Anaconda Noosa, a phlegmy experience

Anaconda Gold Coast was a cracker last year, the swim was fine, the paddle was flat and I got a ride on the wash of a double up the river and the run and MTB were super steep. The powers that be decided to move the race to Noosa, so I had no idea what to expect as there was nothing at all to go on. In addition the race clashed with my fave private race, but Noosa had priority due to it being a family weekend with Mici's family (gave up double points in the series....aarrgghh!)

Went for a MTB Chris on Tue and started to come down with the Flu. On the flight over to Brisbane the dreaded Manflu took hold sitting there with a jacket and 2 blankets on shivering, AND not drinking.....what the? Mici and her sister talked me into going to Emergency. I agreed on the theory that I would get on some antibiotics 12hrs earlier than if I waited till the next day and that might mean I would be well enough to attempt the race. I was having difficulty breathing at this point and I was convinced I had pneumonia. 4hrs later the Doc gave me some pills and didn't say I COULDN'T race. I was feeling a little hollow for the fact that my illness was not given a diagnosis that fitted the death like symptoms, but hey there might just be a chance I could do this thing and not waste the $700 I had spent entering this thing and our family holiday might actually turn out to be enjoyable.

Next day I was already on the mend and we drove to Noosa. Turns out this is a great spot for a race. Accommodation all along the beach with the start, paddle and final transitions all along Hastings st it is a great one for the support crew. The MTB transition is only a few km up the road and they take your runners up to the run transition for you making logistics a breeze! Great food on Hastings St and the family came up to join us.

Saturday I went for a paddle with a girl Row Kendall who turned out to be from Perth. Reccy paddle of the river mouth is a MUST. The entrance isn't too bad but the sand bars are everywhere and on race day everyone goes everywhere. Almost 4m swell was a non-event due to the protected bay the beach is in. All weekend the water was flat. Best to work it out for yourself and not follow others as it seems they don't know where they're going either. Then the highlight of the weekend the Anaconda Junior. We had Ethan 10 and Lucas and Andreas both 5 running and the kids were all chanting at the bit. The race starter John Jacoby was almost trampled as the lower age groups stampeded to get out there. Big smiles on the faces of both the kids and the parents was priceless as we headed to the overlooking Surf Club for a meal and hydration. That night some lovely ladies that had had a little too much of a good time decided to have a screaming match in the stairwell of the hotel at about 01:30am. I got up and suggested to them that they should move on using a word starting with F and after a little while they were nice enough to oblige.c

Race morning started with a quick drive to drop off the MTB and a walk up the beach to position my ski. Dropped runners off for taking out to transition and to the start line. Eileen had decided to let the kids sleep in so Mici was solo for the race start. Later Ethan would be not impressed for Mum not waking him.

Swim 1.9km 35:54 85/126 oáll 19/26 open male
Felt ok on the swim, around the corner to the beach around a flag back in back almost to the start beach then along to transition just before the groin. Flat conditions, mild water. Wetsuit on to avoid drowning :) Garmin said it was 2.12km.

Paddle1 6km 49:19 67/126 oáll 16/26 open male
Out of the wetsuit and into the PFD, bike helmet and sunnies on. The shore break was dumping but small, and got through ok. Some others were having some difficulty. Short paddle in flat conditions around a can and into the river mouth. Some waves were breaking and I could see a bunch of people coming out of their skis. I paddled into just before the breaking zone, dropped off the back of a wave and paddled hard. I got picked up by a great wave and surfed it all the way through.....very pro......very lucky! Once through I headed for my route through the sand bars and found people going everywhere, people paddling shallow water, walking their skis....it was chaos. After that a very quiet river paddle around a can and back to transition. Garmin had 6.72km

MTB 34km 01:47:50 34/126 oáll 11/26 open male
Carry the ski up onto the grass and into transition to take off PFD and bike shoes. New rule of allowing Camelbak over race bib made life much easier than normal. Onto the bike and 6km of suburban streets before we hit the dirt I made note as I knew we were running back this way. Once on the dirt the course markings were immediately a problem, although I suspect it might have been an "All Roads Lead To Rome" situation. I had the standard battle with a roadie for a little while. He overtook me on the open stuff and then he held me up on the singletrack. When the singletrack got a little tighter I dropped him and didn't see him again. Mostly steady climbing for the first 18km on mostly roads and firetrail with a small climb at 13km and take note of the turnoff for the return trip at 14.5km mark. The Singletrack from the 18km mark is PROPPER. Nothing a regular MTBér can't handle but technical to be great fun and a little dangerous to the un-wary :) :) Another climb at 27km not too bad and a steady ride into transition with a little singletrack to finish at Lake McDonald. Garmin had 34.03km and 416m climbing.

Run 14km 01:42:23 74/126 oáll 17/26 open male
Off the bike and off with the Camelbak, shoes and helmet I found my transition bag and put on my shoes and hat and grabbed my 1st Aid kit put it in and donned my Fuelbelt. The run started with 4km on unsealed roads, and I was beginning to wonder if there was going to be any trail running. This is when the effects of the Manflu started to make themselves known. The Trail Running started here and the singletrack went increasingly skyward. Feeling the way I did I didn't feel guilty at all walking and ended up passing a few people on the ascent. It didn't last that long 1.8km in total and 180m of climbing. from here it was a steady descent on unsealed roads to the suburban streets at the 10km mark back to the ski transition. I was using my slip on runners and my toes were getting smashed into the end of my shoes. Then when I hit the streets although I passed a couple more people I was really beginning to struggle. The street running really dragged out and my Garmin told me the run was actually 16.15km with 210m climbing and 318m of descending.

Paddle2 5km 39:16 65/126 oáll 16/26 open male
Into the Ski Transition I had been noticing a strong headwind blowing up for the return ski leg. I had nearly lost the will to live at this point. I put on my PFD and wandered over to my ski and noted that I should have turned it around when I got in. I headed out to the Turn can and was really not feeling good at all. It wasn't until about the 2.5km mark that I found any rhythm at all and the headwind was smashing me. This was not the best I had felt in an Adventure Race. Garmin had 5.42 hard fought km.

Final Run 1km 06:33 91/126 oáll 20/26 open male
After beaching at the final transition I carried my ski up to the grass and wandered around like a homeless man. I left my PFD on and started shuffling barefoot toward the beach. Once I got onto the beach and could see all the people I picked up the pace and found a good rhythm on the hard sand near the water. It was a little weird running along in front of all these people but it helped give you some motivation. In the distance i caught the familiar sight of Mici and the family. They cheered me on and Ethan ran the finish chute with me, hands joined and raised over the finish line. Afterwards I learnt Lucas had tried to come too but couldn't keep up. That was cool having them there. Highlight! Garmin 0.81km

Total 68.7km 05:34:42 52/126 oáll 13/26 open male
With my illness I didn't know if I was going to get through it, but I managed to. Albeit with a struggle. Lay on the beach for a little while regaining some composure. Great place for a race, brilliant MTB course. The run was a little disappointing but I think they might be able to make some adjustments and get a bit more trail in there.

The Doctor

A few random downwind paddles since Anaconda Augusta and I thought "The Doctor" was a good idea. The Doctor is a World Class downwind paddle event from Rottnest Island to Sorrento Beach. It's designed to be a downwind race, so the organisers make adjustments to try and make sure it is actually downwind such as moving the day or adjusting the course. In 2010 they even ran it the other way round to suit the wind.

I eneterred on the Tuesday night before the event and was lucky to secure a place for my ski on the barge over to Rotto as they closed it off on Wed morning. Fri afternoon I had to take my ski down to Free'o to load it. Chaos! People and ski's everywhere, and HOT. Registration and breifing at Sorrento on Fri evening, I had to take off to pick up Mici at the airport.

Sat morning and on the 07:15 ferry from Hillary's. A tourist across me cracked a beer......I know I'll be after one of them later on. Arrived a little after 8 and secured a spot under a tree the LONG WAIT began. 1st lesson of the day, don't get the early ferry! 6hr wait for race start is very frustrating. I helped unload the barge and learnt that nearly all the other boats were a LOT lighter than mine.

Well after a lot of lying under a tree at 12ish we heard they were looking at starting us early due to shipping traffic. So we headed over for a quick breifing and the SUP's were off then the Female's and Plastics then us. I never really made the start. I was approaching and suddenly paddles were flying like someone had seen a shark. I just settled into my own rhythm and plodded along.

The course was shortened taking out a bouy rounding to make a straight paddle for Sorrento. This was in an attempt to make the paddle a little more downwind. Turns out NOTHING was going to make the paddle downwind, and it was simply 26.5km of hard work in a washing machine. I really thought I was coming last for a while and at about the 17km mark I was not feeling the joy. I remarked to a guy as I passed him "This isn't as much fun as I thought it was going to be" There was just no waves to surf at all and any waves that there were there were coming from all directions making it a feat just to stay in the boat.......And then I fell out of the boat! twice. I wasn't that disappointed, it was very refreshing on a hot day.

Eventually I could make out Sorrento, and that was when the teasing began. It seemed to take forever to do the last 5km or so into the beach and I was hurting. My abdominals were really letting me know they were ready for a rest. FINALLY I made it to the beach and ran through the finish arch. OH MAN THAT HURTS. Drinking fresh water as opposed to electrolyte was a big releif, but it took a fair while for my abs to calm down.

As luck would have it Andy turned up just as I was picking up my ski to take it up to the car, thank God! A steak and a few beers and all was well again. Valuable lessons learnt. 1 Must train for the Doctor, 2 no need to catch the early ferry, 3 Brad Cuff's pants are questionable.

Right 1 week to Wildside, multi day MTB race in Tassie

Ironman WA 2011

First Ironman, and I was VERY nervous. Due to circumstances my taper started a week earlier than planned, but on the positive side, my mate Jase had leant me his TT bike :). Mici and I headed down to Busselton on Thursday after I woke up post night shift. Made it just in time to go through Registration. Friday evening breifing, Saturday afternoon  bike drop, Sunday morning.....race! One of the most relaxed couple of days pre-race I've ever had. LOTS of tossers tooling around on VERY flash bikes. A few too many beers on Friday night, 

all good really. At briefing they had a 28m big screen. It was a massive production.

Anyway, lets get on with it. Raceday.
05:45 start. up early set up bike with nutrition, and down to the water.

Mass swim start with 1360 or so people was surprisingly not chaotic. got a great spot and settled into a good rhythm. Hung on some feet for a while and around the jetty we went. A little choppy out the end but really not too bad. Swallowed a fair bit of water and felt a bit crappy for a while on the way back in and my new goggles were a bit tight in the end. But very happy with the result.

Swim 3.8km 01hr13min18 overall 599/1360 category35-39 114/236

Out of the water I grabbed my bag and into the tent. The volunteers helped me with some sunscreen and I was off to find the rubber chicken which was guarding my bike. Off onto the course I settled into my planned pace and was doing it easy. I soon found a few clowns overtaking and then sitting up....very frustrating! Fairly windy on the way out, but was feeling good, weird gadget moment, the speed on both my wrist unit and bike computer stopped. reset and came good but a bit weird. 3 lap course. Heyse'y went by me about halfway and was looking great. Then on the last lap I noticed that things were getting a bit uncomfortable, and then was getting the beginnings of Sartorious cramps. Couldn't lay down on the tri-bars for the last 7km or the cramps would set in. It was about now I knew things were not going to go well for the run.

Bike 3laps 180km 05hrs47min03 overall 494/1360 category35-39 108/236
Splits 60km01:47:34 120km01:54:37 180km02:04:52

Off the bike I handed it to someone who looked after it. Grabbed my bag and back into the tent. I was helped with my shoes and sunscreen. I was planning on sitting there and having a sandwich but the volunteers gave me the hurry-up so off I went vegemite sandwich in hand. Past the finishers chute for the first time and then off to the west. I managed ok on the first of 4 laps but I knew there was little chance of much running going on after that. I was starting to feel a bit light headed and my abdominal region was not in a good place at all. After the first lap I decided it was time to worry about finishing and not ending up on the ground vomiting like many others I had seen already. This is where the full on stuff begins. People running on an angle, talking to themselves etc. Lots of people in a really bad way! I knew my planned day was over so it was all about finishing and taking it all in. I powerwalked as fast as I could and was doing about 09:30min a km. People were running past me but NO-ONE walking went past me. I tried to run (shuffle) a little bit but the light headed'ness and the abdominal thing just kept coming back, so back to a walk. I decided to walk out most of the 2 middle laps and run what I could of the last one. The atmosphere was fantastic. Loads of supporters many dressed up, playing music and indiscriminately cheering people on. Some were even going to the trouble of looking up your race number and calling your name and where your from, "C'mon Pete from Cloverdale give us a shuffle"it was brilliant. Kids spraying us with hoses, and the comeraderie amoung the competitors was remarkable. People were buddying up with other competitors and encouraging each other. "Ok lets try to run another 900m" they would say to each other. I walked past last years winner Coutney Ogden. He had done a calf at the start of the run, he was being praised by all quarters for not pulling out and walking the Marathon out. He was in a good mood and chatted to all who spoke to him including myself. Mici was there, worlds best support crew. When she found me I said "I'm ok, but this is going to take me a while" she's a trooper and stuck it out, ready and spotting me each time I came around. On the third lap I was ACTUALLY running when I passed her. "Who would have thought!" The aid stations were frequent, we had a couple of showers of rain to take the bite out of the 32deg day and I took on as much food and hydration as I could hoping to eat and drink my way good. Didn't really work. Onto the last lap and I had a smile on my face, 10km to go. Around to the finish chute in the main street to collect my orange wrist band to say I'd done all the required laps, and the wave of emotion that hit me when I was ushered over to the finish chute was something I was NOT ready for. I had tears running down my cheeks as I spotted Mici there with Jill and Andrew, and they do actually say it. "You are an Ironman". Made it in daylight.

Run 4laps 42.2km 05hrs51min18 overall 723/1360 category35-39 157/236
Splits 12.6km01:21:52 23.2km01:36:04 33.3km 01:35:06 42.2km 01:18:16

So when you finish they grab you on both sides in case can't walk. They escort you down the street to the medical tent then the finishers area. There's massage, food and stuff. The massage was a new experience for me, it was a great opportunity to just lie down and have a rest really. Then a great reunion with Mici, Jill and Andrew.
3.8km Swim, 180km Bike, 42.2km Run 13hrs01min42 overall 723/1360 category35-39 157/236

After back to the unit for 3 beers a shower and sleep. Woke up sore but ok the next day. I was walking a bit easier than a lot of people I saw. Mici and I went to the Duckstein for a great lunch then back for a nap and then on the bikes down the road for dinner. Was perfect!

I had a great day. Mostly because I relaxed and took it all in. 2012 went on sale on Friday and sold out in less than an hour and a half.......yes I'm one of them!

Cape To Cape MTB 2011

4days of MTB in WA's South West. After a few withdrawals within the regular crew it was left to myself Andy, Billy, Blacky and Heyes'ey to give it a crack. Staying at Busselton with Andrew and Jill made for a bit of travelling but Jill was a trooper looking after us.

Day1 Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse Augusta-Hamlin Bay
38.85km 02:16:58 Open Men61/227 Overall106/620

Heyes'y had a massive stack and landed heavily on a rock. Realised later I almost ran over him as I screamed down the hill myself. Suspected broken hip.
Cape To Cape Day1 by pjgoo2 at Garmin Connect - Details

Day2 Hamlin Bay-Xanadu Winery Margaret River
64.47km 03:08:39 Open Men66/228 Overall108/625
Cape To Cape Day2 by pjgoo2 at Garmin Connect - Details

Day3 Xanadu Winery-Colonial Brewery Margaret River
52.69km 02:38:14 Open Men56/253 Overall84/680

Highlight day of the race in the Marg's trails. Best riding in WA :)

Cape To Cape Day3 by pjgoo2 at Garmin Connect - Details

Day4 Colonial Brewery-Dunsborough Country Club
70.54km 02:54:29 Open Men60/245 Overall96/632

Roady smashfest, group riding on the railway trail. Stopped to help Reece Tucknott with a flat (he better remember that when he's famous) and never got back into a group that worked for me.
Cape To Cape Day4 by pjgoo2 at Garmin Connect - Details

Total 4days
226.55km 10:58:20 Open Men58/212 Overall89/541

Great race and the first of many C2C's. massive thanks to Jill.

Collie River Marathon

15days racing in 16weeks. A new course for 2011 looked like a good race had potentially made better with all legs starting and finishing at Minninup Pool. Early start leaving home at 6 for the 2hr+ drive.

25km Road Time Trial
I was one of the last individuals off the start with Billy off with me. I felt good and decided to have a bit of a go on the road bike this year, particularly on the descents. The new course was basically out and back over a single hill. Was picking off quite a few riders, and I thought I might have been able to catch Unit in his lilly white cycle kit who started in front of me, but he was too strong.
00:46:53 15/61 o'all including teams 11/26 category

10km Paddle
Off the bike I ran down to my ski to find none of the IOAR clowns had moved my gear around on me. Felt like transition went well and I started to pick more people off. Came across Jo and Simon and it took me quite a while to drop Jo, she was paddling really well. The new paddle course meant there was no portage, but there was still a little weed to negotiate. Constantly wondering if you have weed tangled around your rudder does your head in! Do I, or don't I......when you hit the weed it's like paddling through soup. The course had us paddle back past transition and down river. I had no-one in view and hadn't studied the course, and headed towards transition only to be waved "go left", bugger! I was putting in and it felt like I had been paddling forever! Back into transition up the chute and it was time for lunch
01:00:34 14/61 o'all including teams 10/26 category

1km Swim
I'm not a fan of the lunch break, getting going again seems to take me forever. The swim is my weakest leg these days but I actually felt like I swam alright. There was a lot of talk that the bouys seem to get further away each year, but my Garmin said it was just short of 1km.
00:18:07 29/61 o'all including teams 13/26 category

22.5km MTB
Out of the water I was really surprised how many bikes were still on the rack. Bit of a laugh with another Ironman, and onto the bike. A bit of mud tapped the legs early, and then team rider Bron rode past. Right muppet time to get going. I managed to hold onto Bron in the distance for the first half of the ride, then we hit some fast descents and Bron and I passed each other for a while. Passing Jo again she encouraged me to burn up my legs for the run, and "See you on the run". I replied "I can see that happening!" On the way home Bron was off her bike running up a nothing hill. Then I saw what looked like a mangled mess that should be a chain. she had a massive chain suck and didn't know what she should do. I stopped and had a look, and it looked bad. I managed to free the chain and I could not believe it when everything just snapped back into place and Bron rode off! Very lucky girl. Pushed onto the finish and into transition only to find they had moved the racks, and our gear......WTF!!! where are my runners!!!!!
01:09:37 13/61 o'all including teams 7/26 category

10km Trail Run
New course took in the Munda Biddi, trail. What a cracker! Most of the run was single track, and I loved every second of it, jumping logs and dodging trees....brilliant! At the turnaround I saw Jo not too far behind so I set to trying to hold her off on the run home. When I hit the bridge I knew I must have had only a bit over 1k to go so I gave it everything. I passed a team runner in a red shirt about 200m from the finish as the heavens opened up and a single bolt of lightening cracked really close and scared the absolute crap out of me. I picked it up even more into the finish and I knew old red shirt was going to put on a sprint. Sure enough he came past and I tried to match him but didn't have enough.
00:48:28 22/61 o'all including teams 10/26 category

04:03:42 12/61 o'all including teams 11/26 category
Great day, great new course, lots of familiar faces. Fantastic result! Straight back to Perth for a birthday party.

Mainpeak Multisport-One long Day

Mainpeak makes 12races/13days of racing in 14weeks and it's not about to stop. I'm possibly looking at another 6races/9days of racing in the next 6weeks. Mainpeak was always going to be one of the toughest though, and I was not mistaken.

The logistics for this race are massive with run/ride/run/ride/paddle/paddle legs. I was blessed to have Chris, Duncan and a little later on Nigel to help me out as my support crew. They did a fantastic job. I was up till 11pm on Sat night having worked a 12hr day Saturday putting the Tri gear on my road bike, setting out all my gear and getting all the info together for my support crew, getting food together and mixing up drinks 18 drink bottles with various cocktails in order to make it all run smoothly. Up at 3am to pick up the boys at Chris' house for a 4am departure to Toodyay for a 6am race start. Duncan got pulled up by the SWAT team on the way to Chris' house mistaken for someone in a similar vehicle ram raided a chemist (thanks for the sudafed BTW Dunc......kidding!). Set up the bike in T1 in the dark then up to the main street of Toodyay for the start line. Hello's to Billy, Bresa and Pocket, I was very nervous. I was expecting a 11hr day.

Leg1-7.5km Trail Run
Long day ahead, long day ahead, long day ahead.....was the thought I was repeating in my head. Fairly easy with a few little single track bits and a decent hill. Back into town and to the T1 bike transition on the river.
00:42:03 o'all84/120 o'all indiv33/46 category19/23

Leg2-58km Road Ride
Long day ahead, long day ahead......still trying to keep the pace easy to leave some in the tank. It was truely freezing when we hit the bike 6degC and no gloves. Did the first 10km on my own before latching onto a couple of guys who seemed to be about my pace. worked with them until about the 35km mark when they seemed to weaken and I was starting to feel stronger. Hopped on with a group of 4 and we worked together to the finish. I was a little worried I hadn't seen my support crew pass me and they weren't at the transition, releived to find they were there at T2 at Chittering Valley Estate. A nice undulating course, mentioned to Chris that it had gone really well, felt like I had made reasonable time without pushing too hard, the leg I was worried about was up next and the time for pushing was on the next bike leg after all the running was done.
02:01:40 o'all74/120 o'all indiv24/46 category16/23

Leg3-24km Trail Run
Been busting for a pee for about an hour by now. Stopped when out of sight and very releived. As you would expect the run started with a 4km climb.....I decided to run (very slowly at times) to keep my rhythm. All was going pretty well until I hit my old enemy the 14km mark. This is where it all went a little pear shaped for me. The pace slowed and I walked all but the slightest hills from here on in. The last few km seemed very lonely as there was just no-one around. The course was all fire trail with a fair bit of elevation involved. Out to the Avon River at Moondyne and back. The back bit seemed to take forever! Finally into T3 back at my bike the boys were waiting. The one small hicup in the logistics the boys didn't relise a had a separate bag of gear for the finish of the run. Luckily the car was closeby and Dunc grabbed it.
02:56:09 o'all87/120 o'all indiv25/46 category14/23

Leg4-33 Road Ride
Back on the bike I thought this was going to be sheer hell, but as soon as I clipped in and tucked down on the Tri Bars I am still surprised how good my legs felt. The boys passed me in the car shouting encouragement....I think. A relatively flat course with a gentle climb for the first half then a gentle descent in the second half and a little climbing into Walyunga and T4. I pushed a little until I hit the descent and then gave it a crack, managed to take quite a few people right up to Walyunga NP. Into transition I racked my bike and looked for my gear....I couldn't see it or the boys anywhere.
01:10:06  o'all56/120 o'all indiv11/46 category9/23

Leg5-7.5km White Water Paddle or 10km Trail Run
I had a horrible realisation the boys weren't here. Just as I was about to start bashing myself over the head with a seat post a lady mentioned they could be down by the ski's at the river edge. Oh yeah, why didn't I think of that. on this leg you could chose which option you wanted to do. With the water levels up similar to when I did the Avon I never even considered doing the run. As I trotted off to the ski's I was so releived to see the boys walking up the track with my gear in hand. I changed at the ski and made a graceful entry in my plastic ski with the rubber chicken on my helmet, unlike the guy who jumped onto his boat from the riverbank. I was very happy to be off the leg burning parts of the race. Straight into the rapids from above Walyunga I was loving it, the only issue was the massive cramps that started immediately I touched the cold water. overtaking a few down into Bells I was feeling good as I was remembering all the lines from the Avon. I was a bit nervous approaching Bells. I had been going too well, and had memories of all those rapids without a rudder in the Avon and copping a pounding. Breezed through Bells, and was leaving all the other paddlers around me for dead. Managed to stay in the boat, chuffed!
00:56:09 o'all47/120 category6/23

Leg6-16km Paddle
The boys were at T5 at the State Equestrian Centre to make sure I hadn't come to any grief in the white water. All was good so I waved and paddled on. That made this leg a 23.5km paddle and by about 15km I was getting very weary and getting a really sore butt. A guy I passed in the white water had changed to a fiberglass ski with a flip up rudder and sailed past. I could now see how much of a difference a lighter ski made. I was still getting the leg cramps but was forcing myself to paddle through them. I passed a number of people who were stopping to sort theirs out. Eventually I struggled into T6 at Middle Swan.
01:36:08 o'all53/120 category8/23
Leg5+Leg6
02:32:18 o'all45/120 o'all indiv13/46 category8/23

Leg7-12km Paddle
T7 and a flat river paddle I changed into my fibergass Fenn XT ski. I had never changed from one to the other before and I was astounded at how different they were to paddle both in stability and seating position. This one was so much more comfortable, no more sore butt! Off I went and immediately started passing people. It was short lived though as fatigue quickly took a firm grasp of my arms and shoulders and my technique went south. Again I was really struggling. Somehow with about 4km to go I found something. My arms lifted and my technique followed. I was gaining on the only guy to pass me since Middle Swan and in the distance I could see the only individual I had seen for ages, the guy who changed boats early and passed me. The closer I got to the finish the quicker I got, yes it hurt. I passed a heap of people in the last 2km including the 2 guys who had passed me. On hitting the beach at Ascot Kayak Club I managed to stand.....just and plod up the beach. As I hit the finish chute, I slowly loosened up and managed a jog, which eventually became a run. The announcer was egging me on to finish inside 10hrs 40. I did my best...and made it! 10:40:59.

All in all a very tough day. I knew I'd finish but it hurt.....a lot. I take my hat off to not only the superhuman winners but also the tail-enders out there for 13hrs 36min finishing in the dark. Summary; more training.

Dwellingup100

Very rushed week since Anaonda Gold Coast last Sunday;
Flew home Monday,
Worked Tuesday,
Swim/Boozy lunch/dinner/kebabs Wednesday,
Put bike together/Paddle/Bike Trainer Thursday,
Work/watch the Hawks winning ways at the Pub Friday
Race Satuday = Pete the most un-organised for a race he has ever been......ever!

I had some drama with my rear wheel last week, so I asked Chris to throw in a spare wheel just in case. This would turn out to be a blessing.

Early start pick up Theo at 05:30 and head down to Dwellingup. Got there just after 7 and had time to do all the stuff I hadn't had time to do during the week, pump up tyres, shocks, get food and water sorted......

08:30 start, saw Scott on the start line. Off for the first 40km loop we went, Chris Theo and I riding together. Picking up places nicely and riding Big Bertha without too much trouble (Hi Dan) apart from the multitude of inconsiderate people walking in the riding line!

NOTE PEOPLE, IF YOUR WALKING. GET OUT OF THE WAY OF PEOPLE RIDING!

Off the top of Big Bertha 10km in, we heard 2 massive crunch sounds and then noticed we had lost Theo. We waited......and waited.......and waited......then Chris rode back. Theo's (read Nigel's) back wheel hub had died a noisy death. Nothing we could do. Theo bravely told us to ride on. He would walk to transition and try to work something out.

Chris and I began passing back all those that had slipped by while we were trying to sort out Theo. I have to say much like the Karri Cup I was really dragging the chain and the ever patient Chris was having to wait for me.....a lot! Very glad to back at the Oval for a break at the 40km mark and I was saying over and over that I was looking at a long hard day.

To our surprise Theo appeared like a tall, young...male.......genie at the transition. He had walked 5km then got a lift back to the Oval. He had managed to get Chris's wheel rigged up and happened to be ready to go as we came in. Off we went together again on the 60km loop. Again I was dragging the chain, Theo and Chris were doing a great job of getting on the front and dragging me along.

Then we hit Turner Hill.......Turner hill appeared at about 56km mark to my surprise as I was plodding along thinking it was at 64km. For some reason this co-incided with my second wind, and I was leading the boys out pertty much for the first time of the day. We had a great run through this XC racing track and took quite a few riders. i could hear Theo behind me having a great time.

Out of here we were holding a good pace and continued to take more riders as we were looking for the infamous "Hells Gate". Eventually it appeared. A steep downhill rutted out track that wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. From here I was holding my breath for Marinup another XC circuit as I knew that was about all the excitement left. My legs were feeling remarkably good considering the poor performance of the first 50km or so and I was holding my own. Theo was strong, showing the fact he had missed 30km of riding but we were all really glad he managed to get back out there.

Into Marinup I found myself on the front again and I was picking up the pace. I was watching my bike computer and loving the flowy single track and pushing harder with every km as we neared 100km. My old chewed out chainrings were not too pleased with that, and evey time I gave a good push on the pedals there was a massive crunch! Smoothness was the key. I was a little confused as I didn't think town was that close but it was a 100km bike race right? Wrong. Then we passed the 100km completed sign which had a side note 3.3km to go......bastards!

Rolling into town we were keeping a good pace and I felt good, but Theo and Chris had it all over me as we rolled into town. In the spirit of things they sat up and we crossed the line together.
06hrs40min

Off to the pub we were informed that if we "Picked up" we needed to inform management as it would be an extra $25 for the room. Many beers AFL and Rugby on the big screen we caught up with lots of nice kids. Pinjarra Pie Shop for Brekky was a great wekend.

Garmin;
Dwellingup100 by pjgoo2 at Garmin Connect - Details

Have a look at this video. I'm the second rider at 02:22.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZwLCJ6lDqQ

Now, Mainpeak Multisport next weekend. That's going to be a whole different story!