CANBERRA OLYMPIC DISTANCE (1.5/40/10)

Today proved 3rd time lucky for me in terms of racing in our nations capital. After the previous two disasters (Marathon '07 and HIM '08), I was beginning to doubt my ability to race well in Canberra. Fortunately today proved to be a solid race under my target time. Conditions were great, and I was under my target times for the bike, run and overall (missed out in the swim). Got smashed in my Age Group, however the Challenge series is incredibly competitive with athletes coming from all over the country. All in all I really enjoyed the race and thought it was extremely well organised.

SWIM:

Self seeded myself towards the back and that's pretty much where I stayed. Had a clean start and didn't get bumped at all. I actually felt very strong through the water- probably the best I have ever felt. Unfortunately when I came out of transition, there was only about 10 bikes left on my rack! Despite feeling strong, I was well off my target time of sub 28min.

T1:

Very fast- no hiccups at all. Located the bike and set off well. Transition into shoes at the start of the ride was the best I have done to date.

BIKE:

Got into a good rhythm with a higher cadence and felt like I was flying under the ZIPPs. After 5km or so I caught up with a bloke and we worked a little with each other- trading the lead at regular intervals to keep our momentum and motivation up. That is the first time I have ever been in that position in a race as I am usually playing catch-up. After the first 20km lap (clocked at 29mins) we were joined by a couple of other blokes who had caught us. One of them was stuck onto the arse of the other guy and would not let go- blatant drafting which was very annoying.

Slowed down a little over the final few k's, which is something I need to keep in check. Hit transition with an on-the-bike time clocked at under 60mins.

T2:

Had a brain freeze and unstrapped my helmet before racking the bike, so I was pulled up to re-strap it. After that I nearly took off without my headband, so I pivoted back to retrieve it before setting off.

RUN:

Entered the run and quickly passed the 3 others I had cycled with. The Voltaren Rapid 25 worked wonders and I was able to get through the run pain free. I could still feel something going on with my achilles, but no crippling discomfort. My back was a bit tight, however I muscled through with a negative split over the 2 x 5k lap course. Hurt like hell but just tried to hold my form in check as best I could. Not an amazing time but it was about what I expected considering current form.

Canberra Olympic Distance (Challenge Series)

> 2:08:43 (154th overall, 27th in 20-24 AG)

> Swim: 30:26 (461/41)
> Cycle: 1:02:21 (137/17)
> Run: 35:31 (21/11)

Was actually quite happy with my cycle leg, and it was good to go sub 2:10. The swim is, of course, shocking. Am looking to free up some time so that I can get stuck into some squad work. Will need a bit more time with training and injury healing before my run is quality again. I really need to work on the swim and develop my cycle before I can become competitive.