my legs left me at 50km on the bike I thought maybe the frequent riding I’d done a week out from the race wasn’t enough to make up for the weeks of very little riding and only one 5hr ride in 5 weeks since arriving in the US.
I headed out on the run at a comfortable pace and made up several minutes on Romain Gulliumaire to take 2nd place right on half way. I’d already walked a few aid stations but I was cramping and not feeling good. I walked as much as I could comfortably without getting too scared of Gulluimaire catching me in the second half but it wasn’t enough. I was slowing down and feeling worse.
I was very happy to see the finish as my legs were getting incredibly heavy. I went into the medical tent after a few interviews and photos and got 1L of Saline IV. Later that night, around 7:30pm was the first pee I’d done since 6:30am. At this point I knew that I had gone into the race dehydrated, and had been dehydrated since arriving in the US 5 weeks earlier.
I was training in 90+ (30degrees) everyday, was dehydrated to start from the long haul flight, and I guess never recovered before Lake Placid. A big lesson has been learnt, and although it’s a little late I’ll be speaking with my nutrition brains Darryl from Shotz on how to fix this asap and how to avoid it in future.
Part 2
One Hit Wonder.
I did want to do well at Lake Placid Ironman. I did want to win. I wanted to break my “one hit wonder” tag of the last few years in Hawaii.
With injuries showing up in the early part of the year for 3 years straight now it makes it difficult to properly plan a solid season, however it makes it easy to focus on Hawaii.
But I love to race and I love to win. And for a few years my season seems very thin with races, and even thinner with wins.
Not that there is anything wrong with being a One Hit Wonder – especially if Hawaii is the Chart that I’m riding high on – but I for the rest of the year and the rest of my resume I want to fill it in with experiences and adrenaline and money!
Imagine if you sat at your desk all day everyday for a year and the only time you felt proud of what you accomplished was for one day of the year.
Don’t get me wrong though. Sure I’m happy, I enjoy what I do, I love seeing new places and meeting new people. I have a cool job for those other 364 days of the year too and I get to spend a lot of time with Jaimie and get to share a lot of my experiences with her. I’m very lucky. But I’m really a passionate guy on the inside and I need more than just those regular emotions of my day to day work to really feel like I am achieving something with my life.
I live to love what I’m proud of. – I just made that up! I think it’s pretty good. Proud of that. J
I want to be my best. I want that perfect day where I feel my best and I want it more often. And I want to be the best.
I’m heading to Philippines 70.3 from NY on Monday, and hopefully I can take the time to rehydrate my body and get ready for a solid day and a good result. Then I head back to Australia to spend the 2 months at home preparing for Hawaii. No races. No travelling. Just pure training and routine. Just like I had before Cairns 70.3 when I had the fastest bike split and won by miles. I want that again and I’m ready now to work for it after a broken up 7 weeks of travelling and racing.