Hervey Bay 100

I've not done this event before mainly because it always clashes with some other event late in the year. But I've heard good things about it. With Ironman Busselton cancelled, I was looking forward to another long course event before the year ends. The event sold out on the same day entries were opened, I got myself onto the waitlist and fortunately scored a slot. I was probably among the last few, as soon as I registered, the race organizer started sending out emails on race packet pick ups etc.

Hervey Bay is about 4+ hours drive from home, it's a nice spot and I've been there a couple of times for work. So I thought it would be good to bring the family along this time. The traffic was pretty good on Saturday and Sebastian didn't make a fuss at all (thanks to pre downloaded Netflix videos)! We had an early lunch break in Gympie and arrived in Hervey Bay just after midday, to be greeted by strong winds and the scorching sun! I was bracing myself for some tough racing conditions the next day. I met up with the South Bank tri clubbies at the race pack pick up while Li-Ann and Sebastian played at the beach. We had takeaway pizza and Japanese for dinner and soon it was time for bed.

Race morning, 4.30am alarm goes off but I was already awake for over 30 minutes before. Our accommodation was conveniently close, about 200m from transition. I racked my bike and then went back to the room for breakfast and final toilet visit. The swim was a point to point swim and I was in the second last wave at 6.47am. I still had plenty of time and sat at the beach for about 15 minutes before going in for a quick warm up swim. Even then, I probably did it a bit too early and was shivering in the wind while waiting for my wave start. 

Swim 2km (supposedly)

The event prides itself with a unique whale tail shaped swim course. However, due to high waves, the swim was shortened and it was shaped more like a trapezium. The wind was coming from the north so the first outbound swim was tough. But once we turned right, though it was still very choppy, I felt that there was a bit of current assistance. There were only about 30 or so people in my wave start, so it was difficult to draft or to sight, made even more challenging by the choppy waters. But I didn't waste too much time finding my bearings. Overtaking different coloured caps from the earlier starts always gives a bit of a confident boost. The swim back after the final turn didn't seem much easier as I felt as I was being pushed away instead of doing a diagonal swim back to the beach. I hit the lap button as soon as I got onto the beach, to give me an accurate reading of the distance and pace. Garmin recorded 27 minutes on the dot for 1,543m. Average pace of 1:45 which is pretty much an aerobic pace in the pool for me. Given that the pros were swimming just over 20 minutes, I'm pretty happy with how I swam comparatively. The first timing mat was another couple of hundred meters away and official results had me clocking 27:53 and 7th in age group at this stage.

Photo credit Nicci

Transition 1

I was disappointed to see that there weren't many bikes left on the rack and then I realised that most of those who were on the same rack as I were from earlier wave starts. I spent the extra couple of seconds wiping the sand off my feet and put the socks on. Only to realise that I haven't taken off my swimskin, not going to make that mistake again! Mounting the bike at the mount line was a bit scary as we were very close to the actual bike course. I looked back to make sure no cyclist was zooming towards me before I got on my bike. Time taken 1:14.

Bike 80km

Pretty straightforward bike course. Four laps out and back. I was expecting a fast and flat course. The winds were not as bad as the day before but it was still strong. The outbound journey had some deceptive inclines and there were a few roundabouts and plenty of corners that I had to get off my aerobars so that I could steer better. There were a few speed bumps at the start and concaved surfaces at the other end to look out for as well. My Garmin Edge 500 cycle computer went totally flat despite having fully charged it before. Probably time for a change as it is about 7 years old. So I relied on looking at my wrist every now and then to get some data feedback. It didn't help that it was on auto scroll! But I kept to a pretty consistent effort for each lap. It just over 17 minutes on the way out and just over 16 minutes on the way back. And that included a the infamous short steep climb on Gatakers Hill on the way back. I initially planned on just cycling in the big chainring but the climb came so suddenly that switched into the small chainring each time, praying that the chain doesn't drop! Interestingly there was one other cyclist from Redcliffe tri club who would always pass me on the return lap but I would overtake him again towards the end of the outbound lap. We never rode near to each other but this went on for all four laps. 

Photo credit https://www.dsaimages.com.au/

I finally got back to transition with a bike split of 2:14:50, averaging 35.5kph and 185 watts. Probably a bit conservative. Clocking closer to 36kph and shaving a couple of minutes off would be better. Distance was pretty spot on at 79.8km. Official results included transition time at 2:16:00 and I gained a spot to 6th in my age group.

Photo credit https://www.dsaimages.com.au/

Transition 2

After racking my bike and removing my helmet, for some reason I froze a bit. My helmet visor was broken before from getting knocked off my bike. So I took that extra care to place it gently on the tarmac and ensured that it wasn't in anyone's way. Then back into game mode, shoes on and grabbed everything else - sunglasses, race belt and run visor putting them on the go. Time taken 1:04

Run 18km

3 lap course on the foot paths, starting from transition in the middle. Mostly shaded and thankfully it had been overcast skies mostly throughout the day, except towards the final run lap or so where the sun started peeking out. But it was certainly warm and humid. I have been struggling a bit with my long runs lately, been breaking it into smaller distances as I haven't been able to execute them in one go. And it showed on race day. I started off at around 4:30 per km pace, which is usually what I do in training but couldn't sustain it and dropped it to just under the 5 minute mark. We were told to ensure that our cups made to the bin and there was one section in the middle of the first lap, I was so focused on looking out for the bin until I missed the intersection and almost ran back into the transition area, I even crossed that timing mat again! Quickly turn around and went back out on course, could have been disqualified if officials were being strict.

Photo credit https://www.dsaimages.com.au/

Seeing Li-Ann and Sebastian cheering from the playground did lift my spirits. And so were the cheers from the South Bank tri club tent and Greg and Cathy from my former Logan tri club at the run turnaround. But there is only so much my tired body could do. At one stage I dropped even further to 5:30 per km pace. I was surviving on the (warm) coke from each station. The final lap came and I found a bit of a second wind and started clawing back to the low 5 minutes pace.

Photo credit Nicci

Finally crossed the line a run split of 1:30:02, official split of 1:31:04 including transition. Garmin recorded 18.3km with an average pace of 4:55. Overall finish time was 4:14:58, falling short of my sub 4:10 target which I had plenty of time after the bike but it all came apart after that. Surprisingly, I gained another spot and placed 5th in my age group. Fourth place was a fair bit away and it was unlikely for me to beat even at my best.

While I am somewhat disappointed with the results, especially since I felt I under performed at Sunshine Coast 70.3 two months ago and was eager to redeem myself, I truly enjoyed the experience. The race organizers put on a good show and it's hard to believe that this is an event organized by the local tri club. The family enjoyed the trip and if the race calendar permits, would definitely have another go at this race again!