Thanks to Jaimi Chisholm for the wikid shots!

Yesterday I stood on the start line of my first full Olympic distance race since September last year in Yokohama where I ended 2011 still suffering from a stomach bug I picked up in China the week before. Devonport was not initially part of my summer racing plans but after pulling out of Geelong with a mechanical I was keen to feel the pain of high quality racing before heading into the hotly fielded Mooloolaba and Sydney events. Two weeks ago I adjusted my training so I would not still be fatigued from a Falls Creek training camp and set my sights Tassie-bound.

After not racing for months its impossible to know exactly where you’re at until you’re on course amongst the action. So yesterday was a real toe dip to see where I sat next to some top quality competitors. There was some talk amongst Aussie athletes and staff before the race about the importance of having one of us Aussies – any one of us – across the finish line first for Olympic position reasons and the majority of us agreed to work towards that collective goal before our own personal races.

The race was held in a stunning bay on the outskirts of Devonport. By the 3:30pm race start the wind off Bass Strait had picked up well beyond a breeze causing a bit of swell when the race commenced with the two lap swim leg. I got a good start and was able to hold position throughout the swim with the rough water breaking up the 65 strong field and giving everyone a bit more space than usual. I hit the sand about 30 seconds from the lead and found myself in the second small group. Once we got out on the 8 lap bike course we were able to create some cohesion and organization in blowy conditions.

We had the lead group sitting around 20 seconds ahead for more than two laps. With key players from both Aus and New Zealand in both the lead group and the chase the gap could have gone either way. In the end the deficit was brought in and the majority of the hitters were together at the front. This caused some interesting riding with obvious team objectives prioritizing over the usual-everyman-for-himself with a lot more vocal activity and a few questionable maneuvers to gain slight advantages.

But a final move by the Courageous Kiwi Kris Gemell and Aussie tri legend Courtney Atkinson saw them both reach transition with a slight advantage that they both held onto as we headed out with a strong tailwind onto the 4 lap run. Making the most of the faster section of the course I made sure to bridge the small gap as soon as possible to ensure I was in touch with the wisened two when we turned at the bottom of the course and back up into the wind and a slight uphill. I caught them both and with the momentum I had from chasing the boys I moved to the front and continued at the pace that I felt comfortable. Around the first U turn and it felt as though my company was not feeling the same comfort as me so as the protection from the wind reduced I moved into a slightly redder zone and could hear footsteps distance. Feedback from the crowd indicated the acceleration had made an impression so I pushed on. By the end of the lap I was surprised to have a small but significant gap over Kris. I continued to run at this tempo for the remainder of the run, not underestimating the heart of either of the more experienced boys. This was enough to keep them at distance and I crossed the finish line with a chance to acknowledge an extremely supportive and enthusiastic crowd.
Kris was not far behind in second and an impressively paced run from old mate (and one to keep an eye on) Aaron Royle took third.
For obvious reasons I’m happy to have made the decision to make the trip down to Tassie but my greatest gratification was that I was able to cap of an awesome effort by an Aussie collective working towards something bigger than a single race victory.
Check back soon for photos from the race! Next stop is Mooloolaba in two weeks time.

Everyone! I'm not retired, dead or contracted a disease that renders me illiterate and cyber-bashful. I am still blogging and updating my life, trials and tribulations on another, parallel universed blog hosted by the lovely people at the Aus Olympic Committee. As I am determined to be in the G&G in London Im diarising my audacious journey to make that very thing happen. You can check it out here: http://london2012.olympics.com.au/athletes/diaries/brendan-sexton

Keep in mind, my competition for 2012 kicks off in just days and I will be updating my site here with results, reports, humorous anecdotes (standard triathlete blog material these days) and photos. So keep an eye right HERE!

It's been too long since my last post and even though I've been going non-stop for months now I thought the turn of the calendar was a good place to recommence documenting my triathlon and general life goings on, if not at least to clear the metaphorical spider webs building up on this page!

Not only are we now in a new year, it's a leap year, the very name suggesting it be peppered with actions of a bounding, frolicking and hi-hoing nature of which can be nothing but weightlessly positive. And the indicative first five days of my 2012 I believe it will have all of this and then some!


I'm currently temporarily residing (as I do on a permanent basis…no where in particular) in Falls Creek, a charming hamlet nestled in a silver valley of the Victorian Alps. Originally a ski village only really habituated in the winter months it was discovered in the late 70's by a small shimmy of heavily bearded wandering Pan pipers (I guess*) who also dabbled in the recently booming craze of jogging. They found the seemingly endless trails that traced the edge of the water directing aqueducts impeccably suitable for most types of jogging. At the dizzying altitude that our Great Dividing Range reaches they also realised that the benefits of physical activity in the thinner air improved the oxygen carrying capacity of their blood and therefore improved their ability to hold a F major for almost 3 times as long once back at sea level.

Soon after real runners realised that the shimmy's jogging performance had also improved considerably and the location was soon being used as a training location for some of the countries elite running fraternity. Up until recently it had remained as such until triathletes discovered the location along with the freshly sealed road and crystalline freshwater dam nearby and moved in to promote the village from 'Out of season running camp point of reference' to a 'Summer Fitness and Multisport mecca'

In any case it's an great place to train in Aus and for several weeks for the past 3 years I've enjoyed the alpine scenery accompanying whatever ridiculous pre-season slogfest I'm usually wallowing in at any given point of camp. Whether it's belting out a fartlek along a skint single trail that would see you plummet a good half skyscraper down a precipice at the slightest mislaid foot step or tallying the hairpins on the final stretch riding the climb up from the valley by gnawing them into your bar tape you can't help but be pacified by the beauty of the place…and the dangerously low blood sugar levels.

There are still several weeks of camp remaining and some things I now take for granted may not exist by the conclusion of this year opening adventure (my ability to type a whole blog without slipping out of consciousness unannounced for example; my tolerance for woodwind instruments.) But I am confident I will come out of this years camp a more complete athlete and will be leaping with a momentum that will see me through 2012.

I'm currently fighting jetlag in a big way. I'm on a flight out of Tokyo after racing my final major event of the international calendar yesterday in Yokohama. The force with which this race has taken it's toll on me physically feels like the season has accumulated a great momentum of fatigue and soreness and unleashed it upon me now that the momentum has ceased. 
The World championship series race was the postponed event from earlier in the year due to the Japanese disaster. As the series Grand Final was already held a week ago in Beijing Yokohama is now the opening event of the 2012 series.

Last Saturday was the Grand Final event of the World Champs Series held in Beijing, China on the course of the 2008 Olympic Games. Sitting in 12th position on the World Championship rankings the event was a good opportunity to jump into the top 10 with double points on offer.
I was happy with my lead into the event after a really solid training week in Camp Aus in France and then a more subdued week with an organisation focus back in Vitoria before heading to the Chinese capital.

The lead up in Beijing was a really enjoyable week. We had a good group in our team with a huge spread of age and accomplishments, quality staff and great attitude. We were lucky with the staff we had on offer as us athletes had everything we needed to prepare for major competition in an environment that didn't really offer much. 

Unfortunately even when quality control is at its highest the risks of being in a place like China make it impossible to avoid all the perils of the third world and some issues cannot be contained. I picked up a bug during the night on Thursday that latched on for the following day. I couldn't replace anything close to energy I had lost before race time and made the call to sit the race out. 
It turned out to be what looked to be one of the toughest races to get through this year and I don't believe I would have achieved what I was after in anything less than 100%. 
I am now in Yokohama, Japan where I will spend the week preparing for the WCS event in one weeks time that was postponed from earlier in the year. I am feeling healthy and more determined to finish the 2012 season on a high.

Late last week I travelled from my Euro base in Spain to Aix les Bains in France where the Aussie team is preparing for the World Series Final in Beijing. From Aix I did the 2 hours drive with the team to Lausanne, Switzerland for the sprint distance world champs and team relay world champs. 


The sprint race was on Saturday afternoon and on what I can only imagine was the hottest weekend Lausanne had seen all summer I dove into Lac Leman with 74 others for a short and fast 750m swim. As has been the trend in these events this year the opening leg was physical, rough, and on from start to finish. I survived and got into transition around mid-pack. 


The bike course was not for the slouches with a solid 800m hill straight up front the lake right in the middle of each of the four 5km laps. Initially in the second group I we were able to reel in the leaders with about 4km to go and I was back at the pointy end as we motored into transition to head out into the heat for the last time on the 5km run.


My bike/run transition has left me off the pace in recent races but on Saturday I was able to get through with little incident and started the run only a few seconds of the pace. Unfortunately it was still too much and with only half the k's to run of the usual olympic distance the leaders were setting a pace I wasn't able to claw back. I resigned myself to running the smoothest and most efficient 5k I could knowing that there would be plenty in front who would melt in the heat before the line. I finished 19th, a result not in parallel with the satisfaction I felt from a race that flowed with positivity from start to finish.


Less than 24 hours later I was back on course and racing in the Teams world champs. This is a fairly new concept that has only been running a few years. The format is one person form a team of four does a full triathlon that is much shorter than a sprint or olympic distance (Sunday was 270m/5km/1.5km). When the run is complete the second person is tagged and does the same course, and again, and again. The result is a fast, intense battle between nations that capitalises on slightly different abilities to an average ITU tri. It's dynamic nature and spectator appeal are so attractive the governing body are currently lobbying for the event to be included in the 2016 olympics.

I was to anchor one of the two Aussie teams and I was being led out by an impressive ensemble in Emma Moffat and Brad Kahlefeldt (Beijing olympians) and also the silver medalist from the women's sprint champs the day before Emma Jackson. Like the day before the heat was visibly rising off the road. The guys did a great job against the creme of the triathlon world to hold 9th place when I was tagged and had something to pour my adrenaline into. Being so short the basic idea is to hit the red line as soon as possible and hold it there for the 16 odd minutes. The only part I really have clear memory of is the last 500m of the run where I sight of 3 guys turning the last bend towards the line. By this stage the taste of lactic acid was hard to ignore. I was able to catch one of them on the finishing carpet and we finished 7th.


I'm now back in camp Aus for the week in preparation for the World Champs grand final in Beijing in just over 2 weeks. I'll be going into the race ranked 12th in the series. With the right preparation and state of mind there's no reason I can't finish off 2011 a top 10er!