Busselton 70.3

BUSSELTON 70.3 - MAY

I know its late but better now than never right...

The best race of the season had arrived and i was determined to have a good race after posting my first ever DNF at singapore in march. 

My training leading up to busselton was ok but could have been better. Whilst in singapore catching up with the boys at racers toolbox for some fitness testing beno put the idea across to make the move to a full time triathlete for a few months. After speaking to my coach Tim Reed the plan was set and I was to head off to boulder colorado for 5months being july - november. This is where the training could have been better. I decided to move back in home with the parents before I left to save for the trip and that also meant i needed to work my butt off. Everything was full on and i worked out i was banking approx 60-70hr weeks all up leaving me with no relax time.

However coming into the race week I was feeling good but still knowing i wasnt peaking in my fitness. I had worked a lot on my swimming technique with my coach and guy crawford so i knew i would be able to post a good swim. I ended up with a swim time of 0:28:58 which I was happy with as last year i was in the 30mins. I started next to fellow mate andrew tyack and sat next to him until just before half way when he surged. Soon after i spotted mark with his trademark super fish kick and we ended up swimming all the way in together after even sharing a smile on a few strokes. 

Straight out of the water and in to T2 I quickly emptied my guts of some sea water and headed to the bike exit. Unfortunately i didnt have the best mount on my bike with my shoe and chain coming off. Whilst this happend i lost mark and luke which i was hoping to ride with for the 90km ahead. I quickly re focused and decided to race my own pace in the bike and eventually caught mark on the second lap near the turn around. The wind on the second lap picked up and it was head down bum up with alot of the spectators apparently hearing the whole swearing vocabulary from the urban dictionary. I am sure there are alot of great photo's of angry athletes along certain parts battling through. My bike time was 2:29:34. I would of liked to go low 2:20's but thats just wat happens some days and i was feeling pretty good for a solid run so i was hoping to cut a little time to make up.

Off the bike and in to T2 it was easy to find my rack, the shoes were on and i knew i had to put the pace on as marks and a few others behinds strength was the run. About 2.5km in i caught luke coming out of the toilets and ran with him for a whilst until  about the 3.5km mark. I ran the first 3-5km pretty hard which was not the smartest thing as it lead to cramps. From there on the mind set was just get to the finish line. 

I ended up placing 11th in the 18-24 age group which is the first time i have not placed in the top 10 in a 70.3 race. I was a bit disappointed however i took a lot of things out of the race to work on. One being i need to stop cycling out of my threshold during races to set me up for a better run. All the races i have done so far has been just go hard till you blow which is how i landed the nickname 'Sonic" (as in sonic boom). Two its time to start a proper running block and build these legs into a running machine. 

For now I have a 2 week break to rest up before my running block and pre boulder prep starts. 

I would like to thank the following sponsors for looking after me 

GARLAND CYCLEWORKS - HOME OF SPECIALIZED BIKES PERTH

&

SCIENCE IN SPORT NUTRITION

Make sure u keep posted as i will be posting weekly in boulder!

arriving 4th july