BUSSELTON IRONMAN 2004

Busselton was my 4th Ironman and 1st as a pro, my expectations were going to be compared to New Zealand, Hawaii and Forster which have all been fantastic experiences for me.

To have an official Ironman Race three hours drive from home is a real privilege and advantage to locals but it also leads to a sense of complacency. It was hard to get excited like previous Ironman races as there is no bag packing or international flights, it’s starting to feel like I race down in Busselton every second week. I’m sure my parents thought they were just going to watch another local event. Once I was down in Busselton and heard the yanky accents, and spotted M dot tattoos it all became familiar and I realised I was back with the ‘Ironman Family’ (as Mike Riley puts it).

The days before the race involved the usual activities of eating, drinking and training sessions so short it takes longer to get dressed to go running than running itself.

Race day began at 1am with my first serve of Endura Optimiser. I had prepared it the night before, gulped it down then back to bed by 1:10.I thought of how far I had come, nearly vomiting on the change room floor at the gym on my first opti experience, to gulping it down like Milo six months later. The next instalment was at 4am with another 6 scoops. With breakfast out the way and my extensive preparation the night before there was not much else to do. Staying at the Busselton Jetty Chalets only 200m from transition proved to be very convenient. On race morning it was simply a matter of attending to registration, pumping up wheels and then going back home to use my own loo and coming back dressed in race kit.

Arriving at the swim start I was excited as it was my first race as a Pro and my green swim cap allowed me to start at the front and swim 10 meters less than the rest of the field. Once the gun went I took off flat out and I actually think I was leading after about 20 yards. The sea was angry and was nothing like the tranquil setting many were expecting after receiving the misleading poster contained in the race pack. After falling off the feet of the two leaders at the first buoy I felt far more comfortable swimming at my own pace for the next 1.5 laps but still close enough to use the lead paddler for directions. Making it to the beach in 46 minutes was quite a surprise considering the conditions but I was just glad to be out of the water whether the course was accurate or not.

After a quick fault free transition it was on to the bike for the three laps. My plan for the ride was simple, keep cadence as close to 95 as possible, heart rate between 150 and 160 and eat and drink according to what I had practiced in training. The first half of lap one was quite lonely as there was not an athlete in sight from front or behind with the exception of Chris Letts on his motorbike. I was beginning to think that I might have taken a wrong turn somewhere. After turn one I saw the two leaders had about a minute on me which I maintained until about 90km when I heard that “pssswwwssssww” sound that no triathlete wants to hear. I must have done close to 100 tri’s in my life and I get my first race puncture in my first pro race, must be bad karma for laughing at that guy on the mini fold up bike. To add to the drama I had never changed a single before but had watched the mechanic in Bike Force do it once with great difficulty. By calling the wheel a few nasty names and using all my strength I managed to rip the old one off and replace it. I will remember for next time to get a big gas cartridge as the small ones only put out about 90 psi. By this time Jason Shortis had passed me but I had managed to catch him by the start of lap 3 and decided to just stay behind him because he’s Jason Shortis and I’m sure he would know what he’s doing. After 5 minutes of sitting three bike lengths off Jason thinking this is so cruisey maybe he’s blown a gasket, he turned around and gave me a glare like Lance Armstrong once gave Jan Ulrich in the Alps. He then rocketed off at approximately 45 kmph to go on to beat his PB for Ironman by ten minutes. The last lap heading home was a bit concerning as I had a cramp in my legs for a split second but beside that all was well.

I went in to transition tent with Markus Strini who had caught me in the home stretch, putting me in 5th spot. The ‘openness’ of the tent made me glad I was not one of those athletes that change into running shorts, as your racing mode is nothing to be proud of and show to the crowd. Once into the run I felt good and the first lap satisfied my curiosity as to what was east of the transition area. I had done so many laps of the west side that I’m starting to recognise the shrubs in the sand dunes but east had always been a mystery with the Bridge being a real surprise. After going through the first lap in 61 minutes I did some calculations in my head 61 x 3 and thought I was destined to do a 3.03 marathon and go on to greatness. It was not to be as the second lap saw me slow and the third was a walking through drink stations struggle. The goal of my last lap was to make it under 9 hours, so I was constantly dividing time till 9 hours by kms left and each recalculation the speed would need to get quicker. At the last turn around I had 16 minutes to do 3.5km, an easy task any other day but Ironman day.

With no walking through drink stations and by denying my parents a high 5 in the finish chute I crossed with 45 seconds to spare at 8.59.15. 10th overall being a pleasant surprise after forgetting to take off a spot when Nick Saunders started walking before pulling out.

My goals for the race were to go under 9 hours and make the top ten. I just managed to achieve both with a few hiccups so I left transition a happy man.

Special thanks to ‘Super Coach’ Andrew Budge for providing a full comprehensive package of Ironman training and a workable program with study and part-time work.

I am now more pumped than ever for my next Ironman and look forward to putting Pro Triathlete for occupation on my tax return.

Steven Bishop