Australian Junior Series Race # 2 + QTS # 5 - Robina Triathlon

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