Matty White

Rain and Pain

Well the rain is here in Adelaide and it is teaming down which makes training not that enjoyable especially when you have a half ironman race in a few weeks! basically there is no where to hide and its just a matter of sucking it up wearing 3 to 4 layers of clothing and getting the job done. In saying this, the last 3-4 weeks have been probably the best training I have done in terms of long consistant mileage. The last few weeks I have been clocking 600-700km on the bike, 100km of running and 20km of swimming, having clocked a few weeks like this I have really noticed the improvements in my wattage output/cadence and weight loss. I have about 2 weeks to Yeppoon Half Ironman and can’t wait to get up there and race as Nick Munting and the crew up there put on a good show, they have a capacity field there this year so the atmosphere should be pumping. My last few Half Ironman races have been really encouraging with PB’s so am haoping to go even quicker this year so stay tuned. After Yeppoon I come back to Adelaide for a week then I jet off to Cairns for a 4 week training camp to prepare for Hawaii, I have heard great things about Cairns and am looking forward to it. I will update again in a few days with some sponsorship announcements.

Matty

MERIDA WARP 9

The Rolls Royce of Disc wheels…. this thing is crazy fast!

The Merida WARP 9 TT Bike

Merida WARP 9 TT.

Back to Racing

I am back and into racing after a big holiday and am loving it. I was keen to get the heart rate elevated into a somewhat uncomfortable zone to see how it coped after copious amounts of pino colada’s and mai tais in Hawaii! The first race I competed in was a Mountain Bike Duathlon which the Tribe Tri Club put on, I have done MTB races a few times before and enjoyed it so I thought that this one would be much the same….. much to my surprise the race was held on a single track in muddy slippery conditions and I was assured this was an EASY course! I started the 5km cross country run with a healthy 1 min lead by about the 3km mark I took a left turn into dense, and I mean dense bushland. I ended up seriously lost and I reckon I saw some kalahari bushman with spears in the area and some wilter beasts. After negotiating my way back to the track by using my knowledge of mapping by the sun I resumed the race bout 1.30 down on first. Onto the bike I managed to lose another 12 minutes and I seriously had my life flash before my eyes approximately 6 times from fishtailing my way through the technical course. the whole time I was thinking I have Hawaii in October be CAREFUL! I managed to finish the race and hold onto second place, I cam accorss the line with one main point – Do not wear a white tri suit to a mountain bike race! Ater recovering mentally from that disaster I decided to race a two man TT with Ryan Johnson who is one of SA’s top triathletes, this also gave me the chance to try out my Merida TT bike and more importantly the Rolls Royce of wheels my lightweight disc. Suffice to say the bike/wheel combo is perhaps the fastest thing I have ever ridden and it was on fire, i actually felt sorry for Ryan as i had to slow down a few times to let him get back on. The race was a great hit out and perfect for my lead up into Yeppoon in 3 weeks as it was a 47km course with a tough wind and rolling hills. As for my next race I can’t wait to get cracking, SCODY have provided me with a great kit this year, the colour combo is awesome so keep an eye out, plus I am itching to launch the new bike again after feeling so good on it. Anyway until next tim, enjoy the winter training and special mention must go out to all the SA and Melb triathletes training for Hawaii in this winter, it takes balls of steel to do those early mornings and late nights!

Matty

The Harsh Reality

Back home on Australian soil is bitter sweet in that its great to be back home amongst family and friends, but on the other hand the harsh reality of training for an Ironman World Championships in October has hit home. Adelaide in the winter can be a beautiful place to ride, it is so green and lush, but it is also cold and wet especially in the hills at this time of year. With all that said there is always bunches to ride with no matter the weather. I have started to finalise my schedule for the upcoming season and it looks like its going to be a huge year with my first race booked in at Yeppoon Half in August, directly after that I will be racing the Adelaide Marathon, and on the day after I am off to the beautiful city of Cairns for 4 weeks of volume training to get ready for Hawaii. I actually have a wedding up there in September so it works out quite well. There is also a Half Ironman in Port Douglas during this time which fits in well with my schedule so everything is locked in place for a good crack at Hawaii with an uninterrupted preperation. My triathlon club the Adelaide Vales had their presentation night last week, where I picked up Their main award which was great, the club has a relaxed family atmosphere where everyone chips in and supports not only each other but the sport in general. As far as sponsorships go, I just received my new roadie which is a MERIDA SCULTURA. It is a full Carbon frame with SRAM force and so far so good, Merida is making a big push into the tri market so look out for a lot of their products in the future, plus the new TT bike just got launched in May so I am waiting on my issue in the next few weeks so I will keep you all posted.

Matty