Preparation for Busselton.

Tuesday - 6days before my race I decided to try my new wetsuit out. It felt good and very fast, in this thing I would break the course record. 3hours later I was covered head to tow in a severe rash. Seems I'm allergic to the wetsuit. BONUS!

The day before I flew out to Perth was a bit of a mad one. I went through my lists of everything I would need time and time again. New laces, new socks for comfort, gastrolite, L glutamine all things I need to buy before I left.

I also made sure to pack every tool I may need, back up suits, gels and medication. I planned to have it all whatever the occasion. Be ready for anything - I wanted to get to the start line feeling confident and at ease.

SO MUCH BUBBLE WRAP went into packing my bike! I didn't want my baby to get one scratch or break somehow. The flight was uneventful and went slower than I thought the ironman would go. After what I thought was hours we had been in the air for only 30mins, I guess I was anxious, I couldn't sleep and I was hungry.

When we arrived, we quickly grabbed all out gear and packed it into the hire car - a two door Hyundai Getz the "Yellow Flash" we aptly named it. It was a bit of a tight squeeze but got the bag an luggage in.

It was a 3hour drive from Perth to Busselton and I was eager to get it done in less time than that. The close of athlete registration was 4pm and we were looking at a 3:15 arrival. I couldn't afford mishaps along the way so some advice to fellow first time IM athletes, check the athlete guide for close of registation times!!

We made it fairly easily which allowed me to have some time to take the course in. Walking past the finishing line gave me a rush of excitement and slight anxiety. I had done the work, so it wasn't an issue of whether I could physically do it, however with my ITB injury and the ominous words of my physio, "You can push as hard as you want it wont damage it further, but no matter what its gonna hurt a hell of a lot" I was fairly anxious.

After getting all my gear we shot back to the hotel room and I built up my bike. Everything was going fine until I forgot the torque setting to the front bracket and snapped a bolt in the bike. I quickly removed it and too another from my bottle cage, the bolt was some sort of plastic and snapped again. Now I was really starting to panic a little. I rang home to get my mum to check the setting for me, I had it a little high, and then attempted the third and final time as I had no more spare bolts. I had success and dare not touch the bike.

The next day I awoke early to meet Scott Neyedli Scott Neyedli 2nd place pro finisher of Busselton last year for a swim. I think he was hoping to learn a little from my swimming and I was keen to soak everything up from him! We did around 2km of swimming with short sprints thrown in from time to time. Scott sat on my feet and practiced dragging and responding to my change of speed. Then the final stretch we swam through a big back to have some experience swimming through the pack.

It was a relatively easy swim, however I felt a little lethargic so that annoyed me, but I had no concerns on my swim performance. My rash was playing up a little and hurt quite a bit in some areas so I was hoping that would clear up asap. I talk with Scott for a little on the race course and winds etc which eased my mind somewhat.

Dean head back to the room and I jumped on the bike for a short ride. I didn't really want to do much, 45mins at most. The work is done nothing the day before will help other than a flush out of the legs and loosen up. I wore an aero helmet for the first time and loved it! Great things they are especially in the 29kph winds I was riding into. Legs felt heavy, this is another reason I don't like to do much before a race, keep any negativity away. Despite this I was still hitting my pace even in the wind and rain so that was good.

The afternoon I lay around and watch movies, had a spa and drank plenty of water. Early to bed 8 for a 4am wake up. Gastrolite before bed to maintain water retention, magnesium for muscle cramps and L Glutamine to encourage muscle health etc. Less than 12hours to race start.