Race Report: Ryan Fisher Ironman 70.3 Geelong

2018 was always planned to be kicked off at Ironman 70.3 Geelong. It's not all that often that I get to race in Australia and it's one of the races I've always wanted to test myself over because of the tough course. It had been a long 4 months since the last time I stood on the start line so I was pretty excited to fly south and see what kind of shape I was in against a few of the top half-Ironman athletes.

I got off the sand and into the water smoothly before swimming clear of the group with Josh Amberger. Conditions couldn't have been better especially for a place known to be unpredictable and blow up some pretty violent winds from time to time.

Exiting the water with a gap Josh and I were soon joined by Sam Appleton just a few kilometres into the bike course. Only fresh into my transition to half Ironman racing this is the portion of the race I'm most intrigued by to test myself against some of the 'bigger' boys in the sport and concentrate on my nutrition intake. The ride was unforgiving from the mount line until the conclusion of the 90km bike which is exactly what I was hoping for to get a taste of what will inevitably come later in the year. We rode as a trio until the 65km mark where we were chased down by a small group lead by Lachie Kirin who went on to break the bike course record. To date, it was my best 90km power in a race at 306 Watts (66kg) so I got what I asked for in that regard!

Coming from ITU where transition can be key I managed to flick on my ASICS run boots, grab my lunchbox of gels and get on my way quickly in pursuit of Appo who was first onto the run course. Running out at a much slower pace than what I'm used to in shorter racing I felt comfortable and was able to settle into my rhythm... unfortunately it only lasted for a short period before the ebbs and flows of fatigue, tightness, and the mental games began. Appo was off and I was left to play cat and mouse with Bergs (Amberger) multiple times dropping one another by 15/20sec margins until the 13km marker where I came unstuck once and for all. With the survival button activated I was on autopilot on my way to the finish line and continued to focus on getting my nutrition down and keep relaxed with a comfortable gap back to fourth place. A podium is never a bad day and I definitely learnt a lot more than I even anticipated.

A few aches and pains later it's nice to know where I am early on in the season and plenty of gas on the fire now to step myself up a level for the next one. Escape Surf City - Huntington Beach, California.

Images Credit Korupt Vision