Triple-Triathlon Story Archive

I have looked at the Triple Tri many times over the years and thought I wonder if I could do that?  In all honesty, I thought the answer was very much no, or at best, maybe I could do a chunk of it – turns out I was wrong.

About me - I generally carry a semi ok base level of fitness, but really nothing outside of normal.  To clarify, I ride to work a few days a week (16k round trip), a couple of shortish runs, some team sports and a couple of sprint tris over the summer.  I write this, as I found it a little daunting reading past race reports and making my own assumptions about how much these crazy fast people must train, probably my own assumption but perhaps useful for people considering giving solo a go.  Really, I’m just the guy that will give anything a go to see if I can do it

The plan was simply to see how far I could get.  From a ‘pass’ mark perspective, I was aiming for 2 of the 3 triathlons and finish with KFC for dinner in Tuggeranong.  Seems a lot less scary to break it down into chunks and then see how the day unfolds.  Of course, the optimist in me thought perhaps I could do the whole thing and really this is that story.  I have a long version of this, which is largely for me and my memories of the race and a shorter version which is hopefully useful for other people considering doing the race solo.

The Short version;

• People keep asking me things like was it hard, how did you do it, what was the toughest leg etc, things like that – in a way, it kind of wasn’t hard which probably doesn’t make a lot of sense.  Don’t get me wrong it was super tough, body parts ached, hills were horribly steep both up and down and it was a very long day, I guess for me it was about training for a planned pace and sticking with it.  In my case it was a lot slower than the winners but it was the pace that got me to the finish in one piece – so figure out your pace, train to that pace and just keep chipping away at the distance

• No matter how many hills or elevation metres you cover in training, cover more.  If you aren’t sure whether to go left or right in a training session, take the one that goes up the steepest hill.  The triple tri hills are mean, even when at the top of a mountain, there are little course deviations to make sure you go to the top of the trig point (just to prove the point I guess). 

• Your helper is the most important person in your race, really they are working their butt off all day getting everything where it needs to be, dealing with all the stress,  worrying about where you are and that they have done everything expected of them etc.  Help your support crew understand what you need from them and make it as easy as possible for them to do their thing.  For me this was separate swim, bike, run and nutrition tubs with numbered bags for each leg and a heap of notes but no doubt this is different for everyone.

• Any transition that involves a swim leg takes longer than you think.  Putting a wetsuit on and off of a sweaty tired body isn’t a whole heap of fun and is a lot easier with a couple of people.  Looking at my race plan I was pretty much bang on schedule with the exception of the last mtb leg and my transitions into and out of swims.  Factor that into your race plan.

• It’s a long day and it can be lonely in sections.  As a slower soloist, the majority of the field had passed me by the 2nd ride leg.  Once the passing dies down, it is largely you, the course and the volunteers (who are great).   I was fortunate enough to ride and run with another soloist for the 1st tri but was then largely very much a solo competitor.    

• Nutrition is obviously important, I have a reasonably good idea of what I can and can’t tolerate.  Transitions were pretty much a smorgasbord of different foods, gu’s and sports drinks for me to take on the go.  This helped as there were times were the thought of a banana for example was not going to work but there were several other suitable options to choose from.

• The bits I found the hardest in no particular order were

• Push bike hill; it just stinks no matter how many times you practice on it
• the running climb out of Majura to Mt Ainslie which seems to take forever (but you do get to run down Mt Ainslie and then ‘coast’ to transition after that)
• Standing up out of the water at Acton Ferry and also climbing up the ladder at Lake Tuggeranong; everything just wants to cramp
• The stupid over the fence steps / ladder thing at the back end of the 2nd bike leg.  I am so glad no one was around to see my struggle over this
• Running down Mt Taylor, its steep to get up and steeper to come down especially on tired legs
• The second half of the last bike leg, I don’t even know the name of the hills down South but they felt the toughest on the bike legs.
• Going up Red Hill was also tough but you know that the finish line is very much in sight and once you are onto the path on the other side that’s the last of the mountains.

• The best bits
  • People are so incredibly supportive of solo athletes.  So many random people would offer encouragement throughout the day.  The volunteers are constantly friendly, helpful and happy all day.  I had a number of family and friends support and cheer me throughout the day.  All of this was incredible.  Despite finishing 4hours or so after the first finisher I received what felt like a hero’s welcome as I finished which was cool
  • I had this weird feeling of just knowing I could do it pretty much all day.  I didn’t expect this at all.   Once I got going, I kind of just got on a roll and kept rolling all day.  I’ve never really noticed this before in anything that I have done but it was definitely an ‘in the zone’ kind of feeling
  • Coming into transition and seeing your support crew eager to see you, check you are alright and help you to the next one
  • All of the little incidental moments that happen during the day, some are funny, some are weird, some are hard and in reality, the biggest majority of them you just forget but they are all a huge part of it. 

So that’s the short version, now the longer version for anyone interested. 

Training wise, I tend to get bored and lose focus on any training plans over 6 weeks.  After deciding to enter, I pretty much had 12 weeks of focussed training with a 2 week overseas holiday in the middle.  Training was set up with the simple goal of building volume and endurance initially with cycling and then adding in running volume and also making sure I could still swim.   There were a couple of what I would call mega days which involved multiple legs and transitions, the longest being about 8hrs or so.  No doubt I could have done a lot more training, longest training weeks looked like 35 – 40km run, 100 km ride, and 4kms of swimming.  In reality, there were only a couple of these and the majority were a lot less.  Really it was setting into a rhythm that worked with family life and squeezing in what I could around that. 

Race Prep

Having not done a multi event like this before, I found it nuts how much gear I had to pack.  I decided to change gear pretty much on every leg.  Didn’t have to, but wanted to make sure I was comfortable.  The intent was never to race for speed, was really just to see how far I could get and to do that I wanted to be as comfortable as possible. 

Race Day

Triathlon 1

I hadn’t seen the email advising the bike course change until late Saturday night, “3kms extra for free” or words to that affect – REALLY?.  Lake section closures meant we were swimming on the other side of the lake and had to ride a bonus 3kms.  Not something to stress over but was pretty sure I was ok without the extra 3km.

The swim was largely uneventful and settled into a good rhythm, had a little bit of trouble finding the last turning buoy but finished slightly quicker than planned time.  Bike was set up pretty much on the beach so was out of the water and away nice and quickly. 

The 3 bonus kilometres served as a good time to eat some pikelettes and get settled onto the bike.  Being a north-sider, I was pretty familiar with this course and had a good idea of where it was hard and less hard.   I had covered push bike hill a number of times in training; I have lots of non family friendly names for push bike hill, for me, its an 8 minute slog huffing and puffing, wondering if I will ever get to the top.  But what goes up, has to come down and was at Bruce Ridge before I knew it.  In my endeavours to maximise speed, I had pumped up my tyres way too much, which really was daft and made a lot of the off road sections harder than it should be.  In reality, Im a pretty nervous nelly on a mountain bike and had gone over the handle bars the week before so probably was more self-preservation related rather than tyre pressure. After you get to the top of Lyneham Ridge it’s relatively cruisey into transition.  I somehow managed to miss an arrow and rode a little extra picking up a puncture just as I got into T2 (which was magically fixed when I next rode). 

A quick bit of food, a kiss for my wife and onto the run, and the profile looks tough (Mental note for next ride transition, if you are wearing knicks over tri shorts for the ride, take them off before you start running).  The majority of the first 3kms are pretty steep up hill (Mt Majura) which involved a lot of walking.  Legs were feeling ok, maybe a little bitey but still plenty in the tank.  I was fortunate enough to have met up with another solo competitor and we ran this leg together.  Goal was to average 7min km’s on this leg which pretty much went to plan.  Walk up the big hills to save the legs and jog the rest.   The summit to Mount Ainslie seemed to take forever and it was starting to warm up, but was good knowing that once we were there it was pretty much downhill to the swim.  A ‘nice’ downhill run on the Mt Ainslie path and then the last 5kms or so to the Boathouse for completion of the first tri in 5h20.

Looking back, Im really happy with how this tri went.  Tyre pressure and lack of mountain bike skills aside pretty much everything went to plan.  Really it was about getting through Tri 1 with enough energy for Tri 2.  I probably should have had a bit more electrolyte on the bike but was able to catch that up later in the race. 

Tri 2

It is very difficult to put on a wetsuit after moving for 5+ hours.  Fortunately my helper group had increased in size so had many hands helping.  We somehow managed to get the wetsuit on without my legs locking up and after a quick chat, and drink it was time to swim.  This was probably the leg I was least looking forward to, 3.5km of straight swimming – YUCK!  My swimming training consisted of maybe 10 swims in total, one being 3kms straight.  Theory being that if I could swim 3km without a wettie then 3.5kms would work.  The time for this leg was about 10mins faster than I expected and I don’t really know how.  Swimming out to the first buoy across the lake seemed to take an inordinate amount of time, and then the next one and the next.  My brother was kayaking in front of me (he was the ‘incase I drowned’ guy) – really it was just good to have someone to look at and keep you company to help you finish the distance.  I just tried to focus on ticking the arms over and not using my legs (cause they were ready to cramp).  Was a good current behind and the wind was helping as well.  Got out of the water and started to get changed and then got freezing, couldn’t stop shivering.  My poor helpers took turns rubbing my back and arms to warm me up.

Once I was moving, I warmed up pretty quickly.  The first 15kms or so are relatively fast across cycle path and fire trails with only the hill at the arboretum to contend with.  Was met by my wife on Coppins Crossing Road to top up energy drinks and take some gear before I headed further towards Stromlo.  This part is a little draining, it’s not super hard but it’s not easy either and it’s just hot.  Once you cross the road into Stromlo it starts to get a bit hillier and then there’s the Stromlo climb itself.  There were a number of times I found it made more sense to push the bike up the steep hills rather than burn the legs with so much more still to come.  The last 10kms or so around the back of Weston Creek and Cooleman Ridge seemed to take forever but slowly the k’s ticked by and it was time to run again.

Mt Taylor – I honestly didn’t know it was so steep, seemed to go up forever.  Coming down felt just as steep and could feel my knees starting to get a little unhappy.  As the course levelled out, and it became path, my pace kept improving to pretty much the overall average I expected.  Pretty quickly I was back in transition ready to start the last Tri – who would have thought!

Looking back on tri 2, I think I ‘raced’ this one quite conservatively ensuring that I had the energy to get through to the end.  That was basically the race plan but suspect there was less time to be taken here (easy to say that now though).  I think I felt better finishing the 2nd tri than I did the first which was a really good sign heading into the last tri

Tri 3

So it seems my flippers (arms), in particular my left elbow had had enough of swimming by now.  Was doing my best to maintain an easy relaxed stroke but old leftie wasn’t quite pulling his weight leading to a bit of weaving across the lake.  Fortunately I had my brother kayaking beside me to try and keep me on course.  At the end of this leg you have to climb up a ladder to exit the lake – not fun, but made it out and was rewarded with some Chicken nuggets before the last ride.

Whilst it is the shortest, I think the 3rd bike leg is the hardest, the elevation gain isn’t that much less than the other two and it is ~13km shorter, plus you are knackered from everything else.  It starts off pleasant enough with about 6km of bike path but then it’s pretty mean from there on in.  A fair bit of hill walking on this one.  There were even a couple of down hills I walked as they were pretty steep and didn’t think the extra speed outweighed the risk.  This was the only leg outside of transitions that I missed my expected time range.  The tunnels at the end under the parkway were super weird to ride / walk through – I’m 170cm and found it tight to go through (and that was walking) but it was cool in hindsight.  So onto the last run

Being close to dark, I was allowed my helper / lovely wife to run with me.  I probably talked her ear off as had been quiet for such long chunks of the day.  Red Hill was steep but we chatted, walked and jogged our way over it.  9 or so km’s in she ditched me to be at the finish with the kids and I had my brother run the last bit with me.  It was very much dark from the top of Lady Denman drive to the finish but that didn’t matter.  Was able to pick up the pace a little over the last few km’s and was elated to get to the end in one piece

Tri 3 was definitely hard but at the same time you knew that it was the last swim, the last ride, the last 5km etc.  I had more pace in my legs after Red Hill than expected and it was cool to know for sure that I would get to the end.

There are heaps of thanks to people when you do a race like this, really it is quite a selfish thing to do and you certainly can’t do it without the support and understanding of your family.  I was very fortunate to have plenty of people giving up their time to help me and of course to have an amazing wife that put up with me in the lead up to and during the race.  So to all those people, if you have read this far, thank you so so much – I could not have done this without the part you played in helping me (and woo-hoo I did it!).

I love living in Canberra. There are not many places in Australia that I have been that offer more to people who enjoy the outdoors and endurance sport. The facilities, surrounding green space and calibre of athletic community here means you are never short of opportunities or motivation to explore somewhere new and train hard.

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in 1995 created a multisport event showing off the spectacular landscape of Canberra, and pushing the limits of endurance in a single day event. Each year since then (with the exception of 2 years due to weather) the Triple-Triathlon has tested athletes either solo or in teams to swim 6.2 km, ride 100 km and run 45 km in an enduro triathlon format taking in the lakes, mountains, and meadows that envelop our bush capital.

It is not your typical triathlon! It is not a race where you can sit on your pre-determined power output on the bike and then sit back into your marathon pace running. On the bike you will be doing gate vaults in the bush, and pushing your bike up crazy steep loose fire roads, then soaking in a view before an awesome descent. On the runs you will be running along trails mainly used by kangaroos and wombats, scrambling up Canberra’s biggest peaks, and dropping through beautiful single track. It is a race that forces you to go off feel and immerse yourself in the amazing trails. Which is why I love it so much.

I first raced this event as part of a team in 2008 with my now wife Amy and friend Scott. I was racing standard distance triathlon but was mainly training on trails and the event really appealed. We had a ball and the next year raced again. In 2011 I decided to push my limits and go solo for the first time. After a great day I finished first solo in just under twelve hours. After moving around Australia as an Air Force Pilot, I was itching to do it again in 2015 when as a family we moved back to Canberra. I had another great experience winning and setting a half hour PB.

My 2017 has been pretty up and down with injury but about September I started getting excited to aim for this event as it was the twentieth anniversary of the race and the field was looking bigger and deeper than it ever had been. My build for the race involved a lot of strength work in the gym along with hills riding and running. I am a full time dad and luckily my daughter loves going for adventures on the back of my bike or in the chariot!

Having done the race previously is a huge advantage – the stress of not knowing what to expect has passed and you have nutted out the logistics to make it run as smooth as possible. Over the last couple of weeks the training wound down but visualisation of the course and how I would feel throughout ramped up. The week of the race I was full of nerves, not knowing how the day would come together given my preparation, and nervous about the competition I would face with 8 previous winners of the event lining up with me.

Race morning was early! A 5:30 race start meant getting the family up at 4 to get ready for the day. Amy and my friend Marty were my support crew for the day along with my three and half year old daughter Imogen. Arriving at the shores of Lake Ginninderra to the west of Canberra the weather was beautifully mild, around 15 degrees, and there was this calm enthusiasm and anticipation from the 22 other solo competitors and their helpers (the 70 odd teams started half an hour later).

In the soft dawn light after a moment's silence we dove into the first 1.5 km swim of the event. My plan was to try and jump on the feet of Michael Brennan, but after about 50m he left me behind and I settled into my own rhythm. It pays not to blow up in the first swim of an 11-hour race!

The first transition went smoothly and I was happy to be on the mountain bike, where my plan was to push a solid pace and see if anyone went with me. I met up with Michael about 5 km into this leg and we rode together for the next 8 km, through some fast flowing fire roads, which were perfectly grippy from the rain of the past week. Then we reached the first of the big hills – affectionately known as ‘push bike hill’ on the side of Black Mountain. The 800m rocky Fire Trail sits between 25 and 35 per cent gradient for its length and is the first of many opportunities to get off your bike and push.

After a short stint walking at the steepest pinch I got riding again to put some distance between Michael and me. The rest of the first ride went well, some more punchy climbs and flowing descents and a great single track section through Bruce Ridge which led us towards the transition to the first run of the day starting at the base of Mt Majura. The atmosphere in transition was awesome, many of the teams were eagerly waiting for their riders to come in with the warm morning sun and barely any wind. I sat down for a moment to get my socks, runners, and hydration pack on before taking off for the 250m climb of Majura.

After setting a quick pace for the first ride I eased into a more relaxed rhythm running, following the rocky single track that weaved up the western side of Majura. It’s a special track especially in the early morning sun as you get glimpses of the city and Brindabella Mountains glowing in the distance. After reaching the summit the next section was a rollercoaster descent through the single track in the Majura Pines mountain bike park. Traversing the ridgeline between Majura and Ainslie I checked in with the body, which was feeling great. More importantly my mind was really calm, I was taking the chance to soak in the surroundings and not over thinking what I needed to do or concerning myself with pace.

The expansive view of Mt Ainslie is iconic, and against the blue sky and having 2 of the 3 biggest hills of the running course out of the way was an awesome moment! Coming off the mountain and onto the flat bike path leading to the next swim my calves were starting to tighten up, but luckily I had a 3.5 km swim ahead to get off my feet and let the legs recover.

Getting into a wetsuit mid race is an experience! I bought a sleeveless wetsuit in order to expedite this process. After having half a bottle of my Infinit electrolyte drink and the 3 of us working as a team I was in the wetsuit and off on the next swim. That feeling of being off my feet and just rolling the arms over was sublime. I had a gentle tail wind, which meant the chop was giving me a slight push. I pulled alongside a jetty mid swim to get some more calories in – the best part of an hour mid-race swimming means it’s really easy to hunger flat going into the next ride (a lesson learnt from previous years!).

After a quick bite of sushi and some beetroot juice in the next transition it was off for the longest ride of the day – around 38 km of flowing fire roads to the southwest of the city. It turns out I exited the swim at the perfect time as friend and veteran of the Triple-Tri, Dave Osmond came past me about a kilometre in as part of a team. I was feeling great at this point so jumped on his wheel and spent the next 10 km riding and chatting with him. This ride is where the day can start to get pretty warm – as it is predominantly open and it's late morning or early afternoon at this point of the race. Despite only having a top of 25, I was feeling the heat. The climb up Mt Stromlo went well, just slow and steady, before another fun descent along some weaving fire roads.

Another friend, Michelle Cooper, came flying past about 5 km from the end on her way to taking the bike course record. Again surging to stay with her was a great boost both to my speed and mind as things were starting to tire. Staying close to her for the rest of the ride I came into the crunch point of the race tired but feeling strong.

A quick reapplication of sunscreen, body glide and some no dose and I was off onto the 11 km run which has you summit Mt Taylor, a short and sharp peak in Canberra’s south. In the heat of the day it will definitely let you know if you have gone too hard early in the race. As soon as I hit the 25 per cent fire road climb I was down to a walk. But that was hurting my quads too much so I started walking backwards, and then discovered shuffling backwards felt great. The 1 km of climbing felt like an eternity but after reaching the top the view of the Brindabella Mountains and knowledge that the rest of the run is downhill was a huge boost to morale.

Nearing the end of the run my legs were shattered, but mentally I was still calm, happy and very much looking forward to the last 1.2 km swim. The swim was slow as I really focused on recovering, cooling down and preparing mentally to push through to the finish. Getting onto the bike for the final time with a solid dose of caffeine I tucked in for the coming 10km of flat bike path into a head wind. Klayten Smith the winner from 2016 was about 20 minutes behind in second place at this point so I focused on opening that gap so that we wouldn’t be running together at the end.

The short steep hills on this leg passed quickly and before I knew it I was approaching my last transition through the infamous storm water pipes of Hindmarsh Drive.  Being 6’5” and having raced for over 9 hours already, riding a bike through a drainpipe for about 80 metres is somewhat of a challenge. I got into the tunnel just ahead of one of the team riders and completely messed it up! I tried to slide down and lie on my top tube as I had done in practice but instead just lay on top of my seat and had my back wedged against the tunnel roof, paying my blood sacrifice to the race.

After some frantic stuffing around I exited the tunnel, had some more water, caffeine and a bottle of Infinit and took off on my last run. I settled into a rhythm through the climb over Red Hill, enjoying the final view of the city. The legs were in pretty good shape compared to previous years, and I focused my mind on keeping my running form as light and smooth as possible. The smiles of the teams as they come past and words of encouragement from the helpers at aid stations are one of the things that make this event so special.

Coming onto the bike path and past the second last of these aid stations I glanced at my watch to see what the time was. I saw that it was 3:18 and I had 7 km to run, which meant that if I was able to hold my current pace of just over 5 min per km that I could surpass the solo course record set by off-road legend Jason Chalker in 2002.

The remaining distance was gently undulating and shaded along the south side of Lake Burley Griffin. There was plenty to lose myself in and appreciate as the final kilometres ticked down. Rounding the corner to the finish the joy of having completed this course quicker than anyone had in its 20 year history was overwhelmingly emotional. A week later it is still sinking in: I like many others thought that record would never be broken. Overall it was an awesome day.

Endurance sport is such an amazing experience – the emotional highs and lows, the hundreds of small decisions we make leading into and during a race, the weather, the mechanicals, the other unforeseen challenges we have to adapt to make it truly special when it does all come together in our favour.

If you are looking for a different challenge, atmosphere and experience this race will provide it. I love the diversity that exists within the sport of triathlon, and this race truly is one of those hidden gems. I am already getting excited to toe the line and see what the day brings next November!

Race Report – 2015 Sri Chinmoy Triple Triathlon

The Sri Chinmoy triple triathlon first captivated my imagination in 2009 when my now wife Amy and I first entered it as a team with our friend Scott. It showed me trails and views I never knew existed in Canberra despite having lived here for 4 years at that point. The atmosphere, the people, the course, everything about this ultimate challenge was amazing and left me wanting to do it again.

Coming into 2015 I had now done the event 3 times as a team, and in 2011 had my first attempt at the race solo. I had the race I had dreamed of and with the support of Ian, Dave and Marty not only finished the race but was the first solo in a time of 11:56:23. Since that race I had been itching for the opportunity to do it again – in 2013 I was living in Darwin and could not make it down, and in 2014 the race was cancelled due to the risk of bushfires.

Life had also changed heaps since 2011, I was a dad now and my time to train was really limited. So coming into this years race I had a real mix of excitement at the opportunity to compete again, but lots of questions as to how the race would go. I really wanted to prove to myself that the result I had in 2011 wasn’t a one off and that I could maybe go quicker 4 years on despite my compressed training time.

Training wise I had really good consistency, just the volume was lower than what I would consider ideal. I focused on getting lots of hill work in as there aren’t too many flat sections. Due to time and having a good base already in swimming I didn’t get in the pool that much in the lead up (max twice a week), but aimed to do heaps of body weight upper body strength work. My longest run in the build up was 32 km. About 3 months before the race I did a fundraiser everesting Mt Ainslie on my bike, I think I tapered for the coming 3 months following 200 km and 8890 m climbing!

Coming to the week before the race I focused on being as prepared as possible – planning out with my support team my entire race. Every detail, how many calories when, from what source, different plans for hydration dependant on the weather, gear options and points to meet me and boost my morale. Nutrition is such a critical part of endurance sport, and my plan centred around using predominantly liquid nutrition – from Infinit Nutrition Australia which simplified things massively. Together with the team at Infinit I had come up with my electrolyte drink of choice which is high in carbs, and electrolytes, as I am a big guy and sweat heavily. In addition to this I made some vegan raw food bars which would allow me to chew something during the 12 hour race!

Race morning as always was super early, up at 4 to get a good breakfast of oats, soy milk, apple, banana and chia seeds and do a last minute check of everything. Driving out to the start with my support team of Amy my wife, Daina my sister in law and friend John I was the usual mix of nerves and excitement. I love that feeling – it means you really care about what you are about to do. It was meant to be- the perfect day weather wise – mid twenties and not much wind. I took plenty of care before the start to use sudocreme to prevent any chaffing making the day really uncomfortable, a bottle of infinit and a shot of beetroot to make sure I was as fuelled up as possible.

Then it was time to race! It was rather fresh in the water with the other solo competitors at the start, including friend and training buddy Wes Fraser who was doing it solo for his first time. Once we began, I got into a good rhythm in the first swim, and was ahead out of the water into the first transition. The first transition was a little chaotic! I sat in the deck chair whilst Amy and John ripped my wetsuit off and put my gloves, socks and shoes on.

I took off on the bike, just trying to keep things under wraps and not get excited too early. It was fresh on the first ride, but I wore a wind vest along with arm warmers, which was perfect. I really enjoy the first ride, the section around Aranda, Black Mountain and Bruce, still, peaceful and great views as the sun rises and the air is still crisp. I came into the next transition feeling good, and excited for the first run. This transition was super smooth, and in no time was off up Mount Majura. It was so cool the buzz in transition as all the teams were waiting for their riders to come in, the sun was warm and the encouragement was a massive boost.

I knew at some point on this run I would be overtaken by the first team runners, and was hoping this would be towards the top of Mt Majura, a bit later than last time I raced. But as I was about halfway up Craig Benson came screaming past. I tried to just focus on my race, and not get down because I thought I was going slower than last time (I wasn’t racing with a watch, just going off feel). The section through the single track in Majura Pines is always such a highlight. The soft light through the trees and smell of pine needles a really nice juxtaposition with the more rugged Australian bush which most the course highlights.

Heading into the main climb of Mt Ainslie I was feeling slightly more fatigued than I was hoping but this was nicely balanced by the boost I got from the team runners coming past at regular intervals. Up top my team were there cheering me on which was really cool, and I happily got into the descent knowing the hard work was over for a while. I was really happy with my shoe choice for this race – a set of Altra Instinct’s, super comfortable with heaps of cushioning for the descents and bike path sections of the course.

Coming into the next transition I was pretty warm and looking forward to getting into the lake for a cool off and change of pace. I decided against a wetsuit, as the hassle of getting into a wet one for this leg definitely outweighed the efficiency gains I would get from it. The first 1 km of the swim was pure bliss, really good rhythm, really nice cool down. But the cool down unfortunately continued and I got really cold by the end of it. This combined with having consumed 0 calories in the 55 minute swim meant I was stumbling out of the water and onto my bike. Will definitely eat something in the middle of this swim next time, and investigate maybe a speed suit or something to keep just a bit warmer.

The next ride I got back into a good groove after the first 5 km on bike path. It was really cool, going across the arboretum and out through Coppins crossing I was trying to stay with Cristy Henderson as she came past. I was a bit quicker on the flats (aero bars on a mountain bike work on this course!) but she put plenty into me on the climbs. The problem was, because I had been cold and hungry getting out from the swim I then didn’t stick to my plan on this leg, and consumed double the calories I had planned to.

Getting off the bike and starting to run up Taylor I was not in the happiest place, I felt like I was going to throw up, was heavy and tired in the heat. I took my only walk of the race up the super steep fire road, walking backwards for a bit, sideways for a bit, just trying to take the load off different muscles. It was feeling like a really long day when I reached the top of Mt Taylor. Fortunately I realised that I had overeaten so just had water on this leg, and by the time I got to Tuggeranong pool for the final swim my stomach had come good. I knew I would have lost a heap of time on that run and that second place was uncomfortably close.

It was a pool swim due to the closure of Lake Tuggeranong due to algae. Jumping in was such a relief to be off my feet, however the pool was boiling hot! It was good actually having the pool swim though because it allowed me to see Warren who was in second place, which was a good jolt.

This combined with my stomach being back to normal meant I hit the final bike leg with the most energy I had all day. The 2 no dose (first caffeine of the day) also helped that. I felt great, and stuck with a couple of team riders that came past me heading up to Wanniasa Trig and loved the flowing fire road of Isaac’s ridge in the mid afternoon heat. The tunnel to finish the ride is never fun when you are 6’5” and its really disorienting when you are fatigued from having raced for over 10 hours already.

I burst out of the tunnel and was ready to hit the last run hard(ish). Another smooth transition with not much time sitting down and then I was off up Red Hill, the last climbing of the day. Coming down and onto the bike path in Curtin I felt much better than 2011, I think because my stomach had forced me to hold back more than I otherwise would have on the second run. It really was a stunning spring afternoon, and coming past Lady Denman Dr my crew let me know for the first time that I was on track to do about 11:30:00. The final 5 km I pushed, going along my favourite section of the lake bike path and with massive relief and ecstasy arrived at the finish line in 11:26:02 a full 30 minutes quicker than my last attempt.

A huge thanks to my support team for their logistical juggling, to all the volunteers and the Sri Chinmoy Marathon team in organising such an amazing event, to Infinit nutrition for making an awesome custom product that takes the guess work out, and to Onyabike Canberra for Bike support.

To race this event surrounded by such wonderful friends and endurance athletes is such a privilege. While the race didn’t go perfectly, I couldn’t have been happier at the end of it. I learnt lots, I experienced lots, and just had great fun which lets be honest is the reason we do this stuff. I can’t wait for the next opportunity to race this, and I hope that I am able to learn, experience and enjoy just as much.

For other race reports or information on my training and racing please visit www.rowanbeggsfrench.com

"Las Triple Triathlon"

So our brave and gallant team of three boys had a cracking day of racing at the Sri Chinmoy Triple Tri in Canberra.

What the hell is the Triple Tri? It is a 9-leg beast of a race that demands the utmost respect!

It is three off-road triathlons back to back, in various distance (think about it as a big relay). It makes a loop around Canberra, hitting every lake, every mountain and nearly every bike path. We start in the pond-like Lake Ginnindera and end up at Yarrumlumla at the Sailing Club. It adds up to around 6km of swimming, 100km of mountain bike riding and 45km of running.

It is a beautiful, brutal race.

You can have 9 people doing it, with one taking each leg, or you can do it solo or anywhere in between. We decided to do it as a team of three. A triathlon relay. Team HMAS Friendship.

The line-up was as follows:

Tommy Brazier: The gun runner, Tom has honed his skills doing 100km races and was worried that this one would be too short. We gave him the first two runs to destroy himself, so he could relax and let poor old Murray do the last one.

Ed Hall: Big E was an unknown quantity because he had made the smart decision to ditch mountain biking for the world of road cycling, but we had faith that he would get the job done. He would do all the bike legs, a very solid day out.

And of course, there was me. I had hesitantly volunteered to do all of the swimming legs, as well as the last run! My cycling crash three weeks before had left me with a less then ideal preparation but I thought I could gut through the swims without letting anyone down.

We spent the night before the race gorging on pesto pasta and sweet potato, talking smack and working out logistics for the big day on Sunday.

We knew that there was another team of 3 who would give us some serious competition throughout the day. They were seasoned veterans of the race and were very strong athletes. I was more worried about them then Tom and Ed, because I knew their swimmer was better then me. We would soon see by how much.

I was staying away from the boys in the house of Tom's mum, who had kindly given me a bed. The day began at 5am, as I prepared for the first 1.5km swim that would start us off.

So it was that I found myself in the scummy Lake Ginnindera at 6am, watching duck poo drifting past me and trying not to think ahead to the 3.5km swim that awaited me later in the day.

I did my usual, excitable sprint at the start and found myself leading the field, not the smartest beginning to a 9hour plus day of racing.

I dropped into a pack of 4 swimmers and while I slowly slid off the back of them, I was within 40 seconds of the leader, giving Ed a good crack at our rivals.

When not competing or eating, the day is taken up by driving to the next checkpoint to hand over for the next leg. So Tom and I made our way up to Antill St, below Mt Majura, where Tom would begin his first and longest run at just under 20km.

Ed came screaming into the transition, just behind our rivals, having taken a wrong turn on the course (it happens).

Tom then proceeded to annihilate the entire field on the Ainslie/Majura run and posted the fastest split of the day (a hugely impressive effort considering that the majority of racers were only doing one leg, or one run).

This gave me a couple of minutes lead over our competition for the start of the 3.5km monster swim in Lake Burley G.

We started behind King's Bridge and swam down the middle of the lake, under Comm Bridge and into Acton Ferry Terminal.

It is a long, hard slog of a swim. As soon as your arm enters the water you lose sight of it in the murky, dirty depths. Visibility was at a range of about 5 to 10cm.

Luckily we had a little bit of a tailwind, so I cruised down the lake. When I occasionally flipped over to do some backstroke I could see the orange cap of our competition, slowly but surely gaining on me (he would take 2 and a half minutes off me in this swim). I could also see my kayaking escort, who I would say hello to every time I did backstroke. He said nothing back. It was a long swim.

With about 400m to go I was over-run by my rival but, tactical genius that I am, I cut across and sat on his feet for as long as I could.

So halfway through the race we were neck and neck and we knew it would be very tight. (there were two teams of 9 in front of us, with some pro-triathletes and Martin Dent, enough said).

Big E gave us a little lead for his second ride and then Tom, being the backbone of the team, proceeded to put another 3 minutes into them, running up and over Mt Taylor into Tuggeranong.

I was looking forward to finishing my swimming with the last leg looming but that was short lived because it was now in a 25m pool (due to the water quality of Lake Tuggers). It would be a lot of tumble turns with a run in the middle as you had to get out and run to the end of the pool to start again (3 x 400m loops of the pool, ducking in and out of each lane).

Luckily, I am nearly 2m tall, so because I could push off the wall each time so I only swam about 15m a lap. Perfect.

The pool temp was about 30degrees, so I was feeling pretty drained at the end, but we had our 2 and a half minute lead still intact and only 2 legs to go.

And so this is where things got tactical. I was feeling fresh (relatively fresh, after 6km of swimming) so I would do the final, 13km run over Red Hill. Tom had smashed himself knowing he only had to do 2 runs, so we put our plan into action.

So it would come down to the final leg. Did I feel better after 6km of swimming than their runner who had done nearly 30km of tough trails?

Ed came in with that crucial 2 and a half minute gap and I took off, up and over Red Hill!

I felt amazing, and my splits started at 5:00 per km as I climbed over Red Hill and got down to around 3:40 in the first couple of flat km's, but that's when the day caught up to me and I started to fall to pieces.

I began to cramp in both arms. Arms! WTF, who cramps in their arms when they are running. And my toes.

I had to rein it back a little, otherwise I would have been in real trouble. This wasn't helped when our rival teams swimmer and cyclist started waiting for both of us at certain points along the course and providing splits and updates.

Finally, after 9 hours and 8 minutes of racing (something like that), we finished.

The tactic had worked, as I put over 6 minutes into their poor, tired runner.

We won our division, and come third overall. Beating teams with up to 9 members in them.

It really is a fantastic race. It is lonely too, because we were out in front the whole day, we rarely saw any other teams because the field gets strung out by hours.

My friend told me about this race earlier in the year. And at the time it sounded like a really good idea to enter. I thought it looked like a lot of fun! He also said he would enter and we could do the race together. However as race day got closer his name failed to appear on the start list. Thankfully he ended up being one of my crew members for the day.

I had also roped my parents and a friend into being my support crew as my boyfriend was away that weekend for a work trip. I arrived in Canberra on Saturday morning from Brisbane.

We arrived at the swim start at 5am to pretty much an empty car park. After a few minutes more cars arrived and it felt a bit more like a race was about to start. I got into my wetsuit and walked over to the start area. I signed in and had a quick dip in the water before the race briefing started. As we were on the water’s edge my boyfriend came running up. He had flown down the night before to surprise me on race morning. It worked, I was super surprised. After a quick hug from him and a warning from the race director to watch out for snakes we were off.

I was really surprised to be leading the swim right from the start. It was great, I had my own little kayak escort. I took the swim pretty easy as I wasn’t quite sure how to pace myself for the big day ahead. Sighting was super easy as we were swimming directly towards the tower. It felt like I was heading towards the tower all day. I got out of the water and ran straight for my crew. They had everything laid out ready to go. I was hoping I would have had someone to follow early on in the bike as I had no idea where the bike went and what the course markings looked like. I had no dramas however finding the arrows marked on the ground. I made it to about the 4km mark before the first solo male came flying past me. Everyone who passed me during the day was really encouraging and super friendly.

I had no idea how tough the course was going to be. If I had of known I definitely would have spent some more time on my mountain bike in training. I really enjoyed the challenge of the bike legs. Pushing my bike up crazy steep hills, riding on loose gravel, lifting my bike over hundreds of gates, squeezing through tiny tunnels, looking for arrows and crosses along the way, dodging kangaroos and cows and of course just covering the distance of each leg.

I came into transition two still in the lead, but only just. After a quick change I was out on the run and heading up yet another hill. The scenery on the first run was really awesome. I felt like I was running in a foreign country. The weather was perfect all day. I ran the first run at my own pace not worrying about what was happening behind me. I knew Julie Quinn was a gun runner and that she would catch me pretty early in the run. She flew by me, and looked like she was doing it super easy, especially on the uphills. I thought I’d be doing a good job if I could limit the damage to about 10 minutes. So I was really surprised to see Julie just up ahead as I finished the first run.

After a quick banana sandwich I was heading into Lake Burley Griffin. I felt pretty good right from the start of the swim. I found it really interesting swimming point to point and was pretty excited to pass a couple of team swimmers along the way.

Out of the swim and I headed straight to my awesome crew. They did a great job all day of having what I wanted and needed ready. The second ride and run were really enjoyable. I found the second bike ride a little less technical than the first and the run was about the right length. I made sure I kept on top of my nutrition. I had a variety of gels, cliff shot bloks, mars bars, banana sandwiches, water, Gatorade and coke all during the course of the day.

The third swim went by really quickly and before I knew it I was off on the last bike ride of the day. I felt ok at the start of the ride and tried to set a decent pace for the first section. But as soon as I hit the hills I had nothing. I felt like I was going backwards. It was actually quite hilarious how bad I felt. I was actually laughing out loud at how much I was struggling. I was certain Julie would come past me at any moment. But I made it into the last transition of the day still in the lead. I had no idea how I was going to make it to the end as I felt completely out of energy and all I could mutter to my crew was, “coke, coke, I need coke”. But as soon as I started running I actually felt ok. Up a few hills, down a few hills, I kept ticking the km’s over and soon enough the finish line was in sight.

After 12 hours and 3 minutes I had finished. I had an absolutely awesome day and really enjoyed myself. A huge thankyou to the volunteers and the race organisers and to everyone who took part and of course my crew who looked after me all day.

Overall Impressions

Perhaps there is no other event which offers you the opportunity to circumnavigate a whole city in an off road triathlon. Each leg is unique, and this is why the best thing is to do the whole lot. It is not designed to be easy or even possible; It basically connects all the biggest hills in Canberra, seemingly getting nastier as the race goes on.

This was my second attempt at solo. Two years ago I got lost on Mount Stromlo when faced with conflicting arrows from different events. Five hours later, dehydrated and depleted, I found my way to Lake Tuggeranong, the only place I knew on the course. Although friends encouraged me to keep going, I was only interested in food and sleep. This year was very different. Having lived in Canberra for 6 months I had made an effort to familiarize myself with the whole course. I even offered to mark out the Stromlo section just to erase any possibility of getting lost. Knowing the course is a big advantage. Even if it is well marked, just knowing where you are and where you are going takes a lot of stress out of the day. Plus, you can pace yourself better when you know what is coming up.

This year I was very lucky to have as my helper the great Trevor Fairhurst - 4 time winner and number 1 enthusiast of the event. Sadly Trev was unable to compete himself due to injury but wanted to come and help a solo. Trev was so organised and so focused that I never had time to feel sorry for myself. It was a one way express train with no getting off.

The final run - the best I felt all day!

Knowing how punishing the midday sun can be, I was ready to battle with heatstroke, dehydration, cramp and nausea. But a miracle happened - the sun never came out. Instead it was the rain and wind which we faced - preferable any day for the endurance athlete. This made the day a lot more bearable. Coming from an ultra running background, I am used to the mental challenge of ever increasing pain and fatigue. But the great thing about the Triple Tri is that just when you have had enough you reach transition and launch into something else. Having said that, my illusions that it would be plain sailing after the long run-swim-bike combo were well and truly shattered by the torturous hills of the last bike and beyond. I think for many soloists the long slog up Mt Stanley must be the time when they lose or find themselves. Although the last bike is the shortest, it is probably the steepest and most technically challenging. If you are not from a mtb background it is really just survival mode. For some reason I enjoy the long swim across Lake Burley Griffin. Even though this year it was quite choppy, it is just nice to get off your feet and slosh around in a liquid world for a good hour or so. Like most triathlons, most time is spent on the bike, but without a solid running base you will lose most of your advantage.

In some ways having 8 transitions is tough because it takes time for your body to adjust to moving in a different way. Usually when you come off the bike it takes 10 minutes or so to get your running legs working. In the second half of a swim or run I would feel more relaxed. But the advantage of changing frequently is that your muscles get a break. On hotter days the swim is always welcome and is an important opportunity to cool down.

Everyone will have their own motivation for taking on this challenge. Most likely your friends are not all doing it. There is some hunger inside you to see what you are capable of. For many people the idea of the solo challenge is too daunting, but I believe that this is just a mindset. When you get out there and try it you find that you are capable of more than you think. The harder the goal that we set for ourselves, the more satisfying it is to achieve.

The fulness of life lies in dreaming and manifesting the impossible dreams.
-Sri Chinmoy

Training

The general rule is that you can never do enough training. Everyone has time and energy limits. Generally I just do as much as I can, always trying to increase, but back off when I get too run down. I like training. It feels good. Having a big event is just the motivation that makes training happen. Canberra is a great place to train for triathlon. Loads of trails and bike paths and not many people. The lakes are usually fine for swimming too, although most people still seem to go the pool.

Nutrition

I am always paranoid about hitting the wall in a long event so I try to keep eating even when I do not feel like it. Once you run out of energy it is very difficult to recover. I used high5 isogels, baby food and high5 energy bars mostly. Baby food is perfect - no chewing needed and usually very natural and nutritious. The bike is the easiest time to eat but it is not always possible. The second and third rides start with long sections on the bike path and this is the time to eat and drink. When you hit the trails you often need both hands on the handlebars. The end of the second ride along Cooleman Ridge is another opportunity. Trev put a Bento Box on my bike which was great as it is easy to grab food. The best thing is have bars unwrapped and broken up already. I would try to eat something every hour plus have gels and electrolyte. It is worth stopping in the middle of the long swim to have a gel. I had one stuffed in the sleeve of my wetsuit and this was not uncomfortable.

by Sukhajata Cranfield

Well in 2004 I had a great race and enjoyed it enormously, I had bought a mountain bike specifically to do the race after hearing so much about it from Ron and the rest of the Bilbys Saturday Morning Bike Pack. Learning to ride off road and training for the triple tri 2004 went hand in hand, many many weekends flew by riding and riding.

This year however was different, a months holiday in August/September around Europe left 2 months to prepare for the race. The big mistake was not to have ridden all 3 bike legs continuously a few times. With a lot less technical proficiency than most, often a bit of power can get you out of trouble, but on leg 8 that power isn't there and therefore trouble is, I fell. However how the race panned out.

Pre-Start, having thought that I'd give a quick prayer for those in the Indonesian earthquake during the minutes silence there wasn't one.

Swim1 started nicely, seemed to be missing a buoy that myself and another competitor who i was with struggled with but ended up going around a canoe. Once round that the buoys were easy to spot swam in quite well after that and exited the water first. Had a fast transition.

Bike1 the bird that swooped Natalie and Myself twice last weekend at Canberra uni continued its dislike for me. However I nicely followed the route had a surprise that it was the second fence to go onto gossan hill, not the first as I'd practised. All went smoothly, grabbed a mouthful of coffee at the top of Push Bike Hill, saw another soloist as I descended the tarmac bit from the top. I had a great descent of the rocky bit which always scares me and enjoyed the rest of the ride around black mountain and its spur where i ride the occasional lunch time. Had the normal ride and push up to the water tank. I have no idea how people can ride that last loose bit. Single track was great although got caught out by the bit that was taken out and had to turn around to get back onto this years course, and lost a confrontation with a tree. The dog that I saw have a go at stewy in 2004, and had had a go at the group that did the course familiarisation ride in 2004 somewhere around Duterrau Cres wasn't out today. A bit of mud around the back of the racecourse which I guess was worse for the tailenders and all was great to transition.

Run1 Another fast change, and off. Passed by a woman feeding a magpie with a cockatoo on her shoulder. Made it to the top this year before being caught by the first team on the tarmac descent of Majura, Trevor Jacobs caught me running along the fire trail prior to the right up to the logs, last year he'd gone by on that tricky bit next to the fence shortly after leaving the tarmac. So I was probably going better than last time. Other team runners went by as I enjoyed the views, changed out of off road shoes at the top of Ainslie, Bilbys coach Gary Rolfe gave a bit of a cheer at the bottom then a nice long flat run grabbing the wetsuit lube at Kings Bridge from Ria one of my support crew. Ran along putting the stuff on, checked the buoys, looked at the team swimmers and into transition.

Swim2 Good transition again, unfortunately I didn't grow up with long summers and running around barefoot. I feel every stone and slowly picked my way into the water as someone without a wetsuit ran past me and swam away. It'd have been great to get into their slip stream and have a real easy swim but I could only hold the gap for a while. The swim went really well, I think the huge travel on my new bikes forks had saved my shoulders and I swam feeling good all the way. Grabbed a goo at half way as Dave Baldwin had recommended to me last year.

Bike2 Well the only thing on this leg I hate with a vengeance is the magpie on Blewitts, I've had many fights with it and never won. It starts at you on the bottom and never ever gives up, the good thing about the race is however it probably attacked the first riders and it'd have been hanging around at the top by the time I'd got there. The leg went smoothly, got caught out on the way up Stromlo where the bunny hop over a gap in the track was fenced out and was directed into a ditch. Crew was at the top, loaded up with Coke and Pringles, the gate was open heading off of the tarmac down Stromlo. (there are more than three sports in this triathlon, there are swimming , mountain biking and running obviously but there are also significantly 'bike pushing', and the 'bike and you over gate or fence' as well as the transitions). Over another hill then a nice flat bit to the end.

Run2 So up Mt Taylor, ran the less steep bit but walked a fair bit of the way to the top. Nice descent great views out towards the Brindabella's and of lake Tuggeranong where the race was heading. Heat was getting to me a bit the issue being I was not getting the food through my stomach although a diet of Pringles with the odd Mars Bar and Vegemite Sandwich might have had a little to do with it. Bruce got to overtake me, which was what he wanted, Steve Hanley from their team went past on Leg5 last time. Had a bit of a chat with a guy in a team of 9 as I watched the BMX riders performing stunts better than you see in a circus on my way into transition.

Swim3 Needed to cool down, so no wetsuit. Wish I could have taken the hat off too. The longer the swim went on the better I was feeling but all to soon I reached the ladder. Took the hat off and gave my head a swish under the water before climbing out for the hardest part of the day.

Bike3 It starts so easily just chugging along the bike paths. Then it goes to a long rocky track where I fell last year on a descent because I was leaning far to far forward in a vain attempt to let the shocks do all the work my legs were supposed to be doing. This time I fell going up but was quick to jump back on, last year I had a chuckle dusted myself off and then continued on. Sometime later pushed the bike up Mt Stanley, enjoyed the cool breeze up there and the descent with a few little bunny hops to do here and there. Only had to worry now about the last bit before the pipe, but once in East O'Mally it was marked out like a aircraft runway and the route was not to bad especially considering the general terrain around that area. Got to the pipe, picked up a bike tool off Sean, let the saddle down and into the pipe. This had been the leg I had most room for improvement on from last year and yet its the only one I felt that I had done significantly worse.

Run3 Had a check from Prachar I was sane (well by triple tri standards), guess chatting on the phone between shouting 5 to make sure I was registered at the random check points along the way had caused some concern. Nowadays it's difficult to know if someone is schizophrenic or hands free. But I was given the OK and this year ran off in a pair of running shoes, as opposed to a tennis shoe and a running shoe like last year. Got a lot of motivation from the team runners passing by as well as Bilbys out on the course. Through the finish and into Natalie's arms, 8 awesome transitions and aid all the way the support crew had nailed it.

Post race, Lovely dip in the lake, awesome pasta upstairs at the yacht club, 3 different types of Black Tea including Twinings English Breakfast and Tetley I probably over did it on the tea. Then Julie came in as second solo which was by far the performance of the day.

This race really shows the countryside of Canberra and Surrounds. It's marvellous. Hope to see everyone back next time.

Trev