Straddie Salute

The Straddie Salute Triathlon is one of the worlds most scenic triathlons. Hosted on the coast line of North Stradbroke Island, the Straddie Salute is a triathlon worth doing!

A 45min ferry trip across from Cleveland, then a short a 15-20 min drive to race HQ. The race is easily accessible for any one from south- east QLD. I cannot describe how beautiful the location of this race is. Fortunately, the team at Icon Events have put together an awesome video showcasing the beauty of this race. 

The race for me was always going to be a hard day out after being on antibiotics all week after suffering from a serious insect bite infection, and not been able to walk for a couple of days. 

The swim was wetsuit legal (just), and 750m really 1km in length. For the swim, I wore my Roka Maverick wetsuit. Not so much because of the temperature, as it wasn't cold at all, but just for the benefits the wetsuit gives me with my body position. I came out of the water around 5th or 6th, roughly a minute down from the leaders. 

The 20km bike leg was split between 10km on road and 10km off road (there is also a full on road option) with the mountain bike leg fairly tamed and untechnical. The bike leg was over before I knew it, after keeping my head down and trying to chase down first place, Brodie Garder. I came off the bike in second place with about a minute clear of third and a minute down on Brodie. 

The run leg was 9km in length and is the highlight of this race. The views are almost good enough to stop, take a seat and just watch the day go by. I had a bit to do on run to catch Brodie, and with him being such a strong runner, I was really relying on him to have made a mistake on the bike and blown up. My run was strong and I felt comfortable with a lot of heavy training behind me. However, it wasn't quite enough to catch up to first, crossing the line in second. After a rough week I was stoked to have finished strong and enjoyed the race.

I have put together a small video of the days adventures below. 

I highly recommended making this an event on your 2017 calendar, and making a weekend of it !  I will definitely be back next year for more. Details can be found at http://iconevents.com.au

Xterra Philippines

First race overseas for the year, first race in Asia, first time to the Philippines, first Xterra and first pro race. 

Some would say to many first for your first shot at the top tier. It would of been a lot easier to of gone down and raced at 70.3 Geelong a course I have raced before, familiar faces, food, and language. I thought It was important for my to remove my self from the local scene and step outside my comfort zone to experience something new. 

Xterra Philippines for me was chance to go race somewhere, where I felt no one was watching or judging. Somewhere we I could be relaxed and just enjoy my first race against some of the best athletes in the world. 

The moment we touched down in the Philippines we were treated like rockstars every step we took followed by another photo. The team at Sunrise events made sure that we were well looked after from the moment we were in Legazpi. 

We arrived around lunch time at Legazpi and after a carnival reception, a interview and 1000 photos we got to our hotel. The group had decided to go out and ride the 30km bike course that was based at the bottom of the Mayon Volcano. It was adventure in its self after getting lost a couple of times and loosing our guide Ben and Brad were able to get us back on course and to the end of the bike leg. 

Saturday was the busiest day with a swim in the morning down at the swim course, 2x interviews, a hotel transfer, 20'000 photos and a small jog in the afternoon I was ready for race day. 

Sunday started like any other triathlon, a early wake up, small amount of breakfast, a shuttle down to the swim start and another 1000 photos. I knew Ben was going to take out the swim leg hard to try and distance him self from Brad the other main race favourite. my goal was just to hang tough as along as possible and get out as close as possible to Brad. This was going well till we turned the first bouy and started to swim off course. loosing the feet of the small group I was in, I came out of the water in 5th position but everyone has broken up with leaders already being a few minutes up the road. 

The bike leg was going to be fast and technical with the rain that we had overnight turned a few corners into slides, and a few river crossings that we rideable on Friday became small lakes and with no way of telling where the bottom was you just had to to hope for the best. I started making time back on a few rider on the bike leg catching up a couple of places, and riding with some team riders helped me push up the hills and then took alot of risk's on the down hills to catch up, but with not knowing where anyone was it was hard to gauge if you were making up time or not. 

I came into transition in 4th place with the podium out of reach I just tried to hang on for as along as I could. My running volume has been down leading into the race due to an injury so I was just hoping I could hold off till the end. Running up the sand at the half way mark I was caught by 2 others and it was at the hardest point of the race for me, climbing (literally) up to the turn around point. The last 4km home was fast and slightly down hill with alot of river crossings and changing of direction to negotiate. I held on the 6th place in a race I will never forget. 

January

Not a lot to report this month, as January is the month for logging long Km's in the swim, bike and run. 

Open water baths in NEWCASTLE 

The month as been well spent at my home base in Brisbane (clem jones centre) training under the eye of my coach Warwick. We have been focusing a lot on my swim and doing what we can to bring my swim times down to be at the competitive end coming out of the water. 

My run has been coming along slow and I have been dealing with some ITB problems. Over the last few weeks I have been able to bring the running Km's and Intensity back into training. 

Riding has been constant and enjoyable mixing up both MTB and Road riding to keep things interesting. Long summer KM's are always fun in QLD when the temperature doesn't get below 30 during the day. 

Next month bring in a lot more racing with Trex National Championships being the highlight and one of my main races for the year. 

My next race is next weekend at Xterra Philippines. 

Feel free to leave some comments below and I will respond. 

One of my favourite training locations, walk about creek, QLD. Open water swimming, trail running and mountain biking. 

70.3 World Championships.

Ironman 70.3 World Championships was a concoction of emotions of the ultimate highs and lowest lows.

Set in Zell Am See , Austria the lake side town was the prefect location to host a championships. The 2km swim took place in the lake that in winter freezes over, dead flat and easy to navigate the wetsuit swim was calm and fast. For me the day was going to be a battle of survival after coming off my bike less then 24hrs before the start damaging my hip and shoulder.

After struggling to get my wetsuit on, I headed down to swim start not to attempt to race or win but just to complete the race which was emotionally very hard to take in that I was not going to be able to leave it all on the course. 

The Bike leg went up into the Austrian Alps with the main feature of the course being the 30min climb up the hochkönig to the ski town then down the fast decent back into town. I could ride relatively pain free beside that it hurt to place my elbows down on the aerobars. I pushed relatively hard on the bike considering my condition my power was low but I tried to keep the effort up to enjoy my time around one of the world’s best 70.3 bike leg.

Coming into transition I knew that the enjoyment was about to end as I set of a walk/jog around the 21km course around the lake. The pain in my hip made it impossible to run pain free and I felt every step. The course was like a war zone with athletes everywhere melting in the hot condition, a lot of people underestimated the course and paid for that on race day, with multiple of people walking or pulling out.

I walked over the line 25th in my age-group and emotional roller coster behind me. It was hard to swallow with a top 5 result slipping away from me, but that is racing and I will come back next year.

I had multiple trips to the local Austrian Hospital before heading back to London, cleaning out the injected hip and scans to make sure it wasn’t fractured.

I would like to thank my Mum and Dad for getting me through this tough time, I was almost not going to race but they convinced me to get through it. 

Austria will be my last race of the season with time need to recover before I get into training back home.

THANKS TO ETIXX NUTRITION FOR THE FOOD TO GET MY THROUGH THE DAY, ZIPP FOR SUPPLYING ME WITH THE FASTEST WHEELS ON COURSE AND A+ THE VALLEY FOR SETTING MY BIKE UP BEFORE I LEFT, ALSO TO AUSSIE TOM FOR YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND BELIEVING IN ME 

Jetty2Jetty Half Marathon

Jetty 2 Jetty is one of Queensland's largest fun run with over 3000 runners across the 3 distances 21.1km, 10km and 5km fun run.

The half marathon course attracted a quality field this year, with last years winner Nick Hull, Sam Betten, Pat Nispel and Jackson Elliott all fronting up for the tough 21.1km course out to Scarborough and back to Woody Point.

My race started off well, all I was aiming for was to run a target 70.3 race pace, looking to run under 1:20min. The race started off fast with Jackson Elliott taking it up the road and not looking back. With the rest of the top 10 happy to sit in a small group for the first 7km.

The undulating course, broke groups up quickly and at around the 8km mark I found my self in a smaller group of 3, dropping off the leaders. I knew that the head wind coming home was going to be a hard way to finish the last 11km and found my self battling to bridge gaps, back up to the leaders.

I crossed the line in 10th, 1:19. and was content with being beat by some quality runners. With my target goal met, the morning was a good hit out to see where I am heading into the next lot of races.

Thanks,

Shoes Feet Gear

The name says it all, for all your footwear, podiatry and running needs Shoes Feet Gear in Paddington is Brisbane's number one Podiatry clinic and running Shop headed by principle podiatrist Peter Charles. 

SFG have a large range of top running brands such as Mizuno, Asics , Brooks and Nike. and offer expert advise for all your footwear and running questions. I popped in earlier in the week for an annual Podiatry appointment to look at my orthotics and address any running issues. 

I sat down with my Podiatrist Dan and went over any issues I have been having, the training load I am doing and what my goals were for the rest of the year. After that we took a look at my feet, looking at any joint restrictions I might have or how we can shape an orthotic to make my foot work better, and provide me with a solid platform to run off. The years of cycling have provided me with very stiff ankles and I have a bone block in the front of my ankle as well. Which can effect my drive phase of my run, we get around this by providing a heel lift in the orthotic to push me into a better position.  

SHOE FEET GEAR PROVIDE VIDEO ANALYSIS OF YOUR RUN TECHNIQUE

After the assessment of the feet, we headed out side for a run to check what the body does under load and how the feet act on impact. We did several captures from all angles looking at how the body travels and what areas I may need to work on. SGF also have a Exercise Physiologist in store in Jaryd Grantham who is a handy runner him self, He will help get you running pain free and faster.

Shoes Feet Gear mill all their orthotics in store and in softer and harder materials and the turn around in orthotics and be a matter of hrs instead of days. The team will provide you with the best service and will find the right shoe for you. 

Pop down to 108 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington, and transform your run. 

Cairns 70.3

Cairns is one of the biggest races of the year with both the 70.3 and Full Ironman events being held on the same day. Cairns is located on the North East coast line of Australia about 900km south of the most northern tip of Australia. The tropical rainforest for a backdrop and the bike leg twisting along the coral coast line, Cairns is a breathtaking place to hold a triathlon.  

Pre race I was confident of a good result, I have had a solid block of uninterrupted training and was looking forward to my second time back in Cairns. The days leading up to the race I had a few light training sessions just keeping the body firing, and had some good sensations leading into Sunday. 

The swim leg out at Palm Cove, was quiet choppy, the first 600m out to the first turn boy was very rough, and I was getting thrown around a lot. I settled in for the rest of the swim leg just trying to hold on to the feet in front of me. I came out of the water in the top 10 and was looking forward to the challenging bike course ahead. 

The bike leg at Cairns wines along the Captain Cook highway towards Port Douglas, and then back into Cairns. With the weather being terrible all week everyone was expecting a wet bike leg, to our surprise the bike leg was dry and quiet warm. The first 30km out to the turn around was very fast with good quality road and only one main climb of about 1.5km long. At the turn around we were met with a beautiful cross wind through the more exposed sections of the bike course which broke up many groups. I stayed with small group of 4 riders through most of the bike course and in the back end of the course picked up a lot of riders who had gone to deep early on the course. With about 5km I distanced my self from our group and rode passed all of the elite women and some of the pro males who's day had not gone to plan. Coming off the bike in 1st in my age-group and 2nd age grouper overall I had never had better legs and looked forward to having a solid run. 

The run started well for me, I was very comfortable and was running on target pace, I had great legs and at no stage was my fitness my undoing of this race. Around the 6km mark I started to get a stitch and that turned into server stomach cramps, I had never experienced such a pain in my stomach before, I couldn't run without hurting and I couldn't take a full breath. I ended up walk/running the rest of the run leg, and had the worst run time to date in a half ironman which to me is very disappointing after the amount of training I have done. 

I want to thank everyone that helped my get ready for this event, my training partners and coaches. My family and friends. And my supporters and sponsors. Without you I wouldn't even of been on the start line. 

I was happy to come away with 3rd but disappointed I wasn't able to leave it all on the course. 

Till next time. 

Product Review Etixx Recovery Shake

Etixx Recovery Shake is a rich mix of whey protein isolate, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and creatine. 

I have been using the whole Etixx range for almost 4 months now, It has simplified my recovery and training nutrition and I am looking forward to racing my first 70.3 using Etixx at Cairns next weekend. 

The CHOCOLATE recovery shake is the most consumed Product in my Etixx range, followed close by the Energy Bar but more about them another time. I use the recovery shake once or twice a day, always after my morning session then again after my afternoon/evening session depending on its intensity. The biggest benefit I have found since using the recovery shake is the effect on my muscle growth and weight control. I have have only lost a couple of KG in the last few months with the extra running but I have more muscle mass, the shake has helped me keep good lean muscle growth. 

I use 4-5 scoops after training with 500ml of low fat milk, in the morning and 2-3 scoops with 300-400ml at night. After a race I will freeze a 500ml on water to have directly after the event. 

100g Serve contains
366kcal
.30g fat
74g carbs
17g protein
Vitamin B1,B2,B3,B6,B12
Vitamin C
Calcium, Magnesium, Mangansese, Iron, 

If you would like to try and the Etixx Range, order online at www.etixxsports.com.au use the 30% DISCOUNT code TCetixxAU

If there if there is a product you want to see reviewed please leave a comment below. 

Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival

In the Triathlon World the Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival can mean so much for some. 

For the Elites the World Cup can launch you into early season success, putting you name on the table for one to watch for the rest of the year. 

For the Jr Elites, the Continental Cup, can act a spring board into the senior ranks. Many World Cup athletes realised their potential at the Conti Cup. 

For the age-groupers Mooloolaba can be for some their biggest race of the year, one they have worked all summer for. Or their first attempt at a triathlon or an olympic distance, leaving endless memories. 

For my self this was my first time at Mooloolaba to race. After a busy race schedule I was looking forward to racing the Olympic distance over the sun kissed course. Representing Team Blonde Domination 

My Race started really well better then what I expected, I stayed in touch with the front group around the first swim buoy this was around 400-500m of 1500m. I stayed with a small group for the remainder for the swim leg which I thought was moving along nicely.... Turns out we came out 3min behind the leaders with a 800m beach run ahead of us to transition. Not ideal

I was quick to move across the sand to close the gap as much as I could early but with the thoughts going threw my head of not to panic and blow up. Heading out on the bike I was cautious not to go out to hard over the first few km as its all up hill until your out on the highway. Once on the highway I put my head down and focused on riding controlled till the turn around point 20km down the road. 

Just before the turn around I saw the leaders coming back in a small group (sneaky drafting) but I knew that it would take a big effort to bring them back before the end of the bike leg. An effort that would take a bit out of me for the run. I continued to push hard on the bike but not as hard has I have been in previous races, wanting to focus on delivering a good run. 

I headed out on the run leg a couple of minutes down on the leader and ran my self into second place pretty early on. The run leg was hot, anyone out there would of told you it was a battlers day and I started to fade mid way in the run. Maybe the amount of racing I had done took it out of me but the speed I needed was not there. I came home strong and held my second place a few minutes down on the leader. I was sick over the finish line maybe showing me that I was not at 100% before the race. 

Overall I was happy to have got threw such a Iconic race, taking a lot on board for future events. I was sick all week last week after the race, and after a little break I have started back into training at my new home...... but more about that late. Looking forward to Luke Harrop Triathlon next week. 

As always thanks to Etixx Sports Nutrition, Dare2Tri, Avanti Plus the Valley, Shoes Feet Gear for your on going support. 

Bribie Island Race 4

I can always look forward to racing at Bribie Island. Nothing better then racing small local races where its all about having a good time and enjoying racing with mates. After all thats what we race for is to have fun. 

Racing at Bribie is probably the most relaxed you will ever see me before a race, even more so when 2012 Kona World Champion Pete Jacobs rocks up because its a honour to line up next to someone with credentials of Jacobs. 

The swim leg was fast out and around to the first with a lot of arms flying one of the most physical starts at bribe, what happened to fun..... 

The bike leg is very technical at Bribie with almost 20 corners per lap over 5km, Which suits the stronger riders and I was able to shut down the gap to a group of 4 that had a minute on me out of the water. With 6 or so still out in front I continued to push and make inroads on the leaders coming into T2. 

The top 4 were out of range but If I ran well I was hoping to move into 5th by the end of the 5km.  coming off the bike I knew I had dug to deep on the bike and was just running to save my spot. I was fortunate to still pick of a few guys with a split of 16:25 and coming in 6th. 

I am not one to complain about how others race, but I was disappointed with the attitude of some guy riding in a bunch in a no drafting race. Yes it is TA's job to ping these athletes, but its cheating when places 4-10 a sitting a bunch. These people know who they are. its a continuing problem I just hope they get pinged when it matters and not at bribe. 

3 in 4

Title is probably a good give away but I have 3 races in 4 weeks coming up starting with Bribie Island Triathlon next week. 

The Bribie Tri series is one of the longest standing Triathlon series in Australia dating back to 1983. It has seen such champions as Miles Stewart, Craig Walton, Courtney Atkinson, Loretta Harrop and Leanda Cave. This year good friend Ben Cook claimed the record of 7 wins over former record holder Matt Hopper. This weekend will see something special as 2012 Ironman World Champion Pete Jacobs lines up for the final race of the series. I know both Ben and my self are looking forward to racing along side Pete.

Ben Cook and I out for a lazy Saturday swim in our Mach 4 Suits. 

MOOLOOLABA TRIATHLON FESTIVAL

Located in the heart of the Sunshine Coast the Mooloolaba Triathlon festival has been an iconic event for 22 years. 

Festival is the key word, with the multi day event hosting something for the whole family from the Kids Triathlon, 5km Fun run to the Olympic Distance triathlon on Sunday. 

The headline events to the Mooloolaba Triathlon are on Saturday, with the ITU Mooloolaba Triathlon World Cup. The men and women will races over the sprint distance 750/20/5, with the big names of World Triathlon expected such as Gomez, Atkinson, Hauss and Mola, up against Aussie Young guns Birtwhistle, Nener and Baker. In the womens Norden, Samuels, and Findlay, will be up against it against a strong aussie list including Gentle, Salthouse, Van Coevorden, and new Oceania Cross Champions Erin Densham 

Saturday will also feature the Subaru Mens Criterium Featuring the best Aussie Talent on two wheels over a fast paced 45min race along the Mooloolaba Esplanade. 

TWEED COAST ENDURO 

My Final event over the 4 weeks will be the Tweed Coast Endure half distance Triathlon, hosted by QSM in coast town of Kingscliff. I am using this event purely to test a few things out before Cairns 70.3 In June. My nutrition and race strategy let me down in Geelong, so this lower key event is perfect to test a few ideas or for anyone looking at jumping into the long course racing with out the hype and craziness of a Ironman or Challenge event.  I am really looking for to racing at Kingscliff for the first time. QSM have been a long time supporter of me and it is always good to race their events. 

Thanks to Avanti Plus the Valley, Dare2Tri Aus, Mizuno, Shoes Feet and Gear, Zero Athletic, 51SpeedShop for helping me get to these events. 

Product Review Dare2Tri Mach 4 Wetsuit

At first I was sceptical, I thought how could this wetsuit be as good as the more expensive one I was using. I was walking in to Dare2Tri Milton with full intensions of buying a new suit, but walked out with a new Partnership with one of Australia's most supportive triathlon families. 

The Mach 4 is Dare2Tri's top of the line, competitively priced against its competitors. The first thing I noticed when putting on the Mach4 was its comfort, no other wetsuit I have tried felt as comfortable around the neck and upper body as the Mach4. The suit uses 1.8mm thickness around the arm, armpit and upper shoulder area with super stretch 4 way lining. Which allows great flexibility when swimming and very little water coming into the suit. I really didn't feel much shoulder fatigue around the shoulders when swimming, a very natural feel. 

GEELONG 70.3 SWIM START

5mm thickness around the body and upper leg areas gives great buoyancy that really makes you feel like you are sitting on top of the water. Perfect Swim position is enhanced by specially designed differing thickness panels of QFoam specifically placed to ensure perfect and optimum body position in the water. QfoamS 40 cell Neoprene Foam which enhances buoyancy and allows great flexibility. Exclusively used in the Dare2Tri MACH4 is the Super Stretch thermo hydrophobic inner lining. 

I will admit I really liked my breakaway zipper of my previous suit which really helped for fast transitions but most races you have plenty of time to get the suits down before you head into transition so this is not a make or break feature. 

In conclusion I my swim times have dropped significantly since switching to the Mach4, its comfortable, flexible and sits you on top of the water. It will deliver you into T2 faster and fresher and cheaper then any other suit. For the full range of Dare2tri wetsuits visit www.dare2tri.com.au,  or go see Bill and Lou at their store in Milton or at many events around Australia. 

New Feel

Welcome to my new website, I will be posting blogs here as they happen. You will find also find news and reviews about products, and training advice. 

Peace