A lot less rain and food in Cairns this year

Let me begin this race report with a quick apology. Normally I would have given you a bit of a lead-up to a race like Cairns 70.3. I’d talk about the course, talk about the competition and maybe give you a run-down on how my preparation has been going. I deliberately didn’t do that this time around. Today, I decided to fly under the radar, go into Cairns 70.3 without any hype or expectation, play it low-key and just see how it panned out. Partly that’s because in my mind, my focus is already shifting to Kona.

Missed it by that much

So, how did Cairns 70.3 go? The short version is that – it was certainly better than Busselton, not quite what I wanted (a podium finish would have been nice) but definitely a solid effort. I came in 4th, trailing Appo (Sam Appleton), Crowie (Craig Alexander) and Reedy (Tim Reed). No shame in that – it’s not like I was beaten by three average blokes. Congratulations to all three fellas – nice work out there today, guys! I’m happy still finishing 4th.

Positive progress

As far as preparation for the race went, the mileage is not quite where I’d like it to be, but I’ve been riding fast, running fast and swimming better than I have before. I’ve been focusing on quality rather than quantity at this stage of the game.

If there’s one thing I can take out of today’s race it’s that the work I’ve been doing with Kriss Hendy, my strength and conditioning coach, is paying off. I felt good on the run and much better on the bike. Even after 4 weeks, it’s making a difference. So that’s a good thing. I guess, working on strength, flexibility and a powerful core is never wasted effort.

Hungry for learning

Each time I race I try and learn something from the experience. Today’s lesson? Don’t tape your gels to the top tube!

Normally in an IM I’d carry a Bento box. Today I taped my nutrition to the top tube and then watched it all fall off in the rain. Five gels gone! When you’re burning around 1000 calories an hour, you can’t afford to leave your fuel on the roadway. Lesson learned! Looks like it’s going to be the Bento box in the future.

That’s it from me. As always – thanks for your support and encouragement. Thanks especially to the Cairns 70.3 team for putting together a great event. One final thought – keep training, keep learning and enjoy the scenery along the way!