Race Details:     
Day/Date: 9/08/2015
Distance: 5KM run/20KM Bike/2.5Km Run
Race Start: 7:30AM
Race Number:   239

Race Plan & Goal:
My goal for this race was to have a strong run and stay in contact with the front pack for the whole race. Hopefully ending up in a podium finish for my second race of the season. First time at this course and I am looking forward to racing against Luke Harvey again, to see how we both have trained during winter – this will be a good test for bike leg against Luke as this is his strength.Staying Warm before the race will be a very important issue as the weather is predicted to be single digits.

Preparation for the race
The preparation started a couple of days ago with hydration and eating the correctly before and after training. After last week’s race being hindered by cramping in the legs I am loading up on Magnesium and will have my Salvital the day before drinking at least two litres to make - I know that it won’t be very hot but I want to have a good race as it Race 1 for the QLD Nissan State Championships and points are up for grabs…..so I am not taking any chances.   

We arrive at the track around 5.50am and it was as predicted……freezing, had to even wear my gloves to carry the bike to the race registration.

Transition set up
by the time we walked to the venue, set the bike up then registered I had arrived a bit later than normal into the transition and found myself with limited spots available to rack and set up transition. I found a small gap in between bikes and not wasting any time (still FREEZING) set up my shoes but this time I put 1x 600mL bottle of Endura Lemon lime Re-hydration into the cage. I decided not to have any gels on my bike because I was testing how my body would react without them and as it was colder than normal thought this was a better idea to test rather than a hot day.

Briefing for race
Race briefing was 5 minutes before race start and it was basically just going over how many laps and where to go. I understood the course and I was ready to race. The weather was still very cold but I had decided to just race in my tri suit, my thoughts where by the time I start running I will warm up pretty quick, so I dropped the extra layers and made my way to the start line with my Endura Raspberry Gel. 

Run & Start
My goal was to try and stick as close to the front group as possible if not be leading by the end of the second lap. My positioning on the line wasn’t the best as I had a street pedestrian barriers and some poles to run in-between before I had a clear path way down the starting chute.

The start line was the first time I was with my competitors so it was a good chance to see who will be competing – Luke Harvey, Alex Young, David Pinto, Mitchel Bradbrook, Max Dennerstein and others but the calibre of runners in this field I knew it was going to be quick.

As predicted the run was once again a fast start, but again my brief with Toby he re-enforced last week’s brief and told me to control myself in the first 1km then start to get into the race and as this plan worked well last week I again found myself in control and at the first corner in a top 10 position – David and Mitch had blown away in front to lead the boys out into the run leg.

As we came to start the 2nd lap of the run I was in with the chase pack and was determined to get the leaders. I felt really strong and started to lift the race rate and as the second lap was running out of time I started to put in harder to try and gain on David and continued to move through the pack until I found myself in 2nd position coming into transition – this was giving me a better chance at placing.   Transition 1 – My transition was a little bit slow today coming in at 2nd and coming out in about 4th or 5th I knew that I had to have a good bike and catch back up – I didn’t feel slow but maybe they were just quicker….transition was completed with a good mount even though it was an uphill incline.

Bike Leg
I got my shoes on quickly after the first little rise, once they were on I was gaining on the other racers. By the first U-turn I could see 2nd and after the first quarter of the lap I was behind Luke and in 2nd place. I felt as if I was riding really well, cornering well and had really good gear selection throughout the course…was feeling very strong but knew Alex Young was in the field behind me and he can ride….so had to keep up the pace. On the last lap and coming into transition 2, I was passed by two people (Sadler and Young – which was no surprise given their riding experience).

I knew that I had to stay in touch with them on the final stages of this leg to give me any chance of a podium finish – I knew this was going to be hard but I had to dig deep, as much as it hurt they put some distance into me.

Transition 2
My second transition was much better once my bike was racked I was putting my shoes on took off my helmet and grabbed my race belt and was in pursuit of Sadler and Young first then was after Luke – this was not going to be easy.

Run
Coming into the run leg and out T2 Sadler was only just ahead of me and Young a little further ahead of him. After the first corner I had passed Sadler and was gaining on Young and I was feeling really strong, so good that when I ran up alongside Young I told him to “Come with me”, thinking nothing more than if we worked together we would have a better chance to catch Luke. Once we were out the back and Young hadn’t “Come with me.” I decided to try and put some distance in-between all of us and try to gain Luke on my own. Coming down a little bit of a downhill was the perfect place the leg speed went up and I started to pull away down and around the U-turn and back up the hill hard. Once I had a bit of a gap I just had to hold it, I could see Luke just down the hill so I knew I had to dig deep once again to try and close the gap between Luke and I but I was running out of time and distance in the race.

I could see the finish line as I came around the last bend all that was left was the famous sprint finish to the line to take out 1st Place for my age and 2nd place overall. I was very satisfied with the race outcome and again will look at the race to take out the positives and look for more potential growth.

Times for Race – Run-16.29        Bike- 31.38          Run- 9.34         Overall: 57.42
Result - 2nd Male Overall
16-17 years State Champion

Summary
Today was testing conditions and completely reversed to last week’s heat – arriving at the course with 5 degree temperature was a first. Took on the Ride with a new found aggression and it paid off…..this was my best ride in race….probably ever. The running was composed and felt strong and considering I attempted the bike without a Gel found to have enough power in the final stages of the race to hold onto 2nd and felt strong.

Again thanks to Toby and my SCTA family and support crew and to all the sponsors of the SCTA / HCAUS Junior Scholarship

I was very happy with taking out 1st place for my category and an overall 2nd place behind Luke….this is going to be a great season ahead and I can’t wait until we have a swim leg as well.

Race Details:  
Day/Date: 1/08/2015
Distance:        
Race # 1 – 2km run/6km Bike/2km Run (Short Course)
Race # 2 - 2km run/ 9km Bike/1.5km Run/9km Bike/1.5km Run (LONG)

Registration - OPEN: 10AM CLOSE 11AM
Transition - OPENS: 10AM CLOSES: 11AM
Race Start -11:15AM and 1:15PM
Race Number - 223

Race Plan & Goal:

RACE PLAN
To have a good strong first race for the Season, I am very excited to be back racing again. This is my Second ever Duathlon and will be very interesting to see my race fitness after the Winter block.

Recovery will be very important as well because I have Springfield Duathlon next week, which is a major race.

Race Report

Race 1

Preparation for the race
The preparation started a couple of days out with hydration and eating the correct substance before and after training. I was preparing myself for my first ever Long Course Duathlon, however on the morning Toby through us a curve ball and put us into the Enduro competition, which meant we were now going to do both the Short Course and the Long course races with an hour in between. This meant there was next to no time to properly warm up, as we literally had to race to get to the start line. I was quite surprised at how well I actually dealt with this last minute scurry to the line as it really didn’t seem to phase me too much…..the OCD was kept to a minimum. I was determined not to let this affect my race ahead and felt comfortable with the stronger competitors in the field and along side me….guys like Adsy Gordon, Nicholas Hull, Dean Cane and Tyler Allan to name a few.   

Transition set up
I was set up and ready to go the bottles where filled x2 one water and one Endura Raspberry flavoured electrolytes. Endura Gels were in place on the bike and 1 x ready for the run leg as well…..just in case.

Briefing for race
This was taking place as I was getting changed due the lateness of the change of mind for the Short Course Race now but I understood where to go and was more worried about getting as much warm up in as possible before I needed to make my way to the start line….all I can say is thank god the TQ Official had a microphone and loudspeaker.

The weather was very warm as well which meant the body didn’t really need too much warming up but had to still get the blood flowing.

1st Run & Start
My goal was to try and stick as close to the front group as possible. The look of the hill was quite daunting and proved to be a bit of a struggle on our first attempt up it but once we got over it the rest of the run leg looked pretty flat with a slight incline toward the back of the course.  

The start was quite rushed and the normal aggression I showed in previous races to sprint off the line has been something I have been working on controlling in the off- season and my last instruction from Coach (Toby) was to “Control yourself and control your pace at the start”….this sat in my head on the start line and when the official started the race felt myself standing on the line while other competitors took off…..I felt in control but also felt a sense of urgency to stay in touch with the lead pack so moved through the field with a controlled pace to be sitting in the top 10 at the base of the hill climb….Through the hill I moved into 6th place coming down the front side of the hill and remained in touch with the lead pack…..the run leg stayed this way right through until transition 1.

Transition 1
I thought that I had a fast transition taking my shoes off while putting my helmet on was the most efficient way. Moved up a place in Transition and the leaders weren’t that far ahead of me….it was now up to my bike leg….how has the Winter block treated me….this was my chance to prove it.

Bike Leg
The Hill again proved to be tough and on the first lap felt like I was struggling a bit but didn’t have anyone pass me and in saying that I don’t think that I had used the right gears, Pedalled strongly down the back of the hill and through the corner to try and take as much away from the next incline as possible …… coming back on to the straight for the first time proved to be just as tough as the hill due the strong head wind…..felt like I had slowed right up but could now see Sadler just ahead of me…this gave me an extra sense of urgency heading into the hill climb for the 2nd time and this time I felt I nailed the gear selection….by far a better attempt….I was gaining on Sadler through the next lap and by the time I came into transition 2 came in ahead I had one ahead of him placing me in 5th place…..I felt I would have the strength in the run to hold onto 5th place but knew I would have to still run very strong.

Transition 2
I feel as if my second transition was also good I racked the bike by the seat and put my shoes on while taking off my helmet to help streamline the transition…..now I was off on the run still  in 5th place and feeling quite strong for the final run leg.

Run # 2
Legs felt a little bit heavy coming off the bike again and into the run but I pushed through it and I believe that I had a strong finish.

Thinking about the race I thought it went really well considering the lack of preparation for warm up and the last minute OCD occurrence. Felt good to back racing and now had to warm down quickly as the next race was an hour away from start.

Hydration and stretching was the focus and Toby had both Savannah and I on the rollers….which was quite daunting considering all the curious on-looker’s….was determined not to fall off.

There were no Times for Race – but finished in 5th place….this is a massive improvement from the previous year where I struggled to finish in the top 20.

Race Report

Race 2

Preparation for the race
Warm down was critical and stretching while resting and staying in the shade. Had a banana and half a vegemite sandwich, took on water and Endura Raspberry Hydration – approximately 600ml.

Warm down included a 5 minute light jog and 10 minutes on the rollers. Stretched on the towel in the shade and realised I should have packed my roller to roll out the legs but again wasn’t aware I was going to be racing the extra race…..still next time I will definitely be including it as this race was about to take an unknown twist.

Transition set up
I set up my bike put elastic bands on my shoes and put 2x Endura Raspberry Gel on the floor under my bike for when I get off the bike and start the run and filled the water bottles but noticed I hadn’t really taken on much water from the first race…..again leading to the race twist.

Warm up this time was back to my normal routine and I felt quite relaxed but the legs were felling quite tight.

Briefing for race
As toby had instructed me to keep moving and stretching while the race brief was taking place and more importantly to keep moving on the start line, as I had now done the Short Course race I knew where to go and I was ready to race.

The start line
Positioned myself in between 2 strong runners in Nicholas Hull and Tyler Allan….I knew this was going to be a quick start but was not taking part in any rush of blood off the line and this was found to be true when we were set off…..Allan took off and headed straight for the lead while I placed myself well back and in the field with other weaker runners surrounding me and was now a test to make sure I did not fall in the early stages…..by the time we hit the hill I had moved through the field and placed myself in connection with the lead runners and in 7th place heading  down the back of the hill and as the two runners just ahead of me hadn’t run the first Short Course race I felt I had the course understanding to be able to take them before the first transition and this proved to be correct as I took them one by one around the back of the run leg and was placed now in 5th coming into T1. I felt really good on this run as I was closer to the front pack in this race then I was in the first race and I was feeling good.

Transition 1
Once again I put on my helmet while taking off my shoes and was off – felt like a very quick and smooth transition keeping in touch with the lead riders heading out on the first leg of the bike.

Bike Leg # 1
Coming out onto the bike I felt the head wind had picked up and felt like I was riding slower then in the first race, the hill gearing was under advice of Toby to get into the big chain ring for the hill climb….again felt tight in the legs and pedalled right through the downhill and corners….this continued through the first 3 laps there was no place changes, however on the last lap going up the hill both of my calves tightened up and started to cramp….thought to myself this will be ok once I get onto the run I’ll stretch it out.

Transition 2
This is by far my worst transition I have ever done….My feet tightened up and I knew something was going wrong as I came into transition which threw me off my thought process the bike was racked but the shoe transition was terrible ……coming out of transition I felt the right calf cramp so badly I had to stop and try to stretch it out it….this was the worst feeling actually stopping in a race…took back to running after about 1 minute of stretching at the entrance to run leg….now the race had changed for me….it was now about finishing not placing…..dropped back 3 places while stretching and was determined to make it up once I started running again. My run was slower at the start but I picked up pace and started to feel better again and ran through 2 competitors back into transition 2

Transition 3
this time my transition was pretty quick because there was no time to lose really I couldn’t afford to give away any more time so the focus was to get back onto the bike leg and start the final bike leg

Bike Leg # 2
The cramping was becoming more and more frequent and seemed to take place each lap at the entry to the hill climb making the hill even harder and tougher…..Each lap I started falling back in cadence on the hill climb and was taking its toll….felt good each time pedalling down the hill and cornering fast to hit the incline out of the hill descent…..the back end of the course was quite protected from the head wind that took it our of your down the straight……I felt disappointed in this leg as I dropped about 4 places….and all in the same stage of the leg – up the hill.  

Transition 4
The entry into the final transition was going to be a real test to my body here as the legs were again going from the bike to the run but if felt quite good….the run in was strong and much smoother then my second transition….I was feeling good than when the shoes went on my feet tightened again. The run out of transition was where it took me on the last time and again took hold of me as I entered the run track….the right leg again cramped severely and worse than the first time and my right calve was now in excruciating pain. I felt like I was ready to give up for the first time ever …I was on the side of the track….stopped and in pain….Toby was telling me to pull my feet back I just couldn’t get them back, I then walked for about 30 meters and decided to run through the pain all I wanted now was to finish the race. As the run went on I felt better and there was no better sight then the home stretch….as soon as I saw the home stretch I felt strong and ran as fast as I could to the finish line I just gave it whatever I had left (not very much).

Finished the race in Top 10 with 8th place – which considering the time stopped with cramping was strong….There is a lot to take out of this race.

Points to take away from this Event.
Cramping is by far the worst pain I have felt so I will never forget to take my Salvital and never leave my roller behind….you never know what my change come race day.

The bike leg I need to get lower on the bike and more over the front wheel, resting is important for Duathlon where you can….like downhills, more aggression taking on the hill and lighter load on the legs coming down the hill. The need for more hydration and water on the first Short Course race would have helped prevent the cramping and assist with hydration. Another banana in between races and a more effective stretching routine (with Roller) would have helped.

Recovery on the Saturday night included double dose of Magnesium with ICE bath, stretching using the roller and a good nights rest ready for the recovery ride in the morning.

As always a huge thanks to Toby for his coaching and mentoring and support and a massive thanks to the SCTA / Hybrid Concepts Australia support crew for my reassurance while racing….this was by far the toughest event I have ever raced in was a test of mental strength to get through and I know there words of support was the telling factor.

This was a good hit out in readiness for Springfield next week and the learning curve here will start again Monday….preparation with heavy focus on Hydration and stretching throughout the week.

Jake Hynes