tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31758402750927440652024-03-12T19:19:53.135-07:00Sam Betten - Professional TriathleteSam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-42472210108944668182017-11-13T21:27:00.000-08:002017-11-13T21:27:01.291-08:00IRONMAN 70.3 Cebu - 13th To me, IRONMAN 70.3 Cebu is one of the best IRONMAN 70.3 events anywhere in the world. The location is amazingly beautiful and the crowd support on the course is hard to believe with huge numbers of locals watching and cheering on the athletes. I have had some of my best IM70.3 results at the event including a 2nd place as well as 3rd when it also doubled as the 2016 Asia-Pacific Championships. <div>
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Race Day:</div>
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To keep things simple, this was one of my most disappointing 'performances' at any event while racing as a professional athlete. The day started out well as I exited the water in equal first place and then started the ride with Tim Reed and Ryan Fisher in a lead trio. For whatever reason it was only 5kms into the bike leg where my body just refused to respond to any effort at all. I struggled big time throughout the 90km ride and then proceed to walk/jog the majority of the final half marathon. There were many times where I thought about a DNF however no matter how terrible the race was going I refused to DNF. One thing that was always in the back of my mind is that I was going to cross the line no matter how long it took in respect for all those out there racing as well as to honour the support that the race organisers give the athletes who race in Cebu. This was one of the toughest days mentally and physically that I have experienced while racing and unfortunately no real positives to take away from the race except for a lot of motivation to move forward. </div>
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Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-90290123287816039772017-06-13T18:30:00.001-07:002017-06-13T18:48:53.518-07:00REGENT 5150 SUBIC BAY - 1st <div class="MsoNormal">
3 years ago I won my first ever 5150 title
at this event and then last year, managed to defend the title. Having this track record at the REGENT 5150 Subic Bay and
being the 2 time defending champion of the race the pressure was on once again
to defend the title.</div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Heading into race day my training had been
progressing well after what has been a rough start to the year. The multiple
flights to get to Subic Bay in the Philippines were easy enough thanks as always
to some great advice from Flight Centre Sports & Events on the travel front.
Arriving at the race hotel on the Friday before the race meant that I had a
chance to check out the new course as well as have the opportunity to award the
IRONKIDS event along with the usual media commitments. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Race morning was certainly a wet one with
the rainy weather in Subic Bay making the race much more challenging.
Talking with my coach Lance from LifeSport Coaching in the days leading up to
the race the plan was pretty simple, just race hard right from the gun. I
really attacked the beach swim start (see photo) and was able to open up a good
gap early on which extended out to around 1 minute and 30 seconds by the end of the swim leg.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">The rain really started to come down as
soon as I hit transition which meant that the corners were super slick and the
only option was to play it safe around the multiple u-turns and right angled
corners. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">With the multiple looped bike course I was able to get a good idea of
the time gap to the chasers throughout the bike leg which looked like it was increasing
steadily. Without question the rain storm out on the bike leg made for a hard
40km ride as you had to slow right down for each corner and u-turn and then
gradually wind up the power out of each corner to avoid any risk of crashing. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Despite this I was able to put together a good bike split of 59min30sec for the
40km ride. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">With a healthy lead built up during the
swim and bike I wanted to try and push the run leg and see what kind of 10km
hard run I could achieve. The rain had left some huge puddles on the run course
and there were multiple times when I was running through ankle deep water which
made it slower than I had hoped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Coming down the finishing line to win this
race for the third year in a row was a pretty special feeling. With the great
support from the event organisers – SUNRISE EVENTS, along with ALASKA MILK it
always means something extra special to be able to win these races in the Philippines,
as it has almost become my second home for racing outside Australia. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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To get my first win for 2017 was certainly a weight off my shoulders and as always it is not possible without the support from my amazing sponsors, coach and support network.</div>
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Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-75912217918458947792017-06-13T18:21:00.000-07:002017-06-13T18:52:40.566-07:00IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam - 6th Having had to DNF at Challenge Melbourne a few weeks prior due to sickness I had not bounced back as quickly as I would have liked in time to race at my best for IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam. The race is one of the most amazing events on the IM70.3 circuit and so there was no way that I wanted to miss the event despite not having the fitness that I would have wanted leading into race day.<br />
<br />
I knew that the swim leg would be a fast one and I swapped out of the lead a few times but was able to get the jump out of the water to be first into transition.<br />
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Despite a slower T1 I hit the bike leg with the main group with Michael Raelert rocketing off the into the horizon. I was really struggling durning the ride to hold the power numbers that I would have liked and unfortunately dropped a few minutes before the end of the bike leg.<br />
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The run was a tough out and back course and I tried to just keep the legs ticking over at a sustainable pace from start to finish and crossed the line in 6th.<br />
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Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-6338582526783791032017-01-05T14:52:00.004-08:002017-01-05T15:32:27.304-08:00S-Works Venge ViAS As a professional triathlete I spend a good percentage of my training on S-Works Shiv<span style="color: red;"> <a href="http://sambetten.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/2016-s-works-shiv.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: white;">(Click Here)</span></a> </span>In saying this I really enjoy riding my road bike to mix things up as well as the occasional cycling race. Going from my previous S-Works Venge <a href="http://sambetten.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/2015-s-works-venge-in-rocket-red.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: white;">(Found Here)</span></a> to the new S-Works Venge ViAS was an exciting experience.<br />
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When you first get up close and personal with the Specialized Venge ViAS you will start to notice and appreciate the level of detail. There is fully integrated Di2 cabling which snakes its way through the bars & stem and inside the frame. Even the Di2 junction box has been neatly hidden in a custom mount located under the bottom bracket area of the frame.<br />
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In addition the brake calipers are molded into the Venge ViAS frame and creates zero additional aerodynamic drag as they act as an aerodynamic ‘faring’. This particular braking design cleverly works around the UCI cycling regulations for road bikes which state that a bike can not have any ‘non functional’ aerodynamic design components.<br />
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The Venge ViAS feels as comfortable to ride as any bike I have ever ridden but with a sense of speed usually only reserved from riding a top end dedicated time trial bike. One thing that I love about riding the Venge ViAS is that it is such a fun bike to ride. It seems to make you want to ride faster and faster with the speed it delivers and is just so utterly addictive. Quite simply, the more your speed increases the more the Specialized Venge ViAS rewards you for your efforts.<br />
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Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-42181375520097087312016-12-15T16:26:00.001-08:002016-12-15T16:26:07.944-08:00Ironman 70.3 Ballarat - 3rd<div class="MsoNormal">
I decided to make Ironman 70.3 Ballarat my
last race of 2016 and try to end the year on a good note. This year I have made
a big coaching change in what I hope will equate to being able to elevate my
training and racing in the months and years to come. Working with Lance Watson (LifeSport
Coaching) over the last few months has really challenged me both mentally and
physically and I felt like I was just starting to adapt to the new style of
training in the weeks leading up to Ironman 70.3 Ballarat.</div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Race Day: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">A nice 12 degree air temperature and a 16
degree water temperature made race morning a little chilly. I started on the
far left side of the swim start and within the first hundred meters was in the
lead. On the way out towards to the first turn buoy I swam hard and settled
into a good rhythm. I kept the pace solid but nothing too crazy for the rest of
the swim leg and emerged from the water in the lead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">I was a little slower than usual in
transition but still went onto the bike leg with the first few athletes.
Clayton Fettell set the tempo early on with a small lead to the group but was
reeled back in before the end of the first lap. The two lap bike course had a
few technical parts as well as a long out and back straight where the wind
played a factor. I spent the first lap settling into a good pace and felt very
comfortable heading out onto the second 45km lap. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">At the 60km point Tim Berkel
put in a surge and this is where I decided to make my move and put in a big
effort to break up the lead group. The effort paid dividends and I managed to
split the group just before the far turn which meant that Tim Berkel, Denis
Chevrot, Luke Bell and myself entered transition with a 1min45sec lead on the
chasers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Heading onto the run my legs felt good and
pretty quickly it was Frenchman Denis Chevrot and myself battling for the lead.
We ran side by side for the first of three run laps and heading onto the second
lap I lifted the pace to edge out a small lead. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">I held a 50 meter lead for the
entire second lap before Chevrot then bridged the gap back up and surged.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to respond and with just 4km left to go fellow
Australian Peter Kerr passed me which dropped me back to 3<sup>rd</sup>. By the
finish line the podium spots between the three of us were separated by just
over 1 minute.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Another Ironman 70.3 podium for the year
was a great note to finish 2016 on and I am now looking forward to having a few
weeks off over Christmas before starting training again for the 2017 season. It
has been a huge year of racing which has included 2 x IM70.3 Podiums, 9<sup>th</sup>
at the ITU Long Distance World Championships and 5 other race wins which would
not have been possible without some incredible sponsors, family, friends and my
partner. See you all in 2017! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G-FPcQtChP0/WFMz2z4jWoI/AAAAAAAACY4/5-8mmgHTsjs-_JGZpzNMk7gRUdSXLGB1wCEw/s1600/JJ_Sam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G-FPcQtChP0/WFMz2z4jWoI/AAAAAAAACY4/5-8mmgHTsjs-_JGZpzNMk7gRUdSXLGB1wCEw/s640/JJ_Sam.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">images jaimijoy.com</span></i></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-40322953659821236072016-11-16T00:13:00.004-08:002016-11-16T00:38:52.497-08:00Challenge Shepparton – 5th<div class="MsoNormal">
Having finished 2<sup>nd</sup> at Challenge
Shepparton in 2015 I was really looking forward to the opportunity of improving
upon this result. Following my win at the Bellevue 5150 the week prior in the
Philippines I spent 72hrs at home in Brisbane before once again getting onto
the plane this time bound for Melbourne. In the days leading into the race I
started to feel quite good physically and felt excited for race day. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Race morning provided some challenging
conditions with 12-degree temperatures. I put in a decent warm up to prepare
the body for a fast swim and when the gun fired this meant that I could really
lay down a solid tempo from the get go. The ‘M’ shaped swim course was very
simple to navigate and I found myself leading all the way to the far turn
marker where ex-training partner Dan Wilson took up the pace setting. Having
trained together previously for many years we both adopted the unspoken plan of
swapping off the lead at each turn buoy. Sharing the work up front worked to
our advantage and we exited the water side by side with a healthy 70 second
lead on the chasing group. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5NrxEGQQhXk/WCwUPf_g7nI/AAAAAAAACX4/uKP7Go8FdfwbtQzKz_lppRND64Zb46ZiQCLcB/s1600/CS%2BSam%2BBetten%2B3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5NrxEGQQhXk/WCwUPf_g7nI/AAAAAAAACX4/uKP7Go8FdfwbtQzKz_lppRND64Zb46ZiQCLcB/s640/CS%2BSam%2BBetten%2B3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">I had a quick transition and headed out
onto the 90km bike course in first and spent the next 25kms swapping the lead
with Dan. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hN0HvovM_64/WCwUSyRJixI/AAAAAAAACYA/wrJ0FpHo_VkFsDeuOxX2ucbu1m7DOICcACLcB/s1600/CS%2BSam%2BBetten%2B6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hN0HvovM_64/WCwUSyRJixI/AAAAAAAACYA/wrJ0FpHo_VkFsDeuOxX2ucbu1m7DOICcACLcB/s640/CS%2BSam%2BBetten%2B6.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Just before the 45km turn around Lachlan Kerin bridged the gap to Dan
and myself to make it a lead group of three. At the 50km point I found myself
really struggling to hold my usual power output and slowly dropped behind. With
15kms left to go Matt Burton came past and I came into transition in 4<sup>th</sup>
feeling totally gone.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VJw1KuZ3Jr0/WCwUOLvUm3I/AAAAAAAACXw/NL47QZqtT6szZQPKChqv-qLYh62F8USpQCLcB/s1600/CS%2BSam%2BBetten%2B5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VJw1KuZ3Jr0/WCwUOLvUm3I/AAAAAAAACXw/NL47QZqtT6szZQPKChqv-qLYh62F8USpQCLcB/s640/CS%2BSam%2BBetten%2B5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-AU">Hitting the run leg I tried to keep thinking
positively and just going about putting together the best half marathon that I
could. The three-lap run course meant that it was easy to spot if you were
gaining or losing time on the other competitors. By the end of the second lap I
knew that I didn’t have the leg speed to run myself back onto the podium. The
final 6kms were a huge effort to hold on and with 1km left to go I unfortunately
lost 4<sup>th</sup> position. With nothing left in the body I just tried to
hold onto 5<sup>th</sup> place and the final prize money position. I only just
held off a fast finishing Levi Maxwell in a sprint finish to take out 5<sup>th</sup>
place.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSDKjOlE_Vg/WCwUS7VdMoI/AAAAAAAACX8/GoJhu9BKXIYU8M2aebr-NbW93TT0VHc5ACLcB/s1600/CS%2BSam%2BBetten%2B7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSDKjOlE_Vg/WCwUS7VdMoI/AAAAAAAACX8/GoJhu9BKXIYU8M2aebr-NbW93TT0VHc5ACLcB/s640/CS%2BSam%2BBetten%2B7.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">In all honesty my result at Challenge
Shepparton was a very hard one to process. Going into the race I felt as if
mentally and physically I was in great shape however the final result just didn’t
reflect this on the day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-AU"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Images Getty Images* </span></i></span></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-48780470650986390182016-11-07T01:55:00.000-08:002016-11-07T02:04:43.957-08:00Bellevue 5150 Triathlon - 1st <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU">Last year was my first time racing on the
island paradise of Bohol and to win the event was a real highlight of my 2015
racing calendar. Coming back to the event in 2016 as the defending champion
added some additional pressure and I was really motivated to win again. On a
personal note, whenever I race in the Philippines it is always an unforgettable
experience. The stunning event locations and professionalism with how the event
organisation runs races such as Bellevue 5150 needs to be seen and experienced
in person to truly be appreciated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU"><br />
There had been some heavy rain the night before the race making the
temperatures a little cooler than usual for race morning. Usually, the
Philippines heat and humidity make racing that much harder so the rain was
actually a welcome change. The plan was to go hard from the get go and just to
enjoy pushing hard and testing myself out on the course. I hit the gas in the
opening few minutes of the 1500 meter swim leg <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and soon had a growing gap which extended to
just under a minute by the time I hit transition over German, Henry Beck. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-avZbc7sccIA/WCBM1mD09II/AAAAAAAACWs/S4IzI9giKZcZpdfHURSQND9tF4nsFOlwwCLcB/s1600/14940096_10154105463007507_2494310969509173057_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-avZbc7sccIA/WCBM1mD09II/AAAAAAAACWs/S4IzI9giKZcZpdfHURSQND9tF4nsFOlwwCLcB/s640/14940096_10154105463007507_2494310969509173057_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image Anthony Yu</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q59dBlwlsls/WCBM7_f_XuI/AAAAAAAACWw/8GmoHrRp2vQ9BFgjnwyGnINKFMpO-J6kQCLcB/s1600/14940122_1201110403297263_8735192875637826497_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q59dBlwlsls/WCBM7_f_XuI/AAAAAAAACWw/8GmoHrRp2vQ9BFgjnwyGnINKFMpO-J6kQCLcB/s640/14940122_1201110403297263_8735192875637826497_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Jamil Buergo</span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was careful to pay attention to the wet
roads out on the bike course but still pushed the opening kilometres of the
40km bike leg quite hard wanting to extend my lead. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--F68bXN5LD0/WCBNds3p8UI/AAAAAAAACW4/4Vtjd0tQYZQLHILPTemDbu-PifgOO9rIQCLcB/s1600/DSC5911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--F68bXN5LD0/WCBNds3p8UI/AAAAAAAACW4/4Vtjd0tQYZQLHILPTemDbu-PifgOO9rIQCLcB/s640/DSC5911.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image AsiaTri.com </i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QR-BeOpzuRU/WCBNdfwsABI/AAAAAAAACW0/y3PcTuuuojkzm80p78iab7P5Zmp9EoY-ACLcB/s1600/DSC5921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QR-BeOpzuRU/WCBNdfwsABI/AAAAAAAACW0/y3PcTuuuojkzm80p78iab7P5Zmp9EoY-ACLcB/s640/DSC5921.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image AsiaTri.com</span> </i></div>
The bike course was flat
and fast and I finished the bike leg with an average speed of 42.5km bringing
me into transition in a bike split of under the hour.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P2iB-TzVT_M/WCBQvQ0YHeI/AAAAAAAACXg/5a3TbhBADd844nRA5bhLlAO5l2nxxUH7ACLcB/s1600/15000268_10154105465962507_8743388433353544052_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P2iB-TzVT_M/WCBQvQ0YHeI/AAAAAAAACXg/5a3TbhBADd844nRA5bhLlAO5l2nxxUH7ACLcB/s640/15000268_10154105465962507_8743388433353544052_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Anthony Yu</span></i></div>
The out and back 10 kilometre run course
was deceptively tough with the humidity and heat rising steadily. I took out
the opening few kilometres quite solidly before lifting off the pace during the
final 5-6 kilometres.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iv5bwGrulqI/WCBN1jrVBXI/AAAAAAAACXE/PYLWrHKk9rAqdzcYbAagb4RhN-ieKqJoQCLcB/s1600/14991049_10154105467272507_6350629996754581367_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iv5bwGrulqI/WCBN1jrVBXI/AAAAAAAACXE/PYLWrHKk9rAqdzcYbAagb4RhN-ieKqJoQCLcB/s640/14991049_10154105467272507_6350629996754581367_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Image Anthony Yu</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image Jamil Buergo</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Usually I would thrive in putting myself in the hurt box
by running as hard as I could but with another race (Challenge Shepparton
Triathlon) the following weekend the smarter option was to ease off the pace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU">Running down towards the finishing line on
the white sandy beach outside the five-star Bellevue Resort is something
special and to win the race for the second year in a row was a great feeling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Anthony Yu</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image AsiaTri.com </span></i></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-59488288985998669902016-10-07T00:12:00.002-07:002016-10-07T00:13:51.251-07:00ITU Long Distance World Championships – 8th Having raced the ITU Long Distance World Championships over the last 2 years finishing 9th in 2015 & 8th in 2014 I felt like I was in better shape in 2016 to improve on these performances. I chose to spend the final few weeks in St George, Utah in order to get used to the heat and the long travel from Australia to the USA. On paper the course looked quite ‘easy’ in regards to the 4KM lake swim, 120KM flat bike course with a few rolling hills and 30KM pancake flat run course. However, come race day the weather conditions proved to be a major factor making the race a tough battle. <br />
<br />
Race Day:<br />
It was good to see that the strong winds across the lake had resulted in a very choppy swim which I knew would play to my advantage. The swim course was like a washing machine with no rhythm to the choppy waves and was unlike any other swim leg that I have done. I sat in around 4th place for the majority of the swim leg and emerged from the water just a few seconds back from the lead.<br />
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I was excited to get onto the bike leg and push the pace early on. In the opening 20KMs the tempo was quite solid and two athletes dropped off leaving myself and 3 others leading the race. At this point the speed slowed up a little and I chose to go to the front for the next 20KMs and just ride to my own power numbers.<br />
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I went through the first hour with an average speed of 46KPH and was hoping that this would be the status quo for the remainder of the bike course. However the winds really started to increase along with the heat. I really focussed on making sure that I was getting in enough gels, water and electrolytes as well as staying consistent with my power output.<br />
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I came into transition in 5th pretty spent from battling the wind and heat out on the bike course but right next to the defending World Champion Cyril Viennot.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HZV8dqfEGz8/V_dJubL6bkI/AAAAAAAACV0/pOVxFHJsI_0yyKq48-6yNySZUhHW-2jMACEw/s1600/14444994_301844860195695_7688531616455107009_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HZV8dqfEGz8/V_dJubL6bkI/AAAAAAAACV0/pOVxFHJsI_0yyKq48-6yNySZUhHW-2jMACEw/s640/14444994_301844860195695_7688531616455107009_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Exiting transition next to Cyril I knew that I needed to run with him to have a shot at the win. The 3 loop out and back run course meant that we faced a decent headwind on the outward journey. I managed to run with Cyril for 5km before dropping off. I was really cramping badly and just tried to run with a good turnover. After the first 10KM loop I was holding my own in 5th place and motivated to try and stay inside the top 5. Just before the 20KM turn around point Craig Alexander made the pass on me and soon after that I lost 2 more spots. In the last 10KMs I managed to hold my position and came across the line in 8th place.<br />
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In all honesty I was somewhat disappointed with the result as I had higher expectations of myself in regards to the overall result. In saying that, I couldn’t fault my preparation or race execution and know that I gave everything I could on race day. This result was my 3rd ITU Long Distance World Championship top 10 in as many years, which at least shows that I have been a consistent performer at the World Championships. Add the result to a top 3 at the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships a few months ago and it has been a very positive year for my performances at major championship races. Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-41226269842866133202016-08-09T22:29:00.001-07:002016-08-14T14:24:54.795-07:00Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships Cebu – 3rd This year marked my third time in Cebu racing the Ironman 70.3. For me this race is undoubtedly the best Ironman 70.3 event in the world and a perfect location to hold Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships. The stunning location, impeccable organization and insane local crowd support are just a few reasons why this event is so special. Having finished 2nd in 2014 & 6th in 2015, I knew what to expect from race day and just how brutal the heat and humidity can be. Being that this year Ironman 70.3 Cebu played host to the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships, the professional field was deep with talent. Following my win at Regent 5150, Subic Bay in June, I had spent the last two months training specifically for this event. <br />
<br />
Race Day:<br />
I felt pretty relaxed on race morning and during my swim warm up. The gun went off at 6:20am and I managed to get a good start and take up the lead before Jake Montgomery hit the gas and swam away from the front group. My plan for the swim was to be smart and expend the least energy possible by keeping my heart rate low in the 27 degree water temperature so I wasn’t too worried about pushing the pace myself. After the first 500 meters I slotted into the group in around fifth position which is where I stayed until the second last turning buoy where I managed to take the inside line and slip into second behind Canadian Brent McMahon. Just before the swim exit I lifted the pace ever so slightly to lead out of the water. Behind me was a select group of 10 pro men who all hit the big leg together.<br />
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The pace was on from the start and a few athletes were dropped from the group in the opening few kilometers. At around 15 kilometers a gap started to open up in the group and I had to put in a big effort to ride past Brad Kahlefeldt & Braden Currie to rejoin the front group.<br />
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I tried to ride smart and ensure that I kept focused on those just in front of me throughout the entire bike leg. The pace was on during the bike leg with some big surges up front which saw an average speed of 43.7kph.<br />
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At about the 75 kilometer mark a gap opened up in front of Leon Griffin which forced me to overtake him and spend the next 4 kilometers chasing back up to the lead group of 5.<br />
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Our group of 6 entered transition together and I headed out onto the run in 5th place. My plan was to run the opening kilometers conservatively and stick to a 4min per kilometer pace to ensure that I didn’t blow up out on the run course in the heat and humidity. At the 5 kilometer point I passed Brent McMahon and took up 4th position.<br />
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I could see that I was slowly gaining on Frenchman Antony Costes but kept focused on my own pacing trying not to rush making my move. Just before the 10km turn around point I passed Costes putting me into 3rd place.<br />
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For the final 3 kilometers to the finish line I had to dig very deep and was really struggling in the heat. Coming down the finish line in third at the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships behind fellow Australians Tim Reed and Craig Alexander was an unbelievable feeling and I crossed the line completely spent.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9e32Ec87rCs/V6q7aye6_lI/AAAAAAAACTQ/2H8rrdsk67oHh8M7-kXwOgG0utckPmwgwCLcB/s1600/13925941_1208880799176405_8665406779739801839_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9e32Ec87rCs/V6q7aye6_lI/AAAAAAAACTQ/2H8rrdsk67oHh8M7-kXwOgG0utckPmwgwCLcB/s640/13925941_1208880799176405_8665406779739801839_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
A podium performance at the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships in Cebu was a career best performance for me and a result that is honestly still sinking in. A huge thank you to those who support me and it is an amazing feeling to be able to share a big performance like this with so many people who help make it happen behind the scenes. A special thank you to those people in Philippines - Sir Fred Uytengsu, Sunrise Events & Alaska Milk for another amazing Ironman 70.3 event in Cebu<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-43960760688967181902016-06-06T03:51:00.003-07:002016-06-06T04:14:28.883-07:00Regent 5150 Subic Bay – 1st <div class="MsoNormal">
Having won the Regent 5150 Triathlon in Subic Bay,
Philippines in 2015 I went into the race with a little more pressure having the
title of ‘defending champion’. The race is one of the hardest Olympic distance
triathlons that I have done due to the hilly 40km bike leg and of course when
racing in the Philippines the heat and humidity. Having missed my connecting
flight in Singapore I arrived in Subic Bay late on Friday night which meant
that I was still able to support the Alaska IronKids event early on Saturday
morning. This is something that I really enjoy attending as well as doing whatever
I can to help to support the next generation of triathletes in the Philippines
as part of my partnership with the Alaska Milk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Race Day:<br />
Race morning was a little more stressful than usual as I had
to deal with a rear wheel puncture repair before setting up in transition. With
this little issue under control I managed a short swim warm up before lining up
on the beach ready for the start. I had a great start and took up the lead early
on. </div>
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The out and back swim course made navigation easy. This allowed me to
settle into a good rhythm only needing to lift my head to sight the swim turn
buoys every 20 strokes or so. The water temperature was very warm so I was wary
of pushing myself too hard. When the water temperature is particularly warm it
so easy to cook yourself by swimming too hard and so I focused on keeping my
heart rate as low as possible through technique and stroke efficiency. I hit
the beach with a very healthy solo lead of around 1 minute and set about
maximizing this advantage during the early portion of the bike leg. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ec_oCWPC9Gg/V1VU3pM4ssI/AAAAAAAACR0/EXcYgtewRkc8hzeInG4UnvAorbscX_WygCLcB/s1600/13403862_10206485630954869_7315798132111680236_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="510" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ec_oCWPC9Gg/V1VU3pM4ssI/AAAAAAAACR0/EXcYgtewRkc8hzeInG4UnvAorbscX_WygCLcB/s640/13403862_10206485630954869_7315798132111680236_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
With the
first section of the bike course being on the Subic Bay airport runway it
provided a good opportunity for me to get some time checks on the rest of the
pro men on each u-turn at the end of the airport runway.<br />
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The bike course then
headed uphill, into the jungle where the humidity levels rose significantly.
Over this very hilly part of the bike course I tried to keep an even tempo
before turning and then descending back down towards transition.<br />
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I had built up
a good lead during the 40km ride and hit the run knowing that I just had to
hold a reasonable tempo and keep cool in the heat. At every aid station I took
the opportunity to pour water over my head and cool off as much as possible.
The entire 10km run was a battle against the heat with temperatures close
enough to 40 degrees Celsius and high humidity. I kept focused by just thinking
about ticking off one kilometre at a time. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5reeXlOpHDo/V1VVH5_pAOI/AAAAAAAACSI/pJReLiHx2VI84wbr4mhSE1gwK9Vy5AFkwCKgB/s1600/DSC4469.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5reeXlOpHDo/V1VVH5_pAOI/AAAAAAAACSI/pJReLiHx2VI84wbr4mhSE1gwK9Vy5AFkwCKgB/s640/DSC4469.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I was able to relax a little on
the final stretch to the finish line and was very happy to cross the line
having earned back-to-back wins at the Regent 5150 Subic Bay Triathlon. For me personally
it feels extra special being able to win an international race like this as the
defending champion for the second year. A big thanks to the team at Alaska Milk
& SunRise Events for their support and putting on another amazing event.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yeyR0pIbW3U/V1VVH7ApyJI/AAAAAAAACSM/GYWeg2YzTUwWCDZ9Wza2RVDnVSIu_l1_gCKgB/s1600/DSC4492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yeyR0pIbW3U/V1VVH7ApyJI/AAAAAAAACSM/GYWeg2YzTUwWCDZ9Wza2RVDnVSIu_l1_gCKgB/s640/DSC4492.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-33962651101542475192016-05-11T18:01:00.002-07:002016-05-11T18:14:50.121-07:00Ironman 70.3 Vietnam - DNF<div class="MsoNormal">
I was in two minds whether to even write a race report
following what was a very disappointing result but I think it is still
important to share the bad races along with the good ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vietnam 70.3 is one of the most amazing race locations that
I have been to. The race hotel is stunning and the entire team at Sunrise
Events does an amazing job in making the race something special. The days
before the race were spent doing some light training as well as doing some
photo and video shoots with one of my sponsors Alaska Milk as well as getting
the opportunity to learn more about their products and all that Alaska Milk
does to help give back and support the community though events. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Race Day: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The beach start is something that usually favors me. However
I got off to a rough start and had to swim hard to make my way back up to
front. Truth be told I never really felt comfortable swimming even though I was
leading the group. Normally I swim a lot quicker and can break away from the main
group however I just couldn’t seem to lift my pace. I exited the water first however
with just a small 7 second gap back to a pack behind.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m_EHuBJGgkE/VzPSHc0jrII/AAAAAAAACQE/mej3n4e-Vc8efY77IO79BT18JsiRIns7wCLcB/s640/IMG_6796.JPG" width="640" /><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: Korupt Vision / Australian Triathlete</span></i> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z5dl1FEXIE0/VzPSFB5UfMI/AAAAAAAACP8/JBBKn6m49AwxEeC5H4MJHqF-zBprhJ-CACLcB/s1600/DSC0161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z5dl1FEXIE0/VzPSFB5UfMI/AAAAAAAACP8/JBBKn6m49AwxEeC5H4MJHqF-zBprhJ-CACLcB/s640/DSC0161.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: Vinicius Santana / AsiaTri.com</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heading onto the bike Luke McKenzie and Tim Reed put the
hammer down early on which left me in a group of three with fellow Australian
Tim Berkel and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New Zealander Matt
Franklin. At around the 20km mark Frenchman Cyril Viennot came charging past
and this is where I dropped from the group. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7_nkEhyVfCw/VzPSH005UOI/AAAAAAAACQI/-t0Q0dZBKv0k0Ronr6ui9ve9hoX0JHmVgCLcB/s1600/IMG_6797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7_nkEhyVfCw/VzPSH005UOI/AAAAAAAACQI/-t0Q0dZBKv0k0Ronr6ui9ve9hoX0JHmVgCLcB/s640/IMG_6797.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: Korupt Vision / Australian Triathlete</span></i> </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IjV1gwX8X6g/VzPSFf74I9I/AAAAAAAACQM/gM0OH2FoLNIh_z3Wa9UISogG_ytz3b8HwCKgB/s1600/DSC0492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IjV1gwX8X6g/VzPSFf74I9I/AAAAAAAACQM/gM0OH2FoLNIh_z3Wa9UISogG_ytz3b8HwCKgB/s640/DSC0492.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: Vinicius Santana / AsiaTri.com</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My power numbers were 30% down on what I would usually ride and I was unable to ride any harder. After another 30
kilometers of riding solo my hamstrings and glute muscles tightened up to the
point where I couldn’t stay in the aero position and found it hard to even turn
the pedals.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I made the very hard decision to withdraw from the race at the 80KM
mark knowing that with the cramps I would not be able to make it through the
rest of the bike leg or be able to run.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was really disappointed to have had to withdraw from the
race in what was my first Ironman 70.3 DNF and what I hope will be the last. <o:p></o:p></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-56906692091578368662016-04-26T20:41:00.003-07:002016-04-26T21:00:33.383-07:00Noumea International Olympic Distance Triathlon – 1stThis year marked the 31st 'Noumea International Triathlon'. If
you look back through the history books at the past winners over the last 30
years some of the biggest names in triathlon have won this event including Chris McCormack, Hamish Carter, Miles Stewart & Simon Lessing. Add
this international prestige to the obviously stunning race location of Noumea
in New Caledonia and you have the recipe for an amazing race. After finishing
with a 3<sup>rd</sup> place result at last year's event I felt like I knew the
formula and strategy required for a good result. However knowing and being able
to execute are two entirely different things.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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During the two lap swim in the calm ocean waters I was keen
to push hard from the get go. Fellow Australian Peter Kerr took up the pace up front during the first 750-meter swim lap with myself slotted in just behind. </div>
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I managed to
get past Peter and take the lead just after diving back into the water to begin the second 750-meter swim lap. I held my position up front and I hit land in
first with a small group of 6 others just behind me. I really put the hammer down on the run into transition in
an attempt to get a small gap heading out onto the 40km bike course. This
tactic worked exactly to plan and I put the hammer down as soon as I jumped
onto my Specialized S-Works Shiv to establish a solo lead. </div>
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I pushed really hard
over the entire bike course to keep building up a good lead over the rest of
the field who were attempting to close the gap to me. Being that the bike
course was a 3 lap out and back course I was able to get time checks of the time
gap at each U-turn. I completed the 40km bike leg in 56 minutes and 34 seconds
and started the 4 X 2.5km run course with a healthy 3 minute and 15 second lead
over the chasing group of athletes.</div>
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Like the bike course the run course was a multi lap out and
back course which gave me a lot of opportunities to see just how much of a lead
I had. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plan for the run was just to
maintain my lead and not go too overboard with running harder than required. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xQyCb1WA1rg/VyA0kUpH1YI/AAAAAAAACPU/SUm8CeJVgc07qB90ob9XBv0q2_CtlAYwQCLcB/s1600/20160424-triahtlon-noumea-250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xQyCb1WA1rg/VyA0kUpH1YI/AAAAAAAACPU/SUm8CeJVgc07qB90ob9XBv0q2_CtlAYwQCLcB/s640/20160424-triahtlon-noumea-250.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The temperatures out on the exposed run course were rising to the mid 30
degrees which made each run lap feel hotter and harder. Fellow Australians
Cameron Good and Peter Kerr along with New Zealander Graham O’Grady all looked
to be running well. However I could see that the time gaps during each lap of
the run seemed to stay roughly the same.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GD1ufW7FSKk/VyA0k2jppTI/AAAAAAAACPc/DKlsGAeVqj8XDp7-q2ErHaRjOADGJRc6wCLcB/s1600/20160424-triahtlon-noumea-253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="586" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GD1ufW7FSKk/VyA0k2jppTI/AAAAAAAACPc/DKlsGAeVqj8XDp7-q2ErHaRjOADGJRc6wCLcB/s640/20160424-triahtlon-noumea-253.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I was able to really enjoy the final
run to the finish line and was ecstatic to be able to win the 31<sup>st</sup>
Noumea International Olympic Distance Triathlon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zdIVSgtxy0o/VyA07GmZl5I/AAAAAAAACPk/-aZGYd1Y6pk5H8klvufJBXN2MEh2ILBPQCLcB/s1600/13112923_1107118206017291_8466767012682638210_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zdIVSgtxy0o/VyA07GmZl5I/AAAAAAAACPk/-aZGYd1Y6pk5H8klvufJBXN2MEh2ILBPQCLcB/s640/13112923_1107118206017291_8466767012682638210_o.jpg" width="436" /></a></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-5232181882607927182016-03-24T19:04:00.002-07:002016-04-07T12:06:52.122-07:00Mooloolaba Olympic Distance Triathlon - 2nd <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was fairly disappointed with the result from Ironman 70.3
Philippines the week prior and really wanted to prove to myself more than
anything that the result in IM70.3 Subic Bay was not a reflection of where I am
at with my training and performance. My plan at Mooloolaba was pretty simple,
race as hard as possible and see what kind of result I could produce. The legs
were far from fresh but mentally I was prepared to push hard on race morning as
well as excited to do so. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since racing Ironman 70.3 Philippines I had spent roughly 5
hours at home in Brisbane before spending the next 4 days in Townsville
visiting schools as part of my role as an ambassador for the Weet-Bix Kids
TRYathlon trying to get kids more involved in triathlon. So as you might
imagine the preparation the week leading up to the race was far from ideal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Race Day:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The ocean swim leg at Mooloolaba is probably one of my favorite swim legs of
any race I have done. The choppy ocean makes for a fun swim leg where your open
water swimming skills are tested. I positioned myself on the left hand side of
the beach start and once the gun went off found myself leading the group towards
the first turn. American, Tommy Zaferas had started on the right hand side and
as I rounded the first turn buoy I noticed that he had put a small gap between
himself and me. At the half way point of the swim Japanese triathlete Ryosulce
Maeda passed me and I was able to sit just behind him right until we exited the
water. Heading out onto the bike course I passed both the Japanese and American
athletes early on and really pushed hard to build up a solo lead. Rounding the
half way turn around point I checked the time gap which I had extended out
to around 1 minute and 30 seconds. </span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XUmKlQf-Py4/VvSb11RsaUI/AAAAAAAACOg/w3Jgj41B-qM51lIAn2ibgKCW7BJ1rGutg/s1600/AJR_5188%2B%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XUmKlQf-Py4/VvSb11RsaUI/AAAAAAAACOg/w3Jgj41B-qM51lIAn2ibgKCW7BJ1rGutg/s640/AJR_5188%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo: Anthony Radford </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The head wind on the return journey was
testing on the legs and I just tried to put my head down and push hard. I came
into transition still with around a minute and a half lead and proceeded in
trying to maintain my lead at the front of the race. My running legs were not their
usual self after having done the IM70.3 race in the Philippines the week before
and I was not able to hold the pace that I would have liked. Australian Ben
Cook was really strong on the run and made the pass on me at the 4.5km mark. I
tried to go with Ben but the legs were unresponsive and so I had to settle with
holding onto 2<sup>nd</sup> place. Although it wasn’t a win, I was still pretty
happy to have what I thought was a good performance with everything considered.
<o:p></o:p></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-37652092521558835312016-03-24T18:52:00.002-07:002016-03-24T23:31:33.610-07:00Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay - 6th <div class="MsoNormal">
I was really looking forward to returning to
Subic Bay in the Philippines for Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay following some good
memories when I won the 5150 Olympic distance race in the same location the
previous year. The other great thing that I enjoy about racing in the
Philippines is that I know that their events really are the benchmark of
triathlon racing in terms of the professionalism and organisation.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Race Day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The beach start was something I know really favors me as I
can usually get a few extra running steps done over my shorter competitors due
to my height. This really gave me a good advantage and after the run into the
water I took up the lead. After rounding the first turn buoy I made a small
navigational mistake and had some trouble with sighting the next turn buoy. The
result of this was actually a positive move as it spilt up the athletes behind me
meaning that myself and two others were the only ones left in the front group.
I took the final home stretch a little more conservatively to save some energy
and only made a small surge heading in towards the beach to lead out the swim
leg. The run towards transition was a good 400 meters, which gave me time to
pull up my prototype Scody sleeved tri top. </div>
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German athlete Patrick Lange managed to get away from me early on but I stayed calm remaining in 2<sup>nd</sup> place until 10kms into the bike
leg. At this point I was caught and passed by Craig Alexander, Tim Reed and Tim
Berkel. Reed and Alexander really rode strongly and I was left in 4<sup>th</sup>
for the majority of the bike leg. It was one of those rides where I never got
comfortable and honestly struggled physically in the hot and humid conditions.</div>
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Heading out of transition I led the group until the 1km
mark where I started to hit the wall. Tim Reed and Craig Alexander made the
pass on me and a few minutes later Tim Berkel also came past. I tried to hang
onto Tim Berkel for a few kilometers however the body was cooking and I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>just couldn’t respond. The rest of the run
leg was a battle and I was relieved to cross the finish line. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t18u5qWePBQ/VvSZy3DalZI/AAAAAAAACOM/3w8rPOGHll8Lo7qvciLG4kpAZouGHhk9g/s1600/10286915_845958335527496_3598893950234085220_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t18u5qWePBQ/VvSZy3DalZI/AAAAAAAACOM/3w8rPOGHll8Lo7qvciLG4kpAZouGHhk9g/s640/10286915_845958335527496_3598893950234085220_o.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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Deep down I was disappointed
with the result as I felt like training had been going really well and that I
was in better form than what the final result showed.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P9l3ygMaTiM/VvSZ0VaKJFI/AAAAAAAACOQ/oEeox0XdvAg--I0OrrKDjqYUDoXUR5zKQ/s1600/12823451_845960062193990_7777919811066162411_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P9l3ygMaTiM/VvSZ0VaKJFI/AAAAAAAACOQ/oEeox0XdvAg--I0OrrKDjqYUDoXUR5zKQ/s640/12823451_845960062193990_7777919811066162411_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-73902333685794696082016-02-29T01:03:00.002-08:002016-02-29T01:07:36.278-08:002016 S-Works Shiv After two races and two wins on the board so far this year I have got to know my new ride for 2016 pretty well. With this said I wanted to give a detailed looked at Specialized S-Works Shiv which I am racing on this season. A big thank you as always to Specialized for their amazing support and Planet Cycles in Brisbane for building up this speed machine. <br />
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Specialized Fuel Cell locked into place. Inside I carry I spare tube, valve extender, Co2 canister, Co2 head along with 1 tyre lever. In the top of the Fuel Cell during races I carry anywhere from 2-5 energy gels. </div>
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Shimano Di2 shifters with a bike computer mount in an easy to read position. </div>
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An S-Works Quarq keeps me training and racing in the correct power zones. I also ride 172.5 length crank arms.<br />
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A bright red S-Works Rib cage is tucked up behind the Sitero saddle. With this bottle cage and the internal bladder in the frame my hydration needs are well taken care of.<br />
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So aero from behind!<br />
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On race day I usually run a Shimano 11-23 cassette and an 11-25 for training rides. Tyres are S-Works Cottons front and rear. For many races I ride the Roval CLX60 wheel-set. However I will choose to ride with the Zipp disc on some flatter race courses.<br />
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Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-4043473106189447332016-02-21T23:55:00.004-08:002016-02-22T01:56:21.347-08:00QTS Triathlon Series Race 7 Raby Bay – 1stThe last few weeks of training have all been in preparation
for Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay. With race day just 2 weeks away I thought that the
QTS event at Raby Bay over the sprint distance would be the perfect opportunity
to brush up on my speed. Even though I now focus on the longer race distances I
think that it is still important to race a couple of sprint distance races
every season in order to work on my top end race speed. The great thing about racing
at home is that I can jump on my bike on race morning and use the 30min ride to
the race venue as a good pre race warm up. I also had the opportunity to hand
out the finishers’ medals to many of the kids competing in the ‘Kool Kids’
triathlon event which is always enjoyable.<br />
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Race Day: <o:p></o:p></div>
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I started the race hard and quickly went about trying to
establish myself at the front of the race. I managed to get the lead
quickly and pushed the pace to make it hard for the others behind to keep up.
Even though it was only a 750 meter swim leg I still opted to wear my Orca RS1
swim skin for the time savings I find it provides me with. </div>
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I exited the water
in first with Kane Richards and Jack Hickey just behind. I exited transition a
few seconds behind Kane & Jack after a slower than usual transition. In
these shorter races there is no room for error and the few seconds I lost at this
point of the race set me back before heading out onto the 20 kilometer bike leg. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I was looking forward to getting onto the bike course which
is quite technical with lots of corners and gradual ups and downs making it
challenging to get into any kind of rhythm. The wind had also picked up which
was just another added challenge to the bike leg. </div>
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Kane and Jack rode the first
5km loop at a very solid tempo and it took me until the 6 kilometer mark to
make my way back into the lead after my slow transition. Once I hit the lead I
lifted the tempo with only Kane able to keep up. Overall I felt that the pace
during the bike leg was solid but never out of my comfort zone. I kept a close
eye on my Specialized Quarq power meter data and upon finishing the 20 kilometer
cycle leg I had kept an average speed of 41kph and 357 watt average power (normalized
power). <o:p></o:p></div>
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I had a great bike to run transition and immediately set out
at a fast tempo keen to really push hard and see what kind of time I could run. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F9aAKQzWDdI/Vsq93FvmgNI/AAAAAAAACMY/xinOdbY---k/s1600/IMG_0423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F9aAKQzWDdI/Vsq93FvmgNI/AAAAAAAACMY/xinOdbY---k/s640/IMG_0423.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I have really been working a lot on my running in training and wanted to use
the 5 kilometre run leg as a test to see how fast I could go while still
remaining under my red zone. I was surprised to feel as good as I did on the run
and was able to extend my lead over the rest of the field. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B-gojvCBzgs/Vsq9Vq8ZcII/AAAAAAAACMM/uQLgGnMFAcI/s1600/IMG_1759-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B-gojvCBzgs/Vsq9Vq8ZcII/AAAAAAAACMM/uQLgGnMFAcI/s640/IMG_1759-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Coming across the
finishing line in 1<sup>st</sup> was a great feeling and a really good sign
that things are well on track for my next big race at Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay in
2 weeks time. <o:p></o:p></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-54958313563552900632016-02-19T01:34:00.001-08:002016-02-19T01:34:12.337-08:00Triathlon & Multi Sport & Multi Sport Magazine Covers Just before Christmas I was told that I was going to be featured on the front cover of 'Triathlon & Multi Sport' magazine. Making it even more special was the fact that my partner Bec Ohlwein took this amazing photo which made it onto the cover.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LDIXBJdYHgg/Vsbg-fVF3qI/AAAAAAAACLU/VkBdXH-lDU4/s1600/TMSM1901%2BFeb2016%2B%2528dragged%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LDIXBJdYHgg/Vsbg-fVF3qI/AAAAAAAACLU/VkBdXH-lDU4/s640/TMSM1901%2BFeb2016%2B%2528dragged%2529.jpg" width="488" /></a></div>
Following my win at the 'Hell of the West Triathlon' I am also featured on the cover of 'Multi Sport Magazine' which was another great surprise for me. <br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mf34b8l4zYU/Vsbgurz1wqI/AAAAAAAACLQ/VAtkocbwXRA/s1600/MultiSportMagazinecover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mf34b8l4zYU/Vsbgurz1wqI/AAAAAAAACLQ/VAtkocbwXRA/s640/MultiSportMagazinecover.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-22111753522415062132016-02-03T20:05:00.000-08:002016-02-03T20:05:01.473-08:00Hell of the West Triathlon (2KM/80KM/20KM) – 1st <div class="MsoNormal">
For the last 3 years I have begun my season with what is
dubbed as one of the hardest long course triathlons in Australia, the ‘Hell of
the West Triathlon’. The race is known as such a tough race due to the often
extreme heat and outback roads which provide little relief from the often
brutal winds and make riders feel like a jockey aboard a bull at a rodeo with
the rough road surface during the bike leg. The 2km swim, 80km ride and 20km
run is a good challenge and has seen Pete Jacobs and Luke McKenzie as previous
winners with Luke McKenzie holding the course record. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I have really changed my training over the last few months
with a more strategic approach designed to improve on my weaknesses with the
aim of becoming a much stronger athlete. With this different approach came a
nervousness to see how I would translate this new training into a race
performance. With a 2<sup>nd</sup> in 2015 & a 1<sup>st</sup> in 2014 I had
some good benchmarks to gauge a 2016 performance by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Race Day: <o:p></o:p></div>
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The down and back river swim provided a fast first stretch
with the current and then a hard fought battle against the current on the
return journey. In previous years I have been able to get a good gap over the
rest of the field. However this year I was unable to establish a solo lead out
of the water despite leading for the entire swim leg and reaching dry land first.
In tow were 3 other of the pre race favorites which meant a good group went
onto the bike leg together. </div>
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With an early surge the group was quickly down to
just three athletes which included Giles Clayton, Michael Fox and myself. The
out and back cycle course, despite being flat is quite taxing over a rough road
surface meaning that you really need to consistently keep the power down to
maintain a high speed. On the outward trip the three of us shared the pace
making. Giles was riding very strongly and Michael really put the hammer down
particularly on the homeward journey. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lrAdHxu-dgM/VrLLyqly_YI/AAAAAAAACJg/uMVpG6HuD7Y/s1600/1251_001748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lrAdHxu-dgM/VrLLyqly_YI/AAAAAAAACJg/uMVpG6HuD7Y/s640/1251_001748.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Photo: FinisherPix </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With around 10km left to ride I came to
the front and put in a big surge to establish a gap which I committed to
extending all the way back to transition. Going out onto the run I managed to
build up a nice 1minute 45second lead which I planned to extend during the
first run lap. I was able to settle into a good rhythm quite quickly holding a
solid tempo. With the 3 lap run course I could see my lead extending over my
competitors at each of the turn around points. After the second lap my lead had
extended out to just over 5 minutes and I maintained a good tempo throughout
the last lap of the run unaware that I was so close to the course record set by
Luke McKenzie. It was a really great feeling to run down the finish shoot to
win the 25<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the ‘Hell of the West Triathlon’ and be
just 36 seconds shy of the course record set by Luke McKenzie. One consolation
was that I managed to break the bike course record also set by Luke McKenzie in
2010. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Photo: Wayne Pratt </div>
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My performance was something that I was really proud of and
I honestly felt solid all day out there racing. With this being the third time
in as many years that I have kicked off my year with this event the times were
the quickest I have ever produced on this course while still feeling like I was
racing well in control and not having to go into the red zone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-67068831494713384072015-11-25T17:44:00.000-08:002015-11-25T22:54:28.795-08:00Hervey Bay 100 - 1st <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Hervey Bay 100, as the name suggests is a
long course triathlon held over a 2km swim, 80km ride & 18km run to make up
the ‘100’ kilometer distance of the event. I have wanted to race this event for
many years after first hearing about it. However every year the timing didn’t
quite fit into my race calendar. So this year I was quite excited to line up on
the start and try to add my name to the </span>winners’ list. With 2 races in 2 weeks
(1<sup>st</sup> 5150 Bohol & 2<sup>nd</sup> Challenge Shepparton) the HB100
would be my 3<sup>rd</sup> race in as many weeks. In the days leading into the
event I was feeling quite good in training and was looking forward to my last
big race of the year in the beautiful coastal town of Hervey Bay.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Race Day: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The swim course start was a 2km walk up the
beach from transition and hugged the shoreline of Hervey Bay. I used the beach
start to my advantage and went about setting the pace up front before local, Tayte
Dixon took up the lead. Tayte and I swapped the lead a few times with David
Dellow (3<sup>rd</sup> place at this year’s Challenge Roth) making up the lead
group of 3. Tayte put in a late surge towards the shoreline to lead out of the
water. The pancake flat water of Hervey Bay made for a stunning swim course and
I really enjoyed every swim stroke in the bay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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After a short run into transition I hit the
bike in 2<sup>nd</sup> place and quickly started pushing hard to test the legs
of Dellow and Dixon. It was evident early on that Dellow just didn’t have the
legs on the day which left Tayte Dixon and myself in the lead.<br />
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I lead the first
30km or so before Tayte and I swapped the lead during the remainder of the 4 X
20km looped bike course. Unbeknown to me Tayte was given a drafting penalty in
the later stages of the bike leg when meant that I automatically had a 5 minute
gap once I started the 18km run course. </div>
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It took me a few kilometers to find my
run legs and with temperatures rising I was very vigilant with my hydration as
well as cooling myself down with ice at every aid station. During the first 6km
lap I kept up a solid tempo before lifting the pace on both of the final 2 X
6km loops. I kept a close eye on my GPS run watch and tried to drop my time
every kilometer, challenging myself to run faster and faster.<br />
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<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I crossed the finish line very happy with
my performance taking a convincing win. Having done three races in three weeks
with one 2<sup>nd</sup> place and 2 wins it was a dream end to my 2015 race season.
In the last month or two I have taken a different direction with my training
and it seems to have really paid off with the results on race day. I will now
have some downtime before ramping things back up again in preparation for next
season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-3716370331276797882015-11-15T20:32:00.003-08:002015-11-15T21:22:55.663-08:00Challenge Shepparton – 2nd <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Coming off the back of a win the week prior
in the Philippines at ‘SafeGuard Active 5150’ I was feeling good leading into
Challenge Shepparton. However something that I wasn’t expecting was picking up
a flu/cold on the flight home to Australia on the Monday prior to Challenge
Shepparton. Truth be told I did no training on Tuesday, a very short swim on
the Wednesday, before taking the next 2 days off completely to try and get well
enough to race. I managed to sneak in a very easy 30min ride on the Saturday
prior to race day to gauge how I was feeling and even after that was still
unsure if I should even start the race. One thing that the sport of triathlon
has taught me is that you never know what can happen once that gun goes off on
race day and so I bit the bullet so to speak and was on the start line come
race morning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Race Day: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Once the gun fired to start the 1.9km swim
I put in a big effort to try and get the lead early on. I enjoy leading the
swim when I can and managed to hold the lead for the first few hundred meters
before Nick Kastelein took up the pace-setting and I slipped in behind to hold
down second. The M shape swim course made it easy to see where the rest of the
pro men were at each of the 3 turn buoys and I noticed that there was a lead
group of 5. The status quo stayed the same until we all hit dry land together
on the run into transition. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Heading out onto the bike course I was
still really unsure of how I would go over the 90-kilometer bike leg. On the
first lap I sat in 4<sup>th</sup> place and watched Luke Bell put in a big surge,
which got him off the front of the lead group where he remained until the
finish line. I came to the front of the group twice early on where I really
battled to hold my normal wattage numbers into the head wind. Mike Philipps and
Nick Kastelein really pushed the pace up front and I had to really push myself
just to keep up with the pace they were holding. After the first of two 45km
bike laps I was forced to drop back to 5<sup>th</sup> place after losing touch
around the turn around point. The bike leg was just as much of a metal battle
as a physical one for me and I just tried to focus on my eating, drinking and cadence.
Normally I like to be one of the people up front pushing the pace and not being
able to was probably one of the hardest things mentally about the bike leg for me
during this race. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gJINRQk-ZvA/VklbpKdJOiI/AAAAAAAACII/TvneyWn2GeQ/s1600/588824889MD220_Challenge_Sh.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gJINRQk-ZvA/VklbpKdJOiI/AAAAAAAACII/TvneyWn2GeQ/s640/588824889MD220_Challenge_Sh.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: Getty Images/Challenge Shepparton</span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Coming into transition after having completed the
90-kilometer bike course I heard that the time gap to Luke Bell was now over 6
minutes which I knew, would be almost impossible for anyone to chase down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Heading out onto the run I knew that the 21.1-kilometer
run would really be a make or break affair for me. With the higher heart rate
running requires, this would be the telling point. With a 3 lap run course I mentally
and physically gave the first 7km lap what ever I could with the idea being to take
the rest of the run, lap by lap. I really surprised myself and found my running
rhythm quite quickly holding onto 3min40sec per km for the opening few
kilometers. Nick and I ran together before he lifted the pace at the 4km mark and
I was unable to keep up. The gap between Nick and I hovered at around 20
seconds or so until almost all the way to the finish line. With 1000 meters or
so to the finish line I put in a big effort to try and close the gap and just
managed to catch Nick within a hundred meters of the finish line to finish in 2<sup>nd</sup>
with quickest run split of the day (run time 1hour 14 minutes 54seconds). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fNEPWsOmSJc/VklcAVRUCGI/AAAAAAAACIQ/_LQzEUpTn58/s1600/588824889MD118_Challenge_Sh.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fNEPWsOmSJc/VklcAVRUCGI/AAAAAAAACIQ/_LQzEUpTn58/s640/588824889MD118_Challenge_Sh.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image credit: Getty Images/Challenge Shepparton</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I was really shocked with the result and
how I managed to somehow find something during the race to keep me in touch for
the swim/bike then have one of my best runs I have had all year to finish in
2nd. After feeling like I wouldn’t even be able start the race to finishing 2<sup>nd</sup>
just shows me that sometimes the body can come good and you can still manage to
have a great race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bFxgp8tDqDY/VklcX2-aE-I/AAAAAAAACIU/FLUgIaaCJ4g/s1600/588824889MD145_Challenge_Sh.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bFxgp8tDqDY/VklcX2-aE-I/AAAAAAAACIU/FLUgIaaCJ4g/s640/588824889MD145_Challenge_Sh.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Image credit: Getty Images/Challenge Shepparton</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Thanks to Challenge Shepparton for a great
event and hopefully I will be back next year to try and go one position better on
race day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-90130564114112408542015-11-09T18:18:00.000-08:002015-11-09T18:18:01.013-08:00SafeGuard Active 5150 Bohol, Philippines – 1st <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Earlier this year I took my first 5150 win
at the ‘Regent 5150 Triathlon’ held at Subic Bay in the Philippines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This race was a big catalyst in my decision
to sign up for the ‘SafeGuard 5150 Triathlon’ as I really wanted to win both
5150 triathlon events in the Philippines. Normally at this time of year I would
race Noosa 5150 (a race which I have done for over 10 years). With Noosa being
held just one week before ‘SafeGuard 5150’ I chose to give Noosa a miss so that
I could be in the best possible physical shape. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Race Day<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The race location for ‘SafeGuard 5150’ in
the Philippines was quite magic with the transition area literally on the
beach. The swim was a deep water start over a 1 lap swim course in choppy
water. As soon as the gun fired I was off and swimming hard headed to the first
turn buoy towards the far end of the swim course. Unfortunately I couldn’t
establish a solo break like I wanted and after I rounded the swim turn I saw
that Michael Murphy and Mitch Robins were just behind me. I emerged from the
1.5km swim leg in the lead and quickly went about running up the beach and
towards transition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AC6t94MYdCY/VkFSdmGlO8I/AAAAAAAACGs/eAIm2EVF-fs/s1600/DSC2699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AC6t94MYdCY/VkFSdmGlO8I/AAAAAAAACGs/eAIm2EVF-fs/s640/DSC2699.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iRZa6FmsjPo/VkFSi1o8_ZI/AAAAAAAACG0/jX9CAjk02Ck/s1600/12186838_10205234017225308_7331552898025036033_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iRZa6FmsjPo/VkFSi1o8_ZI/AAAAAAAACG0/jX9CAjk02Ck/s640/12186838_10205234017225308_7331552898025036033_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hitting the 40km bike course Mitch took to
the front early before I came through to the front to lift the tempo. After the
first 10 minutes I put in a large surge to try and break away solo with no
success. Just before the 20km turn around point I put in another big surge
which this time, saw Murphy unable to keep up. I hit the gas once more after
rounding the bike turnaround point to extend the gap and try and put Mitch
under some pressure. I looked back after a few more minutes and saw that Mitch
Robins was just behind me. According to the chief draft official Mitch was
riding closer than the 12 meter draft rule allows and he was issued with the
drafting infringement. I decided it was time to make another surge which helped
me to finally get away up the road with a solo lead. For the final 15km I
worked hard to build up this solo breakaway and managed to hold onto speeds of
48kph during the return trip. The slightly downhill section of the course back
to transition was fast and I used this to my advantage. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Having raced in the Philippines a lot this
year I know too well just how much the heat and humidity play a part during the
run leg. With this said I set out on the 10km run with the goal of holding onto
a solid tempo which I felt like I could sustain. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nt5P4n-MARI/VkFSwAgwtNI/AAAAAAAACG8/CUlY3OSkHrs/s1600/DSC3263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nt5P4n-MARI/VkFSwAgwtNI/AAAAAAAACG8/CUlY3OSkHrs/s640/DSC3263.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I got a good view of the gap that
I had built up on the bike leg during my run out of the transition. To me the
gap looked around the 1min45 second mark which was a nice buffer to have when I
started on the home stretch of the run leg. The run was as predicted crazy hot
and crazy humid.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--4d2v9FI-Rg/VkFSwZhfbuI/AAAAAAAACHA/8qmXzKg4mmw/s1600/DSC3266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--4d2v9FI-Rg/VkFSwZhfbuI/AAAAAAAACHA/8qmXzKg4mmw/s640/DSC3266.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At every aid station I made sure to pour water over my head
and pick up ice to shove down the front of my race suit. At 4kms into the run I
got another time check to second place which I was told was a gap of around
2min30seconds. At this point I knew that if I just kept turning the legs over
at a good tempo that I could hold on for the win. In the back of my mind was
also a little voice reminding me of the Challenge Half race I had next weekend
back home in Australia. I tried hard not to run too fast on the way back
towards the finish line in my attempt to conserve some energy for next weekends
race. During the final 3km of the run I really felt the heat and was over the
moon to finally reach the finish line. Running down the finishing chute knowing
that I had done enough for the victory was an awesome feeling and I really let
some emotions run wild running over the finish line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m_FnuFaPg2Q/VkFTDNFb3kI/AAAAAAAACHQ/g1WLySDbmhY/s1600/DSC3373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m_FnuFaPg2Q/VkFTDNFb3kI/AAAAAAAACHQ/g1WLySDbmhY/s640/DSC3373.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qxDOI87oUrk/VkFTDPnYa8I/AAAAAAAACHM/P70OYGBkJNk/s1600/DSC33971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qxDOI87oUrk/VkFTDPnYa8I/AAAAAAAACHM/P70OYGBkJNk/s640/DSC33971.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having won both 5150 triathlon events in
the Philippines in one year is a pretty amazing feeling. A huge thank you to
all those who support me including family, friends and of course, sponsors. As
I mentioned after the race on my social media accounts these performances are a
result of so many people who support me. Another thank you must go to the
amazing event organizers for another awesome race in the Philippines. The
professionalism of the races in this part of the world is really second to none
and if you are a triathlete races like ‘SafeGuard 5150’ should be on your
triathlon bucket list! </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I will now be flying back to Brisbane,
Australia where I will spend a few days at home before jumping on another plane
for this coming Sunday where I will be racing Challenge Shepparton. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-6603565826874250652015-10-14T00:05:00.002-07:002015-10-14T01:32:20.803-07:00QLD Triathlon Series Race 2 Raby Bay - 3rd <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Round two of the QTS was set to be a very
fast race over the super sprint distance of a 400 meter swim, 15km ride &
4km run. The short race distance is far from what I train for however these
races provide a great opportunity for me to race hard and try and challenge
myself against those who make these kinds of race distances more of their
forte. I have raced the QTS events for a touch over 10 years now and so I
really enjoy coming back year after year and racing these local events. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Race Day: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With just 400 meters of swimming I thought
that I could relax a little while still staying up with the lead athletes. This
plan backfired somewhat when I emerged from the swim and saw that a few
athletes had got a small time advantage. This proved to be the deciding move of
the race. Heading out onto the bike I had a few other athletes on my wheel
close behind however after the first 5km loop I found myself alone just a few
seconds off the lead 3 riders. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_U3zBzP4Wlk/Vh39puKtTqI/AAAAAAAACFs/eurdlEEUOi4/s1600/IMG_0694_lowres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_U3zBzP4Wlk/Vh39puKtTqI/AAAAAAAACFs/eurdlEEUOi4/s640/IMG_0694_lowres.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Photo: Leanne Handreck Photography</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rounding the turn to head out onto the second of
three laps I noticed Ben Shaw on the side of the road having crashed on the
roundabout reducing the lead group down to just two. With Matt Roberts &
Luke Willian still maintaining a small advantage over myself I stayed committed
attempting to<br />
chase them down.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TD_tswS94t0/Vh4S0Nzrc2I/AAAAAAAACGU/hRguDWWmAsg/s1600/IMG_0088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TD_tswS94t0/Vh4S0Nzrc2I/AAAAAAAACGU/hRguDWWmAsg/s640/IMG_0088.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Photo: Paul McCarty</i></div>
Coming into transition I slipped into my running
shoes and set about putting together what I hoped would be a fast 4km run.
Unfortunately for me Luke & Matt held onto their time advantage leaving me
to come across the finish line with the final podium position.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vnHzshqa44U/Vh39pronC9I/AAAAAAAACF8/IWqmwm1ztZQ/s1600/IMG_0912_lowres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vnHzshqa44U/Vh39pronC9I/AAAAAAAACF8/IWqmwm1ztZQ/s640/IMG_0912_lowres.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Photo: Leanne Handreck Photography</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">All in all the race was fast and lots of
fun. I was happy enough with another 3<sup>rd</sup> place which should move me
into 1<sup>st</sup> place overall in the QLD triathlon series for the
open/elite men. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The next race for me will be SafeGuard
Active 5150 (Olympic Distance) Triathlon in the Philippines. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-62689174879880038862015-09-30T01:34:00.001-07:002015-09-30T01:36:25.082-07:00QLD Triathlon Series Race 1 Robina , Gold Coast – 3rd<div class="MsoNormal">
Post Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast just two
weeks ago I managed to contract a nasty flu which had really limited my
training and might also explain why I had a less than desired performance at
IM70.3 Sunshine Coast. With that said I had managed to get in a few good
training sessions once I felt a little better but was still struggling a lot
with recovery and was far from being 100% physically. It is very hard as a
professional triathlete to toe that start line knowing that you are not in the
best shape due to sickness. Nevertheless I have always enjoyed racing at Robina
on the Gold Coast and decided to give what ever the body and mind would allow
me to give on race day and not be too disappointed with the end result.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With a wetsuit legal swim I was excited to
wear my new Orca Predator wetsuit which I have been using a lot in training and
am feeling very confident in. I started fast and was one of the leaders heading
towards the first of 3 swim turn buoys. Rounding the first turn I slipped in
behind the first two lead swimmers and felt strong all throughout the 800 meter
swim leg. I emerged from the swim and had a great transition out my wetsuit to
hit the 32km bike leg in second place. As soon as I slipped my feet into my
bike shoes I set about trying to build a solo gap to the rest of my
competitors. After the first 8km loop I had around a 30 second lead which I
really wanted to extend as much as possible over the remaining 3 X 8km laps. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YoTEyAL4fcU/Vgue0bo3kqI/AAAAAAAACFc/6014_E1r3jw/s1600/IMG_3825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YoTEyAL4fcU/Vgue0bo3kqI/AAAAAAAACFc/6014_E1r3jw/s640/IMG_3825.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>Photo: Paul McCarty</i> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BQQgFd0l4wo/VgudgBPZeEI/AAAAAAAACFM/eRXtPXJZeiA/s1600/Sam%2BBetten%2Bbike-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BQQgFd0l4wo/VgudgBPZeEI/AAAAAAAACFM/eRXtPXJZeiA/s640/Sam%2BBetten%2Bbike-1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i> Photo: Leanne Handreck Photography</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With eventual winner Ben Cook having caught up to the chase group he pushed
hard to reduce my lead with a small group of chasers latched onto his fast
paced cycling effort. Coming into transition I knew that I had my work cut out
for me as my solo lead had been reduced down to just 20 seconds. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sWkocStCmL0/VgudTmBTHbI/AAAAAAAACFA/JflE9-_lbzw/s1600/Sam%2BBetten%2Btransition-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sWkocStCmL0/VgudTmBTHbI/AAAAAAAACFA/JflE9-_lbzw/s640/Sam%2BBetten%2Btransition-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i> Photo: Leanne Handreck Photography</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After two
weeks of battling sickness I knew that my run might not be where I needed it in
order to win due to the high heart rate zone I would need to hold to keep my
lead intact. The run consisted of 3 times 2km laps and I really pushed hard
over the first lap to hold onto my lead. Unfortunately as I headed out onto lap
two the pass from the lead was made leaving me holding down the final podium
position. I crossed the finish line just 34 seconds behind the winner for a
hard fought 3<sup>rd</sup> place.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bDZ3kYw5M3c/VgudfXdVqwI/AAAAAAAACFI/IUjF4x4Dh2c/s1600/Open%2Bmale%2Bpodium-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bDZ3kYw5M3c/VgudfXdVqwI/AAAAAAAACFI/IUjF4x4Dh2c/s640/Open%2Bmale%2Bpodium-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i> Photo: Leanne Handreck Photography</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I always go into races with the mentally
that I am racing to win but after a shocking two weeks of being sick I was
really just happy to be on the podium. I gave the race all I had both mentally
and physically on the day and put in a big effort to race off the front and
have a big crack at the victory. As an athlete that is all you can do and
sometimes it goes your way and other days it doesn’t quite work out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-63503753334407492322015-09-13T20:45:00.002-07:002015-09-13T20:45:57.570-07:00Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast - 8th <div class="MsoNormal">
Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast was a race that I
really wanted to perform well at and my training over the last 4 weeks had all
been based around getting me as ready as possible for this event. I had put in
some big weeks in training and going into IM70.3 Sunshine Coast I was confident
in my ability to perform well on the day. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be the
case with a less than desired race day performance netting me 8<sup>th</sup>
place in the end.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br />
I was looking forward to the 1.9km ocean swim and with the gun start I
immediately looked at getting off the line quickly and establishing myself
within the front swim group. The pace was quite fast for the majority of the
swim and so I felt like I worked hard to keep in touch with the front swim
group. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--83EJHr4xf8/VfZCPqrCWkI/AAAAAAAACEY/BT0CiU85rfQ/s1600/IMG_8896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--83EJHr4xf8/VfZCPqrCWkI/AAAAAAAACEY/BT0CiU85rfQ/s640/IMG_8896.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MwLPxBMhVFk/VfZCNgaIKpI/AAAAAAAACEQ/lI1de_YGWP0/s1600/IMG_8899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MwLPxBMhVFk/VfZCNgaIKpI/AAAAAAAACEQ/lI1de_YGWP0/s640/IMG_8899.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lFCIFZydr-U/VfZCLwVMnqI/AAAAAAAACEI/LYuPUXF0-HE/s1600/IMG_8924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lFCIFZydr-U/VfZCLwVMnqI/AAAAAAAACEI/LYuPUXF0-HE/s640/IMG_8924.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After the aforementioned big training weeks
on the bike I felt good about being in the front group and being able to ride
strong. The pace wasn’t super quick for the first 25km out to the bike turn
around however with Tim Berkel and Luke McKenzie catching the group just after
the turn the pace lifted with a few big surges during the ride back towards
Mooloolaba. This caught me out big time and heading back towards transition to
complete the first 50km lap I started to drop off the back of the group along
with Luke Bell. Luke and I spent the next 40kms together and were joined by
Todd Skipworth with 20kms left to ride. I was honestly guttered to have dropped
off the front pack and was struggling to find my rhythm during the bike leg. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrAQjodV1qg/VfZCj5JSUgI/AAAAAAAACEg/ZQdm6rRYDBo/s1600/IMG_8959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrAQjodV1qg/VfZCj5JSUgI/AAAAAAAACEg/ZQdm6rRYDBo/s640/IMG_8959.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Going onto the run I thought back to ITU
Long Distance World Championships earlier this year where once again, I had a less
than desired bike leg however managed to run really well and have one of the
quickest run splits of the race. Unfortunately these thoughts were short lived
after tapping out the first few kilometers at 3min30sec/per km pace and
watching my pace start to slow after that. I crossed the line in 8<sup>th</sup>
place with a 3hr57min02sec time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_bbV-vRkZyA/VfZCw9zUOOI/AAAAAAAACEo/1cKVLdZgpzs/s1600/IMG_8990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_bbV-vRkZyA/VfZCw9zUOOI/AAAAAAAACEo/1cKVLdZgpzs/s640/IMG_8990.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YcUUbkmGJyo/VfZCy-6073I/AAAAAAAACEw/mR8FtU5iu8g/s1600/IMG_9044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YcUUbkmGJyo/VfZCy-6073I/AAAAAAAACEw/mR8FtU5iu8g/s640/IMG_9044.jpg" width="532" /></a></div>
I was really hoping for a much better
result at IM 703 Sunshine Coast but was outclassed on the day. There are some
positives that I have taken away from the race as well as some changes that I
need to make in my training in order to improve for the rest of the
season.Sam Bettenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08607159831873435747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175840275092744065.post-25944232702023217772015-09-06T17:51:00.001-07:002015-09-06T17:51:27.533-07:00Airlie Beach Sprint Triathlon – 1st<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This event is one that I really look
forward to year after year. The amazingly scenic course as well as the fact
that this year marked my 6<sup>th</sup> win at the event means that the Airlie
Beach Triathlon is one of the most enjoyable weekends away on my triathlon race
calendar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Race Day: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This year the 750-meter swim course was a non-wetsuit
affair which didn’t bother me too much as I actually prefer non wetsuit swims,
especially over the 750 meter swim distance. The water temperature was perfect
and the clear ocean waters made for a fast swim. With a beach start I quickly
hit the gas and settled into a good tempo once I hit the water. I emerged from
the swim leg with a healthy lead and after a slower than usual transition I
headed out onto the bike leg. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UzEtXC8hHnQ/VezcZBXvdII/AAAAAAAACDU/tsgjJy949hM/s1600/IMG_8753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UzEtXC8hHnQ/VezcZBXvdII/AAAAAAAACDU/tsgjJy949hM/s640/IMG_8753.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">My plan was to push a solid tempo over the two
lap bike course paying special attention to the climbs on each lap and working
hard up the hills.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YSxVvi_I3vg/VezamQMEjBI/AAAAAAAACC0/oPoobbMtiJs/s1600/IMG_8776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YSxVvi_I3vg/VezamQMEjBI/AAAAAAAACC0/oPoobbMtiJs/s640/IMG_8776.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Coming back into transition after the bike
leg I set out for the 5km, two lap run course. The run course was truly
stunning winding its way around the costal boardwalks and down toward the
harbor. I enjoyed every step of the 5km run leg and reached the finish line in
just under 1 hour overall.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hu0nhbhvtLc/VezcqcZ-QPI/AAAAAAAACDc/rEsp9DRomu0/s1600/IMG_8807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hu0nhbhvtLc/VezcqcZ-QPI/AAAAAAAACDc/rEsp9DRomu0/s640/IMG_8807.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was a great feeling to take out my 6<sup>th</sup>
title at this event and a good test of the legs before what is to come. Next
weekend I will be racing Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast, which is a race I have
been targeting all season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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