Australian Youth Triathlon Series Race # 4 Perth and QTS # 7 Raby Bay

AYTS – Race 4 Perth – 4th March 2017
 
GOAL
My goal for the tough race was to finish in the top 3.
 
Race Details
Distance - 400m/16km/3km
Race Start - 10.30am
Race Result – 2nd Place ITU Youth B
Australian Youth Triathlon Series (4 Races) – 2nd Place ITU Youth B
 
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, slippery and tight, with competitors falling over on exit from the swim leg. Unfortunately, I too slipped due to the slippery concrete exit, 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 5th place, with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th only meters in front of me.
 
Bike
Once on the bike, I realised that my pack consisted of 2nd, 3rd and 4th 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. In 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 3km and a it was a three lap up and down course not suited to my running style where I like to continuously run without slowing down and speeding up. 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 fresh and I quickly moved to 2nd and was catching the leader. I was confident I could run him down.  Three quarters of the way into the run I was very close to catching the leader, I was chasing 1st. At the turn around mark I knew that it was a little downhill to go and I pushed myself, 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 too finish in 2nd place and 2nd in the series.

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 Race 4 of the Australian Youth Series.


Queensland Triathlon Series Race # 7 Super Sprint Race Report:
 
Race Details
Date – 26th February 2017
Distance -  400m/16km/4km       
Race Start -  0830am
Race Result – 2nd Place 13 Years   
Queensland Triathlon Series (7 Races) - Series Champion 13 Years Male     
 
Pre-Race
Consisted of light jog for 10 minutes, followed by run drills and explosive sprints before, doing a swim warm up before the race start.
 
Swim
Once again, positioned myself next to a faster swimmer, as I knew the race would be similar to the day before. 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 centre. I came out of the water in 2nd place and was really happy with swim.
 
Bike
On the bike my legs felt really heavy from yesterday's racing. The bike was a lot slower than usual. I lost a little bit of ground and I knew that I would have to try and catch them on the run. This was probably due to the fact my legs were tired from All Schools.
 
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. Even after the bike my legs still felt heavy and lethargic. The run was 4km, I was positioned in 2nd place when I hit the run exit, I was a fair bit behind but I thought I could work hard on the run to try and make ground. I was confident I could run 1st down.  Half way into the run, I did not feel as comfortable as I usually do; I tried to maintain my race pace and finished off knowing I would be backing up in a week’s time for the final of the AJS series. I finished across the line in second position, and overall first for the 2017 Queensland Triathlon Series.
 
Post-Race
After the race, I congratulated my fellow competitors, debriefed with my Coach Toby Coote, hydrated with fluids, went for a light 10-minute cool down followed by some stretching ready to stand on the podium.