70

Las Vegas is a city which doesn’t do things by half – and the Ironman 70.3 World Championships were certainly no exception. This was the first year the race had been held in America’s biggest, brashest playground and the pre-race hype was enough to get your heart rate racing. There was talk of 40+C temperatures, unrelenting winds and punishing hills which promised to beast even the world’s best.

On arrival in Vegas five days before the race, I could quite easily understand where the hype had come from. Had I just stepped off a plane into an oven? Were they really going to throw triathletes out into the desert and expect us to come back alive?! My first ride saw my water bottles turn into hot water bottles in next to no time, my lips turn to dried out old snakeskin and my throat feel like it was about to close. Hmmm, this could get interesting… It soon became apparent that surviving this race was going to come down to racing smart. I’m usually diligent about my nutrition, but after that first ride through Lake Mead National Park (which played host to about 35 miles of the 56 mile bike course), I realised I needed to have it all dialled right down to the last millilitre.

Race day was soon upon us and the weather gods seemed to be on our side. The mercury had dropped by about 10C so it would be a case of dealing with 30+C rather than 40, which seemed far more manageable. I’ve been putting in a fair bit of time in the pool of late – working with Dan Bullock at Swim for Tri and chasing Rachel (Joyce) for k after k while training in Morzine – and this seemed to pay off in the water in Vegas. I was out of the water 5th and through T1 in 3rd behind super Brits Julie Dibens and Leanda Cave. Great start to the World Champs!

Out on the bike I felt strong and was loving the undulating terrain of the bike course. The scenery in and around Lake Mead is nothing short of breathtaking. Not that I was on a sightseeing tour, of course. The race was soon hotting up as a couple of girls began to work their way through the field, one of which was Melissa Rollison, a newcomer who was a pre-race favourite. As we approached the turnaround at the halfway mark, she really started to crank things up. Feeling strong, I went with her, as did an American girl but was always mindful of keeping 10m back (in accordance with Ironman drafting rules). Unfortunately, a passing race referee obviously thought otherwise and the next thing I knew I was being shown a red card. What! OH NO! My immediate thought was “Game Over”. When she said I’d have to spend four minutes in the penalty box two miles up the road I was heartbroken. I honestly hadn’t thought I’d been less than 10m from anyone’s wheel and am the first to condemn drafting. It’s not what our sport is about. In a state of disbelief and frustration, I pulled off the road and served my time in the sin bin as I watched what seemed like endless lines of girls go by. It was the World Championships. This wasn’t good. I was faster, fitter, leaner, stronger than ever before. I was ready, willing and able. I felt awesome. I was also stood on the road in the middle of the desert when I should have been riding my bike.

After what seemed like four hours rather than four minutes I was back on the road and riding like a girl possessed. Red mist? You bet! My eyes scanned the horizon for pro girls I could chase down. They were all long gone. My head began filling with “what if’s?” but I knew now was no time for dwelling on what might have been. I vowed I’d run myself back into the top 10.

By the time I reached T2 I’d passed a couple of girls so hoped I was maybe 12th or 13th, but had no real way of knowing. I tuned my ears to the crowd, desperate to hear someone pass me some kind of reliable info. I soon saw Richard Melik and some of the Freespeed crew who began to relay info to me. I realised I was further back than I thought and also had plenty of strong runners behind me so I was definitely going to have to run hard and fast. The heat didn’t seem to faze me, I’d stuck firmly to my nutrition plan, and I was able to build into each lap and pick girls off up ahead of me until I was safely inside the top 10. I felt strong all the way to the finish line (finishing 8th pro woman in 4:36) and, despite the disappointment of the four-minute bike penalty, I can quite honestly say the 70.3 World Champs in Vegas were one of my all-time favourite races. This race is a true World Championship course: it is testing, brutal, fun and furious – all the things triathlon should be and more. It reaffirmed my love of this sport and proved to me I have a bright future.

Huge thanks to all the people who got me to the start line in such great shape: Mark Stenning, Dan Bullock, Mike Antoniades and The Running School, Rob King, Edward Crowley, Mike Arnspiger and Sally Pinnegar. Thanks also to all my sponsors: the mighty Wiggle, Morris Owen, Virtua, Orbana, Neovite, Cherry Active, CycleOps and Fast Forward Wheels. Can’t finish without massive thanks to all the Miami crew – especially Ian and Vera whose home in Miami has become our home from home and proved a hugely valuable acclimatisation destination; all of the Lidbury/McGrath/Shenton/Cran crew for their neverending support and last but by no means ever least, Ozzer the Boy Wonder.

Happy training & racing all

EK

PS Thank you to Rich Melik & Ian Osborne for photos