Local Triathlon

Today I competed in the last of the Yorkey's Knob triathlon series. I just took it as a local race and believed I was capable of a top 5 finish overall. I came out of the water in 6th and managed to get myself into a small group before I decided that if I try I would be break up the field. Before the first ride turn around 5km into the bike I was in the lead. I kept pushing even though I felt that at a few times I was hitting the wall. I managed to keep my lead and over a few other athletes even extend the lead I had. The run came and all I was hoping for was to run strong and finish what I had created. Unfortunately for me my legs felt heavy which made this last leg undesirable. I had a small gap on the closing runner, Nathan 'Sandy' Sandford and everyone was cheering for me to take the win. I pushed through and when I came to 1.25km to go I wasn't sure if my gap was enough. I ran strong to the finish and was able to claim gold. This was my first win the I have won overall and I am super stoked.

Soon after the race I received a phone call from the local newspaper the Cairns Post regarding an article that they wanted to write about me on my win. Tomorrow I am meeting up with the photographer to get some photos done. I guess I can say that today was very successful and I look forward to training for the regional trials in november.

Me with 3rd (Brett Housley) and 2nd (Nathan 'Sandy' Sandford) 

Last Week's Triathlon and Criterium

A few weeks ago I raced down in Townsville in the Sprint Triathlon and the Criterium. I did really well in both of the races.

It was the third year doing this triathlon and I had been improving every year. This year I was out to better myself and that's exactly what I did. I hadn't swum since about June so I wasn't expecting anything special. Although I surprised myself and came 6th out of the water in my wave. My bike leg was good but I think it could have been faster. But I can't go on without thanking a good mate of mine, Alex who let me borrow some Dura-Ace c75 wheels for the race. My run leg was pretty average in my opinion but I still ran under 20 minutes for 5km which is good off the bike so I can't complain. I finished 7th overall my best placing ever and 2nd in under 19's.

Two hours later I had to back up and race the 'B' Grade criterium. I watched C and D Grades and thought well, maybe I should have done that because they were fast races. I had watched this race for three years and thought, I'm going to give this a crack this year. It was fast from the start and I thought maybe my expectations of myself were too high. I managed to get into a break with three other guys but they were all working against me because they were on a team. They managed to get one guy off the front and when I tried to chase him down they wouldn't do any work and they would slow the pace down. I thought to myself, "I know I can't win, but I can definitely get 2nd. Let's show them how to ride." I did my work and got into the best possible position for the final sprint. We came around the corner and I nearly became unstuck as one guy cut me off. I held it together and sprinted as fast as I could to the line, blitzing the others. I did exactly what I told myself and that is what I am most proud about.

It was a great weekend of racing and I will be back next year bigger and stronger.

At the end of the Criterium

Training this Week

This week is one that I would describe as a not so fantastic week. It started out good, running Tuesday, a good ride Wednesday morning and then an awesome 8x 400m running session Thursday. Unfortunately Thursday's set was run on the tartan track and this meant that I was running on my toes and in my minimal support spikes. I pulled up with calf soreness and did not stretch and ice my muscles that night. The biggest mistake I made was turning up to Athletics Friday night and running an 800m on the track again. This led to my calves feeling like they were on fire and my Saturday morning run set being shortened and I was unable to finish. After a good week of training I ruined it by one silly run at athletics. There was a big lesson that I learn't in this week and that is to listen to my body and stop if there is pain.

Leading the pack in our 4x 1km on Tuesday

Getting Back into It- State Cross Country

I haven't been posting lately and I thought that it was time I started again.

I have been racing an awful lot over the past half a year and well it's safe to say that I haven't had too many disappointing results. Races such as State Cross-Country, Coral Coast Triathlon and now into the Track season.

I'll start off by saying that my Cross-Country season was amazing, well that was up until my race in Bundaburg. I trained hard all the way and did just about everything my coach asked of me. I felt good in myself and I thought the track would be good because there was only one hill. The start of the race went well, I was running in the top 15 which was where I need to be. From there it just went down hill I could not feel anything and I was slowing down. I was my coach on the side of the track and the one thing I remember from that race was saying to her, "I can't do this."She told me to keep fighting but I couldn't it was too difficult this time. I crossed the finish line and remember collapsing and being carried away to a medical room. The medic said if i wasn't hydrated like I was I would have been in the back of an ambulance on my way to hospital. I finished 31st.

Despite having what I call a Disaster of a Race my athletics season has started off really well.

I will post my results up soon from my athletics season soon.

At the end of my State Cross-Country Race 2013

A message from Jill

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Jill Boltz (in photo with Cahn below), Cahn’s running coach a few times and I’ve enjoyed watching her work with Cahn. Jill is more than qualified to train Cahn having ran the 3,000m and 10,000m for Great Britain at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games and was a silver medallist at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. More importantly though is Jill’s enthusiasm for running and energy she brings to training is incredible. Her training sessions with Cahn and his friends are no doubt hard work physically but they are also fun. It’s amazing to see Cahn enjoying his sport and the training sessions he does.

I love Jill’s updates on Facebook about the kids she trains and then photo she posts of them at events. She is such a supportive coach and she really understands how Cahn operates as an athlete. I recently asked Jill to send me a few comments about Cahn for to include in his blog and she wrote:

“there are so many great things about Cahn especially how motivated he is and humble he is. Despite his recent great results he has stayed grounded and focussed knowing there is a lot of hard work ahead in order to get to the next level. He has the potential to get to the National level and I am hoping he is beginning to believe this”

 

 

My brother

It’s been some months since Cahn has written on his blog and I thought I would kick start the blog again with a piece about Cahn from my perspective. There is 15 years age difference between Cahn and I and I feel this has given me a real appreciation of his achievements.

I clearly remember Cahn as a toddler....and if I had to describe him at that age, a few words I would use would be challenging, headstrong, determined, impatient and stubborn. While people would often see this side of Cahn at the shops for example, I think they would have felt sorry for my mum! She had her hands full that’s for sure! It’s funny though because on reflection these are some of the characteristics that I think make Cahn successful at whatever he puts his mind to.

From the moment he could walk, he was able to kick a soccer ball with both feet, had great coordination and was energetic but those physical attributes can only take you so far. It’s Cahn’s mental strength and focus that make him really excel. There aren’t many teenagers that get themselves out of bed at ridiculous hours of the morning day after day to train then go to school. Not to mention the days he trains after school and the events on the weekends. It’s constant and if he didn’t want to do that he wouldn’t. You can’t make a teenager spend their spare time climbing mountains or running kilometre after kilometre.

Cahn is his own worst critic and it takes a lot to impress himself. He is lucky though to have a strong network to support him during his training and races. This includes our mum, coach Jill, teachers, his training mates and his friends. I’ve found that letting Cahn know you are there is enough, especially in the lead up to events. He needs his space and its impressive to see him transform from his usual jovial teenage self to a focussed young man on a mission.

 

 

I believe in Cahn, as his sister I may be biased but I am very proud of him. He is a good person, kind, thoughtful and funny. Over time his goals will change, they may move from sporting goals or they may not. Whatever happens, Cahn has the mental strength to be successful at whatever he aims for.

Hopefully he writes again soon,

Gretl

Adelaide Tour Down Under

This week has certainly been a big one. Im down in Adelaide South Australia training and also experiencing for the third time the Santos Tour Down Under. We follow the race everyday and we (Dad, his girlfriend and myself) usually end up riding through the hills.

Yesterday was very unfortunate for myself as I was descending down a very long hill return to Adelaide from the end of the stage. It was very unfortunate that someone had crashed after a team car was handing out drink bottles at about 50km/h. One lady was taken out by a young rider and I went over the top of her and ended up on the road.

Despite that, I was able to get back on the bike today after only receiving minor cuts and grazes. This experience will only make me stronger and more aware.

One week of training remains before state triathlon in February. Im very excited to continue my hard work and determination leading into the race and following the Santos Tour Down Under


A look into the height of the hills that we are climbing here in Adelaide

Some grazes that I got after yesterday's crash down a very nasty descent  

Feeling The Pain

Yesterday proved to me that I am getting stronger in my running but I am also feeling the pain. My goal was to run 7km in 35 minutes, which is not overly fast, I ran out for 15:20 which gave me roughly 3.45km. It was not the 3.5km that I intended to run but I was starting to fatigue and I knew that I still had to make it home. Once I has turned around my next goal was to negative split the return journey. I kept pushing the whole way home trying to keep under 4:30 per kilometre which to me is not very fast. I managed to complete my goals for that run, to go hard, and to negative split the return leg.

Although in any sport there some negative consequences. Last night and this morning have had a really stiff pain in muy right calf muscle. Today is a day of recovery although I have training scheduled. Ice and rest are the key components to a quick recovery. Hopefully I will soon be recovered from this and I will be back to full standards soon.

Christmas Update

The past few weeks have been very quiet with Christmas and New Year happening all very fast. Despite the lack of training I am very keen to pick it all back up and begin a big block of training and preparation for State Titles which are to be held in Febuary down in Brisbane. Over the new year there has been no races up in the north but I believe 2013 will bring great success.

I will keep you updated on all my training in the lead up to State Triathlon

First Road Race

Last weekend was my first ever road cycling race. I was pretty nervous about going into the race as there would be no teenagers racing and me being 15 years of age, I would be the youngest competitor. I went into the race with an open mind just trying to do my best. The race went straight up a hill and there were no flat sections on the course. As im a very good hill climber I knew just do my best and I thought I would have a good result. About 5km or 6km into the race I made a move off the front of the pack and never looked back. I extended my lead over the course of the race to finish with an astonishing result of 1st place. I was stoked with this result as it was my first road race and because I was the youngest competitor in it.



This is my race. I am on the right hand side with the white shirt on.

Update

Over the past few months I have been unable to write about my recent sporting achievements. Two main events have happened since my last post and weeks or hard training has also been accomplished.

Firstly an update on Regional Triathlon race results. This year was the year the everything finally went to plan, there was no sickness or injury. I took each leg of the triathlon (swim, bike and run) one step at a time. For me I just had to get through the swim and take it from there which was exactly what I did. I closed a very large gap on the bike down to about 10 seconds. This race all came down to the run. In the last kilometre I vomited but still manage to hold myself together. In the last 750m I broke away and was able to claim victory for the first time in three years. That race together was a great achievement in itself.



This was me on the bike leg during Regional Triathlon 2012

Regional Triathlon

On Sunday I have my regional Triathlon trials. I feel that I have done everything right this year and touch wood I will not be sick. I feel a lot more confident this year than last year and I feel that I will be able to take out the victory. It is a challenging course but I truly believe that this will suit my style.



This is me in last years Regional Triathlon

I will keep everyone updated on my preparation and my results for the weekend.

Some Things You Just Don't Want To Do

There are some things in life that you just do not want to do. This morning was a perfect example of that. At 4:40am the alarm goes off and all I wanted to do was keep on sleeping as I had not slept that well during the night and I felt that it was a little bit cold. But anyway I had decided to keep the promise that I made to myself and drag myself out of bed and get ready for swim training.

Thankfully my coach had decided that today was the day that we were going to have an easy session in the water. Nothing was hard at all, my coach said not to go hard it is all easy and I will praise him forever if that's what he want because today, my coach Bill Evens made my day.

Back Into Training

It has been a while since I have last up dated. No races have take place since the Townsville Triathlon festival so I have been on a short break. I am now happy to say that I am back into full training, preparing myself for the upcoming Regional Triathlon. This will be held in about three weeks up in Tinaroo, I think that I will make the team although the course will be tough. The bike ride has a number of hills to conquer and same with the run. But if I am mentally as well as physically prepared, I believe that I will be able to make it onto the regional team comfortably.