Week end of racing around the state from the girls March 2021

Coaches Review

I really get excited when it comes close to races as I know its time to shine, I really like to get a lot more involved and get into the heads to prep the thought process before a race, I generally do this with coaching calls, program design along with individual needs specific to what works best for the athletes, a relationship between coach and athletes needs to involve trust from athletes and believe from the coach, which I knew all these girls where more than capable of doing more than they expected and in return they defiantly trusted the process, I think the smiles in the pictures is defiantly a thousand words speaking for the results everyone was happy with, truly grateful to be coaching these guys thanks for giving me the opportunity to be your coach.

Aaron Buchan

Geelong 70.3 my main race I had been working towards it was finally here. The trip to Geelong started on Thursday with a hiccup by the time we nearly reached McLaren Flat. My bike was on the bike rack on the back of the car & I had put a decent padlock on the rack it was when I realized I think I left the key for it at home. I pulled over & had a quick look for it meanwhile I was being told by Jess & Sarah, we could find bolt cutters someone would be able to get it off. I couldn’t drive 8hours without knowing so I went back home & sure enough it was there.  Friday was race pack pickup and a swim in the urchin free area late afternoon it was quite windy & choppy. Sat was bike racking & that’s when the excitement of doing the race really kicked in.  After an extra 6 weeks of waiting of mixed emotions, refocusing a couple of times doubting whether I was training enough, doing races I hadn’t planned to do as I do doing too much even at times as well as balancing everything that happens with kids, work etc  This is where I put complete trust in Aaron’s programming to get it right & it was perfect those extended sessions when I was buggered where worth it & paid off on the day to enable me to handle the unexpected wind conditions & just get the job done yep it hurt & it was supposed too, No PB on the day but overall, only took 5mins longer and happy with the result it was a choppy swim & I dealt with conditions straight up & felt no anxiety in the chest. The first main turning buoy is 800m out & I knew at this point I would be able to go back to bilateral breathing it just got choppier as you went out. It was a busy swim you just didn’t get much of a break, but I managed to not let it bother me and just get on with it. Coming out of the water I felt way better than last time and ready for the long journey to transition which gets a bit painful on cold feet. The breeze had picked up by this stage, so I made the decision to wear my vest on the bike which was the best as I was really cold on my way back into town on the first lap & was so glad I had it on the whole ride.  There was basically no relief on the bike it was either cross or head I kept an eye on the riders in front to be ready for the gusty sections. All I can say about my ride is I gave it everything I had & more & have never felt everything hurt like it did coming off the bike even struggled to get the leg over to dismount required 2 goes at it & had no intention of getting off that bike any other way. The run well the legs were as heavy as but I just kept telling myself it has to hurt just get the job done & it will be what it will give it all you can. About a 1km out of transition I had a look at my HR and pace & was quite surprised it was sitting exactly where it should have been pace not too bad either from this point, I knew I had the fitness even though the legs were telling me different just get the job done. I slowly worked on increasing my pace & at about 13k I really focused on starting to push on the legs did start to come slightly better. I threw my running vest at Sarah at about 16km & just did what I had too including a bit of coke it tasted awesome. Overall ended up with a 2min longer swim time, 9mins longer on the bike, T1 & T2 quicker & run was 4mins quicker than 2020 results & I was fitter & stronger to get the job done. Thanks, Aaron, for pushing my limits & believing in me when I don’t.

Becky Harris

Ironman 70.3 Geelong

It was very dark as I set up in transition, it was still dark as I found the street gear tent, Still plenty of time for warm-up as still dark, so one last trip to the port-a-loo. This proved stressful with a long walk, only to see long lines with limited facilities.  It took 30 mins!  Stress! My warm-up was the sprint back to get the wet suit on with 10 minutes to go! I wasn’t ready as I stood anxiously surrounded by 100’s of athletes all waiting for the rolling start.  Once away, the swim went well. Annoyingly, my goggles fogged, so stopped briefly to clear them, It was a long run on rough concrete into T1. It hurt my feet so much. The transition was smooth. The wet suit peeled off easily saving some time. I was soon out on the bike and straight up the first hill. It was a bumpy ride through the eastern parade then the road opened out and was smooth sailing. A few more hills then a turn-around into the headwind all the way back, then do it all again But as I followed a slower rider, deciding to pass or not, I heard a dreaded call saying ‘That’s a penalty – what?!!  That rattled me. The headwind seemed stronger on the way home, and my neck was aching. A number of athletes were waiting in the penalty box, where we had to wait 5 minutes!  The officials had had a field day out there. I used the time to stretch my legs and neck and that eased the tightness. Then back on the bike for the last few km’s. The run went much better. After a little cramping scare, my legs adjusted.  Hubby was out there cheering. He held up his phone and there was my son from Seattle also cheering.  So special. Just what I needed. I ran all the way and carried my own water and gels using them frequently. I passed quite a few who were walking.  After the last hills, I ran home strong. The IM finish chute welcomed us in. Finished in 6:26:20. Even more surprised to come 2nd in my Age Group!

A very big thank you to Aaron who helped me get physically and mentally race-ready after a few setbacks.

Lyn Humphries

Warren Triathlon NSW

Great weather, nice and sunny, the pool was 22 degrees, not too much wind yet. Went out at a nice medium pace for me in the swim and I was able to maintain that for the whole swim. There weren’t too many others in the long course so I didn’t have to worry about being kicked or swum over at all. Jumped out of the pool feeling ok and transitioned comfortably onto the bike. The start of the bike leg was ok but turned the corner into a headwind and a bit of a rise- felt pretty ordinary in the bike leg after that and had a few negative thoughts creeping in as people started to pass me. Being my first triathlon I was really trying to make sure I could complete the run after the bike and probably took it a bit easy looking back. Also didn’t help that my daughter had swiped my water bottle from my bike- I was pretty thirsty by the time I started the run! In the end, I made up a fair bit of ground in the run to come in a close third. A great family day out with my 9 yr old taking out second in his race as well. Picture- me in the middle.

Emma freeth

2XU series VIC

This race was a funny one. I didn’t really look forward to it.  I had done a shorter distance 4 weeks beforehand and have struggled to find the joy and motivation in training since. This all changed on race day. I had a late start, 9:44 am which gave me plenty of time beforehand. I rode my bike to the Tri Location as a warm-up. Once I saw all the bikes and other participants the clouds lifted and I just felt pure joy. I made sure to allow plenty of time for the warmup and tested the water30 minutes before my starting time. The orange turning buoys looked very intimidating and far away from the shore. I tried to calm myself down, telling myself that this is just an illusion -I’m doing 2-3 km easy each training session – you can do this. My wave was called and all of a sudden I was very nervous. I send a little prayer of gratitude to my donor before I hit the water. My mantra was: calm, just stay calm, breathe slow. But my body disobeyed. I had to stop 4 times and breaststroke to catch my breath and to avoid eating someone’s foot in my face. As soon as I turned to face the shore my mind jumped to the exit, soon, soon, yet still so far away. I managed to get out of the water fine, my breathing still heavy as I started to run into T1. Ripping off my wetsuit to the waistline while running came easy, getting my feet out of the wetsuit was the real struggle. To my surprise my breathing had calmed down and run to the mount line came easy. Once on the bike, I focused on taking it easy for the first 2 k, getting my rhythm and breath right. After the second lap, my body started to ache, and I repeated the mantra “ you can do it” in my head over and over again. Before I knew it I had finished and started getting into the run. I was out of breath again and thought ‘don’t stop, keep going, ‘slow down, but whatever you do, do not stop’. I used the first opportunity for water to walk and catch my breath again. Along the way, I could see all other participants returning at the other side of the road and I caught myself thinking: How easy would it be to just jump across? My competitive nature saved the day “if I do that, I’ll never know how much time it took me to finish.  Just go one step at a time. On the back loop, I started to get very emotional, thinking how grateful I am, to be able to run 5k when 2 years ago I couldn’t even walk 4k. My mind was on my donor again and was overwhelmed by a feeling of gratitude. With tears in my eyes, I started to come back to reality – 1 more km to go and it’s over. Should I stop another time beforehand? You are so close, you can see the finish now – keep going.

 I even managed to sprint into the finish. It was an amazing feeling and I ended up being 8^th in my age group.

Petra Broch