Warriner fit for US event build-up

Whangarei triathlete Sam Warriner will line up in the California Oceanside Ironman 70.3 event on Sunday, kickstarting a six-week intensive training programme and race campaign in the US.
Warriner is in the middle of her build-up for her first race of the International Triathlon Union World Championship Series at Hamburg, during July, and said the 70.3 events (or half ironman 2km swim, 90km bike and 21km run) were ideal preparation for the shorter Olympic distance races.
The experienced triathlete chose to compete in several 70.3 events instead of the first three events of the ITU series (starting next month), as racing over the longer distance gave her a bigger base fitness.
"I know I go well in the Olympic distance races when I have a big base, so this was taken into account when my race season was planned out," Warriner said before flying out to the States on Tuesday.

"The field at the Oceanside 70.3 is expected to be a strong one, with the best of the American, British and European competitors attending the event. They are saying its one of the strongest fields they have had. I am going in with no expectations, but will be giving it 100 per cent," she said.
After a topsy-turvy year in 2009, where her season was cut short due to a serious accident while training on her bike last July, Warriner was more determined than ever to make 2010 her comeback year.
She looked on track when she won her third Port of Tauranga Half Ironman title in January after resuming training late last year, but there was a sense of "here we go again" when she sliced her hand open and broke her wrist during the cycle leg of February's Takapuna's Sprint Triathlon. However, Warriner's recovery has been quick - much to the relief of the relentless competitor and her supporters.
"My wrist is still weak and it is affecting my swimming as I can't hold the water as well. It is frustrating as I am fit on the bike and in the run."
Because she could not swim for three weeks, Warriner put in double cycling and run sessions, and as a result, she said she felt fitter than ever in those disciplines, but hoped she could hold her own in the swim at this weekend's race.
Following the Oceanside 70.3, Warriner will return to the California desert where she will commence intense training with her US-based coach Siri Lyndley, who will be at the Oceanside 70.3, watching her and checking her progress. During her six-week stay in the States, she will race in the New Orleans 70.3 on April 18, the St Croix 70.3 on May 2, and the Olympic distance triathlon in Tennessee on May 9, with the intention of peaking for the Hamburg ITU World Championship Series race on July 17.