Commitment to Training...FOUND!

It was tough to get out of bed this morning. 
The alarm went off at 4:45 am for the third morning in a row.
My running gear was neatly laid out beside the bed.
In bed it was cosy and warm.
I could hear the rain beat against the window.
I think i'm starting to feel a bit coldy / fluey.
Maybe i should rest.
I've had quite a few good training sessions this week.
I could have the morning off.

NO...GET UP! 

Hang on, what was that noise, was that thunder.
Surely i couldn't run if there was thunder and lightning about.

NO...you're hearing things...GET UP!

OK...i'm out of bed...GO!

Gear on, standing at the front door...
Waiting for the Garmin to locate satellites...
It's raining...
It looks cold...
I'm still dry...
I could go back to bed...
I'll make up for it tonight...

Satellites located...GO!! 

Off into the cold, dark, wet, Melbourne morning i went...
And loved it!!

For me, this stage of the off season is about getting km's in the legs and making getting up before 5 am a habit.

Today, I won!

Bike Rollers.... If Siri can make an omelette while on them, surely i can just ride on them!

It's like i don't know how to ride a bike and have to learn again!!!

A mate of mine was down sizing his apartment, and had no room to keep his rollers, so offered them to me.  Apparently they're good for you bike handling and general cycling skills, balance, etc, so i thought i'd look after them for him.

How hard could it be...apparently you can make an omelette whilst cycling on rollers.  (well Norwegian pro-cyclist Siri Minge can anyway!)  

Well... Last night was go time... me, my trusty Avanti and the rollers...

Ok, so where was i going to set this "funniest home video in the making" up?? A ha, rumpus room, beside the couch, on carpet...soft landing all around! Winning!!

Nup...the carpet too soft, the rollers were rubbing... 

So here i am walking around firstly the house and then the backyard, looking for something that was at the perfect height, so i could hold onto it with one hand and the handle bars, the other.  Outside beside the kids cubby house was the winner...

First off i thought i'd just ride in sneakers - why would i want my feet attached to the bike when i suspected there was a high potential i was going to come seriously unstuck! Nah, that was no good, pedal stroke was off...so proper clip-in shoes it was!

Once i got sorted, i happily managed to keep my cadence in the 90-100 region for twenty minutes.  At the start there was more hanging onto the cubby house than two hands on the bars, but after a while i started to hold the bars for a couple of seconds before i started to lean too much and needed the support.  It was a pretty frustrating ten minutes, and i reckon i know what kids go through learning without training wheels!!

But by the end of the session, i had managed to relax and ride a couple of stints of a minute or so without any support, so i'm thinking that could be considered a successful first roller outing!!

Once i got sorted, my heart rate was in the 140-150 bpm range, so I'm thinking for endurance workouts the rollers may be a better bet than the turbo trainer. But the turbo will definitely have a place for the balls to the wall sessions that are The Sufferefest!

Why am I training, and why have i entered an Ironman....Putting it all into perspective!

I read an interview with successful triathlon coach Brett Sutton on First Time Ironman (firsttimeironman.com) Linky Here and i thought i'd share his answer to the first question...

Thank you for taking the time out to chat with us.   Your training philosophy has been called different to a lot of other coaches in the sport, could you explain the core principles that have made you such a successful coach?

My philosophy is very simple there is no difference between a pro and an age grouper. Its just the time one has to train, and the speed at which one goes. Everything else is the same.

So we first need to work out if you’re a pro, or you’re an over exuberant age grouper, or someone that is doing the sport for the benefits that the three interconnecting sports can provide us with. In enhancing our life style, all three are very different . Somehow triathlon has grown as all three are one and the same under the life style heading 

This is very misleading to the participants themselves. We have life stylers thinking they are pros, we have age groupers who act out their life as pros to the detriment of those around them and we have those who do the sport for its health benefits.

Our philosophy is to look as a life coach at each athlete’s circumstance then manufacture a program that enhances their abilities with in that frame work. We do that from a nicola spirig, down to the slowest age grouper. The philosophy stays the same.

This got me thinking...

Firstly, why do i (triathlon) train?

Secondly, why did i enter Ironman?

Thirdly, which of Brett's groups do i fit into?

So, why do i train?? 

A few years back i realised that between the ages of 28 and 38, i'd put on 1 kg each year - i know...massive! Yeah, not really, but i could see a trend starting which i knew i needed to arrest.  So i started running a little more regularly.  I'd always jogged and rode my bike for a bit of fun, but thought i should get a bit more serious.  Soon i realised that my knees couldn't handle too much running.  I'd done some tri's in my distant past - why not give that a crack again... So, yep...GO!!

Over the past few years i've done a handful of fun runs - longest being a 28k trail run, and a few triathlons - most notably 2 Olympic distance races.  

This leads perfectly into the next question...

Why did i enter Ironman??

There's a number of reasons i decided to enter an IM...some valid / some not...

• because it's there
• growing up loved watching Mark Allen and Dave Scott at Hawaii
• inspired by this year's "everyday people" competitors
• do it now while my knees still allow the training km's required
• life can only get busier
• i enjoy swimming / cycling / running
• the challenge
• and it doesn't hurt for the kids to see me being active

Notice that i haven't entered for such reasons as:

• break x hours
• qualify for Kona

They are valid reasons...but they're not for me.

So, which of Brett Sutton's groups do i fit onto??

We have life stylers thinking they are pros, we have age groupers who act out their life as pros to the detriment of those around them and we have those who do the sport for its health benefits.

I fit well and truly into the third group - i do the sport for its health benefits!  

I need to remember this, and not get sucked into the second group...

I can and will get up early on the weekend to do my long runs and rides, leaving the rest of the day free. 

And I will train, before and after work, during the week when commitments allow.

But what i won't do is worry if I miss a training session...

My family comes first!

The people you meet...

This morning i dropped my car off at the car dealer to get serviced and ran back to the cafe near Jamesy's school to meet Claire and Em for a coffee, followed by a walk home.

Apart from the fact it was about 5 degrees (i really need running gloves - my hands are still frozen as i write this!!) it was a great, albiet short, run.

The majority of the run was along the Kananook Creek Trail, which on the adjacent map is the section running south to north adjacent to the beach.  The trail follows the creek along what is essentially a sand ridge between the beach and the swamp and as i discovered this morning is a favourite haunt of the Oldies for their morning walks!!

It was a cold and foggy morning, with the general friendly conversation with everyone you passed being something along the lines of "gee, it's cold" with the reply of "yeah, but at least it's not raining".  One conversation went beyond this.

As i was running past Seaford Railway Station, say g'day to old mate, he replies with "lovely morning, what's MPTC stand for?", to which i reply "Mornington Peninsula Triathlon Club".  He went on to tell me how he'd have loved to have had triathlon in his day, it would have saved him from the monotony of just training for and racing marathons - but he continues, the road trips to compete interstate were pretty amazing fun.

Oh, and his parting advice... Look after your knees!! (Cheers mate, i'm all over that one!)

Even though this was a 20 second conversation, as we crossed paths, his face seemed to light up and he told his story, and remembered events past.

For me, today was one of those, it's all about your journey not your destination, days!

Puffing Billy Great Train Race & Where I'm At...

There hasn't been much training happening over the past few weeks, mostly due to sickness. I'm figuring there's no use busting myself while I'm still a fair way from the Melbourne Marathon and IM Melbourne.

Oh yeah, did I mention I entered Melbourne Marathon, figured I should know what a marathon feels like before the IM.

Anyway, the past few weeks I've been trying to develop a training program leading up to IM Melbourne.

Between now and then I've pretty much decided to do a minimal number of events and just focus on 226km next March! So the lead up is:

Melbourne Marathon

Noosa Olympic Distance Triathlon

Challenge Melbourne 1/2 IM

IM Melbourne

My program is being developed by the guidelines presented in Joe Friel's "The Triathlete'sTraining Bible", and I'm fairly happy with where it's at - but I guess time will tell.

So back to the current... Last Sunday was Puffing Billy's Great Train Race. The idea behind this race is the runners race a hundred year old steam train through 13.2 km of twisty hill roads. A number of runners beat the train, which depending upon conditions takes between about 50 and 57 minutes.

For mine, it's a brilliant run with a couple of challenging climbs and some fast down hill stretches. If you know how to run fast down hill you can make up some some serious time!!

I went into the race seriously under prepared, having done less than 80 km of flat running since injuring my ankle in January.

Come race day, it was a cool, overcast day - perfect conditions! I managed to get around the course in a PB, but really struggled uphill. 

Over the last week I've managed to run every second day, so I'm pretty happy with that. Although I'm still only training for fun and fitness at present, I know that over the next few weeks it need to get more serious and start to build my long sessions in the pool, on the bike and on the path....

See you out there :)

Great Ocean and Otway Classic Ride 2013

The Great Ocean and Otway Classic Ride, or #GOOCR13 as was the preferred twitter hashtag - mouthful i know, is one of the popular mass participation bike rides in Victoria.

The event starts in Torquay and follows an anti-clockwise loop through the edge of the relatively flat western district farmlands, crossing over the Otway Ranges to the coast, before returning 145 km later to Torquay via the Great Ocean Road.

Event Route and Profile

While not being an overly tough ride for experienced, as far as rides go, it could quite easily be turned into a challenging ride, by treating it as a race, or by trying to hang onto one of the quicker front packs of riders.  However, for novice cyclists and those without too many long rides under their belt, the rise up from Deans Marsh followed by the numerous short rises along the coast would indeed be a challenge - particularly with the winds on the day ignoring the prevailing weather patterns, which would provide a tail wind for this final 50 km stretch, and instead delivering a headwind!

I had no delusions of grandeur here.  This was going to be my first ride in excess of 80km / 3 hr for about 20 years!  My plan was merely to roll around the course, attempting to keep my HR under control - particularly after my DNF at Xterra GOR 2 weeks ago - hoping that my base fitness would get me through, if I didn't redline my HR too often.

I awoke at 3:45 had some breaky, loaded the car and was on my way by 4:30.  Quick coffee stop at the road house on the Geelong road and i was at Torquay by 6:30, just in time to get ready and take the obligatory bike and sunrise photo with the phone!

Obligatory iPhone photo for social networking purposes

Then it was time to go and catch-up with a mate who i've been chatting with on Twitter for a while but never "met" (we'll refer to him as "Nigel" to protect the guilty).  Sure enough, he actually did exist and wasn't just a little plastic man on a little plastic bike - as his twitter profile suggests...

Just like any of these events, the participants lined up behind the start line according to coloured wrist band, based on their expected finishing time.  So we made our way to the start line and after a quick chat "Nigel" kept moving forward into the Green Zone, while i was more than happy to stay back in the "Orange Zone". 

BANG!! And we're off - well, the first wave was.  After about 3 minutes i was in the start group and GO!! 

hmmm... that's strange, my cleat wouldn't click in... no worries i've only got 145k to ride on a dodgy cleat - anyway, quick stop, gave the cleat and the pedal a quick once over (no idea what was wrong or what i did, but it worked).  Take 2...and, GO!!

The start was always going to be a little nervy for me, not being a big fan of pack cycling. I just rode on the edge of the road and let a few packs go past.  There are two little hills (of 2km and 1.5km length) within the first 10km and i found myself getting stuck behind some quite slow climbers. I was feeling strong, so i started cruising onto the wrong side of the road (massive move for Captain Conservative) passing groups of slower riders.  That was just what i needed to do - ride at my pace, not being dictated by what people around me were doing.

The route took us in a general westerly direction along gently undulating roads for the next 50 km or so before turning south.  This was a nice easy section of the ride, where you could just relax, get into a good rhythm and ride.

I was going quite well until we made the left hand turn, putting us on an easterly course straight into the wind! This is where things got a little tougher, so i dialled things back a notch knowing that i was going to enter the "i haven't ridden this far before" zone part way up the looming rise from Deans Marsh up to Benwerrin...

There were numerous rest locations / water stations set up along the route. I'd managed to reach Deans Marsh (approximately 75 km) without stopping, but was running low on water, so figured this was a good place to stop to re-fill the water, have a quick bite, stretch the legs and answer the call of nature.

Now...time to get back on the bike and climb!!

The Climb!

For the data nerds, the details of the climb are something along the lines of 11 km, 250 m elevation difference (an average gradient of ~2.2 %), with 300 m of climbing... yes, there is some minor downhill sections, and quite a few flats  - so as far as climbs go, it's not too bad.

Knowing that i still had 50 km of winding, undulating, Great Ocean Road into a headwind after this, my plan was to take the climb relatively easy and enjoyed the view.  I almost achieved this, my cadence and speed got a little bit too low on a couple of occasions - as my HR started to nudge into the 170 bpm range (this ordinarily wouldn't bother me - but still a little worried about any residual effect from my recent bout of man-flu).

In all honesty, I actually enjoyed the climb, and can see people actively seek out insane climbs to ride up!  Refer to The Climbing Cyclist website for such insanity!!

One of the features of my new Garmin Edge 500 (purchased the day before the event) that i think i'll steer clear of in the future is the gradient function...too many times on the climb i was seeing numbers like 9 %, 10 % and 11 %. But having said that, it was great to know that i was climbing with relative ease (not very much speed or power mind you)... 

Typical rainforesty-esq view on the climb from Deans Marsh to Benwerrin

Yours truly looking...well, like a cyclist riding up a hill.

The Descent!

And down....

Well, I believe I can officially lay claim to being the world's most conservative / slowest / worst descender!! At one stage I was certain I was being overtaken by a group of toddlers on tricycles!

Checking the Strava segment for the descent, my average speed (excluding the time at the top to stretch) was approximately HALF that of the KOM...

I just can't let go and fly, I generally go faster on nice smooth gentle slopes than I do on massive high speed downhills!! I don't know why?? Maybe with a bit more time on the road I'll gain the confidence i need...who knows??

Anyway, I eventually made it down! My nerves were a little frayed so i took a quick break in Lorne to re-group.

I left Lorne feeling great.  There's a bit of a climb out of Lorne, up Big Hill, which isn't really that big.  But either way i was feeling pretty comfortable, and before too long the Garmin clicked over 100 km... Woo Hoo!! 

The ride from Lorne to Anglesea, follows the coast. It goes up, down, and around, and is a fantastic way to see the coast!

The typical view along the Great Ocean Road, it's pretty hard not to enjoy the ride! 

I even managed a smile for the camera. I thought about getting out of the saddle for
the photo - but my legs sensed what i was thinking and threatened to cramp!

Approaching Airey's Inlet i was starting to cramp in my hamstrings, and continued to cramp for the remaining 40 km, so stretching stops were required at Aireys Inlet, on a little climb coming into Anglesea, the drinks/rest stop at Anglesea, and finally just before Jan Juc.

The view into Anglesea is pretty amazing. This is also the area where Xterra Great Ocean Road
was held a few weeks back. The swim was at the beach in the mid-view, the ride in the hills beyond
that, and the run back up the hill this shot is taken from.

Anglesea to Torquay stretch...wow!

The final long climb, coming out of Anglesea. 

This section seems to be a continual climb all the way to Jan Juc...but no...once you summit after leaving Anglesea it's pretty much slightly down the entire way!!! DAMN EASTERLY WIND!!

After rolling over the top of a little climb i looked up and was met with a view like this... no more beach, no more forest...down town Jan Juc!!  From here i knew it was just a matter of rolling down this hill, back up the other side and then through the main street of Torquay to the finish line!

The view from Jan Juc toward the finish at Torquay

Once i got up the little rise into Torquay the excitement of finishing kicked in and i raised enough energy to put in a bit of a sprint past the cafes full of already finished competitors drinking beer!! 

And then, after 6 hours riding time (and another hour spent stretching, etc)....THE FINISH!

About 5 minutes after i finished i received a message from my mate who we're still going to refer to as "Nigel", simply saying... "Are you dead ?" to which i simply replied "dead man walking - just finished".  As it turns out, he had a pretty good day's cycling, and was sitting on a couch enjoying a cuppa!

Looking back now, it was a really enjoyable ride. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes spending a few hours in the saddle!!

Conclusion: Bumblebees are not capable of flight. Fortunately, no one told the bumblebee!

I've spent the last week and a half with an annoying "man-flu" sort of thing, and consequently my physical activity has been limited to my ill fated Xterra off road triathlon. Consequently, my ironman training has involved intake of carbs...cheers ;) ... and reading!

I've been reading The Triathlete's Training Bible by Joe Friel and Be Iron Fit by Don Fink.

The main purpose of reading these books has been to see whether I believe I can successfully develop my own training program to get me through IM Melbourne or whether I'll need help to get a training program sorted ... anyhow, that's another blog entry for another day.

Today I read a story in Joe Friel's book, which I want to share. So here's a summary...

Several years ago, as the story goes, scientists at NASA developed an interest in the bumblebee. The lab folk reckoned that the little insect held some secrets of flight that might provide answers to questions about operating in space. After all, they asked, how could such small wings produce efficient lift for a relatively large and hairy torso? And how could a round body, and a flight position that violated so many principles of aerodynamics, move so effectively through the air? Indeed, there was so much to learn from the little hummer.

So the scientists set about studying the bumblebee to discover its flying secrets. After weeks of study they came to one conclusion: Bumblebees are not capable of flight!

Fortunately, no one told the bumblebee. The silly insect goes right on believing that flight is normal for them, despite what the best minds in the scientific world knew as fact.

We can learn a lot from the bumblebee. The single most critical piece of the multisport puzzle is believing in yourself and your capability to succeed. "If you think you can or you think you can't" Henry Ford said, "you're actually right." The bumblebee thinks it can fly. Actually, the thought of anything else never crosses its tiny mind. It just keeps on flying...

Why the relevance...

Well, here's me...(December 1974) as a two year old bumblebee...

DREAM ... BELIEVE ... SUCCEED