2014 - 15 Season kick start - ITU World's - Yarrawonga & Nepean

Finally after a roller coaster 12 months its time get things back on the wagon and put some words down and this blog back in action!!

Rockies training - pre worlds

Post worlds damage

With the season now underway it has been a bit of a roller coaster 8 months with a failed trip to Edmonton for the ITU Olympic distance World Champs with a high speed crash ending that campaign in somewhat spectacular but undesirable fashion. Luckily enough I only saw around 4wks of recovery which didn't dent the 2014/15 season prep too much. Not ideal, but hey it could have been a lot worse and at least I was able to get back and see Daudi and Huddo as they finished off a hard earned worlds medallions and more specifically cheering on the amazing wife (Alicia - Compeat Nutrition) as she finished with a huge smile as always. No medal for me but i didnt see too many people running round with space blankets like the one i got hehe.. The rest of the Canadian holiday did take some off the pressure off, travelling through the Rockies and across to Vancouver and Whistler, catching up with friends and enjoying some great scenery made for the perfect distraction.

In saying all that it has taken a while to write this one as I haven’t really been sure how to sum up the anti-climax of Edmonton, however taking the positives on board knowing the hard work through the thick of my first Canberra winter won’t go to waste, I was fitter and faster than I had been before and I should only take a few months to really get back in to that kind of shape.

The start of this Aussie season kicked off with a back to back hit-out firstly at the Victorian Olympic distance championships down in Yarrawonga and then up to run round in the oldest triathlon in Australia at the Nepean tri.  Having not been down that way before making the trip down with a large contingent of the PTC crew definitely made it easy, not to mention getting the low down on the course from Robbie as part of the payment for the road trip.

Having not got off the bike in a race let alone crossing the finishing tape, the goals for this one were pretty simple. Finish… Hahaha. As a result the plan was to just roll through which I managed well enough. I think the hardest part was jumping off the bike and not really knowing what to expect of how hard to push, the whole run off the bike in race conditions felt somewhat foreign. Really happy to get this one done finishing with a pb for an OD (2:03) and a spot just off the podium with 4^th in the open Category. It was really good to see PTC guys go well, such a good crew to travel with. Plus the birth of the PTCLCC!! A bit of a watch this space on that one.

A week on and a quick turn around with the trip up the Hume with the PTCLCC lads have a hit out at the Nepean tri.  Having had a good result in Yarrawonga I was relatively hopeful, but knowing that I am still a long way from where I’d like to be and that the temperature was going to get up around the 35C mark, this one could go either way.  As a result the approach was to use this one as another build into the season and just see what happens.

Familiar rd trip faces

Getting into the water I was lucky enough to start a good 20 mins behind nearly everyone else (sarcasm intended) in the largest wave of the day at 85 strong. Having a reasonable swim I sat within the lead guys and was 3^rd out of the water in a relatively slow time. First out on the bike getting the jump through transition I managed to build a around a 1min lead over the 30km coming into T2. Knowing my current form I was pretty confident that gap wasn’t going to be enough so having a solid run was really what I had in mind, especially with the mercury rising past the 30^oC mark. Sure enough through 4km I lost the lead and then by 8km found myself back in third which I managed to hold on to while ticking just over 40 mins for the 10k. A good minute or so slower than the previous week, but for a big guy in the conditions gave me a lot of confidence that i managed the heat and satisfied to snag an AG podium.

As usual it was a great day out for the PTC crew jagging podiums and prize money all over the place. It was also great to catch up with a few of the old Newcastle boys and more importantly run into an old friend that I hadn't seen for a good 15 years. Days like these make you realise why you love the sport and the vast majority of people in it.

Well now that I've ended the drought, crammed a hell of a lot into one post, finished a couple of races, the season is underway. With Challenge Shepparton under a week away I am excited with the direction things will be in the next 6 months.  There is some work do to but under the guidance of Coach Corey , the Canberra training environment and the crew, there are some good vibes floating around.