FIFTH place in his division at the Stromlo six-hour Shimano Mount Bike Grand Prix event one day, sixth place in his division at the Wollongong Triathlon Festival the next - it's little wonder Keith Tuynman's legs were hurting.
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As he works towards his 10th start in the Cairns Ironman, Bathurst GT Coaching triathlete Tuynman used a big weekend to aid his preparation.
On Saturday he completed eight laps of a testing mountain bike course at Mount Stromlo, placing sixth in his 50-59 years category. He spent five hours, 52 minutes in the saddle.
The next day he tackled the Olympic distance event at Wollongong - a 1.5 kilometre swim, 38km cycle and 10km run. He stopped the clock in a time of 2:32.01 to place sixth in the 50-54 years men's division.
It was an effort that GT Coaching's Luke Gillmer laughed was "a bit crazy", but shows Tuynman is on track for Cairns.
"He was hurting on the bike [at Wollongong], he rode past me on the second lap and said 'My legs are killing me' but then he ran really well off the bike which just shows the fitness is there. He's got really good signs for Cairns," he said.
Tuynman was one of four Bathurst triathletes from the GT Coaching outfit who impressed at Wollongong in Olympic distance races.
Gillmer placed third in the 35-39 years men's division and 10th outright as he clocked a 2:05.58.
Kerry Maloney, tackling an Olympic distance triathlon for the first time, ranked third in her 30-34 years women's division with a 2:29.30, while Kath Stutsel crossed the line in 2:51.06 to place fourth in the 50-54 years women's race.
"Kerry really blew me away because she'd never raced over that distance. I knew she'd do well, but not that well," Gillmer said.
"Her swim was miles better than I thought and she ran really well for the 10 kilometres for her first time, I really, really proud of her.
"Kath loves it, it's the best thing about her. She smiles the whole day and that's why she just keeps racing and that she just loves it is why she's so good at it.
"When you train for Ironman you just get so fit. I've had this experience in the past, some of my best races in short courses have been in the middle of an Ironman prep because you just do so much work.
"The biggest thing is that you don't have a super fast finish on the run, but we were all thereabouts. Personally I was surprised how well I'd done, I was much further up than where I thought I'd be, it was fantastic actually.
"Everyone did really well, I'm just really proud of everyone because they always train really hard and it pays off, people are consistent and the results are always there.
"They are never a sure thing, but it just reassures me that what we do work. It's not flash, but it's just consistent."
Both Gillmer and Stusel will join Tuynman at Cairns after Ironman Australia was cancelled due to flood damage to the Port Macquarie course. Fellow Bathurst GT Coaching triathletes Fran and Chris Grady will also compete.
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