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
Filed under: Sean's Diary