Race Report – World Duathlon Championships
October 21, 2009
I finished 6th place today at the ITU World Championships here in North Carolina. I executed a solid race but missed a break late in the bike which saw me enter transition 10 sec behind a group of 9. Only eventual winner Jarrod Shoemaker got past me on the final run and I recorded the 4th fastest last 5km. The medallists all ran quicker than my split so I was not quite physically ready to claim a medal even if I got on the right side of the break.
It is clear that my strength running off the bike is getting better and better and I was very happy with my first 10km split – which apparently was accurate for once – of 30.30.
I must say a huge thanks to Lianne and Sebastian, my family, sponsors and supporters, plus my fantastic homestay here in NC (Cody and Jana) and Matt Blackwell who flew down from Virginia to give his vocal and much appreciated support.
My improvement curve will hopefully continue next year in Edinburgh and I can realise my dream of being World Champion which is now less than 30 seconds away … thanks for all your support.
Regards
Raf
Front Runner Quinella at Surf to Surf
October 18, 2009
Well the Front Runner crew had a great weekend down in Bunbury for the annual Surf to Surf Fun Run. This year over 600 competitors braved strong winds to help test their fitness and raise money for the Bunbury Surf Life Saving Club.
There were some great efforts including many PB’s and victories to Nathan Doig in the 5km (The Body Station Massage Therapist and AFL boundary umpire) and myself in the 10k
Media and Reports should be up soon
Regards
Radar
2010 Planning Commences
October 8, 2009
Howdy Folks
Planning is already underway for 2010 and I have decided to avoid racing in France in 2010 in favour of focussing on returning to train and race in the Basque Circuit and selectively at other major events in Spain and Switzerland.
Urdaitri will be my Spanish Club and I am very grateful to Cesar and the team for the opportunity to return next year. The key reason for the decision is the great people and the ability to find a comfortable social and living environment for my family, where I can get a large base training block with a competitive and financial stimulus.
With 2 of the biggest races in Europe- The Gernika International Duathlon and Bilbao International Duathlon, smaller races every weekend, a plethora of fantastic training partners and a close major airport in Bilbao, Gernika it is a perfect logistical destination.
I will also be racing again for the Wildcats when participating in Switzerland and the Swiss races are always amongst the best organised in the world.
On a final note, a big thanks to Patrick and Mulhouse for the time racing and training in France. It was a fantastic experience.
Running Regards
Radar
Back in Town
October 3, 2009
Howdy All
Well after a long drawn out flight back from the USA it is great to be reunited with Lianne and Sebastian. Lianne had her 32nd birthday yesterday, which surprises alot of people to realise that she is the cradle snatcher!! People are often thrown by her youthful good looks and my hereditary crows feet (or smile lines as I call them)
After the World’s, my World Ranking moved from outside the top 10, up to 4th place. This has meant that I have had to restructure my goals for the remainder of the season and I will continue training to try and win the last World Series race of the year and finish the year as World #1.
I will take this week super easy because the motivation and adrenal system have both bottomed out after the high of world’s and travel. It is important to allow mood and motivation to dictate the training response after such a big race.
Although it is not ideal timing, I am committed to do the Tour De Freedom, a 900km ride from Esperance to Perth over 5 days at end of October. I have seen first hand the effects of drug addiction and the effect it can have on families and I feel that whatever compromise the ride has on my training it will be worthwhile and justifiable to support the Teen Challenge organisation. If you want to donate to the ride please visit http://www.teenchallengewa.org.au/donate.php to find out more about Teen Challenge and support this worthy cause.
After that I will do the ITU Asian Duathlon Championships and then pull stumps completely on racing until Feb 2010 to focus on family, business and base training
Hope you are all fit and healthy!
Regards
Radar