Ironman 70.3 Cairns - 9th

 Ironman 70.3 Cairns was set to be my last race of my very ambitious 8 weeks of racing both in Australian and the USA. The last 8 weeks have been crazy with 3 x Ironman 70.3 and 2 X 5150 events. So as you might be able to imagine, my body was feeling a little fatigued. Heading into the race I was surprisingly feeling quite good in the days before and swimming especially felt better than it had in many weeks. A big thank you to David and Juanita for taking care of me and letting me stay with them in Cairns. Seriously amazing people and a big thank you! 

Race Day:

Race morning started early along with some very wet roads due to the heavy rain the night before. After setting up the day before for an ‘Ironman style’ transition (which means going through the change tents grabbing your gear bag) it was time to rock and roll. Most of the strong swimmers started towards the far left side but I stuck to the inside right which proved to work to my advantage as it meant that I soon had clear water and no flying arms to deal with. Once the strong swimmers on the left side merged towards the turn buoy on their right I slotted nicely into the top 6 swimmers finding a good set of feet to sit behind. To be honest the swim felt really slow and not much quicker than my usual warm up pace in training. I exited the water in 6^th and headed out onto the bike course feeling great. 

After working through some tight turns I hit the main highway at 3km’s in. I noticed that Courtney Atkinson was up the road with New Zealand bike powerhouse Graham O’Grady. For me there were  2 choices, play it safe and sit in the big chase group with the likes of Brad Kahlefeldt and Pete Jacobs amongst others…. or hit the gas to establish a breakaway group and make the others chase. For me the choice was easy and I lay the pace down and made the move up the road being the first to catch Courtney who was leading the race at 8kms in. This move proved to be the key as it meant that Courtney, Graham, Casey and myself were now building up a good lead over big players such as Pete Jacobs & Brad Kahlefeldt. Graham and I worked well to push the pace out to the bike turn around and on the return trip I noticed Tim Reed pulling out the ride of his life. Full credit to Tim to making the move and riding like he did to bridge all the way up to our lead 4 to make it 5 men. The final 10km’s were brutal with the wind really picking up. 

Hitting T2 with just our small group of 5 I was feeling pretty good about my chances for a podium finish. Heading though T2 I went to grab my gear bag only to see that mine was missing! My heart skipped a beat until an official shouted to me that he had seen someone else take mine. I ran into the change tent just as Courtney Atkinson ran out again with my bag having mistaken mine for his. I quickly put the run shoes on and grabbed my run nutrition heading out of T2 in 3^rd. The legs were feeling good and I was running comfortably at my pre planned half marathon pace. After 4kms I was in 4^th and really content with how the race was unfolding. At kilometer 5 however the wheels fell off completely! I went from running at 3.30per/km pace to walking the aid stations and just trying to get home. I was passed by a few more of the pro men and was struggling just to keep the body moving. After so much racing over the last 2 months the legs were fried and this run was the straw that broke the camels back so to speak. 

The entire run I battled with myself to just keep running and put one foot in front of the other. I came across the line 9^th which was quite disappointing result wise.

Honestly through after so much racing and traveling I expected Cairns 70.3 to be a battle. I made the key move on the bike and once again put myself in the position to stand on the podium. There are a lot of athletes out there that aren’t willing to make the big moves and always play it safe… but I am not one of them. I’d prefer to do what I did and blow up going for a podium spot rather than sitting back and running for 5^th or 6^th. I am sure that racing this way will reward me sooner rather than later with hopefully my first 70.3 win. As Chris McCormack once said ‘a win comes about by making a move at a critical point of the race’.

Thank you for all those who have supported me and for the people that took time out of their race to cheer me on while I was racing. I was really amazing about how many people were cheering and yelling out my name while I was racing on the course. There had to be at least 30 or more people I heard yelling out ‘GO SAM’. I really appreciate it and I can honestly say it makes such a big difference while I am out there racing. I wish I could thank everyone personally for it and I hope this blog is some kind of thanks if you’re reading it. I think it just goes to show how great this sport is and the support we all give to each other. 

Coral Coast 5150 - 5th

Coral Coast 5150 was a race on my radar since the start of 2013. An opportunity to secure some good qualification points for the 5150 championship race in Hy-Vee later this year and hit 2 hard races back to back with Cairns 70.3 the following weekend. With my previous 6 weeks consisting of 1 X non-drafting sprint distance triathlon, 1 X 5150 and 2 X 70.3’s I was a little unsure of how the body would pull up for yet another hard race against a stacked professional men’s field. With names on the start list including swim/bike weapon Clayton Fettell, multiple ironman world champion Chris McCormack, Olympian Brad Kahlefeldt and many Australian Ironman/70.3 heavy hitters such as Joe Lampe, Luke McKenzie, Tim Berkel and Matty White this would be one hotly contested race! Checking the 5150 world ranking points the day before I saw that I was currently the number 1 ranked pro male for the event (but no pressure right?). The body the day before felt a little sluggish but ready to go for an early Sunday morning start.

I woke up early on Sunday morning (I have a great home stay in Cairns for the week), which meant an hour-long drive to Coral Coast for the event. A big thank you to Tony at Triathlon Queensland for giving me a ride to the event! Check in sorted, bike racked, warm-up done and soon enough it was go time. The swim start was quick and running into the water I lost a few meters on the top guys but by the first swim buoy had rejoined the front pack. The race split early with just 6 of us in the front swim pack. I spent the majority of the time sticking close to Brad Kahlefeldt’s hip/feet at the back of the 6 man strong group. In the final few hundred meters I ever so slightly lost contact with the group and after a fast transition headed out onto the bike in 6^th just 30 meters or so off the front group.

The first 20kms of the ride was ON with Clayton immediately putting the hammer down with his ‘Fettell to the metal’ approach to racing. A few tried to go with him and personally I found it hard enough just bridging the 30 meters I lost going onto the bike back up to the group. 1 athlete dropped off early on and so it was down to 5 men. After the first of 2 X 20km loops Luke McKenzie hit the afterburners establishing a gap pretty quickly. Soon after at 30kms Joe Lampe attacked but only managed to limit Lukes gap to 40 seconds and then 10 seconds back to myself and Brad Kahlefeldt heading into T2. The entire ride was very tactical with attacks going very regularly & the pace really on. Although I didn’t have a bike computer my 52.50 ride time works out to be an average speed of 45kph+ if the course was correct.

T2 Transition with Brad on my tail

The run consisted of 4 by 2.5km loops on the beach and I headed out of T2 next to Brad who quickly put the hammer down and dropped me within the first 200 meters. My legs really felt batted and I really couldn’t get them moving fast enough to attempt a chase on Joey and Luke who I desperately wanted to run down as to get myself onto the podium. Over the course of the run I continued to loose time to the 4 men in front. I had to watch my back as Tim Berkel was ripping up the sand behind me putting time into my lead on him every lap. I really had to dig deep over the entire run leg with my legs and entire body in some major pain.

Crossing the line in 5^th was a solid result and meant that I picked up some great points for my 5150 world points ranking which will now hopefully move me inside the top 10 in the world.

I will be keeping things pretty light on this week in preparation for Cairns 70.3 this coming Sunday. It will be another tough race against a stacked field. Bring it on! 

Top 9 Professional Men Coral Coast 5150 

The day before.....

While in St George for the Ironman 70.3 US Pro Championships I had the opportunity to shoot 2 short videos of what my training involves the day before an event.

Hope you enjoy

Swim
Bike

Ironman 70.3 Florida - 7th

With 2 races done over 3 weeks in the USA I headed to Orlando Florida for Ironman 70.3 Florida. The race was made famous last year with Lance Armstrong winning the event during his quest for triathlon domination. I had been basing myself in LA post St George 70.3 and spend my time doing a lot of ‘recovery’ sessions in an attempt to freshen up for what would be my 2^nd 70.3 within 2 weeks. With the hot weather in LA I felt that I had got well acclimatized to the hot weather and was ready for Florida heat.

The crew in our house for the weekend

 Strangely all the men in the house rode Specialized bikes 

After a decent day of travel across the USA I arrived in Florida late Thursday afternoon ready to checkout the course the next day. After driving the course I quickly saw that this would not be an easy task on race day. The swim was held in Lake Eva was in what could be described as bath water (hot!), the cycle over some decent hills and the run consisted of 3 loops up hills and undoubtedly what would be very hot temperatures. Being that the lake also contained alligators (according to a few locals up to 14ft in size) I resisted the urge to do my usual swim over the course in the days before the race.

Race Day:

Sunday approached and after my usual breakfast and warm up I was on the start line ready to give my final USA race a solid crack. I positioned myself closest to the inside swim buoys and within the first few hundred meters took the lead. I kept the pace solid around the M shaped course being passed by a few keen athletes in the last 200meters before the run into transition. I kept me cool and emerged from the water right up with the front group. 

Heading out on the bike

Heading out of transition I saw that there was only about 8 of us in the lead pack with a decent gap to the chasers. The others must have seen the same thing because as soon as we hit the bike leg with pace was on like donkey kong! The first 10km’s was very fast and I was forced to spend some extra energy having to move past some of the pro men who were dropping off the group. Half way through the bike the pace lifted once again up one of the larger hills and myself along with a few others dropped off the main pack. I spent the remainder of the bike watching the leading 3 men ride up the road and disappear into the distance. I hit T2 in 5^th place and with the 4^th fastest bike time of the day. Interestingly I only rode 5minutes slower than Lance Armstrong did last year.

Onto the run I was quickly past by 2 other athletes before hitting the first hill. It was at this point where I really felt like I was in trouble. The legs felt cooked and with the Florida heat building I had serious doubts as to if I would even be able to make it to the finish. For the entire first lap all I was telling myself was to just make it past the first of 3 run laps. Surprisingly I actually started to feel better going onto the 2^nd lap and heard the announcer mention that I was in 7^th place at this point. The final lap were a true battle and I made the most of every aid station consuming large amounts of cola and pouring water and ice over my head and down my Scody tri singlet along with ice in my tri shorts (which at one point the entire crew at the aid station had a good laugh about).  

I crossed the line exhausted and was prompted escorted into the medical tent. The run was brutally hot and hats off to everyone, amateurs and pros alike who all made it round the course.

All in all I was pretty stoked with the result being that there was some really talented athletes racing. As always I put myself in the position to get on the podium. Being so young in comparison to the rest of the pro men racing meant that at this point in time I struggle to match their pace and endurance. It’s really interesting to see how much the level of racing had increased. Looking at last year’s results I saw that if I had recorded the same time at last years event I would have finished in 3^rd place.

With this result I have now moved into 17^th on the Ironman 70.3 professional men’s points rankings, which I am really happy about.

Next on my radar will be Coral Coast 5150 and Cairns 70.3 which I will be leaving for next Friday. I have heard nothing but good stories from those who raced last year and I can’t wait to test the mind and body once more against what is looking like a very solid field.

Oakley HQ Tour

I have been an Oakley athlete for right on 7 years now and in that time have always dreamed about seeing the company headquarters in the USA. Being that the drive to Oakley HQ from where I am currently staying in LA was only about an hour and I half I decided that this was as good a time as any to see where all the magic happens.

 The reception area and front office 

Waiting chairs (aeroplane ejector seats)

Upon arriving at 1 Icon, Foothill Ranch I was immediately faced with the HUGE Oakley main building (what I found out later was that this was just 1 of many on the site). The HQ is utterly huge and I can honest say that photos do not do it justice. 

I met with Greg Welsh and was given the full tour and run down on the history and development of Oakley products. Seeing the evolution of products from Oakley's inception right up to 2013 and beyond was a true treat.

I also was able to get a super sneak peak of some of the upcoming products for 2013 and beyond and meet some of the sports marketing team behind the scenes at Oakley international. There are some areas at Oakley HQ that are heavily restricted including the R&D eyewear devision. I would have loved to have seen what the masterminds at Oakley were working on back there!

Wall of Oakley products through time

My favourite Oakley glasses 'Oakley - Over the Top'

 Thanks again to Greg for his time and the grand tour

70.3 US Pro Champs St George - 19th

St George was going to be my biggest test thus far over the 70.3 distance. This was not just because of the 53 professional men racing and arguably the strongest field ever assembled outside of the 70.3 World Championships but also due to the fact that the course was quite possibly the toughest 70.3 course in the world. Looking at the start list it was clear to me that the race would be on from start to finish. Being so young in comparison to the other pro men racing (I was the 4th youngest in a field of 53) I was admittedly nervous but felt like I could consolidate a good result.

Race day quickly approached and I was greeted with the usually 4:30am alarm. I downed my usual banana and honey on toast, dextro sports drink and a dextro carbo bar and headed out the door. The course consisted of 2 different transitions, one at the swim exit of the lake and the other in town. This meant dropping off the saucony fastwitch shoes in town before heading out on the bus to the lake.

After setting up T2 and a small warm up I headed down to the lake for the race start. The water was freezing measuring just 15.5 degrees C (60F). I positioned myself at the start right next to gun swimmer Andy Potts and once the gun went off just tried to stay on his feet. I dropped back ever so slightly but didn't really face to many issues and exiting the water in 9th position. Due to the cold water I spent the extra time to put the socks on heading out onto the bike leg. Onto the bike I wanted to establish myself at the front of the group and thus moved up just behind Bevan Docherty to ensure that I wasn't stuck behind many of the 25-30 strong group which all seemed to head out together.

The first section of the ride wasn't that fast but as soon as we hit the hills a few miles later it was a different story all together. The group really splinted over the first few hills and I quickly found myself in the front group of 8 with just 3 other athletes up the road from us. The bike course was totally crazy with only the first 7km's being flat and the rest either up or down hills. It's by far the hardest course I have ever raced on. On the final long climb up snow canyon I ever so slightly lost touch with the group and spent the final stretch down the highway after the climb hitting 60-80kph+ chasing back up to group. I headed into T2 just 20 seconds down and despite the hard bike felt quite fresh in the legs.

The first 6kms of the run was straight up hill and hearing IM World Champion Craig Alexander cheering my name and offering some words of advice really helped spur me on. The entire run course was really relentless with zero flat sections. At the run turn I could see that I was headed for a top 15 finish if I held onto my current position. A few of the fast runners from the 2nd chase pack ran past me just after the turn around and despite trying my hardest to stay with them I just couldn't keep up with their pace.

Over the final 6kms down hill to the finish I was cramping worse than ever and found those final few miles the hardest of the entire race. I crossed the line totally stuffed! I don think that I've ever run that hard for 19th in my life but I can honestly say that this was the hardest race, over the hardest course against the fastest athletes that I have ever done. The results list showed the toll that this course took on the pro mens field with just 38 from 53 athletes even finishing the race.

Mid way through the bike & post race thoughts 

For me it's another great result and a step into the right direction.

Next up in Florida 70.3 in 2 weeks time.

Florida > LA > Vegas > Utah in 3 days

After making the long flight back to LA post St Anthony’s 5150 I was able to meet up with my good friend Wayne Jones and get in some good training from his home in LA. I’m still trying to find my way around and work out some good training locations but Wayne with all his contacts managed to somehow get me into a very exclusive gated community which also happened to have an amazing training pool for me to use while in LA.

LA Training Pool

 Post swim session checking out the view

With just a quick turn around we made the drive on Wednesday out of LA, through Vegas and into St George for the weekends 70.3 US Pro Championships. My home stay in St George was truly amazing and I have to give a huge thank you to Dave, Kim and their son Talon for making me feel at home.

Also thank you again to Dave for helping me get the Specialized S-Works Shiv immaculate for race day. The man spends 5 hours minimum detailing his Corvette and just like me is a perfectionist. 

With St George being a heavily religious area the race was held on a Saturday as apparently if it were to be held on Sunday then 90% of the volunteers would refuse to attend.

The day before I headed out for a swim, ride and run over the course and put together a small video of the ride I did.

Race day is Saturday and to say I am excited against racing the worlds best 70.3 athletes is an understatement.