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It is no secret that my start to 2011 has not been the greatest of my triathlon career. So as I watched the year progress I became eager to hear if there would be a return of Ironman Korea, after its absence for the last 4 years. In the past I have had good results  in Korea and discovered that the extreme conditions and tough course were to my strengths. Fortunately my feeling was good and an announcement of the reinvention of the race was made some time in May. Not long after, I had made my decision and planned the trip to JeJu Island South Korea for the July 3rd race date.

 

I had a reasonable lead up with a 5th place at the Cairn’s Half Ironman at the beginning of June. I followed that up with some good base training at home in Noosa Heads just as the winter chill started to creep in.

 

 The view from my little hotel room, without mist!!

 

Once I arrived on JeJu Island it took little time to settle in and I found that not all that much had changed since my last visit to the island, for a training camp in September 2008. JeJu is a small Volcanic Island to the south of mainland South Korea. To ride a loop around the island is almost 180km along amazing coastal roads with rolling terrain. The Ironman bike course had changed from its previous 1 loop to a new 2 loop condensed version which included a few out and backs with some small climbs and testing coastal roads which were very open to wind. This years run course had been modified from previous years but more or less on the same road out to the Football World Cup stadium, as in the past. The new swim venue was chosen to eliminate the chance of a rough water swim as in the past the use of Jungmun Beach - a surf beach, could get a fair amount of swell rolling into it. Not to the liking of the Korean athletes!!

Hwasun Golden Sand Beach. Yeah - I can’t see the golden sand either!

 

The protected Hwasun Gold Sand Beach, 10km from the Hotel area and new Ironman finish line in the Jungmun Tourist Complex, is a protected waterway and a good choice.

 

In the past the race was held in August, the very peak of summer. This usually meant extreme heat and humidity. The move to the start of July (the end of the wet season) was to reduce the chance of ridiculous heat and conditions that were more predictable. I arrived on JeJu to cooler weather than I had experienced there before and to a mist or fog that hung around for at least half the day. My immediate reaction was that this years race would not be a killer like past races on JeJu but told myself that this place was still very much unpredictable as far as the weather goes. We had a couple of rainy days during race week and one day where the mist burnt away to expose the true heat when the sun comes out on JeJu. Little did everyone know, but that was what we were in for on the run leg for race day!!

 

Well race day arrived with the usual misty morning start, which almost jeopardised the chance to hold the swim leg. To the full credit of the race team the swim went ahead as the mist slowly lifted and the swimmers could safely be watched from the water safety craft on the water and on the beach. During the swim I was having a battle of my own and really struggled to maintain the pace of my fellow professional athletes. I dropped from feet to feet and eventually found myself distanced from the chase group of swimmers where I should have stayed. I soldiered on solo for most of the 1st of 2 laps and had some company on the second lap -  of one other swimmer! (was that you Ed Hawkins?) I felt tired and energy less, not a great start!

 

Once on the bike I realized that today was going to be a bitch of a day, and had to come to terms with the fact that I had no high end race pace and would complete this one on pure determination and head strength. Leading into this event I had been dealing with fatigue for a couple of months but on arrival I had gotten a huge amount of sleep in my little hotel room. I had tapered well but was still showing signs of tiredness with bags under my eyes and a cold sore! Anyway onward I went and I actually didn’t feel too bad the last 1 hour of the 180km ride.

 

Through T 2 and out onto the run I went. By this time I was not really sure what was happening at the front end of the field since the bike leg gave you very few chances to keep an eye on your competitors. The sun was out by now and the heat and humidity was at full force - Ironman Korea was amping it up to live up to its hot hot reputation! After 9-10km I got a chance to see what was going on up front since we had a run turn around point at the Football World Cup stadium 10.5km into the marathon. I had calculated that I was running in 7th place by then - 1 position out of the prize money. Not all the athletes ahead looked convincing and I had my hopes set on claiming a few scalps as time progressed. Not that I was feeling fantastic, I was struggling like a dog! But this had been the theme of the day and the run has always been my thing so I just had to keep the head in the game and keep moving forward in this killer heat! Mid way back to complete the first lap of 2. I was passed by my Japanese friend and fellow pro, Hiro Nishiuchi. As he passed me I also passed a fading ( and walking) spanish pro who had started an IM Korea melt down. I thought, some progress, but I am still in 7th?! So I completed lap 1 and had a reality check as I started lap 2. At this point my head and body were locked into warfare! I thought about having a cry as the idea of going through that run loop again made my head hurt. All of a sudden something changed my mindset and I just continued on and went into run economy mode for another round! Ironman is a strange thing! During the 2nd loop of the marathon I passed my bike sponsor the

 

Ceepo Bike - flashing by!

 

legendary creator of Ceepo Bikes, Joe Tanaka doing his 1st loop. Joe was looking great and running very well. It was a real buzz to cheer him on.

 

So the long and the short of it is that by the time I reached the run turn point for the second time ( 31.5km into the marathon) I was in 5th place, since two other pros in front of me had dropped out after 1 lap. This was enough for me to gain some confidence and run it all the way to the finish line where I was rewarded with 5th place on an absolute brain draining day for me! My good mate Tim Beardal was there waiting for me at the finish since he had finally raced to his full potential and come in 4th overall as an age-grouper, some 15min before me. Well done Tim, time for a career reassessment! (Pro triathlon awaits you!!) I sat down and had a few waters with Tim before I dragged my tried and sorry ass off to the recovery zone of my little Korean Hotel room.

 

My little piece of JeJu Island to take home.

 

The next day I started the day with a coffee with Hillary Biscay. We caught up on life and then had a recovery swim at the Lotte Hotel swimming and gym facility. I did some hot and cold treatments and made the most of the KW 20,000 entry charge! We had the awards presentation at lunch time and swapped war stories amongst one another. That night I had a traditional Korean JeJu seafood meal with my Singapore mates Nicole and Arnaud. It was allot of fun we all walked away not quite sure what we had put in our mouthes or what the consequences would be the next day!

 

Fortunately I woke up the next morning without any consequence from the meal the night before. The weather today was incredible and the best of the whole trip, with sun shining and clear skies. I didn’t have to leave for the airport until 1pm so I thought that today would be the best day for a ride up the volcano. The highest point that the road takes you is 1100m high. Last time I was in JeJu for a training camp in 2008 we ran up the mountain. So I figured the ride up there, even after an Ironman, would be a nice thing to do.

  

The road up the mountain to 1100m is amazing

 

I was right and it is by far the best part of the island up there on a sunny clear day. The ride made my morning and I had a good day of travel from there.  

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1st 4:08:48  Swim - 30:10 (8th)         
Cycle -2:16:47(2nd)          
Run - 1:19:19 (1st)
 
We dive into Prairie Creek Reservior, I position myself to the right of all the other athletes. In previous races I've been swimming off track. I always veer right and find myself heading way off course. Positioning myself to the right to start may seem strange if thats the way I tend to head but I breath only to the left when racing. So this way I figure I will see myself heading off track if I do this. It worked. My swim coach, Zane King back in Brisbane also spent a lot of time with me before I headed to the states, teaching me to swim straighter. It did help that the swim bouys were huge, bright and many of them. I think one of the best marked swim courses I've done. I had a slow start, or my competitors had a fast start, I couldn't keep up. This may have been due to not warming up. I didn't get a swim before the start as I was frantically running around looking for a timing chip strap. Once everyone settled into their pace I found myself passing athletes, something I've never done before in the swim leg so this was encouraging. I ran out of the water in 8th place. There were 19 professional female starters. Obviously still not as strong a swimmer as the leaders who still managed to put 2min 50sec into me but I was fairly happy with my swim. 
 
We had a long transition to the bike. This was nice. It gave me a chance to get my legs going before I jumped on 'Buddy', my trusty Avanti Chrono TT bike. I lost a couple of spots briefly in transition as I tried to get my race belt on as quick as possible. I noticed I was one of only a few that didn't wear a speed suit over my tri suit. Many of the girls already had there race belt on under their suit. They must have been quick to get their suit off as they were off before me. 
 

I didn't know how far I was down on the leaders but I knew I had to work hard. My partner, Jared had given me the heads up that Cave was a very strong swimmer/cyclist and Williamson was a great swimmer/runner so I knew I had my work cut out for me. I couldn't let Cave gap me too much more and I had to try and catch Williamson on the bike. I had no idea where I was placed, how much time I was down and who any of them were so I just rode hard. My bike time of 2:16:47 was 2min 13sec slower than Cave but I had caught the rest of the field. The bike course was flat. Very flat. We had a few slight climbs but nothing you really had to get out of your saddle for. What made it a little difficult was the wind. We had long straight roads so we had a long time into a head wind but then also a long time into a nice tail wind. For the first half of bike leg my left leg felt 'dead'. It felt really tight and fatigued. But after about 40km I started to feel good.
 
90km complete, I quickly rack my bike, grab my SiS visor and head off for the run. I have an official course bike riding next to me. I'm puffing hard and my legs feel terrible and I yell to him "what's my position?". He said "your in second about 4min down". 4 minutes...whoa! That's tough but doable I think to myself. I later found out I was in fact over 5min down on the leader. After a mile I feel great. I get my running legs and settle into a comfortable pace. The course had some rolling hills and was an out and back course so you could only see your competitors once you hit half way. I'm about a quarter of the way through the run and some nice spectator tells me I'm 2min behind the leader. "Awesome" I think to myself. "I can keep up this pace and catch her by half way". But there is also this thought running through my head "I'm WAY ahead of the pace Jared told me I should sit on". I'm clocking every mile on my watch and I'm running too fast. I've only been back running for 5-6 weeks since taking time off after rolling my ankle. But I'm feeling good and it feels very comfortable. I tell myself, I'll slow a little and catch her by 10mile. This is what I told myself to do but I couldn't help myself, I kept the same pace and caught her at mile 8. I ran past still feeling great. "Ok, now slow down, your in the lead".  I put the brakes on a little but still kept the pace strong. You never know who else is coming from behind. And there was still Williamson...somewhere... don't know where...I'm sure running her way through the field...
 
I was running in my new road racing flats supplied to me by Nike ('Lunar Racers'). I haven't run in Nike before, they have just started helping me out last month. These shoes are fantastic. They're as light as a feather and you would expect them to be as hard as a rock but somehow Nike has produced this shoe that feels so soft and comfy it's like your running on clouds. 
 
Running down the finishing shute...I finally relax, give some spectators a high 5 and smile. I've done it... I've won my first race of my International season. It was an awesome feeling! My finishing time of 4:08:48 was 3:31 ahead of a fast finishing Williamson. I was 8th in the swim, I clocked the second fastest bike leg and I had the fastest run split.
 
Thank you very much to all my sponsors and supporters  Scody. Avanti. Connectel. Compressport. RudyProject. Continental. Nike. SiS. WRCC. Ifeelgood24/7. Aquashop. Rideoz. Cadence Cycling. 
 
And a special thanks to my manager Phil Stoneman - M5 Sport and Event Solutions, my partner Jared Hauschildt, and my swim coaches Brendan Capell and Zane King.

I also want to send out a big thank you to my Homestay family in Muncie, Melissa & Bill Greene and their two lovely kids Matthew & Emily. The Greene's were fantastic. They ran me around everywhere, fed me and gave me a bed and 

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Firstly I must apologise for my laziness in updating my blog.  I am in the middle of an 8 hour stop-over in Singapore ‘Changi’ Airport, and have finally run out of excuses not to start writing again.

 

Well the Australian 2010/11 triathlon season has come to an end for me…and what a season!  This was definitely a season full of transitions, including a transition from age group to elite, a new bike, a new coach, a new hometown, and a spattering of pleasing race results.

 

The season kicked off with the Noosa festival which I had perhaps my best result to date chasing down a strong lead swim/bike pack to post the fastest age group run of the day and snag a spot on the podium in the open men’s division.  The next few months were focussed on local races.  I recorded my first state series title at the Bunberri Classic, and missed out on an open state title by the smallest of margins to triathlon stalwart Sean O’Neill at the Rockingham state sprint champs.

 

Once I’d received confirmation of my pro license, I began planning a semi-permanent move to the eastern states to be closer to the action.  My coach at this time (Paul “What a Guy” Mackay) had done the same thing as a young triathlete and strongly encouraged me to not hesitate in the move.  Warwick Dalziel, coach at the Carina Leagues Triathlon Club in suburbs of Brisbane, had been very helpful to me in the past when I needed a place to train in lead up to races of the east coast, so I decided to move to Brisbane to train under his guidance.  After one last swing (and miss) at an open state title at the end of January, I flew to Brisbane where I had my first 3 elite races lined up (National sprint champs in Geelong, Oceania champs in Wellington, and Oceania Cup in Mooloolaba).

 

Geelong taught me a few great lessons about racing against the elites, and sent me walking away with my tail between my legs.  Wellington looked a bit better on paper, but still wasn’t a great race.  Mooloolaba was the best of the 3, but my run split still let me down and I could only manage 27^th place, a whole 4 minutes behind the winner.  As disappointing as these results may have been, I needed to take a step back and remember that I had taken a massive step in the last 12months from struggling age grouper, to struggling elite!  Lance Armstrong was lapped out of his first elite race, so I couldn’t let these results get to me.

 

Another transition that I made this year was from a part time athlete/full time student, to full time athlete/graduate (BSc).  When I was given the opportunity to race for a Division 2 German club over the winter months, I jumped at the chance…not having to worry about study.  I would spend May, June, and July training in a small town in southern Germany, Crailsheim, with a few very established long course athletes, and racing for ‘Magic Sport-food Team TSV Crailsheim’. 

 

My next race was an Asian cup race in Subic Bay, Philippines on May 1.  I saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of a relatively small starting list and score my first ITU points by making placing top 20.  I pumped out some impressive running k’s in the 3 weeks leading up to the race, but a minor flu in the last week left my confidence a bit shot.  By the time the race came around the start list was of a much better calibre.  After a good first 750m in the swim, I really struggled over the second half and lost contact of the front group.  With very few strong cyclists around me into the first half of the 40km bike I wasn’t able to bridge the gap back to the front group, and lost a lot of time, eventually being caught by a pack with 5km to go.  As I jumped off the bike, I had a quick count of the number of runners in the front pack…21.  This meant that unless I was able to make up 4 minutes to the slower runners, AND stay within 5 minutes of the winner (which would require a 32min 10km split) then I wasn’t going to score any points.  I made the decision to pull the pin early and save my legs for what is going to be a very long and intense European season.

 

So now, my Aussie season is over, and in two weeks my European season kicks off. Can’t wait!

 

Cheers,

 

James

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Port Macquarie 70.3 - my first race of the year. I was excited. I had a new Avanti Chrono Time Trial bike with Zipp 606 race wheels. All my previous races have been on my Avanti road bike. I had a new TT helmet and shoes supplied by Ride Oz. A new Ironman Wetsuit provided by The Aqua Shop. And my newest sponsor Rudy Project supplied my sunnies. On top of that I was also using SiS nutrition for the first time in a race, another sponsor I have recently started working with. From top to bottom I had new equipment. Now I looked the part.

Coming out of the water 3-4minutes behind still doesn't quite look the part though so this year I sought out a swim coach. After a week swimming under Brendan Capell and Zane King I could already see improvement in the pool.

9:30am, I'm waiting for the starters’ gun. Bang! We take off... I'm on their feet. I'm following their bubbles, I see the splashes. Then... nothing! I look up... The pack is too my left... Waaaay left. I'm heading off course. Noooo... It's only a couple of hundred metres into the race and already I'm off track. I've lost them. I panic and take a sharp left and get back onto the back of the pack. Ok, your fine, your back on, I tell myself. But it's not long before I'm veering way off course again. I finally find the finish ramp. I'm just less than 2min behind the lead girl but only about 1min 10sec behind the rest.

My favourite leg, the bike! I know... I'm a runner or 'was' but I love the bike. I'm a little way up the road and I hear Jared, my partner yell that I'm in 6th place. I start picking them off. I pass one girl and tell myself 5th! Then the next, 4th, 3rd, is that Belinda Granger??? Wow! 2nd, 1st... 8km completed and I'm in the lead. I work hard putting my Avanti Chrono TT to the test. The bike course was good. 10km of hills then

 

long flat rough roads. It's a head wind on the way out; I get low and grind it out making sure I'm staying above 30km/hr. We turn around and again long flat rough roads. But this time we have a nice tail wind. 48km/hr... Whoa! Maybe I should back it off? Nah... This is cool. I stick between 46-48km/hr. At one stage I hit 50 just to see if I can J

I come into transition, rack my bike, put my runners on and bolt out... I get only about 1km down the run course before I jump off. That's it. Unfortunately I rolled my ankle the night before and couldn't complete the race. I was hoping for the best, that it'd hold up but I couldn't risk it. It was sore and 21km on a sprained ankle could put me out for a lot longer than one race.

It was disappointing not being able to finish but I can take some positives from it. I still got to practice my weaker two legs. I had the fastest bike time by 8min 20sec. And although I swam anyway but straight I still had my best ever swim result. Overall I loved the ironman experience. The volunteers and supporters were amazing. I'm really enjoying my new sport and there's plenty more races to come J

 

Thank you all for your support ........................................ Melissa 

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On the 8^th of April, my very good friend Katie was supposed to be celebrating her 28^th birthday. Instead she lost her battle with Cervical Cancer. I first met Katie in mid-2007, only a few months after starting triathlon. She was doing her honours in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast looking at triathletes. I volunteered to be one of her subjects. After 3 sessions where she put me through the ringer, coaxed me through some gruelling testing on a bike and a treadmill where she was wiping spit off my face and the floor (from the O2 mask I had to wear) & taking my blood- lets just say we were way past small talk after the first 5minutes of meeting! She became my most reliable coffee date. Talking about all things 20-something year old chicks do; gossip, boys, work, boys, training, boys, plans for the future and boys! Giving each other advice on boys, life, training and boys.... She was one of the few people I could be totally honest with, trust with my darkest of secrets and reassured that I would always feel so much better after spending time with her smile, laugh and conversation.

She was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer in September 2010. In October her kidneys started to shut down and then by December the cancer had spread to her abdominal lymph nodes. Then 10days ago I got the phone call I never, ever thought I would.... she had passed away after collapsing at the health retreat from a kidney infection. She hung on until the morning of her 28th birthday and then slipped away from our world leaving us left behind shattered and empty. Words cannot describe the hole I have inside and how much I will miss my loving and loyal friend.

I was unable to attend her funeral as last Friday I flew to Townsville, borrowed my brother’s car and drove 650km west to Julia Creek. I was lucky enough to have accommodation with a lovely girl, Sally Eales, who works in the information centre there. I crashed hard Friday night, putting away almost 10hours of sleep. The next morning was the triathlon which I had travelled out for. I went out last year, and finished a disappointing 4^th as it was a surprisingly stacked field. This year my competition would be the young Maddison Allen from the QAS squad. Now focusing on long course, I’d have my work cut out for me racing a sprint tri against a specialist. T2 was located in town and T1 25km west of Julia creek at a dirty waterhole. The bikes were transported out to T1 on a cattle truck whilst we were briefed at the rodeo grounds and then moved onto buses out to the swim start.

The swim is 800m in a freshwater creek, T1 in a dusty creek bed where the gruelling 25km bike leg starts. 25km east into a strong headwind on a slight incline and then a very rough road over the final kms. I exited the water about 1.5mins down from Maddy and knew that the bike leg would make or break my race. I caught her with about 3km to spare and put about 20seconds into her….was it enough? I struggled with my right shoe in transition and she was hot on my heels, catching me about 1km into the 5km run, I thought it was over. Sticking together for about another 2km I knew I had to make a break cause if it came down to a sprint I feel young legs would win. On the 3^rd and final loop I’d broken away by about 7m and began to put the hammer down. At the final turn all I could think about was Katie. Rachael it’s 4mins of your life, not much of a fight compared to her 6months- run for her. With about 100m to go I knew I had it, increasing the gap to about 50m/ 16 seconds. 1^st and the added bonus of a chopper flight over Julia Creek, landing at the races in style, free red-claw luncheon at the races and VIP entry at the rodeo that night are all nice perks of the Julia Creek win.

So left JC at 5:15am Sunday to get back to Townsville before lunch to speed some time with my brother before heading home at 5pm….. However at 10:30 I was about 10km out of some tiny western Queensland town, about 250km from Townsville where the traffic came to a standstill at a floodway covered with 80cm of water. There I sat for 10hours waiting for the water to subside, finally crossing and arriving in Townsville at 10pm (well after missing my flight!)

My next race is China 70.3. I am doing this race in memory of Katie Sutter and coincidently am fundraising for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation. Please donate to this amazing cause so that we can help prevent, treat and ensure that we don't lose any more young women to this devastating disease. Please click on the link below and give what you can to this cause: whether it's $1 or $100- every cent will go to the foundation and to this worthy cause.
http://www.everydayhero.com.au/rachael_paxton

Rachie xo

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After a quiet start to 2011 my first main races for the year started with the NSW Pro Tour in Huskinson. Having spent a lot of time working on my swim since last winter I was hoping that it might finally come together in a race. My swim was actually not too bad and I felt quite good in the water, but my concentration let me down as I missed the split in the groups on the way back to the beach and I wasn’t strong enough to get back up to the front group. The rest of the race panned out ok, finishing 8^th in a solid field, but by missing the front pack the chance of getting a great result was almost zero.

 

In the week after the race I realised that not making the front group because I wasn’t paying attention was 100% worse than not making it because I wasn’t fast enough. I did the best I could to not let it get to me but I could help being a little rattled whenever I thought about it. I decided that I wasn’t going to let that happen ever again!

 

Two weeks after Huski it was time to head up to Mooloolaba for National Champs. Throughout the swim it was impossible to follow peoples feet as the quicker guys in our wave swam through three if not four of the waves in front. Coming out of the water I had no idea where I was positioned but was pleased that I had swum as hard as I could the whole way (as stupid as that sounds) and just hoped that it would put me in a good position for the rest of the race. Coming out of transition I realised I was just behind Daniel MacPherson, who I knew was a fantastic swimmer so I decided I’d either had a great swim or he had had a terrible one. Turns out that the former was appropriate and we were in 2^nd and 3^rd. I tried to hang on to Dan on the bike and managed to only loose about 20m on the way out, the way back was a different story. There was a horrible head wind on the way home and I couldn’t keep Dan in sight. It was not a nice feeling at all to watch him ride away but there was nothing I could do about it. I just concentrated on keeping an even rhythm and backing myself to catch Dan again on the run. As I got onto the run I still though that I was in 3^rd and was watching the whole way to see how far behind 1^st and 2^nd I was. I saw Dan and thought that I could catch him but couldn’t see where the 1^st placed guy was so just pinned my ears back and started chasing. I had a three minute gap to catch Dan which was going to be tough.

 

I caught Dan at the 5k mark which was a little unexpected so just continued to push hard trying to chase the one person up the road who I still hadn't seen. Try as I might I still couldn't see, let alone catch the person that was in front. It wasn't until presentation that I found out I had been chasing ghosts and had actually won. For the first race I have ever won I figure National Champs was a pretty good one to start with.

 

After Mooloolaba I got really sick and ended up doing nothing for nearly two weeks leading into the Sydney race. I jokingly said that it was a perfect taper, but deep down I had a feeling that starting in the open wave being underdone like that wasn’t going to end well. Despite that I headed up to Sydney looking forward to the last race of the Aussie summer. Standing around waiting to start was a little daunting as it looked as though some of the international athletes who had raced in the Mooloolaba world cup, who didn't get a start in the World Champ Race that afternoon were going to be in our race.... Daunting is a vast understatement there!

 

The swim was going to be crucial as once the front guys get onto the bike there is not much chance of chasing them down. Finally (and very pleasingly) my swim came good when it mattered and I came out with the front group with only a few other individuals off the front. The group quickly formed and reeled back all but one of the leaders by the end of the bike.

 

I got off the bike and started to feel the effects of two weeks in bed but I was determined to make the most of the position I was in. After the first kilometre I was in 6th place. I put in an effort and caught up to the two guys in 4th and 5th, one of whom was Lindsey Wall a training partner of mine. We ran the rest of the run together until the 8k mark. We were slowly closing the gap to third place.... But we were making very slow progress. At 8 k I knew we were going to have to pick things up so told Lindsey and went for it expecting Lindsey to come with me. It felt like I was sprinting for 2k's up Macquarie Street and I wasn't sure if I was making any progress, but with 200 m to go I caught 3rd place. I could see second place up the road but I couldn't run any faster so had to settle for 3rd place by a tiny 4secs. A result that I'm extremely proud of all things considered.

 

After having a pretty easy week, I'm now getting back into training before I head overseas in two weeks to race for the ASICS WITTEN Triathlon team in the German Bundesliga. I might be a little out of my depth there with team mates like Dave Mathews, Lisa Norden and Jimmy Seear but it will still be a great experience all the same. My next blog will be coming to you from somewhere nice and sunny in Europe (hopefully sunny!). I would quickly like to thank my sponsors Velo Republic Cyclery, Marchisio Wheels and Dedacciai who, without their support I would not be able to put together these results. Also my coach Benny and of course Mum and Dad! 

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Twenty –four year old Nick Murray has been involved with Triathlons for seven years and recently began racing with a Professional Licence, a long term goal for the UWA Triathlon Club member.

With a string of strong results on the local Triathlon WA calendar, including a 4^th and a 3^rd at the Albany and Bunbury Triathlons respectively in recent months, and his debt international professional race at Singapore 70.3 a few weeks ago, Nick is working hard towards a big year with his coach, Ironman WA Champion Courtney Ogden.

Tell us a little bit about your development as an athlete. How long have you been competing in triathlons for and how have you progressed through the ranks? Did you have a background in any of the individual sports (swim/bike/run)?

In my later years in high school I got involved in rowing and cross country and that’s where my love of endurance sports started.  I was never a star but I loved the challenge of it, I especially loved rowing camp, that was my first introduction to 3-a-day training sessions and I just really enjoyed the physical and mental challenge of it.  When I finished school I wanted to keep fit, I considered just running but thought that was a bit boring so decided to have a go at a triathlon.  I wasn’t any good when I started but I loved it so I kept doing it!  Like a lot of amateurs I jumped straight in the deep end, doing a couple of sprints, one Olympic distance then straight up to a Half-Ironman.  My first Half-Ironman at Busso I did around 5:20, the next year was 4:49, the year after that was 4:19.  The first few years racing  I was at Uni, having a good time, going out a fair bit, so training wasn’t too serious.  Eventually I settled down a bit and that’s when I started to take my training and racing a bit more seriously.          

You recently acquired your professional licence. When did you start to think about competing as a professional triathlete? Has it been a long-term goal?

Yeah I decided when I was about 20 that I wanted to race pro.  But I knew it was always going to be a long term thing.  I was always keen to race Long Course, I really enjoy the longer style of racing and I was more suited to it, especially given I started swimming at 18 and wasn’t very good.  Knowing most of the best Long Course guys are in their 30’s I had time up my sleeve so I decided to make the most of my time at uni and just have fun because I didn’t want to resent the sport down the track for making me miss out on all that stuff.  As I got more serious with training I set myself the target to be racing pro by the time I was 25 and I just snuck in!

Last year you raced several of the Australian Half Ironman series races in the Open Category. How tough was it going from age group to open competition? What did you find were the major differences between the two categories?

It’s a very different race! Racing age group I would always come out towards the front of the swim, you have a lot more people around on the bike, so you get an easier ride, you get off feeling good for the run and you’re in contention for the category win so there is motivation to run hard.  Racing Open I was about a minute off the pace in the swim and that’s pretty much your day done right there unless you’re a very strong cyclist (cycling is my weakest leg).  You miss the first group and it’s a very lonely 90km’s and then it’s tough to get yourself up to run a hard 21k’s when you’re out of the race.  I love the challenge of racing head to head with the best guys in the race and I was never that satisfied with winning my age group because I would always be comparing myself to the fastest guys.   I’m motivated now to work hard in the pool and on the bike to close that gap and move up the results sheet!      

Speaking of the Half Ironman series, what races around Australia did you really enjoy and could recommend to others?

Busso is my favourite by far! (Maybe I’m biased being from WA)  I love everything about the event, especially the after party! Yeppoon was a great place to escape winter, I thought Gold Coast would be too but unfortunately it rained the whole day this year (I don’t think it’s stopped yet).  I really enjoyed Shepparton and it was good getting to spend a bit of time in Melbourne on that trip as well.

You raced Singapore 70.3 last weekend, your first as a Professional triathlete. Tell us about your race.

I was really excited to be racing there, some of my family came up, there were heaps of WA people racing, the pro field was stacked, and it was my first triathlon outside of Australia!  It ended up being a pretty up and down race for me though.  I had a terrible training month leading in to it so wasn’t as fit as I should have been.  Made a tactical error at the swim start, lost the pack really early and proceeded to lose a lot of time in the water.  Did a PB on the bike but got really dehydrated and struggled as soon as I hit the run.  Was in survival mode for 21k’s!  It was always going to be a tough ask coming from one of the least humid places in the world to one of the most but I think the biggest thing to take out of it was if you don’t do the work in training  you don’t get the result you want.    

What are your major goals for the year and what races are you planning to compete in?

I haven’t mapped out what races I’m going to do after Busso at this stage, but with uni I can’t go away for extended periods at the moment so I’ll probably be doing a lot of racing in Australia and  Asia.  My main goal for the next 12 months  is to get my swimming and cycling up to a level where I can get on to the run leg  in a competitive position   Running is my strongest leg but It’s no good being a strong runner if your too far back off the bike for it to make a difference!  

Do you use a coach and have you made any significant changes in your training since moving up to the Professional ranks?

I spent 5 years with Grant Landers at UWA Tri Club.  Grant has had a massive influence on my triathlon career thus far.  I’m now very lucky to have the support of Courtney Ogden who has been coaching/mentoring me for the past 10 months.  It’s great to have the opportunity to be coached by, and train with one of the best professional athletes in your sport while they are at the top of their game.   I’ve learnt a lot from Courtney already in the short time we have been working together and I think he will definitely be able to help me take my racing to the next level. 

What do you do outside of Triathlon? How do you balance triathlon with everything else in your life?

I’ve just gone back to uni this year to start a Physio degree.  I previously did a Commerce degree (Marketing/HR) and then worked for a couple of years but it wasn’t for me.  There are only a handful of athletes that actually make a living out of triathlon and like any athletic career it doesn’t last forever so I really wanted to have a career that I can work in for the rest of my life that I am passionate about.  It took a while but I finally worked out that Physio is it!   So my schedule is pretty hectic at the moment balancing training with uni and casual work but getting used to it.  On the social front, I’m a big fan of Sunday sessions! There are some great beachside pubs in Perth that have a really good Sunday session and you can go out and socialise but being  more an arvo thing you can get home early and get to the pool on Monday morning.

As a beginning professional, have you tried to look for sponsors yet? How tough has this been and do you have anyone on board supporting you as yet?

For someone with a degree in marketing you would think I would be more proactive in this area but I actually haven’t approached anyone yet.  I’m getting organised now though so will be approaching companies in the very near future.  I’m also building up a pretty decent amount of debt with my parents! (I’ve always payed them back in the past, so I think they have some hope they will see their money again!) 

What’s some advice you can pass on to those starting out in this sport?

Join a club. It’s a great way to meet people and to learn about the sport.  Also most clubs will have an experienced coach.

Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions, even if you think they are stupid because we have all been there. 

Read.  You can pick up a lot of good stuff from magazines and credible websites when you are starting out.

Work on your weaknesses.  Most people hear this often but don’t actually do it because it’s hard.  If you want to improve significantly you have to do it, there are no shortcuts.

Most importantly have fun! If you’re not having fun then don’t do it, life’s too short!

Thanks for speaking to us Nick and we wish you the best for training and racing in 2011!

For more information on Nick and to keep up with his schedule check out his website at http://nickmurrays.blogspot.com

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I never do anything in halves and why would I just do one thing, when I could do a million?

 

2011, so far has been an exciting in my world of triathlon and beyond the world of swim, bike run.

 

Having spent most of January climbing the hills of the Snowy Mountains, and dodging the wild Queensland weather on the Gold Coast – I am learning that after a year of rapid improvement, it is now about being consistent & PATIENT and getting the little things right.

 

As a textbook example of a Gen Y kid I want everything yesterday – which is not necessarily a bad thing. I will use the euphemism of hungry and determined as opposed to impatient. But such “hunger” means I over-analyze everything and expect world domination after 18mths in the sport.

 

My first hit out – for 2011 was none other than 3^rd round of the Kurnell Olympics – amidst Sydney’s heat wave and preceeding a 48 degree day where I ran 26km and swam 3km! The heat got to me, and not so graciously collapsed with heat exhaustion. But the win out of that was I finished, despite having little recollection of the last 500m, still managed 4^th overall and your actions of yesterday effect today.

 

The first goal race for 2011 – Geelong, and I was excited to race despite the back and forth of triathlon? Duathlon? Cancelled? – With the wind still up, and coming at every direction – given that I am knee-high to a grasshopper, and not as strong on the bike as my other legs, I struggled and battled in the wind. But was happy with improvements and the training is paying off , clocking the fastest female run splu– and finishing 2^nd to Tils in the Opens.

 

I am now gearing up for Husski Sprint, Mooloolaba and Sydney races – along with Surf Lifesaving State & National Championships in the next month.  To make the year even all the more crazy I have commenced studying my Masters of Journalism which has always been something I have been so passionate about and I am excited that I am able to go back to university.

 

 

I am excited about my last race for the season – and sometimes I need to remind myself that 18mths ago I wasn’t swimming or riding and a 20min run 3 times a week was pretty much the extent of exercise. I am proud of what I achieved and excited about what lies ahead.

 

Oh, and I couldn’t think of an appropriate segue to plug my 3 new sponsors – but I am so excited to have teamed up with:

 

 Torq Nutrition – A sports nutrition company with products made from all natural sources and nothing artificial. I was so excited by their products that I was no longer eating all natural products daily and shoving artificial stuff in my mouth for training and racing. A massive thanks to Dean and his team for helping me out with the best products and believing in me.

 

Rival Swimwear & Running Bare – to have teamed up with these 2 brands is amazing. I now am donned in BRIGHT swimming, and running gear. So now not only can everyone hear me they can now spot me a mile away. To be associated with the Rival & Running Bare brands is very humbling that these brands believe in me and my goals.

 

The Running Company _ these guys are awesome. They throw you on a treadmill and put you in a million pairs of shoes to make sure you get the right pair. They make you feel like the Cindarella version of running J

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2 weekends ago saw USM put on an action packed weekend of racing from the twilight run to World Cups.

After watching the men go around in the ITU World Cup opener on Saturday afternoon, the ITU Oceania Cup was treated to an early start before the hundreds of age groupers took to the course.

The race panned out very similar to recent years with the ocean swim breaking the men’s field into several different groups only to come together before the turn around on the bike.

With the aggressive riding coming from Hull, Boyle, Schokman and Hecht, a breakaway group held over a minute heading into T2 making the run interesting and a race of survival for the leading group. Mitch Robbins set a blistering pace early while Peter Kerr rode the rim for remaining 5km on the bike which meant he would be hunting the leaders for every last place. I somehow managed to get into another one on one with Josh McHugh who showed some early season form to outpace me up the final hill and run away with 5th.

My race plan was to run steady then build into the run making for a more even 10km race. For the first Olympic distance race of the year, this worked well only fading in the last 1500m due to not enough run work. I held on for a tidy 6th while swim leader, Taylor cecil was clipping heals for 7th.

It was also my first race in my new Mizuno Ronins which made for a quick transition and feeling very light on my feet!

Onwards and upwards, its off to Gloucester, UK before settling down in Zurich with coach Daniel Green for a solid block of training.

Results can be found at:

http://www.triathlon.org/results/event/2011_mooloolaba_itu_triathlon_oceania_cup/172

The novelty of travelling quickly resides as soon as you realize that the task ahead of you before you can even think about leaving the house is once again pulling your bike apart and somehow finding a way to stick to the airline baggage weight limits.  Never the less I again found myself mentally preparing for this arduous task last week for the fourth time in two months preparing for another flight.  Before I go in to the details of this trip I should probably give you all a quick run down of the last three trips:

 

1. The first trip was to Devonport for the ITU Continental Sprint Triathlon but because of all the flooding that was occurring which resulted in the water we were supposed to be swimming in become contaminated with sewerage and debris the race was changed to a duathlon.  Duathlons are never easy and this race was no exception but I had a great result and finished 6^th, just outside the prize money but managed to pick up some decent ITU ranking points for my efforts.

 

2. The next trip was to Kinloch in New Zealand for another ITU Continental Sprint Triathlon.  Kinloch is a really small town outside Taupo which is a really picturesque place set on Lake Taupo that seems to be a really popular place for backpackers with the snowfields not far away.  The race attracted a very solid field of mostly Australians and New Zealanders and was held over a relentless course that was very hilly and technical on both the bike and run and extremely hot and humid.  I didn’t quite have the swim I was after but finished strongly on the run to finish 16^th.

 

3. The most recent of my travels was down to Geelong for the Australian Elite Sprint Distance Triathlon only two weeks ago.  The men’s race was scheduled for Saturday afternoon but because of some incredibly strong winds and again the possibility of water contamination it was postponed until the Sunday.  Fortunately the weather was better the next day and we were able to race.  It was a great experience racing in an elite national championship with some of the best triathletes in the country as well as some very well regarded international athletes.  I finished 20^th which isn’t exactly the position I had set as a goal for myself but to come off the bike with the lead pack and to have the fastest bike split of the day were real positives and I took so much away from the race that I can’t complain.

 

4. And now to this trip.  I’ve just returned home from the ITU Oceania Championships in Wellington, New Zealand which will also be the first Olympic distance race for most of us for the season.  Lining up on the pontoon with 60 other guys I knew it would be a tough race and fortunately the weather was on our side this year with calm water conditions and not too much wind on the bike and run course.  I was well positioned beside some very accomplished swimmers at the start and this set me up well for a really good swim and as I got on the bike I was well positioned in the main chase pack as we set about pulling back 8 guys that had managed to get away.  Unfortunately we couldn’t get the organization together and by the end of the cycle their lead had extended to well over a minute as we started the run.  Unfortunately I found myself losing time to some of the quicker runners from my pack but still ran strong to finish the race in 24^th position.

 

Back in Australia and only two weeks out from my next race with is the ITU Oceania Cup at Mooloolaba as part of the Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival where I will line up against well over 60 guys, many of the same athletes as in Wellington.  It should be another cracking race where I’m extremely motivated to put into practice all the hard work from training and racing so far this season and have it all come together in one race.