Training This Week

This week I have not been doing a lot of training, just a few runs as I have been a little sick. As I have states next week I thought it was best to take it easy and kind of chill out a bit. In saying this the sessions that I did get out and complete were very tough.

On Tuesday we worked on speed, my times were pretty good and from this set I am feeling confident that I am in the right form to race this week.

On Thursday my coach thought it would be best to do a time trial to get ourselves into race mode to start our preparation. She got myself and one of my mates to do a 1km time trial on the track. I was really nervous for this because she wanted us to run 2min55sec and I thought I would struggle to break 3 minutes. We went hard from the word go and luckily enough for me I was even able to break 2min50sec, with a top time of 2min49sec. This was a personal best (PB) time for 1km.

I topped Saturday off with a quick 80km before work. I really struggled through this ride and I am still trying to find out why. I felt as though I did not have any energy or maybe I was fatigued? I think it will remain a mystery but I have learn't to make sure I have plenty of fuel with me when I train.

Nothing much is planned for the rest of the week, just an easy run in the morning and again on Tuesday before I fly out to compete at State Championships on Thursday and Friday.

General Update

This post is more of a general update on training and the past week as I have not had any races on. I just want to say that I am racing state athletics down south in a week and a half and I am running in the 800m and 1500m. Most of my training has been athletic based apart from the occasional ride.

After last weekends race I was contacted by the local paper and an article was published about me and my race. Since then a cafe has been interested in offering some sponsorship which has been amazing. Below I have attached a link for anyone who is interested in reading the article.

http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

This morning I got out for a ride and clocked up 105km. I thought that a long ride would be nice but this one really hurt. I rode on the shop ride and this morning it was unusually fast and attacking up some small hills really tested my legs. I think it was a good start to my triathlon training for regionals in november. I am planning on starting my swimming training tomorrow morning seeing as though I haven't been in the pool since sometime in June.



The article that was in the paper.

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