Karri Valley Triathlon

Karri Valley Triathlon has been going for 10 years now and It's a must do on the WA calender.
However if your looking for an easy race this would not be it. Fresh water swim, Hard bike and off road run.

My lungs are still feeling the pinch from the race. But after racing there last year I couldn't help but return for another round of punishment.

Kate and I traveling down to Bunbury from Perth on the Thursday before the race to do school visits for the kids triathlon coming up in May. WOW...If you get the kids right after lunch they are pure maddness....
I own a Cat and I practiced herding her the other day and it was actually easier than teaching kids fresh off a sugar rush!!... Teachers you deserve more pay...(that said I have a great time doing the school visits and the kids have all been awesome)

We travelled onwards to Karri Valley on the firday and got there with enough light to go for a short jog and set up camp.

Race morning rolled round and I rolled out of bed at 7:30AM... yep that was 7:30am... the race doesn't start till 10:30 AM. Pure awesomeness...



After we set up our bikes and headed back to the hotel room to mince about, I had the great idea of eating more than I usually do because I'd burn the calories later and my stomach could take it. So away I ate, Banana, Choc milk, gel, salt tablets, elctrolites...We'll get back to this part later in my novel of a race report.

I got in for a swim warm up in the 20.8 degree water with my trisuit on and it felt pretty chilly but I was happy with the decision for it to be a non wetusit race, Although my warm up ended up being a bit more of a shiver down.

It was a beach start which I love, due to my gangly body I seem to always get a good start.
The start was good we had a relatively small group of men and women in the open/elite wave and I found some clear water straight away, I managed to hold a soild pace and put about 90 sec's into the guys chasing.

Onto the bike and I felt ok, I was fighting the pedals a bit and the rhythm I had at the state 80K TT champs earlier in the week wasnt there, but still I was riding soild and at the first turn I had about 90sec to James and then about another 90sec to Yohan, Ben and a few others. But the other race within the race was for a beer prime between Matt Illingworth and myself, "Beers on the fastest bike split of the day" he was riding well as you'd expect from an ex Olympian and commonwealth medalist.

During the bike leg James and Ben both suffered bike mechanicals which put them out of the race, however Yohan (6th place at IMWA) was riding strong after having a good swim and this kid can run faster than a scorched cat, so the pressure remained on, I exended my gap on the bike by a small margin and came into T2 with about 3:30 lead.
I was very happy to ride that well considering my breakfast was all over my shoulders and arm's, I spent the first 40K of the bike throwing up all over myself every time I drank. "good times" Lucky for me my stomach settled for the last 20K. I'm the guy you ask "what not to do" because I've probably done it. (Dont go changing pre race meals)




After a quick transition it was straight up a nasty grass hill and onto the first of a 3 lap run.
The first lap I really built into and was happy to see Yohan was still 3min down towards the end of the first lap and that the other Pursuers, Mike Gee, Matt Illingworth, & Matt Jennings were a ways back from Yohan.
Onto the 2nd lap and I ran into Kate who was starting her first lap, I'd like to say I gave her words of encouragement and support, but I caught her at the top of a hill and all I could offer was a grunt, I told her a grunt can-not be defined by words It means that much more!!

See the Pic below of me about to catch Kate.


hitting the final lap the gap back to yohan remanined around 3mins and I could start to relax a bit, I like to be the hunted, but being the huntee seems a little less stressful.

I finished the race in 2:43 and change with about 2:30 to Yohan.

1 GUY CRAWFORD 22 0:23:20 1:34:37 0:45:39 2:43:36
2 JOHAN BORG 1 0:25:57 1:35:39 0:44:33 2:46:09
3 MIKE GEE 5 0:27:33 1:39:26 0:47:35 2:54:34
4 MATHEW JENNINGS 7 0:26:11 1:36:40 0:52:27 2:55:18
5 TIM CARPENTER 2 0:30:25 1:38:53 0:46:40 2:55:58
6 MATT ILLINGWORTH 6 0:29:22 1:33:21 0:56:03 2:58:46


Needless to say I'm stoked with the win, how my running is going and my overal fittness. Next up will be Kalgoorlie Olympic then Challenge Taiwan before returning to my favoite half Ironman Busselton 70.3.

Ohh and it your wondering, Matt won the beer challenge, even though he got stuck in his 53/11 on a hilly bike course.
I'll have to let his tyres down next time.

Thanks to the Stadium Tri club and Rob for putting on a great event.

Also a massive thanks to my sponsors and supporters It's going to be an exciting year.
blueseventy, Wattie INK, K-Swiss, Ceepo, Infinit Nutrition, Vision, Rolf Prima, 110% Play Harder, ISM, Recovery Pump, Churchill Cycles, Super Ruth Physio, Rocktape, nuun, Challenge Tyres, CompuTrainer, Ryders Eyewear, Jeff Shilt, Swimsmooth and a special thanks to my coach Pete Mckenzie at Race Pace Coaching.

Cheers
Guy

Albany Classic

Two posts in as little as a week. Look at me go!!

Last weekend I raced my first Olympic distance in over a year.
It was exactly as I thought it'd be "tongue chewing pain "

We drove to Albany on Friday Afternoon for the Albany Classic Olympic distance.
Big thanks To Ruth for letting us crash on her Hotel floor. It was like a sluber party gone wrong as a late dose of caffine meant I was going mental late that night. (my bad)
The following morning we did a swim clinic with the local Tri Club in some gusty average weather. Still we had alot of fun doing some In and outs in the surf!!

The following morning rolled round and I dragged my tired body out of bed and told myself you feel good. (I lied)
I had my morning double shot coffee and the body didn't respond. We rode to transition and I followed up with a Redbull.
Its always bad when your drinking red-bull at 6:30 in the morning, But it made me feel a bit better.




We went for the usual swim warm up, It was a non wetsuit swim so I limited my time in the water because it was already raining and my body doesn't hold the warmth to well.
A quick tap of the watch and we were off, I had a great wade into the water. "I love beach starts".
I was first out and got clear water straight away. I continued to swim at a solid pace trying to distance myself from the other guys.
The swim conditions suited me and I came away with a 1 min lead.
Out onto the bike and at 10K I noticed I only had about 20 sec's or so to second place Troy Main. I was surprised because I felt like I was riding well. But Troy has been winning every short course race he enters lately and holds the WA Sprint distance title. He bridged up by 16K and we rode the rest of the ride together.
Out onto the run and Troy went out like a scorched Cat, I had no response and just watched him run away hoping he didnt totally disappear from sight. The gap seemed to hover at around 100m until 7K and then I slowly started to claw him back managing to make a move with 1500M to go. I think I ate a piece of my tongue when I passed him at a totally unsustainable pace.
However it proved to be the right move as I came away with the win.
Albany has been very good to me this year. I'll be returning in the future thats for certain.


Poor Kate Crashed her bike on the last round-about and unfortunatley suffered on the run because of it.
Still coming in third after a crash was awesome. (She's much harder than me)




Big thanks to the guys who race in the Open/Elite divison.
To Troy for keeping me honest and racing like a champ. Hoping to see him on an ITU world cup start line this year.

After the race it was off for a bit of site seeing and some beer and wine tastings in the region.
WA doesn't lack for wineries or breweries and the South has some fantastic options if your into a good Red, White or Brew. (which I am)



Thanks to the Albany Tri Club for another fantastic weekend.

Cheers
Guy

News news news

So it's been an eventful few weeks.

After my win at the Albany Half in January I went back to my home town of Auckland New-Zealand for the Inaugural Asia Pacfic 70.3,
However this time Is was to help out my long time employer and sponsor "blueseventy"
A few pics attached from a shoot we did. (The Awesome Brendon O'Hagan does some magic stuff)www.brendonohagan.co.nz



After helping at the expo, meeting up with the family and spending a crazy weekend at home it was back to Perth to get stuck into some training.
It's been a great 6 weeks with some real consistant hard training. I'm pretty sure I could sleep on a concrete slab right now!!

In January the Aussies put on some serious fire works to celebrate Australia day (which for you America's rivals that of the 4th of July)



I swam in one of the biggest open water competitions the world has to offer "The Rottnest Chanel Swim" a 19.7KM swim.
I competed in a 4 man team and we ended up finishing in 3rd place. (In our catagory)
I was keen to swim it solo in coming years, It takes the best swimmers 4:35:00 to complete the crossing. But its the cold and chop that can really mess you up. (Alot of Triathlete's compare it to doing an IM) So i'll be putting it on the TO DO list!!
The amount of boats in the water was incredible, like nothing I've ever seen before. (Hopefully the photo's give you a rough idea)



In other news I've had the joy of signing to the coolest brand going "Wattie INK". It'll be an exciting year ahead and the momentum Wattie INK is gaining in the triathlon community will make for an awesome 2013. I'm super pumped to be on board this year!!
I'll be hard to miss me in this custom kit thats for sure!!



ROCK THE W
http://wattieink.com/

I have also signed a multi year deal with Infinit Nutrition.
I've struggled with Nutrition in the past and the team at Infinit has been great in changing my nutrition plan for my races from Olympic through to Ironman.

http://www.infinitnutrition.us/

Also I'm very happy to say that I have offically partnered with ISM Saddles. I've been using there saddles since 2008 and I'm stoked to offically call them a sponsor!! (couldn't do it on any other seat)

http://www.ismseat.com/

To top off it off I'm lucky enough to have 110% PlayHarder, Adding compression and recovery in there unique way to my team this year. (Thanks Rach)

http://110playharder.com/

Everything is falling into place and I'm calling 13 my new lucky number!!

There's alot going on and this weekend Kate and I are off to Albany for an Olympic distance race. We'll see if there is any speed left in the engine!

A huge thank-you to all my Sponsors and supporters New and Old. It's been said before, but without you this isnt possible.

blueseventy, Rolf Prima, Wattie INK, K-Swiss, Ceepo, Vision, Infinit Nutrition, 110% Playharder, Computrainer, Ryders Eyewear, Challenge Tires, ISM Saddles, Churchill Cycles, nuun, SwimSmooth, Recovery Pump, Rocktape and Ruth Chang Physio.

Thanks
Guy

Wattie Ink. Signs Exclusive Partnership with Pro Guy Crawford

Wattie Ink. is super excited, pumped and stoked to the point “that we all need to sit down and have a Martini” as we’ve just signed an official partnership with the funny man of Triathlon, Guy Crawford.

Wattie Ink. will be Guy’s exclusive apparel supplier for the 2013 season. See Guys custom Kit below.

It was easy to see why Guy A.K.A blueseventy Guy (due to his long standing working relationship with them) A.K.A. Captain Awesome, we believe this self-proclaimed, Chuck Norris “Don’t ask” and finally Beaker “he resembles the puppet off the Muppet show” would make a great asset to the already great Wattie Ink. team. Having been part of the triathlon scene for many years Guy goes to more events than most people have hot meals and is always up for a chat and laugh, making him the perfect pro to add to the line up. He’s known as the funny man on tour and he’ll leave you with a smile on your dial should you meet him.

“I’m more than stoked to partner with Wattie Ink. Sean has created a great team and atmosphere that really draws you in and makes you want to be part of it. I’m super excited for the year ahead and know we’ll be turning heads wherever we go,” says Guy.

His racing schedule takes him from the desert of Western Australia to the valleys of Boise Idaho. Guy has proven himself as an athlete to watch, regularly pushing himself into top 10 at 70.3 and IM events worldwide. Beginning in 2013 with a win at this years Albany Half in Australia.

“Bringing Guy on to the Wattie Ink. family was a no brainer. His out there personality and killer sense of humor backed with his race results make him the perfect addition to our team. He steals the show where ever he is so we know he will be a great brand ambassador going into 2013,” says Sean Watkins, President and CEO of Wattie Ink.

After simply working with Guy on putting this release together, Wattie Ink. is only more amped up to work with him throughout 2013. Time to rock!

More info on Guy: www.guycrawford.us

Albany Half

ALBANY HALF

Albany is another secret spot hidden away in Western Australia's South Coast.
It’s stunning country side and coast line make it the ideal home of the Albany Half .
Event Directors Dale and Scott invited us down for the inaugural event and this is how the day unfolded.
Race morning rolled around and after 7 hours of sleep I was feeling pretty good and relaxed. The relaxed atmosphere of the race made me excited and less nervous than usual. I was interested to see how far the fitness had come since Canberra 70.3.
Competition was going to be tough with Matty White, Leon Griffin, Simone Billeau, Matty Burton and a host of other up and comers.
Race morning was very still and the ocean looked like a 50m lap pool with no-one swimming in it.

It was a beach start which I love. ( largely due to my 6”3 bony frame ) The horn went off for the elite wave at 7am and I was off to a great start, I didn't fall over or anything. My thoughts were “just go to max until the first buoy then recover and settle in.” It seemed to work and I managed to get a gap on the field. The swim being two laps meant we had to run onto the beach then head back out for the second loop. It's always hard to get the blood from the arms to the legs and back to the arms. It's an anaerobic experience no one enjoys.
Out of the water I had a gap of 1:30 on the guys and I went through transition like a scorched cat. Another Anaerobic experience! 7 matches left, 3 already burned. Hmm…. too much to soon? Probably!!

Out on the bike, I settled into my own rhythm and started pushing hard. I wasn't really sure how I was going as my speedo broke and I had no idea how much power I was putting out, where I was on the course or how far till the turn around. So I just rode hard and crossed my fingers. (sometimes no information is a good thing ) At the turn around (45k) the gap was 2min's or so, then heading into T2 I was told that the gap had grown to 4min’s which I was more than happy about because the wind had picked up and the suffering had begun.

Still with 21k to go and 5k of it on the sand it was any-ones race. I just needed to get out of site and hopefully out of mind.
I felt like I was moving ok, not super fast, but I wasn't running in the bucket for once. I tried to run smooth and thought about form. Going through the first lap I heard the commentators saying Matty White was flying and had put 3mins into me on the first lap. ( “Ohh bugger” ) I just keep running as hard as I could until Matty caught me at around 13 KM. I watched him get about 100m ahead and then the gap seemed to hover and I hoped that the first lap would catch up with him.
Running back along the beach for the last time was PAIN! My legs were threatening full cramp, but a few straight leg shuffles held off a full blown melt down. (Salt is your friend ) My chance to be first across the line slipped away with Matty ending up roughly a minute in front of me at the finish.

I was very happy with the way I swam biked and ran, so I couldn’t ask for more out of myself. Although my body tried to give me the present of full leg cramps.

Soon after finishing we found out that Matty had been DQ'd for littering and I had been promoted to first. Not the way I wanted to win the Half, but he and I will be back for another show-down next year.
My lovely lady Kate Bevilaqua took out the woman’s race, showing her fitness is well and truly back.

Men’s Results
1. Guy Crawford (NZL) – 4:06:08
2. Simon Billeau (FRA) – 4:07:27
3. Leon Griffin – 4:09:42
4. Matt Burton – 4:15:20
5. Ryan Baugh – 4:19:09

Big thanks to the crowd, I feel like an adopted WA local every time I race
Big thanks to all my sponsors for being the legends they are.
Blueseventy, SwimSmooth, Churchill Cycles, Race Pace Coaching, Rolf Prima, CEEPO, Infinit Nutrition, Vision, Rocktape, Ryders Eyewear, Challenge Tires, Recovery Pump, 110% Playharder, TriTown, Super Ruth Chang ( physio ), CompuTrainer and K-Swiss

Photo’s Courtesy of Paul Newsome ( www.swimsmooth.com ) and Mark Luckin

Thanks for reading my ramblings.
Guy

70.3 Canberra

It's that time when the Northern hempisphere season is over and the southern hempisphere season begins. Triathlon being a year round sport now.

I thought i'd have a crack at Canberra 70.3 despite only base training for 6 weeks.
I was positive leading into the race that i could have a good day.

Race day rolled around and i told my body that is wasn't 1AM due to the time change from Perth. I was surprised to find i felt pretty good. ( triple shot coffee's help )

The swim was a one lap deep water start with some young ITU guys coming across to have a crack at the longer distance. Once the gun went off it was on, The pace at the front was fast and after a few hundred metres i had to back off or risk exploding.
Two guys got away and left a group of us about 1 min back out of the water.

Onto the bike and this is wear things got crazy. It was a 5 lap bike course ( due to road works ) there was a fair amount of carnage. Despite the numbers our group managed to leave the bike course in one piece. ( As did most ) Except for one dude i saw with a broken collar bone... OUCH!! mend fast mate....Ok i'm getting side tracked, back to the race.

Onto the run and i was excited to see what i could do after the biggest run block of my life.
Things started off ok i was running a solid tempo, but i was still well off the winners "Tim Reeds" pace. I really struggled trying to run fast, but as the run went on i felt better and better. Maybe it was the distances i've been running or the positive self talk that was going on.( Thanks Pete ) But i started bringing people back towards the end of the run and had more in the tank to give.

Long story short, i'd much prefer to be on the podium, but im excited about where my fitness is this early and i'm looking forward to the season ahead.

REED, Tim Australia 00:24:00 02:00:43 01:12:06 03:40:13 1 1
LAMPE, Joseph Australia 00:22:31 02:00:02 01:16:56 03:42:57 2 2
BETTEN, Sam Australia 00:23:45 02:00:44 01:15:08 03:44:19 3 3
PRINCE, Michael Australia 00:24:01 02:00:38 01:17:58 03:46:15 4 4
WALL, Lindsey Australia 00:23:57 02:00:47 01:19:27 03:47:33 5 5
HODGE, James Australia 00:22:35 01:59:38 01:22:20 03:48:24 6 6
REITHMEIER, Alex Austria 00:23:59 02:00:31 01:21:05 03:49:11 7 7
CRAWFORD, Guy New Zealand 00:23:54 02:00:42 01:21:56 03:50:11 8 8
ALLEN, Ben Australia 00:23:41 02:04:50 01:20:06 03:52:08 9 9
SKIPWORTH, Todd Australia 00:23:52 02:08:47 01:16:22 03:53:25 1 10

Thank-you for the continued support
Your all legends

Guy

70.3 Augusta

I tried the double AGAIN. ( two 70.3s in 7 days )

This time was better than the last yet still not great.

70.3 Augusta started off in mild conditions , perfect racing weather really.
The swim has a bit of a current as my race best swim (19:52 ) shows. Usually I'll swim about 24-25mins

The swim went pretty smooth with a group of about 7 of us existing the water within 20 secs of each other and then onto the bike we mostly rode together .
My legs felt like they were full of cement. I struggled for the first 30miles then managed to find my riding legs ...or maybe i adjusted to the pain.

I went to front for the last 12 miles and led the group off the bike into transition 2. The group had now dropped to 5. Out of T2 and into the run I felt like death warmed up. I waited hoping my legs, lungs and head would come good. But it wasn't to be, I ran the 21k slowly but still in much pain. The week before I ran 12 mins quicker and it felt easier.

70.3 Augusta was a tough tough day and I tried to push my body somewhere it obviously didn't want to go.
Will I do it again? Yeah probably, I'm a slow learner..3rd times a charm right?

So after Flying back to Boise and spending a few days training and recovering it was off to Hawaii for IM World Championship . I'm working for blueseventy and doing my roll as supporter for the many friends we have racing.

The island was all hussle and bustle , Lycra and swimsuits. ( the poor locals )

It's been an exciting week, hanging out at the coffees of Hawaii boat, Ceepo signing, hanging with the blueseventy and K-Swiss crew. Plus catching up with loads of people we only get to see once a year.

Ohh and watching those crazy athletes battle the Kona IM course. it was a hot tough day that saw some interesting changes at the pointy end of the race.

Cheers
Guy