Friday, 14 July 2006

Arrived in Italy yesterday for the first of my European races. The day before I left I took a spill on my bike. Wasn’t too bad. Took some skin off my elbow, knee, a fair bit off my hip which is also quite inflamed. Im also having a bit of trouble walking but if I walk and run on my toes then there isn’t as much pain. So thats ok.

Arrived in Venice and found that my suitcase and bike hadn’t made it. When I went to lost and found they told me that they were still in Bangkok. Great. So they had to get from Bangkok to Frankfurt to Venice then delivered to the hotel. So I have no bike, no training gear, no clothes at all for that matter except for what I wore over.  I will travel to France on Monday to stay in Aix les Baines with the AIS team.

Thursday, 3 August 2006

Last Sunday I competed in the Salford World Cup in England were I finished 15th. The best resujlt I have had in a world cup yet..

It was strange being in England with temperatures up in the high 30's. Especially with the hotel having no air con because it’s never needed over there. The rooms were like sauna

The elite womens race was off at 1pm with the biggest field seen in a womens world cup race of 70 athletes.  With a 2 lap swim (1.5km), 8 laps cycle (40km) and a 4 lap run (10km).

The swim was brutal. Out of the water I thought I was in a pretty good position til I saw who was around me and realised I was out 3rd group.  The bike was tough with a lot of breaks being made. On the 4th lap the group I was in caught the 2nd group. It became a bunch of about 30 which usually means trouble on a tight course. There was a crash but thankfully I was on the other side of the bunch.

The run was good, and with the front group of 9 2 min up the road the fight was on for the minor placings. I felt good in the run and tried using the other competitors to pace off. 

After seeing the results post race I realised that if I had of been out of the swim in the front pack (where I should have been) I would have finished up in 4th with the potential of a podium.  It gives me a lot more drive, determination and confidence for my next world cup race which is in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary on the 13/8/06.

I am currently in my base in Aix-Les-Baines, France, training with the guys from AIS.

Thursday, 17 August 2006

Last weekend was the famous 2006 Tiszaujvaros World Cup which saw my best result in a world cup thus far with 8th place.  Tiszy is a small town about 2.5 hours drive from Budapest.  With temperatures usually up near the 40's in Hungary at this time of year race day saw an overcast 20 degrees, ideal racing conditions.

The swim is in a river with a very strong current down stream. The start was like a can of sardines, getting pushed under, grabbed & hit but I was in the thick of it & getting in some of my own.  Out of the water I was 30sec down off the lead girls and in the 1st chase pack.

The bike was 10km back into town. Then 6 laps of a 5km flat, technical course. No one was working in the group so the 2nd chase pack caught us to form a group of about 20. With the lead girls extending their lead to just over 2 min onto the run.

I went out hard in the run after a less then ordinary transition and soon made my way to the front of the pack. The run consisted of 4x2.5km laps. Into the second lap I was already catching people from the front pack. I dug deep to catch as many as I could. The grimace was out and I was in a world of hurt but I was picking them off and I wasnt going to stop at 9th. I caught 8th place at the last turn about 200m from the finish.

Post race I looked at the results and saw that I had the 2nd fastest run split of the day in a time of 34:43. I was completely shocked. I had set myself a goal to be running that by worlds. Now that that has been achieved 3 weeks out from worlds I now have to reassess my goals on the running front.  This race has given so much confidence coming into the world championships.

Top 10 results for elite women

FRANZMANN, Joelle (GER) 1:55:41
OHATA, Mariana (BRA) 1:55:55
CAVE, Leanda (GBR) 1:56:00
PEON, Carole (FRA) 1:56:07
DOLLINGER, Eva (AUT) 1:56:23
TANNER, Debbie (NZL) 1:56:54
CIERPIK, Camille (FRA) 1:57:02
DENSHAM, Erin (AUS) 1:57:41

Good Luck Erin.