Bryton Cardio 60 Review - OC Bicycles

With the recent Australian release of the latest Bryton Cardio range I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share my thoughts on what products I’ve been using for the past few months.  I was lucky enough to get my hands on a Bryton Cardio 60 and Rider 40 a few months ago and didn’t realize how lucky I was to get my hands on the Cardio 60 in particular before it had even been officially released into the country.  The guys at OC Bicycles have been of great assistance to me and I’ve been using the Bryton range of products for close to three years now and these products have come along in leaps and bounds. 

Previously I’ve been using the Bryton Cardio 35 for all of my running but since taking delivery of the Cardio 60, this watch has sat unused on my desk. 

I don’t really know where to begin with my assessment of this watch because it is truly an unbelievable piece of equipment and anything I say will probably not even come close to how good I think this watch is!  If the above video isn't enough to sell you on getting one read on and hopefully the rest of this review does!  Straight out of the box it looks amazing, so much so that I’ve taken to wearing it as a casual watch a lot of the time.  It is slightly smaller and less chunky than the Garmin GPS watches so it doesn’t look out of place as a casual watch and with such an unbelievable battery life, you can go over a week between charges (and this is even while running 100km + in a week). 

 

Garmin have long been the gold standard for GPS running watches and for good reason, they have a proven history of quality products and some great features to help monitor and improve performance.  Having used both Garmin and Bryton products in the past I can safely say that the new Cardio 40 and Cardio 60 are at worst on a level playing field with Garmin, if not in my opinion superior.

 

Loading satellite reception seems to happen almost instantaneously so there is never a delay in waiting for satellites to load.  Once running (or swimming or cycling for that matter!) you have the option of up to four data fields on the screen and can have up to four screens to scroll between, giving even the fussiest athlete endless data to monitor.  I like to keep it fairly simple when I’m running and alternate between total running time, distance and time of day for my long runs on one screen and lap time and lap average pace on another screen for my interval sessions. 

Upon completion of a run all of the data can either be reviewed straight away on the watch through the history or in more detail on the Bryton website.  Having a degree in exercise science degree I love looking at all of the data and I could spend hours looking at all of the available data from any single run once uploaded to their website.  The other great feature is that I can straight away send this link to my coach or anyone else who needs it and they can access it from wherever they are as well.

Sitting at the computer opens up a whole new range of features for the Cardio 60 because once on the Bryton Sport website you can create workouts that even the fussiest of athletes or coaches would be happy with that can be uploaded to the watch for your next workout or saved to be completed on a specific date.  I've found this to be really useful of late because I can plan my own workouts in advance and set the specifics of my set to include the duration/ speed/ time/ pace of all of my interval sessions so I know I am hitting my targets every time I train.  

This new range of Cardio watches comes in two different models.  The model I’ve been using is the Bryton Cardio 60 range which comes with heart rate monitor and retails for $299.  The Cardio 40 model also comes with heart rate monitor and retails for $249.  The main difference between the two models is that the Cardio 60 is designed for triathletes and multisport athletes and can be used for swimming, cycling and running while the Cardio 40 is specifically designed for running and also has a slightly lower battery life.  Whatever you decide on you won’t be disappointed.  There isn’t much more I can say other than this watch is truly the best piece of training equipment I’ve ever used and after almost 600km of running I can’t find a fault and will say it has the ability to be a Garmin killer in the GPS sports watch market!

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Hervey Bay Triathlon 2013

All of the event organizers and the locals made the 2012 Hervey Bay Triathlon such a memorable event that it was with no hesitation that I accepted an invitation to return in 2013.  Last year this race drew a pretty stacked field with some very good prize money up for grabs and this year was no exception.  With returning champion Joey Lampe headlining a field including former pro-cyclist Casey Munro, Josh Maeder, Luke Farrell and Brad Clark; among others it was always going to be a well fought out race.  As if this wasn’t enough Brad Kahlefeldt threw his name in there for good measure to ensure whoever came out on top of the podium was going to have to earn their money on race day!

I travelled to Hervey Bay off the confidence of my second place a few weeks back at the Gold Coast Triathlon but also knowing my mind hasn’t been 100% focused on my own training of late.  Free time has been a bit elusive of late while I have been starting up my own triathlon club and coaching business, Personal Best Triathlon or PBTRI.  Nevertheless I knew I had the form under my belt and was keen to post a good result as my first race under the PBTRI banner.

I was lucky enough to be asked to help out Codie Grimsey of Grimsey’s Adult Swimfit put on an open water swimming tutorial on the Saturday afternoon.  We had about 40 participants sign up and I really enjoyed being able to share my coaching knowledge about triathlon swimming with everyone that took part.  Grimsey’s Adult Swimfit put on regular open water session every Saturday afternoon at Sutton’s Beach, Redcliffe and I would definitely recommend them to anyone that can get there!

With a 6:30 start time it was an early start to the day on Sunday but when you are greeted with the views out over Hervey Bay it is hard to complain!  With relatively small open fields both the men and women started together, unfortunately resulting in me having to run up the beach into transition with the humiliation of being “chicked” after a less than impressive performance in the water by myself.  I hope my swimming tips from Saturday afternoon helped all of those there more than they did for me!

I knew I had my work cut out for me on the bike so there was no mucking around and straight into eating away at the lead of anyone in front of me.  One by one I was reeling in some of those ahead of me but nowhere near as quick as what Casey Munro was who came out of the water behind me and must have gone by so quick I didn’t even see him!  When you look at the timing splits and see a 40km time of 52:30 there is nothing you can do except acknowledge how blisteringly quick that is.  Naturally Casey led off the bike followed by Joey Lampe, Brad Kahlefeldt and then myself.  Thankfully my 57:06 bike split was not only enough to make up for a slower than expected swim but also enough to give me the equal second quickest split with Brad Kahlefeldt. 

This was one of the first races where I decided to run with my Bryton Cardio 60 GPS watch (I’ll have a review up of this bad boy shortly) and after this race I think it’s something I’ll be doing a lot more often!  With a one lap course there was little chance to see how far ahead the three guys were but the spectators out on the course gave me great support and encouragement to keep chasing hard and at the half way turn around all three of the guys were within reach.  Continuing to surge and build the pace on the way home I finally got a glimpse of third place with about 2km left and managed to get past Casey Munro to cross the line in third place, just 0:22 off Joey and 1:46 behind Brad.  And surprisingly record the fastest run split of the day in 33:31.

Hervey Bay put on a fantastic weekend and all of the organizers and locals go out of their way to look after you in every way possible.  And after a 5^th place in 2012 and a 3^rd place in 2013 maybe 2014 is my year, either way book me in now for another great weekend when it does roll around!

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Gold Coast Luke Harrop Memorial Triathlon

It has now been two weeks since my last race and a much longer time since my last blog but this isn't to say that the race or everything else that has happened in between isn't blog worthy, it is quite the opposite and it is only now that I am getting the opportunity to reflect on the race and put pen to paper on everything else that has happened since.

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!

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2013 Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival

Although I ruled out any idea of racing over the Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival weekend, there was no way I was going to miss out on an action packed weekend.  And with so many DAT athletes in action in almost every event for the weekend it's also a perfect opportunity to get stuck into some writing and give those guys and girls some recognition as we come towards the end of another domestic season. 

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!

 

Probably the only event for the weekend where DAT wasn't represented was Saturday afternoons World Cup but it was the perfect afternoon of racing to inspire and excite all of the athletes preparing for Sundays races.  And enough to get me back out the door again and hitting the streets of Mooloolaba for a much faster than expected run as thoughts of upcoming races flowed though my head.

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.

 

In the open age category Courtney pushed through an illness she picked up early in the week to finish in 3rd place and be the first DAT athlete to tick one of her goals off the board of DATspiration and it is only a matter of time before those next two goals are ticked off as well.

 

Other age group performances included a very impressive and slick 2:07:18 and a sub-1hour bike time for Dave Sangster, a 27th place and 2:26 for Dave Mcdonald, a 2:16 and 7th place to Dave Kelly, a 2:31 and 26th place for Rob Murdoch, a 2:32 and 9th for Geoff Lemmon, a 2:51 and 144th place for Richard Tareha, a 2:31 and 12th place for Kate Gibney and a 2:51 and 421nd place for Meg Coffey.  If anyone is daring enough to ask Curtis Lindsay will share a long-winded story about his race but the short version is that he finished in 23rd and did a 2:34.  The once "Unbreakable" Jamie Laverty failed to make it to the start line after being struck down with gastro earlier in the week but Mooloolaba is just a stepping stone on the Unbreakable path to Rio 2016.  The other half of the Unbreakable team, Jackson Haigh finished in 2:11 and claimed himself a 2nd place position in his age group.  And there is one age grouper I have left to last, and for very good reason.  Not only did Jamie Hanelt run the fun run in a ridiculous looking costume, he finished the triathlon in 2:19 and 30th in his age group and then proceeded to in his own words; party harder than any other triathlete as he took up his DJ post at the after party and seeing as though he goes out of his way to give us VIP treatment at the after party I'll return the favour and give him the VIP treatment in this blog ;).

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!
 

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Geelong Triathlon: the fact-finding mission

One year ago I was down in Geelong racing the ITU sprint distance race but with a shift in focus to a distance that I feel I am better suited to I again returned to Geelong to compete this time in the Hotel Urban Long Course Triathlon which was also doubling as a national championship race.  As you would expect with any national championship a stellar field was set to compete and it was even mentioned to be the best Ironman 70.3 field ever assembled in Australia.  I went in to the race essentially as an unknown having not yet finished a long course race after my Yeppoon mishap but was keen to not only see how I would compare in such a field but most importantly get to the finish and complete what we were essentially on;

 

a fact finding mission into the world of professional Ironman 70.3 racing.

 

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.

 

 

We had a short run into the water before we could start swimming and this suited me perfectly and I continued my trend from my past few races of getting off to a great start (something that I was severly lacking last season and left me chasing right from the gun) and used my height to my advantage to porpoise as long as possible and gain some clear water in front of me.  I settled into a good stroke rate and found myself settled in nicely into a pack and set about minimising the damage to Clayton Fettell; the one everyone expected to lead out of the water.  Running through transition I could see the lead group heading out and was happy with where I was positioned at the beginning of the 90km ride.  As much as I know I am riding relatively strong at the moment, a 90km TT was still taking me into unknown territory and it's now safe to say it's territory I need to explore a lot more to improve my Ironman 70.3 results!  To be honest I found the ride really tough, apart from the usual winds and dead roads that everyone was dealt with, I found the distance to be really tough and found myself losing ground on athletes ahead of me and being caught be athletes behind me.  Weather this was down to inexperience, lack of nutrition or just an off day I'm not sure but coming in to T2 I was relieved to be leaving the bike behind in favour of the Nike Lunar Racers for the 21.1km run.  I knew there was a lot more pacing involved in a 21.1km run in comparison to 10km and chose to use my Bryton Cardio35 to keep track of my splits.  To sum the run course up in one word would be tough!  The course involved two 8km laps around the park which was in no way flat and involved a mix of road and trail running and some nasty hills thrown in the mix followed by a final 5km section that went out past the finish line along the Geelong waterfront and back along the road to finish.  I started the run relatively well and was running at a somewhat controlled pace but in similar style to the ride I dropped off the pace towards the end and no matter how many Hammer Gels I downed it was purely about getting to the finish line towards the end.  I crossed the line in 4:09 and 21st in the elite field which was a bit off what I thought I was capable of and aiming for but at the end of the day I did make it to the finish and essentially complete the fact finding mission.  My respect for not only Ironman 70.3 races but the entire professional field on the day has risen to a new level and in particular the winner, Christian Kemp.  These races are tough but I learnt some valuable lessons from the experience and will use this race to make some changes to what I am doing in day to day training to improve on this result and be back in better form for my next long course race.

 

 

The weekend of racing didn't end there and it was great to catch up with DAT age grouper Dave Sangster who had also made the trip down to compete in the Olympic distance event and had an outstanding result to win his age group in convincing fashion.  It was also nice to be able to relax and take in the afternoon of racing which included the ITU Continental Cup where training partners Sarah Deuble and Maddi Allen would both be racing.  In Maddi's first pro race in some time she again proved her swimming ability to lead out of the water and ride with the front pack and finished with a strong run performance to cross the line in 10th.  And Sarah backed up her 4th place from last weekends ITU Conti Cup in Kinloch to come from the chase pack on the bike and run her way into 8th position.

 

Back in Brisbane now and one of the valuable lessons learnt from the weekends experience is that these races hurt!  It's safe to say that little training has been done since getting home late Sunday night and recovery has been the key.  Obviously experience plays a big part in this and being my first 70.3 I knew I would be dealing with this whereas I'm sure some of the more experienced guys were straight back into it the next day.  But Geelong was a massive learning curve for me and I'll happily treat my body to a few days recovery so I can get back into the big km's as soon as possible without injury or illness and with the experience behind the team at Revive I have no doubt recovery will be spot on!

 

For a different take on the race through the eyes of a couple of other athletes in the field check out these blogs:

 

http://sambetten.blogspot.com.au/ 

(some pretty cool videos here)

 

http://samappleton.blogspot.com.au/

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Caloundra Triathlon

Being a week out from Geelong, Caloundra was never really on my radar but after what has felt like so many missed opportunities and missed races thus far this season I was itching to race. With Caloundra being raced over the super sprint distance of 400/15/4 I thought it would be a good pre-Geelong tune-up and a chance to go through some of the little things such as pre-race nutrition, warm-up routines and transitions ahead of the 1.9/90/21 race next weekend. And who could pass up an opportunity to race in an event run by Brendon and all the guys at The Event Crew!

 

Wyatt getting his nutrition practice in...definitely no bonking going on here!

It's safe to say the lead up was far from ideal for anyone in Queensland with the flooding the week prior! I'm not sure about everyone else but the weather today was a welcome change from last week when most of us were locked up inside trying to stay dry and words like windtrainer and treadmill were wearing very thin! I also had the added issue of coming down with a slight cold the past few days but wasn't going to let that keep me from the race and will just be loading up on bed rest and vitamins this week in an effort to wipe it out completely.

With many athletes choosing to give this event a miss in their lead up to Geelong next weekend the field was somewhat smaller than previous events which was an added bonus at the swim start as there was little tussle for positions over the 400m swim. The swim did little to break up the field apart from my dad commenting on how good Dan Wilson looked as he opened up a small gap on the field while the rest of us apparently looked like we were flailing around chasing his heels!  Leading the flailing was Wyatt Westmoreland who continued on to finish 8th as he fine tunes his preparations for School State Titles in the coming weeks.

The gaps did start to form on the bike and while Dan's gap out of the water enabled him to continue to forge ahead, myself and Ben Cook managed to distance ourselves from the remainder of the field in pursuit of him. The 15km course seemed to be over before we knew it and on later looking I'd recorded at average of close to 43km/hr. This just wasn't enough to evaporate his lead completely but a speedy second transition into the Nike Lunar Racers (even got a quick mention on the loud speaker for that effort!) did put me no less than 10m behind him as we set off on the 4000m foot race. I quickly found out that Dan had to serve a 15sec penalty and was feeling great knowing that if I could at least hold this gap I could run away from him whenever he chose to take it. But to his credit not only did he push ahead of me before his penalty but stayed ahead even after serving his penalty and after catching back up to Tim George who had just passed me continued on to win the race with Tim in second and myself in third.

thanks Britt Dutton for the photo :)

Fellow Revive athletes Christophe Manchon finished in 12th place and Peter Ledwidge finished 5th in his age category.  On the womens side of things Ellie Salthouse began her 2013 in winning style taking out the womens event with Anna Jefferies and Kirra Seidel in third.  Laura was the highest placed DAT female in 5th with Sophie in 7th and Courtney in 8th.  Dave Kelly topped his age group by close to 2min and Lawrence finished just shy of the win in 2nd place in his age group.  Part time camera-man Jamie Hanelt (thanks for the transition video!) backed up his early efforts to finish 5th in his age group and rumor has it is putting his hand up to join the 2013 Yeppoon road trip with myself, Robbie, Tom and Dan as early nominees!

With three races of the Queensland Triathlon Series under my belt this season I have racked up a 2nd from Raby Bay, 2nd from Robina and now a 3rd from Caloundra so I'm three from three in terms of podium finishes but am still looking for that elusive victory!  I'll quickly put my hand up now for the final race of the series at Raby Bay in my bid to hit that finishes arch first but before I can do that I'll be heading down to Geelong this weekend to compete in the long course triathlon.

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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.

 

For those of us not making the trek to Penrith there was still some hot and intense racing to be had with race 4 of the Queensland Triathlon Series being held at Robina. It was set to be my first race back since Noosa and I was relieved to just be at a race venue preparing to race rather than spectating on the sidelines. The men's field was stacked with several top athletes including Raby Bay winners and runners up Bryce McMaster and Mitch Kealey along with Sam Betten, Sam Speechly, Matt Brown and a host of others. The women's field had a distinct DAT vibe about it with Sarah, Emily, Courtney, Maddi and Sophie all set to do battle with Olympian Emma Jackson. Unfortunately both Sam Betten and Emma Jackson were late withdrawals but their absence didn't take away from the already quality fields.

We were set to race over the sprint distance of 750/20/5 and with the day heating up early is was set to be a battle in itself to handle the conditions. As the gun went off I felt I was having a great start and had clear water almost all the way to the first turning can. I was being as wary as I could about avoiding coping an unnecessary kick to my finger which I had heavily taped up and luckily the swim was relatively calm in comparison to most triathlon race starts. Exiting the water I found myself about 45sec off the leader and front group of 8-10 guys but with the length of transition it gave me a great chance to see where they all were and try and makeup as much time on them as I could. The bike is the one discipline that hasn't been affected by any of my injuries and I knew going in to the race it would be my strength and had quickly moved my way through the field to a clear second place with only Mitch Kealey ahead of me. I was trying to check if I was closing any time on him at each turn around but each time I though I was closing the gap it would open up again at the next turn and as we both came into transition to begin the run he still had about 45sec up his sleeve. In the back of my mind I knew that Bryce had run down Mitch in the last race at Raby Bay so was positive about what I could do but at the same time wary not to push myself too hard and do any damage to my hip as I continue to build my running kilometers back up. Similar to the bike I was checking splits at each turn around but we seemed to be holding a similar gap each time. At the final turn around I could see the gap was too much to close down after not taking any time off him through the first 4km and I also had a safe advantage over the rest of the field behind me so I took a little bit of pressure off myself and controlled myself in the hope to avoid pulling up from the race too sore. Mitch crossed the line first in an impressive performance that saw him lead from start to finish and really made the rest of the field work hard on a very tough day. I crossed the line in second place very happy with my performance and looking forward to getting back into in and building up again for another strong performance in my next race which is set to be the National Long Corse Championships in Geelong. Third place for the day went to James Trevorrow who put together a great performance and definitely deserved to be on the podium.  Training partner Luke Farrell finished the race in 10th position.

 

On the women's side of things the swim was led out by none other than Maddi who maintained her lead throughout the cycle leg to lead the women out onto the run course. The remaining DAT girls remained right in the mix with Sarah and Courtney coming off the bike in the chasing group with Sophie not far behind while Emily had the unfortunate circumstance of having to watch them run away from her after being handed a drafting penalty which on several accounts was a tough call. With an impressive running performance in hot conditions Sarah was able to run down Maddi to claim the victory, with Maddi finishing off the podium in third place and Courtney in 6th, Emily in 7th and Sophie in 8th.

In other DAT results Dave Kelly produced a dominant performance to win his age group by over four minutes, Harry Sweeny braved it out to finish 10th in his age group after suffer badly in the heat, Abbey Black finished in 2nd position in her age group and the Sangsater family took home a handful with Dave winning his age group, Priscilla winner her enticer age group and Lawrence coming 3rd in his kool kids age group.

 

A final thanks must go to The Event Crew for again putting on another great race and all the photos they get from the race (of which I have used several throughout this blog).  From here is is straight back into some serious training in preparation for Geelong in only a number of weeks. :)

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DAT Racing HP Training Camp - 2012/2013 edition

 

It's hard to believe a year has past since we last invaded the Farrell Ranch but instead of reminiscing on the year that was I'll jump straight in to give everyone the run down of the DAT Racing HP Training Camp - 2012/2013 edition.  While our 2012 camp may have been an eye opener to several of us, the results throughout the season seemed to reflect the commitment we all showed so early in the season and it was with very high spirits that we all ventured to the beautiful Sunshine Coast to put ourselves through the torture test again.  This years edition began just before New Years and gave us three full days to close out 2012 in style but as an added incentive a full day off was included in the program for New Year's Day and let's just say it was certainly needed! The usual training camp scenario followed with the train-eat-sleep cycle on continuous repeat up until New Years and giving some of the younger boys their weekly training numbers in those first three days alone.

The setup was very similar to last year with the boys being relegated to the garage again but with a few less bodies and some interior design changes forcing us to rename the DAT Dungeon to the man cave, the bat cave or the ironman cave.  Whereas the girls were again living the life of luxury in the living room, all be it crammed full of nine of them at one stage!  It's hard to believe that the Farrell's would again not only be willing to open up their house to no fewer than fifteen triathletes for a week but also look after us as well as what they did.  We were fed, cleaned up after and washed up like kings and it is possibly the only time were I would almost get in trouble for washing up my own dishes, let alone washing anybody elses or even attempting to clean up!  I know both Mick and Patti think they have been thanked more than enough times for everything they did for us all week but one more won't hurt so on behalf of all of us again thankyou so much for your hospitality and also to Luke, Jack and Sean for having us again and I'm sure we will be back again :).
 

 

This blog isn't about posting all the times and data from all of our sessions but rather sharing a few stories and the fun times we had on our camp and how this will set us up for a great season ahead.  We all know how hard triathletes train, be it in the usual day-to-day atmosphere where we are also juggling family, work and any other commitments or the camp based atmosphere which in my opinion take away these outside stresses and pressures and allows us to focus purely on training, eating and sleeping and hence allows for a significant increase in quality and quantity to raise the bar when these other commitments are re-introduced.

 

But to begin with a few quick numbers; last year we were fortunate to get through the entire week with only two punctures, this year we wern't so fortunate and after the first ride I had personally matched that number with the first being on the adjacent street to our depature and the group as a whole had already doubled that number and by the end of the week I'm sure we had reached double digits.

Using some of the same ride loops as last year, our average speeds were well up and the ride that brought tears and saw several athletes left to fend for themselves last year was completed with ease by the whole group and I even had some of the younger boys come past me and request a turn at the front...some of these guys are seriously impressive and guttsy!

As a whole our distances were also up, clocking around 27km in the water, 700km on the bike and 100km on the run.  And on a side note clocking that kind of running distance is the most I have run in the last two months and of that 700km of riding, at least 150km of that would have been individual TT efforts...the Bryton Rider 50T was well and truly pushed to the limits throughout the week and got me some valuable data to use throughout the season.

 

No specific data was collected for our GPS (gels per session) but by the end of the week they were a necessity for even the easiest session.  And just to get one quick sponsors plug in here, the Hammer Nutrition gels and all of their other products served me well throughout the week and I'll go out on a limb to say that I would have been one of the last athletes to bonk or have shelled legs ;).

 

And what DAT training camp wouldn't be complete without our standard recovery methods of ice baths and beer with my yearly beer consumption off to a cracking start; all in the name of recovery and of course to clear out room in the Farrell's fridge ;)!

 

After a very solid three days of training we were all glad a sleep in was on the cards to begin 2013.  We were actually all given the opportunity to party as hard as we wanted but to everyones credit and commitment to the camp, nothing other than a later than normal night spent enjoying the company and good times of each other was on the agenda and no sooner had we seen in the New Year were we all ready for bed.  You would think that with a day off on the cards we would avoid any sort of physical activity but after lazing around the house all morning and more than one comment from Mick about how lost we all looked without training it was off to the beach for a very competitive game of touch football which some people ended up feeling more than some of the training sessions!

 

Over these first few days we were all witness to the blossuming bromance between Harry 'Hazardous' Sweeney and Wyatt 'the pelican' Westmoreland.  While none of us really know why so many giggles kept coming from that iPad screen they did keep us entertained but it did come to an end when Hazardous had to return to his family commitments, leaving the pelican to entertain us for the remainder of the camp on his own which I'm sure everyone will agree he did a good job of!

 

The session of the camp by far had to go to our track session towards the end of the week.  Going in to the session spirits wern't overly high and tiredness had well and truly set in and I think our warm-up pace resembled more of an ironman shuffle than anything else.  Not to take away from this track session but after mentioning the ironman shuffle there is one story that I have to include here!  To be honest I don't even know how this started but talk quickly turned to all things ironman on the camp with both Jake and Wyatt beginning their assault on the 2015 and 2016 Ironman Championships.  This forced the man cave to be re-named the iron cave and talk of Kona, gels, bonking and ironman tattoos became the norm.  So much so that a Facebook group, Lé Iron Cave was created.  Be sure to check it out to keep progress on these two ironboys ;)

 

 

That aside, back to the track session and the session of the camp; once we hit the track it was on and while no world records were broken we lit up that track.  It was more of a pace setting session than an all out speed set and every single athlete was either spot on with their given race pace times or maintained a quicker pace with ease.  It was topped off with a 1km effort at the end and Jake found his inner Usain Bolt to give all of us and the onlooking track runners and coaches a shock with the speed that he took off at but the headwind was strong enough to bring him back but not without thoughts of a sprinting career post his triathlon career.  It was the first time I had worn the Nike Lunar Racers since Noosa and having been one of the athletes running easily under my predicted race pace and without any dramas with the hip flexor tear was enough for me to throw my name onto the start list for this weekends QTS Robina Triathlon.

 

Unfortunately not all of the stories from the camp were good ones and we were dealt our share of bad luck.  After an outstanding performance at Runaway Bay, Britt Dutton was selected in the Australian team for Youth Olympics in the coming weeks but has had to since withdraw after recieving the news she has a stress fracture in her back.  I'd like to emphasise 'we' because I do truly believe this injury affected all of us as we all could see how well she had been training and racing but this is just a minor set-back for her and she'll be back stronger and faster than ever in no time!  With one DAT athlete out of the Australian team another one enters with Anna Coldham taking the spot and along with Holly and Jodie will no doubt do Australia and DAT proud next week.  Holly's camp wasn't all smooth sailing either and on our very last ride (while she was in my eyes riding more impressively than anyone on the entire camp) found herself tangled up in an accident where we were all initially fearing the worst but after a quick trip to the hospital was cleared of any damage and was able to continue on as normal.

 

I think everyone achieved their goals for the week, with mine being simply to get through the training load as effectively as possible after the terrible run of injuries and bad luck I had been having.  I'm excited about what's to come after the week and ticked more than one box in not only being able to get through the training but build my running up again after a lengthy lay off.  Big thanks to Revive Physio in the treatment and management of not only this injury but every niggle I have had throughout 2012 and it is with great pleasure that I can say I will be continuing to work with them throughout 2013.

 

 

What a week of training it was! It's safe to say that we lifted the standard from the previous year and if the results are to again lift we are sure to turn more than a few heads in the upcoming races.  It won't be long before we see these races with some of our ITU Juniors racing in Penrith this weekend, myself and a few others flying the flag at Robina and Holly, Jodie and Anna accompanying Dan to the Youth Olympics the following week.  The final thanks for the DAT Racing HP Training Camp - 2012/2013 edition of course has to go to Dan Atkins...the man can coach.  The time and commitment he put into not only this camp but every single session is something we all tend to take for granted and on that note a big thanks also to Katie, Ella and Molly who probably see less of Dan at times than what we do!  And to top it all of happy birthday to the man himself for yesterday!

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