Yeppoon 70.3

If there's one word to describe my day at Yeppoon 70.3 yesterday it would be "tough".   After a year away from racing the half ironman (70.3) distance due to injury, I decided to pick Yeppoon 70.3 as my first race back. The race has been my motivation to train through Melbourne's wintery weather and I wanted to use it as a guide to see where my fitness is at. 
  
In the months leading into the race, I put in some really solid training sessions and I know that I am swimming, biking and running the best I ever have. I have been loving the training and have taken so much confidence and satisfaction from the sessions I have been able to get through; and for the first time in a long time I am  getting pure enjoyment out of training, I am doing it for myself and it makes me happy. However, as I found out this weekend, having the confidence and the numbers in training means very little if it can't be transferred to the race track!

On race morning we woke to perfect conditions...bright blue sky and very little wind. The 1.9km ocean swim was almost dead flat. I managed to find some feet to sit on in the small field of 5 pro women and had a pleasantly uneventful swim. I exited the water in 3rd place, ran up the sand dune to transition and unracked my Avanti Chrono Evo TT bike. I was planning on pacing myself through the ride with my  power meter,  however within 100m of mounting my bike, my Garmin bike computer suffered the effects of Yeppoon's famously rough roads and went flying off into the distance, only to be seen 7 hours later in lost and found! I made the split second decision to continue riding and just focus on perceived effort instead. 

Once out on to the 5 lap 90km bike course I knew almost straight away that it was going to be a tough day. I just felt "off" physically and mentally and really struggled to get through the ride. The nature of a 5 lap course also made it super tough mentally. At the end of each lap I was sure I would call it a day, but there was something telling me to continue on, hoping I might come good. My only saving grace was how smooth and aero my Avanti felt...if only my body would come to the party too!

By the the time the 5th lap came around the wind had picked up and the temperature was rising. I exited T2 in 5th place and knew it would just be a case of "getting through" the 21.1km run. The 3 lap run course was pretty awesome, with 1/3 on road, 1/3 through trees and 1/3 winding through the resort. I focused on trying to enjoy the run leg and concentrate on my form. It was great to see so many spectators, volunteers and fellow athletes out on the course which definitely made it a little easier and more enjoyable. 

Finally the finish banner was in sight, and as I made my way down the finishing  chute I felt a huge sense of relief knowing that I had actually finished. While it wasn't the result I was after, it was still extremely satisfying to know that I had accomplished my goal of racing 70.3's again after almost certainly giving it all away this time a year ago. I'd have to say that my own personal journey preparing for this race has been the most satisfying part for me and it has been more than just training for another race. I've learnt so much about myself over this past year and this race was really just the reward and a reminder that I can still do it. 

I've taken a lot away from the weekend, and definitely have a few things to work on for the next one which is Port Macquarie 70.3 in October. I finished 2nd in Port Mac in 2011, so have some fond memories of the course and can't wait to test myself again! 

Congratulations to all the competitors who toughed it out over a great day of racing and to X-Tri for putting on such a fantastic event.

Until next time, thanks for reading :)

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