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Who knew that counting was such an important part of triathlon? With 20 laps for a 1km swim TT, 12 and a half laps for a 5km run TT and 10 laps for a cycle race.

Well I was ecstatic to be back racing. Although I have been doing cross country and track, nothing quite compares to the atmosphere and the challenge that a multisport event brings. For me a duathlon is the ideal event, it combines my two best legs and gets rid of swimming.

Well I don’t really have any reason to be disappointed with my efforts at District Athletics carnival on Thursday and Friday with a PB for all my events. I made the team for the 800m on Thursday, and then raced the 3000m that afternoon and put in all my effort. As a result I ran a new PB and had some very sore legs. However I still had the 1500m to run the next morning.

The event took place over three days with the opening ceremony and course orientation on the Saturday afternoon. I had walked the course a couple of weeks ago, all I had to do on that afternoon was sign in and be at the opening ceremony. The next morning I slept in and spent the first half of the day getting ready before leaving for my race which started at 2pm. Runaway Bay was hosting the event and it certainly blew me away, literally….. The wind was insane and the course was hilly, what more could happen?

The other day I walked into The Athletes Foot Carindale, for a personalized shoe fitting. I have never had my foot or the way I step or run tested, so I thought it was about time. I walked into the shop and after a quick look around, I was being fitted by store manager Lewis.

Redlands cross country, my local race. I didn’t feel like racing and was a bit flat after this morning’s swim session with the Cleveland Squad. I decided to take some of Crowther’s rocks to harden up and race. It was a quiet afternoon and a bit overcast, but a good course. The race was 2 laps of a 2km course with some really sticky and stinky mud. I was leading by the first km of the race and pulled a comfortable lead. I wasn’t going to push so I just enjoyed the run and crossed the line in first place. After the race I caught up with my friend Justin and cheered him on for his race.

Where do I start… well being sick never helps. After a horrible night’s sleep and the longest sleep in I have had this year, I spent the morning resting and trying to convince myself that I was fine and that I would be able to run. We left for the race just after lunch and arrived an hour before I was due to start. The race was a 3x4km relay. I really should not have run but I didn’t want to let my team down. My team was in the under 18 males and consisted of Katrina Robinson and Callum Davies who both had a brilliant race (thank you for making up for me being so slow on the day).

Well what a day. I arrived at the venue around 8:30am and signed in with the Redland’s team manager. My race was not till 10am but I wanted to walk the course as it closed at 9am. I began my warm ups about 40 minutes before the race. The course was a bit wet and some of the ground was mud. I stood on the start line knowing that I should be able to qualify (top six). Once the gun went, at 10am sharp we were off and I was in the lead pack by the first turn. Over the next kilometer the pack grew smaller and soon we were at the base of a 300m long hill.

The race kicked off at 7am. I was hoping to do the 10km, but I had MET East Cross Country on Tuesday and didn’t want to wear out my legs. The Koala Fun Run was hosted by the Bayside Runners and Walkers who did a great job and provided a great course and some solid competition. At the start I was feeling good and was off in first place. Behind me were the 10km and half marathon competitors, who started at the same time. Soon Patrick Arnold set the pace and I slotted in behind as I wanted to save my legs and I knew that I would not win this race.