2016 Wrap Up & Blog Compilation 2011 - 2016

I had high hopes for 2016.

What I thought (hoped) would be a continuation of the past 3 years, a steady improvement and putting what I had learnt in to action, wasn’t to be.

The plan was similar to 2015. Go well at Challenge Wanaka (win) and go well at IMNZ (podium), followed by a good to great performance (at least top 10) at IRONMAN Texas in May, and then a good break before focusing on Kona an aiming to get there fresh and firing, and deliver a great performance.

I felt a lot of pressure going in to Challenge Wanaka, of course mostly from myself. I knew Dougs (Dougal Allan) would be swimming a lot better than previous years and Maik Twelziek was also there to throw another uber cyclist in to the mix. 
I was more determined than ever to show that I could ride my bike… and in the end that was my downfall (plus maybe a minor hip issue). The first 90km was done at my best Half-Distance power (not recommended in a full) and for very little time gain. By 100km I was done and so was my race. I soldiered on and at 5km in to the run I felt the ‘pinch’ that has led me to where I am today; walking around on crutches!

I did not know what was going on at that stage and so I headed up to Taupo anyway for a bit of redemption. The result was my first DNF in a full-distance event out of my 15 starts. 
After Taupo I had to refocus my year on actually making a living, I couldn’t keep chasing the Kona dream with so many unknowns and I didn’t have the dollars to keep throwing them down the black hole.
So I went off to Challenge Taiwan for the 4^th year in a row and managed to survive for 2^nd place, but with a now thorough understanding that full-distance races were not in my best interest in the state that my hip was in. At this stage I still didn’t know what was going on.

I had always planned on heading to Font Romeu, France, to train with my good mate Tony Dodds in his Olympic build-up, and so that is what I did. 
I managed my best performance of the year on the way to France at Challenge Galway, Ireland, simply by being fresh and with lots of physio on the hip. In the end I felt good and came away with a 3^rd.

France was awesome and it was amazing to see how far Doddsy has come over the years – we basically started Tri’s at the same time and both came from swimming backgrounds. He is one hell of an athlete! A special thanks to Tri NZ and their support staff for looking after me while away. The constant physio was a real treat and allowed me to get in to the best shape of the year.

It was then a quick trip home for a wedding in early August and finally an MRI to find out what was going on, before heading off to Challenge Iskandar-Puteri, Malaysia. 
I again had high hopes for a great performance in Malaysia after training really well in France, but alas, it wasn’t to be as great as I had hoped and another 3^rd place for me.

The MRI showed what the doctors and physio’s expected, FAI (femoral-acetabular impingement), with a torn labrum, and cartilage damage. 
Surgery was then scheduled for early-mid October… all going to plan.

So, I had about a 6-7 week window to work from and squeeze in one last race. I had always wanted to race the ITU Long Distance worlds. I felt the distance couldn’t get much better for me; 4km swim, 120km bike, and 30km run. Although I loved the distance, my body didn’t quite enjoy it as much as I had hoped and I struggled through to 10^th place in Oklahoma City… at least another city to tick off the list!

Once I was home things took a little longer than expected and I didn’t go under the knife until the 6^thof December. As I write this I am just over one month since surgery and all seems to be on the mend fairly well.

All in all and considering the issues with my hip I cannot really complain about my season. I still managed a few podiums, and well, Wanaka wasn’t to be and if anything was my own doing.

I have always said you need the good with bad and the bad with the good, otherwise how do you tell them apart!? I had 3 great years in 2013,14,15, and if anything I learnt the most in 2016, and I have potentially got on top of something that has more than likely been an issue for longer than I have known.

I want to say a special thanks to Colliers International for coming on board as my major sponsor for 2016 and for sticking by me when I did anything but deliver on the goals we set out. 
And of course to all my other sponsors who did the same: 
Specialized, Profile Design, Brooks, Blue Seventy, Polar, Clif Bar (who are new as of August and have agreed to stick by me while I don’t race!), Smith Optics, Aloe Up, and Morrison Cars.

And I can’t forget my family, friends and supporters who are always out there and who don’t seem to care about the performances, but more the person – that means a lot.

Cheers to 2016, and a bigger cheers to the year ahead. 
Looking forward to seeing you all out there in 2017 (hopefully) in the near future.

Instagram round-up

Thanks for reading

Dylan

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Challenge Iskandar Puteri – August 2016

It has been a busy few months. From Taiwan, to Ireland, to France, and now Malaysia. 

Although busy, it has been good too. I really enjoyed my time in France training with Tony Dodds and Sam Ward, under our coach Tim Brazier, and basically just doing what I was told each day. Generally I have quite a bit of input and set my schedule to how my ‘non triathlon’ week is looking. In France it was nice to not have to worry about that and simply get out there and ‘enjoy’ it, some days more than others! It was also cool to do some ITU training again, and pretty incredible to see how far Doddsy has come since we raced German league together a wee while ago now!

After France I made a quick 10 day trip home for a wedding before heading back to Malaysia for Challenge Iskandar Puteri. I had been feeling great in France and continued to feel good while at home. 

I had target C.I.P as a race I could win, and felt as though I was in the shape to do it.

It was a hot swim, but relatively uneventful apart from the huge schools of fish making the odd appearance. 

I climbed the ladder out of the water with about a 45 second lead. 

On to the bike and the legs didn’t feel too bad. I knew on arrival to Malaysia that I hadn't brought my best legs with me, so I was hoping that they would turn up on race day. 

I saw that Brad Kahlefelt and Mike Phillips weren’t too far behind after 5km on the bike so waited for them and we got in to our work. After about 30km I really wasn’t feeling it, but we were still putting good time in to the chasers. 

The 3 of us were surprised to get off the bike with an 8 minute lead and new that the race was essentially between us. 

Mike had a penalty, which I thought was a 5minute drafting penalty, and so decided to go for the win. I ran with Brad for about 500m and basically blew up then! I got one hell of a fright when I saw Mike only a 100 or so meters behind, he only had a transition penalty of 10 seconds, so I now realised that I had a race on my hands. Brad continued to pull away little by little and Mike slowly caught me. 

I had done some ‘sprint’ training in France and was looking forward to testing it out come the finish chute against Mike, who's got a serious turn of speed. However, at about 3km to go the wheels seriously fell off and I was left to mope home for another 3rd place!

Not the result I was after, but always good to be on the podium.

I am now building up for a real focus of mine this year, the ITU Long Distance World Championships in Oklahoma City, 24th September. It’s a distance that really suits me, 4km swim, 120km bike, and 30km run. I am seriously looking forward to having a crack.

On the news front, after ITU Worlds I will be going under the knife to have surgery on my Hip. The condition is called FAI (Femoralacetabular Impingement), and has been an issue since Challenge Wanaka this year, where I finally tore my Labrum – a common occurrence with FAI. Up until then it has been a gradual process of grinding away at my cartilage and hindering my muscle function. 

I have been managing it as best I can since Wanaka – lots of physio and strength work, but it is safe to say I can not operate at 100%, even more so the longer the race goes. 

So ITU worlds will be a stretch, but one I am really looking forward to.

I will update again on this front soon. 

In the mean time thanks for reading and I hope everyone is making it through winter well, or enjoying their summers up in the north.

Until next time,

Cheers

Dylan

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Challenge Galway – June 2016

The Irish are mad, generous, and the most inviting people I think I have ever met. There were so many instances where they went above and beyond to help me out and make me feel welcome, as well as a bit of a wimp when it came to swimming in the ocean!

The race itself was a great course, with a few bumps in the road, and from what I hear, many a hill in the full-distance race.

In typical Irish fashion it rained every day I was there, no wonder the place is so green, but I settled in reasonably quickly after a few good nights sleep.

I was a little shocked to do a pre-race swim at the local ‘spot’, black rock, and see the locals swimming in nothing but togs. I figured Galway must have some tropical currents or something and looked forward to a nice temperature when I jumped in. Nope, it was under 15d and felt it. Apparently a big bunch of locals swim there year well in nothing but their togs. Good for their health they say!

I got the chance to ride the whole bike course during the week, which was definitely a good idea!

On to race day and we were greeted with much of the same weather wise. I don’t mind racing in the rain, so for me it was an extra bonus to a day I was already looking forward to. The swim had to be shortened a little bit to keep us within the ‘sheltered’ estuary, but there were still a few bumps in the swim.

I exited the water first with a few guys in tow no more than 30-40 seconds a drift. It was a long run to T1, probably about 600 odd metres, and that gave the chasers a bit of a chance to run hard and make up some ground.

There were 4 of us pretty close and after 30km we had come together. The middle 30km of the bike is on an old country road, very narrow and at times very bumpy; it would put Wanaka to shame! The last 30km the roads opened up a little and so did the heavens. At about 70km Joe Skipper caught our group and made a go for it at the front. This left 1 of our group off the back and the remaining 4 of us rode the rest of the way in to T2. 

On to the run and David shot off with his ITU speed and left Joe and I, and Kevin a little bit back, to battle it out for the podium. The run was actually pretty good, I was happy considering my build up to run 15km with Joe (who went on to Roth a few weeks later and ran 2.38!), but I really wasn’t happy about Joes ‘code brown’ that made the head wind running sections interesting! Once Joe left me in his…dust… I quickly capitulated in to survival mode and was very happy to make the last spot on the podium. Another 3rd!

All in all a race I enjoyed. They have a few things to work on, but I genuinely mean it when I say that I hope to be back sometime soon.

Thanks as always to my amazing team.

Now on to France, Font Romeu and the Pyrenees to be exact, to train with one of my best mates in Tony Dodds, before the Rio Olympics.

Thanks for reading.

Over and Out

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Challenge Taiwan – May 2016

This was my fourth time back to Challenge Taiwan and I have some pretty good memories of the 3 previous trips.

However, racing there this year was as much out of necessity as it was desire. 
I really enjoy the course in Taitung and I like the honest racing the heat forces out of everyone. 
On the other hand, the start to my year hadn’t gone to plan, and with Kona no longer on the cards and the bank balance looking a bit depleted, I had to find a race that would allow me to race with a little more ‘freedom’ later in the year. So, Taiwan was the obvious choice.

My build up was unlike any I have ever had… I was injured.
I had been battling the same issue from Wanaka and not really making any progress. My physio and masseuse were doing a great job with keeping me moving and training, but we were only just managing it. Basically my right hip doesn’t like the TT position and will lock the whole area up when I spend too much time down there (i.e. 180km). I then lose power and get tight and sore and things go down-hill pretty quickly.
Anyway, I got to Taiwan and hoped that it would hold out for just one (big) day.

It was a small field and a good chance to find my own rhythm, something I had lost over the last couple races.
No drama’s in the swim, except the cloud cover we had when we started it had completely burnt off and it was shaping up to be a scorching day.
On to the bike and I wanted to keep things as even as possible across the 180km. I was really conservative for the first 45-90km, but I still suffered and lost a lot of power as the ride went on. 
It was also hot! No clouds, just the sun beating us up.

I managed to hold a narrow lead off the bike, 2 mins to Pat Evoe, and 4 mins to Fredie Croneborg.  
When my feet hit the tarmac they almost sizzled. It was intense. And when my legs tried to run I knew that it was going to be a long hot marathon… And it was.
The issues I had been trying to manage didn’t take too long to come along, but that didn’t really affect the outcome anyway. I wasn’t moving well, freely, or fast and I was lucky to only be passed by Fredie.

2^nd wasn’t bad, it broke a bit of a jynx I seemed to have on getting 2^nd, 5 wins and 5 3rds in major long-distance races, but never a 2^nd! 
I made some money and paid some mortgage… mission accomplished.

It is now time to figure out what is going on with my hip (area) and look ahead somewhere in the future for a comeback to 100%.

I will still be heading to France to keep Tony Dodds AKA Doddsy company should he make the Olympic team, and he should. I plan on racing Challenge Galway in Ireland before training begins over there and that is a race I am seriously looking forward too. Hopefully I can find a way to better manage my hip and combined with the fact that it is only a half-distance race, hopefully have a good one over there!

Thanks for all the support so far in a tough season. Ups with the downs, and downs with the ups. You don’t know either without the other! 
Looking forward to getting back to 100% sometime soon.

Cheers and chat soon!

Dylan

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IRONMAN NZ – March 2016

As gutted as I am after the last two results at Challenge Wanaka and now Ironman NZ, I am starting to see the light. 

I would have said I was in the best shape of my long-distance carrier prior to the ‘double’ this year, physically anyway. 

Mentally I was off the mark and missed a few key things that I should have adapted to fit my ‘new’ physical approach to training and racing.

After Wanaka I was extremely fired up to redeem myself at Ironman NZ. 

I recovered reasonably quickly and felt pretty good over the 2 weeks between events.

I felt as though I was good to go come race day in Taupo.

It was a Stella field in Taupo, probably the best ever and race day dawned with perfect conditions.

One thing I struggled with heading in to Taupo was controlling what I wanted to get out of the race. I wanted to win, which is great of course, but by wanting to win I forgot about the processes that would get me there, about doing the things that work for me and that get me the best outcome on the finish line.

The NZ Army fired their cannon and off we went. I started to the left and had a heap of clear water and was able to settle in and do my own thing. The swim was pretty non-eventful and some 45minutes later I exited the water feeling pretty good.

There was an amazing amount of people lining the carpet up to T2, a real buzz, and I may or may not have run my fastest km out of the water!  

On to the bike and everything was going smoothly. I even managed to get my feet in to my new S-works 6 road shoes without too much difficulty, a real relief I tell you! I was afraid of having to ride 180km on top of them (they are an insanely awesome shoe, but the new fitted design means they need a bit of time to get in to).

After Wanaka and my idiocy on the bike I had decided to be super controlled at the start and build through the ride. It meant watching my power up Napier Hill and keeping it well capped. 

Well capped it was and I was caught at the top by Terenzo and Paul Matthews, two guys I know can ride. We were working well together and I expected to see the group I did at the turn around and for them to be so close. We were pulled in about the 70km mark and ended up amongst the group about 12 strong.

Heading back in to town a few fireworks started to go off. I made a few mistakes during this time and was basically always at the front chasing the guys having a crack. By the 2nd time up Napier hill I was starting to feel it in my legs. For the next 20-30km I was very much a yo yo and was struggling to hold the group. I finally gave in about the 120-130km mark and let the group go. Riding by myself wasn’t that bad and I wasn’t losing too much time, but at the 165km mark I punctured. My pitstop didn’t work and I ended up getting a spare tubular off of another athlete and made the change. Overall I lost about 10minutes and in hindsight it was a bit of a blessing in disguise. 

Getting off the bike I knew my body wasn’t quite right. I felt quite good fatigue wise, but I once again, like Wanaka, had no rhythm and my right hamstring was ‘catching’ on every stride and slowly but surely began to egg away at me.

I saw my coach about the 10km mark and told him the news that this might be my first DNF over this distance. I was out of the race and not doing myself any favours by pushing the hamstring. 

I always prepare for full distance races knowing that I will give everything I have and will never have a ‘plan B.’ This time I had to think about the rest of the year ahead, which made it a little easier to swallow. 

Like I mentioned, had I not punctured I might have been tempted to carry on in the race and fight for a decent place, so again a bit of a blessing in disguise there. 

To the mighty Cam Brown – WOW!

Joe Skipper – what a race, solo all day and just went after it with everything he had.

Callum Millward – gets the race of the day in my book. Aggressive all day and took the race to everyone. His race will come.

Meredith Kessler – Dominated again, amazing racing and consistency. Something to aspire to.

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Challenge Wanaka – February 2016

Well it wasn’t to be. 

My biggest fear heading in to the race was not being able to ‘race,’ for example having bad legs and simply watching the others go by without having a fight in me.

Looking back, there was a bigger fear than that, and I realised it a little too late.

I was/am in great shape, I wanted it bad, and I was prepared to and planned to race hard... Maybe a little too hard!

I always figured Dougal would still be the #1 threat. There were some great athletes in the field this year, but this is Wanaka, if you don’t know it then there's a good chance it will beat you up. 

Looking back I made the mistake of not just racing everyone out there, but also trying to race their race and play their games, when in reality there was only 1 guy I should have been focused on, myself. 

The wind was up early and it was obvious it was going to be a tough day in the swim and out on the bike.

 Waiting...

After a little delay to the swim start for a few stray buoys we got underway and battled some pretty intense chop for the first section of the swim. I remember thinking that there would be a few very unhappy age-groupers out there if that continued. However, by the second lap the lake had calmed down a bit and I was surprised to have a decent lead on everyone, including Graham O’Grady who I thought would be on my feet. I had planned on having him on the bike and a bit of company for the first time, but it wasn’t to be.

 #moneyshot

Out of the swim I didn’t know what my time was or what the gaps were until I jumped on my bike and heard that Graham was 2 minutes behind me and had just swam 45.30 – meaning I had swam 43.30!? 

So, safe to say that the swim was significantly short considering the conditions and that in perfect conditions last year I swam 45.30ish. 

Anyway, I then got the splits to the others; 5mins to Maik Twelziek, the German Cycling Machine, and 10mins to Dougal – about where I had expected to be. 

Let the fun begin…

Mistake 1 was taking the 5minute gap to Maik to heart and thinking “nope, that's too close,” and basically reacting straight away to it. After all, it was my plan to be aggressive and to take the race to them on the bike a little more, so why not react!?

Taking the race to them a little more  was something my Coach, Tim Brazier, and I had discussed. We knew I had a little room to move on the bike and decided that this year would be a good year to do it. 

But, that is a little room, in watts that equates to about 5 watts higher over the 180km. 

For the first 2 hours of the ride I averaged about 20 watts higher than I did to the same point last year. My first 90km power was higher than all but 1 of my best half-distance events… Basically suicide. 

Mistake 2 was knowing I was riding hard (and knowing I was riding TOO hard), but never checking just how hard I was riding… After all it was the plan to be aggressive, to take it to them! 

I never watch my power when I race full-distance events anyway, it is always on feel, which is something I am good at… and obviously something I should have listened to.

By 90km on the bike I was starting to feel the pinch. I basically had to go in to survival mode and from 85km to 98km I went from 2.17 up on Maik to 1.40 down on him. 4minutes in 13km…ominous.

The rest of the ride was spent trying to minimise my losses and trying to save any run legs I might have left. I had spent so much in that first 90km, so much high end power that having a good run would be about (somehow) recovering out there on the ride and fuelling as well as possible. 

Dougal came past me about 130km – about where he should have always caught me, but obviously not at the rate at which he did, as if I was standing still. I watched him ride away in to the distance and I knew that it was going to take something ridiculously special to pull this one out of the hat! 

 #pushwatts

Getting off the bike my legs were a ‘little’ shot, but nothing I hadn’t experienced before and then followed up with a good run. 

I was 12 minutes down on Maik and 6 minutes down on Dougal. I knew I would be needing some great legs and a lot of patience to pull in Maik and the run of my life to even get close to Dougs. But, I still believed, and who was behind me never even crossed my mind.

I headed off and tried to stay relaxed and patient.

 Still hope, and great support

The first signs that things weren't really going my way was what I would describe as a lack of coordination – relaxing was hard, I had no flow, and it took effort to do those things that usually take none, But I felt as though I was still running good. 

At 5km I got my first reality check – I wasn’t actually moving as quickly as I thought.

By 10km my rhythm was going, Gun Hill felt about as spastic as I have ever felt, and by 15km I knew that I was digging a nice little hole for myself – And only losing time to Dougal and just holding Maik.

At 20km I felt as though I should have been at 41km and coming in to the finish line. By then I had switched to survival mode and I had to jog, which was as fast as I could go, for the 2nd lap.

 Actually running, but if you look closely in the top left there is a piano waiting to drop ;)

Finishing wasn’t the usual relief, which is what I usually feel more than anything, but an emptiness and anger that I have never felt. I held back the tears, put on a brave face, and moved on.

It would have been a gigantic ask to have beaten Dougs on HIS day. He deserved that and it was an incredible performance. I wish I could have made it a bit more of a battle and pushed him along the way a little more. Well done mate. Next year!

And Congratulations to Maik and Matt Russell for 2nd and 3rd. Two guys that came to Wanaka and handled the conditions and the course better than 90% of people who have come and raced there. They did their thing and got two great results. 

For me over  the last week I have been furious at myself for racing like such an idiot. 

For re-learning the most important lesson in long-distance racing, one which I know very well – Race Your Own Race. 

Challenge Wanaka has defined me over the last 3 and a bit years. It saved my career, made my career, motivated me, inspired me, you name it, it did it. I have lived the last 3 years safe in the knowledge that the race that meant the most to me was still ‘my race.’ 

Like I said, it defined me.

But, it isn’t how many times you get knocked down, it truly is about how many times you get back up – If Wanaka defined me to this point in my career, then what I do next will define the rest. And that, to be honest, is actually pretty exciting.

It all starts next weekend at IRONMAN New Zealand. 

Fingers crossed for some firing legs and braincells ;), and maybe a little redemption.

Thank you for all the support out there.

Time to write the next chapter in my career…

Catch you in a week or so.

Thanks for reading,

Cheers

Dylan

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Wanaka Race Week – 2016

I wish after 3 wins here in Wanaka I could sit down and write this without the usual nerves, doubts, and all the little internal battles we face heading in to a big race. 

It would be quite nice to simply approach the race as just another day and get out there and race at my best… But, that’s not how things work.

All those nerves, doubts and internal battles are what drive me to be better, to train smarter, and to race harder, basically they are what prove me to just how much this race, and the others, mean to me. 
They are what makes race day different and what brings the best out of me.

No race is easy, but I feel this Saturday is going to be one hell of a battle. Wanaka has always attracted some good competition, but never a lot of depth. This year we have that depth and from guys who suit this course, guys who know how to ride a bike, and not forgetting to mention a good string of ‘all-rounders’ who will no doubt make their presence felt.

The last couple of years we haven’t had a lot of wind, which made things ‘fast.’ This year the wind looks like it might be making an appearance, which will make things ‘fun.’ What ever the case I am expecting some huge performances out there from the eventual winners and podium placers.

This race defines who I am as an athlete and for that I will give it absolutely everything I have.
If I can win my 4^th I think I will have delivered my best day yet. 
Win or not, so long as I can get out there and race to my best I will be happy.

A special mention to my 2 sisters (& brother in law) and 2 brothers racing in the Half teams. My bro's team have a good chance at winning [no pressure ;)], and for my sisters it is a massive acheivement just getting to this point. Super proud of them and looking forward to seeing them out there at some stage, i hope.
Also to my better half, who is doing the half, and whos work ethic keeps me on my toes and whos enjoyment of it all reminds me of why I do it.
And of course to all the others out there who I have crossed paths with over their buildup to Saturday - It will be great to share the lake, roads, and trails with you all! 

Good luck to everyone racing. Don’t forget to enjoy it, it’s the best race in the world!  

On a final note the Challenge Wanaka team have really stepped up this year with race coverage. Live TV, tracking, GPS, social media updates, and a brand new app where you can find it all – hopefully we all put on a good show. 
It can be downloaded at: 
http://apple.co/1XeQdT4 for iPhones 
or http://bit.ly/1Pi3ask for Androids

Live TV from:
http://www.challenge-wanaka.com/home-live

Chat to you all after the race.

Thanks for all the support

Cheers

Dylan

Taupo 70.3 – December 2015

Sometimes too much of a good thing is, as we know, not a good thing anymore. 
I thought that could be the case for Taupo 70.3, but I realised pretty quickly that racing in one of NZ’s best spots is probably never going to get old and it was great being back in Taupo for another chance to race some of the best guys over the 70.3 distance in the world.

Training had been going ‘pretty good,’ I wasn’t on fire by any means, but I was keen to have a crack. 
I led the swim with Graham O’Grady and Matt Franklin in tow and then ventured off for a 3min + hike to transition. Braden Currie did what he does best and smashed the run and closed the gap enough for us to say g-day in T1 before we were on our bikes.

GOG was 100 or so meters up the road and I was a little behind Matt as we climbed up Napier Road away from the lake. Matt decided he liked the taste of tarmac better than his gels, so he decided to spend some time on the road. 
At about this same point Braden came past, as he does best, attacking the climb and making me feel bad about my pizza and beer the night before. 
I decided to justify it a little bit and went with him. Once we finished the climb and flattened off heading out to Reporoa, I went to the front and begin pulling in GOG. It took me about 5-10km and the two of us rode with a bit of a gap on Braden, Matt, and now Callum Millward until near the turn around. 
The 5 of us then stuck together like a wolf pack and headed back to town. 
The Mark Bowstead train flatted, Tim Berkel, from across the ditch, snapped an aerobar and ended up in a ditch, and Dougal ‘bike course bogan’ Allan rode half the ride with limited steering as his headset came loose.

So the run came down to the 5 of us… well kind of.
Braden, as he does, set out like a crazed zombie trying to catch the last living person on the planet and put a massive amount of time in to the rest of us very quickly. Callum was also running well and was the only one keeping Braden in check a little bit. I had a bit of a tussle with GOG, before running in to out-right 3^rd about 11-12km mark and that was where we stayed. Braden 1^st, Callum 2^nd, and myself 3^rd.

Taupo for me was all about putting the pieces back together after Kona. I wanted to ride well, and didn’t care too much about the rest. 
I was very happy with where my riding was and felt as though I could have kept that tempo up for another 40-50km – a good sign heading in to a summer of racing where my riding will need to be on its game. My run was strong, but unfortunately not that fast, but for me that is life.

All in all I was happy to nab another podium to end the year. one win, four thirds for the year. Room for improvement, but no complaints.

Thanks for the support out in Taupo and throughout the year.
I will check in sometime before Challenge Wanaka. 
I hope everyone enjoys their summer (or winter).

Cheers

Dylan

Pro Triathletes: The time is right for change – November 2015

The Professional Triathlon Union is far from perfect and far from complete. YOU have a chance to shape it and our sport.

In order for the PTU to instigate the changes we so often talk about, we as Pro's first need to change, we need to come together.

All it takes is for you to sign up at Pro Tri Union. We only ask for as little or as much time as you are willing and able to give, what really matters is having you there as a member. By doing this you are showing that you want the best for our sport and yourself as a Professional Triathlete. 

The sport needs this and we as professionals need this, so get to it, sign up, and lets make this happen!

See you out racing,

Cheers

Dylan

Also have a read:

Jodie Swallow's Open Letter

Helle Frederiksen's Blog

Ironman Hawaii – October 2015

Where to begin...

Kona had been either at the back of my mind or the front of my mind for at least 18months, from the thought of qualifiying, through qualifying, and then the preparation. 
It now firmly sits at the front of my mind again or still, even after more than 2 weeks since race day. 
It sits there now because of what I can only describe as a complete miss in terms of performance.

Here's the story. 

I spent 6 great weeks in Boulder, hitting every minute of training, and almost every minute of intensity, while training through almost nothing but sunshine and warmth.
I jumped on the plane and arrived in Kona 13 days out from the big 'dance.'
I spent those days doing recon, some key work, plenty of mind games and self reasurrance, and lots of recovery and rest. 
Come race day I was fit, fresh, excited to race, and on form... right!?

Kona is the type of race and the kind of place that I love. 
A small town with the same mutual love of the event as those who are there for it. I had a similar feeling to being in Wanaka, Taupo, or even Roth. You could feel the energy in the town and you could definitely see it in the competitors out riding and running the streets.
The conditions and environment make Kona one of the most honest courses I have raced on, a true test of an individuals physical and mental strength. The way IRONMAN racing should be.

Pre race ritual.

As always race morning came around pretty quickly. 
I had my coffee and eggs on toast, packed my bags full of bottles (about 10) and nutrition, and headed down to a heaving Kona Pier.
The air was hot and sticky, nothing new, but there wasn't much wind to speak of, obviously a bit of a rarity in Kona, and I was happy to see that there was a bit of swell rolling in to the bay.
A couple of forgotten nutrition items were my only real hickups leading in to the race. I managed to leave a water bottle in the freezer, not life threatening even in Kona, and a couple of Ems Power Cookies, which was more disappointing than race changing (I still had 3 others). 
I ran around like a headless chicken prior to the gun going off, so again, all in all there was nothing really out of the ordinary for my race morning.
It was an amazing atmosphere for the swim start and every viewing space of Dig Me Beach and the bay was packed with supporters.
When the gun went it was an awesome feeling to finally get this thing started. 

There were the usual early fliers who had obviously done a bit of sprint work in their build up. 
I was happy to get some open water out to the far left and was able to settle in to a good rhythm early on and establish a bit of a lead without too much difficulty. 
The swim in Kona is actually pretty challenging and therefore not as fast as it could be. The currents and swell that you get in close to the shore mean that you're always fighting something, never just cruising through, a lot like the rest of the race!
At about 1500m I felt my first foot tap and not long after that Jan Frodeno swam up beside me and settled in there. 
It was a little odd to have this happen in an Ironman swim, but I had fully expected anywhere up to 10 guys to be out of the water with me, and so carried on as usual. 
We hit the turn and I took a look to see how big the gap was and I felt as though we were pulling away at a reasonable clip.
On the way back to T1 I felt the pace start to ease up a little and I made a couple of attempts to pick it back up. Jan was quick to respond and never let me go. I kept thinking to myself that this guy is probably about to win this race, but he won't even let me lead the swim. What an animal! 
I had another couple cracks at getting away and picking up the pace in the later stages of the swim, but realised that he wasn't going to let anyone win anything from him without a fight on this day. 
It is pretty impressive to see that kind of competitiveness... but also a pain in the ass for me! 
It was a bit of fun coming in to the beach, Jan had the inside line and I knew I had to get around him if I was to have a chance of leading the swim and keeping my 100% lead out record. It was pretty much impossible to get him off my hip in the last 50m and it really just came down to a bit of luck (maybe a little skill) with our dolphin dives and somehow I managed to put some ground on him and lead out of the water.

 All going good at this stage.

Through T1 I had made the decision to put socks on for the bike and lost a bit of time. It was also here that we started to hear the time splits back to the next group. It was about where I thought it would be, but the chase group was much bigger than I expected.

On to the bike and it is within the first 10km that I generally know how my day is going to unfold.  
I had a funny kind of cramp getting on the bike, which is never ideal, but i shook it off and told myself my legs would come right. 
I felt sluggish, but remained positive about the day ahead. I knew there was a big group not that far behind and I figured it was going to be a busy day out on the bike.
The group of 15-20 caught me on Palani hill about 8km in to the ride, not the best place to be caught, but I jumped 'on' and off we went. 
I struggled for rhythm and couldn't settle in to any spot in the pack. After about the 30km mark I decided I would be better off out the back riding my own pace. So that is where I went.
The group pulled away pretty slowly and eventually a group of 4 picked me up including Callum Millward and Nils Fromhold. Not a bad couple dudes to ride to Hawi and back with... sadly no jokes from Callum on this trip though. 
At the turnaround in Hawi I was really looking forward to my frozen slushy bottles of water and electrolyte from special needs. Unfortunately for me the special insulated bottles I had purchased were significantly better than I had anticipated and they were still frozen rock solid. I had to discard the two frozen bricks.
From the turnround things literally and figuratively started to go down hill. I started losing power, was getting uncomfortable and lost contact with my little group. 
By the 140km mark and the turn back on to the Queen K I was all but done and to make matters worse we were also battling a head/cross wind, plus the many demons in my head. 



I kept telling myself that this was Kona and if I could just get to the run, then have a good run, then it might be possible to salvage a respectable result.

As usual I was rather happy to be getting off my bike and was looking forward to settling in to a good marathon.
My legs felt ok getting started and I tried not to get carried away in the moment. Through KMs 1-10 I was running alright and feeling ok, from KMs 10-16 I started to feel any strength begin to fade, through KMs 16-25 I was simply holding on to something that would have only just resembled running, and at KM 25 I heard the helicopter and motorcade of Daniela Ryf coming. My body was screaming at me to stop, but I had to wait until the cameras and everybody else had made the pass and this seemed to take an eternity.

 Kona 2015 was the hottest race day in the past 10 years. 

Once I stopped the first time I knew my day was finished. From there my mind went straight to KONA 2016 and how to be better. I did not want to be where I was.
On a side note, I was lucky enough to walk the energy lab and jog out the rest of the run with good mate Tim Berkel who also didn't have the day he was after. 
Some good banter was had, something I will remember above most other things from that day.

Looking back, the race itself was not the failure, it was my build up. I never got out of it what I thought I would have and arrived in Kona under prepared, but by being over done – a common occurrence for pro’s in Kona. 
The plan for 2016 is simple; do what works for me. Train where I train best, and prepare how I know is best. 

Thanks for the continued support. Looking forward to having another crack in 2016

Over and Out!

Dylan

Pre-Kona 2015 – September 2015

Hello,

I am now 6 weeks deep in to my time away in the USA preparing for the big dance on the big island of Kona in less than weeks.

I started my trip with a few flights from Christchurch to Boston, to race 70.3 Timberman. 

It was a long trip before a race, through a few time zones, and what ever else, but i was keen to get a hit out in the legs to break up what would have been over 3 months between Cairns and Kona. 

Although it ended up not being a 'pay-day' the race was a great hit out and I took a lot of positives away from it before the big miles were to begin in Boulder.

Those big miles have now been done and I am writing this at LAX in transit to Kona and I am pretty excited to get to the Island for the first time and for the heat and humidity to hit me in the face!

Boulder was awesome and I got everything out of it I could. The weather was next level, only a few drops of rain here and there, and no cold snaps to keep you on your toes!

It is always hard judging effort up at altitude when it isn't your full-time training base, but I feel as though the coach and I got it pretty right. The next couple of weeks will tell...

It is now time to settle in on the Island, learn the course and freshen up.

I hope all those out there who are racing have had a good preparation. I will see you out there.

I will update again a couple days out from the race.

Cheers for reading,

Dylan

Ironman Cairns – June 2015

It has been a busy summer. 
Two 70.3's, three full distance races and a whole lot of fun, all in less than 6 months. 
Cairns was the final race towards Ironman Hawaii qualification and therefore carried a bit of weight and a lot of importance.

Training was a bit of a mixed bag heading in to Cairns. Summer stretched out about as far as it could before the frosts rolled in and the southerly's and their rains joined in. 
Getting sick 4 weeks out is never ideal, but that's part and parcel with winter training and I nursed an annoying, rather than debilitating, cold for a good 2 weeks. 
Never the less, like any good build up there were good sessions and bad ones and by the time race week came about I knew I was fit and should probably make it to the finish line...!

Race morning came around and with it the first sign of sunshine I had seen all week (a little dramatic). It was a beautiful sight though, and to my disappointment the wind had died down a little, but there was still a little chop on the ocean.

The gun went at the reasonable hour of 0730 and we shot off in to the ocean to join our crocodile and stinger mates. They were all still asleep though after a big Saturday night, so no dramas on that front. 
I got to the front and settled in pretty quickly. The swim was quite a maze and with the added chop it must have been tough for some of the weaker swimmers. It was pretty cool to do a beach exit at the halfway point, but not so nice on the heart rate. 
I some how managed to swim sub 45mins, there is a lot to be said about a great wetsuit and salt water. Luke Mckenzie, a follow blue seventy athlete, was only a couple minutes down out of the water.
I knew if Luke got it right on race day he would be super hard to beat...

T1 was a bit of fun. A super narrow pathway between the bikes meant a bit of dancing to the end of T1 where the pro's bikes were. 

I generally know within the first 10-15minutes on the bike whether my bike legs had come with me to the race. Unfortunately for me in Cairns I knew almost instantly that I had left them at home, in fact I had known for the last couple of weeks that they were struggling a little. 
Never mind though, I still had 180km to ride and that isn't a good state of mind to start that with. So I got on my way and didn't look back.
It didn't take Luke long to catch me, maybe 30km, and he was flying. I hoped that he was going super fast and I was going 'normal' and tried not to think about the 2 other guys I knew would be chasing me, Cameron Brown and James Cunnama. 
The bike course in Cairns is pretty cool. You head up from Palm Cove to Port Douglas, then back towards Palm Cove, another u-turn, and then out to Port Douglas again before the long 70km stretch all the way back to Cairns. 
I saw Cam and James at the turn in Port Douglas and realised I wasn't going too bad. I made the decision to hang tough until the turn back near Palm Cove and then sit up a little and 'wait.'
I managed to drop my special needs about 90km, so instead of sitting up I had to stand up and run back to get them. James had dropped Cam a little at this stage and he passed me during my run, only for me to then re-pass him when he dropped his chain on a descent. Not long after this we all came back together like one big happy family. Except I wasn't that happy.
We worked together reasonably well and it wasn't until around the 140km mark that I started to drop from Cam and looked behind me to get James to come through... but he wasn't there. 
Up until this point I thought I was going to get 4th. Luke was having a blinder, Cam has been in great shape and even on an average day is a sensational runner. James had been on fire leading up to the race and Cairns was even more important to him for Kona. I on the other hand felt like I had been non-stop racing and my legs weren't really firing, so I hadn't planned on being a hero, simply just trying to get the job done.
So once again, when i looked behind and didn't see James I got a bit of a boost and put my head down once again. It didn't stop Cam riding away from me, or the Frenchie Simon storming past me at 150km. By that stage I was toast and we still had the most exposed section of headwind riding to go. I don't know how fast i was going, or should i say slow, but it was slow. 

As you can imagine I was legitimately happy to get off the bike and to my surprise my legs felt fine and I settled in to my run quickly. Cam was 4 mins up, I ignored him, but Simon was 6 mins up. A little more than I would have liked, but I remained patient. At 15km in the run he was almost 9mins up... that wasn't what i expected. At 30km he was 90 seconds up and I knew then that I would eventually get him. 
I made the pass in to 3rd at 35km,  great feeling to know that I would get another podium and pretty much confirm my spot for Kona. 

Congrats to Luke on another win in Cairns and a dominating performance, and to Cam for just another Cam Brown race!

I am writing this a few weeks after Cairns and have been enjoying 2 weeks of nothing and now 2 weeks of very light training. It feels like I'm doing nothing for a month, which is pretty nice. 
Next up I will head over to the USA and race 70.3 Timberman on my arrival, before heading to Boulder, CO for a 6 weeks training block. After that it is 2 weeks in Kona leading in to my first crack at the big one.

I will keep you posted, never often enough, but every so often ;)

Hope everyone out there is enjoying their winter or their racing season.

Cheers
Dylan

The Tip List - 2015

This isn’t everything. It is simply my chain of thought when I think about an Iron-distance event and can be used for a half-distance also.
I highly recommend adding to it where you can. 
Feel free to email me any add-ons.

• Get a program from a coach/someone you trust and stick to it.
• Have faith in their ability to have you ready when you need to be. If you think they can’t get you there then they won’t. It starts with you.
• Get a bike set-up
• A basic pre-race training guideline would be: 3 weeks out – 80-90% of normal work load, 2 weeks out 60-70%, and race week should be no more than 40% of workload heading into a major race.
• Separate your training intensities more as you get closer to your race i.e. more very easy training and more specific intensity.
• Try out your race run shoes prior to the race
• Check your equipment. Absolutely everything - Bike, tyres, gears, chain, bike shoes, cleats, pedals, running shoes, the socks you plan on wearing, laces or elastic laces, your special needs cold weather gear, wetsuit, body glide or baby oil, sunscreen, spare tubes, tyres, tubulars, co2 canisters, pit stops and the like – everything and anything – start a list and get it done early. Read instructions and/or test things out.
• Start a race checklist/to do list early and add to it as you go.
• Create a nutrition plan. Get what you need early if you are not sure the race will have what you need. Carry a little more than you expect to need
• Dry things are hard to eat in a race so keep that in mind.
• Know the course nutrition and try it out before.
• Stick to what you know and like.
• Avoid processed sugar as much as possible when close to a race and try and limit caffeine intake. You want that stuff to work as best it can when you need it most in the race.
• If you need sweet stuff prior to race have dried fruit instead!
• Eat when you are hungry leading in to races – do not starve yourself, but do not eat for the sake of eating either.
• Hydrate well at night – it will help you big time the next day.
• It is normal to wake up in the morning leading in to big races and think, “WTF am I doing?” Just go with the flow and enjoy how much it challenges you every day.
• Get things such as accommodation, rental cars, race entry etc. etc. sorted early – this helps alleviate stress.
• Nervs are good – they are energy, so hope that you have them before the race and try and funnel that energy during the race.
• Get to bed early when you can and get a good night’s sleep in where you can – it starts from a couple weeks out – 2 days before you may not sleep much, but it isn’t that important.
• Read the race guide and have it handy all the time. Add in the important info to your race checklist.
• The only pressure you are feeling is the pressure you put on yourself.
• Do things that help you relax.
• Do the things YOU want to do pre-race. Don’t feel like you have to be ol-serious. Enjoy the whole event.
• Focus on the processes, not the outcome. There are many pieces to a triathlon puzzle, so make sure they are all put in place as you go through the journey.
• Your training is done once you hit race week. There is no getting fitter, just getting better prepared.
• Do things the way you want to do them race week – don’t follow others unless it is what you really want to do.
• Put your feet up every chance you get.
• Get your bike out in race set-up for a spin a few days prior to the race and make sure it is all go.
• Have spare goggles
• Sort out your race gear bags early – put the items you need in them on your list.
• Are you running with a fuel-belt or using pockets in your race suit?
• Arrange all your nutrition a couple days out and have your gel bottles filled and drinks mixed the day before – don’t do it race morning.
• If you take a lot of gels on your bike consider putting them all in one bottle. I put 20 in a bottle for a full-distance event.
• Don’t forget about your special needs stuff.
• Go over your nutrition plan again.
• Don’t eat anything that is hard to digest the day before you race – nuts and seeds etc. Have a good and big dinner; it does help, but only the night before. Remember you might not be able to eat a lot race morning.
• From 2 days out you should be hydrating above normal, but not just water. Electrolytes are key and too much water will have a negative effect. 2-3 more bottles a day is plenty.
• Make sure your support crew know what race suit you wear, what bike you ride, what colour your helmet, hat and shoes are and what race number you are.
• I recommend a normal breakfast. It may be the only solids you eat until after the race.
• Eat solids prior to race start – not gels. You will have enough of them during the race.
• You can eat quite close to the start of an iron-distance event, as the intensity is lower than a shorter race.
• Warm-up – it’s a long day, start it well with a little warm-up. You will feel a lot better from the gun and settle in earlier.
• You might feel a bit lethargic etc before the race – this is normal – just believe in the work you have done and that it will come through when the gun goes off.
• Before you start do a final check of all your gear – run through your checklist in your head. Check tyres, make sure there is nothing in your shoes; paper, stones, gels etc.
• Lubricate any areas that you know need lubricating and any areas you feel that may need lubricating. Under arms, neck, sitting area etc.
• Make sure your timing chip is comfortable.
• Run through your nutrition plan again once more in your head.
• Limit your caffeine intake race morning – save it for later in the race.
• If you didn’t sleep, do not stress, so long as you have rested as well as possible over the previous 2 weeks all will be fine.
• Remember that everyone around you is nervous, not just you.
• If it is cold, don’t swim warm-up unless you know it is going to actually warm you up.
• Relax your legs for the majority of the swim – pick up your kick again nearer the end to get the blood flowing to them.
• A wetsuit is designed to make you float, so let it! All you need to focus on is moving forward.
• Use body glide or baby oil around your calves to make it easier for your wetsuit to come off after the swim and put glide or oil around your neck to stop the suit from cutting.
• Pull your wetsuit up nice and high over your shoulders and arms. You’ll have to pull it up around your waist also to allow this, but guys, don’t pull it up too high!
• Remember to let the wetsuit do what it is designed to do!
• If you are a bad navigator then try different goggles! Spit in them or use anti-fog. Otherwise follow feet – do not sit on the hip of someone, that will slow you both down.
• Take your time in transition.
• Know the bike course as best you can. Conditions, surface, terrain.
• My best advice for pacing an iron-distance event is to start riding at a ‘comfortable pace’ then back off 2 notches. It should essentially feel easy – this is your pace! Only 1 notch back in a half-distance event.
• Ride in socks!
• Use the lower limit of the recommended tyre pressure in your tyres.
• If you plan on changing tubes or tubular’s while out there then know what you are doing! Practice.
• If you have to wait for technical support then take the opportunity to drink and eat.
• You will need to take in a lot of calories on the bike. You want to not only take in enough to cover the bike, but also enough to give you a buffer on the run. Be prepared to force feed yourself – it is easier to do it on the bike than it is on the run.
• Let your stomach settle when you first get on the bike – drink water only until you feel it has settled. This could be 15-30mins in to the ride.
• Try to avoid refined sugar on the bike – coke, lollies etc. Once you start that stuff you really cannot stop.
• Eat what solids you can.
• Eat to your calorie limit.
• Do not over drink – you can really only absorb up to 1 litre an hour. The rest will just be extra weight, bloat you, and block out the absorption of critical calories.
• Carry your gels in a bottle if you go through a lot of them.
• Know the ins and outs of the nutrition you get out on the bike – what colour bottle is what and what electrolyte is in the bottles etc.
• Dehydration of some sort is inevitable.
• If you often cramp in training you will need salt tablets or some other remedy, if you cramp sometime in training you will also need some form of remedy, and even if you never cramp in training you may want to think about some form of remedy. Keep up your electrolyte intake over and above all other fluids to help combat cramp.
• If you follow my nutrition tips on the bike you will probably get off the bike bloated. This is normal and is not a bad thing – let your stomach settle like you did getting on the bike heading out on the run.
• Expect things to change out there and not to go the way you hope or want. Enjoy the changes and the constant challenges.
• Find your feet in transition, then your bike rack and then your bag. Think through the processes and remember your land marks for finding your bike rack.
• Make sure your shoes are on properly and comfortably – a marathon is a long way with something constantly annoying you!
• I recommend normal laces. Elastic can get tighter and tighter as your foot swells through the run.
• Try and know the run course. The ins and outs and any technical stuff. Know how often and roughly where aid stations are and try and know what each station holds.
• If you didn’t put socks on for the bike ride I strongly suggest you put them on for the run, unless you want trolls feet. Up to you.
• Mix up the flavour of your gels from the ones you had on the bike. Nothing is worse than 30 of the same flavour!
• Keep as cool as you can. Water on the head is the minimum you should be doing at each aid station and preferably always drinking!
• If you are prone to cramping then focus on the electrolyte. Otherwise a mix of water and electrolyte is ok.
• Avoid coke until it is absolutely necessary.
• Don’t be afraid to walk aid stations to make sure you get enough nutrition on board. It will not cost you anytime in the long run.
• If you are close to tears at some stage or many stages in the run don’t worry, it is normal!
• Remember that you chose to do this to yourself. If you didn’t you are even crazier than the people that did.
• Say thanks to the volunteers where ever you can. They are ridiculously important!
• Celebrate regardless, you’ve earned it, there is no easy way.

Pre-Cairns – June 2015

It's that time again where I sit in my hotel room and think about the work I have done and the pain that is to come...

The works been good, it's been cold in Christchurch, but we've been lucky a little on the rain side of things and I have managed to get through all my training and get some solid key sessions in. 
Cairns is super important to me, it isn't just 'another' Iron-distance race like I've done the last couple of years. I need to perform well and get across the qualification line for Hawaii. 
Having driven the bike course yesterday I am even more excited to get out there and race. Plenty of hills and plenty of wind. If it's raining I'll be happy, if it's hot, then I'll be hot like everyone else!

Very cool to have my better half arriving tonight with my Mum and Dad. Always nice to have a support crew from home.

Watch this space!

Over and out

Dyl

Challenge Taiwan – May 2015

It was great to head back to Taiwan for a 3rd time, especially with the less daunting task of racing over the half distance rather than the full.

The form wasn't too bad after a busy summer in NZ, but the real goal was to race hard and have a great hit out. 

With Terenzo in town it was always going to be a tough ask to beat one of the best in the world over the half distance. 

I swam hard to spread out the field a bit and settled in on the bike until T and fellow Christchurch athlete Mike Phillips came last. After that it was game on and we rode well together to distance ourselves from the rest of the field and bar a complete melt down on the run, set ourselves up for a podium each and a kiwi 1,2,3.

My legs weren't there when I jumped off the bike and it took a while to find them. During the time I was looking T had run away from me and so had Mike. However, Mike was still within pouncing distance and I slowly pulled him in over the last 10km.

In the last couple km's there were 2 navigation incidents, and cutting a long story short, what should have been quite an epic sprint between Mike and I never eventuated. 

It was good to see Mike have a great race and fight until the end. As the results read Mike was 2nd and I was 3rd, but the navigation issues were resolved and everyone is happy.

Congrats to T, who is now 1 race down in his 4 weekends in a row, that takes in much of the world. Pretty impressive!

For me it was a solid day and all is tracking well for Ironman Cairns in mid June.

cheers

Dylan

Pre-Challenge Taiwan – April 2015

3^rd time lucky? 3^rd times a charm? 

Considering I have already been charmed and lucky to win here twice, I might have to invent a new saying to continue my streak of wins here in Taiwan and make it another #peat! Any ideas?
My fitness and form have been steadily improving since my break after IMNZ and I find myself sitting in my hotel room in pretty good shape. I’ve had the luxury of being able to do some more specific work for this half, as Ironman Cairns, which is next up, is still 7 weeks away. 
However, my sights are well and truly set on Cairns and tomorrow for me is simply going to be a good chance to get out there and smash myself against some class competition, something I am really looking forward to.
My biggest threat, or should I say monumental hurdle, comes from fellow Kiwi, and champion of a man, Terenzo Bozzone. He is one of the best in the world over the half-distance and although I would love to beat him and come away with the win, it will be one hell of a task and I will still have to race my own race. There are also a few other kiwis and aussies here, a good old Anzac clash on Anzac day. Mike Phillips, Hammish Hammond, Mitch Kibby and Mitch Robins, + more, are all here to get on that podium and will be tough to beat.

Anyway, thanks for reading and hope everyone is doing well. Will post an update after the race.

Cheers

Dylan

Ironman NZ – March 2015

About 5 years ago I thought everyone that raced iron-distance was pretty much bats#$% crazy.

Over the 2 ensuing years I begun to realize that my stubbornness towards racing that distance was going to have to change and the decision to attempt the final frontier was made, but only once... The year was 2013 and the race was Challenge Wanaka and the rest is history.
I could barely walk, let alone run up until about a week after that first iron-distance race and the thought of doing another anytime within the foreseeable future made me feel sick. I would look at guys who would back up iron-distance events in that 2-4 week period and once again I thought they were all bats#$% crazy.

The last 2-3 weeks of my life have been pretty full on, but actually a tonne of fun. My decision to do the double (Challenge Wanaka & Ironman New Zealand – 13 days apart) was as much about my love of racing at home as it was about earning a living and achieving the Kona dream.

I have to say that I feel like one of the luckiest triathletes in the world as I write this. Over the past 3 months I have raced 3 of the best races this planet has to offer, Auckland 70.3, Challenge Wanaka, and Ironman New Zealand, all of which are (pretty much ;)) in my backyard and with the support of so many family and friends.

As can be read on my previous blog, my recovery between the 2 was actually a lot faster and better than I thought possible. By the time race morning came around I had no real worries about any lingering fatigue and I was simply super excited to be on the start line racing my first Ironman NZ. 
I had been feeling good across all 3 sports and the plan was to do what I usually do and race my own race.

When the cannon went off I found myself in the unusual position of, well, 3^rd position. I instantly thought, uh oh, perhaps the body isn’t going quite as well as I had thought… But, luckily enough I kept things under control and made my way to the front at about 400m after a pretty hectic start by Todd Skipworth and Graham O’Grady. 
It was actually pretty nice to have some company out of the water and GOG and I had a little chat about pacing and the speed at which Todd had set off at. 
Through transition I was the only one of us three who put socks on and ended up jumping on the bike about 45 seconds behind them.

It was a little frustrating to be dangling behind the 2 leaders, but experience told me that I should keep the blinkers on and ride my own pace. I could see that I was slowly pulling them in and my first and probably only mistake of the day came when Terenzo caught me about the 40km mark. I made the call to follow him to the front and get there sooner rather than later. After 10km’s of this we had only pulled back another 15 seconds and I realised that it wasn’t worth the extra effort. I let Terenzo go and I slowly pulled in Todd by the 80km mark. It was about this time that Cam Brown also caught me and he disappeared in to the distance with Terenzo and Graham also ahead and out of sight. 
Coming in to end the first lap I was still feeling pretty good and had held back a bit after my early effort with Terenzo in a hope that I could ride a good second half.  
At the 100km mark I had my first realisation that something had to give from 2 weeks earlier. I started to lose power and the headwind that was now blowing on our second leg out to Reporoa was giving me a lot of grief. Over the remaining 80km I went in to damage minimisation mode and I was passed by Alex Reithmeier, Mike Schifferle, and Todd again. I was bleeding time to everyone and there was nothing I could do about it.
I was rather happy to get in to T2 and off the bike. My legs definitely didn’t feel as good as they had 2 weeks earlier, but I had fuelled well during the ride and set the plan to settle in and hold back for the first 2 laps.

My lack of technical skills with my Polar V800 watch meant that GPS mode had been switched on overnight and I found a flat watch awaiting me in my bag. I have always managed to pace myself well though, so that’s what I relied on.
I had Todd and Mike just in front of me out of transition and settled in to a good rhythm quickly. I pulled them both in by 2-3km and then set my sights on 4^th and 3^rd. This was when I realised my chase might take a little longer than I hoped. Both Graham and Alex were pulling away from me and with no idea of my actual pace I didn’t know if this was because I was running slowly or they were running fast! I kept telling myself to be patient and hold back until lap 3 of 3, where most people would fall apart. Sure enough I started getting splits to Graham and word that he was suffering. At around 25km I caught Graham and I saw him in a state that I know well, a state that would mean he shouldn’t be a treat any longer. At the start of the last lap I was still 6.15 down on Alex. Over 14km I would have to take 30 seconds a km out of him to be ‘safe’. 
Half way through the last lap I was still 3 minutes down and the body was starting to seize up. With about 4km to go I got my final time split of 2 mins. I needed 30seconds per km at least and I basically hadn’t been doing that the entire race, let alone the last 4km. This was the first and only point that I almost gave up the chase. 
I composed myself through to the next aid station, downed some Pepsi (yip, Pepsi!), and opened it up! I have never run that fast in any of my previous marathons, not even downhill. I don’t know what it was, but I felt as though I was flying. I only caught a glimpse of Alex about 500m from the finish line and when I was about 50m behind him.
Once I caught him I ran straight past him, but I knew from the cheers that he was sitting on my shoulder. It didn’t take him long to come around me and start the sprint. At first I checked myself before I wrecked myself, but realised that I was able to go with him pretty comfortably and I wasn’t in the mood to draw out the sprint, so I made my move straight away and that was the last I saw of him. 
Sorry Alex, great race by you mate!

After all that it was great to be able to enjoy the finish line. A few fist pumps were thrown, which is very unlike me, so I must have been a tad happy about making the podium.

I guess it wasn’t my usual kind of race, I was chasing the whole way out of the swim and I didn’t have the luxury of knowing I was on the podium early on.

Congratulations to Cam Brown who I think delivered one of his most complete performances yet. He was solo all day and did that at 42 years young! Congrats to Terenzo for backing up a mighty win in Dubai a week earlier and of course to Meredith for her 4^th win in a row, Gina on backing up Wanaka also with 2^nd, and Mel on her 3^rd.
Also to the boys Carl and Chris for backing up Wanaka and delivering another couple solid results.

Thanks for the amazing support out there on course and over the net. 
A massive thanks to IMNZ for giving me the opportunity to race and to the 2000+ volunteers who made it all possible.

Special thanks to my support crew who travelled from near and far and of course to my awesome team of sponsors.

See you all next time!

And just to clarify it is now pretty apparent that I am also bats#$% crazy!

Cheers

Dylan

Post Challenge Wanaka and Pre Ironman NZ 2015 – February 2015

Prost race recovery!?
So here I am, a week and a bit after Challenge Wanaka 2015 and a few days out from Ironman New Zealand 2015.

It’s actually been a good 10 days or so; no mental breakdowns, or physical for that matter, not too many nerves, lots of excitement, and most importantly no regrets about my decision to do the double. 
I woke up the day after CW15 and knew instantly that I had dodged a bullet. The body was good, a bit tired, but no real muscle soreness or damage that could have meant a physically and mentally tough couple of weeks. Instead all the training I have managed since has felt pretty good and I have been more worried about de-training than I have about recovering. 
As I write and re-read this I realise I may be luring myself into a false sense of security! An Iron-Distance event is, and always will be, no easy feat, as is the full-blown recovery that is required afterward, regardless of how you think you might feel. 
So, although I feel a lot better than expected and can’t wait to get out there and race, I will reign myself in a little and keep things realistic. 
For me IMNZ is going to be fun. I want to enjoy it and do all the little things right. 
For me it is a great chance to race off of a less than ideal preparation, but also knowing there is great form there for me to use, something I have struggled with in the past. 
Ultimately it is a great chance to get another New Zealand race in and also race a couple guys I have looked up to since I began the sport. 
It will be a long hard day as usual, but I think afterwards I will enjoy a beer at least twice as much as normal!

Until after,

Cheers Dylan

Challenge Wanaka 2015 – February 2015

Over the years I have slowly learnt the importance of things like experience, maturity, patience, and even ‘true’ confidence and belief, not the ego driven loud and proud confidence that we sometimes feel we have to show to be ‘confident.’ 
No one single training session or day will determine your rise or full, but instead the big picture is what we must see. 
This was very much the case over the 5 weeks prior to Challenge Wanaka 2015. 
I had a great race up at Auckland 70.3 and my confidence coming off of that race was as high as ever. My training prior to it had been great and I felt as though I couldn’t put a foot wrong. 
Come the time to pick my training up again I noticed that things weren’t quite the same, the spring in my step had gone, the effortless flow on the bike had disappeared, and I needed to use every swim as recovery. Everything will be ok I told myself.
2 weeks out from an Iron-Distance event I do a key bike/run session – 4-5hours on the bike with motor pacing and a 90minute run off the bike with efforts (about race pace). In the past I have generally nailed this session, at least I have before any of my other victories.
This year I was walking on the run at the 50 minute mark and in a pretty bad state.
Everything will be ok…
I talked to a few important people, coach etc, and they all told me “Everything will be ok.”
I put my head down and focused on recovery, kept positive, believed in the work I had done, and focused on the big picture. 
The next thing I knew it was race morning and well, shit, everything better be ok!

We woke to a stunning morning and probably a good 10degrees warmer than last year to keep everyone happy. The forecast was for a sunny day with light winds and a lake temperature sitting around 17/18 degrees, again a good 3-4 degrees warmer than last year.

The plan was the same, swim my pace and focus on saving as much energy for the early stages of the ride. It was pretty much pancake flat, except for a few bumps, which may or may not have been other swimmers. I actually got a little distracted as the sun came up and the mountains in the background started to look like pastel paintings. Pretty bloody cool!
Other than swimming blind in to the sun for the last stretch the swim was rather drama free and it was a great feeling to run up on to the beach feeling like I hadn’t really left much out there… other than my swim cap.

T1 was all about making sure I put my left sock on my left foot and vice versa – we men can struggle at that and so I was pretty chuffed to have done it correctly.

On to the bike and I got my first time splits – Michael Fox was less than 3 minutes down and Braden Currie (Coast 2 Coast champ the week before and crazy man) wasn’t too far behind. 
I had great legs straight away and headed out toward Treble Cone. It wasn’t until the turn-around that I saw how close the entire field was (except for Dougs – Dougal Allan – he wanted a real challenge on the bike). I would say the top 10 were closer to me than 2^nd place was last year at that early stage. 
I realised then that I may have been away with the fairies a bit and needed to stop admiring the pastel paintings out on course. I re-focused and got on with the job. Early on I was being hauled in by almost everyone, but I felt like I was riding well and didn’t panic. I had noticed Doug’s about 14 minutes back at the first out and back, and so thought that he had got out of the water 14 minutes back. I praised him for his effort thinking that he had knocked around 5 minutes off of his swim time. Little did I know that he had already ridden 3 minutes in to me in about 25km… 
At the next out and back section around the 80km mark I noticed that the time gaps had begun to open back up again… to most of the field. Courtney Ogden had started to solidify his position near the front and Braden was still riding like a man possessed after just a week’s recovery from his 3^rdstraight victory at the C2C and of course, Doug’s, who I thought must have stolen his bike and would continue on to Christchurch and miss the turnaround. At this stage he was no more than 8 minutes behind after 80km – I did my math and realised he was taking 1minute out of me every 10km and I would be seeing him sooner rather than later.
I had good legs at this stage and once again re-focused and drove on. I made the effort to maximise speed where I could and reduce any recovery periods. By the time I hit the 120km mark my lead was down to 3.40. This is where the controlled start probably saved me and I was able to maintain pretty good pace and by the time we got to the 170km mark it was more of a game of cat and mouse and I was a pretty lucky (skilled) mouse and managed to roll in to transition no more than 20seconds ahead of the future 1 hour record holder!

T2 involved a quick chat where I called Doug’s a bastard and asked why he was putting me through such an ordeal. He tried the old mind games trick and said he had burnt a few matches doing it and I shouldn’t be worried. Yeah I bet you burnt some matches, I thought, or did he, should I be worried, or shouldn’t I!?!?

Luckily enough my run legs had come to run. I decided after Dougal’s mind games in the tent that I would run my own pace and not look back. I felt great for the entire first lap and it was reassuring to be slowly pulling away. When I hit the turnaround I knew that I had probably exerted a little too much, even though I was feeling great, and come the 30km mark I started to seize up a bit and slow down. Dougal never let me get comfortable, he kept pushing and raced like a champ to the end.

To go 3 from 3 in Wanaka was such an awesome feeling. I enjoyed this build up a lot more than the previous year. I was more relaxed, confident, and was actually looking forward to racing, and subsequently I felt like I enjoyed the race so much more. 
It was a spectacular day out there and it was cool to see, what seemed like, way more locals out on course soaking it up. Aubrey road is usually the solitude stretch, but this year it was full of people and a couple of hoses for a cool down if you needed it.

Congratulations to Dougal Allan for a sensational race in 2nd place and a new bike course record (4.30 - 12 minutes faster!), and to Courtney Ogden on a super solid and consistent day to finish 3rd. Also great races from Carl Read in 4th and Braden in 5th. 2 gutsy competitors who just love to race. Was great to have you two out there.
To Gina, Laura and Michelle, congratulations also. 6 wins for Gina in Wanaka now, I feel I may never catch her at this rate!

My friends and family out on course were simply epic again. The ‘home town’ advantage is without a doubt a massive boost for me in Wanaka.
A big congratulations to my better half Annabelle Bramwell for nailing the full and finishing faster than me and to her sister and (future) brother-in-law for finishing their first half-distance events. Also to my athletes out there who all nailed their individual races; Heath, Jess, Louise, and to all the other crew out there racing, it is with a lot of pleasure that I can say there are too many of you to name. See you all back next year!

A huge thanks to the race crew for once again putting on a seamless event and to the volunteers who act as some pretty super, super glue and hold it all together.

Finally thank you to my sponsors who not only make it all possible, but also make me as fast as possible!
Blue Seventy
Specialized
Brooks
Profile Design
High 5
Polar
Ems Power Cookies
Smith optics
Aloe Up
Mahindra

Thanks for reading everyone, hope to see you all here next year or at a race somewhere soon.
I will update in the next few days regarding my progress towards Ironman New Zealand.

Cheers

Dylan

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Auckland 70.3 – January 2015

It was great to get up to Auckland for my first and last chance to race the 70.3. A real treat of a race in the end and I think all involved this year are pretty gutted that it was its final year. You would hope that it was simply the timing in January that didn’t allow the race to grow, because the event itself and the course were simply awesome. Not often, even at all, do you get to race downtown in the heart of a major city over that distance.

Anyway, Auckland turned on a stunning weekend and there were no complaints about the conditions.
The swim was pretty low key to be honest and I was happy to get out in the lead with Jimmy Seear right behind me.
We shot off on the bikes, but reasonably conservatively, as I think we both knew the draft zone in most NZ races is marginal at best and the group behind was big, meaning it would most likely end up as one big group. Sure enough it didn’t take them that long to catch us. And then there were 10 (+).
Mark Bowstead took off not too long after and had an awesome ride to come off the bike a couple minutes up the road. A few of us back in the group did what we could to break it up, but it really was a bit of a joke out there and we ended up cruising through the ride.
I had rested a little for the race and so knew I would have reasonable run legs, but also knew I would have to iron them out in the first few km’s. I tried a little to run with Browny and Callum early on, but that was a bit out of my league. I was happy to settle with Jimmy and Clarky Ellice for the 1^stlap and it wasn’t until the end that I started feeling a bit more comfortable. 
I was pretty stoked to run away from those 2 and catch Callum a few km’s from the finish. 
A great run for me in the end and super happy to finish 5^th.

A busy few weeks ahead now before my 3^rd go at Challenge Wanaka. Can’t wait to try and go a 3 peat there on 22^nd February.

Will update before the race.

Cheers

Dylan

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Happy NY 2015 – January 2015

Happy NY to everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed it and managed to eat lots, drinkt lots, and lose weight...

Figured I should do a wee update before I head to Auckland 70.3 next weekend (18th January) for the first and last time (the race is moving to Taupo in December).
It doesn't seem that long ago that I was on a plane heading to Ironman Malaysia and it seems like only the other week that I was on another plane heading to Challenge Bahrain. Time sure does fly!
Training has been going well, I am now almost 2 weeks in to my big work for Challenge Wanaka, with a easier week in and out of Auckland 70.3. I am pretty stoked that this year I get to race 2 of NZ's big races. With Wanaka moving to February 22, it has opened up this opportunity, but of course, Wanaka is my main focus.
Auckland will be a great tester and I am looking forward to racing hard and hopefull securing a few more points towards my Kona bid.

Below is my tentative race schedule for the year. With the introduction of the Challenge Triple Crown in the Middle East it makes things a little busier and tougher to decide. But, it is great for the professional side of our sport and you won't hear any complaints from me.

January - Auckland 70.3
February - Challenge Wanaka 
April - Challenge Taiwan Half
June - Ironman Cairns
August - Challenge Oman Hlaf / undecided 70.3 if I need Kona points
October - Ironman Hawaii / undecided Ironman if I don't qualify
December - Challenge Bahrain / Taupo 70.3
*Plus a couple others here and there for good measure!

Hope everyones training is going well for their races coming up. It has been a great summer so far, so long may it continue!

Cheers
Dyl

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Challenge Bahrain – December 2014

Challenge Bahrain had been hyped as a game changer, a new breed of race, in a sport that a lot of people thought (perhaps still think) has been left behind in terms of professionalism and 'professionalisation.' 
There would be big (well bigger than 'standard') pay checks, live and thorough coverage, and fair racing through the introduction of the 20m draft rule.

For me Bahrain was the potential cherry on the top at the end of a long season (or for me, start). I was lucky enough and very honored to receive an invite to race with all expenses paid. 
I was excited to see how I would perform with a little chance to focus on a half-distance race for the first time in a few years. 

Bahrain is not a big place and is pretty limited in terms of actual race venues, but boy did they put on a show.  
The course took in about half of the island, starting in the waters around the Capital Manama and finishing half way down the island at the Bahrain international race circuit. 
The swim was actually pretty cool. We were surrounded by some very impressive man made structures and swam in some nice clean and mild waters. 
I felt good in the swim and didn't push too much, as I was keen to get on the bike and be able to get straight in to my work. I exited at the front with a group of about 5-7 of us. Michi Ralert blasted through T1 and left 4 of us in his wake. He slowly opened up a gap and through KM's 30-40 our group was caught and pasted by eventual 3rd place Timbo Reed and 2nd place Anreas Dreitz. They were riding super good and our group was pretty much powerless to do anything. 
The bike course was very cool. Taking in a lot fo the city and sights, as well as a lap of the Formula 1 track. Not that I had a chance to look too often.
At about the 50km mark there was myself, Nils Fromhold, Tim Don, Brad Kahlefelt and Luke Bell all riding together. The 20m rule was working wonders. At 20m it felt like a completey honest and indivdual race and you had a feeling that you were constantly chasing the person in front of you, never sitting, and never easing off the power. Not long after the 50km mark I started to lose power in my gluts, they started to lock up, and by 60km I was barely putting power through the pedals. 

I literally crept in to T2 with the mindset of rescueing a good result with a great run... 

Unfortunately for me I could barely run as well. My gluts had literally shut up show and simply wouldn't work. I had to do the soldier march for 2-3km before they loosened up and I could ease in to a slow jog and finally a little run.
The run was also cool, taking in a wild life park with a few near misses with the odd emu or camel or giraffe!

I finished, very gutted, but happy I made the trip and made the effort to finish. 

From what I heard the live coverage was awesome, with a wee hickup with one of camera motorbikes running out of fuel. This is what we need more of (the live coverage, not the running out of fuel!). It is great to see Challenge embracing pro racing and the value it can add to their evens, their brand, and ultimately their bottom line. 

The 20m draft rule was also a massive winner in my mind. If policed properly it will seriously change the dynamcis of all pro racing.

And finally the money. It is great to see that Challenge in the middle east has also expanded in to Dubai and Oman, bringing more money and more options for pro's to actually be pro's and make a decent living out of this sport.

Time for a we break and then in to training for my first crack at Auckland 70.3 and then another attempt at defending my Challenge Wanaka title. 

Hope everyone is doing well.

Catch you all soon

Cheers
Dylan

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Ironman Malaysia – September 2014

Without any real chance to think about (except for 20 hours on air planes) I was on the start line for Ironman Malaysia, several thousand kilometres away from my original race destination in Lake Tahoe, and several degrees warmer as well.

A few people asked why I didn’t just head to Ironman Chattanooga the next weekend and on the same continent. I may have mentioned earlier, but I didn’t think the down-river swim and big bike packs would really suit me, plus Chattanooga was technically 2 days later than Malaysia and with maintaining form/fitness on my mind I felt that time was of the essence.

So I jumped on a plane in San Francisco with my better half in tow and 3 flights, a few movies, and many airline dinners later we made it to Langkawi with exactly 36 hours to find my feet.
I tried to find them straight away with a little jog in the dark around transition area. Not too bad I thought considering the last 48-72 hours. 
Friday was jam packed with the usual last minute organising, registration, and briefing. The monkey zone was real and I was disappointed that we wouldn’t see any jacked-up monkeys on triathlon nutrition, as the no-feed zone was also real.

We managed to find pizza and beer for my standard pre-race meal, twice in 1 week, and although it wasn’t one my all-time favourites, it did the trick that night and the next morning for breakfast!

2 weeks with very little training had me wondering how the body would respond to 8-9 hours of battering, but one thing was for sure and that was that I was extremely fresh. 
I felt very good in the swim and cruised through that to make sure I didn’t burn any matches early on. The only real excitement from the swim was getting stung by jelly fish twice. The first one pretty much punched with my hand and wrist, while the second I unfortunately punched with the side of my face and shoulder. Apart from the tingling and annoyance of it all the only real side effect I noticed was a numb ear.
On to the bike and things were already heating up. It is safe to say that I have had better legs, but 180km is a long way and they would arrive at some stage.
The first section of the lap is pretty hilly for bout 15km and takes quite a toll. Then it flattens off for about 30 and through this section I managed to get going a bit better. The monkey zone is through KMs 45-60 and is constantly rolling, while the last 30 flattens off again with a few good false flats thrown in. 
Patrick, the eventual winner, caught me at about 85km and we rode together until the start of lap 2 where he made a passing comment (while passing me), “I’ll do some work now for a little bit,” by little bit I assumed he meant the whole remaining 90km because there was no way I was riding with him! Next thing you know he’s on the side of the rode with a dropped chain and I was back in front. It wasn’t until 120km that I saw Patrick and Karol (3^rd) again. They caught me, passed me, and rode off again. It seems you can’t really pass me though and expect to get away with it scotch free, as 15 minutes later I saw Karol on the side of the road with a puncture. 
It was at 120km that I had my last gel and calories for the bike, my back was pretty much useless by this stage and my stomach wasn’t feeling much better. I lost 9 minutes to Freddy (2^nd) through the last 60km and it is safe to say that I wasn’t looking forward to running a marathon with depleted legs. 
Tim Beardall also made the mistake of passing me late on the bike (on his way to a 4.27 ride), as I caught him 500m in to the run after he had 3minutes on me off the bike. If any other pros are reading this, keep that in mind ;)

Anyway, on to ru…..n. 
Dead.
I had nothing from the word go and I knew it wasn’t going to be one of those ‘the legs will come around runs.’ I slogged it out for 42.2km, stopping and walking every aid station and to my utter disbelief, drinking nothing by coke. It was hot, hovering around 40d and extremely humid. I was even stopping and lining up for the water buckets, very polite I know!

9hrs and 26minutes later I crossed the finish line. A tough day in all the usual and many unusual ways. 
Malaysia was by no means a reflection of the shape and form I knew I was in for Tahoe, so it was a very disappointing to have had such a tough and problem filled day. But, in hindsight I could have had a great day and raced well in Tahoe only to have ended up 4^th there also, that was the quality of the field there. My main objective for racing an Ironman at the end of the year was to gather my first points towards Ironman Hawaii 2015, and for that it was mission accomplished. 
Taking everything in to account I am pretty happy with the outcome and can’t complain at all.

I am sitting at home in Christchurch writing this race report 2 weeks later, without an ounce of exercise since the race. On Monday it all starts again in my build up for Challenge Bahrain in December, followed by Auckland 70.3 in January, and then on to my big one at Challenge Wanaka in February.

I hope all those in the North have had a good summer of training and racing and I hope all those in the South are looking forward to the coming race season as much as I am!

Catch you all somewhere soon.

Thanks as always for reading,
Cheers

Dylan

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Pre Ironman Malaysia – September 2014

So, Ironman Malaysia it is!

I must admit it is as different an environment as I could find from Lake Tahoe, but something I am relatively use to racing in Taiwan, and something I am very much looking forward to.

For me it was an easy choice. A few people have asked why I didn’t just go to Ironman Chattanooga just down ‘the road’ a week later. Chattanooga is a down river swim, flattish bike, and with over 50 guys on the start-list (bike packs), I felt it didn’t suit me or my style of racing.
I also enjoy racing in Asia, and being closer to home it is good for my sponsors.

It’s a very odd feeling focusing 100% on something, for it to then disappear when you can literally reach out and touch it. We were basically on the start line for Tahoe when the announcement was made. Long story short, it was definitely the right decision. That day the smoke was the worst it had been the entire week and it was also spread further around the course than it usually would.

Back to Malaysia, it will be tough in its own right. Hot water, hot air, high humidity, and I can’t forget the monkeys. Apparently there is a 12km section where you are barely allowed to breathe because of them!
My mind seems to have switched from a lot of nerves and pressure, to an eagerness to get out there and race. A 3 week taper will probably do that to anyone!
It’s going to be an interesting kettle of fish. There are a lot of unknowns heading in to Saturdays race. I don’t know the course, I don’t know the environment, I don’t know the monkeys, but most importantly I don’t know how my body will respond to all the travel and all the other stresses of a quick turn-around and extended taper.
What I do know is that the last few training sessions I managed before I jumped on the plane felt great and I’ll be hoping that when the gun goes nothing will have changed.

Fingers crossed!

Cheers

Dylan

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Pre Ironman Lake Tahoe – September 2014

So here it is, my last pre-race update for the season (excluding Challenge Bahrain because that’s technically next season!).

It has been a great build-up to my first Ironman branded event. Everything has gone about as well as I could have hoped and I am feeling great and definitely ready for the gun to go off.
I feel like I’ve been waiting a long time for this race, 12 weeks of no other racing to be exact. This has lifted the pressure levels a little, but I like that. 
I really want to finish the season off well and simply perform to the best of my ability. I will try and forget about outcomes and results. 
I have never raced well this late in the year, so it is time to do so. I’ve given myself every chance through my training, now it’s time to do the same in the race. Ironman Lake Tahoe will take everything I have to give, I just hope it is enough!

We start at 6.30am Sunday local time (1.30am Monday NZ time).

Thanks to everyone for their support so far this season. It has been huge! 
Hopefully I can repay it with a great result tomorrow.

My better half will have my phone during the race. She will be social mediating up a storm on twitter, facebook, and Instagram, through my accounts. So feel free to follow on there!

Catch you all soon,

Cheers

Dylan

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Ironman Lake Tahoe training update – September 2014

Where to begin…

Firstly, sorry it has been so long!

My best excuse is that after Challenge Atlantic City I flew home and hibernated through a couple months of Christchurch’s winter for the first time since 2008. Then on my arrival back in the USA in early August I was too busy soaking up the sunshine until now… but really I have just been lazy + doing a bit of exercising!

Things are going well, although I did get sick prior to Lake Stevens 70.3, which meant I had to withdraw from that, but not to worry as I have another bigger, better, and harder lake lined up! 
My next race is Ironman Lake Tahoe and it sounds like a beauty. 
It is at altitude and is a tough course, which was made even tougher last year when it was literally 0 degrees Celsius on the start-line and not much warmer during the day. I have been told that this is unlikely to happen again, my fingers are crossed though… for 0 degrees of course ;)

I started my build up for Tahoe back in Christchurch and there were some chilly mornings (and days) out in the elements. I really have to thank my sponsors Brooks, Specialized, and Smart Wool for keeping me warm out there, without them I’d just be another human popsicle. Training went surprisingly ok and after a few weeks of that it was time to head to Santa Cruz, California to get some longer (and much harder) miles in with Bevan Docherty.

Santa Cruz was great and my fitness and form got a great boost, as did my exposure to the sun and some extreme heat while riding some quiet in-land Californian roads. 
I was lucky enough to get some time at the Specialized WinTunnel in Morgan Hill. An awesome and very interesting experience. The team there are doing some very cool and thorough testing on anything and everything. Look for some fast stuff to be hitting the market soon. Bottom line for me was a 4 watt saving, simply through some minor adjustments, and a more comfortable setup. In terms of time savings that equates to about 2 minutes over an Iron-distance ride. Well worth having!

After Santa Cruz it was time to head up in to the mountains for some pre-Tahoe altitude training. 
It was back to the triathlon mecca of Boulder, Colorado for 3.5 weeks and this is where I now write this update. 
I’ve had an awesome 3 weeks up here and am feeling like I have found some late season form for, probably, the first time in my career! Giving up a little bit of form and training during the mid-season races seems to have given me an extra lift now and I am really excited to get up to Tahoe in a couple days and to start scoping out the course.
The nerves are starting to flow a little, but it is a good feeling knowing that I am well prepared!

I hope everyone, everywhere, has had a great winter or summer and I look forward to seeing you all around the blocks somewhere soon!

I’ll do my usual pre-race blog a couple days out, so look for it then!

One last note, I would like to say a big thank you to Mahindra Auto for having me on their team. I’ll be the proud and extremely lucky driver of a brand new Mahindra XUV 500 on my return home. I am usually pretty excited to get home after my long trips away, but this time I almost can’t contain myself! Check them out at www.mahindraauto.co.nz

Thanks for reading,

Cheers
Dylan

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Challenge Atlantic City 2014

My alarm went off at 3.52am, but I was already awake. It was time for Iron-Distance race number 3 for the season. 

I had done almost everything I could, in the time that I had, to be in as good a shape as possible for Challenge Atlantic City. 
The course promised to be flat and fast and, with a run almost entirely on the famous AC Boardwalk hopefully the body wouldn’t be as destroyed as it can be after 8-9 hours of punishment. 

I was pretty stoked when it was announced that it would be a non-wetsuit swim, not necessarily because I know that my advantage is solidified without the swim-aid, but because it meant one less thing to worry about across the course of the day… call me lazy.
The swim was a rather unique Y shape and we were told to expect about 1 knot currents. I immediately did some math and worked out that if anyone was swim less than 2 km an hour it was going to be a long, maybe never ending, day for them! Sure enough, but also lucky enough, we fought some good currents, but only at the top end of the course and I managed to complete the swim around my usual 47 minute mark. It felt pretty good and I didn’t really exert that much, which is always good to know. I had about a 5 minute lead on the chasers and I was happy with that.

On to the bike and the 50km drag up the AC expressway begun. It was fast and smooth and I kept things well under control, mindful of the fact that I hadn’t had the usual amount of time to prepare and the fact that the winds would pick up for a headwind drag home. I knew saving some legs for that last 50km would come in handy!
Once off the expressway we entered a 2 lap course through the blueberry fields of New Jersey. It was awesome; great roads, perfect weather and a well organised course.  I was caught by Chris at about the half way mark of the bike and opted to keep my own pace. He was riding well and I wasn’t too keen on making any bold moves early in the race. By the time I hit the expressway again he had extended his lead on me to about 4 minutes and I had a group of 4-5 about 2 minutes behind. 
The last 50km was brutal, straight in to a headwind that wasn’t all that strong, but just relentlessly consistent. I blew to smithereens and was passed by Thomas half-way along, who had broken away from the Macca and Freddie group. I got off the bike in 3^rdand was very happy to do so, about 2 minutes behind Thomas and 7minutes behind Chris. Freddie, Macca and Scott were all within a few minutes behind me and I knew the real race was just about to begin.

Getting off the bike my legs actually felt pretty good and I was straight in to my stride. One thing I changed for AC was that I added some solids in to my nutrition plan. On the advice from Em at Ems Power Cookies I managed to force down a few power bites and I think they helped give me a more solid feel through the legs. Definitely something I will maintain in my future races, alongside of course my usual 20 or so High 5 gels!
I was running well and pulling in the 2 guys in front and not losing too much ground the 2 fleet footed fella’s behind me. At around the 13-14km mark I had cut the gap of the 2 in front in half, and it was here that Freddie caught me. I was happy to have made a 90 second gap last that long and was still feeling pretty good. I decided that there was too far to go to run with him and let him go. 2-3km later the wheels started falling off and there was nothing I could do about it. This was a new experience for me as I usually gradually deteriorate over the course of the run, but this was pretty much an instant piano dropped affair. For the next 2 hours I shuffled through the run, determined to catch 3^rd and not stop running. By the time you are hurting this much it hurts to walk, so why stop running!
I got to within 45 seconds of 3^rd, but sadly that was it. Scott had passed me at about the 17km mark and had flown through everyone to the front, but also faded a bit and ultimately finished 2^nd to an ever consistent Freddie who was fully deserving of his win! Full credit to Chris for hanging on for 3^rdand for battling it out after a massive bike ride.
It was 4^th for me and I was, as always, just relieved be have made it to the finish line. 
Of course I am a little disappointed to have missed the podium, but pretty proud of my effort, which took everything I had.

Congrats to both the Men’s and Women’s podiums and to the organisers for putting on an awesome firsts ever Challenge in the USA.
Thanks of course to all the supporters and volunteers out there!

Thank you also to my awesome sponsors and a special mention to Profile Design for their extra help while in AC!

Next up I will be heading to California for Ironman Lake Tahoe and that will be the end of my season.

Cheers and until next time!

Dylan

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Pre - Challenge Atlantic City

Tomorrow is Iron-Distance race number 3 for the year. I’ve had a great start to 2014 and it’s safe to say it has been busy.

It has been a relatively quick turn-around for me since Challenge Taiwan in April and even quicker considering I only decided to race Challenge Atlantic City 5 weeks ago. Never the less, I managed some good training weeks at home in my first winter since 2008 and I am ready to get to the finish line… hopefully in one piece!

This is the Challenge Family’s first race in the USA and I think they have picked an exciting and unique place to hold the race.
The race course looks good and the run especially is going to be pretty crazy. There is going to be thousands (probably 10’s of thousands) of people out on the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk during the run. It is sure to be an awesome atmosphere.

I am in the same position as I was this time last year, 2 wins and 2 races to come. Things went down-hill at this point last year and I am very determined to change that in 2014. 
I learnt a lot of lessons last year, some were hard and some were good. Tomorrow I find out just how much I learnt!

Hopefully I have some good news to report on in less than 24 hours.

Cheers for all the support as always.

Until tomorrow!

Cheers

Dylan

Fiji, Roth, Atlantic City, Sponsors and Beyond.

Hi all and thanks as always for reading!

Quite a bit has been happening since my last write up after Challenge Taiwan.

Firstly I had a last minute trip to Fiji for the Elite Energy race on Denarau. It was a great 4 days with some sun, sand, and saddle time thrown in. I highly recommend going for the race and staying on afterwards for some much needed relaxation. Thanks to the Elite Energy team for hosting us and giving us some much needed sun after our ‘summer’ here in NZ!

As most of you might have known Challenge Roth was again on the cards for this year. Unfortunately, after a bit of debate, I decided that it was not worth going all that way for just one race. A hard decision, but will no doubt make me hungrier to return sometime in the future.  

In place of Roth I have decided to race the first ever Challenge event in the USA, Challenge Atlantic City. CAC fits in rather nicely to my season and it is a bonus that I have really wanted to race this race as soon as I saw it announced. I head away in only a couple days and can’t wait to get there and race.

On the sponsor front I am super stoked to announce that I am now a part of the Ems Power Cookies and Polar teams. 
Ems make the best tasting bars and cookies out and will be fuelling my day to day activities, as well as my midnight snacks! Thanks for having me on board Em.
Polar have always been world leading at what they do and with the introduction of a few awesome new products this year I am super excited to be joining the team. Keep an eye out on my wrist and my bike for their new stuff very soon.

After Atlantic City I will make my way back home for another month of winter here in NZ. 
It actually hasn’t been too bad to date. A few very cold days and some program juggling of course, but all in all I have mostly enjoyed it and the awesome gear I have from my sponsors makes it easy to get out in any conditions. 
Once that month is done I will be back on a plane to the USA and will do my final Iron-Distance build-up for the year and I will be preparing for my first Ironman event at Lake Tahoe on September 21^st. From all accounts it is a tough one, with many hills and an altitude of 1800m to add to the mix. Can’t wait for the challenge!

Thanks again for reading. I will post again prior to Challenge Atlantic City with my usual pre-race rambling.

Until next time,

Cheers

Dylan

Challenge Taiwan 2014

I arrived in Taiwan in some of the best form of my life… drinking form that was. However, in saying that I had also managed to fit in some decent weeks of training and combined with my Wanaka build-up I was confident that I had enough work under the belt to get through the race.
My biggest concern for my second attempt at the title was my lack of riding form and the threat of some pretty intense heat. Luckily for me only one of those came to fruition with the sun packing a punch through the ride and early on the run. 
All in all I was happy to get back to Taiwan and was a lot more relaxed heading in for round 2 with a good understanding of the course and the conditions.

The call was made early for a wetsuit swim this year, which I wasn’t overly happy with, but got on with it none the less. I wish I had some riveting story to tell about the swim, but I don’t, and after 46 and a bit minutes I made my way out of the water and towards my bike.

On to the bike and I was beginning to realize that 180km never gets any less daunting no matter how many of these things you do. 
The legs felt pretty good and the air was a pretty mild 26ish by 7am. I rolled through the first 45km in under 1.03, possibly a little on the fast side, but wanted to make sure I made the most of my lead. By the 100km mark I had extended my lead on the closest chaser/s to 10+ minutes, but was starting to suffer a little in the heat and over the next 80km’s I was off the bike with about a 7 minute margin to the chase group, with Freddie a further minute back. Freddie (Croneburg) and Jason Shortis were my 2 biggest concerns and although I was happy enough with 7 and 8 minutes on them to start the run, I still wasn’t all that comfortable. 

One of the hardest things coming out of Wanaka this year was that my day there was as close to perfect as I think I’ll ever have and I may never be able emulate that feeling. In Wanaka the body just responded to everything and in the end I was always in Control. I told myself constantly before Taiwan and during the swim and bike that things were going to be a bit tougher today.
Sure enough the first few strides off the bike told me everything I needed and dreaded to know… it was going to be a long, hot, and very hard marathon. 
It was stinking hot for the first 5-10km and I seriously doubted my ability to finish the race. I pulled my head in and just ran, drunk, and forced down my beloved gels. By the time I hit the 45minute mark I was starting to find some sort of form. For the next hour I managed to run semi-decently and during this period I got my first time-split. Supposedly I had 13 minutes to second place, Till Schramm, but although I wanted nothing more than to believe this, I didn’t, and knew that Freddie and Jason wouldn’t be far behind and chasing hard. By the time I hit the 27km mark and 1 lap of town to go I was pretty much shot. The next 5km’s involved me jogging from aid station to aid station and walking through them while taking on a lot of fluid.

 At the 32km mark I got my next time split and that was 6minutes to Freddie. 6 minutes over 10km might sound like a lot, but it was enough to give me a kick up the ass and I started running properly again. Little known to me I actually only had around a 2 minute gap. I was still walking aid-stations, but running well between them. At about 2km to go Macca came riding towards me yelling for me to hang tough!? All I thought was what is this guy yelling about? I am 6 minutes in front! At 1 km to go I got told once again that my lead was 6 minutes… Sweet as, I stopped at the last aid station, drunk some coke, drenched myself in water and then hobbled towards the finish line. 
I’m not usually an emotional racer, I tend to be more relieved at the finish line than ecstatic, but approaching this finish line I felt some tears well up. I managed to control them and cruised down the finish line with all the time in the world, super happy with my physical and mental effort out there and very proud that I did it on less than ideal preparation.
38 seconds later Freddie crossed the finish line and not more than 1 minute after Freddie was Jason. 
Safe to say I was extremely lucky out there and another reminder to always push to the finish line and never give up.

Thanks as always to all my supporters. I have an awesome crew of friends, family, sponsors and fans out there who keep me honest through every moment of racing.
Thanks also to the Challenge Taiwan crew who put on such an awesome event  and look after their athletes so well.

My Northern Hemisphere plans are being finalised as I write this and will post another update once all confirmed.

Hope you are all doing well out there and good luck to all those racing in the North and stay safe to those training out the Southern winter.

Cheers

Dylan

Pre - Challenge Taiwan - The night before

So I am lying here with time to kill before we hit up Uncle Petes Pizza for my standard pre-race dinner.

It is the night before round 2 of Challenge Taiwan. Coming back here for a second time (with a little less pressure) has really opend my eyes to what a great course and an easy venue it is, not to mention how well we are looked after by race director Michael and his team. It is a race I will hopefully be a frequent flyer to!

It has been an interesting few months since Wanaka. At times I have been closer to a professional drinker than triathlete and there were many a moment where I was extremely worried about my lack of form heading in to tomorrow. However, over the last few weeks I have gone from rock-bottom to what I feel is some great fitness and some good form.
Is it enough to take the win? I am not so sure. There are some great athletes here with their own unique strengths. I feel that if I were to win tomorrow it may be a new style of victory for me, not from the gun, but more of a dual.  
I am looking forward to getting out there and racing, the sitting around and waiting is possibly the worst part of our sport and potentially even the hardest! Mind-games can be tough on even the best of athletes. Time to see how we have all handled them!

At this time tomorrow I will hopefully be lying here writing a quick and positive update... We will see!

Thanks to everyone for the messages of support!

Cheers
Dylan

Wellington .kiwi tri series and Auckland ITU age group race

The time came after defending my Wanaka title to knuckle down a bit and line up another race.

My original thoughts were to shoot across the ditch for Challenge Batemans Bay in mid-March and flush the legs out a bit there. 
When push came to shove though my mind really wasn't ready for another 'big' hitout and instead I opted for the safety of the .kiwi tri series just over our 'ditch' in Wellington.
I got sick all the week leading in. I'd been a borderline achololic after Wanaka, not necessarily by choice, but I'm at the 'everyone getting married' stage of life and I figured I may as well embrace it that fight it. 
I managed to pull my health together enough come race morning and set out with the intention of finishing. To my surprise I felt ok, but was a little upset to learn that one of the Dutch National team members had decided to race also. We were never seperated by more than 20-30 seconds the entire race, and luckily for me i had some great running legs and was able to pull away for about a 10second margin of Victory. 
A good feeling to win my first National series race and a good sign that I have some form heading in to my BIG training weeks in my build-up for my Challenge Taiwan title defense!

Next up was the ITU Auckland age group race. Thanks to the Rolling Stones postponing their tour I found myself with a free morning on my hands. It was decided that a race was well needed after some flat as a pancake triathlon form off the back of way too much drinking form.

Once again I was please to feel ok out racing, but very happy to get off the bike and be able to put out a solid run. I am just 2 weeks out from Challenge Taiwan and things haven't been lining up as well as they did last year or before Wanaka this year, BUT the weekends racing definitely gave me a much needed boost in the right direction and hopefully things will keep heading that way.

I'll post again before Taiwan and let you all know how things are going

Cheers for reading

Dylan

Challenge Wanaka 2014

Hi all and sorry for the delay in getting this posted! I have been absolutely useless since race day and really need to give myself a good kick up the ass. 
Writing this took me back to that day and I think I may have a little more motivation again... maybe.

Defending my title in Wanaka had been on my mind every day for the past 364 days!
It meant more to me than anything else I can remember in my sporting career.
I wanted to win not just for myself, but for my family, friends, sponsors and supporters. 
I felt the pressure and if you had seen me on race morning, you would know that I was showing some nerves. 
When I finished it wasn’t a feeling of disbelief or amazement as it was last year, but pure and simple relief, like I had just finished a doctorate or something.

My preparation for Wanaka 2014 went about as well as I could have hoped. The plan my coach and I put in place was spot on and although at times you always question what you are doing, I also always believed that things would turn out alright. 
Having the likes of Richard Ussher, Dougal Allan, Matty White &co on the start list scared the shit out of me, but ultimately that was what got me out of bed every morning and drove me to a new level. I don’t really want to say thank you to the guys for the nightmares, but thank you!

We woke to clear dark skies, no wind, and temperatures close to 0 Celsius. 
All good though right, it will warm up as soon as the sun shows its face…?
It was cold, not just cold, but COLD and it never really turned in to a typical Wanaka summers day of wind and heat. As much as I love the wind and was disappointed we didn’t get any, the cold suited me also.

We got the 1 minute to go call and with that came the rush of thoughts and nerves that accompany those final moments before the gun goes off.
My race plan was to swim solid and try and maximise my gains there. I knew the first 50-60km on the bike would also be crucial for my own head confidence wise and for the others doubt wise. 
Like last year I had convinced myself that at some stage I would be caught out on the bike, or at least be reeled in a bit and again like last year, I was surprised to be holding what I knew was a critical time gap of around 7 minutes.

I figured Richard would run about 5 minutes in to me and to be honest I really didn’t want to see him next to me on the run, or at any moment during the race for that matter. 
Approaching the end of the bike I was still feeling good and had managed to maintain that 7 minute gap. It was a nice feeling to still be comfortable after 180km and not be worried about re-enacting my shoe dramas of last year where I didn’t know if I’d even be capable of putting them on.

Sure enough my shoes went on without a hitch and I set off on marathon number 5 of my life. 
I felt great from pretty early on and just ticked along at my pace. At about the 10km mark I got the first time gap; 7 minutes to Burgess and 9 minutes to Ussher. I missed a couple of strides at that moment and I knew then that I could hold on and defend my title.

My day was as close to perfect as I have experienced so far. Everything came together when I needed it to and my body responded to everything I asked of it. It is quite daunting knowing that I may never have as good a day as I did out there again, but it is still a great feeling to have been tested mentally and physically more than ever and risen to the occasion.

One thing on race day was perfect though and that was my support crew. My friends and family who travelled down to watch were sensational and without a doubt gave me that extra boost I needed to give them what they wanted (and maybe myself a little), a win. Thanks team! And thank you also to everyone; supporters, race crew, and volunteers who showed their support out there.

Of course I wouldn’t have much chance out there without my Sponsors, all of who gave me everything I needed and more in my build-up.
A huge thank you to them for their continued support.
Blue Seventy
Specialized
Brooks
Profile Design
High 5
Meadow Fresh
Aloe Up
Chain Reaction Cycles

Next up I am looking at Challenge Batemans Bay in March before returning to Taiwan to try and defend my title there in April.

Congratulations to everyone who raced in Wanaka. Thanks to my competitors and a special mention to Richard and Dougal for their awesome finishes. Congratulations also to Candice, Gina and Simone for their podium finishes in the ladies race.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and see you out there sometime soon!

Cheers and thanks again

Dylan

This is where I am at 12 days out from Challenge Wanaka 2014

So, I am sitting here in Wanaka with 12 days to go until I try and defend my most prized possession, my Challenge Wanaka title.

My build up so far has been a 12 week roller coaster ride, but a good one. 
I started as a nervous wreck; afraid, disbelieving, unfit, and slow. The task in front of me seemed unattainable with those first few strides, even with those first few weeks, and definitely after my first few encounters with one of my biggest rivals for the 2014 edition, Richard Ussher.

But, slowly and surely things have come together. I’ve had good weeks, bad weeks, sick weeks, and bulletproof weeks. I always say balance is key, in everything you do, you need your lows to know your highs, but there are always those times when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

My coach and I put together a great plan before this all started. We learnt a lot from my first Iron-Distance season and I have faith that all will be good come race day.

Sitting here writing this 12 days out I am very pleased to say that everything is going to plan. I am now as excited as I was nervous, I feel boldly brave (perhaps a downfall!), I believe, I’m in the shape of my life, and I actually have found a little speed! (Thanks coach).

The race is going to be epic. There is a great field assembled and the course as always will throw every challenge possible at you. There are no favourites, but I am super happy to say that I will at least be one of those who are ready to race and will give it absolutely everything on the day. 
Now I just have to wait and see if it will be enough.

Good luck with your training for what ever event you are racing and I will hopefully see you all out there!

Thanks for reading.

Cheers

Dylan

Challenge Foster 2013

Well it had been a busy 2 weeks prior to the race and to be honest, by the time I got on the plane to head to Sydney I was a little over it all. I realised it really hadn’t been that long since I was doing this in Europe and those psychological demons started their work, but all the while I fought them off.  

It was cool to have the Challenge Family back in Australia, not only for Aussies, but for us kiwi’s too. There are only so many races that can be held in NZ, so the more variety in AUS the better it is for us all. It’s no secret I am a big fan of Challenge and it was even cooler to have them where the heart of triathlon in Australia lays, Forster.

The weather gods played a little havoc with us during the build-up and on race day, but I was happy to have a bit of wind, rain and the cooler temperatures. 
I led the swim and knew as soon as I took that first stride that my legs were struggling. Once on the bike it was even more apparent and those demons who had been doing their best to derail me during the build-up took one last stand. This race was all about giving me a boost before my Wanaka training starts and I managed to fend them off one last time and battled through one of my worst bike rides ever. I really was a useless piece of s…!
Never mind, I got off the bike very far behind the leader but running in contention for 7^th place. I even managed to haul in 1 other from the group in front and ended up finishing 6^th.

More than happy with that after a tough build-up and like I said earlier, these 2 weeks were done solely with Wanaka in mind. There is an awesome field lining up this year and it is going to be one hell of a race.

I’ll report in prior to Wanaka.

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Year. 
Train hard and keep safe!

Cheers

Dylan

Southern Alps Tour 2013

Day 1
Dunedin to Balclutha - 103km
2 stages – 1 KOM & 2 SPRINTS

Day 1 started well with a buffet breakfast and a full stomach. This quickly went down hill, figuratively speaking any way. 
Heading out of the hotel and straight up one of Dunedin’s infamous steep streets for the first 1km or so was a great way to start the Southern Alps Tour (not) and as Dan said in his intro, “this is the Southern ALPS tour, not the Southern FLAT tour.” 
So off we went towards the first stage and the first KOM, which was up a “long but steady climb.” The climb was 6km long and was more akin to 1minute at V02max and 1minute recovery (x20). I think I am going to wear earplugs for the rest of the tour, too many mind games going on already! 
Richard Ussher rode his (barely legal) road bike to the stage victory, edging Chris McDonald by no more than a minute, and well and truly edging me. In fact, the edge of the cliff was looking pretty appealing while riding up that climb.
Stage two saw us head out on a ‘flat’ section of the tour. Again I needed those ear plugs. With a few attacks thrown in over a few of those ‘flat hills’ that have been quite frequent so far, I found myself 100-200m behind Rich and Chris over the first sprint mark. A group of 4 of us managed to keep working and slowly pulled back the deficit that the boys at the front obviously knew wasn’t worth holding…!?
The pace heated up when some incognito motor-pacing took place and the road actually and finally went flat for a change. With 2km to go until the 2^nd and final sprint of the day I decided I should utilise my TT bike a little and have a crack early. I got to the sprint first and with a small gap of maybe 100m. With 4-5km to go until the stage finish I decided to keep pushing and try my luck. 
I was joined by my fellow TTer, Chris (Big Sexy) McDonald, with a few km’s to go. He thought 50kmph was a good speed to ride and I didn’t really have the chance to express my concerns. I popped about 100m from the line, finishing 2^nd to Chris, and managing to pull a little time back on Richard. It will be a tight race between those two boys for the yellow, but at least I might be in the green jersey… for one day anyway.

Tomorrow we ride through one of best kept secrets and most epic areas in New Zealand, the Catlins. I’ll try and throw a few photo’s up as we go (www.dylanmcneice.com/media)

Cheers
Dylan  

Jersey's:
Yellow - Chris
KOM - Richard
Sprint - Dylan

Day 2
Balclutha to Invercargill, via The Catlins – 164km
3 stages – 2 KOM & 2 SPRINTS

Day 2 started with a 40min run and what is becoming the standard buffet breakfast.

We then rolled our way through the green pastures of lower Otago before crossing the heavily fortified (by mountains and friendly locals) border in to Southland. 
The first stage had a couple of climbs with KOM points on the line. Richard took the first one pretty comfortably, but was rolled by Chris on the second one and was lucky that I was busy playing race photographer instead of concentrating on the sprint to come… yeah sure. The stage finished with another climb and once again it was Richard who took the honours. 
It was a pretty amazing stage with some spectacular views of the ocean and beach’s along the way.
We then rolled out for an open stage and saved the fireworks until the end. The down hill sprint was a goodie, but Richard once again got his big nose in front (literally by a nose) and showed us his all-round ability. I simply couldn’t get in front. Chris had a puncture only a couple hundred meters from the finish line, or so he says, I didn’t hear a thing. 
The next stage was a bit flatter and included a couple of sprints. The Big Man Dan managed to suck my wheel for long enough to win the first sprint, but even with the blocking help of his brother, Big Sexy, he still wasn’t able to hold me off for my first stage win. Time to retire…
We then had an ‘easy’ spin to the bottom of the infamous Bluff Hill. 26km later we arrived after battling through a tailwind? Odd.
Bluff Hill is pretty ridiculous and either the builders of the hill or the builders of the road, or both, should be shot. We set off at 30 second intervals and it was Richard who again took demoralised us with cruise to victory over Chris and myself. 
A big shout out to everyone who rode up that hill and even those who had to walk! It kicks up to around 25% at one stage and it takes a herculean effort just to stay upright. 

It was a big day today, 182km in total, and tomorrow is a big one with no real respite. All essentially up hill in to the beautiful Lake Te Anau region.

A few photos are up.

Thanks for reading.

Dylan

Day 3
Invercargill to Te Anau – 189km
3 Stages – 1 KOM, 1 SPRINT, & 1 TTT

Southland didn’t disappoint on day 3. The token buffet breakfast, rain, wind, and some awesome scenery greeted us, as well as a stage straight out of the Tour of Southland books.

Chris, Richard and I snuck in a swim at Splash Palace under my old and legendary swimming coach Jeremy Duncan. He kept us honest for 4 or so km’s and then sent us on our way for 189 clicks on the bike. 
The stage started wet and remained that way for the first 80odd km’s. As the stage wore on we battled more and more wind and had some hairy moments along the deep south coast with a howling and gusting cross wind. ‘Big Man Dan’ tried a solo break earlier than most (clean) Tour de France riders would consider possible and this poor decision was made even more obvious when his own team mate pulled him in after 15-20minutes. As his brother ‘Big Sexy’ said, “you have the racing brain of a rat” (C. McDonald. Aka Big Sexy. 2013). 
The stage was won by the now wise and sexy ‘Big Wise Sexy’ in a sprint that left Richard and I feeling like he had a few more weet-bix than us for breakfast… since he was born! 
We all arrived in Tuatapere alive and most of us in one piece, minus Crunchy who has a knee that has been gnawing away at him since his ascent of Bluff hill yesterday.
After a good feed we saddled up and shot off towards Manapouri with a ‘you wouldn’t read about it’ result up the only KOM of the day. Yip, Richard cleaned us up and made it look way too easy, which is why I didn’t look. He also won the sprint on this stage, but we are all getting bored of hearing about Richard winning everything.
Once in Manapouri it was Team Time Trial time. Teams of 4 and a couple of 3 were set off on the 20km’s to Te Anau. It was good fun and a good way to end a 189km day. A big mention must go to my team of Noel (68 years old), Stewart (63 years old), and Martin (54 years old. Corrected). They were on fire and managed an average of 35.4kmh. Not too shabby considering what they have been through over the last few days.

Tomorrow we get to do what very little people have ever done and that is ride through the Milford tunnel. It should be fun in the dark, wet, slippery and pothole filled road. We will finish in Te Anau again in preparation for our final assault towards Queenstown on day 5.

Until tomorrow!
Cheers

Day 4 
Milford Sound to Te Anau, via the Milford tunnel (yes, on our bikes!) – 118km
1 stage – 1 KOM (where’s my road bike when I need it!)

Day 4 saw us awake to the most anticipated day of the tour. 
Although in your mind it is all ‘downhill’ after making it through the halfway mark and completing day 3, the fourth day saw the biggest and toughest climb (ranked #2 climb in NZ) rise up to meet us. Milford Sound is one of the most renowned scenic and tourist locations in NZ. The place is just stunning, but it is located in what used to be one of the most inaccessible parts of NZ. Never mind though, some nutters (thank you) decided to build a road and a tunnel through to it. 
The road from the tunnel to Milford includes a 16km climb at an average gradient of 10% and views consist mainly of almost sheer vertical cliffs and flowing waterfalls. 
Thankfully a truce was called at the bottom while we ate our second buffet breakfast of sand flies covered in insect repellent and we decided to enjoy the views rather than breath razor blades as we did on all other climbs. We were then escorted as a group through the homer tunnel, a 1.5km, pretty bloody steep, wet, and dark hole in the rock. An experience some of us may never get the chance to do again and one we’ll never forget.
Once we cleared the mountain and the tunnel we re-grouped and set off on an 88km open stage, with one mystery KOM. It is now no mystery that I won my first KOM in a ball-busting sprint to the line with Richard, Big Sexy, Big Man Dan, and Mike ;)
We continued on and the tempo slowly, but surely, started to pick up. I would love to say that I enjoyed every meter of the ride and took in every ounce of scenery along the way, but that would be lying. All I really saw were wheels, chip-seal, gel packets, a muesli bar, and the odd ass when I looked up or in the wrong place. Never the less it was a great ride and just adds to the whole experience of heading in and out of Milford. It is rolling terrain through forests, fields, and follows the Hollyford River down the valley back to Te Anau.   
The stage ended with another, but the same, lesson for Richard and me. We need to eat a shit load more Weet-bix if we want to beat Big Sexy in a sprint. He was the champ of the day and well deserved after pulling some big turns on our way back. 
A special mention has to go to everyone who got through today. It was cold, hot and a bit of wind thrown in there, not to mention the tough terrain and of course the 460odd other kilometres that had been ridden over the 3 days prior.

Our last day beckons us and it will not be easy with Te Anau to the Crown Range on the menu. There will be a lot of rollers along the way to keep the legs honest, but also and as usual, some amazing scenery to boot.

Catch you tomorrow… I hope!

Day 5
Te Anau to Queenstown, hill top finish on the Crown Range – 180km
4 stages – 2 KOM & 2 SPRINTS

Our final day dawned in the beautiful tourist town of Te Anau once again. 
Our ride for day 5 was equally as beautiful, if not the most stunning day of the tour. 
Our route took us from Te Anau all the way through to Queenstown and beyond, finishing up on the crown range. 
The morning silence was broken by a lot of chatter about the ridiculousness of riding literally within 100m of our hotel for the night, the Hilton Queenstown, and waving it good bye for another couple of hours for the chance to go and bury ourselves for the last time with a 3km individual time trial up the switch backs on the crown range. 
The ride to lunch included a couple of stages. The first of which had a sprint, which I once again let Dan have the line honours ;), a KOM, which Richard of course won, and then nothing until the finish line. Matt, the B-Grade Break King, decided to do what he does best and try his luck once more for a stage victory. He broke away with 20km to go and despite the best efforts of the other B-grade riders he was able to come away with a great stage win (and an apparent ‘I can fart where ever I like ego’).
The next stage was a 15km individual time trial. I basically talked myself out of this one and was happy enough to eat humble pie after being whipped by all of the other A-grade men. Chris showed his power again and stormed through the 15km for the win.  
At lunch the unanimously un-unanimous decision (yes it is supposed to make no sense) was made that the last part of the tour should be scrapped and instead we should enjoy our 5-star accommodation for a bit longer, along with a few beers. So we set off for our ‘last’ stage of the tour and the best really was saved to last. The views and road along the Southern Arm of Lake Wakatipu are simply wicked and the 60km’s went by in a flash, just like Chris ‘Big Sexy’ McDonald when he decided that the only way he could win the tour was to put some big time in to Richard in a surprise, blitzkrieg like attack on the group. The only thought that went through my head was “are you f…ing kidding me,” and no he wasn’t. I saw Richard go after him like a cut cat (as well as B-Grade Break King Matt for 100m) and so I decided that this would have to be my last effort of the tour. It was a lost cause. Richard managed to hold the damage to 25 seconds and effectively, bar a melt down on the crown range (which we weren’t riding anyway?), secured the tour title. 
Sweet tour over! But of course it wasn’t, as we sailed by within a stone’s throw of our accommodation towards the crown range. 
As I set off on my time trial up the crown range my legs and mind exploded and I wondered what the hell I was doing… but for the last time. At that moment I thought of all those other mad people riding up the hill in front of me who hadn’t complained a bit and were smashing themselves up this final ascent. I told myself to harden up and ride like I stole it. 
At the top it was over and I was (secretly) pleased to have held off a flying Richard up the climb (he did start a minute behind, but who is counting!?). 

There is no better way to spend 5 days if you love the outdoors, riding a bike, and testing your limits. A great time was had by all and I am sure they and many more will all be back for the 3^rdedition of the Southern Alps Tour in November 2014. 

A massive thank you must go to the support crew and organisers. Kay, Dan, Nadine, Russell, Tina, Brett, Markus, and Lachy made it the tour it was by providing a foundation and then backing that up with what ever was needed to make it happen during the tour.

Of course congratulations to everyone who made it through the tour. It is a pretty amazing achievement for anyone and even as a professional it was still my biggest bike week ever. A bit under 800km in 5 days. Not too bad!

See you all next year and thanks for reading!

Cheers

Dylan

Season Preview 2013-2014

So it has been a while since I last wrote, but things are heating up and the season ahead is looking busy. Therefore I thought it was time to let those who are interested know my plans.

The next few weeks are super busy and I am looking forward to a couple of races and a few awesome bike rides around the South Island of NZ
First up this weekend is the South Island Half Ironman Champs at Lake Hood in Ashburton. This is a good chance to get an early hit out in the legs and has provided some good motivation for training over the last 4 weeks. It’s a pretty impressive field for little old Ashburton with Richard Usher (multi-sport legend) and Chris McDonald (twice Ironman champ for 2013 alone) lining up, not to mention a host of other up-and-coming and solid athletes. 
After Ashburton it will be off to the Christchurch races on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Dunedin on Wednesday, and then the Start of the Southern Alps tour for the following 5 days (http://southernalpstour.co.nz/). The tour is an all-inclusive 5-star bike tour/race, taking in some of the South Islands most beautiful spots and rides. 
After I return home on Tuesday the 19^th, I will then be on a plane to Sydney on Wednesday heading for the first of the new Challenge events at Forster (http://challengeforster.com.au/). Hopefully after a busy couple of weeks with some higher intensity thrown in there I will be able to produce a decent result!

After Forster I will have an easy week of recovery and a wedding thrown in there before the Build-up to Challenge Wanaka starts early December.

Hope to see you all out there over the summer!

Thanks for reading

Cheers
Dylan

Challenge Almere-Amsterdam 2013

So my season is over and it ended with the wrong kind of boom! But family and friends, that was not all of me out there today. 
Being sick and having to sleep all week actually helped the start of the ride, as I felt really fresh and I rode pretty aggressively, but by 110km I was struggling and the wind was taking its toll. We had a rear NW here today, which meant almost no fast tail wind sections that come with the usual Southerly and a lot of cross and head wind grovelling instead. It was tough.
I was happy to get off the bike and start running, but knew straight away that things weren't the way they usually are, which is actually being able to run! 
I was more exhausted at 22km in to the marathon today than I was at the 40km mark in Wanaka (which was border line tripping over myself) and I really didn't think I would make the finish line. I got my 'ironman shuffle' on though and managed to get there in the end.
I had so many questions coming to Europe this year, many have been answered, but I will also be coming home with many more and will be looking to answer them also. 
All in all I have been super happy with my year and I can't complain with my 2 wins. Next year is already on my mind and I will be lining up at Challenge Wanaka come January and will get this roller coaster ride back underway.
As always thanks to everyone for the support. It has been awesome this year hearing from so many.
Next up is a we trip to the OC and Mexico for some surf and some corona's and I'll be home on 1st October for some flat whites and probably a few more corona's.
Thanks again
Dylan

Update - August 2013

After a much needed break in the Portuguese resort town of Lagos I was somewhat reluctant, but also keen to get back in to training. I knew it would hurt and I knew the first couple of weeks wouldn’t be that enjoyable. On top of this I also decided to spend 3 big weeks of training up at the French Altitude Training mecca of Font Romeu.
After a patchy first 2 weeks finding my feet again. I was up the mountain and living at almost 1900m. It was tough to say the least for the first week, but settled in and got some great training done. All in all I ended with the biggest 3 week block of my life.
As usual, I am writing this little update on the train from Sete to Marseille Airport and I am in to my first week of taper. WOW, am I feeling the altitude affect or what! But not the good one yet… I very much hope it is coming next week some time. I am super tired after my effort up the mountain and I now have 9 days to let it all sink in, recover, and find the form and freshness that I will definitely need in Almere.
I am looking forward to racing the flat and fast course and listening to the sweet sound of a disc wheel rolling for the first time this season!
I will race hard and aggressively and see what happens. 4 Iron-distance events in my first year is a good haul and I am hoping my mind and body will respond ‘positively’  to the last race of the season.
Mexico  is my  reward at the end of this tunnel, so I better make sure I have a result worth drinking a few corona’s over.
Until next time.
Over and out
Dylan

Challenge Roth 2013

Roth is everything it is hyped up to be. 
From the moment you arrive and are introduced to your homestay to the moment the massive fireworks go off to signal the end of another Challenge Roth year (and the volunteers party and after party!).

The homestay system is great and gives you that home away from home feeling you can often desire while travelling and racing. It is also a necessity for the race as there are only 24 hotel beds in the town of Roth! Racers are spread around the region of Roth in homestays and camp grounds. If a hotel bed is a must, then head to Nuremburg and crash there. It’s not far and the race is reasonably easy to get to from the city. 
The expo and entire set-up is massive and it echoes the title of ‘Largest Iron-Distance Race in the World’ where ever you wonder.  The finishing stadium holds some 8,000 spectators and is full throughout the day and night. Police estimates for the total number of spectators out on course on race day were 220,000, a new record, and I believe it. Solarer hill is nuts and that’s all there is to it!

The course is not the free flowing, speed giving, downhill race that so many think it is. The swim is an accurate 3.8, but the smooth canal water and straight lines make for some quick times, while the bike is much tougher than people expect. If you are not having a great day it is a course where your losses will be compounded on the many up and down sections where you need all the power you can get. In fact, there is very little ‘flat’ on the Roth ride and although the winds are not strong, they can still have an effect on you as you take the many twists and turns that the course also offers. 
The run is not short, if you expect to have 10km to go at the 30 or 31km mark then you have a long 10km ahead of you! It can get hot out there on the canal also and the long straights require some mental fortitude to stay focused and consistent. 
All in all the course is awesome and one you’d expect from a very nice region of Germany, but remember, do not head to Roth expecting to smash your PB unless you are fully prepared for its challenges.

My Roth!
My build up went about as well as I could have hoped under the circumstances; a quick turnaround after Taiwan with some long travel, a race, a crash, some sore ribs and a tired body for a lot of it. However, I got to Roth confident and fit and felt great come race morning.
The swim went well; I didn’t push very hard and kept it very controlled, which is maybe something I’ll change up a bit for next year! My transition 1 was a shocker. I couldn’t get my race belt clip done up because it was the wrong way around and my socks were stuck at the bottom of my bike bag, which was now having my wetsuit shoved into it. So I had to calmly figure out the clip issue, empty my bike bag again and then put on my socks. I lost about 45 seconds and that wasn’t ideal, especially after the ‘known’ importance of being out on to the bike first in Roth (another story). 
Anyway, I got going and again was feeling great on the bike. I had a little hiccup going the wrong way at one stage, costing me another 30 seconds, but all this was irrelevant really. I slowly caught the other 3 guys who were in front of me, leaving Dirk Bockel still out there and, as we would discover later, smashing it! I rode in that 2^nd position until about the 25km mark where the big group caught us and we joined in with the pace line. 
I was cruising along thinking that this race was going to be great. It was pretty easy in the group and the odd surges that hurt are just part of group riding. At about 40km and at the top of the hill where it flattens off to a false flat for a few km’s I noticed a gap opening up in front of the rider in front of me. I went around him and went to close the gap, but I couldn’t. I had nothing, zip, didly squat, and went backwards from there. By the 60km mark I felt as though I was completely spent. The next 120km’s were not that enjoyable and I watched many riders roll past me and there was nothing I could do. 
By the time I got off the bike I was out of the race and my hopes of at least stumbling to a top 10 were gone. I got running and ran a solid marathon, no real x-factor in the running legs, but plenty of strength, and finished in decent shape in 20^th place.

There are many things that I will change for round 2 in Roth and hopefully many things that I hope to avoid. I have no excuses, I raced as hard as I could and did the best I could on the day. Everyone that beat me fully deserved it and the guys who were top 10 all raced well and especially the podium guys.

Although it wasn’t the day I wanted, it was still an awesome experience out there. 
It truly is a must do and I’ll be back next year for another crack at it.

As of now I am sitting on a train heading to Hamburg to watch the Tri NZ crew smash it out around the streets in the World Triathlon Series sprint event on Saturday and the Teams event on Sunday. 
Come Monday, I will be on a plane to Portugal and on Tuesday I’ll be lying on the beach with a beer in one hand and probably a beer in the other! I well and truly need the week to refresh and reset before I start my final European build-up to Challenge Almere-Amsterdam on September 14^th!

Thanks for all the support before, during and after the race. It is so cool to hear from so many.
A special thanks to Baz and Sandie Dodds and George Gibson for coming all the way from NZ to cheer me on. It was awesome to have you guys there!

Hope everyone is doing well.
Catch you all soon!

Cheers

Dylan

Europe update - June 2013

Not long after touching down back in NZ from Taiwan it was time to jump back on a big aeroplane again and shoot off to Europe for the first time in a few years. I was heading to Gigean, between Montpellier and Sete, in the South of France. This is Laurent Vidal and Andrea Hewitt’s Northern hemisphere summer training and living base. 
They have an incredible set-up in Gigean/Sete and it was great to be made to feel right at home as soon as I made the train trip from Marseille. 
The training and climate are simply awesome, and together with that homely feel I finally think I’ve found a place that I can call a home away from home and a place I can get the job done in the Northern Hemisphere, something I’ve never done in the past. 
I’ve never truly been happy or settled anywhere other than in Christchurch or Wanaka, but can now add Gigean to the list!

After a couple of big weeks training I headed back to Germany for my first hit out of the European summer. Challenge Kriachgau is an amazing course, challenging, crazy spectators and generally great weather. Come race morning though it really decided to rain after a couple of stella days. Thunder and lightning were right above us and the right decision was made to postpone the race by 1 hour. There were some big German names racing Kraichgau, as it was the German half-distance championships. I was coming in pretty heavy from training, but I was really looking forward to racing hard and mixing it up a little more than I have done with my two iron-distance races so far. I knew I definitely wouldn’t get it my own way like I had in those 2 races.
I got passed in the swim about halfway by some fish and as I was feeling rather terrible there was no way I could go with him. I’ve later learned that he was one of Germanys top open water swimmers and has just made the switch to Triathlon. So maybe even if I was feeling awesome I still wouldn’t have been able to swim with him… he is doing Roth, so I guess I’ll find out. Anyway, myself and German legend Maik Petzold came out about of the water about 20seconds down on him, but I managed to get out of transition first and off on the bike. 
To my surprise I had some good legs and started moving along reasonably well. It had stopped raining, I think, but the roads were still soaking week. I hit the first round-about with speed and hit the deck even faster. I slid a good distance, almost had time for a cup of tea, but had plenty of time to almost sit-up and enjoy the slide. It was a weird feeling, it was almost fun and yet I knew the whole time I was sliding that I was losing skin. 
Anyway I was only about 2km in and my hopes of a good result kept riding past me while the medics did there thing. After about 5 minutes I was allowed to sign my life away and get going again. I had to finish the race as it was always planned as a key session to end a couple of big weeks and I felt as though if I missed it I was losing a lot more than some skin. 
It took a while to get the legs pumping again, but managed to get a good ride out of it and then a good hit out on the run. I’m a true diesel now, I actually couldn’t have run any faster, but felt that overall I could have done an iron-distance race that day. This was a good sign to me 5 weeks out from Roth and similar to my chain of thought prior to Taiwan.
I have spent the last 5 days back in my old German club city of Darmstadt with the latest kiwi addition to their team, Cam Goldsmid. Keep an eye on that boy, he’s got some speed and a lot of determination! It was great to be back in Darmstadt and to catch up with everyone. It was a surreal feeling to be back there in a completely different situation to the years past. A much better situation I would say!

So, I am sitting on the train heading back to Gigean, its hot and sunny and tomorrow I start the final 2 week push for Roth. I really cannot wait to race Roth. The pressure is on, but I’m enjoying it and it is keeping me extremely honest in everything I do. I head that way on the 2^nd of July for some recon and the gun goes off on the 14^th July.

Hope everyone is doing great in whatever it is you are doing and where ever you are. 
Will catch up soon.

Cheers

Dylan

Challenge Taiwan 2013

When I saw the footage of the course in Taiwan I was amazed of how little it reminded me of a stereotypical Asian race venue. What I saw was rugged coastlines through to massive mountains and it was exactly that which greeted us on our arrival in to Taitung.

I went in to the race with a lot of self-inflicted pressure. I felt as though it was almost more important for me to perform in Taiwan than it was in Wanaka. I had a lot to prove to myself and I guess to many others also. I figured a podium would be a good result, but it wouldn’t really fill that void that I knew I had to if I was to push on and be confident that this was something I could do successfully day in and day out, not just a lucky race here and a lucky race there. A win was what I felt I needed.

The last 7-8 weeks of training I had were completely focused on the race in Taiwan and they went great. I felt as though I had some really good form and was ready to race 3-4 weeks prior to the actual date. This extra 3-4 weeks gave me a little extra edge over Wanaka’s preparation and I definitely felt that extra edge during the race and even more so in the days after.

The bamboo cannon went off at 6am and about 20 pro’s dove in to the ‘flowing lake.’ I set off with a bit of tempo and tried to hold that throughout the swim, finishing up with a 47.00 non-wetsuit swim, but taking quite a bit of effort to get there. I wanted a lead and so forced the pace a little and was happy to hear that I had 3 minutes to Todd Skipworth and 5.00 to Georg Potribitsch out of the water. I considered Todd a real dark-horse threat and I knew Georg would push me the whole way. I had some good time on the others including Jamie Whyte, but I knew if I gave them half a chance they would ride me down.

On to the bike and I had some good legs straight away. I had very little idea of time gaps throughout the ride, hearing the odd shout (2) from supporters. I felt as though I pushed a little hard for the first 45km and Todd informed me after that I put another 2minutes in to them through to that first turn-around at 45km – that was sometime I later gave up on the bike and more! 
I kept pushing throughout the ride, forcing down nutrition and making my stomach one unhappy passenger! I didn’t enjoy the ride very much as I always felt as though I had the others snapping at my heels, which I did. Approaching the end of the 180km I was beginning to think that I had worked too hard to hold off the others and prepared myself for what could be a rather long and painful run with the potential of a meltdown. 
A big difference from Wanaka to Taiwan was my back and the major fact that it never seized up. This meant that I was able to push right through the ride and got off the bike in one piece and with the use of some pretty crucial muscles! My lead had dwindled a little and was down to about 2.30 to Todd and 4.30 to Georg.

The moment of truth is always when you take those first few strides off of the bike and to my surprise they felt great. With no back issues to contend with while putting on my shoes I was quickly out on the road and in to my 2^nd ever marathon… just as daunting as the first. 
The run course was also pretty cool, plenty of changes in scenery and terrain, running through city streets, parks, and walk ways. 
The first 20 odd km’s went much the same as the bike, that constant feeling of being chased and the thought of the others just waiting for a moment of weakness when everything can so easily fall apart. 
I ran very controlled for 1 hour and the plan was to pick it up after that. I had some cramp issues at about the 10km mark in my calves and I very nearly thought my day was over. However, I quickly got to the bottom of the issue and that was the sports drink at the aid stations, which I decided to take for the first time just moments before the cramp hit. So it was nothing but water and my High 5 Iso-Gels for the remainder of the marathon (with some coke 500m from the finish line. How good it was!). 
The second hour went well and I got through to the 2 hour mark in a good state, tired, but with no real muscle issues or soreness. At about this stage I got the call that my lead was out to 9 minutes. 
It was an amazing feeling to hear a number like that and I was then able to back off a little bit and give my stomach a rest from the constant force feeding I had been doing, something I feel is inevitable in longer distance racing. 
The last 5km was a grovel and by the time I got to 1km to go my mind was once again more on simply just finishing than the fact I was about to win and go 2 from 2 in my new found sport!

Taiwan was a different kind of race for me. There was no ‘just go out and enjoy it,’ it was more business. If I hadn’t had that approach I don’t think I would have won. A valuable lesson learnt for the future. The main thing is I still really enjoyed the whole package – the training, the racing, the pressure and the challenge of it all. I love the fact that on any given day you can’t simply go out and do an iron-distance race. It takes months of training your body and your head and it requires so much focus on one day, which I hsve found is something that makes me tick.
It has been almost 2 weeks since race day and I am still a bit shell-shocked with what has happened. I should probably snap out of it quickly though, as I head to Europe in 5 days and begin my build up for one of the greatest races on the planet, Challenge Roth. This will be a new kind of test for me, with anywhere up to 40 of the world’s best iron-distance racers taking the start line. It won’t just be me up the front, I could have a lot of company, and I am looking forward to seeing how I respond to racing side by side with some of the sport’s biggest names.

Thank you as always to my sponsors. 
Specialized Bikes and Chain Reaction Cycles - For the incredible bike and setup, which made a world of difference.

Profile Design - For my aero bars, hydration system and incredible new 24series wheels.

Brooks Running – Simply the best and no other words can be said.

High 5 nutrition – Without MY nutrition I wouldn’t have made the finish line. I choose High 5 because it tastes the best, is race proven and is the easiest to get down, even when you’re forcing it.

 Rudy Project – For my sweet helmet and glasses which are almost like wearing nothing, but do everything you ask of them at the same time.

AND of course thank you to everyone for the support. I sound like a broken record, but it is simply awesome and every single bit is greatly appreciated.

I’ll post again in a few weeks

Thanks again everyone

Cheers

Dylan

Update - April 2013

So my last update was a wee while ago now and that one was my Wanaka race report. There hasn’t been a lot to report on race wise since then, but there has been a few things happening. One of the coolest things about racing such a major event so early on in the summer is that you then have the rest of the summer to recover and start the build up for the next race on the list. During this ‘recovery’ I have attended quite a few BBQ’s and drunk quite a few beers and have really enjoyed my post-Wanaka summer. It has been an interesting time since my first big win and it has been a nice feeling waking up in the mornings for training knowing that my job is triathlon, rather than the constant second guessing of my choice to chase this dream.

I did manage one race over the last 10 or so weeks, which was the ITU Oceania Championships in Wellington, NZ. I decided that I needed something to keep the motivation up and give me something to work towards. I went to Wellington looking forward to racing the shorter racing again, alas a little under-prepared, but still confident I could do something respectable. I managed to lead most of the swim and came out with a good bunch of Aussies and Kiwis. It was a tough first lap on the bike the body really wasn’t enjoying its first real extended period of high intensity exercise for some time. I managed to settle in a little, but really struggled with the surging. I got off on to the run and basically ran an even 10km as fast as I could muster (not very fast), which was only good enough for 16^thplace. Still not too bad a result for me considering the build-up and the fact that the race really didn’t mean anything to me other than a chance at a free night out thanks to a bet with Kris Gemmell (which I lost).

One thing that I have been working on quite a lot over the last 10 weeks is my race schedule for the Northern Hemisphere season. It’s all but carved in to stone and this is what it looks like.
Challenge Taiwan – 4^th May – Iron-Distance
Challenge Kraichgau – 9^th June – Half Distance
Challenge Roth – 14^th July – Iron-Distance
Challenge Almere-Amsterdam – 14^th September – Iron-Distance

Yes that is 3 Iron-Distance races still come. I’ve got the bug. 
It is still an odd feeling going in to an away season with only 4 races on the schedule, but I am sure they’ll be more than enough.

I’ll be spending a good chunk of time training in the South of France with Andrea Hewitt and Laurent Vidal at their home just out of Sete. I am really looking forward to getting over there and building up for Roth and Almere.

There has been a bit of movement on the sponsor front for me, a nice little spin off from my win in Wanaka. Still a lot of work to do to be able to really make a living out of this sport, but it’s a step in the right direction and it’s nice to get some recognition. 
I am super happy to name all these companies on my team for 2013. They are all great at what they do and it’s a cool feeling having so much support behind me.
2013 Sponsors:

High 5 – Nutrition.

Profile Design – Wheels, Aero Bars, and Hydration-Systems

Rudy Project – Helmets and Glasses.

Specialized – Bikes, Shoes and Accessories.

Brooks – For running happy.

Check them out on my sponsor’s page.

I was lucky enough to have a good choice in sponsors and I chose all these companies based on personal experience and the need to be as fast as I can be.

In 3 weeks today I will have raced Taiwan and I am hoping I will be sitting somewhere writing a good race report for you all. We shall see.

Until then

Cheers

Dylan

A bit of a rant from me!

I wanted to clarify a comment I made on twitter about a week ago. Yes, below is a very big bitching session, but obviously I think this is a bit of a joke. 
Here is the comment - @IronmanTri @HyVeeTri athletes race 5races with shit $ to qualify for the opportunity to make shit $? 100g's for 1st? #RichGetRicher

This was in response to the announcement that the 5150 series Championship race, the Des Moines Hy-Vee triathlon, formerly the world’s richest triathlon, would now have less than 50% of its stated prize money. 
All in all these things happen, but the fact that it was left until April for this to be announced was diabolical. The first race of the 5150 series is less than a month away and I am sure that this has been something that would have been known to the organisers and WTC (Ironman – owner of the series) for quite some time. Most athletes would already have their seasons set in place, training, racing and travelling. Some would have already booked flights and accommodation and all this has been done because they want the chance to qualify for the biggest money triathlon in the world and the chance to make a better living out of the sport. A lot of athletes would also have significant bonuses tailored for the Hy-Vee Championships because of the races prestige and class and this announcement will reduce both of those and ultimately reduce a sponsor’s willingness to get behind their athletes in this race.
One thing that really gets to me about this is that those who raced Hy-Vee last year will remember the speech we got at briefing about how successful the race is/was and how the commercial return was well worth every dollar invested. I think the return was 5 to 1 – In other words for every $1 they spent Hy-Vee generated $5 in sales and exposure. This was really drilled in to us last year and meant that we all went away feeling pretty confident about the survival of the race. 
When I heard the announcement I was sitting having a coffee with 3 Triathletes whose season was planned and based around Hy-Vee. Their disappointment, anger, and disbelief really were incredibly obvious and my comment was made more out of my feeling of disappointment for them than myself. I am not focusing on Hy-Vee this year and never will with that sort of reduction in prize money. Like stated by these athletes, Hy-Vee takes real investment throughout the season to qualify for the race. Five races count towards your qualification and with the added interest (that WAS there) this year it probably would have taken 5 races to qualify. That’s 5 flights, 5 lots of accommodation, food and other expenses, plus if you are a foreign athlete that is probably at least 1 month spent living in the USA at considerable expense. All this planning would have already been done and a lot of money already spent. Another note is for the Europeans who have in the past made up a good chunk of the professional field at Hy-Vee. We all know the rigors of travel and the costs involved. It is hard to imagine that Hy-Vee will generate as much interest for those Europeans looking to qualify now as it would be hard to justify spending considerable money to qualify for a race that now doesn’t really offer considerable return, unless of course you win. 
This is where my next point comes in. $100,000 for the win, $20,000 for second? This is the worst prize purse breakdown I have seen. It is very likely that the winners will be the same as last year, they are simply that good, or the winners will be someone who is invited, not to mention the fact that last years winners do not have to qualify in the same fashion as everyone else, as they receive an automatic spot, which just needs to be validated through racing one other 5150 event. The athletes with the potential to win already make far more through endorsements and bonuses than those guys in 6^th – 20^th and light years more than those in 21^st – 30th
This sour news has tried to be sweetened by the introduction of ‘better’ race times and a better finish line!? I can assure the organisers that the athletes were not fazed about the start time or finish line in the past because it is all part of the sport and they will not be fazed by the new times and finish line. I can also assure you that they are definitely fazed about the timing of this announcement and the more than 50% reduction in prize money.  
They have made sure to cover their bases as best they can; after all, it is still the ‘biggest’ prize purse in Olympic distance racing and still carries a $100,000 first place prize. So, plenty of things to keep them looking good and plenty of things to keep the vast majority of athletes bank accounts looking terrible.

Sorry for the negativity, but sometimes it’s hard to be positive when so many good athletes are getting the very short end of the stick.

Cheers

Dylan

Challenge Wanaka 2013 - Iron-Distance Debut

Like so many athletes this year and at years gone by I was woken to howling winds early on race morning. The good thing was it actually got me excited for the tough day that was to come and to race in the conditions I had trained for.

I had no expectations going in to the race, but I had told my friends and family that I wanted a podium finish to ‘finish’ my career. So I figured 3^rd, maybe 2^nd would be my top result. How things have changed.

My form leading in to the race had been great. I handled the training better than most other build-ups I had done over shorter distances and my body was responding well and recovering better. By the time I hit taper time I was basically ready to race and my taper was just a bonus.

When the gun went off and I headed out in to the lake I was happy to find we were swimming smack bang in to some pretty good little rollers. I felt the best I have felt in the water in a long time and felt better and better as the swim went on. It was a good feeling to get out of the water and know that I’d exerted about as little as I could have hoped and was shocked when I heard that I had 3.40 to Rhodesy and 6.40 to Jamie, Macca and Leon.

The time gap gave me confidence to get straight in to my work, but at the same time I was telling myself that I would get caught eventually and that my pace was my pace and there was nothing I could do about the others. 
I extended my lead a little in the first out and back section, which surprised me and got me thinking that I’d probably gone too hard. Never the less I didn’t ease off and kept pushing. I was never strained aerobically and I figured that was a reasonably good sign that I wasn’t over working. 
Once I hit the next turn around point and got a glimpse of the others riding together, I lost a bit of heart for a moment, but got it back nice and quickly when I got a time gap from my mates out on course and I was holding at around 7 minutes. By the next time gap, about 25km  later (100km mark) and in to the headwind I had extended it out to almost 8.30, but it was right at this time that I went through a bad patch and so decided to eased off a bit. At the 130-140km mark I still had 7.20, but my back had been giving me grief for about 10km by this stage and continued to do so for the remainder of the bike. For the last 40 odd Km’s I was barely on my bars and barely on my seat. 
By the end of the ride I had 1min to 1.30 on Jamie and Rhodesy and felt that I had given away a pretty cheap 3-4 minutes, but there was nothing I could do about it. It may have cost me that time on the ride, but may have also saved me more time on the run. Ultimately I was just surprised that I got off the bike still in the lead!

My transition was a bit of a mess and I was glad we had the change tent. I could barely put on my shoes on with my back in the state it was and I am sure it was quite a scene.

I set off on the run and my legs felt better than I expected. I needed a toilet stop pretty much straight away so took the first opportunity at the 2km mark. (By popular demand – about 2 people – I have added to the toilet story). I really needed to clean out all systems, but my back was such a mess that if I’d sat down I’d still be in there. A real pain was that I popped my buttons on my race belt and they fell to the floor. It was quite demoralising bending over with my face in the hole while having back spasms and trying to pick them up! Jamie and Rhodesy passed me during my excursion, but were only about 100m in front of me when I stumbled out of there.
I ran up to Jamie probably a bit overly keen and decided that I’d trust his pace and his experience for a while. 
I was feeling really good and was happy just to sit and wait. At about 45 minutes in to the marathon we started getting time gaps to Macca and he was closing quickly. I decided that if I wanted to win then I had to go now or never. I was amazed at just how good I did feel when I decided to go and kept that tempo up until the turn around when I saw Jamie again and Macca for the first time. He seemed close at 3.30 and once again I thought it was all over and it was only a matter of time before he caught me. 
I managed to pull my head in and kept my tempo going until the 25km mark. It was here that reality started to set in; I was still somehow out front, I was putting time back in to Macca, gaining on Jamie, I could potentially win, I still had 17km to go and I was already very close to being completely spent! There were a lot of emotions flowing around! 
I took in some gels, slowed down and made more of an effort to relax.

The rest of the run was just one foot in front of the other. My quads were wrecked from the constant pounding and around the 35km mark I started to feel some cramps come on. I made more of an effort to get down fluids and slowed down to make sure of it. By the 4km to go sign I had a 4.30 lead on Jamie and started walking aid stations to make sure I made the finish line. I cramped a couple of times and almost took out a bike during an emergency stop. I got to that 1km to go sign and still wasn’t even relieved. I took a look over my shoulder almost expecting to see Jamie or Macca charging down the street. It wasn’t until I got to the red carpet that I managed to relax a bit and for the last time was surprised to know that I was still out in front and it would actually be me breaking the tape. 

To win in what is my second home in New Zealand, in front of so many family and friends, and on a course that is both stunning and brutal is going to be hard to beat.

My goal now is to go out and race as hard as I did at Challenge Wanaka, regardless of my position and regardless of the course, and if I do so I hope I can keep doing this for a little while longer!

Thanks to the boys out there who made it so tough – Jamie Whyte, Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack, Keegan Williams, Bryan ‘Rhodesy’ Rhodes, Carl Read, Axel Reiser, Leon ‘Griffo’ Griffin, and Rob Creasy.

A big congrats to the Girls too – Gina Crawford, Candice Hammond and Jo Lawn.

Once again a huge thank you to all my supporters out there on course who were nothing short of exceptional and to all those at home watching on their screens.

Of course thanks to the Challenge Family and Wanaka + all their volunteers for putting on an amazing event.

Will update soon with my season plans.

A big cheers!

Dylan

Christchurch Elite race, 2012

Good to get a little hit out and get the body racing again back home in Christchurch. Body felt good and it was nice to have some speed there even though I hadn't done an ounce of it in training for a long time! Congrats to Mike for taking it out with a lethal sprint. I really had no chance and was kidding my self when I thought I did. 6 Weeks to Wanaka and looking forward to making it all come together.

2012 full US season wrap-up

So it is definitely time for an update after continually putting them off in the hope I could find some form and get some results.

My first few weeks over here started reasonably well in Boulder, Colorado. I arrived, had an easy 5 days and then got stuck in to a lot of training.

My first race was Escape from Alcatraz and had planned on using it as a bit of a training race before heading to Canada two weeks later for Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant.

Half Ironman distance races were going to be my main focus of the season, as well as the Des Moines 5150 final (the big money race).

I got out of bed the day before Alcatraz to head to the airport and instantly new something wasn’t right.

I went straight to the toilet and it all started from there. The last thing I wanted to do was sit in a shuttle for 90 minutes and then get on a plane for 2 or so hours, but I also knew that I had to somehow get to San Francisco, as I had my university exams to sit there the week following.

Safe to say it was the worst flight of my life and I spent it all in the toilet – I’ll spare you the details.

I spent the night twisting and turning and the only racing I was doing was to and from the bathroom.

I then spent the next week doing absolutely nothing, eating very little, and somehow managed to complete 4 exams.

This is where I went wrong. I then decided that because I had already booked all my travel to Canada I would go and try and race.

I also rolled my ankle badly on my 2nd run before the race, which meant I went in to the race on almost no training and I felt every bit the lack of strength (and fitness) and dug myself deeper in to the pit.

I finished 7th, ok I guess – but really was a race I could have won and that was my intention.

I arrived back in Boulder and continued to make mistakes. I simply wanted to find the form that I had before I left home and went straight back in to training.

My next race was Boulder 5150, only two weeks after Canada. I should have missed this race, but I needed the points to qualify for Des Moines and so struggled through another tough race.

I found out the week after Boulder 5150 that I had qualified for Des Moines and so was able to settle down for a few weeks and miss my next 2 races to try and get some strength back in the body.

Next on the list were Boulder 70.3 followed by the Santa Cruz International – separated by a trip to El Salvador to renew my visa.

My coach and I decided that Boulder 70.3 would be a good strength tester and that not ‘over exerting’ myself would be a safe option, with Des Moines a month away and a week full of travel and racing to come not over doing it was key.

Boulder 70.3 went reasonably well and spent most my time on the front of our big bike group. I missed a couple of opportunities to get up the road with 2 small breakaways, as I just didn’t have the freshness of the guys sitting behind me doing nothing. Anyway, I rode well and ran 1 lap of the run, which also felt good.

My body felt in much better shape and only doing half the run meant that I didn’t have the stiffness and soreness that you get from running a full half-marathon.

Two days later I was off to El Salvador. An interesting couple of days and my mission was accomplished when I was granted my new visa on the way back in to the US.

I raced the Santa Cruz international that weekend and finally felt like I had some form. I raced a sprint race on Saturday for 2nd and then the International on Sunday for 3rd.

I lacked a lot of overall speed and actually raced just as fast when the distance was doubled on the same course from Saturday to Sunday. I really felt the Boulder ‘Diesel’ affect, but was happy just to have been able to compete decently again.

I had decided that Boulder wasn’t working so well for me – the altitude combined with the relentless heat (30+) everyday was taking its toll on my training consistency and so I shut up shop there and moved out to Orange County, just south of LA. I managed to get rid of the altitude, but ran smack bang in to a heat wave that was probably even hotter than Boulder.

Anyway, straight back in to training it was after a big 10 days of racing and travelling and once again started digging that hole. I trained harder than I had ever trained in the 3 weeks after Santa Cruz and before Des Moines as I really wanted to get a great result at one of my target races and of course refill the bank account a bit.

This training spell was miserable, but I told myself I’d come through the other side with a good taper better than ever... I didn’t.

Des Moines was my worst race I think I have ever had and on any other day I would have called it quits within the first 1km of the bike. However, just finishing (last - 30th) was $3000 and so battled my way through the most embarrassing race of my life. I had to walk parts of the run, which in an Olympic Distance race is not so good.

From Des Moines I headed to Canada for another 70.3 in Muskoka, but I had the week off training instead and missed that race.

Its always a worry when you have a week off training and find that you feel worse when you get going again. This is how I felt after my small break and a recurring trend throughout my season.

The next race was down in San Diego in the reinvention of the Formula one style racing – 300m swim, 6km bike, 2.5km run x2.

I was lucky enough to have Giant Bikes send me down a road bike to use on the 10 lap 600m circuit, which was rather tight, but good fun. I think getting off of my TT bike and riding a road bike for the first time in 5 or so months was what gave me a little fresher legs to break away and have a lead off the first bike, but the running legs were once again missing and overall the race ended as most of the others had with a disappointing result.

I got talked in to starting the Half Ironman the next day. This was the race Lance Armstrong also raced and won, quite impressively...

I just did the swim and some of the bike and I guess I can say that I raced LA in his last ever race.

After the weekend of racing in San Diego I realised that things weren’t getting any better and I should probably stop banging my head against a brick wall.

I had already booked my trip to Dallas for the final of the Lifetime series and so headed there with no expectations and the chance to see Dallas on my mind.

I had a good swim and led that out, but slowly faded again to finish 11th.

I have just had two weeks off and will be focusing on finally finishing off my degree over the next few weeks before heading home mid November.

It will be interesting to get that extra weight off my shoulders, which at times has been a healthy distraction, but also at times a burden.

So, it has been another season with a steep learning curve and to be honest I am sick of learning.

The support I receive from you all is worth a lot more than the results I have achieved this US season. I definitely do not feel worthy of it at present.

However I am really excited (and scared) to say that today is my first day of training in my build up to Challenge Wanaka, my debut Iron distance race.

Over the years of learning in this sport I have come to realise that I have a limited amount of speed, but a much greater ability to sustain that limited speed.

I have also learnt that I need longer and more stable build-ups to big races and no where is better than at home in Christchurch.

Challenge Wanaka is a tough course, but I know the race, know the course and know the conditions and I am really looking forward to crossing that finish line on January 19th and standing on the podium.

To my sponsors, I can not thank you all enough and I hope you will continue to support me through to Wanaka.

To everyone else, thank you for your continued support and look forward to catching up sometime soon.

Until next time

Thanks again

Cheers

Dylan

Lack of updates update, August 2012

Sorry all for the lack of anything new on my site. It has been a tough couple of months after first getting sick the day before the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon, which included the worst flight I have ever had and hopefully will ever have. Spent the flight in the tiolet with stuff coming out both ends... not pleasent. After that I was out for a full week, being nothing but useless and struggling to walk anywhere. So since then it has been a slow progression back up to what I hope is some good form leading in to the Des Moines 5150 championships this weekend. I will endevour to write all my race updates over the next week and hopefully also have a good report to write from Des Moines.
Speak to you all soon!

Columbia 5150, 2012

After a long trip and many flights --> Christchurch to Melbourne, Melbourne to Sydney, Sydney to San Francisco, San Francisco to Baltimore, I was in Columbia. Got to bed about 1 am Friday morning, 5 hours sleep and a quick swim to try and get in to the time zone. Safe to say the body was all over the show with 14 hours sleep the next night and then no sleep the night before the race. However I didn't feel to bad and was just hoping the body would respond. The course was a challenging one with the bike not have a meter of flat and the run including many hills. I swam hard to try and get the body going early and had to keep pushing to hold off Jimmy Seear and Cam Dye, eventual winner. Exited the water first, got on the bike and knew straight away that the legs weren't really there. I watched people ride away from me left, right and centre and had to deal with that the entire ride basically. Got off in 11th position and couldn't do much to change that.Pretty disapointing after building up so well for Busso and then perhaps being a bit keen on racing straight after such a trip. Anyway lesson learnt.
Off to Boulder now for a few weeks to my new base for the season before heading to San Francisco for Escape from Alcatraz and then down to Santa Cruz for a couple of weeks before racing in Mont Tremblant 70.3, Canada.
Update soon
Cheers

Busso 70.3, 2012

So I flew off to Western Australia for Busso 70.3 after 5 weeks of the best and biggest training of my life and my final hitout before I head to the USA in a couple of weeks.

Busselton is 2-3 hours south of Perth and a pretty easy drive. Prior to the race I was feeling great in all 3 disciplines and really looking forward to racing the quality field that had assembled. I think Busso was a sign of things to come in 70.3's with a high quality field turning up for only a bottom ranked points and $$$ distribution with the sport growing so fast, but the fact that the event is run 2nd to none could also be a little factor in drawing so many pro's back each year. It really is an outstanding event all round and it would be nice if many other races learnt a lesson or two from Busso.

Anyway, briefing was an interesting affair with the officials not messing around with their explanation of why the swim course was changed... "high shark activity."
Race morning came around and although sharks were on everyones mind to varying degrees it wasn't something that was going to stop us from doing our jobs. 

I felt good in the swim and the roughness played in to my hands a bit and came out first having swam relatively comfortably. I had Graham O'grady close behind and eventual winner James Hodge there also. I felt great getting on the bike and picked a gear and a pace I thought would be good enough to maintain or build a lead. However, James had other ideas and came past me rather quickly. I had been told of his cycling abilities and decided to ride with him for a bit, before realising that he was pushing super hard and could potentially blow up, me included. I dropped back a gear and rode my own pace, hitting the first turn at 22.5km about 20seconds behind him. I then had about a 30second lead over Graham, Luke Bell and Luke Mckenzie. I decided that working with them was a better option than myself so sat up and let them catcht me about the 30km mark. 5km later and my suspicions, which I had had for 10km or so, were true and my tubular went flat. I stopped and made use of my pitstop for the first time ever, lost about 4minutes on the leaders, and got going again eventually. I rode my ass off for 15km trying to chase my way back up to a decent position, but around the 50km mark the same tubular went flat again and with no technical support out on the roads it was my day over. Completely gutted. Was feeling awesome and had worked so hard for a good result there.

I then walked 5km home and managed to get myself some nice blisters as a take home souvenir.

Chin up and on to the next race in 2 weeks at the Columbia 5150 (near Baltimore, USA) where I'll be laying everything on the line from the word go.
I fly straight from NZ to the East Coast of the USA, so that should be an interesting mix to get right, but I am sure I can manage it.

After that I will be heading to my base for the season in Boulder, living and training with Clayton Fettell and Joey Lampe. Will be fun I am sure.

Catch ya soon
Dylan

Singapore 70.3, 2012

It’s been a long two weeks here in Singapore building up for the 70.3 – Its hard on the mind getting out there everyday and feeling lethargic and generally bad all round in this heat and humidity, but in saying that, when i tested the body over these weeks it always responded well and therefore knew I was in good shape.

Was very happy to get to race morning and after running around trying to find a toilet, I found myself nicely warmed up and ready to go!

Swim started well and I went straight to the front, swimming a pace that I was pretty comfortable with, but one I also knew would stretch a few guys out.

I took a look after lap one and saw that we had a group of 4 and a decent gap already. I lead out of the water and figured we’d have between a 1.30 and 2min lead – I was later told this was 2.40, which is a good solid lead I guess! 

On the Bike Josh Amberger and Christian Kemp kept things rolling on the first of 3 laps – I was happy to follow and see where the legs were at. The legs were there and that’s always a good feeling in any race! We went through the 40km mark in bang on 55minutes, so we we’re moving pretty good and had opened up our total lead to 6minutes by the end of lap one (so I was told after). After lap one I started to get in the mix at the front and the 3 of us kept things ticking over nicely, with Dennis Vasiliev there also, but a bit ‘fresher’ in the non-drafting scene, so perhaps working a little harder than the rest of us as we didn’t see him at the front. Unfortunately I dropped my gel bottle, so missed taking in 5 gels, that in hindsight, would have been a magical thing come the 2nd lap of 3 on the run!

I lead the last 5 or so km’s in to transition 2 and the legs were feeling good. My GIANT Trinity Advanced was seriously insane and without my new sponsorship with GIANT I don’t think I would have been able to sustain the pace we were riding, let alone finish on the podium.

A little hick-up in T2 where I was sent on a wild-goose chase for my socks as they seemed to have been knocked out of my shoes some how and at distances and angles the mind struggles to comprehend. Never the less it only cost me 20-30 seconds and 21km in Singapore is a long way to run. 

Josh took off like he was in an ITU race with Christian with him. Dennis was a bit more conservative and I caught him first, then Christian and then dropped Dennis. Josh looked good and I pretty much decided that 2nd place could be my 1st place today. I tried to get settled and was feeling ‘OK’ and also took in 3 gels early in the run to make up for those I lost on the bike.

When I hit lap 2 I really hit the wall, sorry for the lack of imagination here, but that was what happened. Every single stride told me to stop and fall over, but somehow I managed to keep ‘moving.’ I definitely would NOT describe what I was doing at this point as ‘running.’ I took in a few more calories via some energy tablets and they seemed to pick me up by the time I started lap 3. I started running a little better at this stage and it wasn’t until 2km to go that the body attempted meltdown number 2...0 – Ben Pulham a kiwi living in Singapore and ex-ITU racer gave me a solid talking to, as 4th was closing fast. I mustered probably more than I thought I had and basically walked across the line in 3rd.

Just quickly, it is a very cool course. Good 2 lap swim with a big and small lap, 3 lap bike with plenty of corners, but some nice straights too and plenty to keep you entertained, including A380’s taking off next to you, and the run isn’t too bad either being a 3 lap course, but the heat and humidity can take a hike!

Very happy to come away with my first podium in my second attempt at the 70.3 distance and especially in conditions that I would not generally say suit someone coming from good old Christchurch, NZ, weather. It was hot, 32d, and Humid, 100% humidity, and I felt every bit of it. Still everyone has to deal with that and congratulations to Josh for the win, who was super strong and Dennis for 2nd.

Next race on the calendar will probably be in Scandinavia. Looking forward to my first trip there... ;)

A big thank you to everyone for the massive support out there on the course, via email, text and social media & not forgetting my two long term loyal sponsors 2XU and Brooks - Legends!

A special thanks to Team Bike Labz for getting me over here to compete and to Dirk and Ben for having me crash at their house’s and eat all their food for longer than they probably would normally entertain!

Until next time

Dylan

Miami 70.3, 2011 - Half Ironman Debut

I arrived in Miami Monday before the race, straight from Galveston. Miami isn't the ideal place to train, but this wasn't a bad thing as it forced a very light taper. A massive thanks to Pat Mac for hosting me and to Bevan for sorting it out. It was great having a guide to get things done and one of the big benefits of a home stay. Come Thursday though I was in to the hotel and in race mode. My mate from Germany, Horst Reichel, arrived Friday and gave me a few pointers on what to expect and how to get the most out of racing longer distance, mainly nutrition!

Race morning arrived and we were up at 4.00am. Although I hate getting out of bed that early, I definitely prefer the early start. It had decided to rain cats and dogs uncharacteristically for Miami, which threw a bit of a curve ball at everyone. We rode down to the race and arrived at 5am and were informed that it would be a wetsuit swim. I double checked this as we were in Miami and although it was raining it was still warm and the water even warmer. I was assured that it WAS a wetsuit swim by the race announcer. The reason I double checked this was because I didn't bring my wetsuit down to the race site refusing to believe it could be a wetsuit swim in MIAMI - Rookie error. A $40 taxi later and I had my wetsuit only to be approached by the announcer who then apologised for making me 'walk' back to the hotel to get my wetsuit, as he had made a mistake and it was a NON wetsuit swim. I informed him that in fact I hadn't walked, I had taxied and he owed me $40! Anyway I put that behind me pretty quickly and was happy that it was infact non-wetsuit, as I believe that every (I could swear a lot here) race should be non-wetsuit when the water is 24d and the air even warmer!

I didnt feel as good swimming as in Galveston, but opened up a lead early on and cruised through the swim exiting with about a 30second lead. This was cut to about 15 by the time I found my bike (the problems of burrowing a bike!) and got on the road. The group behind me consisted of Matt Reed, Michael Raelert, and numerous others. To my surprise I rode away from them and seemed to have opened up a decent gap by 15-20km. I was even more surprised because I was riding within myself and felt great. However, I was caught at 35km by the strongest riders who were 1.30 behind out of the swim. Bertrand a Frenchmen, Horst and Rich Allen from GBR. Rich carried on riding through and I jumped in behind for a bit before realising the others were right behind me and I then dropped back to the 'group'. Rich kept charging and lead off the bike. It wasn't until Sebastian Kienle came past about 25miles that the pace heated up with Raelert deciding to chase a bit and Matty Reed also. At the turn around we probably had up to 15 guys, but by the time we hit half way back it was at 10 and at about KM 70 someone in front of me lost a wheel and the group split. I thought it would close as it usually did and when I realised it wouldn't it was too late for me to close it. That little error probably cost me 1minute and is the only thing that in hindsite I would have changed about the race.

On to the run I was 3.30 down on Allen and Kiele. I had some good jelly legs getting off the bike, but overall the legs felt pretty decent and I ran the first lap well and was holding 8th spot and only lost a couple of minutess at the most to the lead guys. As I started to head out on lap two though a bad patch was looming and I hit a big ass wall! I slowed right up and I started thinking about the fact that I had to run another whole lap of the same. The lowest point was definitely being passed by Horst and knowing that I could not beat him and once again I would finished 1 spot outside the money.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.
Anyway I got to the finish line and was super stoked to get under the 4hour mark in 3.57.00 in my first half. A time that would have me on the podium in a lot of other 70.3's this year. 
I think the best part of the race for me was the fact that I rode well, 2.08 and 42kmph. Long distance racing has a massive bike focus and if you can not ride your bike, Time Trial style, then you have no show in this style of the sport. Definitely a good confidence booster for the future and I am looking forward to the next one... kind of!
Thanks for all the support this season. I am really looking forward to racing Auckland ITU World Cup on 20th November. Going to be awesome racing at home and on a wickedly tough course.

Dylan

Santa Cruz International 2011

First up in my 'home town' was the sprint distance race on Saturday. Just 6 days after NY 5150 I had struggled all week to recover and I knew that I would have to push my limits again if I wanted to beat Tommy Zaferes (the real local). The swim was hard, the run to transition was hard and the bike was hard. Tommy put a little gap on me in the swim, then a little more on me running to transition, which is about 500m and then more time in to me on the bike. I ran hard for the first 2.5km and realised that I had only caught about 10seconds of 30. I knew I couldnt catch him and with the Olympic distance the next day I decided to shut it down and cruise to the finish.

Sunday saw the real Santa Cruz international take place. I felt like I had blown a few cobwebs out the day before and so was ready to take Tommy down, well at least have a better crack at it than the day before. We swam together and ran to transition together, got on the bike together and rode the first 2 laps (of 4) on the bike together. Yes it was non-drafting and at no time did we draft - more to come on this. Anyway I decided that just marking each other was no way to race and attacked him on the 3rd lap. I built a lead up of around 200m by the end of lap 3 and knew that 20seconds would be a good lead off the bike. I was pushing hard and thought that there is no way they'll catch me (Brian Lavell had joined Tommy by this stage). I hit the turn around and they were right behind me. I couldn't believe it, they must have put the after burners on for the 2-3km that I didn't look behind me because I was pushing hard and feeling good. So we all ended up getting off the bike together and on to the run it was once again me and Tommy running side by side. We each had little cracks at each other on the way out. I was feeling pretty average and the run was quite demoralising as it was 5km out and back. I felt my calf start to tweek at about the 4km mark and had to adjust my technique a bit to look after it. I decided I would put a surge in straight after the turn around. The moment came and I tried to surge, but it was pretty pathetic! Tommy sensed that things were deteriating for me and he then started to attack me. He surged between 5-6 times in the next couple of KM's and on one of them my calf popped and so did my head! I had to slow right down and run with a bit of a limp. Even if my calf didn't pop I don't think I could have beaten Tommy anyway as he was in his home town and racing awesome. So I ended up 2nd to Tommy.
It wasn't until we went to get our prize money that we were told we each had a 2minute penalty for ridiculous reasons. The head official agreed that we never drafted and never gained an advantage from our penalties, but rules are rules and so he wouldn't over turn them. Brian ended up with the win, Tommy 2nd and me 3rd.
It was interesting racing two days in a row. Now I just need to recover before Kelowna ITU next weekend.
Cheers

Dylan