Race Report: 2011 Bullen Merri Challenge

Hi there again sports fans,

Its been longer than usual since the last post as I've been spending nearly all of my spare time training and desperately trying to keep up to date with work.  As most of you would know I'm heading to China shortly for the Baise Leye International Outdoor Quest so since the high volume training block in January the goal has been to keep up a consistent training schedule, punctuated by a couple of short, hard races to keep me 'race fit' but with sufficient endurance for a multi-day race late in the 'season'.

Consequently, a fortnight ago we headed down to Camperdown for the inaugural Bullen Merri Challenge at Lake Bullen Merri on the outskirts of Camperdown (in Victoria's western district).  The race is deliberately scheduled for a late enough start that those that want to head down from Melbourne can do so on the morning of the race.  Arriving at the lake we were confronted by a typical Autumn morning, crisp and cool, with the hint of a light mist in the air.  The drive in had revealed that the bike course was going to be considerably hillier than I had expected, but that didn't particularly concern me and made a nice change from dead flat triathlon circuits.

Jarad, Alex and I leading the group away.

With all of the formalities out of the way we lined up for a typical deep water multisport start (read: regardless of the advertised start time the gun goes when the boats are in a line) and we were soon away. I settled into Alex's (Polizzi) wash early and he was similarly sitting on Jarad's (Kohlar) wash in front of him.  Luke (Haines) chose a wider line to the left and sat wide for a good portion of the first few km's.  After about 2km I started to drop off the pace and chose to let Alex and Co. go rather than blowing my shoulders apart so early in the race.  I soon had two teams competitors in K1s come past and I was able to tuck into their wash an maintain a comfortable tempo.

Coming out of the water at the end of the paddle.

As we did a 270 degree turn around the second last can I was able to make an assessment of where I was in relation to both Luke and Jarad, but more importantly Alex and the nearest competitors behind me.  I was only a few minutes down on Alex, and had a small 10-20 second lead on the next group of chasers being pulled along by Deanna Blegg. I used the opportunity to take a gel but my hydration tube was tangled up and I lost the small lead I had over the group while I stopped paddling to sort it out.  I entered transition at the same time as Deanna (as a side note this is the third time Deanna and I have finished a paddle split together in three races), and nearly fell A over T running up the wet grass into transition.

Adventure Skill: Arabesque.

Out onto the bike and I was quickly able to get into a good rhythm and pushed hard early knowing Alex was only about three minutes ahead.  As I'd worked out on the way in the bike course was considerably tougher than what I had expected and had two decent climbs each lap and a long power section on the flat however, I was well prepared riding Merida's new aero road frame (the 'Reacto').  By the end of the first lap I'd pulled Alex back to within a couple of hundred meters and was feeling pretty solid but not amazing.

The second lap of the bike was more controlled and I eased back slightly so as to not destroy myself for the run.  At this point I was also concerned about some tightness in my left shin that has been a recurring problem for me over many years and often flares up when I run off the bike. Regardless I push on, and decide that I'll worry about that if and when it happens. Shortly after Rohan Creed flies past in the aero position and I drop from fourth to fifth place.  Alex and I are still playing cat and mouse with me taking time out of him on the two climbs, and him powering away on the descents.  Finally, after turning onto the flat section along Cross Forest Road I pass him and hold a small lead into T2.

Up the hill into Camperdown for the second time.

Heading out on the run Alex and I settle into a comfortable tempo with Rohan only about 150m ahead.  Normally, I'd be in my element in this position but I felt quite tight generally in my lower body (hip flexors down) and was cursing that I hadn't had a massage prior to the race. The first 3k of the course was a slow uphill along a fire trail punctuated by cattle grates every few hundred meters which were a real pain to cross. Alex was starting to pick up the tempo, and I unfortunately was having trouble getting my legs to respond.  I stopped to quickly stretch out my shins which were now starting to bother me with the hope that I'd still be able to run out the remaining few k's of the run leg.

The start of the descent down to the finish.

The back section of the run course was along the lakes edge which was very similar to beach running but with more weedy vegetation that is quite inconsistent underfoot.  I can still see Alex in front and feel like I'm making some headway but I get passed by the fast moving Rhys Newsome who looks like he's on a mission (he is, and runs into third place).  We soon climb steeply up from the lake and head through a small forested area to make the spectrum of terrain complete. From there a quick run to the top of the hill felt a lot easier than it should have and similarly the final downhill stretch was quite enjoyable. Crossing the line I was in 6th place.

So what do we take away from the race?

Positives:

My paddle split was the real highlight of the day.  I'm still slower than the top boys, but I'm now within a sensible deficit that will allow me to compete more competitively for the places. This is 'positive positive' because it was one of the deficiencies I highlighted in my Lorne race report. I felt strong on the bike as well and toughed the day out despite some niggles on the run.  As with my Anaconda de-brief I'm still really happy with how my race nutrition is coming together after it plagued me last season.  Therefore, hard hit-out goal met!

Areas for improvement:

I obviously paid for not having my usual massage in the week leading up to the race and with the amount of trail running I've been doing that was a definite oversight.  I probably pushed the bike a touch too hard at the very start and this may have contributed also. Fortunately, both of these issues are easy fixes.

Progress from Previous Action Plan:

• Program more time in the open water to polish the ‘specific’ skills - N/A
• Properly establish target times - Much better this time around
• Use my support crew to keep me informed about my overall position - Done

New Action Plan:

The action plan from here is to:

• Incorporate massage into pre-race shedule (Wednesday/Thursday)
• Keep a lid on the pace until the legs have warmed up
• Program time in the open water to polish the ‘specific’ skills
• Properly establish target times
• Use my support crew to keep me informed about my overall position

So, where to from here?  As mentioned earlier I'm shortly heading to China for the Baise International Outdoor Quest which will be my first International Adventure Race. I'm feeling pretty positive because I've managed to maintain a strong and consistent training schedule since Lorne and I'm really looking forward to the challenge. I'm also grateful for the ongoing support I've received this season from Foz and the Fluid Movements / Peak Adventure coaching staff, Merida and the Melbourne Bicycle Centre - Clifton Hill without whom I wouldn't be as well equipped on race day. I'm sure there'll be lots of stories for the next blog.

Until then train smart, rest smarter.