Prep time for Abu Dhabi
Another few weeks have passed which means another main training block has been completed. There have been some big sessions throughout these weeks both on the bike and on the run. Some days had me struggling significantly, but I only came out better from those ones. I would have to say that it has been my biggest training load in a very long time, potentially ever. All this training has me working towards my first big race of the year which is in Abu Dhabi. I have been able to get a start at the Abu Dhabi World Triathlon Series (WTS) race in March. This will be my first time racing a WTS and I am very excited for it.
Having a spin alongside the Yarra River, Melbourne
A new addition to my training sessions were crit bike races (which is pretty much a bike race that goes around a small loop multiple times). Matt Baker (my training companion) and I started off doing the crits at Glenvale Crescent on a Sunday morning. This course is a rectangular shape with each lap about 1 kilometre and each race going for about an hour. So as you could imagine by the end we had done a lot of laps!
These races are perfect for us; they are high intensity with a lot of quick accelerations, great for getting used to riding with people around you and always a lot of fun. We could also double it up as a brick session, doing a hard run off the bike to simulate what we would do in a race. Sunday mornings were just one of the tough sessions we were faced with.
Over the next few weeks we will introduce the crits in Kew at the ‘teardrop’ course. This course can be tough with its slight uphill section but it will (hopefully) only make us stronger!
Working the corners at Glenvale Crit. Photo - Stephen Harman
Leading the Australia day swim and accepting the winners medal
I had a good swim exiting the water in first. I am quite happy with how my swimming is coming along, my stroke feels strong in the water and I still have some speed. There were four of us that came out of the water together. On the bike, Matt and I did what we said we would do and rode hard. We ended up riding off by ourselves after about 5km and spent the rest of the ride working together to increase our lead. By the end of the bike leg, we had built up our lead to give us a big enough buffer over the rest of the field. I tried to hang onto Matt at the start of the run, but he had the legs on me and could gap me quite early. So I spent the rest of the run just trying to hang in there and make it through. I finished off in second behind Matt which I am quite contempt with.
Gatorade Triathlon race
Race bike set-up featuring SwiftCarbon bike and Speeder Wheels
Gatorade Triathlon bike leg. Photo - Kpalmerimage
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