Jetty 2 Jetty 2012
It has been a while between drinks and by drinks I mean races and by a while I mean 70 days since I have been in any sort of competition with my last event being the Noosa Winter Festival
BSHS Awards Night Speech
Over my years I've attended plenty of sports awards dinners and heard even more guest speakers at numerous different events. Being the guest speakers is always an honor but it isn't without nerves that you get up infront of an unknown audience to share what you feel are words of wisdom and inspiration in the hope that the audience take something positive away from it.
DAT Awards Night 2012: The Main Event
I feel ample time has passed since I posted DAT Awards Night 2012: The Prequel that it is now time to move on to the main event. But for anyone out there unaware of the enormity of this event check out what went down at the 2011 DAT Awards Night and try to get your heads around the fact that this years edition was hyped up so much that we had club members flying home from holidays just so they could make the event and even athletes from other clubs putting themselves through the torture of a weeks training with us just to attend this event!
Bryton Cardio 35 Review - Oceania Bicycles
Training with GPS is almost considered standard practice these days and it is becoming an ever more competitive market with the number of new products hitting stores on a regular basis. And for anyone who follows this blog, you will know that on the bike my preferred method of data collection is via the use of my Bryton Rider 50T.
DAT Awards Night 2012: The Prequel
The DAT Awards Night may have been and gone for 2012 but after the wrap I gave it last year I thought I had to do the same again for this year. But even before I get into that I will tempt your tastebuds with what could only be described as one of the most hyped up speeches for the evening!
Monday, June 10, 2013
Bryton Cardio 60 Review - OC Bicycles
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Hervey Bay Triathlon 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Gold Coast Luke Harrop Memorial Triathlon
Leading into Gold Coast I had a lengthy stint away from racing with my previous racing being the long course race in Geelong. I made the conscious decision to have a light race schedule this early in the year so I could get the work done in training and to avoid over-racing when my focus was more towards a block of races in September, October and November. However, any triathlete will admit how competitive they are so it's safe to say I was dying to get out on course and test how I was going. The Luke Harrop Memorial Triathlon is a race that means so much to so many people and after watching training partner and good friend, Ryan Fisher win this race for the past two years I was keen to step up in his absence and try to keep the title within the DAT stable.
The race got off to a great start for me and I positioned myself perfectly throughout the swim to exit with the first 4 athletes and a small gap on the rest of the field. I've put a lot of work into my swim and was very happy to see this paying off come race day. Onto the bike I was really motivated to push to the front as early as possible and not only build a lead but also hurt anyone else behind me trying to close or minimize my lead. While I was happy with my ride and can honestly say I rode off the front and quicker than the rest of the field it was incredibly frustrating and disappointing to see the vast majority of the other guys happy to just sit in a pack together. While I know there were a number of athletes given drafting penalties and disqualified after the race, it doesn't change my opinion that if a lot of these athletes are walking around calling themselves full time or professional athletes they need to accept there is a responsibility involved with that and they set an example and are roll models to a lot of people out there and should be following the rules set out by the technical officials.
Dismounting the bike I had built up close to what I thought could be a race winning position but didn't have the run I wanted and was run down by two quality runners before crossing the finish line in third. With one of these athletes being disqualified for not stopping for a drafting penalty I was awarded second. I'll admit to being prettying disappointed with this result as I really thought I had what it took to win this race but didn't execute everything 100% to pull it off. In saying that, after a long training block I was happy with my progression and it was great to be back out there racing.
On the female side of things it was fantastic to see my training partners Brittany and Courtney Dutton take out first and second in a dominant performance between them!
Since the race there has been much happening within the DAT training grounds. Dan has officially accepted a high performance role with Triathlon Australia over in Perth. And while the press release was titled "Dat's all folks," I can assure you this couldn't be further from the truth! With Dan taking the DAT name with him I'm excited to be starting up my own coaching business, Personal Best Triathlon (PBTRI). This is something Dan asked me to consider and I have put a lot of thought into. Having an exercise science degree and plenty of experience in coaching a variety of sports and levels from learn to swim programs to school soccer and cricket teams to more recently age group and elite triathlon programs, I firmly believe I have the ability to help athletes reach their highest goals. The support I have received from the entire squad, my closest training partners and all of the sponsors and supporters of the club has been greatly appreciated and I can't wait to get the PBTRI name out there.
Be sure to check out PB Triathlon on Facebook and @pbtriathlon on Twitter and Instagram for all the latest updates!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
2013 Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival
My journey to Mooloolaba this year was slightly different, choosing the man powered two wheel option over the standard motor vehicle. The usual one hour trip straight up the highway turned into a four and a half hour, 130km journey that still had me there in plenty of time to recover from my efforts before any racing got underway.
The first race for the weekend was the 5km bolt where we were represented by Jodie Duff who even managed to crack a smile for our cameras while completing the hilly four lap course and finish in fourth place overall. We also had our very own DAT leprechaun; Jamie Hanelt strutting his best St Patricks Day outfit over the 5km course!
I was back on the bike Saturday morning for another trek through the countryside and even though both Dan and myself had to resort to coke, chocolate and lollies at the midway service station stop we still cranked it up to average 36km/hr on the return trip home. It was a quick turn around from there to the ocean swim where Jodie was again testing her skills, as was Angus Gibson in the elite men's event. I chose the much more relaxed option of a recovery swim with the other squad members preparing for the race on the Sunday. Jodie was again at the point end of the field finishing 2nd in her category and Angus was narrowly out sprinted to finish 3rd and pick himself up some prize money. Codie Grimsey won the event and I'll be out to see if his swimming credentials translate to his coaching credentials this weekend at one of his open water training sessions; anyone interested should definitely check it out!
With a 6:30am start time for the ITU Continental Cup on Sunday morning there was never really going to be much chance for a sleep in and the sound of tyres being pumped up outside my bedroom door in the very early hours of the morning made sure of this! I've been in this race for the last few years now and standing down at the river I really wished I was out there again but instead was there to support training partners; Emily, Maddi and Holly who were all backing up from their Wellington race just one week prior. All showed promising signs for upcoming Conti Cup races in China in the coming weeks and Worlds selection later in the year with Maddi finishing 8th, Holly in 10th and Emily in 12th.
Rounding off the weekend of racing was the women's ITU World Cup where last years Continental Cup winner, Sarah was stepping up to race in her first World Cup. Unfortunately the day didn't pan out in her favour and she was lapped out on the final lap of the bike course. In a true sign of the DAT spirit she was almost swamped by training partners showing their support and no doubt will be back stronger in her next race.
That wrapped up the weekend of racing for the 2013 Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival and one that I thoroughly enjoyed every second of and after my ride up there was even more appreciative of the car ride home! There is nothing like being on the sidelines to make you want to be out there racing and it's safe to say that Mooloolaba 2014 has immediately been added to the list of goals to target!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Geelong Triathlon: the fact-finding mission
After a positive result the weekend prior at Caloundra things ran as smoothly as could be expected in the lead up to the race with little to write home about. I flew in to Geelong on the Friday for the Sunday morning race and essentially spent the majority of my time with my feet up, saving as much energy as possible for the race.
With a 7:00am start time, it was an early start Sunday morning to get down to transition and make sure everything was set to go. With the gels and mars bars taped to my top tube in true lé iron cave style and the tyre repair sealant taped alongside them but hoping it remained unused, I made my way down to the swim start to get in a good warmup before the race start. Lining up alongside the likes of superfish Clayton Fettell, Olympian Brad Kahlefeldt, World Champion Peter Robinson and in-form athlete Christian Kemp left no doubt in anyone's mind that it was going to be a hard fought out battle to the finish.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Caloundra Triathlon
Wyatt getting his nutrition practice in...definitely no bonking going on here! |
thanks Britt Dutton for the photo :) |
Monday, January 14, 2013
Robina Triathlon
The domestic racing season has well and truly arrived and there is hardly a weekend on the calendar that isn't filled with triathlon commitments it seems. This weekend has been particularly busy in the DAT Racing camp with our junior elite athletes flying down to Penrith for the second race in their ITU Junior Elite National Series, just days after settling in back home after our week long training camp. Exceptional results were recorded all round with Jodie winning the women's event, Anna 5th, Holly 7th, Jenna 10th and Jake in 25th in the men's event. Jodie, Anna, Holly and Dan are still based in Sydney for the remainder of this week as they prepare to do battle against some of the worlds best juniors at the Youth Olympic Championships this weekend and I'm sure their trend of fantastic results will continue.