Capricorn Resort Half Ironman, Yeppoon 2010
Report by Kristy Hallet
It’s been a long, cold and wet winter in Melbourne. The only foreseeable escape was to head north and race. Yep..., in Yeppoon!
Don’t let the beautiful beaches, swaying palms and brilliant blue skies trick you though, the Capricorn Half is tough. Thank goodness it is a tropical paradise because it makes swimming against the current for 1.9kms, biking 90kms on an unforgiving road surface and then running 21kms through the heat of the day easier somehow. This race for me has become a favourite. Why? Firstly, the weather, 28 degrees C! Secondly, it starts at 8am – nearly a sleep-in! And thirdly, it’s a great race for spectators - from the poolside bar, beer in hand, my husband Dan was able to cheer me on – perfect!
After coming off my bike in May, and getting a very annoying cold bug two weeks ago, I was only able to get in 5 weeks of quality training. Still, I am happy with how strong I felt (you know you’ve given it a fair crack when you ache so much you can’t sleep afterwards). Sunrise on race morning was spectacular and I was pretty relieved seeing how calm the sea was from our room (little did I know what was in store in the water!). All the competitors and some supporters walked 1.9km down the beach to the swim start after the usual pre-race business in transition was completed. On the way, I met up with fellow MTC’ers, Jacinta, Jennifer and Fi Collier, and Bruce and Danielle. They were all happy and excited to be there and racing – excellent!
The swim start is on the sand. You run about 50metres down the beach and into the water, do a few porpoises and then swim. I was in the first wave after the Open field started and there was a fair bit of jostling until we rounded the first buoy. “Who put a hill in the water?” was one of my first thoughts, as it felt like I was swimming uphill from the start. Buoy-oh-buoy, when do they end? It seemed really long and it was. We swam into the current the whole way! Happy to see the flags lining the beach , I exited the water, ran about 100m up the sand, through the dunes and into transition minus the cramping quads I experienced last year – YAY! I had a quick transition out of the wettie and Ruby and I went forth to divide and conquer (well we tried anyway!).
The bike course is five hard 18km laps with 90kms to cover. After the first lap my hands were already tingling from the pebbly road surface. My body was vibrating to its core. My ‘saddle’ was unbelievably sore and it was starting to feel quite warm, not to mention an annoying head and cross-wind that kept at you. But on the flip side were the amazing blue skies, happy triathletes competing, and spectators and volunteers cheering madly for you even when they don’t know you! I’d pushed the bike hard from the start. After counting down the last 15k’s, I flew into T2 and couldn’t wait to run.
It took a while to warm into the run. I was happy to have my thoughts side-tracked by seeing Dan leap out of the kid’s wading pool to cheer me on – apparently for my amusement only – sure honey!! Hilarious! I completed the first lap of 3 in about 30mins and was happy. Considering how technical the run course is and that half of it is cross country, things were going well. Nutrition, energy levels, pace and cadence were all good. I was hurting and feeling a bit warm but still strong – thanks Coach Sean (Fluid Movements) for the excellent run-specific training that kept me strong the whole way round the course. I had just enough left in me to run hard for the last kilometre, sprint down the finish shute and come in just under 5 hours. After I’d caught my breath, convincing my body that it didn’t want to be dizzy or sick, it was time to jump in the pool. Lockie, fellow MTC’er, was in the pool too and was so happy about completing his first half ironman. We swapped stories and then tucked into the traditional post race fruit and ice-cream- YUM!
I couldn’t have any of this crazy fun without the love and support of my husband– thanks and I’m so glad you had fun too! Big thanks to my Coach, Sean Foster and fellow athletes of Fluid Movements and MTC – the best squad on the planet! Thanks also to masseuse and Chiropractor extraordinaire, Luke Nicholls for getting me back up to scratch and keeping me that way. Thanks to CBD cycles for tuning-up Ruby for a big day out and Brunettis for keeping me pumped. Finally, thanks to everyone who has wished me well. Your support means everything – it gets me to the start line and then to the finish!
