Recent Happenings

With the recent events in Queensland of late I have been somewhat short of time to update this blog but have had several notable stories to share so rather than posting several blogs in quick succession I’ve decided to shorten them in to one blog of all the recent happenings.

Not only did last Sunday signify the end of the torturous ‘Hell Week’ of training that we have been enduring for the past month, it was also the first race for 2011.  With this being the case it wasn’t a case of tapering off to any extent and the day began at the very early time of 4:00am in the northern suburbs of Brisbane.  The reason for this ungodly hour was so we could ride up to Kawana on Queensland’s sunshine coast for Race 1 of the Stroke and Stride Aquathlon Series.  We were supposed to be joined by several DAT athletes but because of the continual rain we were experiencing the numbers were somewhat lower than expected.  However for those willing the 95km that following only produced approximately 5min worth of rain at a very respectable 30km/hr average. 

And if you want to check out the map from the ride click here

The rain might have held off the ride but the race was a different matter.  The race was over the somewhat unconventional distance of a 750m swim and a 4km run.  Following the opening swim I exited the water in third position and with the leaders in sight and with a quick transition I found myself up to second.  Even with the fastest run split of the day I couldn’t close the gap to Tim George, who I have come second to in the last three races I’ve competed in now!  Following this there was no better way to end the day than an afternoon of drinks to see off fellow club members Mark Skilton and his fiance Ali who are moving down to Melbourne, however there were some very tired looking athletes after such a long day!

And now on to the main reason for being short of time and not updating this blog at all last week.  As everyone is well aware the flood tragedy has dominated the headlines around the country for over a week now and the devastation is truly astounding.  Fortunately I live in one of the higher suburbs in Brisbane and our house wasn’t affected but just a short drive down the road and there were houses being flooded out and evacuated.  It is difficult to understand the amount of water that inundated the city and surrounding suburbs and even watching the footage on tv I still struggled to believe it until I saw some of it for myself.  Due to this disaster little training actually got done during the week but it did allow for some much deserved rest before the Devonport ITU Sprint Triathlon coming up.  Even now with the water residing the cleanup is only just beginning.  Driving around Brisbane there are several spots along the river where boats, pontoons, water tanks and various other bits of debris have washed up and there are houses and businesses with the majority of their contents sitting on the sidewalk ready to be destroyed.

The Centenary Highway in Jindalee completely cut off

Just some of the dangers floating down the river and you could even hear the gas coming out as it went under the bridge

The bridge become somewhat of a tourist attraction during the floods

“Queenslanders never give up” is the sign I saw hanging outside The Regatta (one of Brisbane’s well known bars that was also completely underwater during the height of the floods) and even brought a smile to my face as I drove past it.  Hearing the amount of businesses and individuals donating and volunteering their services in the cleanup process accentuated this and showed that in time Queenslanders everywhere will bounce back from this natural disaster stronger than ever.

It’s difficult to escape the flood tragedy in Brisbane at the moment and even a trip to Tasmania is fraught with danger as news of widespread flooding came through.  Fortunately my flight to Launceston and drive to Devonport went without any problems and I arrived in Devonport last Friday evening for the ITU Sprint Triathlon the following evening.  Unfortunately due to the flooding and the dangers of sewerage and debris in the water the event had to be changed to a duathlon.  However as I warmed up on Saturday afternoon all signs were pointing to a good result in a relatively small field full of talent.  The opening 5km run didn’t go exactly as planned and I found myself just off the back of the lead group as we came in to transition.  Fortunately I was close enough to be able to bridge the gap to this group but as I did a breakaway group of 4 athletes made the move off the front that I couldn’t get on to.  As we made our way towards the end of the 20km cycle I went off the front of the group with two fellow athletes and entered the final transition only 20 seconds down on the lead group of four.  This gap proved decisive as they went on to fill the top four spots.  I finished in 6^th place and was very pleased with this result and points to more positive things to come.  Finally, I’d like to give a quick shout out to Ryan Fisher who initiated the breakaway and finished 2^nd overall in a very strong performance and also to Brayden Tucker who finished 5^th in the ITU Junior Elite race earlier in the afternoon.

It has been a busy couple of weeks but as everything starts to get back to normal I will be sure to keep everyone updated on a more regular basis and am already working on more blogs and even more importantly preparing for the next race which will be another ITU Continental Cup in Kinloch, New Zealand in the coming weeks.

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