In regards to the last post, that was just a shout out to my good friend Aaron who hung out with me on Skype while I rode in my garage for three hours. Thanks Aaron you rock and made that ride much more manageable!
Cheers
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Hey Aaron
Having a good day?
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Transformation has begun!
After a brief 5 day recovery after the ITU Grand final I started my transformation from all out speed to strength/speed for the fall races. Coach Watson started the process with a 4.5hr ride on the TT bike and a 2hr run. This was followed by more long rides, hill overgear work, mountain bike work, tempo runs off the bike, more base runs and less swimming. The first 9 days came to 550km's riding, 107km running and not a whole lotta swimmin!
The best and most challenging workout of the block was the 3hr trainer session with building wattage intervals and then a 1:05 run off with 5x8min fartlek at sub 1:10 half marathon pace.
I feel good coming out of this block and ready for the next 7 day block before heading to Dallas on the 9th for the final Lifetime Fitness triathlon.
I'll let you know if I crack!
The best and most challenging workout of the block was the 3hr trainer session with building wattage intervals and then a 1:05 run off with 5x8min fartlek at sub 1:10 half marathon pace.
I feel good coming out of this block and ready for the next 7 day block before heading to Dallas on the 9th for the final Lifetime Fitness triathlon.
I'll let you know if I crack!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Post Grand Final
Now that my ITU season is done for the season I have been back on the time trial and mtn bikes this last week. I have logged up almost 100km of running as well to get ready for the last three races of the season. Dallas Open lifetime fitness triathlon, Maui Xterra World Champs and Clearwater 70.3 World Champs. I am eager to train surprisingly having logged a busy season already. I guess the lure of trying to become a world champion and the fact the racing is different and fun helps a bit.
As for the Grand Final two weekends ago on the Gold Coast of Australia, it was a fast and furious race. I really prepared well for the event mentally and physically. I was rested and mentally excited to challenge myself and put everything I had on the course. I spent quite a bit of time on the course learning the turns, hills, finish stretches and so forth to make sure I could see it all in my mind. I then spent the days leading up to the race going over the course in my head and getting an idea of the intensity and the feeling I wanted to have on the course.
Come race start I was relaxed and confident and focused on a fast start. It was a beach run in which I like and got me off to a good start and I was well up in the group coming to the first turn. Once arriving at the turn it was a complete gongshow and to make sure this race was like all the others this season I had my goggles kicked off once again. (Although for this race I had them strapped on so tight I had a headache and my eyeballs almost got sucked out of the sockets when they came off) Regardless, I crawled my way around the first turn (it isn't swimming when your feet are below your shoulders and you are on top of people) and once I made it out the other side I adjusted my goggles and focused on getting back up in the group. At the first exit I think I was almost dead last 51st I think and I could see the long line ahead of me. The second lap I smashed it as I wasn't going to settle for being in the second pack. Entering transition I was top thirty and 15sec down and by 2km into the bike I was leading the pack.
The bike was fairly uneventful with several unsuccessful attacks and then one that stuck and one that got a away with two laps to go with Paul Tichelaar and Matt Reed in it. I thought about going with the last attack but hesitated too long and thinking 2 laps to go was too late. Hind sight it might have worked but you never know.
Coming into transition for the run was very intense with a pack of 50 guys flying into a 90 degree turn at 50km/hr. After surviving the bottle neck and making through the last three turns I got in and out of transition near the front but not right there. I thought I could make it up in the first 1km or so but the pace was unbelievable. It felt like I was sprinting and I was still losing steps to the leaders. I focused on the group that was forming ahead and tried everything to get to it but the pace was just more then I could close. I held ground for the first lap or two and then I started to pick off some of the guys dropping off pace. I felt really strong and smooth on the hill and had a good rhythm on the downhill and false flats. It one of the fastest courses terrain and turn wise of the season. Add the fact that everyone was in top shape and putting it all on the line means that even though I ran 30:34 I came up 18th 1:30 back from the win and 55sec off the podium.
I was stoked with my fast run but know that I still have a lot of work to do to get on that podium. With an injury free season under my belt and all the right training I can take this fitness and speed and easily build on it next year.
Thanks for the support from everyone over the season and into this last ITU race. I will keep updating on my progression through the next three races and hopefully a world championship!
As for the Grand Final two weekends ago on the Gold Coast of Australia, it was a fast and furious race. I really prepared well for the event mentally and physically. I was rested and mentally excited to challenge myself and put everything I had on the course. I spent quite a bit of time on the course learning the turns, hills, finish stretches and so forth to make sure I could see it all in my mind. I then spent the days leading up to the race going over the course in my head and getting an idea of the intensity and the feeling I wanted to have on the course.
Come race start I was relaxed and confident and focused on a fast start. It was a beach run in which I like and got me off to a good start and I was well up in the group coming to the first turn. Once arriving at the turn it was a complete gongshow and to make sure this race was like all the others this season I had my goggles kicked off once again. (Although for this race I had them strapped on so tight I had a headache and my eyeballs almost got sucked out of the sockets when they came off) Regardless, I crawled my way around the first turn (it isn't swimming when your feet are below your shoulders and you are on top of people) and once I made it out the other side I adjusted my goggles and focused on getting back up in the group. At the first exit I think I was almost dead last 51st I think and I could see the long line ahead of me. The second lap I smashed it as I wasn't going to settle for being in the second pack. Entering transition I was top thirty and 15sec down and by 2km into the bike I was leading the pack.
The bike was fairly uneventful with several unsuccessful attacks and then one that stuck and one that got a away with two laps to go with Paul Tichelaar and Matt Reed in it. I thought about going with the last attack but hesitated too long and thinking 2 laps to go was too late. Hind sight it might have worked but you never know.
Coming into transition for the run was very intense with a pack of 50 guys flying into a 90 degree turn at 50km/hr. After surviving the bottle neck and making through the last three turns I got in and out of transition near the front but not right there. I thought I could make it up in the first 1km or so but the pace was unbelievable. It felt like I was sprinting and I was still losing steps to the leaders. I focused on the group that was forming ahead and tried everything to get to it but the pace was just more then I could close. I held ground for the first lap or two and then I started to pick off some of the guys dropping off pace. I felt really strong and smooth on the hill and had a good rhythm on the downhill and false flats. It one of the fastest courses terrain and turn wise of the season. Add the fact that everyone was in top shape and putting it all on the line means that even though I ran 30:34 I came up 18th 1:30 back from the win and 55sec off the podium.
I was stoked with my fast run but know that I still have a lot of work to do to get on that podium. With an injury free season under my belt and all the right training I can take this fitness and speed and easily build on it next year.
Thanks for the support from everyone over the season and into this last ITU race. I will keep updating on my progression through the next three races and hopefully a world championship!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Killing Time
The skill of killing time when you have a 3:15pm is quite key or else you will likely go insane. Luckily there is the internet albeit a little behind the times here in Australia. Simon and I have both repeatedly threatened to throw our computers off the 25th floor balcony as the connection is at best intermittent. I digress, after a week here on the Gold Coast killing time and doing the last prep workouts it is finally the day where we get to race.
My season has gone well so far and I am excited to race one last ITU race for the season. My run speed has hit a new level this year and I am eager to see if I can bring it up one more notch for the Grand Final.
I look forward to having a beer and a body surf after the race to round out the ITU season.
My season has gone well so far and I am excited to race one last ITU race for the season. My run speed has hit a new level this year and I am eager to see if I can bring it up one more notch for the Grand Final.
I look forward to having a beer and a body surf after the race to round out the ITU season.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Having fun at nationals
After a solid training day at nationals and coming 4th missing the sprint for 2nd I am focused on ITU grand final in three weeks. Good job Kyle and Paul respectively 2nd and 3rd. Looking forward to training in Vic.
Quebecer,s rule
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.
Quebecer,s rule
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Hamburg WCS
After settling in at the hotel in Hamburg and having a few good meals at the Hamburg Central Train Station I rested up and prepared for my last race in the April - July block.
I felt really relaxed and confident going into the race and was excited to finish this series of races with a good one. The swim was a little less the crappy with my goggles being knocked off twice but I tried to move up after the s*#*t show at the first turn and got out of the water just behind the front group. I had a fast transition and worked through the first lap with Frodeno and Docherty to quickly catch the group and settled in for the rest of the bike. There were several attacks that amounted to nothing and then one final one that managed to get away and stick and I chose not to go with it doubting it would stay. However it stuck with a 1min 20 gap so moved to the front and lead the main group into transition so that I could head onto the run with the front runners. I went out hard but controlled with the front three guys and held them until Kahlefeldt put in a strong surge and I started to string off the back. I worked hard to stay in touch and faught back at each of the two turnarounds on the first lap but they surged again on the downhill and I just couldn't summon the legspeed and a gap then opened. I ran solid and tried to let the gap open slowly and surged with each of the three Russian's that surged by mean holding the last one for the next two laps. The last lap I pushed hard but was struggling to draw in the last remaining guy of the breakaway fellow Canadian Paul Tichelaar. I got close but just didn't have the strength to pull the last 15sec or so to finish in 13th. I really gave it on the run but can't help but think if I hadn't needed to take a week off of running after Kitzbuhel I would have had the strength to hold the lead runners and crack that top 8 I wanted so badly.
I am still very happy with the performance and it was still a fast and strong run and a good way to going into the next training block now for the Grand Final on the Gold Coast of Australia.
Now it is time for a quick holiday (two days) with my girlfriend Carolyn on Hornby Island and then it is back to work.
I felt really relaxed and confident going into the race and was excited to finish this series of races with a good one. The swim was a little less the crappy with my goggles being knocked off twice but I tried to move up after the s*#*t show at the first turn and got out of the water just behind the front group. I had a fast transition and worked through the first lap with Frodeno and Docherty to quickly catch the group and settled in for the rest of the bike. There were several attacks that amounted to nothing and then one final one that managed to get away and stick and I chose not to go with it doubting it would stay. However it stuck with a 1min 20 gap so moved to the front and lead the main group into transition so that I could head onto the run with the front runners. I went out hard but controlled with the front three guys and held them until Kahlefeldt put in a strong surge and I started to string off the back. I worked hard to stay in touch and faught back at each of the two turnarounds on the first lap but they surged again on the downhill and I just couldn't summon the legspeed and a gap then opened. I ran solid and tried to let the gap open slowly and surged with each of the three Russian's that surged by mean holding the last one for the next two laps. The last lap I pushed hard but was struggling to draw in the last remaining guy of the breakaway fellow Canadian Paul Tichelaar. I got close but just didn't have the strength to pull the last 15sec or so to finish in 13th. I really gave it on the run but can't help but think if I hadn't needed to take a week off of running after Kitzbuhel I would have had the strength to hold the lead runners and crack that top 8 I wanted so badly.
I am still very happy with the performance and it was still a fast and strong run and a good way to going into the next training block now for the Grand Final on the Gold Coast of Australia.
Now it is time for a quick holiday (two days) with my girlfriend Carolyn on Hornby Island and then it is back to work.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Off to Hamburg
After a really nice 10 days of training in beautiful Kitzbuhel it is time to ship off to Hamburg for the last leg of our three week Euro tour.
I am starting to get my legs back after having some calf tightness post race but things are starting to feel snappy again. A good fartlek run today should have me firing on all cylinders by the weekend.
After a poor run here in Kitzbuhel I am motivated to get out and throw down a fast split this weekend. After this it is rest time and building till the Grand Final in September...so all or nothing!
I am starting to get my legs back after having some calf tightness post race but things are starting to feel snappy again. A good fartlek run today should have me firing on all cylinders by the weekend.
After a poor run here in Kitzbuhel I am motivated to get out and throw down a fast split this weekend. After this it is rest time and building till the Grand Final in September...so all or nothing!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Oh Yeah
Even with a satisfactory race here in Kitzbuhel I have now reached my highest World Ranking of my career at 14th! The goal this season is to finish in the top 20 after the Grand Final.
OK in Kitz
After a brief 5 day stint at home after Des Moines I did some laundry and a few workouts and headed to Europe for my three week trip. After arriving into Munich Monday morning and driving 2hrs to Kitzbuhel I was thoroughly tired and stiff after the trip.
The stiffness and tiredness from racing three times in 7 days I guess had finally caught up but I was optimistic I could still find good form and run fast again.
I had a better swim then previous races which is a step in the right direction but I still have work to do. But the top of the first climb on the bike 1.5km down the road I was comfortably at the front of the race and settled in for a wet, cold and slippery ride. There were numerous crashes and several points of the course and I narrowly missed two of them and slid my front wheel cornering on two occasions. I stayed near the front and out of trouble heading into transition and was right where I wanted to be. Unfortunately my cold arms and hands struggled to get my shoes on and I lost a few places heading onto the run. Once I got going my partially frozen legs struggled to find any sort of speed and cadence and I lost the front two groups quickly. By 5km I had worked my way up into 16th spot but well behind the leaders and where I wanted to be running. I kept the effort high and challenged myself but the speed just wasn't there and I managed to hold off a challenge in the last 800m and finished in the 16th I had worked up to. Unfortunately this is the first spot without a paycheck for your efforts which sucks but that is how it goes.
My focus now is to recover and have my stiffness and fatigue gone in the next week so I can have a solid week of prep heading into the Hamburg WCS event on the 26th.
Currently we are training here in beautiful Kitzbuhel and will enjoy the riding and running in the awesome valley.
The stiffness and tiredness from racing three times in 7 days I guess had finally caught up but I was optimistic I could still find good form and run fast again.
I had a better swim then previous races which is a step in the right direction but I still have work to do. But the top of the first climb on the bike 1.5km down the road I was comfortably at the front of the race and settled in for a wet, cold and slippery ride. There were numerous crashes and several points of the course and I narrowly missed two of them and slid my front wheel cornering on two occasions. I stayed near the front and out of trouble heading into transition and was right where I wanted to be. Unfortunately my cold arms and hands struggled to get my shoes on and I lost a few places heading onto the run. Once I got going my partially frozen legs struggled to find any sort of speed and cadence and I lost the front two groups quickly. By 5km I had worked my way up into 16th spot but well behind the leaders and where I wanted to be running. I kept the effort high and challenged myself but the speed just wasn't there and I managed to hold off a challenge in the last 800m and finished in the 16th I had worked up to. Unfortunately this is the first spot without a paycheck for your efforts which sucks but that is how it goes.
My focus now is to recover and have my stiffness and fatigue gone in the next week so I can have a solid week of prep heading into the Hamburg WCS event on the 26th.
Currently we are training here in beautiful Kitzbuhel and will enjoy the riding and running in the awesome valley.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Des Moines!
I am settled back home in Victoria now for a whole 5 days before we head off to Europe for three weeks. Waking up at 5:30am and falling asleep at 8:30pm as I am still on East Coast time is annoying but I figure I will try and keep it this way as I will have less hours to change when getting to Austria. It also means I show up early to swim practise with a coffee in hand which is unusual for me.
The HyVee corp does an amazing job provided such a top notch race and treating us like true professionals. With over 1milllion dollars in prize money and welcome packages and free hotels they sure know how to do it.
As for the World Cup I was able to do everything I wanted and more in the race. I struggled the first lap of the swim but then made gains in the second and by the run up to transition I was 9th out onto the bike. I quickly closed the gap to the front 4 swimmers with a line of 40 guys behind me. The rest of the bike was a matter of controlling breakaways, staying near the front and avoiding any potential crashes through the very tight and technical stadium loop. I got into transition near the front but still needed to be up further as I had to quickly serge my way up as best I could. By 1km into the run I was just off the front group that was forming and couldn't bridge across. I then settled into a great pace and continued to push myself but could never get back in touch with the front six. On the last lap I pushed hard as they started jockying for the sprint and made up some time but was still just back of the sprint finish as I strided to the finish holding off Tim Don of Great Britain to come 7th. This was again a terrific run and perhaps faster then last weekend though the time doesn't show it. The three 180's and 4 90's per lap on the run course were definately a hinderance to the run time.
I am so excited to have backed up the DC race with another fast run and I can draw a lot of confidence that I can run with the front group. Next race I will be at the front of the pack coming off the bike to make sure I am right there at the start of the run.
Can't wait to race again!
The HyVee corp does an amazing job provided such a top notch race and treating us like true professionals. With over 1milllion dollars in prize money and welcome packages and free hotels they sure know how to do it.
As for the World Cup I was able to do everything I wanted and more in the race. I struggled the first lap of the swim but then made gains in the second and by the run up to transition I was 9th out onto the bike. I quickly closed the gap to the front 4 swimmers with a line of 40 guys behind me. The rest of the bike was a matter of controlling breakaways, staying near the front and avoiding any potential crashes through the very tight and technical stadium loop. I got into transition near the front but still needed to be up further as I had to quickly serge my way up as best I could. By 1km into the run I was just off the front group that was forming and couldn't bridge across. I then settled into a great pace and continued to push myself but could never get back in touch with the front six. On the last lap I pushed hard as they started jockying for the sprint and made up some time but was still just back of the sprint finish as I strided to the finish holding off Tim Don of Great Britain to come 7th. This was again a terrific run and perhaps faster then last weekend though the time doesn't show it. The three 180's and 4 90's per lap on the run course were definately a hinderance to the run time.
I am so excited to have backed up the DC race with another fast run and I can draw a lot of confidence that I can run with the front group. Next race I will be at the front of the pack coming off the bike to make sure I am right there at the start of the run.
Can't wait to race again!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Des Moines, IA World Cup Million Dollar Prize Money Race
Tomorrow I am racing at the Des Moines ITU world cup triathlon which has the largest prize purse in the history of triathlon with over 1million dollars split men and women with 200k going to the winners of each.
Coming off such a strong last weekend I hope to replicate the effort and have a better swim to start the race off. I feel totally recovered from last weekends effort and feel great and excited to race.
We follow this Saturday race with the World Team Triathlon Championships on Sunday. A fast recovery (well as much as possible) will be key after tomorrow's 3:30pm race start time in order to be fired up for this short and guaranteed to be painful although fun sprint race.
Coming off such a strong last weekend I hope to replicate the effort and have a better swim to start the race off. I feel totally recovered from last weekends effort and feel great and excited to race.
We follow this Saturday race with the World Team Triathlon Championships on Sunday. A fast recovery (well as much as possible) will be key after tomorrow's 3:30pm race start time in order to be fired up for this short and guaranteed to be painful although fun sprint race.
Running Tour of DC in Photos
All good tours start with coffee!
Off for our "recovery" tour run.
The White House, it isn't so big, it fits behind my head. Or is my head that big???
Me squishing ??George Washington's?? head at the US Treasury.
My try at being artistic with the Washington Monument.
Off for our "recovery" tour run.
The White House, it isn't so big, it fits behind my head. Or is my head that big???
Me squishing ??George Washington's?? head at the US Treasury.
My try at being artistic with the Washington Monument.
Washington DC WCS Post Race
After a bit of a nightmare of a swim: dive in, goggles flip off, breast stroke, 10 strokes, goggle fills up, empty goggle, blow arms to pieces trying to catch up, just catch up to the back of the race when I run into one of many swaths of branches, leaves, logs, garbage etc in this dirty river we a swimming. Some of the swaths of junk were almost a foot deep, 15feet long and 5feet wide so you had to crawl to the outside and then continue swimming. I thought I was going to be last out of the water but I was only 10th from last :) I had my work cut out for me to get back in the race so I flew through transition and rode as hard as I could till I found myself settled into the main group which was 30sec behind a front back of 5. We maintained the gap for 4 laps until the chase came apart and the time doubled to 60sec in one lap. They put 30 more sec's or so in the final laps and I prepped myself for a fast run.
After my great run workouts with John Brown and doing 100m strides and sprints at the end of each workout I was confident that I could put down a solid run. I was out quickly near the front from transition 2 and put down a solid 1km to the first turnaround and found myself seconds back from the strongest runners in a group of 5 of my own. Myself and a Japanese athlete kept the pace on swapping turns and at about 3km we started reeling in guys from the lead group of our pack. The 5 man breakaway stayed out of touch from everyone so I focused on these guys just ahead. One of them was 2007 World Champ Daniel Unger of Germany who hung on to our group and even surged at 5km. I held strong and held pace to the last turnaround at 1.25km to go. I had felt good on this stretch the last three times so I decided to put in a surge and push the pace to take some sprint out of the groups legs knowing I had been practising my sprint. With 200m to go, Mark Fretta of the USA came around in full sprint so I started my kick but holding my final sprint till 80m to go when a Frenchman went and I was able to come over top of both he and Fretta leaving Unger and the Japanese behind and finishing in 12th.
I was super excited to see the results after that showed I had the 7th fastest run of the day and probably the fastest run of my career of 31:10. I was also pleased with my tactics in the sprint and my determination on the run.
I look to replicate the run and improve the swim at tomorrow's Des Moines, IA World Cup with over 1million dollars in prize money.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Shhhhhhhh! Don't Tell Anyone
Going to be my new ride once the first run is released in a few weeks! Around the 14lb mark and stiff as anything with the BB30 bottom bracket and nice and aero too!
Nice work Blue!
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