Race Day - the bike

Leaving transition

As I moved thru transition, collected my bike and ran over the mount line, all I could think about was the carnage I had seen at the ITU Age Groups race where people were rushing and were falling off before they even started.  So I stopped and took time to lift my leg over the bike and clip in my shoe.  I saw the crew before the mount line but I couldn’t stop to talk as folks behind me, but as I was getting on the bike I heard my coach yelling out.  I was so excited on my swim time I yelled “did you see my time”, she replied with “yes come on get on your bike”, she didn’t seem very interested at all, nothing like a little refocus!

My goal on the bike was to hold a steady 30kph average which should get me around the 6hr mark for 180k, publically I had told a few people I wanted to beat my coaches bike time when she did the Ironman (6:45).  What I didn’t tell anyone was my secret goal to go sub 6 hours.  But I knew it was going to depend on the conditions which were hot and the breeze/wind was building.

On the first leg out to Reporoa I remembered from a book I had read that if you plan to eat solid food, which I was, then begin to prepare the stomach by drinking water first.  So this was my focus for the first 20min, that and getting myself up the small hills coming out of Taupo township. 

Passing thru town

Once on the straight I moved into the aero bars and got underway to build that 30kph avg I was hoping for.  The outward leg is sweet, gradual downhills allow you to build a good speed, rocking along around 45kph.  I knew from the Taupo Half IM that the return leg is gradual uphill and normally headwind so I would need the extra speed now if I wanted to hold the average.  I focused on eating and drinking.  From my race plan I knew I needed to drink at least one bottle of fluid for every hour on the bike i.e. 6 bottles.  I read a sign on the side of the road that mentioned “CANTAB Chris”, oh shit that’s me.  Then I started looking for and reading all the signs.  I reckon there were at least 40-50 signs on the bike leg that I saw.  It seemed that for every 5 signs for ME, was 1 sign for someone else.  Each sign brought a massive grin to my face and encouraged me to keep pushing for a good ride time.

I came across the first hydration station, threw my empty water bottle in the drop zone and started yelling water to the volunteers who had a selection of drinks available (water, carbo drink and coke).  The volunteer would hold out the bottle and run with you a little so you could grab it and keep riding.  As I was yelling out “thanks mate!” I realized I hadn’t quite figured out how I was going to get the nuun tablet from by pocket and drop it in to the water whilst I kept moving.  Determined to stick with the race plan and recalling the cramp I had in the Taupo Half IM I stopped a few metres up the road and fluffed around to get the nuun in the water.  This stopping wasn’t helping to maintain my 30kph average!

At all the intersections of Broadlands Road supporters had setup camp, as I was passing one of those intersections I saw Gusy and Camp Mother  preparing to unfold the deck chair so yelled out a loud “YO YO YO” to get their attention.  It worked and I got a big cheer!

There was a new drafting rule for this race which stated you had to be 10 metres behind the front wheel of the person in front of you.  Well good luck with that in the first 40+ ks as not so easy when 20 odd riders all travelling at the same pace.  Lucky for us I think the technical officials gave some leeway on this, initially anyway.  We had the guy on the motor cycle next to us yelling for us to sort out the drafting.  Overtime this became easier as the groups started to stretch.  At the turnaround point at Reporoa the technical guy was there reminding us of the drafting rule and threatening to ticket us from now on, this would mean a 4min penalty, on your 3^rd warning you would be disqualified.

As expected the return leg was significantly slower with a headwind to start things off.  Because I know it was coming it didn’t throw me, I just stayed focused on nutrition and maintaining a speed as close to 30kph as possible.  All the support signage was entertaining as I tried to make sure I read every sign I spotted, I had lost count now of how many there were.  I passed the support crew at the same intersection, they were smart and had crossed the road, good one! They were also better prepared, deck chairs were out, more signage was up and Im sure I spotted a chilly bin of goodies.  This time they had spotted me coming, lots of screaming and yelling.  Was very cool!!

High 5s to the Crew

Approx 10k from Taupo is what riders call Heartbreak Hill, I remember it well from Taupo Half IM as it did break my heart as I slowed to a crawl.  The hill itself is not significant, however add a headwind and some fatigue from the riding you had already done, then you know all about it!  I was better prepared this time as I knew it was coming.  I stopped looking at the Garmin and focused on looking ahead, I kept reminding myself it was OK as the avg was sitting at 31.8kph and I knew that this was temporary and the ride into town was predominately downhill which gave me an opportunity to pick up speed again.

As I was heading out for the 2^nd lap I passed the 90k marker, I took a quick look at the Garmin and it said 2:55, sweet on track for a sub 6 hours J.  I was on the lookout going up the start Napier/Taupo road out of town, it is an uphill leg, a good place for spectators as you have to slow down.  Yup there they were, the crew in their Team Chris t-shirts.  Two groups spread the length of the pathway.  How could you not smile with all this support!

OK, back on the straight and back to work, the wind was building and I managed to crank the bike up to 50kph, I knew this mean’t the leg home was going to hurt!!.  With some more practice at the bottle swaps I had worked out if the lid was not to tight I could unscrew it whilst I biked.  With a little juggling and using the mouth I could get the nuun tablet into the water bottle without stopping.  Although as I found out not so cool when you don’t screw the lid just right and then squeeze the bottle, once I did get doused in a half bottle of water.  Buggar!  At one station I had picked up a carbo drink but I took one sip and threw it back and got a water, then stopped down the road to add in my own carbo powder.  Much better!  I wasn’t about to take any risks with nutrition.

At one point I wondered if I was pushing the bike leg to much, after all I did have to run a marathon yet.  But I felt Ok and certainly no worse than any prior training session, so I continued to push on.  As I turned at Reporoa for the final time I began to notice that the folks around me looked pretty dam fit and they all had full carbon bikes with expensive looking wheels, much flasher than my entry level carbon bike.  I was feeling pretty good about this, especially when I started to notice how many folks where behind me.  Essentially as I was on my final leg anyone riding towards me was behind me.  This gave me the pep to keep going and distracted me from the almighty headwind which I have been expecting.  I knew after 170k Heartbreak Hill was going to be a real tester.

You do see some sights! For me it was watching a guy who had just past a station with a portaloo, take a wee wee on his very flash bike.  He was biking very slowly and the wee was running a steady stream down his legs and into his shoes.  Man o man, surely that is not a cool move, I mean I could understand the Pros, but this for this guy, surely it would be uncomfortable, smelly and it would stick with you all thru the run leg.  Yuk!  I made sure I past him with a wide berth so I didn’t get any splash back and I gunned it so he wouldn’t have the opportunity to pass me either.

I swear I saw more signs on the return leg than what I had seen the first time round, but I was pretty sure no 

one had been adding any ??  I remembered Camp Mother had asked me what I was going to do on the bike for 6 hours, for example Gusy apparently plays a word game.  For me it turned into a spot the sign game, much more fun J As I approached the crews intersection I noticed it had grown in size, with a few more faces.  Many had their hands out so thought to go for a few high 5s, but at the last minute thought better of it.  I mean how embarrassing to fall off!!

The headwind was hard work and you could tell folks were getting tired, this drafting rule was a pain in the ass, you would get a plonker who would speed past then sit up to take a drink or a rest, which meant you have to slow down to ensure you got 10 metres back before the 20sec was up.  I got a bit pissy after the 5^th person did this to me, so I cranked up a gear and blasted past a heap of them and kept riding to make sure I got away.  Unfortunately it was an on-going issue and as a result I had to give up on my sub 6 hours and became resolved to merely beat coach’s time.

Here we go, heartbreak hill.  The good news, only 10k of the bike to go!, bad news this is going to be slow and it’s going to hurt for a wee while.   Now part of the signage had photos of the support crew, including some who were there in spirit, I wondered if the person who placed the signs knew how ironic it would be to have a picture of Bryan half way up Heartbreak Hill?  I suspect not.  When I saw his face all I could think about was his witty one liners, in particular “pain is only weakness leaving the body”, of course it is a load of @#$! But it made me grin into the head wind and keep going.  I had stopped eating solid food on the homeward leg and focused on finishing all my carbo drink. 

Off at the dismount line

When I approached the dismount line, there was some of the crew cheering me on, awesome!.  The bike was handed over to a catcher and I ran to collect my T2 gear bag.  Just like T1 your number is called and a volunteer is holding your bag ready for collection as you head to the change tent.  This time, as soon as I sat down I could smell myself, yummy!  I kept apologising to the volunteer who was helping me change.  I stripped down to my nana nickers and bra, put on clean pants, top and socks.  Remembering my brothers advice I took time to ensure all clothing was on correctly and that I had all the bits and bobs I would need for the run.  Really I was in no hurry, I knew I had done well on the bike (6:12) and in fact I was 2 hours ahead of where I thought I would be, giving me just under 10 hours to run/walk a marathon, easy right??

The poor volunteer had to pick up my stinky, sweaty gear and stick it in the T bag.  I apologised once more then headed for the station in the transition zone.  I downed  a tube of gel, as practiced, and topped up the water in my race belt to give me a brew of nuun, just in case.  Then a toilet stop, it was so hot in the portaloo, I held my breath and carried on …. Then out on the run, I had no doubt this was going to hurt!!