Travel, Training & Tanita
It’s now week 10 of our round the world journey so i thought i would give a quick update on how things are going and more importantly share some exciting news. As Lisa has been keeping a fantastic travel blog (www.oneillsabroad.wordpress.com) i won’t elaborate too much on that. Except for the fact that we have just finished our time in the United States and Canada and are now on our way to Paris to catch the end of the Tour de France. That’s not the exciting news though. Ever since i left Perth back in May i have been trying to decide whether i would race Anaconda Augusta on my return and more importantly would i be able to maintain any form of fitness while i’m away?
Eating our way around America
To say that i haven’t been maintaining my fitness levels would be an understatement as i jumped on the scales for the first time a few days ago and weighed in a whopping 6kgs heavier than when i left! With no regular exercise and eating american food it was never going to be easy but still i am a little shocked. I have another 10 weeks of travelling ahead of me and plenty of French pastries so things aren’t looking much better. I then have 4 weeks from the date i fly home till race day down in Augusta and not even Lance Armstrong could launch a comeback in that time. Despite all this i have decided to inflict the most cruel form of punishment on myself by entering Anaconda anyway. I won’t be racing for line honours this year but instead i will use it as a way to regain fitness and hopefully prepare me for races later in the year such as Lorne.
To help me do this Tanita (Scales & body composition monitors) have kindly jumped on board and will be monitoring my weight, muscle & fat levels as i try to return to fitness. I used these last year and found them to be a great tool in knowing when i was in peak physical condition. This time i will be using them to hopefully reduce my skinfolds (fat). When i return home i will give regular updates on my progress and hopefully i will be fit enough to finish the race come November 7.
Regards,
Sean O’Neill
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Anaconda Forster Day 2
It was an absolute bonus going into day 2 with a 10min lead but anything can happen in adventure racing and there was no way I was going to get complacent. After collecting all our gear from transitions on day 1, Lisa booked Karl and I in for a massage and started carbo loading for day 2. I was feeling 99% better than I did after the New Zealand event thanks mainly to the flatter terrain and my body now being use to the punishment. While day 1 covered approx 50kms over the 4 stages, day 2 was a big one covering over 65kms with 20kms of that being running. The added complexity was the fact that it was going to be sunny and 27 degrees meaning nutrition and hydration were going to be key factors.
Day 2 started with a 2.5km swim in another spectacular location famous for its surf breaks and rolling swell and today didn’t disappoint. I made it out through the first set of breakers and slowly established a rhythm sitting behind “Maxi”, one of the Bondi Surf Lifesavers. The swim was broken up mid-way with a quick run around some flags on the beach and back through the pounding surf for round two. I clambered out of the water in about 10th position overall and first out of the individual competitors.
On to the run leg which started with a fairly nasty ascent before some beach running and finally hitting some flatter 4wd tracks for the majority. About halfway through the run I had worked my way into 4th position overall and was feeling pretty good. I knew the dreaded paddle leg was last and wanted to make sure I had the biggest lead possible before everyone started chasing me down in the dying stages. Then the worst possible thing happened and I was left panicking and wondering if I would even finish the race. The run leg had ascended up onto a ridge line and the track was now almost invisible, the only way to pick the right path was following small bits of white tape marked on trees about 30m apart and hoping the next piece was just ahead.
The tape ran out and I was left by myself on the top of a heavily wooded ridge with no idea where to go. Firstly I listened for footsteps hoping someone was close that I could follow but no luck. The only thing I could hear was birds and the low droning sound of cars going down a nearby highway. That was my only hope so I descended down off the ridge heading for the sounds of cars and bush bashing my way through thick scrub. After what seemed like eternity I emerged out on a small gravel track and found other runners going past in their Anaconda bibs. Phew, I had made it back on track but how much time had I lost and was I still in the lead.
Not long after I ran into transition where Lisa and Kelly where waiting and cheering. They quickly briefed me on my position before I departed but I had lost almost 8mins and 2nd place was now right on my tail. I rode hard trying to make up lost ground but it was a long stage and I didn’t want to fade early and before long I found myself riding with 2nd place individual Rob Preston from Victoria. We traded the lead on numerous occasions and it was good to have someone else within sight to keep me focused on the task and working hard. The mountain bike covered 30km’s of mostly undulating terrain with nothing too technical or steep and I was thankful to step off the bike in a relatively good position.
Onto the paddle leg with comprised 13.5kms of shallow lakes that were dotted with small islands and streams going nowhere. At one point early in the paddle we could see our destination but were forced to paddle in the opposite direction so as to make the paddle that little bit longer. I started out quite strong and quickly established a lead over 2nd place but I had no idea where I was going and often thought about waiting so that I could follow someone who did know the way. I plodded on and fumbled my way around the lakes taking the odd wrong turn or two before realizing the stream went nowhere and I turned around to get back on track. After what seemed like eternity I reached the Forster Bridge which I thought had to be the finish line.
My arse was now killing me and all I could think about was getting out of the boat but there were no flags or markers anywhere. I paddled under the bridge and started heading towards the marina before a group of team runners started yelling at me from shore telling me I had gone the wrong way and the finish was back on the other side of the bridge. Now really annoyed, I turned around to look for the finish line which was still 3kms away. Thankfully no one had caught me yet but I could see a group of 3 boats chasing me down and there was no way I was going to settle for 2nd place on day 2. I finally made it to the end of the paddle with my legs now completely numb after sitting down for almost 1.5hrs.
The final leg was a 3km run to the finish where I struggled all the way but managed to hold off some fast finishing individuals to cross the line just 30sec ahead of second place. Grant Suckling had a tough day at the office and while he crossed the line in 5th place he managed to hang onto his 2nd place overall for the weekend. The win on day 2 meant I had established an 18min lead and was now the most comfortable win of the series. We all enjoyed the Forster hospitality after the race and once again it was a pleasure visiting this spectacular part of our country.
For me, I am now on a 6 month break from all training and racing as Lisa and I head overseas for a round the world trip. We will be traveling without our bikes for a change and experiencing culture, food and amazing experiences as we make our way through the U.S, Canada, Europe and Dubai. Thanks to everyone who has read the blog over the past year and I look forward to continuing on our return in October. Although I think there will be a little less winning and a lot more getting fit.
Seano
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Anaconda Forster Race Report (Day 1)
After winning New Zealand last weekend and the Forster race being only 6 days later i had some serious recovering to do. Winning NZ was an absolute highlight for me as it meant i had wrapped up the series and could now relax going into the last race. What i really wanted though was to finish the series on a high in Forster as it would be my last race for at least 6 months.
I stayed on in New Zealand for a few extra days to do a bit of sight seeing and it proved to be a good idea as both Karl and i were in no state to travel. The hills in the race really took their toll and we both spent the week hobbling around like a pair of geriatric cripples. We did however venture north along the Coromandal Peninsula to check out some of New Zealands spectacular scenery and some friendly local from Waihi took me out for a “recovery” mountain bike ride on the Tuesday.
What they didn’t tell me was that we were going to ride up one of the biggest mountains in the area at 500m which took us a little over 2hrs to do. Before descending back down in 20mins. It was by far the most amazing mountain bike ride i have ever done but i don’t know how much it helped my recovery.
Anyway, we flew into Sydney on Wednesday night where i met my lovely wife at the airport and stayed overnight in Sydney before the long drive up to Forster on Thursday. We organised a Tarago van for our bikes, little baby Jade and the four of us and we didn’t have 1cm of space left after packing it to the roof. The trip took us 4hrs and we arrived at our house right on the edge of Smiths Lake. The girls quickly went about booking facials, manicures and pedicures while us boys put the bikes together and tried to ride some of the course. With 2 days of racing it was near impossible to know the whole course so we relied heavily on the maps and tried to see as much of the day 1 course as we could.
By Friday the legs were finally feeling good after New Zealand and i was starting to think the NZ race was beneficial after all. While it did trash our bodies, they were now use to the pain and anything we threw at them over the Forster weekend would be insignificant compared to what they dealt with last weekend. After all, the Forster course was relatively flat so how hard could it be!
The race started on Saturday morning with the team run up first which consisted of a 3km sprint in our wetsuits from the Forster main beach around the headlands to 1 Mile Beach. I lead the run for the first 2km’s before Brad Bevan took the lead and went sprinting up the final few hills. I came in 3rd but hit the water in 2nd place while the teams sorted out their race bibs. The swim was absolutely spectacular as we rounded the headlands and made our way back to Forsters main beach approx. 2.4kms in total. This was broken into 2 parts as we had to run out of the water and up some steps before re-entering and finishing off the last 500m. I had a great swim and exited the water in 2nd place behind Guy Leach.
Onto the paddle and the leg i dread most. Straight away i was passed by 3 teams but my goal was to remain in front of Grant Suckling who usually puts about 6mins into me during the paddle leg. The conditions were quite tricky with some big rolling swell and a lot of back-wash bouncing of the rocks as we made our way south along the coast. The teams continued to paddle past but i was surprised that by the halfway point no individuals had caught me yet,surely they weren’t far away. Then it happened, 2 older guys racing in the vets category went flying past and all i could hope was that they couldn’t ride or run. Thankfully still no sign of Grant at this point so i was pretty safe but i still had some work to do.
The paddle finished on a local surf beach and today the surf was up which made for some pretty good spectating. I caught 1 wave most of the way in but peeled off just before it dumped me. The second time i wasn’t so lucky as i was just 10m from the beach when a shore dumper picked me up and flipped me over before i knew what was going on. I managed to re-surface thanks to my life jacket but was missing my helmet and boat.
I entered T3 in approximately 10th position overall and 3rd solo but it didn’t take long before i wound in the first solo. At this point the rain was absolutely belting down and the mud flicking up from the track made seeing where we were going almost impossible. The ride started out flat around a lake before heading into the hills. Some of the descents were a bit hairy due to the washouts caused by the rain but thankfully i managed my way through it unscathed and hit the final run in 4th place overall and 1st individual.
It was the run that i really started to feel good as i managed to get into a nice tempo on some of the flatter sections. We had a nice treat early on as we passed by our house where Lisa and Kelly where cheering out the front then we paddled across the lake on surfboards before resuming the run on the other side.
I crossed the line feeling pretty good on day 1 with plenty in reserve to do it all again on day 2. The final margin was a little over 10mins before 2nd place Grant Suckling came across the line which gave me some good breathing space going into day 2.
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Anaconda NZ Race Report
After arriving in New Zealand last Thursday things have been slightly hectic but i am relieved to be travelling with Karl Thorstensen who is originally from NZ and has some handy local knowledge. Karl and his wife Kelly were at the airport waiting for me even though my plane was delayed 6hrs and had already picked up my ski ready for the race. We travelled 2.5hrs south to Waihi where the race was being held and on Friday the day before the race we went out for a paddle to test the boats out. It was here that i realised my boat wasn’t going to be ideal and i spent the whole time trying to stay in it rather than paddling forward.
I learnt to paddle in a particularly tippy boat so i should be accustomed to it now but this boat was something else and with rudder problems as well it didn’t make things any easier. I quickly contacted the race organiser but all their boats were already hired out and he put me on to a friendly local who drove me an hour down south to a kayak shop to look for a back-up. All we could find was a plastic sea kayak weighing in at approx 50kg. The decision was now paddle a tippy boat and spend a fair bit of time in the water or go the safe option in the unsinkable barge that would add over 30mins to my time. I didn’t want to think about it as both options would certainly mean i couldn’t win this race so i shut it out of my mind and thought about the other legs.
Running out of time we didn’t get to practice on the run course but just looking at the headlands along the coastline you could see it was going to be an epic run with a large amount of climbing and descending and some amazing views. We did however get to experience the first 5km’s of the mountain bike course and it too was a ripper. A brilliant descent through rolling green paddocks before a long 1km climb up a steep ascent. This course had everything and apart from the paddle i was very excited to really give it a crack. If i won it would mean the series is wrapped up and i could go into Forster next weekend feeling quite relaxed. If i lost i had a heap of work to do in Forster and a whole heap of pressure on my shoulders. I didn’t want that!
At 8pm on Friday night the briefing was held and i bumped into Rapid Ascent director John Jacoby who heard about my boat predicament and found a local kiwi who came to my aid. He too was doing the race but had a spare boat that was far better than the 2 boats i currently had at my disposal, A Honcho. I felt a huge wave of relief and suddenly i was back in the race.
The swim started in a protected estuary that had some huge tidal currents running through it and while we were able to wade for a good 200m out it suddenly dropped away to a staggering depth of 97m and Orca sightings were not uncommon. Thankfully not today! I had a reasonable swim, beaten out of the water by a NZ superfish but coming in 2nd overall and holding a 1:45sec lead over the next individual (Grant Suckling). Grant has been my nemisis all season and improved his weaknesses out of site this season while all the time maintaining his strengths making him a formidable opponent.
The paddle made it’s way out through the estuary and into the ocean where we followed the coastline North for approx 10km’s before turning into a small beach break where we started the run. The paddle seemed to take forever and i was passed straight away by Grant then another kiwi doing solo and about 10 team competitors. Things weren’t going so well but i had to limit the loss and keep plugging away. Grant managed to hit the run almost 5mins clear and the other kiwi was 3mins up the road before i was able to slip on the running shoes.
Things weren’t looking good but finally i was running and ready to claw back some lost ground. The run was absolutely spectacular, climbing 200 vertical metres over coastal headlands before descending back down onto protected beaches below. At some points you were ducking through lush rain forest, the next minute you were hugging a cliff face on a 50cm ledge perched 200m over the ocean. This was by far the most amazing run i had ever done. I knew we finished with an epic climb that ascended 2km’s from the ocean up to the mountain bike transition but i was leaving nothing in the tank. I had reached this point and still could not see the two other solo competitors ahead of me. I punished myself up this hill and passed the kiwi copetitor halfway up but was getting increasingly concerned that i still had not seen Grant. I hit the Mountain Bike i started the final leg in 2nd position.
At this point i wasn’t feeling very confident as Grant is a great cyclist but i wasn’t about to give up. I hammered along for the next 5km’s until my left leg gave up and was completely overwhelmed with cramp. No, i thought, this was the end of my race and could be walking the next 20km’s to the finish. I took that leg out of the pedal and rode 1 legged for the next kilometre. It was then that i looked up the next climb to see Grant only 400m ahead and doing the same thing. I couldn’t believe my luck but that run course had certainly taken it’s toll. The cramp slowly subsided and i was able to ride normal again but how long would it last. I passed Grant at the top of the climb and knew i had to keep working hard if i wanted to stay in front.
The next 10km’s was torture as the cramps kept coming back in waves and then to my horror Grant came up behind me just as i was climbing over a fenceline. This race wasn’t won yet and we still had 5km’s to ride. I sprinted away for the second time and didn’t look back. I was on the home straight as we were coming into town and knew that if i could enter the last transition with Grant i had a good chance of winning.
I did exactly that, hitting the final transition with a 30sec lead and headed out on the last 2km run. I just prayed the cramps would stay away. The final run was spectacular, looping around the outside rim of an open cut mine over 200m deep. I came across that finish line so relieved that i had won and Grant was less than 2min behind. The kiwi’s were amazing in their support and the local town and media were behind the event all the way.
I am absolutely stoked to have been involved in this series this year and although i am feeling battered and bruised i’m looking forward to seeing Lisa in Sydney in a few days and heading up to tackle the last race in Forster this weekend. Thanks for all the support on Facebook and hopefully i can report back with more great news next week after Forster.
Seano
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Last Day of Work
On Friday 16th April i completed my last day of work for almost 6 months and what a great feeling it was. I have been working for the FAST Joint Venture for the past 12 months and with Calibre Projects before that and while i have had my fair share of holidays i have never been away from work for more than 2.5 weeks. The crew at work gave me a great send-off and i’m looking forward to staying in touch while i’m away and catching up on my return.
So, you are probably wondering what Lisa and i are up to and why i’m not working for the next 6 months. Don’t worry, i haven’t turned professional and i have no plans to start training/racing full time. Lisa and I have been planning a round the world trip for the past 12 months which all started to come together when we sold our house late last year. Everything else has been geared towards getting ready for the trip and saving our butts off as not working for 6 months is going to seriously hurt the bank balance.
We depart for Los Angeles on the 14th May to start our road trip up the West Coast of the U.S. travelling all the way up to Vancouver and visiting places like Las Vegas, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, Yellowstone National Park, Seattle, Whistler and Banff to name a few along the way. Next stop is New York for 2 weeks before heading to Paris to catch the end of the Tour de France. Once in Europe we haven’t quite worked out what we are going to do but some of the countries on the top of our list are France, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Germany, Spain, UK and possibly Sweden. We have 3 months and a car so we will see how far we get but we have started a map that you can view at any time to follow our adventure at:
If anyone is overseas and wants to catch-up anywhere be sure to check Facebook and send us a message and we will try to meet up somewhere. Lisa is also preparing a travel blog website which she will update regularly and we will load all our photo’s. As soon as this is up and running and will post the link.
In the meantime it is business as usual for me on the training and racing front as i have 2 Anaconda Races to complete before we head off. These will in fact be my last races for a while so i will be making the most of it and putting it all on the line. The last week i have been slowly winding down the training in preparation for NZ Anaconda to be held on Saturday 24/04. I will be up against arch rival Grant Suckling once again and there will be plenty of competition from the local kiwis. The very next weekend is Anaconda Forster which is held over 2 days so i have some serious recovery work to do to make sure i’m in good shape. I need to win at least one of these races to take out the Anaconda Series but you can check out the latest results at;
http://www.rapidascent.com.au/asp/AnacondaEventChooser.aspx
While i have been struggling at training over the last 4 weeks or so i think a good taper before the New Zealand race will put me in good shape and in much better condition than the previous races this year. I have been consistant with all legs in training and very pleased with how the paddling has been coming along. Hopefully this will carry me through and fingers crossed all goes well on the day. I will update the blog next week with a race report and hopefully i have good news for you all.
SeanO
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Anaconda Training – Going Well
After finishing the local triathlon season 3 weeks ago on a high i have been focusing all of my efforts on Adventure training. Anaconda New Zealand is now only 3 weeks away and i am in the most important part of my training phase leading into the race. Thankfully i have some pretty good fitness at the moment so it is just a matter of honing the technical skills on the mountain bike, working on my paddling weakness and putting it all together.
With a fairly large contingent of West Aussies travelling interstate and overseas to do the last 2 Anaconda races it is a perfect opportunity to catch up and do some training together over the Easter weekend. Also, it beats riding down the freeway! So anyway, here is a sample of our training plan over the Easter Long Weekend;
Friday 2nd April – City Beach Carpark
6:30am – Swim 4 laps between the City Beach groins totalling 2km’s
7:00am – Paddle to Cottesloe groin and back (approx 13km’s)
> quick change and food stop
8:30am – Run one lap of the Zamia trail around Bold Park (approx finish 9:30am – 10am)
Coffee at City Beach Café next to Oceanus
Saturday 3rd April – Coles Carpark Kalamunda
6:30am – Run from Coles carpark in Kalamunda along Bibbulman track for 30min then return
> quick change and food stop
7:45am – Mountain Bike from Kalamunda around Pickering Brook loop (approx 2.5 – 3hrs)
Coffee at The Merchant in Kalamunda
Sunday 4th April – Cottesloe Main Carpark
6:30am – Run from Cottesloe carpark along beach to Leighton then through Mosman Park hills (approx 16kms).
Coffee and Easter eggs at any cafe that is open.
8:30am – Paddle from Cottesloe heading north for 9km’s then return (this may become a downwind paddle in the arvo instead – TBC).
Monday 5th April – Pickering Brook General Store
7:00am – Mountain Bike from Pickering Brook General Store for 2hrs
9:00am – Run off the bike for 30mins
Ice coffee and meat pies from Pickering Brook General Store afterwards.
I hope everyone has a great Easter, stay safe and i will be back next week to let you know how it all went.
SeanO
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Champion Lakes Race Report
After a relatively easy week on the training track and the loan of some race wheels from a friend James Roberts i went in to todays race feeling pretty good. I have been feeling a bit average over the past few weeks trying to train for Anaconda and it feels like my body is just never recovering but today was a good sign. I got to have a sleep in for a change as they started our race at 9:30am and i was very thankful after a long day of helping my folks move house on Saturday.
The Champion Lakes race is unique in that Trievents have introduced a draft legal concept for the Open competitors making it very tactical and different from our usual hit-outs. Those with strong running legs need to have a good bike to be in a good position and those with a strong bike leg need to make some moves and create a gap before the run. Today’s conditions were perfect with no wind but the heat was a factor and proved tough by the end of the run.
I started the swim in a good position but Ben Lyons flew out of the gate and opened up a convincing lead before we even hit the first turning can. I was happy to be swimming alongside James Lewin and feeling very comfortable but i could feel the occasional tap on the feet and knew there were others close behind. At the halfway mark i decided to put in a surge and tried to continue all the way to the finish which managed to break up the field slightly.
James Lewin was by my side as we hit transition 1 and we set out on the bike course knowing that we had to work hard to hold off the likes of other strong runners in Paul Mackay and Lajos Varga. James worked extremely well and we consistently swapped turns at the front to make sure the pace remained as high as possible. After 2 laps i knew we had opened up a convincing lead and now we just had to maintain it with Brynt McSwain helping the chase group behind us. As we started the last lap i tried desperately to drop James but my attempt failed and we both cruised around for the remainder of the lap to ensure we hit the run feeling pretty good.
James had a great run down at Albany so he was always going to be hard to beat and today proved no different. I had a great transition and left with a 10m advantage but it wasn’t long before James had closed the gap and was literally breathing down my neck. We had 5×1km laps to complete and it was at the end of the 3rd lap that i tried a slight surge which proved just enough to creat a gap. I then worked hard for the next 2kms to keep the gap and extend it if possible. To James’ credit he hung in there to finish only 10sec behind and never let me back off the pace at any stage.
Once again it was a great race put on by Trievents and the crowd support was amazing with a few hundred people cheering us on every lap. I was extremely fortunate to have Lisa my biggest supporter (and loudest Cheerer), Sue and my Mum and Dad all down to watch the race. Lisa and Sue had made it part of their long training ride in preparation for the half and still had to ride home in the heat after we were done. I sometimes think she is training harder than me so i better get my act together if i want to do well at Anaconda.
So that race pretty much wraps up another triathlon season for me and probably my most successful one ever. I was fortunate enough to represent Australia at the Long Course World Champs and have since won all 6 triathlons i have entered throughout the remainder of the season. I couldn’t be any happier with the results and now i just have one more target in sight, to win the Anaconda Adventure Race Series!
I have just under 5 weeks now until i depart for New Zealand Anaconda then it’s straight back to Forster the very next weekend for the final race. My paddling is slowly coming along and i just need to make sure my body remains injury free over the remaining weeks. Thankfully i now have the support of a very experienced Sports Occupational Therapist at Langer Chiropractic who is going to sort out all my weaknesses and inefficiencies and make sure i am in top shape over the coming weeks. I have never used an Occupational Therapist before as i usually visit Physios and Chiros but so far it is working and the results are very promising. Stay tuned and i will let you know how it all goes along with the training in the lead up to Anaconda.
Seano
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Albany adventures
Looks like the bullying worked… Sean finally graced his own blog with a guest appearance! Read his race report below; another day, another win!
Last week’s recap;
Monday Back to swim squad with Stadium Tri Club and despite being easy week, I still found myself having to work pretty hard. Seems everyone in the squads i swim with have taken a step up and I seem to be plateauing dang it! I had to work had and finished with 3.2km which seems to be the distance every session is these days and I’m not even getting out early! Hopefully some 4km+ sessions will be coming back into my life soon.
Tuesday Sue and I decided to join Bulldog’s ride again and unfortunately for me I got dropped after pretty much 5 minutes! Managed to get back on at various stages and finished with a pretty good ride. Tonight I had long run but with the heat and race this weekend, plus a special lady to pick up from the city, Sue and I joined Stadium for a quick 45-minute run in Kings Park with a couple of hills thrown in. After sweating it out a little, I picked up my best friend Leila who is in town for one night only! Hello lady!
Leila arrive at chez o'neill
All the hottest guys in town were queuing up to join us, but only the most handsome was allowed in.
You know you can't compete with that
So fun times ensued, Sean cooked us dinner (well, he chopped some chicken and conveniently disappeared and amazingly by the time he reemerged, dinner was ready) and Mum, Leila, Sean, Oscar and I had a fun catch up.
Wednesday was rest day so I could maximise time hanging out with Leils. We went for breakfast at Bouchard which was pretty yummy, but the atmosphere looking over the city is so nice there and my plans for further convincing Leils to move home were falling to place… muhahahahaha. Night was spent eating salmon and sadly dropping Leila back to the Duxton so she could make her merry way back to Dubai boo hoo. Come back soon please!
Thursday I was starting to really get into easy week! Sue and I rode from my house around Mt Henry and nattered the whole way, it was fun. We stopped off to say hello to a couple of gems dining at Brew Ha (hello Sandy, Rich, Owe, Nera etc!) and had some energy left by the time we dismounted our trusty steeds. Tonight was supposed to be an easyish run with Robyn’s group, but it was sooo grossly hot, Sean and I went to Cottesloe for a swim and fish n chips instead – glorious. Such a fun night!
Friday started off with my favourite session – Deli Chi Chi! And a little swim first, 3.2km (again!) and Anna and Chris made me lead a couple of sets, so not used to that position but they were having fun after Rotto and I was forced to take charge. I don’t think I liked it. Managed to force Bulldog into taking one set which was quite awesome, he got totally lost, ended up in another pool and was found crying for mummy later. Boy doesn’t know how to handle without a set of feet to follow. Funny!
Then i was off for a day of fun, taking a workshop at the Perth Writers’ Festival. It was fantastic and so inspiring to listen to editors, publishers, fellow writers all tell how they made it in publishing. It was at UWA too, which is such an incredible setting and just being there I felt instantly more scholarly. See how pretty it is!
The clock tower at Winthrop Hall
Arches out front of Winthrop Hall, the mural detail was beautiful
Friday night was spent at the moofies, we saw The Blind Side and it was fantastic. Go see it. Now. Sandra Bullock was kick ass good, quite Erin Brockovich in her characterisation and I loved it.
Saturday Road trip to Albany which was fun, coffees from Brew Ha, fun tunes to singalong to and only one pee stop (quite a triumph for ole peanut bladder – me, not Sean, man is a camel). We had a quick lunch at Venice Cafe on the main strip of Albany (their soup was soo good!) and arrived at the Pelican Holiday Villas which was quite nice (although lady owner was rather rude!). We had a walk down to the beach which was a bit wild and I was praying they wouldn’t convert things into a duathlon (could kiss a win goodbye if that happened!). Night was spent eating pasta, shooting the breeze and watching a chick flick hehe sorry guys the girls were totally in control of the remote.
Sunday was race day. Hurrah! Swim was on even though it still looked a little gnarly. We got to wear our wetsuits though, despite the water feeling pretty warm. I had a good start, rough ocean seems to suit me and I managed to stay in touch with superfish Kylie English which was great. We even caught some of the open girls who had set off 3 mins earlier which was pretty cool. The ride was windy!! And hilly, always a fun combination. Had lots of guys pass me after I’d passed them in the swim and got lots of nice hellos and I feebly tried to keep up with them. Saw Sean looking good with James Lewin and him duelling for front spot and the bike machine Brynt chasing them down like a man possessed. Finally finishing the bike and not too much damage done (think only Rach Smith passed me? Nice one!) I entered the run feeling pretty good. Loretta Wesley passed me straight away but i managed to keep her in sight for a lot longer than usual! The run was 2 laps, out and back, so I could see my opposition chasing me down. I felt pretty awful on the way back on lap 1 and wished i’d had another gel to take, my energy was lagging. But i held on, had a few powerades at each aid station and managed to hold off my training bud, Sue, just by about a minute. She was running so fast! Dang I think she’s foxing me in training! I also won my age group by 6 minutes which was awesome although i know i have a lot more work to do on the bike and run to get under 5 hours at Busso. Thanks for a fantastic race, Albany!
Sunday night…
Dave with his arm candy for the evening, Sue, Kat, me and Sandy!
Monday seeing as it was a public holiday, this can be included in last week! We got together for a ride around Albany to loosen up the legs after a hard race. We rode out to the Gap which was very cool! Pity about the testosterone levels of a couple members of the group (cough, TIM, cough) which split us up riding home but my girl, Sue, waited for me and helped my poor, tired legs get home in one piece. Here’s us at the Gap!
Everyone, minus me, soaking up the sunshine and amazing Albany scenery
Hehehe David forgot his cycle kit so had to ride in his tri suit and sperm helmet. Funny. Dale was totally jealous of my blonde ponytail too, his has been lacking in shine lately so I gave him some tips. It’s all about the deep conditioning treatment, keep your eyes peeled for C)4u brand it’s amaze.
Now it’s back to business, hard week again and body is feeling it already. Seeing as it’s Thursday, enjoy your weekend!
Lisa xo
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Albany Race Report
It’s always good to get away for a long weekend and Albany was the perfect place with the hot weather up in Perth. You are guaranteed not to get hot weather down in that part of the world but the wind is another story. We set off on the long drive Saturday morning after a quick paddle and arrived at Pelicans resort in Middleton Beach just after 2pm. We stayed with a great crew from Stadium Tri Club in Tiffany & Brendan, Owen (Spider) and Amy and spent the rest of the afternoon putting our bikes together and going for an easy ride. Annie Brinkworth called that evening and had us all worried that the race may be turned into a Duathlon due to the rough seas.
Sunday morning we all arrived with anticipation to see what the race director had decided and thankfully the swim was still on. There were a few of the usual suspects missing with Lajos, Kenji, Troy and Paul not making the journey down but James Lewin and Brynt McSwain brought their A game and would make for a tough race.
The swim was rough and after getting a fairly good start James quickly flew past and proceeded to swim off into the distance. I struggled around the 1500m course on my lonesome trying to dodge the occassional age group athlete before i was kicked square in the face and almost lost my goggles. A quick adjustment and some backstroke had me back on track and i exited the water about 45seconds down on James. I could just see him in the distance but it seemed to take ages to reel him in on the bike and i finally did so at about the 8km mark.
There was a bit of a climb just after the first turnaround so i used this to attack and establish a slight gap on James. Unfortunately the legs weren’t feeling as good as expected and he quickly wound me back in on the next downhill. I continued to ride hard knowing the Brynt would be chasing us down and couldn’t afford too much cat and mouse at this stage but my next mistake came at the halfway mark of the bike. I missed the turnaround point and continued down the road for 100m before Katrina’s dad (Doug) thankfully pointed me in the right direction. In the meantime James was back in front and i had another 200m gap to close in order to catch him. This time i cought him and waited for the next decent climb before making my final attack. It worked and i managed to hold him off for the next 15km’s back to transition were i entered with a 20sec lead. Brynt had another excellent bike and managed to close a 2min gap, hitting the final run just 10sec behind James.
I hit the run a bit worried that James might be too close and would close the gap after improving his run so much lately. I wasn’t feeling great in the first few kilometres either and my concern was justified when i turned at the 2.5km mark and found James just 50m behind. I tried to pick up the pace but it wasn’t until the 5km mark that i started to feel comfortable and really hit my stride. Thankfully it was enough to hold James off and i crossed the line with a slender 22sec lead to win the race and wrap up the TWA series. Brynt cruised home in 3rd place and i think everyone that finished this race did a great job in such tough conditions. Lisa was absolutely stoked with 1st place in her age group and both Owen and Brendan who were staying with us posted great times for their first ever Olympic Distance race.
Thanks to Albany Tri Club for putting on such a great event on what would be the second best course in WA after Karri Valley. I have just two sprint races left for the season but my focus now turns to serious Anaconda training with just 8 weeks to go until Anaconda New Zealand. I will hopefully see everyone down at Champion Lakes for the draft legal triathlon where i will have my work cut out to beat some of the juniors in their pet event.
Seano
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Love is grande, congrats Dave & Sue 25 years!
Hey all,
Firstly, congratulations to Sue and David Laidlaw who celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary tomorrow (wednesday 24th Feb)! We had a very fun Saturday night partying with them, pics later in the post…
Last week felt a lot easier, not sure if this meant I am getting fitter or I was just being a bit slack in my sessions? But i just wasn’t as weary – yay!
Monday was glorious rest day, after a big weekend and a semi meltdown Sunday afternoon, I was a new person on Monday! Especially when Sean took me out to dinner at Balthazar and dessert at the new San Churro in Subiaco (omg, you must try it, delicious).
Tuesday morning it was mystery ride again and Sue took me down to the South Perth Rollers ride. They were a great bunch, very friendly, consistent pace and we really enjoyed it. They even waited up if people got dropped? Wow, this is what a group ride should be! Will definitely go back. Got in about 50km with a solid average about 31kph.
Tuesday pm is always my most dreaded session! Long run. We had 80 minutes to complete today and i was already tired but i met Sue and we conquered it anyway. A big lap around Kings Park followed by extra minutes to Jo Jos cafe to get in our minutes wasn’t as bad as i’d thought it would be. Gu Chomps and good chats made it a lot easier, but still glad to have it done! I think we got in about 15km? Sean cooked dinner tonight as per my instructions and he nailed it!
Wednesday am A fairly nice and easy swim squad with Tanhem squad as they were gearing up for the Rotto swim. I made sure i got in 3km and there was a few hard 100s in there. The guys were flying, they will be so fast on Saturday!
Wednesday pm No training! Movies with Clare and Nathan, saw Valentine’s Day and honestly, it was just “meh”, not as good as i thought it would be and certainly not in the same class as Love Actually. But I am definitely going to see “Dear John” in the near future, looks totally up my alley! Fun night 
)
Thursday am and pm 53km cycle with Narrows this morning, not too hard although there were a few fast sections. Had a massage in lunch break, so running tonight was just 5km with a few pick ups as per coach Robyn’s instructions. I actually felt quite good doing this and Robyn said my legs would thank me later! Hopefully they do, ungrateful little things that they are ;o)
Friday am was kind of a walk in the park, because the Rotto guys were just there to turn there arms over. We did a swift 2.1km before jumping out for an early breakfast, which was fun as per usual! Even Sean came because we went so early and I dropped him into work. What a fun start to the day!
Saturday am was a big session, we had a 70km ride with a 20 min run off the bike planned. Ended up with 71km (I know, total overachiever, don’t hate) which only 4 of the group finished! Sue, David, YaYa and I did some solid turns and i was pretty stuffed by the end, but still had to do a 20 minute run. And Sean was already at Atomic waiting for us! But somehow we got ourselves together and ran a smidge over 20 minutes before settling in for a well-deserved coffee and muffin at Atomic. The 20 minute run actually felt very comfortable – could i possibly be improving at the ole running? I won’t count my chickens or anything, but I’m hopeful!
Saturday night was where the action was at! I didn’t train Sunday, although i had a planned run as i set off on run and foot was sore, so i feel the need to nurture the plantar fascia band til next run on tuesday. So I’ll finish with some pics from Saturday night, Sue and David’s 25th wedding anniversary party!
Getting ready at the Timms residence - looking good John! Mama Kelly and Nana Joan with baby Jade
Karlos aka Bob Marley chilling out before getting cray-cray
Who would have thought Gene Simmonds and Kylie Minogue would have hooked up?
This is how we do it... getting our 80s faces on.
Yowza! Brynt may never reproduce after squeezing into those while his GF Katie looks hot in her 80s get up
Addicted to Love Sue gets her glamour on. That guy trying to chat her up has no chance, even with the groovy tongue.
A few more familiar triathlon faces working the 80s magic!
At the party, we even got chocolate bonbonnieres! Such a fun party.
Karl and Kelly making mo magic with the dreadlocks
Sean looking really, really scary - is that how he beat Kenji? I'd step aside too.
And finally Dave and Sue share how they made 25 years with a captive audience - well done you two lovebirds!!
See y’all next week after the Albany race! Sean and I are going down with half the Stadium tri club so hopefully we’ll see a few podiums from the gang! Good luck everyone racing and best of luck to all the lovely ladies giving the women’s tri a go this Sunday! Just enjoy it!!
Lisa xo
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