The Weekend

First of all, congratulations to everyone who competed in the City to Perth Olympic distance race on the weekend, in very hot and humid conditions.

Special shout out to a client Michelle Neil who competed her first Olympic distance race and is looking very strong  for Busselton half in May.

Also to my roommate Scott, Scott took part in the team that was the fastest over the course on the day.

Finally congratulations to my partner Kelly, for being 4^th female overall.  

Early Sunday morning I headed down to Bold Park to compete in another WAMC race over 10.7k.  I have to admit after 4.5h on the bike on Saturday, I was feeling very average. Any race that start at the bottom of Reabold hill and finishes on the top, and is a two loop course, you know it`s going to be tough race. I was really happy with the way I ran over the course after a solid week training. There was`nt  one flat section on the course so I found it very hard to get into a good rhythm. However I still manage to finish 3^rd place overall and just missed out on running down 2^nd place by only 2 seconds.

I have to encourage more triathletes to get down to these races. All you need to do is turn up on the day and race, no need to pre enter and no crazy entry fee, and a very soilid hit out. There is nearly one of theses races every week. The next one I will be taking part in is the Point Walter 16k on Sunday 13th Feb.

HITTING THE TRAILS

When talking to many of Perth triathletes and the conversation turns to running, the majority talk about either running on the road or running on the track. Very rarely will anyone ever talk about running in the trails. However if you talk to any of Perths top runners from 1500m to marathon distance, they will all say one of there key session of the week is there long run on the trails.

In addition to the regular running benefits such as improved fitness level and hopefully weight loss, trail running is also a lot better on the bones and joints. Running on hard surfaces such as pavement and concrete can be tough on the bones and joints. People who suffer from things like shin splints and knee problems often report that they dont expirences these problems while running on the trails.

On a personal note I do all my long runs on the trails out in Helena Valley (30 min drive from the Perth). I have been lucky enough to share this expirence with the majority of Perth elite runners, and Ill have to admit this is the most enjoyable session of the week, not only is it the most enjoyable session of the week I also beleive it is the session where I get the most benefits. Recently I changes my long runs to mid week, and Ill have to thanks Gerry Hill for keeping me entertained out there the last few weeks. Gerry recently won the 6 inch marathon in Dwelingup so he definetly keeps me Honest. 

Good luck to everyone racing City of Perth this weekend

And hopefully see some more of you out in the trails

Pro License

So after plenty of consideration, I have decided to bite the bullet and apply for my pro license.

The main critiria to obtain the license are-
1) Podium fininsh in age group, preferable 1st place at an offical WTC event.
2) Top 20 finisher overall
3) Within 9% of winning time (in a ironman)

In my previous few races I have acheived all of this, so I think now is the time to apply.
At the current time I am quite confident I can mix it up with the majority of the professional field on the bike and run. But unfortunatliy I am not up to the level of swimming at the moment to come out in the first pack. So with 8 weeks till Singapore 70.3 and hopefully the pro license through by then, I need to find a few minutes in my swim to be competitive overall. Fingers crossed this will happen. 

On the training and racing front everything is ticking along nicely. Last Sunday I raced another WAMC race. It was a 5k twilight run and with record numbers and a tough field, I was happy with a top 5 finish. Especially considering I have never ran this short distance before.Congratulations to Gerry my training partner for taking out the win, 45seconds up the road from me.

Another first time for me this weekend will be the Wandi 80k time trial. I am Really looking forward to this as I can test my form against the clock to see were I am at right now. Hopefully the weather holds out with showers and thunderstorms forecasted.

Tom

Getting On The Juice

Recently I purchased this Breville Juicer and it is one of the best investment I`ve ever made.

The health benefits of juicing are countless. Juicing is great for weight loss, better immune system function, increased energy, glossy hair and smooth, glowing skin. And they taste great either first thing in the morning before a big session, or when you get home from a session to top up those glycogen stores.  

What can Juicing do for you?

Fruit and vegetables are a wonderful source of countless vitamins, minerals and live enzyme. Juicing is an excellent way to add fruit and vegetables to your diet which maybe lacking. As juice contains the entire fruit and vegetable, with the exception of fibre, it contains all the life giving parts of the plant. Because you are juicing raw fruit and vegetables all the nutrients remain intact, which means you are getting the full health benefits of the plant.

Another important health benefit of juicing is that it is in a form that is easy to digest and absorb. This is important for athletes for two reasons. 1) It takes the workload off the body, so it does not have to work as hard at digesting. 2) You feel the results of the juicing almost immediately. People who juice nearly always report a boost of energy that last much longer than a cup of coffee and is much healthier.

Three Favourite Juices for January

Apple, Carrot, Celery

Carrot, Orange, Ginger

Apple, Pineapple, Watermelon

Christchurch 12k

Saturday night I decided to race the Christchurch 12k run held by WAMC on the Sunday. After a 4hr Ride on Saturday with the guys from The Running Centre and having not raced since Busso, I wasn't too sure how I was going to go. The profile of this course is an out and back through Nedlands with a few nice rolling hills. I have never run on the course before but cycled through there hundreds of times so I knew it was going to be quite tough.

The race started out very fast with the first few k`s being below 3min 15 pace. I was sitting in about 8th place at this time, thinking I was going to struggle to finish inside the top ten. Then all of a sudden five guys turned off and to my surprise there was a 5k race that started at the same time. So after the fast start I managed to settle in to a good rhythm in third place. I held this position till about the 7k mark when I got joined by a fellow runner. The two of us ran together and bridged up to 2nd place.

So with about 3k to go, 1st place was up the road and the three of us were running together with one of us going to miss out on the podium. I did not want to be the guy who missed out. I noticed one of the guys was running well on the flats but struggling on the climbs, so on the final climb I decided to make a surge and managed to drop him, but the other came with me. I think I may have pushed a little too hard on the climb because once we hit the top the other guy put in one more surge and managed to put 10m on me and this is how it stayed for the rest of the race.

So in the end I was happy with the 3rd place finish with an average pace of just over 3min 30sec per k.     
Now 9 weeks till Signapore 70.3 so stay posted to find out how the training is going.

My first Blog.

Well I have decided to start a blog on what happens in my life as a triathlete, personal trainer & student.
I guess first things first, I must thank everybody that has supported me along my journeys in training and racing triathlons in Local, National & International races.  A big thank you must be mentioned to my sponsors and supporters so please visit the sponsors tab and visit their links.

Looking forward to sharing my times with you all.