The race venue for this race was Kenting, on the southern tip ofTaiwan. This is a very pretty place with mountains and clear ocean water. It is always nice to do a pre race swim and see marine life down there! There is a lot of wind here as it on the coast but the temps are a balmy 26-27 degrees which is perfect. I stayed at the Yoho hotel, the race official hotel. It is a sprawling resort style hotel on the beach which was great for pre race preparation, resting and a super brunch buffet!
Race day dawned perfect weather. The sky had a fantastic mix of reds and oranges which made for a great start. I lined up with the other 13 pro athletes at the start line at 6.30 and we got underway some 20 mins before the rest of the 1300 other athletes. Apparently the biggest ever triathlon field inTaiwan.
The wetsuit swim went ok but I spent most of the time alone. An unfortunate part of racing with only a small amount of people! No draft to be had here unfortunately for my swim time.
Onto the bike and I was off on the 90km bike which contained a ‘bit of everything’. There was 2 climbs, some very fast downhill sections @ 75+ km/h and a lot of wind. Once again I was cycling along for most parts but it was ok and scenic especially the coastal sections.
I passed 3 other athletes on the bike leg and I felt surprisingly good on the second lap. I finished with 2.21 on clock so a good time for riding alone on this sort of ‘strength’ oriented course.
By the time of the run the temps were heating up and my goal for the race was really just to get my run back together and finish strongly considering all the back trouble I have had the past year! From 5-15k I actually ran really well. I was using all aid stations to walk and get in lots of coke and just focused on letting the ‘urge’ to stop go away time and time again. I got to about 16k when things started to go downhill but got a lot of confidence out of this race and finished in a respectable 9th position male pro. I have 15-20 mins improvement still in my run so am excited to put it all together next year!
The race was really well organised and run. Kudos to Renny Ling and his Ironman team. I was really looked after well and will be back next year with Ani to race again no doubt. The area is a superb destination race for individuals and families and a is a real honest test of endurance.
