Well it’s been almost a week since the calamity of YoYo’s 70.3 adventure, and YoYo sits here…sore, wounded and with a cold… to pen this report, so here goes…
Leading into this race I was feeling pretty good, my swimming (which as AP will gleefully tell you has been lacklustre for a while) was coming along really well, my running was pretty good and my cycling was also good.
Overall I guess i would have rated myself an 8.5/10 fitness-wise, which is OK for this time of year.
So in the weeks prior I was optimistic about finally getting a quick HIM time on the resume, as all previous attempt had ended in mediocrity, with a HIM PB of 4:41 i think off the top of my head…
The rain started just south of Ballina on the drive down. It got so hard at one point we, and alot of others, pulled off the road due to no visibility. We saw a ute that had aquaplaned and spun into a barricade, perched precareously just around a slightly blind bend
YoYo’s only previous sojurns to Port Macquarie were to the Maccas, on the way back from Forster. I have punished many a plate of hotcakes there…
Rain. Rain. Rain.
The running joke in Camp YoYo would be for someone to peer out the window, at the solid block of cloud seemingly 30 feet above your head, pissing with rain and let out a “… yep this looks to be the last of it…” “…looks like it’s clearing to me…”
Positioned out on the run/bike course at Flynns Beach, we were all astounded to see people out riding in the pelting rain, some even RUNNING through the hills in the rain, the afternoon before the race!!
Crazy punters…
Rego and checkin was, well… wet. Transition was already very soft underfoot with pools of water starting to form. Everyone trudging through was gradually turning everything to mud. Saw Jason Shortis come in with his posse of homos…sorry, homies…the late-mail i got a bit later was that Jase had been out riding the course and had come off! Must have been a light fall, but apparently one of his wheels needed some work. I don’t know if thats correct, but never let the truth get in the way of a good story i say…!
Late saturday we went and drove the bike course to see what we were up against, see how technical it was. Several sections looked pretty dicey, and I really was mystified by that little jink through the crescent shaped sidestreet at the “big hill”…???
In the wet, it just looked like nothing but trouble…
In Busso 05 the weather the night prior to raceday was wild and woolie, with alot of thunder and lightening mixed with rain, here in Port i kept telling myself it’s nothing i haven’t dealt with before, but to be honest the constant rain was pretty depressing! Kind of made it hard to get amped for a race !
Raceday came and yep it’s still raining. Puck. “looks like it’s clearing…”
After having a look at transition i decided that having my shoes on the pedals, and thus running through all the crap in bare feet, would result in inserting muddy feet into shoes and prob a fair bit odf debris as well. so i decided to put my shoes on and run out of T1 in them. First time i can remember doing this…
Got into the wettie and into the water, it was reasonably fresh ! started going through a bit of a warmup and after a few mins it wasn’t too bad. The racestart went like it always does - my wave constatntly being told to “get back blue caps, we’re not starting until you move back 10 metres”. repeat x 10.
The gun went off and the washing machine started up. Right at the start it was pretty rough, there were a few touch-up jobs going on and YoYo even managed to get a few good lefts in on his training partner Sticks. He did get me a good rightie though, almost knocking off my goggles
Thiings started to flow after a coupla hundred and I was feeling really good and fast in the water. We got to the turn in no time at all and I was thinking there must be a current, was just waiting to make the full turn and get hit with a wall of water !
Didn’t happen though, I still felt really good on the way back. after the race i heard people complaining about the current on the way back, but i didn’t really feel it! I thought i was just fatiguing a bit i guess.
I got a bit of a shock when i got out of the water and saw the clock tick over :30 though! Thought i was good for a :28 by the way i felt, and to see :30 got me a little annoyed…ahh well…
Onto the deadly-treddly and getting out through the town streets was a bit wet and dicey with all those white lines everywhere! My computer was dropping in and out so I adjusted the sensor on my fork and it started working again. At about 3.5km though it stopped working altogether, so I just thought “stuff it” and kept going. same thing happened in my first IM, so again, nothing new to me there…
My Mate Boothie, aka Dr Speed, came ripping past me at about the 12km mark ! If you swam any quicker than 35mins then there’s a fair chance he tore past you as well!! On his way to a 2:20 bike split
Still raining.
Spent alot of time catching and passing people on the first lap, getting passed by a few as well, pretty normal. at the turns I could see i was too far down on the other fellas i train with, so things were looking OK.
On the second lap towards Lake Cathie, I was chasing down a smallish group of about 5 riders ahead, but knew there was quite a large pack of doodes coming up behind me. Now I’m not gonna pull a stadler on all you guys, but hey… i bet there’s no mirrors in your houses to save from having to look at yourself in one hey ?
Anyway, they were always gonna catch me so I backed it off a fraction and ‘waited’ for them.
All came together maybe 3k before the turn, I drifted to the back of the group to have a look who was in it and how everyone looked. There were a few tongues hanging out and one of the homeboys from my squad was there, tuff doode and doesnt crack, so i knew if the group was gunna get snapped on the way back into town it ws gunna be me and him that would prob do it.
Still friggin raining.
I took the lead of the group coming into the turn, to avoid anyone losing traction under brakes and crashing. As we headed back into town and going around a long left hander then up a small rise, I relinquished the lead and drifted back through the group.
As we went over the rise, I dropped back down onto the aerobars and went to reach for a bottle (as i knew the aid station was just ahead and would want a freshie).
Now just as my right hand let go of the bar all hell broke loose… I’m still not 100% sure what happened, but at the time I figured my front wheel caught a groove in the road or something and got a bit sideways, coz the next thing i knew i was being flung from my bike towards the middle of the road, at about 35km/h…
In hindsight, I have a suspicion that I may have gotten a helping hand from behind, with a bit of a wheel clip… as the group bunched a little bit at the top of the rise…
Now as you’re on your way down, it happens so fast, yet time seems to stand still. so many thought s seemed to go through my head before i even hot the tarmac. “you’re gorrrn yoyo…” “…wonder what’s going to break first…” “awww farrkk this is gunna hurt…!!”
The right hip buries into the bitumen contact!, then right elbow and side…sliding, skidding, then finally the tumble starts and you flip over…
I don’t know how far i slid, but a fair way… some guys i bumped into in transition after the race were ther ein the group and they said it looked pretty bad !
I guess my saving grace WAS that it was so wet, i slid alot instead of dry bitumen just ripping everything to shreds…
I had the presence of mind to realise i was in the middle of the road and pulled my legs up to avoid being hit by other cyclists.
a marshall was on the scene pretty quick. No-one else had gone down with me, which was good. she took my bike off the road and stood over me “are you ok? are you ok…?” “i don’t know…”
“i dont think anything is broken…”
I offered her my hand, to help me up, and she says “if i touch you, you’re out…” “do you want me to help you up? if i do, you’re disqualified…”
Now, seeing as she had just removed my bike from the road, and here i was a potential hazard for others, bleeding in the middle of the road… i thought that was an pverly harsh application of the rulebook !
I got up myself and moved tp the side of the road, wet, cold, shaking from shock. The marshall kept asking me if i wanted mnedical assistance, which of course would result in a DQ…then was asking me if i wanted to continue…
another marshall arrived and i said i didnt want medical, i just needed to catch my breath. This new marshall said “no you’re not going anywhere you need assistance…”
Friggin raining still…
This kind of pissed me off a bit and i got a bit shirty with them all, i said i was going to continue, they couldn’t stop me. Fortunately i had a couple of Ibuprofen in my pocket, so i swallowed them and jumped back on the bike.
Must admit i was a bit groggy for a few k’s…
Another one of the guys from my squad rolled up on me and we had a bit of a chat, which was good. I was really starting to hurt now, especially my hip. My gear wasn’t torn (somehow???) but i could see a noticable swelling there that didnt look too flash at all…
Finally got the motor started and passed a fair few people on the way back. Threw down an extra Accel Gel to keep me going, lucky I packed a ‘spare’…
Coming off the bike i had no idea how i was going to feel. The ibuprofen had kicked in but i was still pretty sore.
Transition was a quagmire by this time, ankle deep water in places!
I thought if i just start running and see how it feels… once i got the legs ticking over, i started to feel pretty good. I also started to get a bit shitty, a bit angry thhat i had turned up fit to notch a PB and something like this had happened. I guess sometimes i run better when i’m a bit angry…
raining raining raining
I figured i should make hay while the sun shone, and really started to push the pace. I was passing people left right & centre, some were really struggling, REALLY early in the run!
It was probably fortunate that the first part of the run is flat, i think it helped me alot.
Once we headed into the hills the damaged right hip and lower back started to get a bit touchy, and really stiffening up.
I tried to maintain a solid pace, but on some of the steeper hills i just lacked that drive, lacked the power out of the back and upper legs.
Passing passing passing… i was always passing people. was having a great duel with this little dark fella in the AG above me, we kept going back and forth for most of the run…
The only person that ran past me, and stayed there, was a guy in my AG… he got me on the hills back into town and was just too strong, he was running really well.
Was very happy to get out of those hills and onto the flats, turning the screws appropriately and launching the dash for cash…
FINALLY put the nail in the coffin of that little dark dude dunno who you are mate, but if you were a marlin i’d tag ya and throw ya back to fight another day!
Poor guy prob has nightmares now about guys dressed in all-white lycra…
yup, still raining…
I noticed another guy in my AG just up ahead, so waited for the 20km marker before lining him up and twisting the knife… i’m pretty sure that 20km marker was at the 19km mark though - gotta be the longest 1k i’ve ever run !!!
Crossed the line, gave it the thumb in mouth salute “that sucked” as i finished…
I wasnt wearing a watch, but sort of figured i had run about 1:30 or so… the results show a 1:35, which in some ways i’m a little disappointed with, but i guess all things considered it wasn’t too bad at all.
but it was almost like a friggin episode of the Benny Hill show out there…
So yes, another mediocre HIM time to go on the resume - 4:54
Puck. Got an IM slot pretty easily though, it’s still baking in the oven while i think about it.
The injuries are coming along, still pretty sore right leg, lower back, right elbow very tender…
Decent wound on the right hip still looks pretty angry !
Once i shake this cold I’ll start back the training
Keep it real guys.
YoYo
