I am currently sitting at the airport here in Kona waiting
to board the flight to Honolulu. I came to this race with one goal, to win and
to get a spot to the Big Dance in October. I was passed at mile 12 (19.3km)
into the race and finished 1.30 behind the winner. Although I did not achieve
what I set out to, the experience I have had here on the Big Island will help
me develop as an athlete.
The swim start was a mass start for the age groupers (and
there were approximately 1,700 competitors). I lined myself up towards the
front and waited for the cannon. The start was pretty rough and I find it difficult
to understand why weak swimmers seed themselves at the front of the race. The
swim went out for about 600 meters before taking a right hand turn. During the
first section the water calm and the visibility was incredible! Once we made
the turn became very rough and hard to sight (similar to Busso). The front of
the age group race somehow missed the final buoy and we were sent back. This
was a bit frustrating; however everyone that I was around was affected by this
so it had no major impact on the end result. This was the most physical swim I
have been in and the women seem to be the worst!
I exited the water in 30.13, leading the 18-24 age group.
T1 is in the car park at Hapuna Beach and we have to run up
a hill to get there. Our transition gear had to be in bags so it was a slow
transition, I even put my shoes on before running my bike out! I made sure that
my nutrition was securely in my pockets and ran to the mount line and started
the small climb directly out of transition. I was happy with the decision to
get my shoes on first because people with their shoes clipped in were stuggling
to get their feet in.
The bike course is one lap and takes a right hand turn onto
the Queen K Highway (heading towards Kona) for about 4km, before making a
U-turn at Mauna Lani and riding to Hawi and coming back to Mauni Lani where T2
was.
The climb out of T1 to the Queen K is not steep however
coming out the swim and the wind makes it pretty difficult. Once out onto the
Queen K I settled into a nice rhythm and made the most of the tail wind. I rode
myself into the lead group at the turn around point and got a cheers from Ernie and Karen Bevilaqua. I rode with the guys in the front for a period of
time before they put the hammer down. I stayed at the pace I was riding as I
knew the climb to Hawi and the winds would take its toll on most. The trade
winds were well and truly pumping, making it pretty difficult to keep the bike
upright. I made sure that I was getting my nutrition down as early as possible
because once at Hawi, it would be very difficult to do. From Kawaihae it is 19
miles to Hawi. I was riding conservitvley and doing my best to keep my bike
tracking straight. It is difficult to describe the cross winds, but the first
two words that pop into my head would be – stupid and unsafe.
There is a street
sign which marks 7 miles to Hawi and from there I started to build my effort on
the bike. I made the turn and began the descent… It was fast and you had to
concentrate. The wind was worse on the descent as you are more exposed on that
side of the road. I went about getting down as fast as I could. There are a few
cut outs in the rock which allows some protection and chances to take in some
nutrition but you have to sit up and slow down to do so safely. I arrived in Kawaihae
and one piece and began the 1 mile climb up to the Queen K, it felt like the
wind had died down here (or maybe it was just protected). Back onto the Queen K
the wind was stronger than ever, only 10km to go! I made the turn into the
Mauna Lani and we had an epic tail wind (and slightly down hill), I was
coasting at about 60km/hr and I heard my back tired puncture. This is the first
time I have had a flat in a major race. I had about 2km to go rolled back
slowly to transition on the flat. Not ideal…
I rode 2.26.52
T2 was the one part I was worried about as I had not seen
exactly where to rack my bike (this race has separate transitions). I was
grateful for the awesome volunteers to were well prepared and showed my quickly
to my rack. Once again the run gear was in a bag so another slow transition. I
slipped my socks and shoes on, refreshed my nutrition supply and started the
very memorable run.
The run course is through the Mauna Lani golf estate, over
fairways and cart paths. The run was again windy and tough. The course is all
over the place with lots of turns so I knew that it would be a slow run. My
legs were feeling pretty good and I held a steady pace. There were lots of aid
stations through the run and I took on lots of ice and sponges. I went through
period of holding a solid pace and then periods were I was struggling to hold a
reasonable pace. The most difficult part of the race was an out and back
section from mile 9 to 11, it was windy, hot and miserable! However after the
out section, we had a nice tail wind which helped keep the pace up. Kate passed
my coming out of this portion and encouraged me to keep up with her. I tired
(if only…) but could not hold the pace. From there it was only a few km to go
and I really struggled to hold any reasonable pace. At the mile 12 marker (approx.
19.3km), Jonathan Roth passed me… again I tried to pick up the pace but there was
nothing in the legs to give.
I crossed the line in 4.38.32, 1.30 down on Jonathan, with a
run time of 1.37.06. I was pretty disappointed when I crossed the line, knowing
I had led the race for most of the day but I was genuinely happy with my race.
My experience on the Big Island is one I will always
remember!
I would like to thank Kate Bevilaqua and Guy Crawford for
looking after me for the week and for all their advice, it is really
appreciated. Also a huge thank you to Kate’s parents Ernie and Karen for all their
support.
Thanks to LMW Hegney/Hegney Property Group for helping me
get to the Big Island and to my other supporters, Team Break Your Limits, K Swiss, Total Triathlon, XU1
Sports for all their help along the way. Also thanks to Mark Luckin for the loan of his swim skin and to Sean Jermy for the use of his wheel!
Cheers,
Andy
