bye bye IMNZ & IMA?

Well things have been busy with all the shortbreads, turkey, wine, beer and other festive foods requiring consumption but only one more night of pigging out.

I started off the Christmas eve with a brick session of a 7km run to the pool and a swim. Things were going well but this run was one that was not to be. While running over, my left calf became cramped and all the stretching could not fix it. Being over half way to the pool (and the fact the family was going to meet me there) I carried on. The pain moved from my ankle to my calf, up to my knee and then back to the calf, all in a matter of a couple of minutes. Then without warning, it got very sore. Too sore to walk. Initial diagnosis, is a muscle tear.

That was a week ago, and I've been walking with the aid of strapping tape and the odd pain killer. I have an appointment with the specialist on the 15th of January, so we'll see how things go. In the back of my mind, I know that at minimum IMNZ is out and possibly IMA. Depending on how things go and what I'm told I can do, we'll see what the new year brings.

It's amazing how once you believe you can't do something, the more you want to do it.

I'm going to try and do some swimming with the pull buoy and paddles and do some core workouts to try and keep some form of training going until I hear more. Here's hoping.

Back home some of my friends are getting ready to do the Disney Goofy run. It's a half marathon on the Saturday followed by a marathon on the Sunday (or vice versa). Either way, nuts no matter which way you put it. Good luck guys and have a great time.

That's about it for me, so all the best and Happy New Year.

back into social training

Really what is it that makes us get up as some crazy hour of the morning, put on lycra and do some exercise? You could say because it's actually cooler at that time of day (temperature folks...lycra is not cool anytime of the day). But seriously, when you look at it, it's friends, coffee and the chance for smack talk ;-)

I've been back at it again for a couple of weeks with last week topping out at 8 sessions, or about 12 hours of training...not too bad considering I'm not training for anything. Friday mornings are the highlight of the week with a social river loop ride/coffee/bs session. This week I rode in to meet the gang for a 5:30am start over in the west end. My alarm was off at 4am and man am I trained. Off it goes, out of bed, changed and gone...on the road by 4:15....4.15!?!?!?!? am I that desperate for a cup of coffee? Aparently so. Before work started I'd done about 70kms and it was allot of fun. Even though this week the river loop was sub 1 hour (35km loop) I felt okay and even gave a couple of the hills a crack, not too bad for this old fart.

The other fun part of the week is my Saturday morning run with Vaughn. He hops in the jogger and today I was sarinaded with 'old macdonald' for the first half...That and every person and dog we passed, there was a little voice saying hi. Even though it was really humid today we did manage to take off 3 minutes compared to last weeks effort (mostly due to the fact I ran up the last big hill this week).

I think I'm going to keep going at this pace for a bit and see what happens. To try and add another 4 sessions per week and most likely another 6 or 7 hours, just doesn't appeal to me right now.

See you out there.
Richard

Looking back in order to go forwards

Well, I've almost reached my goal of gaining 4kgs before heading back into some form of training. That and I've taken the last month off, the first real month of no training for the last 19months.

Before going ahead I've looked back at my time since joining BTS.

I've gone through:

6 pairs of runners
on my 4th chain on my bike (changed every 5,000kms)
4 sets of tyres
too many tubes
kgs of powered sports drink
gels measured in the 100's (went through a box every week on my last IM training program)
5 pairs of swim goggles
multiple swim caps

I've gained:

More Lycra than anyone person should own
numerous bad race shirts (the cotton ones)
a good towel collection
new friendships
new scars from crashing on a mountain at 30km/hr
inner strength
a greater passion for the sport
the knowledge that comfort zones are meant to be pushed
comfort to swim in the open water and feel comfortable

On the PB's

I've dropped my 1/2 IM time from a 6:08 to a 5:36
I've dropped my 1/2 marathon time from a 1:34:07 to a 1:29:58
I've seen my 10km time drop to 39:07
I've dropped by sprint distance time down to 1:12 (old pb was about 1:20ish)
I've dropped my Olympic distance time down from 2:46 to 2:27
I've completed my first Ironman
I've represented my Country at the World Championships

Wow, that's a bit more than I thought...

Now what?

I think it's about time to get back to training as the mid section is no longer...um...well... trim.

Yesterday was the squads beach Olympics which was a blast. To be honest, I didn't feel much like going, but I'm glad I went. It was good to get back with the squad and hear what people had been up to. With the ROTW (rest of the world) kicking some Aussie and Kiwi butts, there's just the swim carnival left next weekend. I should probably do some swimming this week so as to look somewhat like a swimmer for that ;-)

I'm not yet ready to commit to training for an Ironman again, but the want/need to do another is calling and it's just a matter of time before I succumb to the calling. (sorry folks, all the pestering you can muster won't get me there, so no need to try so hard) If I'm going to do an IM, you have to have the inner passion for one or it won't be any fun when you get into the thick of the training.

I've almost reached the point of no return for IMNZ, but will be there to cheer my friends on as they give it hell preparing for race day. IMA is an outside shot, but after last year, I'm not sure I want to do Port for a bit. IMC is an option, but the major down side is all the training I'd have to do on my own. Training for Worlds, it was really tough keeping with the training without others to be accountable to. I definitely train better in a group.

So, not sure what's in the cards, but I think I'll start training and see where it takes me, time will tell though.

Cheers
Rich

Perth , World Long Course Championships...aka. chunder down under

Most of you have heard what happened, so I've finally gotten around to actually writing my race report...it just took me a little over 3 weeks to do it.

I arrived into Perth on the Thursday before the race and immediately unpacked the bike to make sure it survived the 5 1/2 hour flight over from Brissie. Talk about a boring flight. I did manage to get some good reading in ( I received my latest version of Triathlete magazine the day before I left) and a bit of poker on the PSP.

The bike survived and I put it together with no spare parts, all good. Most of the activities, team lunch, registration, etc. were Friday so I used the rest of the day to stop by our Perth office and say hello to a few people. Walking around Perth it's a mix of architecture and attitude, very laid back in fact. A nice dinner at the hotel and an early night.

I was feeling well and looking forward to meeting the team members and getting a chance to review the course.

Friday I went for a little ride on the bike to make sure everything was setup the way it should be and to check the best way to the race pavilion area. Back for coffee and breakfast and a nice relaxing start to the day. I took a detour on the way to the team lunch and stopped by the race pavilion to watch some of the school races going on. It was really fun to watch 500+ kids swimming, biking and running for all they were worth. The best part was listening to Crowie (Craig Alexander) tell the kids about following their dreams, never giving up and what it takes to be a world champion. He is truly a top competitor and one hell of a sportsman.

I made my way over to the restaurant where I met up with my fellow countrymen and had a good chat with the bunch at my table. The best part was when we had to stand up, say our name and where we were from. People from all over Canada then me, from Brisbane, then the person beside me, from Perth...a bit funny actually. We were both asked a number of questions on where to stay, what to do, etc. while in Oz. After a team picture, it was off to registration. I picked up my stuff and checked out my goodies before heading back to the hotel. I took the rest of the day taking it easy, picturing the race in my mind and just resting.

Saturday was another prep day with a little run, a quick bike ride and an easy swim. I did all these incorporating my bike check in and race briefing. The water temp was 20 degrees, so it would be a wetsuit swim as and I quote "due to the water temperature and taking into account wind chill, we will not be measuring the water temperature in the morning, it will be a wetsuit swim." NEVER have I heard the words wind chill in the concept of Australian weather. Oh well. When I swam before the briefing, it was good, really salty which I was not expecting, but not too bad I guess.

The other weird thing at the race briefing was the drafting zones. Typically it's about 7m or the size of a ute, but this one would be 12 meters. 12METERS, what the hell. They showed us what they would be using to check, basically the distance between road stripes is 9 meters and the stripes are 3 meters so if you have someone in front of you, make sure there is one space and one stripe between you. And to top it off, on the 20km lap, there were 15 officials on motorbikes.

Another relaxing afternoon and a nice dinner before calling it an early night. I'd prepared well, I had myself in a good frame of mind and I was ready for the challenges of the race, whatever they may be.....

I awoke feeling ready to race. My pre-race meal (same as Geelong which seemed to work really well) of english muffins with peanut butter and jam, served up with apple juice. I put on my tri suit and packed my gear and was off to the transition. I was there just after opening which was right on plan and setup my area. I had it all laid out, and ready for the day. I dropped off my bag and headed to the swim start.

A quick warm up and I was ready. The weather was not what you could call ideal, it was windy, and it was warm, about 20 degrees on its way to around 33. I couldn't control this, so why worry about it. I had to adapt and do what I could do to achieve my results.

The pro men were first, followed by the pro women. I was 'lucky' enough to be in the next wave, so after a few minutes we were off. Man was it rough. Waves were about 1 1/2 feet and the wind was right in our face for the 1.8km to the turn around. So windy, when you put you had in, or kicked your feet, the spray was flying back a good 3-4 meters. I wanted to keep with some people in my group, and knew I would need to go harder before settling into my groove, so with the conditions, it was 3-4 minutes before I found a swim stroke that would work for the conditions. As it turned out the best way to move through the water was to breath every 2nd stroke and shorten the arm entry to more of a chopping motion due to all the waves. I was feeling okay hitting the odd brown jellyfish along the way, (they don't sting, just more of a pain in the butt if you ask me) where the first few were a bit of a surprise, but soon it became the norm, of off you went. The worst was when they would wrap around your arm and you would need to brush them off.

I was staying with a few people and was swimming off to the side as with all the spray coming off the person in front of you, it was very difficult to draft I found. Then it happened... about 10 minutes or so into the race, I was in a bit of a pack when I went for air and was all of a sudden, under a wave that I didn't see. I took on a mouth full of the nice dark brown, salty Swan river. A few gags but I carried on. Then about a minute or so later, that was it, 'heave ho!!' The salt water and the gaging were enough to bring up breakfast... I had to stop tread water for a minute or two and try and figure out what to do next. Quit? No bloody way. Could I continue? I would try, nothing to lose. So I put my head down and kept swimming. A few minutes later, the residual spew came up, I was not having a good day. All I could do was keep moving. (the funny part to me, was I may be puking my guts out, but there were 700 people behind me who had to swim through it).

I made it to the turn around point where we made our turn back to transition, 1.2km back. Now going with the wind at your back you would think, turn into a sail and you would fly back right? Wrong! The remaining portion of the swim was against the current. I kept going though, but I knew I would be slower than I wanted to be. I got out of the water, made my way to transition and got myself onto my bike. I needed to try and rehydrate myself and do what I could to get as many calories in on the bike. I grabbed my 2 extra gels from my emergency pile and headed out. I downed some water, took a gel and was off.

It was so windy on the bike you were out of gears in a matter of seconds. This was followed by a massive slow down when you turned around. Of the 20km circuit, I would say 5km with wind, 5 km direct head wind and 10km of cross head winds....not fun.

I was drinking sports drink but I wasn't feeling well. At the 40 minute mark I took my second gel, only to have this and the blue sports drink come burning back up, and all over my bike too! Shit. More water to rinse the mouth and go. I had to keep going, but I knew at this point I was in trouble. Pre-race nutrition gone, gels, coming back up and I still had 40+kms to ride and a 20km run to do. I tried water, and that was somewhat okay. Then about 20 minutes later I ventured into another gel, maybe this one would stay down..NOPE! back up with that lovely burning sensation. It may taste like vanilla on the way down, but not the same in the other direction. I knew I would need to make a call, stop in transition or keep going. I had come all this way, so I put my head down and went for it on the bike. I finished the bike and got off. Only a mere, 20km run in windy and now around 30 degree weather between me and the finish line.

I grabbed my gels, to give them a try on the run....Nope, same result about 3km in, so I ditched them and went with the stuff at the aid stations. I was running, except for the aid stations and to stop and puke. The further I went, the slower I got. I would try and take on stuff at the aid stations, but every time I took on sports drink or coke, it was back up in a matter of minutes. It was also very hot so two cups of water were pored on me at each station and a I would fill my hat with ice at the midway point of the lap (4 - 5km loops).

All up I hoofed at just about every aid station. I was cooked, I was determined not to walk, but it was very tough to keep moving forward. I was light headed, I was not feeling at all well and the finish line seemed too far away. I was not giving up though. I dug deeper and deeper, I thought I would cave but every time I wanted to stop, I pushed myself just that bit further. I was racing not only for me, but also for the country in front. The race, particularly on the run was soon a matter of survival and finishing rather than time. As I rounded for the last lap, I kept saying, just run to the next aid station, you can do it. And I did. Not fast as I had zero energy, but I kept moving forward. As I made the last turn it was only a matter of 500m between me and the line. I had done it....As I came through, I managed to get a mini flag and went through the chute.

As I stopped, I must have been a bit wobbly as I immediately had someone grab me and ask me if I was okay. I lied, said I was fine, just very hot and wanted something to drink. I had my medal around my neck and I went to the aid station. I poured a bottle of water over my head, I drank 2 cups of water, followed immediately by sports drink, which managed to stay down. I grabbed 2 more waters and 2 sports drinks and went and sat down with some of the other members of team Canada. We talked about our day out there and had a good laugh at how things went. Everything from 'so that was you leaving goodies on the road' to looking at some very blistered feet, and hearing about how some people managed to get tagged for drafting.

I wasn't too happy with my time, but I did find something though, that I never thought was there....determination and drive. I wanted to do so well at this race, my prep was good, my attitude was the best I've ever had, actually bordering on cockiness. I had never given up. I learned that if I needed to, I could do a 6 hour race on basically no nutrition (and no I do not recommend this at all). It was pure will power that got me through that race. I could have given up probably a dozen times, but as I said to myself in the water, it was not in the cards to quit.

Looking back a few months before the race, I said that:

1. I wanted to go as hard as I could, leaving nothing on the course.
2. I wanted to feel proud and represent my country to the best of my ability.
3. I wanted to have attitude and give the course hell.

If I review my race, I think I mastered what I set out to do. Time is just a small part of racing. If you don't learn from days like this, everything would seem easy. It's about pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. It's about giving everything you've got while still enjoying this crazy sport.

I had won.

Cheers
Richard

updates

Well, today is a day off with Vaughn where we will pack up for the trip over. Okay, I'll pack, while he unpacks.

Having received the athletes handbook, it seems there will be like tracking available. You could try:

the official race site:

http://www.ldworlds.org.au

or the timing chip company who says they'll have live leader board

http://www.bluechiptiming.com.au

Off to go but some gels so catch you later from Perth.

Richard

Taper

This morning I was out for a solo ride again. My 3 1/2 hour journey was good with the exception of the wind picking up during my ride. Nothing too bad, but it did make me focus on technique more, which was a good thing. The ride also signified the last of my big training. Tomorrow, I get to enjoy a full day off. mmm taper.

The bike has been tuned (really love taking a freshly tuned bike out for a ride) and Tuesday I pick up my tri suit, which will have my name on it. Pretty much have my ducks in a row.

This coming week is pretty easy for me, with a massage booked Monday before work, a swim Tuesday night, a light ride Wednesday morning and then I fly out to Perth first thing Thursday morning. The plane ride will not be fun as it's over a 5 hour flight over to Perth. Definitely taking an isle seat and wearing the skins.

I've taken the Wednesday off too, and plan to use it as my packing day and to also spend some more time with the family before heading over. If work doesn't get in the way, Vaughn and I will spend the day together and we'll pick Alyssa up from school.

When I arrive in Perth, I'm going to check out the course and meet up with the Team Canada coach as they have my parade of nations gear for me (saved a bunch of money by not shipping it out here). I plan to take it fairly easy with some light workouts just to keep the legs fresh and calm the nerves a bit. Your typical lead up to a big event too, with the water bottle following you where ever you go.

I've prepared my race plan and it's looking good. I've had Mark and Tim have a read through, just to get feedback and no real tweaking was done. I plan on using this race plan to get me to my end goal of my best possible race. If I do that, I know I'll be happy. Just need to be smart, stick to the plan, pay attention to my nutrition and use a bit of attitude where required.

I plan on taking my computer with me, and hopefully I can find some internet to tie into and throw some updates up.

Cheers
Richard

Kona Inspiration

Kona represents the best of triathlon. Each year 1500 people toe the line in Kona to swim one of the toughest swims, ride through hell and then run through the lava fields all in the quest becoming the world champion.

You have the classic races of Dave Scott and Mark Allen, the dedicated finishes of Julie Moss or Chris Legh. Hours spent hovered around the computer watching live streaming video of the elites battling it out. My hat goes off to Crowie (Craig Alexander) who had the perfect race plan and used it to get his second straight title...take that Macca, he's a great triathlete an a fantastic individual, maybe you could learn a thing or two from him. The you have the unbelieveable Brit, Chrissie Wellington who was in a league of her own, blowing the women away, smashing Paula Newby Faser's 17 year old course record and beating most of the pro men. 23rd overall??? I think they might need to get a third title going, Men's, Women's and Chrissie. My hat goes off to her.

A big congrats to fellow squad member Scott Budd, who raced today in Kona. Conditions were tough and even being under the weather, he made it through with a good time and finished with style. Well done mate!!

I'm two weeks out from Perth and things are going well. I had a 3+ hour ride today so off I headed, on my own. Colleen was kind enough to send me text updates to keep me from getting bored. It turned out to be a lonely and soggy ride. I cut it at 3 hours as I was sick of the rain. All in all, I did feel good keeping an average of about 33km/hr through the rolling course.

Saturday's training was a ride out to Redcliffe for transition training (3 loops of 300-400m swim, 5 km ride, 1km run). The water was choppy but when I could find some smoother water, or with the waves, I was moving well and feeling good. As the each loop came, I was feeling better and better. On the last run, I decided to try the legs out an opened it up to see where things stood. Well, I was running sub 4's and it felt good. I might have a chance on the run, I just need to play it smart over the next two weeks. A change back into dryer clothes and I rode back home.

Going into Perth I have a different feeling than previous races of a similar distance. I know I'm ready, I know I will finish, and I know I will give it my all. But even all this, I do feel like I need to do more. Similar to craming for an exam, I want to get the most out of it and wanting to give it full throttle.

This challenge will be the trickest I've had in triathlon and I just hope come race day, I have the right combination and give it the best on the day. Maybe I can call on some of the highlights of today to get me through it. Stick to your plan and good things will come of it.

This coming week is another full on schedule of training which I want to make all training sessions. With my shortened taper I need to make the most of it. In order to get ready, my bike goes in Wednesday for a tune up and I'm taking my tri suit in to get my name put on it. I was hesitant to put my name on, but after pressure from friends, I broke and the name is going on.

Here's hoping I can make the most of the next two weeks and maybe, just maybe I can pull out a win...a personal win for sure, and if my shipment of EPO makes it in time, maybe an age group win.....okay big dream, but what the hell might as well think about it....(without the EPO of course)

Take it easy out there.
Rich

The week of mixed emotions

This past week was a test of the nerves. With just 4 weeks to go, I had 2 solid weeks of training then a 2 week taper. Focused and determined, I was mentally prepared for the hard weeks ahead. A core workout and run Monday, lead to Tuesday morning........

Your typical Tuesday morning run workout with 2km warm up some stretching, drills and then into main set...10x300m. The group I was in was to do the 300m on no more than 55, and they were actually around the 49-51 second mark. Things were going well until the 6th one. About 200m in, it felt like someone had stabbed my right hammie with a big needle, followed immediately by solid muscle tightening... Oh no! What had I done?! Perth is in my sights and I didn't know if this would keep me from it. That was it for me. I limped around work for the day, and then went to the pool after work for a swim set. I figured if my hammie was sore, I could still use a pull buoy and get a workout in. Oddly enough, it felt not too bad, (that and you really don't use your hammies to swim).

I went to physio Wednesday to get it checked out. Had I torn it? strained it? what? Well the good news is, it was a strain of the lateral something or other hamstring muscle. 2 rounds of physio and a massage had me in decent shape, but it was still lingering. I was allowed to still ride and swim, but when it came to running, I could only run Wednesday (7, 1km repeats where the muscle felt okay), Friday and then Sunday at the race. Racing was allowed, but I was under strict instructions to stop if I felt any tension in it. I still managed to get some good swimming and rides in this week and was feeling okay, but with a bit of caution.

My Saturday morning ride (3 hours) felt okay, so I took my bike down to check in Saturday afternoon and then it was an early morning start Sunday. My heat was off at 5:52am and transition opened at 4:45, so I was out the door at 3:30. (I must love this sport WAY too much).

Well I went down to the race the sprint man of the Gold Coast 70.3. My distances were 1km swim/33km bike/7km run.

A quick warm up in the water and I waited near the start line for my heat, the 3rd of the day. The sprintman heats were only 1 minute apart, so when the gun went off, it didn't take long for me to catch the wave in front. I was swimming well again and was constantly in a crowd of people. I guess you know your swim is coming along when you actually pass more people than people passing you. Just when I was getting into a solid rhythm, I was at the ramp. All the people around me were caps from the previous wave, so I was really happy with that. I jogged through to T1, quick exit out of my wetsuit and out onto the bike. A flying mount and I was off.

I was happy with my swim and it was now time to give it hell on the bike. 33km and I wanted to pass as many people as I could. Well, on the way out, that's all I did. Actually I didn't have anyone pass me on the bike. I had a couple of people who sprinted by me, but I caught them within a few 100 meters. I wanted to keep my speed as close to 40km/hr as possible, so with any hill, it was out of the saddle and pound the pedals. Things were going well on the bike, so it was just the wind that one had to worry about, but everyone had the same issues. Before I knew it, I was back into transition and putting my shoes on. my bike computer said 52:56 so I had managed to ride very well averaging over 37km/hr, not bad.

Focus on the run, was to run without pain...seems simple enough, doesn't it??

I headed out and was not feeling any pain, good start. I didn't use my footpod as I wanted to run on feeling rather than time or pace. Things were feeling okay and I felt like I was running at about 75-80% so not bad. As it was a 2 lap 7km course, I took the first with the same speed and would try things out a bit on the second. At the end of the first lap, I was feeling good and the hammie seemed to be holding up. So I took it at the same speed for about 500m and decided to try things out. I picked it up slightly, and waited.....no pain, this is good, not even a twinge. So I decided to pick it up closer to my race pace. I could feel the hammie tightening so I immediately backed off to the pace I had been holding, all good.

As I ran into the finishing area, I was extremely happy my leg had held up.

The times below, T1 is with the swim, and T2 is with the bike

Swim 00:22:12 HH : MM : SS Pos: 199 Gen Pos: 158 Cat Pos: 31

Cycle 00:54:37 HH : MM : SS Pos: 81 Gen Pos: 77 Cat Pos: 13

Run 00:29:14 HH : MM : SS Pos: 60 Gen Pos: 58 Cat Pos: 10

	Finish Time
	01:46:04 HH : MM : SS Pos: 67 Gen Pos: 60 Cat Pos: 10

Actually my time was good enough for a top 10 result in my age group! Never have I done this in Australia, so I'm extremely happy! Actually my run average was around a 4:16/km so things are looking okay, down from my 4 minute average at the peoples race a few weeks ago, but considering I thought I might not be able to race.... Phew.

Now with my leg seeming to be holding up (I'll be going to physio a few more times this week) I'm going to listen and do what I can. After talking with Mark, we're going to push my taper down from 2 weeks to around 5-7 days as I really want to have a decent result.

I did try my team Canada tri suit at this race and it was very comfortable, no chaffing so a good test run for Perth.

That's my week, only 20 more days to go....

Cheers
Richard

4 weeks out

Well after a nice week in New Zealand with the family, I now have 4 weeks till Perth. Crunch time...

Over the next few weeks I'm sure I'm in for some punishment during training. This coming weekend is the Gold Coast 70.3, which I'll be doing the 1/4 man, a 1km swim, 33km cycle and a 7km run. The goal for this race is to keep in the mix and give it full throttle again and see how things turn out.

I'm feeling okay, now I just need to fine tune some things and get ready for my big race of the year.

That's about it really, but I did manage to upload some photos from the peoples race now, so you can see how 'serious' one can look in a race.

Cheers
Richard

Into T1

Powering up a hill

Classic B&W photo

Out of T2

On the run course

My serious look

Into the finishing chute


A big thank you to Kaz for taking most of these. They're much better than the one's taken by the professionals out on course.

I'm back, though I really never left

Well I guess I've been neglecting my blog for the last little bit, but I've been busy.

Since my last post I've:

-attended a weekend triathlon camp
-completed a 10km race
-raced a sprint triathlon
-met up with a fellow Canadian blogger
-struggled with the issues of trying to train at a high intensity for a long period of time

Wow. What I can tell you is I've paid my final dues to Triathlon Canada for Perth next month, and just need to book my flights (after finishing this I'll get on it). Race shape is coming along and I'm feeling stronger and stronger in all three disciplines. In Perth I'll work on the 4th leg if I have a good result that I'm happy with, plenty of time to sober up on the plane ride home.

The peoples race.

This past weekend on the Gold Coast was the World Olympic and Sprint distance triathlon champs, with plenty of squad members competing. They also had the peoples race which I challenged a fellow squad member, Tim to. In the lead up to the race, there was more smack talk than you could handle, but all in good fun. I didn't think I could win, but I knew I could sure try hard and give it a solid effort. If I could keep close in the swim, I might have a chance.

Our age group was split into two as it was almost 100 people, so I was in the first wave, while Tim was in the second. Three minutes between, all I needed was to swim strong.

The horn went and into the water I went. I felt pretty good in the water and was moving well. I was in the mix and was moving through the people well, so I was confident on how I was doing. As I hit the beach, I hear "mate", it was Tim the bugger. He managed to make up the swim difference with what turned out to be one of the better swims of the day. I was in trouble. I was now down 3 minutes and needed to go full throttle to have a chance. We're pretty comparable on the bike and I'm a faster runner, but all I could do was go full out.

(swim side note... I thought I was swimming well and I did actually. I was in the top 1/3 in our age group, so I'm extremely happy with that result. Never have I been that high up in the swim ranks)

I ran hard through T1, and had a quick change out of my wetsuit, and out onto the bike course, passing Tim on my way through as he fiddled with his wetsuit. The transitions were long, it was close to 300m from the bike racks to the mount line so a pretty big run. A flying mount and I was off on the two loop bike. I went hard to try and make up time on Tim so I didn't slow down one bit. When I came to the hillier section, I jumped out of the seat and pushed hard to keep my speed up. Into the wind I was averaging around 36km/hr while with the wind at my back I was up around the 45km/hr mark. I seemed to be gaining on Tim, but not much ground. I was hurting through the bike and was focused to ride as hard as I could. I could rest after the race. A textbook flying dismount and a quick run to my bike spot. As I ran in, I went down the wrong lane, but quickly found a break in the racks and ducked under to my spot. I grabbed my runners and hat and headed off as fast as I could. A nice quick T2 and just a 5 km run ahead of me.

Keeping my focus, I ran as hard as I could for the whole thing. It was now getting warm out, so each aid station I grabbed 2 waters, one for dumping on my head and one to drink. At the two turn around points on the run, I was counting the time gaps between Tim and I and I was widening the gap at each point. I needed to get 3 minutes back, so I had to keep going. Full throttle into the last km and then I gave it all I had. My heart rate was through the roof, but I kept at it. I ran through the squad tent area to the cheers of the people who had competed earlier and went for the finish line with the intensity of a fat kid going for a smartie.

As I crossed the line, I hit my watch to check the time difference between Tim and I. 30seconds, 1 minute, 1:30, 1:45, then he turned into the last straight. I stopped my watch... 1:59, I'd lost by 1:01.

Considering my personal goal was to be within 90 seconds I was very happy. Don't get me wrong, I was out to win, but I had to be somewhat realistic. To make up 2 minutes on the run and bike was truly amazing. If I could have had a bit better swim, I might have pulled it out, but hey I was happy with my result. Here's my splits for you sports fans out there...

Richard FAIRHEAD		# 1723
Male		3539

Time 01:12:26 HH : MM : SS Pos: 90 Gen Pos: 86 Cat Pos: 22

Swim 00:15:42 HH : MM : SS Pos: 392 Gen Pos: 195 Cat Pos: 37

Cycle 00:33:21 HH : MM : SS Pos: 335 Gen Pos: 145 Cat Pos: 17

Run 00:20:16 HH : MM : SS Pos: 269 Gen Pos: 109 Cat Pos: 15

Splits

Split	Time from Start	Time From Prev Leg	Time of Day	Pos	Cat Pos	Gen Pos	Dist Done	Dist To Go	Pace
Swim	00:15:42	00:15:42	09:18:40	384	65	308	0	0	10:28
T1	00:17:22	00:01:39	09:20:20	59	4	45	0	0
Cycle	00:50:43	00:33:21	09:53:41	48	12	47	0	0	72.0
T2	00:52:09	00:01:26	09:55:07	124	15	101	0	0
Run	01:12:26	00:20:16	10:15:24	60	11	57	0	0	2:01

A good result all around and hopefully I can keep building on this for Perth next month.

For whatever reason, it seems I can't add photos so, if you know me on Facebook, go have a look, there's lots of photos there. Take it easy and see you out there....that is after we get back from New Zealand.

Cheers
Richard