2016 and…I’m back!

Welcome to 2016! Apologies for the quiet start to the year, but I wanted to make sure I had something worthwhile to say before I opened my mouth. Leading into Challenge Melbourne I was hoping I’d have some good news to talk about, but as you’ll see the Melbourne experience left me feeling a bit ‘deflated’.

Anyway, here’s a quick rundown of the last couple of months and a preview of what’s coming up in the first part of 2016…

Hotel Berkel

After a big year it was great to let the hair down and enjoy the festive season at home. With the family up for Christmas and friends over for New Year, Hotel Berkel was the place to be for a quiet, relaxed, but fun holiday break. I made a pig of myself – ate too much, drank too much (a big shout out to my friends at Cellarbrations for supplying the Christmas cheer!) and thoroughly enjoyed it all. No apology needed.

Back to the Office

When the Christmas break was over it was back to business as usual. After the testing sessions in the lab at the end of 2015, my coach, Dr Dan, has been cracking the whip and the tweaked program he’s put together has definitely been building strength and speed. Some changes to diet and a more focused approach to training left me feeling pretty good leading into the first race of the year at Challenge Melbourne.

It’s a great course down on the Bay in Melbourne and I was looking forward to the ride along Beach Road and the run along the foreshore at Brighton. Things didn’t quite go to plan on the day. The short version is – I came out of the water with the front group and was doing well over the first bike lap, until a flat tyre put an end to the race for me. Disappointing!

Coming up

After the ‘false start’ of Challenge Melbourne, in my brain the 2016 season really starts for me in two weeks time with Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay in the Philippines. More about this in my next post. It’s a very cool venue. I love racing in Asia and I think this is going to be a great event. More on my events for the year can be found on my racing schedule.

Before I race at Subic Bay, I’ll be spending some time in Taiwan at the Taipei International Cycle Show. This will be bigger than Ben Hur and I’m proud to be there representing my sponsor Giant.

After some time in Asia, I’m looking forward to heading over to Port Elizabeth for the IM African Championship South Africa on April 10. The Eastern Cape couldn’t be more different to the conditions at Subic Bay – it’s a total contrast. But that’s one of the cool things about racing internationally – you get to see and experience the world in a unique way.

Thanks for the support

I know it’s just the start of 2016, but I want to thank you in advance for your support and encouragement. I think it’s going to be a good year. I’m fortunate to have the backing of some great sponsors. And I want to say special thankyous to Scody for their continuing support and to Alaska Milk – it’s great to be on-board with you in 2016.

To all of the age-groupers reading this – have a great year, stay in contact, keep your eye out for training tips on the blog and I’ll see you on the course.

Oh and go hard!