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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

From Wagga to Busselton


Last weekend I headed out to a small race in Wagga, regional NSW to get a race in my legs before Ironman Busselton this weekend. It was just a short trip from Canberra and a mid morning, Saturday start helped make it a relaxed weekend. It was great to go to a race just turning up an hour before, putting the bike in transition, warming up and waiting for the gun, not worrying about prolonged race briefings and whether or not you bike will still be there in the morning.
The distance was very similar to the race I had in Alpe Du' Huez earlier in the year 2km Swim/ 120 bike/20km run, only the weather was a little better and we didnt have to climb a mountain to finish the bike!
I took the lead in the swim and headed out onto the bike solo with 35km/h winds and a couple of storms ensuring our day on the bike wasn't to easy. It was the first time I had used the Campagnolo disc and after that all I can say is that it was amazing. At one point I had a huge tail wind behind me and I looked down at the speedo to see  that I was sitting on 65km/h on the flat!
By the time I got to t2 I had close to a 20minute lead back to the rest of the field which was great, that meant there was every chance I was going to win, but that wasn't the reason I was there. I still wanted to put a good run together after a hard bike. I went out pretty solid into a huge headwind by that time and ran well, over the 20km.
At the end of the day I achieved what I wanted from the race. I won and I was able to have a good solid race before Ironman this weekend.
If your interested the results are on the link below:
http://www.multisportaustralia.com.au/RaceTecResults/Results.aspx?CId=1&RId=623&EId=8

Tomorrow I head over to Busselton for Ironman. It will be a new experience racing the distance over a flat course and its going to be a tough race with some really good guys on the start list. I am recovering well from the last race and looking forward to this weekend!
Will let you know how it goes.

Aaron.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Trip North


It was a bit delayed but last week we headed up to far North Queensland for our "Honeymoon" and a chance to check out an interesting part of the world neither of us had seen before.
We spent our time in a small coastal town called Port Douglas which is about 60km away from Cairns and where Challenge has expanded with its first Australian race.
 
On a very flexable schedule we got to see most of the major attractions from the surrounding areas including a day trip out to the Great Barrier Reef, a cruise along the Daintree river, a swim at Mossman Gorge, trip to a crocodile farm and a spot of fishing. (I did catch some good fish!)



We had a great time up there and left feeling refreshed and fulfilled that we made the right choice for our break.
The people were friendly, it wasn't over crowded and the countryside was just amazing. After this experience I am definitely going to make the trip back there again and have penciled Challenge Cairns on the calendar.
Trying to fit training into a trip away like that was quite a juggle but I managed to get something done everyday and came back ready to rip into a few good weeks of preparation before Busselton so we'll see how that goes!

Aaron.

 

Monday, October 10, 2011

Settling back in

It been a hectic couple of weeks since getting back to Australia catching up on things that I've missed over the past few months away, now having to juggle training with work and family but things are getting back track now and I will be ready for my first major race at Busselton in December.
If I manage to finish well there it will earn me points towards qualifying for Kona 2012 which I am still undecided if I want to compete in but the best case scenario will be to have enough points to qualify and be able to choose myself mid next year if I want to make the rather expensive journey to the biggest race of the year without the pressure of doing races for points late next year.
After the big race last weekend it has given me a bit more inspiration to compete. Watching the Aussies go so well was great to see but at the same time once again I saw some great athletes have average races finishing outside of the top ten and wasting a hell of a lot of money.

Aaron

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

End of the road

Another week and another race report- this time from Challenge Henley in the UK.
After Ironman Wales I made my way over to Henley midweek and started preparations for one of the "Challenge" series new events.
After a few races over here this year I have learn t that there is always going to be two common factors in the United Kingdom  1. Bad weather 2. Terrible roads
I had accepted that before the race had started  so there was no surprise that I was almost vibrated off my bike in the pouring rain several times during the race.
What was a surprise though was the atmosphere of the race and the lengths that the organisers went to, to make sure the athletes had the best day possible and were looked after.
As with anything for the first time there will be alot of things to change or improve but for their first event I thought it was great and am hoping that I will be able to get back next year.

As far as the race went, I finished third and put some more experience in the memory bank for the next race.
From the swim start Steve Bayliss and I broke away.  Steve did all the navigating following the lead canoe through some thick fog at the front while I tried to follow his feet and just hang on.
Getting out of the water we had close to a 7 minute lead to the next group of pro guys which is totally unheard of, Steve and I didnt know what had happened to them but went about trying to extend that lead during the three lap 180km ride and managed to push it out to about 10minutes at one point on the second lap.
On the last lap I tried to open it out even further and started to push a bit harder for the last 50km which broke Steve and I apart but the others now in a 5 man group also had the same idea and I hit transition with a couple of minutes to Steve then about 5 minutes to the group.
400m into the run as I went past the first aid station I started vomiting everywhere, I'm still not exactly sure why but I managed to get running again and some nutrition into my stomach but had started to lose alot of time. I hung onto the lead for the first two laps of four to make up the 42km but was passed shortly after by the eventual race winner and second.
I still thought it might be possible to get some form back over the last 10km and catch up with them so fought on as best as I could, running with Steve for a good part of it and finishing about a minute behind second and two minutes behind the winner.

I was planning on staying on in Europe for another couple of weeks before Challenge Barcelona on the 2nd of October but after a quick chat to Brett and a good think about it have decided to head back to Oz later this week to have some recovery time and start to prepare for the Australian season later in the year.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Ironman Wales

Coming into long course racing I didnt think I would be in another sprint finish again but that was exactly where I found myself last weekend. After leading most of the race and getting off the bike with close to a 10 minute lead I crossed my fingers that I could hold on for the 42.2 km run. Frustratingly I was caught with 200m left before the finish and had to settle for second.
Anyway this was the first time that Ironman had been to Wales and the locals were so friendly and accommodating that I hope it will return for many years to come even if the weather was terrible! I have included a photo from our swim start at 6.30 in the morning where the crowd was lining the streets.
The swim was a rough ocean swim and I exited about a minute behind the leaders which consisted of a group of three including one of the local boys which got the crowd excited. Onto the bike we were hammered by strong winds and a very tough course. My garmin said it was close to 2500 verticle metres over the 180km! And I caught up to the leaders at about the 50km mark and soon after started to open a bit of a gap which turned into near 10 minutes when I got off the bike and began the marathon.
I started running pretty well and thoughts of my second IM win started to entertain me, but pretty soon I really began to struggle and at the 30km mark I was hardly moving faster than walking pace just trying to make it to the next aid station, once I made it there I got as much energy as I needed and soon got back into a good pace. But after such a bad period I had lost most of my lead and the gap was down to about a minute with 5km to go.
From there it was a footrace to the finish line and we were both flying. Unfortunately with about 200m to go I was caught and all my efforts to get to the line first were smashed.
Although that was a bit frustrating I had a great weekend and met alot of interesting people. Now I am preparing for challenge Henley this weekend and hopefully another solid result.

Aaron.


Monday, September 5, 2011

Gerardmer Wrap

Near perfect conditions greeted us on Saturday morning for one of the toughest races in Europe and a good day of racing for TBB athletes.
Mass starting about 1200 athletes usually wouldn't work, but the French managed it here without anyone drowning and we got away to a clean start.
Some quick swimming saw the field drawn out from the start with eventual winner Sylvain Sudrie leading out the swim with Dave, Steve and Faris close.
I was a further minute behind and struggled to make up any time on the leaders over the first lap. Two guys rode up to me and we caught up to Steve to form what was to be our group of four, for almost the entire bike leg but we failed to put any inroads to the leaders who had really put the pace down and started to split apart. Coming off the bike I was in seventh place with about 30sec to Steve and a minute to Faris. Sudrie had ridden well and opened up about a four minute gap with Poulat. Dave was tucked somewhere in between with Mathias Hecht and I was just hoping like hell I could do something on the run.
The first of three seven km loops I just caught Steve and we ran side by side for about the next 5km making some time up on the guys in front but soon Steve dropped off showing a bit of fatigue after completing two ironmans in two weekends and I continued to chase.
Starting the third lap Faris had about a 1 minute gap back to me and was in fifth place, I made that my goal and to my surprise caught Poulat first who was really struggling then caught Faris with about 1.5km to go on the run, moving me up to fourth place.
So what I thought was going to be a terrible race result turned into a respectable one. I was happy to hang in there and get some racing into my legs again before heading into Ironman Wales next week.
Dave had a great race and finished 2nd, strong all day and a well deserved result.
Caroline won the womens race easily and almost scraped into the top 10 men, so she is looking strong leading into Hawaii next month.
Tonight we have the presentation before we start our ride back to Leysin tomorrow morning.
Hopefully this will kick start me into the next few weeks of longer races and I can get some decent results.
See how we go!

Aaron.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Into some more races

After a short trip back home I have settled back into camp with the rest of the team and ready for another handful of races to finish the European season starting this weekend in Gerardmer (France).
Not my main focus, this weekend will just be some solid training leading into my next three races which are all long distance (3.8swim/180bike/42run). We are going to attempt exactly what we done with my last races as that worked so well.
Starting on Wednesday we are riding the 300+ km over to Gerardmer before and easier day Friday, race Saturday, presentation on Sunday with some light training then back to Leysin Monday/Tuesday before I head over to the UK on Thursday.
If everything goes to plan I will complete three Iron distance races and one half distance race in four weeks which sounds a bit crazy and possibly impossible.We will see.
Here is the race plan:

3/9/11  Gerardmer Triathlon 1.9/93/21  http://www.triathlondegerardmer.com/
11/9/11 Ironman Wales  3.8/180/42.2   http://ironmanwales.com/
18/9/11 Challenge Henly 3.8/180/42     http://www.challengehenley.com/
2/10/11 Challenge Barcelona 3.8/180/42  http://www.challenge-barcelona.es/

After the trip back home and coming down with a cold and chest infection its taken a bit to get the body back to the shape it was in leading into my last races but after a good block of training and the race this weekend I am hoping that will all be in the past and I'll be right to rip into some more good results before I head back to Australia.
I'll let you know how it goes along the way.

Aaron.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Back home- Temporarily

This week is a quick trip back home to Australia for Tylers birthday and Christning. I hit the road on Tuesday afternoon and get back to Oz Thursday morning hopefully not to jet-lagged as we have quite a busy week planned. After almost two months away I am really looking forward to catching up with Danielle and wonder if Tyler is going to recognize me. He seems to know my voice through skype but is a bit confused that my voice is coming from the computer. I'm sure it wont take to long!
Then the rest of my European trip will start from the 18th Aug. We are still deciding on what races I will be doing but at the moment it looks like at least another long distance race and two half distance events before heading home in the first week of October and what will hopefully be the beginning of some warmer weather back there!

Recovery after last week has gone very well and apart from a cold and chest infection that I picked up after the freezing race in Alpe D' Huez I feel great and actually thought  about racing again this weekend. If I didnt have the cold I probably would have but we dont want to risk spoiling the second half of my season by doing something stupid now. I rolled through most of the sessions this week with the group just easier and shorter than usual, using it as some active recovery.
This race was such a contrast to my first Ironman last year where I was just mentally and physically drained for the next month or so. At the moment I am trying to calm myself down and not get to carried away smashing myself in training until the time is right, so maybe the trip back home will be good in more than one way.

Cheers, Aaron.

End of the bike leg in Bolton

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

My first Ironman victory!!


Without any doubt this has been my most rewarding week of triathlon in my career so far. Two long distance races in the space of four days and my first Ironman victory.
Starting from the beginning..
Sunday we began our trip to a midweek race in France, the "Alpe D'Huez triathlon". Each year most of the TBB athletes make the trip over there and use the race simply as training. We ride about 300km over there Sunday/Monday do some light training Tuesday race Wednesday then ride home Thursday/friday. I managed to get out of the ride home as I had to get to my next race in Bolton (UK) four days later.
The race consists of a 2.2km swim 115km bike and a 22km run and as the name suggests its all based around the infamous Alpe D Huez.
This was probably one of the coldest races I have done, the weather was totally horrid during the event.
We started in the freezing waters near the base of the Alpe in a small lake with the weather closing in fast and by the time I exited the water about a minute behind a breakaway of three guys it was starting to rain. I swam well enough to be in front of most of the main contenders and pretty quickly passed the leaders who each had their own problems, from there I put my head down and rode solo for the next four hours.
The ride consisted of three main climbs and some very scary descending on wet roads in terrenchal rain and fog, finishing with the most dawnting, Alpe D'Huez which is where one of the guys in the chase group caught me and lead into transition only to be given a drafting penalty handing me a head start into the run leg.
I battled to the best of my ability on the day but faded to 3rd place. Respectable but not the win I was after.
This was my first trip to Alpe D'Huez and apart from the weather it was everything that I had imagened it would be. The actual climb was covered in paint/ Graffiti the entire way to the top from where the tour de France had been through many times.
So much sporting history has been made on that one climb that I felt privileged to ride on it, although the race went alright this was the highlight of my trip by far. 
So after crossing the line in the freezing cold it was a quick pack up, presentation then in the car back to Leysin to prepare for Ironman UK on Sunday.
For an Aussie driver in Europe without a GPS I reckon I did good arriving back at our base early Thursday morning but without getting lost!!
I unpacked then packed again hitting the road Friday afternoon, touching down in Manchester that evening followed by the short drive out to Leigh where the race was to be held.
It seems lately every time I travel I have some sort of issues with baggage handlers breaking or damaging my bike and once again I arrived with my rear derailer bent so badly I thought it might have been cracked.
Luckily I found a good bike shop that were very helpful and spent most of the day Saturday there, then checking in for the race the next day.
Although looking back it sounds stressful I was totally relaxed, maybe I am getting used to these last minute issues and dealing with them better or maybe it was just because it was an English speaking country and I didn't have the added stress of not understanding the language which usually makes things really hard.

Everything worked itself out and we hit the water for race start at 6 on Sunday morning. It was a small field of pro men and I managed to sit in with what ended up being the breakaway of three in the swim.
Once on the bike we were totally blown apart from one of the french guys Romain Guillaume who by km 20 had put a two minute gap back to me then about another 2 minutes back to third. I didnt let the gap worry me and stuck to my race plan of building into the bike and if I was feeling good for the last 40km start to put the pressure down.
At about the 100km mark the time splits started coming back in my favor and I was feeling good bit by bit I was closing the gap but still weary of staying hydrated and having enough energy to get through the marathon.
I caught him at the 150km mark and he looked like he was in alot of trouble. This was the best possible news for me as I knew that I already had a big gap back to the next group behind, about 10min. From that point on it was head down and whatever it took to get the race win.
I jumped off the bike feeling like I could run the 42km (unlike my last Ironman) and had no cramps or worries. I got my legs back quickly and found a comfortable pace which I thought I could hold for the 42km run and immediately started to open the gap. This was the point I just wanted the race to end how it was but I still had the best part of 30km left to race.
The run started with a stretch into the city then three loops around the city centre. I was hoping for a flatter course but again there was alot of uphill running involved. After the first lap I was feeling great and had a 12minute gap back to second, I just had to keep in control and the race was mine.
I managed to hold on and came across the line in 8 hours 24 minutes hardly able to take the smile off my face for the next three days.
Amazing the difference a great support base, coach and training partners can make, thanks for all your support and I hope I can write many more blogs as enjoyable as this in the future.

Cheers, Aaron.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Final Preparations

Leading into what will be quite easily my biggest week of racing with both Alpe'D huez long course triathlon and Ironman UK, everything feels like it is on track to get some good results.
Over the past few weeks we have done some massive sessions and I am feeling alot stronger and confident than I have for a long time.
I've even had some luck go my way. On Saturday I was out riding with a small group of the boys on an easy ride, we were about 100m from the summit of one of the climbs which was going to be our turnaround point and we decided to have a bit of fun and race each other the last few metres. With my amazing lack of speed I was holding the wheel of the guy in front, both out of the saddle and sprinting as hard as we could when his handle bar simply snapped and sent him straight to the ground in front of me, I had no time to react, hit him and went straight over the handle bars. Amazingly I came out of it with barely a scratch while Dan, the other guy who came off ended up with some pretty bad cuts and bruises and my chain-ring in the back of his leg. So it could have been alot worse!
 
On Thursday my new Time trial bike should be ready to ride and I'll have the rest of the week to test it out and get used to it. After waiting seven months I am quite excited that finally I'll get to ride it.
The big week starts with the long ride to Alpe'D huez with the rest of the team on Sunday and Monday then our race Wednesday. That afternoon I head back to Leysin and pack for Ironman UK which is on Sunday. If all goes well I will be back in camp on Tuesday for a week before heading home for a short period to celebrate Tylers 1st birthday and christening then return to have a crack at some more of the European races.
Otherwise everything else is going along nicely, I have settled into camp well and coping with the workload better than I expected, a bit of fatigue is setting in now after some big weeks and I have been a bit lothagic with my blogging and emails but with a bit of freshening up I will feel like a million dollars. 

Aaron.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Just a quite training week in the hills

Bit of a quite week last week after my trip to Denmark. I got back on Monday and just tried to get back into a bit of rythem with training. It took until Saturday before I started to feel good again after the food poisoning episode but everything is back on track now and I am feeling good.
Most of us are heading to France for a race on the 27th of July at Alpe D'Huez so that will be my next appearance and from what I have heard, a very interesting race. The 115km bike leg finishes with the climb to the top of Alpe D'Huez then we run around the top at some crazy altitude. I think its 2200m. So that should be alot of fun...
As part of the trip we have to ride to the race, which is about 300km away over 2 days before the race then back home. But I think I might have found something even crazier to do instead. I have entered Ironman UK the following weekend, so will probably just leave straight from France.

Time to head for bed and prepare for another long day tomorrow..

Aaron.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

What a disaster!

My first trip to Denmark was certainly one to forget. Most of my memories of the weekend include something to do with the above picture..
After some good preparation and recovery leading into the race at Aarhus I ate something bad along the trip and spent the rest of the weekend sick with my head down the toilet bowl.
From Friday morning I couldn't eat anything without bringing it back up but for some reason decided it would be best for me to have a go at the race regardless. I knew I probably wouldn't finish but if I didn't have a go I would have been left wondering what might have happened.
As you can imagine things went bad and I ended up crawled up into a ball on the run course with massive stomach cramps, not even able to move.
We made the trip home yesterday and I attempted some light training today unsuccessfully, still unable to keep my food down. Hopefully I can get rid of this in the next few days and back into some serious training again.

Not everyone in our team had such a bad time though, Caroline ended up winning the womens race with a massive gap back to second and another couple of our girls went 1st and 3rd in Ironman Austria. So Congrats!!

Aaron.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Check out my home for the next few months

 Thought I would take some shots of my pad over here so everyone back home can see what this place is like. Its only small but in the centre of town with some amazing views over the Swiss alps.
We are at about 1200m so similar to Thredbo back in Oz.
The village is alot bigger than I was expecting and has most facilities that we need including the 25m pool.


View out the window over the Alps, still with snow over the peaks.


Through the front door into the kitchen




Sleeping with my new bike and wheels on the top bunk!

The kebab shop to the left. My room is on top of the building behind it. My lastest dilemer is that it has shut for the next month. Now I have to do some cooking..


Looking through my front door into the kitchen/living area

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Time for a change


Exactly twelve months ago I was racing for a small team in Germany as I had for the previous two years before, I was in quite a comfortable position getting paid by the club and looked after well, both in and away from the triathlon scene when it hit me that I needed a change. I was doing the same races every year, getting the same or similar results without really improving and just getting to comfortable with the position I was in. With our first child on the way later that year the same results weren’t going to cut it and I made the conscious decision that if I couldn’t improve my results it was time to move on with my career.
At that time I didn’t know what the answer was, I knew I needed a proper triathlon coach some proper training partners and a fresh beginning.
I finished the last race with the club winning the series both as an individual and as a team.
I kept my plans pretty quite, the only people I talked openly about it with, were the family that had taken me in. They understood exactly what I meant when I talked about my lack of respect for the teams main sponsor and my frustration that I was not improving and helped me look for other alternatives.

One year later and with some help from some good friends I am in the Swiss alps part of one of the most successful triathlon teams of the modern day with a list of great sponsors as long as my arm and a coach who has guided the best athletes at the peak of their careers to greatness.
As for the results, they’re coming! After a broken leg which cut my training for four months I managed to win the Noumea triathlon off basically a months running then finished third in Weihai Long Course World Championship series a month later. With a long way to go to get back to 100% the results can only get better and I am excited about what I might be able to achieve in the future.

Getting out of my comfort zone and making the change was the best thing I could have done and I am determined to make the most of it for however long it lasts. I look at my former training partner who is still at the club doing to same thing and getting worse results and think what a good decision it was. If you ask him why he’s still there he’ll tell you he gets paid well and has a good setup with the sponsor but  when it gets to that point in my career when I lose that desire to improve and the desire to win its time to move on. The change has given me new focus and more determination with a platform to achieve whatever I want in triathlon and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity.
Now the rest is up to me.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

First day


I received one of my new frames and disc wheels today. I have to wait for the rest of the bike to turn up but I could'nt help playing with it and got as much as I could togeather.
In the next couple of weeks we are going to be the first team to promote the new Campagnolo 11 speed electric groupset. So it should be a pretty sweet ride in a few weeks! Hopefully its together for my next race in Aarhus.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Short detour

I got back in the air last week on my way to Europe with a quick stop off in China for one of the races in the ITU World Long Course Championships which proved to be a good move, giving me a bit more confidence in my form before Europe.
I reluctantly left home at 5:30am on Wednesday and with several connections and delays arrived in Weihai 30 hours later. With a couple of days before the race I had heaps of time to recover and I actually felt fresher than I had since I started my new program with Brett four weeks earlier.
Race day came by pretty fast. With a later starting time we got to have a sleep in and after our introductions hit the water at about 9 in the morning for our 3km swim/80km Bike and 20km run.
The water was so cold it was on the borderline of being shortened to 1500m or cancelled all togeather. Somewhere around 15 degrees.. We ended up racing the 3km course broken down into 750m laps and I managed to stick with the lead pack of about six guys. What I didnt know at the time was that one of the guys had raced away by himself and had about a minute gap back to the rest of us.
The bike course was seriously tough and technical with strong winds making it hell the whole way. It was so tough that I almost rode the entire 80km without seeing any of my competitors. It was’nt until the last half lap that I caught one of the guys in front of me, a young russian guy that I thought was suffering bad from the hard bike, then as I came into T2 I caught the race leader, Kieren Doe to find myself leading the race comfortably. I thought if I could just hang in there I would have the win for sure! After the first 5km loop I felt good and had a clear gap back to second which was now the young Russian kid that I had passed on the bike but it was’nt much longer and I started to lose all my efficiency and speed and slowed down fast. Pretty quickly I was back to second place and struggling to hold onto that. Coming into the last km 3rd place caught me and we both had to serve a time penalty together for not putting our helmets in our boxes when we came into transition, I got out a little earlier but still could hardly get my feet moving and Kieren sprinted straight past me for second place leaving me to take third wondering what had happened. Hopefully it was just a combination of just not enough km after injury and the heat that affected me as my hydration and nutrition were both fine.
Although I had a bad race I got a good result, hopefully when I have a good race I will have an even better result!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Back to normal?

Looks like the body is just about back to normal and training is back on track. After a surprising result last week in Noumea and a good week of training I am still injury and niggle free.
In the next few weeks I will be heading back to Europe with TBB to race a long list of events ranging from olympic to Ironman distance. With some good solid training in the legs I am sure I can go above and beyond my results from previous years.
At the moment it looks like my first race will be a long course ITU race in China on my way through to Switzerland. I was hoping to do China 70.3 one week earlier but that race was canceled last week.

Around the house we have been busy chasing Tyler, who has learn t how to climb the stairs and pull mums bottles of wine off the shelves. He is really developing quickly and I'm hoping to see him take his first steps before I leave. Not sure about the talking part... I think that will take alot longer. At the moment he just loves making loud noises to get our attention.

Aaron. 

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Noumea Photos

A few photos from the weekends race in Noumea.
Finally down to the two of us! 



Run lap no 2 of 4
Trying to stay in touch with Vernay


Sunday, May 8, 2011

3rd Win in Noumea!

Wow, I just won Noumea after a battle with Patrick Vernay basically all the way to the line.
This year was a bit different to years in the past, the pro field was alot smaller but still good quality. Some of the usual guys were chasing points in World Cup events to try and qualify for the olympics so they couldn't come, some of the guys including Vernay raced Ironman last week in Port Macquarie and I am still very much coming back from my broken leg.
The race started out with a two lap swim where I got totally hammered but managed to come out with Vernay right on my heels so a good position, from there it was just a matter of hanging onto him as he tore through the rest of the field averaging just over 43km/h. By the start of the second lap on the bike we had caught the early leaders and now had a group of four guys all trying to hold onto Patrick. I tried to go around him once and do a turn but I had no chance, I drew level with his back wheel and couldn't get past him so from there I made the decision that if I did'nt want to get dropped I was going to sit behind and just try to hang onto the machine.
We entered T2 as a group still and started the run very slowly. Right away I was off  the back with about a 10m gap back from everyone in my own little world. Slowly I bridged back to the guys and got my legs back to start pushing the pace and the group of four slowly started to dwindle until finally it was just Vernay and myself left to fight it out on the last lap. With about 2km to go I got dropped with about a 10m gap again from him but again managed to fight my way back. Although I'm a terrible sprinter I thought surely if it came to a sprint I would have the fresher legs after Vernays Ironman effort last week.
With about 800m to go I surged and managed to get a little gap and from there just had to hold on with everything I had, hoping not to get caught.
I really didnt think I had any chance of winning as I have hardly run since my injury almost six months ago and my last attempt on Thursday saw me fall flat on my face when my knee gave way during a grass track session.
Everything seemed to hold up well today though and has started my comeback on a good note. Hopefully it only gets better and better from here!

Cheers, Aaron.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Mr and Mrs Farlow!

We officially tied the knot last week at a lunch time service with a small group of friends and family just outside of Canberra. We could'nt have asked for a better day, everything went just as we wanted it to. No rain or bad weather and a few drinks with good company. For everyone that is on facebook you can checkout more of the photos there but I have attached a couple here.
Danielle and I have been togeather for almost five years now and she has supported me through everything from my travels and sport to starting our own family. Without her I dont know what I would be doing with myself now but I'm pretty sure I would'nt be sitting in a hotel room on a tropical island getting ready for a race right now!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Final Week

The countdown is really on now towards our wedding on the weekend. Danielle is running around organising all the last minute things but everything seems to be just about ready to go for the big day.
Now we just hope for good weather.
I even got a new suit for the occasion which should last me for a very long time considering the amount I will wear it!
Everyone keeps asking when we are going on our honeymoon and where we are going but we dont even know yet. We have a few possibilities in mind but with my racing schedule we aren't really able to do much until towards the end of the year after my time in Europe.
I think I will be looking for a good break by then and the thought of an island resort goes down well..

I had my first race back after my injury at Julia Creek last week where I finished second. So not a bad result but after winning for the past three years it hurt not to cross the line first.
Most importantly I came away from the race without any injuries or niggles and had another great weekend out in the bush with some awsome people. That race gave me a bit of an idea of where I am at with what I should be aiming for in my next few races leading into the European season.
Although I ran 17 minutes for the 5km of barely any training I think my next race in Noumea with a much bigger field is really going to hurt and a top 8 finish would be great, anything better would be a blessing.
Originally Sutto had told me to ignore all my results for the first three months back, but when you are competitive its hard to let anyone in front of you and I will still be racing it as hard as I can.

Aaron.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Team TBB Deutschland!

TBB Germany 2010. Great looking bunch!
                      

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

To wet for me

After another week of constant rain, flooding swept through most of Thailand and washed away the roads we were intending on racing on in a few weeks at Koi Samaui.
A number of people were killed in the floods and landslides, including 10 people about 50km away from where we were staying.
After this news I booked my flights home and got out of there as quickly as possible. I had no other reason to hang around but to do the race. In a way it worked out well as I wont be tempted to push my knee beyond its limits and I can now help out a bit more with the planning for the wedding.
So I arrived back in Oz over the weekend and have slowly got into some training since then. Back to work tomorrow.
More interestingly construction on our new deck out the back of our unit started on Monday and if the weather stays fine and all goes well it should be finished in the next week or so, Giving Tyler a whole new play area and a great little spot for some BBQ's in summer.
Here are a few photos from the floods in Thailand and what was the view from my room for the last week.

Aaron.



Monday, March 28, 2011

Getting in the Rythem

Not much to report on this week, its just been some very solid training. Some more progress with my leg, then I strained my hamstring so have taken a backward step from running the past few days, but still we are progressing forward in the recovery process.
Alot of my time here has been spent as a training partner for James Cunnama as he heads into Ironman South Africia in a few weeks so I have been doing plenty of km on the bike and he has had some younger guys in the team to keep him honest in the run while I am getting my legs back.
The past week we have had heaps of rain and some of the towns we  have ridden through have been flooded with the excess of water. Yesterday I was running along the road just near our hotel and saw a scorpion trying to cross and find some dry land. They definitly aren't the prettiest of creatures and I stayed well away. But the water has bought them all out, we have also seen a few snakes and centerpedes.
When the weather is clear and we get away from town the riding has been really nice, the roads are unbelievably smooth and fast and some of the rides are quite scenic, with some massive rock formations. Not mountains but just massive rocks sticking out of the ground covered in rain forest. Most are not accessible and each one has its unique shape, most with visible caves. One that we rode past the other day actually had a concave shape towards the road with what looked like stalligtights hanging from it, that was awsome.
We had quite a long day on the bike today so I am looking forward to bed now and into another week of training!

Aaron.
   

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

More Rain

Well the novalty of being in Thailand has certainly worn off and the thought of being at home repeats itself in my head continuously. Everyday we have rain which means we have to clean and lube the bikes constantly. When its not raining its super hot and humid. We get chased by dozens of stray dogs and have to negotiate the Thai drivers. Like any other place in Asia its dirty, the streets are scattered with litter and there is a lingering smell of burning rubbish in the air.
On the positive side we are getting some awesome training done with a great group of athletes and I am back into some running and starting to enjoy it again. All this heat will be great acclimatisation for my first race back in Thailand next month and with a bit of luck I might even have my new bike to race on.
Last week was our photo-shoot week and we got to meet a few of the teams sponsors, with representatives from 2XU, Cobb saddles, The Bike Boutique and Aviva.
Alot of the team headed to Singapore last weekend for the 70.3, everyone went well with our women taking the top two spots of the podium and the men finishing strong considering one was coming back from injury and another was competing in his first half. From here our camp will dwindle over the next few weeks and only a handful of us that will be racing in Thailand next month will be left.
Hopefully I can avoid the dogs and cars until then and get a decent result!

Aaron.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Day on the water

We collected most of our new gear this week and have just about finished most of our photoshoots for this years team. So today we had a day on the water, fully catered for by the team with some of our major sponsors present and took some beach shots for 2XU.
Its funny, yesterday I was going to write a blog about how much of a third world dump this place is but today has totally changed that. The coast is just amazing with awesome little islands scattered everywhere and no pollution in site. Until we got back on the road and headed home it was like a different world.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Beautiful Krabi!


 Well I am back in Krabi again for my second team camp which will take me through to mid April and if the running comes along prepare me for a couple of events before the trip back to Europe in May.
I arrived on Thursday and have been slowly building into some training from there. Its been quite hot and humid with storms most afternoons, most of which we have managed to avoid and so far everything seems to be going well. Today we visited the beach for the first time and did an open water swim around one of the islands that was hit by the Tsunami a few years back. Until today I hadn't really seen the nice side of Krabi, only the city which just reminds me of any Asian town. (Its pretty dirty!)  but the beachfront was awsome.I managed to get a map to show people exactly where we are in Thailand and some pictures of the beach front close to where we were today.



Monday, February 21, 2011

Hard Man!

How tough is this guy? A crash on the track and an 8 inch bit of wood through his calf didnt stop him. He got back on his bike and apparently claimed the bronze medal. Not a bad effort. Hope he doesn't take up triathlon...

Friday, February 18, 2011

Slow Process!

Well as you can tell by the blog updates, not much has been happening the last couple of weeks. My running was stopped by the physio's reccomendation so I headed back into work for a week and a half on the tools.
Although I could still swim and ride I gathered now was a good time to bank some coin before the upcoming trip to Thailand then Europe. Working a six day, 63 hour week was certainly a shock to the system but was interesting at the same time.
Now I am back to training and heading over to Adelaide on Sunday for a week before the trip up to Thailand once more for our team camp where we will pick up all our new gear for 2011 season. I'm pretty excited about this but its going to be a long stint away from home finishing on the 24th of April after a race in Thailand.
The knee is slowly coming around now, with lots of exercises and physio I am aiming to be able to run again by the start of March. During the week I had some more scans and doctors appointments which showed the blood clots had cleared from my calf and I was able to finish with the medication that I was on. Now I just need to get the ligaments right and all should be fine.

Aaron.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Australia day


Tyler in his Australia day kit. What a poser!
 


One of our first real summer days yesterday marked Australia day 2011. We celebrated with some of Danielles mothers group friends in typical Aussie style. BBQ and beers by the pool followed by the cricket.











Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Take 2

The new look TBB squad is having its annual pre season camp starting in a few weeks back in Krabi (Thailand) before we all head to Europe for the majority of our race season starting in late May.
Hopefully this trip will be a bit more of a success than my last trip up that way and get me back into some sort of race shape.
At the camp we get fitted out with all our new kit and equipment from the team sponsors including our new bikes from Cervelo so I'm looking forward to that.
If all goes really well and I can twist Sutto's arm enough I might still have a chance of racing in Singapore 70.3 mid March and a couple of smaller races around Oz after that.
Its been hard to get back into training again the past few weeks, after losing so much fittness. Mentally my brain thinks its training as normal but physiaclly I just carn't do what I could nine weeks ago and its going to take qiute a while to get back to that level. I tend to be a bit impatient and want to be back where I was right away.
I got back on the bike last week and have just been getting some easy km done. I've even started some easy jogging so the recovery is well on the way!

Aaron.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Back to the start

Recovery from the knee injury has gone better than expected and after a meeting with the specialist yesterday I am back into some light training over all three disiplines.
Made it through my first bike and run for seven weeks successfully and without pain.
From here its back to the start again with some really easy aerobic stuff for the next few weeks to get some fittness back then into another training camp with TBB in Thailand late February. So hopefully racing again in late March/April leading into the European season.
The past week I spent back in the workshop getting some hours done and coin in the bank. Was great to just get back and be able to do something constructive again after being immobile for those few weeks but now the journey begins to get back the fittness and beyond!

Aaron