Airlie Beach Triathlon - 1st

Airlie Beach Triathlon is a race with an iconic history. It is where some of Australia’s best athletes have come to make a name for themselves including Australian Olympians  Miles Stewart, Courtney Atkinson and Nicole Hackett as well as Ironman identities Jason Shortis and Rebekah Keat . This was my 4th time racing at the event and with a 3 from 3 race wins I was motivated to keep the winning streak going in 2012. 

The newly revised course meant that the ride was made even tougher than in previous years, having to climb the hills in and out of Airlie Beach twice rather than just once. After having raced Ironman 70.3 in Yeppoon just 1 week earlier I had no idea how the body would react to the sprint distance format over the tough and hilly course. 

My plan (as always) was to go as hard as I could from the start and establish a gap on the rest of the field going onto the bike leg. I managed to emerge from the 750 meter swim with about a 25 second gap to Ryan Fisher and Matt Brown. Once on the bike I put the head down and pushed hard in an attempt to extend my lead. By the time I exited transition for the final 5km run I had around a two minute gap to Ryan. I hadn’t done any proper running speed work in training for over a year and was interested to see how the legs would react to the final 5km dash to the line. Surprisingly the legs responded well to the speed and I felt really comfortable and fast for the entire final run leg.  

I crossed the line in 1st having led the race from the get go and claimed my 4th title at the Airlie Beach Triathlon. I also broke the record for the most wins in the event's 14 year history. 


Race morning

2012 male and female winners

This was the view from our accommodation on the afternoon before the race.

1	Sam	Betten	0:56:25
2	Ryan	Fisher	0:57:37
3	Matt	Brown	0:59:48

Ironman 70.3 Yeppoon - 2nd

After getting in some solid training over the last few months I headed to Yeppoon in northern Queensland, Australia for my debut 70.3/Half Ironman Triathlon. The race location is something special and the event organisers have done an amazing job creating what has to be one of the best events I have raced at. The vibe surrounding 70.3 racing is a world apart from the ITU triathlon scene that I am accustomed to with the atmosphere being so much more relaxed.

Race day proved to be a stunner with perfectly blue sky. After a short warmup I positioned myself well on the start line and before I knew it the 4 hours of pure pain had started. My plan was to put the hammer down from the get go and I did just that swimming solo for the majority of the swim leg and emerging from the water with around a 30 second lead. Being that I am a strong swimmer the choppy swimming conditions were perfect for me as it really broke up the pro field. 

Start line of the swim (me on the right hand side). 

After a relatively quick transition and I headed out on the 90km bike leg in the lead. From the training I have been doing I knew that my bike would be my strength and I quickly established a lead which built to 4 minutes by the time I got off the bike (with an average speed of 42.6kph) According to the race organisers I also broke the course record on the bike leg which was great to hear over the loudspeaker when coming into transition. 

Based on the run times from the previous years that I had studied before the race I knew that if I ran 3.40 per 1km I should be right for the win. With just 6km left to run eventual winner Tim Reed passed me to take the lead. I tried my hardest to stay with him but my legs were cramping badly from the pace I had set on the bike leg. I crossed the finish line in 2nd just 33 seconds behind the winner and with the 2nd fastest time in the history of the race. 

Run pics

I had nothing left in the tank when I crossed the line and I can honestly say that I gave this race 100% both physically and mentally. Another bonus of finishing 2nd is that I have now moved into 8th position on the 'Ironman 70.3 World Points Ranking' heading into the 2013 season. 

Podium and split times

	Position	Name	Time	Cat	Swim	Cycle	Run
	1	Tim REED	3:49:42	M-Pro	0:24:19	2:10:38	1:12:42
	2	Samuel BETTEN	3:50:15	M-Pro	0:22:46	2:08:14	1:17:17
	3	Matty WHITE	3:55:18	M-Pro	0:24:17	2:10:40	1:18:27

Mooloolaba Training - Part 2

Saturday morning at Mooloolaba proved to be another stunning day. The plan for the morning was to get a solid session done consisting of a longer swim/bike/run to go through the motions of what next weekends race will involve. It was a good chance to try my nutrition plan and dial in the speed/times I'm planning to hit during the race in 1 weeks time. The session marked my last hard workout before easing off the training in preparation for next weekends 70.3 race in Yeppoon.

Woke up to this amazing sunrise on Saturday morning

 Specialized Shiv ready to rock and roll!

 Setting up for the mock swim/bike transition

Getting ready to start the swim on Mooloolaba main beach

 Heading out for a run after completing the swim/bike

Got a chance to hit the beach that afternoon. There was powerboat racing going on which is pretty awesome to watch and drew a big crowd

For my afternoon run I met up with Australian Moto GP rider Chris Vermeulen who lives at Mooloolaba. Chris will be racing the Noosa Triathlon later this year and it was great to give him a few tips on racing and training for triathlons as well as hearing about his experiences as a Moto GP rider. 

Mooloolaba Training - Part 1

With just over a week to go I decided to make the trip up to Mooloolaba on Australia's Sunshine Coast to get in some final training and preparations before heading to Yeppoon for the 70.3 (Half Ironman Triathlon) next weekend. Mooloolaba is one of my favourite training locations with some amazing swimming, riding and running to be had. I could seriously consider living in this little corner of the world!

View from the apartment where I am staying

This morning I joined the 'Sunshine Coast Tri Academy's' squad for an open water swim session. Its always great to catchup with the coach of the SCTA Toby Coote as he has an amazing amount of knowledge after spending much of his triathlon career as a professional triathlete racing in Australia and around the world. He has also spent time at Yeppoon where I am heading next week for the 70.3 Triathlon and gave me some great tips for the race.

 Mooloolaba beach at 6am

 Getting ready to go swimming

 Breakfast & coffee with some of the crew post swimming