Salalah is a small town on the southwest coast of Oman developing itself into a resort destination for the region. It's in a unique location with the Indian Ocean on one side and lush mountains complete with waterfalls on the other. The race was held in the middle of the resort area with the swim in the protected marina, bike northeast along the coastal road, and run in the opposite direction. With less than 800 people entered, this felt more like a local race than a big international Ironman event, which meant there was plenty of room in transition and always a friendly face out on the course.
Swim:
My swim started poorly. Got kicked in the face and my goggle's left eye kept filling up with water. Took me several stops and several hundred meters before I could get it properly back into place without continual leaking. Once I sorted that out, I felt strong and composed. I intentionally never really pushed too hard because I knew the sun was coming out and taking off a minute or two wouldn’t help me in the end. Didn’t hit the watch for transition until I was already into T1, probably in the tent. Time: 36 minutes
T1:
Dried feet. Sock, shoe, sock, shoe. Sunglasses. Helmet. Belt. Stuff swim kit into bag. Fast walk to bike and away we go. Seriously, this transition area was smaller than some of our local races in Dubai.
Bike:
Heading out was fast and fun thanks to a 15-20knot tailwind. I aimed to keep mypower in the 155-165 range (zone 2) on average with the hills. No matter what this race organizers said, this is not a flat course. Total elevation was ~420 meters. The return was mentally tough. It's really frustrating to be going so slow back to T2 (38-40 kmh on the way out, under 25 on the return), but I knew I couldn't push it. The day was heating up fast, and I knew a half marathon would crush me if I started out too depleted from the bike leg. Time: 2:58
T2:
Rack bike. Helmet undone. Grab bag. Shoes on. Eat gel. Change sunglasses. Put on water bottle belt. Stuff bag. Drop bag. Pee in porta potty. Away we go.
Run:
My plan for the run was pretty simple. First 5k aim for HR under 152. Second 5k under 155. Third 5k under 160. Last 5k under 167 with a harder push the last 2k. I dumped several bottles of water over my head at every aid station. I stuffed wet sponges behind my neck at every aid station. I dropped ice down back of my trip suit whenever possible. I ended up fueling much more than I normally would (Gel at mile 4.5, 7.5, and 10.5-ish) because the sun was draining, and I kept topped up on my BASE salt too. Thankfully, my plan worked like a charm. I was firmly in control running easy and steady the entire time. Passing all the people who overbiked was a nice treat. Time: 2:06
Total time: 5:50
This was a much tougher race than any of us expected. We knew it would be warm, but the heat (90s) and the humidity (80s) were stifling by late morning. I wanted to push harder on the bike on the way back, and I'm glad I didn't. If you went too hard on the bike, you died on the run. Practicing staying easy and in control was a good mental exercise for Busselton. My only complaint about the race is the decision I made to skip the awards ceremony. I didn't think slots for the worlds in Finland would roll all the way down to my lowly 14th place. Narrator voice: they did
Lesson learned - always go and see what happens.
