Hi Guys,
Well I went for it. At one point I was sitting in 7th/8th at the 20km mark on the run with 3 speedsters chasing me down with a guaranteed Hawaii spot on the line. I had the choice of keeping a steady pace and hoping that they blew up or going for it. I went for it. Unfortunately I had two mini blow ups in the next 20kms that cost me. I went for it and it didn't come off, as a side note, the guys chasing me ran through all with great runs and no blow ups. I ended up coming 14th male pro.
I have just been to the Hawaii roll downs and I ended up missing out by one spot on a pro slot (ie. I was next person up). Must of been the year for rolling over. You can not pick it as many years there are no slot roll overs in the pro section hence going for the automatic qualification position.
I have improved on last year and it was good to be up there mixing it with the guys. I need to work more on my second half of the run. But after only 4 real months of training under Mark Watson, I have improved a lot and we will continue this progression.
I will file a race report and hopefully some nice photo's as well.
I am a bit disappointed on missing a Hawaii slot, but happy that I gave everything to nail one and am improving my overall position/racing.
Cheers,
Bevan.
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Friday, 6 March 2009
The Night Before
Everything is now ready for the race. It looks like the weather has been good to us with winds and rain last night and early today. Otherwise it has been dry and calm. This means either a nightmare day weather-wise tomorrow as we are one-day of the forecast, or a brilliant mid temperature day with little wind. It is a deceptively tough course here in Taupo. I am well prepared under Mark Watson's guidance and will leave everything out there going for a good position and time. I want to thank everyone for their well wishes, sms', emails, blog notes, and facebook messages. Also to the Newcastle cycling boys for the extra bodies in training and likewise the Sydney crew. Thanks again to the guys at Platypus Asset Management for supporting me again for this tilt at the New Zealand Ironman. It was great to hear and see Frankie & Sam tonight on Skype - got to love those computer aids when they work.
Remember, you can follow my progress tomorrow on http://www.ironmanlive.com/ under race number 38 and if you click on my name it should give you progress reports/times/splits at the timing mats over the course.
Thanks to the Bynon and Leach families for their support and well wishes. Also to my sponsors High5, Brooks, and Platypus Asset Management, many thanks for aiding me in my training and racing goals.
Well, it is time to out the legs up, sleep, and wait for the race to start.
Cheers,
Bevan.
Remember, you can follow my progress tomorrow on http://www.ironmanlive.com/ under race number 38 and if you click on my name it should give you progress reports/times/splits at the timing mats over the course.
Thanks to the Bynon and Leach families for their support and well wishes. Also to my sponsors High5, Brooks, and Platypus Asset Management, many thanks for aiding me in my training and racing goals.
Well, it is time to out the legs up, sleep, and wait for the race to start.
Cheers,
Bevan.
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Ironman New Zealand - Sat 7th March 2009
Hi Everyone,
I have arrived safe in sunny Taupo. I flew directly into Taupo on a very small plane that Sam would hate. Two bikes were able to fit in out of three and my one made it. Let's hope the luck continues all weekend. Good weather by NZ standards has greeted me so far but is forecast to change for the next few days. Built the bike, did the test ride, and all good. Tv reports said the wind was getting up to 60km/hr+ and it was a tad wobbly on the road during the test ride. Water in the lake is crystal clear with no waves and without the usual NZ chill. Was quite warm actually but definitely a wetsuit swim. Everyone is out in their gear on the strip. Sensible ones though are inside watching the tv, internet, or sleeping. Taper is going well and I am looking forward to letting it all rip on the Saturday.
I am race number 38. You can follow the race on http://www.ironmanlive.com/ through either the athlete tracker or updates. Race day weather forecast is rain, 16-22 degrees Celsius, with a moderate northerly wind. Not sure what moderate wind means by NZ standards probably an Aussie cyclone. The wind pushed the waves on the lake up to 1-1.5m the other day which if it occurs on Saturday will make it interesting for a lot of competitors.
The pro briefing was today. They are going to hammer drafting, littering, and infractions this year. They even have a chopper with a tv to bust drafters and have them sit out their penalty on entering transition 2. Littering, including banana peels, will be a u-turn and pick up plus penalty. We have a 15min start on the age-groupers so that they can police the race better and also it is a new worldwide WTC rule change. This may change as the race director seems to want us to start with the age-groupers and may give us a late start 'due to darkness' but not change the age-grouper start time. We will find out race morning. Otherwise, it is as per normal and a good field of racers that should make the viewing interesting. I will touch base again before race day .
Cheers,
Bevan.
I have arrived safe in sunny Taupo. I flew directly into Taupo on a very small plane that Sam would hate. Two bikes were able to fit in out of three and my one made it. Let's hope the luck continues all weekend. Good weather by NZ standards has greeted me so far but is forecast to change for the next few days. Built the bike, did the test ride, and all good. Tv reports said the wind was getting up to 60km/hr+ and it was a tad wobbly on the road during the test ride. Water in the lake is crystal clear with no waves and without the usual NZ chill. Was quite warm actually but definitely a wetsuit swim. Everyone is out in their gear on the strip. Sensible ones though are inside watching the tv, internet, or sleeping. Taper is going well and I am looking forward to letting it all rip on the Saturday.
I am race number 38. You can follow the race on http://www.ironmanlive.com/ through either the athlete tracker or updates. Race day weather forecast is rain, 16-22 degrees Celsius, with a moderate northerly wind. Not sure what moderate wind means by NZ standards probably an Aussie cyclone. The wind pushed the waves on the lake up to 1-1.5m the other day which if it occurs on Saturday will make it interesting for a lot of competitors.
The pro briefing was today. They are going to hammer drafting, littering, and infractions this year. They even have a chopper with a tv to bust drafters and have them sit out their penalty on entering transition 2. Littering, including banana peels, will be a u-turn and pick up plus penalty. We have a 15min start on the age-groupers so that they can police the race better and also it is a new worldwide WTC rule change. This may change as the race director seems to want us to start with the age-groupers and may give us a late start 'due to darkness' but not change the age-grouper start time. We will find out race morning. Otherwise, it is as per normal and a good field of racers that should make the viewing interesting. I will touch base again before race day .
Cheers,
Bevan.
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