Part 2... The Bike... Laying it all on the line!

So after seeing 1hr 5min on the clock after the swim, I knew that I had a bit of work to do on the bike.  My plan was always to work really hard on the bike and with the road racing that I had been doing throughout the year and the other groups rides, I was confident that I could achieve this.

Onto the bike and through the first section of town, as per last year I was just mowing people down.  Once back out onto the Queen K, I really got comfortable, put the head down and worked hard.  My plan of just working the course on the way out didn't really take effect until after Waikaloa as with the tail wind, it was just a matter of finding a strong rhythm and focusing on that.

One thing that I did notice this year compared to last year was the packs on the ride.  Last year seemed to be one continuous line, however this year, there was gaps between groups of 10-15 riders and I can say that it wasn't the most legal that I have seen in races.  The penalty bins were crowded so I know the marshalls were doing a good job.  Catching Scott Ashcroft at Waikaloa was pretty cool, we had a quick chat and worked some good legal turns with 2 others until the small climb about 5km short of the end of the queen k.  This is where I got to see if I could use my race tactics to good use.

The four of us were unable to shake each other, however I enjoyed this as I was confident that the other 3 wouldn't be able to hang onto me for the entire ride.  The short sharp climb, I stayed in the big chain ring (always rode up in the small in training) and just pushed over it.  Once at the top and over, I turned around and the others were gone.  This is where I grew some confidence about knowing the course and working it to my advantage.

The left turn at the end of the Queen K and down into Kawaihae was where I really tried to recover, free wheeling at 50+ kph was sufficient for me to still hit my time.

The right turn began the climb to Hawi.  I was so confident of getting to the turn around point in a lot better position than last year as I knew that I had done the work.  Passing Greg and Sam Hume about 10k into the climb meant that I was traveling ok.  Working to my plan of dropping into the small chain chain with 7mile to go almost cost me a drafting penalty.  Kona Bob (PIS) went by as he was still in the big chain ring and as I gained my momentum back I began gaining on him, probably not enough to warrant a pass, however with the motor bike watching us, I had to put it back into the Big Dog and work hard to pass and stay in front.

I settled back into rhythm and worked hard for the last 5 or so k's.  Only seeing about a dozen age groupers on the way back was pleasing as this time last year I was a lot further back.

A quick "where you been?" from Matty Burton going the opposite way made me laugh, as we always enjoyed the friendly banter throughout the trip.

Getting to the turn and then picking up my Special needs bag, I was ready to make up/put some time into the guys in my age.  Little did I know that my banana was just soggy, so ditched that and I forgot to get my gel flask out of the bag. No biggy, will just get some more nutrition on the return.

Heading down Hawi, I just clicked into my biggest gear and went for it.  Hitting near 70 kph (haven't seen my data yet as I didn't have a speed device on my bike, just my garmin on my arm) I was happy with the effort that I was putting in.  I got through 100k in about 2hr 20min from memory (will download and post at the end of this, see how close I was!!) I was on track for a smoking bike.  The wind turned from tail to cross and this was very interesting.

I could feel the wind work against my aero helmet and I found myself working hard just to keep my head still, never had that before, the wind was really strong.  I managed to catch 2 guys on the decent and started to reel in the female pros, I was having a good ride, knowing that they started 25min in front and most of them could easily out swim me.  I didn't catch any until deep into the ride last year.

Back into Kawaihae was where my training was really going to take effect.  As I tried to push hard up this climb, I could really feel the heat from the road and from the sun.  I had to decide whether to push or conserve.  I conserved this section, knowing that everyone else would be feeling the pinch also.

It didn't change my overall bike plan, I still planned to attack hard from the beginning of the Queen K back, 58k's of it.

Turning onto Queen K i got a really big surprise, a block head wind.  With the trip out we had a slight head/cross for this section, so I thought that it would be a tail.  Not to worry, I was already in a great spot and was ready to drive home hard.

Getting over the first few climbs, I was really happy with my execution of my race plan, driving hard and then having a few small recoveries, then repeat, for the first 25k on the return as it is rolling hills.  I turned around to see my progress and smiled as I saw the gaps really increase behind me.  I was still catching the female pro's and could see a few other riders on the hills.

I was conscious of getting in nutrition and hydration here and started to grab 2-3 bottles at every aid station being a combination of electrolyte drink, coke and water.  The water mainly to wet my self down and wash my face etc and the other 2 to refuel.

To my surprise with about 20k's to go I could see someone gaining on me.  Before I knew it he caught me and flew passed.  I tried to pace off him, but had nothing to go.  He was flying, after the race I looked at his time and noticed he rode 4hr 43min, and must have really put some time into me over the last 40-50k's!

After passing the last aid station and refueling, this was the first time that I was actually looking for another aid station in between, it was getting so hot out there.

I caught another guy in my a/g with 5k to go and wanted to put some time into him, so I drove hard again for the last 5k. 

Getting into T2 in a time of 4hr 47min + change was really pleasing and seeing Matty 50m in front of me getting off the bike was really satisfying as from training with him, I knew that he was flying.  I saw the family cheering loudly, got off the bike, handed it off and set about getting changed for the run of my life.

Having the fastest bike split in my a/g by a few minutes and being not far off the top pro times (10min) is rewarding for the work that I had put in.

Will upload my Garmin file....once I find my Garmin...

From the Ironman Live site, below are the differences in the 2 years:

2011...

5.5 mi	5.5 mi	13:06	1:20:38	25.19 mi/h
28 mi	22.5 mi	57:18	2:17:56	23.56 mi/h
59 mi	31 mi	1:19:32	3:37:28	23.39 mi/h
88 mi	29 mi	1:10:34	4:48:02	24.66 mi/h
112 mi	24 mi	1:03:09	5:51:11	22.80 mi/h
Total	112 mi	4:43:39	5:51:11	23.69 mi/h

2012...

5.3 mi	5.3 mi	12:44	1:20:56	24.97 mi/h
7.4 mi	2.1 mi	4:33	1:25:29	27.69 mi/h
11 mi	3.6 mi	5:48	1:31:17	37.24 mi/h
30 mi	19 mi	45:20	2:16:37	25.15 mi/h
45.2 mi	15.2 mi	36:53	2:53:30	24.73 mi/h
60.5 mi	15.3 mi	45:12	3:38:42	20.31 mi/h
75.3 mi	14.8 mi	31:44	4:10:26	27.98 mi/h
90 mi	14.7 mi	40:03	4:50:29	22.02 mi/h
112 mi	22 mi	1:04:53	5:55:22	20.34 mi/h
Total	112 mi	4:47:10	5:55:22	23.40 mi/h

For now...

X-Man