So it’s been a little longer than usual. I’ve just hit the refresh button and taking a while to boot up again. I just felt it was time to clear the mind and the body of everything competitive, everything training and everything triathlon. So I’ve really been surfing and reassessing my life as an athlete. I have still not come to a conclusion just yet, but let’s not get too carried away. I know how you lot can start/spread rumours. (Laughs… laugh with me).
Now I don’t usually post much personal stuff but today I’ll mix it up a little for you.
It’s been a busy season and I have made some serious progress. My running is finally where I need it to be and although it could be better I know that I can be competitive on the run now. This did take time with a lot of focus on my running form and some help from Saucony getting me into the right shoes. Finding a mid-foot strike, increasing my strike rate, reducing contact time and lifting my knees higher were all part of how I set out to get running faster.
On a competitive note, most recently I competed in the Cape Town leg of the BSG Energade Triathlon Series held at Brandvlei in Worcester. I raced in the elite category and realised that racing elite is another ball game altogether. The gap between the slowest elite and fastest age group racer is quite significant. Having said that however, I do personally feel that that gap is 80% experience. With more racing and perhaps more opportunity, there are several age group athletes that could make the jump. Unfortunately, being a sport that does not involve a ball, there is not much support or opportunity. It would be good to see a mentorship programme established. I have no idea what that involves though so it may just be wishful thinking.
Finishing the run at BSG Energade - Image: Chris Hitchcock
As far as my race at Brandvlei went, I lost the pack from the start. My swim splits would suggest that I can exit the water with the big guns, but I guess that swimming alone or with 2 or 3 other guys at the front of an age group race is not ideal preparation for setting off at the frantic pace set by the elite athletes. Unusually for me, the run was the best part of my race and although I did have the second slowest run split, I was only a few seconds (less than 10) off the pace of a seasoned elite triathlete, which was fairly comforting.
As for now, I have only been doing pilates, surfing and some gardening. I do plan on setting things back in motion soon but there is no date or any specific intensity level set. Right now, I find it fairly comforting to know that things will happen as they need to.
See you all soon, if not before Christmas, please enjoy and be safe.
Ready to go for world triathlon champs in Beijing my preparation has been good. There are areas where I could have worked more, but being an age group racer with a full time job, it is difficult.
As lucky as I am to be in a position to be able to afford some of the best equipment and have more time than most, there is a very good reason why there is such a huge gap between the pros and the rest. Pros get time to train, time to rest and time to eat properly. Not to mention being sponsored the majority of equipment required.
It would be great to be able to take full advantage of the good weather days, which are usually on a Monday (which some believe to be Murphy’s day since, on the 8th day, God said: “Alright Murphy, you’re in charge.”)
I stayed fairly committed to the cause though, waking up at 5:30 most mornings to get 1 and half or so hours of training in and then training again in the afternoon roughly for around the same time. Weekends too saw me getting involved, usually on the bike and in the running shoes.
Just to break the monotony, surfing comes into the mix fairly often, just as it is going to later this morning. There aren’t any waves in China, so I’ll have to get a surf in today.
After a horrid run at South African National Triathlon Champs I was lucky to make it into the SA team and represent my country in Beijing, China for the World Triathlon Championships. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to represent my country at an international event and now I have the opportunity of doing just that.
I had a great swim at SA champs, leading from the start and eventually exiting the water in first place with a lead of about 100m (That’ s certainly with thanks to my TYR Hurricane Category 5 wetsuit). The bike leg was good, although I wasn’t able to get comfortable. The run however is where it all fell apart. A strange pain in my back, which felt similar to the lower back pain experienced when you awaken at 4am with a bladder ready to burst. After seeing an Osteopath the diagnosis revealed that I had an extremely tight Quadratus Lumborum muscle (or QL) as a result of a bone which had shifted deep inside my pelvis (Apparently I fell as a kid, who’d have thought?). This affected my glutes which eventually resulted in a skew pelvis. Not ideal for running, but I did it anyway.
Quadratus Lumborum or QL
So in Beijing we will be racing on the Olympic course from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The water temperature expected will be in the region of 25 degrees, which means that we will have a non-wetsuit swim which is great for me since the swim is my strongest discipline. Realtvie humidity will be around 67 percent with an air temperature of around 24 degrees Celsius. The likely hood of rain is minimal, with a 2mm daily average rainfall in September. Mmmm, Sounds like perfect conditions if you ask me.
Huntington Beach, CA – March 14, 2011 – 2010 Miami International Triathlon Champion Matt Chrabot has signed a multi-year endorsement deal with TYR Sport Inc.
TYR Sport Inc. will be Chrabot’s primary competitive apparel and swimwear sponsor through the next Olympic Games in London. TYR’s experience and unsurpassed technology in the popular sport of triathlon will supply critical product support to Chrabot, who is training to make his first Olympic Team. Chrabot joins an elite group of talented athletes sponsored by TYR, who plans to make Chrabot the new face of their Olympic marketing campaign.
“I’m very excited to be part of the TYR family,” stated Chrabot, a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. “TYR has been around since I started swimming as a young athlete in the 1980’s and I’ve always been impressed with their suits and performance technology. I am fortunate to have TYR’s support leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.”
Ending his 2010 season ranked No.1 in the U.S. and No.12 in the world, Chrabot, 27, established himself as the American man to beat for a 2012 Olympic berth. Chrabot earned two top 10 finishes at World Championship Series events, won his second Pan American Championships title and was the Miami International champion, a title he hopes to defend later this month. Chrabot is gearing up for the first Olympic qualifier, taking place this August at the World Championship Series stop in London.
“We are very happy to have formed a long-term relationship with an athlete of such high caliber as Matt Chrabot.” stated Ryan Dolan, Vice President of Sales for TYR Sport Inc.. “Matt is well-known for his work ethic and willingness to do what it takes to be the best and win races. We look forward to our push to London 2012 with Matt and USAT.”
Chrabot, who is represented by global sports and entertainment marketing leader Octagon, recently finalized endorsement deals with Shimano, PowerBar, Dz-nuts and Yurbuds and is also sponsored by Blue Cycles and Rudy Project.
Spoilt by TYR 5 days ago I will now be racing in the TYR Hurricane Category 5 wetsuit. This wetsuit is absolutely amazing. The technology is fantastic and so is the fit.
The tapered neck is a winner. Nice and low, and unlike other suits with low necks, this one actually seals, and very well.
The panel layout is simply genius. Adding bouncy in all the right places and flexibility where you need it most. Sure, part of the plan is to add bouncy but unlike a lot out there, TYR has taken this one step further and has paid attention to body position. By placing certain panels in certain places, and by using a combination of various thicknesses TYR really have developed the perfect wetsuit. TYR have called this clever bit of technology the 360° Core Stabilization System and it goes a little something like this:
“Five core stabilization panels precisely target the muscle groups to elevate the swimmer ensuring optimal body position and preservation of core strength over the long-term of the swimming race.”
Most wetsuits on the market certainly help with bouncy but how about shape?
Another thing that stood out for me was the Form Fitting Wrist Cuffs – “Multi-stretch cuffs at the wrist allows powerful strokes while keeping water from entering the suit.”
Also, the Free R.O.M Zones work very well too. These are panels specifically placed eliminating constriction and allowing the swimmer to achieve a long reach while placing no strain on the shoulder.
And the final stand out:
Quick Release Ankle Cuffs – “Tapered legs allow the ankle of the suit to reverse and open for a quick and effortless removal during T1”
I guarantee you that none of the above is any form of marketing, smoke or mirrors. It’s genuine and it seriously makes a significant difference.
I actually needn’t say anything more. The TYR Hurricane Category 5 is phenomenal. It will make you swim faster. What more do you want?
Coming into the BSG Energade final at Big Bay on Sunday 5 December I wasn’t feeling exceptionally confident. Having not run for 10 days due to a slight toe injury and using a bike that was not in complete functioning order I was planning on just going out there and having as much fun as possible.
The new TYR Hurricane category 5
With home ground advantage, 12 degree Atlantic Ocean and a stiff South Easter I was presented with a very average day at the office. For others the conditions were testing and the cold water claimed a few DNFs.
Having been spoilt by TYR just 2 days before, I took to the 12 degree water in my new TYR Hurricane Category 5 (Full product review to follow this post). Having got to the first buoy battling the scramble in around third place I found myself feeling very comfortable. After we turned for home and having lost 2 places I pulled over to the right in search of a wave. Thankfully that paid off and with years of lifesaving experience at that beach the home ground advantage gave me a nice rest as I body surfed my way back to the beach and up into fourth spot.
A slightly poor T1 meant that I missed the front few guys by maybe 10 metres and went out on the bike solo. A very short while later I was joined by Mike Davidson. We worked well together for a while until I needed a gear which I did not have access to thanks to a stretched chain. That didn’t bother me too much though because I was just out there for some real fun on home turf.
It wasn’t much later when I was joined by Corne Buys (owner of Lifecycle, a local bike shop in Parklands). We worked well together for quite some time. We managed to catch Mike again and we pushed. I gave it my all and managed to stay with them. I did as much work as I could but no matter how hard I tried the pace demanded by Corne was one that I could only maintain for 30sec at a time. It was with thanks to him that I managed to enter T2 with a 29min bike split.
Into T2 and both myself and Corne slipped on our Saucony Type A racers and off we went. Mike pulled away… and so did Corne. It took me almost 1km to find my legs but a sub 4min/km run meant that I would hold onto my position and finish 12th overall and first in my category, in a time of 56:31.
Out to run - Saucony Type A2 on foot
We had a great day out there with the BSG Elite team cleaning up overall wins and the Simply Store Race Team, who I happen to race for, cleaning up the category positions with 5 podiums and 3 golds.
My final shout out goes to my girlfriend, Lauren, who had a great race to finish in 1:19. My old man also had a peach of a race and finished 10 seconds behind her.
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