A weekend full of racing

What a weekend of racing. The Hawaii Ironman was obviously the main event, and what a race it was. Won by Australian's Chris McCormack and Mirinda Carfrae, awesome result for the Aussies! I was also involved in two smaller events; the first on Saturday, which was the Sorrento Challenge and this morning, was the Champion Lakes Duathlon.

These races were the first of my season and I am generally happy with how things went.

The Sorrento Challenge comprises a 1.2km swim (2 laps with a 400m beach run in between each lap), 7km ocean paddle and a 7.5km run (with a beach section on each of the 3 laps). The race has a reputation of being held in bad weather, however the weather gods put on a show for us and we had a 30-degree day with calm waters. The race start was 12pm so I was able to have a sleep in which was nice :)

I had a bad start to the swim, but managed to get a decent rhythm on the first lap and made up some ground to a few guys in front during the beach run. My second lap was a struggle and took me a while to get going again and I dropped off the back of the second group. Not my best swim but considering the lack of racing I have done I was pretty happy.

Onto the paddle I wasn't in a bad position, but then the stronger paddlers came flying past me. I lost a big chunk of time to those guys during the paddle, which was expected. I was happy to get off the ski, after being on it for way to long!

I had a quick transition into my running shoes and started the 7.5km run. I made up some lost ground in the run but the damage was already done from the paddle! Only one runner passed me, so my running is slowly improving!

I crossed the finish line in 1.46.35 in 12th place.

Sunday morning was the Duathlon and I had planned to ride out to the race venue, but the weather had turned over night and the roads were wet so we ended up driving out. The Duathlon format isn't my ideal race, but I was looking forward to testing how my running is coming along. The format was 5/21/2.5.

I was planning on racing with a Zipp 999 set, but with the slippery roads and the bike course it quite tight with a few sharp turns I opted to just race on my training wheels. Turns out the roads were quite dry by the time the race started, but not to worry.

I was very conscious not to go out to hard on the first run, so I settled into a good rhythm that I could maintain for the 5km. It was an out and back course so we could see where we were in the field at the turn around. I was happy with my first run clocking 18.17.

The bike was a 4-lap course. We had a nice head wind on the long straight section and a tail wind through the windy event path. It was the worst I have felt on the bike during a race, but I put that down to lack to short race pace efforts which is not in my program at this point as I have been building my fitness back from Europe!

Onto the final run I worked hard to consolidate my position. I finished in 3rd place in 1.03.48, 1min behind my age group winner. This was also the State Duathlon Championships, so I got a 3rd place for that as well.

I am happy with how the races went. Given it is so early in the season there are some good signs but also a lot more room for improvement, which will come over the next few months. One thing that needs to happen as soon as possible will be a haircut as it is starting to get a little out of hand! Also, a big thanks to Lisa and Mark for their support at both races. I really appreciate it guys!

Mark like's to 'show' his support!

Next up is the Anaconda Adventure Race, 4 weeks to go. Then we are back into the triathlon season, but the Bunbury Classic and then Canberra Half Ironman.

Andy

Keeping on track with Tanita

I have been back into training for close to 2 months now and I am really happy with how things are coming along. I have been using my Tanita body composition scales to help access my progress during this time.

Here is some data from my initial reading a few months ago:

Weight 70.5kg
Body Fat 11%
Body Water 63%
Visceral Fat 1
Bone Mass 3.1 kg
Muscle Mass 59.7 kg
Physique Rating 5
Metabolic Age 12

During the past 2 months I have been taking regular readings from the scale which have helped me see what my body has been up to in terms of my weight and more importantly the muscle and bone mass. Another key area which is the body water % which as an athlete, is obviously very important.

Coming back to full time training after 2 months of traveling around Europe was initially a bit of a shock to the system but I am feeling great again. During my holiday period I lost a lot of my muscle mass and got a little but chubby which was quite evident (to me anyway). My weight has been very slow to come down as I am loosing fat during my base building period and my muscles mass is building up again (muscle weights more than fat).

I have noticed as I am changing cycles in my program my weight is slowly starting to drop. Below is some data from today:

Weight 69.5kg
Body Fat 9.1%
Body Water 69.5%
Visceral Fat 1
Bone Mass 3.1 kg
Muscle Mass 60.1 kg
Physique Rating 5
Metabolic Age 12

The data above is starting to show signs of improvement which I am happy about but most importantly I am starting to feel strong again in my training.

My Tanita race top for the Anaconda Adventure Race

I went down to Augusta to check out the Anaconda Adventure Race course on the weekend. It gave me a lot of confidence and motivation for the last 4 and a half weeks until race day. Its going to be a great race!

Keep an eye out on the Tanita face book page for a pre-race update, hopefully my readings will be back to where they were prior to last years race!

Cheers,
Andy

Augusta Training

I have just got back from a training day down in Augusta. Rapid Ascent put on a course familiarisation day prior to the Anaconda Adventure Race. We are now 5 weeks out from the race and it was a great opportunity to go over the course and see where my fitness level is at.

Here are a few clips and photos from the weekend:

Well, overall a very successful weekend. I had a good look over the course and have a pretty good idea on how I will structure the next 5 weeks. I have some areas which I can really focus on to give me the best chance of achieving my goals for the race.

Mum and Dad are now home from South Africa and Lauren is back from her trip soon so the house will be full again!

First races this weekend! Can't wait :)

Andy

More of the same

I'm in the middle of a 3 week training block that will end next weekend with a couple of races, being the Sorrento Challenge on Saturday and the Champion Lakes Duathlon on Sunday.

Training has been going really well with the solid km's logged in all 3 disciplines and I am getting into the swing of paddling again! I did my first Wednesday night group paddle for about 9 months last week and it went surprisingly well! I will continue that over the next 5 weeks in the lead up to Anaconda.

I have started to do a few runs of the bike and from the couple I have already done, I am feeling strong off the bike. A good sign! I am slowly building the km's up in the running department and hopefully will be able to improve my run splits starting in Canberra!

Some exciting stuff happening with the LSDsports.com team, with sponsors including K-Swiss and Trek. Hopefully I will have a few more details over the coming weeks.

The race season is just about to start with the first of my race entry fees paid for yesterday! I am off to Augusta on Friday to do a short training camp, with Sunday being the Anaconda Course Practise Day.

Lots of races happening over the next couple of weeks with the Gold Coast Half Ironman on Sunday (good luck Mark!) and the Ironman World Champs in Hawaii next weekend. Its very motivating seeing all the media coverage over in Hawaii, hopefully I will be there in a few years!

Hopefully the next few weeks will continue to progress the way things have been. Exciting times ahead :)

Cheers,

Andy

On Board with LSDsports.com

I am pleased to announce that I am now a member of the LSDsports.com Elite Age Group Triathlon Team for 2010/2011. The team has just been finalised and the team sponsors will be confirmed shortly. Thanks for Tony and Cam for giving me the chance to join the team. I am really excited about the season ahead and look forward to working with LSDsports to achieve my goals.

I'm just back from a paddle session. I am quite happy with how my paddling is coming along given we are still 6 weeks out from Anaconda.

I am planning a training camp down in Busselton in a few weeks time. It will be 2 and a half days based in Busso before heading down to Augusta on Sunday for the Anaconda Course Familiarisation Session.

Everything is coming along well in training. Its just business as usual getting my fitness back and my body is holding up really well. My swimming is really improving which I am excited about.

The weather in Perth is fantastic at the moment with temperatures in the mid 20s forecast for next week!

Andy

Training Training Training

Not to much to report on over the last couple of weeks. I have been logging some good kms in the pool, on the bike and on foot. Paddling is coming along slowly, but steadily.

On Wednesday morning I went to did a swim analysis with Paul Newsome. It was a really valuable session that I have taken a lot of positives out of. Paul was generally happy with my stroke and has given me a few areas to work that will hopefully get me a little bit faster! Its so much easier to understand what you are doing wrong with a video of you swimming!

I am really happy with how my swimming is coming along. I think I now have the understanding (through my session with Paul) of how I can improve my stroke and I have now been with Stu for 2 season so we both have a pretty good understanding of what I am capable of and will work hard to make the most of my ability.

My cycling is coming along. We are riding with another group on Saturday mornings, who at the moment are all on fire. A lot of them are training for Hawaii (4 weeks away), so are in great shape. Its a bit of a struggle for me up the hills but I can feel some real improvement.

Running is also coming along. I am lacking speed but I am getting the kms into my legs which at this early point in the season is important. From next week I will start to get into some longer runs to build up for Anaconda and Canberra.

I have been doing some good sessions with Mark recently which are fun. As we train with different groups we don't often get the chance to.

Triathlon Australia has finally given some details on qualifying races for Long Course Worlds next year and Canberra and Busselton will be qualifying races to get me into the green and gold again.

Its about a month away from the Sorrento Challenge (swim, paddle, run) and then the next day is the State Duathlon Champs which I will do for a bit of fun (duathlons are not my specialty!).

Last week I received my race top with TANITA branding on the the Anaconda Adventure Race. Its a long sleeve compression top (white), so hopefully will provide some advantage with muscle fatigue, getting the wetsuit on after the run and also keep the sun off my arms and neck. It looks great. I will post some photos up soon.

Things are coming along really well. I will keep working hard to get myself in the best possible shape to achieve my goals.

Andy

the week just gone....

On the training front things are coming along really nicely. I am happy with how I am progressing and building up fitness back up. I had a couple of really solid swimming sessions and and running sessions through the week and I got out on a long ride with Mark out to Jarahdale on Friday morning. I will give a more detailed update through the week.

The last 48 hours have been extremely difficult for myself and the closest people in my life. Starting on Friday evening a close relative to the Luckin's (my girl friend Lisa and best mate Marks family) passed away in a car accident. The following morning, Mark had a car accident which thankfully he wasn't hurt at all. And to top it off, we had to put our dog (Lucky) who has been with us for the last 14 years down.

I find myself sitting here writing this blog here tonight, with fond memories of the ones lost over the last few days and a heavy heart. It has been a really tough weekend for everyone but I am thankful for the amazing people I have in my life.

Chase your dreams and stay happy.

Andy