Sid and Seb go jungle trekking - Fraser's Hill

Shilpa and I took the intrepid Sid and Seb on a visit to Fraser's Hill. The plan was to do a bit of a jungle walk and then go horse riding, archery, waterfalls, pedal boating, the whole works for a family day out. After a three hour drive we got there and the place was deserted - very cool. Also it was very cool as it is a hill station and the extra altitude keeps the heat and humidity down nicely.

We did the fist trail, The Hemmant Trail, but it was more like a path through the jungle so we decided to head for the more adventurous Bishops Trail that was quite tricky, especially for 6 year olds and infested with blood sucking leeches according to the guide book.

We were all paranoid about getting eaten alive by leeches but fortunately is was reasonably dry so we were spared...that was until the heavens opened up about 10 minutes before the end of the trail and another kilometre to the car. Needless to say we were soaked to the skin and the boys sense of adventure and sense of humour vanished.

Then the thunder and lightening started striking all around and their misery turned to terror...haha (oops I shouldn't be laughing). I deposited the boys and a rapidly souring Shilpa in a admin office and trudged down the hill to the car. Family rescued, clothes changed and hot chocolate somewhat improved the mood; although as the rain wasn't looking like it was going to abate we abandoned Fraser's Hill for a 3 hour drive home, a promise of ice-cream and the memory of a semi-adventure and a 1 hour 40 minute trek trough the jungle.

Seb and Sid go water skiing & wake boarding for the first time

Shilpa and I took the boys water skiing and wake boarding for the first time on Sunday. It was brilliant, the boys took to it so naturally. Sid was the slightly better water skier and Seb was the slightly better wake boarder. One thing is for sure, they're both better than me. I tried water skiing once in the Caribbean and wake boarding about 10 years ago in Malaysia both were similar experiences...I got dragged behind a boat about 6 inches under water haha

We're going again on Friday and this time the it'll be the boys AND Mummy & Daddy having a crack at it.

Incidentally, the location is hopefully the swim course for a 2013 Malaysia Ironman at Purajaya. Fingers crossed on that one. I'm entering IMNZ tomorrow morning anyway.

Seb super focused

Seb thinks it's so much fun

Seb just loving it

Seb the wake boarder

This is brilliant

Sid a natural water skier

Sid freaking out a bit

This is just too easy!

Sid super focused

OK wake boarding, bring it on

BIG FUN, Sid and Seb with their coach

Daddy enjoying the show and sneaking a few beers in

Ironman Melbourne, Asia Pacific Championships - Race Report

(Photos courtesy of Finishers Pix and Ivie)

So here it is the race report, after my last post I'm rather pleased to be able to write one but hey we all know that Gladys may have collapsed into 1000 pieces as she rolled into T2 but she was never going to let me down.

The day unfolded with a 2:30am wake up and whey-hey COFFEE. Unusually I only given up coffee for two weeks rather than the usual month (coach said the science suggested a month was unnecessary) but I was gagging for it. My amazing hosts Narim and Alex didn't let me down, not only was the coffee ready to be poured but Narim was awake to serve it to me - AWESOME or what? Not only that but Shilpa set her alarm, woke up and called me from KL to make sure I didn't miss the start. So cool, thanks to both of you.

The earlier than normal start was because I was staying 7k from the finish but as the run was a point to point I was 50k from the start. A taxi had been ordered and my second pint of strong coffee was poured in my thermos for the journey. There was a problem though, a small problem but one that could be a race breaker...I only managed one "sit-down" and I didn't feel the need for more...gross, maybe but a very significant issue before such a long hard race believe me. Anyway more on that later.

I headed out the door at 4am to me met by three blokes staggering home with their kebabs, taxi was waiting and off we went. Then we almost got car-jacked. Some bloke ra\n out into the path of the taxi and literally was prepared to be run over. He could barely speak and his mate was passed out on the pavement. "Call us a taxi mate, we got money and everything" he begged the taxi driver. The driver promised he would and the drunken yob let us pass. Funnily enough the driver made no attempt to call a cab. I reflected on the encounter and realised I'd just come face to face with myself a dozen years earlier. Haha, sad but true, the drunken yob was me, I was just much, MUCH fatter.

No other incidents and I was dropped off at St. Kilda for the bus to Frankston. Upon arrival Gladys was set up, tyres pumped, all set to go but now for my 3 missing "sit-downs". I joined the longest line for the portaloos you've ever seen and I literally hadn't moved an inch in 15 minutes. Not good I thought so I bailed, scaled a couple of fences, body swerved a couple of security guards and piled into the transition toilets. Naughty but hey, you gotta do what ya gotta do. Only one "sit-down" and it was time to head towards the beach for a warm up. As it turned out I didn't get adversely affected as it seems a substantial "download" the night before had done the business - RESULT haha.

The water was pretty calm, not too cold at all and I was feeling great in my super buoyant 5mm wetsuit. I didn't have a watch on but felt that the start should be soon, yet more than half the competitors were 50m in front of the line. Surely they'll push them back I thought and anyway, it's still dark but just in case I started pushing forward too. I was now about 50m ahead of the start myself yet hundreds of people were still a further 50m further forward. Then all hell let loose, I didn't hear a gun but everyone was swimming like crazy. Oh well I thought, better get to it.

Now here's something you won't hear me say often, I LOVED THE SWIM. I felt like I was swimming well and although there was no way I could see any of the buoys as they were too small, too far apart and it was still dark I felt my navigation was pretty good. The 1k turnaround came in double quick time and that's about all I can say really, I lost concentration a couple of times towards the end but on the whole I was very happy.

SWIM TIME: - 1hr04mins25secs (my second fastest time but I say my best ever Ironman swim performance as the course was difficult to navigate and there was swell and chop towards the end)

My transition was pretty good but since my transition bag was empty it should have been. So, wetsuit off, hand it to the volunteer with the goggles and swim cap and I was off. He did look a little put out though but I was gone. Helmet on at the bike, shoes attached to the pedals, no sunglasses (good choice)...faster than a speeding bullet.

T1 TIME: - 2mins35secs

It's official, I LOVE GLADYS, there I've said it, glad that's out of the way. This ride was going to be a no-brainer provided Gladys held together. Soon after we got underway she started making a tiny noise which progressively grew louder throughout the race, it made me ride more cautiously for the first half but I ignored it after halfway. I suspect it was either the dodgy dropout or the headset, either way Gladys got me through.

So the plan was to strictly adhere to my wattage numbers on the power meter for the first half and then push a little if I felt good for the second half but judge that by heart rate. The bike course could be described as a bit boring but I didn't come here for the views, what did strike me was that it was a rolling hill kind of a course with a perfect (and I mean PERFECT) road surface, there was a slight side wind to begin with that picked up throughout the ride. I was pretty cold for the first lap, my fingers and toes were painful and didn't really work. There was a huge tunnel just before the turnaround which was a few degrees warmer...a very welcome feeling.

At the turnaround I was about 5watts too high so I consciously backed off a smidgen on the return leg to Frankston. At halfway I hit the turnaround just 2 watts above target pace. I'll take that I thought but now to start winding it up a little. My heart rate was only averaging at 116 so I had effort to burn. Nutrition was going extremely well. I had put 1400 calories worth of Gatorade powder in a 500ml bottle. You could quite literally stand a spoon in it. I was taking that on board and then just plain water from the drink stations.

I almost never pee after the swim in an Ironman but after 2 pees during the swim I managed 6 ENORMOUS pees on the bike, and when I say on the bike, I mean ON THE BIKE. Don't worry about Gladys, she and I are close enough for things like that...we can laugh about it afterwards. I learn a trick last year from Disco Dave to have some boiled sweets in your Bento Box as treats and of course extra sugar. I got 5 foxes glacier mints, I'd eaten before I started peeing but after that they tasted kind of different...don't get me wrong, not bad, just different. Haha

My coach, Steve Lumley, had also talked to me about the half-life of caffeine and the need for a "top-up" towards the end of the bike and run. These definitely helped perk me up over the last hour of the bike. It's the first time I've taken caffeine during the race and I'll never do an Ironman with my "No-Doze" again.


On the last 45k heading home I was nailing it, 25watts higher than the first lap and amazingly my average heart rate remained unchanged at 116. I just felt so good. The wind was now a factor though as even though I was pushing considerably more power my time was slightly slower. I felt my legs were a little strained which is unusual and may have been indicative of my hamstring injury coming into the race but all in all I couldn't complain. On reflection I could have gone 10mins or so faster on the bike but this race was about sticking to the numbers and PROCESS. I kept reminding myself that the race only started at the 32k point on the run.

BIKE TIME: - 5hrs07mins55secs

Gladys was handed off and I was suddenly in need of my 9th pee for the morning. I sat down on a plastic chair to put on socks and runners while simultaneously unleashing a seated pee that a horse would have been proud of. I had to change my heart rate monitor, grab caffeine tablets, visor and sunglasses from the bag and I was off. No, I forgot my new hydration belt with my concentrated Gatorade...a few seconds lost. Then I was off...then I was back, I'd forgotten my new Garmin 610, critical for my run which the same as the big was going to be all about the numbers - heart rate and pace. Another few seconds lost and I really was annoyed with my faffing, never mind

T2 TIME: - 4mins06secs

Onto the run and I felt brilliant. Heart rate was soon in check (low 120s) and pace was perfect (5:15mins/k). After a couple of k I heard "hello mate" or some such greeting on my shoulder and there was Damian. I seen him on the bike and even though I'd been nailing it coming home he'd gone even faster, nice one! It was clear to both of us that we were happy running the same pace and hugely welcomed the company of a friendly face. We ran together for about 18k when I sensed Damian drifted back a little. I wanted to keep the pace even so kept going. As it turned out he'd needed a portaloo stop so that was that, I was all alone.

I was anal about my pace and heart rate. I kept reminding myself that this was all PROCESS just like the swim and the bike. The race only started at 32k on the run. One thing I hadn't counted on was about 15k of the most severe camber you've ever seen on a road and it was never ending. My left leg is slightly shorter than my right and as we were running on the left lane it became a major issue. Damian very kindly let me run on the slightly flatter right side of the lane but even there it was severe.

At half way I picked up two new bottles of concentrated Gatorade for my hydration belt and faffed a bit again losing probably no more than 30seconds but I was annoyed. I could tell the day was starting to wear hard on me. At one point we ran down onto the beach path and then WHAM up a super steep stretch to get back up to the road. This happened twice, not long stretches but super steep. I still hadn't walked a single step of the run so I pushed on. Then at about 28k AAARRRGGGGHHH my left knee gave out to an almighty pain, it stopped me in my tracks. I lent on a post and stretched it out, while I was stationary I thought I might as well have my 10th pee of the day. I started running again very gingerly but my knee was in perfect shape again - weird.

I got to the beginning of where I considered the race to start at 32k on the run and I was a spent force. My heart rate was creeping up and my pace was starting to slip to 5:30mins/k. Time to take the caffeine tablets and I got to tell you I don't know if it was just psychosomatic or what but instantly I was feeling much better, sadly the feeling each time didn't last long but I was happy to have them. At each aid station now I'd take a shot of the Gatorade, a caffeine tablet and a little water and walked while doing so. It still meant I was running before the end of the station so not much time was lost but these little rest bites helped immensely to keep me going at a decent clip in between.

The last 4-6k were pretty mind-numbing and never ending but I knew they would end and they did. The finishing chute was awesome, the crowds wonderful. I had a new PB but had missed 10hrs not to mention my "A" target time of 9hrs45mins and I knew that I hadn't qualified for Hawaii. With that performance though I expected to be about 15th in my age-group so when I found out I was only 41st all I could do was laugh hysterically. The standard of those Aussies was phenomenal. I can only imagine trying to qualify in Germany would be harder.

RUN TIME: - 3hrs47mins20secs (my second fastest marathon even in standalone marathon!)

I was very happy with my swim position of 50th out of 240 in my age-group. Aussies are renowned swimmers and usually I only hope to come in the top 1/3 in the swim and then make the rest up on the bike and hopefully hold on on the run. So being in the top 20% was a huge improvement, only picking up 9 places on the bike and run was a tad disappointing though. All in all though, a fantastic experience, a fantastic day, perfect weather conditions and an almost perfect course (for me at least).

OVERALL TIME: - 10hrs06mins21secs













REFLECTION

I've had a week off now, reflected and before I turn my attention to Challenge Roth I thought I'd better pen this report and my thoughts.

I went to the lions den to battle the beast and qualify for Kona. I made no bones about that and I failed in that but gained some amazing experience. I now know how to race an Ironman fast, it must be done with patience but it's till gonna hurt...A LOT. I hopefully have got a big part of my stomach cramping behind me with better nutritional and pacing strategies although that may also be heat induced, we shall see in future hotter races.

As it turns out I needed a 9hours33mins to qualify in my age-group so even my "A" goal of 9hrs45mins wouldn't have cut it. Disillusioned? ABSOLUTELY NOT, it just means that I get to go faster. My training was a bit rushed, I spent a lot of effort getting down to weight and I still had 5kg to go to have been perfect. The weight issue in not an excuse but rather a good indicator for the future. Roth will be done down to weight and I shall do it sooner rather than later (coaches orders) so that the last few weeks of training will be optimal.

Some interesting stats here produced by Beyond Transition for all you number geeks out there http://beyondtransition.com/IronmanMelbourne


I am aiming for the following goals at Roth based on what I have learnt: -

1) Sub 9:30

2) Sub 9:45

3) Sub 10:00

4) New PB sub 10:06

And it's always important to have an easy goal so that if all else goes wrong you've still got something to aim for. So my final no-brainer goal is: -

5) To CRUSH @Training_Payne aka BryBaby aka The Captoon aka my_b!tch.

Houston, we have a problem! A really big problem!

Nightmare, Gladys is sick.

When I was putting Gladys back together after the flight I noticed that the derailleur was loose. On closer inspection I realised that the bolts attaching it to the frame were loose. Uh oh, no they weren't, they'd been torn out. I tried tightening them up but only one bit, the other was threaded.

I could ride but only very carefully and got myself down to the mechanics at the expo. They said not to worry, it wasn't the frame that had threaded but the derailleur hanger and this could be replaced, phew I thought. Even better there was a massive Trek stand inside the expo.

The guys at Trek were amazing, I'm biased I know but you decide based on this...

They stripped the derailleur down and then set about finding a new hanger...this is where it all went pair shaped. I came back after registering for the race and saw a bunch of Trek guys looking very grave. They showed me the rear drop out where the derailleur hanger attaches, they had a high powered light shining on it and you could clearly see that the dropout was cracked right through to the bolt hole. (Gladys was so brave, she hardly said a word).

Stan, the main Trek guy that was dealing with it said he felt strongly that if they put it back together "It was likely to break during the race...but it might not". Being an optimist I said "I think it WILL last the race...but it might not"

There was much debate and then they blew my mind. They said they had a brand new medium size Speed Concept that they could lend me but unfortunately they were already lending it to another competitor, so they'd loan me a brand new Madone road bike and set it up as close to my bike as possible. I was so appreciative but I knew the bike fit was critical, I was here to compete not just complete, I thanked them profusely but asked them to just patch Gladys up and I'd risk it.

A while later they came back and said, the guy they were lending the Medium Speed Concept to is a little taller than me so they'd switch him to a Large and I could have the Medium. WOW!!!! We then started discussing the logistics, basically Gladys would need to be stripped down and things like the SRM transferred and because the stem was a different size the the whole issue of cabling came in especially as I had the Di2 and the loan bike had SRAM. They were prepared to do the switch but time just didn't allow the stem and bars to be changed. This brought the fit back into play. In the end I stuck with Gladys and asked them to patch her up and replace the damaged hanger, I'd trust Gladys to hold cracked dropout together.

Stan was brilliant, he patched her up, and took another hanger from a new bike, retuned the gears and he seemed quite optimistic that the job he'd done would hold provided I didn't hammer the gears during the race. How much did this cost me? And here's the sting...they all laughed when I asked. "Nothing buddy...just keep riding Trek!". NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE!

Ironman Melbourne - Asia Pacific Championships

Just a quick note, I've been training pretty hard for this race that takes place this Sunday (25 march 2012). After my little brush with skin cancer at the end of last year and being a bit burnt out I'd let the weight pile on. I've now lost about 10kg (22lbs) since Jan 1 and training has been consistent without any illness. I've had a dodgy hamstring for the last few weeks but nothing I can do about it now, so just hope it holds out on the run.

Steve Lumley has been coaching me since the beginning of the year which has certainly helped with motivation and the science behind what I've been doing is a great help, not just in understanding what I'm doing but it massively contributes to the motivation as I know that what I'm doing is proven, tried and tested.

Sunday is looking like a cool day compared to KL temperatures, with the forecast showing 20C with 14kph winds. This is Melbourne though so it's all subject to change at the last minute (several times).

Yes I am hoping to qualify for Kona and I'm quietly optimistic. However, the quality of the field is going to be phenomenal I have no doubt, I think the only harder place to go and fight for a hallowed Kona spot would be Germany. Either way, I've tried and failed at so called "easier" races so I shall just go and do my best but won't hold my breath come the results. No excuses though, I'm going there with intent!

Targets? Certainly I will be very disappointed if I don't get sub 10 hours. This is an Ironman though and anything can happen (usually to ones detriment). So goal "A" will be 9hr45 (anything below that will be a nice bonus but unlikely). Goal "B" will be sub 10hrs and goal "C" will be to improve my PB which will be sub 10hrs15.

Usually I have a whole host of other goals to make the day a success

whatever else goes wrong. This one I haven't, I don't feel I need them. This is purely a race rather than an "experience", I've done the hard work, if I've done enough then I'll achieve one of the three goals, if I haven't then it's not so much "back to the drawing board" but rather take this fitness and build on it for Challenge Roth in early July.

Wish me luck and see you on the other side! You can see how I'm getting on via www.ironmanlive.com my bib number is 990.

Sid and Seb climbing - Amazing stuff

I think my boys are growing up!!!! I'm so proud of them. School reports this week too, I couldn't believe the glowing reports they got - must be Shilpa's genes.

We arrived, I sat down, I turned around and Seb was halfway up the wall

He is a natural, no fear, totaly awesome

It was all over in seconds

He needed a bigger challenge

Sid I thought might be a bit more tentative, I was wrong

Not quite as smooth as Seb but still pretty amazing

Also to the roof in no time

I pointed out to Sid someone's technique climbing an advanced wall, I was shocked to realize it was Seb!!!!

He reached the roof now coming down like a pro

Of course Sid had to climb the advanced wall too

Sid got within an arms length of the roof, wicked

Coming down the fast way haha

KONY 2012

If you have not seen this video you will. Maybe not today, maybe not here but you will watch it.

If you have not heard of Joseph Kony, you will. Again, this post may not stimulate your interest enough to find out today but soon enough you will know a great deal about this man. The sooner you know about him the sooner you can do something to stop him!

Joseph Kony is about to become the most famous man in the world.

Alice Smith Aquathlon - Podium Stars

Pre-race nerves (us not them)

Seb and Sid took part in the Alice Smith Aquathlon on Saturday morning. They'd both been training pretty darn hard for such little fellas. In the last two weeks alone mummy and daddy must have made them do at least 40 transitions. Countless laps of the pool and goodness only knows how many 100metre and 300 metre repeats.

Come race morning they were pretty nervous but nowhere near as much as Shilpa and I, seriously, I've said it before but it's so true, I have NEVER been as nervous for one of my races as I am for Seb and Sid.

They've only just turned 6 so they were allowed to go into the under 6s race as all the kids are in the same year. It was a 25m swim followed for a 400m run.

The gun went off and wham they were away. Rohan (their great friend but arch rival) swam 25m probably faster than I could and was almost twice as fast as everyone else. Seb was 3rd out of the water and Sid 6th.

I sprinted to the field and the first turn of the run to see Seb leading the race (all those transition practises had obviously paid off). Rohan was biting at his heels with Sid already into 4th place (Sid probably had the fastest transition of the day).

I felt it was likely that the sprint for the line would be Rohan and Sid. I screamed to Seb, "Come on buddy, you're in 1st place, focus, focus, you can do this". I was so proud I wanted to cry.

Sid was storming along and in training is faster than Seb but Seb was running like a man possessed and Sid wasn't making much ground on him. At that point I noticed a tiny little fella called Ben running with the smallest stride you've ever scene but he was closing in on Sid.

A man totally focused on his goal.

I sprinted over to the finishing straight and was amazed and totally blown away to see Seb just a few strides behind Rohan but running super strong. Sid had got himself into 3rd place but realised he wasn't going to catch Seb. The wailing and the tears started (sibling rivalry...oh dear).

Worse still Ben was going to catch Sid before the finish so Shilpa started screaming like a Banshee to speed up. This only made him wail more but at the last second she screamed "Look behind, look behind". He didn't stop wailing but he did pick it up just enough to finish equal 3rd with Ben.

Happy boys and happy Mummy and Daddy

WOW, I'm exhausted just remembering in reliving this race. It was so awesome, wonderful, nerve-racking and emotional. We had two boys on the podium, how cool is that?

Sid then won some elastic laces in the lucky draw and Shilpa and I thought what a great result, Seb got second but at least Sid got something he didn't...sadly that was the end of Seb's day because he didn't get any laces and Sid's day was still ruined because Seb beat him. Haha, what do you do with 6 year olds?

On reflection though they both loved the race and can't wait for the next one in a few weeks time.

 The TriTwins dynasty rolls on.

Brooks Half Marathon

The original plan was to knock out the first half of this race at a steady pace and then nail the second half with whatever I had left. That was before I over strained my right hamstring on a Tuesday night run. Wednesday and Thursday were about working out how to walk again so there was a big question mark over whether the race was going to happen.

Coach Steve in the first instance said no (Ironman Melbourne in two weeks) but warmed to the idea that I was going to be sensible and pull out the second things got iffy. So the new plan was to turn up, tootle round and do nothing more than that. If there was any sign of further injury pull out.

I'm not sure how I was going to pull out if I was miles away from the car at 6am in the morning but hey-ho that didn't turn out to be an issue.

I woke up at 4am and it didn't feel good. I was just about to get back into bed but thought, "No, that might just be an excuse to bail on an early start" so I thought I'd go to the stadium and start at least and pull out in the first 100m if things weren't looking good.

I was nicely early as Bukit Jalil stadium is quite close to my house but I didn't bank on the idiots collecting RM2 per entry for parking. Why not do it on exit like last year - NUMPTIES! It took me about 45minutes to get in and parked. Naturally I wasn't the only one and they had to start the race late by a few minutes.

I went to the back and as soon as the race started got into a tootling pace (no much option with so may people in front of me). After a couple of K I was delighted to see Arif running along side (Arif is also doing Ironman Melbourne). We chatted along, jogged at a comfortable pace, had a pee stop together, water stations...we were brothers in arms! I couldn't have asked for a better partner to take my mind off the very uncomfortable hamstring issue.

Fortunately it was just discomfort and although unpleasant I didn't feel like any more damage was being done. At about half way we started hitting some seriously steep hills but even then all was just about OK with the leg. In fact at this point I think we picked the pace up a little. With 3k to go my leg was feeling none the worse for wear (or maybe it was just numb haha) so I started pushing the pace a bit up the hills.

At 22.9k (funny half marathon distance that) it was all over. Our hero Tey got some great snaps of us. I was even smiling and some have said I didn't try hard enough (you're right I didn't, I'm saving myself and my poorly leg until March the 25th).

On that note I'm reliably informed that my bib number for Ironman Melbourne is "990" so you can find me come race day on www.ironmanlive.com with that number or surname "Cross" if you're interested.

Back to the Half marathon, final comments - very well organised, great goody bag, brilliant to start and finish in the Commonwealth Games Stadium, huge amounts of watermelon, food drinks etc at the end, excellent stuff. Only gripes were the parking fiasco and the poorly measured course. There's just no excuse for this or inaccurately placed distance markers but organisers seem to get this wrong in most races.

I don't want to end on a negative though, it's a great race, the early start meant that it didn't get too hot so no worries about that. I'll be back next year no doubt.

IRONMAN CAIRNS

Race to become part of global Ironman Series

Published Monday, March 12, 2012

Ironman will add Ironman Cairns to its 2012 lineup. Now part of the global Ironman Series, which features nearly 30 events and reaches more than 70,000 athletes each year, Ironman Cairns will serve as a qualifier for the toughest event in endurance sport, the Ironman World Championship.


“We are excited to add Ironman Cairns to our global list of events,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of Ironman.  “This is the perfect opportunity to bring the Ironman experience to a part of Queensland that is one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

Ironman Cairns will take place on June 3, 2012.  A qualifier for the 2012 Ironman World Championship, it will be a P-2000 level race and will offer a 100,000 EUR professional prize purse.  Additionally, 40 Ironman World Championship qualifying slots will be available for age group athletes.

Simon says: - Blimey the evil empire is taking over the world haha. So in just a few years Ironman have gone from one race in Australia to four. Great stuff. I guess this is all part of the buy out of USM in Australia by WTC. It bodes well for Asia as they are earmarked to be the WTC wing that works on relaunching all of the Asian races. Let's hope so.