With only a few hours left before I turn in for an early night pre-race I’d better get the plan up. Good news is daylight saving is coming to an end so the clocks change and we get an extra hours sleep! Best as you can sleep the night before a race anyway. Everything is checked in now, I’ve not yet laid out my kit for tomorrow, I’ll do that when I’m done here. Then it’s just a little race to do tomorrow.
So starting with the swim my plan is pretty simple here. Place myself towards the front to the far side of the course. I have no idea how I’m going in open water, I have a fair idea of how I’m doing in long course pools though. In most of my races I think I tend to feel rushed and tense through the swim and the result is poorer stroke technique. So one aim is to keep calm, not to bolt too hard and to focus on keeping good technique. With that in mind I want to get on a good set of feet to help pull me round under the hour. We’ll see how this goes!
I’m going to be happier once out of the water, that’s always the case. The bike is three 60km laps with a hilly section leaving the town, a long exposed flat and then some undulations at the far end. I’ve experienced most of the course in the half so have a fair idea what to expect. Current weather report has relatively low winds so they shouldn’t be a major factor. My objective is to go under 5:15 on the bike, that may not seem ambitious, but I’m really not sure of the course. I did a 2:38 for the half in strong winds and with my training set-up. So I’m betting on improved fitness to allow me to perform better on this course. As with WA I will be watching and controlling my pacing according to heart rate.
Two big changes for the run – no compression socks and a fuel belt! Firstly I’ve decided to save a minute in transition by not having to struggle with socks. Also whilst they certainly help the legs feel good in the marathon I’ve managed lots of runs without them before. The fuel belt is so I can carry my own gels with me and regulate my energy intake. I’ve mentioned before how nutrition was an issue in Busselton so this time I’m trying to tackle it head on (I also have a couple of bars with me or the bike). It’s three laps again hilly at one end otherwise mostly flat. My experience of the half is that the run is surprisingly fast. My aim is to hit around 3:10 here, this really should be within my reach.
Adding it all up, allow for transitions and the aim is to break 9:30 here. I believe the way my training has gone this is quite plausible if I put together the day I’m capable of. Guess we’ll see tomorrow. Thanks to anyone who’s wished me luck, sorry if I’ve not got round to replying yet. It’s been a busy few days with packing up and travelling south. Then there’s another photo shoot to talk about, working the expo, catching up with a lot of people and I got to spend the Carbo party in the VIP area! It’s been fun so I’d better back it up with a good race.
Oh, and of course I’d like a Hawaii slot too!