Saturday morning start a little later then usual. We had arranged to meet everybody from the squad who was doing the race at 8.00am for a spin around some of the bike course. The conditions at this time were very pleasant and there was little indication that it was going to reach the 44degree high which was predicted for the day. The spin went off without a drama.
Then it was back to the apartment to change and then off for some breakfast. We were at a place that was looking out onto the bay which we will be swimming in the next day. The weather conditions change within 30min....before breakfast it was a very pleasant temperature and then throughout a time in the cafe things quickly changed.....we saw the winds pick up and the swell in the bay began to become quite big (about half to 1m). Then we walked outside OMG it was as though we had walked into a convection over the temperature had doubled...well close to it. It was incredible....now we believed that it may reach the top of 44 degrees. We went back to the apartment for a bit of a midday sleep and prepared our bikes for transition a little later in the afternoon
At around 2.00pm we walked our bike down to the transition area. WELL!!! It was now HOT...WINDY and a little uncomfortable. I'm glad we didn't decide to ride down because it would have been an interesting experience...particularly in an aero helmet and deep rim wheels. Walking was difficult enough! A walk was only about 2km but by the time we had reached the transition precinct the bike computer had reached a top of 52 degrees.....NICE!!!
Went through registration and the into transitions to rack the bike. The Geelong organisation is very good, this doesn't take very long at all to do. The racks are marked with your bike location. Plenty of room between bikes and a grassed surface.
Back to the apartment for a bit of relief for a while before we were out for dinner....of course it was to be a bit of a pasta feast. By the time we went to dinner the temperature had come done quite considerably and was quite comfortable. However, the was a rumour that they measured the water temperature on the Saturday and that it was at 24.7 degrees....well...that meant no wetsuit. There were some people within our party who weren't (you could say...) particular happy with this news....You do have to wonder that if you take the temperature of the water on a day when it reaches in excess of 44degrees it will be rather 'bath waterish'. It was forcast to drop to 11 degrees Saturday night and have a top of 22-23 degree for Race Day. They were going to take it again in the morning....good idea really...more realistic reading I would have to think. :-)
Back to the apartment, put the final OCD preparations on putting my gear together the off to bed about 9-9-30 for a 4.00am start in the morning.
It was time...the beeping of 2 alarms were alerting me to the fact that it was time for my assault on the Snap Geelong 70.3...and I was feeling quietly confident about my day...but it was only early.
Tri gear on...lub up the parts that need some protection, timing chip on...
Breakfast.....pancake with maple syrup, banana and a bottle of sports drink.
5.00am made our way down to transitions on foot and with 3 bags of gear.....BTW...this race was going to be gadget free (...Garmin free and no heart rate monitor) just a stopwatch and my bike computers...and to tell you the truth...I was handling it very well.
5.30am into transitions to organisation the bike and the associated area.....tyres pumped up...3 bottle on...areo bottle on and filled (except for the water compartment)....snack bag on....gels taped to cross bar....helmet and glasses on the bars....towel on the ground...bike shoes prepared and positioned...run shoes prepared and positioned...sock prepared and positioned...food/gels for run in place....all ready!!!!
Bit of pre race visualisation happening above.....
6.45am made our way down to the swim start. Feeling rather nervous.....this very often means that it could be a good race!
7.05am BANG the gun goes off
The Swim
As usual it is a bit of a struggle to really get in a rhythm early with your swim with so many people all starting at once. By this stage of my triathlon career there are no real issues with getting in amongst it and mixing with the other in the good old ruckus of a swim start...particularly at a IM or HIM race. Its something you just have to get conditioned to. It was last year in this very race I ruptured my ear drum in the swim after coping a hand/arm to the side of the head...it is about building a bridge and getting over it...can't worry about the argy bargy of a swim start...just need to get in and join in!
About half way down the 1st leg it spread out a little and I started to pick up the pace a bit and began to get into that really comfortable rhythm....I was feeling very good!....then the next challenge was to negotiate the 1st buoy....not much swimming here....everybody wanted there bit of water going round the buoy and people were literally climbing over each other to get round the buoy...good fun! Rounded the buoy and then after about 100m I was able to get back into the rhythm...headed to the next buoy then round the last and head for the swim exit....left the water feeling really good....looked down at my watch and to my surprise I left the water in about 28min....wow..I was wrapped....ah...but hang on I still had 2 legs to go.....time to refocus...race face ON! (Sorry guys... :p )
T1:
Ah...the wetsuit....really does have issues with coming off!
Socks on...bike shoes on....glasses on...helmet on...bananas in back pockets...grab bike....out to the mount line....nice...under 3 min...bit of record for me....hmmm...no gadgets...maybe that had something to do with it.
The Bike:
No flying mounts....onto the bike...one leg after the next. The cycle legs consists of 3 x 30km out and back loops over an undulating course. Straight out of transitions its up a hill. For the 1st 15min I stayed in the small chain ring to get my legs turning over, take in some liquids and food (gel) then stepped it up into the big chain ring....the legs were feeling good as I turned out onto the highway and headed out for the first turn.
The focus was on ensuring the correct hydration and food intake, ensuring good bike form...reduce the amount of 'turtle' action that occurs, work on a cadence of between 85 and 95rpm.
I was going out in this race to do exactly that RACE....it was about giving my all...with no HR monitor on me I was working to perceived effort...in other words...listening to the body....being a Tim Whisper really. This work fabulously throughout the cycle leg.
I completed the 1st lap in about 49min...out for the second and at the turn...it began to rain and this rain continued for the rest of the cycle. With the rain came a nice headwind coming back towards transitions...oh well...that's racing for you...I just knuckled down and worked through it....Just to add to this return trip the course has a very long slight climb from the turn for about 3-5km...it was a great challenge on the 2nd lap and even more of one on the 3rd when things (you could say) didn't get any better.
Needless to say...when there are wet roads and white lines there are some carnage.
I rode into dismount line to stop my watch at 2hr 32min.
T2:
Out of the shoes before the dismount line.
Off the bike...straight to my racking position.
Running shoes on...hat on....gels in back pocket....pick up banana.
The banana is a new thing that I experimented with for this race. I ate the banana straight out of transitions whilst running. The idea was to make sure that I started the run relatively well fueled after the bike.
The Run:
The run is a 3 x 7km loop course which is undulating and the surface varies from concrete, bitumen and gravel. 
The strategy for the run is to firstly not walk, drink cola and water most of the way round and use the power of positive thought.
The three laps we run with relative comfort, the slight inclines were at time a challenge but nothing a bit of positive thinking would.
The cola and water worked really well and I didn't use the gels I took with me at all throughout the run.
I also believe the banana at the start of the run set a good nutritional platform for the run.
Run Time: 1hr43min
It was apparent to me that I had had a good race on the last lap of the race and was feeling rather 'up-beat' about the achievement.
The total time break downs were:
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