It's 12pm on Saturday 12th May. I'm standing at the race start on the beautiful Byron Bay beach. I'm chatting with my competitors as we discuss what we have coming up. I get the feeling we are all here for the same reason. A bit of a hit out before we all head off in different directions. Courtney is heading to Europeto do ITU racing. Rachael and I are heading to the US to do the 70.3 season. Sarah is getting ready for the Cairns 70.3 next month. We all have different goals and different races we're targeting but today we are all here racing for the 2012 Byron Bay Triathlon crown.
12:01. I sprint down to the water and dive in. Courtney, being the shorter distance athletes takes the lead. I try to follow but her speed in the water is unmatched. I keep her in sight as we all tackle the rough ocean. I can still see her until the last buoy where we turn and head back into shore. Now it's so choppy and I have no idea what part of the shore I'm heading for. Rachael joins me to my left. We swim side by side although one minute Rachael flies forward as I get dragged back but then the next I get on top of a wave and get propelled forward as I see her go back. This happens the whole swim back into shore. We finally find sand and stand up amongst kids playing in the shallow. Hmmm, which way to transition? We soon get pointed in the right direction and run up to find our bikes. Paige is 20sec ahead, Courtney is 1min up the road. I jump on Shivy... Wow it feels good to be racing. I've been doing a lot of long steady km's on my road bike so it was good to jump on my TT bike, get down on the aeros and get some speed.
The bike course is... A little scary and very bumpy. The roads are not closed off to traffic and the road surface is not your usual smooth hot mix. This made for an interesting bike leg. My eyes are continually scanning the road for the best line as well as looking out for cars. On the way out I see a lead car behind Paige. I manage to squeeze past it as I powered on to catch Courtney. I pass Courtney at 7km and continue out to the turnaround. The course was a little short, turning at around 17.5km. On the way back there's a nice descent but staying on my aeros proved very difficult. The entire road looks like a patchwork quilt with all the potholes filled with uneven bitumen. Next I come up to a roundabout where an Ambulance is crawling through... Not wanting to brake too much I breath in and squeeze past bringing me up alongside another car. I pass him on the right then the next on the left. Whoa... This is crazy! I come back into town and see the finish chute and all the spectators... I didn't check before the race where the dismount line was so I get out of my shoes ready. I veer right thinking this is where I jump off... I almost hit a volunteer as I put my foot down and stub my toe. The dismount line is further up the hill to the left so I scramble back up the hill. I dismount with Sarah Crowley right on my wheel. In transition I take few extra seconds to put my socks on as Sarah has a speedy exit. I grab my SiS visor and gel and I'm on my way. I run down Sarah as some young kids give me a high five as I pass. I'm using this race for practice for my longer races coming up so although I don't need a gel in 10km I'm going to try and take it. I'm not great with eating on the run. That probably explains why my bike looks like a 'banquet on wheels' during the longer events. I try to get in enough fuel on the bike so I don't have to take anything in the run.
The run is 4x2.5km laps. I like laps for a couple of reasons. You are always close to cheering spectators and you can
get splits. I like numbers. After one lap I'm clearly in the lead so I work on chasing down the boys. The boys are a lap ahead but I can see them as the course winds around the footy field, through the forest, around the garden shed and
back out onto the road, down and then back to the finish. I catch two of the four male pro's on my third lap (their last lap). By the time I get to my last lap the course is filled with age group athletes so I continually get to pick off more runners. As I'm running down to the finish I hear an ever enthusiastic Pete Murray on the loud speaker. I feel good on the run and I stop the clock at 1:56:34 with 33:49 for my 10km run. I still have my gel in my pocket - oops!
This race was exactly what I wanted before heading overseas. A low key fun race to test my fitness during a hard training block. I love swimming in the beautiful clean ocean. It was good to get a hard ride in and I think my run fitness is back after feeling very comfortable on the run leg.
A big thanks to QSM for a fantastic race. Pete Murray was awesome on the mic. All the sponsors, officials, volunteers and spectators - thanks for making the Byron Bay Triathlon a great experience for me.
I had the lung biopsy under Cat scan this morning. Seems to be ok.
I didn’t really pull up too well at this stage from it as the pain in my left lung has increased due to the needle and I had also a Vaso-Vagal attack (near faint) to the drugs given. But hopefully it feels better tomorrow.
It has now been confirmed it is not TB which is great news.
I was going to leave hospital today, but as I am by myself I will stay until tomorrow and then move into a hotel when I can walk around again. Unfortunately I do have to stay for another 6-7 days after a lung biopsy before plane travel due to risks of a collapse lung during flight.
They think it is looking like it is Pneumonia. I have been treated with antibiotics for this since Saturday and should clear up in a week or so.
This time next week I will be on the other side of the world, preparing for my first French Grand Prix race of the year. This year I am racing for Brive, and I am looking forward to meeting my new team.
The first race is in northern France, in Dunkerque. I raced there last year and I’m looking forward to going back.
The last few weeks have been quite busy, as I have started to prepare for leaving. I will again be based in Vitoria, in the Basque region of Spain. Just as Wollongong does, Vitoria is beginning to feel like home. This will be the 3rd year in Vitoria, and I know it well, although I’m sure there is still plenty to discover there. We are really lucky to have such a comfortable and perfect training environment in our ‘home away from home’.
It’s been a little quieter in Wollongong since Sydney WTS. All of our international visitors left, and other athletes have been travelling to races. It has been nice to have some solo thinking time whilst training though, and I’ve been very fortunate that the weather is still great! Hopefully it stays that way for my last week. I’ll be in touch after Dunkerque. I have been working hard on some new skills, and I am looking forward to trying them out there! ;)
Ironman Australia- Port Macquarie, Sunday 6th May.
Melbourne may have had all the hype this year but nothing quite beats the atmosphere and team spirit of racing the original and iconic Ironman Australia...
2nd place- Champagne Showers!
6 years ago I raced my first ironman triathlon in the beautiful coastal town of Port Macquarie. I was very new to the sport and although I didn’t have a great day, fate had it that I received a roll down spot for Hawaii. From then on I became completely hooked on the sport and realised that long course triathlon really suited me and my hyperactive nature ?. This was going to be my 13th Ironman distance race and my bib number was 13, so although a little superstitious, I convinced myself that it had to be a good omen...
I was really nervous in the lead in to the big day, but for a change managed to get a few hours sleep and felt calm and ready to rip it up come race morning. As a mass start (and after a few previous swim start disasters), I was just hoping to get cleanly through the first lap and then settle into a solid pace. I expected gun swimmer Hillary Biscay to take off fast and try to get a break out of the water, so I was happy to come out just 1 minute behind her, and with fellow Aussie Michelle Mitchell in tow. I focussed on a quick transition and getting swiftly out onto the bike course.
My plan was to let my heart rate settle and get through the hills quickly but without blowing my legs in preparation for the long day ahead. I lost my spare tyre and hoped that this wasn’t going to come back to bite me later in the race. Hitting Lake Cathie straight was when I started to settle in to a good groove. I felt strong and decided to push the pace to make a move to catch Hillary. Michelle came with me and we were getting updates to tell us that we were gaining. It was around the 70km mark that the gap was closed and I was now in the lead. It was so exciting for me and for all my support crew who received the good news in town! Not sure whether it was just the excitement but I decided to attack up the always challenging Matthew Flinders hill and tried to make a break through the hills back towards town. I had the biggest smile on my face when I entered Clarence Street with the ‘lead female’ vehicle beside me. Michelle came with me again, but Hillary backed off through the hills, which is how I normally race- but today I decided I was not going to hold back- no regrets! By 110km the three of us were together again. It was quite hard to keep a good rhythm with a Technical Official riding along beside us the entire race and scrutinising the 12 metre draft rule, but it also ensured clean racing. Suddenly I noticed something was wrong with my front wheel and I hesitantly pulled over thinking I had a flat tyre. Thankfully it was just some tape which I removed fairly easily and the wheel was sorted- phew! I lost some time and had to push the pace to get back up to the girls. The three of us pretty much stayed in touch until 30km to go when Michelle started to drop off the pace. When I saw she was gone I put the hammer down as I knew with her phenomenal run speed I was going to need some time up my sleeve when I hit the run course. My legs cramped badly up the arduous Matthew Flinders hill the second time around and I was completely embarrassed when I almost didn’t make it up the final kicker! (I am sure the spectators on the hill had a bit of a laugh though)... I freaked out a bit as I thought I had completely blown my legs so I let Hillary go and spun out the last section back into transition to prepare for the run.
I hit T2 and had another speedy transition as my plan was to get out in front and go as hard as I could. I didn’t feel great and maybe I took off a little too fast in hindsight (at 4min/km pace), but I knew I had to get out of sight if I was going to win. It was an amazing feeling to be leading as normally I am the one doing the chasing on the run! I led for the first lap when Mitchell caught me. I wasn’t going to give in without a fight so I dug deep and just tried to hang with her for as long as possible. Momentarily I regained the lead but shortly my fuse went and I lost touch, but still managed to keep the gap within a few minutes. Not long after the halfway point of the marathon I hit a really low point and my pace started to drop big time. I was still doing everything I could to stay focussed as I have learnt from previous races that anything can happen in Ironman racing. I saw Michelle on the last lap and she was flying so I just focussed on getting myself to the finish line and soaking up the amazing atmosphere along the way. My feet were killing me with each step and my stomach was sloshing. With about 6km to go I got a final burst of energy but made the most of enjoying the last few kms to the finish- high fiving and thanking all my fantastic supporters. I was so elated to see that finish chute. I always get a little emotional at the end of an ironman and sure enough I felt the tears well up as I put it all on the line today. I was so exhausted but excited and really savoured that finish line experience. Port Macquarie has to be one of the best finish chutes and most electric crowd atmospheres that I have experienced in the many races I have done around the world. I was greeted by a huge bunch of beautiful flowers and an overwhelming media response. The highlight of my day was the celebratory podium finish with champagne showers- not that I was in any state to truly enjoy it!
I have had a fantastic season so far with 5 podium finishes out of my 7 big races, but this has to top it off as one of my greatest races to date.
I am so incredibly grateful to be surrounded by so many remarkable people. My best friend and loving husband Bern, my wonderful family who are always there to support me, my incredibly knowledgeable, inspiring and passionate coaches Christina and Bruce Thomas (EnergyLink), and all my Balmoral Triathlon Club (NSW Club champions wooohoo!) training buddies, who continually enthuse me and make training so much fun!. As always a huge thanks to my wonderful sponsors who have backed me over the last few years to ensure that I have the best of leading edge products and support - Shimano, Scody, High 5 Sports Nutrition, Blue Seventy, Newton, Oakley, Turramurra Cyclery, Trek, Nashys Pix, Foot Levellers, DTR Sports Management. There are also so many other supporters that I want to thank for keeping me in tip top shape- Dave Steven (Bay Chiropractic), Paul Collins (The Body Coach), Paul Penna (Focus Performance), Sarah Fletcher (SJF Massage), Clare Walsh (Quay Therapy), my amazing swim coach Narelle Simpson, and my employer Westpac and all my awesome work colleagues who are so supportive of my double life!
Thanks for taking the time to read my race report. I am so passionate about Triathlon and showing the world that you can still achieve your dreams by training between 18-25 hours per week, holding down a corporate job and enjoying life. As Layne Beachley says in her book “If you truly believe you can do it, go out there and give it a go. The ONLY failure in life is not trying!”
Keep smiling and train safe!
Nic x
Professional Triathlete
Bachelor of Sports Science- Exercise Science
Level 1 Triathlon Coach
www.nicolewardtri.com
Thought I would update you on what has been happening.
A couple weeks ago on the Gold Coast I started to cough up a small amount of blooded phlegm. I didn’t feel any different. Training was ok nothing too flash, just average. As i felt quite normal I didn’t think much of it and continued to train in my normal day to day routine as we do as athletes. I did get a blood test just before leaving and all was fine.
Once arriving into the US last week, I started to get a sharp stabbing back pain on my left side and had a slight difficulty breathing. I didn’t really worry too much as i thought it must of been all the sitting from the long haul flight over from Australia. During the week before both the blooded phlegm and back pain were getting slightly worse but as I tapered more into the race I still felt quite good.
The race wasn’t the best. I finished 26th. But I went as hard as I could possibly go the 10km run, it just didn’t feel at all comfortable, normal or controlled. Post race I rung my Australian Doctor to tell him my symptoms and he requested I go get a lung scan straight away to check for blood clots before I flew out the following morning to Mallorca Spain. I had an X-ray , then the doctors requested at Cat scan as a small lesion showed up in my left lung. After some more tests they ruled out a clot which was good news. But they thought it was either Tuberculosis or Pneumonia. And of course when you mention the highly contagious TB , basically the room was shut down and anyone coming in and out has to wear face masks and keep a distance.
So thats where I am still. I’ve had 2 out of my 3 tests come back as negative to TB which is good news so just waiting on the 3rd and final test to confirm that.
I’ve seen more than 15 doctors in 2 days now. I have at least 3-4 blood tests daily as well as others scans. I am in the Isolation ward. The food is bad but the staff are all very nice.
I just have to stay in my room most of the day and if I go out a face masks must be worn at all times. I go down to the cafe for some bad coffee once a day and get plenty of space with my mask on. I find it funny.
So i continue to wait here for at least another couple of days. It is very boring some times but I don’t really have a choice. I do want to continue to head to Europe as soon as possible once I know what it is. I am confident this will be only a minor hiccup in my Olympic preparation and still have a positive outlook on beating this very soon.
Port Macquarie Ironman 6 May 2012
Port Macquarie Ironman is a special race for me, it's my hometown race and one that I hold dear to my heart. Being a hometown race I'm always under a lot of pressure to perform at my best and give it my all come race day. I arrived into town on Tuesday and spent the days before doing all the media commitments that comes with racing in my hometown. I also had my own media following me around 24/7 for this race as I'm doing a documentary on racing ironman and the whole race week preparations that are involved.
So race morning was a rather chilly one, my swim went well even though I ended up ripping my hand and Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit to pices by swimming to close to a buoy obviously covered in something bloody sharp! Need to get a new wetsuit now.... I came out in around 6th spot with a time of 48:49.
A quick transition onto the bike and out for the 180km ride I went. Lucky for my wifey Bel as she got a chance to ride in the lead car for the day and was doing a marvelous job twittering my splits throughout the day. So for the first 90km Leon Griffin and I rode solid together but Paul Ambrose was absolutely killing it on the bike and was putting time into us. Unfortunately for Leon he got a drafting penalty and then I was on my own for the next 90km, something i would rather have not had to do. The back 90km I hit the wall at the 140km mark and had to roll for a bit and take in my SIS Bar and SIS Gels , i managed to get my $hit together and come back into town with a gap of around 13:20 minutes to catch Paul Ambrose on the run. Now the question running through my head was had I saved my legs enough for the marathon that was to come.
Another speedy transition and I was onto the run course, the course was 4 laps long, making it a lot more spectator friendly. At the half way mark I was 10 minutes down and the legs were still with me but not for much longer as the 39km mark my quads felt like concrete and at that point I only needed to find another 8 minutes to catch him. So with the final 5km to go i was 4:15 down and was running out of real estate. So down the finish shoot I went, I got 2nd place and much deserved victory to Paul Ambrose doing it in style of the front all day, and me falling short by 3 minutes. I had the fastest run split of the day banking a 2:47.20 for the marathon. I live to fight another day and see everyone back in Port Macquarie for the 70.3 in November.
Thanks for all the support on course guys and stay tuned for the documentary coming out shortly. Thanks again to my family and family in law for coming down and supporting me, as well as my wifey for being a legend on twitter xx love you and of cause I can't forget my Manager (Mike), coach (Gilsey, team Aeromax) and my awesome Sponsors: Scody,Daikin,Giant,Rockstar,Urban Hotels, Newton,Shimano,SIS, Oakley, Blue Seventy, Garmin, Coastline Chiropatic, Continental tyres, Gordan Street Cycles, Aeromax Coaching, Power Breath/Compresssport, Hypnotic Zoo.
P.S but I bet your all super jealous now, where off on our Honeymoon to the exotic location of Bora Bora Tahiti where I will be sipping on Piña Coladas and lounging around the pool. See you all soon I will be revitalized and refreshed after this holiday without the bike!
So post Sydney WTS race, I decided to do something different again for a bit of fun, and have a crack at the Bussleton 70.3 Half Iron man for the second time. Last year was my first attempt at the Half Iron man distance, and was stoked to walk away with a second place in the innaugral year for Bussleton to gain 70.3 status.
Bussleton is one of my favourite events of the year, as for WA it is the end of the local season, and culminates al the training everyone has done all year with one great event, and of course historically one awesome night out afterwards, with most people staying to dance away the inevitable doms (delayed onset muscle soreness) that would hit them the next morning. The event carries such a great vibe, and has grown and flourished over the past few years, with thousands of people making the trek down to race, or support others or just come and watch, and the organisers and Bussleton itself put no such an amazing event with nothing but positivity flowing around, you can't help but just love this event, and this year was no exception.
Unfortunately I was a little apprehensive with the amount of bike and run kms I had under my belt to be able to dish up a highly competitive result this year, after focusing in the swim department much more this year, and a little niggle that pooped its ugly head just prior to the race left me a little ambiguous as to if I would even finish. I would just go out there and have fun and see how it held up, bearing in mind my priority was not this race but in face Madrid WTS a few weeks later.
So driving down in the pissing rain Friday Busso for the first time in a while looked like it may not dish up its usally uncanny perfect weather this year? None the less I was still super excited to be racing it again, and couldnt wait to just get out there and race for fun, a slight change from the slightly more stressful World Cup racing for me.
I was also eagerly awaiting to see my sexy new SCODY race suit they had prepared for the race, which turns out was so comfy to race in and looked great!...though i dont think I did the suit any justice! haha
So lying in bed as I drifted off to sleep race night I was feeling good and as rested as can be for a zero taper haha, listening to the frogs socializing outside my window, and terrential rain hammering my poor Felt roady out in transition with only a plastic bag on its seat as it's only defence...
Race morning up at 4.50 am, ergh, but surprisingly not too tired (highly unsual for me at this hour!) Hearty bowl of porridge for breakky,
Purple Scody suit on, and out the door to tackle the kms lying ahead.
Pleasantly it was not too cold, rain had eased, and transition was a buzz with busy bodies, portaloos getting worked on overtime. I fixed my bike, the Carbo Shotz train, my lifeline to get through this race, were attached to my top tube, and borrowed "sperm" aka TT helmet with Oakleys balanced carefully inside were ready to go. Off to the swim start.
Now the swim was not such a pleasant sight. First thing I noticed was the swim 'ramp" had been washed away overnight by the crazy weather, and there was a sheer sand wall like up to my chin to get out of the water! "How the f&*k was I going to crawl up that to get out of the water!?" When you are 5 foot midget size, I thought Im gonna be stuck there for 5 minutes just trying to get off the bloody beach! Next my gaze shifted to the ocean itself...choppy as hell, brown water all churned up,and floating buys that looked like they had their work cut out for them to stand their ground. Oh well its the same for everyone...and was happy to see anothe sand ramp had been constructed during the swim eliminating the rock climbing component in the run to transition.
So with the swim course changed to no longer swim out beside the iconic Busso jetty ( due to the hungry great whites that had been around WA shores all summer) we were off and I was out swimming struggling to see exactly where to go in the chop, and with the idea of swimming in a straight line back, so far from possible for me on a perfect mill pond day, this chop and inability to see any buoys on the way back added many 100metres to my swim easily. After almost beaching myself on shore and having to take a 90 deg back out to find the buoys .... somewhere out there I eventually made my way round the course about 5 mins slower than last year not surprising at all, to exit second.
A quick ITU style transition sore me exit rapidly and get srtaight out onto the Felt F3 with no dramas. From here my race plan was similar to last year, just keep it steady and withing my capabilities as I had done zero tt work or bike intervals really, and just aimed to push to what I believed would be my limit without over doing it. As expected Granger, Kate and Wu all past me on the bike and I pushed a little harder than last year to hang on for a bit longer. But by the end of the first lap, I was thinking my god I've got a another whole lap of this to go! The wind was tough, my bum was aching, my quads were aching and my draft leagal TT bars were not helping my aching bach either! Nonethless you charge on pedal pump after pedal pump, and at leat there were others out on course now to break some lonliness out there and a time check at final turn had leader Lisa Marangong about 6 or 7 mins up. Ok the aim was to not lose anymore time on final stretch before I hit the run.
Finally the end of the bike arrived and it was time to hit my domain. With auto pilot in transition I almost forgot my socks, but a quick brain wave reminded me to pop them on before my Brooks flats and out to the run I went with no idea of the how much massive gap the girls ahead had on me. I probablly went out a little harder than last year, though still trying to control myself remebering its twice as long as i usually race and to pace myself! However there was a good 7 mins or so to the race leader, and I had a lot of work to do. At this stage it's hard to comprehend if you can catch up that much time or not. The distance is so huge, but then again the distance and my "catch up" time is also double what I'm used to. I wanted just to hit first lap and see what ground I had made up to have a gauge. But I was feeling awesome out on the run fluid and easy.
End of fist lap I had caught Wu and Granger already and put myself to 3rd. About 12 km I started to feel the beginning of tired legs set in. Just as I could see the lead bike in the distance ( distance, being the key word here!). It was then decision timme for me. Norally I would pace my self and wind up the last lap, ...but... I wanted to put myself into a real shot this year, and get close to that lacky band so if i fatigued I had that extra competitive drive being close to competitors, I may regret this decision in the last lap but I put the boot down to chase. End of second lap it was paying off, now in second place, I just had to chase Kate down about 40 seconts up with 7km to. Iv got this I thought, and with overwhelming support from friends, sponsors, family etc, I'de made my mind up well and truly I was not going to lose this race. Unfortunately for Kate I had the advantage of seeing my competitior, and with a desperte plea from my body for more energy I downed and extra carbo shot and took off to close the final gap. Knowing Kate is no slouch of an athlete by any means, I wanted to pass fast get some distance, then just back it off, though that last 3 km went forever! I did not want to do anything stupid and just enjoy the final stretch of my first win at one of my favourite races, and it was most definately a really special win, and one I will remember and cherish.
Just a shame my mum rocked up "sunday morning" from Margaret River to watch the race...to find out the race was Saturday... haha.:)
With that I can not say thankyou enough to everyone out there for your support. It was overwhelming and humbling, the volunteers who stand out there hours on end, the crew with the speakers pumping tunes, the eye of the tiger an crocodile aid station crew :) you guys were entertainment for all! Trievents, TWA, Bussleton, Simon and the other commentators,and every single bit of encouragemnet out there I can assure you gets acknowledged..even though it may look like I'm just giving the stink eye, :) thats probably the facial equivalent of weazling out a thanks haha.
On a more personal note in particular, massive thanks to my coaches Grant Landers, Mel Tantrum. Brett Slocomb, my physio who went beyond and above duty to get me in best shape possible. My awesome mates that pitched in to help out with gear, wheels, accom, helmets, support, sponsors in particular WAIS, SCODY and SHOTZ, my boy, and of course my family in particular my dad, who is the best support crew you could ask for.
It really was a special win so I thank you all for th team effort.
Final results were1. Myself 2. Kate Bevilaqua 3. Lisa Marangong
Boys 1. James Hodge 2. Matty White 3. Callum Millward
Next stop europe for first French GP race on 20th
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My first attempt at an Ironman 70.3 is now completed. What a tough day; physically, mentally and emotionally.
Race day greeted us with conditions that were challenging at best, a living hell at it’s worst. Overnight there was a large storm front that moved through the area, bringing with it rain, blustery wind, a swell that more resembled a
washing machine, and merky water that looked perfect for Western Australia’s Great White population. Just prior to the start the chop seemed to have picked up even more. The white and red markers were almost invisible from the
shore and completely invisible in the water. As the gun went off and the process of getting through the chop started, it was immediately evident I was going to struggle in these conditions. Fear can do some amazing things and
the next 1.9km was my absolute definition of hell. I was quickly isolated from the group, with the priorities of staying above water and not getting eaten fairly ambiguous. Fast forward to the end of the swim, because the whole leg
was disgraceful, I exited the water about 5 minutes behind guys I usually come out ahead of. Wow. Quickly erase that one from memory.
My goal for the rest of the race was pretty simple - I had not come all this way to simply roll around. I wanted to give it a crack and see how many guys I could pass. The bike course at Busselton doesn’t necessarily suit a light guy
like myself. There was approximately 2m of elevation on the entire course and the exposure to the wind meant you could get blown around significantly. However, throughout the 90km I felt in control and able to stay on top of each gear. I am very proud to say I manage to hold the distance to the main pack; something that people will know is very difficult to do. In the process, I caught and passed quite a few athletes that had not been able to hold wheels in the pack. I entered transition 5 minutes and change behind the pack, and another 3 minutes to solo leader James Hodge.
Onto the run, I was very motivated by my bike and the opportunity I had of getting back into the top ten. Whilst the run is definitely my strength, it becomes a much greater beast at the end of a 70.3. In my previous attempt at this distance, albeit with much less preparation and focus as I had for Busselton, I struggled from the outset and was quickly shuffling. This time it was completely different. I set out at a very solid pace, holding 3.15 – 3.20 through the first 7km and feeling comfortable, passing a number of competitors and now into 10th place. With every turn I could see top 5, and with a gap of only a few minutes, I made this my next objective. Unfortunately, the proverbial elephant quickly jumped on my back and I suffered through the last 7km. I came in 9th with only three minutes separating 3rd to 9th and some very high profile long course athletes in between. I recorded the 2nd fastest run split of the day.
I walk away from Busselton with very mixed emotions. Secretly, the goal for
this weekend was top five. I have had a busy few months with completing my
thesis and university. However, I made a big push (and some sacrifices) to
put in the volume required to achieve this result. Therefore I have no excuses.
There were simple and stupid mistakes I made (see swim) that cost me a shot
at this and I will be focused on rectifying this for future races. However, I also
walk away from Busselton very encouraged by what I can potentially achieve.
I genuinely feel I am much stronger on the bike thanks to the guidance of
Grant Giles and Team Aeromax. Furthermore, I am encouraged by my run
and the improvements I can make here with continued training and maybe a
smarter pacing strategy.
Thank you very much Scody for the fantastic race suit I wore in Busselton.
Unfortunately I am yet to have any photos of the suit in action, however these
will come. More importantly, the performance of the suit was fantastic.
Comfort during the bike was perfect as the chamois felt the perfect thickness
for racing whilst the seamless bottoms reduced any friction. I can honestly say
this was the first time I have raced any distance and not had any chafe or
rashes from seams. One surprising observation was there was no salt residue
left on the suit at the end of the race, in my mind indicating improved cooling.
This is very common for myself and no doubt a result of the materials I have
discussed with Bernard. One change I will have to do is the actual size of the
bottoms. The size of the legs is perfect, however the length of the leg could
increase as it wasn’t a snug fit with the chamois (it was almost a little saggy).
In other words, maybe as simple as a medium size would help this.
Thank you once again for the support from Scody. Whilst I did not get the
result I had wanted, it was great to see both Felicity and Matty representing
Scody with fantastic results. For me, this is a process and we are in the early
stages of this. I have a lot of faith that we are on the right track and that there
are some exciting results to come in 2012.
John Polson
Australian Professional Triathlete
Physiotherapist – Back in Motion Mermaid Waters
Finally my first Wold Cup race. I was set to race the Edmonton World Cup last year but broke down with a stress fracture 1 week prior ,so to say I was excited to race would be an understatement. This World Cup was in Ishigaki, Japan, right down on one of the southern island’s. This made of humid conditions but thankfully a bit of early morning rain cooled it down a bit.
The swim started well. I managed to get out into clear water pretty easy and found myself in about 10th, right behind the leaders at the half way point. I finished the swim in 11th spot not far behind the leading pack, not the best swim but easily good enough to set myself up on the bike.
The bike has obviously been my weakness in previous races and we had been working on my skills and positioning in training so I was eager to test this out. The cycle leg felt so much easier and my positioning within the pack was my best yet so the training was starting to pay off.
I came off the bike in the lead pack and started out conservatively on the run. At about the 2km mark I started to pick up the pace and run through the field. I felt awesome and ran myself up into 15th spot, I thought I was going to run into the top 10 in my first World Cup. Alas, my legs and stomach didn’t agree with that and I started to fade towards the end. I have had stomach troubles during the run ever since I switched to Triathlon which has limited my performance. It is slowly getting better, pushing the onset later and later in the race, as well as being able to control the severity of it. I have been working with my sports doctor, nutritionist and physio to overcome this problem and I think we are starting to get on top of it, just more time is needed.
I ended up finishing 23rd in a strong World Cup field, not a bad result but I was obviously wanting more. The finish place however does not indicate the improvement in the process of putting together a good race, and that’s what I and my coach were most happy with. I am learning all the time and a big performance is right around the corner.
6:55am. The wind is blowing and the sun only just starting to rise. I’m standing in my Blue Seventy wetsuit, game face on, ready to tackle my first ever Busselton 70.3. To my left, Kate Bevilaqua and Lisa Marangon. To my right, Belinda Granger and Felicity Sheey-Ryan. In front of me, the iconic Busselton Jetty poking out into a great big angry washing machine of sand, seaweed, salt water and sharks. Yes that’s right. Sharks! Fortunately they were nowhere to be seen that weekend! The normally flat and calm Geographe Bay this was not! Needless to say the heart was pounding and the butterflies well and truly zooming around inside me!
You sure there are no sharks out there???
Swim:
7:01am. The talented Pro Female field were sent off 1min behind the Pro Men. I was pretty happy with this as it meant no big karate battle with the boys! The gun fires and away we go! Even with the small field I still get punched, kicked, and squished as we all fight for positions, the waves and the choppy water. All I can say is this was no time for being nice or polite! I had positioned myself at the swim start with the faster swimmers, with the plan to jump onto the feet of one of them. It seemed to work as after the initial crash and bash, I find myself sitting nicely behind Belinda Granger. Perfect. Just where I wanted to be! With the recent shark activity in the Busselton area, the swim course was changed this year to run parallel to shore instead of alongside the Jetty. The choppy waters made sighting the buoys almost impossible. Forget beautiful swim stroke technique too. Just freaking swing those arms over as fast as possible! I was glad I had Belinda to follow for the entire swim as I really didn’t have a clue whatsoever where I was! We seemed to be swimming for a very very long time and I almost began to wonder if the swim exit would ever come! Finally it did though and boy was I glad to be out of there! 5th out of the water and with the group of girls I wanted to be with. It was a good start! Especially since the only swim training I do in Canberra is in a pancake flat swimming pool!
Bike:
90kms of dead flat terrain and good road conditions. I exit T1 with Belinda and immediately put my head down and went hard. Along with Kate, the three of us reached the far turnaround point together. So far so good! Lisa had a great swim and was pushing it ahead of us. Knowing how strong a cyclist she is, my goal was to keep the gap to as small as possible! On the way back was a nasty headwind and it was here that I began to struggle. Kate and Belinda slowly pulled away from me and despite trying as hard as I could, I eventually lost contact with them. Bummer! I didn’t let it faze me too much though and I continued to push on as hard as I could, telling myself to stay strong and positive. Out for the 2nd lap, I continued to give it everything my legs could and was happy to see that the girls weren’t quite as far ahead as I thought. Always a good thing! Finally back to T2, 4min down on Lisa, 1:30min down on Kate and Belinda. Time to run!
Run:
3 laps of 7ks, dead flat, and very exposed to the wind! Right from the word go however, I knew I was in for a long 21ks. I had an awful stitch for the entire 1st lap which was incredibly frustrating to say the least! All I could do was shuffle along! A very fast moving Felicity Sheedy-Ryan passed me at around 6ks. At the speed she was moving I was pretty sure she would pass all of us girls and take out the win – which she did! I caught up to Belinda at the start of the 2nd lap. Although the stitch had eased a bit, I struggled to pick up the pace. It was getting rather warm with the sun now shining and the wind not making things any easier. Normally, I would pass Belinda and continue to build a gap on her, but full credit to her, she stuck with me this time and sat behind. Probably a smart thing given the windy conditions! We ran together for pretty much the rest of the run and it was going to come down to a sprint finish for 4th! This was the first time I had ever been in such a situation, and to be honest, I didn’t really know what to do! Do I go now? Or wait? I didn’t know how far or where the finish line was to be honest, so I didn’t want to go too early. Then all of sudden Belinda went! I tried to respond, but it was too late. She had made the gap (only 10m or so) and there was nothing, absolutely nothing, I could do to close it. Her years of racing experience definitely showed. We both ended up collapsing at the finish line. I was well and truly, completely and utterly spent!
Not quite smiling here running with a stitch!
Congrats to the podium finishers, Felicity, Kate and Lisa. It was fast hard racing out there in tough conditions! I’m certainly happy with 5th ?. My swim and bike were strong and solid and certainly improving. Just unfortunate I couldn’t put together the run I know I am capable of! I made a few nutritional mistakes on the bike which I paid for. I usually take 4 gels spaced apart, but I was so focused on minimising the gap to the girls ahead that I forgot to take my 3rd and 4th one, until quite late on the bike. Two gels so close to end of the bike leg isn’t such a great idea! I also ended up being quite dehydrated on the run, even though I thought I had taken enough fluid on the bike. I guess I needed to take more. But, it’s all lessons learnt. I believe you take away more from these races compared to ones where you podium/win. “Be The Best You Can Be Today”. I’m proud and happy to say that on Saturday, I did just that ?.
Overall a great weekend away! The town and community really get behind the event making it one of Australia’s best triathlons. The spectator friendly course and organisation is world class. Many thanks to TriWA and special mention to Ashleigh Davis – Event Manager for all her hard work supporting us professional athletes for the weekend.
Finally, a huge thank you to all my friends and family for the amazing support, and of course to my sponsors; Scody, Ceepo, Profile Design, Saucony, Compress Sport, Hammer Nutrition, Ryders Eyewear, Blue Seventy, Computrainer, TLC Cycles, and my manager Phil Stoneman. Without you all, I would not be racing at this level!
Next up Cairns 5150 and 70.3! Looking forward to escaping Canberra’s brutal winter!
Hope everyone is well and happy and healthy!
Shell ?
An early dive into the Sydney Harbour, sun just rising, Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background, and perfect race conditions is what showcased the start to the World Triathlon Series for 2012, for the Sydney Dextro WTS race, for 60 odd off the Worlds best Triathletes all hoping for a great start to the year and for many including the aussies, it was a vital race in determing the final positions for the lucky 3 who will represent in AUS in the London Olympics.
I had a strange sense of calmness going down to prepare for this race in the
morning. I did a few things slightly differently to keep my mind at ease, compared to my last few races, so whether this helped or the fact that I had a few things going my way compared to last year, Im not sure. For one, last year I rolled my ankle the day before the race and was unable to warm up for wnat of keeping my sore strained muscles in tact as much as possible to ensure i could finish the race. This year I got my prep done as I would like, 2, the chilly early morning start ensured the gals a wetty swim, shaweet!, and 3 I carried some more confidence going in with a higher world ranking and therefore some choice in my swim start positioning. Combining hese two aspects I had a clear head and more confidence to tackle the water ahead.
The pre race advice from my coach was to start left. Fine no worries, ...except that the 13 girls ahead of me all went far right! Dam it! Agh what to do, all the fast swimmers to the right, I think I should be going right. No stick to the game plan so I went right down the other end, like a loner all by myself, and watched the next 50 girls fill up the spots from way down the other end .....hmm I think there may have been an error there somewhere! Haha typical I finally get a choice in where I would like to start and end up in exactly the same spot anyhow! A long wait in the starters hands and of course the heavy beat of the drums on the pre start music they play, just in case you thought you could stay calm and composed, those bloody drums ensure you are ready to poop your pants right before you hit the water, and we were off.
A super fast start by the first buoy I could see a stream of white water ahead, and couldnt help but think I should have started down the other end again! None the less just keep in touch with the feet keep moving forward. After a fast lap we were out for lap one already for the "drunk" run along the pontoon with the swaying pontoon undreneath your feet and back in. I was probably sitting about 2/3 of the way along the field, and maintained close to this apon exiting the water for the long deep burn run up to transition. Lungs heaving you just keep running as fast as you can to your bike cos it could be that final 1 or 2 seconds that get you onto a pack or not. No time for slouching at all when you are one of the more "aquatically challenged" as I like to call it. To my relief there was still a number of bikes in transition as we all scrambled for life or death to get on the bike as fast as we can and have the luxury of a wheel to ride with. Just ahead of me I saw Nicola Spirig, a swiss chick and respectable absolute power house on the bike. That was the wheel I had to get to, no questions asked, and with screaming legs and lungs, and no mechanical problems like in Mooloolaba, and with the help of the easy handling Felt F3 bike, I did.
From then on I short stint at the front, I for the first time sat in most of the ride, and my god how much easier it is! Although not positioned incredibally well in the pack after catching the second pack and closing on the first, all 3 packs came together to hit transition as one rolling peleton of wheels.
A shit transtion postion by me, saw me one of the last out unfortunately and about ten seconds down on the first out. Not time you can afford to give away, especially on the light footed leaders such as Densham, Hewitt, and Jenkins.However I slowly pegged back runner after runner feeling quite good in teh first few laps, and worked my way into 14th before the wheels seem to fall off at the end of the last lap. Nooo, though I asked very nicely for my wheels to return they did not, and I got passed back again by Bennett and Snowy who left me chasing their arses to the finish line instead of the other way round. I finished 16th, and 5th Aussie in the end with the Aussies almost going head to head finishing 10, 13, 14, and 16th nipping each other heels. Erin Densham put in another stellar performance to win on home turf, followed by Jenkins (GBR) and Hewitt (NZ). All in all a great race out, and know exactly what to work on between now and the next one. That will be Madrid for me, missing the next race in San Diego.
The boys had a tough day out with both Sticksy and Sexton DNFs and Macca being the first Aussie home.
And now we play the waiting game as they finalise the Aussie Olympic team...
Congratulations to Melissa Rollison, who was named Elite Female Athlete of the Year at the TA awards night held on Sunday night.
It was no surprise to us but great to see Melissa's hard work paying off. Congratulations to all athletes nominated for awards, including SCODY's Brad Kahlefeldt who was in the running for Male Athlete of the Year.
2011 TRIATHLON AUSTRALIA CELEBRATION OF CHAMPIONS AWARD WINNERS:
Elite Male Athlete of the Year: Craig Alexander. Elite Female Athlete of the Year: Melissa Rollison. Chris Hewitt Emerging Athlete of the Year: Ashleigh Gentle. Athletes Athlete of the Year: Craig Alexander. Australian Male Junior Series Winner: Marcel Walkington. Australian Female Junior Series Winner: Jaz Hedgeland
3rd Place- Elite Energy Ultimate Triathlon- Bateman’s Bay-Sunday 1st April 2012
After what has felt like a long 3 months of not racing it was exciting to get out there on Sunday and see how things are tracking after 2 solid blocks of ironman training. The Ultimate Triathlon is a new long course event brought about by Emo and his Elite Energy team.With a 2km swim, 120km bike and 20km run, this was the perfect race to do 5 weeks out from Ironman Australia!
I had no idea what an amazing place Bateman’s Bay is for triathlon.Whilst it was probably the most challenging bike course in Australia, the town had a really good vibe about it and we were fortunate enough to stay in a beautiful home about 10km out of town, so whilst only being there for the weekend, it felt like I had a little holiday as well.
It was fun to have a mass start for a change and drag around some of the boys that I know- ha!.My swimming is going really well at the moment so I was hoping to get out of the water with a good lead, which I did.
I was 1 minute up but before I knew it the speedy Michelle Wu caught me somewhere through the 15kms of nasty hills heading out of town.My legs were not very fresh and I just didn’t have any punch to go with her.Bec Hoscke who is in fantastic form at the moment, caught me at around 30km and I stayed with her until about 70km.The wheels started to fall off for me soon after that. I don’t think it helped that I missed picking up water at the aid station and ended up without a drink for 35km!.It was at 80km that Kat Baker came flying through- I was told that she has been focussed on pro cycling so I expected her to make a move on the bike.I started to feel good again around 100km which was definitely my ironman fitness kicking in, but boy did those final 15kms of hills hurt!
I started the run in 4th position and went on a mission to run down Kat.I felt awesome on the run and moved into 3rd place around 8km.I knew I didn’t have enough turf to push up the podium any further as both Bec and Shell were running strong, so I followed my game plan which was to back off and save my legs for the big one in 4.5 weeks time!
It felt fantastic to be out racing again after dealing with a few hip issues. Whilst I was pretty fatigued and lacked top end speed, I felt strong and I’m really pleased with where my training is at for Ironman Australia in 4.5 weeks time.
On the 1st April I headed over to Batemans Bay for the Ultimate Triathlon. A 2k swim, 120k bike, and a 20k run, was going to be my longest race I had ever attempted, and I won’t lie! I was slightly nervous! I rarely ride anything near 120ks in training! But I figured it was only 30ks more on the bike, so really, just another Half IM + a bit more riding! I had no idea what an amazing place Bateman’s Bay is for triathlon! My only visits to the Bay were for beaches and fishing trips! Being only a 2hr drive from Canberra, I figured why not?? There’s no training like racing!
The swim was a 2 lap flat swim in calm ocean waters of Corrigan Beach. I had a bit of a scare when I was already in my brand new Blue Seventy Helix and Emo announced the weather temp was over 24 degrees and a non-wet suit swim……hahaha! nice April fools day joke Emo! It was a mass start with EVERYONE going off all at once! No separate wave for the Open Category! It was such a relaxed atmosphere that I almost completely missed the start gun! Everyone was still chatting, I was adjusting my goggles, and then all of a sudden BANG! We were off! There was a lot of crash and bash having 300+ competitors all go off at once, and I tried to find some of the faster swimmers to hang onto. The new Helix wetsuit was amazing to swim in! Super flexible and comfortable!! I exited the water 2nd female, not too far behind 1st.
Out for the 120k 2 lap bike. I knew before the race that it was going to be a tough tough ride. The first 20ks are relentless hills ranging from 8-10% up to 14% at times! The only good thing about going up them is flying down the other side! You then have about 10ks of flat before the turn-a-round. I love a good hilly ride (despite the pain!) and took the lead after only about 5ks in. From there I just rode as hard and as strong as I could making sure I got all my nutrition down. I didn’t even really think about pacing or trying to save energy for the run. I just rode HARD! I don’t race with a Heart Rate monitor, power meter, or heck! I don’t even have a computer on my bike! It doesn’t fit anywhere! So essentially, I ride by feel. I have never raced 120ks before, and much to my surprise, it did go quicker than I had expected – except maybe the last lot of hills from 100ks-120ks…..I was quite happy to get off the thing by then! I ended up with the quickest ride of the girls which I was really happy with and by the time I entered T2 I was 3min up on 2nd place.
The 20km run course was mostly flat, 2 x 10km laps between Batehaven and Bateman’s Bay along the cycle/footpath, past the Promenade of restaurants and cafes (where amused locals having breakfast/lunch watched and cheered for us crazy lycra clad athletes!) and then across Bateman’s Bay Bridge. I was a bit unsure how my legs were going to feel given that they were feeling very much like jelly after my efforts on the bike!! However, I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other hoping to find some sort of rhythm. I went through a few rough patches where I was pretty sure my legs would crumble under me, but I dug deep and held on, repeating key words that I always use in my head. I held onto my lead with the quickest run split as well to take the win What a relief that finish line was!! It was definitely a hard and challenging day!!!
Thanks again to Emo and Elite Energy for putting on such a great event. Hopefully it will continue to grow next year!! Once again thanks also to all my sponsors and supporters, friends and family I feel so lucky to have an amazing team behind me!
Next stop, Busselton 70.3! Hot field and I can’t wait! Roll on!
Ironman Melbourne, what a fantastic event and one which I am sure will be around for a long time to come, especially now that an Australian course can lay claim to a historical sub 8hr performance. No one really talked about a sub 8 on this course and they were careful to do so as it was untested and no one really knew how fast the Eastlink would be, plus there was the unreliable Melbourne weather which if things were bad the winning time could have been about 8.20, with Eastlink being so open and if there was a north wind runners could have faced a block headwind for 42km! But with all that being said conditions could not have been better as there was hardly any wind and it was favourible giving runners a gentle push toward Saint Kilda.
On a personal note I could not have been in better shape for this race and was so looking forward to hitting it hard. I arrived in Melbourne and was staying at the Mercure Swanston in the CBD courtesy of a generous Ricky Jeffs who made my stay very enjoyable (so much for staying away from all the shops!) as I was righty in the middle of Cllins Street mall.
The field for this race was in no uncertain terms absolutely stellar for this race headed by Craig Alexander who at 39 years old is just getting faster and stronger! I will not name all the big names but give or take a few Germans you would not be far off the Hawaii 2011 field.
The race started at Frankston pier which caused a bit of mayhem as competitors had to travel down on Saturday to check the bikes in. A big shout out to the Melbourne Mullet, Tim Bradley who ferried me down there on Saturday. The set up in frangas was great with a bustling atmosphere not to dissimilar to the Busselton area.?Race morning dawned early for me on Sunday as I had to travel from Melbourne CBD and I was lucky enough to have a good friend Ryan Harris come and pick me up and take me down to Frankston, so it was a 4.15am kick off for me as I walked down through Elizabeth Street to meet Ryan at Flinders Street Station. The irony hit home as I was heading down to one of the biggest races of my career all the while passing a drunken reveller with his head in a garbage bin throwing up his what looked to be Yiros!
As I walked further I tried to hold down my SIS Rego Bar which I had for breakfast and hastily got out of there toward Frankston. In transition I was lucky enough to have my great sponsor Shimano there who helped with my mechanical needs prior to race start and with a few more pre race routines I found myself in the dark water of Frankston, and I say dark as there were 47 pro males on the start line all yelling to a 15 year old life saver on a board “where do we go”! this was very hard as he kept saying go straight, but with no lighted buoys straight didn’t mean too much. I got off to a great start swimming well and having a clear run to the turn buoy, I settled in to a rythm and came out in 50min flat with Alexander, Brown, Rix, Ogden and a couple of euros. Once on to the bike the pace was on as I sensed the urgency in Crowie as we had a few minutes to make up on the likes of Lanos, Van Lierde, Mckenzie, Bell, Bennet, Mathews and Gambles etc who were another few minutes behind the lone wolf Fettel. I really think that this group let a chance go begging as there were some strong riders in this group and coming out the water a few minutes up on Crowie they really should have dropped the hammer and put him away. In saying this the pace was ballistic for the first 40km as I went through in about 56 minutes quickly bridging across with Brown, Rix and Crowie plus the euros.
Once the main group was caught this left Fettel out front and a large group of about 14 hovering about 2-3min back. At about 120km we caught Fettel and the pace really turned up with Van lierde trying to make a break, this caused the group to splinter causing a lead group of 7 to enter T2 and that included myself, Gambles, Crowie, Brown, Van Lierde, Matthews, Lanos and Bell. The last 40 -50km of the ride was really fast but personally I felt quite good and was a good sign of things to come as running for me was my strong point. Coming off the bike I noticed that my time was a huge PB of 4.24 which was 3rd fastest for the day only 20 seconds off fastest set by Crowie and Brown.
The pace out of T2 was insane and I decided to let the guys go and just hold back to my 3.50 pace with a plan of running a very strong last 20km. I was losing drastic time at this point so essentially these guys were running 3.30 – 3,40 range! At about 8km into the race I felt some uncomfortable sensations in the arches of my feet, I just put it down to the joyous feeling of being in an ironman and trying to run off a 4.24 bike ride! But things got bad at about 10km which I went through in about 38 minutes and I had to change my gait to compensate for these huge blisters which had formed. At 18km I had to stop and check to see what was going on and I apologise to the spectators who had to witness this! I knew it wasn’t good and had to start walk/running which was disappointing as I was in 9th place at this point.
I decided to try and get to the finish the best I could and I was lucky enough to have my Cairns mate Guy Besley encourage me to get going at every hundred meters, and I don’t think I had a choice as he wouldn’t let my dirty sweaty body in his new Mercedes to get back to the finish line!
Overall I am disappointed with what happened but I should have checked my socks when I placed them in my gear bag as I used an older pair which essentially caused the issue. I can take some great positives from this race with a solid swim and an all time huge PB bike leg, my run is where it needs to be so for now its just a matter of recovery for a week then ease back into things to get ready for Busso 70.3 and Cairns Ironman. I was 2nd in both of these last year so I would love to go better, and hopefully the 2.41 marathon that Brownie ran will still be in his old legs come Cairns!
Also on another note I am patiently waiting the birth of our first child which is due in the next few weeks, so its a busy time in the Whitehouse! We don’t know whether its a boy or girl so this will be a huge surprise for me and something cool.
My next few races are extremely important and I know the fitness is there so stay tuned for some big results, just need a bit of luck!?Have a Happy and Safe Easter everyone.
A big congrats to Michelle Wu and Nicole Ward for coming 1st and 3rd respectively at the inaugural Batemans Bay Ultimate Tri. This race is slightly longer than a half ironman (2km swim / 120km bike / 20km run) and suited Shell down to the ground. Nicole Ward led the race coming out of the water, with Michelle catching her on the bike and holding onto her lead on the run. Rebecca Hoschke was 2nd. Sam Appleton took out the men's race.
Well done girls! Don't they look great in their custom race suits?
Liz Blatchford has been coming to the Mooloolaba ITU World Cup for 11 years now and continues to impress. This year she finished 4th in a star-studded field.
Not only can Liz race, she can also make killer videos! Here's her take on the race. It sure inspired us to get out there - it will inspire you too!
SCODY is proud to support Brad Kahlefeldt as he prepares for the 2012 London Olympics. Brad came a strong 2nd in the ITU World Cup Mooloolaba triathlon last weekend, decked out in his new SCODY suit!
I made a quick trip down to Geelong in Victoria over the weekend for the Australian Sprint Championships. I was looking forward to another hit out before some of my bigger races of the season.
I was happy with my swim. I was just off the back of the first chase group going around the 2 buoys, but managed to swim up comfortably in the last couple of hundred metres. I actually didn’t realise at this point that there were already 2 off the front.
My group came out around 20 seconds down on Emma Moffatt and Teresa Adam, and frustratingly we kept losing ground every lap on the ride. I think some athletes get into the mindset of just racing within the group, and forget that the goal is to actually win the race! I worked pretty hard on the bike and tried to focus on holding good position, especially at tricky parts of the course.
I had an absolute shocker of transition going into the run and started at the back of our group. I tried to make the ground back up as soon as possible but my legs were feeling pretty terrible. It’s always a hard battle within yourself when your body isn’t feeling and responding the way it should. One of the things I’ve been working with my sports psychologist is positive self talk whilst racing, and I was definitely trying to utilise it!
I got a 15 second stop – start penalty (for my goggles not being in my box in T1) which I took with 1600m to go. 15 seconds feels like forever when you’re watching athletes pass you. I tried not to think about it too much when I was running and when I started again I focussed on trying to catch back up to those that passed. It was frustrating as I still believe it mentally knocks you out a bit, and it’s hard to lose those that you were running with. It definitely lost me a couple of positions in the end result.
I ended up finishing10th and 6th Australian. Not an outstanding result by any means, but there are plenty of positives to take. Over the last few months I have been swimming significantly less than I normally would at this time of the year, and I believe I am swimming as good (if not better) than I ever have, so it’s definitely a step in the right direction! I am looking forward to incorporating some more speed work and intense running into my program and building off the aerobic base from the work done in Falls Creek. Another month and I’ll be ready to race ;) !
Another weekend, another race. It has been a pretty busy period lately. A lot of racing, tapering and a lot of time spent fine tuning my bike skills. The weekends race in the Mooloolaba Oceania Cup was another decent result, nothing flash but another step forward in performance. I finished 6th but wasn’t too far off the podium, and the most important aspect was that I was still in contention for the win at about the 6k mark of the run.
I struggled a bit in this swim, but still managed to find my way to the front until an unusually large wave for Mooloolaba popped up and sent some athletes flying past me at the end of the swim. The bike was good, not too fast which enabled me to relax and concentrate on positioning. We finished in a big pack which meant a chaotic 2nd transition. I began the run conservatively knowing the hill at Alex Headlands is harder than what it looks. This tactic seemed to work when I pushed through the field into 3rd and just behind the leader at the halfway point. From here though I struggled and just got pipped for 5th place in the end, 6th but by no means disgraced.
My next race will be the Ishigaki World Cup in Japan on the 22nd of April. This will be my first World Cup and more proof to my continual progression in this sport. I am confident that my race report for Ishigaki will feature another step forward in performance.
Dear Friends,
Well, it’s certainly been a long time since a race report! My last being Canberra 70.3 back in middle of December! A lot has happened since and if you have been following me on good old Face Book or Twitter, you will know that I have a new team of Sponsors behind me for 2012, as well as a new manager, Phil Stoneman, whom I must say, has been incredible to work with since Day 1!
Singapore 70.3 was to be my first real test for 2012. However, I wanted to get a smaller shorter race in beforehand as a tune up, so I raced an Olympic Distance in Wollongong the weekend before on the 11th March. This was a great way to get the feel of racing again and despite the complete lack of competition (literally! I was the only one!), I walked away from the race, happy with how my training was progressing.
Pre-Race:
I had more media commitments than ever before for this race! With my 3rd from 2011, I guess there was no hiding this time round! A TV Interview, a photo shoot at a Fish Spa, several interviews for magazines and newspapers and the Pro Press Conference was all on the agenda the Friday before the race. Despite running around all day, I absolutely loved it all, and had a great time. Mum even got amongst the action this year with an interview!
Saturday, I promised myself a nice quiet (bored as a bat) day with just a bit of training and bike check in to do.
Race Day:
Swim:
I line up at the start line in my Scody race kit and Blue Seventy speed suit. Surprisingly I am very calm as we wait for the gun to fire. It is a running beach start. If any of my previous races are anything to go by, it usually goes something like run, run, run, leap, trip, face plant into the water…..and yes, Sunday was no different! It is a mad scramble to find fast feet to sit on and when the karate battle had eased, I eventually settled in with a decent group. I exited the 2 lap swim which was mostly against the current (hence the rather snail paced swim time of 30min!) in 4th female which I was happy with. Still however 3.5min down from super fish swimmer Mary Beth Ellis, but I had expected this, so wasn’t too concerned.
Bike:
I mount my trusty Katty (Ceepo Katana) and head off for the 3 lap, super fast and flat bike leg. I move into 3rd place after only 10ks, and this is where I would stay for the remainder of the ride with Kate Bevilaqua and Mary up ahead. Kate was not far in front of me (around a 1min and a bit), so my goal was to keep that gap and not let it blow out. Goal achieved! I rode strong and made sure I ate and drank and got all my nutrition in. The heat and humidity was rising at a rapid rate and I could definitely feel it – even on the bike, so it was absolutely vital to stay fuelled and hydrated. Thanks Hammer Nutrition for the great products! I have never felt so strong and comfortable time trialling for 90ks. A shout out to Aaron Lean for the amazing Retul bike fit, Profile Design for the comfortable aerobars and hydration products, Phil from Computrainer for what is without a doubt my favourite (but painful!) toy, and of course Ceepo for the super slick and fast Katana! I honestly haven’t seen a narrower downtube! The result – 2nd fastest bike split of the day and quicker than some very strong girls. Not something that I get to say very often! Of course, equipment will only take you so far. There were some big Ks on the bike done over Summer!!! ?
Run:
Into T2 in 3rd, I slip on my bright orange Saucony Kinvaras, grab my visor and gel, and take off for the 3 lap flat run. The conditions by now are brutal. Although actual air temperature was 30 degrees, the 90+% humidity saw temperatures soar to the equivalent of 39 degrees…..needless to say it was a battle of survival. It felt like eternity between aid stations, and the luke warm water and sports drinks didn’t help either! Ice sponges were only at 2 of these stations. Really could have done with a few more! I run myself into 2nd place, passing Kate after only 2ks. With Mary some 5-6min up ahead, I knew there was very little chance of catching her, so my goal was to hang on the 2nd place. I go through 10ks in 40min, running along strong and with Coach Siri’s words repeating through my head. The 2nd half of the run was something like I’ve never experience before. The heat and humidity was catching up to me and my pace slowed considerably! I tried to use the crowd support to push me on, but I am in my own painful world. It was just intense focus. Focusing on nothing but myself - every single step. I don’t even notice myself passing some Pro Males! There were several moments where I thought I would pass out and collapse any minute, and several moments where I just wanted to walk. But I knew everyone was hurting. Everyone was in the same boat, battling the insane heat and sun. All I could tell myself was “keep moving, keep moving, one foot in front of the other. Dig deep and as they say, when you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot and HANG ON!!” Finally, I manage to keep it all together to record the fastest run of the day. I crossed the line in 2nd place, one spot better than last year. I was well and truly spent at the finish. Severely dehydrated and seeing black stars wasn’t much fun! I managed to not fall over though! (unlike last year where I did at shortly after finishing!)
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the race and result. Thank you to all the race organisers, officials, volunteers, and race hotel staff for their amazing efforts to put together another great race and event in Singapore. I hope to be back in 2013!
Lastly to all my amazing sponsors and supporters. Thank you so much for believing in me and joining me on this journey! I feel proud to represent you all! It’s a great start to 2012!
Hope everyone is well wherever you are!
Onwards and Upwards!
Shell ?
Sunday 4 March saw thousands of triathletes converge on Melbourne's shores for the 2012 Melbourne Nissan Corporate Triathlon.
SCODY has been a partner of the Nissan Corporate Triathlon Series for over 10 years and is proud to be Australia's most experienced custom made triathlon clothing company.
Check out this clip from Nissan of the race - can you see yourself?
Last year I competed in the Nepean Triathlon, the oldest Triathlon race in Australia. This year is it's 30th year running. I had only done a handful of triathlon races this time last year but that shouldn't excuse me for a clumsy error I made. I forgot where I racked my bike and coming into T2 I could not find my shoes. I ran around for 4 minutes pulling my hair out searching madly for my shoes. This year will be different I say to myself leading into the race. With a year of races under my belt now, a win at Noosa two weeks ago, a world 70.3 title to my name, I'm starting to get the hang of this three discipline racing. Well at least that's what I thought when I was treading water on the start line. So we take off. All the females start together, open, age group, weekend warrior - It's a huge field. The swim is only 1km. I will be able to stick with someone for sure here. After a hundred or so metres I'm on my own. Four up ahead, a massive bunch behind....Mel in the middle, swimming on my own AGAIN! My arms and legs are both lactic. I hope it's because I'm swimming hard and not because I'm having a bad day. I see the finish, stand up and run the fairly long transition to my bike which helps to get rid of the lactic acid I built up in the swim. I run my bike to the mount line, do an awesome superman mount (I told ya I'm getting the hang of this now) and land nicely on my saddle. I go to put my foot on my shoe...but miss. I try the other...and miss again. My shoes are now hitting the ground and I'm bumping around trying to catch one, but no luck! I tumble over, the bike hits the ground and my aero drink bottle breaks off the front of the bike. Oh no...no water...what to do? I quickly take a few big gulps out of it then leave it. I finally get going and start working on catching the front girls. The 30km bike course loops around the regatta before heading out along a straight flat road for a couple of km's. We then head down side streets and wind in and out on a very technical route. Back along the straight flat, around the regatta and then we head off for another lap. By about 10km, I'm in the lead. I'm not feeling great...the stress of my stack? The hard swim? I get through the bike leg, jump off, and rack my bike...in the lead (the first time I've ever been off the bike in first). Unlike last year, I picked the very first rack so I was sure to find my gear this time. I racked my bike, chucked my shoes on, grabbed my visor and started running out...only to discover I'm running out of T2 in the wrong direction. Someone kindly corrects my mistake and soon I'm on my way...again...in the right direction. While running out, I pull my number, trying to turn it around to the front (the race number has to be on your back for the bike, front for the run). I accidentally manage to pull my number belt completely off. I'm clipping it back up thinking to myself, this is definitely another 'L' plate effort today. After not feeling great in the swim or bike I take off conservatively. I haven't had any water to drink since my rushed, last big gulp at the start of the bike before having to leave my bottle behind. So my main aim now is to get some water down at the first aid station. I'm running up to the first water station less than 1km into the 10km run. Sweet...water...a little girl is holding out a cup... I reach out to grab it and it drops just before I grab it. Bugger. I keep my arm out hoping there will be another one I can grab. Nope :-(. I'm not dying of thirst but I thought I 'should' get some down. The next aid station is at about 3.5km. This time no one is holding out cups but they are all arranged nice and neatly on the table very close together. Hmmm, I think of the volunteers that have put all the time and effort into arranging these cups with such precision. I'm running at about 3min 30sec per km and I'm trying to think of a strategy to grab just one cup without wiping out 50 other cups surrounding it. I eye-up the very first cup, watch it carefully as I approach...delicately reach out...grasp it...and knock down the next half dozen or so...I tried. Lol. I'm feeling fine on the run. The course is 2x5km loops around the regatta. It's dead flat, concrete the whole way and you can see the entire course. Great for spectators! I get through one lap and by now I'm feeling great. Totally not what I was expecting after my first two legs. The 2nd and 3rd girls are nowhere to be seen but I also need to beat the first male. The interesting thing about this race is that the women get a head start on the men and whoever crosses the line first outright gets an extra prize. So based on their calculations of previous years, the women got head start of 12min 36sec. So I'm trying to keep an eye out for the lead men behind me. I don't want to go too fast for the last few km's and then make the handicap time less next year, but I don't want to go too slow and let them catch up. There were runners everywhere by now as a lot of the age group athletes were heading out for their first lap so it was hard to tell who was who. The race was once again fantastically organised. I'd really like to thank Warwick Brennan and Gordon Bell for the invite back to this years Nepean Triathlon. Also the rest of the event organisers, sponsors, volunteers and of course all the competitors. I had a great time and I can't wait to come back to do it again next year. I finished in a time of 1:38:35. 5th fastest swim at 15:34, fastest bike and run at 47:59 and 35:01 respectively.
Jared is doing up my speed suit as I'm swallowing a caffeine tablet. I didn't sleep too well the last two nights. My mind was going non stop. I don't usually take caffeine before a race but I wanted to be fully alert and ready for a fast start. I was a little nervous before the start of the race and nervous the two days leading into the race. Even though there wasn't any pressure on me for this race, I had a lot from myself. Not only did I want to win, but I really wanted to come out close to the pack after the swim leg. I knew it was still possible to win if I came out a couple of minutes behind but I just really wanted to run out of the water with some girls around me.
I'm swimming to the start line and I notice the water is very shallow. Can I stand up and dolphin dive when it's shallow, I thought. But as we gather in the starting area Macca (Chris McCormack) comments that the rule is if anyone stands up during the swim they'll automatically get disqualified. Damn!
Bang! We take off, I'm feeling great. I'm swimming in the pack. There are 11 girls in the elite start. We head around the first buoy, about 200m from the start...I'm still in the pack...we get to the bridge, now about 300m done...I'm at the back of the pack but I'm still in contact...another 100 or so metres and I find myself now swimming with just two other competitors. I lost contact. I was fairly happy with my swim because I was able to keep up at the start. But why did I drop...zig zagging? fitness? The main trouble I've had is keeping pace with the speed of my competitors, not the endurance. More open water swimming I think is what I need. So I came out of the water in 9th place, 2min 40sec down on the leader, Emma Jackson.
Into T1, speed suit off, running belt on. I fumble around for what seems like minutes trying to clip my running belt on. Rudy Project sunnies and helmet on. I grab my bike and bolt out of there. I hear 3min from a couple of spectators. I was hoping for 2minutes or less. So then I have to decide if I should smash the bike, try and catch everyone in 40km and hope I still have something left for the run leg or do I ride strong, and save a bit for the run? The thought briefly crosses my mind and I decide to ride as hard as I can...I'll deal with the run when I get there. If I can just get close enough to the lead by the end of the bike leg, I'm hoping I can turn it into a running race...that'll help me find anything extra I've got left in the reserves.
Almost 15km done, I'm climbing up the long steady 3km hill. I feel good. I've already caught a lot of my competitors. A spectator runs up the road yelling that I'm less than a minute and a half behind the leader. I keep pushing and by the time I get to the turnaround I'm in third. Emma is leading and Kate McIlroy is in second (Kate is a NZ triathlete who is also an ex steeplechaser that I raced against in the 2006 Commonwealth Games). How did Kate learn how to swim so quick I think to myself.
Winding back through Noosa with less than 4km to go, Paolo from my cycling club yells "30seconds". Sweet!!!! I'm in second and I'm right on her heels... I see Emma dismount, 8seconds later I jump off my
bike.
Through T2 and out onto the run. I catch and pass Emma by about 1km. Emma is a strong runner...maybe I ran the first km too quick? I try to relax and back off a little. By 4km she is back along side of me. We're running stride for stride. It's been quite a while since I've actually been in a 'running' race, so at first I panic for a second but then realize, wow, this actually feels good to be running (racing) WITH someone. We start heading up a small incline just before the turn-around. This is my chance to make a break. There's a hill (kind of). If I can push the pace up the hill I might be able to drop her. It worked. I ran back down the other side, now with a small gap. That's all I need, now keep running strong. The last 3km was starting to get painful, I was getting hot and tired. When I finally saw the finish chute I was so excited but maybe a little too relieved. I reached up to grab the banner but then...instead of standing tall with my arms in the air, I'm flat out on my stomach staring at the carpet. My hands and head are over the finish line but my legs are not. I get to my knees and eventually crawl over the line so my timing chip stops the clock. I then turn around and just sit there for a minute thinking... WHAT just happened??? I tripped right before the line. My foot got caught in a roll of the carpet or in a divot in the bumpy grass under the carpet. What a way to win the Noosa Triathlon!
SCODY's Melissa Rollison has continued her meteoric rise in triathlon with a hard-fought win in the 2011 Noosa Triathlon. Rollison triumped over race favourite Emma Jackson (2nd) and New Zealander Kate McIlroy (3rd).
The 28 year old clawed back a 2.5minute deficit after the swim leg to catch Jackson at the end of the bike leg, then pulled out her trademark fast run finish to take the title.
PTC Manager, Corey Bacon, has just returned with the PTC squad from the ACT Duathlon Champs. PTC is a development triathlon squad nurturing some of Australia's best young talents. The team returned some impressive results, including 1st to Nuru Somi. Nuru is now the only ACT athlete to win and hold the Aquathon Championship, Triathlon Championship and Duathlon Championship at the same time in the same 12 months. Look out for this guy in the pro ranks in the future!
Other results included: Shane Farrant 4th, Daudi Somi 5th and Declan 6th. Bridget Reilly won the short course in the female category with Freya Aisbitt 2nd.
PTC podium athletes Daudi Somi, Nuru Somi and Adam Rudgley
Parramatta Park was the venue for the NSW Duathlon Championships and a beautiful but brisk morning gave 6 of PTCs top athletes an opportunity to shine. They did not disappoint. Declan, Daudi, Adam, Shane, Mitch and Nuru turned up to race.
The first leg was a 2x3.2k looped course of Parramatta Park followed by 6 laps on the bike and then another 3.2k run. Declan led the first run with 2 other team runners with Nuru, Daudi, Adam, Mitch and Shane not too far behind. NSW athletes also in the mix with series leader Sam Douglas a little further back. Sam is a talent on the bike so the boys needed to put some time on him in the run which they did.
Onto the ride leg and Declan was out in front. Nuru 2nd, Daudi 3rd. Adam and Mitch went out together sitting in about 5th with Shane hot on their heels.
Declan held his position on the bike as did Nuru. Daudi was having a good ride but was caught by a few other riders with Adam and Shane making some ground. Mitch lost a little on the bike but his best leg still to come.
Into transition and Nuru had caught Declan. Nuru was first out of transition with Declan in hot pursuit. Daudi or David as he might prefer was in next with a group of about 3 with him. Adam and Shane, both within striking distance, as was Sam who made up a lot of time on the bike.
It was hard to say who was going to appear first over the back of the hill as Nuru looked in good shape. But it was Declan who appeared first with daylight to Nuru. A great effort by both as Declan took the win but due to a drafting penalty and a little confusion with officials meant that Declan was DQ’d with Nuru officially taking the win and Daudi 2nd . Adam finished well in 4th and Shane having a solid 2nd run leg to finish 6th. Mitch lost a little ground on the bike but ran well to round out the top 10. It was good to see the boys dominate the championships and a great Winter training session for all with the next race being the ACT Duathlon Champs. Another opportunity for the boys to go at it. Well done guys.
PTC athletes, L to R: Mitch Brown, Nuru Somi, Daudi Somi, Declan Wilson, Shane Farrant, Adam Rudgley
Health Update
An early dive into the Sydney Harbour, sun just rising, Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background, and perfect race conditions is what showcased the start to the World Triathlon Series for 2012, for the Sydney Dextro WTS race, for 60 odd off the Worlds best Triathletes all hoping for a great start to the year and for many including the aussies, it was a vital race in determing the final positions for the lucky 3 who will represent in AUS in the London Olympics.
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What a relief that finish line was!! It was definitely a hard and challenging day!!!
