I'm feeling crap ... But there's a plan! I'll be back, stronger than ever!!

As i'm typing this, the count down timer on my blog says that in under 9 hours i'm set to start the most mentally and physically demanding day of my (less than great) athletic career.

But ... alas ... injury has fucked that right up!

Apologies for the language, but i'm feeling pretty shit. Instead of being in bed, unable to sleep thanks to my nervousness, i'm sitting on the couch, drinking beer and feeling sorry for myself writing this blog which nobody reads because i have to vent somewhere and Facebook is full of people who are about to do Ironman Melbourne and i don't want to seem negative when they're all hugely excited (and so they should be)!!

So what now??

I'm hitting the reset button!

It's all positive, nothing negative shall be entertained!!

I will make my body injury proof!

I know what i did wrong.

I know why i got injured.

I know what to do to prevent it this time around.

I'm targeting Ironman Australia (Port Macquarie) in May next year!

Things will change.

I will become an Ironman.

It will become a multiple Ironman.

My training will become sustainable over the long term.

My training will fit around the needs of my wife, my kids, my dog, my career (however, i'm still hoping to win the lotto and retire!!)

In short, in 407 days i will become an Ironman!!!

And what about tomorrow ... Instead of becoming an Ironman, i'll be on a run aid station helping others fulfil their dream of becoming an Ironman!!!!

105 days to go!!!!!

After what has been a frustrating 3 weeks with injury, the weekend has been a relief (on the running front and cycling) and inspirational watching others race!

Inspiration came from friends competing (and doing amazing things) in the amazingness that is the 240 km Coast to Kosci ultra trail run, ni the brutal conditions at the Lorne adventure race, the spectacle of Challenge Bahrain (that brought online viewing to a new level), and Ironman WA.

And i'm massively proud of Claire for running a 5k PB in the Sussan Classic this morning!!!

I went out for a run this arvo, with my leg sore from standing/walking around at little aths yesterday determined for it to be ok. For the first 2km i set about trying to work out during which bit of the stride it hurt. It appeared to hurt when i pushed off, well why don't i lift my leg instead of pushing off ... WOW!!!! It didn't hurt, so i spent the next 6km running through mud, long grass and formed tracks, focusing on lifting my foot from the ground, not using it to push off.
Initially I was running quite slow, so just to see if this technique could be a long-term fix I ramped up the pace ... and it felt awesome!

Looks like i'm back on track for IM Melbourne in 105 days!!

Hopefully i pull up ok tomorrow and can continue to ramp up the miles!!

16 weeks out - update

Again, i've been a bit slack in updates.

However, with only 16 weeks to go until race day, i'm thinking a weekly update will be pretty easy from here on in.

The last month or so has been a little all over the place.

November was supposed to be a big month, with Noosa Oly distance, followed by Shepp 1/2 IM 2 weeks later and Mornington 1/2 IM two weeks after that (yesterday).

Well, it didn't quite work.

Noosa was a great race, as it always is and I was pretty happy with my time.

And here's a few happy snaps from Noosa ...

During the swim - (centre of shot, left arm out of the water)

Heading out on the ride

Heading out on the run - with my now famous turtle hat

But after that i needed a break and mentally couldn't get up for Shepp. I gave myself 2 weeks to get back in the right headspace and was going well. A solid week of training done ... then boom!! Injury!!

So yet again i'm missing race through injury. After chatting with my physio, I could have done Mornington, but it would have risked a month of training. Pretty easy decision really!!

So now here i am 16 weeks out, injury pretty much ready to train on and about to enter the Christmas Silly Season. I'm just going to get through until Christmas, doing as much as my life allows.

Following Christmas, i've got 11 or so days at home. I can see that time as a great chance to get some solid sessions, as well as quality family and sorting the garden time in.  Then it's away with some friends for a week holiday...YAY!! That week might be a little light on, maybe a good recovery week.

From there it's 10 weeks ... It's getting scarily close!!!

Anyway, i best go clean up from dinner, so i can get to bed and get some zzzz's before the alarm goes off at 4am!

Cheers Tim

The Hazelwood Hardman... My First Long Course Triathlon.

I haven't been updating this page as frequently as previously, mostly because i've been using my Facebook page -->> https://www.facebook.com/TheJourneyToBecomeIronTimbo as i find it accesses more people.

But i thought last weekend worthy of an update, as i finally completed my first long course triathlon, the day after an Olympic distance. So here are the write ups from my FB page.

Cheers Tim
 

Update from Day 1 of the Hazelwood Hardman.

Today was the (almost) Olympic distance race - 1.5k swim / 36k ride / 9k run.

My plan for today was to race comfortably; not dig too deep at any stage, not look at the watch and generally just get around, so i don't pull up sore for the longer race tomorrow.

I was hoping that on both days i could just blend in with the crowd doing each of the events - but nup, that wasn't going to happen. We arrived to find a separate (pro style) transition for the 14 people entered to do the Hardman, complete with carpet and name plates in transition! We also had different colour swim caps and an "H" on our numbers to distinguish us as insane!!

I was pretty happy with how the race went, for a nutritional, pacing and energy expended point of view.

The swim was about 5 minutes faster than i did at Noosa last year (which was the last Oly i did), and i felt comfortable the entire time - except for my right calf, which cramped as i tried to stand up at the end. It's still a bit sore now. Hopefully all's well in the morning!

The ride was a little interesting at times. I was umming and ahhing about which front wheel to use - as i'm still a bit uncomfortable with the 50mm carbon in a breeze. The breeze wasn't too bad today - but came in a few times, which made me a little nervous. I may have been a bit too conservative on the ride - but wanted to make sure i would be ok for tomorrow.

I was really pleased with the run. Again, i didn't put any pressure on the run, stayed in control in 1st gear the whole time. The hill on the course is a nasty little rise - averaging about 7% for 600m, because it's a multi-loop course, we had the pleasure of doing it twice...i'm really looking forward to doing it 4 time tomorrow...

All being said, i'm really happy with the day - hopefully i'll wake up tomorrow ready for Day 2!

Also a massive shout out to Mick from Back In Motion in Patterson Lakes, for opening late on a Saturday to give my legs and lower back a going over in prep for tomorrow.

 

Ok, it's time for the Day 2 update of the Hazelwood Hardman, which is almost as long as the race itself!!

Today (or yesterday, or whenever it was relative to when this is being read) was the Long Course triathlon, comprising a 2km swim / 81.5km ride / 17.5km run. It was to be my first long course race - why i chose to do it after an Olympic distance is one for a psychology class

As one of my fellow competitors told me just before the race, how i would go today depended on what i did last night.

After i finished the race on Saturday, i made sure i refueled and hydrated, but also had a massage. Yep, i made my physio open late Saturday arvo just for me (thanks to Mick from Back in Motion http://www.backinmotion.com.au/practice/patterson-lakes). I was quite glad he did, as i had a massive knot in my calf.

I woke on race morning feeling pretty good, but really nervous. I knew i hadn't gone too hard on Saturday, but nonetheless my legs knew they'd raced the day before.

My plan for the race was quite simple ... don't go too hard, if it starts to hurt slow down, walk the steep pinch on the hill on each lap, and FINISH!!

The start of the swim was quite uneventful, it was only a small crew going around, so it was easy to find your own water and get into a rhythm. My shoulders felt a little sore from the day before, but nothing that caused any distress. I managed to get around the swim at about the same pace as the day before. Again nothing quick, but i felt relaxed and comfortable.

Exiting the water, my spot in transition was quite easy to find, as most of the Hardman rack was empty. Taking off my wetsuit turned into a chore, as my calf cramped as it was half off. So i finally managed to get ready and off on the bike i went!

I was pleased with my ride. My legs were tired, and i had to not force the issue to hold pace up the little rises, for fear of not being able to run. I managed to hold pretty much the same pace for the 5 laps.

I haven't decided whether i like the 5 lap set-up or not. From a negative point of view, it was kind of depressing being lapped (by the winner) on my first bike lap! (But in my defense he swam a 25min / 2k, and then smoked the bike course averaging 42k/h for the 81.5k!) On the positive side, it was great to have the continuous support of people each time round, and it's great for the spectators not to have to move. It was also good in the fact that for most of the time there were other cyclists around (most of whom were flying past me...but that's irrelevant ).

So onto the run...

This was always going to be interesting. The run was a short dash to a 4 lap loop, then back to the finish. Another indication of how i was placed relative to my chances of winning... As i was about 500m into the run, pro tri-athlete and race winner Tom Rodgers, ran by the other way to collect the win!

The 4k run loop can be broken up as follows... 2k flat, aid station, 1km long hill - directly from hell, nice 1k roll down, aid station, repeat. Mentally, i set myself to run to the top of the hill 4 more times. After the first cresting i told my self i'd gone up 3 times this weekend, so i was half way there. Claire and the kids and my sister in law Prue were at the aid station at the bottom of the hill, and it was great to have that support! After the second lap Claire had to leave to catch a plane, so there was a pause for a 'G-Rated see you on Wednesday night kiss and cuddle' then back to the run.

By this time the run started to hurt. A headwind had popped up, making the 2k long straight flat mentally tougher than the hill... this wasn't helped by fresh roadkill baking in the midday sun - the stench was fairly ordinary!!

By the 3rd time i hit the aid station at the base of the hill i was struggling, i wasn't totally done, but i was fading. I've read numerous times, that flat cola is great for the back half of the run in long course racing. It didn't give me an energy boost, but i think the sugar and caffeine may have just switched my brain back into gear, this allowed me to regain focus and get up the hill!

The last time up the hill was still hard, but i with my brain buzzing from caffeine, i knew i just had to get up and then it was all down / flat to the finish.

And what a welcome sight the finish line was!!

So after 2 hours 28 minutes and 55 seconds on Saturday and 5 hours 12 minutes and 27 seconds on Sunday i was done!!

It was a great learning experience, both in terms of advice from more experienced athletes, and what i found out about myself mentally, physically, and nutritionally (I should take this opportunity to thank Steph from The Natural Nutritionist - http://www.thenaturalnutritionist.com.au/ who i've been working with for a month or so. The changes definitely worked ). I was also very happy with my bike set-up - thanks AJ! Just a few minor tweaks to do.

I've also realised which bits of my game in need to work. Now that i know i can get around a long course, i want to know how fast i can go... i think this may started some form of addiction (Sorry Claire what was it you said on Saturday night ... triathlons for Tim = diamonds for Claire)

It was a great weekend of friendly, yet competitive racing, and i would thoroughly recommend to any way of any standard (this is just my way of saying, would a few more back of the pack athletes join me next year )

One last comment. Thanks to Noel Fenn,the LV Tri Club ( http://www.lvtriclub.com.au/ ), and the volunteers for putting an such a great race! Grass roots triathlon at it's best!!

The "It's been a while" update...

Howdy sports fans!

It’s been a while between blog entries. A few eventful things have happened in the 5 or 6 weeks since my last update.

Firstly, I competed in Xterra Great Ocean Road (off-road triathlon) down on the picturesque Surf Coast region of Victoria (same area as the Surf Coast Century for the ultra-distance trail running fans out there). 

Xterra GOR linky

In theory, this race sounds fun. A 1km ocean swim, followed by a 26km MTB ride, and a 10km undulating and beach run to bring it home. In practice, it was a different story.

I’ve done a number of Olympic distance triathlons and this was easily as hard, if not harder, than those. At the end of the day, I was happy that I had the fitness to get through the race – but, a little more race specific training (intensity and duration) wouldn’t have gone astray!

I’m not going to give you a blow by blow description – but let’s just say, that after spending way too long on the MTB my quads and calves were screaming! This ultimately made the run, which comprised a substantial length of soft sand, together with steep tracks up and down (to get over headlands) a very hard task!!

The weekend after Xterra I was supposed to line up at the Mordialloc Olympic distance triathlon.  This was going to be awesome.  It is a 10 minute drive from home and I work across the road from the start, so i had a carpark.

Unfortunately, the weekend before had left me both mentally and physically shattered, and I pulled the pin a few days before the start.  On the upside, the various distance races were our tri-club’s Club Champs, so it was great to go down and cheer on the crew. (Note that this was 2 weeks after IM Melb, so there was a large contingent of the IM crew also cheering from the sidelines, which made for some hilarity!!)

A few weeks ago, another local long course tri was added to the calendar, Mornington Triathlon.

Mornington Triathlon Linky

This promises to be a ripper of a race! Being so close to home, I will be able to train on the cycle and run course all winter.

Unfortunately, it has made my November somewhat crowded…

·        2 November – Noosa Olympic distance (1.5/40/10)

·        16 November – Challenge Shepparton (1.9/90/21.1)

·        30 November – Mornington Long Course (1.9/90.1/21.1)

On the upside, it’s going to ensure that I have a solid winter’s training and will leave me in no doubt as to how my IM training is going!!

So with the Puffing Billy Great Train Race done and dusted (more on that later), it’s time to look forward.  Next on the agenda is the City to Surf, and for the first time in my (less than glorious) athletic career, I’m going to seriously follow a training plan in the lead up to a race. 

The plan is a 10 week plan, with 2 quality sessions, 2 recovery/easy sessions and a long run a week.  I’m also planning a 6 week off-season 70.3 triathlon plan.  So I’ve melded the C2S plan into the tri plan and I’ll see how it goes. I’m thinking I may need to lower the intensity of one of the quality run sessions – but I’ll make that call when the need arises.

This plan starts in 3 ½ weeks, so I’ve got that time to get over my latest injury (which we’ll come to shortly) and build the fitness to be able to handle ~10hrs a week.

Before I get to Puffing Billy and my new and exciting injury, it would be remiss of me not to mention the Family 5km Showdown, or as the race organisers prefer to call it Run the Rock.

This was the highly anticipated race between my wife and our son (9), and the trash talk had been high from both sides. Claire sensed trouble when the youngster ran a sub 5 min k at the little aths cross country the previous weekend, and snagged a 3^rd at the school 2km cross country qualifiers on Thursday. She was hanging onto the hope that he’d go out too fast and have to walk most of the race.

But before I get to that, a big shout-out to little miss 5, who (along with myself) did the 2km run at Run the Rock.

Now back to the main event.  And as Claire predicted, young J went out of the gate fast…however, unfortunately for her, he just kept going!

The next time we saw J, at about the 3.5km mark, he was powering up the hill, giving it a bit of “mum’s back there somewhere”.

The lad stopped the clock at about 26:45 (a not too shabby 5:21 min/km), with Claire about 5 minutes further back. It was a great run by both of them, considering the course comprised almost 2km around a wet, muddy, soft, long-grassed horse racing track; as well as having some steep little rises.

Now…hello steam train!! It’s time for the (and my 4^th annual man against steam machine, Puffing Billy Great Train Race. The PB GTR is a 13.5 km hilly sealed road race (with minor gravel tracks), with the aim of the faster runners being to beat the train. The time which the train takes is quite random, and generally between 52 to 60 minutes.

As has become expected, the conditions, were cold, wet and windy – so, near perfect running weather!

Unfortunately for me, that’s where the near perfection ended.  My time for the race had been getting progressively faster (pretty much in line with my running fitness over the past few years). This year, after a number of good hilly training sessions I was hoping to go low 60 minutes…but that wasn’t to be…
The first 4-5km felt good, and I considered I was on my target time. Then at 5km, I turned the corner and the hit the long hill, and things began to unravel. I tried to hold pace up the hill, but my lower back was screaming to stop! And this became the story of the day. The uphills were a slow jog / walk / stretch the back, and the flats I was stuck in first gear. Every time I tried to ramp up the pace … nup … my back had other ideas …

In the end I was disappointed with my time, but still happy to get out and run the fantastic event!

Tuesday morning a physio visit was in order, and it turns out I’ve got an aggravated / swollen disc in my lower back, combined with tight hamstrings. The physio commented that he was amazed I actually managed to run the race.

The blame has been fairly and squarely pointed at poor posture – predominately sitting hunched over behind a desk all day.
So together with concentrating on sitting straight when working, I need to work on my uphill running technique. I think that when I go uphill, I tend to lean forward from the waist – this needs to change, so that I’m keeping my body straight and leaning forward from my ankles.

So that’s that, and I’m back to the physio tomorrow & hopefully he gives me the go ahead to ease back into things again.

Happy Trails J

The year to come...

With the disappointment of not racing Ironman Melbourne behind me, it's time to focus on what's next...

IRONMAN MELBOURNE 2015!!

With online entries not opening until next week, i went up to St. Kilda on Monday morning and attended Ironman's "Come and enter while you're caught up in the excitement, and not thinking straight" onsite entry!!

And with that, the next twelve months have pretty much been sorted.

4 May 2012 ... Puffing Billy Great Train Race - 13.2km fun run
10 August 2014 ... City 2 Surf - 14km fun run
2 November 2014 ... Noosa Olympic Distance Triathlon
16 November 2014 ... Challenge Shepparton 1/2 Iron Distance Triathlon
1 February 2015 ... Challenge Melbourne 1/2 Iron Distance Triathlon
22 March 2015 ... Ironman Melbourne!!!

Oh, and not to forget the next two weekends...

30 March 2014 ... Xterra Off-Road Triathlon (distance ~ Olympic)
6 April 2014 ... Mordialloc Olympic Distance Triathlon

These two upcoming events may hurt a little more than they should, as i've been doing a bit too much liquid carb loading (if you know what i mean...) and not really enough training!

Cheers Tim

Getting back into it...

It's been about 5 or 6 weeks since i pulled the pin on Ironman Melbourne this year, and it's fair to say my training in those weeks has ranged from recovery to i can't really be stuffed.

But now that i've got Xterra back on the agenda in a scratch under 6 weeks (and Mordialloc Oly distance the week after that), it's all systems go!!

I've managed 12 training sessions in the last 2 weeks, even though they haven't been long, i can feel my fitness coming back.  I managed a trip out to Lysterfield (my favourite nearby run trail) over the weekend and managed to get a 13 hilly km done.

While i was there the locals came out to say Hello...

Lysterfield Lake Park is a great spot for all (well most) of your outdoory type stuff, including running, walking, MTB riding (from kids to elite competition trails), kayaking, small boat sailing --->>> Linky to Lysterfield Park on the Interwebs

I'm planning to get out there on the MTB next weekend to get some technical trail riding under my belt. In fact i'm hoping to get out there every weekend until Xterra for some riding and running.

Anyway, until next time... hope you're getting out and enjoying the great outdoors :)

Playing support crew for the day ...

Last Sunday i played support crew / child-wrangler, as my wife, and several hundred other women swam, rode and ran around MSAC and the picturesque Albert Park Lake, in the annual Pink Triathlon.

This race was my wife's first triathlon. Like a lot of people she never considered doing a triathlon because of the open water swim. But this tri was different - it had a pool swim!!

I think it's no secret, that she was still slightly terrified of the swim, but she got through it! And once she got on the bike she even began smiling and ended up thoroughly enjoying the ride and run!!

She did an awesome job, and i couldn't have been prouder :)

Best part is, she's talking about her next triathlon, upgrading her garmin and bike... 

Not this year...

After a couple of days of serious internal deliberation, i've decided that i'm going to pull the pin on IM Melbourne this year. 

At the end of the day, it really wasn't a hard decision...

My ongoing injuries have meant that the first 10 weeks of my 20 week plan have seen me complete about 25% of what i should have completed, and i have no intention of turning up to the start line knowing i'm physically underdone.  All that will do is smash me mentally before i start. 

The plan for the rest of the season is going to involve some shorter (Sprint and Olympic) races, and maybe have another crack at Xterra Great Ocean Road.

The target is now to build my running legs slowly again from scratch.  I'm going to get my running gait properly assessed and run in the shoes which will allow me to run long.  Hopefully the right shoes, a slow build and running strength training will allow to return as a stronger runner.

I'm also hoping IM Melbourne will return in 2015 (it always sells out pretty quick, so i can't see why it wouldn't) and i'll have another crack at entering.

Next season will, hopefully, look like:

Noosa Olympic
Shepparton half IM
Challenge Melbourne half IM
Melbourne IM!

Fingers crossed!!

Thanks everybody for your support thus far, and good luck to those of you who are now less than 10 weeks (or less for those doing IMNZ) away from IM glory!!

Keep chasing your dreams peoples!!

Cheers.

10 weeks to go...

In 10 weeks time, if all has gone to plan and that's my plan - not some alternate crappy plan which appears to be hijacking my plan!! - i'll be lying in bed ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED, trying to get sleep as the gun will be going off in less than 9 hours!!!!

As i write this, i've got some strange lower leg issue (appears to be more than a niggle) that is causing a bit of pain. The most frustrating part is that it isn't stopping me from training but i don't want to push things in case it's doing damage.  I haven't had it looked at yet, as we were on holiday and i hoped that rest would heal all ... um, not really.  

So first thing Monday morning it's a call to the physio to make an appointment and get his opinion.  As far as I'm concerned there are 3 possible answers:

1) Don't train - you'll do irreparable damage ... which probably means, no IM :(

2) You can train - but it won't get better until you rest it ... Cool, that's why they invented post IM months ... GO!!! :)

3) It's nothing ... you're making it up ... GO NUTS YOUNG FELLA!!! 

Once i know the answer, you guys will be the first to know :)

I'm feeling quite confident that given the next ten weeks to train i'll be good to go on the day.  I haven't done as many long sessions as I'd have liked to by now - so I have already re-assessed my goal and changed it from a time to finishing sub 17 hours!

...
 
And in other exciting news - i'll be racing as part of the Heart Kids QLD team at the Noosa Triathlon later this year.  Once i get all the details sorted i'll do a separate blog post (or 2) on this subject, and why i'm proud to be part of this team.

Cheers Tim

Weekly Update: T - 15 weeks

Between being a little sore from last Sunday's Winery Ride, suffering a bit of a light man flu kind of thing, and various other random events, training wasn't full on this week.  But at 15 weeks out, a nice relax and refresh probably won't hurt...

Monday morning saw a trip to the physio for a recovery massage after Sunday's ride. He was surprised how little tightness i actually had...to be honest, so was I!  That's probably a good thing!!

Monday evening i got out for an hour 1hr run.  It was generally an easy run (tried to stay in HR Z2).  I was feeling pretty good, so after about 45 minutes i ramped up and gave everything for a flat out km.  It was about a second off my 1km TT PB, so i was pretty stoked with that. In hindsight, i probably shouldn't have gone so hard, as my legs were a little too sore for the next few days. But as i was suffering from a little health wise i was resting anyway.

Saturday afternoon saw an hour window between events, so running i went.  It was pretty hot out, so i struggled to keep my HR down in Z2 where i was aiming.  Even though my HR was too high, my legs were ok, so after about 45 minutes I ramped it up and ran a 1600m at not quite flat out pace, before settling down to complete the hour.

As well as trying to get my training and race nutrition under control, i'm also looking at the rest of my diet.  I can't see the point doing all this training just to let myself down with poor nutritional choices.

So after surfing the webs, i found a couple of articles referencing Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald
and thought i'd get a copy.  I'm a few chapters in, and am eagerly reading on.  I haven't got to the juicy info yet, but i have just ordered a set of Body Composition Scales so i can start to assess my body composition (body fat, etc) a little more closely.

Today, i went into St Kilda to support my wife in the Sussan Classic Fun Run. She hasn't run since hurting her back 6 weeks ago, but managed to get through 5km in a time not too far off her PB.  So a massive well done to Claire :)

Hope everybody else is traveling well in what ever they are trying to achieve, Cheers!

The Winery Ride with Orica Green Edge or That Hill and That Heat belong in HELL!!

To quote directly from the event website...

Ride alongside the ENTIRE 2014 ORICA-GreenEDGE Team & members of ORICA-AIS through the beautiful Nagambie winery region and challenging Strathbogie Ranges.

As part of the preparations for the 2014 season ORICA-GreenEDGE and ORICA-AIS would like to invite you to join them on their training camp and ride through one of their favourite regions in Australia. Reminisce on the 2013 season that was, the Tour de France stage wins, the 4 days on the coveted 'Malliot Jaune' and help welcome some new faces to the team. 

There are new rides this year - 138km, 48km and 24km as well as the Children's ride around the Winery - so there really is something for everyone.

With my Ironman training well underway, this seemed like the perfect event to kick start my long rides.  It was my third hilly mass participation ride of this year, the previous 2 being the Great Ocean and Otway Classic Ride and the Amy Gillett Ride.

I had a look at the map and the profile of the climb, and thought that there was absolutely no way i was going to be able to climb with the gearing i have on the TT bike...so the roadie got to borrow the race wheels for the day! (Note the compact chain ring...that was a god send at certain stages of the climb - but more about that later)

I really didn't think the logistics of this through when i entered, so it was a very early start! But hey, i love a road trip!!

Alarm went off at 3:30 am, on the road by 4, and coffee & sunrise at a roadhouse by 5:30...brilliant start to the day!

I arrived at Mitchelton Winery at about 6:45 and was greeted by the early morning sun warming all this potential wine...

So the ride itself.  The first thing i did before the ride was check out the climb.  So onto Strava i go.

The main part of the climb was as follows...7.2km in length, 426m elevation gain, average 6.1% (remember that word average!) Which on paper didn't seem too bad... Oh, and there was also a 2.7km, 99m gain, 3.6% on the descent (and here was i think descent referred to going down!!)

The general consensus was that The Climb was a Cat 2 climb... with the ascent on the descent being Cat 3.
Here's the link to how Strava categorises climbs -->> Click Linky

As you can see from the pic below, The Climb starts at about half way through the ride. And from the top, the trip home is mostly downhill into Seymour, before the relatively flat ride home.

Just as an aside, i'll also put the temperature during the ride in...

As you can see it was a pleasant 20 degrees at 8am for the start, got to 30 just after i started the climb, peaked at 39at one stage, before returning to 35 for the run home.  I think those 3 little dips on the last 45 minutes are when i stopped under trees to try and cool myself down, but thanks to the hot northerly wind that really didn't work...

Now to the actual riding...

The first 70 km or so was largely uneventful, with some gentle rolling hills and wonderful views of the countryside.  The serenity was however broken every now and again by impatient and inconsiderate sods in cars who were less than impressed to see hundreds of cyclists on their roads - but on the whole the car drivers were quite good.

My plan was to use the ride as part of my IM training program, so Zone 2 HR and try not to sit in packs and draft.  Well...that was the plan...until i left my HRM at home, oh well.  I figured I know my body well enough to distinguish between 6hr pace and "ride like you stole something" pace.  With that in mind i went out relatively easy, remembering that i had a nuts hill to climb at the 70 km mark.

By the time i reached the bottom of the climb my average pace was above 30kph, and i still felt fresh...

<<cue dramatic music>>

BOTH OF THOSE THINGS WERE ABOUT TO CHANGE!!

As i mentioned earlier, the climb was 7.2 km long, averaging 6.1% grade.  It soon became apparent that, as with most climbs, every time you came across a section of easy climb (i.e. less than 6.2%) you would be paying for it later!

I can't really remember every detail of the climb, but there were bits that were hard, bits that were punishing, bits that were very punishing and then the other bit! 

I was going pretty slow at this stage, maybe in the order of 6km/h, the i rounded a corner and the road got steeper...i'm not going to print the words that came out of my mouth - but about 7 seconds later, as the rider behind me rounded the corner a similar sentence was yelled!

Ok...go! I gave it absolutely everything i had, and for a while managed to not slow down...then i slowed, i looked at the Garmin, and it was slowly dropping 5.5km/h, 5km/h...ok time to get out of the saddle and drive the bike up. Yeah...Nah...just at that point my quads gave me an ultimatum...they would either hold me up, or power the bike, NOT BOTH! So down i sat, 5km/h, 4.5 km/h...ok, this is getting stupid. Looking up the hill about 20m i see two other cyclists - 1 walking, 1 riding...both at the same pace. Back to the Garmin 4.1km/h - that's enough...off the bike i get... I started walking, i managed a huge 4.5 km/h - i was walking faster than i was riding!! 

I reached the break in the slope, where the road eased from insanely steep to ridiculously steep, so back on the bike i got. And off i rode at a super fast 7-8km/h!!

(Just as an aside, on roads that steep snaking up the road from side to side it is a great way to keep going. However, in this case as the roads were open to traffic, and there were numerous blind switch backs - it just wasn't a safe option.)

I've had a quick look at the ride data and the best i can work out is that grade was at 23.5% at that point. (The section of road that was at 18.5% i actually managed to ride - not fast, but i stayed up right!)

And then after 44 minutes and 36 seconds...it was over! I'd covered 7.2 km at an average speed of 9.7km/h. I can fairly confidently say, that was the toughest hill i have ever climbed!!

Then it was time for the descent...but that wasn't all down hill! Huh...WTF...why is there a 2.7km section which rises at an average of 3.6% on a descent - i thought descent meant down!!  Compared to the previous climb it was actually quite an easy climb ... but having said that the 16% pinch did hurt a little!! 

The descent finished at around 102 km, which was followed by a 12 km stint due west, back through Seymour. With a howling north wind, this section was tough. I was basically riding alone, which was mentally tough after 5 hours, but i was still going forward.

At about 114 km the road turned around to the north, the wind was probably blowing about 20-30kts and it was 39 degrees!  IT WAS HOT!! And I had 24 km of this left before the finish!

There was an aid station at about 118k, at which point i sent Claire a text saying "Hey ya, 20k to go. All good."

Well, i spoke to soon! Just after i left that aid station, i started getting stomach cramps and couldn't ride. So off the bike i got, I really didn't know what was going on. There was nothing i'd had that i hadn't used before - but that didn't matter, i just needed to get to the finish. I was too scared to eat or drink anything for fear of vomiting. So i got back on the bike and started again.

This on the bike, feeling like shit, getting off the bike, resting, getting on the bike...repeat...went on for about 45 minutes until my stomach finally felt ok again.  So i started drinking water (with electrolyte) again.  By the time i reached the entrance to the winery, i actually felt good again and maybe could have continued... ;) 

In short, the last 20km took 1 hr and 5 minutes! Very slow going for a flat stretch of road!!

Here's the Strava link to the ride.

Looking back now, i think i was dehydrated and that was causing issues.  I was good with fluid intake for the first 70k, but i don't think i drank enough on the climb, the descent or the stretch back to Seymour.  That was 2hr 45min and i think i probably drank 2 full bidons, so about 1.5 litres. I probably should have been drinking that much per hour!!

Looking back at the ride, i was very pleased with both my general fitness and cycling fitness.  My nutrition went according to plan, as even toward the end when i felt crap, i didn't feel low on energy.  I just need to ensure i have enough hydration for the conditions.

I really enjoyed the challenge of the climb.  I'd like to have a crack at that climb again - but think i'll do it on a cooler day :)

Oh, and i also got to have a bit of a chat with Matt Goss, Simon Gerrans and Daryl Impey which was pretty cool.

Weekly Update and The Kids Run with Thomas

Seeing it's only Friday, i'm going to include last Sunday in this (first) weekly update. And it's getting late on Friday, and i'm falling asleep so it's going to be brief.

Last Sunday began with a trip to the hills so the kids could do the Run with Thomas (the Tank Engine) Fun Run.  The runs were pretty short, but the kids had a great time anyway!

And yes, it was damn cold!!!

My training since then has been:

• Sunday arvo - 1.5 hr run
• Monday - 1 hr bike on trainer, followed by 15min run
• Tuesday - 1 hr swim
• Wednesday - 1 hr trainer ride in the morning
• Thursday - 1.5 hr run
• Friday - 1 hr swim

A couple of the sessions i've struggled, but most of it has been targeting low HR endurance work, so i was just concentrating on holding form and keeping on keeping on!

Saturday is supposed to be my long run and an hour ride, but i'm thinking an easy ride/run brick session of 1-1.5 hrs, so i'm relatively well rested for Sunday's 140km Winery Ride with Orica Green Edge.

Also, I'm tipping i'm going to be a little sore come Monday morning, so i've booked in to see my physio first thing Monday.

The one thing that i may need a little assistance with is my diet.  I'm happy that it's pretty well balanced as far as Carbs, Protein and Fats go - but i'm still a little unsure on how much i should be eating and when.

Also pretty happy with the energy i'm using while training.  I'm trialling a mix of things in solid, liquid and gel form so i can see what my stomach likes and dislikes.

Until next time, happy training!!

Update - My Ironman Training Plan.

If i've done my maths correct, it's just over 18 weeks until my first Ironman triathlon!!

In the past few months my training has been a little spasmodic, with a niggling injury which required a bit of time off running (and missing the Melbourne Marathon), a week away for work, the 3 week road trip to the Sunshine Coast to do the Noosa triathlon -->> Linky to blog post! ... and as i write this, i'm just getting over a few days of stomach bug which has left my with absolutely no energy at all! (Oh, and we're away for the weekend, with minimal scope for training).

Hopefully come Monday, i'll be feeling fresh and ready to go!!

I've based my training program on the plans presented by Don Fink, in his book Be Iron Fit.

 

The main thrust of the program is that you will spend your day racing in your endurance / fat burning heart rate zone, so make your body effective at burning fat. This is achieved by doing 90% of your training in that HR zone.  

The program builds from 12 hours a week to 20 hours a week, before tapering over the final 3 weeks.  I believe the key is the increasing length of the zone 2 training, with an also increasing zone 4 (verging on anaerobic) intensity slotted into the end of most sessions.

I really have no idea whether this program is going to be sufficient to get me through or not. But apparently it's tried and tested, so i just have to believe it will and follow it! 

Three weeks before race day, the program calls for over 5 hours on Saturday backed up with over 7 hours on Sunday. If i can get through that and be fresh (?) enough for my next session, i'll know i'm ready for the Ironman!!

As well as the physical training required, nutrition is also VERY important...but that's for another blog post!

Relaxing Post Noosa...

I forgot to add this photo of my bike relaxing after the Noosa triathlon, to the previous blog, so here it is...

Just getting those liquid carbs back in ;)

My Noosa Triathlon 2013 Experience

Before I get into the juicy details of my Noosa triathlon experience for this year, I just have to say a massive thanks to Claire for wrangling the kids, both on the day of the race and during all the lead up things I had to do. A task which was made more difficult by her back pain. And also thanks to Graham, for road tripping for up the day to add to my cheer squad, take photos, and help wrangle kids.


Pre Race


Due to the massive number of competitors at Noosa, check in and kit collection is done on the Friday arvo or Saturday before the race, and bikes are racked the day before.


So Friday arvo arrived, and I joined the far queue for check-in, and of course it was in the blazing hot sun...

After getting the race kit, and checking that my ankle timing tag worked, I ventured into the expo. I wasn't happy with my current aero water bottle, I wanted one of the torpedo style aero bottles... Bingo! I found one in the expo, and I was going to do something that you should never do on race day, try something new...

Saturday morning we headed back into Noosa, so I could rack my bike. Unlike some races, where you get an allocated rack position based on your number, the racking at Noosa is a free for all, with a section for each age group.


Bike racked... Tyres deflated... Row number noted...

Now off to the beach to find Claire and the kids. Once I found them, the next stop was the beach coffee cart – the fact the barista was in a bikini was just a bonus...


After I had a little play in the water with the kids, I felt like a short swim around the “swim between the flags” buoys. I forgot how much my board shorts acted like a parachute... That was harder work!


Then it was off to the Noosa Surf Club for light lunch a few last minute liquid carbs.


After lunch we came back to Coolum, spent the afternoon relaxing, and got my race day kit together.

It was then time for an early, dinner, and early off to bed...


3:30am … BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!! …


RACE DAY!!!!!!

With so many people racing Noosa and the relatively tight course, wave starts are the order of the day.

The Elite men and women start at 6:15 and 6:16 respectively, followed by another 41 waves of age group competitors, then 12 team wave starts. Totally 55 waves from 6:15 to 9:44... I was due to start at 8:26.

Due to the early start time transition closed at 6:00, which meant being at Noosa by about 5 am – which was very early for the awesome support crew!!

After my transition was set, I had breakfast, a coffee, ensured I remained hydrated and watched the Elites (and early age groupers) set off...as well as the Elites finish.

Downing a bottle a gatorade an hour before start time and I was ready to go!!

SWIM....SWIM....!!!

Unlike many triathlons, where the event starts from the beach and the masses run into the sea, Noosa is a deep water start.  About 20 minutes before i was due to start, i made my way from watching the Elite male winner cross the finish to the start.

At this stage i'm always nervous that i've got the wrong time for my wave. Luckily, each wave has a different colour swim cap - my wave had pink! Quick check...yep, plenty of pink caps mingling and warming up. So into the lagoon i dove...trying to forget about the sea-snake which had freaked out the Elite females, at their start!

Rolling the arms around, with a few efforts, felt good. Out of the water i got for a few minutes rest before the start, and i ran into a mate who was starting in the wave after me. All of a sudden, the pink caps all entered the water...wished Andy good luck and then it was GO TIME!!

I know i'm not the world's fastest swimmer so i started toward the back of the wave. Last year at Noosa i copped a few punches and kicks in the swim, which freaked me out a bit and i struggled for the rest of the swim.  This year my plan was to relax, concentrate on my form and breathing and what ever happened - DON'T STOP SWIMMING!

Well it worked...my swim was a few minutes faster than last year (and apparently it was long - with people's Garmin data showing between 1650m and 1750m.)

RIDE...!!!

So into transition i ran, goggles off, swim cap off. Some people just ditch the swim cap - but mine was pink, and Em loves pink...so swim the cap was saved!

...ok...where's lane 42...ah there it is.  Now, in my previous attempts at Olympic distance races it's been quite easy to find my bike ... this time however, there were actually a number of bikes around mine still racked!! WOO HOO!! My swim is getting faster!!!!

OK...gel down ... drink some water ... helmet, sunnies, bike shoes on (still keeping it simple and not trying the flying leap into shoes whilst running with bike) shove a few gels in pockets ... grab bike and off i go!!

The first bit of the ride is quite technical - narrow sections, round-a-bouts, speed humps - then the roads open up and it's a great rise...

About 10 km into the ride we head up! It's about a 100 m rise in 3 km - so it's not tough but it does interrupt your rhythm.

As i started to ride the hill, i sat up out of the aerobars and thought i'd take a drink...well...that didn't go too well! I grabbed the bottle from the cage behind me seat, and it slipped out of my hand and started to roll back down the hill...

FUCK! 

... ok... pull over, get off bike, run down hill after it... Ordinarily i would have left it, but as it was hot i wanted to ensure i had enough water (with electrolyte).

So, back i the bike i jump and get about completing the rest of the hill...

 

I found the ride a bit tricky to pace - i didn't want to go too hard, as i knew i still had to run and it was only going to get hotter.  There were a number of cyclists on the road who were significantly slower than me, and a few who were significantly faster.  In theory, Noosa is a non-drafting ride, meaning you can't just sit behind somebody else. But in reality, the course is pretty crowded, so to not draft you need to sit a bit further out in the road... So now we have people passing some people, people passing everybody, and people trying not to draft. This leads to a lot of looking around and general upsetting of rhythm. I suppose with experience this'll get easier.

 

Now it was time for the downhill - which drops the same 100m, but in about 1500m.  Long term readers of my drivel may remember that I'm the world's worst descender, so while others were smashing down at speeds approaching 80kph (or more) i was gently rolling down in the mid 40s. My max speed for the ride was actually recorded on the slight downhill just after the turnaround.

 

Passing the local Primary School, i can see the temperature has risen from 29 C to 34 C while i was on the bike... aarrgghhh...this run could be fun!

 

 

 

Back into town was uneventful, again dodging weaving, and being dodged and weaved, as the course tightened again...and through the cheering crowd. 

 

 

there's my entourage "Woo, Hoo! Hey Gang!!" - and on to the transition.

 

 

RUN, RUN, RUN...!!!

 

And off the bike i get...my legs give it a bit of "whoww...what are we doing now..." but after a few seconds it's all good.  Before i enter transition a quick look to the right and i can see those who started earlier finishing and relaxing under the hoses...ok, focus, rack bike and go!!!

 

Quick change of gear, mouthful of water/electrolyte, grab a gel, and GO!!

 

Onto the run, quick thumbs up to Claire, the kids and Graham and run!

 

The. Run. Was. HOT!!  

 

Last year the run got the better of me, so this year i was determined to go a little easier, monitor my HR, and get through.

 

The first few km's were good, HR at a good level, pace good, and i was grabbing a sip of water at each aid station, running through hoses - everything i could to keep cool and assist my body to keep cool so i didn't put that extra stress of cooling on my system.

 

Through 5k, still feeling pretty good - but at 6k the wheels fell off...i think i was just cooked! Between 6k and 9k I employed a run / walk strategy.  I downed a gel at 7k but that didn't really help - having said that, it didn't actually hurt either.

 

By 9k I was feeling ok again, and with the noise coming from the sides and knowing I was almost home I was able to run properly again!

 

The support toward the end was great (actually it was great for the entire course), cheers from random people -  supporters of other athletes, other athletes, and just random supporters, and High 5's from kids is enough to get you home!

 

It was also great to get the cheers of support on course from the other MPTC crew competing!

 

AND DONE!!

 

At the end of the day i was pretty happy with my performance - yes, i would have liked to get through quicker - but for my first hit of for the season (and getting back recently from injuries) there's no complaints. I'm really happy that i got through the race without injury!!

After a quick dip in the lagoon, a drink of about 47 litres of sports drink and water, and eating 16 watermelons, it was time to go and find the family...

There they are!!

Not sure what i'm saying here - but was i was suggested that i was saying how far off winning i was, to which Claire replied "there, there dear - you've had too much sun..."

Massive thanks to Claire and the kids for the support, and Graham and Cameron from coming up from Ipswich!!

And look... Em and Cameron were cute on at least one occasion! 

I can see clearly now....

How can the Jamaican Bobsled Team not inspire you?!?!
and, thank goodness the weather has cleared up in Melbournetown!

Swim sprint reps... not so much faster, as just less efficient...

I've really enjoyed swimming with my new Garmin 910xt - Happy Father's Day, from my awesome Family!

It's giving me all sorts of great data...well actually, it's giving me data, that's not as great as i had hoped for.  Essentially, what it's telling me is - Yes, i can swim and keep swimming, distance is no drama...but speed...um nup, nothing, nada, zilch...

So this morning i thought, OK...i'm feeling good...short, sharp swim - let's hit some sprint reps.  So ok, session went thus...actually i thought session went thus...

Warm up - 500m easy.

Main Set - 25 flat out / 25 recovery, repeat X 10.

Cool down - 500 easy.

So no distance, but a hard main set (for me).

Now, thanks to the wonders of Garmin...what actually happened...

Warm up - 500 easy.

Main set - 25 hard (actually going no faster than my 3k pace) / 25 recovery (going about 5% slower than hard.

Cool down - 500 easy.

So it appears that my version of swimming hard is to waste a lot of energy, going no faster than when i just relax and swim.

With Noosa triathlon about a month away I don't think i want to re-learn to swim before then. But after that it's over 3 months until Challenge Melbourne and over 4 months to Ironman Melbourne...so after that i think i should get some stroke correction / technique lessons, and consider squad.