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Nath Pearce and Fraser Darcy Takeover: WMTRC Part 1!
301 Plays5 days ago
In this episode we give free reign to Nathan Pearce and Fraser Darcy to chat all things Uphill and Mountain Classic at WMTRC, recorded before they arrived in Spain. Hear about their preparations, how they are feeling going into the race and the usual banter you would always expect from these two!
Any questions for their part 2 post race, comment or message them through!
Thanks for joining us on Peak Pursuits! Connect with us on Instagram @peakpursuits.pod and share your thoughts, questions, or your own trail stories. Until next time, keep hitting the trails and chasing those peak pursuits!
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/tropicana License code: MFJHTO0ZMVHA84WI
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello everyone and...
00:00:31
Speaker
Jumped in for you. Oh, well, you can go now. Great start. Welcome along to the Peak Pursuits podcast. This is the Nathan Pearce and Fraser Darcy special.
00:00:42
Speaker
As members of the Uphill and Mountain Classic team, we have been given the keys to the Peak Pursuits podcast recording equipment.
Current Locations and Training Context
00:00:50
Speaker
I'm currently in North Brighton, South Australia.
00:00:53
Speaker
Nathan, where are you joining us from? I'm in beautiful Annecy, France, at the foothills of the Alps here, so... Yeah, getting some good training in. Very good. You've been over in Europe for a while now. do you want to let the listeners give ah give us a bit of a brief, don't go into your training too much, but how's your holiday been?
Nathan's European Training Insights
00:01:13
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's been good. um So I've been here now for just over two weeks. So I sort of got over here on the 22nd August, um went straight into Chamonix for UTMB week.
00:01:25
Speaker
i was on the podcast back then. So had ETC coming up, um have since competed in ETC. It wasn't my day. and Coming off the plane, heat.
00:01:37
Speaker
um And then, yeah, the the course was pretty brutal. So, I had lot of expectations going into it anyway. And the thing was this race was sort of a um just a buffer um to come off the plane, shake the legs out, get the cobwebs out. So, yeah, it was a bit bit of a shame that it didn't go to plan.
00:01:59
Speaker
um But, hey, these things happen and we sort of just move on and and learn where we were. week and where we can work on. So, um so yeah, had just sort of been dialing in my training. The rest of the week in in Sham was pretty just sort of go out, explore, don't think too much about my running.
00:02:18
Speaker
um And then once I got here in Annecy, sort of start sort of dialing in my sort of more consistent training and more sort of tailored sessions to to what we'll be facing in
Living and Training Setup in Annecy
00:02:30
Speaker
Spain. Very nice. What's what's the setup like in Annecy at the moment? Because you have a friend that lives in Annecy.
00:02:36
Speaker
Yeah, I've locked up with this trip so far. So i had did fortunately stay at a friend's holiday house in Chamonix and now I'm set up in my mate's apartment here in Annecy where they've got a yeah three bedroom apartment. So it's a pretty nice setup and Xavier's currently training for Berlin Marathon himself. So it's been a little, as much as he says he's been working, it's been a little training camp for both of us.
00:03:04
Speaker
Very good. ah I think I saw in your Strava as well, you were training with Kiwi athlete, Michael Sutton. Yeah, so Michael Sutton was here um at the start of last week. he He's um since gone over to Spain to sort of get ready for Worlds, but um yeah, he's been floating around Europe for a little while now and he's sort of a, um he jumps on those World Mountain running sort of um Grand Prix sort races. So he's he sort of,
00:03:34
Speaker
eyes those off he had a race over the weekend um with the sky running but yeah he was in town so sort of yeah utilized and we jumped in a couple of sessions couple of runs which is nice because like think when you're traveling overseas and um doing a lot of so solo stuff um it's it's nice when you can just jump in and um especially with the speed session or um a longer wednesday run Yeah, no, that looked cool.
Fraser's European Training Experience
00:04:02
Speaker
It's good to like see a lot more Australians and and Kiwi and just other people going over to Europe for little training blocks. I really enjoyed my time over there. also spent some time in Annecy and Chamonix.
00:04:16
Speaker
Didn't have the luxury of staying with with Xavier, but I did run into Xavier around the lake on my very first run there, which is very cool. um ah Yeah, so I guess the yeah the idea of this episode, we've had a few other people coming on Peak Pursuits and ah talking about World Champs.
00:04:33
Speaker
And since Nathan and I are members of the Uphill and Classic team, um we've been asked to come on and sort of give... give people an idea of our training because we're different to the short trail and long trail sort of six-hour, ten-hour beasts that just get out there and spend hours picking picking flowers, as Matt Crean likes to say, on the trail.
00:04:53
Speaker
yeah. so yeah so ah So this is, we're not sure where we're going to go in the hour that we have of your time, but we're going to go places.
Post-ETC Race Training Adjustments
00:05:03
Speaker
So I guess starting off with, you gave us a little idea of of your race in ETC. That was one of the big sort of training focuses. um Since that race, have you, what sessions have you been doing?
00:05:19
Speaker
Yeah, so obviously, yeah, that week in Sham, I just sort of did some sort of like, yeah, longer just sort of adventure runs. still getting some pretty decent climbing. Like it was actually my second biggest vertical week I've ever done. So...
00:05:36
Speaker
um I did 5,500 metres of climbing that week, which is pretty up there and compared to what I'm used to. So that's why i sort of was like, let's just get this in the legs.
00:05:48
Speaker
um And then once I get to Annecy, I can sort of really sort of hone in the recovery, hone in more tailored sessions. And that's when I sort of, yeah, implemented, yeah, I did cave session with Michael um last week on the track. So that was nice to just sort of see the legs still being able to, um,
00:06:06
Speaker
tick over after a big week like that and then it's it's hard coming to a new place trying to figure out um like i i literally live on strava when i'm not running probably just trying to find out routes different um session ideas and all those sort of things so i went and did a um sort of multiple-minute sort of breakdown effort on Thursday on this fire road, but this fire road probably, or it was 26%, I reckon, mostly. Yeah, I saw this, and I wondered what the surface was like of this because you covered some – because, first of all, when I saw this pop up on my Strava, I saw the course record, and I thought, geez, he's he's in good shape. And then when you this was actually just a session as well with intervals, I thought, ooh, that's even better. Yeah.
00:06:54
Speaker
Yeah, so you like it was good. Like surface was, yeah, loose rock, big boulders, like not big boulders, but like cobbles that sort of size. So, it yeah, it wasn't the best running, but um it was a fire road. So it was a bit a little bit more predictable than what um going on a single track would have been for this sort of session. Yeah.
00:07:18
Speaker
Because, yeah, you just sort of don't want to get turn a corner, especially on a single track and it be too technical, too steep, that sort of thing. Whereas this far road was pretty consistent the whole way up. But, yeah, I was planning on sort of doing um two by five minute and then, yeah,
00:07:35
Speaker
two-minute sort of jog recovery but the jog was not happening um it was it was power hiking when i couldn't couldn't run and um yeah just try and gas it out on on the effort so yeah it was a good session all all together and pretty happy and like i think it's hard to say like coming from oz where we don't usually do these sort of sessions on climbs this big it's hard to know exactly if it's working or if it's not um yeah But think for me, what I've found in the past is just not having that client those climbing legs going into these races and having that intensity at the get-go.
Impact of Recent Training on Race Performance
00:08:18
Speaker
if if you were to do ETC now, right now, having done the training that you've done since ETC, would you be a lot more confident? or I think so. like I let's think I'd be more level-headed and I'd sort of know exactly...
00:08:32
Speaker
what pace ah is my pace, if that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. Because once you hit a wall, because like ETC, like I think within the first couple of K, you you went through the old town just slowly climbing up on the road and then all of a sudden you get this 30% wall for about a K or two.
00:08:53
Speaker
um And you're like, I think I'm fine, keep running, keep running. And then all of sudden it just hits you. up So just to be able to know where that sort of limit is, um yeah, it gives you a good idea. So, yeah, definitely ah think I would be in a better spot and, like, yeah, without jet lag. And then after ATC I sort of came down with a bit of a cold anyway. So there's probably a few things there that just sort of didn't align. but And then, yeah, went and did a more sort of classic, mountain classic specific session on Saturday where I sort of did...
00:09:28
Speaker
bit of an uphill climb and then sort of turned and um added in a couple of descents, couple of more climbs and then a couple of more descents. So and this is the AK mountain tempo on 6th September, right?
00:09:43
Speaker
Yeah, that's the one. So these are my sort of favourite sort of sessions because you just kind of like, for me, didn't even know where I was running. I was just go as hard for 8K as possible and I was just sort of like,
Favorite Training Techniques
00:09:56
Speaker
let's climb until about 400, 450 and then start turning back down the mountain. So it's a pretty cool session. Like,
00:10:05
Speaker
it sort of simulates a race in a way because you sort of, especially on the trails, if like if you haven't had a chance to sort of properly scour the course, you you do go in blind in certain corners. So getting that sort of understanding of,
00:10:21
Speaker
being able to go hard down a descent and being confident when it comes to a corner to sort of be as agile as possible and be as sort of smooth, especially if it's technical or bit of loose underfoot. So, yeah, ah that was a pretty decent set session and, yeah, the legs slightly holding up.
00:10:44
Speaker
Yeah, well, on on that, your average for the last four weeks of
Strava Data and Elevation Gains
00:10:48
Speaker
Strava, do you know what your elevation is for the last four weeks as a guess? Oh, it'd be about...
00:10:55
Speaker
ah 12,000? Per week, you're averaging 3,000. Per week, I'll average. Yeah. Well, 12,000 was good then because divide four, 3,250, which when you're in Melbourne, I reckon that's more like 1,500. So, yeah, this week and your time in Chamonix has really lifted that. The problem with that struggle would probably be higher because those last two weeks in Melbourne, I would have been in – ah on the treadmill where you don't get vert.
00:11:28
Speaker
So your treadmill vert, obviously that's where I wish Strava had a setting that you can chuck in treadmill vert. Yeah. You were talking before about the races and and yeah the mountain race and trying to get it specific to that.
00:11:45
Speaker
Probably it's worth spending about a few minutes just letting the listeners know the uphill race is six kilometres and... It's 0.4, 990. 990 elevation.
00:11:57
Speaker
um And it says something in the notes about It's pretty runnable, basically. and So that fire track road is pretty specific to it. And then the classic race, which is on the Sunday, so the uphill is on the Thursday of World Champs, and then the Sunday is the classic race, which is 14.3 kilometres, 775 metres up,
00:12:18
Speaker
and then seven hundred and seventy five metres down So, pretty pretty good, but we just don't have races like this in Australia, just like we don't have training locations like this in Australia. Like, if you had to pick for that two-by-five minute so-on session what the most relevant, um I guess, location in Australia for that would be, where would you pick? Yeah.
00:12:43
Speaker
you'd I'd probably go up into sort of bright Harrietville. So you'd be looking at, yeah, Mount Buffalo, um bungalow spur up sort of the side Feathertop. So these are sort of the climbs that are probably most suited to what we'll be doing.
00:13:00
Speaker
Like very runnable climbs. surfaces but um we with sections of sort of little punches but more sort of consistently just long climbs, which thankfully, yeah, being here in Annecy, I've got yeah my fair share of climbs and then i'll um I'll be over in Spain to be able to check out the courses um beforehand
Comparing Training Locations: Europe vs. Australia
00:13:25
Speaker
as well. So, yeah, definitely um I've given my best um best hand in trying to sort of perfect the races on the day, but you just never know. But I think, yeah, getting these more tailored sessions and getting as much climbing in my legs, still implementing, like today I'll still do a bit of a track workout, still getting the legs ticking over, still getting some flat running in to recover.
00:13:51
Speaker
um I think, yeah, once I get there and have sort of get a better understanding that, yeah, okay, these are runnable, um which I think is more suited to us Australians.
00:14:02
Speaker
um When you get those pinches of hiking and power hiking, that's where the sort of elements of our training sort of go out the window because we just don't have those um types of climbs. So ah think, yeah, with the the uphill, yeah,
00:14:18
Speaker
The classic, it's a little bit more of an unknown of just how technical some of those descents are. um But from my understanding, it's it's sort of, yeah, more sort of soft foresty flooring with a couple of tree roots.
00:14:34
Speaker
So, yeah. It's exciting. I'll be keen to get your thoughts later on, I guess, the comparison in terms of how you feel heading into this year's World Champs.
00:14:46
Speaker
compared to the last two events because you've obviously done the uphill and the classic at Thailand in and in Innsbruck. um But before we go down that rabbit hole, I think it's time I fill the listeners in with what I've been up to since last appearing on the show.
Fraser's Sydney Marathon Experience
00:15:02
Speaker
You can hear all my training on ah the podcast available on FTK Patreon with Andy Buchanan on the Too Fast Too Furious podcast. So I'm not going to tell any more of my training. Thank you for listening. No, I'm just kidding.
00:15:14
Speaker
um I guess since I've been last on the show, people heard in last week's episode I ran Sydney Marathon and that was because I like running marathons and my training focus for this championships has always been trying to get into the best physical shape I can, um like in just peak fitness. And for me, that comes about from having a goal like a marathon or a half marathon to sort of make sure that I get up and do the extra easy running and keep my legs nice and strong.
00:15:46
Speaker
And ah the Sydney Marathon, having competed in it last year, it was just an event I didn't want to miss. And I knew from doing Ballarat earlier in the year and then running Adelaide the following week that I could sort of back up pretty quickly.
00:16:01
Speaker
um So I was happy to get through Sydney Marathon with a really good race and a time that I was happy with and probably could have run the first half a bit quicker but got sort of – it was a bit distracting running with Safaan Hassan's group because they started out really fast and then they slowed down and then eventually when we slowed down to 220 pace, I sort of got going and ran the second half pretty quick with Steve McKenna and – that turned out to be a really good way to to run it for my own confidence and just for the preservation of my body afterwards. Like I felt really good coming across the line and I guess in the week, that was only eight, nine days ago, um I've been able to tap back into some really good mountain training um because that's now I've got like the aerobic fitness and engine and probably can't improve that too much more in the space of three weeks or two and a half weeks but I can –
00:17:00
Speaker
ah Definitely sharpen up my all the all the things you were talking about with when you're hitting a corner in a trail race, you need to be dynamic and powerful coming out of that. And that's probably something that I just need to put the finishing touches on a bit.
00:17:13
Speaker
ah um So a couple of highlights of my training over the last month. I took a trip to Europe as part of a wedding slash holiday slash training camp and went to Chamonix and I did ah the Chamonix vertical kilometer, which was pretty fun.
00:17:29
Speaker
And I'm glad we're not doing that as the race because there's a lot of switchbacks in there and you have to really tap into your mental like far out. We are just going up switchbacks here. um And i you did that as well, didn't you?
00:17:43
Speaker
Yeah, I unfortunately did it at the end of my training week and we got about halfway up that climb and yeah, you you just look up and you just go, I've still got a long, long time ago yeah go.
00:17:55
Speaker
It gets pretty fun at the end though. Like, yeah, it's pretty, the Skechorometer is fine, but um yeah, it's pretty fun. Yeah, at the end, it's got rocks and like ladders screwed into the rocks and stuff like that. So you've got to start climbing with your hands. um So you're not
Chamonix Vertical Kilometer Challenges
00:18:14
Speaker
running anymore. That's why it's not super specific to the uphill, but you are just moving up and up and up.
00:18:20
Speaker
um So I was happy to do that in Chamonix in the middle of a 170, week and I guess get through it mentally okay and physically and just, yeah,
00:18:31
Speaker
the The hardest part about that was coming down. i was a little bit apprehensive about the long downhill and what that would do to my quads because a week before in Annecy, I did 20 minutes up a hill and then 20 minutes down and then went to the track and my quads were destroyed for like two days.
00:18:50
Speaker
um But I just put that down to – that was led duck ah one day after the plane. So maybe that wasn't the smartest idea. um But the Chamonix VK up and down, that was good.
00:19:01
Speaker
Got me stronger, which then either took that strength and I went to Zacapane, which to most people is a bit random. But to trail runners, they actually probably are the only people in Australia that know where Zacapane is besides Jacob Cox's friends.
00:19:18
Speaker
and Zacapane is where Sim was for the Tatra Sky Race. This is where the Tatra Mountains are. um And for listeners who want a picture of Zakopane, it's like bright, but for Polish people.
00:19:32
Speaker
And yeah, it's very touristy. so it's not the Chamonix sort of tourist vibes. Anyway, I ran up a mountain in Zakopane.
00:19:43
Speaker
And this one was like a fire road for half of it. And I was loving it. And then it turned into steps and I was not loving it. um I just don't like running up steps because there's no flow and you've got to step on the step and It's great for trail, maintaining the trail, and I understand that and you know making sure that it can cater for so many people to go up and down the mountain. But yeah, steps are just not my scene, um which is why I don't like going to the Blue Mountains anymore because they have lots of steps there too.
00:20:11
Speaker
and But that was good. And then downhill again, i was pretty confident now that my quads weren't going to die. So and that was a good little downhill session. But they were all pre-Sydney Marathon.
00:20:23
Speaker
And then I packed away the trail running shoes for a bit. Did Sydney Marathon. And then on this Saturday, You finally went and conquered something. Yeah. So this was probably top three proudest achievements of my running career.
00:20:39
Speaker
um Anyone who knows Adelaide will probably know Mount Lofty is our big tall mountain that dominates the skyline. And a month ago, Nathan and I went and ran up it when Nathan was in Adelaide.
00:20:53
Speaker
on some very important business work. And it was actually the first time I'd ever run up it, the first time Nathan had ever run up it. And it was really good. It's about 20 to 22 minutes worth of effort, straight up there, average grade of 11%, which is There's some sections of 20%. There's some sections that are flat.
00:21:11
Speaker
So it's kind of specific to our uphill race because it is just purely uphill for 20, 22 minutes with a little bit of flat in there. And I think, it's pretty tailored to the classic as well.
00:21:23
Speaker
Like the only thing it doesn't have is the technicality, but I think having those, whereas with, I think with the uphill, it's going to be a little bit more consistent. But, yeah, with the classic, like it you're going to have those implements of almost false flat 220% pinches and then sort of flatten out. So having that sort of ability to...
00:21:47
Speaker
climb and continue that motion over that climb is very important, especially at the intensity that will be moving. So think Lofty is a well-suited climb. Because if you take Lofty's stats of pretty much 4Ks with 400 metres of elevation and you do two of them, then that's and 800 metres.
00:22:12
Speaker
like You can pretty much run up and down Mount Lofty a couple of times and you've done a condensed mountain classic course. So that'll probably be what I do maybe this week or next week.
00:22:22
Speaker
and But on Saturday, a few days ago, when this was being recorded, I went out for revenge on the course record because last time missed the course record and the course record has a lot of banter and there's a guy that doesn't think it's legit. So if you really want to go down a rabbit hole, go now, click on the second highest activity on the on the segment on Mount Lofty Waterfall Gully Cafe at to Mount Lofty Cafe.
00:22:47
Speaker
Schedule about an hour looking down that. um And that was, yeah, like 10 seconds or so faster than my first time. And I knew that post the marathon, I'd be a little bit tired, but I also just, I like, I needed to get going up a hill again just to remind myself what it's like.
00:23:03
Speaker
And I sort of hoped that all my training in Europe would have now transferred over. And I also knew that i was going to be wearing headphones. So yes, it was nice to have Nathan's company.
00:23:14
Speaker
and He made me run faster the first time we do it. But having headphones on, I was able to tap into like that next level, especially on a training run. And yeah, like was...
00:23:26
Speaker
Wrecking myself. I knew when to push now this time on some of those flatter sections. I knew how long the steep sections would go for and I was yeah charging a lot of it. Got to the top, hit lap of my watch and knew I'd broken the CR and was pretty happy and was also very, very wrecked.
00:23:43
Speaker
So talking then about you know pushing up over the top, there was no way I was going to be able to push up over the top on on Saturday. But I did get the course record so... That was that's pretty good. And how much did you get it by in the end?
00:23:58
Speaker
I'm probably like 40 or 50 seconds in front now, which, yeah. Yeah. And I did most of the work in the first half, which is the flatter half. I just really went for it at the start.
00:24:10
Speaker
And so I knew I was ahead, but and I was just trying to hang on in that second half. um I beat my previous time by minute 10. So that was a nice confidence boost because knew post-marathon that would be the thing.
00:24:25
Speaker
ah internally and externally, people would we would question as to like, oh, running a marathon, that means you won't be able to run uphill very quick or downhill. But it was nice to be like, well, actually, I'm quicker than I was before the marathon. So, um yeah, that was the other day.
00:24:42
Speaker
I think with – and that's where like with the uphill stuff, it's like – once you sort of get a taste or feeling of exactly what you're in for and then you can kind of come back to it, like you're going to be pretty fine.
00:24:57
Speaker
um Like I think like being able to be as fit as possible and then having a little bit of like, as you said, you've done a couple of climbs here in Europe.
00:25:08
Speaker
And then you've already done that sort of um that climb before. You sort of knew exactly where you could push, where you could sort of get the most out of yourself. um And then you sort of just implement your strengths, right? Like, a yeah, you've just come off a marathon block, but you've got that sort of foundation of a bit of speed on the flats, but then the strength as well um to sort of push into those climbs as well. So I think, yeah, like as much as...
00:25:36
Speaker
Trail running, you need to do some specific stuff. You probably, for our sort of events, it's more about general fitness, I think. um And just being, yeah, as fit as possible.
00:25:50
Speaker
Then it's sort of, yeah. trends like Yeah, because i think I think the things that will may make the difference between who wins and who does really well at this event is, yeah, you how fast you are over 5Ks, which is like what David Roche, that's what he's always on about.
00:26:10
Speaker
like Whoever has the fastest v five k will will win a 100-mile ultra. um And the same thing in uphill running to a degree, as long as you've got the sort of muscular endurance, which is now the the rage, and after Tom Evans talked about it in his UTMB, as long as you've got the muscular strength to resist that...
00:26:29
Speaker
or that uphill running, like a hamstring or your Achilles tendon doesn't blow up because you haven't run 30 minutes uphill, then, yeah it'll come down to who's who's the fittest. And that's where...
00:26:40
Speaker
I guess our backgrounds or more so than more so yours for the longer, like last 10 years, but me relatively in the last two years of running tempo work and stuff on the track, like, yeah, we are comfortable and running fast and and working on our lactate threshold and
Fitness and Race Pacing Strategy
00:26:57
Speaker
ability to buffer all that sort of waste products.
00:27:00
Speaker
um I wouldn't mind there being a little flat spot halfway in the uphill section to just clear a bit of that out, but I don't think that that happens. Yeah. um Tell you what, we had that in Innsbruck and was like, yep, that's my moment to catalise. And, yep, by the time I got to that, I was ah was using every ounce of that flat to recover. So and i think, yeah, like with that uphill, being 15%, like there'll be a moment where you're like,
00:27:29
Speaker
you'll have this moment of going, I'm hurting. But once I feel like on a sort of climate like that, you once you push past that for the next five minutes, you sort of, your body almost comes good again. Yeah. It's just a matter of just mentally getting past that buffer. Yeah. And like, let's be honest, like the whole race, you're going to have 10, 20 guys around you. So there's going to be moments of like you're hurting,
00:27:58
Speaker
and people start to try and want to push past you and and it's just trying to not let that sort of overwhelm you as well in those instances like it's it is hard because we're we're used to in Australia it's like you jump on a trail race it's like okay I'm probably battling with one other person yeah whereas in there it's like you've got people coming past you're blowing up so yeah there's a few other elements to Yeah, the um calling out the 15% again reminded me.
00:28:26
Speaker
I've done a couple of treadmill sessions ah and I've found them really good. I've just, they're locking into that 15%. You've done that too, you were saying earlier. Yeah, so before I came over to Europe, i was like working full-time in Melbourne. It's pretty hard to sort of get out to, yeah, your Dandenongs, your like Alpine Fringe. So, yeah, just jumping on the the treadmill and jacking it up to 15%. It's,
00:28:53
Speaker
ah I don't know how much it helps, but at least it helps that, it like, almost helps the mindset. Yeah. Like, okay, I'm 10 minutes in. This is where I start to feel that pinch. The next five minutes is going to suck.
00:29:09
Speaker
But almost, like, I um reckon, can like, and And on a treadmill, it's a bit different because you you're not getting a fresh breeze that you would outside. So you start sort of sweating and and that sort of that, yeah, 10 to 15 minutes for myself is pretty tough. But once I get past that 15, I almost go, oh, instead of doing 30, how about we 45? How about an hour? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:29:32
Speaker
We could do this forever. Yeah. But it's just trying to in that five minutes, you could, make or break what you're about to do like if you go ah i'm feeling feeling pretty average and you sort of get that to sort of sort of drown you and you start to go into the red a little bit especially in the race more so than on the treadmill um because on the treadmill you can just dial the pace back but um Yeah, you just need to learn to sort of go through that pain for a bit and then you come out the other side. Speaking about, um I guess, racing in the past of these world champs, would you say your training is better in this preparation compared to Thailand and Innsbruck?
Training Improvements for World Championships
00:30:17
Speaker
Yeah, would. um its I can't really remember what I was doing pre-Innsbruck, but I know for Thailand, like that classic race was my second ever trail race.
00:30:30
Speaker
So... I couldn't really, like I was doing some specific stuff, like a lot of like turn and burn threshold stuff, which I still do to this day. um And I still enjoy those sort of sessions. Like you've got to, like you can't do those sessions every day because as you've already spoken about, the descents are where your legs get banged up.
00:30:53
Speaker
Yeah. And ah ah for me, it's not the day after, it's the two days after. That's when the DOMS really kick in. So doing those sort of sessions, you just got to be specific on when you do it.
00:31:05
Speaker
um But yeah, for Innsbruck, like I definitely had a sort of ah program set in place, but... um Once again, it's it ah probably didn't get the like the length of climbs in.
00:31:22
Speaker
I was probably doing them too short. So I felt great on to the first part of the uphill and then... all of a sudden it just starts to get really sort of like the calves start to almost tighten up um pretty strongly. And then that's when you have 10 people passing and you're just in your mindset, you're just going like, am i just, whereas.
00:31:48
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. You're starting to think, have you fucked at all? oh Yeah. It's a language warning there, but. Whereas like now, as I said, like knowing what pace is my pace yeah on these long climbs is going to sort of come in to its element in that first third.
00:32:06
Speaker
Like, okay, like if I get out and I'm in a position that I've probably on the flat gone out a little bit too hot and I've got myself a bit further up just to sort of know, okay, now let's just lock into, like get into a rhythm And then in that second so or the last two thirds, that's when I can sort of be like, all right, I'm past that pain cave.
00:32:29
Speaker
Now let's get moving. and um And I think, yeah, being here for what, four five weeks beforehand is going to be so much more beneficial. Whereas like in Thailand, it was in 32 degree weather.
00:32:44
Speaker
Yeah. In a jungle, not near the coast. And then Innsbruck, I flew in probably seven seven days before, seven or eight days before. So it was sort like, it's a pretty quick turnaround. um And when you do come to places like the Alps,
00:33:00
Speaker
You sort of go, oh, how amazing is this? And I don't know if you can get carried away, but you sort of do sort of tend to, especially when you're on a holiday. um I don't really, a lot of people think I'd come over here for these holidays, but it's more like yeah training camp because you sort of,
00:33:19
Speaker
You want to go do these tourist things, but realistically, the benefit for your training is to probably just go do these big runs in the morning and then just sort of chill and kick back in the afternoons.
00:33:33
Speaker
Yeah. But when you've got sort of only seven days to sort go explore, you sort of go out and explore a bit. So I think this time coming into this World Champs, going to be a lot more level-headed, know exactly what I'm in for, and I'm aiming for consistency.
00:33:49
Speaker
And I think that's what I've probably lacked in the past is sort of just being able to, like, put my best foot forward in the most consistent manner. um Whereas, like, yeah, in Innsbruck, you'll remember um in the classic race, like, I just went,
00:34:05
Speaker
health I'm going to go out, see what happens. And I think I was fifth about a K and a half into that race. And about halfway up that climb, I reckon about 50 blokes came past me and I just went, I'm done.
00:34:19
Speaker
You still finished top top Australian though in the Classic last time? Yeah, I finished first Aussie in the uphill and then Jeremy got me in Classic. So me and Jeremy went toe-to-toe in both of those, um which, yeah, it's a shame to,
00:34:34
Speaker
not have Jeremy here at this world champs. He's not dead, though. He's just got a sore heart, right? Yeah, exactly. He just unfortunately can't put himself through the the pain cave anymore. But, um yeah, it's well to be fair, he's gallimanting around the world at the moment, so it's probably he won in the endgame. Yeah.
00:34:59
Speaker
he yeah it's sort of like having that position of knowing what you're going to go through and sort of being in control of your own race is what i'm probably trying to get to is just to know that if i can put my best foot forward that's as much as i can do and hopefully that is going to be um a pretty good result.
00:35:21
Speaker
Like that's all you can really do. yeah like i Like I can be as fit as possible. I can be as dialed in. And if I can, for myself, put that forward and present that, like that's that's the best I can do.
00:35:37
Speaker
ah Whereas I don't want to go out there and, yeah, go out too hard, go into the red, then have to salvage that halfway through that uphill race. Because if you go in the red uphill, done, race is done.
00:35:49
Speaker
Like there's no coming back. It's funny the way you're describing – um your approach to the race and and that'll be my similar approach as well. Just try and do the best I can so that, cause like it'll be hard externally to know, okay if 40 guys beat me, I don't know who they are. i don't know what their best times are. And if they've run a really good race and I've run a tbore terrible race, I just need to know how well I've done. But for a lot of the listeners who listen to this show, it is probably how they should approach their races every day and and how they're probably used to approaching their trail races.
Motivation and National Representation
00:36:20
Speaker
They know they're not going to come out and,
00:36:22
Speaker
and win the race but they just need to internally be happy with their result and so it's good opportunity for us australian i guess you could say elite trail runners to sort of role model those behaviors and go and compete on the big stage and try and i guess do our own best efforts we might come 48th we might come 148th hopefully top 50 which would which would be top 50 would be nice to sort of satisfy that criteria but um a so really good day could be 148. Yeah.
00:36:53
Speaker
and And this is the thing for our sort of disciplines as well. Like I think when you do go to those short trails, those long trails, it's sort of yeah filters out a little bit, right? Like your, your countries aren't sending full teams and those sorts of things. And then also you've got DNS that contend with DNS's. Whereas for our races, they're so short, sharp and punchy.
00:37:18
Speaker
Um, And you do have elements of road runners like myself back when in Thailand, like you've got road runners that have probably gotten to an age that have gone you know what, that World Mountain Champs looks pretty decent, so let's go contend at that. So you've got these guys that probably fairly fresh and new to the sport, competing for countries like, yet I don't know, like east South Africa and those sort of places that sort of probably aren't as commonly known for trail running, but you start adding those guys into your countries like France, Italy, Kenya, Uganda, all these other nations, all of a sudden you start looking at going, well, hang on.
00:38:00
Speaker
60th place is pretty good. yeah And like if you if you're breaking into, yeah, that top 50, you're doing pretty well, especially for us over in Oz. Like it's a lot lot of travel for us.
00:38:14
Speaker
it's It's definitely a bit different. It's completely different terrain. um But I always say it's like, as much as we're a team it's always nice to sort of be like okay i've got fraser i've got michael and then i've also got the kiwi boys that i know where i sort of sit with them as well so it's always nice to have some friendly faces in that race to be able to go all right either we all run pretty well yeah all run pretty average or we all run exactly where we
Maintaining Focus During Races
00:38:46
Speaker
should have been.
00:38:46
Speaker
um And I think that's that's the biggest element with these races. But yeah, like ah since sort of coming to the trails, like the fact that there's no times to chase for, it's all about feel within that. So yeah, as you said, like to be able to be in control with your own race and sort of block out those external factors is probably the biggest thing.
00:39:10
Speaker
Yeah, the it's it's funny when you're saying i like the race against other Australians because that is a big deal for us. And on the Patreon show I'm on on FTK, Riley Wolf was asking me what i what I rate higher, Sydney Marathon or World Champs. And I came to the realization, i said equally, and I came to the realization that at Sydney Marathon, I'm competing against the Australians in the race for for prize money and positions and then at world champs I'm also trying to rank myself against the Australians so it's the same same game but at Sydney Marathon there's 10 Africans in front of me and in world champs there's going to be 10 Africans and 10 Europeans and 10 North Americans floating around um which I had another train of thought but then I've just lost it.
00:39:59
Speaker
Mustn't been important. No. But yeah so what what are your thoughts going into Obviously now you've got You've done a couple of sort of hill workouts since the marathon.
00:40:09
Speaker
um What are your thoughts? Are you pretty confident with how your fitness is going? especially like the verdict of The uphill, I should say, um is probably less so. like I think we know that that's going to be consistent vein. But what about the downhill running in the classic sport?
00:40:30
Speaker
Overall, i'm I'm just excited to be a part of it and I am confident in my fitness given the last couple of days and how I've pulled up and some of the plyometric work that I've added in over the last two or three months into my just flat running and also on trails, things like bounding up hills.
00:40:48
Speaker
I'm almost kicking myself that I haven't done that for the last 10 years because I think that is that's going to be a game changer for me in my going downhill ability. and But overall, like,
00:41:00
Speaker
I went to Innsbruck as well and I competed in the short trail and ah sort of when you were talking before about how you went over to Innsbruck and you sort of maybe spent bit too much time and seven days like getting around a bit, seeing too much. I definitely did that when I was in Innsbruck and just loved it being my first time in Europe.
00:41:21
Speaker
um I had an okay race at the time. I wasn't that impressed by how much I faded. I started out thirtieth or 40th. and then faded to 88th. And I think that's like the biggest lesson that I want to take from that is don't do that again.
00:41:36
Speaker
maybe start 70th, 80th and try and work my way through the field. um But I'm just really excited to be a part of the event again because that four days of watching the top trail runners in the world compete in that location in Innsbruck was awesome. And um yeah from the pictures that we've seen and I guess the course notes from Ben and Kelly who've already been out there on the ground, like it all sounds very exciting. So um I guess my approach to both races, the uphill is pretty unknown because, yeah, I did those two longer workouts in Europe, but where I stand on the segment leaderboard for that is a little bit further down than I was kind of hoping for, and you kind' of you lose a little bit of confidence. But then I just know that –
00:42:23
Speaker
Those were middle of a big training week and I wasn't attacking them like I did on the weekend um at at Waterfall Gully up Mount Lofty. So I do know that um'm I'm really excited for that level of hurt that I'm going to get in an uphill race because running straight up to the top of of a mountain is very primal and just – pretty sick so yeah I'm excited for that um the classic race am excited for as well and just nervous I guess in terms of the course the the picture of the course a lot of switchbacks and turns and stuff like that and yeah it's nice to run really fast as an elite trail runner but when there's so many turns it's
00:43:07
Speaker
it can be dangerous and so when you're in a world champs and you're trying to work out how fast you can run just i'm a little bit nervous in that aspect of i don't want to actually injure myself and and i want to finish the race i want to finish both the races and i want to compete really hard and you know challenge for top australian and get top 50 and all that um i don't want to fall over that that's that's kind of why It was the same for my ETC. Like I was pretty burnt out up the climb and and I didn't know how technical the descents were on this course. Like I just went in full blind and it was quite similar. Like there sections of just like sheer sheer cliff, but it was almost like this real soft dirt. So if you stood wrong, you just slide.
00:43:53
Speaker
um And you just have this element of like, i know I can go quicker. yeah But I just don't want to because I don't know what's around the next corner and there's that element of it.
00:44:04
Speaker
But I think having, like I'll be on the ground for 10 days before the champs. So I'll definitely be able to go out and check the the classic course and sort of give you and Michael a bit of a rundown on hey, like this these are the sections where you really need to be careful and then these are the sections where you can just let it all out.
00:44:23
Speaker
Yeah. And once you have that sort of confidence in you, then it's sort of like, okay, I know where I can make my time up.
World Championships Atmosphere and Excitement
00:44:32
Speaker
These are the sections where I just don't be silly, especially on the first lap, I think.
00:44:37
Speaker
um On the second lap, it's sort of like just go all out. But, yeah, I think... Back to what you were saying about, like, yeah, it's just an exciting experience as well. Like, these we're we're not here to be expected to get on the podium or probably in top 10. So it's like the element of, um and I know, like, there's a few people in the team that are just sort of ah no not concerned or anything like that, but they're just sort of, they're getting overwhelmed by the experience as well. So it's like, I think, as we said, like, if you can put your best foot forward,
00:45:14
Speaker
no matter where you rank, even if you rank as the worst Aussie, but you know you've put your um best foot forward, like that's, it's still a good result, right? Like yeah it's like NA, but um yeah, it is it is quite humbling when you, like as you said with your segments as well, it's like, I'm like, oh, did that climb pretty well and then you rank like one hundred and fortieth and you're just like, geez, if I was home, I would have been like minute up on that CR. Yeah, yeah.
00:45:43
Speaker
and that so Yeah, I don't mean to compare it to like females, but then you even look at your positioning on the female segment leaderboard and you're like, geez, like usually I wouldn't be getting beaten by that many ladies. So that's credit to them. Well, yeah, power to weight ratio for them on the the the VK, I think. Yeah.
00:46:00
Speaker
Ah, that's what it is. Yeah, like some of the some of the women at ETC were just, yeah, they're incredible. um Just how like confident and agile they are on the climbs as well. Like they they just sort of, um but some of these Europeans just live and breathe.
00:46:16
Speaker
um Yeah. Sort of deep stuff and you just sort of watch them go up and you're just like, all or like the technical descents, it's like you they just bound past you and you're just like,
00:46:28
Speaker
See, that's that bounding there. That's the bounding. ah sir i'm goingnna That's my secret weapon this time. It was funny, you were talking before about doing doing your best and we're not expected to to win or anything on top 10.
00:46:41
Speaker
It did remind me of not my previous train of thought that I lost, but something that I think about that is important with world champs is it means so much to the people back in Australia that like aren't runners and you they're just your schoolmates or or workmates. like If you say, oh, I'm going to compete for Australia,
00:46:59
Speaker
They're like really supportive and right behind you. And I think that's really important to sort of acknowledge that the people that are making the sacrifice to be on the team, yeah, it's costing us money to to sort of fly over and do what you're doing, bit of a training camp.
00:47:13
Speaker
um And we could be doing – some people choose to do other fancier races. But to me, like, it doesn't mean crap if you go to some random German race to do to come eighth.
00:47:25
Speaker
Like, I'd much rather be inspired by someone competing for Australia at the World Champs. um So that's ah one of my motivations, at least. Exactly. And, like, I think – for me, like a goal for me, like is to make the team, right? Like, and this being my third team, like it's a massive achievement and I'm really um like proud of myself and so are my friends and family. But yeah, it's it's a matter of like um being able to represent your country, compete against the best in the world, having that expectation of, hey, like, yeah, like I'm not here to win.
00:48:06
Speaker
but I want to compete as well as I can. and like But I think, yeah, there's nothing like it, whereas, like, yeah, I've ah've competed around the world. I've been fortunate to go to, yeah, a world cross-country champ as a junior and stuff.
00:48:20
Speaker
And these the world's experience is just by far the greatest experience you can ever have in terms of racing. Like, I've had terrible races. Like, that world cross-country champs, I think I'm the worst place Australian of all time.
00:48:35
Speaker
In terms of any world champs team. and But the experience that I took from that is just still by far greater than a race that I probably smashed the um course record and had an absolute pearler.
00:48:53
Speaker
and felt amazing, but that World Champs experience is still sort of sticks with me. um And it would for the people supporting you that time you went to the World like all the these times, which is the important thing about what we do as runners who sort of sacrifice work goals and life goals to prioritise running goals is that, yeah, we, I guess, lift the standards that everyone else sort of wants to try and hit. Yeah.
00:49:20
Speaker
Exactly. um Yeah, like what would your – so as you sort of touched on before, you sort of – what would your sort of ultimate goals be? Let's just say, yeah, both races go plan A. Beat you.
00:49:35
Speaker
Beat me. Yeah, ah beat Beat Koeners. Beat Ian Best. And one thing for the uphill race that I think is important, we're one of the first, but like us in the women's uphill race, we want to set the tone for the championships for the weekend. Like I remember when I competed in the short trail,
00:49:56
Speaker
in Innsbruck I went to watch the uphill and I thought it was incredible and saw you run I saw Jeremy Alistair run and I was so motivated and inspired I was also a very tired probably wasn't the greatest idea to go out and support but I was very glad I did um so yeah like i I definitely want to start the championships right for Australia and sort of compete really well.
00:50:21
Speaker
um Top Australian would be a goal and top 50%. And just to absolutely like wreck myself in the classic race as well. Sometimes when you finish a trail race, well, often in South Australia, um there's no competition for me and it's a bit hard to know like how fast I could have gone.
00:50:41
Speaker
And so I'm really excited to, I guess, finish behind people and try and chase some random guy from Finland or Denmark into the finish. um So that's my goal to myself to sort of sprint right into the end um and become and be top Australian and hanging over you for two years.
00:51:02
Speaker
I don't know about that. don't know. and Until next year 2027. Yeah, in South Africa. um But yeah, they like I'm probably the same. I think, yeah, that top 50% and to the listeners that probably don't understand why we're talking in a percentage is due to we don't know how many people are competing.
00:51:24
Speaker
We don't know what countries are sending a full team and those sort of things. So, You sort of – we could say a top 30 position, but that top 30 could be pretty out of the question. yeah um Or that top 30 could be that top 50%. We just never know. um Because in Thailand I came 52nd, but I think I was like – in the last sort of 20% whereas like in Innsbruck I was 70th and I was just on that cusp of
Competition and Expectations at World Championships
00:51:54
Speaker
50%. So you sort of like on record, well, 52 is better than 70 but actually that 70 was better. So that's where that percentage and comes into play. And we, in terms of our criteria of making the team, it's it's it's an expected percentage
00:52:12
Speaker
thought to be in the top 50 which i think that with the mountain running disciplines compared to some of the trail ones it's it's a little different but that's another um another thing that we could probably rant on a little bit but um it's because i think yeah 30 people that will dnf or maybe 50 people that will dnf the long trail we don't have that luxury of People are doing that. Yeah.
00:52:38
Speaker
and And, the you well, the Kenyans and the East Africans haven't sort of ventured to those longer distance just yet. I think there might be for the short trail this year, which will be cool to see.
00:52:50
Speaker
um But, yeah, in our in our disciplines, in the vertical and the the classic, it's they're definitely hi ah um here to stay and they're pretty dominant in those in those disciplines. So, yeah, you just sort of – but, yeah, definitely I want to share my hand in being the first Aussie up that hill, especially when it came to Innsbruck because we – the men went off first so that the females were after us. And being the first Aussie up that hill was –
00:53:22
Speaker
electrifying like yeah probably one of the most scenic finish lines in the in all of world sports um and yeah having sort of four people deep and there Aussies the whole way up that sort of grass hill and yeah it was pretty special so um yeah To be able to just sort of be in that scenario and and know I'm feeling good and have a smile on my face and knowing that I've put my best foot forward, I think that's that's where it is. Unfortunately, Fraser's up the road, well, that's it. But if Fraser's behind me, he up road.
00:53:56
Speaker
Now, that that finish line, um I took a picture standing on that hill and that has been my like phone background for the last two years. um So i need to do I need to get a new picture of that. That's another goal of mine, um which leads me to my next question. Outside of your races at the World Champs, what are you looking forward to about the World Champs as an event?
00:54:19
Speaker
like Or as an event, so not my one. Yeah, not your races, just like the whole... Yeah, yeah. Like I was probably going to say, yeah, like the opening ceremony is pretty epic to be a part of. yeah um ah I don't know. i haven't – well, like field lists I don't think really come out, but I think that long trail um at that pointy end looks like it's going to be pretty sort of fierce.
00:54:44
Speaker
yeah You've got – ah Francesco Pupi, who just came off triple C win. yup Jim Walmsley, who just came off the OCC win.
00:54:56
Speaker
So you've got like a fairly pretty stacked field um in that long trail in the men's. and then But I'm sure like yeah across all all those sort of trail races, it's going to get it's it's way more competitive than it has been in the past, I think.
00:55:12
Speaker
and um where like at Innsbruck you had sort of some of these top guys maybe in the top sort of five and then you sort of had a few, whereas I think it's going to be like top ten, probably win a race at UTMB on any given day, um which will be pretty epic. Yeah, i'm about I'm probably the same in terms of that whole like the depth of the other races.
00:55:34
Speaker
Jim Wormsley... If he rocks up, because he was meant to race in Innsbruck and we stayed in the same hotel as the Team USA last time. And we've got, yeah, Zach Miller, Max King, Grayson Murphy all in our hotel.
00:55:46
Speaker
But Jim Wormsley was a D. He didn't appear, so that was pretty flattening. So hopefully he he appears. um I'm excited for like just that hotel banter that you have at ah in at breakfast every morning before the race. but And you see like the next sort of Australian team going out to race and you're always like, good luck.
00:56:05
Speaker
And then they come back and you're like, oh, how'd Some people are like very sad. Some people youre like, oh, congrats. um And some people are broken. Yeah. So that's always cool. um And it's just because it's so different for us. Like maybe Gold Coast Marathon where there's a half on the Saturday and the marathon on the Sunday is the closest thing to – what the Trail World Champs is. Like, as a spectacle, I was very sure that if I didn't get picked ah two years ago – sorry, when I went two years ago, i was like, if I don't get picked for 2025, I definitely want to try and go because, like –
00:56:42
Speaker
It's just four days of awesome running. Like it's better than I've not been to the World Athletics Championships or the Olympics, but like I think it's better because of the scenery and the environment and just everyone's happy. and Yeah, it's awesome. So I'm i'm excited for that.
00:56:57
Speaker
Yeah, and I think, like, from seeing what Kelly and Ben have put up in terms of posts, I actually caught up with Ben yesterday for a coffee. um And, like, yeah, some of the scenery there, like, ah I don't know what my expectations were. Like, I've seen the the vertical because the the World Masters champs were there and Ian's actually um had a taste of the course. So he's probably, in terms of, yeah, course knowledge, he's he's well up there. yeah.
00:57:25
Speaker
yeah It was a pretty stormy day that day. So you sort of didn't get a good feeling of exactly the surrounding areas. But when Kelly and Ben were there, like some of the the scenery there is just phenomenal. Yeah. So, yeah, just being able to just be a part of like the big event, being seeing all the other teams, mingling with all the other teams as well. Like I've i've still got plenty of friends that I met in Thailand that like us I still keep in contact. And it's so it's just a nice feeling when you cook everyone comes together
00:58:00
Speaker
Everyone is competing against each other, but also us Australians, we're all sort of um rooting for each other as well. Like I think as much as, yeah, like we are going head to head, it's always nice to see each other do um race well. I don't want to, ah you know, finish in front of you and then hear you had food poisoning or something. i want I want everyone to be competing on their best day.
00:58:27
Speaker
um It would be pretty funny though, like just coming to that finish because it's quite similar to what Innsbruck is. It's sort of you you hit those switchbacks then all of a sudden you just come above that tree line and it just opens up to a straight line pinched towards the finish. It would be quite funny if it's all three of us or all four of us sort of biting for a position and ah get the other Aussies sort of cheering us on.
00:58:54
Speaker
Yeah, no, that'd be cool. um We're almost at an hour, so we better start wrapping wrapping things up for people's easy 60-minute run that they're listening to. um What have you got coming up between now and and race day? What's the exciting thing?
00:59:10
Speaker
Yeah, I'm still here in Annecy for another week. um And then I head off to Condanchu, which is just the ski resort above Can Frank in Spain. So I've got that sort of, yeah, another week here in Annecy. So definitely just sort of um kick back and put the feet up as much as possible. And it's my third week here. So definitely like the the whole nostalgia of being in Europe is kind of worn off.
00:59:36
Speaker
um So I'll just get more sort of specific stuff in and, Yeah, really dial in these sessions that I need ah need a hit, get the legs spinning over. and um But, yeah, nothing majorly to look forward to. I do enjoy long runs here.
00:59:51
Speaker
Like it's probably my favourite day, yeah Wednesday and Sunday, just being able to go out. I went out and saw La Tournette, which is a the sort of the biggest mountain around the lake here, and it was epic. Like you would have seen the videos. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:00:07
Speaker
You don't get much better running. And I've got an absolute pearler of a day. Bluebird, clear sky to see Mont Blanc and all surrounding areas. And it was just you're running on these grassy meadow mountains single trail, non-technical, up on this ridgeline with full panoramic views. It was pretty
Exploring Annecy's Trails During Training
01:00:29
Speaker
epic. So just sort of, yeah, getting out and exploring more trails and and just enjoying it as well.
01:00:36
Speaker
What about yourself? When do you head over Europe? Yeah, I'm doing the the opposite of your sort of travel plans. I'm coming in quite late. um I come in on the – so race day is Thursday and I get into Madrid on Monday afternoon and then go straight to the – wherever the team hotel will be by Tuesday afternoon.
01:00:57
Speaker
um Between now and then, like a bit of – some sessions in Clearland. There's a couple more CRs i sort of want to hit. um And I'll probably try and like I've done some uphill specific stuff, but now it'll be about going up and then down. um Yeah, I'm just looking forward to, i guess, a couple more weeks being at home in my own bed and ah putting the finishing touches and then getting to Madrid, getting back to Europe. Like going over to Europe beforehand was really good for for me. Like I feel comfortable traveling.
01:01:30
Speaker
I'm not going to lose my passport. I'm excited to to go again and go through Dubai. and um yeah so i'm like looking forward to that and i do travel pretty well so i'm looking forward to just getting into madrid getting into spain
Travel and Preparation Strategies for World Championships
01:01:44
Speaker
seeing everyone and uh and then racing and then what layer not as quick as mine in dubai that was stressful yeah like half an hour or something didn't you yeah not good yeah but um Yeah, now, like, I think for the trip over to Europe, it's a lot easier. Yeah. It's the going back that sort of stings you out, but who cares about that, right? Like, it's, e you get over here and, yeah, as quick as possible, you sort of dial into the, yeah, the sleep patterns, the eating patterns and those sort of things.
01:02:17
Speaker
Yeah. I think it was, well, like, for me, like, yeah, obviously, ETC didn't go to plan, but I think, you it's either you come over and you race within like, yeah, three or four days or it's like you've got to be here for at least two weeks to sort of really um get the most of it. Whereas like if you have that sort of awkward in between, it's sort of like I did in Innsbruck. I think you sort of, you come in, you kind of go, oh well, I've got a fair few days. Like I've got a whole week to sort of like recover and get ready
01:02:50
Speaker
So you sort of go out and you go, oh, well, I'll go out and sightsee and I'll do all these things and you sort of get carried away. And then by the time of the race, you just sort of, yeah, you haven't actually gotten over that jet lag. yeah So um whereas when you've got that quick turnaround, your prime focus is going to be like, all right, I need get everything dialed in for Thursday. Yeah, and and I had a bit of confidence coming back from Australia recently. Like I flew in Sunday night and then went out to runners one Tuesday morning, had a great session, and I was like, right, that's that's all I need. I can do that. um thursday Monday to Thursday is going to be easy, and then the Sunday race, and then I'll be world champion, and it'll be great.
01:03:34
Speaker
Get to fly home on my private jet. No, no, no. You've got me contend with in that world champion. Yeah. You can take first. I'll come second. Kerners and Ian can be third and fourth.
01:03:45
Speaker
a Yeah, yeah. Beautiful. Well... Thanks for listening, everyone. It's been a good little chat, little bit of banter. um But, yeah, we'll um we'll be reporting back probably post post to the champs. And, um yeah, hopefully good luck to you, Fraser.
01:04:03
Speaker
Good luck to you too, Nathan. I'll see you over there. can't wait to see you in person. I know. It'll be good. just ah I'll have a coffee waiting for you. Very good. All right. Thank you, listeners.
01:04:15
Speaker
Thank you.