G'day, I'm back ! I thought this blog might drop off after Kona, it has generated a lot of interest with people telling me that it was great reading and want to know what I'm up to next. I decided I may as well keep it going if people are getting something out of it.
I'll concentrate mainly on my training and racing but will add what Marie and the kids plus the other members of 'Team Lewis' - Stevo, Fee & Rochelle are up to in our travels and stayovers during my races. As you have all read there are plenty of 'shenanigans' & 'frivolity' happening behind the scenes.
Last Saturday (15/11) we (Team Lewis) made the trek up to Shepparton for the 'Shep 1/2 IM'. We had to leave a bit later than usual due to Tommy's basketball, well worth it as the St. Bernards U14's had another solid win. Actually it was a great weekend for the Lewis kids as Tilly found out her tryout for VUT Flames State netball team was succesful, this'll be a huge step up for her - she will do it, she reads the game so well & has great balance, she only has to work on getting a bit fitter to be a great package.
We hit Shep around 3pm setting up camp and putting the bike together. With both done pretty quickly it was off to race rego to check in and drop my baby (Shrek - my bike) off for a camp out under the stars. I think she wouldn't have been real happy about this as it was pretty cool & windy - the last time she slept under the stars was on a balmy 22C night in some place called Kona !
A quick yarn to some WSTC members - Gregory, Mitch, The Riddler, Choatie, Vinnie, Watto then back to base camp for one of Stevo's famous BBQ's. We got stuck into our tucker and washed it down with a few beers, jeez they tasted good! Only problem was too good! I polished off 1/2 dozen of them and jumped into bed. Waking up was not pretty !! Oh shit, I had a bloody hangover! I was as dry as the outback and had a headache. What? I thought back and realised I didn't drink any water at all on Saturday then put 2 & 2 together - dehydration.......
I haven't really trained much since Kona and went into Shep with no expectations. My training really revolved around 'cafe' rides, a couple of light runs and 4 swims in 5 weeks. I was really hoping I had some residual fitness left in me from Hawaii.
Pre race was the usual, over to the WSTC tent for the usual jocularity, then over to the swim start. A pre start warmup of 5 minutes to fire up the diesel engine, blow out the cobwebs (& hangover) and get the cranky left shoulder moving was good then up to the start line. I didn't here a hooter or a bang but everyone started swimming so I followed! The swim was pretty good, no real biffo but I reckon my navigational skills sucked. Hit land in a touch under 32 minutes then into T1. A very clumsy transition had me chuckling a bit as I headed off onto the 3 lapper ride. Had a bit of a yarn to Steve Backhouse before moving off and getting into a good rhythm. The 1st lap was getting the legs and HR all going while trying to keep the speed up. Lap 2 was horrible as I caught up to a massive drafting pack of about 15 riders that totally disrupted my race. As soon as I passed the pack they sat on my wheel then repassed me back, and as I dropped back to be legal, some other wanker would jump into the gap & before I knew it I would be at the back of this 'slow' moving train, I gave them all a spray but to no avail. I caught up to Mark Komarnycki who was as dumbfounded as I was about these cheats. He gave them a spray - it fell on deaf ears as well, it was good to find another athlete out there who had the same thoughts as I and not give me the lamest excuse of "everyone else is doing it", what bullshit.
It got to the stage where I was sick of it and I put the hammer down to get away from the rabble, some of whom were the poorest cyclists with the poorest form I've seen in a long time. I averaged about 42 km/h for the last 15km, rode as hard as I could to get away from the cheats and couldn't give a shit if I blew up as I had it set in my mind I was pulling out of the race at T2.
I got into T2 absolutely seething ! I virtually walked in, put my runners on and walked over to have a yarn with the Team. I told them I'm pulling out of the race to make a stand against the cheats and to go give the Race Director a spray. Stevo basically said to 'Finish first then deal with it', it was a moment of clarity in a haze of hatred so off I trotted, running angry. The first of 3 laps is always easy, I spent this trying to spot out who was in front of me. Lap 2 I narrowed it down to Sean Foster and Scotty Foreman. There's always the possibility of an unknown interstate fella being in front so trying to work out where you are in the field is an event in itself. I noticed Foster was starting to have some dramas and passed him towards the end of the 2nd lap. Possibly only Foreman in front - push, push. I eventually caught him about 400 metres after the turnaround on the last lap, the same point that I passed Campbell Maffett last year to take over the lead of the 35-39 AG. Unlike Campbell last year I didn't overtake, rather I chose to sit about 5 metres behind him as he was motoring along pretty well and I didn't have the grunt to get past. I sat there until we hit the lake where he stepped the pace up, he noticed I was close by, aided no doubt by Team Lewis running along yelling out 'Go Dad'. With about 250m to go he upped the pace again. Shit this hurt, I didn't have the grunt to go around him so I just had to hold on. The pace kept building until we hit the finish chute where it developed into a full on sprint. We went shoulder to shoulder until about the last 10m where I pulled away by a couple of metres. I won my Age Group by not even a second, Foreman only realising I was in his AG when we started talking in the recovery area.
My overall time was 4hrs 19 mins & something seconds. A time with which I have mixed feelings. I'm happy to rattle off that time with little training over the last 5 weeks but disappointed as it could've been quicker, I reckon I lost 3 -4 minutes on the bike slowing down to remain my legal 7 metres. Another great victory for the day was WSTC taking out the 'Most competitors' Corona's and esky. Another indication the club is going from strength to strength.
Next on my agenda is the 'Tour of Bright', Dec 5th & 6th - a 2 day, 3 stage 'Open' race that has some big climbs - Tawonga Gap towards the end of the 105km 1st stage and Mt. Hotham (3rd stage) on the 2nd day on tired legs will be a challenge. The 2nd stage is a 17 km Saturday afternoon TT which will be good to crank up 'Shrek' for a quick burst. I don't know my grading for that yet but will hopefully be B grade. I'll keep you all posted - it's sure to be HELL !!!
Thanks again to all my sponsors who make my life a touch easier - Rapido Cycles, Elemental Nutrition and the City of Moonee Valley.
Cheers, Matty
