Drifting in the clouds

I had a nice surprise on Wednesday this week when I received a sample version of the new Brooks Pure Drift. The shoes left an instant impression on me, they were black with hot pink, awesome colour choice.

I decided to take them out for a spin on Thursday morning. They are a minimalist shoe and my run was short so it was a great opportunity to give them a go. Featured technology of the shoe includes:

• Adaptable mid sole height: A removable 4mm sock liner provides a zero offset experience increasing ground connection.
• Dual toe flex: Two splits in the toe box enable the forefoot to flex through its three functional units for natural balance and a springy push off.
• Seamless design: Ensures comfort is maintained when the sock liner is removed.
• Wider forefoot base: Amplifies the anatomical last providing true support and a second skin-like feel.

I decided to test some of these concepts on my run. The key things I noted included:

• Weight: the shoe was amazingly light, I found this was conducive to high cadence running.
• Looks: there was plenty of interest in the pretty colours!
• Flexibility: the sole was very flexible and basically moulded to my foot. This also assisted with cadence and agreed with my forefoot running style.
• Width: there was plenty of room in the front of the shoe yet the shoe was still tight around the mid section supported by additional material (see the pink stripes below) which helped with control.

All in all it was a good experience. I think these shoes will be great for my track sessions due to the light weight, control factor generated from the flexible sole and the way they assist with a high cadence.

Happy running!

Noosa Tri 2012

This year Noosa ranked as a WTC qualifier for the Hy-Vee final in 2013. With 750 points on offer the race soon featured a strong field and would be the biggest test of where I was at this year.

I felt the two week break from Mandurah was perfect preparation for this race and with a few days of annual leave before hand I felt really relaxed leading into the race. I did the open water swim on the Friday and was feeling ready to go on the morining of the race.

I had a decent swim for where I am at in my return to racing however, I was very rusty with the race tactics and struggled to react to surges etc and feel off the back of the bunch around the back of Weyba Island. I had a quick transition and headed out onto the bike feeling quite sluggish. The legs just didn't want to play. I actually lost a little bit of ground on the bike which was disappointing. T2 was good and I was off onto the run. I quickly found a good cadence and concentrated on holding the pace for the full 10k. It was quite controlled and I slowly reeled in a few of the girls out on the run leg. My time was 2.06, a little of my 2.01 from 2009! and a few minutes down on my plan which came down to the bike.

All said I earned some points, had fun and have a real starting point to work from into 2013.

It was awesome having such a great bunch of Red Dogs out on the course and to stay with over the weekend. Thanks also to Endura for helping me out with my nutrition, Brooks and CompresSport for my compression.

Next stop Shepparton 70.3.

Mandurah 70.3

A couple of weeks ago I raced the Ironman 70.3 Australian Pro Championships in Manduarah WA. I placed 4th behind Mel Rollison, Liz Blatchford and Radka Vodickova.  It was a top field and all the girls performed at their best.

I was focused on improving my swim and for the first time this year I left the water in touch of the race leaders. I road solidly on the bike but did not overcook it knowing that the run was going to be hot and brutal. There was a strong head wind on the second lap of the bike which made moving through the field difficult. I started out on the run in six with Belinda Granger (I followed her wise advice and slowly pegged back the lead group). I soon passed Lisa Marangon and then at the end of the first lap I moved into fourth passing Kat Baker. There was a huge race on at the front of the race with Liz and Mel fighting for 1^st. I had to settle for fourth with Radka out of touch.

Picture: Modo

I am very pleased with this result; it was a strong and controlled race and my fastest time.Top five results below:

1. Melissa Hauschildt  04:03:55   
2. Liz Blatchford  04:04:45          
3. Radka Vodickova  04:08:59     
4. Sarah Crowley  04:15:10       
5. Rebecca Hoschke  04:17:22 

Thanks to Endura, Brooks and CompresSport for their continued support.

Also, big thanks to Matty Hopper from Avanti Plus the Valley calming me down after a wheel mechanical on the Saturday.