When I asked my instructor at the end of the course about whether he thought it was a good idea to race Honu Ironman 70.3 in 6 weeks time I was tentative for fear of him saying no. Of course his answer made perfect sense, as he explained how there is no need for a certain length of training or tapering before racing. Being relaxed and training instinctively means that I can race whenever I want.

The Big Island of Hawaii has almost always been a place of joy, prosperity, and growth for me. I have always felt comfortable, relaxed, and at home when I have been to Kona (raced 6 times, visited once), and I am very excited and it seems fitting that this will be the place where I test my new approach. I won’t be as fit as I would be when I normally arrive in Kona, but my mind has more control over my body than it did before, and my body is stronger due to a gym program that I have never done before.

Jaimie was in a similar boat to me, having been injured with plantar fasciitis since Philippines 70.3 in August last year. We have both only started training recently, but we are doing much of it together, relaxed, happy, and it doesn’t even feel like training. Racing together in Hawaii will be incredibly special. Jaimie races age group and would love to one day race in Kona at the World Championship, but with my plans to race there every year it may be tricky for us both to compete on the same day, but I won’t say it’s impossible. For now though, racing together in Honu 70.3 will be something I’m sure we will remember forever, especially if I can have the sort of race I normally have on the Big Island.

Hawaii’s position on the globe also means it is a favourite race for Australians, and I’ve got plenty of friends racing in age group, and most of the pro male field is Australian too – although for them it’s either a stop on their way to mainland US, or they are coming from the US. Craig Alexander is the main threat, and he obviously has a strong connection to the big island too. Along with Paul Mathews and Luke Bell who both have very strong 70.3 results, Jordan Rapp will be trying to fly the flag for USA against the Aussie invasion.

I’ll be racing my own race – in control, patient, and going hard when I feel good – just like I did in October. Although my prep has been short, the Brownlee brothers just showed that 6 weeks is all you need to get in great shape. Next week I’m heading to the place where I did my pre Kona 100km time trial, and I’m really interested to see what I am capable of compared to 2 weeks before the Ironman World Championship.

Train smart, & relaxed.

PJ

This time we caught up I was able to introduce him to someone I had recently met who has changed my mindset and my mind/body connection. The technique is unknown to all but a few who have met the guy who discovered it (more info to follow later this year), but the principles can be put in place without knowing the technique. They are; the mind controls everything, and causes a physical reaction to every thought you have. As so many of us have thoughts which put our mind or body under stress so many times throughout everyday, the result is catastrophic. Stress related illness, disorder and injury is real. You can only every be in a state of growth or protection. Even tensing as you try to hang on the back of a group of cyclist  is a negative reaction and blocking the flow of energy and changing your state. Stay relaxed. Stay in a state of growth.

You don’t have to be constantly positive, just don’t go negative. Be more like, “whatever”. You’ll never be happy stuck in traffic, but you don’t need to get stressed. Stay relaxed, neutral, and your body will be healthier. I could go on for pages, and I haven’t explained myself well. But I will eventually. One last thing. Don’t hunch your shoulders and tense your neck/trapezius muscles, and always keep good posture. This helps keep you in a state of growth, and free from some stress.

train relaxed.

cheers

pj

We are having quite a few meeting with sponsors, potential sponsors, and people who want to work together for mutual benefit and growth of triathlon. My website will be getting a facelift over the next few weeks, with an online store so we can fulfil the requests of race outfits, signed pictures etc. that I get asked for. Part of the profits will go to the John Maclean Foundation.

One new relationship is with GoPro, who are going to help with my media side of things. The content I’m now driven to create will hopefully be interesting and helpful to many of you. If there is anything you can think of that would make great content and you want to see it from me then let me know.

I’ve had a lot of tightness since Alcatraz, but it’s loosening up thanks to a lot of massage and almost no training. If I’m not 100% I won’t run the Asics LA marathon on the 17th (7 days away), but hopefully I’ll jog it and have a great experience.

I’ll then be flying to Sydney for 2 days, to catch up with Jaim who will have gone a week earlier, attending a friends wedding, then flying to Melbourne to work on commentary, IM LIVE, and appearances for Ironman and my sponsors. So the next 2 and a bit weeks from today are very disrupted and training will be tough to fit in. That’s ok though. The next race isn’t until MAY 5. Ironman 70.3 St Geroge, the US Pro Champs race with some hot competition.

After leaving Kona Jaimie and I spent 5 nights in Waikiki, and I did get stopped in the street, a lot. It seemed like every Australian triathlete was there this week, as well as plenty I knew who were there just on holiday. It is weird when I am asked how it feels, and I am just blank. I can hardly recall the race without a pause for deeper thought. It all seems like a dream I had several years ago. Funny, because that is exactly what it was.

I always believed I could win in Hawaii if everything went right on the day, but in order for everything to go right on the day the preparation must have ticked every single box. But I still can’t believe it has happened to me.

The best way for me to accept it has happened is to think back to how I felt before he race. If I think hard I can remember the hours in training, the great sessions, the ordinary sessions, the months of nothing but preparing for this race, the sacrifices, the commitment, and the mental state I built up over that time and brought with me to Kona – the belief that I could win in 2012.

I was in the best shape of my life, just as I have done every year for the last few years on the second weekend of October. And knowing how close I was last year, and how many more percent I brought this year, I was only aiming for the win. Winning this year was always the goal, just as last year the goal was always to place on the podium. Thinking back to how I felt going into this race is the only thing that makes it feel possible that I have won.

It all started early in the year when I had to take time out in February/March due to an biomechanical imbalance in my body which caused uneven pressure in my left foot and was heading towards a stress fracture. It took months to work out what was happening. It was time to rest a little, and time to ride a little more. I found swimming made the problem worse, so this year I kept my swimming minimal (I actually usually do, but I was happy keeping it low this time), which means my weekly average was less than 10km.

I built up strength on the bike and won Ironman Cairns 70.3 on June 3 with the bike ride of my life. I hadn’t run too much by this point, but it was starting to build, and feeling balanced again.

Jaimie and I moved to Noosa, Queensland in April for several weeks. This was no small feat. Jaimie had to resign from her work in Sydney and change her lifestyle to suit mine – that of a nomad over the next six months.

We moved to the USA for six weeks, three races, and my validation Ironman to secure my entry to Kona. It was tough travelling to the east coast from Australia, but I did what I was comfortable doing in training, as I always do. I didn’t push myself too hard, and kept chipping away at the km’s in my run training to keep focus on my Hawaii prep. Lack of long hours on the bike, travel, solid run sessions, all meant my races in the States were pretty average. But looking back it was a great break from my routine training/locations and kept me from overdoing myself mentally. We even had a few nights holidaying in NY City. Great fun. We ended this overseas trip with a pair of wins (Jaimie also won in her age group) at Philippines Ironman 70.3. This was two weeks after I raced Ironman Lake Placid, and since I wasn’t able to push too hard in the Ironman (because I felt flat) I felt better for that big ‘training’ day and raced well in the Philippines.

Then it was back to Noosa for seven weeks for lock down in Kona preparation. I had built everything up well, and without stress over the previous 4months, so I was already in a much more advanced position physically and mentally than other years. I kept the same weekly routine I always have. Same run program except for building up to bigger weekly km’s with a few more easy runs, longer warm up and cool down, and more recovery between intervals. Same bike routine except for more hours each week with slightly longer rides and a couple of easy rides and short strength sessions thrown in as extra. Same swimming routine, which is no routine at all. I swim when I can fit it in, on my own unless Jaimie joins me/gets me to go swimming. And if I feel tired I cruise, if I feel good I do a longer harder session. And rest days, once a week, but sometimes I took two if I was tired.

Seeing the right people, doing the right sessions, asking for help where I needed it, people offering help where I needed it, and doing everything I could to be as fresh, fit, and strong as possible on race day. Massage, siestas, good food and lots of it, good hydration (I went through a lot of Shotz electrolyte tabs). I did my physio exercises, I visualized in my training, and I focused on technique. I found a little extra in the last few weeks of my training/taper that I never had before, both from a new mental approach, and new taper program on the bike.

Many of these things above I was able to do because of the sacrifices Jaimie made and the work she put in. The organising of myself and my sponsors, cooking beautiful food, and giving me the love and support I needed meant I could achieve more each day, and focus more on this incredibly selfish pursuit of being a faster Ironman triathlete than the other people in the world.

I also gained a lot of confidence and support from my sponsors, which meant I was happier. I have the best people and companies behind me and they helped me win. It was an great team effort and these companies have the best products in their field. Check them out. Thank you to  Boardman Bikes. Asics. BPM Sport. Alaska Milk. TYR. Zipp. Sram. Quarq.  Rudy Project. Urban Hotels.. Shotz nutrition. ISM saddles. Lazer helmets. Gaerne. Healthwise Active Travel. Xlab. And Computrainer.

Jacobs then pushed on and never looked like being headed at any stage. Jacobs never stopped smiling on the run and he enjoyed the last two miles high fiving the crowds that lined the streets and making sure he savoured this victory.

When my arms fell apart at half way in the swim, I started to question if the weeks without swimming more than 3km total set me back than the one week of swimming 10km a week before the race.

Andy Potts had dropped me about ¼ through the swim, then gained a little time in the first 30miles of the bike, and then another 15minutes to fly through the course in all three legs and win by miles and miles.

When my legs left me at 50km on the bike I thought maybe the frequent riding I’d done a week out from the race wasn’t enough to make up for the weeks of very little riding and only one 5hr ride in 5 weeks since arriving in the US.

I headed out on the run at a comfortable pace and made up several minutes on Romain Gulliumaire to take 2^nd place right on half way. I’d already walked a few aid stations but I was cramping and not feeling good. I walked as much as I could comfortably without getting too scared of Gulluimaire catching me in the second half but it wasn’t enough. I was slowing down and feeling worse.

I was very happy to see the finish as my legs were getting incredibly heavy. I went into the medical tent after a few interviews and photos and got 1L of Saline IV. Later that night, around 7:30pm was the first pee I’d done since 6:30am. At this point I knew that I had gone into the race dehydrated, and had been dehydrated since arriving in the US 5 weeks earlier.

I was training in 90+ (30degrees) everyday, was dehydrated to start from the long haul flight, and I guess never recovered before Lake Placid. A big lesson has been learnt, and although it’s a little late I’ll be speaking with my nutrition brains Darryl from Shotz on how to fix this asap and how to avoid it in future.

Part 2

One Hit Wonder.

I did want to do well at Lake Placid Ironman. I did want to win. I wanted to break my “one hit wonder” tag of the last few years in Hawaii.

With injuries showing up in the early part of the year for 3 years straight now it makes it difficult to properly plan a solid season, however it makes it easy to focus on Hawaii.

But I love to race and I love to win. And for a few years my season seems very thin with races, and even thinner with wins.

Not that there is anything wrong with being a One Hit Wonder – especially if Hawaii is the Chart that I’m riding high on – but  I for the rest of the year and the rest of my resume I want to fill it in with experiences and adrenaline and money!

Imagine if you sat at your desk all day everyday for a year and the only time you felt proud of what you accomplished was for one day of the year.

Don’t get me wrong though. Sure I’m happy, I enjoy what I do, I love seeing new places and meeting new people. I have a cool job for those other 364 days of the year too and I get to spend a lot of time with Jaimie and get to share a lot of my experiences with her. I’m very lucky. But I’m really a passionate guy on the inside and I need more than just those regular emotions of my day to day work to really feel like I am achieving something with my life.

I live to love what I’m proud of.  – I just made that up! I think it’s pretty good. Proud of that. J

I want to be my best. I want that perfect day where I feel my best and I want it more often. And I want to be the best.

I’m heading to Philippines 70.3 from NY  on Monday, and hopefully I can take the time to rehydrate my body and get ready for a solid day and a good result. Then I head back to Australia to spend the 2 months at home preparing for Hawaii. No races. No travelling. Just pure training and routine. Just like I had before Cairns 70.3 when I had the fastest bike split and won by miles.  I want that again and I’m ready now to work for it after a broken up 7 weeks of travelling and racing.

I need my sleep, my stretching, my hips massaging, foam roller etc. And in the week before the race we had very little sleep, and I did next to none of the other. We were just too busy settling in then travelling to Syracuse (5hr drive) on Thursday.

I was nervous before the race, and I’m never nervous. In hindsight I just knew that I hadn’t done what I needed to do, and that I wasn’t feeling ready like I’d expected to 9 days ago. I didn’t feel good in the swim, but I positioned myself well and sat on feet to come out with 2 others 1min up on the main competition. My legs felt terrible running through transition and that is always a sign for me that my body is not feeling great.

I rode average, was caught by the main pack after 10km’s, then dropped 1km later. It didn’t help that it was a very challenging course, and I just had nothing on the uphills.  At that point I fell apart physically , and 10km later I was a wreck mentally. The guys disappeared up the road and I felt like I was going backwards. At halfway TJ Tollakson caught me and I rallied to get myself going again and stay with him, like it was life or death. I started to ride better in the last 25km of the race and I probably kept pace with the lead group. But the time I lost in the first half of the ride was major damage.  Overall I lost 7mins to Paul Ambrose, and 4mins to everyone else. Not too bad considering how flat I was.

After pushing through the bike with tight hips, my back seized up for the first 5km’s and I ran slow, it released, and I picked up the pace and Graham O’Grady at 11km. The others were still too far in front so I didn’t push too hard and held 4^th comfortably. I had the second fastest run which sounds ok since I felt so ordinary, but I was a long way from beating Joe Gambles who had the fastest run to win from Ambrose. Callum Milward swam and rode with Joe, but couldn’t hold him on the run and finished 3^rd.

Jaimie raced too, and the effects of our travelling and busy week really showed through in her legs cramping on the run causing her to fall over a couple of times, and then in agony and stress with continual cramping for another 4omins before the medical team finally agreed to give her a saline IV.  She was in tears and had shallow breathing with the stress of the cramps for 40mins before they conceded an IV might help. Apparently not everywhere in the world agree that Saline drips help rehydrate – Syracuse, and South Africa I was told!

We did tourist stuff Monday, along with a couple of long jogs along trails to lookouts and attractions. Tuesday we rode and swam. Same Wednesday with a little afternoon jog and a visit from the drug testers at night. Blood and urine. Made the night a little later than wanted, but all part of the job.

On Thursday we headed out to Green Island. Last year it was picturesque, perfect weather, and good fun. This year was wild and wet weather. I didn’t bother wearing a wetsuit, just my TYR Torque speedsuit, but I was still surprised Josh Rix, in his wetsuit, swam very strongly and as we stood up beside one another exiting the water after 1.5km, I stumbled and he took the win. I thought he was swimming very well, and took this into account as I prepared for the 70.3 Ironman.

A couple of days of media commitments and race preperations later and I was running along the wharf late for my start in the Urban Hotel Ironman 70.3 Cairns. I bombed into the water to save a few seconds and swum out to the start. Of course I made it in time, and picked a spot on the line amongst the others. I hadn’t been swimming much lately, and after Josh showed some speed on Thursday, I figured I’d sit in the pack through the swim and try break away on the bike, and really test the hard work I’d been doing in training and see if it had been working. After a few hundred meters the pack was dragging each other backwards, everyone sitting on someone else’s hip or shoulder and slowing each other down. I headed left, wide, and soon found I was swimming faster than the pack. I kept this up and extended a lead for the remainder of the swim. I was very surprised to have about 45 second lead as I got to my bike.

New plan was to stay away from everyone, except Casey Munro (ex pro cyclist recently turned triathlete) who I expected would catch me at some point. I still had dreams of out riding him, and let myself believe it was possible. He did catch me, after about 30km, but no one else was insight behind him and I knew I was riding pretty well as he overtook me. I soon swapped back to the lead, finding I was moving quicker than Casey over the flats and downhills, and holding my own on the uphills. I thought “Maybe the effort to catch me quickly is taking a toll?”.

30km later I went around him one last time, as I looked back 5minutes later I had a gap, and that just spurred me on, got some adrenaline going, and I kept the pace on right to T2. I’d dropped every bottle I tried to grab at aid stations, so all I drank for 2hrs 11 mins was the 1.2L I’d started with. I knew this could spell trouble. I had however stuck to my plan of a Shotz gel every 20mins, and know this helped me keep pushing hard for the entire ride.

The run felt awkward to start, but eventually I started to loosen up, but soon after started to tighten up from lack of hydration. I didn’t try and push too hard on the run, I knew I had a good lead towards the end and just wanted to make it without cramping. It was a hot run, and the aid stations were a relief from the heat every time as I would poor water over my head, arms, chest to keep cool. Thankfully my Asics Hyperspeed 5 have excellent drainage properties!  I was very happy to have had the performance I’d been wanting all year. This was my first race in good fitness and injury free for 2012 and it felt great to be doing my job well again.

Luke McKenzie had a solid run after a mechanical problem on the bike and a month with a running injury to take second place, while fellow Boardman Bikes rider Josh Rix hung on for 3^rd.

I was selected for drug testing straight after the race, just urine this time. I drank about 2L of electrolytes and water and thought I was ready to go – I also wanted to get it done before Jaim finished the 70.3! The required amount is 90ml, and after standing there with the tap running and squeezing every last drop I could only fill it to 80ml! We sat back down, I drank another bottle of water, 10mins later I say I’m ready again. I stood there and everything I had was not a milliliter over 10ml.

With paperwork finally done I headed back to the finish line to see Jaim finish in 5:04. She did really well in hot conditions, and is right on track for her first Ironman at Lake Placid on July 22^nd!

Congratulations to everyone who finished in Cairns. It was a hot tough day on the swim, bike, and run. And special thanks to Ricky Jeffs and the Urban Hotel Group for not only sponsoring myself, but the Cairns 70.3 and many other triathlons around Australia.