The Worlds are not Enough

It was an eventful and a great day of racing. Coming into the race I have not had the best of seasons but with a little work and persistence I was able to pull of a great result....could have been better but there is always next time!

The swim never fazes me I know I can go hard from the start and manage myself to get a good position and still have something left in the tank for the rest of the race. Sunday was no exception really despite the long swim which was later calculated at over 5k by a local. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the Australian swim or get out run and then try and swim some more. I've never enjoyed them especially as I rely on a good rhythm whilst swimming. On the second lap what seemed like chop was mostly the safety boats going back and forth leaving wakes which affected everyone after a while you soon got used to. Every time you saw a large yellow buoy you got your hopes up that that was going to be the one to turn you into the harbour but every time you were wrong. I knew I had a good swim when most of the bikes in the surrounding racks were still about as I transitioned onto the bike taking large gulps of coke to counter the pea soup swallowed during the swim.

The bike was out and back along the dyke and then around the area before returning towards transition for another lap on the bike. On the initial out and back I saw Daz and knew he would catch me soon however I never anticipated to hold him of until 35k when I was going through the rough patch and slowed down to 60% to chunder. They always say you feel a million times better once you've done that and I will agree I felt much better and was able to start hydration and feeding without feeling cramps. Shortly after I was back at 80% and going for it. As I made the sharp turn for lap 2 I passed Daz and the Spaniard who had been tailing him for 25k and quickly moved on as the group rolled through positions however as Daz passed me a few k later the Spaniard was that close I could see where Daz ended and he began and decided on drastic measures. Pulling along side the rear wheel of Daz I forced myself in and sat up, slowed my pace and forced the Dirty Cheating Spaniard to make a decision, ride into me, of the dyke or slow down and fall back the 10m. Lets say when he next passed he was not to happy nor was he impressed that I had pulled that on him.....mind you the motor cycle referee shook his head in disaprovement as well.
At the turn I was able to spot Sags, Jase and Westy all between 3-5k back but still moving faster than me. The second lap felt much better and faster and gave me probably enough time to stay ahead with Daz only in sight on the long straights.

Once into transition I saw Daz again, on with the socks and shoes and was able to catch a glimpse of Jase coming into transition. Miles had turned to minutes and not one to give in easy I set of very quickly and possibly too quickly as by 2k both legs had cramped and I was reduced to squatting as Jase passed me looking comfortable. Walking to the next feed station just to get fluids on board I was passed by sags who's fluid easy style soon made me feel like I was letting myself down and giving up. With Westy catching fast and knowing he was on a mission I just decided to go for broke. As I went through 12k Jase and Sags were swapping recipes and I could feel Westy on my shoulder. I turned and almost wanted to stop knowing that the sun was turning up the heat and so was the big man. The only thing I could remember was hearing Samantha his girlfriend screaming at him saying he was going to catch me easily...well nothing is easy if you don't do the miles and I knew that when it came to the crunch I had everything on the line and went into second gear putting as much as I could into running a good split as I did in keeping the distance safe. I will make the note at this point I was not racing the RAF boys but also old friends, Mark Wilson, Rob Barker, Jez and Kev. For the past 2 years these boys have out run me in the final stages of a race, today was more about resetting the bar than getting one over. At every feed station I was glancing around for a blue suit, as every stepped grew louder I waited for the words "keep going mike" but they never came!

Getting the flag from Dawn just started the emotions going. I actually welled up and thanks to my glasses only I could see them. For 29k I had been planning to do one thing and that was give her a huge hug as between us we had achieved something 6 months ago I would have said was impossible. However for 29k I had also been harbouring this dark thought of squeezing out some sponges at the same time. In my moment of weakness the dark side got the better and she got a Little wet.

I do not know any times as this year I swam, cycled and ran on spirit alone and not set paces or timed goals. I had done it alone every time and held only myself responsible for failure. I crossed the line to hear my name and what I thought was 16but in fact 19.

I have been told that I was in the top 10 at T2. The only numbers that matter are 06-29, 07-31, 08-19 and I have someone else to look for over my shoulder in Perth!