tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52145344029533039742024-03-14T16:34:27.072+10:00Josh Amberger's Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts
*** all new posts at www.josh-amberger.comAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.comBlogger204125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-54456853436976193112014-03-10T08:49:00.001+10:002014-03-10T08:49:04.646+10:00New Website<div style="text-align: center;">
Please see my new site for all new posts, this will remain active for archive purposes. </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-55423197898273988402014-02-03T10:03:00.001+10:002014-02-03T10:03:33.724+10:00Manly workout with TYR & BPM<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/z0BCX7_aIS4" width="459"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-18387549989335400882013-12-19T11:58:00.000+10:002013-12-19T12:12:26.430+10:00Best & Worst of 2013: An Arbitrary Account<span style="color: #666666;">As the title boldly states, here's an arbitrary account of the year 2013. Nothing personal here, it's just for laughs. I've got the memory of a peanut, so if you think my list sucks feel free to make your own. There's a 'collective' list & a small 'personal' list at the bottom. I haven't done a Women's list, I wouldn't be able to do it justice (peanut memory). Enjoy!</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">The Collective: </span></b><br />
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<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Most memorable performance</b>- Sebastian Kienle, Las Vegas. He did the same thing, two years in a row & still no one could stop him!</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Biggest implosion-</b> Ben Collins x2: San Juan & St. Croix</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Most dominating performance-</b> Pete Jacobs, Sunshine Coast</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Old dog but gets it done- </b>Greg Bennett</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Best swim- </b>Tim Berkel, Mandurah, <i>front pack effort</i></li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Best ride- </b>Seb Kienle, Las Vegas yeow</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Best run-</b> Ritchie Nicholls, Wiesbaden</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>King Beef of 2013-</b> Terenzo Bozzone</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Comeback king- </b>Terenzo Bozzone</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Breakthrough athlete-</b> Christian Kemp</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Most consistent-</b> Tim Reed</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Most inconsistent-</b> Ivan Vasiliev</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Best newcomer</b>- Jan Frodeno or Courtney Atkinson</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>The phantom- </b>Filip Ospaly</li>
<li style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Best quote- </b>Tim Don; <i>"Dirty fast".</i></li>
<li style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;">Best backhanded compliment-</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b> </b>Tim Reed, backhanded compliment to author after Vegas;<i> "<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Big respect for the way you raced on Sunday. Sorry it didn't work out. The pack was pretty ridiculous there for a while although I have to say I found it harder in the pack then when I got the front later on and could just ride steady state".</span></i></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Failure to launch-</b> 75% of the field in St. Croix, flat tyres</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Fastest first mile- </b>Jan Frodeno, Las Vegas</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Slowest last mile- </b>Peter Robertson, Wiesbaden 70.3</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Want to see more of-</b> Javier Gomez</span></span></li>
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<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Most memorable performance</b>- Luke McKenzie, Kona</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Biggest implosion- </b>Courtney Atkinson, Metaman</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Most dominating performance- </b>Tim O'Donnell, IM Brasil</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Old dog but can't get it done- </b>Bryan Rhodes</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Best swim- </b>Don't know, Andy Potts?</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Best ride- </b>Sebastian Kienle, Kona (how could <u>anyone else</u> have ridden up to the front & still lasted?)</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Best run-</b> Bart Aernouts, IM Nice (2.37.01)</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Breakthrough athlete-</b> Tyler Butterfield</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Best newcomer-</b> Bevan Docherty, IM NZ</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Comeback king-</b> Chris 'Big Sexy' McDonald Or Luke Bell</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Most consistent-</b> Eneko Llanos & Victor Del Corral</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Most inconsistent- </b>Chris McCormack</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>Sure can race a lot- </b>Pedro Gomes</li>
<li style="color: #666666; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b>King Beef of 2013- </b>Freddy Van Lierde</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b style="color: #666666;">Best quote</b><span style="color: #666666;">- </span><span style="color: #666666;">Sebastian Kienle, Kona post-race presser</span><span style="color: #f1c232;"> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxal2UOZBZ0&feature=youtu.be&t=1m18s" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f1c232;">(we've all thought this!)</span></a> </span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b style="color: #666666;">Good, but please know when to stop!- </b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiYC1tDEsD8" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Andrew Starkowicz's 'diamond man' </span></a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b style="color: #666666;">Did he really say that?- </b><span style="color: #666666;">Unknown</span><span style="color: #666666;">, Kona post-race presser </span><a href="http://firstoffthebike.com/blog/kona-crank-2-hits-misses/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f1c232;">(see bottom of page)</span></a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b style="color: #666666;">Failure to launch-</b> <a href="http://firstoffthebike.com/interviews/pete-jacobs-kona-press-conference-highlights/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Pete Jacobs, Kona press conference</span></a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><b style="color: #666666;">Most honest/humble-</b> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoSIB-fwm8g" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Craig Alexander, Kona post-race</span></a></li>
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<b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Personal: </span></b><br />
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<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Best swim:</b> St. Anthony's 5150 <i>(1st out, 18.55 & a little long)</i></span></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best cycle:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Port Macquarie 70.3 </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(2:10:10, fastest ride)</i></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best run:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Weisbaden 70.3 </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(1.14.46)</i></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best overall race:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Port Macquarie 70.3 </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(1st)</i></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hardest race:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Wiesbaden 70.3 </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(crazy bike course)</i></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most competitive:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Las Vegas 70.3 </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(it's a World Champs)</i></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Worst swim:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Buffalo Springs 70.3 </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(HOT water, diabolically uncomfortable)</i></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Worst cycle:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Hy-Vee 5150</span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (drafting penalty + blow up)</i></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Worst run:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Las Vegas 70.3</span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (mmm poor bike tactics)</i></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Worst overall performance: </b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hy-Vee 5150</span></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best training base:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Boulder</span></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best race destination: </b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">St. Croix</span></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best race experience:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Wiesbaden 70.3 </span></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best crowd support:</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Noosa Tri</span></li>
<li><b style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best training Partner</b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">: Martin Van Barneveld</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Worst blog of 2013: </b>Y</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ou've just read it!!</span></li>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-24683836187009137542013-12-08T19:16:00.000+10:002013-12-08T19:20:32.434+10:00Off-season, Off-road I spend most of the year on planes, so it's nice to be able to get in the car & drive somewhere exotic for once. Moreton Island has been on the menu for the last three years, but it's a paradise only 90mins from my door so it's hard to beat. This island is a magical place, it's so far removed from the normal routines of life that it's hard to believe there's a huge metropolis just across the bay. Take me back!!!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-26099592099052626602013-11-30T22:31:00.001+10:002013-11-30T23:12:47.886+10:00Season's End in SheppartonI'm stretching things a bit blogging two weeks after an event, but amid some pretty tardy (and some unintentionally omitted) entries this year it's just a good thing I'm getting it done. Shepparton was my last event for 2013, and while it came and went quite quickly in the moment, it feels like this season has stretched over an eternity and it took 50 phases of the moon for Shep to arrive.<br />
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It must be said that I've never raced this late into a season. To be racing from April to November is a big ask from a young body, but I wanted to make it happen for a number of reasons. Thinking I would have been racing from March onwards if I didn't have a stress fracture that month seems a little daunting, but with a well planned season incorporating intermittent rest & builds, it's entirely possible to race for that long a stretch, most international Southern Hemisphere athletes do it perennially. One thing I wanted to do this year was race more in front of an Australian crowd, and the end of year string of events gave me this opportunity. I had a weird & unexpected late season peak in Port Macquarie in October which kicked off the string of Australian events. After my win in Port it was quite obvious to myself that the body and mind were sliding out of shape & out of focus. Port was everything I wanted to do in a race this year, the feeling mid-race was impeccable. It was a huge relief to feel that way, so once it came and went the other races on the calendar (Noosa & Shep) seemed perfunctory. But with a daily metaphorical kick in the ball bag, I was able to keep things in a reasonable shape to compete at a respectable level in both races. I kept telling myself that I wanted one more win. While I can say things felt perfunctory after Port, the desire to win was/is always there, it's just training and getting out the door became that much harder. I wanted to win again for myself and my sponsors, all of which have shown unwavering support for me this year. But without a doubt I needed to stop and refresh, something that only an end of season break can service.<br />
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<b>Shepparton & the Course</b><br />
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Shepparton is one of those races that everyone talks about. It's dubbed as 'the people's race', and come race day the moniker becomes intensely palpable. It's one of the most professional races I've done, with a really really cool vibe amongst a beautiful but harsh outback Australian setting.<br />
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The swim was dangerously fun but frustrating at the same time. It was a cool 17c/62f water temp, with a natural water composition as thick and colorful as a race morning movement down the colon. It's a 1.5 lap affair that sees the pros and some fast AGer's double up on slow athletes on the overlap, keeping things <i>very </i>interesting. Also, a long stretch of the swim is into retina burning sunlight. Like I said, dangerously fun...<br />
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While this bike course not my most favored spin, it's certainly more interesting than it looks. Reminding me somewhat of the Buffalo Springs course in the US, it's desolation and miles of tree lined arches are enchanting and inspiring. Rough chip seal makes it an honest course in the absence of any hills, and keeps the gooch yearning for those rare strips of asphalt.<br />
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The run course is the stand out of the three legs. Looping around the lake, the course follows a bitumen creek path through quintessential Australian eucalypt trees darting out of the ground like fields of asparagus. This is a hot steaming run, and like asparagus, its grinding length and heat will corrupt your urine (mine was brown after the race?).<br />
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<b>The Race</b><br />
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Like I said earlier, my form was on the slide. Seldom is there a 70.3 on offer where there isn't at least a few 70.3 champions, or Continental/World Champions in the field. In this field I had the likes of Terenzo, James Hodge and Clayton Fettell to fend off, all with their own credentials but Terenzo standing out as the current 70.3 BOSS. Winning was always going to be a big ask, I'm running the worst I have in years but I still had the belief that if things went well I could pull it off. With Clayton in the race, it would seem like it was a perfect shot to get a good gap on Terenzo in the swim, and ride the hell outta' there to get a good buffer for the run. Though as the saying goes, nothing is ever as it seems. Always be ready to rely on no one but yourself to be where you want to be. This was one of those races where you could have had every belief that the race would unfold a certain way, only to have it dropped out the bottom like hemorrhoids.<br />
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I coughed up a lung at the start of the swim. Clayton went out hard, and I had to go with him. We gapped everyone instantly except for Hodge, who hung on for only another 5 minutes or so. Some sighting issues from Clayton mixed with course confusion from the lead paddler had us lose a lot of time, but we still exited with a minute on Terenzo. This was time we needed and hoped to build on.<br />
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I put socks on in transition and Clayton got a 15 second gap on me which took four or five minutes to bridge. I did it comfortably, but it still gassed me a little. Once I caught up, I sat on a for a few minutes before he started to slow a little. I thought maybe he was subtly telling me to roll through so I did, fearing Terenzo would ride up. I got to work and set a really good pace out front. I worked for fifteen minutes before I looked behind signalling for Clayton to take his turn. I slowed down a lot and waited for a pass. Another minute later I looked around and he was gone. I immediately refocused my effort contemplating a long solo ride, but it didn't bother me as I was feeling great.<br />
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40km down the road the power was still good, but the heart rate started dropping slightly. By the 45km turnaround I was pretty eager to see the gap on Terenzo and Hodge, and to my dismay it was roughly 90 seconds or so. I had put a lot of energy into that first lap and gained little. I knew the second lap was going to be a lot harder and mentally I crumbled in disbelief. I knew Terenzo was running like a champ, but he was also riding like a stud. Over the second lap my power <i>really </i>dropped and my heart rate followed. There was just nothing I could do about it, and I was getting out of the saddle every five minutes towards the end lacking comfort. Surprisingly I had only lost about 15 seconds on the second lap, I had every expectation that Terenzo would catch me considering how bad things got. If I was expecting to perform at a really high level I would be disappointed with my ride and my blowout, but considering the lack of conditioning my body had left and how late in the year it was I remain happy. Please see the file from my Quarq <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/405774350" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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The majority of the run was ugly. I have been running terribly since Wiesbaden, & after seeing Terenzo's display in Mandurah I knew that the win was out of scope with my narrow lead off the bike. I still had hopes for second, but I knew Hodge would catch me soon after Terenzo did. Once Hodge caught me, I was in a dogfight for about 5km before he dispatched me as easily as he caught me. I just had no hustle and no feeling. The weirdest thing happened at about 16km however, and with a flick of a switch the body turned on and I quickly caught up in an instant. Foot traffic on the course was now thick so it was quite easy to sneak up on James, but I waited for a good moment to pass with authority & slapped hands with Terenzo going back the other way, delighted that he hadn't totally embarrassed us with his foot speed. I enjoyed the last few km's running into the line having consolidated second place, but with a steep yearning for the pain to cease and the off season to start.<br />
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So this blog concludes my race reports for the foreseeable future, until I don the TYR suit sometime in March or April next year. I will still chime in on the Noosa Tri at some point, but it will be different from a race report. Thanks always for reading & those who had words of support for me before and after Shepparton, I love reading the comments and g-ups, I'm eternally thankful for all support!<br />
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More blogs coming soon, I swear. Cheers<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-60657481476765026452013-10-29T19:37:00.000+10:002013-10-29T21:21:48.610+10:00A Win in Port!True to form, here is a late rendition from my recent 70.3 win in Port Macquarie on the East Coast of Australia. Please read on!<br />
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<b>The Course</b><br />
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It doesn't look like much, but the swim is a beaut. It's 1.9km in clear tidal waters, weaving through yachts and past mangrove swamps. If you've got time to spare, you can even spot a torrent of fish, turtles & crabs going about their business.<br />
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Port's bike leg is king beef. I never favour an out and back course, but this one is an exception. A two lap course, the first and last fifteen minutes of each lap is spent grinding up and down the undulating coastal terrain with spectacular views of the beaches, headlands and some forest. While the road is a brutally rough chipseal, I feel like this favors the stronger cyclists and makes for a more even race. Even those sitting in a pack have to really fight to maintain speed on this surface.<br />
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This run course is the only blemish to the race. It becomes interesting for a total of 10 minutes each lap (2 laps total) when they loop us up the breakwall and back over some hills. For the rest of the course we're thrown into the gallows on a slightly underwhelming out/back section. The course here two years ago was mint (follows the start of the bike course over the hills and along the coast), bring it back I say!<br />
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<b>The Narrative</b><br />
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Port is a special place for me, I did my first 70.3 here two years ago. While the 5th place finish was a decent result, it was a terrible race & I went into it with even worse fitness. Though somewhere in my mind cogs, there was a part of me that came out totally happy and content. I did my first 70.3 in Port at a time when I didn't know where my place in the sport lay. I had just thrown my allegiance to ITU racing, and olympic distance non-drafting was good, but still doing little to hold my attention. It was after this race I knew that 70.3 would become my short to long-term pathway, and that made me totally content. To continue on with the story, Clayton Fettell totally dominated the race that year. He flattened the field like tamped coffee in a triple-shot espresso basket, & I was perpetually jealous. With the good Port vibes & memory of Clayton's performance still vivid, it was only a matter of time before I returned to have a crack at the title, and this year it fitted into the schedule nicely.<br />
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Without Clayton on the startline, my goal was to race solo the whole way. I knew I had great bike fitness coming off the back of the Vegas, but up to this point I had still never been able to race a 70.3 event solo, with either my mind or body holding me back from the performance I have been desperate to produce. I said it in the post-race interview, & to repeat myself, I think there has been hints of this performance in Port in my racing all year, and a wire-to-wire 70.3 win was going to happen sooner or later.<i> Just hold it together FFS, okay?</i> Well it all worked out, and just like that I came away with the win I have been dreaming of.<br />
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The swim was a normal affair; swim firm, enough to break up the field but not enough to damage myself. I caused separation from all but Joey Lampe, who's cheekily taken a swim bonus from me already this year, so I had to stay vigilant coming into the beach to make sure he didn't snatch this one from me either. Like Joey was probably thinking in Boulder Peak, every dollar counts when you're a young pro! <span style="font-size: xx-small;">No stress Joey, I still love you.</span><br />
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I wanted to show dominance on the bike straight away, and I got a small gap on Joey but he still had me in sights until the first turnaround at 22km. I felt great, and just rode to power & tried to not let the rough roads bother me, just maintaining nice strong circles with my feet. Joey soon dropped off after this and I was on my own. The power was good and I was confident. At the half way point, I think I had 2-3minutes on the next athlete through, top lad Tom Davison who's been showing authority on the bike all year. I was in my element, loving every second of the effort.<br />
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Lap two went by fast, mixing it up with the age groupers on their first lap, riding down the centerline to avoid collisions<i> but</i> taking advantage of a cheeky little slipstream when the opportunity was there. My Felt IA was the goods, I couldn't ask for a better collaboration between power, comfort & speed from a pushbike, and I was getting off on how many people were potentially admiring it as I rode past. Okay cool ya jets, it is a sweet rig though. I can't wait to see how many of these will take to the roads next season. My Quarq power file from the ride can be viewed<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/393622672" target="_blank"> here</a>.<br />
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I think I came off the bike with five minutes on Tom Davison & Casey Munro, and about 7 minutes on the best runners in the field. I just did what I needed to do, and I held my lead by almost 4 minutes at the finish. I was really happy to see my buddy Sam Appleton claim his first 70.3 podium in 2nd place with a swift 1.15 run, and also great to see Joey Lampe hold onto third after a string of late season troubles <i>(hatecrew for life)</i>.<br />
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It feels great to finally get my 2nd 70.3 win up on the board, and I look forward to attempting more titles in the future. Thanks so much to those who sent a message my way after the race, it always makes a a good result feel that much greater. Cheers!<br />
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All photos thanks to....<br />
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<i><b><a href="http://www.portnews.com.au/" target="_blank">Port Macquarie News</a></b></i><br />
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<i><b>Delly Carr</b></i><br />
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<i><b>Grant Piper</b></i><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-14742808900518841562013-10-08T16:11:00.000+10:002013-10-08T16:12:30.952+10:00Felt IA, An Australian First!Last week I bought my IA into River City Cycles to give them an Australian 'first look'. The Felt Australia staff were present too, with this also being their first hands-on look at the new pushy (still not many around!). If you're heading to the Noosa tri in a few weeks, make sure to stop by the Felt expo stand to have a look at the bike for yourself. The photos and text are courtesy of Troy who works at the store...<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">This truly is a superbike - the level of sophistication and integration is phenomenal.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Building on the firm foundation of the successful Bayonet series, the new Dagger front end incorporates a shielded brake behind the cowl and internal routing for cables.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">What the wind sees</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The SMP Chrono is a shorter saddle, this may help on UCI compliant bikes to get the hips a bit further forward</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Gloss accents along with matte frame finish is a nice touch</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">This stem is not a production model. An interesting story though - the first basebar was damaged in transit and cracked on the first ride (was a proprietary basebar & stem for the IA). A new proprietary 31.8 stem was required which didn't yet exist. It was Tuesday, and Josh was racing the 'Vegas 70.3 on Sunday. On the phone to Jim Felt, he had a new stem made & fitted 48 hours later </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Side view of the integrated bento box. The whole cover is made from flexible silicone, the height matches the profile of the stem</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YeZZWWKn4E8/UlOetLiovTI/AAAAAAAAAs4/ZgfCRoXsGqY/s1600/1379812_511567178935460_1483362415_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YeZZWWKn4E8/UlOetLiovTI/AAAAAAAAAs4/ZgfCRoXsGqY/s640/1379812_511567178935460_1483362415_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Quick access is via the cut slit, the port is for a hydration hose that goes into an internal bladder. The bladder is not available yet on production bike</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">The cavity is voluminous - Josh states he can fit 7 gels in there (without the tube of course) ideal for Ironman distances - no more taping gels to your toptube!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">No, FRD is not Frog Racing Design, it's Felt Racing Development, which signifies this is their top tier product utilising TeXtreme 'Spread Tow' carbon fibre</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">You can see how much shielding there is for the front brake, with very little protrusion into the wind. The cowls are easily removed for access.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">A visual characteristic of the layup method of the TeXtreme carbon fibre, is the unique broad weave - very much like a chequered flag. This effect is far more noticeable in natural light. In short, TeXtreme fibres are more ribbon like in their shape (as opposed to rounded like regular fibres are) so they can be packed tighter with less void between them, to yield a stronger composite. More info here: </span><a href="http://www.feltbicycles.com/blog/?p=2812" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>www.feltbicycles.com/blog/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>?p=2812</a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Neat cable exit point. Needless to say all cabling is internal - mechanical or electric</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">The rear brake is nestled under the cowl</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Westy is like a big kid. Can't blame him - he's passionate about the bikes and Ironman (having raced about 500 of them </span><i class="_4-k1 img sp_2a7397 sx_29d9ed" style="background-color: white; background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yc/r/ERwAtiRKR7Q.png); background-position: -43px -697px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; display: inline-block; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; height: 16px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> ) he's reached legend status</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Seatpost simplicity. Bolts attach from each side, into a sliding captive nut plate inside the post, that sandwiches the frame and seatpost together. Large surface area for clamping reduces point loading and potential for overclamping. A clear cover clips into the slot, cut to length once you have your seat height</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">A bike like this, makes you want to put on a number again... hey boys? Josh won the 5150 in Galveston, Texas, less than two weeks ago. He took the bike with him to the dias, and was hounded by the paparazzi following the medal preso, all fawning over the IA. Not hard to see why</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-9735773621653086872013-09-30T22:53:00.000+10:002013-09-30T22:58:23.746+10:00First Win of 2013 in Galveston 5150 I crossed the line in Galveston last Sunday with great pleasure & some sense of certainty that I had actually won, but I couldn't be too sure. I had to wait and see for all the others to cross the line! I'll spin the yarn in the following...<br />
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Galveston was my last stop on my nomadic 5 month tour of the US & Europe. After 70.3 Worlds, I stuck around at a friends place in Las Vegas and waited until Ashleigh arrived in direct from London WTS. We planned a little respite together, and gave some service to our sponsors at the annual Interbike expo. It ended up being a whirlwind week full of debauchery, intoxication and gambling (just kidding, we're model triathletes), with no moment to spare or relax as intended. I even managed to squeeze in a supersprint race in Las Vegas to little success, but it was a lot of fun on these tired middle distance legs. I arrived in Galveston in pretty rough condition with a cold, and many missed hours of sleep & training, but still motivated to make up for a winless 2013. </div>
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When I arrived, the Galveston area was experiencing some large weather fronts getting pushed in from the North, dumping lots of rain and blowing enough wind to give Team Oracle another victory on the right day. Come race day, the RD decided it wasn't going to be safe to swim because of the choppy water so they called it off. By this point, I was so over the travel and still feeling ill that I didn't care what they did. I just wanted the race to be over with so I could get on that plane and start the journey home. </div>
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The format was to be a bike/run, with TT start at thirty second intervals. Being #1, I led off first and was chased all day. To be honest, I hardly new any of the athletes in the field, and was just interested in racing my own race. I was still in some reasonable biking shape, but was getting frustrated when I wasn't putting any time into the #2 athlete Daniel Bretscher. Turns out he was fresh off a second place finish in Ironman Wisconsin and also riding very well. We battled it out & even splitted the whole 40km in the heavy heavy crosswinds and uninteresting roads of Galveston. Daniel ended up riding only 5 seconds quicker than me, but we both rode considerably clear of the rest of the field. I felt as if I had a good ride considering my undesirable lead up to the race, and rode at 316 average watts (65kg race weight). You can view my power file <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/379923729" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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Onto the run, I knew I would have to put time into Daniel quickly to break his morale. The run course was really fun, full of corners, u-turns & technical sections. There were many chances to get some sort of split of the competition behind, and I knew I was putting time into Daniel but he kept pressure on me the whole way and made sure I delivered a honest performance to take the win. My travel buddy Brooks Cowan from Detroit was third. </div>
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In summary, good move from the RD to cancel the swim. I really enjoyed the format of the race, it kept me on edge the whole time not knowing where anyone else apart from #2 in the formation was. Would be interested in racing this format again, but a swim would need to be added of course! Any more RD's out there fancy on making another pro race a TT start? Any interest in Australia? Ahh anyway, keep dreaming. Here's a few shots!</div>
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Thanks to the community of Galveston for hosting such a good event. My homestay Bel & George were very accommodating, as well as the locals who shouted Brooks & I dinner, Kim & Steve, owners of the local tri shop who showed us around and all the athletes who came up for a chat. What a blast! For now, it's really good to be home, bring on the end of season races in Oz. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-6176524829737073652013-09-16T10:23:00.001+10:002013-09-16T10:30:20.627+10:00Vegas 70.3- Taking the Good With the BadWith a tear in my eye, I say goodbye to the 70.3 World Championship course in Las Vegas. As most people would know, the rotation of new 70.3 World Championship venues begins next year, making it the last year the event will be held on this spectacular course. If you've not read my race reports before, I always like to give a run down of the course with swim/bike/run maps & a short commentary on each, so please see <a href="http://joshuaamberger.blogspot.com/2012/09/7th-in-las-vegas-703-world-championships.html" target="_blank">my post from last year's race</a> if you need to be bought up to speed on the course. There's also the race video to watch to kick things off!<br />
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I'm still yet to report on my race from Hy-Vee the week prior, but I'll get around to that next. It is difficult to write about a topic when the culmination of a years' work leads to nothing but disappointment, so let it be known that I got a drafting penalty early on in the bike in Hy-Vee which put me out of the race. With the focus of 2013 however always being on Vegas, and Hy-Vee merely serving as a well-paying primer for Vegas, I still had my eyes on the Vegas prize. I had dreamt of the race in Vegas many times, trained to the thought of the course many more, and desired a spot on the podium every day. With my setback early in the year from a fibula stress fracture, I gave myself every opportunity to build into the season to peak in form by September. I think I got this part right, but my race tactics left me in the gutter, literally. I finished the race in 33rd, under a big shadow from last years 7th place.<br />
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The day started perfectly. I think I was tapped on the feet only once or twice during the swim. I lead the swim form start finish after a great start. I breathe to the left hand side, so I always like to start right so I can see the spread of athletes after the gun, and judge my position easily. I saw Andy Potts line up next to me, so I must have been in a good place. I started hard, had a clear lead to my left and set about keeping the pace high the entire time. Jan Frodeno told me after the race that the swim was fast & that he was hurting, so that makes me feel king beef. Swimming at the front isn't always easy, and it's never clear whether others behind are struggling from the pace or doing it easy, just slowly letting you burn your matches.<br />
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It had been raining all morning, and I was hoping it would have cleared up by the time we got onto the bikes so the Vegas weather could do what it does best. I typically have my best races in the heat, when the stress across all competitors is at it's highest. High hopes left me disappointed, but still eager to get on with the job. I had managed to split the swim considerably, but there was still a lot of pack meat about. There's some good climbs straight out of transition, which typically brings the workers up the front, showing portants of the 90km ride in just one section. It was Tim O'Donnell, Potts and myself up front. We swapped the lead a few times in the first 15 minutes or so and then we hit the first downhill. I was set up the week prior on the new <a href="http://www.feltbicycles.com/frd/" target="_blank">Felt IA</a>, and without this trying to sound like a salesman, it felt incredible. I got off the brakes and took the lead again, notching up top speed on the downhills. At this point in the race last year, I was probably second to third last wheel in the pack, but was now driving the pace up front. With the media cars and bikes around, this was a pretty amazing feeling. I think my cycling has been steadily improving the last couple years, but I had bought my best to this race. The next time I looked around to see what the situation of the pack was, I was by myself, entirely out of sight of anyone else.<br />
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Was this my race plan? Go all out, bust everyone up less than a quarter way into the bike leg and hit it off by myself? Please don't think I was stupid enough to think I could go at this course by myself, I always knew I would need a couple (minimum) athletes to work with to have gas left for a fast run on a hard course. But would could I do, it was a World Championship, and I was now out of sight. Jim Felt always tells me he's waiting for me to do a Craig Walton and go mental off the front and dominate the race. With this thought in my mind, I couldn't let the opportunity go so I went for it. I held my watts steady, tucked as aero as I could and jammed.<br />
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At the far turnaround, I could see there was now one large chase group that I wasn't gaining much time over. It had the momentum of Sebastian Kienle, so there was little chance I was going to extend my lead but I wasn't phased the slightest. I was committed to riding at the front and I did so until he caught me at the start of the longest climb on the course. Unfortunately, this was the first point in the race where my legs started to feel heavy. It was always going to be a huge ask to ride with him but I gave it a go and didn't ever come out the other side. My watts jacked up tantamount with lactic acid, and it was soon clear to me that this was the beginning of the end.<br />
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After this point I switched into survival mode, and only just made it to the end of the bike at the time the chase pack caught me. As soon as I got off the bike, I knew I had nothing to give for the run, and my legs sadly made it through the half-marathon. However, with a smile on my face, I could reflect on the fact that I seized on an opportunity to win. With some more experience and some more years in the legs, I have no doubts I'll be able to race in this manner and finish the job, but just not in 2013.<br />
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So with the long campaign to Las Vegas over, I look forward to finishing off the season in Australia and having fun with my training into these events. I thank everyone for their belief and support, and know I'll be working harder next year to make it all count.<br />
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Cheers!<br />
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All photos credit to<br />
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Paul Phillips / Competitive Imagine<br />
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and<br />
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Timothy Carlson / Slowtwitch<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-57620066614055928932013-08-15T23:51:00.001+10:002013-08-17T18:48:37.705+10:004th in Wiesbaden 70.3Time to get back into the blogging after a long mid-season blogattical. It seems to happen to everyone right!<br />
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On Sunday I competed in my only European race for the year, and probably the second most important race for me next to Las Vegas. It was the European 70.3 Championship held in Wiesbaden, just East of Frankfurt. I'm told it's where all the rich Frankfurtans live if that makes sense, or where the rich Wiesbadens who work in Frankfurt live. Anyway, it was an neat little place to visit, and only 15minutes taxi ride from Frankfurt airport if your driver shows enough zeal on the Autobahn. </div>
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I flew in on Friday from Vitoria (Spain) after completing part 1 of a heavy pre-Vegas block. I was a little fatigued on the start line, but made sure I had just enough freshness to be competitive in the race. Wiesbaden is notorious as being one of the hardest courses around, specifically the bike leg. It would be pointless to line up in such a competitive field only to deliver a sluggish performance. My main motivations behind starting the race was to race a field and course similar to what we will see in Las Vegas. </div>
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<b><u>The Course</u></b></div>
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The swim is a good change from the normal out and back course. There's a lot of corners to break the pack up and string things out. The only thing holding this course back is the 23c water temp, making wetsuits legal. WTC really needs to mature on this rule, 24c limit on wetsuits for pro's is embarrassing. I'd say the gaps in the field would have been a lot bigger if wetsuits were ruled out for this event. </div>
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The bike course is legit. The first 40km is mostly flat & rolling, with the next 50km massing up 1,500m of altitude gain alone. The whole course adds up to 1,634m (5,361ft). Tell me another 70.3 course that matches this, Las Vegas alone only tips over 1,000m of gain. When you're not climbing, you're descending through tiny towns and around hairpins corners. The longest climb was about 15minutes long, and you can view it as the one split in my data. I had no idea where I was going the whole business end of the course, most of it remains a blur, just following the wheel in front of me. </div>
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The run was one of the best courses I've done. Four laps is a good number for starters, and most of the course is on hard packed gravel and some asphalt road. Almost the entire course is shaded, and it's a nice 1-2% gradient on the way up and similar on the way down. There was also lots of crowd to keep everyone going!</div>
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<b><u>The Race</u></b></div>
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It was a deep water start to kick off the day. I like a deep water start, I'm normally pretty good at them but was a bit sluggish off the line and settled in third from the front. The pace was solid, so I didn't feel a need to swim up to the front once I settled into a rhythm. This was a good thing because my swim cap fell off after a few hundred metres and the rest of the swim looked something like this every time I breathed or tried to sight</div>
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My transition was shocking, I couldn't find my swim bag on the race to collect my gear for the ride, and I fumbled for a good 10 seconds with a careless wetsuit removal. I was #59 so finding my bag gave me grief in both transitions on the day. I started a ride a good couple hundred meters behind the pack so I had to dig to catch early. I think this took a little out of my legs and I had a hard time finding a rhythm most of the bike. We passed the 40km marker, still with the front group intact (Vasiliev brothers, Jan Frodeno & Matt Chrabot) but I thought things were improving. I was wrong! I was the lead wheel and we just began the ascent up a long 8km climb when Sudrie Sylvain came storming past. I knew he was a strong cyclist, so I hoped he bridged up to the group solo. I soon looked around and saw this exact view (probably seconds after this shot was taken) which was very disheartening.</div>
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We weren't blazing up the front, but we weren't mucking around either. It's just that when Sebe Kiele is racing, the whole dynamic changes. I think because conditions were very cool (around 17c / 60f) and the first 40km was relatively easy, a lot of athletes were able to latch onto him as he went neberwerfer up to the front. From this point until the end, the front group remained large, and the stupid hard course almost worked for the group instead of stretching things out. I think because the ups ad down were so frequent, athletes could sit in and recover for the next surge of pace. Athletes did drop off, but not many, and most of the key runners were left intact in the group. I though I must have been one of the weakest runners up the front, so I was happy to sit in and conserve as much as I could, which still wasn't much when Kienle is driving. The guy is just amazing. My ride data is <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/358269946" target="_blank">here</a> if anyone wants to look (race weight about 65kg). </div>
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Just before T2, we climbed and descended the 8km beast I mentioned earlier, and I think this is where the group split up the most. Beginning the descent, you could easily spot the guys who weren't confident on the downhills and were beginning to drop wheels. I did my best to tuck and quite easily made my way up to Kienle's wheel, topping out at 96kp/h (60mp/h), and hitting T2 within seconds of the leader. I was happy to be up the front at this point in the race, but I still didn't rate my chances for a medal or good result considering how many good runners I was up against. Be sure though that I wont be writing myself off this like this again. </div>
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Another fumble in finding my gear bag ensued but I quickly got my shoes on and was out the hatch with my mind focused on running my own race. Athletes were going blazers all around me, and Ritchie Nicholls looked like he was setting off for a 5km track race. Coincidentally, his fastest 5km lap around the course was clocked at 15.44, so it wouldn't surprise me if this was recorded on the first lap. </div>
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My legs felt good, but not great. It wasn't until I completed two laps that I felt I could begin lifting the pace, and once I did, I was catching athletes quickly on the uphill segments. I've been doing a lot of shallow hill reps specifically for the Vegas course, and I think this worked to my advantage in Wiesbaden. I was in 7th, then 6th, and by the last lap I could see 5th place in my sights. All the while, athletes were blowing up everywhere and the chasers were getting fewer by the lap. The only athlete running through from the second bunch was bike/run stud Boris Stein. I caught 5th within a couple of minutes after targeting him and then out of nowhere I saw Kienle, and ran up behind him within another couple of minutes. I must have been negative splitting the shit out of this course because I never run through the field! It felt like a career highlight passing Sebe, and at this point I was 4th with only 2km to go. I held my gaps until the finish and celebrated like a German in the month of October all the way to the line.</div>
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I couldn't be more thrilled with 4th in my first European Championship 70.3, and my performance on such hard course. From here, I'll work on my recovery and then do a final short push into Hy-Vee & Las Vegas. But all things are looking in check for the big tests, and I'm more motivated than ever to test myself at the World Championships. As always, thanks everyone for the support and please check back leading into the big one to see what I'm up to before the big day!</div>
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Photos available thanks too...</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: #999999;">@photo: Sebastian Kuhn / drehmomentede</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c2a47; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: #999999;">Daniel Kraft Fotografie</b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-44994602414934360942013-07-04T11:51:00.001+10:002013-07-04T11:52:33.099+10:004th in Buffalo Springs 70.3Buffalo Springs Lake (where the 70.3 is held) is a neat little spring-fed oasis is an otherwise barren and dessert landscape. It's really quite an amazing place, located just outside of Lubbock in Texas.<br />
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So essentially...</div>
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Jokes aside, it was a really cool event, made even better by our fun homestay setup in a student house. I traveled down with my Boulder housemate Jimmy Seear a couple days before the event. Immediately walking out of the airport doors, all one can smell is 'farm'. After some jokes we drove & settled into our homestay. </div>
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The race is notoriously difficult. I was told that some AG'ers refuse to compete in it and would rather do a full distance instead. While the landscape is very flat, the course is punctuated by massive canyons of erosion that the cycle & run courses dip in and out of. I had my own personal difficulties to deal with during the race, and one mistake led to another. I was dealt a 4 minute drafting penalty which cost me a spot on the podium.</div>
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The swim would be my only criticism of the race. It was 3-4 minutes short. I swam 19.58, probably a world record. The temperature was another nail in the metaphorical coffin of favorable opinions, with wetsuits deemed legal in 75.6f/24.2c water. This rule is a disgrace and needs to be changed, for pro's at least. </div>
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The bike course looks mundane but is really quite cool. It contrasts between flat open farm roads to the gorgeous canyons I spoke about before. The flat open spaces are mentally straining as one has to deal with average road surfaces, wind and a lack of landmarks. </div>
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The run course is one of the most joyfully painful & uncomfortable course I've done. Picturesque, but hard. Lots of steep grinding hills, nice lakeside sections and one long exposed grind up and down the 'energy lab'.</div>
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<b><u>The Race</u></b></div>
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This was never going to be an easy one to win. Guys like Greg Bennett, Terenzo Bozzone and Tim Reed were never going to be pushovers. The key to winning this was to build a lead a on the swim & bike and hold on in the run. </div>
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I managed to get an early gap on the swim rather easily, and had only Jimmy Seear come along for the ride. The water was so warm & uncomfortable that I thought about pulling out once I hit transition. The feeling of overheating was so repulsive that I just couldn't imagine getting on my bike & hammering. Lucky the outside air was only 20c at this point, and I felt normal upon taking the wetsuit off when I hit transition first.</div>
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On the bike, I felt good straight away, attacking the first couple of steep hills. I was comfortable & jamming the pace, thinking of nothing but establishing a lead. I dropped Jimmy after about 15minutes and was committed to the solo grind off the front, until I hit the first turnaround at 35minutes in. Because of short swim, my lead was less than normal and it seemed like the pack of contenders were closer than what they actually were because I had already slowed to a dead stop u-turning around the extremely narrow road. In the group was Mark Bowstead who was driving the pace, Greg Bennett, Tim Reed & Terenzo. <i>Mistake one. </i>Seeing all these great runners just behind, I immediately I lost the commitment of racing at the front and started to soft pedal (what a pussy!). I dropped my watts 50-60 points, and was caught about 15minutes later. In hindsight, I was probably riding the same pace if not quicker than the pack and this first mistake cost me the win if I could have held it together. </div>
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Within five minutes of being caught and settling in behind Bowstead, I was surprised by the technical official with a </div>
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in my face. <i>Second mistake.</i> Four minutes penalty, just like that. I'm an honest athlete, & I didn't think I was drafting. It was just an error in judgement between my perception of 10 meters and the officials. Greg Bennett was just behind me at the time & after the race he felt I had been hard done by. But without playing the victim, I kept my cool and kept on pushing hard behind Bowstead. By this point it was just us and Benno out front, so I thought a podium may have been still in sight if Terenzo & Reedy had a rough ride. I ended up taking the penalty at 80km and watched all my main competition fly by and off into the horizon within 2-3minutes. I entered transition by myself & remained strong in my will to chase down some positions. Here is my Quarq power file from the ride <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/336280452">http://connect.garmin.com/activity/336280452</a></div>
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The first couple of miles on the run were really rough. I felt uncoordinated & slow, but found my legs once I hit the steep rolling hills. Running down the hills was like a treadmill & it really helped my turnover. I built faster & faster and it turned to a really good feeling. I could see Bowstead in the distance and caught him at 10miles. I could see Terenzo was next but I was running out of real estate in the last two miles. There was no way I was going to catch him so I turned off the gas and cruised in for a fourth place.</div>
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Obviously the penalty dashed my shot of a podium finish, but a good progression of form from Boise was evident and I felt strong the whole day. The thing that hurts me the most was just not being able to 'race' the others. So lessons have been learned and another good test of the legs has been banked. This was only my third race finished of the year and I feel it will only keep getting better from here. </div>
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Next up is Boulder Peak 5150 on July 14. Thanks all for the support!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-88214166818583480802013-06-26T09:47:00.001+10:002013-06-26T09:47:34.823+10:00DA-liciousHere's a small gallery of my new custom DA1 from <a href="http://www.feltbicycles.com/" target="_blank">Felt Bicycles</a>, equipped with full <a href="http://www.sram.com/" target="_blank">Sram</a> Red gruppo, <a href="http://www.quarq.com/" target="_blank">Quarq</a> powermeter & <a href="http://www.zipp.com/" target="_blank">Zipp</a> 808/Super9 disc + VukaBull/VukaShift cockpit. I'm also using Keywin pedals & a Selle SMP 'Chrono' saddle.<br />
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I'll be racing it for the first time this weekend in the Buffalo Springs 70.3 in Lubbock TX. <br />
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Feel free to ask any questions about my set up below. I hope you like it!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-77510784607148105982013-06-18T03:34:00.004+10:002013-06-18T03:34:59.167+10:00Interview with X-Tri<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>...Twenty-four-year-old
Josh Amberger made a big splash during last year's 70.3 World Championships,
placing 7th in a race that wasn't even on his radar at the beginning of the
season. After an injury slowed the beginning of 2013, he has hit the ground
running with a 3rd place finish in Boise this past weekend. We caught up with
Josh after he finished up a swim session yesterday in Boulder...<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<b>Congrats on a great
race in Boise, how are you recovering?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Thank you! I am still new to the half distances, but one
thing I've noticed is the recovery gets quicker each time I race. Being 5 days
after the race, I am feeling pretty good. It was great to finally get out there
and race, I've had some bad luck this year with a stress fracture from over
training and a mechanical issue in my comeback event in St. Croix. I have been
training harder than ever this year and to finally get a good result is a big
relief for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<u><a href="http://www.xtri.com/features/detail/284-itemId.511715830.html" target="_blank">Please head over to X-Tri to read the full interview</a></u></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-22455815910674959652013-06-13T14:44:00.001+10:002013-06-14T04:06:20.995+10:003rd in Boise 70.3Third ain't first, but it's a fair start. This result come as a big relief for me, but most who've followed this blog would probably already know that. There happened to be 6x 70.3's staged around the world on the weekend, but the field in this race was by no means thin. There was $10,000 on offer for the win so one can always expect great athletes to show up. So... let's get down to the nitty gritty.<br />
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<u><b>The Course</b></u><br />
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Boise is basically a city sitting on a geographic crossroads. It's where the desert ends and the mountains start. Most locals thought that when the race first came to town they would be <i>treated</i> to a majestic mountainous course, but we got thrown out in the desert instead. With a unique 12pm start, we went from a cold 58f/14.4c snowmelt reservoir straight into a gargantuan 90f/32c desert headwind, then finished on an equally hot but lush river loop run course.<br />
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<i>The swim</i><br />
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This was a pretty straightforward swim course. You're a wombat if you got lost on this one.</div>
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<i>The Bike</i></div>
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<i>but really...</i></div>
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The bike course was brutally honest. As I said, we raced in a hot desert headwind/crosswind in full sun with 780m/2,560ft elevation gain. The elevation was gained on climbs that were mostly long grinds 6-10 minutes in length. There were very few rollers. The course was perfect for a swim/bike athlete, as the competition can only really see you once the entire 90km. <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/326097539#" target="_blank">Here's my file from my Quarq power meter.</a></div>
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<i>The Run</i></div>
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This was a two loop course. It was under shade for some parts, but exposed and windy on others. It's rather twisty so you can only catch a glimpse of your close competition on a couple of long straights and on two u-turns a lap. Kevin Taddonio got some footage of the run leg seen in the video below<br />
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<b><u>The Race</u></b><br />
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The field was thin on great swimmers. I knew this was a race I would have to ride at the front by myself or would be caught by a pack at some point. I was wrong on both accounts.<br />
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I ended up leading out of the water by 45 seconds to a small bunch of athletes. After about 10 minutes on the bike we were greeted by a long steady climb straight into the wind. When I was at the top of the climb I looked back and saw one athlete had broken clear from a group. I hadn't done a 70.3 since September 2012, so I was lacking the confidence needed to ride and entire 90km by myself. Naturally, I was excited by the prospect of sharing the workload with another athlete. I was joined after about 20 minutes by longtime hardman Bevan Docherty. Bonus. As he caught me there was a long sweeping turn, and I could see we had a good gap over Brent McMahon, the next athlete coming through who had also ridden off the group.<br />
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Bevan and I shared an even workload into the heavy wind until the turnaround point. The turnaround & the switch from head/cross to tail/cross winds can easily be seen in my heartrate data below.<br />
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After the turnaround, Bevan hit a rough patch and made it pretty clear that it was up to me to keep the time gap growing. I rode hard and confidently feeling pretty solid. I ended up taking the turn for the next 60minutes until out of nowhere I was flipped a<br />
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for a positioning violation. We were sent down the left hand side of the road on one part of the course. With this my natural riding side in Australia, I instinctively kept to the left of the road instead of the right. I was therefore blocking and had to make a stop start penalty at the next penalty box. Fortunately the next box was in T2 so I didn't have to lose time on the bike course, just in transition. After this, I was frustrated with myself & Bevan for sitting on, so I jammed the brakes and made him conduct a pass. It was about 15minutes from that point to transition and we both eased the watts considerably as we began sapping turns again (also palpable in the HR data).<br />
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Into T2, I made the quick scribble on the sheet of paper and was out transition 20seconds behind Bevan. I felt lighter on my feet than expected but still a little awkward. Brent McMahon ran me down quickly, probably within 15minutes and I sat in third for the remainder of the run until the finish. I found my legs a lot more on the second lap and had a nice buffer to 4th to enjoy the last minutes into the finish and play with the crowd. The run times from the race were typically very slow, reflective of the really hard cycle leg. There's still a lot more work left to do on the run, and I have an enhanced understanding of how much more I can push certain areas of the 70.3 distance in my next event. I think the bottom line is we can always go a little harder & faster than what we expect, and next time I wont be afraid to explore these limits a lot further.<br />
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Thanks so much to everyone for their kinds words since the race, it really means a lot. Also a special thanks to my homestay family Tim & Tony Ramey, for making my time in Boise so enjoyable. Cheers :)<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-86655434719089692972013-06-08T05:48:00.002+10:002013-06-08T05:51:08.879+10:00Boise 70.3 Preview<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's been a rough year for me to date. Everything started well in terms of training but a stress fracture put my plans to sleep at beginning of March. I missed a bunch of races and it took a while to get running again. My first race back at the St. Anthony's 5150 was a misfire in almost every way, and showed a slump in form from injury. In the St. Croix 70.3 a week later I was dealt a blow of bad luck with a flat & mechanical. I'm hoping to turn around my misfortunes tomorrow in the Boise 70.3, and finally get my 2013 season underway properly. </span><br />
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My first impressions of Boise are solid. It's the capital of Idaho, sits at 850m elevation and is surrounded by stunning geography & landscapes. I've been here only a couple of days but it feels more like a home to me than Boulder. I'm yet the check out the bike course, but the swim is in a stunningly clean snowmelt reservoir and the run is looped around a nice greenbelt along the Boise River. It's nice and hot here, we should be served temps in the 30's tomorrow. It's a 12noon start as well, a nice break from the early wake ups, which also insures we will be in the heat from the get-go. All my good 70.3's have been in the heat so I have a good feeling for tomorrow's race.</span><br />
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The field is srong here. I'm not going to say it's 'stacked' because apparently every 70.3 field ever is stacked. Some names lining up are Docherty, McMahon, Bell, Hoffman, Griffin, Millward, Reed (Matt), Lieto (Matt), Wurtele, Matthew<span style="line-height: 17px;">s, Twelsiek </span><i style="line-height: 17px;">et al. </i><span style="line-height: 17px;">I'll be trying to race this like I always do, be at the front of the race for as long as I can. This race is just one small part of bigger goal, and while I wont be expecting to be in red hot shape, I know my training has me in a good enough shape to take the win. Either way, it will still be progress for me considering the tardy start to the year I've had. This will also be my first ever race coming straight from altitude in Boulder, so I might even surprise myself. Here's to hoping!</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-59608396139532029202013-06-01T02:25:00.001+10:002013-06-01T02:25:05.753+10:00Boulder Canyon RunHere's another training video from my block in Boulder CO, please watch, enjoy & share!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-76236172998070121822013-05-21T07:13:00.001+10:002013-05-21T07:13:33.475+10:00Swimming in St. Croix<br />
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Please excuse the bad quality, had some issues with some old firmware on my camera & had to make a file conversion so I lost some quality.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2pTVcLXYYyQ" width="459"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-28817654255254812692013-05-18T04:36:00.001+10:002013-05-18T05:01:10.861+10:00Slower Start in St. Croix 70.3It's been 12 days since the 70.3 in St. Croix. Predictably, the elapsed time between then and the tardy publication of this blog simply means that things didn't go my way. So without dwelling on any negatives I'll fire up the narrative.<br />
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The Course in St. Croix is amazing.<br />
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A crystal clear harbor swim to start the day<br />
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RELENTLESS 90km cycle. Kind of multi-loop, but not entirely (which I didn't finish)<br />
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And a challenging gravel, grass & asphalt mixed run (which I never started)<br />
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Typically, the roads in St. Croix are good.<br />
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I'm sure a large percentage of the Island's small GDP is spent on laying hot mix, largely with the triathlon in mind. The triathlon is big tourism for the island, so I would imagine having goods roads is important to them.<br />
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Unfortunately though, when I say 'typically', it does not mean entirely. And the conditions of the 'other' roads looks like this<br />
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...which ultimately left me feeling something like this<br />
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About three days before the race, the road sweepers looped the course and made a good job of clearing debris, restoring the portions of road above to an acceptable racing surface. Though as Murphy's Law suggests, everything that can go wrong will, and the island had heavy rains & storms the night before the event.<br />
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We were now doing a partial cyclocross race, on TT bikes.<br />
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70.3's for me are still a fun event, something I don't take all too serious. I'm still leaning how to race them, and I've still only done three 70.3's so far. Consequently, I don't put too much pressure on myself when I race them, and I tend to be overly relaxed before the start. Even with the roads in such bad shape I was still calm. I guess everyone had to race over the same course so it was fair game.<br />
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The swim was pretty uneventful. I didn't get the greatest start and wasn't really that motivated the use too much gas early on in the race. The bike was the deal maker (or breaker in my case). I swam comfortably & was happy to let most of the main players sit on my feet. I led out and just tried to keep my heartrate as low as possible through transition.<i> (this is the only race picture I have)</i><br />
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Once on the bike, Ben Collins took the lead immediately, and I knew it was my ticket to stay with him as long as possible. He was jamming hard, and every five minutes or so I would look behind to see fewer athletes holding on, and by 20minutes into the race it was just him and I.<br />
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They say the race doesn't start in St. Croix until you hit 'The Beast'. The Beast is a significant climb, .9miles in length with an average gradient of 15%. It even hits 26% for some meters. Ben & I got to The Beast in 47minutes, having already gained 1,300ft in elevation with an average power of 293w. We climbed The Beast side by side, matching breath for pedal stroke. It was one of the most surreal feelings I've ever had in racing. Out of the saddle the whole time, looking around the corners, longing for the top; every second of the climb was garnished in pain. A few words of consternation were sworn by Ben, I think because he actually hadn't seen the climb before he started the race. This made me feel relaxed and composed, like I was in control. I knew if I stayed with Ben for the climb, I could stay with him the whole race. We ascended The Beast in exactly 6minutes, with 500ft of gain and an average power of 363w. That's a 5.65w/kg effort in the middle of a 70.3.<br />
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We started descending The Beast, and this is where my effort stopped with a flat tyre. I felt all like<br />
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...but had plenty of time to compose my thoughts as I waited 10minutes for some spares to arrive. The spares truck didn't have any tyre levers, so there went another 5minutes to change & pump up the tyre. After I stopped with the flat, it was a good 5minutes until the next competitors rode past. It was at this point I realised that two main players in Dirk Bockel & Tim O'Donnell had also dropped out from flats.<br />
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So I got back on my Felt, struggling somewhat for motivation to get myself back in the race. I was always going to finish, but just with a little less effort than I would have given racing for the win up the road with Ben Collins. Ben went on to ride a 2.14 90km. This was two minutes faster than what Lance Armstrong rode the course in last year. An absolute phenomenal effort, one which obviously cost him the race. He passed out later on in the run, making it Deja Vu for the second time this year (see San Juan 70.3). He wrote on his blog that he rode conservatively; maybe a little meat missing between the ears there Ben.<br />
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Anyhow, about 10minutes after flat change, I started catching athletes until my gear lever failed and I was stuck in the 11 on the back, which was dire on this course to say the least. It was at this point I was all like<br />
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...and decided to retire from the race. Without coincidence, this is a picture of Dirk after his flat earlier on.<br />
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So this narrative still leaves me without a result for the first half of 2013. Expect to see me start in Boise 70.3 in three weeks time looking to make amends.<br />
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Thanks Amigos, take care<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-78516941925673459082013-05-04T05:14:00.001+10:002013-05-04T05:14:12.882+10:00Slow Start in St. Anthony's - Prelude to St. Croix10 weeks after my stress fracture & 28 days after my first run, I threw myself into one of the most competitive non-drafts of the season, the St. Anthony's 5150. I'd by lying if I didn't say I wasn't disappointed with my dismal 21st place, but I'm happy that I've now got an honest measure of my race fitness, and it gives me confidence that I can build my results into the season. Full results are <a href="http://edge.raceresults360.com/satriathlon13/#/results::1367650345687" target="_blank">here</a> (skip across to the 'professional' tab).<br />
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I was 4th in the race last year, so I was hoping for an equal or better performance. Considering the training I've done & fitness I've experienced this year, I thought this result was possible. But when I put some context in place, it brings me down to earth a little. There was no way I was ever going to be able to run close to some of the best names in the sport from ITU only four weeks past a fracture & on my first outing of a season. The other point of context is that I literally didn't sleep for the five days leading into the race, the Australia-East Coast USA travel really bought out in the inner insomniac. So, moving along to the race...<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(this is my first race report of the year & it's pretty boring, give me a few goes to ease into some more entertaining prose)</span></div>
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Winds kicked up a nice swell in the Tampa Bay which made the swim conditions pretty tough. There was $1,000 up as a swim preme, and I knew the conditions would play into my hands to get the much needed bonus. The start was the standard affair of creeping forward before the gun, but I managed to get in front pretty quickly even though I wasn't one of the dicks sculling forward (there really need to be some sort of control over this). I think I was only touched once on the feet before I managed to swim off the front so I was really happy with this. A trouble free swim is always a good way to start the race!</div>
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I exited the water with a gap & took the prime. I got to my bike quickly and was really excited to see what kind of bike shape I was in. I felt fantastic at the start of the bike and led the race for a good 10min before Cam Dye (the Spartacus of trithletes) rode up next to me. With the stagger rule the way it is in the States, I had to ride side by side with him if I wanted a chance to ride with him the whole way; there's no 10m rules to freshen the legs here. He hurt me pretty quickly, and I was shelved after a few minutes. After this everything slowed down and I was caught by the chase pack after about 25minutes. I sat up the front of the chase pack with some heavy legs until T2. There was a good 50-80 watt difference in effort between the start of the ride and the time I hit transition. </div>
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As expected the run was a bit of a struggle, with my split sitting just under 36minutes. I felt as limp as a wet flannel the first few KM's on the run, but I was happy to finish stronger than what I started. I could have started the run with fresher legs had I sat further back in the stagger pack on the bike, but there was little point to this in the first race back when I was looking as much for fitness than a good result. I'm assuming this race has probably given me more fitness than other single session this year. Playing this fitness card is also what has bought me to St. Croix for the 70.3 this weekend.<br />
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St. Croix is down in the Caribbean, and is one of the oldest races on the circuit. It thoughtfully doubles as perhaps the hardest race on the circuit as well! This island is literally a steaming hot wok of pain. It's hot, humid, windy and mountainous. On a course like this, it's almost like you race yourself to the finish, not your competition. So if the 10km off the bike on the weekend was hard, of course a 21.1km run is going to hurt. But while I'm here to win, I'm here to really consolidate some race fitness and actually feel like my training has had some purpose. So I'm going to leave it at that, and hopefully check back with some good news after the race.<br />
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Here's some shots of the island!<br />
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The view from the homestay</div>
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Swim course with Burgs, Will Clarke & Clark Ellice </div>
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This is part of the course, aptly named 'The Beast'. The climb is .7miles long & at 14-26% gradient</div>
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Unfortunately, this is the local style</div>
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Local swim pool</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-37364986699637883082013-04-25T21:22:00.002+10:002013-04-25T21:22:34.330+10:00Feeble Fibula Fracture Gone but not Forgotten!So it seems I have become unfamiliar with this blogging interface & the prose of the English language, so excuse me while I reacquaint myself after a long absence! It's been that long that I have actually written this blog 100 times in my head, and also forgotten it 100 times over. So without further delay, let's get to the nitty gritty!<br />
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The skinny on my injury was that I was diagnosed with a minor stress fracture in my proximal fibula (just below the knee) on week 6 of a 6 week training block. At the end of the week, I was supposed to fly to San Francisco to compete in my season opener at Escape From Alcatraz (won by Spanish amigo Javier Gomez). I was also going to press on to Puerto Rico two weeks later to race the San Juan 70.3. The injury was a big blow for me. I was training & recovering very well, so when the fracture happened literally overnight it was a huge shock. It was going to be amazing to test myself & my form against Javier, and I had organised to meet a couple of my new sponsors over there. In short, a great opportunity missed but I had to focus on getting my season back on track.<br />
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When the fracture was diagnosed exactly 10 days before the race in Alcatraz, opinion amongst the medical staff was that there was a chance I could still race, but that I had to avoid running up until the event. The nature of the fibula bone such that it is relatively unaffected by weight bearing compared to the tibia, & that it's function is geared towards anchoring supporting muscles & neural structures (I'm not Pro as this stuff so please forgive me if you're slapping your face right now). So ultimately it was theorised that it was a low grade fracture in a non-weight bearing bone, allowing me to have a minimum of two weeks off, that I could race if I chose to, and that it would be a maximum lay off time of four weeks. I could do normal swimming & cycling around this.<br />
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With the advice given to me, I chose not to race Alcatraz & San Juan. It was very early season (& still is), and if I didn't let it heal properly I was worried that it could plague me all year. I opted to take the maximum healing time of four weeks off so I could give myself the best chance for the season. The first week off was tough on the mind. I had planned this as a recovery week anyway so it suited, & I really didn't do much at all. The next weeks were okay, I got plenty of cycling in & I was riding up to 24hours a week. I thought that I may as well keep consolidating my base training! Eventually, the end of week four rolled around & I was pretty eager to get out for a run.<br />
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I started out very slow & very short. My first run back was only 5 minutes long. I waited two days and then ran again for seven minutes. Both of these runs were pain free, but the day following my second run the pain returned. I was freaking out & could see my season disappearing before me. I assumed the worse, that I had reopened the fracture. I was even thinking about places to disappear on a solitary holiday too... it was a very bleak feeling! I restarted the process of consultations & I saw an entire new team of therapists. Experience in the past tells me that if any advice from professionals doesn't work the first time, it's not going to work the second time. My prescribed four weeks of 'just rest' wasn't going to heal my injury!<br />
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I went and saw Ashley Mahoney (super podiatrist), who actually fixed my previous injury to my achilles two years earlier. Basically we've both concluded that if I get injured again I'll just go straight back to him. This guy is simply amazing. Over an hour long consultation (in a park at Burleigh Heads, how cool) he diagnosed the cause of the injury and mapped out a plan for recovery. Essentially, my peroneal nerve and surrounding soft tissue was brutal tight and my fibula head was locked up in the knee capsule. This was all new to me, none of my previous therapists had thought to check this out. So while I had done the rest, and the bone had healed in this rest period, the root cause of the fracture remained. Ultimately, all I had to do was work out this tightness, release the capsule & I would be sweet. After hearing this is was simple,<br />
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Within two weeks of seeing Ashley I had run a 20km week. The next week I ran 32km, and the following week (last week) I ran 50km. There has been no hints of pain and I'm well and truly on my way back to race capacity & full training volume! :) :) :)<br />
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So this all brings me to my next event & new season opener, the St. Anthony's 5150 in St. Petersburg FL this weekend. I left Australia a couple of days ago and will now be in the US & Europe until later September. I'll be backing up next weekend with St. Croix 70.3 too.<br />
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I'll write another blog in the coming days with my feeling about the race, and my path for the months ahead. Thanks a lot for reading!!!<br />
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Cheers, Josh<br />
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<i>I have since had a hair cut</i><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-67688517887868327112013-02-27T13:18:00.001+10:002013-02-27T13:18:35.833+10:00Delay's contempt, but still looking forward. It is with a heavy heart that I report I cannot start the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon this week and the San Juan 70.3 two weeks following. Within the last week I've come down with a stress fracture in my proximal fibula and have to put my season openers on ice. For the cognitively advanced among us, the nature of my injury is of;<br />
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<i>localised bone marrow oedema within the medullary cavity of the proximal left fibula with undisplaced transverse microtrabecular fractures consistent with stress fractures. No cortical fracture or displaced injury. There is minor oedema extrending into the surrounding soft tissues in the peroneal compartment and the lateral aspect of the lateral head of the gastrocnemius. The adjacent tibia is intact with no focal bone marrow oedema or stress response. </i></div>
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I have been in such great shape, and the fracture happened very very suddenly within 24 hours of feeling the fragments of pain in/around my fibula. I was in my last week of training of a heavy six week block, a consecutive amount of training I'd never attempted before without intermittent recovery. It's sad that it's happened, but I can already draw positives, knowing I've know got an understanding of my training limitations for the future. Obviously I can't test my racing form yet, but I still have a lot of time to heal and consolidate my base training before attempting my scheduled races in late Spring.<br />
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I'm really gutted I can't race Escape & San Juan, 'Alcatraz' has been a race I've always wanted to do and I know I could have shown some early season dominance in San Juan. But as the blog title suggests, I'm very much looking forward. I'm in this game for the long haul and I'm lucky that fibula stress fractures aren't the worst injuries in the world. This crazy triathlon train ride stops & starts, and an express train to the top is rare. I understand there are highs & lows along the way, and must use all the knowledge I attain to stack myself up towards to the top.<br />
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In the meantime, this pony was ready to race but now unfortunately must be stabled.<br />
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And here's some more hardware shots of some of my new kit (all have been posted on Twitter prior to this)</div>
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Thanks for reading, hopefully I'll have some positive injury updates int he coming weeks.<br />
Cheers<br />
Burgs<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-76763390516449145662013-02-10T21:30:00.002+10:002013-02-11T13:07:04.071+10:00New Partners & Base Miles (cont.)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Salutations endurance enthusiasts and Tri minions everywhere, thanks for tuning in.</div>
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Another exciting sponsor announcement happened this week with my inclusion in the fantastic team over at TYR.<br />
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TYR is the gold standard in everything waterborne (excluding Giardia and the like). Wetsuits, swimsuits, swimskins, trisuits, goggles, even down to the triathletes pool tool of choice, the hand paddle. I'm really excited to be a part of the brand, and I'll be joining top lads and chicks like Crowie, Pete Jacobs, Andy Potts, Sarah Haskins & Rinny Carfrae. Stop #1 in my dirty fast (©Tim Don) Freak of Nature wetsuit is the cold water swim in San Francisco for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon on March 3. <br />
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<i>Please excuse the overly intense grimace and zeal of me putting on my new suit</i></div>
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In terms of training, I've never been fitter and more capable of a big workload than I presently have been in 2013. I'm backing up lots of miles week after week and recovery time has been very quick. I've skipped a lot of early season Oceania & Australian racing to focus on consolidating a good base block, and I'm really pleased with the outcomes in my training thus far. I'd also like to think that my dilligent and concerted effort towards training and racing last year has meant I'm still building on the new level of fitness I found last year. Here's a weekly session I've been doing, to give an idea of what I've been up to!<br />
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Each Thursday I head out of 200km (124.3mi) of solo cycling, with a 60-90min TT wedged in (duration depending on how I feel). I prefer to do sessions like this by myself because the demands of such a long session is quite great, and I'd rather my session not get corrupted by another athletes stengths or weaknessess. In a race I can only rely on myself for motivation & performance, and I think it's important to do a great deal of key sessions forcing this mentality on myself. <br />
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This session is done on a Thursday to finish off my training week, which is a 7 day cycle consisting of 6 days on and 1 day off. When I ride long like this, I'll always like to do a lot of climbing. This particular ride included 3,157m (10,358ft) of altitude gain, but I will only ever start the TT once all the big climbs out of the way. On this particular loop I started the 60min TT at 110km, after 3hours 50mins of riding time. The 60minute TT saw me complete 41.6km into head & crosswinds. This was done in zone 3, around 155bpm heart rate for the whole hour. Total ride time was 6h29m, and it was topped off with a 30minute run off the bike!<br />
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The loop I did started at my home in Brisbane north, and I was going to go up Mt. Glorious, down the backside, past Sommerset Dam into Kilcoy, then back up Mt. Mee, through Dayboro and Samford before finishing up. However I got up to Mt. Glorious & found out the road was closed from landslides from the recent floods <a href="http://joshuaamberger.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/yep-my-city-and-my-state-in-underwater.html" target="_blank">(Mt. Glorious is always going down, check out this post from two years ago)</a>. I quickly had to re-route and head in another direction. The link to my training file is below (this week I'll have my Quarq!!!).<br />
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<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/270785523" target="_blank">200km w/60min TT by hey_burgs at Garmin Connect - Details</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-41915209822164840722013-01-18T20:07:00.000+10:002013-01-19T09:35:25.429+10:002013, New Partners & Base MilesHappy new year to all triathlon minions everywhere. For me, 2013 is off to a good start.<br />
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Firstly, it's my pleasure to welcome the support of Felt, Sram, Zipp and Quarq for 2013 and beyond. As I continue to cement my footing in this wonderful sport of ours, it is very warming to know that there's companies out there watching what I'm doing, and I'm immensely proud to be apart of each brand. Please see the press releases over at the Felt blog & Trizone, links below<br />
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<a href="http://www.feltbicycles.com/blog/?p=2704&fb_action_ids=10151384513790709&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210151384513790709%22:513954971978601}&action_type_map={%2210151384513790709%22:%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map=[]">Felt</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.trizone.com.au/20130116/amberger-signs-with-sram-zipp-and-quarq/">Sram, Zipp & Quarq</a><br />
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I saw in the new year with my family in New Zealand. Both my parents were born over in Christchurch, so we have spent much time going back and forth throughout the years. While I love my family, I bought along my push bike, running shoes and pool gear to escape the tyrannies of spending every waking moment with them! So I got stuck into a ton of training which marked the beginning of my 2013 base miles. It's such a beautiful part of the world, and it was fantastic to spend a lot of time on the roads. Here's some shots of the holiday, and some files below of some of my sessions over the past weeks. PS- A holiday to New Zealand is never complete without a 134m bungy jump at Nevis in Queenstown!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Embarrassing family holiday <span style="font-size: large;">moment #1- </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b><u><span style="font-size: small;">My sister did a better bungy dive than me</span></u></span><u><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></u>...<br />
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<u> And managed to get hoisted up the right way!</u></div>
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To keep the adventure going, we got stuck into some white water rafting (I'm front right)<br />
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We also had fresh snow in Wanaka (keep in mind it's Summer in NZ), and I managed to cycle up to the snow on one of the passes.<br />
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... so the training I was talking about.<br />
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I caught up with Kiwi stalwart Bryan Rhodes for a 200km ride, and a good fish & chips stop halfway<br />
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Here's the loop (if someone knows how to get the old Garmin Connect embedded image/link thing, please share!)<br />
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<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/259895566#.UPnaUX0P9Us.blogger">CHCH - Akaroa - CHCH by hey_burgs at Garmin Connect - Details</a><br />
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And some other loops in NZ<br />
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<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/259892114#.UPna6sjP2CE.blogger">Queenstown to Lindis Pass by hey_burgs at Garmin Connect - Details</a><br />
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<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/259892150#.UPnak3WveWU.blogger">Wanaka To Queenstown Via Cromwell w/ Crown Range by hey_burgs at Garmin Connect - Details</a><br />
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And some other loops from home<br />
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<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/263225182#.UPnbHMiKy5c.blogger">Bunya-Samford Run Loop by hey_burgs at Garmin Connect - Details</a><br />
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<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/263215250#.UPnbS7aRciI.blogger">Robina-Wooyung Loop by hey_burgs at Garmin Connect - Details</a><br />
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And there's a whole lot more work to come! I hope to be blogging a lot more in 2013, so please come back often if inclined!<br />
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Cheers & all the best for the year.<br />
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Josh<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-36631351615791982772012-12-11T22:19:00.001+10:002012-12-12T10:00:58.993+10:00Noosa, Hamilton Island, Off-Season & Retroactive BloggingMy blog has been neither here nor there the last couple of months, so a tip of the hat goes to those still checking back for updates!<br />
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Winding the clock back, I had three consecutive events in November that I wanted to hit hard so I could finish off the fantastic year. They were going to be the Noosa Tri, Hamilton Island Tri and the Endeavour 500km Road Relay for a bit of camaraderie and fun. The short version is that neither of these three really worked out. Let's begin with Noosa.<br />
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The Noosa Tri is a stalwart on the Aussie calendar, a must do race and a perennial goal of mine. 2012 was the first year I truly felt I was at a level where I could win it, and my lead up to the race was perfect. My brief return to ITU racing in October for the Auckland World Champs did wonders for my body, & the change in training volume & intensity really lifted my strength & speed. I was doing my local TT circuit in record times each lap, & I was swimming & running just as well. Though as the saying goes, shit happens, and I fell sick about four days out from the race. My condition was so average that on race morning, I was playing with not starting up until about 15minutes before the race. If it were any other race I would have scratched before the start, and only my respect & love for Noosa got me on the start line. My body held up for about 30minutes of racing before things started to slow down & and I decided to call it a day. This photo is all the evidence I have<br />
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Sadly, the Hamilton Island Tri was much of the same. My illness continued for another 5 days or so, and my race shape had withered substantially. Hamilton Island is only a sprint distance race, but it's an ultra brutal & demanding course that commands 100% of your stamina and focus, and I didn't have much of these two things left. For a small race and almost no prizemoney on offer, it had a surprisingly strong field. I ended up coming in 4th, and had a camera on my bike to document the evidence. Check it out below<br />
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The final event of the season was to be a 500km road running relay with a bunch of lads for charity. After two bad weekends in a row I decided to withdraw from the event and start my break a week earlier. Though I have a huge love for the relay, so I went along for the three days to help out and give the lads some support. I also documented some playful footage of the event and here's what I came up with!<br />
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The final note of the blog are pictures from my camping holiday with Ashleigh on the majestic & beautiful Moreton Island. No roads, no cell signal, no power, few amenities... just one big sand playground. I'll let the pictures do the talking.<br />
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So you might have noticed that I've penciled in my first races of the season. Until then, it's all about the miles of trials & the trials of miles. Thanks for reading!<br />
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JoshAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214534402953303974.post-83255084684724736762012-11-01T12:34:00.002+10:002012-11-01T12:34:35.223+10:00Auckland U23 World's, the Bastion of ITU<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I said a lot in my race preview below about how I came to be on the team, and about my expectations for the race. I'm not going to go into that again, but looking back, I can say that while I only somewhat delivered for my person, I totally delivered for the team. I finished 11th, & completed the full Australian team results of 1st, 5th & 10th. This result is mighty, and the world has certainly taken note. People may have doubted my position in the team or wrote me off as a contender, but it never bothered me and still doesn't. </div>
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I say I only somewhat delivered for myself, because my run clearly let me down. But this does not make me unhappy. I gave myself every opportunity to be ready with the time I had available, and my tactics and execution on race day were perfect. Come to think of it, the word unhappy is not pertinent in any context when talking about Auckland. Why? Because I had an absolute blast. It was hands down one of the best racing experiences I've had in Triathlon, and I have no regrets of taking the opportunity to race.</div>
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The course was sublime. The location and ambient city vibe was majestic. The crowd was inspiring. This is why I have called Auckland the bastion of ITU racing, because this city has set the bar for ITU events to come. </div>
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A lot of old friends and competitors asked me at some point if I was returning to ITU racing. To answer frankly, I'm not, but I'll continue to compete in a few one offs. I don't want to close this chapter just yet. Part of the reason why I stopped ITU racing was that I lost my love and passion for the format. I was angry and frustrated during and after every race, and there was nothing to inspire me to continue. I had been ostracised and kicked from team after team, & removed from funding. Ultimately I had to move to something different to consolidate my love for the sport. Auckland however showed me that there is still opportunities to enjoy ITU, and that the ITU can still turn it on when it wants to. </div>
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So cheers to Aaron Royle, world u23 champion. Congratulations mate. </div>
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<b><u>The Course</u></b></div>
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Swim: Nice two lap swim in chilly 14 Celsius water. Clean harbor water, a little swell and some tidal current. Not overly hard, but certainly not easy.</div>
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Bike: Eight laps of sting. Very technical, very hilly. Strong legs and very good skills needed to stay fresh on this course.</div>
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Run: Four laps, exposed to winds, mild gradient and three u-turns a lap just to drop some extra sting in the legs.</div>
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<b><u>The Evidence</u></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.triathlon.org/news/article/australias_aaron_royle_too_strong_in_2012_under23_itu_world_championship/">Race video at this link</a></b></div>
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^having some end of season weight problems in this picture</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vu_QIPLYALo/UJHewvYC_9I/AAAAAAAAACc/iFRRHWwi6JA/s1600/299346_400984683308609_1027438530_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vu_QIPLYALo/UJHewvYC_9I/AAAAAAAAACc/iFRRHWwi6JA/s640/299346_400984683308609_1027438530_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AjuOrFschXk/UJHe1rU_aCI/AAAAAAAAADA/92IZd3XDrF4/s1600/560770_432606353453108_1234375203_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AjuOrFschXk/UJHe1rU_aCI/AAAAAAAAADA/92IZd3XDrF4/s640/560770_432606353453108_1234375203_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>(thanks to all who's pictures I've poached)</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595095124348111061noreply@blogger.com1