This weekend was the inaugural Ironman race in Bahrain – thanks to Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa and his team who help bring such races to the Middle East.
It was also to be my first race back since Kona. The decision to do the race was a last minute one and I headed into race day with little preparation, no pressure or expectations and with the attitude of just going to enjoy it and see how the body responds.
On the podium collecting our trophies.
The race was a half Ironman distance which is called a 70.3 because that is half the distance of the full Ironman in miles, so the 70.3 consists of a 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run.
I took a flight out of Dubai on the Friday morning (the race was Saturday morning). I landed in Bahrain and headed straight for the expo and registration. I decided to try out my new Huub wetsuit and test out some of the swim course in prep for the race the next day. It is always good to try get on the swim course of the race before so you can then register land marks as sighting points when it comes to the race. Little did I know at this point I wouldn’t need this knowledge but at least the new wetsuit got an outing and it felt great.
With members of TriDubai who also had a successful day in Bahrain.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing, catching up with mates and having pre-race day banter plus making sure everything was ready for race day.
Whenever we seem to race longer distance triathlons in the Middle East the wind decides to pick up and blow a gale. This race was no different. After a sleepless night thanks to the nightclub in my hotel and the cars outside deciding they were on the movie set of the Fast and the Furious, I got up and had my pre-race breakfast. I then headed down to T1 to make sure my bike hadn’t been blown away.
With Omar Nour, Leanne Fannoy and Aday Alvarez.
At 5.30am the referee made the final decision to cancel the swim due to the winds and not being able to keep the boats in place on the water. As disappointing as this was, safety has to come first. It was announced that it would just be a bike and run. This did not play into my favour as the swim is a stronger discipline for me and it helps break the field up to start with. One thing you can't do though in these situations is let it affect you or your race. You should never stress about it as it won't change anything, just adapt and get on with it.
So they decided to do a rolling start for the bike leg, setting off five triathletes every 15 seconds. I made an error here not getting closer to the front for the start as the first wave of age groupers went off at 7.45am and it didn't get round to my turn until 8am.
The Bahrain finishers’ medal.
We had to run through transition, grab the bike and set off like normal. My trusty Specialized Shiv was already to go and we were soon well on the course tapping out the power and passing groups of athletes. With no swim, the aim was to push a bit more on the bike if the legs felt ok. Setting off late it meant all the fast boys were well up the road and I had no one to battle with. I made my way through the field the best I could and never once had someone I could use to help pace me (which is different to drafting).
Certain sections of the bike were great when the wind was behind and then there were some brutal parts into the wind, but they were usually short lived. The course was pretty flat and finished with a lap of the F1 track before heading into T2 and onto the 21km run.
The trophy I won for coming third in my age group.
With the run I wanted to set off at a pace which was manageable for the first 10km and then see how it went in the second half. With little run training prior to the race, I wasn't sure how the body would react but the response was good. I was also trying a new fuelling strategy which seemed to work well. A big part of the run is spent in the Nature Reserve with very little support as with most of the run course apart from inside the F1 track. The kilometres soon ticked by and I was heading home and down the red carpet with a bounce still left in my stride.
Coming into the finish I felt great. It was maybe one of my favourite races for a while because I was so relaxed throughout. I never really pushed super hard and yet pulled off a third in my age group. It grabbed me a qualifying spot for the 70.3 World Champs in Australia. Not knowing what the plan is for next year and finances I decided to turn it down.
It was great having a huge TriDubai following with lots of them taking the podium positions and a few taking their well earned slots for the 70.3 Worlds. There was also great representation from the Filipino International Triathletes club who were in the same hotel as me. These guys have such love for the sport … I can't help smile when talking to them with their positivity and enjoyment for racing. There was another amazing performance from the future star Leanne Fannoy, who is based in Abu Dhabi, taking first in the 18-24 age group and sixth overall in the women’s field. She is going from strength to strength and I can’t wait to watch her career unfold.
There are a few other people to mention – the first being the Kona legend that is Lou Hollander. He was racing in the 85 years and over category – yes that is right he is 85 years old and still racing. He continues to complete the gruelling events even at his age. No excuses for most of you – if he can do it so can you. Then there’s Daniela Ryf, the Swiss superstar who has ripped up the 2015 season by winning everything she has raced, taking the first ever $1 million prize purse for winning the Triple Crown. By the way Daniela if you are single, so am I!
Click here for a good recap of the pro race and what Daniela achieved:
As I mentioned at the beginning, Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa continues to bring such races to the region. He is also doing so a lot for the sport worldwide and close to home by spreading the message of using triathlon to live a healthy lifestyle. Not only does he do such great work he is a great triathlete himself and secured his spot to race in the 70.3 World Champs in Australia next September.
Well done to all who raced and good luck for the rest of the season.
