Win at Grade Cycling Kooragang Island

Hi Guys,

I am back into the training again. I have linked in with some good cyclists here in Newcastle and joined the Hunter Districts Cycling Club. Kooragang Island hosts Friday evening racing where there is cycle racing on a semi-closed road circuit region for anyone with a Cycling Australia/UCI licence. It is a good course and on Friday it was very windy. I managed to break away with a training buddy, Nick, for the win in my grade. Gets the heart rate up with some nice efforts and the break away is perfect training for triathlons.

Still no internet hardware for wireless from Telstra for the house, so no photos can be uploaded as yet of Frankie and New Zealand. Hopefully we will receive it soon and I can post the race reports and photos.

Train safe and travel safe over the xmas period,
Bevan.

8th at Rotorua Half Ironman Triathlon NZ

Hi guys,

A quick note to say I came 8th overall at the Rotorua Half Ironman Triathlon over the past weekend. A very tough but honest course with the most stunning scenery incorporating off road trails in the run. Easily the hardest half ironman in the Oceania region that I have raced. Will detail a race/trip report over the next few days. I also was able to spend a few days in Auckland with my coach, Mark Watson, to go over my training and formulate a training program for the next few months leading into Ironman New Zealand 2009. Auckland has some great natural training venues.

Cheers,
Bevan.

Update

Hi Guys,

Firstly, apologies for the lack of photo's of Frankie and news of late. We have had no internet or phone connections for the past 3 weeks. All should be complete by next week and regular updates will follow.

It has been a big few weeks. Between moving out of our Surry Hills warehouse apartment to a house near Newcastle's Bar Beach area, closing up the "3 Sports" business in the Sydney cbd due to the lease not being renewed, the new "fatherly" duties and attempting to get Frankie into a routine, travelling to Sydney every day for work, and trying to get the training hours back up again, there has not been much time for anything else. All seems to be falling into place now though and Frankie is getting into a better routine. The training around the Newcastle region is fantastic. I have a choice of two ocean baths within 5-10mins jog/walk from our house. There are great cycle crews around and I will be racing criteriums plus road races with them to get some more efforts in. I have been running around beaches or national parks the last two weeks enjoying the scenery and trail runs again.

I am racing in NZ this weekend at a half ironman triathlon on Saturday. I am flying over this Thursday and returning on Monday. It is a hard hilly course with some off road parts to the run (including a run up a lighthouse staircase twice). This will be a great test to mark my condition for the coming season. I will also be staying with my coach and going over my programs/races for the next period and lead into Ironman NZ in March. I am looking forward to the hard hit out and then continuing on with training through this festive season. I cannot wait to train in this Newcastle/Hunter region this summer and log a large amount of hours.

Frankie is absolutely amazing. Her smile can make your day. She already has me wrapped around her little finger. She has grown another 2.5cm and 1.1kgs. She is going to be a very tall, thin blonde according to the midwife and predictive graphs. We have some great photos and I am just awaiting the home internet connection to place these up. Frankie is absolutely gorgeous, but I am a bit biased ;) .

Cheers for now,
Bevan.

It's a Girl! Frankie Bynon Leach arrives!!

Well guys,

Sam and I welcomed into the world our gorgeous baby girl on Sunday 16th November 2008 at 2332hrs.

Frankie Bynon Leach was born weighing 3.5kg and measuring 55cm.

She has long limbs, big feet and hands, blonde hair, and a good set of lungs. A calm demeanour though and has been able to sleep and feed well for us. Maybe an athlete here already ;) .

After a long and exhausting 32hr labour, Sam is now finally resting up and starting to recover well. Sam was absolutely awesome during the whole process and I am very proud of how she coped with what she went through to deliver Frankie.

Photo's to follow soon of Frankie Leach and her loving parents.

Cheers,
Bevan.

Helicopter Lesson Photo's

Some lovely photo's courtesy of Sam. Raced the Oz Sprint champs in the morning and drove straight to the helicopter lesson. Was a little tired, but had a great time flying and will look to continue it in the future. Also found some training grounds during the flight that I will check out for runs when we move up to Newcastle. Thanks to Sam for the Red Balloon Day present and Aerologistics Newcastle for the lesson.

Cheers,

Bevan.

Our Bub In Womb - The picy

Well, this is a picture taken of our bub in Sam's womb a while ago. We are now eagerly awaiting the birth (well Sam wants it out now, I am happy with another couple of weeks rest ;) ). Bub is due out on the 11th November (according to doctor) or 12th November (according to hospital). Our friends and family have had a competition to pick the birth date and sex of the bub with a case of wine/beers as the prize. I am aiming for an overnight birth on the 7th/8th or 17th/18th. Sam's is 'right now' regardless of the day. Anyhow, our little active one will be joining us soon when he/she decides.

Cheers,

Bevan.

Australian Sprint Champs and Helicopter Lesson

Hi Guys,

Well the hour of pain went well on the weekend at the Australian Sprint Triathlon Championships in Forster. It was great to have a hit out after some time off. I had one objective - to podium and obtain an automatic qualifying spot for the ITU World Sprint Triathlon Championships on the Gold Coast in 2009 but I aimed to win and gain a national title. After leading the swim and bike (go the norminator kuota kalibur), I was passed on the return run leg from Tuncurry by 1 guy. I finished 2nd, podiumed at an Australian Champs again for the year, and gained my spot to the worlds. It was nice to race again in Forster after the Ironman has moved to Port Macquarie. I tried out some new gear which seemed to go well (compressport calf guards) and had a ball racing some mates. I also have to say thanks to the "Lee Clan" for letting Sam and I crash at their place in Elizabeth Beach/Pacific Palms - it certainly helped out a great deal being able to have a quick kip before the race.

I didn't get to enjoy the Forster festivities and free beer because I had to drive to Newcastle for a helicopter (Robinson 22) lesson with Aerologistics. This has been a long time coming as Sam gave it to me as a present last year and circumstances have dictated many missed opportunities for the lesson. I got to fly the chopper over Newcastle, Swansea, and the surrounding regions. It is such a lovely area seen from the sky and I found many new training grounds to try. We also flew over our house in Cooks Hill and just enjoyed the beautiful sunny day up in the sky. Flying a helicopter is very precise with very limited movements of the controls giving huge movements of the chopper. But you can do some pretty awesome turns and you speed along deceptively. Perfect conditions made for an unforgettable experience and one I hope to continue doing in the future. Thanks Sam.

Cheers,
Bevan.

Countdown begun, Developments, and Thanks

The count down has begun in the household. Four weeks left until the due date and we are welcomed with either a baby girl or boy. Our baby is now 'full term' meaning it could come at any time. We had our last baby class Sunday and so now are all 'trained up' for the arrival. I must say Taryn presented a thoughtful and very helpful course. Sam and I feel more prepared now and mostly gained an insight into the onslaught of sleep deprivation that our bundle of joy will invoke upon us ;) . Seriously, it was great to gain pointers into signs that can help us better judge the needs of our baby, be better prepared, and have some insights into what we are embarking upon in a few weeks time. It would certainly be a massive change if you were not alerted to the changes that will be occurring and I can see how some people have trouble coping. At least we now have our eyes open to some of the things that will be thrown our way and have some direction in options for us as these events occur. Anything that helps is a bonus I say. We also cannot wait to welcome our child into this world and I am truly looking forward to the moment.

The shop has been going great guns with the sales. We are clearing out a large amount of stock and there are people in continuously.

The house in Newcastle is nearly ready. Just a few more things to complete on the inside and some minor aesthetic things on the outside, and the house is done. We received the king-sized bed from Sleepyhead (thanks George and Mike) on Monday. I cannot wait to sleep in it and have some leg room for once. It will certainly help with the recovery. The way this house has gone up is a tribute to Frank, Jan, and Dave (plus the others roped into helping). It is miraculous how fast it has been completed.

Training has been going well. Time has been short, but the sessions completed have been pure quality. Lets hope that the hour of pain this Saturday goes well (Australian Sprint Champs in Forster) and I get a win/podium. We'll see how the short course speed is going on the long course training and lack of sleep ;) .

New car is going great guns. Anthony, John, and Gabriel from Peter Warren Ford helped us out with the Kia Sportage V6 and tricked it out with a bike rack also. So much easier to get the bike, training gear, and casual stuff into the car plus have leg room with left over space. It suits us to a tee and will fit in the bub, bike, us, and gear with room aplenty. It is also pure comfort on the road compared to the no air-con, non-power steering, Toyota echo that has been the transport vehicle of late.

A big congrats also to Craig Alexander on winning the 2008 Hawaiian Ironman World Championships. A fellow physiotherapist from Sydney Uni, it is great to see such a nice bloke win.

Train safe,
Bevan.

A busy September

Hi All,

It has been a hectic few past weeks with much travel, developments, and training. Along the way:

- Sam and I have been to the Hunter Valley for Sam’s work colleagues’ wedding, staying at the lovely St Briavel's cottage near Broke (with Dirk and Sarah Melton - plus Brad, who was a late addition to the household ;) ). It was a great weekend away…'Angel' by Robbie Williams has taken on a whole new meaning for me…I don’t think I’ll ever sing it seriously again…not that I ever did;
- I wanted to do 3:10hr for the Sydney Marathon and I scraped in with 3:09hr on dead legs. Sam’s cousin Steve ran his first major half marathon and Sam felt like she had done a marathon just walking around and watching it from the sidelines (she’s not so active these days);
- I finally bought a car (from Peter Warren Ford thanks Anthony, Peter, Gabriel, Emma) for the bub (and my bikes ;) ) ;
- I bought a nice new king sized bed for some leg room and a great sleep from Sleepyhead;
- the house is speeding along and nearly complete. Sam and I are hopeless “handymen” – thank goodness we have Sam’s parents to help us with it – they’re like our own version of a renovation show – we keep expecting Scott Cam and Jamie Durie to jump out at us – but instead we have our own makeover show with Frank and Jan”;
- baby classes are almost complete - with the biggest learning curve yet to come; and
- the shop is having a sale in a big way to clear all stock for some new remodelling and it is going crazy.

Updates to follow with some nice pictures. But Sam, bub, and I are all travelling well and all spare time is being spent on the training front with the programs Mark has given me which I’m really enjoying.

Congrats to Brats for winning the Australian Team Triathlon Champs on the weekend for the 4th consecutive year!

Cheers,
Bevan.

Week 25-31 August and Kangaroo Valley

Training wise, a stable week of 107.2km running plus 30km of walking recovery. I also had my first hit out in the pool which felt great with the blood flowing into the arms. I will be starting to ramp up the biking and swimming again now. Sam is not able to exercise much with the bub growth now limiting her. So, Sam will be joining me for night swims at the pool which will help us both with some frequency. It will be fun to train with Sam for a bit.

We had our first 'baby class' last Thursday where we got the gist of what happens, how, and where in the hospital. Was a good eye opener for all and very informative, especially the 'how to tell you are in labour' part rather than plain old 'cruisy' Braxton Hicks contractions. Five more classes, with 3 on having the bub, and 3 on parenting/post birth. No doubt, many more interesting tidbits to come...

Sam and I headed to Kangaroo Valley with Julian and Melanie Grover for the weekend staying at the lovely 'Alcheringa' bed and breakfast which is owned by Sam's old boss. It's very relaxing and well positioned on top of a mountain on Nugents Creek Road. We lapped up the luxury. Greeted with good weather, we headed out to Berry for a day trip, into the Valley for some good food, and just generally chilled in front of the log fire enjoying the view. Julian and I however did not enjoy waiting up to watch Australia get flogged and show a dismal display of schoolboy rugby against the Springboks (albeit with some dodgy refereeing decisions ;) ). Let's hope they can turn that around for the Bledisloe and Tri-Nations decider in Brisbane in a fortnight against the All-Blacks. Kangaroo Valley is a bit of a misnomer also. There were a few kangaroos but we saw echidnas, wallaby's, many native birds, and heaps of wombats. It should actually be renamed Wombat Valley for the pure numbers of those fuzzy animals. It would be a great place to show off our flora and fauna to overseas visitors with a guarantee of viewing the above.

I also headed out each day for some hard hill running over the Valley. Perfect tracks for training those muscles. At times I was virtually running on the spot to climb up the steep inclines of tracks. My butt, hami's, and quads are a bit sore these past two days from the hill climbs and descents. Makes me think about the Comrades marathon in South Africa that I would like to complete one day that runs through the 'Valley of 1000 hills'. I would need some serious hill training to complete that one.

I found a nice quote the other day, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve". I like finding things that help to remind you of your goals and refocus when you are drifting at times. I will be posting any that I see now at the end of each blog. The above is a nice one as I have been told many times that I could not do something or win something only to make it happen. I would rather give things a go and see how they fall, than not try at all because something/one told me it was not possible (or not possible for them). Things may take some 'extra time' but you can get there in the end or damn close ;) .

Cheers,
Bevan.

Week 18th - 24th August Update

Another week and I am feeling better as the legs are turning over well. Total of 104.6km of running and 30km of walking. I have been walking for recovery totalling a minimum of 30km each week for the past 3 weeks. It is certainly helping with flushing the legs out with the increase in weekly kilometres.

What a week for triathlon as Australia finally broke the Hoodoo and claimed an Olympic Gold Medal. Emma Snowsill in first with a gutsy run putting it all on the line to claim Gold, and Emma Moffet claiming the Bronze with a more controlled early pace to run through. The boys had a different day but Courtney Atkinson ran awesome and just missed out on a top ten. Geez, those guys can run fast! Terrific scenery on the course and great to see a lot of coverage on the TV for triathlon. Hopefully TA can now parley that into some summer coverage for our sport and keep the ball rolling.

It will be a busy week at 3 Sports with the Winter Sales starting. 30% off rrp for most items, more for some older stock. Great opportunity to come in and get some new runners/gear for the summer season or stock pile some great cycle gear. I'll be grabbing some Assos at those discounted prices ;) .

Sam and I have our first ante-natal class this Thursday evening, so it should be interesting. We are away this weekend with Julian and Mel in Kangaroo Valley. I am looking forward to some mountain runs and finding a few beaten tracks to plod along. Last time we had a great dinner at the local cafe with a chicken and duck pie that I can hear calling my name again. Hopefully the weather behaves for us.

Train safe, Bevan.

Canberra and training

Well, it was cold in Canberra as predicted. It got to minus 4 degrees overnight not including the wind chill factor. And believe me there was some wind chill. Driving into Canberra we could see snow on the far mountains which was quite a nice sight. It was great to catch up with the family and for them to see Sam and her growing bulge. We also had our last scan on the Friday before heading down and so were able to bring the 4D photos of the bub. We again escaped without finding out the sex so it still a surprise until 'pop out day' ;) . The photo's are absolutely amazing and seeing the 4D image in motion was pretty damn cool. It really brings it home that there is a live bub running around in Sam's tummy. And believe me, Sam says it already feels like it is doing laps galore. Maybe another athlete on the way!

We headed out for the evening in Canberra to a charity auction for the Buffaloes League Team and had a quick dinner before taking the boys (brothers Stewart and Morgan) to the movies to see 'Taken'. Was nice to give mum and dad a night out. Damn cold after though and we were happy to get to the electric blankets. A good sleep and I headed out for a run around Tuggeranong lake for an hour or so. I had brought my micro-climate gear and rugged up big time. I think it was still in the minus degrees when I headed out. Certainly made me put a few intense surges in to get the blood running. Was nice to train on the old stomping grounds and after a while the chill was refreshing. Everyone I met said hello, which is nice after running in Sydney. A great 'Mum's lunch' and we headed back to Sydney. A nice weekend away and good to see everyone again before we have the new addition to the family.

I have been concentrating on running only these past few weeks. I have been easing into it and getting plenty of rest/sleep for recovery. I feel great now and ready to start ramping up the kilometres. I logged 80.4km for the past week of running and 67.2km the week before. I will have a slow progression up and continue through the marathon including it into my base phase without much of a taper. It is now 4.5 weeks away, which is plenty of time to get the kilometres in the legs to use it as a practice pace session for the Ironman's and test some nutrition strategies.

Train well and keep safe,
Bevan.

More Ironman NZ Photo's 2008

Myself, Nick Wright from Platypus Asset Management, and his brother Dan celebrating finishing NZ IM earlier this year. It was great to have their support for race day and Sam certainly loved having someone to have a good laugh with during the long, wet day. I am looking forward to the encouraging barracking again in March 2009 from the guys.


My lovely Sam giving me a final farewell before the start of the NZ IM. You can't tell but it was absolutely freezing. The sun came up just before race start and it looked to be a perfect day before the rain and wind settled in. Next time around we will have one more addition to this photo for our family.

Photo and Weekend Trip Home

Well I have finally got this photo loading caper down. This is a photo from Ironman NZ 2008 out on the bike course with me winding up the Norminator. You can see the clouds starting to roll in over the mountain behind. I think this was one of the few times during the day that it was not actually raining. Arm warmers and gloves are two things I normally do not use and were there for the freezing temperatures/winds that belted us on race day.

I am off to Canberra this weekend to see the family with Sam. Looking at this photo reminds me of the cold weather that will hit once I arrive in Canberra. Has been in the minus degree range there. We may also head out to the farm to help with the sheep and lambs where it has been snowing regularly. It will make my early morning runs interesting. I will post some more photos when I have thawed out from Canberra.

Cheers,
Bevan.

Update - Fast Cars, Opera, Running, Beijing Olympics

Hi guys,

Well I have been back now in oz for a couple of weeks. The running has started again and it feels good to be out in the early morning/late night chill. I love that cold feeling when exercising, reminds me of growing up in Canberra and minus degree temperatures. I get to catch up with the guys at Platypus this coming week and see how things have been for all. Extra time due to less training has meant some more time with Sam plus bub, catch ups with mates, and others things including:

- a ride in a Lambourghini Murcielago and an Aston Martin DB9 around the Newcastle beaches and top of town (absolutely amazing experience and the speed, stopping, and cornering ability are phenomenal);
- finally saw 'Phantom of the Opera' at star city casino lyric theatre with Sam (something I have always wanted to do but just somehow let it pass by each time - another box ticked);
- entered the Sydney Marathon on September 21 as part of my run specific block;
- had a damn good night out at a Bavarian beer cafe with Irishman Niall, NZ girl Deb (Sam's friend), and a big stein glass (yep, sounds like a bad joke);
- tried those Una's famous schnitzels again twice with Sam and friends;
- hit the movies for some down time;
- checked out the progress on the renovations of our house (Frank and Jan are making it fly up);
- feel the bub tumble turn on time each night; and
- had some time to read some books again.

The training will ramp up a bit now. Especially with the Olympic Games starting this Friday in Beijing. Always nice to feed off some great athletes competing in the best arena for some extra motivation to hit the training grounds. And we have an added bonus in Australia of the games being only 2 hours behind us so I do not have to stay up during the wee hours of the morning watching sport. All the finals will be around midday oz time due to the broadcasting rights being adapted for US time. I will be looking out for the triathlon finals in the second week and hope that the Aussies can get up after all the selection dilemmas that have occurred. I can appreciate how the athletes have to prepare for each sport and love watching new sports - I really got into the fencing last time with the French going fantastic. I worked for Nike during the Sydney Olympics with the VIPs and gold medal athletes and had some amazing one-off experiences. The Olympics always bring up memories I think for all Australians of the Sydney games and I am eager to watch the cycling, waterpolo, marathon, and just the Aussies in general to go well. And best of all, I do not have to go to the eurosport channel to watch it ;) . My coach is also commentating for NZ Media for the cycling, triathlon, and some other sports. It will good to hear his thoughts post games on how things went.

Injury free and looking forward to the new training phase,
Go Aussies!
Bevan.

Back In Cold Australia, Roth Roundup, and Next Challenge

The gear, bike, and myself have arrived safely back in Australia. It is always nice returning after a trip but this time I got even more of a surprise with the amount that Sam's tummy has grown out in the front. From behind you cannot notice a change but when she turns to the side, wow. Four more months of this amazing experience before we welcome the bub. I am not sure how big it will get but by the look of things so far, I could not imagine how Sam could have coped if there were twins inside!

On the training front, I have been turning over with a few runs and a couple of bike rides. It is seriously cold here in Australia in the mornings with a large amount of towns having their 'coldest ever days'. I have to say I have crept back into bed twice after heading out to grab my running shoes from a frozen/frosty balcony. Bed is soooo nice when you do not have to get out at 5am for a session.

Time to brave the mornings again though as the recovery period is over. It is run focus time and entry into the Sydney Marathon on the 21st September is in the plans. I have only run one straight marathon before in 2000 two weeks after my first Ironman. I helped a mate to break the 3 hour barrier and I think we came in around 2:58hrs. I had also ran backwards on the course for a bit to help another mate to try a crack the 3hr mark, so it should be interesting to see what I can pull out running the marathon straight for myself. The bike and swim will still get a go each week but with more of a run focus, I am looking forward to the different training that it will entail. Always nice to try something different.

Looking back on Roth, the race is magnificent. The Solarberg lives up to all the pictures you see and the noise is unbelievable. Now that I know the course I will be able to prepare a bit better for it. Also, my host family were great and made the experience memorable. I will be catching up with the Fuersts again for sure. There were the most amount of spectators on course at Roth that I have seen anywhere in the world for an Ironman. And this was on a day where it was 10 degrees and pouring with rain. It is a very honest course. The swim in the canal makes it comfortable for both good swimmers and those that are not confident with plenty of space in the canal and good wave starts to break it up. The bike course is a little more technical than I thought it would be with a fair few rolling hills. It is not a flat course like Western Australia or Florida but the roads are good. The run is very much dead flat on either a gravel or concrete surface (predominantly gravel) which allows for you to get into a good rhythm. On the run at each village there seemed to be beer tables set up and people in a 'jovial' mood. Great support to get you out of a troubled patch or continue flying along. Nice forest and off road parts with some long stretches on the canal make it a good mental challenge also. Really, you can work your strength on this course and go for a good overall time. This all said, it is not an easy course and you can be lulled into a sense of going for it when tempering the pace is needed. Many an athlete has seen the wheels tumble off a pb due to this fact. The mini 'stadium' of the hemisphere finish chute is 'goosebumpy' and where else do athletes get a bouquet of flowers to carry into the chute to finish with unless you are the top 3? Then being handed the Erdinger beer straight after the finish line is a great way to celebrate.

Did it live up to the hype? Most definitely. I can only imagine what it would be like on a sunny day and it is something I hope to experience because I will definitely be making my way back.

When I get my race photos I will post a few and also some of the training grounds around Eckental. Time to go battle the cold weather and the Sydney traffic and dream of the warm weather around the corner.

Cheers,
Bevan.

Roth Race Report - 9hrs21 - A Wet Day in Many Ways

Hi Guys,

Finished the Roth Ironman on sunday and I have to say I am a little disappointed in how things went. No excuses, just couldn't get the running going. Good times for others including a new world record for Yvonne Van Klerken in the womens event and a win for Patrick Vernay in the mens. I just couldn't put together the 3:10-3:15 hour run that I was aiming for. Until I get this run right I am not going to make any great improvements on the leader board. However, I had a good comfortable swim and bike under the conditions (torrential downpour on swim-bike) and my first half of the run went well. Now is a bit of a break and then it is time to focus solely on my run for the next few months (which is has been the plan from coach since day one post roth).

The skinny: Swim 49:56 Bike 4:49:48 Run 3:37:55 Total 9:21:31 New record for number of pee's on the bike of 15 and 6 on the run! (This is not a good record).

Swim: Plan was to keep in the big lead group and swim fast but comfortable sub 50min. Got into a few scuffles with people who have no idea how to draft and someone undoing my wettie meant I fell off the back of the lead group at the 2km mark. Could not make it back up without redlining for a while so swam strong but comfortable. Sub 50min so ok, but dissapointed lost the main group and 1-2mins. Swim training is going well as I thought I would have swam slower after losing the group.

Bike: Plan - to ride comfortable in heart rate zone, spin hills, work hard to get in a good position early on but not expend much energy, and set myself up for the ability to test my training and have a good run rather than getting a fast bike time and holding on in the run. Actual - found myself riding well and fast picking up the guys in front of me from the swim. Hit a big group about 35km mark which must have been the big swim pack. First part of course is downhill and some technical parts so the group was travelling faster in the rain with some locals knowing the course better to pick up time. Quickly went through the group and just concentrated on higher rpms, heart rate, and feeling comfortable. Dropped group and rode off front without any effort. Kept up a good comfortable work rate and focused on myself rather than groups etc. and confident in training and race plan. At about 55km mark I had my first pee and this continued every 10km til the end of the bike (and long ones also, not this hit and miss stuff). Hitting the famous Solarberg was an awesome sight. Even in the terrible conditions people were everywhere and the sound was unbelievable. I made a conscious effort to not get caught up in it when I passed road supporters (including the beer mile - people with tables of steins lining the road and having a good ol' party at 9am). Kept it going, and at 90km special needs station Matthias informed me I was less than 10mins behind a flying lead group and on the verge of the top 10. I could see a group of 3-4 guys ahead of me by a few minutes but I could not make any inroads without going all out for a fair bit. So kept it controlled and stayed to the plan. Around 115km mark I was joined by a few guys hammering the bike who had gone top 5-10 here before and we kept a good distance between us but paced well off each other. Was still peeing all the time and body felt bloated but not in the stomach. Just couldnt stop peeing huge amounts about 1min+ each time. Tried to keep the nutrition going. Ride was feeling very easy and worked on spinning and getting the legs ready for a good run. I knew I could ride much faster and harder but stuck to the plan and was looking at a 4:45 easy bike. Most comfortable 4:49 I have rode given the 15 pee stops, the rain slowing the technical parts, and no pushing it to take to much energy from my run. Bike training is going well and I am confident I can ride 4:40's or better comfortably now for Ironman anywhere.

Run: Plan - First 5km and last 5km take care of themselves, other parts need to be on pace and comfortable so I can work it from 25km onwards. Actual - Feeling good off the bike and ready for a good run knowing I had taken the bike as planned. First 10km good comfortable 4:30-4:37ish pace, next 10 km 4:45-5min pace (still peeing). This was ok as still on target and just had to hold it together for next 22km for a 3:15 and good sub 9. Next 10km started to falter and time was blowing out. Couldn't get the acceleration going or high knee lift. Was turning over legs ok, just no real push off no matter what trick I tried. This pretty much continued all the way to the end. Disappointing as I have worked on this and at no point did I walk (shuffle peeing must have been fun for the spectators). Body was bloated all day in the skin-muscles and I just kept on peeing. Have to sort this out also as sure it did not help my cause. Grabbed the Aussie flag from Matthias and was handed a bouquet of flowers from the Quelle girls for the 100m finish shute loop and finish photo. First thing you see in the finish area past the cameras is the Erdinger Beer Table staff handing you a pint of beer. Ah! That and a toilet stop (again) and I was a happy man ready for a leg massage.

Will write up also about the overall experience of the race. It is truly as people report and you see in the magazines with people crowded in like tour de france hill stages. I can only imagine what it would be like on a day where it is not cold and without a torrential downpour all day and there are even more people out.

Bevan resting up for now,
Ciao.

Roth #4 - Checked in and Ready to Go

Hi Guys,

Well all is ready for tommorrow morning and my first go at the famous Quelle Challenge. My final blow the cobwebs out session in the morning after a birthday breaky with the Fürsts has me feeling ready to go. I am confident in the training I have completed over the past 10 weeks under a new coach and with the support of Sam (plus growing bub), Nick from Platypus Asset Management, and my other friends, training partners, and sponsors. I am looking at a good performance with the aim of moving towards future goals in mind for tommorrows race.

Thanks for all the well wishes and birthday messages (today is my 33rd birthday). Much appreciated. It is always nice to get some support when you are on the other side of the world preparing for a race. I always seem to be away for my birthday with the European races predominantly focusing there major races in the first two weeks of July.

Rego went without a hassle. The expo was not too bad at all, with many new triathlon brands for me to view for the shop. Plenty of those bike brands that we have not heard of at all in Oz and each seem to be a carbon blend with plenty of bling factor.

I went over the course and am glad that I did. It is quite a hilly course with many rolling hills and long slight inclines. But then you have perfect road surfaces and long descents to pick the speed up and make it a fast course. Some "hairy" corners though especially in the wet and the hay bails are already awaiting a few people I think. You could make the mistake of going hard on one of the big climbs early on where there is a steep 10%+ incline for a short 1km, but it then continues for the next 5kms into a headwind. So some patience is needed on the course.

Last night I completed a phone interview with Tim Moore who writes for Triathlete mag in the US and other triathlon related media foremats. The interview was mostly about the doping in triathlon, testing or lack thereof, and ways of moving forward for our sport. This is becoming more of a hot topic of late with some of the major races (eg Frankfurt and Roth Ironmans) making large efforts in testing and after a couple of major positive results occuring in the last year/s. It will be interesting to read the article when it is published. Other athletes to talk to Tim have included Chris Lieto, Faris Al Sultan, and many other prominent athletes. Again we have another cyclist testing positive, Manuel Beltran, at the Tour de France and bringing it to light in the media for all. I am looking forward to a challenging but clean race against top athletes here in Roth on Sunday.

At bike check in today I met up with Clemens Coenen, a German friend who raced in Japan with me. His fiancee is racing tommorrow and I have been told to look out for the "get going" slap on the Solarberg (the tour de france like hill where people crowd in and there is no gap in front of wou until they peel away). Nice guy, and look forward to catching up again post race for the promised beer.

Sam says the bub is growing great guns at the moment and is kicking all over the place. Probably trying to give me a boot and help me along tommorrow ;) .

The forecast is for either 8-15 degrees or 10-16degrees depending on the weather channel. What they both agree on is heavy rain for the day. This shall make the bike course a bit slower, 10mins the locals say. I like racing in the cold and wet so should suit me perfectly, especially considering the cold conditions in Sydney. I cannot wait to get out and put all my training into place during the race and be patient but focused for a good, quick result tommorrow. The main aim is a good run and everything else will fall into place.

So, I am off for my last carbo load, some tour de france tv, and reading Sams movitational cards she writes each time I take off to race. Next blog will bring my report about racing the Quelle challenge and ticking another box off my triathlon list of to do's...

Cheers,
Bevan.

Roth # 3 - Update and Link for Live Coverage

Hallo (as they say here),

The final training sessions have all gone well. Bike is in order and rego is tommorrow. I will be getting my first look at the course Friday with Matthias and Felix taking me around and offering tips on the technical bike course. We will no doubt also check out the race expo and see what new toys are about. There are some bike stalls so may have a look to see if I can organise something other than the borrowed bike at the moment for future racing. Friday is a rest day though, so there shall not be much running around on the feet and a nice sleep in.

The link to the website in english is here:

http://www.challenge-roth.com/en/index.html .

There are cameras at certain points of the course running continually (Live-Cams) plus an up to date stream on individual athletes. There is also an overall leaders play by play (Live-Ticker) and I think a continual tv stream that you can sign up for on the same page. Race day is this Sunday 13th July.

I am in the Sub 9 group/Pro's and shall be off at 6:20am German time, or 2:20pm Eastern Standard Australian time this Sunday. My race number is 348. I will be racing for the Franken Speed Fighters team and have Matthias as my aid for the special needs stations (you have to provide your own coach-trainer for the special needs drops here at Roth).

I shall write another update before the race after the rego, expo, and bike-gear check in. Am looking forward to the start line and hitting the course in good shape with a good competitive field.

Cheers,
Bevan.

Roth Update # 2

Güten Morgen,

Time is ticking along now until race day and the days have been turning over with the required training as prescribed by my coach. It is nice to not be able to drift along doing what training I can organise but to have this all scheduled out. This has been the best lead up to a race I have had in a long time. All things seem to be coming together nicely. I received a great message from Nick at Platypus about the race which was good to give it a check in regards to the overall picture.

Today I awoke late after stuffing up my alarm. Changing between two mobile sim cards is always a risk and I was late for the morning swim as Matthias had freaked out, in a good way, that I had not tested my wetsuit yet. Matthias took me to Birkensee, a lake with a 500m diametre in forests 20km away which they had found after running trail sessions. We had to hike in about 1.5km to the place, but it was stunning. I had to test out a wettie for the race as my personal one had been sent back to 2XU for repair only to be lost in the warranties department somewhere. So, a borrowed blue seventy helix shall be doing the job this weekend. It was pretty awesome to be the only person doing 400m efforts in this alpine lake chasing geese and trout out of the way with fir trees and utter quiet (apart from my splashing around). A good 4km set and the suit stood up well. Very impressed actually with the ease of ability to breath and shoulder stretch. Matthias took some photos of me training in the lake which I hope to put up.

Matthias has been a great help including taking me to a former German mountain bike and cyclocross champion (Felix) this afternoon to service my bike. I couldnt get the bike into the 3 small cogs for speed. Felix found a few faults that had not been picked up and the bike is now running smoother that ever. He is also a Stevens bike rep which are some pretty nice looking bikes. There are so many brands of bike here in Europe and all look good. The individual time trial at the tour de france today was paradise. Now only if I can get a hold of some of the gear somehow ;) .

Germans are inspiring for their facilities for sports. Everywhere I go in villages there are helpful things. For example, there is a parcour that is exactly 2km long of forest track about 2km from the house. This was made for training for the local teams and people to have a loop on soft ground that they can use for timed efforts. Labelled and all, utterly amazing. And you see this everywhere. I have not done a single session on the same course yet and each has been of ease navigational wise and of great safety. It certainly makes a mockery of the roads and hassles of Sydney training. I am going to enjoy this whilst I can.

Matthias took me on a hill loop yesterday on the bike that included a 2km climb that had a 18% gradient for the last km. I had asked what the famous "Solarberg" climb in Roth was like and this effort was to show me something a bit harder. This "serpentine" climb passed through a small village of cobble stones on a big slant and then finished with a hill top cherry tree orchard. It was a nice way to finish off a 2hour ride for me but poor matthias had raced to a pb in frankfurt ironman the day before. I had my first car buzzing for the period on the steep descent when a "Isetta" BMW car passed me. This car was all over the shop and I couldnt stop laughing as these cars are those little boxes with one wheel in back and two in the front and open with a single door at the car front (think Mr Bean's european car or the gogo mobile but worse). As it passed me it slewed across the cliff edge and slammed the breaks on too investigate the solar panel field next to us. I nearly smacked into the back of it gave the old guy some Aussie barbs to his dumbfounded look. Matthias and I nearly ran into a cherry tree pissing ourselves. (Germany is big on the environment and alternative energy. Petrol is 1.60 euro to the litre. That is worse than oz and equates to about $2.67 per litre. The government also rebates energy saving devices.).

Monday I had headed to the university town of Erlangen where Seimens holds court with its major design buildings. Bjorn is at school here in the Sports Sciences Sector. They are in the middle of exams so I headed to the uni 50m pool for a non neck hurting session away from a 25m pool. An in and outdoor 50m pool greeted me with a lane to myself, nice. I checked out some of the other facilities of the sports sciences faculty and it looked like I had walked into the German version of the AIS. Technology everywhere of the highest standard and outside were top notch climbing walls, athletics tracks, football grounds, you name it. Not bad at all. Plus a damn good "bakerei" for lunch :) to add to a sprezee (think i didnt get that right) which is a coke-fanta mix softdrink that is the thing to have here if you do not drink beer.

I have just been at a 15 year olds b'day dinner where I got to try some more of the healthy local cuisine many ending in würst. Well, that and a small chocholate tart for carbo loading ;) . The family is a big thing here and there is another "do" tuesday following the race for Matthias and Ines' 25th wedding anniversary. This is going to be a big family food fest with a belated beer for my birthday. Something nice to think of after the pain sunday night. I am an endless source of laughter for my dismal attempts at German pronounciation. I have been trying to build up my vocab and a few sentences. Food seems to be a good starting point and there are two sounds I just cannot get right. All in good fun though and I love trying to learn something new. Also shared a great Greek meal at a local cafe here with Bjorn and his girlfriend. She had been on a 9hr 30km pilgrimage walk for a wedding that day so the food went down well.

One other plus is the extra sleep. With no work to run off to, an extra 4 hours or so sleep a day is doing wonders for the body and recovery. I have even got Bjorn into calling his study naps a "kip", now all I have to do is convince Sam at home that they are great things and not lazing off. Although I am sure that with the bub growing and doing tumble turns, she may be having a kip or two as is deserved.

More tour de france over the next day or two and on Friday will be heading to Roth to register and go over the bike course for the techinical details. Am looking forward to the race and having a good hitout. The team uniform looks like half a black-white cow pelt with blue arms and stars on it. Stands out as we were able to see Matthias on the live television cast on Sunday from a mile. I will be in my sponsors labelled racing uniform that is a proven comfortable item though.

Tchüss,
Bevan.

Ironman Roth - Arrived in Eckental with the Fürst Family

Hi Guys,

I have now arrived safely in Eckenhaid in Eckental near Nuremburg in Germany. It was a long 2 day voyage from Sydney through Shanghai, Beijing, Frankfurt, Nuremburg to here with zippo sleep. I will be racing at Ironman Roth for a German team called Franken Speed Fighters. My homestay is an old friend, Matthias Fürst, who is the sponsor of the team and an Ironman racer himself (in fact racing Ironman Frankfurt this weekend). I will be joining his family for two weeks for Roth and they (Ines, his wife, and Bjorn and Carlo, his two sons) have welcomed me like another son. Eckental is a town made up of 12 villages each separated by a small divide of forest in a valley. A picturesque place for sure and it is absolutely stunning with greenery and great weather (25+ degrees at the moment). Plenty of great training areas surround. It is about 15mins drive from Nuremburg and close to Roth also. Unfortunately Sam will not be joining me here as it is too hard on her travelling whilst 5 months pregnant. Sam has joked thatI am to be called "the abandoner" for a little while whilst the job here in Germany is being done. I missed the first midwife meeting friday but luckily as would happen, Ines is a midwife here so I can get the tips and I don't get in trouble :) .

On arriving, Matthias took me for a 50min run. It was great to get out after the long plane trip and see the area. I then joined the team swim session for the evening in Nuremburg and it is always fun to learn to turn the opposite way in pools again - the back will be feeling this tommorrow. Pools are just like driving cars. The euros drive on the right and so swim up the right side of the lane also. It is actually quite hard to flip turn the opposite way - try it - but something I mastered living and racing in France.

A great 11 hour sleep and I was back to normal. The loan bike was built and all ok - always a relief. Matthias and Felix (another team member) took me for a ride thorugh some of the small villages that included some hops fields for local beer brewing, some cobbled paths, a few forest paths, and some cool looking old farm houses. The architecture always amazes me when you see houses that are older than your country and it has been a generational home for 400 years. I then took a tour for another 1.5 hours to Erlangen as the other guys are racing an Ironman this weekend. I had an offer to race for the team at the Hamburg World Cup triathlon series this weekend coming but passed up to focus on Roth the following weekend. I love how there are races every weekend in Europe whereas in Oz they are few and far between in NSW.

The food here is just great. Ines made home-made pizza and special bread for dinner and it was mouthwatering AND healthy. Perfect for a long training day. Breaky is cold meats, cheeses, yoghurt, juice, coffee and after this load up it is train away for the day. Matthias was off to Frankfurt for the ironman, so Heinz (a former 2hr25 marathon runner) took me on some bike tours in the region for an hour. I then did the extra training hours including efforts and had no car episodes at all. A bit different to the daily car check in Sydney. Training here is SO good. I always fall in love with Europe each time I come back with the ease and beauty of training and the respect triathletes get here. An hour run in the heat followed by a train trip to Nuremburg for a 4km swim set finished the training day. With the day in excess of 28 degrees, my winter skin got burnt, so time for the "sonnen milch" tommorrow. Will be nice to get some colour again so I do not get lobstered at Roth.

Another great thing is that the Tour de France is live during the day. Rather than jumping on the windtrainer in Sydney in the middle of the night to watch and provide endless laughs for my partner Sam, it is great to organise training around the interesting stage parts and end sprint each day. That and eurosport 1 & 2 and I am in heaven.

On Sunday is Ironman Frankfurt and I will be watching in between training to see how Cameron Brown goes and also Matthias, Felix, and the other Franken Speed Fighters Triathlon team guys. Sounds like perfect weather and wind, so should be a fast day. Two great things about Frankfurt Ironman is they are taking blood from each Professional before the race to check for doping (eg epo) and that the whole race is live on normal television for the whole day! Good that it is not just the top 3 guys being tested. Roth also has stringent doping rules which is great for the athletes and also the sport. Fantastic for the sport to have live telecasts all day long, no chance that happening in Australia. So I will be in front of the tv Sunday between my training hours watching the Ironman and Tour de France, how good is that!

Tchuss,
Bevan.

Baby On The Way !!! And other developments...

Hi Guys,

Well the big news is that Samantha and I are going to be parents sometime in November this year! Sam is now half way through the cooking stage and is past the nightmarish morning sickness part. The bulge is starting to grow well with Sam having to succumb to the maternity jeans for comfort. Mum and bub are all healthy according to the tests.

There was a chance of twins due to my family history but tests confirmed that there is one baby only. I was sort of looking forward to twins, but having seen the amount of gear you need for one baby, I am now definitely pleased our first foray into parenthood is being to one child. I think we would need to build an extension on the house if twins were due.

We have decided that we will not be finding out the sex of our child. There are few true surprises now in life and I think that when the baby is born and finding out the sex only as it is lifted up to us will be one of those few moments that Sam and I can share together. This will no doubt cause the grand parents/family/friends some grief in preparing the garments/gear/room for our child, but I think one that will not really matter in the way things play out. Sam tells a story of when her little sister was born and having to tell a room of family/friends the details and finally that it is a girl then everyone yelling in joy. I want that for our child/family and friends rather than everyone knowing what the baby is in this preplanned world we now live in. I do not want us having a preconceived idea of our baby due to the sex but just to leave it as the wonder that it is, our lovely healthy baby.

We have chosen names. Frankie for a girl, Zachariah for a boy. We had already chosen the names along time ago on a trip with a few wines. Sam got to choose the girl's name, me the boy's. Frankie sits well with both families being in both fathers names and first born rotational names. I have always just liked the name Zac and think that it'll sound damn good rattling out four syllables when/if Zac-ha-ri-ah gets in trouble as he''ll certainly know it ;) . Bynon will be the middle name, Leach the last.

People always say that your mindset instantly changes when you become a parent. I know that to be true now. Even though the bub hasn't popped out yet, my mindset towards life, Sam, my family, work, racing, and in general has now changed for the better.

It has prompted me to get more serious about my racing. Nick from Platypus Asset Management is a great motivator and director, and he has certainly got me moving in a more professional manner in my triathlon and racing career. After years of being self-coached, I now am being coached by Mark Watson. Mark has great experience in this triathlon caper having raced elite but also involves himself in all aspects of commentating, coaching, being involved in the NZ High Performance Program, and has good athletes working with him (Cameron Brown amongst them). He also tells it as it is, which is how I like it. I look forward to working with Nick and Mark towards my goal of winning an Ironman race. The only type of triathlon race I have not won. This will be a long process, but one that I am willing to undertake to not go away wondering 'what if?'. I am now more focused on things and have the support of my lovely partner Sam and my bub. It will be an enjoyable, challenging experience that I am looking forward to.

Here's to a healthy baby!

Cheers,
Bevan.

Strongman Race Day

Woke up early as normal and put in the calories. A good stretch and headed out to transition to organise special needs bags, bike tyres etc. An ordered hive of activity here. All good, even had the translator take me around to the special needs stations to make sure my gear was in the correct places and in the correct way.

The media was crazy, but in a polite way and let you go about your morning rituals in peace albeit with tv cameras and lights blaring over you (handy though in the dark pumping up tyres).

As the race start was at our hotel, I was able to head back up to the room and chill out before having to head to the start line. Was nice to be warm and lie down for the last time in the day. Great conditions greeted us after the mini typhoon mid week and strong gusting winds over the past few days (100km/hr winds hit the race one year lately).

Swim warm up and all was ready. We lined up for a deep water start and then all the japanese started going crazy with a big chant. The reason, the ex-prime minister was here to start the race. A BIG DEAL here in japan. They love him, and he had graced the race with his presence. Well, he finally was able to start the gun after minutes of applause.

Swim 3km + beach run: I got off to a great start and lead out for a while. Had a japanese guy going schizo on my inside so I let him go off at full speed. Obviously he was there to win the swim prime and nothing else. I slotted into the lead group and worked my way along nicely. The group slowly broke up to leave 4 of us. Tim Hola, myself and two japanese. I slotted in behind Tim for the free ride. The guy next to Tim wanted to play 'bashes' with him. My guy decided he wanted to start the same. My guy learned quickly that was not a good idea and then for the remainder of the swim stayed out of my way and we swam comfortably along at a fast pace. Tim on the other hand had to fight his way the whole time. I looked ahead and the winning guy was only about 30secs ahead, I decided to go around the group but the group all floored it to keep up. This final leg was against the current for the last 1.3km. No point wasting energy when I had two guys willing to do the work for me, as I wanted the overall win, so I let them do their thing.

Out of the water in a comfortable but fast 37.5 mins for 3kms plus a fair bit of a sand run. Good overall swim, crossed the timing mats last of the group in 5th overall swim time, less than 1min down on the winner.

Transition 1: passed two guys in the bag transition grab and headed out, whoops, bag split, u-turn for gear and on my way without much loss. I later learned this was a warning for how my day would progress. Transiton was about 1km long with a run around the hotel grounds to the bike compound.

Bike 155km:

Worked into a good rythym and within 1km found myself nearing the lead. A slight swerve around a drain and all my nutrition bottles popped out and started skidding over the road. Brakes and U-turn head back 100m against bikes with some dodgy WTH looks from the athletes and locals. Anyway, after that little mishap it didn't take long to get back up into the lead. Although for about 15km I didn't know I was in the lead. I was just concentrating on turning over at a hard but sustainable pace for the 155km. I kept thinking that if there is someone up ahead they must be motoring because I was. I had a heap of vehicles and police escorts but thought that I must be in 2nd/3rd place as the way the media was before the race, I expected cars etc for all of the top 3 on the bike and run. There was daylight behind me after doing a lap of an adjacent island with a 1km+ bridge and I couldn't see anyone behind me. It was then that Patrick Legge yelled out I was winning and to go for it mate.

The crowd support on the island was only what can be described as totally inspiring. There was not one part that did not have some person cheering for you. Including workers in the rice paddies who would stop and chant 'waido, waido, waido' translated to 'go for it.....'. Japanese traditional drum groups and dancers littered the course.

The back half of the bike were rolling hills into a wind. I consolidated the lead and tried to get as much water/fluid/gels into the body as possible. I found it hard to get water at the aid stations as me yelling 'miso' (water) somehow kept getting me cola half filled bottles. After a couple of these I ended up stopping at a station to load up on water. I really wanted to go for the win and a few seconds would not make a big difference if I couldn't get energy into the body. And it was really starting to heat up plus the humidity was starting to kick in.

I lead onto the traditional media and bike photo prime position of Higa Road Turnpoint. A beautiful peninsula with a light house at the end that graces all the postcards of the Okinawa region and Miyakojima. It was here I could see my first look at the other guys. I had an ok lead and Clemens and Matsumaru were flooring it to try and catch up.

Some bigger hills started and I had run out of gels and water. I paced myself to not blow up and awaited the special needs station at 100km. I was passed by Clemens and Matsumaru on some hills leading into the bridge taking you to the 95km mark. I sat a little distance back (few hundred metres) to await the special needs and get some more energy before ramping the bike up again to hopefully bring a lead into the run as I felt confident of being able to work the last third of the bike with no problems.

Special needs came and unfortunately they had lost my bag. After dismounting and searching with the whole aid station searching, my bag was not to be found. Hell, that was going to make the rest of the day and bike interesting as I was out of gels/electrolyte and had everything there for the next 60kms (plus the last 10kms where I had run out). I then had to stop at each aid station to get a half filled water and electrolyte/coke bottle and a banana when I could.

I tried this and kept my position (after being passed into 5th/6th at the special needs station fiasco). I could feel the body depleting but kept working within a sustainable pace hoping that I could get some gels or something at one of the aid stations and load up for the rest. I was on good pace and the splits were the same or slightly decreasing to the leaders.

With 30kms to go, I heard the bike chain start to grate. I hoped off and tried to fix the problem. What had occured was the front derailler had come loose from the frame and slipped down into the big chain ring at the bottom bracket and locked into a position I couldnt get it out of. I could peddle for about 1-2mins max before I was unable to turn the cranks over. I was able to slowly grind away (with 2 stops per hill to fix derailleur) to be able to get up the rolling hills, but had to glide downhills, stop at the end of the glide, dismount fix the front derailler and go for the next roller. As there were only two bike mechanics on course at either end of the course and I had passed them both, the closest and only chance was a media/aid station before the finish line. So the slog home continued with no mechanical assistance to be found and me grinding my way home. Needless to say I was not a happy camper. I tried to make the most of a bad situation and limit my losses and get some bananas and fluid in for the marathon.

Coming into transition 2, the bike sounded like those BMX's you ride as a kid and put the paper pieces in the back wheel to make it sound like a motor bike. Geez, did I get some funny looks on this smick tri bike making play motorbike sounds!

The organisers had worked out from the course what had occurred at the special needs and were apologetic. I had gone a bit cold and clammy and the athlete liason guy was a bit worried about me due to the lack of nutrition in the heat and humidity. I said I was still going to go for it and try and get back up there in the top guys. I had still somehow managed to come into transition in 10th place overall nut had dropped 15mins in the last 30kms of the bike. I wanted to go well even though I could feel that the body was empty. With all the tv cameras hovering over me in transition I rushed throught the transition and out to start the marathon and try to get this body going by feeding gels into it asap.

Marathon:

The marathon is an out and back 21.1km of rolling hills and no coverage in baking heat and humidity. To make things more interesting, aid stations are not the norm being at different distances. Some are 1.2km apart, others 2.9km and they vary throughout the course. The crowd support is only what can be described as something like in Roth Germany or the other European iconic races where the whole course is lined. There was only one part of about 100m where I did not see someone who was seated to cheer on the race for the entire duration.

I ran the first few kilometres holding a good pace. At about the 15km mark things started to go a bit with the body running on empty. I tried to get calories in but the damage had already been done on the bike. I slowly dropped back in the field placings. As the marathon progessed and the chants got louder by the supporters, the heat and humidity increased. My body started to slowly pack it in in the speed department. By the last 10km's I was stopping at each aid station for a few minutes and following the ritual of: Ice the head and body, drink some electrolyte/coke and water + gel, ice the body and head again, then spray muscle cramp/numbing spray over the hips, thighs, knees, and anywhere that I could still feel ;) . Then start the run to the next aid station. I tried to limit any damage to the body and get to the finish as quick as possible.

Seeing the finish stadium was a welcome relief. The final 3/4 loop with girls/guys running behind you with banners 12 feet high was amazing with a packed stadium. All finisher recieved immediately when crossing a wreath on your head, a gold finishers medal, and a finishers t-shirt with your overall placing on the arm! Plus a couple of lovely people to guide you to the ground (in my case) followed by a dry retching in a wheelchair to the medical centre for some treatment, 2-3 drips, then some massage with students trying to practice their english after you come back to consciousness!

I was then looking forward to some japanese food, soups, and one of those strongman 2008 beers, but unfortunately we had to head straight back to the hotel.

Well, that was my Strongman experience! I was very disappointed at how the race turned out result wise. It was good to ead for a large portion of the race. I was in a good position to go for the overall win but some mechanical mishaps along the way changed the situation. I was proud to have got to the finish line of this great race albeit a little slower than I had planned. A few good things to take from this race as I know my swim and biking is placing me in a good position to challenge for the wins in these long distance races. I am now going to enjoy the rest of the trip here in Japan and the cultural experiences the race organisers have planned for us.

Bevan.

Strongman Overview - Press conference, Waido/Cardbo Party, After Events.

Well what a big few days. I am writing this post race as the computers went down at the hotel and time just flew byI will break it down into three separate entries: pre-race conference,post race, and post-race activites.


Friday was the pre-race elite athlete conference on the lawns of the Strongman Expo area and finish line region. Before this I had a great sleep in and some light swim training to flush the blood after the fantastic breaky's we get served here in the mornings.

The conference consisted of Gernot, Clemens, last years 4th place, Matsumara, Hayato Kawahara, a previous girl winner, Izumi, myself, then Nadelle Legge. There was a huge bank of cameras, tvs, and reporters. With translations of anwers in German, Japansese, and English, all questions were to take some time. Overall three general qusetions were asked (How do you like the island and first impressions; Your condition for the race and aims; Who is your competition and list your prospective split times) plus a few other small ones to myself. Overall a great experience and some lasting memories but it also brought the race back into hard focus and to see the other guys that will be gunning for the win was nice. At the end an individual and a group photo were taken that ended up on all tv networks and newspapers. We even made the front page of the newspaper with individual photos and a small blurb of each of us. Was nice to get the Platypus Asset Management logo out and I also did some smaller individual interviews after the big conference. Then it was time to check out the expo (smallish but some good Ceepo bike stuff)and head home for a relax and gear clean up before the Carbo Party.

Carbo/Waido Party, what an experience. I have never seen so much food devoured in so quick a time! Lots of great cultural dances, songs, and an athlete swear in ceremony. The invited athletes were situated at the front of this banquet hall and we met with the officials of the Committee and sponsors of the race. Lots of other people came up to talk to us as well. The food was fantastic. Very healthy but thank heavens that they placed some on our table, as the side buffets were demolished in no time. There was one big table with a Strongman cake on it about 3m x 3m. It was gone in less than 8mins! They also made everyone do a 'cheers' drink with the official Strongman Beer. Very nice brew ;) . No seats though and everyone had to stand. Overall a very different experience.

Post race we had much of the same at the Awards Ceremony except that this was an afternoon feed. People devoured the food in much the same fashion but there was more alcohol (beer/saki) to do the rounds. The invited athletes got up on the stage to dance to the traditional Miyakojima Strongman dance - was a good laugh! Then there was a rock'n'roll band and some songs to get eveyone in the mood for a party. After this they held an informal celebration at a traditional japanese restaurant house in town where the food flowed again but this time the drinks did as well. Karaoke was performed by anyone and everyone. People were allowed to walk on stage, say something about the race, and then everyone did a 'cheers' drink. Let's just say there were a hell of a lot of people wanting to say something and get another 'cheers' drink. I was even dressed in traditional head gear by some of the locals for some photo's and participate in a traditional circle dance. Quite a good experience. Met some lovely people and had a good night. This is also a family affair with most people bringing there young children in and the kids getting into the spirit as well. I was lucky to be sitting next to Patrick and Nadelle Legge who have lived in Japan and could translate for us with the young family group we sat with and others that dropped in to congratulate us for coming and honouring the island by racing.

All the invited athletes then headed to Tokyo the following morning. We all checked out the city touring for the afternoon before ending up in a backstreet bbq house-restaurant. The whole gang was there which made for an enjoyable evening. We all then went up market to Gary's hotel for traditional cakes and coffee as desert. Great views in a 'Times Square' type area out of 'Lost in Translation'.

The following day was a sightseeing expedition back into town do the prerequisite gift shopping, nature park gardens for the cherry blossums, skyline viewing at a skyscraper, and then general fun banter before we all went back to fly home. The trains are very efficient and a great way to travel.

Overall, Strongman was a truely great experience. The locals really make this race and the organising committee would rather that the invited athletes have a great experience culturally and see the island for the amazing place it is than just to rock up and race. Do not be fooled, they want you to race well and to the best of your abilities to do a good showing, but mostly they want you to finish and take something away from the island and race that makes you a better person for the experience of Miyakojima and the Strongman.

Would I come back to do this race again even with the bad mechanical luck I had and a missed opportunity for a victory/great placing in the Strongman? Most definitely! I would happily bring back my partner and our newborn next year to take up the Strongman challenge once again. But also for my loved ones to experience the island called Miyakojima and the people that make it.

Bevan.

Strongman Adventures

Hi All,

Have settled at the Miyakojima Tokyu Resort here now with a great sleep in (so nice to not be up at 5am) and an amazing spread at the breaky buffet. Sleep was disturbed by what at first sounded like firecrackers but was in fact horizontal rain hitting the glass balcony doors! This is a typhoon area and winds have been known to get to 100km/hr on race day. That will make sunday interesting if this rain and wind continues.

Had another swim on the course. A strongish current flows one direction but this is of no help as the return leg is directly into it for a greater distance. Should help me and the strong swimmers though which is nice. Water is clear and reminds me of the hawaiian islands crystal clear waters.

Visited the Fukimine Junior High School today with Tim Hola from the Timex Triathlon team and his wife Nicole. Justin who is an American english teacher living on the island and racing also helped us out. Lovely school of 28 students with 10 teachers. Bit different to the 30+ students 1 teacher deals we have in Australia. The school is immaculate and the gardens are stunning with centuries old architecture. Pretty nice place to study. The kids sang us the island song accompanied by the traditional guitar/banjo and dance. This was followed by a powerpoint presentation of the island, school, students, and some race information. The kids man an aid station on the marathon course and have signs made up for us! Sure to help when the pain kicks in. After question time and some speeches we played 'jung-ko'. It is a type of paper/scissors/rock whereby most arguments/draws/decisions are made here in Japan. A tied baseball grandfinal was determined by the two teams lining up agaisnt each other and playing it - no kidding! We than took the students in smaller groups for talks and games (darts, bowling, volleyball) and I got free throws. I ended up dunking using some of the kids. Good fun. At the end we were presented with brown rock sugar in bags (japanese sweet) with the schoolkids photos on it. A lovely present for home. The school is on the southern end of the island with is literally stunning. It is where a lot of the postcard photo's of the island are taken. We both bike and run through here race day.

Arvo ride on the course showed it to be a fast paced smooth ride with many rollers. With no wind this could be a fast course, but that rarely happens. Bike is all ok after the travels (Greg, your bike is all good).

The evening we had a dinner with all international athletes hosted by the Rotary Club of Miyakojima. Banners were exchange and we received a t-shirt banner and icecream toy from them. A great dinner and presentation of local culture (songs, traditional band, tradition martial arts dance). This was followed by a famous singer and a movie star, who compete in the race, who have designed a dance and song for the race. Of course, everyone was up and learning the dance and song words for the carbo/awards parties to follow. More games followed of paper/scissors/rock and a musical chair like game but with bodies! The japanese love games. Then it was home and to bed.

We made the front page of the newspaper today with photo's of us and the Mayor of Miyakojima.
Friday is the elite athletes press conference followed by the carbo dinner. The race favourties are to go to the press conference and Clemens, Gernot, and myself are to participate. Should be fun. Nick, the Platypus Asset Management gear will get a run at this ;) .

All is looking good for the race. Cheers,

Bevan.

Strongman Japan Miyakojima Triathlon

Hi Guys,

I have arrived in Miyakojima ready for the Strongman Japan on Sunday 20th April. I flew into Tokyo last night and roomed with an Austrian pro male, Gernot Seidl. A quiet night with only one funny episode when Samantha's g-string fell out of my washing in front of Gernot! On my flight over from Sydney were two other Aussies racing, Patrick and Nadelle Legge. Nadelle has placed well in this race the past two years and Patrick raced here last year. They absolutely love the race, the island, and the locals that make this race.

This morning we met the other pro athletes in Tokyo before all flying here to Miyakojima. Gary Sato organises the international guys and gals to come and compete against the best Asian competitors. He has been a part of this race for many years, first as an elite competitor and now lately as a liason. Clemens Coenen (Germany), Tim Hola (USA), Luis Dela Torres (USA) are the other pro males flying in. Verena Walters (Germany) joins Nadelle in the female race.

Miyakojima is a beautiful island. So clean, lush, and with stunning beaches and coves around every bend. Upon first arriving at the airport we had photo's of our group and individually, newspaper interviews, and television interviews. Quite a fun thing to do and really gets you into the spirit of things showing you how much of a big thing this race is in Japan and on this island for the locals. It is the 24th edition of the race here and there are tv specials of previous editions, posters all over the place, banners over road ways, and locals screaming out to you. They even do a special run of the beer cans from the beer sponsor with it changing each year. This year it is a photo of the island and course layout on the can. Think one will be making it to the trophy room! If you go top 10 overall, they give you a special year edition saki bottle in the shape of the island with the course and details on it! I am definitely aiming for one of those little babies...

After a swim in the crystal waters and building the bike to make sure all is ok, the invited athletes headed to a meeting with the Mayor of Miyakojima and Chairman of the Strongman Committee. A lovely man who is genuinely interested in supporting this race and bringing athletes from around the globe to his island to talk to school kids, see their culture, fall in love with his island, and challenge us to have fun racing whilst doing our best. We all brought gifts from our home countries (myself a boomerang, Patrick and Nadelle a Sherin football - watch out locals as the Mayor looked like it was Christmas with those gifts). Some more photo's with the Mayor and associates from the Committee and we were off to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. A good helping and it was home to run off dinner, the flight, and loosen up.

Tommorrow we have school visits, some training, registration, and a dinner with the Miyakojima Rotary Club.

All's going well and I am looking forward to racing on the weekend.

Cheers,
Bevan.

Sparke Helmore Solo Triathlon

Hi Guys,

Sam and I headed up to Newcastle for the Sparke Helmore Solo Triathlon. This is my yearly handicap triathlon race with the Bynon clan and friends. This year saw an extended course due to the large number of participants and a huge transition area. Rather than a single out and back run course, it was a double out/back loop. So more viewing for the chasing speedsters to catch me and more time for me to look for the handicappers!

Soft Sam pulled the pin due to sickness, the Lee's dropped out due to family commitments, but the lovely 'Surging' Sandy Bynon was back and fitter than ever, whilst Steve 'S Club 7' Howard was lining up for his first ever tilt at a triathlon. The handicaps worked out on last year's times were:

Bevan - scratch (last year overall win in a course record of 47:40min)
Sandy - 1.5 x Bevan's time (not a novice anymore)
Steve - 2 x Bevan's time - 5mins (this was considered a bit lenient)

The tide had turned and the swim course was reversed. The nerves showed on S Club, but his swim and race hinged on Soft Sam giving him his glasses after the swim. No glasses equalled carnage on the multi-loop bike. Sandy was quiet and confident. I had to blast it and live up to my nickname of 'Bam Bam'.

I lead from start to finish in the race overall and crossed in 47:43 narrowly missing the course record. The loaned bike certainly flyes thanks to Greg from 3 Sports. An extra distance on the run courtesy of a marshall cost the record - she thought I was in a separate race distance as I was too far ahead. Ah well, a back track to the correct path and no love lost. But, was the handicap gone??

I went to watch the others and both Steve and Sandy exited transition 2 at the same time. Steve had foxed us ;) . The duo had had a great ride and surely with no blow ups, Steve had the handicap and the first beers. Sandy was cruising on the run and I could be last on handicap and 1st beer round buyer!

Final times were: Bam Bam - 47:43min; Surging - 1hr12:56min; S Club 7 - 1hr16:25min.
Handicapped to beat Bevan - Surging had to go sub 1hr11:34.5; S Club 7 had to go sub 1hr30:045secs.

Handicap winner - Steve 'S Club 7' Howard!! Followed by me and then Sandy. So, first round is on Sandy at the next function!!

Congrats to Steve and Sandy on a great race and Sam for her support. I was happy with the overall win but a bit disappointed to miss the record by a few seconds even if the course was longer. Next up is some hard training weeks in preparation for Strongman Japan. As always, a big thank you to my sponsors: Nick from Platypus Asset Management, Greg from 3 Sports, John from High 5, Brooks Shoes, and Ralph from Ryders Eyewear.

Train safe and race hard,
Bevan.

2008 To Date and Next Challenge

Well I am back in Oz after Ironman NZ which was my main focus for the first quarter of the year. Nick and the guys at Platypus Asset Management supported me to focus on this race including a pre-race training camp with Cameron Brown (winner of the race a world record 7 times including this year). I will be posting my race report but the low down was I came in at 19th pro male in 9:33hrs in what became a good day not a great day. I will post my race report here with all the usual details but I was happy that I was able to 'race' the ironman and let things fall as they may. I feel that I am now able to 'race' an ironman rather than going out and making up the numbers. I now race the people rather than time and would rather place well than aim for a certain time. But, a good fast time is always nice ;) .

This past weekend, after a weeks total rest from the ironman, was the State Sprint Champs at Kurnell. I backed up to test how the recovery was going. I am happy to say I won my grouping in the race which gave me the State Sprint Title for the M30-34yrs. I had only competed in 2 of the 4 race series but by winning the last 2 races I also won the Pointscore Series.

I love to race as much as possible including racing a few shorter distance races for training in a heavily fatigued state. My thoughts were that if I could perform in a 'dead' state, I could still be 'racing' the guys at the end of the marathon in the Ironman. For example, running 36km of 8x4km repeats plus a long swim, then the following morning riding hard race pace efforts over a 4.5hr ride with hills before immediately racing an Open Water Harbour Swim (lead until cramping in last 500m - note to self, no swim races after hard bikes). Here are my results for 2008 to date:

• Australian Aquathlon Championships - 2nd M30-34yrs, 7th overall;
• Sydney Triathlon Series Race#3 - 1st M30-34yrs, 3rd overall;
• Australia Day Harbour Swim Newcastle - 1st M30-39yrs, 9th overall;
• Sydney Triathlon Series Race#4 - 1st M30-34yrs, 4th overall;
• Sydney Triathlon Series Pointscore Champion M30-34yrs; and
• NSW State Triathlon Sprint Champion M30-34yrs.

My next major goal is the Miyakojima Strongman Japan Triathlon on April 20th. This is an iconic race in its 24th year. Held on the island of Miyakojima, each year 1500 people toe the line. Most are drawn from a ballot/lottery and get a delivered envelope on Xmas day preceeding the race year to tell them that they made the start line. Many thousands apply and it is an honour to get a start. Internationals are by invite only and each year approx 1 pro athlete from each continent is invited to race plus the top 10 from the year before. Winning the 2007 Asian Long Distance Championships, a 2007 Asian Half Ironman Triathlon and placing 4th ranking in the 2007 ITU Pro males is what got me my invite to this years race. The race is a 3km swim, followed by two loops of the island and its volcano of 155km, then a rolling hilly 42.2km marathon finished by running through huge ornate steel gates with a 400m loop of a running track in a full stadium. Drums are set at the entrance of the stadium with its huge steel gates. As the race finish time nears, spectators head to the entrance gates. The drums increase in tempo until they are a deafening roar and the gates close. Athletes listen for the drums and sprint to get through them before they shut whilst others are left stranded at the gates with the finish line in sight 400m away. This is all televised live for the whole race day including pre race conference and interviews. We go and talk to the local schools and also meet with the local council/mayor/committee plus other cultural experiences. Sure to be a great trip and something I have looked forward to competing in since hearing about it in europe in the early 2001.

I will of course be racing some smaller stuff before including this weekends Sparke Helmore Triathlon in Newcastle. I have some close mates racing and each year we have a handicap system to make things fair between us as we range from pro's to novice racers. Handicap losers buy the first round at the local drinking establishment ;) .

Train hard and safe,

Bevan.

Back again and 2007 round up

Well it is time to get my adventures on the net again. After having some website administrator difficulties over the past year, I am going to have my blog back up and running. This way all my supporters, sponsors, family, friends, and general interested parties can follow my progress towards my triathlon goals.

Firstly, I must update you on 2007 - the year I learnt to win big again! I ended the year as the 4th ranked professional male in the ITU World Long Distance Rankings after racing the Oceania titles and winning the Asian ITU Long Distance Championships. I won all possible triathlon race distances except an Ironman (although I did lead one for a while!) these being sprint, olympic, half ironman, and long distance. I broke swim, bike, and overall course records during the year. I was especially proud to become a member of a select group of Australian athletes to win an ITU Continental Title and ITU World Cup Series race. Breaking the bike and overall course records to win my first half ironman triathlon at White Rock was another highlight. I gained a lot more knowledge on how to 'race' ironman and long course and shall be implementing this in 2008 to push for that maiden ironman win.

In 2008 I will have great support from some new sponsors in Platypus Asset Management and Cooltainer with continued support from 3 sports, Ryders Eyewear, Brooks running shoes, and High 5 Nutrition.

A list of results for 2007 follows:

• 1st White Rock Half Ironman Distance Triathlon – Asia, set a new bike course record and overall course record;
• 1st ITU Asian O2 Long Distance Triathlon Championships – Subic Bay, Philippines, set a new bike course record, 2nd in swim breaking old swim course record;
• 4th ITU World Long Distance Triathlon Rankings – Professional Males;
• 1st Overall Sparke Helmore Solo Triathlon, swim & bike primes, 1st M30-39yr, lead start-finish, setting overall course record and bike records;
• 2nd Sri Chinmoy Champions Challenge Triathlon (3.2km/125km/30km) – Setting swim and bike course records, leader until 24.5km mark of run;
• 11th Oceania and Australian Long Distance Championships – Huskisson – 3hrs59mins;
• 1st Newcastle foreshore triathlon M30-34yrs, 4th overall, 1st overall swim;
• 1st Kurnell 60km Cycling Time Trial High 5 Testing & 2 x Course Record (3 x 1st, 1 x 2nd in 4 Time Trial Races);
• 3rd Australian Half Ironman Professional Men’s Triathlon Division 2006/2007;
• 1st Men’s 30-34 Australian Olympic Distance Triathlon Series - Newcastle Race #2;
• 2nd Men’s 30-34, 6th Overall, Australian Olympic Distance Triathlon Series - Nowra Race #1;
• 2nd Premier/Elite Men’s Division Australian Triathlon Club Teams, Penrith;
• National Club Champions - Australian Triathlon Club Teams -Brats;
• 4th Karuah 8km fun run, 2nd 31-40yrs male;
• 5th Illawarra Aquathon Long Distance Men’s 30-39yrs, 1st swim category;
• 10th Pro Male Ironman Japan;
• 35th Almere Ironman -Leader during swim and bike portions of the race; and
• Ironman Brazil – Qualified for Hawaii Ironman Pro Spot but passed due to financial reasons.

After these results and learning more about the way I need to race and train, I am confident that 2008 will bring much more success. I gained a great deal from 2007 from a racing perspective and shall use this to continue my rise in triathlon, further improve my personal best times, and to chase that win everytime I race.

Cheers,

Bevan.