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NSW Club Champions – Forster
The NSW club championships race was taking part 4 hours north of Sydney in a place called Forster. I arrived late the evening before the race and did a quick drive of the bike course before going to bed. I awoke well before dawn to get ready to race. I registered and got set up in transition just as the sun rose. My start wave was to be the 2nd one to go at 6:05am. I noted that there was a big swell from the storm the previous night. And just like that, we were racing. Swim Leg The swim was a rolling start, and I started mid pack. Running…
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PTC Duathlon Sprint Race
I signed up for a sprint triathlon but with a couple days to go, due to poor water quality they changed the event to a duathlon format. I picked this event as a little tune up for a race the following week and came into it with no expectations carrying a lot of training fatigue. With a fairly relaxed start of 9:30am, there was no need for any early starts. Setting up in transition things looked quite sparse with only my bike and helmet needed. I genuinely had no idea how my legs would fair, but the goal was simple; just do the best I can. Run leg 1 We…
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Nepean Race Report 2020
When I think of racing in triathlon, images of warmth and sun come to mind, set around beautiful tropical waters. Nothing could be further from the reality of conditions for the Nepean triathlon. It was cold, wet and the freshwater lake to swim in isn’t appealing with its brown murky colours. With a strict no spectators allowed policy due to COVID19 restrictions, the check-in was a little different and had the feel of passing through customs at the airport. It was all very smooth and well-executed. After setting up in transition I was looking forward to putting my wetsuit on to get warm, but after looking around and seeing nobody…
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PTC Sprint Distance Race Report
Racing Again! It’s exciting to do a triathlon after such a long break from racing. At the end of the triathlon season this year I’d decided to not race until late August or September to allow me to get on top of some injuries. But when events are being constantly cancelled, you wonder whether you’ll ever be able to toe the start line again. Although I did not taper, I was looking forward to testing myself out in a sprint triathlon at the regatta centre. Swim Leg It surprised me to have a mass swim start, but the field was small and quickly spread out. The wind was whipping up…
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Canberra Triathlon Race Report
With less than a week to go till race day, they announced that the standard distance triathlon would become a duathlon because of water quality problems. 5km run, 40km bike, 10km run. My goal of trying to break 2 hours for the standard distance would have to wait for another time. I was confident of going under 2hrs now, and the new mini-goal became to ride 58:xx for the 40km bike leg. Staying within 5km from the race start I had a nice little ride with the sunrise for the backdrop. Often I’m a little stressed but this time I found it relaxing. I think the fact it was a…
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Sun Run Aquathon Race Report
It exciting to do my first race for 2020. The sun run aquathon is an event I’ve taken part in since its launch in 2018. I got to the event nice and early to give myself plenty of time to warm up, and before I knew it I was standing on the start line waiting for the gun to go off. Looking around, I saw two athletes (John and Keegan) in the Australian ITU AG triathlon suits. Mental note they are probably the main competition to monitor. Run Leg 1 Seconds before the gun went off this dude with no shirt barges past to get a couple steps (false start…
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Western Sydney 70.3 Race Report
Western Sydney 70.3 last year was my first step up to a long course triathlon. So I was quite excited to race again having an idea about what to expect. Getting to the race venue with plenty of time to set up making transition a very relaxed affair. However, after spending 30mins lining up for the loo most of my ‘spare’ time evaporated. I helped put up the club tent and then realised with some shock that my wave was about to start in less than 5mins and I still hadn’t put my wetsuit on! No time for lube or anything, it was a mad rush to get it on…
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Hills Sprint Triathlon Race Report
It’s been a while since a did a sprint race, and with only 2 weeks out from my 70.3 I thought it would provide a nice little tune-up. I wasn’t feeling great though having just recovered from a cold, a little lethargic is probably the best way to describe. I really want to go under an hour for a sprint distance, but the conditions were windy, so I wasn’t very hopeful. In fact, I was mentally preparing to go easy if there were any signs from my body that it wasn’t coping, so not a great way to be thinking about chasing a PB. But that wasn’t my goal for…
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Nepean Race Report
My headspace in the lead up to Nepean triathlon was full of doubt. I’d also pulled out of two races as my hamstring has been causing me some issues. I’ve reduced my run volume and doing any speed work, and it worried me it might really flare up during the run leg of the triathlon. 2 nights prior to the race I wasn’t sure if I could race at all, as my body ached all over, it was like I had a fever (just minus the temp). Thankfully, the night before the race I was feeling much better and although tired, very relaxed about the coming race. James and I…
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