Ironman Buffalo Springs 3rd for Simon
30 June 2009
Lubbock Texas was host for the next round of the IM 70.3 series and the race was as unique as the place. After a 10 hour drive from Boulder on Friday that could be compared to crossing the Nullarbor Plain in Australia it was surprising to find such a pretty lake that was perfect for triathlon. Competitors feared scorching conditions with hot winds and heat well over 30C on Saturday, but this morning it was overcast with a howling wind!
The pro men launched into the choppy lake as dawn broke at 6:30am and with a charging start I found myself leading the first 300-400m. This was a nice surprise, but even nicer when Australian Paul Matthews came around to take the lead and I had a perfect sit on his wash for another 500m until Stephen Hackett moved around to take the lead as we headed back towards the other end of the lake. Whether it was a loss of concentration or confidence or a combination of both I’m not sure, but all of a sudden I found myself a few meters off the feet. I went from being totally in control to desperately trying to make up for mistake. I was unable to do so and slipped further behind in the second half of the swim, eventually exiting by myself in 3rd place 45 seconds down.
I was in no man’s land as I climbed out of the park from the lake onto the course proper. I could see the two Aussies up front and knew that the chasers couldn’t be too far behind. I focussed on getting into my rhythm and prepared to make the move when the chasers came through. Leon Griffin was first to pass me and leave me behind after just a few kilometres. The howling wind was making it tough on the bike and again my form seemed to be missing. When Kiwi Cam Brown and fellow Canberran Mick Cupitt came by I was able to lift and match their speed. However, less than 20 kilometres later after a turn-around and into the block headwind I was again being trailed off the back.
I continued to lose time on the bike as the course went up and down canyons and had an equal share of rip-roaring tailwinds and buffeting head and cross winds. The heavens finally opened up in the back half also and I wasn’t feeling terribly comfortable. I kept focussed because I knew I’d been running well in the last 2 races so I wanted to give myself every chance to pull something off.
I entered T2 in 7th place around 6mins down on the lead group of 4 that had ridden really well in the tough conditions. The rain was still pouring down, but the temperature was great for running and racing. I was in the middle of the sprint race that was running concurrently so it was impossible to get a visual up ahead as I ran around the lake to start the run. I didn’t feel great, but was determined to keep pushing on for a much needed pay cheque!
The run was equally tough with three solid climbs and descents through the canyons again, with a long out and back section past Lubbock’s very own Energy Lab. If conditions were the same as yesterday this would have been brutal! By the time I reached this section I’d moved into 5th place and at the turn-around was 2mins behind 4th and 3mins down on 3rd. Paul Matthews had surged to the lead in this section over Leon Griffin and had his ears pinned back as he headed for home and the eventual victory. I had almost settled for 5th place with 7km to go when I saw I’d made up good time on Brandon Marsh in 4th on the second last decent. I used my momentum to keep pushing up the last big climb and with 5km to go on the final dash down to the lake I went flying past him at full out-of-control speed with arms flailing! I now had a visual on Hackett in 3rd place so just kept ripping for home with everything I had. I passed him sooner than expected and ran the last three kilometres at a more controlled pace with Leon comfortably in 2nd 1min 30 ahead.
Overall I’m happy to podium after a fairly average performance. Plenty of good things to take away and it’s pretty clear what I’ll be working on in the next few weeks.
Simon Thomo
Back
