Monthly Update - Snakes, Jobs, Chains, a Blackberry, and Congrats.

Hi Guys,

All has been going well. I have picked up a bit of a cold though as the dreaded lurgy seems to be catching up with everyone. Frankie has had it for a little while and now it is moving through the family. Not good as I have a Regional Team Time Trial this weekend but I still should be ok for it and have a good hit out. I can put Frankie in the running pram in a week as she will be six months old - I can't wait but gee the time goes quick.

Other things happening over the past month have included:

- being bitten by a green tree snake on a ride during the pelting rain. It only just latched on for a quick tad mainly scraping my leg and really only some pins & needles, a bad headache, and some weird leg pain for a day. Otherwise ok.

- my mate Dezza (Derek Scott) and his partner Christine (Chrissy) Eldridge having a lovely wedding in Scottish attire in the Rocks in Sydney. So good that unfortunately I misplaced my mobile phone. Also got to catch up with some Sydney mates, James, Mal and Sam - was good to touch base guys.

-No mobile meant joining the Blackberry world. Passed on the Iphone as had heard too many dodgy stories and wanted the ability to send photo's plus check emails etc when travelling or for work. How good are they!;

- I have found a new job working at Macquarie Physiotherapy and Macquarie Exercise Centre. Three days with the private practice setting, two days in the gym rehabilitation area. Thereby giving me variety but work that I can enjoy with great hours so I can still train and mind Frankie. Loving it.

- I snapped my 2 month old duraace bike chain. Thus 10 days off the bike. Ended up having to replace jockey wheels, chain, wiring, and also cracked the front derailleur (but can change this later). Have double taped the handlebars and it is very comfortable now but with a good road feel. I may have to look into getting a new road bike for the races but definitely some race wheels/power for training.

Congrats to Jo-Ann Stevens for making her first Australian team for the sprint triathlon world champs in the Gold Coast this year. Jo-Ann has done the work and now can reap the benefits. Enjoy the moment and the first time you get to wear the green and gold uniform!

Otherwise, training is coming along well. I have now got into a routine with the swimming and running. The biking is freezing already and very dark in the mornings here in Newcastle. Much colder than Sydney. I am going to have to get into the attic and grab my Euro winter gear.

Happy Mothers Day to all the mum's, grandma's, and I hope that you can have a relaxing day on Sunday. Cheers to my mum in Canberra - hope the boys spoil you well and you get breaky in bed.

Cheers,

Bevan.

First A Grade TTT Win in Billy Robson Annual Memorial

Hi Guys,

Last weekend (11/4/09) I participated in the Billy Robson Memorial TTT for Team Newrad Gateshead at Kooragang Island NSW. The race was 3 laps for a total of 25km on a rough and very patchy course in comparison to the normal TT smooth roads.

It was my first hit out with the guys who were very experienced with the TTT and so I was a little nervous on how I would work in with the team. It took a little bit to get things going together but it didn't take long until we were flying along in sync. We ended up with the fastest time in 33mins24 and winning by 1min26secs on another A grade team. This is the fastest time over the course in the trophy's history. As a nice touch, the winning teams of each grade get the four members names and finish time engraved on the Billy Robson Memorial TTT Trophy.

Above is a photo of our team with left to right being: myself, Brett Lambkin, Geoff Troup, and Brett James. We have another TTT in a months time for the District Regional Cup Series so this was perfect training to get some ideas for improvement.

The Newrad Gateshead B Grade team won their grade and came in 3rd overall - a great effort.

Cheers,

Bevan.

March/April Update

Hi Guys,

It has been a month since my last post. In that time a lot of things have happened. I'll try to give you a brief run down.

I had a great break after IM NZ and enjoyed the recovery. I had some calf and hip flexor tightness post IM. I raced some cycle races within a week of the ironman and was feeling ok. I have only done a couple of swims but am now into the groove again with running and biking. I'll start to pick up the swimming in the following weeks.

I have been picked up by a cycling team based here in the Newcastle region. It is called 'Team Newrad Gateshead" with title sponsors of Newcastle Radiology (Brad McDonald) and Gateshead Cycles. A great squad of guys and I hope to help the team pick up some wins/podiums over the coming season. I also want to learn more about the cycle road racing intricacies so that I am better prepared to go for wins and also utilise the hard racing to maintain my cycling strength for my triathlon races. I have already raced for them last weekend helping the team to a 2nd, 3rd, 5th, & 6th position whilst having a few good digs in breakaways. I am really enjoying the fun and challenge of the different type of racing. I'll be racing the Central Division State A Grade Cup for the team which involves a 5 stage race series including time trialing over the winter months. Also included for the team are some stage races, day classics, NSW ITT, team TT, and individual road races for the winter.

I also had confirmation of my selection in the Australian Team for the ITU World Sprint Triathlon Championships in September on the Gold Coast. This will be fun and get the speed back into the body which I hope to capitalise on for my long distance triathlon racing. I will also be heading to Asia on invite to a WTC 70.3 Triathlon and working towards this as a focus to build speed and strength for the mid distances.

Over winter I will be working on technique and old school kilometres for my running and swimming. I will be trying a few new things for running and using this time to build these into strengths again for the coming seasons races. I am also looking at utilising power for training and racing on the bike if I can find some suitable support/sponsorship to aid in purchasing the power meter units. I have been racing on Xentis quad spokes for the past couple of years in my races and may look at moving to a disc so that I can further utilise my biking strength in races.

Work wise, I have been 'Daddy Day Care'. It has been great to spend some time with Frankie in this early period that a lot of dad's miss out on. She changes week to week and sometimes it seems like there are new things she does each day. Being there to witness and be a part of it is fantastic. It looks like I have found a job though working as a physiotherapist for a company that houses both a private practice setting and gym/exercise rehabilitation/weight loss setting. I will post more on this when everything is finalised but I am looking forward to this opportunity and working with some great people.

I hope that everyone has a great Easter break.
Cheers and train safe,
Bevan.

IM NZ quick wrap up

Hi Guys,

Well I went for it. At one point I was sitting in 7th/8th at the 20km mark on the run with 3 speedsters chasing me down with a guaranteed Hawaii spot on the line. I had the choice of keeping a steady pace and hoping that they blew up or going for it. I went for it. Unfortunately I had two mini blow ups in the next 20kms that cost me. I went for it and it didn't come off, as a side note, the guys chasing me ran through all with great runs and no blow ups. I ended up coming 14th male pro.
I have just been to the Hawaii roll downs and I ended up missing out by one spot on a pro slot (ie. I was next person up). Must of been the year for rolling over. You can not pick it as many years there are no slot roll overs in the pro section hence going for the automatic qualification position.
I have improved on last year and it was good to be up there mixing it with the guys. I need to work more on my second half of the run. But after only 4 real months of training under Mark Watson, I have improved a lot and we will continue this progression.
I will file a race report and hopefully some nice photo's as well.
I am a bit disappointed on missing a Hawaii slot, but happy that I gave everything to nail one and am improving my overall position/racing.
Cheers,
Bevan.

The Night Before

Everything is now ready for the race. It looks like the weather has been good to us with winds and rain last night and early today. Otherwise it has been dry and calm. This means either a nightmare day weather-wise tomorrow as we are one-day of the forecast, or a brilliant mid temperature day with little wind. It is a deceptively tough course here in Taupo. I am well prepared under Mark Watson's guidance and will leave everything out there going for a good position and time. I want to thank everyone for their well wishes, sms', emails, blog notes, and facebook messages. Also to the Newcastle cycling boys for the extra bodies in training and likewise the Sydney crew. Thanks again to the guys at Platypus Asset Management for supporting me again for this tilt at the New Zealand Ironman. It was great to hear and see Frankie & Sam tonight on Skype - got to love those computer aids when they work.

Remember, you can follow my progress tomorrow on http://www.ironmanlive.com/ under race number 38 and if you click on my name it should give you progress reports/times/splits at the timing mats over the course.
Thanks to the Bynon and Leach families for their support and well wishes. Also to my sponsors High5, Brooks, and Platypus Asset Management, many thanks for aiding me in my training and racing goals.
Well, it is time to out the legs up, sleep, and wait for the race to start.
Cheers,
Bevan.

Ironman New Zealand - Sat 7th March 2009

Hi Everyone,

I have arrived safe in sunny Taupo. I flew directly into Taupo on a very small plane that Sam would hate. Two bikes were able to fit in out of three and my one made it. Let's hope the luck continues all weekend. Good weather by NZ standards has greeted me so far but is forecast to change for the next few days. Built the bike, did the test ride, and all good. Tv reports said the wind was getting up to 60km/hr+ and it was a tad wobbly on the road during the test ride. Water in the lake is crystal clear with no waves and without the usual NZ chill. Was quite warm actually but definitely a wetsuit swim. Everyone is out in their gear on the strip. Sensible ones though are inside watching the tv, internet, or sleeping. Taper is going well and I am looking forward to letting it all rip on the Saturday.

I am race number 38. You can follow the race on http://www.ironmanlive.com/ through either the athlete tracker or updates. Race day weather forecast is rain, 16-22 degrees Celsius, with a moderate northerly wind. Not sure what moderate wind means by NZ standards probably an Aussie cyclone. The wind pushed the waves on the lake up to 1-1.5m the other day which if it occurs on Saturday will make it interesting for a lot of competitors.

The pro briefing was today. They are going to hammer drafting, littering, and infractions this year. They even have a chopper with a tv to bust drafters and have them sit out their penalty on entering transition 2. Littering, including banana peels, will be a u-turn and pick up plus penalty. We have a 15min start on the age-groupers so that they can police the race better and also it is a new worldwide WTC rule change. This may change as the race director seems to want us to start with the age-groupers and may give us a late start 'due to darkness' but not change the age-grouper start time. We will find out race morning. Otherwise, it is as per normal and a good field of racers that should make the viewing interesting. I will touch base again before race day .

Cheers,
Bevan.

New Zealand Ironman - Lake Taupo

Well, I am now into the final week of my preparation for IM NZ and things have been going well. I am lighter than I have been for a few years for an Australasian race and I have put in a great block of training. I feel good, well prepared, and ready to go. It is just a matter of keeping things together for the last week, travelling well, and firing on race day. Platypus Asset Management will be supporting me again this year and I want to thank Nick, Gabrielle, and the guys for helping me out and all their encouragement. It will be interesting to see how the race plays out with a few people already qualified for Hawaii, some Olympians stepping up, the World 70.3 (Half Ironman) Champion racing with pre-qualification, and the 15 minute head start on the Age-groupers. The head start is good for me as it does not allow the slower swimming pro's to be dragged along in the swim to quicker times thereby lessening the gap to the better swim-bikers. There will be a few people going bust for podium positions which should splinter the field and a few will survive with others blowing up. The weather has been shocking the last few days but forecast is for similar rain and wind to last year on race day. Overall, good things for me as the weather does not bother me and I am happy for splintering groups with people not sure if they will make the distance or have correct nutrition strategies. I am race number 38 and will have the linkages for following the race posted this week sometime. I have some old mates from Sydney and abroad racing in Taupo so it will be great to catch up with them.
Cheers,
Bevan.