2015 Report Card

"We don't learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience." (John Dewey)

Since Ballarat Ironman 70.3 I am yet to swim a single stroke, push a single pedal or run a single stride. In recent history I've spent my breaks itching to get back out there but this season has been different, I spent the first week not even wanting to think about exercise and that in itself is a good enough sign for me that the break was definitely needed. The past few days have seen a very positive turn around in my attitude and the excitement to get back out there has crept in and thoughts have turned to what I can do this season to better what I did last season.

2015 has been a big year and season for me and one that has seen my racing and training focus specifically around the long course events rather than previous seasons where I feel I have been trying to dip my toes in the long course and short course pools. I've raced a total of seven long course events, three standard distance events, a handful of supersprint and sprint distance events and a few running events for good measure. Of course the first question I get from a lot of people is, "when are you stepping up to Ironman?" and I'll safely say it isn't in the plans anytime soon. I'll never say never because a few years ago I said I'd never do a half but the desire just isn't there at this stage in my career and I still feel my best performance can be over the half-ironman distance. 2016 is looking to be a big year but we are still ten days away from that and before I get there and before I get back into any form of exercise or training I want to take an opportunity to reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly from 2015.

One of the first races I planned to target for 2015 was Goondiwindi Hell of the West and after having a really good performance there in 2014 and finishing 3rd in one of the closest races in the history of the event I had high hopes. High hopes is one thing but it needs to be backed up with committed training and straight off the back I'll admit I didn't have that going into this race. It was a real kick to the confidence watching the same two athletes that beat me go first and second again while I slipped a fair way back to finish sixth. Maybe it was the shock to the system I needed but definitely not the best way to start the year and a reminder to myself that you can't for one second be complacent in this sport because the moment you do there will be an athlete out there who's working harder and is ready to pounce.

The next race was Tweed Coast Enduro and my training was definitely on a lot better trajectory than earlier in the year but unfortunately a DNF was all that I took away from this race. Up until 50km into the bike things were on track and I was in the front group and feeling good but a mechanical issue forced me to withdraw. Frustration and anger is what I remember from this race, my third DNF due to the same issue and all in races that I had high hopes for!

The season isn't looking too crash hot at this stage!

Cue a long and lonely winter of training. While it may have been long and lonely it was also one of my most focussed winters because I had gone ahead and mapped out the remainder of the year and was intent on making up for the disappointment of some below par performances. Cairns Ironman 70.3 was my immediate focus followed by Sunshine Coast Ironman 70.3. These races were in June and September and were in the forefront of my mind during a lot of those dark and cold mornings. It was also during these months that I decided to really pack the back end of my season with four races over six weeks and planned my blocks of training to suit this.

Leading up to Cairns I decided to race Byron Bay Triathlon where I finished 4th just behind Sam Appleton, Ben Cook and Tim Berkel. A performance I was a lot happier with and a sign my training was on track, even if it was a little annoying to be so close to the podium and just miss out. I also made a late decision to also enter Coral Coast 5150 the week prior to Cairns. I again finished 4th here and just off the podium but was probably lucky to finish at all when I punctured with a few km left on the bike. I was left running my bike back to transition, watching the podium ride away from me, checking over my back for chasers and cursing when would my bike luck come to an end!

Cairns Ironman 70.3 was a big race for me and it turned out I wasn't the only one with the race attracting a world class field. I ended up finishing 6th (again just one spot outside the money which was proving a bad habit I had formed!) and was truly spent, I had given all I could on the day.

Sunshine Coast Ironman 70.3 was the next big focus and being the venue for the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championships it drewr a big crowd. The week prior I tested out my fitness at Triathlon Queensland Sprint Championships and felt amazing and won the race so confidence and form were good. Sunny Coast was good without being great, I finished 9th and had one of the best run splits but by that stage I'd left myself too much ground to make up to finish any higher.

The final push for the year was jam packed. It started in Noosa, a race I love by my performances have tested that love at times and this year only emphasized that. I finished 16th and was really disappointed with that and started questioning if I had been doing the right training and whether I was going to be in all sorts for Forster, Western Sydney and Ballarat.

Challenge Forster rolled around the following week and I finished 4th, just off the podium and money again but a big improvement on Noosa. 2016 will have to be the year where I try for some redemption at Noosa! The three week turn around to Western Sydney Ironman 70.3 seemed to fly by and I was back on a plane again looking forward to another challenge. I had a great swim and ride in Sydney but after coming off the bike with all the big names and in a position I really wanted to be I just couldn't capitalize and fell apart on the run to finish 9th.

Two weeks between races isn't a long time and when you spend part of that time sick it is never going to be easy to perform at your best. Regardless of that, Ballarat Ironman 70.3 was the next stop and the result suggests that I may have pushed my season one race too far and I finished the race in 19th. A far cry from my best and honestly my toughest day as a professional athlete just to cross that finish line.

That brings me to where I am now, reflecting on what has been a big year of racing. A lot more races than what I have tackled before and also a lot of positive results there as well. To be the optimist, there are a lot of top 10 results there and against some big names too that I'm really proud of. But to be the pessimist it would have been nice to convert one of those to a podium or a win and there are quiet a few of those where I finished just one place outside the prize money. And finally to be the realist, I took some big steps forward in 2015 and learnt a lot about myself and what I need to do to continue to improve and satisfy the pessimist in me in 2016. The opportunist in me is already hard at work on that!

Dear Optimist, Pessimist & Realist,

While you were busy arguing about the glass of water, I drank it!

Sincerely, The Opportunist

Of course I couldn't finish this blog without a sincere thanks to those around me that support what I do.

Titan Performance Group and Xterra Wetsuits have been fantastic this year and I can't thank them enough. These guys are so much more than just sponsors, they truly believe in the products they are selling and are out there themselves at most races pushing their own physical limits and it makes racing that much more enjoyable to be able to catch up with the Titan crew once you cross the finish line.

Hammer Nutrition have been providing me with the best racing and training nutrition for a long time now and I look forweard to continuing to use it for a long time to come.

All of the athletes at Personal Best Triathlon deserve a special mention. They are like a family to me and it is so humbling the support these guys give me, even after the pain I more often than not put them through in their own training sessions!

And of course PBTRI is like a family to me but I couldn't finish this post without thanking my family :)

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action." (Peter Drucker)