Monday, October 15, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Race 6 - Portarlington
It was with heavy hearts that we found ourselves at the final race for yet another season. This year, it was in Portarlington.
Brendo had managed to score us some awesome digs for the weekend (thanks Mark's parents!) so we were only a 10 minute walk from the Start/Finish. Of course, this didn't stop us leaving it a little too fine and having to rush to the transition and hastily stash our stuff before heading for the start...
The swim was glorious! Nice and flat, with just a healthy dash of two-stroke at the second buoy. Honestly, it was so good that Cory only retched twice for the whole 400m! Brendo donned the wetsuit, whereas Pauly and Cory were Team Orca in their matching TriSuits. Paul was still feeling very self-conscious being dressed in it, but after the race all that was swept aside when he realised how good they are.
Paul's other (no so) secret weapon was his new italian-bling bike. It looked the goods, as did he on it! As usual, this supposedly-flat route had enough undulations to sort the sheep from the goats, although everyone suffered from the narrow road and heaps of juniors to avoid (their wave was before ours).
After the final transition it was to the run, again over a few hills. Cory favoured the grass to spare his knee and it worked - he managed to complete a whole tri without having to stop with knee soreness.
The crew were waiting down by the finish lane so they could spy each of the runners coming home down the hill before the sharp right turn to come up the finish race.
And, as usual, Cory came home in good time. He was gloating until he received an SMS from Mick, who, although not competing in the Tri, had gone for a run around his place in record time. Paul came home strong and Brendo finished well.
The Gatorade leg was a doddle, when compared to the previous race's Olympic distance. OK... not quite a doddle, but it was easier. The swim was great and Naomi really felt in the zone. The 26km ride was tough. Naomi couldn't understand how 20km of it could have possibly been uphill and into the wind! However, the first and last thirds of it felt OK - the middle... well, I can't type those words in this forum.
The rest of the crew hooked up with Cory and Nai's friend Andrea and we soaked in the sights. It was awesome watching people not taking enough time in transition and dropping their $3,000 carbon bikes. Crazy!
Naomi made very good time - she's just getting better and better.
Next step for her, Paul and Mick is the 15.2km Run for the Kids. Cory will be doing it too, but pushing Genevieve in the jogger, so only the 3.4km route.
Brendo had managed to score us some awesome digs for the weekend (thanks Mark's parents!) so we were only a 10 minute walk from the Start/Finish. Of course, this didn't stop us leaving it a little too fine and having to rush to the transition and hastily stash our stuff before heading for the start...
The swim was glorious! Nice and flat, with just a healthy dash of two-stroke at the second buoy. Honestly, it was so good that Cory only retched twice for the whole 400m! Brendo donned the wetsuit, whereas Pauly and Cory were Team Orca in their matching TriSuits. Paul was still feeling very self-conscious being dressed in it, but after the race all that was swept aside when he realised how good they are.
Paul's other (no so) secret weapon was his new italian-bling bike. It looked the goods, as did he on it! As usual, this supposedly-flat route had enough undulations to sort the sheep from the goats, although everyone suffered from the narrow road and heaps of juniors to avoid (their wave was before ours).
After the final transition it was to the run, again over a few hills. Cory favoured the grass to spare his knee and it worked - he managed to complete a whole tri without having to stop with knee soreness.
The crew were waiting down by the finish lane so they could spy each of the runners coming home down the hill before the sharp right turn to come up the finish race.
And, as usual, Cory came home in good time. He was gloating until he received an SMS from Mick, who, although not competing in the Tri, had gone for a run around his place in record time. Paul came home strong and Brendo finished well.
The Gatorade leg was a doddle, when compared to the previous race's Olympic distance. OK... not quite a doddle, but it was easier. The swim was great and Naomi really felt in the zone. The 26km ride was tough. Naomi couldn't understand how 20km of it could have possibly been uphill and into the wind! However, the first and last thirds of it felt OK - the middle... well, I can't type those words in this forum.
The rest of the crew hooked up with Cory and Nai's friend Andrea and we soaked in the sights. It was awesome watching people not taking enough time in transition and dropping their $3,000 carbon bikes. Crazy!
Naomi made very good time - she's just getting better and better.
Next step for her, Paul and Mick is the 15.2km Run for the Kids. Cory will be doing it too, but pushing Genevieve in the jogger, so only the 3.4km route.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Race 5 - Geelong
We all had an early start (ok... everyone except Brendo) to head on down the freeway to Geelong. Unlike the previous year, this year's conditions were almost as perfect as you could hope for.
Cory was debuting is new Orca one-piece tri-suit and Paul must've been impressed as he got one for the next event. (He also has a new gun-bike that wasn't quite ready, so next event will be one of Paul really looking professional). Ros came along for moral support, as she hadn't been 100% during the week and Brooke was no longer feeling the after-affects of Grape Grazing like last race, so she was a started too.
Just as last year, this was an event of the Australian Triathlon Championships, as well as the Brooks and Gatorade comps. So, the place was set up all fine and dandy. Apart from the sand in the transition area (which stuck to your feet to irritate during the run), it couldn't be faulted. And with grandstands and cameras it really added to the festivity of it.
There was a deep-water start off the pontoo
n (the elites started with a dive from it) and the water was great. Warm, but just cool enough to make it refreshing. The swim as a long swim straight out through calm waters, short across and long swim back to a semi-submerged carpeted ramp leading up to the pier/decking.
The transition from T1 to the cycle was quite long, running with your bike, and then on to it to pedal up a steep(ish) hill and some undulations and corners through parkland, before heading out to the highway.
As per usual (well.... at least when he turns up...) Cory came out of the swim in good time. Again, did well in the cycle, but struggled in the run with his knee. Paul lead Mick out of the swim. Mick managed to catch him in T1 but struggle achingly close in the cycle leg. But Mick's big legs pulled Paul in and he passed him in the run. Even so, he couldn't catch Cory's lead, and Cory's run-walk-run-walk-run was enough to bring him in before the others.
But it was Naomi who was stepping up to the plate, or more to the point, a full open buffet. Today was the day to achieve a life-goal : Complete an Olympic-distance triathlon. For the viewers at home, that's a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km cycle and finishing with a 10 km run. Nai had been a little anxious in the week leading up to it (especially dreading the swim), and both she and Cory (courtesy of Genevieve) had had a sore throat so they may not have been able to run on all cylinders - it was an unknown.
Naomi found the start of the swim a struggle, but once she settled into a rhythm she really enjoyed it. With the wetsuit and good stroke she could plane along.
Transition to the bike leg, and it started as a similar route to the Brooks guys, however it was (of course) a lot longer. It went out on the highway, but managed to throw in a huge hill (down to near-granny gears) and some tight corners after some downhill stretches on rough roads.
She made good time on the bike. She found the first 10km great, the last 10 even better, but the middle 20 km horrible.
Transition into the run - oh... and here's a photo which shows just how hard it could be to find your stuff...
The run took a similar route to the guys, however again it went a bit further with some nasty rough grassy and cross-country sections. You then came back to the pier area, to turn around at the porta-loos and do it all a second time.
At about the 8km mark (this is after 3 hours of racing), Nai did have to walk for a small while, but then sucked it in and ran it home.
As you can see from this photo, she was pretty rapt. I think, once the enormity of what she achieved sunk in, that just escalated. Her pride in her achievements was only (possibly) eclipsed by that of all her friends who she SMSed, and responded with messages of congratulations, and in some cases, humility and near-disbelief. It was something that in her wildest dreams she'd never thought she'd be able to do and in the end, she did it reasonably easily. Of course, she's pretty shattered now - but then, the alarm going off at 4:20am may have had something to do with that too!
So in a few weeks it's on to the final race for this season - Portarlington.
Cory was debuting is new Orca one-piece tri-suit and Paul must've been impressed as he got one for the next event. (He also has a new gun-bike that wasn't quite ready, so next event will be one of Paul really looking professional). Ros came along for moral support, as she hadn't been 100% during the week and Brooke was no longer feeling the after-affects of Grape Grazing like last race, so she was a started too.Just as last year, this was an event of the Australian Triathlon Championships, as well as the Brooks and Gatorade comps. So, the place was set up all fine and dandy. Apart from the sand in the transition area (which stuck to your feet to irritate during the run), it couldn't be faulted. And with grandstands and cameras it really added to the festivity of it.
There was a deep-water start off the pontoo
n (the elites started with a dive from it) and the water was great. Warm, but just cool enough to make it refreshing. The swim as a long swim straight out through calm waters, short across and long swim back to a semi-submerged carpeted ramp leading up to the pier/decking.The transition from T1 to the cycle was quite long, running with your bike, and then on to it to pedal up a steep(ish) hill and some undulations and corners through parkland, before heading out to the highway.
As per usual (well.... at least when he turns up...) Cory came out of the swim in good time. Again, did well in the cycle, but struggled in the run with his knee. Paul lead Mick out of the swim. Mick managed to catch him in T1 but struggle achingly close in the cycle leg. But Mick's big legs pulled Paul in and he passed him in the run. Even so, he couldn't catch Cory's lead, and Cory's run-walk-run-walk-run was enough to bring him in before the others.But it was Naomi who was stepping up to the plate, or more to the point, a full open buffet. Today was the day to achieve a life-goal : Complete an Olympic-distance triathlon. For the viewers at home, that's a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km cycle and finishing with a 10 km run. Nai had been a little anxious in the week leading up to it (especially dreading the swim), and both she and Cory (courtesy of Genevieve) had had a sore throat so they may not have been able to run on all cylinders - it was an unknown.
Naomi found the start of the swim a struggle, but once she settled into a rhythm she really enjoyed it. With the wetsuit and good stroke she could plane along.Transition to the bike leg, and it started as a similar route to the Brooks guys, however it was (of course) a lot longer. It went out on the highway, but managed to throw in a huge hill (down to near-granny gears) and some tight corners after some downhill stretches on rough roads.
She made good time on the bike. She found the first 10km great, the last 10 even better, but the middle 20 km horrible.
Transition into the run - oh... and here's a photo which shows just how hard it could be to find your stuff...
The run took a similar route to the guys, however again it went a bit further with some nasty rough grassy and cross-country sections. You then came back to the pier area, to turn around at the porta-loos and do it all a second time.At about the 8km mark (this is after 3 hours of racing), Nai did have to walk for a small while, but then sucked it in and ran it home.
As you can see from this photo, she was pretty rapt. I think, once the enormity of what she achieved sunk in, that just escalated. Her pride in her achievements was only (possibly) eclipsed by that of all her friends who she SMSed, and responded with messages of congratulations, and in some cases, humility and near-disbelief. It was something that in her wildest dreams she'd never thought she'd be able to do and in the end, she did it reasonably easily. Of course, she's pretty shattered now - but then, the alarm going off at 4:20am may have had something to do with that too!So in a few weeks it's on to the final race for this season - Portarlington.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Race 4 - Elwood (again) HOT! (again)
What is it with Elwood this year? It seems we're destined to have a stupidly hot day for a race whenever we get close to the place.
Today, they forecast 38 degrees, with Northerly winds and just general nastiness. Consequently, the durations of both the Brooks and the Gatorade were shortened, the Gatorade was to start earlier, and they were going to have more drinks stations, ice, a spray mist at the finish and other facilities to keep people alive.
We saw a few people overcook it last hot race, so I think the officials didn't want to see that again.
The heat was on yesterday and it didn't let up overnight. This meant quite a disturbed sleep for Cory, Naomi, Genevieve and even their dog Ben. When the alarm went of, Genevieve was asleep and so they didn't have the heart to wake her to take her to bake on the finish line, so they decided to bail. Cory and Nai were a bit gutted not to have competed, but based on how Nai felt after the last Elwood race, stood by their decision. Ros and Brendo were also non-starters, so it was Mick and Paul (who according to the results now races for Holden) holding up the crew.
Here is photographic proof - check out that great red rear second from the left.
They both survived, with Paul beating Mick in the Swim and Cycle, but (of course) Mick's lanky form bringing him home ahead of the self-admitted under-trained Paul. At the time of posting, the results that were up on the SuperSprint website were still a bit screwy, so the final results will be coming soon...
Today, they forecast 38 degrees, with Northerly winds and just general nastiness. Consequently, the durations of both the Brooks and the Gatorade were shortened, the Gatorade was to start earlier, and they were going to have more drinks stations, ice, a spray mist at the finish and other facilities to keep people alive.
We saw a few people overcook it last hot race, so I think the officials didn't want to see that again.
The heat was on yesterday and it didn't let up overnight. This meant quite a disturbed sleep for Cory, Naomi, Genevieve and even their dog Ben. When the alarm went of, Genevieve was asleep and so they didn't have the heart to wake her to take her to bake on the finish line, so they decided to bail. Cory and Nai were a bit gutted not to have competed, but based on how Nai felt after the last Elwood race, stood by their decision. Ros and Brendo were also non-starters, so it was Mick and Paul (who according to the results now races for Holden) holding up the crew.
Here is photographic proof - check out that great red rear second from the left.They both survived, with Paul beating Mick in the Swim and Cycle, but (of course) Mick's lanky form bringing him home ahead of the self-admitted under-trained Paul. At the time of posting, the results that were up on the SuperSprint website were still a bit screwy, so the final results will be coming soon...
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Race Three - St Kilda (again)
Much better weather today (wouldn't be hard to be better than last race)! Most of us were carrying a few extra pounds after the Christmas break. No sign of the Siegemund, but we substituted him for another Paul. Well done Boom - you broke your cherry.
Water was wonderful for the Brooks event. Cory's lack of training not helping him in the swim (although still at the lead of the pack).
Mick in next. His swim leg appears to be getting stronger (read - he doesn't look as buggered as he has in the past. I suppose the times will tell, later.
Is that Brendo coming up behind?
Yep - sure is. Looks like Micky-boy better watch himself for the next one Brendo does, coz he's biting at his heels.
A big congrats to Paul for surviving the only leg that has any real threat of killing you. He's looking pretty happy about it too - perhaps a bit too happy. You'd better put in a bit more next time!
Oh - and lose the 'water brakes' too! Did you have your mobile phone in there somewhere?
Cory's knee was giving him hell again (or at least that's his excuse). Even so, after settling into a good rhythm (run 100m, walk 200m, run 100m...) he still managed to beat Mick home.
Don't expect the same next race - either his knee will need to come good and/or Mick's will need to get worse, otherwise it's a mathematical impossibility.
Mick finishing very strongly! Nice shorts too buddy. Looking slightly less like a brickie's labourer. Next... the singlet.
Finally - proof that Ros does compete.
Brendo coming down the straight. The guy on the left was not going to get beaten.
Cory and Naomi tagged for Genevieve duty, and it was Nai's turn. The wind came around during her swim, so she managed to swim into the wind for the whole swim leg.
Here's Genevieve with the best view in the house. And who's that coming up the race...?
Yep - it's Naomi, looking pretty comfortable.
Can't say the same for the guy coming up behind her!
It's a pretty long wait as the Gatorade is significantly longer. Genevieve had a sleep. Cory bought a Tri suit (last year's model - over 50% off - bargain!)
They then positioned themselves in the final straight.
Naomi finishing well. The wind had picked up significantly, (seems to be the norm for the Gatorade) so the cycle leg was a struggle. Even so, she didn't get passed by the chick with the gun Orbea bike that racks next to her, so she was pretty chuffed by that!
Catch you down in Elwood!
Water was wonderful for the Brooks event. Cory's lack of training not helping him in the swim (although still at the lead of the pack).
Mick in next. His swim leg appears to be getting stronger (read - he doesn't look as buggered as he has in the past. I suppose the times will tell, later.Is that Brendo coming up behind?
Yep - sure is. Looks like Micky-boy better watch himself for the next one Brendo does, coz he's biting at his heels.
A big congrats to Paul for surviving the only leg that has any real threat of killing you. He's looking pretty happy about it too - perhaps a bit too happy. You'd better put in a bit more next time!Oh - and lose the 'water brakes' too! Did you have your mobile phone in there somewhere?
Cory's knee was giving him hell again (or at least that's his excuse). Even so, after settling into a good rhythm (run 100m, walk 200m, run 100m...) he still managed to beat Mick home.Don't expect the same next race - either his knee will need to come good and/or Mick's will need to get worse, otherwise it's a mathematical impossibility.
Mick finishing very strongly! Nice shorts too buddy. Looking slightly less like a brickie's labourer. Next... the singlet.
Finally - proof that Ros does compete.
Brendo coming down the straight. The guy on the left was not going to get beaten.
Cory and Naomi tagged for Genevieve duty, and it was Nai's turn. The wind came around during her swim, so she managed to swim into the wind for the whole swim leg.Here's Genevieve with the best view in the house. And who's that coming up the race...?
Yep - it's Naomi, looking pretty comfortable.Can't say the same for the guy coming up behind her!
It's a pretty long wait as the Gatorade is significantly longer. Genevieve had a sleep. Cory bought a Tri suit (last year's model - over 50% off - bargain!)They then positioned themselves in the final straight.
Naomi finishing well. The wind had picked up significantly, (seems to be the norm for the Gatorade) so the cycle leg was a struggle. Even so, she didn't get passed by the chick with the gun Orbea bike that racks next to her, so she was pretty chuffed by that!Catch you down in Elwood!
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