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Ironman 70.3 Bahrain

So, I didn’t get to finish my 13-day comeback assault in the fashion I would have liked. This past weekend was the Ironman 70.3 Bahrain and after managing to surprise everyone including myself the past 2 weeks with victories at Western Sydney 70.3 and Ironman Western Australia part of me was hoping for a clean sweep and part of me knew this was going to be a big ask. My running had been non-existent 3 weeks ago and while my progression has been great I do not have the base I usually have to allow me to have my normal fast recovery. 
 
The week progressed as well as I could have hoped, travel was easy and the muscle felt like they were coming around by Friday. Unfortunately Bahrain is a Saturday race, which meant 1 less day recovery, but I was looking forward to opening the jets one last time for the year. 
 
 The swim started well but then I made a crucial mistake, I veered away from the comfort of the group and tacked up left towards someone I thought was swimming a better line, unfortunately the extra effort to close the gap got me gasping for air and soon I was stuck in no mans land by myself. I managed to get the negative thoughts of my mistake out of my head quickly and focus on my swimming and by half way I was done moving backwards and started moving forwards and closing the gap again. Out the water and thanks to a fast transition it saw me not far off where I would usually be and in contention with defending champ, Kristen Blummenfelt. 
 
But as soon as I got on the bike and tried to push any power I knew I was in trouble. The power was stuck well down and instead of pushing my way to the front and putting the pressure on everyone else, this time it was I feeling the pressure. My heart rate was spiking unusually high, my power was lower than I saw it the previous weekend in a full Ironman and my breathing was very very labored. I gave it a few more kilometers to let things settle and see where I was at but instead of things calming they looked to be getting worse.  Blummenfelt and his 2 countrymen were on fire out there. They got away from the field by the end of the bike and opened up their lead through the run to have a clean Norwegian sweep on the podium. 
 
I hate nothing more than pulling out of races but this time it was the right decision and I while I would have loved to have finished this block with a great performance in Bahrain, I can finish the year with a lot of positives and a lot of great results, including 2 x Ironman victories under 8 hours and 4 x Ironman 70.3 Victories and another Ironman podium. Not bad considering I was out of commission for 5 months… I am really looking forward to planning the 2019 season and cant wait to share my journey with you.  
 
But for now, I am so excited to have some down time with the family for a few weeks over the festive season. I would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!!! 
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