I was thinking this is the important part of the challenge in terms of finishing the race…if I could get through the cycle leg with nothing mechanically going wrong with the bike I new I could finish.
The next focus was on the 180km I had ahead on the bike leg. The strategy for the bike was to take it relatively easy on the first leg working with a heart rate of around 135bpm. Then on the next 2 laps to push it up to 145bpm. Hydration and nutrition was also a focus throughout the ride to ensure that I was prepared for the 42.2km ahead in the run leg.
Out of T1 to the cycle mount area where I took my time to get into the saddle. I didn’t see any real need to rush this process…it’s not a sprint race! Right foot over and into the cleat then away I went…left foot then clicked in.
The mount area was lined with people, 2-3 deep and it was great to hear the yells of support from the BTS supporter crew as well.
The 2nd part of the challenge had begun…cycling down Buller St to the bridge…it was about getting in the right gearing and to have a bit of a drink. I used the small chain ring at the front for the initial part of the bike course. I also used this opportunity for my body to adjust from the swim to the ride. However, in saying that, the first 10km of the ride was quite hilly and it doesn’t give you a lot of opportunity for your body to recover from the swim. I didn’t really find I needed a lot of time on the bike to recover from the swim due to the fact that I had swum and good (to plan) swim leg that didn’t expend to much of my energy.
Over the bridge and then left into Short St then right into Clarence St…needed to be a little careful up Clarence St as the pebblecrete and pavers they have on the road were a little slippery with the rain earlier this morning. The other thing I was very conscious of was the ripple strips that ran across the road about half way along. The organisers place carpet over these strips to make them a little less bumpy but still I would get off the seat whilst going over them.
Working up the Clarence St rise then followed the coast (Stewart St) veering onto William St then turning right onto Pacific Drive. The cycle course undulates for the majority of the time spent on Pacific Drive, there are 2 inclines that I believe were probably a little more challenging than the famous Matthew Flinders Drive hill these were the hill adjacent Port Macquire Park (near the cricket oval) and hill just before we turned left into Lighthouse Road. But in saying that, I enjoyed the challenge of the hills/inclines throughout the 180km cycle leg. It breaks the monotony of being in the aero position for an extended period of time.
The bike strategy was in place…drinking every 15 and eat every 30min. The aero bottle worked a treat!
Turning left into Lighthouse Rd then right into Davis Crescent which I approached fairly cautiously as it is a bit of a down hill leading into the decent of Matthew Flinders Dr and the road was wet…from this point on the course was relatively flat.
From the Golf Club through to the turn of Houston Mitchell Dr it was flat and opportunity to get down onto the aerobars and go. It is this section of the bike course that I found most challenging especially going out bound. It appeared that we had a little bit of a head/cross wind for the flat section just before we reached the township of Lake Cathie. The focus was on my cadence (90-95rpm) and working to that…especially on the first lap…this is also the first time I would change into the big chain ring.
Tuning right into Houston Mitchell Dr there was approximately 6km to the turn around. This part of the course was again undulating.
Reaching the turn around point just under the hour (58min08sec). At the hour mark I took on ½ a powerbar I found this a little difficult to do…not so much the eating of it but I struggled with getting the thing out of the packet even though I had cut it up and placed it in a snap lock bag (still in it’s wrapper) The trip back in to town was smooth and to plan. I used the aid stations to continually top up the Gatorade cell of the aero bottle and to ensure I had plenty of water to have with the gels.
Coming up to the 1st ascent of Matthew Flinders Dr I changed into the small chain ring and prepared myself for the climb. Reached the top with relative ease (was in my ‘granny gear’) the other thing I did was cut over to the right of the hill which I found wasn’t as steep as keeping to the left. Then up the small but challenging incline of Davis Crt. (this is where this part of the course hits you!) I used the rest of Lighthouse Rd to recover…spinning the legs over at a cadence of around 100rpm. Once back onto Pacific Dr it was back into the big chain ring and using the down hill sections as recovery but still ensuring that I maintain a good speed back into town.
From here the crowds began to grow and grow as I got closer to town and the adrenaline would kick in. At the Stewart St incline I passed the BTS support crew (what a great motivator!!) and then fired off into the centre of town to complete the 1st lap of 60km (in a time of 1hr51min and the 2nd 30km in 53min).
At the 2hr mark it was time for a bit of Morning Tea. That compose of my first vegemite sandwich….mmmm tasty…better than gels anyway!
Out for the second lap….this is the lap I found I had to dig deep…the 30km out to the turn a little more windy than the lap before and it was raining solidly from about the Lighthouse St turn to the Houston Mitchell Dr turn off. The rain was so heavy at times, it sounded like hail hitting my helmet. It was cold…I had goose bumps all over my arms and I struggled to see out of my glasses between them fogging up and the water droplets on the outside. My left quad and hip began to hurt….I struggled through it…there was a lot of positive thought and reflection on how I got through similar times during my training…there was also a lot and I mean a real lot of talking to myself…I had 2 things written on my hand…the left – ‘All good’ and on the right – ‘Achieve the Challenge’ these are just 2 of the things that I kept saying to myself throughout these tough times! Funny enough once I reached the hilly sections I found comfort from the pain I was feeling throughout the flat sections. And yes…the Turtle came reared its head during these tough periods! The third 30km section was completed in a ‘tick’ over 1hr. And the trip home in 54:09
The 2nd lap (60km) was completed in a time of 1:54:39 and the 120km so far in a time of 3:45:33.
Out for the last lap….feeling good. Hydration and nutrition working to plan. However, due to the struggle I had earlier with the Powerbars and that I dropped a Powerbar trying to get it out of my snack pack…I began to get bananas from the aid stations as a source of nutrition at the time when I had planned to have the powerbars. The other thing that I found worked well for me was eating rolled oats biscuits at times throughout the cycle leg...it was a nice change from the gels and bananas.
Again I dug deep on the flat section of the 3rd lap…reached the turn around point …knowing I had only 30km to go and I found that motivating in itself….ascended Matthew Flinders Dr for the last time…(was going to miss that challenge)…through the undulations of Pacific Drive back past the fabulous BTS supporters…through town…onto Park St. Along Park St took my feet out of my shoes and then through the Bike Finish!
The 3rd lap (60km) was completed in a time of 2:02:11 and the 180km in a time of 5:48:11.
Average speed: 30.4km/hr
Average cadence: 82.2rpm
The next focus was on the 180km I had ahead on the bike leg. The strategy for the bike was to take it relatively easy on the first leg working with a heart rate of around 135bpm. Then on the next 2 laps to push it up to 145bpm. Hydration and nutrition was also a focus throughout the ride to ensure that I was prepared for the 42.2km ahead in the run leg.
Out of T1 to the cycle mount area where I took my time to get into the saddle. I didn’t see any real need to rush this process…it’s not a sprint race! Right foot over and into the cleat then away I went…left foot then clicked in.
The mount area was lined with people, 2-3 deep and it was great to hear the yells of support from the BTS supporter crew as well.
The 2nd part of the challenge had begun…cycling down Buller St to the bridge…it was about getting in the right gearing and to have a bit of a drink. I used the small chain ring at the front for the initial part of the bike course. I also used this opportunity for my body to adjust from the swim to the ride. However, in saying that, the first 10km of the ride was quite hilly and it doesn’t give you a lot of opportunity for your body to recover from the swim. I didn’t really find I needed a lot of time on the bike to recover from the swim due to the fact that I had swum and good (to plan) swim leg that didn’t expend to much of my energy.
Over the bridge and then left into Short St then right into Clarence St…needed to be a little careful up Clarence St as the pebblecrete and pavers they have on the road were a little slippery with the rain earlier this morning. The other thing I was very conscious of was the ripple strips that ran across the road about half way along. The organisers place carpet over these strips to make them a little less bumpy but still I would get off the seat whilst going over them.
Working up the Clarence St rise then followed the coast (Stewart St) veering onto William St then turning right onto Pacific Drive. The cycle course undulates for the majority of the time spent on Pacific Drive, there are 2 inclines that I believe were probably a little more challenging than the famous Matthew Flinders Drive hill these were the hill adjacent Port Macquire Park (near the cricket oval) and hill just before we turned left into Lighthouse Road. But in saying that, I enjoyed the challenge of the hills/inclines throughout the 180km cycle leg. It breaks the monotony of being in the aero position for an extended period of time.
The bike strategy was in place…drinking every 15 and eat every 30min. The aero bottle worked a treat!
Turning left into Lighthouse Rd then right into Davis Crescent which I approached fairly cautiously as it is a bit of a down hill leading into the decent of Matthew Flinders Dr and the road was wet…from this point on the course was relatively flat.
From the Golf Club through to the turn of Houston Mitchell Dr it was flat and opportunity to get down onto the aerobars and go. It is this section of the bike course that I found most challenging especially going out bound. It appeared that we had a little bit of a head/cross wind for the flat section just before we reached the township of Lake Cathie. The focus was on my cadence (90-95rpm) and working to that…especially on the first lap…this is also the first time I would change into the big chain ring.
Tuning right into Houston Mitchell Dr there was approximately 6km to the turn around. This part of the course was again undulating.
Reaching the turn around point just under the hour (58min08sec). At the hour mark I took on ½ a powerbar I found this a little difficult to do…not so much the eating of it but I struggled with getting the thing out of the packet even though I had cut it up and placed it in a snap lock bag (still in it’s wrapper) The trip back in to town was smooth and to plan. I used the aid stations to continually top up the Gatorade cell of the aero bottle and to ensure I had plenty of water to have with the gels.
Coming up to the 1st ascent of Matthew Flinders Dr I changed into the small chain ring and prepared myself for the climb. Reached the top with relative ease (was in my ‘granny gear’) the other thing I did was cut over to the right of the hill which I found wasn’t as steep as keeping to the left. Then up the small but challenging incline of Davis Crt. (this is where this part of the course hits you!) I used the rest of Lighthouse Rd to recover…spinning the legs over at a cadence of around 100rpm. Once back onto Pacific Dr it was back into the big chain ring and using the down hill sections as recovery but still ensuring that I maintain a good speed back into town.
From here the crowds began to grow and grow as I got closer to town and the adrenaline would kick in. At the Stewart St incline I passed the BTS support crew (what a great motivator!!) and then fired off into the centre of town to complete the 1st lap of 60km (in a time of 1hr51min and the 2nd 30km in 53min).
At the 2hr mark it was time for a bit of Morning Tea. That compose of my first vegemite sandwich….mmmm tasty…better than gels anyway!
Out for the second lap….this is the lap I found I had to dig deep…the 30km out to the turn a little more windy than the lap before and it was raining solidly from about the Lighthouse St turn to the Houston Mitchell Dr turn off. The rain was so heavy at times, it sounded like hail hitting my helmet. It was cold…I had goose bumps all over my arms and I struggled to see out of my glasses between them fogging up and the water droplets on the outside. My left quad and hip began to hurt….I struggled through it…there was a lot of positive thought and reflection on how I got through similar times during my training…there was also a lot and I mean a real lot of talking to myself…I had 2 things written on my hand…the left – ‘All good’ and on the right – ‘Achieve the Challenge’ these are just 2 of the things that I kept saying to myself throughout these tough times! Funny enough once I reached the hilly sections I found comfort from the pain I was feeling throughout the flat sections. And yes…the Turtle came reared its head during these tough periods! The third 30km section was completed in a ‘tick’ over 1hr. And the trip home in 54:09
The 2nd lap (60km) was completed in a time of 1:54:39 and the 120km so far in a time of 3:45:33.
Out for the last lap….feeling good. Hydration and nutrition working to plan. However, due to the struggle I had earlier with the Powerbars and that I dropped a Powerbar trying to get it out of my snack pack…I began to get bananas from the aid stations as a source of nutrition at the time when I had planned to have the powerbars. The other thing that I found worked well for me was eating rolled oats biscuits at times throughout the cycle leg...it was a nice change from the gels and bananas.
Again I dug deep on the flat section of the 3rd lap…reached the turn around point …knowing I had only 30km to go and I found that motivating in itself….ascended Matthew Flinders Dr for the last time…(was going to miss that challenge)…through the undulations of Pacific Drive back past the fabulous BTS supporters…through town…onto Park St. Along Park St took my feet out of my shoes and then through the Bike Finish!
The 3rd lap (60km) was completed in a time of 2:02:11 and the 180km in a time of 5:48:11.
Average speed: 30.4km/hr
Average cadence: 82.2rpm
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