Ironman 70.3 Yeppoon - 2nd

After getting in some solid training over the last few months I headed to Yeppoon in northern Queensland, Australia for my debut 70.3/Half Ironman Triathlon. The race location is something special and the event organisers have done an amazing job creating what has to be one of the best events I have raced at. The vibe surrounding 70.3 racing is a world apart from the ITU triathlon scene that I am accustomed to with the atmosphere being so much more relaxed.

Race day proved to be a stunner with perfectly blue sky. After a short warmup I positioned myself well on the start line and before I knew it the 4 hours of pure pain had started. My plan was to put the hammer down from the get go and I did just that swimming solo for the majority of the swim leg and emerging from the water with around a 30 second lead. Being that I am a strong swimmer the choppy swimming conditions were perfect for me as it really broke up the pro field. 

Start line of the swim (me on the right hand side). 

After a relatively quick transition and I headed out on the 90km bike leg in the lead. From the training I have been doing I knew that my bike would be my strength and I quickly established a lead which built to 4 minutes by the time I got off the bike (with an average speed of 42.6kph) According to the race organisers I also broke the course record on the bike leg which was great to hear over the loudspeaker when coming into transition. 

Based on the run times from the previous years that I had studied before the race I knew that if I ran 3.40 per 1km I should be right for the win. With just 6km left to run eventual winner Tim Reed passed me to take the lead. I tried my hardest to stay with him but my legs were cramping badly from the pace I had set on the bike leg. I crossed the finish line in 2nd just 33 seconds behind the winner and with the 2nd fastest time in the history of the race. 

Run pics

I had nothing left in the tank when I crossed the line and I can honestly say that I gave this race 100% both physically and mentally. Another bonus of finishing 2nd is that I have now moved into 8th position on the 'Ironman 70.3 World Points Ranking' heading into the 2013 season. 

Podium and split times

	Position	Name	Time	Cat	Swim	Cycle	Run
	1	Tim REED	3:49:42	M-Pro	0:24:19	2:10:38	1:12:42
	2	Samuel BETTEN	3:50:15	M-Pro	0:22:46	2:08:14	1:17:17
	3	Matty WHITE	3:55:18	M-Pro	0:24:17	2:10:40	1:18:27