Anaconda MTB Enduro in Alice Springs

Five days and seven stages of the most amazing riding I have ever done. I realised a few months ago that I had not travelled as much as I wanted around Australia. Therefore, when I saw this add for a mountain bike stage race in Alice Springs I jumped right on it. The race consisted of varied stages such as technical terrain, a hill climb, a time trial, and night race. I had not really ridden my MTB more than 10 times since arriving in Sydney in mid-July 2007, but I went up there for a fun time. I also thought it would be fun to camp!

Stage 1
The first stage was 35 km on technical terrain. The race started on a narrow sidewalk for 1.5 km and I found myself caught in the middle of the pack (264 participants). That turned out to be a blessing because I could not start too fast, and I ended up catching and passing a bunch of people. As I mentioned, I have not been riding much and even if I had, the terrain was very different in Alice: rocky and technical with short steep climbs…and oh yes, very loose, thick sand you had to run through. Nevertheless I hit the trails hard and even though my technical abilities where lacking I went hard. However I still got passed on the technical sections ending up 29th.

Stage 2
Still on day 1 we had a 400m hill climb. The order was reversed with the faster guys going last. That meant that I could rest up a bit as I was going at 5:22pm. I had gone up the hill before so knew what to expect, but my strategy wasn’t the best. I went out hard, but then sat down a bit before standing on the steep part. Maybe a bit of a mistake, but I was happy with the effort nonetheless. 51 sec and 33rd place.

Stage 3
Day 2. Bonk! The weather in Alice was actually quite cold, high teens to low 20’s all week. On day two I decided to only fill my camel back and bring a few gels. After passing the water station I thought I would be ok and didn’t fill up. However, 10 min later and 25 km to go I was hurting. The ride was the most technical I have ever done and I completely lost it. I was tired, thirsty and could not concentrate on the terrain. As a result, I go passed by a bunch of people after a strong start. I was 50th and lost a good 10 to 12 minutes from not being smart!

Stage 4  33
Lots of road, more along my lines. Although I was not in top form compared to when I trained full time, this stage was less technical and actually went on the road quite a bit, suiting me a bit more. We did about 65 km and after 30 km on 4WD tracks seven of us came to the road together. After a few km three of us broke away when I took a hard pull. I was with the Vintage male leader (50 years old and over) and the man can ride! He ended up 30th overall in the entire race beating the 40-49 year old boys. So when he put his head down we were going fast. Coming into the finish he and I were together having dropped our companion on the road. I was leading going into one of the final corners after catching someone in front and found myself going the wrong way. I lost about 30 seconds and then jumped back on the path. We came in to a dried river bed where we had to run for 200 m before hitting the final stretch of 400 m. I came in 33rd on the day.

Stage 5
Individual time trial. Our first stage of the day was an individual TT of 24 km on a technical single track. All in all I had a good go. I was hoping to pass a few people, but that didn’t happen as a few guys passed me. Again the technical sections did me in. I was going well on the hilly parts and fast sections, but the quick loose turns and climbs were tough. It was important to note the subtleties of the terrain as we were going to race the same track at night with a mass start. I was 46th in this one.

Stage 6
My first night race. I was really nervous about this one as I had found the track technical and loose at certain spots. I had really crappy lights, but a fellow camper lent me his mega light. With that my confidence shot up. I had an awesome start and although the light shown brightly on the track, I couldn’t always see if the corners were loose or hard. As a result, I just was ripping it and going really hard as my fear could not be substantiated! But, as I was loving this first night race, I hit one of many bumps or rocks on the track and my main light on the handle bars went out! I stopped and tried to fix it…didn’t work…started riding again for 2 sec with my cheap head light and realised I needed the main one. I stopped again and tried to find the source of the problem. After spending a few minutes I could not figure out why it had stopped so I got back on the bike and started riding. Now however, I could only see about 2 m in front of my wheel and if you have ever ridden at night going on single track, it’s not much. Therefore, I rode slowly and cautiously and had to move out of the way of almost everyone! I ended up going on faith and following someone for the final 8 km. It was crazy as I was going through dips, over rocks, and loose sand. I finished up in 104th…but man was it fun!

Stage 7
Final stage along the MacDonnell ranges. This stage was my second favourite after the
night race. I was getting better on the technical stuff and the ride was just epic. We rode
on a different part of the Alice Springs region on each day and the tracks were awesome.
There was the sandy parts where you had to run, but the single track was insane. This last
day had a lot of it and the scenery, when I actually looked, was incredible. I did stack it
big time (that is a crash is Australian terms) when we hit a sand section. I was third in
line and the front guys braked/stopped when hitting the sand. Seeing this I hit the breaks
hard and as I did my front wheel dug into the sand. As a result I went flying over the
handle bars landing in soft sand. The last 10 of 38 km where very hard going over large
rocks and a wicked climb. It was fun and I finished up in 35th.

Overall I ended up 48th in a cumulative time of 11:20.28. I could maybe of finished in the
top 30 had I not bonked on day two or lost my main light in the night race. But, that sort
of stuff can happen to anyone and I am really glad I did the race, quite the
experience…and the rock wallabies or cute as hell!

Off-road triathlon

The Tre-X series race in Wiseman’s ferry on March 29th was my first foray into the world of off-road triathlon. I felt prepared for the 500 m swim, 17 km bike and 6 km run event and keen on performing well after Felix Schumann, the eventual winner, and I had scouted out the course the week prior to competition. We found it both challenging with the hilly ascent and technical with rough descents on the bike. Nevertheless, I was quietly confident about my mountain bike skills and pleased with my overall form.

On race day I decided to leave early and ride the bike loop once in order to review some of the technical sections. However, on my way to the race my car broke down on the side of the road. I called a friend who was going to the race and asked for a pick-up. After finally arriving on the site I had a few minutes to get my equipment set up in transition and rack my bike…without trying out all the gears!  

After the race briefing and a quick run/swim warm-up the race was off. I established myself well in the front with two others and came out of the water in second place after a short detour to where we thought the exit was. The short swim didn’t take too much out of me and I was able to ride out quickly hitting the hill in first place. At that point I downshifted to an easier gear, or at least I tried to, but couldn’t get from the middle chain ring to the small one in the front and got stuck on the fourth cog in the back. Unfortunately that cost me lots of time as on each of the 3 laps I had to jump off the bike and run it up. On the first lap alone when I finally managed to get up the hill the leaders were out of site. Nevertheless, I pressed on and on the second lap noticed that most people were walking up anyways. Having seen the course I was able to ride fast and hard on the technical sections making time on those behind me and hopefully not loosing anymore to the two leaders. Following the third and final lap I knew I was in third place and had a comfortable advantage. I could not see the two leaders and got wind that they had roughly a 4 min lead. When I started running out of transition I decided to run steadily and see if I could spot the leaders in front. I knew the run had an incredibly hard ascent that we would have to climb twice. I therefore paced it out but was unable to spot the top two guys coming out of the woods. I then decided to run it on home at a strong but comfortable rhythm, eventually crossing the line in 3rd place.

All in all I am very happy with the race. It was a first for me and an experience I would really like to repeat…minus the car and bike issues. The race was very well organised and in an idyllic location where a Canadian like me could relish the sight of about 50 kangaroos…even getting a little alarmed when at one point one stood its ground as I came running towards it!  

Good early start to the season

It's been a strong start to the 2009 season training wise. After struggling in 2008 with balancing training and my responsibilities at Uni, I found it difficult to establish a structured training routine. At the moment I have been able to take a step back and outline my projects well which has allowed me to train more often and more consistently. The addition of Felix Schumann and Mignon Vatlat, a couple of German elite triathletes taking course at Concord Hospital, has helped with motivation and consistency. Moreover, we have been training with Sophia Amor-Smith and Peter Shockman who took us up to Bowral where we rode Macquarie pass (10km hill) on a hot day (+30C)! A few days later we did an aquathon in Wollongong. It was supposed to be a 900m swim and 7km run, however it turned out to be a 1400m swim and 7km run. I came in 8th overall and 1st in my age group. Interestingly a bunch of young guys wore wetsuits and came out ahead of me, Pete and Felix. Had it not been for the wetsuits I think we could have all finished in the top 5. Nevertheless, the goal was to train hard and the race accomplished it's purpose. At the moment I am looking ahead to racing in Huskisson for the long course champs. It's 3-83-20 and I really hope it's none wetsuit! I have not trained in it at all this year. Until then it's train hard and well...with a bit of surfing! Oh, and a ride from Sydney to Canberra, 275km!

2009 Season

The 2009 season is upon us in the southern hemisphere. After a rather disapointing 2008 campaign I am looking forward to a more settled and focused approach to training. I still have my studies to contend with, but with a good training routine and preparation I should be able to manage both well enough to compete. With my little foray in the 70.3 world I saw how much fun and exciting long course racing could be. While I don't have to time to commit fully to an Ironman, I certainly want to race hard at the half distance. So, with that said, lets see how it goes!

 

Club Champs and Byron Bay

Two races and results that are pretty representative of my fitness. I raced the NSW club champs on the weekend of May 4th. While I am happy with the overall result, I still feel like I could do so much more if only I could train well enough for a length of time. Having said that, I am the only one to blame. I get into good routines then fall of the wagon when I find myself a little busier. But, that is life when you have other commitments and I am sure this resonates with many people.

As for the race (1-30-8), it was in beautiful Port Stephens on One Mile Beach. The run in the water to start was the longest I have ever done. It seemed like we could touch the bottom for at least 200m. Unfortunately my little legs were just short enough that I had to dolphin dive while trying to run as far as possible. Coming out of the swim I was 3rd in my age group and trying to make up time on the soft sand run in to transition. I headed out on the bike with confidence as I had on my new Zipp 808's. Oh man do those fly! I am not terribly bike fit at the moment but I felt like I was ripping it. By the end of lap three I was catching up to some younger guys who had left 10 min before me. The run was a bit of a different story however, I took it out strong but soon got a stich, possibly from going hard on the bike. I therefore slowed it down in order for the stitch to dissipate. It ended up feeling a bit better towards the end and was able to pick it up and finish 5th overall.

The following weekend I raced in Byron Bay, an olympic distance race. As with the beach in Port Stephens, Byron Bay is gorgeous. The town is totally relaxed and everybody walks around bear foot...I love that!

For this race I decided to compete as an elite because they had the category. I knew my fitness was't quite there but I was hoping to pull something out of the hat based on experience. When the gun went off I had a good run in to set myself up well. I was in the mix of things for the first 300m. Then my super fitness quicked in, or lack there of, and I started going backwards. Oh boy what a frustrating moment! I knew in my head that I had missed many swimming opportunities in the last month and I was mentally kicking myself in the butt for doing so. In the end I managed to finish the swim without drowning and headed for my bike. The only thing I was thinking about was my new Zipp's and how they would save me...I know it's a little lame but I was clinging to something. When I got on the bike I felt pretty tired already. I am not used to swimming in my wetsuit as I never do here is Sydney, so my hip flexors were pretty tired from all the kicking I do during swimming. To make matters worse I was approaching a roundabout where two volunteers were directing traffic. Neither one of them said anything as I got closer and closer and I wasn't sure where to go as they were letting cars through. So I went stratight only to realize a 100m down the line that I needed to go right. Anyways, I got back on course and put my head down. At about 15km I was caught by a nice group of 6 or 7 "non-drafting" athletes. I was pretty mad and tried to get away. I did on one occasion and then got caught again. As they went by I felt like I was in and ITU draft legal race with a pack. Towards the end of the bike with about 5 km to go I attacked on a hill and dropped the group. I only had 100 to 200m on them when we reached the town entrance. There were a few roundabouts and one car slowed right down in front of me. When it accelerated again it did so at a draftable pace...so hey, I got behind the car and rode at 50km/h for about two km. That put a sizeable gap to the little pack behind me and I felt good with myself for teaching them a lesson! That would soon dissipate as I got on the run. Once again that dreaded stitch reared it's head and I was forced to walk on four occasions. I must say at that point how much I wanted to quite, but I told myself I came hear to race...even though I wasn't racing anymore, at least not many of the elites, I finished and was happy I did.

The lesson in all of this...I think I need to train if I am going to try and compete!

 

Julien goes corporate!

I have done my share of sprint distance triathlons, but on Friday I got an email from an athlete I coach at the SOPAC triathlon club asking if anyone would be interested in filling a place in a team for the Sydney Corporate triathlon. I thought why not, it will be a good chance to work on transitions and go hard! I still went for a long ride and run off the bike on Saturday as the distance for the race was 400-8-4.

We arrived at the race site pretty early as we had to be out of transition for 7am. However our wave was at 10:35 so we hung out and checked out the other competitors race. The format was quite interesting as there were waves going off every 5 minutes for 3:10, ours being the second last. After looking over the course, it was apparent that the swim was short, more like 200m rather than 400m. When I got in the water I just decided to bolt it to the swim exit and hammer the run to transition which included a hill, stairs, a bridge and a slanted x-country run portion with wood chips! I ended up coming out of the water with a good 30-40m lead in my wave so I was able to run up to transition well enough. The bike was two laps of 2kms out and back. With many of the athletes still out there I had to be careful as I was bobbin and weavin around people. After about 17 minutes I found myself already on the run and got a bit held up as I crossed over the bridge and ran down the stairs. Once I got onto the foot path I found a strong groove and tried to keep the intensity up and hold good form. I ran a solid 8:46 for 4km...so yeah, a bit short even I would like to think I can hold 2:15 per kilometre!

I ended up going 26:41 and finishing 3rd overall out of 4500...as Paul Williams because the name change was made on hte morning of. In retrospect I am happy I did the race as it was a cool experience and ceratinly a fast one... the shortest triathlon I've ever done and probably will ever do. I feel good leading up to the NSW club champs and the Byron Bay tri, as well as the Sydney half-marathon on the 18th of May. We'll see what happens.

Change of plans - April 2008

There has been a little change of plans in my racing season for the next few months. After going through a busy spell at Uni I have decided to skip the Bussleton Half-Ironman and instead focus on the NSW club championchips and then the Byron Bay triathlon. They are both closer to home and shorter so my lack of mileage won't be such a factor. I also plan on doing the Sydney half-marathon for fun and a good time. I did a hilly 10km over the weekend and did an alright time of 34:04 with minimal training. So I hope that if I put my head down and focus I will be able to run a fast time in a month or two.

Hence for now, as always, it's establishing a routine and sticking to it while managing the research and testing. I have found a bit of motivation so I hope it sticks and the rain subsides in the next few days...it just gets to you when you have to bike everywhere!

Geelong Ironman 70.3

On Sunday the 10th of February I completed my first half-Ironman, or Ironman 70.3 as they are now called. As some may know, I am presently doing a PhD in Sydney Australia and have had to modify my training regime to fit in with my new responsibilities. However, I still have to urge to race and decided last year to start racing at the 70.3 distance and try my hand at a few Xterras in 2008. 

Going in to the race in Geelong I felt good but somewhat nervous as I did not really know how I would handle the race distance with less training than I was used to. I knew I had to pace myself, eat and hydrate well, things you always need to do but more so in longer events. When the gun went off I started fast and got clear of any jostling around. After a few hundred metres, I saw a group forming to the left of me and proceeded to move my way over and join in to draft in the pack. After the first turn at 500m I was still feeling good and told myself to relax and lengthen my stroke. When I got to about 800m I started to feel tired as I had not swam in a wetsuit in probably 18 months. My wetsuit is awesome, but I just hadn’t swum enough in it to develop the level of comfort that is required to sustain a solid pace for 2km. Therefore, for the last 800m I was battling negative thoughts about loosing touch with the leaders and going backwards. At the last corner I took a peak behind and saw what looked like a big gap. I thought I was being dropped by the groups and caught by the age group athletes that left 5 min after the elites. However, when I got out of the water I realised I hadn’t swum too badly being about 90sec off the main group. Therefore, I took comfort in the fact that my 8 to 10km of swimming per week kept me close enough to see the race unfold.

When I got on the bike I felt good and took off for the 90km thinking I had to be smart. I had done some good work in the last few weeks, but knew that the half marathon could be long if I went nuts on the bike. After about 15km, I had passed a few athletes and got passed by two more that made me look like I was going 15kph even though I was going over 40kph. I was really missing my race wheels (which I sold before moving out) as I saw all the top guys rolling along with discs and deep dish rims. As the bike went along I got caught by a Korean athlete who was riding just slightly faster then I was so I decided to work with him and keep up the pace. Naturally you can’t draft, but staying 7m behind someone gives you a motivational advantage and helps with pacing. I took the lead a few times as we worked to catch the two main groups ahead of us. At the end of the second of three laps, we got caught and passed by a fast moving 25-29 year old athlete. My Korean friend proceeded to go with him for a bit before dropping off the pace and I could not respond. By that point I was getting tired and my lower back started to act up. Not being used to time trialling 90km, I had to essentially stand up every 2 to 4km during the final 30km and stretch my back. Needless to say, it cost a bit of time and I know I could have gone faster.

Starting the run I felt awesome! Again I knew I had to be careful and not overdo it, so I stayed relaxed on the first of three laps passing 1 or 2 guys, and then started picking it up a bit. I passed 4 athletes in the second lap and two more on the third. I was feeling really good and kept the cadence up the entire way. During the last lap, major blisters started forming on both my feet and I could feel them every time I changed direction. Nonetheless, I just told myself to keep going and deal with it later. With 3km to go I knew I could finish strongly. While I started to feel the onset of a cramp in my right hamstring, I kept calm and was able to finish well in a time of 1:20.47, with an overall time of 4:18.30. I ended up 16th out of 32 professional males and 25th overall as I got caught by a few rocket riding age group athletes.

All in all, I am very pleased with my time as I wanted to break 4:20. I know I have work to do and I now realise where to focus my attention. I decided to skip the Oceania champs on the 24th in order to give my blisters and body time to heal. As my research intensifies at the Uni, I will try and work out a schedule that will permit me to train intelligently and maximise my time at school. I would like to thank all my sponsors for their support. Until my first Xterra and next 70.3 I’ll try to get some race wheels and spend a bit more time in the pool! Cheers.

Sprint win in Kurnell

After 18 months without racing because of injury and moving to Autralia, I finally got back into the ring for a sprint race in Kurnell, NSW. I have been training for a 70.3 in Geelong on February 10th, and although things are going well, I feel as though I need to train much more in order to be competitive. This race was a chance to evaluate where I am in terms of fitness and get some of that race intensity in. I ended up winning the age group race in a time of 1:00.27, which pleases me, but I would have liked to have gone well under 60 min. There was a pro race going on at the same time with many juniors and local pros. However, I opted to race age group as I need to work more on time trialing than drafting on the bike.

I was in the 6th wave with the other 30-34 year olds and when the gun went off I had a great start and swam alone to the first buoy. I could see on my left that a group was going to get to the buoy at the same time so I let the first guy go around and then sat on his hip for a few strokes. When I saw that he was not taking the right line to the next buoy, I jumped up and opened a little gap. On the way in I was passing people from the previous waves and used that oportunity to gain distance on my chasers. I ended up coming out of the water in first place without a wetsuit while most others had decided to wear one despite the water temperature being 23.3C. Therefore, I knew that my 20-30m lead would be extended a bit. On the bike, I felt really good and kept the pressure on the entire way. I was not sure how my legs would react after not racing hard for such a long time, but they held up well. When I get to the run, I felt as though I started well, but then I was not pushing hard enough and kind of settled into a comfortable pace. Thus, I would have liked to have gone harder on the run. However, I can't complain as I did what I had to and got in a good race to let me know I need to crank it up a bit. Looking at the splits, I know I need to swim more than twice a week and get in those long rides and runs with some steady state and tempo efforts.

So for now, it's all about putting in the kilometres in these next few weeks and hopefully be competitive in the Geelong 70.3!

Going long! - Dec 2007

It's official, I have signed up for the Ironman 70.3 in Geelong on February 10th. I started training well again in the middle of December, and although it does not give me very much time to build a solid base and really attack the race like I would want to, I am confident that I can have a strong race and use it to learn more about how my body reacts in a longer event. I am extremely excited about the prospect of racing a half-ironman and testing my limits in a different type of race compared with Olympic distance racing.

For the moment, I am trying to get some miles on the bike...not necessarily hard stuff, but consitant rides, as well as runs. It is definitely more difficult to juggle a training schedule when going to school full time. And while I have to adjust my goals, I still find that my competitiveness, and also maybe a little bit of pride, are pushing me towards racing for a win and going hard. Being my first attempt at the distance, I will need to set and stick to a race plan that will allow me to get to the run in good shape to run well. It's all in the process and that is the fun part. We'll see what happens!

Injury and training update - Nov 2007

After finally settling in Sydney, I started training well and got into a groove after recovering from planta faciitis. Then, on a routine 30 min recovery run I rolled my ankle and sprained it to the second degree. Not since 2002 have I had such an injury plagued season. I had to take an extra four weeks off as I could not run or swim, which was frustrating as I have yet to race in 2007.

However, I am now back into the swing of things and looking forward to establishing a strong training routine. I am traning/coaching with the Sydney Olympic Park Triathlon Club, which has been really fun as the group of athletes are diverse and motivated. So, I am starting from pretty far back compared to where I was a year ago, but I plan on training smartly and being patient with developing a deep foundation. I will try to train for a half and maybe jump in a few mountain bike races to fine tune my Xterra skills. With studying full time for a PhD lets see where this adventure takes me!

Move to Australia

As some people may have noticed, I have not excatly been tearing it up this season. In fact, as of June 20th, I have yet to race! There are two main reasons, the first is an injury that won't go away. I have had plantar fasciitis for a few months and have not been able to get in the run volume and intensity that I need to compete on the ITU and Xterra circuits. Hopefully with more attention to detail and proactiveness on my part, I can recover in time to race a this year.

The second reason is that I am moving to Australia. I am going to undertake a PhD in Exercise Physiology at the University of Sydney. Going to Australia is a dream of mine and completing a PhD is a professional and personal goal that I have had for myself for a few years. Naturally I will still race and compete to the best of my abilities as there are certains goals that remain and that I wish to attain. Undoubtebly there will be new challenges, however I am ready to face them and explore new limits as an athlete and student.

Until the next update from Australia, a huge thank you to all my sponsors and family for their continued support and encouragement.