Muscle Worx - Hamilton massage clinics providing Therapeutic massage - sports massage - relaxation massage with the convenience of Visa and Mastercard

Mike Brown

 

A senior lecturer in the Sport and Leisure Studies Department at the University of Waikato Mike's competing in triathlons has allowed him to “walk the talk”, to show that physical activity is not restricted to the young, and to pursue a long held dream to represent NZ.

The start of the 2008/09 triathlon season is only Mike's second year in the sport however he has been an active athlete on and off over the last 30 years having represented Auckland in athletics in the early 1980’s and maintaining fitness in mountain bike and club road racing, the Coast-to-Coast (2005) and numerous multisport events over the years.

2008 was Mikes first year competing in triathlons and he's obviously thrilled to have been selected for the NZ age group teams for both the ITU World Standard Distance Triathlon Champs (Gold Coast, Sept 2009) and the Long Distance Worlds in Perth, (October, 2009). The Long Distance worlds are twice the Standard, or Olympic Distance course (3km swim, 80km ride, 20km run).

As a “novice” triathlete (the Standard distance World Champs is only Mike's 5th triathlon and the Long Distance worlds his second half iron man) the aim going into the each event to improve on his personal best times.

A second winter of solid training will hopefully pay dividends in both these events and provide a solid platform for a good 2009 season.

• Go to race report - ITU World Standard Distance Triathlon Champs
• Go to race report - ITU World Long Distance Triathlon Champs
• Go to race report - Orca Karapiro Half Ironman
• Go to race report - Port of Tauranga Half Ironman

The aims this season are to compete in:

• Orca Karapiro Half Iron Man in Cambridge (14th Nov)
• Tinman Tri in Tauranga (5th Dec)
• Port of Tauranga Half Iron Man (9th Jan)
• NZ Ironman in March

"As an age group athlete the demands of training and the bodies ability to “bounce back” are not what they were and I’ve valued the benefits of therapeutic massage provided by Michelle Philburn of Muscleworx. With Michelle’s assistance I’ve managed to avoid ITB problems that I experienced in my build up to the Coast-to-Coast. Regular massage has not only assisted me in getting over the inevitable minor niggles that result from continuous training but more importantly has prevented old injuries from resurfacing"

"I’m absolutely delighted for the support provided by Muscleworx to “keep me on track”. Located in Hillcrest and at the Uni Rec Centre allows me easy access during the day and I would thoroughly recommend the team at Muscleworx for professionalism and dedication to the needs of the client. Cheers, here’s to a great 2008/09 season - Mike"

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Gold Coast Standard Distance World’s

All photos courtesy of Cherie Harris

Post race report.

Well my first world’s have come and gone  - some good points, some not so good!

On the positive side I’ve come out of a NZ winter and set a PB, knocking a minute off my previous fastest time – on the not so good side, I struggled with the heat and this effected me on the run.

After much speculation (and prayers to the water temperature gods) race day arrived with a “coolish” 20 degree water temp and wetsuits were permitted. Standing in the starting area for 9 minutes waiting for our wave start certainly brought on a sweat though. The swim went well (23min) and then out on to a superfast bike course.

I managed to get into the swing of things quickly and averaged 40kph. The “draft busters” had their hands full with upwards of 2000 cyclists on the road at any one time and with only 1 lane available drafting was inevitable and realistically unavoidable. There was no doubt that some countries exploited this and worked as a team. Perhaps it’s time for Triathlon to either limit numbers or allow drafting at this level?

I thought I was hydrating enough on the bike but 2k’s into the run I started to suffer with the heat. Rather than charging home strongly I had to just try and maintain a steady pace. I probably lost 2 minutes on the run leg – but there’s nothing I can do about it now and I’ll be better prepared for Perth in 5 weeks.

A great event and a good lesson in dealing with the heat.


Cheers,
Mike

 

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Perth Long Distance World Triathlon Champs

 

Post race report.

As luck would have it the hottest day during the 5 days in Perth was race day. It was a scorching 32 with a warm breeze and a late start time of 8.45. As the largest age category (63 starters) we got away last and headed into a sizeable chop on the first leg of the 3km swim. The Swan River makes the Waikato look positively sparkling!  I was pleasantly surprised to come out of the water in 12th and onto the bike leg (4x 20km laps) in reasonable shape. After the heat of Gold Coast I was well equipped with water bottles and had no problems keeping adequately hydrated. The course was fast and largely flat and the race organisers had imposed a 12m gap between competitors which resulted in a fair race. By the time the run started it was like a furnace – water stops were a chance to throw water over my head and down my back. This seemed to work a treat and I finished the run exhausted but in far better shaped than September’s Olympic Distance worlds. I finished 21st and was 3rd Kiwi home (10 in the team) – so overall a successful race considering it was only my second ‘half iron man’. Time to turn attention to the local season with a hit out in the Karapiro halfiron man in November.

Cheers,                                     
Mike

PS. my room mate and swim training partner, Shane Vincent, won the 35-39 age group title. I’d like to claim some credit, but that’d be grossly unfair!

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Orca Karapiro Half Ironman

 

Post race report.

The inaugural Orca Half Iron man was held in stunning conditions on 14th November. Lake Karapiro was like a mirror and it was a great 2km swim down the rowing course. Transition 1 was at the lakeside before a “trying” ride around Maungatautari. A cyclists’ route, it soon sorted out those with some hill climbing strength. I was particularly happy with the ride, ultimately finishing with the 8th fastest ride time.

Transition 2, in the main street in Cambridge provided a great spot for friends and supporters to gather. As the day got hotter the experience gained in Perth helped. A refreshing breeze was blowing up the Waikato River so crossing over the ‘High Bridge’ provided welcomed relief. The run went well and it was great to have support from Greg and Michelle at the end of each lap.

I finished 13th overall and 1st in my age group – a great start to the domestic season. The challenge now is to build steadily towards Iron Man NZ in March. Next event is the Tin Man Tri at the Mount in early December.

As the training sessions step up in volume the massage table is becoming increasingly important and valued.

Cheers,
Mike

 

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Port of Tauranga Half Ironman

All photos courtesy of Imagine Media Ltd

Post race report.

Written from a café in Fremantle.

Arrived on Sunday afternoon and limped off the plane after spending most of day sitting. Surprisingly the temperature in Perth was lower than we have recently been experiencing in Waikato/BoP. Certainly a lot cooler than the 32 I experienced at the LD worlds here in October. Having said that it’s heating up today and it’s expected to hit 35.

Well what can I say about Tauranga 2010- other than wow? Great support from family and friends right around the course. People would ‘pop up’ all over the place and I really appreciated the words of encouragement.

This was my second Tauranga half and therefore a great way to judge my improvement over the year. 2009, 4.41 – 2010, 4.27; 14 minutes is a great leap forward and the run was especially pleasing (1.28; 30th fastest run overall). The Ironman training, the solid winter effort and experience is starting to pay off. I was thrilled to get 3rd in my age category and be a lot closer to the category winner, the ever impressive Steve Farrell, than last year.

To Michelle and Greg, George and Lance, a big thanks for your support and remember there is a team event! I hope to see you on the course in 2011.

From now until March the focus is on the Taupo Ironman – a whole different ball game, but in the meantime I’m happy to have an easy week recovering and mixing work (2 conference presentations) with a quick look around Freo over the weekend before I head home.

To the team at Muscleworx – well done on keeping an old machine in good working order!

Regards,
Mike

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