Well it is not long now to Kona and the Hawaiian Ironman Champs. This will be my third time racing and I feel like things are coming along nicely. It will be an added bonus this year as my family will be coming including my 22 month old daughter on her first overseas trip to cheer me on and swim with some green turtles. Race numbers are up and I am number 1385 in the Mens 35-39 year grouping which is traditionally one of the fastest and most competitive.
I have utilised a different approach this time working on eash leg individually. With the lack of races available in Australia during winter (zero triathlons) I have focused on marathons and bike races for preparation. This is always a problem for southern hemisphere athletes as Kona occurs before our season starts so it means lots of dark cold hours of training and a white tan on arrival in Hawaii. Acclimation is a big part of the race and some take to it in a more fun way than others :)
Running has been a weaker leg but I feel that this is changing. I have run two challenging marathons placing 11th overall and 2nd overall in my last one in late August on a hilly on-off road course.
Cycling is going well with some good wins including the District Individual Time Trial. Notably I have utilised power for the first time to train my legs to not go 'overboard' and save some energy for the sapping Kona marathon conditions.
During my build I have also had the chance to trial some new endurance Junkie suits that we used in photoshoots for the brand. Kona is the one place you really want to leave nothing to chance especially the suit you will be racing in. I know I can rely on the Kona suit to be comfortable and aid in thermoregulation which plays a big part with temperatures ranging from 20-50 degrees celcius in the lava with humidity 30-90%. Being a bigger guy I need all the help I can with heat regulation and Peter and the team at endurance Junkie have hit on a winner.
I head over this Sunday after a good confidence boosting weekend at the Forster Triathlon Festival. I got a lot of training done and some race practice picking up a win in a Teams Sprint Triathlon and an age group third in an individual Olympic Triathlon. I am looking forward to providing the finishing touches in the next two weeks to place myself on the start line with every chance to achieve a great overall result.
I feel confident, I feel strong, I feel fast, and I will be stylish in my new endurance Junkie race kit. The perfect combination for that winning finish line photo!
Train safe, Dream Big, Be an endurance Junkie ;)
Cheers,
Bevan.
