Its been a long time since I have done one of these and not just the race report but a half ironman distance race too, two and a half years to be exact. My last half ironman race was the Ironman 70.3 – UK which was mid 2010. That being said it was a bit interesting to see what the body thought after all that time…

One last check of the bike, make sure brakes are not touching. Check. I am in the right gear. Check. All nutrition is on the bike. Check. Make sure everything is in the bike and run bags. Check. Run through transition in the mind, visualize it and feel it. Slowly make my way out of transition head towards the sea. Put on the wetsuit, goggles and cap. Swing the arms to loosen up and release nerves and tension while heading out for a quick warm up and feel for the water. Brief warm up done, time to head to the start and on the way kiss Charlotte (fiancee) and wish her luck for her race.

A small first wave consisting of the pro men and women. Never the less we are all there on the start line and ready to race, this is what we do. We push our bodies to the limit just to see how far we can go. You want to be up there and to win and having a descent pay day is always a nice reward for your efforts but sometimes it doesn’t go your way and your left with nothing but a hard day at the office and no reward except for the experience that you put in the bag.

Tension starts to build with nerves as we wait for the starting gun. An unparalleled focus is broken by the bang of the start gun and all nerves and tension are lost as you break into a sprint towards the sea. Keeping the knees high while running through the water until its time to break into a series of dolphin dives as you position yourself for the swim ahead. At first I have nothing on my mind while I swim as hard as I can. It’s pretty choppy out there, you need to breath, know who is around you, try and swim on someones feet to gain the drafting benefit while sighting for buoys so you don’t swim the wrong way. All is going well and feels like one of my better swims, I see about 6 other athletes around me and I fall into the slip until the third buoy where I lose focus and rhythm  The gap starts to open up quickly and I cant close it. I try to regain focus and limit my loses as I push on towards the beach front. At the end of the swim I manage to catch a small wave in which helped a little but sent my calf into spasm/cramp for some arb reason. First thought, O NO, not now I still have a bike and a run. Second thought get up and keep going. Luckily the cramp was short lived and gone by the time I had finished the long and grueling run up to T1 while battling to get my wet-suit off.

Number 20, grab the bag and run to transition. Put aero helmet and glasses on while getting my wet-suit yanked off. Drop bag off and run to my bike. Grab bike and roll it to the mount line when you give a little hop and skip as you jump on and prepare for the 90km ahead. Slip feet into shoes once you have gained good momentum and get going, all while you feel the first effects of the crowd kick in along the beach front. I had know idea how far back I was at this stage and wanted to limit my loses or get some time back. A few athletes up the road help you to push on and try catch up. The gap takes a while to close on the faster sections but as the road tilts up I gain advantage and start to close the gaps a lot quicker. Unfortunately most of the athletes caught and past were female pro’s and not part of the race I was worried about. Playing catch up, the price I continue to pay for my weaker swim and something I hope to change this year going forward. My bike ride was also not as smooth as i would have liked it to be which may have cost me a few valuable minutes in the long run, but we will never know how much. After a short test ride on Saturday afternoon just before racking into transition I thought everything was fine, however that was not the case come race day. My front derail-er shifter had loosened which meant the gears would slip to the small chain ring if I didn’t constantly hold the shifter up. Maybe this was my fault and I should have been more attentive to my bike but somethings you just cant plan for, at the end of the day I am happy it didn’t force me to pull out the race and I was still able to push on. I also couldn’t plan that my one bottle would slip out my hand at 20km into the ride which wasn’t ideal but I don’t think cost me too much. Last big climb as you head back to transition, this one is a killer. This time I felt good and didn’t suffer like I had in the past. From here it was smooth sailing all the way to transition. The effect of the mass crowds kick in again just before you dismount and head into T2.

Number 20, grab your bag and head to the transition tent. Rush to take off your helmet and slip on socks and shoes (BROOKS T7 Racers)and slip on Brooks visor while running out of transition. This is where I like to think I fly, this is my chance to make up time and gain positions. Out of T2, down the hill and towards the light house, quick pace check (3:20)…maybe I should ease off a bit there is still 20km to go and I don’t want to hit a wall. FEAR. The pace drops drastically and the goal pace starts to slip away, maybe a mental mistake telling myself to slow down. We hit bunkers and the burn starts to kick in, grab a sponge and coke to help ease the pain. Reach the peak and settle back into a good rhythm  You start to see competitors that are just ahead of you now, so you push on again and try pick up the pace. Grab a hair band as you turn to go back and continue the chase. Down bunkers a little faster then going up but just as painful, the crowds help a little but not enough to eradicate the burn. Carry on running this is a race till the end. Back along the coast line on a slight drag back towards the lighthouse to complete lap one and start your second and final lap. Check pace, I have lost too much time to hit my goal run split. Thats irrelevant now, regain focus and a good rhythm  Carry on running. I manage to pass a few competitors while repeating the same pain as in the first lap. I try to shift gears with five km’s to go and tell my self its less than 20 minutes left of pain, you can do this. 1km to go and I know my coach and good friend Freddy Lampret is just up the road, I push as hard as I can but its too little too late but manage to finish strong. Maybe too strong, did I still have some in the tank…I should have left it all out there…we will never know what could have been, only what is.

Race recap.

Swim – 32:03 (190th fastest, room for improvement…;)

T1 – 3:06 (a little slow)

Bike – 2:32:09 (19th)

T2 – 1:31

Run – 1:20:09 (5th)

Overall – 4:29:01 (16th)

Not the perfect race day for me, but one that made me feel good and happy to be back and racing. Although I didn’t achieve the goals I set out to on the day I still managed to learn a bit more about myself and where I can improve and mistakes that could be avoided in the future.  I am also glad that I managed to finish safely and without harm, however two members of the triathlon family were not so lucky and my condolences go out to the families of Berton Bosman and Kevin Staessen. My prayers and thoughts are with you.