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Posts Tagged with "Nicholas Kastelein"

Mikhele Rundle – Getting back into training

posted by rosstriathlete on June 17, 2011, 5:45pm

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After taking a few weeks break at the end of the season May was a month where i was just starting back into training. I also competed in a few different cycling events and school cross country races for fitness.

Training

During May my training has been consisting of a couple of swim, ride and run sessions per week. Swimming has involved one session concentrating on technique the second on fitness. My riding has involved a midweek morning pack ride for about 25k and a weekend ride which usually includes a club race. My running has included a track session and a jog. The jogs are pretty slow but I have been working on running for an hour. The first two track sessions in May were basically 10 – 15 minute warm up with various technique and sprint drills and a short warm down. The later weeks of May included similar warm-up and drills with a main set of approximately 8 – 10 200’s with a similar float rest. The 200’s are at my cross country race pace and the floats approx 10 seconds slower.

Racing

Being the off season my racing has involved some cycling and school cross country races

I did two major cycling events during May. The first was the 60klm race at the ‘all spokes festival ‘in the Hunter Valley Vineyards on the 22 May. I raced fairly well given I hadn’t spent much time on the bike over the previous month. I ended up being the second open women home in approximately 1 hour 40minutes and about 7 minutes quicker than I did last year.

On the 28^th to 29^thof May I went to Goulburn for a junior cycling tour where I tested myself up against some of NSW’s best under 17’s riders, the tour consisted of 4 stages held over 2 days. The first stage was a 6km time trial; I rode pretty well placing 7^th only 21 seconds slower than 1^st place. In the road race i stayed with the bunch for almost the whole 45km only getting dropped 3km from the finish placing 8^th. On the second day we started off with a 10km time trial, I was very tired for this and didn’t ride to well and lost almost 2 minutes on the leader placing 11^th. The last stage consisted of a 47km road race, it was a tough race but I managed to stay with the front bunch until the sprint finishing 6^th. Overall I placed 8^th in the tour, (2min 49seconds down on the winner) which I was pretty pleased with and found a few things which I should work on to improve my ride leg, this includes being able to sprint out of the saddle up hill and having a faster reaction when other riders try to break away.

Earlier in the month I competed in the HRIS schools cross country finishing a close third which qualified me to compete in Sydney at the Aices Championships in Sydney on the second of June. The Aicies race was a 4km run over a very muddy course. I had a really pleasing solid run finishing second in a field of about 50 athletes and improving on my 3^rd in the previous round.

By Mikhele rundle

Tags: Mikhele Rundle, TT Blog
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on June 17, 2011, 5:57pm

Nicholas Kastelein Blog: Mooloolaba ITU Oceania Cup

posted by rosstriathlete on April 3, 2011, 11:03pm

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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

Tags: Mooloolaba ITU Oceania Cup, Nicholas Kastelein
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on April 3, 2011, 11:09pm

Justin Granger TT Blog: Looking for light at the end of the tunnel

posted by rosstriathlete on February 4, 2011, 4:42pm

In with the new year and out with the old - a year that, triathlon-wise, I am happy to see the end of. 2010 started all nice and rosie for me with a 4th place at Ironman

Malaysia

backed up 2 weeks later with a 7th at Ironman

China

. From there my season spiraled out of control with 4 consecutive DNFʼs followed by 2 poor late season performances thanks to the flu. Then a week before Christmas, I crashed my bike at home in Noosa and broke my right collar bone and wrist. That was almost 6 weeks ago now and I am still out of action due to a post-operative infection that is hanging around (like a really bad smell).

On the bright side, in 2010 I travelled through parts of the world that I had never seen before and met some great new friends along the way. Each year triathlon gives me the greatest opportunity to experience what the world has to offer and increase my awareness of the different cultures and traditions that people live day to day. I must admit that this also has a spin off effect as I get older, which is that I love coming home to Australia and especially to Noosa Heads. It is a very special part of the world!

With the start of 2011 I enter into my 22nd year as a triathlete, well over half of my life. Boy have I seen some stuff over those 22 years! So I thought that to get away from all my doom and gloom of a bad season, I would share with you a list, and in my opinion some of the finest triathlon related highlights/moments/performances of my time in the sport. Some of the newbies reading this might raise an eyebrow or cast a look of confusion as to some of the names this list will dig up from the past. But I figure that in this day and age there is always a ʻyou tubeʼ clip or something similar out there to relive the moment. Here we go.

* No doubt, the best night club dancer in triathlon is Greg Bennett.

* Worst nutritional product, PR Bar - so tasty you couldnʼt stop eating them. They turned into a weight gain product, rather than weight loss as they were designed.

* Most exciting athlete to watch race - Spencer Smith. Probably had allot to do with his late dad Bill on the side lines.

* Hardest race in the world - Embrunman Triathlon in France

* Most talented triathlete - Greg Welch

* Hottest place on earth to train - Philippines

* Wettest place on earth to train - Philippines

* Worst place on earth to train - Philippines

* Strangest triathlon bike ever - Sling-Shot

* Worst triathlon gadget/invention - the Seat Shifter

* Most dangerous triathlon bike - Sling-Shot fitted with a Seat Shifter! A real human catapult device.

* Best and worst awards ceremony outfit - Luke Gratton in his Westfields tracksuit - on both counts.

* Best ever finish line - Ironman Australia at Forster

Justin Granger

* Craziest post triathlon party - F1(Tooheys Blue) triathlon series qualifier at Lake

Crackenback Resort NSW

* Triathlons biggest ever chick magnet/puller - Benjamin Sanson

* Best triathlon award - Cadbury 10kg block of chocolate (looks like a small door)

* Best bike course - Laguna Phuket IM 70.3

* Hottest triathlon chick - Belinda Granger! (biased of course)

* Most beautiful triathlon course - Challenge Wanaka New Zealand

* Favourite all time Australian triathlete - Stephen Foster

* Hottest race - Ironman China

* Best finish line food - any small race in Germany

* Weirdest race moment - running through the aid station with 3km to go at the Sri Chinmoy Peace Triathlon in Canberra to the sounds of the volunteers singing the peace triathlon song! Very herbal.

* Most fashionable triathlon dynamic duo of the late 80ʼs and early 90ʼs (we are talking race attire and equipment here) - Nick Croft and Troy Fiddler.

So there you have it, some of the memories that keep me attached to this lifestyle of triathlon. If you are reading this and are lucky enough to have also experienced some of these times then we can share a laugh, if not, then I am sure triathlon will give you many fond memories in the future. Itʼs that kind of sport. Right now I am sitting around playing the recovery waiting game and going mad that I am missing the first part of my 22nd season. But hopefully it wont be too long before you see me back out there, living the dream!

Have fun with it,

Juz.

Tags: Justin Granger, TT Blog, Australian Triathlon
Read more | Comments (2) | Updated on February 4, 2011, 4:53pm

Tim Reed Blog: Crescent Moon and Maitland Tri Reports

posted by rosstriathlete on October 12, 2010, 11:21pm

Denver Crescent Moon Sprint Triathlon

It was my final week in the States and after finishing 10^th in a somewhat disappointing result in the Rev 3 Iron distance event I needed a ‘feel gooder’ to massage my slightly deflated ego to bring it back to its usually over inflated self. Crescent Moon Sprint triathlon in Denver was offering enough cash to cover the cost of getting bikes, wheels and a heap of excess luggage back to Australia so I signed up despite the fatigue still in my legs from 226kms of racing the week before.

I then stupidly mentioned that I was doing the race to my training partner and 2x Iron distance/’the people’s champ Tim Berkel who immediately signed up severely diminishing my chances of an easy victory. Thankfully Berkel, like me had suffered from the weight sapping Giardia post Copenhagen and while he killed the stomach bug with an anti-biotic atomic bomb, he had been left more of a bag of bones than usual. With Denver coughing up a very cold morning combined with altitude Berkel couldn’t get into top gear and wasn’t the factor he would normally be.

With a few short course specialists racing and my legs lacking running zap from the previous week my plan was to go all out on the swim and bike and not so hard on the run. I got out of the water in 2^nd and attacked the bike with Kestrel Kev purring away unbelievably aerodynamic and smooth beneath me. I opened up a reasonable gap throughout the bike leg but after struggling to locate my silver Zoot shoes (which should be very easy to locate) my gap was cut to about 20 seconds. My idea of cruising the run wasn't going to happen as a lean giraffe like fellow was getting closer and closer behind me. I dug deep and managed to hold on for the win though a little more anaerobic than I was hoping.

Maitland Mid Distance Triathlon

Grant Giles and I knuckled out, what we hope will be a good build for my key races, Port Mac Half and the Asia Pacific 70.3 Championships remaining this year. I’ve always wanted to do the Maitland Triathlon as Paul from H Events always puts on a good show so I opted to have a big training week up to Friday, knocking out 500kms on the bike with some good swim and run sessions, taking a day off and then racing a little fatigued. Funnily enough, I felt quite good, better in fact then I often do after a full taper and carbo loading.

There were some solid names racing including the exponential improver Mitch Robins, Adrian Cominotto, Richard Munroe and Chris Dimitrieff however of those names I fear no one in triathlon like I do the human centipede, Mitch Robins.

The river swim went smoothly as Mitch, Adrian and I pulled away from the few hundred racers. Adrian put a small gap into Mitch and I as we swam side by side stealing each other’s water until I conceded to sit on Mitch’s feet which was a whole lot easier and allowed Mitch to gain back some of the gap.

It was hugely satisfying to swim a similar time to Adrian as it wasn’t that long ago when I was starting triathlon that I watched him swim at a training camp salivating over his ability to move through the water. The other guys in his lane laughed at me asking what the hell I was doing on an NSWIS camp if I couldn’t even do a tumble turn. Needless to say, I still haven’t had to do a tumble turn in a triathlon.

Onto the bike and Mitch and I kept the pace pretty high with Adrian dropping off. Mitch and I worked legally together to keep the chase group which was being pulled by Richard Munro from gaining time. Ironically Richard ended up with a drafting penalty such is the lottery of drafting penalties. While it was mostly comfortable on the bike, there were times when Mitch would up the pace a little bit more than I would have liked and I had to dig deep to stay with him. I was starting to feel the fatigue in my legs by 50kms and I think Mitch sensed that so he attacked with 5kms to go on an undulating section and I while my brain tried it’s best to go with him, my legs would not and the centipede proceeded to gap me by a minute going into the run.

Not the best attitude to have however not many people and certainly not me are going run down Mitch Robins and with third place a fair way back I stuck to my game plan of using the race as a solid hit out keeping the run at an intensity that I want to run Port Half at, which mind you is still quite hard! Mitch continued to pull away putting in more time and winning easily with myself coming in 2^nd and Adrian Cominotto 3^rd.

I cannot speak highly enough of Mitch’s talent. I’ve trained with a lot of people including seasoned professionals, Australian and world champions but none of them have blown me away with their ability in training like the human centipede. It was just a matter of time before his strength endurance caught up with his enormous engine and he started dominating. Thankfully he has finally been picked up for the mysterious and elusive development team to race the exclusive International Triathlon Union races. Big call, but I’ll put it out there- if he can stay injury free there is little doubt in my mind that he will be the future hope of Australia winning an Olympic medal. I mean the guy ran a 30 minute 10km in a duathlon several weeks after starting the sport! Beware of the human centipede world domination.

Tags: Tim Reed, TT Blog, Crescent Moon, Maitland, Tri Reports
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on October 13, 2010, 7:16pm

Nicholas Kastelein Blog: Espana and Back Again

posted by rosstriathlete on September 17, 2010, 6:35pm

After a solid 2 and a half months living and racing in 'España', I'm finally back home and training in Canberra.

It's has been a while since my last update and for good reason. I planned on training up for and racing the London Triathlon. As it turns out, I got a head cold the day before the race and never felt good from then on. I was 40 seconds down out of the swim and the race was literally over from there. After many hours spent on the tube and in transit, it was a massive let down to not finish my overseas stint on a high.

Overall I was pleased with my first season overseas and made some really good friends while there. I'm already planning my trip for next year!

This weekend I venture off to Taiwan for the I-Ian ITU Triathlon. This is purely a point’s race before a much needed break. Fingers crossed all goes well as its always difficult preparing yourself for a race in a different country.

Tags: Nicholas Kastelein, Australian Triathlon
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on September 17, 2010, 6:38pm

Siobhan McCarthy: Triathlete Tribe Blog

posted by rosstriathlete on June 21, 2010, 7:12pm

My triathlon career is only a short one, and I don’t have tales of lots of travelling to races, or growing up watching international races, or even local races. My first taste of triathlon was watching Emma Snowsill winning the gold in Beijing, and my Dad saying, “I am surprised you haven’t done a triathlon.” Since then, there has been a desire to give it a go – I just didn’t realise I would love it as much as I do. I am only new to the sport, and given that my first race was less than a year ago, transition areas with a copious amount of bikes, and running with my shoes on still scares me (but just a little).

For the last 10 years, if anyone ever needed to find me I was “down the beach” loitering on the steps of the surf club, in the gym, or catching “party waves” but most commonly doing lap after lap of Bondi running on the soft sand. I have been heavily involved in the Surf Life Saving, and been in pursuit of an Australian Title for many years. After a disappointing 2009 season – I needed a change.

So I did my maths:

SIOBHAN + SWIM – BIKE + RUN = TRIATHLON

Ok, so maths is not my strong point, and I didn’t have a bike. But I like a challenge – so in May last year I bought a bike, and learnt that why would I do one sport when I can do three sports? J

I found myself being coached by the mad professor – Spot Anderson and the team at Bondi Fit and he has helped me achieve some pretty amazing things in such a short amount of time.

At my first race at Noosa last year – I walked past the pros’ bikes and had the fleeting thought that maybe one day I would like to race as a pro. 2hrs 25 mins later I knew that I definitely want to race as a pro, and had so much work to do; as 2hrs 25 just was NOT going to cut it.

The past year has been nothing short of amazing. I raced my first ever triathlon, a number of podium finishes in my age group in a number of races, raced against professionals in the NSW Pro Tour Elimination in Husky, and left me wondering why I had waited until I was 22 to do a triathlon. The year even saw me get my first medal at the Surf Life Saving Australian Championships (and in this case silver felt like gold)

At the moment I am at home in Sydney, and getting back into training after a break. I am really enjoying the off season – with the longer rides, and runs and starting to build up a fair few kms in the pool. Even better – that Sydney doesn’t get too cold in winter so I can still jump in the surf for a session, although last week’s early morning swim saw me swim straight over the top of a 5ft shark – I believe my shrills of fear echoed from the point and could be heard up and down the east coast.

I love working hard, and seeing the results, I love people telling me I can’t do something, because I probably won’t stop until I do it – so I guess that with this being my first blog, I’ll be able to write about my journey in attempting to get my professional licence, and race as a professional triathlete.

Beyond the world of triathlons I love my morning coffee at my local café with my two best friends, I oddly like dressing up in fancy dress (even to training), love the sound of my own voice and more than anything else– I love coming home at the end of a REALLY long day to my crazy, but wonderful family.

I’ll be sure to keep you updated with things to come over the coming months. But at this stage all systems are GO for the City 2 Surf. I have one goal: My coach - Spot Anderson WILL NOT beat me by 1 second this year. I have every intention of making sure he gets CHICKED J

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Tags: Siobhan McCarthy, Triathlete Tribe Blog, Australian Triathlon
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on June 21, 2010, 7:56pm