A win in Husky!

Huskisson Long Course is one of my favorite races of the year. The relaxed atmosphere, along with the magnificent NSW South Coast scenery provides a very memorable experience. Flash back three years saw me as a fresh faced long course virgin, taking on a new adventure down the path of long course racing. I have been back every year since and not missed the podium once, however the top spot still eluded me. This year I knew was a great chance to change that as I had found myself in somewhat unexpected early season form.

Geelong 2 week’s prior really knocked me around. The battle with Crowie took a huge toll on my body that I still felt hadn’t completely left my system before the race in Husky. I knew it would be in my best interests to get away early on the bike and get out of sight and out of mind from the other competitors.

The swim proved to be quite fast with a couple of ex clubby surf guys flexing some muscle that unfortunately left us with no time to admire the abundance of marine life that accompanied the picturesque swim course. I honestly felt rubbish in the swim and started to get a little anxious that I might have underestimated the damage I had done to my body two weeks prior. However, I was committed to the race and I had formulated a race plan that I intended to stick to. I found myself locking arms with other athletes and wasting far too much energy fighting, rather than focusing on forward progress. I lost the two leaders after about 600 meters and I emerged from the bay in 3^rd place upon completion, about 20 seconds down.

Once on dry land I new I wanted to put some pressure on the chasing guys that were perhaps already stretched from a solid swim. I had a slick transition, partly thanks to some last minute dousing from the dregs of oil left in the john west salmon can I consumed for breakfast (Shark Bait ooh ha ha). I had prepared myself for riding solo and instead of utilizing my normal ‘ride to the race and how I feel’ approach I had dialed in my Garmin and decided to stick to some numbers. I had 300 watts floating around in my cranium and decided to ride to that power for as long as I could sustain.

For those who are interested in seeing my garmin file, it can be found by following this link.
https://connect.garmin.com/page/activity/activity.faces?activityId=703766553&actionMethod=page%2Factivity%2Factivity.xhtml%3AuserSwitcher.switchSystem&cid=7070881#

The course at Huskisson is three 27km loops, so any time gaps you get coming through town are in fact one lap behind. However I was extremely pleased the hear someone yell out when I came through 2 out of 3 laps that I had 3 minutes on the chase pack after the first loop. My numbers were high and I was feeling good on the bike, much to my relief after my lackluster aquatic performance. I just tried to keep pushing as hard as I could, knowing that the more time I gained, the higher the possibility of a slightly easier run could be on the cards. This was a very tantalizing trade off, as the thought of getting into another running race was not something I was thrilled about. Despite pushing hard I kept an eye on my garmin, making sure I was keeping my power controlled on the climbs and even on the descents to avoid too much of a wattage spike over the undulating terrain. Coming into T2 I the numbers on my garmin validated my thoughts of having a great ride. I had averaged 307 watts and clocked 1:55 for the 82 kilometer course, 5 minutes faster than what Tim Reed, Pete Jacobs and myself had ridden the year previous as a trio.

Towards the end of the ride I started to feel my muscles threatening to cramp in my inner thigh, and as I dismounted and donned my running paraphernalia my left VMO cramped with enough force to subdue Pharlap in her prime. I gingerly trotted out of transition and had some thoughts that I could be in trouble, however I knew I had almost 7minutes to chasers so I took my time early to find my feet. I took every aid station slow and knew that it was now my race to lose. I stuck to about 3:30-3:40 pace for the first 10km and after getting the time check of still over 6 minutes I was able to relax and enjoy the second lap. It was great having a chat to a few guys out there who were thrilled to be able to hold pace with the guy leading the race. 

After two 3^rd’s and a second place finish over the past 3 years it was really satisfying to take line honors in a convincing fashion. I know it sounds corny but it is really great to see all my hard work paying off, as well as tangible improvements over the past 12 months. I have never won a race before by going solo off the front on the bike. My bike is something that Tim and I have worked very hard on over the past 18 months and its great to know that I have gotten up to a very competitive level that I can know use to win races.

Hats off the Emo and the team at Elite Energy who have built such a fantastic race over the years. I’m thrilled to be able to join the long list of winners such as Crowie, Pete Jacobs, and Tim Reed.

Thanks to everyone for the messages and my team of sponsors: Giant Bikes, Rudy Project, Shotz Nutrition, Scody, 3D Bike Fit, Hawkesbury Physio, Nutrition Station, Blue Seventy.

Next race will be Challenge Batemans Bay at the end of March.

Thanks for stopping by!

Geelong 70.3

Anyone who has been following my progress will know that the end of last year was a tough time for me. I got really run down towards the end of the season and my training and racing suffered as a result of this. Mentally I was really struggling to get my body up for the demands of competition and decided to cut my season short.

I took some time off before Christmas and had an awesome holiday to Hawaii where I was able to completely let go of triathlon and recharge my batteries. By the time 2015 rolled around I was more motivated than ever to get my body and mind back on track to have a successful season.

Surprisingly the fitness came back quite quickly and I was seeing some nice power numbers on the bike and clocking some decent run times in training. I had a little stint of training in the heat and humidity of Byron Bay with Sensei Tim Reed in January to really try and get that race fitness. I felt like my legs were really coming good for Geelong 70.3 and I had a confidence in myself that I hadn’t felt in so long, especially with the form late last season. I was genuinely excited to get out there and race.

Me second from the left in the centre of the picture

Race morning was calm, with promised mild temperatures and some moderate winds. The swim was largely uneventful and I managed to establish myself in a good position, largely due to the fact that I started right next to the race starter who had someone whispering a countdown timer to him so I was able to get a perfect start.

I emerged from the drink in 3^rd place, about 15 seconds behind early race leaders Marko Albert (EST) and James Seear (AUS). I had a slick transition and immediately wanted to put pressure on those people chasing. I hit the front early and put my head down, hoping I could entice one or two others to come with me.

At the first out and back section I had a little more of a gap than I anticipated when I crossed paths with the chasers. I wanted to be aggressive on the bike but I must admit, the thought of a 90km TT alone didn’t exactly excite me, however I was committed to what I had started. After about 25km I got another look at the chasers and was delighted to see that Craig ‘Crowie’ Alexander and Mark Bowstead were making the bridge across to me without dragging up the rest of the pack. They caught me at about 30km and we went to work together to lock down the podium spots. We managed to build up a lead of about 3 minutes over the course of the 90km bike, which was a nice buffer to having coming into T2.

Heading out onto the run I latched straight onto Crowie and just planned to stick with him for as long as I could. The man is more seasoned than a Sunday night roast, not to mention the 5 World Championship titles he has to his name, but I was thriving off it. I had really good running legs and just wanted to keep ticking off the kilometers. I looked forward to coming through the crowded areas as every man and his dog was cheering for the Champ and only I only heard a select few calling out to the young upstart (if you’re reading this, then thank you!). I didn’t mind though, it actually pushed me more to stick with Craig.

It wasn’t until about 10km that I thought I might actually have a chance a winning this race. I thought Craig might have just been toying with me for the first half of the run but I could sense he was maybe feeling the effects of 3hrs of hard racing just as much as I was. I kept on him for a long as I could, thinking that if I could get to the last 1km I might have more fast twitch fibres left in my legs than the veteran. Alas with 3km to go we hit a downhill section and Crowie lengthened his stride as my quads imploded. He got the gap he needed and claimed the win with myself coming in 2^nd, 17 seconds back.

As ecstatic as I am with 2^nd place, coming so close to the win is a little bittersweet. However this performance is a huge confidence booster for me leading into the 2015 season. Full credit to Craig, the guy knows how to win races and I had an absolute blast out there locking horns with him.

Not only did Crowie win the race but he also showed us who's boss with the beer

Thanks everyone for the messages of support and my team Giant Bikes, Rudy Project, Shotz Nutrition, Scody, 3D Bike Fit, Hawkesbury Physio, Nutrition Station, Blue Seventy. Lastly thanks to my coach Tim Reed, Mum, Dad and Kat for their 

ongoing support!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blue lips. Post race was freezing