The final weeks overseas
It has been four long months away overseas, but I have finally made it back home to Melbourne. Over the four months, I have been fortunate enough to visit many new countries which I previously hadn’t visited before.
My last blog update was from Spain as I entered the Basque country in Vitoria-Gasteiz and after my Tizzy race. Following this exciting time in Hungary, I had a couple of weeks to train before I ventured off to my next race which was the European Cup race in Czech Republic, Karlovy Vary. From all the places that I visited in Europe, this would have to be one of my favourite European towns. Karlovy Vary was an amazing place with beautiful buildings and a great atmosphere. And the race made great use of this, with a three lap 1500m swim, a 7 lap bike which included a devastatingly steep hill as well as a 4 lap 10km run which you would call quite adventurous.
Some good riding in Vitoria The beautiful scenery in Karlovy Vary
Race day was tough, mainly due to the 13 degree air temperature and the controversial ‘20’ degree water temp. So it made for a non-wetsuit swim and along with the rain which didn’t stop pouring down, a very slippery bike. I had a good swim which got my race off to a very handy start. The three laps in the pond with the run out and over the pier added some excitement to the race. I managed to make my way out of the water in second place and after getting onto the bike a front group quickly formed. Straight away on the bike you could hear people behind crashing. The wet weather certainly didn’t help for staying upright on the bike and neither did the very technical course. I thought I was all good, but on lap 6 I was also unfortunate to hit the pavement. I ended up riding solo for the final 7km with one other victim who came down with me. Having a cut up shoulder and grazed hip certainly wasn’t favourable for the run, however I was able to hold my ground and finish up in 10th place. I was reasonably happy with this result considering my fall and there were certainly positives to take away from the day.
One of the obstacles in Karlovy vary race
So after my adventures over in Czech, it was straight back to the training base in Vitoria-Gasteiz for a couple more weeks. As I was not racing the London World Champs, Karlovy Vary was my final European race and so my preparations were for the Las Vegas Super Sprint triathlon. However my fall onto my hip from the race in Czech restricted my training for a few weeks. I couldn’t do much running as my hip didn’t allow me to so all I could do was rest and hope that it got better.
I was fortunate enough to be able to go over to London and watch the races even though I wasn’t racing. It was great being able to see training partner Joel compete in the juniors race as well as Declan podium in the under 23 race. But it was difficult for me to get some training done in London mainly due to the very busy atmosphere and the poor weather. So being there only for the weekend was quite good before I headed off to Las Vegas for my final race.
Riding next to Vitoria lake
And Las Vegas was certainly something different. The city was full of flashing lights trying to draw you into their casinos. And being under the legal gambling age of 21, the flashing lights seemed to drive me even crazier.
But the racing on offer was exciting. The morning heats and late night finals offered for some very tactical racing. The race structure consisted of a super sprint race in the morning (300m swim/8km bike/2.5km run) and a final where we went twice through the super sprint distance. But in order to make the final, a top 3 result in the heats was required making a field of 10 for the final.
In the morning heats, I was able to get out of the water with a little gap and find myself in a breakaway for the bike with 2 others. This was the perfect race outcome for me and I crossed the line on the run for 3rd allowing me to qualify for the final.My race in the final didn’t go too well. I struggled throughout the whole race and was never up there in the mix. Going through the super sprint distance was very tough, especially the feeling of jumping back into the water after the first run. In the end I finished up in 8th which was an ok result. It was great however to see fellow training buddy Pete take out the race in an impressive style.
Visiting Paris in Vegas Night racing at the super sprint race
Having a few days after the race before heading home was good as it allowed us to explore the city and see what it was really about. As much as a cool place Vegas is, it wouldn’t be something I would pick for a vacation away from home.
The next few weeks will see me in break/recovery mode with minimal training as I prepare for the 2014 season next year. It should be another exciting year ahead and I cannot wait for it to come.
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