My final race in China two weeks ago was my last detour as I made my way back home after the Euro season.
I left camp in Leysin 10 days earlier planning to squash an Iron distance race and double Olympic into the next two weekends. Things didn’t go perfect but I got through it and back home in one piece. Ready to have a bit of a break and get rid of some niggles that I have had lingering over the last few months.
The Iron distance event was just off the coast of Singapore on a little island called Bintan. As expected it was hot and humid and being so close to the race in Hawaii there was only a small pro field.
The conditions didn’t suit me but I thought it was worth a go, it had so many positive things going for it and was on my way home. My idea was that if I was struggling in the heat, just jog through the marathon and leave my legs fresh for the following week in China.
The race started well and midway through the bike I joined one of my team mates. We worked well on the bike and came into T2 with close to a 30 minute lead back to third place. I’d started to cramp after the 90km mark on the bike and felt terrible from the start of the run but I knew if I just jogged the marathon I would be able to hold second place. Just that became harder than what I thought and at the 32km mark I couldn’t put one foot in front of the other. The doctor on course had noticed this a few km earlier and followed me in his golf cart until eventually I collapsed and got taken off in the ambulance.
At the end of the day my team mate Brett had a great race and his first professional win coming across the line with a huge gap back to second place and a massive pay cheque of US $15000 while I watched the presentations from the medical tent. Not exactly how I had planned the day but there wasn’t much I could do about it but try and get ready for the race in China the following week.
As you’d gather the week in between was pretty easy, I left Singapore on Wednesday and headed north. Its about a six hour flight up to Beijing then another 1.5 to Weihai so that took up one day.
Conditions were cooler up there and the course was extremely challenging. For the third year in a row I came away with 3rd place. I was hoping for more but the guys at the front were to good for me this time. By the end of the race I really started to fade and was lucky to stay in podium position.
A reasonable race one week after a bad result was satisfying but I still look back a little disappointed.
Its a few weeks easy now with a bit of a trip to Mooloolabah this week and a few trips in and out of the doctors to fix a few little niggles. If everything goes well I’ll be back to full training in a couple of weeks in preparation for some races early in the new year.
Cheers, Aaron.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
One more week.
Our European camp is coming close to an end for another year, with
most people slowly heading away over the last few weeks it seems like
only the skeleton crew is left, which made me reflect apon just how much
success we have acheived in the last couple of months as a squad.
Its pretty amazing... So I've found some pictures to do the talking!
My highlight for the camp is definitly seeing Nicola take the gold medal at the Olympics after all the hard work she puts in it was well deserved. But to see our whole squad performing well and enjoying their racing has been inspiring.
For me it was good to get back into a bit of form again after a couple of ordinary races in the middle of the year. I just have to keep it rolling for two more races in Asia on the way back to Australia then a bit of time to catch up with the family before the Australian season kicks in.
There are still some of the biggest races of the year coming up, so hopefully some more big results!
Cheers, Aaron.
Its pretty amazing... So I've found some pictures to do the talking!
My highlight for the camp is definitly seeing Nicola take the gold medal at the Olympics after all the hard work she puts in it was well deserved. But to see our whole squad performing well and enjoying their racing has been inspiring.
For me it was good to get back into a bit of form again after a couple of ordinary races in the middle of the year. I just have to keep it rolling for two more races in Asia on the way back to Australia then a bit of time to catch up with the family before the Australian season kicks in.
There are still some of the biggest races of the year coming up, so hopefully some more big results!
- The "Bulldog" mixing it up with the boys in Vichy last month.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Challenge Copenhagen
After a good race and a great result in Copenhagen, I thought this would be a simple blog to write and such an enjoyable one. But its been a week of mixed emotions.
On Tuesday morning one of my friends passed away while on a training ride back in Canberra. He was 27 and had the world in front of him.
Without any warning or pre existing condition he had a heart attack and despite all efforts from everyone in the bunch was unable to be revived.
I spent many hours with Robbie on the road and put down a lot of sweat and pain with him but nothing hurts as much as losing someone you have so much respect for.
My thoughts go out to his family, fiancee and the cycling community back home.
Last weekend was Challenge Copenhagen and after a few ordinary races in the middle of the year I came away with my second Challenge victory making it very satisfying.
It was a late decision to enter this race but once again Brett was right. Similar to Ironman UK last year it was only the week before that I finalised the trip over there.
We thought this would be a cooler race with no humidity and very similar conditions to back home in Canberra.
I was surprised just how accurate Bretts assumptions were. The only surprise was no rain for the entire week and almost perfect conditions for race day.
Being the most important race in Denmark its a big race for the Danish athletes, so there was no surprise to see such a competitive field of local athletes, most of whom I didn't know. I thought Jimmy Johnson and Tim Berkel would be the athletes to beat but I knew to beat them I would have to put together a pretty solid race.
It was a small field of Pro men, I think there was about 15 of us that hit the water at 7am to begin the days activities with a one lap swim in the calm waters on the outskirts of Copenhagen. From the start I got towards the front and exited the water on the feet of the lead swimmer and a minute gap back to the next competitors. I thought that was pretty handy and my chance to put a mark on the race. The time gap opened quickly and at the 60km mark I was told I had a 5minute lead. I still felt really comfortable and was riding to a heart rate so I knew I could sustain the effort over the entire ride. That was the final time check that I received until I put my run shoes on.
In the final 5km on the bike I ran over some glass left on the road from Saturday night and punctured. At the time it was the last thing that I wanted to hear. Unlike cycling I couldn't just get the spare from the team car and swap it, I was left with the choice of spending 10 minutes trying to fix it with some pitstop and the chance it wouldn't work or riding the last 5km on the rim and risking a crash on one of the corners or cambers in the road.
I slowed down to a safe speed and made it into T2 safely where I was told I had an 11 minute lead! I couldn't believe it.
Even better after riding the last 5km easy I had fresher legs for the run which came in very handy.
Onto the run and I felt great. For the first two laps I continued to put more time into the field. I was getting splits more often now so I slowed to conserve my legs but it didn't take long and I was starting to struggle. I think it was a combination of not being able to get all my nutrition down on the bike and simply not being back to 100% strength. Whatever happened the rest of the field started to close in on me quickly and I had to move my butt a bit faster if I wanted to win. I took my time through the aid stations and got plenty of fuel down. That was enough to get me to the finish line and take the tittle.
It was a great result and I know I can improve on that over the next few weeks. So some recovery then we start looking for what will be my final races in Europe this year.
Huge thanks to my home-stay, Daniel who actually gave me his bed for the week while he slept on the lounge!
Staying a little longer I was able to see a few of the sights and catch up with a few of the locals which was very cool and he was a great guide.
Below is a photo from one of our rides after the race. Daniel assures me it makes perfect sense in Danish!
Cheers, Aaron.
On Tuesday morning one of my friends passed away while on a training ride back in Canberra. He was 27 and had the world in front of him.
Without any warning or pre existing condition he had a heart attack and despite all efforts from everyone in the bunch was unable to be revived.
I spent many hours with Robbie on the road and put down a lot of sweat and pain with him but nothing hurts as much as losing someone you have so much respect for.
My thoughts go out to his family, fiancee and the cycling community back home.
Last weekend was Challenge Copenhagen and after a few ordinary races in the middle of the year I came away with my second Challenge victory making it very satisfying.
It was a late decision to enter this race but once again Brett was right. Similar to Ironman UK last year it was only the week before that I finalised the trip over there.
We thought this would be a cooler race with no humidity and very similar conditions to back home in Canberra.
I was surprised just how accurate Bretts assumptions were. The only surprise was no rain for the entire week and almost perfect conditions for race day.
Being the most important race in Denmark its a big race for the Danish athletes, so there was no surprise to see such a competitive field of local athletes, most of whom I didn't know. I thought Jimmy Johnson and Tim Berkel would be the athletes to beat but I knew to beat them I would have to put together a pretty solid race.
It was a small field of Pro men, I think there was about 15 of us that hit the water at 7am to begin the days activities with a one lap swim in the calm waters on the outskirts of Copenhagen. From the start I got towards the front and exited the water on the feet of the lead swimmer and a minute gap back to the next competitors. I thought that was pretty handy and my chance to put a mark on the race. The time gap opened quickly and at the 60km mark I was told I had a 5minute lead. I still felt really comfortable and was riding to a heart rate so I knew I could sustain the effort over the entire ride. That was the final time check that I received until I put my run shoes on.
In the final 5km on the bike I ran over some glass left on the road from Saturday night and punctured. At the time it was the last thing that I wanted to hear. Unlike cycling I couldn't just get the spare from the team car and swap it, I was left with the choice of spending 10 minutes trying to fix it with some pitstop and the chance it wouldn't work or riding the last 5km on the rim and risking a crash on one of the corners or cambers in the road.
I slowed down to a safe speed and made it into T2 safely where I was told I had an 11 minute lead! I couldn't believe it.
Even better after riding the last 5km easy I had fresher legs for the run which came in very handy.
Onto the run and I felt great. For the first two laps I continued to put more time into the field. I was getting splits more often now so I slowed to conserve my legs but it didn't take long and I was starting to struggle. I think it was a combination of not being able to get all my nutrition down on the bike and simply not being back to 100% strength. Whatever happened the rest of the field started to close in on me quickly and I had to move my butt a bit faster if I wanted to win. I took my time through the aid stations and got plenty of fuel down. That was enough to get me to the finish line and take the tittle.
It was a great result and I know I can improve on that over the next few weeks. So some recovery then we start looking for what will be my final races in Europe this year.
Huge thanks to my home-stay, Daniel who actually gave me his bed for the week while he slept on the lounge!
Staying a little longer I was able to see a few of the sights and catch up with a few of the locals which was very cool and he was a great guide.
Below is a photo from one of our rides after the race. Daniel assures me it makes perfect sense in Danish!
Cheers, Aaron.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Gettin through it!
Three weeks into camp things are starting to feel better and the races are about to begin.
When I arrived I thought I needed a good four weeks in the hills to get some form back to a competitive level before racing the back end of the European season and I am starting to feel that now.
One of the quotes that Brett gave me last year stuck in my head he said “Training should start to feel like a droan” and I know every time I get into good shape thats exactly how it feels.
Well when you are in camp like we are at the moment with no distractions and nothing else to do, it doesn’t take long to get that feeling and pretty soon you start to get some rythem and a bit of form.
The last couple of weeks has been some pretty awesome training with our trip to Alpe D’Huez and some big days with the boys preparing for Kona later in the year.
Racing begins next week with a trip to Challenge Copenhagen.
My last voyage to Denmark was for Challenge Aarhus last year which ended in a total disaster after I picked up some food poisoning in my travels and spent most of the weekend in the bathroom. Hopefully this race will turn out a bit better than that!
Then we will start to plan out the rest of my time in Europe before heading home in Mid September.
When I arrived I thought I needed a good four weeks in the hills to get some form back to a competitive level before racing the back end of the European season and I am starting to feel that now.
One of the quotes that Brett gave me last year stuck in my head he said “Training should start to feel like a droan” and I know every time I get into good shape thats exactly how it feels.
Well when you are in camp like we are at the moment with no distractions and nothing else to do, it doesn’t take long to get that feeling and pretty soon you start to get some rythem and a bit of form.
The last couple of weeks has been some pretty awesome training with our trip to Alpe D’Huez and some big days with the boys preparing for Kona later in the year.
Racing begins next week with a trip to Challenge Copenhagen.
My last voyage to Denmark was for Challenge Aarhus last year which ended in a total disaster after I picked up some food poisoning in my travels and spent most of the weekend in the bathroom. Hopefully this race will turn out a bit better than that!
Then we will start to plan out the rest of my time in Europe before heading home in Mid September.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Favorite 5 from the last year.
I’ve been asked by a lot of people what my favorite race is
and why. So for this blog I have picked my favourte five races of the past
twelve months.
1. Julia
Creek Triathlon. Queensland, Australia.
This is my favorite race of all time. Its not just a race, it’s
a weekend festival in a small country town out the middle of nowhere with real
country spirit.
The main events include the triathlon, Horse races with a
redclaw lunch, Bull ride and a concert that finishes well into Sunday morning.
It excites me just writing about this weekend.
After registration on race morning all the bikes are placed
on a cattle truck and driven out to the water hole, from there we ride back
into town and do a couple of laps around the main street to finish the run. Being
a sprint race its finished pretty early and by the time you have a shower and
something to eat the horse races are about to start. So basically you go from
one activity to the next usually with a few beverages in between!
A lucky few people get some rooms at the hotel but the majority
of people camp in part of what the organizers call tent city under the stars.
Everytime I have been to this race I have walked away totally
refreshed looking forward to the next year, I missed it this year as it clashed
with another race I had but hopefully will be back there in 2013.
2. Gerardmer Triathlon. France.
The French love their tough races and this is hard core
stuff. A half Ironman with a high quality field and hardly a bit of flat road. 2300m
of climbing over 90km means your either going up or down on the bike. And the descents
are testing to dangerous. Most of the run is around the lake on a mix of trail
and road.
Race presentation is a big event and everyone attends with
the hope of winning the lucky number draw. The big prize is a car!
The fastest non professional bike split wins a $10000 bike.
Most people just compete to say that they finished the event
and survived. I really enjoyed the event here last year.
Cooling off in the
lake after the race in 2011
3. Alpe D’Huez Triathlon
Another one of these tough French races over a weird
distance of 2/120/21.
Anyone who has had anything to do with cycling knows Alpe D’Huez
and this is the final climb of the day before you get off and run around the
snow fields at the top.
My most memorable part of this race was the final km’s of
the bike as I climbed Alpe D’Huez reading all the artwork and graffiti left
behind from many years of Le Tour De France.
Some of the hair pins up Alpe D’Huez
4. Ironman Wales
2011 was the first year of Ironman Wales and we had the
worst conditions for the whole week. Cyclonic winds, rain and cold weather just
added to the difficulty of a tough race.
No huge mountains on the bike but constant up and down. 2500m
of climbing over the bike followed by a hilly run really sorted me out.
I liked this race though it was a fair course and a bit of a
novelty for all the locals, we had thousands of people out on the course to
cheer us on even through the bad weather.
I was caught with about 300m left to run in the race and
finished second so this race will stick in my memory for a while.
The crowd at swim
start! 6.30 on a Sunday morning!!
The first km of the
run and the crowd is huge.
5. Challenge Wanaka. New Zealand.
I love the atmosphere of Challenge races but Challenge
Wanaka had everything and I won the race so this one is definitely a favorite.
During the winter Wanaka is the place to go for a ski in New Zealand and
there are still a couple of glaciers visible from the town during summer. It
really sets the backdrop for a beautiful race.
Once again it is a fair course with strong winds and lots of
hills.
The support from the local town people is great. From a town
of seven thousand, one thousand volunteered to help at the race and I am sure
the other six thousand were out on the course cheering us along or helped the
athletes out with homestays.
The after party was great as well!
Hopefully I’ll be back to this race a few more times.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Welcome Heidi Alice!
Earlier today Danielle and I welcomed our newest addition to the family, Heidi. To our surprise its a little girl that greeted us after months of guessing.
Every wives tale we heard suggested that we were having a boy so it was a bit of a shock to see a girl. But a nice surprise!
Both Danielle and Heidi are going well and expecting to make it home on Friday. While Tyler has a big lifestyle change coming his way.
Heidi arrived three weeks early and came in quite a hurry, after a seven hour labor with Tyler I expected to be in the birthing suite for most of the day, but we were merely there a few hours which was great for both Danielle and the baby.
Hopefully not to many sleepless nights coming up!!
Aaron.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Ironman Cairns
This weekend Ironman racing heads to Cairns and marks the end of the Australian season as we head into our colder months.
I decided to do the race this year as usually by this time I would be in Europe but with the baby on the way it worked out well to have a major race here before thinking about heading over with the rest of the team.
Being a weird time of year to have a race in Australia has divided the pro field as alot of the guys don't want to travel around the world from America or Europe for one race. Some of the competition decided to base in Australia and use this race as their major focus before heading back to the European season, most of the others are like me, either Australian or New Zealander's that are unable to travel around the world for races or have family commitments.
I'm looking forward to this race, its the last chance for a good result in Australia before next season and its such a beautiful part of the world. I holidayed here last year and got to do alot of sightseeing but now its business and I am counting on a good result.
Apart from a competitive field there will be a few other things to contend with on the day, the race is in crocodile territory with the chance of some box jelly fish and the weather is likely to be hot and humid. If I make it through the swim hopefully I will be able to handle the rest of it ok.
Training has been going well after Koh Samui and I have been able to get some more distance back in my running after tearing a muscle in my hamstring a few weeks before my last race, if all goes well hopefully I will be somewhere near the front of the race and pushing for the win.
Aaron.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Travelling around
After another month training with the team on the Sunshine Coast and a quick trip to Koh Samui I have made it back to Canberra for a little recovery before the build up continues for the rest of the season.
Our camp in Mooloolaba was great, there was about a dozen athletes there and after the first two weeks we had some reasonable weather to get through some good training. I stayed with Dave and Caroline while I was there so I got to see their final preparations leading into both Melbourne and Koh Samui and learn from that. Dave finished 5th in Melbourne and won Koh Samui while Caroline won both!
Hopefully some of their success rubs off on me!
I'm sure most people have read the blogs from Koh Samui so I wont go into much of that. The highlights were Dave and Caroline won the race and Carrie finished second in what was an extremely hot and humid race. Congratulations!
I finished 5th but was bumped back to 6th with a penalty I could write another blog about.
I've attached a youtube video link of the race below.
Samui Triathlon 2012
So now I am back in Canberra for a little while, my trip to Europe will be a little later this year as we are waiting for baby no.2 around the start of July. If all goes well I should be heading over some time after that. Its the latest I have stayed back in Canberra for a few years so as winter gets closer I am really feeling the cold weather. Its such a contrast after being on the sunshine coast and Koh Samui to come back to some cold weather. We have already had one sub zero morning and some miserable days.
Next race on the agenda will be Ironman Cairns on the 3rd of June which will probably be my last race in oz until next season. I'm hoping to put a good race together there before some more major races in Europe.
Aaron.
Our camp in Mooloolaba was great, there was about a dozen athletes there and after the first two weeks we had some reasonable weather to get through some good training. I stayed with Dave and Caroline while I was there so I got to see their final preparations leading into both Melbourne and Koh Samui and learn from that. Dave finished 5th in Melbourne and won Koh Samui while Caroline won both!
Hopefully some of their success rubs off on me!
I'm sure most people have read the blogs from Koh Samui so I wont go into much of that. The highlights were Dave and Caroline won the race and Carrie finished second in what was an extremely hot and humid race. Congratulations!
I finished 5th but was bumped back to 6th with a penalty I could write another blog about.
I've attached a youtube video link of the race below.
Samui Triathlon 2012
So now I am back in Canberra for a little while, my trip to Europe will be a little later this year as we are waiting for baby no.2 around the start of July. If all goes well I should be heading over some time after that. Its the latest I have stayed back in Canberra for a few years so as winter gets closer I am really feeling the cold weather. Its such a contrast after being on the sunshine coast and Koh Samui to come back to some cold weather. We have already had one sub zero morning and some miserable days.
Next race on the agenda will be Ironman Cairns on the 3rd of June which will probably be my last race in oz until next season. I'm hoping to put a good race together there before some more major races in Europe.
Aaron.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
World Champ Camp
Part of the deal when you train under Sutto is if you win a world championship you get a training camp in your backyard as a reward for your success.
This year was Caroline's year after winning the ITU Long distance worlds back in 2010, so we've set up camp on the not so sunny, Sunshine Coast at Mooloolaba.( Carolines adopted home!)
I arrived 13 days ago in preparation for three long course races in the next few months starting with Koh Samui in mid April.
Possibly the worst time I could have arrived! The usual perfect sunshine coast was anything but! I almost never saw the sun for the first eight days it rained so much, ending last Thursday with one of the biggest falls I have witnessed. We had 400mm of rain in one day causing flash flooding throughout the town, I attached a clip below showing what the rain was like the whole day.
Luckily it doesn't get to cold up here and the rain is almost insignificant. Training goes on as normal.
It seems like the results are speaking for themselves with some awsome racing over the past weekend both in Ironman Melbourne and the ITU World cup.I'll let the other athletes expand on their results over the week.
About half our team are here at the moment with some of the Swiss national kids. Our new additions for 2012 have been welcomed and finding their place in the team while we have been grinding out some solid training.
If all goes well most of us will be here until mid April when we start splitting off to our separate races all around the place.
My mindset before I came up here was that Mooloolaba would be a really tough place to train but it has been great. We have heaps of riding options, if we head inland there are some awesome rides through the hills or along the coast for some flatter easy rides.
The pool we use is immaculate and hasn't been open for long, so basically brand new with very few people using it. Perfect for us.
Hopefully the weather stays like it has been the last couple of days and we see just how nice the Sunshine Coast is!
We are already looking ahead for who in the team might be the next world champion and where we might be heading next. I think it might be a little while before I get the team back out to the farm at Peak Hill but it would be funny!
There has been talk of South Africa next year.
Would be nice but unlikely. If Caroline can keep racing like she is I reckon we might be right back here again in another twelve months doing exactly what we are doing now!
Cheers, Aaron.
This year was Caroline's year after winning the ITU Long distance worlds back in 2010, so we've set up camp on the not so sunny, Sunshine Coast at Mooloolaba.( Carolines adopted home!)
I arrived 13 days ago in preparation for three long course races in the next few months starting with Koh Samui in mid April.
Possibly the worst time I could have arrived! The usual perfect sunshine coast was anything but! I almost never saw the sun for the first eight days it rained so much, ending last Thursday with one of the biggest falls I have witnessed. We had 400mm of rain in one day causing flash flooding throughout the town, I attached a clip below showing what the rain was like the whole day.
It seems like the results are speaking for themselves with some awsome racing over the past weekend both in Ironman Melbourne and the ITU World cup.I'll let the other athletes expand on their results over the week.
About half our team are here at the moment with some of the Swiss national kids. Our new additions for 2012 have been welcomed and finding their place in the team while we have been grinding out some solid training.
If all goes well most of us will be here until mid April when we start splitting off to our separate races all around the place.
My mindset before I came up here was that Mooloolaba would be a really tough place to train but it has been great. We have heaps of riding options, if we head inland there are some awesome rides through the hills or along the coast for some flatter easy rides.
The pool we use is immaculate and hasn't been open for long, so basically brand new with very few people using it. Perfect for us.
Hopefully the weather stays like it has been the last couple of days and we see just how nice the Sunshine Coast is!
We are already looking ahead for who in the team might be the next world champion and where we might be heading next. I think it might be a little while before I get the team back out to the farm at Peak Hill but it would be funny!
There has been talk of South Africa next year.
Would be nice but unlikely. If Caroline can keep racing like she is I reckon we might be right back here again in another twelve months doing exactly what we are doing now!
Cheers, Aaron.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Race wrap- Ironman NZ
Originally the race was set to take place on Saturday, though on Friday afternoon the race organisers were left with no choice but to cancel the event as weather warnings rang out over most of New Zealand. And Taupo braced itself for some cyclonic conditions, with winds predicted to gust up to 140km/h!
I rode on Friday morning when the winds were around 60km/h and almost got blown off my bike, so I was a little worried things were going to turn bad at that stage.
Everyone was called into a briefing on Friday evening and updated about the situation. We were told to collect our bikes and if the weather was alright on Sunday the race would go ahead as a 70.3 (Half Ironman).
Luckily the weather cleared for a race start on Sunday morning and we were able to get into it.
It was a bit of a cold start with the air temp around 5 degrees and the water temp claimed to be 15. That didn't really worry me and I got off to a good start exiting the water with the lead pack. All the players were around me including Cam Brown, Merino Vohnacker, Terrenzo Bozzone and Tim Reed.
There was only one guy in front of us all and that was Marko Albert, a great swimmer that had opened a 90 second gap.
Once on the bike we headed through a few little hills in the town and onto a reasonably flat course for the next 80km. Being so flat it was hard for anyone in our group to break away from the pack, although a few attempts were made we rolled back into T2 as the same group that headed out with the inclusion of Marko who we had caught at the 50km mark. It was going to be a running race!
I hit the run quite stiff through my lower back and took a couple of km to get into a decent stride but by that time I had lost more than a minute to Tim Reed, another Australian who was absolutely tearing along in the lead then Terrenzo, Cam and Merino all had spaced themselves out on the road in front of me.
As the race went on it seemed like Cam and Merino got stronger. Tim led the race until about 17km before being caught by Merino, and Cam ran into third place. I was caught by Romain Guillume with about 4km to go and had to settle for 5th place.
My trip to New Zealand was certainly an experience. It wasn't an Ironman like I had planned but I am extremely grateful that the race was able to go ahead as a shortened version and we were all able to have a race.
 | |||
| Hukka Falls in Taupo |
After this I am back home for a few days before heading up to our team camp on the Sunshine Coast later in the month preparing for whatever may be next.
Cheers, Aaron.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Taupo. Oh-ooooh
Got some wild weather heading our way for Ironman New Zealand this weekend and there is talk of possibly turning it into a bike run again.
This is the forecast I got a few minutes ago.
This is the forecast I got a few minutes ago.
Today
Thursday 1 Fine and cloudy periods. Cool southwesterlies, strong and gusty.
Issued: 4:43pm 1 Mar
Tomorrow
Friday 2 Fine at first but becoming cloudy during the day and some rain developing by evening. Southwesterlies easing, and tending northerly at night.
Issued: 4:43pm 1 Mar
Saturday 3
Morning rain, briefly heavy, easing to a few showers.Strong northerlies turning strong gusty southwest, gale gusting 110 km/h in exposed places.
Issued: 2:09pm 1 Mar
Yes the race is on Saturday when they are predicting 110km/h winds... Could be interesting!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
2012 Ready to rock!
With the start of 2012 we welcome some new blood into the team for what is going to be a huge year.
Most of the new athletes we have trained with previously or known in some way and I’m excited to be joining them on the team this year. As Brett has said the athletes have been chosen because they are tough, willing to work hard and have shown ability rather than just having raw potential.
One of my most memorable moments last year was when I went to Thailand to meet the rest of the team and sponsors. One of the days was a cruise around some islands and some photos for the sponsors, at some point we were all sat down as a group and were told that the critics didnt think the athletes in the team were any good and we were not going to get any results. I remember Sutto said ” This happens every year, and every year we prove them wrong”
And we did! Though looking back at the new members in the team last year I can see it from the critics side, it was a huge gamble. New to the team we had Mary Beth, Dave Dellow, Dan, Dianna, Christian, George, Felicity and myself among others. None of us really had any great results.
Dave had been plagued with injury for years, got some solid results but never able to train long enough to reach his full potential- By the end of 2011 he won the biggest race in Australia at Noosa raced 2 Irondistance races and had a list of great results in some of the toughest races, without injury.
Mary Beth had taken the Ironman world by storm with three wins in the space of two months, after looking like she might have been washed up before joining the team.
Dianna went from battling for top 10 results to fighting for podiums at every race she attended.
And I had my best year by far winning my first Ironman tittle and some other solid results in the UK and Europe.
We look forward to what Bella,Mathias, Carrie, Matt, Ali and the Hairy man from Gran-Canaria Bayliss have got up their sleeves for this year.
The season starts for us as a team mostly around Australia/Oceania from January through until about May with a Camp on the Sunshine Coast and lots of races here and there before the Aussie winter kicks in and we head back to Switzerland for the European season and off coarse the big dance in Hawaii.
Look out for us around the races!
Cheers, Aaron.
Most of the new athletes we have trained with previously or known in some way and I’m excited to be joining them on the team this year. As Brett has said the athletes have been chosen because they are tough, willing to work hard and have shown ability rather than just having raw potential.
One of my most memorable moments last year was when I went to Thailand to meet the rest of the team and sponsors. One of the days was a cruise around some islands and some photos for the sponsors, at some point we were all sat down as a group and were told that the critics didnt think the athletes in the team were any good and we were not going to get any results. I remember Sutto said ” This happens every year, and every year we prove them wrong”
The talk!
Dave had been plagued with injury for years, got some solid results but never able to train long enough to reach his full potential- By the end of 2011 he won the biggest race in Australia at Noosa raced 2 Irondistance races and had a list of great results in some of the toughest races, without injury.
Mary Beth had taken the Ironman world by storm with three wins in the space of two months, after looking like she might have been washed up before joining the team.
Dianna went from battling for top 10 results to fighting for podiums at every race she attended.
And I had my best year by far winning my first Ironman tittle and some other solid results in the UK and Europe.
The big fella wins Noosa!
The season starts for us as a team mostly around Australia/Oceania from January through until about May with a Camp on the Sunshine Coast and lots of races here and there before the Aussie winter kicks in and we head back to Switzerland for the European season and off coarse the big dance in Hawaii.
Look out for us around the races!
Cheers, Aaron.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wanaka Wrap
Sometimes you get a good result without a good performance and sometimes you perform well but don’t get the result your after.. Well Challenge Wanaka was both for me. I finally put together a complete race that I was happy with and came across the line first.
After a long tough windy day I crossed the line 10 minutes ahead of second place Jamie Whyte then Kieren Doe both from New Zealand. I barely had enough energy to stand and my body was aching all over but I couldn’t have been happier at that point, it was all over and I was the new champion.
After hearing about Wanaka for the past few years I decided this was the year to have a crack. From what I heard it was a tough course. Windy and hilly over rough roads and a fair chance of some cold weather- very similar to the races I went well at in the UK just a few months earlier.
I wasn’t disappointed. My first two days there the wind was almost strong enough to blow me over and it was pretty cold. What I didn’t even think of was the amazing snow capped mountains that surrounded us and provided a perfect backdrop for the race coverage that was beamed right across the world on Saturday. That really was amazing.
I knew that if the wind continued as strong as it was, I wouldn’t be allowed to use my disc and I didnt have a spare wheel. So I organised a backup from the bikeshop that was going to be running a shimano cluster on a Campagnolo groupset. Not the perfect situation, I just hoped it didnt come to that.
As it turned out, the day was alot calmer to begin with and the technical officials decided it was safe enough to race on the disc. I have learnt my lesson for next year! When the gun went on Saturday morning I immediately tried to go with the two swimmers who were expected to easily lead out, I thought I was swimming quite well and if I could go with the leaders I might be able to open a good lead on the rest of the field straight away. That didn’t go to plan and both Kieren and Bryan opened a gap back to me then another gap back to the rest of the field.
I still wasn’t in a bad position. Two and a half minutes down on the leaders and about 40 seconds back to the rest of the field. My plan was to go solo and to my surprise after my first time check at 30km I was shutting the gap rapidly and increasing the distance to the guys behind. I was now 1.30 behind and could see the leaders on straight stretches of road. Pretty soon I was right behind them, Bryan blew a tyre and Kieren was clearly struggling to hang in there.
Kieren and I rode together until about the 150km mark when he must have gone through a bad patch and I came into the second transition with a slight 2min lead on him, another minute back to Jamie whyte then the rest of the field chasing behind there.
The 42km was a tough run with some exposed windy trails and lots of little ups and downs. For me it was just a matter of getting enough energy into my body to hold a constant speed and avoiding cramping. I hit a low spot for a few km around 21-25km but managed to get it back together and have a good run and stay in front of a chasing field.
It was quite satisfying to get it right and be able to race the entire race instead of simply getting through it. Even though I won IM UK last year I didn’t feel I performed as well as I could have, whereas after this race I was totally satisfied with my performance and as a bonus I got the win.
A massive thanks to the Challenge guys for putting on such a great event, my homestay Jonh and Jen from Wednesday until Monday for being so accommodating, everyone from Wanaka who helped in the event and my supporters and sposnors.
Its races like this that make the hard work worth it!
Cheers, Aaron
After a long tough windy day I crossed the line 10 minutes ahead of second place Jamie Whyte then Kieren Doe both from New Zealand. I barely had enough energy to stand and my body was aching all over but I couldn’t have been happier at that point, it was all over and I was the new champion.
After hearing about Wanaka for the past few years I decided this was the year to have a crack. From what I heard it was a tough course. Windy and hilly over rough roads and a fair chance of some cold weather- very similar to the races I went well at in the UK just a few months earlier.
I wasn’t disappointed. My first two days there the wind was almost strong enough to blow me over and it was pretty cold. What I didn’t even think of was the amazing snow capped mountains that surrounded us and provided a perfect backdrop for the race coverage that was beamed right across the world on Saturday. That really was amazing.
view from a walking trail just outside our house
I knew that if the wind continued as strong as it was, I wouldn’t be allowed to use my disc and I didnt have a spare wheel. So I organised a backup from the bikeshop that was going to be running a shimano cluster on a Campagnolo groupset. Not the perfect situation, I just hoped it didnt come to that.
As it turned out, the day was alot calmer to begin with and the technical officials decided it was safe enough to race on the disc. I have learnt my lesson for next year! When the gun went on Saturday morning I immediately tried to go with the two swimmers who were expected to easily lead out, I thought I was swimming quite well and if I could go with the leaders I might be able to open a good lead on the rest of the field straight away. That didn’t go to plan and both Kieren and Bryan opened a gap back to me then another gap back to the rest of the field.
I still wasn’t in a bad position. Two and a half minutes down on the leaders and about 40 seconds back to the rest of the field. My plan was to go solo and to my surprise after my first time check at 30km I was shutting the gap rapidly and increasing the distance to the guys behind. I was now 1.30 behind and could see the leaders on straight stretches of road. Pretty soon I was right behind them, Bryan blew a tyre and Kieren was clearly struggling to hang in there.
Kieren and I rode together until about the 150km mark when he must have gone through a bad patch and I came into the second transition with a slight 2min lead on him, another minute back to Jamie whyte then the rest of the field chasing behind there.
The 42km was a tough run with some exposed windy trails and lots of little ups and downs. For me it was just a matter of getting enough energy into my body to hold a constant speed and avoiding cramping. I hit a low spot for a few km around 21-25km but managed to get it back together and have a good run and stay in front of a chasing field.
It was quite satisfying to get it right and be able to race the entire race instead of simply getting through it. Even though I won IM UK last year I didn’t feel I performed as well as I could have, whereas after this race I was totally satisfied with my performance and as a bonus I got the win.
A massive thanks to the Challenge guys for putting on such a great event, my homestay Jonh and Jen from Wednesday until Monday for being so accommodating, everyone from Wanaka who helped in the event and my supporters and sposnors.
Its races like this that make the hard work worth it!
Cheers, Aaron
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Head to the hills
Happy new year to everyone! Its been a while since my last blog so there has been many things happen.
Busselton didn't go as well as I had planned and I finished 5th. Enough to get a few more points towards Hawaii but not up on the podium which I was aiming for.
After that I headed home and spent the next week in our backyard. Mum and Dad came to help and within the week we had transformed our crappy old backyard into quite a nice living area. We made a new fence, laid all new grass removed all the overgrown plants and done a bit of concreting.
Then it was back into some light training and recovery before Christmas.
This year we spent Christmas with Danielle's side of the family in Canberra and we got to show off our new backyard with a family Christmas brunch at our place. Once again by the end of the day we were all so full of food that we never wanted to eat again.
As usual I have headed up to Thredbo for what has become our annual training camp over the new year period this time with Dave Dellow and Caroline Steffen. We arrived here on the 27th of Dec and I'll be here until I leave for Challenge Wanaka on the 17th of Jan.
This year has been alot colder than the previous years in the mountains but we are getting some solid training done and are all looking forward to the year ahead.
I am still deciding on many of the races I'll be doing in the new year but will definitely be starting with Challenge Wanaka in a few weeks time.
I have heard alot about how tough this race is and I'm really looking forward to the Challenge.
Wanaka is just a little town about 60km away from Queenstown and a scenic backdrop for one of the biggest races in New Zealand.
With another couple of weeks preparation I should be in good enough shape to give it a good shot if I dont get bitten by one of the snakes up here or attacked by a herd of wild brumbies!
Cheers, Aaron.
Busselton didn't go as well as I had planned and I finished 5th. Enough to get a few more points towards Hawaii but not up on the podium which I was aiming for.
After that I headed home and spent the next week in our backyard. Mum and Dad came to help and within the week we had transformed our crappy old backyard into quite a nice living area. We made a new fence, laid all new grass removed all the overgrown plants and done a bit of concreting.
Then it was back into some light training and recovery before Christmas.
This year we spent Christmas with Danielle's side of the family in Canberra and we got to show off our new backyard with a family Christmas brunch at our place. Once again by the end of the day we were all so full of food that we never wanted to eat again.
As usual I have headed up to Thredbo for what has become our annual training camp over the new year period this time with Dave Dellow and Caroline Steffen. We arrived here on the 27th of Dec and I'll be here until I leave for Challenge Wanaka on the 17th of Jan.
This year has been alot colder than the previous years in the mountains but we are getting some solid training done and are all looking forward to the year ahead.
I am still deciding on many of the races I'll be doing in the new year but will definitely be starting with Challenge Wanaka in a few weeks time.
I have heard alot about how tough this race is and I'm really looking forward to the Challenge.
Wanaka is just a little town about 60km away from Queenstown and a scenic backdrop for one of the biggest races in New Zealand.
With another couple of weeks preparation I should be in good enough shape to give it a good shot if I dont get bitten by one of the snakes up here or attacked by a herd of wild brumbies!
Cheers, Aaron.
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