Just finished racing Port of Tauranga Half Ironman, new PB of 3 hour and 55 min....including a 3 minute penalty, and a distraction time of who knows! Was pretty rough getting my first penalty from a ruling which didn't seem fair (guy made a pass then slowed down, causing me to be in the '12m' spacing and apparently not giving him enough room within 30 seconds?) especially after riding 75km solo after missing the front group of riders out of transition, but thats racing and shit happens.
Back to the start of the race though, the swim was choppy conditions which I actually quite like! Was able to get a good start, get into the front group and get into a rhythm. My goggles got pretty fogged up after a about the first 500m so the rest of the swim was lets say, more finding feet than sighting the buoys. New goggles on the to do list!
Came into transition with the group so was looking up at the stage, but the this is where the big learning from this race came (pretty much over learning stuff now lol), I was to focused on getting into my bike shoes when I should just get on the bike and put feet on pedals and haul ass...worry about the feet in shoes once at speed! Seems pretty practical right...
So missed the group on the bike again and didn't have the power/strength to put in the effort to catch them, like Simon Cochrane did....good man! Anyway, road the rest of the bike basically solo, few guys providing help for a few minutes..and thought when Cam Brown came passed I might be able to pace with him to the front group but there was no shot in hell I was holding that terminator for any serious length of time!
So along came the Tech official and the penalty.. shitty shit shit... but got through that mental battle and sat the penalty, finished the bike and got on the run. Plan was to pace the run out and try to have an even split for the 21km but that had gone out the window, so just thought "stuff it" and buried myself. Pretty happy with that decision though as I was able to run myself back into 8th place from 15th (I think) and have shared equal run split with Cam Brown (74min) and 9 seconds behind Braden, who again had a sweet race and got a new course record..legend!
So, again good learnings...but over learning now, so next up in Geelong 70.3 and you'll be sure I am going into that one with even more fire in my belly!
Loved the new bike, went super smooth! Thanks for the support from friends, fam and sponsors!! SKINS, HOKA ONEONE, DIMOND BIKES, BALANCE SPORTS NUTRITION.
The last 2 weekends I have competed in 2 70.3 races in Asia. One in Subic Bay, Phillipines and one in Taitung, Taiwan. Both of these races went let's just say 'not as planned' and has meant that I have had a disappointing end to the last 5 months of races were I have done 6 Ironman 70.3 distance races. Subic Bay race was tough, hot and really competitive. I felt pretty worn out and couldn't quite get myself into the groove but was able to get across the line and tick off another race, and get a 'free' towel! Taitung, was much the same, with an ok swim just dropping off the front pack, leading me to riding solo and again not feeling like I had much power in the legs. Got on the run and just wasn't feeling my usual self both physically but more importantly mentally. I decided to pull the plug and DNF. I believe it was the right thing to do, as if our head ain't in the game, how can your body be. It's a learning about periodising racing and especially early in my career, I cant expect to compete against the best in the world not firing on all pistons. These were early season races for these dudes, they were hammering. 
BUT, instead of reflecting more on the races and where I didn't go well specifically, I think it's best to look at the experience of racing professionally in Asia. As my sister said which I think is a good way to look at it all, I got some really good 'market intelligence.' Both events were very different, apart from that the field of athletes which was high quality! The whole idea of going to Asia was to race second tier pro fields, but that was thrown out the window pretty quickly and at the end of the day it was a good case of 'baptism by fire', and I believe it's better to race against the best, in environments I'm unfamiliar so that I know what to expect when I come back in the future, as a real contender for the win.
In both locations the weather played a role and especially in the Phillipines it was punishing! Learning quickly that it's far more than just swim, bike and running well in these locations but also managing the weather, the different cultures, which had a big effect on the food you can eat. Being to picky about Gluten free doesn't really work, especially for a leaner guy like myself. I can't afford to miss or minimise my food intake.
By talking and observing the guys in the pro races they have been racing for a long time, even the younger ones, and have the experience to know how to manage all aspects of racing, where I still am a rookie finding my feet in the sport. It was cool to be able to meet other pros and good dudes like Guy Crawford (NZ) Johannes Molden (GER), power house on the bike and Kevin Collington (US), fellow Hoka Athlete. Kevin said to me that it takes time to find your groove in professional racing and that it will take a few seasons of racing to start to feel comfortably and understand the dynamics of racing, especially on the bike. Was nice to hear this from another pro, who has been doing it for a while and has had good success in the sport. Which made it cool to see him have a great race in Subic. Of course all of this has already been told to me by my coach and reaffirming what he has told me about being patient but I am the kind of guy who learns best through first hand experience, good and bad!
There are some really clear priorities that have come out of the whole trip and again I am very lucky to have been able to go and see two more parts of the world I hadn't seen. It is because of this trip that I definitely know what the target is and where I need to get to.
'Research is all about understanding the current situation to help grow and capitalise on opportunities in the future.'
I believe these races have been fundamental for me in my progression within Triathlon/Ironman. Time to reboot and go into a solid training/ training trips.
