Getting 2018 Underway
With the year of 2017 officially behind me, I am looking into 2018 with fresh eyes and a big motivation to achieve my new goals. At this time of the triathlon season, the main focus for me is to get through a ‘base’ phase of training that includes a few more hours of low-intensity work. I really find this time necessary as I feel that my body reacts well to this type of training and often find myself coming out feeling fit, strong and ready to tackle races.
Like previous years, I spent the end of 2017 at a training camp in an ocean town called Lorne, located along the world famous Great Ocean Road. I spent the two weeks there with my Elotik Pro squad as we got stuck into some picturesque training.
One of the highlights for me was exploring the run trails. Behind Lorne is a rainforest that backs right up to the ocean. In the rainforest there are a handful of walking trails which we used for our runs, all of which wound through the iconic Australian backdrop of tall eucalyptus trees with the occasional kangaroo bouncing about.
Not to also mention riding along the Great Ocean road, which is the stretch of road that runs past the 12 Apostles.
Being back home in the Australian summer means that it is once again race season on this side of the world. I am fortunate enough to have some local races which take place almost right at my doorstep. So far there have been 3 races from the 2xu Triathlon series. In all 3 I have raced well and taken the win. So currently I lead the series with 3 more races remaining. The next one will be in about 1 week time.
These races are always fun to take part in. For me, they are more of a training race where I can go into them having done a bit of training the week prior and try to use the race to work on my skills. But more so just to get out on a Sunday morning and have fun!
In terms of upcoming major races for this Australian summer, I have planned with my coach some key events which I will target. The first for me will be the Oceania Sprint distance Championships in Devonport, February 17th. I have had some great races there over the past years and look forward to attacking the tough course once again. Following Devonport I will prepare myself to race the New Plymouth World Cup on the 25thMarch. I haven’t competed here before but I look forward to returning to my home country, New Zealand, to race. 2 weeks later I will compete in the Oceania Olympic Distance which is taking place near where I am living in St Kilda.
My racing calendar for the Australian summer is reasonably light, considering in previous years I have competed a lot more whilst here at home. There is some intention to this plan as I am using the extra time to concentrate on my training and really trying to get my body strong to attack the European season. I think that having this extra time will benefit me a lot and I can already feel the improvements.
Over the next few weeks I will continue with my regular training. Soon I will start to introduce some bike criterium races which I always find really tough but really fun at the same time. There are also local open water races which I will compete in, once again to offer some great race simulation.
The year of 2018 has only just begun but I can already feel the hard work taking effect. I look forward to continuing to push myself each week and experiencing the progress.
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