I was in two minds whether to even write a race report
following what was a very disappointing result but I think it is still
important to share the bad races along with the good ones.
Vietnam 70.3 is one of the most amazing race locations that
I have been to. The race hotel is stunning and the entire team at Sunrise
Events does an amazing job in making the race something special. The days
before the race were spent doing some light training as well as doing some
photo and video shoots with one of my sponsors Alaska Milk as well as getting
the opportunity to learn more about their products and all that Alaska Milk
does to help give back and support the community though events.
Race Day:
The beach start is something that usually favors me. However
I got off to a rough start and had to swim hard to make my way back up to
front. Truth be told I never really felt comfortable swimming even though I was
leading the group. Normally I swim a lot quicker and can break away from the main
group however I just couldn’t seem to lift my pace. I exited the water first however
with just a small 7 second gap back to a pack behind.
Image: Korupt Vision / Australian Triathlete 
Image: Vinicius Santana / AsiaTri.com
Heading onto the bike Luke McKenzie and Tim Reed put the
hammer down early on which left me in a group of three with fellow Australian
Tim Berkel and New Zealander Matt
Franklin. At around the 20km mark Frenchman Cyril Viennot came charging past
and this is where I dropped from the group.
Image: Korupt Vision / Australian Triathlete
Image: Vinicius Santana / AsiaTri.com
My power numbers were 30% down on what I would usually ride and I was unable to ride any harder. After another 30
kilometers of riding solo my hamstrings and glute muscles tightened up to the
point where I couldn’t stay in the aero position and found it hard to even turn
the pedals.
I made the very hard decision to withdraw from the race at the 80KM
mark knowing that with the cramps I would not be able to make it through the
rest of the bike leg or be able to run.
I was really disappointed to have had to withdraw from the
race in what was my first Ironman 70.3 DNF and what I hope will be the last.
