Tauranga Half - Mount Maunganui, New Zealand

The Tauranga Half is a pretty quick course, being mostly flat, but has a 2km swim (rather 1.9 - don't ask me why...), and the run course includes two laps around Mount Maunganui, which is an undulating dirt trail (3km per lap). Its a beautiful course and a beautiful place in the North Island of New Zealand - look it up if you're not familiar with it.

Given my lack of training in the lead-up, due to a 2.5 week Christmas holiday with the family immediately before the event, I was targeting 5hrs as the goal, with a real question mark over my cycling fitness.

Race itself: I started deliberately calm and relaxed in the swim, because I did the opposite in my last race and was gasping for air about 300m in! So with a calm approach, I built into the swim and despite my usual why-am-I-doing-this moment at about 400m in, I kept my head and started feeling good at about 700m. I then built on that rhythm through to the end of the 2km swim, and finished in 31 mins, which I was reasonably happy with.

Bike - 3 out-and-back laps, with a mild-moderate head wind out, tail wind back. Wanted to ride harder and stick with some guys going past me, but knew I didn't have the legs to maintain it, so tried to be steady at about the watts I'd done on a 2-hr trainer session earlier in the week (220w). And ate / drank plenty to ensure I didn't bonk on the run later. Lost two minutes for a loo break with about 20km to go - but it was worth it for the comfort! Any tips on how to keep hydration up and not need to pee mid-race??

In transition my left thigh cramped pretty badly when I went to put my running shoe on, so I gave it a decent stretch before exiting T2, feeling a bit nervous about its longevity... I started the run knowing I only needed to run 5min km's to go under 5hrs, so my mindset was just to tick it over, not do anything silly, not cramp, and I'd be fine. Obviously the longer I went, the harder the 'just tick it over' became, but I never felt the need to really push the pace and came home with a 1:35 run and 4:50 overall: satisfied.

And two days later, apart from a few sizable blisters on my feet (no socks for the run), I'm feeling ok. So now the build to my A race, Taupo 70.3 in 8 weeks, commences! And with it, a much more disciplined and rigorous prep, focusing on strengthening the bike leg in particular.

Purple Patch

January 16, 2020 22:35
Edited

Craig,

I'm so glad you decided to share this with the group; thank you! What a great race you had. Tough, gorgeous, challenging, and blisters. What more could you ask for?

Your strategy for the swim seems to have paid off. Nice job staying calm and patient.You also appeared to have stayed well in-plan for the bike. I personally think a little 'bio-break' when necessary is just fine. The cramping! Oh, the worst. But again, you sure kept a level head. Nice job bringing that run home as well as finishing under your goal time!

Good luck preparing for Taupo. We can't wait to hear about your race and the course.

Thanks again for sharing Craig,

Mel and your Purple Patch Team

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