Shepparton Half Ironman; The Lead Up

The Shepparton Half Ironman was a big move for me due to many reasons. It was my first interstate event, good practise for travelling and adapting to new environments. It was also very close to my previous race, and freshly recovered from injury it would be interesting to see how I back up.

I met up with Rich an old training partner down there and we made the 250km drive to shepparton to rack our bikes the day before. The predicted temperature was 36 degrees so hyrdation would be critical to finishing the race. It was annouced it would be a non wetsuit event as the water was 25/26degrees which was perfect for me as the triathletes would struggle a little more without the wet suit to aid them.

The Shepparton system was a little different to Gold Coast. Every competitor had their own position on the racks already assigned so it made it a lot easier for preparation as we werent cramped. I learnt a valuable trick to let the air down on my tires over night as the heat sometimes causes them to pop, and you can always pump them up a little more the next morning.

I went for a short run around the course to check out the swim route and some of the run track. 1.75km was enough and perfectly at 4min km pace, felt easy and smooth. But 800m I already felt the need for water.

That afternoon we ate an early dinner at around 6 to give the food enough time to digest. Rich suggested staying away from heavy protein also as it sits in the stomach and doesnt get digested as quickly, so I heeded his advice.

I was feeling pretty good, I was a lot more prepared in terms of set up and nutrition this time around than I was at Gold Coast, so I was very excited about the coming race! Number 2, soon full Ironman!