Mecure Yeppoon Ironman 70.3

Well it has taken me a few days longer than usual to write this. I was struck down by a nasty virus this week which I had unfortunately started showing signs of last Friday night before the race. On Sunday morning I thought it was just hay fever. This is the second cold/flu this season and only four weeks after the last one. It’s ironic because I was reading an article from Michael Shelly about that basically says not to run if you wake up with a head cold. I thought that makes sense. Then a week later I’ve gone and done it anyway. So that’s how the day started….


The swim was rough. You can see it in the video. I just wasn’t switched on enough to get going and lost out big time in the swim. I can’t complain I just haven’t done the work in the water yet. The positive I can take out of this is that there is room for some quick gains in the water.

The bike is known as being a really rough course. It didn't bother me too much during the race but I think it was because I actually wore shorts rather than bathers which were far more comfortable. I set the course record on the bike which is pretty cool. My cycling has been going really well lately. I found the course congested on the bike and spent most of the day in the right tyre road grove where it was a little smoother. I had my Endura products as usual on the bike with no major issues other than feeling slightly more thirsty than normal. I made up a minute on the bike and felt pretty good riding into transition.

Photo: www.witsup.com

Going out onto the run I felt pretty comfortable for the first lap. Pulling a minute back on half one of lap one and another 15 seconds back by the second half of lap one. The gap stayed the same through the off road section and then I hit what could be none other than described as ‘the wall’. I started to wobble and my ears started ringing it was really strange. I thought maybe it was nutrition but I had eaten to the usual plan. When I crossed the line I needed assistance. There was nothing left in the tank. I was disappointed with my run because it is not an indication of where my running is at and the training I have been putting in. Nonetheless, I was pleased that I could still challenge up to the last lap. Now the task is to get healthy and ready for the next race. I am really motivated to get the swim back to where it was in 2009 and get the run firing for next race and yes I will practice my banner lifting. This is the second time in as many races I have failed to lift the banner over my face.

Photo: www.witsup.com

A big thanks go to Nick Munting, the crew from www.xtri.com.au and the Yeppoon Mecure for hosting such a fantastic event. Thanks to Endura, Brooks and RedDog triathlon training for all the support. Thanks also to the race caller Steph Hanson from www.witsup.com for making me feel welcome at the event. I will upload a video with sum clips from the event once editing is complete.

Gatton Duathlon, Gez they hurt dont they...

I raced the Gatton Duathlon last year and was keen to head out to the Lockyer again in 2012 to test my fitness before Ironman 70.3 Yeppoon. It was an early start as we drove from Brisbane leaving around 4.45am with Clifford the Big Red Dog (Kristen). 

I like the venue out at Gatton. It is spectator friendly as it is a multi-lap run course. The temperature was perfect. Last year it was colder and I couldn't feel my feet until the end of the race. 

We started with a four lap 10km part x-country part path run that traversed hills and flats. I used my Brooks x-country shoes, which hadn't had a workout for a while because they handle the bumpy terrain well. 

My plan was to do a strong 5km run and then hold back until the bike where I would go hard again for the first lap of the two lap course. I established a lead into T1 but my opponents were quality athletes so I needed to work hard on the bike to ensure I stayed away. It was tough on the bike with a very strong head wind. I only used one gel on the bike. As it was a shorter race I did not bother with my race bottle that sits in the bars of my TT bike. I returned from the bike and lead out of T2. I backed it off for the second run as Yeppoon was only seven days away. 

Photo: Amanda McIntosh

I ended up winning the race, it was solid. I needed to ensure my recovery was right so I immediately took advantage of a serve of Endura Optimiser, compression, a cool down run, some stretching, some ice, and an epsom salt bath. I was booked for a massage at No More Knots on the Wednesday, recovery was going to be key if I was to pull up well for Yeppoon. 

Thanks to Triathlon Queensland for a great course, well done Kym and Bri for a great race and thanks to RedDog Triathlon Training, Avanti Plus the Valley, Endura and Brooks for getting me over the line. Oh and thanks to Kristen for a lend of the wheels. 

Photo: Amanda McIntosh

Gatton Duathlon

Blog to come once I get some photos... in the mean time check out the results. Thanks Endura and Brooks. http://www.wizardresults.com.au/default.aspx

Gold Coast 10k

Well I can't say I had the best run for the GC 10k and I don't really have a reason. I just didn't apply myself the way I should have. My time was 36.10 which is ok but not where I should be for the results I have been getting on the track. I can only put it down to the epic week at work last week and the fact that I have been focusing on longer distances lately.

I headed straight from work on Friday night and met with friends for dinner which was nice. It was an early start the next day. I think I am starting to get the nutrition thing sorted as I felt I had great energy levels. We had a good warm up and I got an ok starting position. My run went well at the start but after about 4km I settled into a pace that was not optimal and I just didn't seem to care about changing it. I feel frustrated with my run and am now looking forward to finding another race to set the record straight.

All in all great fun, enjoyed catching up with Endura and other sponsors at the Expo and perfect weather!

Follow this link for a little bit of footage.....http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=10151085089013783

Green Island and Cairns 70.3 racing in tropical paradise

What a place to stage a race

Cairns is stop 4 on my challenge to visit the big five Queensland races for the season. I have already tackled Mooloolaba, Hervey Bay, Byron Bay and aim to do Noosa later in the year.


Pre-race

It was an early start but we moved our flight to 7am on Wednesday morning so we could get up to Cairns in time to have a short training session the first day we arrived. It turned out we spent the day venturing around the hills and kissing butterfly’s at the butterfly farm rather than doing any sort of training but I think the early flight was a great idea in the end as it allowed us to relax without running into the hustle and bustle at the airport as everyone else began to arrive.

One highlight from the trip was learning how to caramelise figs on the for a salad and cook a ripper steak on the Wednesday thanks to Red Dog’s very own Master Chef Finalist.

Green Island Swim

Now I am most definitely not noted for my swimming but it is getting better and I am really starting to enjoy the atmosphere of open water swimming. Thanks to Drew and Trent I won my first ever swimming event at the Green Island 1500m. It was a fantastic way to visit an amazing tourist location and very, very good preparation for a wetsuit swim in the Cairns half. Yes I did only see one small fish but it was still an amazing experience.

 

Barry Alsop Photographer Eyes Wide Open IMAGES

Innisfail field trip

On Friday we travelled to Innisfail, snapping a shot with the guys in front of the Brad Bevan sign. Great motivation for Sunday. The trip to Innisfail was in search of Olivari’s deli, an old fashioned, European style deli, rumoured to have a fantastic sandwich. This was true, it was a ripper and, I highly recommend it. We spend a couple of hours chilling out doing some street watching and taking in the exciting city that is Innisfail.

Checking in the gear

I had an early start on Saturday going for a short ride before heading to the practice swim. It was more of a dip as we were herded through pretty quickly. It was actually a pretty nice swim in the sense that it was flat and calm. After this the most part of the day was spend taking pieces of equipment to different locations, sort of a choose your own adventure book or the yellow brick road show bag at the Ekka. Nonetheless, a great opportunity to check out the different transitions. Oh, I also fit in a hair appointment for a half head of foils and a trip over the course up to Port Douglass. I would have to say that the road north of cairns is pretty close to one of the best stretches of road going in the world. Beautiful and untouched, for me it was up there with the Amalfi coast.

This trip also gave me the opportunity to identify some visual cues for my race nutrition from Endura and identify a race strategy for the bike. Great company on the drive, great views and an interesting mix of music genre’s made for a fun drive. We ate in for the pre-race dinner thanks to Mari for cooking tasty pasta. One thing we learned was that it’s not a good idea to go looking for a hot chicken, sports bars, sports drink or bananas the night before an Ironman they will be gone.

Race day

I woke up on race morning for the 70.3 somewhat excited but also wanting more time. I don’t know why but it is like exam morning you always want more time. I knew the day would go all too fast and that I have to capture each little piece one at a time. Before I knew it we were down at the venue preparing our bikes and putting on wetsuits.

Once in the water I was ready and wanted the race to start. Then it was on. I was somewhat pleased with my swim holding a reasonable time compared to the others, but for me the race really started once I was on the bike. Once on the bike I was surprised to feel a little flat, all my sessions in the lead up had felt sharp but I think the intensity of a race and the run through transition stung a little. I settled in and by the T2 area I was hitting a good rhythm and had regained time lost in the swim.

Barry Alsop Photographer Eyes Wide Open IMAGES

Once I caught the others I mounted an attack up the first hill leading into the coast road and got a nice lead such that I could not see the others when I looked back. However, 5km before the turn around I was passed by a sizable bunch with a mix of guys and gals. Very disappointing given the effort I had put into the break. The draft busters were out in force but their presence didn’t seem to break the bunch up and they sailed off into the distance out of sight. I powered on maintaining the same tempo as practiced in training.

Coming back into transition I noticed two riders, one of which was the race leader. I rode straight past without hesitation and did not look back. I increased my cadence and prepared for the run. I hit the run leg and was really pleased to feel great. I guess that’s what all the training is for. Similarly to the bike I maintained a steady tempo, holding back a fraction, keeping my temperature manageable given the heat and saving a little in case I needed to drive the last few ks into the finish. I realised I had a great lead once I doubled back on the short section out to Yorkeys Knob, where I saw the other girls battling it out behind me.

I was happy with the lead but concerned that they may race each other back up to me. Notwithstanding that I stuck to the plan and reassured myself that it would be difficult to catch me if I could hold c.3m50s/4m per km.

I used every aid station along the way collecting water each time and utilising my Endura gel at the 10km and 18km marks. How good are socks by the way, I could throw water on and get no blisters! Once I reached the city park and esplanade road I knew I was getting close and started to enjoy the experience. As I have said previously, it was so great to have my Red Dog buddies out there and really lapped up that last km coming into the finish shoot. After that it was a bit of a blur it all happened too quickly. By the way the boomerang I was given at presentation is broken it didn’t come back….

Thanks Wazza for the photo – Photo by Warren Foster

Thanks very much to my husband Mike, my coach Trent Patten and all the RED DOG gang on course and in the crowd, Nick Lavelle from Endura – we got it right this time, Team Texas peak and the guys from Brooks (run happy), Clifford the big RED DOG (out on course) my colleagues at Deloitte and Industrea. It was in an awesome frame of mind and the Monkey is definitely of my back.

This is how I saw it, see how they saw it at:

Trizone:
http://www.trizone.com.au/20120603/sarah-crowley-wins-urban-hotel-group-ironman-70-3-cairns-2012/

Ironman live:
http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/cairns70.3/jacobs-crowley-score-runaway-wins-in-cairns#axzz1x3xhwMml

Triathlon and multisport magazine:
http://www.triathlonmag.com.au/features/448-jacobs-and-crowley-win-ironman-703-cairns

Endura test day

I'm not the best at refuelling during or after exercise so I really appreciate the time I spent last Friday with Nick from Endura. We caught up before Goondiwindi and planned my nutrition for that race, which was successful on the day, but after talking it through we worked out a couple of things that could be improved leading into Cairns next week.

We decided  to formulate a clear volume and timing for my fuel and link this to a trial run on Saturday where I could test the type and frequency of the fuel. The best thing about the trial was that I had an epic wind trainer / run set planned for Sunday so we would really know if the fuelling was appropriate and working.

I was quite excited on Saturday and had everything laid out before the ride. I didn't smoke the ride but was conscious of keeping a controlled race effort in certain sections. Taking on the Endura Gel and Endura sports drink was fairly straight forward as I gave myself evenly placed land marks rather than time marks which meant that I was visually reminded to take on the Gel. I drank pretty constantly.  All- in-all I finished the ride tired but no completely wrecked.

Day 2 was interesting, I can honestly say I very rarely take on Gel on the run but considering the size of the run we had planned there was no time like the present to start. In summary, I completed the last of my run efforts on the Sunday in the same time (if not slightly faster) that the first run effort some hour and forty minutes later. I took a gel straight after the wind trainer and one at the hour mark.

Thanks Sweeny for the photo shoot.

I think the best thing was my legs felt great in the afternoon and whats even better, I was able to back up for an intense session on the following Tuesday, a nice 5km timed on the track. I got a time that I would consider as my RedDog PB.

This was a great experience and I have learned a considerable amount about my performance and what's best, I know exactly what I need to do for this 1%'r at Cairns.

Thanks Nick and Endura.

Byron Bay tri

http://www.nbnnews.com.au/index.php/2012/05/12/byron-bay-tri-has-biggest-turnout-in-race-history/

I had a great weekend at the Byron Bay Tri with my Mum arriving from Adelaide last Wednesday night to come down to the race.

It was like times of old on Saturday with the mid-day race start. I had a very relaxing morning before the race with a sleep in and a wonder up to the cafe near race start for breakfast. The weather was perfect and I felt really good about racing.

The race rolled around and I had a dodgy set of goggles on so I didn't get to enjoy the wildlife everyone keeps talking about on the swim (turtles, fish etc) or the draft from the bunch.. After an average swim, I headed out on the bike on a mission to catch the girls. To be honest a few words of encouragement from Bill Abram (2XU Brisbane) helped fire me up.

When I arrived back in transition, I was stoked to have the best ride run transition I have probably ever had. I was right on the end of the rack. So I mounted my bike from one side and then as I kept moving past the rack I stuck my shoes on. Some times its the little things that get you chuffed! I'm in the Brooks T5 Racer at the moment, they are really easy to pull on.

I headed out onto the run feeling somewhat like a bunny out in front. My legs were still in a state of spacticity after a grueling couple of weeks of training and only 6 days rest from the 1/2 marathon at Noosa. Mel R passed me after about 500m and gaped-it pretty quickly. It felt like I was running with bricks on my feet but results showed a not-to-shabby time however, there is still plenty of work to be done.

2nd in the end. NBN footage attached. Looking forward to Cairns now in three weeks.

Run Happy