Interview with "First Time Ironman "

GUY CRAWFORD WITH FIRST TIME IRONMAN




1) What brought you to the sport of triathlon?
Actually my friends at school and I entered a team triathlon and I barely made it through the swim section or 500m and got owned by every-one and it hit a competitive nerve in me... Since then I have been doing tri's for fun and competitively.

2) What thoughts and influences contribute to making the decision to go Pro? Was this a difficult decision to make?
Funny you ask I just ran a seminar on this the other week.
•Choosing the right time
•Getting a results database
•Age group/ pro racing are very different
•Be smart, keep working, Patience. you can still work and race, you don't have to drop everything
•Start planning now.
•The plan to go bankrupt slowly isn’t a good one. ie: saving up to turning pro isn't going to pay the bills
•Other things to consider: Sponsors, cash flow, travel

3) On average, what does your training week involve?
Depending on the time of year, but at the moment 20k of swimming 450k riding and 60-70k of running.
I built back into this over a 3 week period.

4) What is your favorite training session for each discipline?
Swimming: Would be 30x100's on a short rest cycle.. I love sets based on 100's.. However i don't just do 100's...

Cycling: Depending on what the weathers doing. (yep i'm soft and don't like wet days)... Long ride in the hills.... But my favourite session is my river loop about 75km with about as many coffee shop stops.... Love the coffee...

Running: Trials and loops.... (I don’t like out and backs)



5) If we were to look in your fridge, what would we find?
Pasta from last night, yogurt, chocolate if it's hot and melting on the bench, Milk (low fat cause I watch my figure.. lol), beet-root, cheese, a meat of some sort for tonight’s dinner...and then there's all Kate's vege's and fruit and stuff.. Oh and you'll find sauces... I love sauces...we have like 10 half empty containers...(my bad).

6) Is there anything that you would prefer to eat the night before a race?
I always eat the same thing (unless I'm racing in Asia) Pasta, Chicken, Sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts and Pesto.. throw it together and serve warm.. Job Done.

7) Do you have any tips for recovery?
Recovery pumps, getting in cold water after hard or long runs, Stretch, TP massage kits, and compression...
In the past I use to pass on recovery.... However in the long run your body will hate you.
Now I will do at least two things a day to keep my body running and in good condition.

8) What would be your best advice for someone starting out in the sport?
a) When the gun goes.... GO TO MAX.....haha
b) have fun....stay up-right on your bike and enjoy the triathlon bug.....
c) Enjoy the social side of the sport ..


9) What advice would you give an Age Grouper who is looking for sponsorship?
What can you do for this potential sponsor? There is likely some-one faster than you... find a difference. Stand out.

10) Do you have any tips on ways to stay injury free?
Recovery.. All the things I do in recovery directly relate to keeping me injury free.
Easy days are key.. you can't smash yourself every day. Train smart.

11) What is the most important piece of equipment to you and your success?
Kate... (not sure she'd like me calling her equipment) She keep my craziness under control...

12) And what don’t we know about you?
I love Honey Badgers... they are badass..
Theres more...but i think you all should check me and my blog out at www.guycrawford.us
then follow me on twitter @blue70guy and you'll soon love me like another child.. ..Maybe

Busselton IM

Hey all

Well that was a tough tough tough and tough day at the office.. easily the hardest day i have had...
I wasn't in great shape leadinginto the race.. infact i had been struggling a fair bit since the Soma Half...

not that i am making excuses.. BUT i am making excuses.. love me for me

that said However IM is a long day and you never know whats going to happen.

Morning conditions looked pretty good. However the wind did start picking up and created a bit of chop on the water and bit of wind on the bike.



We were lucky enough to get introduced into the water with a song of our choosing...
I love music and have about 8 billion favorites.. so i chose a song i had recently listened to ..Billy Idol and "dancing with myself" a real crowd pleaser..

Anyway a quick kiss with Kate , then Boom the gun went off... i swam really comfortably and came out in 4th position, swimming with a good friend Dion Harrison
Good news for blueseventy , we had the first 4 men out of the water. Clayton fettel, Luke Mckenzie, Dion Harrison and then myself.




Onto the bike and the pace was steady/hard but not crazy... which i was quite happy about...
We keep it honest and with the new 12 metre rule if you didnt have the legs you would soon pop off the back..

I rode with the lead group until the 150k mark and then blew up... Not having enough miles in the legs really shows when you are riding with some of the best men in the world...I
came off the bike 2 mins down with Mitch Anderson..




now it was time to get on the run and let the suffering begin..
As soon as i started to run i knew there was going to be alot of pain.. however i hoped to have a few up and down patches ...
But there was only one patch and that patch was long and bad....

i still managed a few smiles




however as things progress and i feasted on a banquet of pain... the happy smile turned into tears...

I do like these photo's they resemble exactly the way i felt..... "wear my heart on my sleeve "

look at my pace.. FAST




All and all it was a rough day , but a good day to struggle through... If 9:10 is what i do at my worst.....I am very excited to see what i can do at my best.
Next up is IM NZ....

From here i will have a little break , then focus on some hard training and a few hit out races in Perth before heading home for Ironman New Zealand..

I'm excited to be part of such an awesome sport and stoked to know i can improve loads form here.

But for now it's time to have a beer and put up the christmas tree...

Thanks every-one. Happy training or off season..


Guy

Back In Perth

Im Back

I think Australia is thinking of having a public holiday to celebrate my return.... "Guy day"...

well.. i flew from the USA to the UK to catch up with the blueseventy team and do a little work.
Was a fun week catching up with old friends and enjoying my time off from training....
I didnt swim bike or run once in two weeks... i'm not going to lie.... i enjoyed it....
that said however the come back ..... IS PAIN

I arrived back into Aussie on the 7th of November and go to back into training for IM WA a few days later... leaving me 4 weeks to get fit for an IM..... now thats not ideal... if you know IM you'll know most people take alot longer to prep themselves for an IM...
However my body needed the time off so there was no option.
I am now back into full training and i think today was turn around from " unfit and slightly over weight " to getting fit and healthy again..... lucky i have to more weeks till race day... there is still hope...keep your fingers crossed for me

I promise to send some pics in my next update in a week....
I left my phone in the USA so i have no mobile pic's and i haven't had a camera since i lost my own and i wasnt traveling with Kate....( yes im a nightmare )

chat soon team awesome

Guy

Kona

yep, Im back in Kona

Will be doing a bit of work for blueseventy , be a training hack for some and try and get myself in decent shape at the same time.

Been doing a few training sessions with Luke McKenzie and Crowie, Both great guys and i hope they have ripper days come next Saturday.

below are a few pic's .

I had to take a pic from Lava Java.. every-ones favorite cafe.

The rest are form a swim session with Luke, Craig, Kate, Belinda, Brett and Linsey.


g






Below are a few pics. from the swim start.
A ride i did with the girls and yes there is no shame in sitting on , when you are riding with some of the best in the bussines.
Belinda Granger, Linsey Corbin, Kate Bevilaqua and Hillary Biscay.






needless to say i am loving my time here on the Isalnd and want time to slow , so i can enjoy it more.

Will have to make a training trip to Kona in 2012 i think...

Guy

Races and Ka-Boom

It's been too long again and a lot has happened.

First up I did a bike race up Bogus Basin hill . It was a 16 mile race , but all of it is up hill. Very very very very very ...... And very painful.
I was the only person ( except Kate ) riding a tt.
Being a bit of a novice these days I started to far back and was deep in the hu locker drilling it for the first 5 miles to ctahcing the lead group of men. I thought if I could sit with them it'd be a great way to get a tow to the top.
Unfortunately I went way to hard and soon after catching them I blew and had to ride my tempo for the second half of the climb.
Finished in 17th and vowed to get a road bike for next year. But we'll see if that happens . A lot of fun if you like tasting lung butter for an hour.


Next up was Casade Triathlon , which is amazing, a truly beautiful place with a great group of people that run a Casual yet well organized event.



I went 1:51 and change which gave me the win...my good mate Rick took in a close second keeping me honest all the way to the end.... Thanks Rick.. I think...he'll be kicking my ass before to long , so I'll take the wins while I can.




Then it was time to head off to Vegas and do a little work for blueseventy before racing 70.3 worlds .
This was going to be interesting as I haven't worked an expo and attempted to race..
To cut what is a long story , short. I didn't have a great day.
I swum with the lead group and came out with all the contenders , but soon came unraveled on the bike. Just didn't have my hard man legs... Instead I packed my " I just learnt to ride a bike legs "
I did manage to finish the race. But in a less than I deal place and time.

So then I thought . I'll go race another 70.3 a week later in Branson, MO.
This was going to be a big ask, i have never done the double before and wasn't sure how my body would take it. Especially being these two 70.3 races are amongst the toughest in the world.
Arriving into Branson it was raining and a bit cold and things continued that way until race morning , when it finially stoped raining, however heavy clouds still loomed overhead. ( soon to unleash a down pour that would see the later waves getting pulled from the bike course.. )
The good news was the race could start and there was going to be a swim.
I had a good swim , leading the pro men out with Ben Hoffman right behind. Onto the bike and I went to ride as I usually do and Oh No.. My legs were smashed. I did my best to hold onto Matt Lieto and Ben Hoffman , but the pace was too much for me and once again I had to find my own sustainable pace. Onto the run and settled into a pace that was hard enough for me to want to vomit but without vomiting.
As the run went on I gradually slowed , but by that point the damage was done and I had to settle for 5th. Big congrats to the boys Ben, Matt and Ian.. Great races guys.

Now it's back to Boise to chill for a few days and figure out what's up with my legs....

Thanks for all the support team... i look forward to seeing most of you in Kona ..
Guy

work vegas and mayhem

Well its been a busy month.

I started doing a bit of work for blueseventy again , which meant heading to IM lake Placid and Salt lake city soon after wards for dealer camp.

Then it was the big BDAY for Kate , so like most normal people we headed to vegas for 48 hours.... be careful not to go over your 48 hour time limit or life will end up like the hang-over movie and you'll have a tiger in your bed ......

during our short time in Vegas we took Kates brother and sister in law to the Elvis Chapel to renew there vowels. Went out for a nice dinner... then went out till 3am doing stuff....



Of course we were in a limo....




The following night was more entertainment ... we watched an AMAZING Show from Cirque Du Soleil " KA " if you have a chance go and see this show ..... these guys and girls are out of this world...ie: real badass. .. sorry no pictures.. camera's arent allowed.

those of you that have been to vegas or are going... pack a spare liver and other necessary organs...."now thats good advice"

Pic of us at Paris .. great restaurant out the front and it's located straight across from the water show at the Bellagio



Kate looking very cute on her birthday night..... i was Mr man slave



needless to say.. Vegas was awesome... awesome for 48 hours only.... remember my well thought out advice!!!

I did a 12k running race two weekends ago and my legs were sore for days.... they hurt more than after a 70.3 ..... OUCH!!
The race was all trials with some massive descents... quads = tender to the touch!!

Last weekend we raced the Idaho Olympic distance champs... Was a good day at the office and a real confidence booster .
My fitness has taken more than a few knocks over the last month, but after putting in some hard work , i felt great come race day and managed to come away with the win. So now i get the awesome title of Idaho State Olympic champion...





Kate came away with second after winning it for the last two years... Shame she got a wasp sting a few days before and had a bad allergic reaction... Most people wouldn't have started.. she looked like her arm was a puffer fish!! well done babe!!


G

70.3 Korea

70.3 KOREA

Wow what a trip….. Boise, Seattle, LA, Tokyo, Seoul, Jeju Island for IM and 70.3 Korea and then back again… !!
Needless to say it was a long trip , But a trip that paid off in the “ not so long run “

Jeju Island has this crazy morning, afternoon ( anytime really ) fog that comes and goes….it’s a very beautiful island, but the weather is unpredictable at best.. In the short time we were there is was hotter than the centre of the sun and then cold and raining….

Race morning was as good as it could get, a little fog and mild conditions for the Island , yet still hot and humid by most standards including mine.

With the Ironman race on the same day , I was up a little earlier than I usually would be , But I wanted to see Kate off for the day and so I caught the shuttle to the swim start about 3 hours before my start.
long story short, Kate had a great swim and was off to a stealer start to the day by the time the 70.3 started at 9am.

Once the gun went off it was super fish Kieran Doe who took straight to the lead with me behind and Cam Brown behind me…. The gaps from the water were small and we all soon came together on the bike at around the 20k mark… From there the 3 of us rode together over the challenging course .. leaving it to a run “ show-down” now most people know going into the run against Cam Brown is a bad choice , but today there wasn’t really any options..

So onto the run it was , with Cam, Kieran and myself all together… It wasn’t long before Cam was putting the pressure on , lucky for me it was Kieran who fell off the pace first…I was soon to follow but I felt good and settled into my own rhythm. By the turn I started to feel the heat ( 9am starts , mean you run in the heat of the day ) by 15k I was deep in the hurt box and it mostly due to the heat and lack of salt.. “ note to self … take salt next time” The run course in Korea is brutal , It consists of hills , hills and more hills and NO shade….it’s relentless .

At the end of the day I held onto 2nd place and as you can tell by the picture below .. I was pretty stoked/happy/wrapped/ over the moon.. however you want to describe excited……
To top off my great day , My lovely lady Kate , won the woman’s Ironman… So all in all we think Korea was a “ great success “




1st Cameron BROWN 4:03:58 

2nd Guy CRAWFORD 4:15:03 

3rd Kieran DOE 4:15:56 

4th Fredrik CRONEBORG 4:17:00 

5th Jarrod OWEN 4:26:27

Now it’s time for a little R& R in Boise before starting it all again.
I’m very excited for the second half of the year.

Thanks to my sponsors and supporters…your all legends and play a huge part in my transition from working man to Pro Triathlete..

K-Swiss , blueseventy, ceepo , Rolf Prima, Xu1 Sports , nuun

Boise 70.3

can anyone say cold water?

OMG ..

Ok i'm getting ahead of myself again.

So Kate and i are living in Boise... getting back into routine after having traveled the world and after " being tourist for a week or two in the USA.... while it's been LOADS of fun... it's really not the best pre race medicine...
I hear if you swim, bike and run before a race... you go better than when you go site seeing.... " but maybe thats all rumours....

The pre race week there were a few disruptions.... nothing that couldn't be sorted out.... just things like " see pic below"




Ok so onto the race and back to where i started.. COLD water!!! 53 degrees F and 11.6 degrees C....
Usually i swim ok, but not this day.. i was cold ... about 300 meters into the swim .. i thought.... " damn it's so cold i can't even close my mouth" All and all the swim was ok.. i came out in the lead pack with only two guys in front....

Out onto the bike and it was all go with Ben Hoffman taking to the front and hitting it hard.. I held on for about 10 miles but then my legs just couldnt keep up with the pace and i had to settle into my own rythum .... Both Paul Ambrose and i stayed in touch to the few other up the road all the way to T2.

heading out onto the run, i was feeling it , but thought if i had a great run i could get 5th and then get paid.. my run has been going good and while i felt good on the run it wasn't where it needed to be and i i ended up 8th with a time of 4:02:34...
All and all an ok day... However I've come to want more from myself .. but these things take time...
I'm happy to be in the USA and have my first race done...

thanks for all the messages and support...
Sorry i dont have any race pictures yet.. they will come..


here are a few pic's


This is Brian Roddy,( ROLF PRIMA ) Kate and i at the coolest store in town " TRITOWN" .. If your bike needs some love .. go see Antonio he is the man.. your bike will love you ,and you'll love your bike again.




Here are some pic's of Kate and i doing a long-ish run at 6800 Feet...
we rode up a 25k climb then hit a run... it was so cold that there was still some snow out on the roads...
Very Beautiful and very cool....






Big thanks to K-Swiss, Ceepo, Rolf Prima, blueseventy, nuun

G

Triathlon Tribe Interview

News
Intertview with Guy Crawford : By Michelle Downs
May 21, 2011, 6:18pm



Guy Crawford made everyone sit up and take notice at Busselton 70.3 a few weeks ago. With a smoking fast swim and bike split, he hit the final run leg with a lead of three and a half minutes and toughed it out to the finish line in 6th place in a stacked filed.


Below Guy has a chat to Triathlon Tribe about his race at Busso, his favourite swim sets and how things have changed since he made the move to full-time pro athlete......


Triathlon Tribe: First of all, congrats on your fantastic result at Busselton 70.3 last weekend! You led the race out of the swim, off the bike and into the run before hanging on to finish 6th. A great solo effort off the front! Tell us about the race from your perspective. Were you happy with your performance?

Guy Crawford: Happy, Yes . I felt good in the water and knowing Bryan was on my feet, i thought we could get away together on the bike, if a few of us could get away on the bike , it could have been a race changer. However after a quick T1 and going totally anaerobic it was apparent Bryan was still suffering from doing a 70.3 six days earlier. So basically I though bugger it, put my head down and went hard.... Yep those tactic's probably bit me in the ass later on.. But I knew I had at least a minute on the other guys out of the water and knew I was in good riding shape...so it was head down and time to chew my stem for 90k...Off the bike I had 3:30.. I knew I needed 5mins and a 1:18 half .. in any case I ran the best I could on the day and 1:23 was all the body could do on the day.

Triathlon Tribe: As a relatively new (just heading into your second year full-time) professional triathlete, what is your background? Tell us a bit about yourself!

Guy Crawford: Well I have been involved in the triathlon world for about 13 years..In my youth I was a runner , which surprises me now , as today a pensioner ran past me on her Zimmer frame.. I started swimming at 17 a relatively late age for swimmers.. however from 17-20 I swum A LOT and barely rode or ran. I then worked as a bicycle courier for 5 years. whilst throwing in a bit of university. Soon after that I got a job with blue seventy where I was there sponsorship manager. This involved travelling the globe working with athletes and event organisers promoting the brand. An awesome job with a great company!



Triathlon Tribe: What has been the biggest difference in the transition from working and training to training full-time? Have there been any unexpected challenges?

Guy Crawford: two big things... 1) you can train more when you don't have a job and that's great..... 2.) you get paid less. when you don't have a fixed income.... and that's not so great.


Triathlon Tribe: You have based yourself in Perth, WA over the previous summer. How have you enjoyed this and what have your highlights been? Any races, training opportunities or destinations you would particularly like to rave about?

Guy Crawford: I love WA, it's a great place and if your a bit worried about riding on the road WA has the best footpath riding in the world... hundreds of kilometres of safe riding... Only person you need to worry about is yourself....


I have enjoyed the races here, in particular Kalgoorlie where Kate and I went for an Olympic distance race and while it was a 7 hour drive into no-where the people made it worth our while.. They were great and it really made the race for us. When it comes to training.. Anywhere in the Busselton area is great. We venture down there when we can for some big miles. Busselton is the home of WA's 70.3 , so if your down that way make sure you make the 30min trip to Margaret river. Great wineries, food and people.. you won't regret it.



Triathlon Tribe: As I mentioned previously, you are a bit of a fish and had the fastest swim of the day at Busselton 70.3 a few weeks ago. What are your favourite key sessions that you do in the pool? What are your top tips for people who want to improve their own swimming?



Guy Crawford: I like to mix my swimming week up. I swim 5 times on average.
one session is an ocean swim or wetsuit swim if you can't get to the ocean one longer swim , like this morning was 8x 800's broken..
.
The sessions that gets me race ready are short rest high intensity sessions. Of which I do about two per week. These are only 3-3.5 k...Leading into Busselton I did this set each week and I think it made a difference

300 warm up
10x 100 on 1:25
10x 100 on 1:20
3 x100 on 1:25
3x100 on 1:20
4x100 on 1:15
200 warm down


My advice to people looking to improve there swimming. Would be firstly make sure you've got people to swim with and a coach to seek advice from . no one wants to be staring at a black line for hours on end and be getting nothing from it . Once you've got that sorted getting a balance in your swimming week is important.. Smashing yourself every-day isn't the answer.. Get a good balance keep consistent and soon enough you'll be swimming dolphins off your feet...that's my two cents anyway.


Triathlon Tribe: As the Australian summer triathlon season wraps up, it is time to head overseas. You had entered Ironman China, which unfortunately was cancelled at the last minute, which would have obviously been a huge disappointment! What is the plan now? What other races do you plan on racing this year?

Guy Crawford: yep China was a pain alright. I had planned to race 70.3 Boise on the 11th of June , So there is a race just round the corner. After that . things are up in the air. I will be racing more 70.3 races and they will mostly be US based. My goal is to race 70.3 worlds on September 11th . So I'll be aiming to peak around then.

Triathlon Tribe: Your girlfriend, Kate Bevilaqua, is also a professional triathlete. It is helpful to have your partner also competing at a high level the sport? Do you train together?

Guy Crawford: Having Kate in the same sport is amazing. We train together almost every day. Some times she has longer sessions and sometimes I have quicker sessions. Kate and I love the fact we get to train travel and race together , We know we're extremely lucky in that regard. We spend 6 months over seas each year so if I or Kate had a 9-5 it'd be VERY hard. Best we retire at the same time.

Triathlon Tribe: As a Sponsorship Manager for Blue Seventy, any tips to aspiring athletes on how to approach and work with sponsors?

Guy Crawford: What can you do for them? Ask yourself that question before you get in touch with potential sponsors. If you can answer it... Your chances will increase ten fold..

Triathlon Tribe: Speaking of sponsors, who are yours? Any products or brands you would like to recommend?
Guy Crawford:

K-Swiss.. best clothes and shoes in the sport.
Blue Seventy..... The wetsuit is amazing. flexibility and buoyancy are second to none.
nuun hydration.... i no longer cramp
Ceepo bikes .had my first race on it at Busselton.. best bike I've ever had!
Xu1 sports .... anything any time... great tri products
Rolf Prima wheels.... Great wheels and a great company to have behind you!!!

If you want to catch up on some more of my antic's/ photo's and mayhem please drop into my website www.guycrawford.us and have a look around.

Thanks Guy! Good luck for the coming season and we look forward to seeing you race on Australian shores again later in the year.

Trip and the USA

Yes i'm in the USA for the season. and no i didnt spell check this....

I'm lucky to have made this trip... ( well i think so anyway )
IM China got cancelled . had to change all my trips.. what a pain.... then i got a flight to the USA via Hongkong and it was the flight from hell..... The most turbulent flight i have ever been on.... I was freaking out... I started holding the dudes hand next to me .... he had been in the military for 19 years .. So i don't think he was too happy about it .. haha... quite funny in hind sight.

Obviously i lived though it ... on my connecting flight i just happened to be sitting next to one of the flight attendants from the HongKong flight... very random and i told her i was freaking out... She then said it was the worst flight she'd been on in 45 years of international flying and she and the crew were freaking too... WTF.... now i'm really scared of flying..... apparently the pilots weren't to worried.....APPARENTLY!!! So all and all .. im stoked to be here and to be alive... alive it good....

I landed in Seattle and spent two days with the awesome team at blueseventy.
the met my lovely lady " Kate" at Seattle Airport with her family in tow. From there we came to Boise for one night before shipping off to McCall for a bit of tourism ... This place is awesome..... but it's bloody cold..... i was running in the morning past piles of snow.. thinking this is colder than a Perth/ Aussie Winter... once again WTF..... haha... no really it was beautiful and awesome...

here are a few shots i got along the way..

kate and i In McCall



Beautiful " COLD" McCall



A Random HUGE dog that decided he wanted a lift



Tamarack Ski Resort.. most houses were in the millions of dollars before the GCC . Now the ski resort has gone bust and the houses are a fair bit cheaper!!! OUCH



YEAH i ate that... yeah 5 million calories in my body!!! awesome



Went for a 20 second swim in 6 degree water... Can any-one say SHRINKAGE !!! ( video to come )



A rad Bike store in Boise were i picked up my sick new ride.... Don't worry IAN.... my Ceepo is still number one...i don't think you'd want me to put Ceepo stickers on this would you? 10k of bike VS $30 of bike...






Now Kate and i are alone the family is in route back to Australia as i type. ( we'll miss you ) and everything is quiet.... Routine is setting in but not for long. Both Kate and i are racing 70.3 Boise next weekend. So it's time to do some training and hope the travel hasn't hurt the body to much

Until the next episode of my life... Hopefully i won't have to write about turbulence again. .... Freaks me OUT!!

Guy / Beaker / Pocketman / Captain Awesome / Chuck Norris