HI,
I have just returned from a marathon of travel encompassing two 70.3 races and windtunnel testing, as well flying from one side of the USA to the other and to Canada and back. I have many stories to tell after this nightmare of travel……
On July 20th I returned again to the Vineman Ironman 70.3 in the beautiful northern area of California. It was a freezing day and entering the water for the swim start was nice as the water was so much warmer than the air temperature. It’s a great race that weaves it’s way through some beautiful vineyards, and is quite spectacular. Unfortunately, we were on a serious time line,and didn’t get to stay around and enjoy it. So after finishing 2nd in the race to Terenzo Bezzone we had to hit the road and head to San Fransisco to catch up with some friends for the evening and then onto an early Monday morning flight to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Carmichael Training Systems and my coach Nick White organised for me to do some testing in the wind tunnel as part of my Kona preparation. We tested all sorts of small changes to my bike,helmet, position as well as drink bottle placement and a few others, and we have some good ideas to take into Kona. I have posted a few basic photos in my gallery.
Last stop was Cornerbrook Canada where I returned for the Newfoundland Ironman 70.3 to successfully defend my title from last year, winning over fellow Aussies Richie Cunningham in 2nd,Chris Legh in 3rd and Paul Matthews in 5th.
I was so happy to finally get home after 12 days on the road and away from my family.
Now I jump straight into the increased miles and fatigue of Ironman training with Kona only about 10 weeks away.
Train safe,
Craig

TriBuys has to give away 25 Autograph cards signed by Craig Alexander offering 15% Discount on merchandise purchased from the TRIBUYS.com website before October 31st 2008.

A stamped self addressed envelope sent to
3755 Birchwood Drive, Apt 47,
Boulder CO 80304
will get 25 lucky people a voucher.

This week I returned from Kansas after the Kansas Ironman 70.3. On the advice ( ?) of Simon Lessing we decided to make it into a family road trip. We drove for about 7 1/2 hours on one straight line to get there, driving the bulk of the way across Kansas State almost to Kansas City. We drove into the edge of some foul weather but were treated to the most amazing lightening show we have ever seen. The race ended in some similiar weather, but not before most athletes were done.
I had a pretty solid first half of the race. I entered T2 a bit behind the leaders and I faded a little on the run compared to my usual running form, but still managed to place second behind Terrenzo Bezzone of New Zealand. My post race recovery wasn’t exactly graceful after I fainted and needed some IV fluids to recover. I’m pretty sure I got a bit more dehydrated than usual as I was at the tail end of a course of antibiotics for this lingering sinus/chest infection I have had for weeks.
Back to Boulder now for some more punishing training and then off to the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minnesota in a couple of weeks.
Train on,
Craig

I have just returned to Boulder after a trip to San Fransisco to race the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon where I finished 3rd. I had a solid day, but not outstanding. Andy Potts who has his final Olympic Trial in 3 weeks defended his title and NZ athlete Graham O’Grady had a great day taking second. In the end I finished roughly 50 seconds behind Andy and about 10 behind O’Grady. I really enjoyed the weekend. San Fran is a great city and Escape from Alcatraz is certainly a unique triathlon. The chest infection that I had that forced me to withdraw from the Florida Disney 70.3 race, is still lingering in my system a little bit, although I am much better than I was 3 weeks ago.
Next stop hopefully will be Kansas Ironman 70.3 next weekend. Neri Lucy and I are making a road trip of it, and are looking forward to seeing a bit more of the USA on the 6 or 7 hour drive from Colorado.
On the Friday night before the race we have been invited to attend a charity dinner supporting Athletes for a Cure along with Simon Lessing and Sam McGlone. Some of my sponsors including Oakley, Fizik, Profile, GU and Newton have been very generous in donating some product for us to auction on the evening to raise money for this charity.
Stay healthy !!!
Craig

Where has the last month gone since we left Australia ?
We have been on the “road” travelling to several races, and staying in some beautiful locations.
After leaving St Petersburg, Florida following the St Anthony’s triathlon where I placed 4th, we all headed to one of my favourite races and a great holiday destination for Neri and Lucy, the US Virgin Island of St Croix, for the St Croix Ironman 70.3.
This is an awesome tough, hot, hilly and humid race, and of course includes the infamous ” beast” at mile 20 on the bike. The race day included a bit of everything, cloud, rain and then the incredible heat and humidity that follows a Caribbean shower. I am happy to say that I had a really solid race and won my 4th St Croix Ironman 70.3. Previous 4 time winner and legend on St Croix Mike Pigg returned to the Island for this races 20th Anniversary, so I had the honour of meeting this triathlon legend, and I have posted a photo of us at the presentation evening.
Once again we celebrated our daughter Lucy’s birthday ( her 3rd) in St Croix, in fact it was on the race day. We stayed on with our wonderful homestay family for 10 days following the race and leading up to the Disney Ironman 70.3 in Florida. Unfortunately I had to pull out of this race not feeling well while in 4th place, well into the run after suffering from a chest infection leading into the race.
Finally now we have arrived in Boulder where we will settle down and base for the remainder of the summer.
Stay safe and keep on training,
Craig

We have recently flown back to the USA for the summer season, and in conjunction with the start of my racing season I would like to announce some new partnerships.

I have always been a big fan of and have used SHIMANO groupsets and more recently the SHIMANO shoes and pedals, and now it is great to make this relationship official, in a 2 year sponsorship agreement.

One of my biggest concerns in preparation for my first Hawai’ian Ironman was that of nutrition. Jonathon Toker at Saltstick provides a practical dispensor as well as a great product in his Saltstick caps that is working really well for me.

Just recently I was introduced to GU Energy gels by long time advocate of GU Michellie Jones at the Oceanside 70.3 Ironman. I have joined forces with the team at GU after training on the GU Energy gels for the past few weeks and I had a chance to meet some more of their team at the expo at the St Anthony’s triathlon in Florida as well as handing out few free GU gel samples at their booth.

I’m looking forward to racing tomorrow amongst what looks like a really strong field of athletes. Off to lunch and the race briefing now.
Have a safe race tomorrow everyone,
Craig

“I am very happy to be racing back here at Port Macquarie again, especially as Craig Alexander is behind the fence” is what Patrick Vernay had to say at the Pre race press conference in his beautiful heavily french accented English.

Patrick went on to win the race for the second consecutive year, followed over the line by Aussie Mitch Anderson with Mathias Hecht in third. Aussie Luke Mackenzie an old training partner of Craigs lead the race until well into the run, but faded a little in the later stages of the race, still managing to qualify for Hawaii in October with his 5th place.
The womens race was a strong one, with 2007 Hawaii IM Champion Chrisse Wellington winning over Aussie Kate Major.

Craig and I decided to head up to Port Macquarie to watch the IM this year, and at the last minute Craig got on board with the race day commentry team of Pete Murray and Mike Riley and saw the race from a totally new perspective- behind the fence-, or rather up in the box seat !!!

One particular athlete that we enjoyed meeting and then cheering over the line on saturday evening was 110 kg and ex Australian rugby Union player Ben Darwin. A distinct highlight of the Friday night Carbo dinner was hearing Ben Darwins story of getting to the start line at Port Macquarie IM after breaking his neck in a scrum at the 2003 World Cup Rugby Union semi final against the New Zealand All Blacks. He dwarfed his bike and the other competitors, but was an inspiration to see someone that had set his goals run down the finish line to achieve them.

Standing at the finish line till late Saturday, brings tears to my eyes every time, as you watch so many athletes finish what has been a huge journey for them as well as there immediate family and support network. It really is an amazing atmosphere and enough to inspire even me to want to do an Ironman one day.

Craig was invited to be the Ambassador for the KIDS Foundation at the IM this year. An amazing charity set up by a lady called Susie O’Neil that provides injury prevention education as well as support for children (and their families) that have been involved in life changing accidents. Many athletes raced in the KIDS foundation colour yellow on race day, including Susie and 5 members of her family to increase awareness and to fundraise for a cause we all hope we will never need !! See the KIDS foundation website www.kidsfoundation.org.au to see how you can help or be involved at the race next year !!!
Incidently the last athlete across the line on race day was an athlete who raised an amazing $20,000 for the cause. I guess thats what racing for someone other than yourself will do, give you that extra motivation to get to the finish !

We had a great time up at the Port Macquarie Ironman and enjoyed the no stress situation of not having Craig racing. See you up there next year.

Now back to the craziness of packing for 6 months in the USA, leaving tomorrow !!!!
Cheers,
Neri

I have just returned home from a flying trip to the USA. I was there for 6 days to compete in the Oceanside Ironman 70.3 California.
It was a race that I decided to schedule in at the last minute because I felt that training was going really well, and I didn’t want to wait another month to race in St Anthony’s. It is the first race of the US season and always attracts a good field. I arrived 5 days before the race and stayed with Michillie Jones in Carlsbad for the week.
We were greeted on race morning by relatively cold conditions. The water temp was a brisk 60 degrees F, and it was shaping up to be one of the coldest races I had competed in for several years. Just to try and keep my self a bit warmer, I wore 2 silicone swim caps under the race swim cap.That seemed to work well, as I came out of the swim comfortably in the lead group, but just over 2 minutes down on super swimmer Andy Potts.
When you travel such a long way to race it’s always a bit of a mystery how your legs are going to respond, but I felt really strong from the start. I settled into a fast tempo early on the bike ride, I had my arm warmers wrapped around my tri bars,in case it got really cold, as Michillie said she had worn hers in previous years.It was turning into quite a nice day, so in the end I didn’t need them.
It was a really great bike course. It was flat to begin with then moved into some slightly undulating hills, with some serious climbs on the back half of the course through the marine base.
The pace was fairly solid on the bike. By the end of the ride Andy had stayed strong out in front, but his lead had been cut in half to just over a minute. The lead group that started as 15 athletes out of the swim, had been whittled down to just 4 by the end of the ride. I came into T2 with great cyclists Bjorn Anderson and Dave Thompson as well as the up and coming young Aussie Paul Ambrose.
It was a double out and back run course right along the beach front. The wind had really started to pick up on the second half of the bike course and was now fairly strong. Being my first race of the season it took me a while to find my running legs off the bike, and I settled into 2nd spot with the lead to Andy hovering between a minute and a minute twenty.
At the last turn around with about 5 kms to run I was still 1:20 down, as we turned for home with a big tail wind, this is where I had planned to really try to eat into Andys lead. I was able to bridge the gap and I got onto his shoulder with 1 1/2 kms left to run. This is where the race really started. It must have been exciting for the crowd, as Andy and I surged on each other, because it was one of the most exciting races that I have been a part of at the finish.
I threw everything I had at Andy, but to his credit he was able to respond each time, and was able to out sprint me at the death by a couple of seconds. Paul Ambrose from Australia rounded out the podium to finish 5 minutes further back in 3 spot.
All in all, it was a great race. I am happy I made the trip, as it was a great hit out for the first race of the season. I was able to spend time with some of my sponsors, including Mike and Mary from American Interbanc Mortgages, Newton, Tribuys and Fuel Belt. Greg from Zipp also stayed at Michilles for the weekend, so it was great to finally meet him.
Next up, Neri Lucy and I are heading up to Port Macquarie to watch the Australian Ironman this weekend. After this I’ll settle in for a few more weeks of training before we all head back to the USA at the end of April.
Train safe,
Craig

Hi,
It’s a month into the New Year and I am a month back into full training.I am training really hard, and laying some good base work for the up coming season.I am currently training with a British guy James Hadley, and we are just training around my home area of the Sutherland Shire.
We are mixing up the training by joining up with some local runners, as well as some tough early morning cycle pack rides into the city with some noted local cyclists.
The training is going really well, my fitness is returning after some time off and I am looking forward to my first race at the Aussie Long Course Championships in 3 weeks. I have started my season with this race in Huskison for the last couple of years, and it is great to be able to race so close to home, particularly in a major Australian Championship. Coincidently, Neri and I spent part of our honeymoon in the beautiful Jervis Bay area 9 years ago this week !!

2008 has also seen me team up with a few new sponsors, to add to my current list of sponsors.
I have added American Interbanc, and Newton Running and Oakley
American Interbanc is a mortage broking firm based in California, and I join Michillie Jones, Simon Lessing and Chris Legh their other sponsored athletes.
Newton Running is an inovative Boulder based company, that make awesome running shoes. It’s a real pleasure to be a part of their team.
And of course Oakley need no introduction.

I have been invited along with Melissa Ashton to be a guest at the NSW Junior triathlon next weekend. Neri, Lucy and I went along last year and it was a lot of fun.

After Huskison it will be back into the training in preparation for the USA racing season starting in April.

Train hard,
Craig

Just prior to commencing training again, Neri and I had a day at the Randwick races where we met a very interesting endurance athlete called Pete Wilson. He calls himself a “man on a mission to help sick kids” and he puts his money where his mouth is and raises money for the Sydney Childrens Hospital at Randwick by participating in incredible human endurance events.

His latest challenge is called the"Trifecta of Hope 2008″ where in 7 weeks he is aiming to complete 3 races:
*The Six foot Track ( a 45km track in the Blue Mountains, Australia)
*Racing the Planet’s Atacama Crossing ( a 250km foot race through the driest desert on earth, the Atacama Desert in Chile)
*The North Face 100km Race along the ridges of the Blue Mountains NSW Australia.
At Petes Invitation I joined him and a host of other athletes at the Melonhead Juice Bar in Coogee on the weekend to assist in his fund raising efforts and to increase awareness of the need to raise funds for the Children’s Hospital.
Petes a really nice guy and we wish him all the best in his fund raising and awareness efforts.
Check out Petes site at www.everydayhero.com.au/Peter_Wilson and follow his progress from March 8, 2008

I am back into training now after a good 4 or 5 week break. Nothing too strenuous at this stage, I’m just easing back into it. It was great to have the time off both mentally and physically, and to spend a whole lot more time with my family and friends. I also had a good chance to reflect on the season, and I am very happy with how it played out, winning 7 of 12 races, and of course 2nd on debut in Kona.
We’re really looking forward to next year, and at this stage, it looks like I’ll have a pretty similiar schedule to this year. My first race will be the Aussie Long Course Champs in Huskison. I’ll race a whole host of 70.3 races including St Croix, and I’ll also race the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minnesota. An olympic distance race with one of the largest prize purses in the sport.
I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from my family to yours,
Until next time, Train safe.
Craig

Hi,
I’m back home in Australia and having some time off after my long season of racing. I was really pleased with my overall season, but after almost seven months away it’s great to be home in Sydney. We have been traveling around catching up with family and friends up the east coast of Australia. I’ve been having a round of golf or two, a few massages and spending some time with our daughter.
I was disappointed not to be able to defend my title at the 70.3 Ironman World Championships in Clearwater Florida, but I was beaten by some great guys on the day, by a little over a minute, to finish in 4th place.
I plan to get back into some training before Christmas, and will look toward planning my 2008 racing season soon.
Craig

The Ironman World Championships are over for another year and what an experience it was to race at Kona for the first time !!!! It was everything I dreamed it would be like and then so much more. To be honest, the hype, the intensity, and excitement in the lead up to the race was just awesome.
I had put together a great last few months of preparation, for the race and had been on a roll in racing, with a season record of 7 wins and 3 thirds from 10 starts. So I was reasonably confident. But this is KONA and anything can happen.
I had grown up watching the race on tv and idolising the likes of Scott, Allen, Welch, Newby-Fraser, etc etc as they became icons of our sport. I had also seen too many train wrecks to remember and great athletes humbled, so I went into the race with necessary level of fear.
Race day dawned clear and pretty calm and the atmosphere at the pier was unbelievable. As we entered the water I felt strangely calm and ready, but incredibly pumped up at the same time.
The field was stacked. Stadler, Al-Sultan, Brown, De Boom, McCormack, Van Lierde, Beke, Sindballe, Lovato, Bell, Lieto all potential winners and the list goes on.
The race itself was a huge buzz. I had one of those days that you have every now and then where you just feel comfortable and in control. I got a fantastic start and swam near the front of the lead group the entire way, coming out in the top 10 athletes. The atmosphere on and around the pier was huge as we headed out onto the famed Queen K for one of the toughest tests in our sport. The lead bunch was quite large and contained a lot of the main players including, De Boom, Van Lierde, Macca, Liet, Luke Bell, and Enke Llanos. I was pretty rapt to see my mate and old training partner Luke Mckenzie looking a million dollars as he traded the lead.
There was some surprising absentees from the lead group, including some main contenders Brownie, and Rutger Beke. These two guys are perennial top 3 finishers in Kona.
Chris Lieto didn’t waste any time getting off the front and pushing the pace hard. At 25 or 30 miles we were inevitably joined by Norman, who is an absolute freak on the bike. It was evident though that he was struggling a little and continually threw up. His retirement from the race along with Faris not starting because of stomach ailments certainly changed the shape of the entire race. These two have the last 3 titles here so that certainly left the door wide open.
The lead group started to dwindle with guys dropping from about 35 miles. At Kawaihai, we were joined by cycling powerhouse Torbourjn Sinballe and Marino Vanhoenacker. Lieto steadily increased his lead as we climbed to Hawi and at the turn around, Torbjorn and Marino also made a break. The lead group had now whittled down to 7 and we stayed together for the rest of the ride. I was really proud of the fact that there were 4 Aussies in the group and really mixing it up.
By the time we hit T2, Lieto and Sindballe had put together great rides to have an almost 10 minute lead on our group. I was having a great day and feeling strong and totally in control. We did have a marathon to run though and at this point I felt the race was wide open and there to be won !!
Macca was through T2 super quick and first out with a 30 second gap. I followed him out, with Tim close behind. The crowd was enormous and I had goose bumps as I ran out. I had dreamt about this marathon for a long time, but I actually felt better in real life than in my dreams. I settled in along Alii drive, and ran about 50 -100 m behind Macca for the first 10 or 11 miles. We were flying. Ticking off one sub 6 minute miles after another. We went through the first 3 miles in just over 16 mins, and 10 miles in 58 mins, running the half in about 1 hour 17 mins. I was waiting for Macca to show any sign of weakness and then pounce, but to be honest he never did. He looked strong and composed all day. I know anything can happen in Kona, so I was determined to push on and try and put some pressure on if I could.
I had a few doubts at this point. I had never raced in the lava fields before, so I was giving up a lot of experience to most of the guys.
The crowd and my watch were telling me we were on record pace for the run. The miles just kept ticking over with Macca assuming the lead for the first time as we approached the Natural Energy Lab. He looked awesome. He was leading over Lieto by 15 secs and I was a further 45 secs back.
I really started to feel the pinch for the first time coming out of the Energy Lab, and Chris now had a 2 minute lead by the time we hit the Queen K. I saw Dave Scott and he gave me some great words of encouragement.
I had 3 miserable miles heading back towards town, where I felt the whole world was going to pass me by, but my watch kept showing we were still on 4min/km pace.
The encouragement I received from other athletes deep in their own race, and the commraderie I felt out there on the Queen K is something I have never experienced in a race and I will never forget.
It was surreal as I got to the top of Palani. The crowds were massive and I tried to lift one last time. Greats of the past have had to crawl along Alii drive and you just never know what is going to happen.
The last km started out as the most painful I can remember, but as I saw more familiar faces it kept getting easier. It was awesome to have so many Aussies in the crowd and in the race. I was handed an Aussie flag as I ran down Alii drive and my ears were ringing from the cheering. It was the most special half mile in Triathlon !!!
Neri greeted me as I crossed the finish line and she was very emotional. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work and dreaming by both of us, and like all athletes I wouldn’t have made it to the start line ( or the finish line) without my family’s support.
It was really special to have them here, as well as so many friends.
I was ecstatic with my race, but Macca was the better man on the day.
It was an honour to share the stage with a bunch of 10 incredible athletes .
I need to stay thanks to to Chris Carmichael and Nick White of CTS, Dave Scott, Greg Welch, Pete Coulson and Michellie as well as all my sponsors, for their advice and ongoing support.
A special mention goes to Lisa Bentley for our great training build up out at the beautiful Waikoloa Hilton and also to Lisa’s guru therapist Mark for his amazing treatment in the last week before the race.
To my family, Thanks, and I love you.
Craig
Ps I hope everyones experience at Kona was as memorable as mine.
www.ironmanlive.com for results and photos

It’s the eve of the big race !! All the hard work has been done now, and it’s time to settle in and try and enjoy race week.
It certainly is a great atmosphere around town, and the place has been buzzing now for well over a week. We moved in to Kona yesterday after spending the past 3 weeks staying out of town at the Waikaloa Hilton. During this time, I have been training with Lisa Bentley and trying to acclimatise to the conditions that are likely to be thrown up on race day.
The race itself should be awesome. There are several past champions racing, as well as a host of top contenders. Obviously it is my first time racing here, but I feel I have prepared really well, and am in the best shape I have been all season.

Good Luck to all those racing,
and for those following on line, I’m wearing race # 17 So keep an eye out for me.

The Hawaii countdown is really on now….
My last race before Hawaii was the Singapore 70.3 Ironman last weekend, in which I unfortunatly got a flat tyre that I was unable to change. It was a long way to travel for this to happen. I was in the lead group and feeling good until I flatted so I was pretty disappointed to have to pull out of the race.
I am now wrapping up my training here in Boulder and Colorado Springs as the weather gets cooler, and heading out to Kona in one weeks time with Neri and Lucy for my final race preparation for the Ironman.
See you in Kona soon.
Craig

Craig Alexander Joins Team Newton

September 6, 2007 (Boulder, Colo.) - Ironman 70.3 world champion Craig Alexander is the latest professional triathlete to join the already impressive stable of Newton Running athletes. Team Newton also includes Paula Newby-Fraser, Michellie Jones, Natascha Badmann, Peter Reid, Heather Fuhr, Katja Schumacher, Michael Simpson, Chris Legh and Joanna Zeiger.

“Newton Running represents the latest in running shoe technology and I’ve already seen some great results while wearing them. I’m running stronger, faster and with less fatigue,” states Alexander. “I’m also proud to join a new, independent company that demonstrates a strong commitment to improving and growing the sport of triathlon.”

Alexander, who spends half the year in his native Australia and the other half in Boulder, has been a professional triathlete for more than ten years. He has compiled a remarkable list of wins around the world in Olympic distance triathlons and half Ironman races. He placed first in the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship last year and Triathlete Magazine named him the 2006 “Triathlete of the Year".

Alexander is currently focused on his inaugural entry into the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in October, a race distance that he has been transitioning into this year. www.newtonrunning.com

August 29, 2007
CONTACT: Kevin Dessart, 719-635-0645 x124
kdessart@trainright.com

Craig Alexander Joins Carmichael Training Systems -
70.3 World Champ Sets His Sites on Kona

Colorado Springs, CO - World Champion Triathlete Craig Alexander joined the team of world class athletes who have chosen to work with Carmichael Training Systems in an effort to reach the pinnacle of their sport. Alexander will be making his first appearance at the Ironman World Championships this October 13 in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. While this will be his first appearance at the Ironman World Championships, Alexander has already received World Champion status by defeating the field at the first-ever Ironman 70.3 World Championships held last November in Clearwater, FL; the race where he earned his entry into this year’s Ironman.

Working with Carmichael Training Systems, Craig will be under the watchful eyes and guidance of Chris Carmichael, best know for providing the expert direction and knowledge which helped Lance Armstrong win seven Tour Championships, as well as assisting Peter Reid to an Ironman World Championship in 2000. Working with Carmichael will be CTS Pro Coach Nick White, who has helped countless triathletes achieve their competitive goals.

“Craig is the type of athlete who obviously has a tremendous amount of natural talent, which is evident by his results thus far in his career,” stated Carmichael. “Just like we did with Lance, we want to take that natural talent and help him build on it to become the best in the world.”

Alexander, an Australian native, has had tremendous success at all distances and broke in to the Ironman distance this past April with an impressive 3rd place finish at Ironman Australia in a time of 8:38:49. Of his ten races in 2007, he has seen victory in seven, including a course record in the Vineman Ironman 70.3 (3:50:49).

“I’ve been fortunate to have seen a good deal of success thus far in my career and am always extremely confident that I will contend for the win in every race I enter,” shared Alexander. “Ironman, and especially Kona, is pretty much new territory for me so it’s very reassuring to know that I have Chris, Nick and the whole CTS Team in my corner.”

Alexander began his initial phase of working with CTS approximately one month ago when he visited the CTS office in Colorado Springs and underwent a series of tests including Resting Metabolic Rate, Lactate Threshold, Vo2 Max, and the new CTS 3D bike fit using the technology of the new Retul bike fit system. In addition to the Ironman World Championships, this season Craig will also be racing Ironman 70.3 Singapore (September 2) and the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, FL (November 10).

Founded in 2000 by Olympian, US Olympic Committee Coach of the Year, and bestselling author, Chris Carmichael, Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) inspires and empowers the athlete in every body to perform at their best. For more on
Carmichael Training Systems and its approach to fitness, nutrition, and health, go to www.trainright.com.

A lot has happened throughout the last 12 months. The biggest being my move into Ironman after qualifying through my win at the 70.3 Ironman World Championships in Clearwater last November.
I had always hoped my first Ironman would be in my home country of Australia, so I raced the Australian Ironman in Port Macquarie in April prior to commencing my USA racing season and I finished third.
After racing a full short course and 70.3 season in the USA, I am now in full preparation for the Hawaii Ironman in 8 weeks time. The count down is on………
To assist in my preparation, I have joined forces with the coaches at CTS (Carmichael Training System), and are really pleased with their input into my training programme.
Stay tuned as I count down the next 8 weeks until Hawaii