Overdue Update and New Collaborations

I've been meaning to write an update for the past month but training, work and uni have left me extremely time poor, and my uni assignments have rendered me sick of typing on the computer screen. Don't get me wrong though, I do enjoy the mental stimulation that university offers and find this, along with working and socializing paramount to my enjoyment of triathlon. This holistic approach keeps my life in balance.

Since the beginning of the year i have worked on many weaknesses i targeted after my brief stint in long course racing last year. This has given me the opportunity to be more competitive at the top end of 70.3 racing, and provided me with some results that i can build on in the future. I have however, been plagued with a niggling achilles ailment since January that seems to be quite fond of hanging around. Up until now i have kept it managed, but the past 2 weeks has forced me to cease my run mileage and increase my time on my two wheeled friend. After abusing the John Polson physiotherapy hotline with numerous text messages and phone calls, along with some rehab work thanks to Hawkesbury Physiotherapy i can confirm that i have started to build my running again to prepare for Busselton 70.3 in 3 weeks. When you're highly motivated and having success in training and racing, it is very easy to just focus on the physical demands of triathlon and overlook the one percenters that are required to compete at the top echelon of triathlon. It is paramount to longevity in this sport to complete the whole package, training is only part of the commitment to this sport.

Late march i decided to blow out some cobwebs at the Elite Energy Batemans Bay Ultimate Triathlon. This brutal race boasts arguably the toughest cycle course in Australia. Over 120km, 60 of this was flat road, the other 60 involved 1700m of lactic inducing of climbs. I was fortunate enough to take the win for the second year in a row after receiving a huge improvement on my bike due to a Retul bike fit from 3D bike fit studio in Penrith. This is a must for anyone looking to get the most out of their racing and huge rewards are to be found from a fitter that knows his stuff like Ryan does. If you're around the area, be sure to check it out. http://www.3dbikefit.com.au/

I have some exciting collaborations for the 2013 season:
 - Shotz Nutrition company will be keeping this engine well oiled from now on. I am super excited to be working with Darryl from Shotz. His wealth of knowledge is second to none and his understanding of the human body and the nutritional requirements during racing led Pete Jacobs to victory at Kona. I can not wait to tap into this information and reap the rewards myself.
- I am also thrilled to have Scody Apparel keeping me looking sharp in my training and racing. Super comfortable and super fast garments.
- Whilst injury prevention is far more ideal that injury management, this sport is so taxing on the body and unfortunately injuries are part of this game. I'll be working with Hawkesbury Physiotherapy to address areas of concern and keep me on top of the game.

Just on the horizon for myself is Busselton 70.3 in a few weeks, before heading up to the tropical north for Cairns 70.3. I'm pleased with how far i have come in the past 6 months, and looking forward to what lies ahead of me for the rest of the season. Thanks for reading.

Sam

                       

Geelong and Husky Long Course

Three long course races in month was probably not something I had planned on doing for a long time. Still being relatively new to longer distance racing I am still finding post race recovery taking much longer than I am used too coming from an ITU background. Nevertheless, I entered these races with a ‘play it by ear’ thought process to see how the body was going to cope.

Auckland 70.3 really took it out of me, and for the three weeks I had between Auckland and Geelong I found training quite difficult. My motivation was at an all time high, but my legs had other thoughts. Geelong came round and I was still feeling flat but I tried to remove these thoughts pre race. The race had perhaps the best long course start list assembled in Australia despite having little money and even less world ranking points. I swam well, exiting the water in around 4^th place and straddled my trusty steed to begin the 90km ride. It wasn’t long before cycling powerhouse and one of the nicest guys in Triathlon James Hodge started dropping bombs and I was left seeking shelter. I’m not a huge numbers guy but my amicable host for the weekend Jimmy Seear said he was averaging about 320 watts for the ride and even I know that is big number.  The guys at the front proceeded to put 3 minutes into our chase pack and coming into T2 we had a big job to do. The run was deceptively hilly but nothing I’m not used too training up in the Blue Mountains and we started reeling some of the guys from the front. After 16km I took a detour off the run course and ending up running an extra 2km. As if 21km wasn’t long enough! This happened due to a combination of factors. My unfamilarisation with the run course, the sheer congestion of athletes who were on their 1^st lap, and some poor race organisation with little signage and inexperienced race marshals.  I was running in 6^th when I decided to take this scenic route and finished up 12^th overall. Initially really disappointed I made sure I focused on the positives of the race and decided to use it for fuel for the next race 7 days later at Huskisson.

Jimmy Seear, Myself and Leon Griffin

Fast forward 7 days, after doing some light training and consuming every multivitamin under the sun I arrived at Huskisson feeling reasonably good. Husky is a fantastic event and the guys from Elite Energy should be really proud of the event that they have created. This was my debut long course race last year and my local Panthers Tri Club always has a huge turnout so it was an important race for me. The pro field, which included the likes of Tim Reed and duel Olympian Brad Kahlefeldt assembled in the crystal clear waters. The swim and bike went mostly according to plan except that myself and some other athletes had tried to target Tim Reed’s swim leg and open up a gap on him so he would have to work harder on the bike than us. Alas, Tim was ready and the plan was not exactly top secret and it all came together. After breaking a spoke with 40km to go and catching Ben Allen who had stealthily opened up a gap straight out of the swim onto the bike which myself and numerous others had no clue about we donned our running paraphernalia and set out on the picturesque run course. My goal was to stick with Tim Reed for as long as I could but after 7km and numerous attempts to trick myself into thinking that I was feeling comfortable I succumbed and dropped off. I had however opened a decent gap between myself and 3^rd place which allowed me some breathing room. No changes to the order saw Tim Reed take the win after racing superbly all day and myself finishing in 2nd, one minute adrift. All round nice guy Benny Allen rounding out the top 3.

Top three males left to right: Me(2nd) Tim Reed(1st) Ben Allen(3rd)

It’s great to post a good result at Husky again especially after racing Geelong 7 days prior. Thanks to everyone who was out there supporting and everyone who has sent me their kind words. I do enjoy reading them all. Thanks to Glen Duggan from VoloSport,  Emo and everyone at Elite Energy, and Karl from Trizone who does a fantastic job covering these events. Lastly huge thanks to Mum who I am thrilled to have continuing to be my major sponsor of the 2013 season :-)

Having a few days rest now and then going to dial in for Busso 70.3 at the beginning of May. Thanks for reading.

Sam

Auckland 70.3

This race wasn’t on my calendar a few months back, but after posting a pleasing result in Port Macquarie in October I immediately consulted the 70.3 calendar and eagerly planned some more races. After outlaying a small fortune on Triathlon Australia and WTC pro licenses I was armed and ready and set about entering upcoming races. My bubble of eagerness was somewhat burst when I was told I couldn’t race Shepparton and Canberra 70.3’s due to the races being at capacity. Canberra had 16 pro men on the start list, 3 of them I knew 100% did not intend to race. I was baffled and told by the race organiser that they would not be accepting replacements for withdrawn athletes. I had to look internationally for my next race, and Auckland Asia-Pacific Championships was offering delicious USD 75,000 and some major 70.3 and 5i50 points. I wanted to grab myself some of that pie.

I was pretty relaxed before the race. With a cracker start list toted as “the best startlist outside of Vegas”, I wasn’t too sure how I’d fare. When the cannon sounded, myself, along with several other athletes almost lost their fingers due to over enthusiastic surf patrol in rubber duckies getting up in our grill trying to push us back.

                                                                

                                                              The Evidence 

This perhaps turned out to be an advantage for myself as they turned and sped away I was sucked out and suddenly had a body length on the field.  At the first turn 300m away I was joined by a contingent of good swimmers. I settled in for the rest of the swim and emerged in around 5^th place.

Onto the bike I was content to let some of the more experienced athletes take control as I sat in. The New Zealand 7m drafting zone was not well received by many critics. Adding insult to injury, this zone was measured front wheel to front wheel, further reducing the distance between riders to approximately 5 meters. This made it harder for strong riders to establish significant advantages, and also provided added difficulty for those chasing. Our bunch resembled something out of a Tour de France team TT as our group swelled to about 12 riders which included the main players. However, this didn’t equate to an easy ride as speeds exceeding 50km/h were reached on the out and back section. Added cycling complexity could be found with light drizzle slicking the roads, along with a very technical section that had to be negotiated 3 times. The ride started to heat up with about 20km to go as Joe Gambles and Paul Ambrose were laying down some serious pace. Our pack started to splinter and the technical official started handing out penalties like they were hot off the press.

I came into T2 with the main pack but there was a couple of athletes a minute or two up the road. I was pretty rattled but I knew with a good run I could post a red hot result. My gut felt pretty ordinary during the first part of the run, and I didn’t have my usual running legs. I spewed up a mix of coke, Gatorade and gels (which I’m ashamed to admit actually tasted pretty good)at about 7km. Sam Betten and Fraser Cartmell caught me at this point and we were running in 6^th, 7^th and 8^th. The last of the money spots.

I was weary of some fleet footed athletes coming from behind and I lifted the pace and dropped the other two guys after about 9km. I ran in 6^th position up until about 2km to go and I was well and truly searching for the tape. Betten came back past me but I had nothing in the tank. I stumbled to the finish line in 7th, managing to just hold out the angry gnome Tim Reed who had a superb run despite some earlier misadventures.

                                        Not my best but all i could find on the interweb :(

I was happy to post this solid result against a stellar field and managed to snag myself some valuable points and a little bit of the prize purse to cover my trip and then some. Thanks to everyone who sent me messages, it means a lot and I really enjoy reading them. I’d like to thank Glen Duggan from VoloSport for his continued hard work and support of my progression as a pro athlete, Paul Dukes from Duke's Real Estate for giving me a helping hand with nutrition, Sterling Ashbee for letting me borrow his equipment, Scody Apparel for the last minute race kit and Rodney Forrest for his belief in my ability. Without these guys it would have been alot harder for me to get up there on the weekend.

Big ups to my mum who won here age group and has booked her ticket to the big island in Kona for the ironman world championships later this year.

Next up is Geelong long course in 2 weeks time. Thanks for reading.

Sam

Port Macquarie 70.3

Port Macquarie 70.3 was a race i have been looking forward to for a long time. It started the beginning of my campaign to establish myself as a successful 70.3 athlete and make the jump from ITU racing to long course non drafting. It also served as on opportunity for me to grab some valuable points in my quest to qualify for World Champs in Las Vegas next year.

Cairns 70.3 in May earlier this year exposed my weakness on the bike. I got smashed on the ride up there and ran well below my potential, so for Port i tailored my training around getting in some big miles on the bike and building a strength base so i could ride harder for longer, and get off and run fast with fresher legs. I think i succeeded in this and i was pulling out some of the best training sessions in a long time so i was eager to see how i would hold up against some of the best Australian 70.3 athletes with the likes of Clayton Fettel, Tim Berkel, Leon Griffin and Matty White toeing the line. The day started off as 99% of people thought it would  Clayton took the lead from the get go. I swam comfortably, leading the chase pack out of the water about 90 seconds down. I was second onto the bike, got in my nutrition and settled in for the hills out of town. It wasn't long before Leon Griffin and Tim Berkel went past me which is exactly what i wanted to happen. My pre race theory was that Clayton would be up the road and myself, Berkel and Griffin would ride together to limit the damage he would do. The ride was two 45km out and back laps with hills for the first section and a flat windy section to the turn around. We rode hard out the turn around together and were joined by Kiwi cycling powerhouse James Bowstead. I was thrilled with this as I was feeling great and he would serve as another strong cyclist in our group. The ride was hard sure, but i never felt like i was going to get dropped nor did i feel like i was riding too far out of my comfort zone. On the way back into town i was following my nutrition strategy and without thinking i discarded my gel wrapper. It wasn't until about 15 minutes later that the technical official who had been following us for the whole ride came up along side me and showed me a yellow card, stating i had received a penalty for littering on the course. I couldn't believe it. I was so angry, frustrated and upset. In fact i could probably write a whole page on all the emotions that were bubbling inside of me. I spent the rest of the lap trying to get my head back into the game and forget about it. Whats done was done. But i couldn't help feeling hard done by. I know it the rules but it just seems like such a harsh penalty, to essentially ruin someones day for this minor infringement. I served my penalty after 45km and felt a great sense of dismay as i watched the group i was riding with ride back out of town as i stood there in the penalty box of shame (much to the amusement of a few spectators might i add). After what was the longest 4 minutes of my life i set back on my bike, 4 mins down, all momentum lost and my head not in the right place. I completed the ride with another group of athletes including Jason Shortis and Adam Gordon but i knew we had lost so much time on that second lap. I got a time check when we got back into transition, 8 minutes down on the Berkel group. My 4 minute penalty essentially cost me 8 minutes. After years of ITU experience i blitzed through T2 and was running solo from the start. I went out hard, as i still had adrenaline pumping through me as i stewed over my earlier misadventure. I set out trying to reel in as much time as i could. I had nothing to lose and went for it. I focused on running fast by staying relaxed and keeping up a high turnover to remain efficient. I ran evenly throughout the whole half marathon to finish 5th place and posted the 2nd quickest pro run time of 1:16:49. I'm not saying i would have ran that quick if I didn't get the penalty because riding with the front guys may have taken the sting out of my legs, but I am disappointed i wasn't able to test my running form against the guys in front.  Despite this harsh learning experience i've taken away some valuable lessons and also boosted my confidence in my ability to mix it up with some of the best 70.3 athletes in the country. The penalty put my out this time, but I am now even more hungry and believe i can go toe to toe with these guys.  I'd like to thank a few people for helping me get to this race. Glen Duggan from VoloSport for his continued hard work and support of my progression as a pro athlete, Paul Dukes from Duke's Real Estate for giving me a helping hand with nutrition, Sterling Ashbee for letting me borrow his equipment that is worth more than my bike, Scody Apparel for the last minute race suit and Rodney Forrest for his belief in my ability. Without these guys it would have been alot harder for me to get up there on the weekend. I'd also like to give a quick shout out to my Mum who has always supported me. She also won her age group up there on the weekend so she goes alright for an old duck. And lastly my girlfriend Kat who did everything for me pre race and wouldn't let me lift a finger up there on weekend.  Next up I'm trying to get a late entry into Shepparton 70.3 in two and half weeks time, and then onto Canberra 70.3 in December. Hope to see you guys there. Photo Credit: firstoffthebike.com

Extra Curricular: Part 2

Welcome all to another edition of the abode.

It's been a month since my last post so I thought I'd update you all with what I've been up to, and what I'm about to embark on. The week before last I went to the snow with Kat to get away before I have to lock down with training and uni over the next few months. I borrowed gear from my brother who's an avid snowboarder, packed the car and drove 6 hours to Jindabyne. I took my running gear with the good intention of going on some scenic runs in the Kosciusko National Park, however the DOMS that accompanies a novice snowboarder prevented this. My body was aching more from snowboarding than it has done on past training camps where coaches dream up their malevolent sessions and try to outdo each other on the lactic acid scale (Canberra AIS camp anyone?). Fortunately, I found my footing after a few days of eating snow and spent the rest of the time thinking I was Shaun White.

Prior to my snow escapades I attended the Panthers Triathlon Club Ball. This night brings most members of the local triathlon community together to laugh, drink and celebrate the season just gone. Free wine and beer for the opening hour is not a great idea for triathletes as most of us were well under by the time the presentations rolled round. I was fortunate enough to receive Club Champion, a prestigious award that I have been aspiring to for years and this time managed to come home with the bacon. A lot of work has gone into the club over the past few years and I think we have developed arguably the best club around which I'm honored to be a part of.

I am now gearing up for this coming season by getting some base miles under my belt. There's not much to this, except looking at the oven clock on the way out, peddling/trotting for a number of hours and noting the time on the oven upon termination.

I'm looking at racing Port Mac 70.3 at the end of October. Unfortunately it's the same day as the local Nepean Triathlon, which is a fantastic event that I'm sorry to miss. However, I need to look at races that are going to develop me as an athlete and hopefully gain some exposure if I am able to post a good result.

That's all from my end friends, thanks for reading!

Appo.

Kat and I on the Ski Tube to Perisher

Kat and I at the Club Ball 

View over Mt. Kosciusko

The old girl and I

Extra Curricular

Greetings all,

First of all I'd like to thank everybody for taking the time to read my blog. It's great to have positive feedback on what I've been writing and it's extremely gratifying to know that people are enjoying what I'm putting on here. I'll try to post regularly but I don't want to fill the pages with mindless dribble about things that most of you won't care about.

I'm currently on a break from training. I think breaks are super important for athletes as it gives the body a chance to rest and it also recharges those mental batteries that can deplete over extended periods of training. My break hasnt been that relaxing though as I've swapped my training equipment for text books to get me through my uni exams this week. As most triathletes that study can relate, I'm trying to fit in a whole semesters worth of information into one week. I'm looking forward to finishing exams so I can really enjoy my break by catching up with friends and heading out for a few beers and enjoying other things that I give up for most of the year. I'm heading to the snow in a couple of weeks too which I can't wait for. Ive never snowboarded so I'm not really really sure what I've gotten myself into (stay tuned). I'm going to Perisher and staying in Jindabyne so I might even manage to sneak in a few high altitude running sessions.

This morning I had the opportunity to have a meeting with Glen Duggan from VoloSport. Glen is a sports manager who I'm very excited to be working with and I'm looking forward to the future with Glen's wealth of experience and expertise. Glen managers other athletes such as Liz Blatchford, Ashleigh Gentle, Ollie Whistler, John Polson and open water specialists Trent and Codie Grimsey to name a few. He is leading me in a direction that will hopefully gain me more exposure and fingers crossed I'll be able to attract some potential sponsors and I can stop racing and training in borrowed gear (I used my mums race shorts at Huskisson long course).

I'm also in the process of mapping out next seasons races. I'm excited about what next season can hold for me. But more of that later, I don't want to use all my ammunition in one blog post.

That's about all from my end,

Take care.

Appo

Cairns

In other news, Cairns is a pretty awesome place and was lucky enough to be up there for 5 days and got myself acquainted with the locals.

There is no swimming in the beaches as there is crocodiles lurking in most bodies of water. I found this out before the race because there is signs everywhere warning of crocodile activity. Apparently USM events conducted a sweep of the swim course prior to the race gun sounded. Glad i could put my mind at ease!

So the response from the council was to build a lagoon for all the tourist that come to Cairns. I dont think they enjoyed the triathletes getting in there with their paddles to do pre race swim training. (Yes i did see people in there practicing with wetsuits and paddles prior to the race).

Post race i ventured out the great barrier reef and snorkeled with the marine life there. I was tempted to ride the turtles back into Cairns Jack Sparrow style but i thought better of it.

Huge shoutout goes to my house mates Josh and Kylie McGuiness and Renee Workman for putting up with me and helping me get to the startline hassle free. Also a massive wrap to Sterling Ashbee who helped me get up to Cairns and his generosity to loan me some of his eqipment.