Well it has been a while since my last blog. I have been locked down in heavy training here in Germany and preparing for Ironman Frankfurt. We are now 7 days out and all is great. The weather here has been pretty average so training has not been the most enjoyable time, but the work has been done and now it is time to back things off a little and relax. The preparation this year has been different than years past as my focus on volume has been less and we have looked at staying fresh, racing as much as possible and focusing on aerobic endurance. I feel great and am sure the post Frankfurt Ironman training will be much easier to absorb. Hawaii is just around the corner and I think about this everyday. We have our plan in place and this is our only focus. Hawaii preparation starts 2 weeks after I cross the line in Frankfurt, which is 3 weeks from now.
I often get asked about doping in triathlon and whether or not the top guys get tested in my sport. I can say without prejudice that I think the Australian athletes get tested more than anybody else and being a part of the Olympic Testing program means that we have to make ourselves available for testing 365 days a year by informing WADA of our whereabouts for an hour period everyday. In Australia we are tested atleast 2 times per month but in season we are heavily tested. I cannot speak for the other nations in the sport, but the aussies get tested lots and this year for me has been like most others. Last year I was tested 23 times both in and out of competition. Testing involves both Urine and blood samples and it is wonderful that this happens as much as it does. Keeping this cancer out of our sport is something that I am 100 percent committed to and I just hope that other nations have the same sort of testing that Australian athletes are subject to. The picture posted with this blog are all the out of competition tests I have done here in Europe. They are my receipts of the test and I thought it would be good to show people how much we get tested.
In my 6 weeks here in Europe I have been bombarded with tests. As part of the program with Ironman Frankfurt we are randomly tested and then adding to this the random testing by Wada has meant I am twice as likely to be tested. I have had 6 out of competition tests in the last 4 weeks and 3 tests as part of the racing I have done. I think it is wonderful and the more athletes are tested in this sport the better it is. I hope other countries adopt the same stringent testing programs for their athletes. Australia does a wonderful job and no matter where you are in the world they turn up to test us.
Anyway it is 7 days now until Ironman. I raced my last event here today in Darmstadt before Ironman. I like to have a hitout one week prior to every Ironman race I do, and today I did the Olympic Distance race Hienermann close to Frankfurt. It was a pretty solid feild of short course guys and a few of the Ironman Guys racing Frankfurt next week. I had a great day and lead from start to finish to win the race by a little more than 4 minutes. It was a solid day and I felt magic. I am really happy with my form and my speed is great. It was a good test today and I am stoked with the outcome.
I have signed a deal with German Online store Magic-Sportfood.de. After meeting these guys at a few events this year we formed a solid synergy and I will race for them for the rest of my time here in Germany. Check them out at www.magic-sportfood.de . They are really supportive of the sport and have been a big assett to me since arriving here in Europe. We met in St Polten at the Ironman 70.3 race, and at all the Challenge Races this year in Niederbronn and Kraichgau. The crew is really solid, they sorted out all my bike issues and all my racing needs whilst I was here in Germany. Cool set of guys and really motivated crew with their heart in the right place. They support some of the up coming athletes here in Europe and I was happy to join them and help nurture what they are doing here. They have their heart in the right place and that is always something I look for in synergys I form. I am super excited to be racing for them in Frankfurt and posting a win today in Hienermann was a buzz.. They will be stoked for sure and some great photos from the event I will post up tomorrow. For those of you who speak German, check out Steffens blog at http://www.magicsport-blog.de/?p=476
Anyway I am off to the Intercontinental Hotel for the race tomorrow. I cant believe it has been a year since I raced in Frankfurt. It has gone so fast. I am heading home a couple of days after the race and cannot wait to get home and see my family. It will be great to have my 2nd European title to take home to the family.
Enjoy training and I will send some news when I arrive in the hotel tomorrow.
Macca
