Canberra 70.3- 2nd place

Canberra 70.3 was not part of my original plan for racing in 2013. Since my last few 70.3's have been hampered by the dreaded flu, I was keen to add another race to my calendar to see what I could achieve racing healthy. Canberra fitted in nicely, and so it was off to the nation's capital for a nice little hit out.

Whilst the pro female field was relatively small, it was not my final placing that I was focusing on. My main aim for the race was to get my zip back that has been lacking in my last handful of 70.3 races. If I could get that feeling back, then I knew I would put together a good race.

The race began with a nice 1.9km swim in Lake Burley Griffin. I felt pretty off during the swim but tried to remain positive and focus on staying present rather than letting my mind wander. I exited the swim in 4th place and jumped on my Avanti Chrono Evo TT ready to tackle the hilly 3 lap bike course. If there's one thing I do love, it's hilly bike courses. My aim for the ride was to work the uphills, recover a little on the downhills and push hard on the flats, all while keeping the lap times relatively consistent. I managed to achieve this aim and entered T2 in 2nd place.

Next it was out onto the 3 lap 21.1km run along the lakes edge. Coming off the hard bike I wasn't too sure how my legs would be feeling, however I often run better after a hard ride, so I was confident the run was going to go well. My goal for the run was to hold 4.15min/km's. I have been able to achieve this in training, however have struggled to transfer it to the race track for quite sometime. Thankfully it all came together and my Brooks Racer ST 5's propelled me to 4.11min/km average pace and my second quickest run over the distance.

I crossed the line in 2nd place pro female and with a huge sigh of relief. As previously mentioned, it was not the placing I was chasing, it was getting back that feeling of racing that I love. Of being able to push myself and be in a world of hurt, yet still loving every minute of it. That was my main goal for the race and I'm stoked that I achieved it. 

Congratulations to all other competitors and to Bek Keat for the 1st place. Thank you to Tri-X Events, the volunteers and all of the support out on course, including the best supporters in big sis Laura and Dad. Also, a big thanks to longtime mentor and mate Sean Foster, for his help over the past few months, appreciate it a lot.

For now it's time for a few weeks of festive cheer before getting back into training in preparation for Challenge Melbourne in February.

Thanks for reading :)

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