Ironman VR6 Race Report - 1st Place

Woke up tired yesterday after the hard effort Sunday morning NZ time! Well done to Hannah, Ashleigh and Radka for getting amongst it over the weekend as well. Certainly a race format that is very different for all of us! Very fun to have a Kiwi/Aussie race. Congrats everyone around the world who took on the Ironman VR6 challenge as well. 

Race morning started early for me but not as early as it did for the Aussies! Dan and I were up at 4:30am to make a coffee and set up the computers. Once we had set up on Skype on Dan's computer and Rouvy on my computer we were good to go. Luckily Dan is a bike fitter so we have a very well prepared space at home with his bike fit camera and a TV set up in a well lit area making our set up look mint. 

It was cool to be able to see the other girls getting set up and warmed up pre race as well. I hopped on the bike around 30mins before the start and just built into my warm up slowly. I knew I'd need a little bit longer to warm up due to having just rolled out of bed. Almost start time, I double checked I had lots of cold water and plenty of gels in the back pocket. Hydrating and eating is key for hard indoor efforts.

Into the race! After we found out that the first primes were right at the start of the race we knew it would be a case of me just setting off at target wattage for the whole ride and see what happens. We knew that indoors it's a risk to ride above threshold and crack due to overheating. I was really keen to see what power/effort I could do for the whole ride. Massive kudos to Hannah for setting a blistering pace off the start line and taking out the first prime. 

I settled into my work behind Hannah and just after the second prime managed to ease into the lead but could feel the others breathing down my neck so kept pushing. It's a strange feeling trying to go as hard as you can but also hold back a little in fear as you know at any minute you are going to be asked to do a surprise prime. And from what I saw on previous weeks I knew the commentary team liked to hurt us pros with what they call "watt bombs". 

Sure enough as we were around 30km into the race we got asked to do 2x 30sec all out efforts with a short 30sec rest between. 

It was my turn first so I eased off the power a little to catch my breath then went full gas. I can tell you it hurt. After the second one it took a couple of minutes of rest to get going again and to settle back in at my target pace. I was really happy to see my little avatar nearing the finish line and  be able to hold it together and cross the line first in front of some very strong ladies. 

Super pleased to hear I won the painful watt bomb challenge as well. 

It was a really fun event to be part of and I hope I get to do more. Thanks to Ironman for putting on these events for us. The organisation behind the scenes is impressive especially with such a technical platform. Helping us pros who normally race outdoors get set up and up to speed on tech many of us have never used before.

I enjoyed completing the challenge with a 3km run on Saturday before the race and a 10km run on Sunday afternoon once I had recovered from the morning effort!

Thanks to my team:

Dan

David Bowden

Pewag Racing Team

Iain Wood - Chiropractor

Danelle Snowden - Massage

West Wave Aquatic Centre

Jenna Adam

2020 Ironman New Zealand Champion - Course Record 8:40:29

I was excited to head back to Taupo this year to race Ironman New Zealand again. Taupo is a very beautiful place and I really enjoy racing on the tough course there.

It took me a while to recover from Ironman Western Australia in December 2019 which meant a shorter build up to Ironman Taupo 2020, however, overall it went smoothly and I felt fresh and fit pre race.

The build up towards racing in the 2020 New Zealand Ironman event included competing in the Elite National Cycling Championships. I had a great ride in the Individual Time Trial and came away with the win, making me the 2020 New Zealand National Time Trial Champion.

A few days later I competed in the National Road Race Championship and had a great ride finishing 3rd place.

Upon arrival in Taupo I headed straight to a race briefing and media commitments. The day before the race consisted of additional press interviews, some easy training sessions and most importantly double-checking bike and race gear before checking it all into transition. Leading up to the event I felt relaxed and calm, even enjoying some of the media which is rare for me.

On the morning of the race I felt rested thanks to the later start of the race. My partner, my Dad and I jumped in the car and headed to Taupo. With the 70.3 already in full swing the race venue was already crowded. I set up Lil B, headed to the swim start and put on my wetsuit. I hopped in the water 7mins before go time and swam to the start line. As the temperature of the water was on the chilly side I decided I like to forgo swim warm ups in favour of staying nice and warm on the sidelines.

Swim - 50:25

I lined up to the left of the group with a gap between us. It is a long way to swim and I like to have a relaxed, clear water start. The cannon went and I swam reasonably hard to try get a gap and sneak away. I never like to red line in an Ironman so try to start the swim sensibly. I managed to get a small gap so just swam strong to the finish. Coming down the river and around the corner to the swim exit was cool. I spotted my nieces and family in the crowd which made me smile. Once I stood up I heard the crowd yelling my name and cheering, which was amazing. A long run up to transition, a quick gel plus some water and I was off on Lil B.

Bike - 4:36:11 (Bike course record)

I was excited to hop on the bike. I have been riding well and enjoying my sessions in training. I headed out of town. It was mostly uphill on the way out of town before the drag out to Reporoa so I took my time sorting myself out and settling into my position and pace.

The new route out of town was great. Much more direct and before I knew it in was out in the country side. I felt super comfortable during the first lap. Hitting my power target and feeling good. Making sure I drank lots of water and eating. When I came back through town to the turn for the first lap I was surprised to see I had done it in 2hr 15mins. I knew I was riding what I was capable of so I continued on with the pace as I headed back out for the second lap. On the second lap I had a few bladder/tummy issues. So I just focused on keeping aero and riding sensibly. I made it back to town safely, jumped off Lil B and headed to T2 remembering to save my Garmin file on the way. I stopped at a portaloo before running out of T2 to sort my tummy issues. I lost a little of my lead but I am so glad I did as I felt way better as I headed out on the run.

Run - 3:05:18

I set off conservatively and felt okay, it's easy to get carried away in the first 5mins and I made sure I didn't. I heard my time gap to 2nd and hoped it was enough to hold off the great runners in the field. Dan and I had discussed the run before the race and we just wanted to run solid and conserve as much energy and strength as possible. So I just focused on tapping along and relaxing. Through the first lap I felt good, I heard my gap was being reduced but I felt confident I would not slow much.

Onto the second lap I was still on pace. My legs were probably feeling the best they have here at this point in the race - usually they feel like blocks of wood by now. I kept hydrating and eating.

Onto the third lap and I still felt okay. A strange feeling for me as I'm normally a mess and want to stop by now. I heard the gap to 2nd had hovered and then gone back out again. I was still running target pace and just stayed settled in there until the last few kms when I realised what I was about to achieve! With a huge grin and many high fives I ran to the line feeling excited, happy and proud!

Overall - 8hrs 40mins

New course record & Bike course record

I am so glad I could achieve this for my team - Dan sacrifices a lot to help me day in day out, he pours his energy into helping me be the best I can be and I am forever grateful for that!

It was also great to have my Mum, Dad and family there to watch and support. They are also there day in day out helping me and of course they supported me in chasing my crazy sporting goals year after year.

I am super stoked I could get another win for my team Pewag Racing Team and all the team sponsors. They have been such a huge help and I am excited for the future.

It took a few days to read through all the awesome messages of support. Thank you everyone for your kind words. I am not feeling too bad post race. I am excited for some rest time now.

Thank you to these people who are a big part of this result!

My partner Dan

Mum, Dad and Family

Coach David Bowden

Pewag Racing Team

Intercoll

West Wave Aquatic Centre

Swimtastic

Massage therapist Danelle Snowden

Chiropractor Iain Wood

2020 NZ National Time Trial Champion & Feb update

Over the weekend I raced at the New Zealand Elite National Cycling Championships in Cambridge.

On Friday I raced the Elite Women's Individual Time Trial. Very pleased to say I won and I am the 2020 NZ National Time Trial Champion.

This means I will be able to wear the National Champions kit in any UCI Time Trial races I do this year.

The race went exactly to plan. I warmed up well, stayed aero in the race with my head down and hit my target power number over the flat fast course. I do this week in week out in training so it was all about executing this on the day which I did. I could not have done anything better.

On Sunday I lined up in the Road Race, 109km with two big hilly loops out of town, then two small / flat town loops to finish.

This race was a bigger question mark for me having only done a handful of road races in the last 10years and only a few before that!

It is a very different event to time trialling, the surging, power spikes, plus speed and technical / tactical aspects of the bunch riding are not things I practice often.

However it was a tough course and suited my strength so I wanted to get amongst it and ride hard.

I rode in the group for the first big lap and waited for the hilly second loop. Over the top of the main climb I found myself with 3 other girls. We immediately began to work together to get a gap on the rest of the field. Once we hit the town laps we kept working hard to catch the leader who had gone solo in an early break at the start of the race. We caught her with 1km to go. At this point I attacked and attempted to get away solo. Alas I have minimal punch. Two girls stuck with me and we had a 3 way sprint to the line where I placed third by 0.02secs!

I am very excited to say that I am proud of how I rode and achieved another podium result at the NZ National Cycling Championships.

Overall a very successful weekend of bike racing and some great training in the bank for my next race - Ironman New Zealand.

Back to Triathlon - thank you all for continuing to support me in 2020! I hope to build on a very successful 2019 where I placed:

- 2nd at Ironman New Zealand.

Overall time - 9:05:32

- 1st at the Ironman Asia Pacific Championships in a course record (back to back champion). Overall time - 8:48:33

- 1st at Ironman Western Australia in a course record with the bike course record as well. I also qualified for World Champs in 2020.

Overall time - 8:38:42

I finished the year ranked 7th in the world for Professional Long Distance Triathletes.

I also had the fastest Ironman bike split of the year which is also ranked 3rd fastest of all time.

I am extremely happy with my 2019 achievements. I exceeded my own expectations, learned a lot and had fun doing it.

With just over two weeks to go to IMNZ I am feeling good and into the last of my key sessions where I focus on pacing and nutrition.

It will be my 3rd time racing Ironman NZ. I am looking forward to testing myself on the course again and seeing if I can improve my time and placings from the last two years. It is also nice racing just a few hours from home and having my family there to support. It is definitely a race I like to go well at, so I am working hard to make that happen.

I had a slow start to 2020 with a couple of weeks of not feeling well or like my usual self. I had a few doctors visits to check everything out and make sure I am 100% fit and healthy to do the training required.

Ironman or any sport is hard on the body so I am careful to give my body rest when it tells me to. The energy it took to win Ironman WA in December really took a lot out of me so I made sure to respect this and take the extra time needed to recover.

Below are a few pics from training over summer.