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.
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.
