This was the second time doing this race after going sub-10 for the first time here last year, finishing in 9:45:56. I really like this race as it is flat and fast and fits into my 2 Ironman a year schedule (one in summer and this one in December). It is also easy to reach by plane from Singapore and a nice place to spend a week with family. This year we rented the same holiday house and Serene and Lotte were there as well as my parents: lots of support so the pressure was on! Had been quite vocal about my ambitions and goals for this fifth Ironman prior to the race, adding to the pressure.
Preparation
Always a challenge to combine training for Ironman with family and work. I did most trainings very early in the morning when all are still asleep. But the fatigue from long rides and runs in the weekend do eat into family time. However, Serene is amazing with her support for my training and races. Especially in the built up to the race when my training volume increases and I religiously stick to the training program. Meals and activities are often planned around my training (and work) schedule. Not always ideal but I guess better than a sedentary, overweight husband who spends a lot of time in the pub – like many of my fellow bankers - no offence :-)
Lotte doesn’t know the difference. When she wakes up and I am still on the computrainer, she insists on taking a look at me first thing and she picks up the Ironman lingo very quickly. She is a little big supporter cheering me on “hey hey papa!” and sometimes she wants to wear my race belt and pretends to be racing and I cheer her on. On the other hand, if I have to train when she is already awake and she sees me in my tri-outfit, she is always upset “why are you wearing that, papa” and wants to join. On the top of her wishlist for x-mas is a bike, so guess what are we giving her :-)
Before I know it, she will be faster than me!
My work involves a lot of evening conference calls. That’s why evening training generally doesn’t work. Mentally, it’s also much easier to have my training done early in the mornings to get it over and done with. Otherwise, training is on my mind the whole day and I run into the the risk that something might happen at work and I got to cancel the workout.
I also travel a lot for work and this is where discipline really comes in. When traveling, I follow my training schedule as best as I can. Run is usually the easiest to fit in and for bike sessions I try to do it as well as I can on a hotel gym bike, but of course its not the same as a computrainer and my own bike. Nothing more liberating than going for a run after a long-haul flight! Colleagues are getting used to my training regime and are not surprised any more if I arrive at a team dinner straight from a public pool in places like Shanghai and Hong Kong or if I have to skip drinks to get a hard treadmill session in after a client dinner.
I also travel a lot for work and this is where discipline really comes in. When traveling, I follow my training schedule as best as I can. Run is usually the easiest to fit in and for bike sessions I try to do it as well as I can on a hotel gym bike, but of course its not the same as a computrainer and my own bike. Nothing more liberating than going for a run after a long-haul flight! Colleagues are getting used to my training regime and are not surprised any more if I arrive at a team dinner straight from a public pool in places like Shanghai and Hong Kong or if I have to skip drinks to get a hard treadmill session in after a client dinner.
You can't finish an Ironman or improve your PB by "luck". You need to get the hard work in. If you really want to improve, this is not something you do just the few months before the actual race, but consistently over the year(s). For this race, I had a good 3 months of consistent build up training phase. However, I had been experimenting with some other shoes. For the last few IM races I had used Asics Hyperspeeds, which are light, limited support and low drop. I started using the Asics DS Racer as a high milage trainer and I think this shoe caused me major pain in my Achilles tendons. Didn't think too much support and drop could cause injuries but clearly it can. Thanks to an adjusted program (less running, lower target pace) and great support from Bevan, fellow triathlete and sports physiotherapist I slowly got over it. I think switching back to flatter shoes and strength exercises for calfs were key.
I felt very good as in the final 4 weeks before the race things really started to come together. IM race pace was back to 4:30-4:35 and I felt very strong on the bike. Swim felt good too but still the part where I was least confident.
I focused very much on diet before this race as well. Tried to be as "Paleo" as possible with the exception just before and during workouts. Lots of greens, fish, fatty meats, nuts, etc. Avoided processed food and sugar altogether and alcohol for the last 4-6 weeks. Controlled food intake during taper to achieve the lowest possible race weight. Never been this lean. Did eat carbs in the few days before the race, but modest portions.
One week before the race I was riding in Singapore early Saturday morning with Arno Selukov, one of the best IM triathletes in Singapore. He was on the list to race in Busselton but told me that he was tired of a full race season and there is only a 20% chance he would go. He hadn't booked the trip and accommodation yet. He also told me that James Middleditch, another fast Singapore based athlete in my age-group wasn't racing (even though on the list). Olaf Kasten, 4th in Kona 2 months earlier and Bevan are other strong athletes I was aware of in our age-group. All of the above participated in the Ironman World Championships in Kona two months earlier. During the ride, I shared with Arnaud the research I had done on other competitors in our AG - many fast athletes in our age group last year were not racing this year. My enthusiasm must have been convincing as Arnaud sent me an email the same day he would race in Busso next week and was able to book trip and accommodation. Bring it on!
Goals
This was the first Ironman where I set my goal to qualify for Kona which in the last 3-5 years could be done by finishing in 9:25-9:30. My time goal was 9:20 to be on the safe side, but in the end you never know as it all depends on how fast the competition in the age group is. I also had goals to swim faster than 1hr, was hoping for a 4:45 bike (38km/h) and run in 3:20. Which would be a PB on a marathon as my existing PB was set in 3:26 at the Kasumigaura (Japan) marathon. With T1 and T2 of 4mins each I calculated a potential time of 9:13. That seemed crazy beyond reach for me so I took a "reserve" to get to a total target time of 9:20.
Pre-race day
Last real meal was a pasta for lunch and after that ice cream and chocolate in the afternoon and evening to fuel-up without ingesting the "bulk". Apart from an easy swim at the start area and a 36minute bike with some moderate intervals in the morning, I didn't do much. Relaxed a lot and tried to keep my legs high. Perfect.
Race day
It was a nice cool day, 23 degrees and cloudy most of the time. Decided to wear a normal tri top instead of the long sleeve cooling top as it was not going to be hot and I am used to wearing a normal top. For breakfast I had a ham/cheese sandwich and coke. Had weaned off caffeine the last few weeks, so that did wake me up well! Was early in transition so had plenty of time to prepare and get ready. Early at the swim start - ready for action!
SWIM - 1:03:20 (1:40/100m)
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| Done with the swim, into T1 - with eyes closed! |
Swim time is 24 seconds slower than a year ago despite having swam more than ever this year, however I improved from my poor swim in Roth. Despite not being faster, I did come out of the swim feeling fresher than before.
T1 - 4:04
Felt good coming out of the water and ran faster than all people around me even though I wasn't sprinting. Ran into transition, got my transition bag, and then struggled to get my wetsuit off my calfs and ankles, losing valuable time. Then wore my helmet, sunglasses, got some sunscreen and off I was. Had a good bike mount and was on to the bike leg.
BIKE - 4:44:17 (38.0 km/h)
Felt strong on the bike and throughout the 3 laps I kept overtaking people . No one overtook me. I overtook many slower people first but also faster ones later on, including whole pace groups. I was always riding alone, never in a pace group. After the first lap my average speed on Garmin was 38.6, after the second round it was 38.7. I was hopeful to be several minutes faster than 4:45. Started calculating if I could keep the average at 38.5, my time would than be 4:41. However, the third lap felt much tougher as a stronger cross wind had come up. I kept overtaking people but at a lower speed. Also stood up a few more times to stretch my back and legs. Overall felt very comfortable in the aero position. Had 1.4L of Ensure plus (2100 cals), some gatorade and salt pills.
Very happy with Bike PB - improvement of 10 minutes!
T2 - 3:27
Perfect dismount and good run into transition - straight into a cubicle to pee. Another minute lost (seemed like an hour)! Then quickly wear socks, shoes, get my gels and salt pills. Drank most of a can of Red Bull and off I was onto the run course.
RUN - 3:20:04 (4:44 pace)
IM target race pace was set at 4:30, so was planning to start at that pace and see how long I could hold on. Off the bike I started running at 4:22 pace feeling very good, but consciously slowed down to 4:30 including aid stations. At the first turnaround point I saw Arnaud and a bit later Bevan ahead of me, probably 1.5-2km. Arnaud is a strong runner and I know that if Bevan has a good day he is able to commit to and keep his target pace very well, something I benefited from a year ago. I just stuck to my pace and would see what would happen... still a few hours to go.
After the first lap, I saw that even the pro's were no more than a lap ahead as only the gates for 1st and 2nd lap were manned. At 22k point my Garmin still said 4:33 average pace and I was still feeling ok although I had to push harder to keep the pace. I have overtaken Bevan at some point but didn't see him until at a turnaround when I already passed him. Did see Arnaud at several turnarounds and he was cheering me on, nice! In the last turnaround of the last lap (4k or so to go), I realized that I had gained on Arnaud but gap was way too big to bridge in the last few k's at the end of an IM. I did increase the pace somewhat in the last 3-4 k's and skipped the last aid station which gained me a few spots. The last 10k was tough with pain in my quads and the balls of my feet felt as if I was running barefooted on the rough asphalt. The first few aid stations, I barely used: drank coke on the run and threw water over my head. As the run progressed I got water while running to throw over my head but walked to drink a full cup of coke. Had probably 3 gels in the first half of the marathon and salt pills. Continued to take salt pills but focused on coke instead of gels for my run. Should have stuck to taking regular gels longer into the marathon but my stomach felt on the edge of getting sick.
When I saw the finish time I was extremely happy and proud. At that moment I had this intense feeling of achievement and happiness unique to an IM finish. I didn't care whether I qualified or not (just for a moment!).
Post Race
After the finish I got a warm welcome by Arnaud and Olaf. Great guys. Fast guys! Olaf had won our AG and finished in 8:48 (!) as first age grouper and 12th overall. Arnaud had finished 5th in our age group. He said he had felt the continuous pressure from me on the run which kept him going. I was much more focused on myself. Really should be more aware of the splits / gaps / competition during the race and especially run. Turned out that Arnaud was 4 minutes faster than me on the swim but I had a faster bike split and run split. If I just wouldn't have taken so much time in transitions!!
Then headed for a post race massage. On the way out I met Bevan who didn't have a great day but still finished in 9:25.
Then headed for a post race massage. On the way out I met Bevan who didn't have a great day but still finished in 9:25.
The following few days were as usual post IM: very sore legs, especially quads. Going downstairs was most torturous. For some reason we decided to visit the jetty observatory on the day post race again. There is a long staircase leading to 2-3 floors beneath sea level. Awesome views but absolute torture for me to get down there! Also hadn't put enough Vaseline on my neck and got some serious shaving on the swim from my wetsuit, something you only really start to feel post-race.
Attended the Kona-slot roll-down ceremony for the first time. There were 4 slots for my age group and I finished 6th, so very unlikely there would be 2 roll-downs, but you never know.... Great experience and very exciting. It turned out there was one roll-down in our age-group, so Arnaud did get his well deserved Kona slot, 3rd consecutive time! I was so so close, but just not fast enough. Funnily enough I wasn't that disappointed because of my great time and because for the first time I felt strong throughout the entire race, somehow it didn't feel as long as previous races.
Immediately post race and as I finalize this report I feel extremely motivated for IM Cairns in June with the goal to qualify for Kona. Can't wait for Cairns and can't wait to start training for it. However, it's off-season now and first priority now is to take it easy, recover well from Busso and spent a great time with family around X-mas and new years before getting back to "work" in January.
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| Extremely happy finishing in a PB I could until recently only dream of! |
OVERALL CONCLUSION
- 9:15:12 overall time. PB by 20 minutes and 30 minutes faster than same course last year. Still hard to believe this time, never thought this would be possible.
- 6th in my age group. 4 Kona slots, 1 roll-down, just missed it!
- 38 overall. Top 2.5% of the event! 15 pros (including 2 women) finished ahead of me. So I was 23rd age-grouper to finish.
- Swim: despite having swum more than ever in the last year, my swim is (slightly) slower than last year. However, faster / better than in Roth.
- Very happy with timing and progress on both bike and run - more upside here!
- Really need to "fix" my transitions - no more waisting time...
- Highly recommend this race to anyone, from beginner to PB chaser. Very well organized, flat and fast course. Busselton is a small, fun place very close to Margaret River, the ideal post race region to enjoy great scenery, food, wine and very friendly laid-back locals.
- Special thanks to Serene, Lotte, Pa & Ma for their support onsite.
- Thanks to my coach Alun Woodward (Woody) of Ironguides for great training methodology, instructions and feedback that pushed me to this incredible achievement!
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| Text on the back of Serene's T-shirt and Lotte along the run course |
- Really need to "fix" my transitions - no more waisting time...
- Highly recommend this race to anyone, from beginner to PB chaser. Very well organized, flat and fast course. Busselton is a small, fun place very close to Margaret River, the ideal post race region to enjoy great scenery, food, wine and very friendly laid-back locals.
- Special thanks to Serene, Lotte, Pa & Ma for their support onsite.
- Thanks to my coach Alun Woodward (Woody) of Ironguides for great training methodology, instructions and feedback that pushed me to this incredible achievement!
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| Grateful to do this supported by Serene, Lotte and my parents - thank you! |
