Lisa's blog on 70.3 Mandurah and Kona qualification! YAY

A blog from Lisa on her VERY awesome performance at 70.3 Mandurah!
Lisa didn't miss a session through the winter months and is reaping the rewards now.
Next up is the big dance at Ironman Western Australia!!

Well done Lisa. You have some very proud coaches!!


Mandurah 70.3.
Qualifying for Kona!

Race day was finally a few days away & was the most calm i have ever been during race week. Excited actually!! Really excited! Ready to R n R.
Andy and i packed Friday night, with Henry our boxer pup 'unpacking' for us as he picked things up, out of the room and ran outside with them.
A good nights sleep found me waking up early as usual so I got my pre ride and run done before heading off at lunch time to Mandurah.
Checking into transition it was hot!! Tomorrow was going to be tough!!

Race morning.

Transition done, wetty on, good luck kiss from my now fiancé! and off to the swim start with Kate, Mum and Dad feeling excited. I had a quick chat to Guy before I entered the water and wasn't really nervous but felt a big expectation on my shoulders due to a bit of pressure I had put on myself. I have never stood at a start line with my personal goal to win my AG although the ultimate goal was to get a good hit out for Busso IM, but i wanted to be first!!



I positioned my self just behind some quick toes for the start. The gun went and we were off. It was fast and I pushed hard to get some clear water before the leading 5-6 girls pulled away. A good, comfortable solo swim and i has happy to exit up those stairs with out stacking it. I reached transition with one girl in my age at her bike. I had a quick friendly 'chat' before cya… i was out of there leaving T1 to my 'screaming' fans, Mum and Dad!!
I pushed hard out. It was windy. Real windy. I was thankful to reach the turn around and to have a tail wind pushing me on the return. At one point I could see this lanky giraffe running in the distance… it was Guy and he cheered me on!! The turn around heading out onto the second lap was great and again lots of support which i appreciate so much. The second lap, more pain out, joy back :-)



I ran though T2 like there was no tomorrow!! Put my shoes on to run out but quickly realised i had collected some prickles in my socks and wiped them off to clean them out!!
I felt good on the run straight away. Comfortable and in the zone. It was hot though and I really felt that. Water, Ice, water. I think the aid stations where my highlight!! By the second lap I still felt strong so I just went for it, trying to finish strongly. I heard a motorbike next to me, initially seeing the bike from the corner of my eye thinking they are keeping an eye on me for drafting. After remembering I was on the run I realised they where filming me running and i felt a little like a rock star!! Seeing Kate and Guy with 2km's to go was great. Im so grateful to have them cheering me on and I loved every second of their support.

It felt like forever running up the small return before heading down to the finish line but i could not stop smiling!!!
First in the 18-24 AG with a 4.39.51 and proud to be 4th Female amateur across the line today. Super, super stocked!! And yes, a spot to Kona which i quite happily took. :-)



I went straight through the recovery area out to find my mum and dad an other family friends that came down to support. Its their support that is the highlight for me and gets you through these tough days. I will never forget how proud my mum n dad were as they ran looking for me to give me a huge hug!! It was awesome :-) Then time to cheer on Mark, Andy and Kate. :-) A long day in the sun!!

Andy had a great race getting back into some training after many months off after IM Cairns. My twinny 2nd with a spot to Kona also and my sister finished her half in a great time. I'm super happy for her. My remaining IM training buddies had a great day and thanks to Jono, Sean and Macca for pushing me on these training days which reflected in my race result today!!
GKE. awesome coaching, awesome training, awesome friends = awesome result. Couldn't be happier :-)

Mark "Lucky" Luckin reports on 70.3 Mandurah!!

Below another tail from Mark Luckin, A.K.A Lucky about his race success at 70.3 Mandurah!!
Prepare to be dazzled and slightly disturbed by his writing style. Always the entertainer!!

Well done Mark, we were very impressed by that performance. Just one big day left "IMWA"

Mark's Blog Below!!

Dear reader who graciously accepted my 40 Iranian Rial as a polite invitation to read my latest post. This in a feeble attempt to increase reader numbers and therefore increase my popularity points to over 45!! (Out of a possible 950,000), thank you. (Further apologies I could only offer to pay two people, Mum and Dad).

Well that joke should be enough to get you through the next couple of paragraphs. Mandurah 70.3 was a race I was not particularly excited about. Hit with continuous bouts of the Flu, niggling injuries and Motivation-deterioration-itis over the winter I was preparing my self for a fairly lacklustre day.

The morning of the race I was REEEE-laxed even after having an exam Saturday afternoon and driving up Sunday morning. In the water and it was a spread out field. After informing the field the Andy-Cat was on hot form and his were the feet to sit on I was ready to go. As the buzzer went two gentlemen Wetsuit McBlacky Wetsuitington and Goggles Face-enhiven (actual names) put a good little gap on me and the rest of the under 24 age group that had been touted as “the most stacked competitive group of athletes in any event ever of all time” (by me). I was left to lead the rest of the field around for the remaining 1.7k and swam comfortably.

Out of the water I was happy and surprised by a) my position, b) how I felt and c) how my hair was looking. I mounted Chrissie the 2nd (my bike, not some poor spectator) and set off. I soon realised it was a particularly windy day, head wind out, tail wind back. I worked hard into the headwind and was surprised how good I felt. The ride back into town was AH-MAZ-ING. Spotting a few of the gang along the way was enjoyable and I was able to keep a close eye on my main competitor of the day – the only lady racing in the 60-65 age group. That’s not meant to be interpreted as any way offensive to her, I was just certain an explosion on my behalf was imminent and she would be coming for me.
Turning back into the headwind for the second lap and I knew this was where my “supreme” form would be exposed. To my delight I continued to hold my watts and pace into the wind. I was stoked! I turned into the tailwind and started to make my way back. It was then I heard the sonic boom of the JONATHON 3000 approaching. From here I made a concerted attempt to hold him off until the end of the bike, not because I didn’t want him to whoop my ass but I knew if I could I was riding ok.



After loosing my aero straw cover (worth 100 watts) with about 20k to go I was certain I was doomed, but I somehow managed to make it back to T2 in front. After a gracious dismount, a fumble with some socks and a couple of quick autographs for “the kids” (mum and dad) I was off! Again I was really surprised how great I felt and I settled in to a reasonable pace.

What was more enjoyable was to see how surprised every one else was at me doing so well, some memorable quotes were; Dad – “holy sh*t are you ok?? You’re doing really well”, Rodzy “hey man!” (after exiting the pub) and Guy – “omg Lucky wow ok I was not expecting this, ok, just settle in man, don’t go out too hard!!”. It was a good feeling!
The first lap was hot. What was hotter was getting my first glance of the Adonis Sean Jermy, that guy is looking FIT for Ironman and out split me in every leg of the day. Coming back in to finish the first lap I was politely informed it was time to hurt myself. I worked quite hard in that second lap. With about 2-3k to go I spotted a guy ahead of me just running over the last bridge and thought “I bet that is a podium spot right there.” I engaged warp speed 7 and put my best I’m not working hard at all face on when I ran past him. I managed to hold the gap.




Just as I was running down the finish chute I heard the announcer well...announce that the winner in our age group had just crossed the line, I was literally a minute behind First McPlacington. I was stoked and stopped just ahead of the line to take it all in. The performance was a complete shock and I had managed a great day, I was humbled and extremely happy. The worst part of my day, not seeing enough of Mark McKenzie for sure.



At presentations after chatting to Firsty, I realised I was going to be given the opportunity to take a Kona slot. With full time University and work next year I was at first not too keen to take a slot. I thought to myself however (with a little convincing) if I never get an opportunity again I’ll never let myself live it down, so I took it!! And so did my twin sister!!
The Luckin twins are going to KONA!!!
Kudos to everyone that gained a Kona slot at Mandurah 70.3. To not take one when it is offered to you on principle is ridiculous, considering the athletes don’t determine what races the slots are offered at. Well done and don’t worry about the haters.

Now onto Ironman in 2.5 weeks!! What the day will hold I don’t know, but I am looking forward to it! Massive congrats to Sean, Macca, Jono, Lisa, Le Andy Chat, Kate L and everyone else racing. A big thanks to everyone that came to support, Guy and Kate, Total Tri and Ryders. What a day! Until next time
Eaaaaaggggllleeeeeeeee

Jono Considine Reports on 70.3 Mandurah!!

Jono's been training with us for going on a year now.
He's got some power and when not all used in one effort this power aids him well!!

His goal is Ironman Western Australia in just a few weeks.
However off a very short taper he managed 5th in his age group at Mandurah 70.3, secured a spot to 70.3 Worlds and set a PB.
That left us feeling quite proud!! Well done Jono, you've come a long way.

Pictures all stolen by yours truly from facebook!! (Sorry Jono)



Jono's report


Off to Canada

After a long winter of training to get the body ready for IMWA I was excited to get out on course, and what a day it turned out to be!
I found myself at the front of a chasing pack for the swim, which while not ideal from an energy conservation point of view allowed me to take the shortest possible route through the canals. Having struggled with my wetsuit it was on to the bike and without a doubt my favourite part of racing, chasing people. Conditions were played nicely in to my hands with buffeting cross winds on the way out to the turn around, allowing me to pick my way through the line of other age groupers struggling to stay in the aero position. Making the turn back towards town, it was time to put down the power and try to ride as fast as possible to continue my quest of catching everyone ahead of me. Despite the minor hassle of dropping a gel at some stage on the first lap, I was able to hold things together on the second lap and make up seven places on the bike course.



Having dropped my bike at the dismount line, amid a barrage of expletives, it was time for the real suffering to begin on the run. Running out of transition the legs weren’t feeling too bad given the effort that I’d put in on the bike. The first lap was pretty solid; despite feeling distinctly average, as a result I used all my nutrition before even starting the second lap. Oh dear! It’d be fair to say that at this stage I was fairly concerned as to whether I’d finish, some encouragement from Guy and some stern words from Kate was all I needed. I managed to run a solid second lap, only walking in order to get some ice and water in, gaining a further two spots.



With a 5th place in the 25-29 age-group I managed to book a spot at the World Champs in Mont Tremblant next year. Can’t quite believe that I managed it, and I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun doing a race. What a day!
Big thanks firstly to Guy and Kate for not only their fantastic training plan, but also their support and willingness to let me tag along on their training sessions. Secondly the training partners that kept me going over the winter, in no particular order; Andy, Lisa, Macca, Mark and Sean. Also, big thanks to Paul Newsome for the awesome swim sessions. Lastly, the obligatory thank you to my family for their ongoing support. I would thank a sponsor if I had one!



Jono and Mark!!