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Challenge Canberra Race Report 2023
Just after a storm passed, I drove to Canberra Friday evening with the family. The weather wasn’t looking good for the weekend, but although I was a little worried about bike safety, I was committed to racing. Saturday morning I got up and did my pre-race spin/run in light rain, and then the weather started to improve! At registration and bike check-in the weather looked great, until a heavy rain shower hit, but the forecast for race day was now sunny. Mentally I felt a little different than usual about this race. After absolutely smashing all expectations (and myself) at Western Sydney 70.3 I wasn’t hungry to test myself. I…
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Western Sydney 70.3 Race Report 2023
The day before the race during my pre-race spin and run, my shins were quite sore during the run. It had me quite worried, but I tried not to dwell on it and just prayed it would be okay on race day. I’m not a morning person. I hate early starts, yet I woke up before my alarm at 4:15 am race morning. I always try to organise as much as possible the night before to remove any thought process when I’m still sleepy. I mindlessly ate and prepared bottles etc. and it was then time to hop in the car and drive to the race venue. I arrived, signed…
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Alp D’Huez Race Report 2023
Alp D’Huez is a bucket list triathlon to be sure. I arrived in Alp D’Huez the day before the race and picked up my rental bike. The biggest thing about the event is the spectacular scenery. Race morning started with setting up my run kit in T2, before riding (mostly descend) for 35mins to the swim start to setup T1. The ride was helpful to get more comfortable with the rental bike, and I also made a friend from Poland named Daniel 😉 I got setup and met my family before the race start. It was then time to hop into the freezing water for the mass start. My head…
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Wollongong Sprint Triathlon Race Report
Wollongong triathlon is a local race for me, only being 15-20mins away from where I live and on roads, I know quite well. My race was scheduled to start at 10:15 which meant quite a relaxed start to the day, with no alarm clocks to start race day! Swim Leg I dislike rolling swim starts. It wrecks race dynamics, but I knew this is what I’d signed up for. Being a more mature (aka older) athlete, I’d have to wait a little while for my wave to start. I got into the queue near the front, which meant when it was my time to start I got about 100-150m of…
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Australian Long Course Triathlon Championship Race Report
Race morning. I arrived at the start area a touch after 5:30 am, giving myself over an hour to get set up and ready before the race started. I felt surprisingly relaxed, probably because my fitness wasn’t as good as it’s been, and I knew I could only do my best on the day. Whether that was enough or not I’d no idea, but a top 5 finish was the goal and I looked forward to having some battles to get the best out of myself. Swim Leg I made sure to get near the front of the swim start, and saw a face I knew, James lining up. Wished…
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70.3 World Championships Race Report
https://lukejonestri.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_7742.mov Morning started mega early, well before dawn. Thankfully, my wife dropped me into town so I could get the shuttle to the swim start. I arrived shortly after 6am at Sand Hollow, plenty of time to check tires and get encased in neoprene, ready for the swim. https://lukejonestri.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_7745.mov It was freezing, but thanks to a tip from Ben (also racing Kiama tri club!) I had some bed socks to discard just before the start along with a reflective heat sheet wrapped around my head/neck. I spent most of my time in the start queue looking for some other Aussies I thought who were racing in my AG (without luck).…
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Little Husky Sprint Race Report
Being sick is never fun, but when its just before the first race you’ve done in a long time (they kept getting cancelled because of C), it’s quite stressful. Thankfully, I recovered a day before I was meant to race, but the effects seemed to linger somewhat. The ‘Little Husky Festival’ is a weekend of racing at Huskisson, with some multiple ocean swims and runs on Saturday, plus various distance triathlons on both Saturday and Sunday. On the Saturday, my daughter did her first ever triathlon, and was amazing over coming a tough swim to finish with a big grin on her face. It was the highlight of my weekend.…
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Being In the Moment
How often have you heard a professional/expert talk about being present when training? To maximise the benefits from training being present and in the moment is key. Practising this skill also will aid you on race day. I’m going to use swim, bike and run in my examples as I unpack what being present means, but this skill set is not just limited to swim/bike/run. How To Practice Being In The Moment If the skill of being present is new to you, start by practicing while walking. Pay full attention to the experience, focus on the sensations you feel. What the difference small and large movements have while you walk,…
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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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Can I do one more rep?
As you embark on training for endurance at one point or another it becomes apparent that volume matters. But more volume equates to more fatigue, which is the goal, however, there’s a line where it can become all too much to recover from. In build phases, it’s not ideal to fully recover between sessions, as the time of rest required is counterproductive to consistently build your fitness base. This then can quickly lead to the question of ‘Am I overtraining?’ Its can be hard as an athlete to know when you are overreaching with training and what is just your mind being a wimp. Once in an overtrained state continuing to…
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