Minneapolis - Bevan
17 August 2007
With less than 3 weeks until world champs and 5 weeks until my big race in Beijing I thought I’d update you all on my progress.
After the success of the Des Moine and Edmonton races I decided to take a bit of a step back. I was in some great form, however there was no way I could hold that through to September. I took a week off then started my build up fresher and rejuvenated. It was just what I needed, however having a few races not long after was going to be tough and I knew it was going to be a case of getting my butt kicked!
First up was the Life Time Fitness Tri in Minneapolis, for the first time in the race’s history there was a separate male and female race with the Equalizer being dropped - unfortunately the prize money was dropped as well. Obviously going into the race I wasn’t expecting too much having just come off a break, it was a non drafting race and not having done any time trial training it was going to be a big ask to get anywhere near the podium. However deep down I was hoping for some small miracle! To my surprise I had one of my best swims of the season exiting the water 3rd and feeling fantastic this great feeling was to be short lived however as I jumped on the bike! My lack of TT training really showed as I could only just hang on to the pace and put myself in a world of trouble for the run. I was still with the eventual winner Greg Bennett however as I took my first few steps I knew it was going to be a long run…. I eventually finished 8th slightly disappointed but I knew this was not a good time to be firing.
With a few more weeks of training in my legs I headed off to the UK for a couple of races - the Salford ITU world cup and London Triathlon. First up Salford and a world-class field. The course in Salford is extremely flat very similar to the world champs course in Hamburg - hard and fast. In complete contrast to my last race I had a terrible swim, fighting with the entire field to get around the first buoy! However due to the nature of the course I found myself in the 2nd bike group and we soon bridged our way to the lead pack… Great! As is every year it was going to be a running race! Without much speed in my legs I was unable to hold the pace of the likes of Gomez, Karlfeldt and Whitfield, however I did feel strong and had a solid run to finish 6th. I was very happy with this result as I new I was starting to come back onto form. On the down side, the winner Javier Gomez extended his world cup lead over me and also completely dominated the field showing us all where the bench mark is set.
My final race was the London Triathlon. Having won this race in 2004 just weeks out from the Athens Olympics I have always liked this course even though it doesn’t suit me. Being down from altitude for one week wasn’t great timing, however I had been feeling great in training and was looking forward to a good race. The pace in the swim was hot and fast, I felt good to come out with the leaders on the feet of Matt Reed. One unique thing about this race is the indoors transition which can make running slippery. Running out with my bike I struggled to get grip and lost contact with Matt, this was to be costly as Matt would make the lead group and I wouldn’t. I chased for a good 10km only 15seconds behind the whole way, dragging 3 others who could pull a turn! By this stage I was exhausted and then my race was over, I still finished the race in 8th but very disappointed and frustrated! I did learn a big lesson; not to relax one bit as it could and did prove costly.
From there I’ve been back in Boulder putting the finishing touches on my training for the next two, very important races… these last few weeks have been going very well, I’ve moved up another level and getting close to some top form. One thing I’m very aware of though is to monitor my health, as the last thing I want is to get sick as I did last year just a day out from worlds. Everything is on track just one more hard week of hell, then I get to freshen up, fun fun…
Bevan
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