A big weekend of racing which saw the Australian Junior Series Race # 2 on the Saturday and then backing up for QTS # 5 on The Sunday

Australian Junior Series Race # 1
GOAL:
My goal for the tough weekend of racing ahead was to finish in the top 6 overall.
Race Result:
2nd Place ITU Youth B
 
The Format:
The format saw 2 separate races during the afternoon where the times were combined together to work out the overall winner. Youth A + B (13-16 Years) raced together over 310/7/1.3.

Race Details
Day/Date - 21st of January, 2017 - Saturday
Distance - 310m/7km/1.3km x 2
Race Start - 12.30pm and 3.50pm
Race Number - 79

AYTS - Super Sprint Race 1:
Warm up:
I went for a light jog for 10 minutes, followed by some run drills and explosive sprints before, doing a swim warm up before the race start.
 
Swim:
The race start was going to be hectic both youth A & B were starting together. I knew I would have to position myself well for the swim start. I started on the inside next to a stronger swimmer, which I believed that tactic would advantage me as I would have someone faster to try and swim off. The race started, arms and legs were everywhere, luckily I had a pretty good start and knew I would just have to try and stay with the faster swimmers to ensure a fast swim. Coming into the exit of the swim, it was crazy the exit was about two meters wide and there was a large group coming in which I was a part of. I managed to get into transition in a pretty good position of 3rd in my category.
 
Bike:
Onto to the bike, I went out of transition, once on the bike, I quickly realized that no one really wanted to do any work. So I decide to take charge and lead at the front holding a solid pace. Up the bridges, some of the other athletes decided to go to the front. On the bike, I made sure I was leading into the corners as the roads were wet and if anyone went down I wanted to avoid the possibility of crashing myself. Jumping off the bike and running into transition my body was really sore as I did most of the work and I knew I would just have to go hard on the run.
 
Run:
On the run, I knew I had to go as hard as I can. As the run was the only 1.3km, I was positioned in 2nd place, with 3rd right behind me. The other competitor was in the same bike pack as me and I knew he would have fresher legs than mine. As I started running my legs felt cooked and were in pain. A quarter of the way into the run I was passed by the 3rd place competitor. I started to pick up my pace to try and stick with a 2nd place, but he outran me and finished 5 seconds in front. I finished in 3rd place with about fourteen seconds between myself and 4th place.
 
Post Race:
Spoke with Coach Toby Coote, hydrated with fluids, then went for a light 10-minute cool down, stretched and prepared myself for the next sprint race.

AYTS - Super Sprint Race 2:
Warm up:
I went for a light jog for 10 minutes, followed by some run drills and explosive sprints before, doing a swim warm up before the race start.
 
Swim:
Once again, I knew I had to try and position myself next to a faster swimmer. The race started arms and legs were everywhere again, luckily I had a pretty good start again and knew I would just have to try and stay with the faster swimmers, to ensure a fast swim. Again the exit was narrow and tight, some of the competitors were falling over left right and center. Unfortunately for so was I and I tripped getting out of the water however I managed to get myself up off the ground quickly. As I was running out of the water I realised I must have had a slower swim or the other competitors in my age group had a faster swim. Once again, I was a part of a large pack. I was sitting about 6th place, with 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th only meters in front of me.
 
Bike:
Once on the bike, I realised that my pack consisted of 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th in my category.  I was given some valuable strategy/advice from my Coach Toby Coote regarding the bike leg in which I deployed in this race. This race other competitors were willing to take turns at the front. There were attacks from riders to break away, but no breaks were successful. Coming off the bike I made sure that I was going first into transition, so I could get onto the run as fast as I could. I knew I would just have to go hard or go home on the run.
 
Run:
My transition from the bike to the run felt a little slow, my bike was positioned at the bike exit compared to my fellow competitors who were closer to the run exit. My legs felt good, I knew I had to go as hard as I can, as the run was the only 1.3km. I was positioned in 4th place when I hit the run exit only meters behind my fellow competitors. As I started running my legs felt fresher than the last run. I was confident I could run them down.  A quarter of the way into the run I overtook the other competitors, I was now chasing 1st. At the turn around mark I knew that it was up a hill, down the hill then a short flat run and into the finish. I could see 1st place in my sights but I was running out of track. I sprinted to the finish to finish in 2nd place and 2nd place overall for the weekend.

Post-Race:
After the race, I congratulated my fellow competitors, spoke with my Coach Toby Coote, hydrated with fluids and then went for a light 10-minute cool down followed by some stretching ready to stand on the podium for the first time in an Australian Youth Triathlon Series race.

QTS # 5 - Robina Triathlon
Race Details:
Day/Date - 22nd of January, 2017 - Saturday
Distance - 300m/10km/2.5km
Race Start - 6.50am
Race Number – 408
Race Result – 3rd Place U/14 Male
Warm Up:
Light jog for 10 minutes, followed by some run drills, stretching and explosive sprints before, doing a swim warm up before the race start.

Swim:
Once again, I knew I had to try and position myself next to a faster swimmer, as I knew the race would be similar to the day before. The race started with arms and legs everywhere again, luckily I had a pretty good start again and knew I would just have to try and stay with the faster swimmers, to ensure a fast swim. Again, the exit was narrow and tight, some of the competitors were slipping as they tried to get out of the water onto the mats. I was sitting around 6th place for my age group as I came out of the water.

Bike:
On the bike my legs felt really heavy from yesterday's racing. I did not feel as comfortable on the bike as I did the day before. After the first lap my legs had warmed up and I began to feel much better and in control of my bike. I still had some work to do on the run to catch the leaders.

Run:
My transition from the bike to the run went smoothly. My legs felt fairly good, I knew I had to relax, control my pace if I wanted to catch the other competitors in from of me. I was positioned in 6th place when I hit the run exit only 200m meters behind my fellow competitors. As I started running my legs felt pretty good, but were still sore from yesterday’s races. I was confident I could run them down.  A quarter of the way into the run I overtook the other competitors; I was now chasing 1st t and 2nd. At the turn around mark I knew that there was not far to go so, I started to run even faster to try and catch them. I could see 1stt and 2nd place in my sights but I was running out of track. I sprinted to the line to finish in 3rd place.

Post Race:
After the race I congratulated my fellow competitors, spoke with my Coach Toby Coote, hydrated with fluids and then went for a light 10-minute cool down followed by some stretching ready to stand on the podium.

Next Race will be Round # 3 of the Australian Junior Series in Adelaide on 5th February

Round one of the Australian Junior Triathlon Series (AJTS) – Runaway Bay Super Sprint Race Weekend Report

It was going to be a fast and furious weekend to accumulate points, in short, sharp, sprint races. I was excited, but a little bit nervous, as it was my first ever competition under super sprint race conditions over a two day period. These events primarily cater for triathlete’s that are short sprint racers (not me). The weekend Youth A & B consisted of 5 races different races: aquathlon, criterium, track run and two triathlons. Humid, hot conditions were forecast for the weekend. Racing was conducted mostly during the middle of the day; therefore, my plan to avoid dehydration was to hydrate with electrolytes and plenty of water from the moment I woke up until I went to sleep in preparation for the following day’s events.
 
GOAL:
My goal for the tough weekend of racing ahead was to finish in the top 10 overall

RACE RESULT - Overall for the weekend
6th Place ITU Youth B
 
Day 1:
Race 1 - AQUATHLON - 200m swim/1200m run:
This was my first race of the day so I was nervous, but at the same time looking forward to it. The only time to do a warm-up swim was before 9:45 am. I would have preferred to have warmed up prior to the race however with so many athletes and use of all lanes for the events meant I had to warm up 3hr prior to the first race which started at approx 12:10pm. This threw me a little as normally I would warm up ½ prior to an event; I felt I was going to go into the first event feeling stiff.  For my swim warm up, I focused on my tumble turns as they always need work. I also swam laps to loosen the muscles and get a feel for the pool.

When the time came to do my run warm-up, I did 10 minutes of jogging and run drills to warm up the legs, then a few explosive sprints to fire up the legs ready for a hot race. I spent another 5-10 minutes of stretching. Since we had to do the swim warm up at  09:45 am, my only opinion of warming up my arms was to swing them around and stretch before my race start. For all my other races I completed a similar or near identical warm up.

I felt that I started strong; I dived in and quickly started to swim my hardest as I knew I am not the strongest swimmer. I was equal with everyone for the first 50m but after that, I held my pace as I watched all the other competitors start to speed up even more to get a small lead. I was losing seconds on my tumble turns. The lead swimmers did not have a sizeable lead and I thought I might be able to catch them on the run. I sprinted into transition and put on my Mizuno running shoes and on I quickly went to start the 1200m run. I felt confident in my run and started to go past competitors that were leading the swim and I managed to only catch a few competitors as it was only 1200m, I then sprinted to the line to finish 9th overall for my first race.
Result - 9th Place
 
Race 2 - CRITERIUM (Le Mans start) - 300m run/ 4km bike/ 300m run:
For the criterium I wanted to make the front pack. The event started with a Le Mans Start of a 300m run on the running track into transition. I knew I would have to sprint as hard as I could to make the font pack. After the first 100m of the run, I had a quick look around to see where I was positioned. After looking around I realised I was nearly last at the fist corner then, I ramped the speed up even more. Then I started to make my way to the front. After leaving transition I made the front pack and worked together with the other competitors for the next 4km. Approaching the transition/dismount line I made sure I was in a good position to ensure I had a clear run off the bike ready for the final sprint run to the finish line.

My transition was a little slow, as my bike was position up against the rail and there was not a lot of room to get my bike in. After leaving transition I knew I had to go hard. On the final straight it was a sprint finish for third and fourth. As we were nearing the line I leant forward to try and get in front, which worked as a photo shows my body leaning forward and taking third place. After the race I went off a nice easy jog ready for the 800m track run, which I knew I needed to try to finish in the top 8, to get some much-needed points. I knew this was going to be hard as I am not a short distance runner.
Result - 3rd Place
 
Race 3 - RUN - 800m Track Run:
The gun went; I had a terrible start and was caught up in a fall shortly after starting. I worked hard around the first turn to pull myself up into 10th. With one lap down and one to go, I tried to move up into the top 8 which was my goal. With 200m to run all I wanted to do was finish as my body just had nothing left from the previous racers. I was working hard and felt like I was going nowhere. I sprinted as hard as I could, coming in 8th place with a time of 2:32. That concluded my day. I then did a short recovery run and mentally knew I had to go into recovery mode ready for another day of tough racing.
Result - 8th Place

Day 2:
I woke nice and early ready for another day of racing. Today I was a little nervous but fairly confident that I was going to finish in the top ten and complete my goal. I was currently in 7th place and was already getting closer to finishing in the top 10. My next goal was to try and place even better and still complete my goal. I did the same warm up as I did yesterday for both races which consisted of a swim – stretch/laps, then practiced my starts, finishes and tumble turns. For my run - 10 minutes of jogging and run drills to warm up the legs, then a few explosive sprints to fire up the legs.
 
Race 4 - SUPER SPRINT TRI - 200m swim/ 4km bike/ 1200m run
The race started, for the first 100m, I was level with the pack, then the faster swimmers took off and gained a small lead out of the water. I went into transition feeling relatively confident I could catch the front group on the bike leg.  Unfortunately, on the bike my group did not really work well together, I spent a majority of the race at the front as the race pace was not consistent and the group dropped off in roll outs. I was determined to catch the leaders on the bike I eventually moved into 5th place, I knew I had expelled a lot of the much-needed energy I needed for the run. The run was fast and furious and all I was trying to do is not to let the other runners catch me. My tactic didn’t work as I was caught and finished in 7th place. After the race I completed my post-race warm down of a light easy jog, followed by a stint in the ice bath for recovery before the next super sprint triathlon final.
Result - 7th Place

Race 5 - SUPER SPRINT TRI (Grand final) - 200m swim/ 4km bike/ 1200m run
The final race of the weekend, I was a little nervous before the race start, but as the race started I put my nerves behind me. The swim leg again left me working hard in transition to make up seconds lost on the tumble turns.  On the bike my goal was to try and catch the leaders. Leading onto the second lap I had already moved into fourth place and was gaining on the competitors in front. Coming into transition my bike got court up with my green box to discard my equipment in. I was sitting in 4th place for the start of the run catching third. I was eventually court by two faster runners in my age group, I ran hard to jump on the back of their feet. I finished the race in 6th spot. After the race, I congratulated the other competitors, spoke to my coach Toby Coote and did a recovery run before jumping into the ice bath one last time with some fellow competitors.
Result - 6th Place

Post Race:
Overall I was happy with the weekend’s efforts, I came away with some valuable lessons learnt and race strategy for upcoming races. My future focus was now set on the next AJS Race 2 at Robina in January. Thank you to Head Coach SCTA Toby Coote and well done to all the other athletes that raced on the weekend.