AustrAliAn triAthlete | 31Tim Don
as I had only done about 12 half-distance
races at that point and only one Ironman.
For me, I still wanted to focus on 70.3
racing and we were really focusing on 70.3
Worlds in 2015. Ten days before that race,
I had a huge bike crash and had 36
stitches in my face and an open fracture
to my thumb. I still raced and ended up
missing a lot of my Kona training when I
got back.
When I turned up to Kona that year,
I didn’t know what to expect. I was in a
great position, but got a penalty on the
bike and had gut issues on the run. I was in
the port-o-johns all the way down Ali’i
Drive but still managed to finish 15th
overall. It was frustrating, but the
performance was still there. There were
plenty of times where I wanted to stop
because I had come there to fight for a top
10, but for me, it was a win-win. You have
no time to think in ITU, but only having
done one other Ironman, this was
mentally a very hard situation.
I realised before I can do well at
Kona, I have to nail an Ironman. You
can’t go to Kona not nailing an Ironman
race. My next full was Ironman Brazil in
2016, where I turned up with a calf injury
and hadn’t done a full run training block
leading up to the race. I still managed
second place. However, I was also 15
minutes behind Brent McMahon, so I
didn’t really deserve to go well at Kona
that year.
At the end of [2016], I realised I
really need to up my biking. I got in
contact with Matt Bottrill, a former-British
time-trial champion and cycling coach.
Together with Julie, we put together a
program that made me work harder than I
ever had on the bike. We really worked on
everything to make me more successful at
Ironman racing, from adjusting my
position to pacing. Julie sets the week’s
energy with the swimming, biking and
running, but the two of them Skype and
plan my week. I don’t really see the behind
the scene planning with my sessions. It’s
rare that you get two coaches that are so
successful and are willing to work together.
If I didn’t think it would work I would have
never asked Julie to bring Matt in, but it’s
been great and definitely revolutionised
how I train and race.
I never race for time. I race for
position. I wanted to fight for a podium at
Ironman Brazil in 2017, but I knew the field
would be tough with McMahon, Andreas
Raelert, Igor Amorelli - the list goes on of
good athletes, so you never know. We had
gone through different race scenarios on
how my race would pan out. I knew I
wanted to have a fast, aggressive swim
and then ride the first 90-minutes veryhard on the bike. Once I was able to see
people on the turn, I made my decision on
how to push on the rest of the bike and
still have a fast run. I had really worked on
my pacing my bike. My confidence began
to grow as my bike lead increased.
I didn’t realise what a big lead I had
coming off of the bike. I had timed
myself at the first run turnaround from the
next competitor and saw I had a
22-minute lead. I started thinking that I
can win this and to concentrate, hydrate,
focus on nutrition, and don’t run too fast
or too slow. I didn’t want to try to be a
hero. About four kilometres later, my Team
Bravo mates told me that if I ran a 2:48, I
could break the record, but I had to ask
what record they were talking about. I
remember someone shouting: “The World
Record,” and I thought: “Oh my gosh, what
pace am I running?” It wasn’t until about
13 kilometres that I had any clue I was on
track to break the record. I just tried not to
think about it that much – I tried to stay
within myself and continue to run my
own race.
In my mind, breaking the world
record wasn’t a done deal until I
crossed the finish line. I really had to
focus in those last kilometres. You don’t
take anything for granted until you cross
that finish line. There were guys in that
race that could easily have caught me if I
didn’t take care of myself with my nutrition
and pacing. You can see in photos as I ran
to the line, I was still giving it everything. I
didn’t high five anyone because the overall
time was facing the media, so it wasn’t
until I turned around to see the clock that I
realised I had broken the record. I couldn’t
believe it!© Korupt Vision© Zone 3