Whangamata Tri 2013

Whangamata Contact Tri 2013

While most people my age celebrated new years at concerts drinking copious amounts of alcohol I was yet again in preparation for my first tri of the 2013 year. No better way to start the year of with a bang racing one of the most challenging and beautiful triathlons in the country.

Being the defending champion I went into the race looking to back up and defend my title. This year however I would not have everything my own way with stiff competition from seasoned professionals Clark Ellice and Mark Bowstead.

I managed to place 3^rd holding off a fast finishing Michael Poole. This was a pleasing result this early in the season and bodes well for coming events.

One of the best things about these events is testing your fitness and progression. Over the last few months I have been working particularly on getting my run volume up, this has been coming along well but I was still unsure how I would feel after a tough swim and bike. On the day it was probably my weakest leg so this is as always a work on. The swim went well coming out in touch of the leaders in third place, the work I have been doing with coach Tim Brazier and also Carterton Swim Club has given me lots of confidence with how I approach open water swimming. On the bike I rode strong throughout but was cautious at times due to the slippery roads, I rode just over the hour for 40km so this was a very solid time and pleasing given that this has not been a focus.

Overall the event was a splendid start to 2013. Podium finish and solid hitout. I look forward to my next race in Christchurch on the 13^th January.

Thanks to Contact Tri for a superbly run race, my supporters Mizuno, Specialized, CrankIt and  my number one fans on the day Carlin, Ella and Brad.

Cheers

Contact Trophy (standard distance)
Men
1 Clark Ellice (New Plymouth) 1:55:47
2 Mark Bowstead (Auckland) 1:56:02
3 Hamish Hammond (Greytown) 2:00:19
4 Michael Poole (US) (Auckland) 2:00:49
5 Sam Franklin (Auckland) 2:02:39

The real GC, triathlete styles.

The real GC, triathlete styles.

 In a few weeks I will be moving back to Aotearoa, this will be the first time I have been home since May this year.   I will be flying into Christchurch and basing myself there for a few weeks before I move back to the Rapa for Xmas. With this in mind a quick summary of my racing, job, and training  experiences in the GC (Gold Coast) has long been due, so here goes.

I have raced in six triathlons since May all of which included some highs and lows and have been amazing experiences.  I raced two races in Japan, one in China, and three in Australia.. The highlight would have to be my last race in Noosa. This was a stacked field to say the least, three world ironman champions, numerous ITU starters, winners, and future champions. I was in excellent company so was pleased to finish firstly better than my seeded number of “44” and secondly 14^th overall, not bad considering the tough conditions and competition.

Racing in Japan was an “eye opener”; the travelling is tough, the communication is a barrier, and the numerous expenses come together to put a rookie globe trotter in deep water. For instance I didn’t manage to sort my 3 internal flights till the day before I left! It was stressful not knowing if I was going to even be able to get to the remote race venue. The two races I did were tough (see results below) I struggled with the conditions in both, didn’t prepare for the right style course and had a few bike issues. I did learn a lot from this trip and ultimately these experiences have helped me to make some changes to my training which are working well.

The race in China was in a place called Chengdu. Since the travel expenses were entirely paid for by the Chinese Triathlon Union costs were minimal, perfect way to do an ITU race for a poor athlete.  The race venue was an amazing purpose built triathlon course which included a manmade lake. The race was another learning curve went, I swam alright, rode well, but suffered on the run. Jet lag and heat played a big toll on me this time, but for the future I know that I need a few extra days to acclimatise when travelling to hot and humid countries.

One thing I can say with conviction is that after all of these race is that I am far from peaking and am hungrier than ever to find my limits as an athlete. I learn something about myself and the sport with every race. Some have more impact than others but collectively each of these are building up my experience which I can call on in the future.   

As a wannabe professional athlete I do not make any money from doing triathlon. While in Australia I have been working part time jobs and also writing some research articles for Massey University. The main Australian job I have  is working as a Pizza Maker at Crust Pizza. This is a great place to work as the owner is a nice guy that understands my commitments to training and has worked with me to ensure I have had enough hours to pay rent. Most of my colleagues  are  students and foreigners so I get on well with all the employees in a chilled environment. Pay is awesome! This moved from $15 to $19.70AUD within a few weeks of starting work here. To put this in perspective $19.70 converts to around $25NZD, pretty bloody good considering that I make pizzas!. Doing this kind of basic work makes training easy and also pays most of my expenses when the hours are consistent. The GC has a pretty transient population, so work hours for casual staff fluctuate a lot, Footy Finals week I worked near 30 hours, yet last week I worked barely 5 , this makes it tough living by each pay check.

The GC is an awesome training area year-round. Pools are awesome, two fresh water (shark free) lakes, beachs, hills for riding, sun and other relevant facilities. Being winter it did lack the amount of training buddies that I would like but between Will, Kieran and the long course boys I think it was more than sufficient for a winter base. A lack of running trails with hills and crazy drivers would be the only downfalls.  

I look forward to catching up with my Kiwi friends and family sometime soon, no doubt by living in Oz I have become a better athlete, and more diverse person but honestly there is no place like home, we may not have the best weather, pay, facilities, or races but we definitely are the most chilled, easy going people out. Thanks Specialized NZ/CrankIt Cycles, Mizuno NZ/Sports Network, Greytown Plumbing, and of course the number one sponsors MUM & DAD. Sweet as bro! Peace.

Results:

Amakusa, Japan: 32^nd place

Gamagori, Japan: 21^st place

Chengdu, China: 21^st place

Moreton Bay, Australia: 9^th place

Raby Bay, Australia: DNF

Noosa, Australia: 14^th place

Hyundai Getz packed for Noosa Trifest

China= SMOG

Pre Amakusa Japan race

Willow, and Kieran "Big Dog" "Jay" 

Battle wound post Raby Bay

Plastic bag Vs Bike

Plastic bag won

Update!

This is an up to date on my latest where about, movements and plans for future races.

I am sorry this is a little overdue but with constant travels and limited down time I have been very busy.

Last week I returned from the Gold Coast after spending 3weeks training and racing. Whilst there I competed in the Mooloolaba ITU Oceania Cup Race.

This was a step up for me in terms of the quality of field (guys that race on the World circuit included). This was also my first elite level drafting olympic distance event, so I was basically venturing into the unknown in that respect. In the end I finished mid pack in 32nd place, this was a decent result considering my lack of experience with this type of race, plus I learnt a lot and therefore in that regard it was a "win". After this race I spent a week of training and planning back in the Gold Coast with Tri Coach Greg.

The planning was basically me sorting out a place for me to base myself for  the next 4months from May as a method to avoid the NZ winter and make some steady improvements into the elite draft legal events.

 I am now back in Palmerston North in my first week of training, I can train pretty well here, back with the squads and groups I trained with during uni.   I will probably base myself here, back home and maybe venture to Welly for the odd training, all in preparation for my next race which should be the Contiental Cup race in Amakusa, Japan.

This is on the 3rd of June. This is not set in stone, but it would be good for my development, to gain points, maybe earn money and overall race experience. After this I may look to race another race in Asia, then maybe one in Tahiti, then the World Champs in Auckland where I aim to defend my title.

 

While here in Palmerston I will be also attending my graduation from Massey on the 15th May, before heading back to Gold Coast on the 17th. This will be good to finally get the degree under my belt! 

 

 

Thanks to my main sponsors Blue Seventy, Wairarapa Sports Education Trust, Greytown Trust Lands Trust, Crankit Cycles, Specialized, Greytown Plumbing Ltd, R Line and Toyota Believe. 

Special thanks for the support given by the  Greytown Community especially  Keith Brown and Greytown Sport & Leisure Society ,South Wairarapa Rotory Club, R & B Motors, Aaron Smilie, Greytown Community Gym, Marilla Rankin, Garrity Bros, Bryan Tucker, June & Ross Sugrue, Helen Cooke, Odell & Maya Sugrue, Crightons ITM, my grandparents,  my family and Sarah.

 Without this I would not be able to achieve the results I have or continue to strive to become a champion.

Check out the Contact Series coverage of the Wellington race held early March this has some good footage of me, check it out on

http://tvnz.co.nz/contact-tri-tv/s2011-ep7-video-4782013

I placed 3rd here which was a decent result considering my focus had been on the Mooloolaba race.

Cheers

Hamish

RACING UPDATE

My first post in a while. I have been very busy over the last few months with races in Kinloch, Takapuna and most recently Wellington. These have come with some success and some valuable learning experiences.

The race in Kinloch didn’t go so well for me. I was up against the big boys in the Oceania sprint champs. In this kind of race those little skills really are emphasised and in my case my lack of bike criterium racing limited me hugely. After a hard day I came away a disappointing 32^nd overall, the positive however was I ran quite well over the 5k.

Next up was Takapuna. I had tried to train myself in the short period after Kinloch to learn to hold a wheel better and boost out of the corners. I was feeling pretty good in the lead up and ready for a good performance, however again this race wouldn’t go my way. I had a decent swim exiting within reach of the leaders. On the bike the plan was to get in a bunch and hang on for a fast hard run. After one lap of ten I was sitting well and pushing to get in a good position. Nek minut I was on the ground!! My tubular tire had decided it didn’t like the hard fast cornering so rolled of the wheel causing me to take a spill and ruin my race. Lesson learnt, always check glue on tires! The positive out of this I guess I got some TV coverage, check out tvondemand for my crash!!

Next up was the last race of the contact series in Wellington. I was looking forward to this after racing only sprint and super sprint since January. Wellington put on a brilliant day, even the chilly 14 degree water didn’t dampen my enthusiasm to do well. I exited the harbour in third place of the first wave, I quickly settled in the bike and picked off the first initial leaders early on. After only briefly leading the event I was the one now being picked off by an obviously determined and lean looking Rob Creasy. The position remained like this until a steam rolling Tom Francis zoomed past me with about 15km to bike. I started the run about one and a half minutes down on the front athletes. I was feeling pretty heavy but tried to push through it. By the end I had lost a bit more ground as the front two athletes pushed each other leaving me to run solo the entire run. I finished a solid third place, a decent result which should set me up well to race in my final event of the season Mooloolaba.

For race coverage check out this link, I get a bit of coverage early on.

http://tvnz.co.nz/contact-tri-tv/s2011-ep7-video-4782013 

As I write this I am in the Gold Coast training with coach Greg O’Connor and his Redline Squad. Weather has been nice and training awesome. I leave for the race next Wednesday and race on Sunday, can’t wait for a good hard race.

 

Cheers to Greytown Plumbing, Greytown Sport & Leisure, and Wairarapa Sport Education Trust for helping to fund my sporting pursuits.

Thanks to R-Line, Specialised and Blueseventy for keeping me racing strong with the best products.

Whangamata Race Report

Whangamata race 3/1/2012

This was the 2^nd race of the Contact Tri Series and a chance for me to test my legs after a solid block of training over the xmas period. Having missed the first race in Rotorua due to an exam I was determined to do well after some solid performances in China, and Auckland.

As everyone would know the weather over the New Year was terrible. This spoiled many people’s training and celebrations, however I was glad because this meant that I could take it easy and chill in Taupo with Sarah building up to this race. I braved the wind and rain when people were tucked up inside and I think this was key to doing well in this race because come race day the weather was again terrible. Wind and rain coupled together to make the event a true test of both physical and mental toughness.... but I was ready.

The swim was luckily uneventful for me, I managed to navigate well enough over waves and come out around 6^th place. Having not done too much surf swimming I was pleased that this was sufficient to keep me in touch with the leaders who were about a minute or two ahead.

Onto the bike I attacked from the get go. I wanted to chase down the leaders so rode with aggression, with the knowledge that most would easy up due to the poor conditions. This worked well and I came off the bike in 2^nd place only behind Stephen Sheldrake whom must have had the same idea as me and smoked the bike in under an hour!!

Now the run was going to be a challenge not only because of the weather but the course we covered ran over the beach for half of each lap (of 3). I went out hard again trying to consistently lower the gap between me and the leader. After 2 laps I still had to gain 40 seconds of the initial 1.50 lead. I kept on pushing myself to keep up the pace. I eventually caught my mate Will O’Connor who spurred me on. I could just make out Sheldrake with about one kilometre to go. I put the throttle down again, I was catching him with every stride but I knew it would be so close with less than 200metres he still had about 50m on me. I sprinted with all my effort for that last stretch. It came down to 10metres from the line when for the first time in the race I was leading!!!!

I won by metres, this was the best finish I had ever had and what a day to have it. My first win of the contact series, what a way to start 2012.

Thanks to my girlfriend Sarah Good who braved the weather and supported me all week. Thanks for my primary sponsor for this race Aaron Smylie from Greytown Plumbing. Thanks CrankIt Cycles and Specialized for keeping me riding strong. Thanks R-Line for keeping me hydrated. Thanks Blue Seventy for providing the wettie to keep me afloat and tackling the waves.

Cheers

Hamish

Check out the video on demand for coverage of the event. At about 13.20 you'll see the sprint finish

http://tvnz.co.nz/contact-tri-tv/s2011-ep2-video-4697732

Auckland World Champs Qualifying

This was the first event of the new season for me so I was approaching it as sort of a tester to see where I was at. My preparation for the race had been pretty good besides from a few issues with shin splints, but I was confident that I could have a good race on the day.

The day started well with excellent weather for racing, only a slight breeze in the air meant that the cycle would be a quick one.

The 20-24 age group which included fellow Tribros Will and Kieran started at 7.25am after the first few waves. At the hooter I quickly found the front few swimmers and settled in behind them for the first 700m. When we turned I managed to lose sight of the front group and ended up swimming a tad further than planned, no thanks to the current which managed to push me further off course.

I came out of the water in 4^th place about a minute down on the front few competitors. Now equipt with my new Specialized Transition Pro and Specialized Aero Helmet I knew I could catch them. The ride was challenging with a few hills but this was little to worry about with the speed of the new bike. The only issue on the ride was having to contend with other age group competitors on the course. I had an awesome ride and made up two places to sit in second off the bike only a mere 150m behind the leader.

Now onto the business end of the race the run, my legs felt good and pain free so there was no excuses now. I was gaining ground on the leader with every k and eventually overtook him with about 4k to go. I just had to make sure I held the pace for the last few k’s for the win. In the last k my legs really started to cramp up but I had enough of a gap to take the win. I finished in 2hours flat. A very solid first hit out and good indication of what should be expected in the coming races.

Thanks to my mum and sister for making the trip up to support me. Thanks to Crankit Cycles and Specialized for kitting me out with the new ride. Thanks also to Blue Seventy and R-Line which provided me with the best race products for peak performance.

Bring on the next race in Whangamata!!!

Cheers Hamish  

First Post

I have decided to create my own blogspot to supplement the current teamtribros one that I have with my mate and training partner Will O'Connor.
Having just got back from a very successful Chinese trip which I brought back two gold medals and world titles I am now back to the books. I am also busy trying to secure some new sponsors to help me make further progress as an elite level athlete.
My next race is in Auckland November 19. After two weeks off I will be back into training ready to go for this.

Cheers
Hamish