Do AAA they said, it will be fun they said!
The Australian Alpine Ascent is held by Elite Energy Events at Lake Jindabyne, NSW. It is Australia’s version of an Xtreme Triathlon… a style of racing made famous by the Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon held in the Norwegian Alps every year. Norseman is known as the worlds toughest triathlon and I hope to partake in this event sometime in the not too distant future.
AAA was a chance for me to sample this style of race as well as an opportunity to train for and race in a different type of event. It allowed me to mix it up, do something new, enjoy my training and race lead in and complete an event with a few unknowns… it also scared me a little!
In training I leap-frogged off the #festive500 and a week long run block into an eight week block of work focussed mainly on aerobic conditioning and strength endurance. I executed a more ‘checklist’ style program whereby I aimed to complete a certain number of what I deemed to be key sessions for this type of event. I got to the start line fit and strong and looking forward to the day ahead. My goals for the day were purely personal: enjoy the event and finish with my best effort… simple.
Swim (approx. 2.8km)
The swim was in beautiful Lake Jindabyne… It is a fantastic place to swim surrounded by the ‘alps’. I swum relaxed, felt great and moved through the water well. I ended up leading the very small field out of the water and on to the bike.
Bike (115km inc 2100m of elevation and climb from Jindabyne to Charlottes Pass)
I quickly realised why competitors are advised to have a ‘handler’ for this event. For the first hour of the bike ride I honestly felt like I was on a solo saturday morning training ride. I was relaxed and enjoying myself and didn’t feel like I was racing… It was also an experience to be leading an event. I was riding controlled and felt like I was ticking along well, but, I had no reference from other competitors or based on splits from past events… cos there weren’t any. The first part of the ride is out to Dead Horse Gap and then back to Jindabyne. It is tough but can still be ridden quite quickly. About half way through the ride (by distance) I was caught and passed by Sean Ralph. He was on a mission and in no mood for a chat. He had competed here before and dominated the event. I rode off him for about 5km but on the undulating and windy roads I soon lost him and was back to riding solo.
Coming back to Jindabyne I started the ride up to Charlottes Pass. In my ignorant bliss however, I was unaware of the brutality of what the next couple of hours of my Saturday morning entailed. I was glad to have my handler (Bethany) with extra bottles at my disposal and for giving me some but not all the info about what was ahead of me! My lower back had got quite tight by now (and only got worse as I kept climbing) and was affecting my ability to put any power through the pedals. This kept an already low average heart rate even lower. The last 10km I just wanted to be off the bike and I think it is here I lost any hope of catching back up to Sean (I do have some healthy competition juices flowing)
Run (22km inc 2000m of elevation and climb to Mt Kozi peak… return)
I was glad to see T2, Lucas and Melissa (Lucas raced the standard event), and Bethany who would accompany me (on her bike) on the run leg… Only 22km to go including the first 11km straight up to the summit of Australia’s highest peak.
I found a good rhythm early and actually had it easier going than the guys on mountain bikes. I was feeling good through the first 5km and had a brief respite from the constant uphill (approx. 500m lull in climbing about 5.5k into climb) only to hit an even steeper ascent immediately after. This continued to the summit and all I could do was keep moving forward and think positive. The summit was a non-event because all I wanted to do was turn around and start my descent. I had seen Sean who was flying and a couple of kilometres ahead and the sole purpose now was the finish line.
Running down hill is easy physiologically but not so easy on already fatigued legs 6hrs into an alpine event… so whilst is was a welcome mental reprieve it still hurt physically! By now I had Bethany back on the bike next to me (complete with newly broken toe!) which was a welcome distraction, plus I didn’t want to complain too much as she was probably in more pain than me anyway. I tried to enjoy the final 5km into the finish line as the icing on the cake to an enjoyable lead in and challenging event day.
Overall
I ended up crossing the line in 7hrs (and 2nd place).
(In hindsight) I enjoyed a long hard day doing what I love with some pretty cool people in an amazing location… so I have no complaints. I would love to go back to this race with a crew in years to come and would highly recommend this event to anyone who loves a challenge, wants to try something new, is leading into Ironman or loves Bucket list races. It has a really unique but laid back feel.
Thanks to all those who support me and all those who trained with me along the way. Cheers to Mel and Lucas for sharing the weekend and experience with us and special mention to expert handler Bethany for being by my side during lead in (and quite literally) on race day…
Look out for my Extreme Tri Training Tips coming soon!
Cheers
Jamie