Last Thursday I set off for the Buffalo Springs 70.3 (half Ironman) which was to take place in Lubbock on Sunday the 26th. I travelled to Lubbock, Texas from LA a trip which should take 4.5hr ended up taking me 19hrs. There were maintenance problems in LA so the plane sat at the gate for 3hr. We finally got off the ground but unfortunately this was not a direct flight and my connecting flight in Denver to Lubbock was long gone. So the next thing to do was try get on the next flight out of Denver which I did the only problem was it was not leaving for 9hrs, yes, 9 freaking hrs!! I finally got to Lubbock, Texas just before midnight totally exhausted but happy to be there. On exiting the airport I was hit by the heat, a heat I haven’t ever felt before and it was midnight. I realised that the heat was going to be the major factor in this particular race. Talking to some of the locals it turns out Lubbock is having a major heat wave and it basically hasn’t rained in over a year.
The next two days were spent checking out the course, doing some light training and desperately trying to sleep as much as I could because the trip from LA had left me feeling like I had flown from NZ to London. Race day rolled around and before I knew it I was on the start line. I had a few aspects of my race I really wanted to work on and having a good swim was top of that list. The gun went off and I went out really hard I tried to not think past the next few strokes and I did this until the first turn buoy at which I was still in the front pack which was great as I hadn’t been starting strong lately. From that first buoy I really tried to be aware of what was happening around me and tried to draft behind people. I ended up exiting the water in top 10 and less than 1min off the front which was my best swim EVER so very happy.
On to the bike I quickly got to work and by the 10 km mark I was in second behind Raynard Tissink. I got to within 20sec of Raynard but I had difficulty bridging the gap right up to him so we basically rode 20seconds apart until the final few kms where he managed to put a few seconds on me eventually entering transition 2 just under 1minute in front of me. At this point the heat was getting out of control the high of the day was to be 43degrees C and it felt like it had already reached that.
I headed out on the run and knew that the only way to get through this was to run my own race and block out everyone else. I did this and unfortunately I slipped from 2nd to 5th but I really had no choice if I had run any harder or tried to go with the guys when they past me I literally wouldn’t have finished. I love racing in the heat but this was on a whole new level. Today I was trying to think how to explain the heat but I can’t think how to. It was amazing and what made it very different for me was it was a dry heat with no humidity what so ever. All in all I am very happy with this race, it taught me a lot especially how to suffer.
I must acknowledge the amazing help and support I got from my Texan family, Randy and Shari. They did all they could to welcome me into their home and make my race day easy and stress free. All the homestay families are great and make life on the road a whole lot easier for us when we are away. Thank you guys.
I now have two weeks until Portland Rev 3. This is my last race before I head back to NZ so I am very motivated to take everything I have learned from the last few races and put together a perfect race.
Just before I left Texas I picked up the paper and on the front cover read “second hottest day ever in Lubbock yesterday” which I thought was very funny.
I hope you are well.
James
Results
Elite Men
1. Raynard Tissink (RSA) 4:03:27
2. Michael Lovato (USA) 4:04:22
3. Josiah Middaugh (USA) 4:05:51
4. Joe McDaniel (USA) 4:06:52
5. James Bowstead (NZL) 4:11:26
6. Andres Castillo (COL) 4:13:15
7. Gavin Anderson (USA) 4:14:55
8. Brent Poulsen (USA) 4:15:16
9. Matthew Russsell (USA) 4:15:55
10. Peter Clode (NZL) 4:17:14
Elite Men
1. Raynard Tissink (RSA) 4:03:27
2. Michael Lovato (USA) 4:04:22
3. Josiah Middaugh (USA) 4:05:51
4. Joe McDaniel (USA) 4:06:52
5. James Bowstead (NZL) 4:11:26
6. Andres Castillo (COL) 4:13:15
7. Gavin Anderson (USA) 4:14:55
8. Brent Poulsen (USA) 4:15:16
9. Matthew Russsell (USA) 4:15:55
10. Peter Clode (NZL) 4:17:14
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