Hold onto your seats......
There is something about the atmosphere of transition precinct at a triathlon....the smell of muscle rub, the endless lines at the porta-loos (not to mention their smell), the thousands of dollars of bike hanging by their seats, endless cladded bodies with compression wear, the anticipation of what lies ahead as the hooter sounds.
It is the culmination of many, many hours of training which consists of much blood, sweat and dummy spits. It also indicates the beginning of many more hours of that hard work to successfully achieve the challenges that approach in another Triathlon season.
Personally, I'm a racer, whilst I believe in putting in the hard yards of training before a race, a race brings out my inner being. My gritty determination and mental focus comes to the forefront in a race. (something that is NOT always present in my training regime) For someone who is about to embark on his 6th Triathlon season, I still get somewhat 'emotional' (excited and nervous) leading up for the first triathlon of the season and its even more poignant when the 1st is a 70.3 or Half Ironman....got to love this long stuff!
The Gold Coast Half Ironman being our 'local' HIM for the season tends to be even more of a special race, it's where we have all of the BTS Squad making the effort to be out there on the sidelines, in the beanbags, supporting every athlete they have trained beside throughout the lead up sessions to the race. The encouragement, trash talk and support you get from the other BTS Athletes is such a motivating factor, in the lead up and particularly out there on the run, when it begins to hurt and someone passes on that little bit of encouragement, it gets you through that moment of weakness and hurt.
As I have alluded to, sometimes my training focus can become somewhat distracted and poor excuses and commitment issues become the basis of these distractions. (but you have to remember, without a job, there wouldn't be this addiction) But, if I can manage my time and train for 3 IM and get favourable results, there is really no reason why I can't commit to getting good results for this or any other race this season. What I mean by good results is setting realistic goals based on my lead up (specifically taking into account any niggling injuries). However, this isn't an excuse not to achieve a PB for this HIM, I just need to add cement and stir!! When I'm out there on Sunday there will be no prisoners, it will be a very focused, methodical and OCD approach and I will be trying to do the best of my ability....I'LL GIVE IT A DAMN GOOD GO!! (BTW....age isn't an issue and I still have some good years ahead of me...there is still Kona to conquer)
The race on Sunday is my 8th HIM and I still look forward to facing the challenge of the 70.3 miles.
There is a sort of attraction I have to this distance. There are still goals to be achieved and time to make them happen.
The goal on Sunday is to go sub 5hrs. Whilst not an excuse, the lead up has not been without issues. There has been this continual frustration with niggling injuries. It's now over 12 months I have been managing this back niggle that saw me in quite a bit of pain in last years GCHIM but in saying that, I still punched out a 5h12m with some gritty determination and a lot of positive thinking and talk to myself.
A few other considerations that come into calculation is that it is the maiden voyage for my new TT Bike (Avanti Chrono 2) a very nice ride, even better since I had the recent bike fit. The weight is down and I am feeling good, a few visits to the Sports Nutritionist has assisted me on this front.
The checklist has been prepared and the tubs are beginning to work their magic...it is race week and it's about a focused, calculated approach to go with the training I have put in over the past couple of months, I believe I am a lot more prepared then last year.
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