Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay - 6th

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.

Race Day.

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. 

German athlete Patrick Lange managed to get away from me early on but I stayed calm remaining in 2^nd 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^th 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.

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  just couldn’t respond. The rest of the run leg was a battle and I was relieved to cross the finish line. 

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.

2016 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.

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. 

Shimano Di2 shifters with a bike computer mount in an easy to read position. 

An S-Works Quarq keeps me training and racing in the correct power zones. I also ride 172.5 length crank arms.

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.

 So aero from behind!

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.

QTS Triathlon Series Race 7 Raby Bay – 1st

The 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.

Race Day:

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. 

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.  

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. 

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).

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. 

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. 

Coming across the finishing line in 1^st 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.

Triathlon & 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.

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.

Hell of the West Triathlon (2KM/80KM/20KM) – 1st

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.

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^nd in 2015 & a 1^st in 2014 I had some good benchmarks to gauge a 2016 performance by.   

Race Day:

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. 

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. 

Photo: FinisherPix 

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^th 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.

Photo: Wayne Pratt  

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. 

Hervey Bay 100 - 1st

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 winners’ list. With 2 races in 2 weeks (1^st 5150 Bohol & 2^nd Challenge Shepparton) the HB100 would be my 3^rd 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.

Race Day:

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^rd 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.

After a short run into transition I hit the bike in 2^nd 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.

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. 

 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.

I crossed the finish line very happy with my performance taking a convincing win. Having done three races in three weeks with one 2^nd 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.