Anaconda Gold Coast

After a whole 4 days back in the country....and the cold Elina and I headed across the ditch for the first of the Anaconda races – this one on the Gold Coast. It was the first time for both of us on the course so we allowed a few days spare for checking it out which also allowed us to catch up on some sleep and get rid of a little of the jet lag still chasing us from the 50 hours of travel back from Finland.

The first swim in Australian waters is always a bit nerve wracking but the crystal clear water at least meant you could see anything that was heading in for a snack – not that much comfort really. We also got to head out on the bike and run courses which looked like we’d be in for a fast race. There were several unknown factors heading towards race day though, would I get my ski in time for the race, I was borrowing a ski off Aussie legend Guy Andrews but he’d managed to do some damage to it the week before and it was getting some repairs – and some rocks in it if his father was to be believed. The last leg of the race also involved a 1 km paddle board leg, on learn to surf boards which most of us had no experience with. The final factor was how much time was I going to lose in the swim this time around? Last year I was giving up anywhere between 5-8 minutes and I was hoping my swim training over the past few months would slash that to a more manageable gap.

Elina was also lining up for the race with Surf Iron woman Hailey Bateup so it was going to be good test of how her health was improving and whether her fitness was on track for our upcoming race in China. Hailey would do the swim and ski legs with Elina taking over for the run and Mountain bike before Hailey would do the board paddle and the girls would team up for the final 2 km beach run to the finish.

Being on a tight budget we had no car and so it meant an early start on race morning as I had to paddle the ski to the start line a few km’s away and jog back – it would have been a good warm up if it were a bit warmer. Although the days were all around 20 degrees it dropped down to about 4 degrees over night. Bbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The race start is always chaotic with several hundred athletes pushing and shoving off the start line as they plough into the water for the swim leg. The start of the swim is definitely a part I look forward to getting over and done with as I find the swim hard enough by itself, let alone already out of breath after sprinting down the beach. The crystal clear water was a mass of bodies and bubbles as I rounded the first mark in the midst of what seemed like the entire field. Once around I focused on my stroke and got clear of some of the chaos. I latched onto the back of a group and followed some large white feet for the next 25 minutes. Running into the transition I could see Guy just starting the ski paddle and Sean O’Neil another of the favourites running just in front of me. I’d only lost 2 minutes to Guy and less than 2 ½ minutes on Ben Allen the top individual.

Onto the paddle and the first person I overtook was Elina’s teammate Hailey which was a good surprise to see her so soon in the race as I’d been expecting to pass their team on the run! Seeing the front of the individual field was a huge motivational boost and I set off on my Epic V10L ski as fast as I could in search of the front runners - which luckily felt  as though the repairs had been done minus the addition of any rocks The sea was flat with only a few small waves heading into the creek section and within a km of paddling in the river I saw Ben Allen just in front and as I passed him I could see Guy only a couple of minutes in front. The remainder of the paddle I strived to bring down the gap to Guy but he’d hooked onto a team paddler and was benefiting from the ride on the wash.

Arriving for the run I was almost 3 minutes down on Guy but with the run his weakest leg I knew this was the time to start making my move. The first half of the run was very wet and slippery as we raced up a small river and with continual crossings and very slippery rocks finding a rhythm wasn’t easy but about ¾ of the way through the river section I finally caught sight of Guy and as we emerged on the road for the second half of the run I moved into the lead. A bit of friendly banter ensued as I pulled away from Guy and set about trying to build a buffer over the chasing pack. The last section took us up a solid climb and down a technical descent into the TA to the Mountain Bike.

Onto the bike and it was the usual issue of not actually knowing anything about where the competition was in relation to me. Only one choice and that was to keep the pace up and make sure they didn’t get the chance to catch me. The ride was full of short steep up hills and super fast down hills. There were plenty of fun little sections of downhill and as we made our way back towards the sea there was one big push up followed by an incredibly fast and wild downhill which took us past the most enthusiastic spectators on the whole course and over a wicked double jump which came as quite a surprise while travelling abut 70kph. The final section was through the streets and it is always a relief to finish the bike as it really is the one discipline where a mechanical is the ever present threat to the result of your race.

A dash across the street and it was time to find out how hard it would be to paddle a learner surf board the km into the tide and to the start of the final beach run. I was right amongst the top teams now after a good ride and I was quickly caught by one of the teams I’d just passed. It did give me a good opportunity to see my technique was far from effective and once I started adopting the same sort of technique I stopped the gap growing much bigger until the teams took advantage of being able to swap paddlers at the halfway point – at which point I started going backwards again due to the fatigue in my arms. A quick look around to make sure there were no individuals closing in and then back to the slog for the final portion of the paddle. It was a relief to finally get back on dry land and over the final 2 km run I managed to claw back one of the teams that’d passed me on the board.

Crossing the line it was great to start the series with a win and carry on how I’d left off last year.

In the teams race Elina and Hailey were putting most of the men’s teams to shame. Elina clocked the second fastest women’s run and the fastest Mountain Bike before Hailey flew through the board paddle and they finished it off with one of the fastest final sections of anyone in the field to cap a successful day for us both.

Flying back to NZ after a couple of days R&R was a shock as we drove through snow from Hamner until less than 70km from Nelson. We now have just under 2 weeks back at home training before we head away for the last team race for a while – the Wulong Mountain Quest in China where we’ll have Elina, Gordon, Aaron and myself provided we can get some visas in time. More details will be on our webpage soon.