Hell of the West race report

Pre-race

Coming into this race I was in the middle of a big training block for Ironman NZ and did not really have any expectations. It was to be a hard training day to see where the fitness was in the lead up to the big dance. Being a somewhat local race was great as we could drive up the day before. Knowing that a race does not get the name Hell of the West for no reason I knew I was in for a tough day.

Swim

The race has a very early start with my alarm going off at 3.30am on Sunday morning. We made our way to the start which was still shrouded in darkness. Being the middle of summer in central Queensland in Australia it meant a non-wetsuit fresh water swim. I was able to position myself well find some very good feet and settle in for a good swim. Coming out of the water 4th overall and 2nd in my age group. I was super happy with this swim which had me right at the pointy end.

Bike

The great swim that put me at the pointy end led me to the issue of getting a little carried away to start the bike. I went through the first 40km feeling pretty good but the bumpy Goondiwindi roads started to take their toll on me. By the 60km mark, I thought that I might have to pull the pin as my back had really flared up. I kept pushing on for the last 20km which were really uncomfortable and made me question my ability to even try and run off the bike.

Run

Getting off gingerly I tried to just loosen up my back and get going. I got off the bike in a decent position about 5th in the age group and 9th overall. I got through the first lap and started to feel pretty good as my legs started to come back to me. Lap two I decided to put the hammer down and see what I could do. I managed to pick up a number of places to move into 5th overall and 4th in my age group. With not much more to gain from pushing too hard on the final lap, I started to think ahead to Ironman NZ and shut down the last part of the lap to focus on the big picture.

Final thoughts

Overall super happy with a performance that I could really be proud of. I had a long week of work prior and a quick turn around to get ready to race in the middle of an Ironman build. To be able to be at the pointy end of the overall race and my age group really made me feel like I am understanding my potential within long course racing. Now the final push to Ironman New Zealand at the start of March.

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