Nigel Gaskin

Having spent two weeks with my wife and son on the beautiful Gold Coast, Australia, the final leg of my twelve-month journey to down-under neared the end.

The time had come to pack away my bike into its box, where it would stay until I arrived in Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, four days later.

As my wife and son were unable to remain with me to watch me compete in the 70.3 World Ironman Championships, we decided to finish off their holiday by staying at the 5 star Peppers resort in Noosa Heads.

As we arrived in Noosa Heads we were overwhelmed by the views out across the coast line. All you could see for miles was lush vegetation, beaches and the ocean. Then we arrived at Peppers; we were speechless. The driveway into the resort meandered through the National Forest. The variations of trees and shrubbery were amazing but most of all we were astonished by the chorus that could be heard from all of the birds that were hidden amongst the forest.

We weren't disappointed with the resort or our apartment either; luxury at its best!

They say you should carbo load in the week before your race; well that was the easy bit! I found myself indulging in the local cuisine for three days; the hard bit was stopping myself from training. I knew my body needed a rest. I had worked hard in all three disciplines over the last two weeks. However, the temptation of having a 25m pool all to myself was too great. A quick dip each day satisfied my needs.

Leaving Peppers resort was hard. We had enjoyed a fantastic four days there. We headed back to Brisbane where we would stay one final night in a hotel before I had to say the emotional goodbye to my wife and son as they continued their journey back to the UK.

Having planned a solo trip to Mooloolaba, I was greeted with great news. My cousin, Ian, who lives in Sydney, had made a special trip to Brisbane to be my Ironman support crew for the duration of my trip in Mooloolaba. He was waiting at the hotel.  My journey back to the Gold Coast was no longer going to be as lonely as I had first expected and he’d brought his bike!

I had a room booked at the Novotel, Twin Waters Resort. Another fabulous location and luxury accommodation!

Reassembling our bikes gave Ian and I some valuable hours together; mostly reminiscing over our childhood.

She's back!

That afternoon we headed out on our bikes, riding into Mooloolaba. Although I'd qualified to race in the 70.3 World Championships I still needed to register and collect my race kit from the athlete village.

The ride into Mooloolaba was not what I had expected. We travelled in along the coastal road. The ocean breeze was so strong I could feel it forcing me sideways as it was hitting the sides of my aero wheels. I found myself battling against the wind, trying to stay upright. I'd looked across at the ocean and all I could see were huge rolling waves, crashing as they hit the shore line.

I turned to Ian and said, “I can't do this! How on earth will I ever manage to swim in there?” I suddenly felt very unprepared. I was really struggling to comprehend how I'd manage to finish this World Championship race.

Athletes are required to attend one of the mandatory race briefings prior to race day. The organisers had erected the largest marquee I'd ever seen; which appeared to have been wedged in between all the luxurious hotels along the beach front.

On entering the marquee, it felt like I had arrived at a music festival. There were thousands of athletes inside. You could feel the excitement in the air.

The briefing lasted approximately an hour, during which the weather conditions were discussed. We were informed that on race day it would be a beautiful calm day with little to no wind and temperatures high into the 20's. Feeling satisfied they knew what they were talking about, I instantly gave off a sigh of relief. The race was back on!

Saturday morning started off as the day ended; very relaxed! We jumped on to our bikes and headed 10 miles north and 10 miles back, travelling along the coastal road admiring the local wildlife along the way.

Later that afternoon we drove back to Mooloolaba. I had to set my equipment up in transition before 3pm so that it was all prepared for the following day.

Mooloolaba had become a showroom of expensive bikes; with athletes descending from all over the world pushing their pride and joy along the beach front down to the transition area. I had never seen so many bikes all in one place. Transition 1 on race day was going to be eventful!

I arrived in T1 and started my usual routine. I always look for fixed objects or signs that I can use as marker points that'll help me on race day; I find taking pictures can also be very helpful. Then once I'm happy that my bike is secure I then return to the start and walk through it again. On this occasion I was somewhere near the middle, row 43.

I remember thinking how far away T2 was from my bike and how uncomfortable it would be running through transition, barefoot.

Having finished setting up in transition I found I had become really relaxed. I was ready! This was the moment I'd been looking forward to for twelve months.

Race day

Race day meant a 03:30 wake up and a drive back to Mooloolaba, arriving at transition shortly before 05:00. What a beautiful morning! The sun could be seen rising above the sea. The sea was calm; the weather was warm and little to no wind. Perfect!

Just a quick adjustment to my bike, then the usual line up at the portaloo, my morning clothes kit drop and I was ready for the short walk to the starting pen.

The 2016 70.3 World Championships started off with the professional men going first and shortly after with the professional women. My age group, 35-39 were the next wave of athletes to start.

The 1.9km swim was a deep-water start. We were to follow a one-lap rectangular course in an anti-clockwise direction.

We were then instructed to make our way out to the start point. I soon discovered that this was no easy task. Although the waves were only small they still packed a punch. Many athletes were getting knocked down to their knees. It required some considerable effort to get through these waves.

I swam over to the start point and lined up on the front row, off to the right hand side. I felt confident that this was the best place to be. I knew it wasn't the most direct route but I also knew with my speed in the water, I'd be at the front in no time. Whilst waiting for the starter to sound the horn I found myself drifting into a daze. The water was so warm and with the rising of the sun over Point Cartwright I kind of forgot why I was there!

I had a great swim and, as I’d expected, I managed to be in the leading group of swimmers. Exiting the water with the top group gave me a real confidence boost. It also meant I had a clear run through transition 1.

With a short run up the beach and a few steps to negotiate before entering T1, I grabbed my bag from the rail, quickly slipping on my socks, shoes and helmet. I then started the long run down to my bike.

Amazingly I found my bike straight away. I took hold of it and started to run through the remainder of T1. Just as I neared the end my bike hit a bump on the path sending my water bottle, which was full of SIS nutrients, bouncing along the path. I knew this was a vital part of my race strategy so frustratingly I had to stop and replace it. There was no way I'd complete the race without it.

Having lost precious time and fluids I had to get my mind back in the game and that's exactly what I did. I didn't have time to worry! There was a short yet steep hill to climb straight out of transition. A great tester for the wobbly legs!

After a slow climb up the hill the course took a turn onto the Sunshine Motorway; a smooth, flat and fast section which had a U-turn at approximately 23km. I knew this was going to be an area on the course where I could potentially destroy my legs far too early. Although I was tempted to pedal much harder and keep up with all the other athletes that were passing me, I knew I had to keep a pace that I was comfortable with and save the legs for the later part of the course where we would be spending a long time climbing.

Around the 40km mark we took a sharp turn left onto Maroochydore Road and headed into the hinterland section, winding through the gum tree lined roads, tackling the challenging short climbs and rolling hills. Although these were challenging I found I had another burst of energy. I was feeding off all the other athletes that appeared to be slowing down as we notched up another 40km in the hills. Finally, the course headed back to Mooloolaba, T2.

With only 10km to go I started to feel excited knowing that the bike leg was nearly over. Although I enjoy the bike leg, I also feel that it is the one discipline where you really are at the mercy of the course. There is so much that could go wrong during the 90km ride that could easily destroy your race.

With T2 now fast approaching I found I was questioning myself. Where is the dismount line? Where did my bike need to go? Where was my running gear? Had I taken on enough fluids? How would my legs feel? I remember following another athlete into Mooloolaba. Being able to watch him negotiate the tight twisty side roads and then unclipping his shoes on approached to the dismount line made me forget all about these little questions that were spinning around in my mind.

With just my helmet to remove and my trainers to put on, T2 was quick and smooth. I was amazed with how good I was feeling at this point; my legs felt really fresh and strong. The run was a two-lap course starting from Mooloolaba beach, heading over Alex Hill and travelling along the foreshore to the café precinct in Maroochydore then at the turnaround point it was back to Mooloolaba to start the second lap.

Having been overtaken by many other athletes on the bike leg, from previous experiences I knew the run leg would give me the opportunity to pull back some of these places. I pushed hard out of transition and found my first few miles were averaging sub 6 minute miles, picking off big groups of athletes along the way. Again boosting my confidence, still feeling strong I kept pushing for the remainder of the first lap, passing through the 10km mark in 38mins. My second lap was much the same as the first. The pace had dropped slightly but I put this down to the increased heat and the congested paths towards the far end of the course.

With the final mile now in sight and just Alex Hill to climb, I pushed as hard as I could. My legs were feeling heavy and sluggish but with the help of the crowd I found the motivation to pick up my pace and sprint towards the finish line. I turned the final corner and there it was; this is where my journey ends!

I crossed the line with my arms waving in the air. I’d done it! My second World Championship race in two consecutive years. I felt so emotional. I couldn’t believe how well I had done finishing as the 4th fastest GBR athlete in my 35-39 age group and 69th overall and, to top it off, I had recorded personal best times in all three disciplines for a 70.3 Ironman event.

Don’t go believing that’s really where my journey ends… next week I’ll be racing in the UK, Weymouth 70.3. Watch this space!