Australia Trip Finishes with Gold for Main In Mooloolaba
Scottish and University of Stirling Triathlete Cameron Main has just recently returned home from his training and racing block out in Australia. Although it was cut short due to the recent pandemic he still had the chance to get in a good block of training and racing. He has kindly written an article on his time out there for us which you can read below:
Australia Trip
The six weeks I spent in Australia were incredible! I was based in Brisbane and trained with a squad coached by Warwick Dalziel (Waz), there was a great group of athletes to train with including Luke Willian. For the first week the weather wasn’t great as there was a cyclone circulating around Queensland which dropped a lot of rain but it soon cleared up. Once the sun was out in full heat it made training very tough but also easy at the same time, you could always go out for a run in shorts and a t-shirt and not have to worry about getting cold.
I really enjoyed being involved in a different programme with different ideas and sessions. The weekly structure involved six swims, normally consisting of one easy swim, two threshold swims, two speed / high intensity swims and one aerobic swim. We would ride five times a week, there was two long aerobic rides, one hard group / brick session, one criterium race and a short easy spin. The run programme was quite different to what I am used to in Stirling, in Brisbane Waz’s squad would double run four times and week and not run on the other days to allow the bones to recover. Whereas in Stirling we run 6-7 times a week spread across different days, so the structure in Brisbane took me a while to get used to. The run week would consist of four easy 40-60-minute runs with drills, two brick sessions, one strength run with tyres and one hard session.
Outside of training I manage to visit Gold Coast and go to one of the famous outlets there called Harbour Town, I ended up spending too much money. I also got to experience the Australian wildlife when I visited Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. This was one of the best things that I did outside of training and was definitely a good way to spend my rest day. I also hired one of those electric scooters one day and got to see around most of the city in Brisbane, definitely a great way to get around.
During my time in Australia I also got some race experience competing in both Devonport Oceania Cup and Mooloolaba Sprint Draft Legal Triathlon. Devonport was an opportunity for me to visit Tasmania and also brush off the cobwebs after not having raced for 4 months before kicking off the 2020 race season. I had a great swim coming out just behind the front swimmers in 8th place in a very strong swim field. After transition I was just off the back of the group and didn’t have the legs to close the gap into a very strong head wind. I eventually got caught by the chase group but after 10km I got popped coming out of a dead turn after positioning myself very badly. I tried to stay focused but it was hard. I started the run feeling good and my legs somehow recovered as I managed to run the second fastest run split which was a boost after a very tough day out. Mooloolaba Sprint Triathlon was a really cool event that was organised along side the World Cup. I had no idea who was on the start list so my plan was to go as hard as I could from the gun and see what happens. I was first out of the swim with an athlete from Chile just behind me, we then had a 1.5km run along the beach to transition which was brutal. By the time I was on the bike I had no one around me so it was a solo TT for 20km, the course had a few hills but nothing crazy. When I reached the run course, I had a comfortable lead and I was feeling very strong, the support around the course was awesome considering it was only 7am. The run course was 2.5km out and back and it was also hilly but again nothing too bad. After 58 minutes and 20 seconds I grabbed the tape in first place. It was a great feeling and one I haven’t experienced very often; it was great to have the opportunity to race with everything that was going on with COVID-19.
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 I was advised by British Triathlon to fly back to the UK ASAP so instead of my trip being 9 weeks long it ended up being 6. I had planned to race Gold Coast Oceania Cup on the 5th of April which was going to be the official start to my 2020 season. I was sad to be going back home as I had made some friends for life and I was really enjoying the training in Brisbane, but I was looking forward to seeing family and friends when I landed back in Glasgow. Hopefully in the next few years I can find the money and get the opportunity to go back over the Australia and continue my trip that I never got to finish.
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