Half-fast

"Ironman is every person trying to find out what he can do. Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2..."

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:27:38 +1100

“Ironman is every person trying to find out what he can do. Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles; brag for the rest of your life.”

- Commander John Collins USN, Ironman founder

Race Results: Nissan BRW Corporate Triathlon

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:24:00 +1100

Due to one of my team members falling ill, I ended up going around twice - but given it wasn’t a long event, I wasn’t too upset about that. On the whole, I wasn’t overly happy with my times; the first time around, I probably went a bit conservatively; and my second go really showed up my lack of training since racing the 70.3 in Geelong a few weeks back.

Swim (400m): 00:07:46
Bike (10km): 00:22:48
Run: (4km): 00:17:21
Overall time: 00:47:55

Swim (400m): 00:10:22
Bike (10km): 00:23:49
Run: (4km): 00:18:23
Overall time: 00:52:24

(We didn’t get transition times in the results… I’m assuming they’re worked into the overall time somehow.)

It was all a lot of fun though, which I guess is the main point of BRW anyway.

Only one race left for the season: Gatorade Race 6 at St Kilda in three weeks’ time. I’ll have to jump into the training again so that I can have a decent go at it. And after that, the winter program begins…

Bring the Pain

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:43:00 +1100

Just a quick one: after consulting a few people (and most importantly, my coach!), I’ve re-jigged my race plan a bit and signed on to do Ironman WA in Busselton this December.

Yes, it’s a bit ambitious (especially given I only did my first triathlon a couple of months ago), but after Geelong, I’d already decided that I wanted to go the full iron distance and the course at Busso is supposed to be pretty flat and fast - ideal for a first timer. And what’s the point in waiting?

This is going to hurt (but even if it’s only half the buzz I got from Geelong, it’ll be well worth it).

"Swimming is the worst part of a triathlon: if you stop peddaling on a bike you coast; if you stop..."

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:54:42 +1100

“Swimming is the worst part of a triathlon: if you stop peddaling on a bike you coast; if you stop running, you walk; but if you stop swimming, you drown.”

- Unknown

Tri Alliance Run Session

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 03:10:19 +1100

Tri Alliance Run Session

The Tri Alliance highlights reel from Ironman 70.3 Geelong. See...

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:08:03 +1100

The Tri Alliance highlights reel from Ironman 70.3 Geelong. See also the photo gallery from the day.

Race Results: Gatorade Race 5 - Portarlington

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:14:00 +1100

Definitely not my best race, but then backing up from the half Ironman last weekend was always going to be a bit tough. And the half bottle of Bollinger I drank on Saturday night (the winnings from a bet on the results from Geelong) didn’t make racing any easier.

Swim (800m): 00:13:45
T1: 00:02:18
Bike (26km): 00:47:52
T2: 00:00:57
Run: (8km): 00:36:23
Overall time: 01:41:14

Still, the Portarlington course was a lot of fun and I had a pretty good time, so it wasn’t all bad.

The finish line.

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:46:09 +1100

The finish line.

Race Results: Ironman 70.3 Geelong

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:39:00 +1100

My fourth triathlon and first half iron distance race. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect given that I hadn’t attempted anything like this before, so had set 6 hours as a time I’d have been happy with and 5:30 as a stretch target.

Swim (1.9km): 00:33:11
T1: 00:02:32
Bike (90km): 02:43:31
T2: 00:01:57
Run (21.1km): 01:48:45
Overall time: 5:09:58

Needless to say, I was pretty thrilled with the result.

Despite getting pretty hot on the run, the conditions were just about perfect for racing; sunny, calm water, not much in the way of wind. There were, however, quite a few jellyfish floating about during the swim and I copped a couple of stings - one on the wrist and one on the face. They don’t freak me out as much as they used to, though.

Thanks have to go to coach Ollie and all the Tri Alliance coaching team who did (and do) an outstanding job in preparing everyone in the squad for racing. And thanks also to all of the crew who made the trip down to Geelong to cheer us on… the signs, messages on the road and high fives around the course made the day so much better.

Just wandering around, checking out the transition set up for...

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:35:17 +1100

Just wandering around, checking out the transition set up for Sunday, and I ran into World Ironman Champion and defending Geelong 70.3 champion, Craig Alexander. He was nice enough to take a photo with me.

Tri Alliance Run Session

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:42:19 +1100

Tri Alliance Run Session

Port Melbourne - St Kilda Easy 10km

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:48:20 +1100

Port Melbourne - St Kilda Easy 10km

Race Results: Gatorade Race 4 - Elwood

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:22:24 +1100

A very hot (35-odd degrees) and windy (40-50km/h winds) day at the office today and it was definitely not my best performance; having said that, I was only 30 sec slower than last time. I did an 18.8km run yesterday as well, so it was probably a bit ambitious to want to come out and blast a good run leg today.

Swim (500m): 9:54
T1: 1:21
Bike (20km): 36:23
T2: 1:30
Run (5km): 24:15
Overall time: 1:13:22

On the whole, my times were fairly consistent with the last race over the same course, but in harder conditions and with a very different training load, so all up, I’m not too disappointed with today’s result.

And I didn’t do myself any damage leading into next week’s race, which is awesome.

Tri Alliance Long Run

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:30:27 +1100

Tri Alliance Long Run

Tri Alliance Combo Session

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:11:00 +1100

Tri Alliance Combo Session

Tri Alliance Lake Session

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:11:00 +1100

Tri Alliance Lake Session

Race Results: Great Australia Day Swim

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:27:00 +1100

Not a bad hit out - a ~~1,200m~~ 1,500m (apparently someone lost their tape measure) open water swim around the Brighton Marina (and no jellyfish!). Not especially fast, but a solid effort leading into Geelong in a couple of weeks’ time.

Overall time: 00:26:58

My bike, all set up and prepped for Geelong in just under two...

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:32:56 +1100

My bike, all set up and prepped for Geelong in just under two weeks’ time. I am pretty psyched for the race, but freaking out a bit as well.

For those who are interested, it’s a 2008 BMC Time Machine TT02 with Ultegra running gear and a set of Fast Forward F6R wheels.

The story of Team Hoyt would have to be one of the most...

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:48:49 +1100

The story of Team Hoyt would have to be one of the most incredibly inspiring things I have ever heard. Unbelievable.

An Update

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:37:00 +1100

So I’ve been a bit slack in posting. It happens.

To quickly cover the intervening months since my last post, I ran the Melbourne Marathon (not comfortably, but I finished), ran a 50km charity event, ran up the Eureka Tower and started training with Tri Alliance.

My original plan of doing “a couple of sprint triathlons” over the summer has expanded somewhat. I’ve entered 5 of the six Gatorade series races and the Nissan BRW Corporate Triathlon. And I’ve signed up for Ironman 70.3 Geelong.

So much for a 15 month lead time into my first half iron, huh?

I’ll try to be a bit better with the posting in future, but can’t promise anything.