Winning Challenge Wanaka in 2011 meant the world to me, so to come back and defend the title, against the strongest pro mens field ever assembled for the race was a huge occasion. The Challenge series directors were even calling it one of the best ever pro mens field assembled for any of their events world wide with multiple Ironman champions from New Zealand with Kieran Doe (Ironman Canada champion) and Bryan Rhodes (4 x Ironman champion); from Australia with Courtney Ogden (2 x Ironman Champion) and Aaron Farlow (Ironman UK champion in 2011 setting the course record); and then the Europeans Jimmy Johnson (DEN), Marc Pschebizin (GER), and Petr Vabrousek (CZE) all with a handful of Ironman and Challenge series victories.

Pre race media conference - from left, Aaron Farlow, Courtney Ogden, Jamie Whyte, Bryan Rhodes, Kieran Doe.

Last year we woke up to strong winds, and this year wasn’t any different to start with. The north-wester was already cranking at the crack of dawn and the lake filled with white caps ready the for the 6:30am start.

The pre race talk came from Doe and Rhodes. They are both exceptionally good swimmers in the world of Ironman racing and made a pre race call to pair up and help each other through the 180km bike leg. And that is how it played out through the swim and the early stages of the bike. I exited the 3.8km swim in 4th place with Ogden, 3:40 down on the front pair and 50 seconds down on Farlow and had put some good time into the other contenders. The swim felt great in Blueseventy’s new Helix for 2012. We will see big things from this product in 2012.

Exiting Lake Wanaka in the Blueseventy's new 2012 Helix

On to the bike and I was feeling great from the get go. I immediately dropped Odgen, who is a renowned runner, so it was good to get rid of him early. I settled into good rythym on the Cervelo P4 and was pushing some solid numbers on my SRM power meter. It was also my first time racing on F6R and F9R Fast Forward race wheel combo. It was the perfect wheel set for the conditions. So the chase began.

The early stages of the bike via Glendu Bay

Early time checks to the front showed I was holding a 3:30 gap. However the big move was coming from Farlow, who after 50km had rode himself up to the front. I was pretty happy with how I was feeling at this stage. I was riding the best I ever have in an Ironman and was banking on Farlow’s big effort to jump across so quickly, to hurt him later in the race. The front group of three soon become 2 when Rhodes punctured. From 60km all the way to 120km on the bike the time gaps hovered between 3:30 to 4 minutes. Then we hit the big head winds along the Tarras flats. 3:20, 3:10, 2:55, 2:30. After battling away for 140km I was finally starting to make some dents in the lead. Then I got the call that Farlow had dropped Doe. I continue to catch Doe, but Farlow found another gear for the final 30km to Wanaka and re-extended his lead to 3:30 by transition.

The Cerveloo P4 and Fast Forward wheels made a perfect combination for slicing through the Central Otago winds making it back to T2 with the 2nd fastest bike split of the day.

I was pretty happy to be back in Wanaka. The Central Otago winds and the heavy chip seal make for a pretty hostile environment for riding a bike. It takes it out of you and wears you down. It makes you hungry but you are too nauseous to eat anything. The small hills and undulations become a blessing, giving you a chance to temporarily change your position and get out of the saddle for a bit. What a way to start a marathon!

Hitting the run I always had in the back of my mind the big effort Farlow made early. It has to hurt him in the last 10km. I knew that Doe had fell off the pace towards the end of the bike and would be hurting. I past him about 6km into the run. He would hold on for a comfortable 3rd place. I controlled my pace well the first lap on the run. Through the half way point I had run a 90 minute split which was good considering the off road nature of the run course. But I had dropped another 2:30 to Farlow, now 6 minutes down. I tried to extract more pace from myself on the second lap but struggled to find another gear running into the big head wind. I was still hopeful of making inroads on the last 10km and to make a move if he was to fade.

The Challenge Wanaka run course, 80% off road and stunning views. Has to be one of the best in the world!

But fade he did not. With 10km to go his lead was seven minutes. My solo ride was catching up with me too and chase mode slowly changed to survival mode. It was a tough pill to sallow but that was becoming the reality of the situation. I was not going to defend my title.

When you have been through everything you have for the past eight hours, realise you can’t get to the front, you have got 2nd place stitched up and the thought of Ironman New Zealand in six weeks time, the body and mind are looking for a break. I was hurting big time and considering the situation decided to ease up and just try enjoy the experience for the last 5km into town. I made an effort to thank every volunteer and as many supporters as possible on my way to the finish chute. The volunteers make the event possible and the spectators make it exciting. Without them it would just suck, so they deserve all the thanks I can give them.

The finish chute experience was equally as good as last year. I never thought finishing 2nd could feel as good as this, but it was a mixture of emotions. I was very proud of the way I raced and the crowd was treating me like a champion, but at the same time I had fallen short on my goal to go back to back.

The Challenge Wanaka finish chute...well worth the experience!

I had had a perfect build up, was in the best shape of my life, raced as good as I could of, or maybe a slightly faster swim could have paired me up with Aaron for the start of the bike? Either way I was cleanly beaten by the better athlete on Saturday. He laid it on in all three disciplines and I could not come up with any answers for the way he raced. He is a top athlete, the current Ironman UK champion and course record holder, so there is no overwhelming disappointment in falling short to a guy like this. But if I am to win here again I will need to continue working on my arsenal as an Ironman athlete. The race really reinforced some important fundamentals about the sport and I learnt plenty from finishing 2nd. Things are continuing to head in the right direction, so I will just keep working hard and will be back for the top spot again in 2013.

I was very fortunate to have Fiona greet me at the finish. She has been a key part of the training machine for the past month down in Queenstown. She is incredibly understanding of my commitment to the sport and makes it possible for me to continue training and racing. She too had a successful day finishing 2nd in her age group for the half ironman event held in the morning. Well done Fee!!

Also a big thanks to:

• Coach Gordon Walker for doing an amazing job in getting me in the best possible shape. Enjoying every minute of training under this guy. Big year for him with coaching the NZ kayaking team to London Olympics. All the best matey they are in great hands with you!
• My parents for providing a fantastic training base at their home in Queesntown.
• To dad and the team who kept me informed all day of the time checks to the front.
• Matt King, my secret training weapon down in Queenstown. Congrats on the 2nd place overall in the Half Ironman.
• Neki Patel at One on One Physiotherapy, and Rebecca Whyte and Rosanna at Peak Performance Massage in Queenstown for keeping my body in tune while down south.
• And all my sponsors who have been incredibly generous with their product support leading into the event – Cervelo New Zealand, Fast Forward wheels, Blueseventy, Hammer Nutrition, Nike, Oakley, Biosport, Vittoria tires, ISM saddles.

…And if all that wasn’t enough, immediately after finishing and a couple of post race interviews it was straight back for a shower and getting suited up for groomsman duties a great mates wedding in Arrowtown. I went through survey school at Otago University, flatted with him and then worked at the same firm in Auckland as Josh Munro for several years.  I was very fortunate that despite me doing an Ironman and missing the wedding service, that we still wanted me to attend the reception as a groomsman. An incredibly top mate, now a very happy husband to the beautiful Anna Munro and father of young Nico. Was great to be a part of your day guys. Look forward to hauling up a few Blue Cod with you this week.

Within one hour of crossing the finish-line, three interviews completed, showered, suited up and ready for the drive to Arrowtown for the wedding!!

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement leading into the race and all the kind comments post race.

For the moment a big week of recovery is planned, maybe with a spot of fishing as mentioned above. Chat soon.

It’s been a great first half of the Triathlon season for me.  Although I haven’t done many triathlons I feel things are right on track for an even better 2nd half of the season.  My season started off on October 31st with a win at the Sri Chimnoy sprint race in Canberra in a time of 58:21.  I followed up with another win in the first TACT race of the season a week later, which included a pool swim as opposed to swimming in Lake Burley Griffin.  Both races were low key but good to come out on top.

On December 16th I headed off to Queensland with the ACT Junior Squad for the first ITU event of the season at Runaway Bay. The event included 3 swim races, a Lemans style crit race, running races over 1k, an aquathon, and 3 short triathlons.  I’ve never done any ITU races so wasn’t sure what to expect but I knew that I was in good shape as I had set some running PB’s and had been racing well in local crit races leading up to the event. 

The first event on Day 1 at Runaway was a 50m, 100m, and 200m swim races with a short rest in between.  Times were added up over the three races to declare a winner.  I swam PB’s in all three but only managed 36th out of 64.  In the crit race I was able to place 1st in my heat of 32 but unfortunately final places were based on time and even though I won my overall place was only 20th. About 2 hours later we had a 1k heat followed by a final if you placed in the top 3 in your heat.  I treated my heat like a final as I really wanted to see what I could do.  I was able to win my heat in a time of 2:37 which was the fastest qualifying time.  In the final I ran well but didn’t have it in the end but still placed 11th overall out of the field of 64.  To say the least after the first day I was pretty exhausted.  

Day 2 saw me place 20th overall in the Aquathon which was a 400m swim/2k run, 14th in the Super sprint 300/6k/2k, and 11th in the Ultra Sprint 200/4k/1200m. These races were fast and furious and unfortunately swimming in the pool I found myself doing a lot of chasing but I was very happy with the day. With all the races if you placed in the top 16 you received points at the end of the day I was placed 18th overall.

Day 3 I raced in the B final and had a really good race as my running saved me.  I lost my cycling shoe coming into transition and lost several seconds and with the races so short I was worried but today’s race had the longest run at 2.4k on the track and I proceeded to run down about 9 guys in front of me and recorded the 4th fastest run split on the day and finished 2nd overall in the B final.  

I was invited to attend the Triathlon Australia Development Camp that was held for 3 days after the racing and it was great learning from some of the best coaches in Australia.  They were all very helpful and I learned a lot.  It was also great getting to know some of the guys that I will be competing against in the future.

The next race is coming to Canberra at the end of January.   

Training has been going well for me.  School holiday’s has meant training twice a day with plenty of sleeping in the middle.  Although I have my first triathlon of the season soon the real racing for ITU juniors doesn’t start until Runaway Bay in December then Canberra at the end of January.  My training has been going well and I thought I would give a brief over view of what I am doing at this point in the season.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to train with some of the NSW juniors who came for their camp in Canberra.  We had a nice long windy ride in the hills and a tough swim set the next morning.  It was good to have a chat with some of them and to train in a group.   I would like to thank Jono O’Grady the NSW junior coach and Corey Bacon the ACT junior coach for organising this. I also had a chance to meet Kieran Berry the new State Academy Talent Coach for the ACT and NSW.

Hill repeats with TRI Running Group

Here is my training for a week in October.  The hardest week in a 4 week cycle!

Sunday am 2 ½ hour ride with 3 x12 minute climbs and motor pacing for 10k in the middle 

 Monday am 8k easy run   

pm swim squad 90minutes

Tuesday am swim on my own 3k  

pm Run session w/TRI Running Group 2x4x400 with 45sec rec at 5k 400 jog between sets 2x400 at 3k pace w/45 seconds recovery  

Wednesday am ride session 75minutes of hard riding  pm swim session

Thursday am easy 12k run pm easy 90 min ride include 2x3k climb at 60rpm’s

Friday pm swim club night 

Saturday  am 12k run session pushing through the hills  pm easy recovery swim on my own

Sunday am 3 hour ride include 4x12min climbs

This was a fairly hard training week, but with plenty of sleep and the SiS product Nocte I was able to get through it pretty comfortable.  Nocte is a night time recovery/protein drink and I couldn’t believe how good I felt the next morning after drinking it.  I have been told you have to train hard but recover even harder! 

Triathlon, crit racing, and athletic carnivals are happening in the next month so it will be pretty exciting to see how things are progressing.  That’s all for me.

Cheers

Brayden