Happy Christmas readers, and because I wont have written again for another 6 days or so, Happy New Years (picture streamers and those blowing things going off!) . I hope all who read this have a great 2010, meet all their goals and expectations and simply love and live life!
I am sure gonna try.....well......for the next 12 weeks (90 odd days) there is going to be a complete focus on the race, but after that, its time to give some time back to the family, get my ducks in a row work wise. 2009 has been a year to forget with regards to work, and for 2010, the goals and KPI's I will have set will be of a completely differant nature to what they were in 2009, so here's hoping huh!
With regards to a year review for triathlon, training and racing, I think I will actually post that next week, so that should be some interesting writing on my behalf and hopefully reading for you!
Today I am actually pretty sore. Its kind of strange that I am, but funny, its the way this week felt started. I woke up on Monday morning, usual time to go for a swim (with jase), and I felt like I had some straps holding me in bed. I was absolutely wrecked, tired, sore and snuffed! I wanted to pull the pin on the session as I dont think I have felt that poor for months, but in the end, got my lazy arse moving (albeit it very gingerly) out of bed and downstairs and off to fetch Jase. Boy, thank goodness it was a recovery set because there was no way I would have been doing anything at threshold on Monday!
I cycled into work on Tuesday and met up with Matt Porta for a few leisurely laps of Centennial before taking on my swim set at lunchtime. Good set as well, and I got chatting to a new club member who did his first CCTri race on the Sunday....good to see another person out there challanging themselves and looking to improve. Its funny being asked for tips and advice when I am a mere infant to triathlon in terms of how long I have been doing it for. I have not even done 10 triathlons yet I think....but its also testiment to the guys around me whom have been so generous with their time, encouragement, abuse, advice, abuse, chit chat, support and of course....abuse! Vlad, Jase, Andrew M and Andrew C, Rollo, Matt, Steve 'Mad Dog', Jeffinator, the Angriest Little Man Alive (aka ALM or Allen), Smithy, Skinny Wiggle.......chaps, thanks for the input......its been awesome and long may it continue! Anyway, I hope this chap keeps coming abck to the club races and finds the same enjoyment I have in this sport and its community.
Back to the training for this week. I did the brick session again on Wednesday morning, loved that as always, was very happy to pull a split of 3.21 out for a 1km rep!! I swam wednesday night, and ran with jase on Thursday morning. I took Friday off for Xmas day, but boy was I tempted to get out there for an early morning run......I think a wise decision I did not, but the temptation was certainly there.
I ran with Andrew M at Trotters on Saturday morming. It was the monthly 10km Time trial, I was nervous after the last time trial which i really really struggled. Anyway, Andrew took off like an animal as usual, he is so strong in this distance. I guess I reeled him back in a bit, but I was never going to catch him...he ended up finishin in 39.15ish, with me about 39.30, so it was a good hit out. Into the surf afterwards for a very cold ocean swim, whereby I got numb fingers.....in the middle of December.....WTF! I finished the week off with a 135min Turbo Trainer session with a 13km run off the bike...great stuff....loved it! The run off the bike was all a botu focusing on keeping the HR low and not worrying too much about pace. I found it very hard to run that slow, very uncomfortable to be honest, but I am going to have to learn fast, because...in march, I wont be able to sustain even the pace I did today for 42kms, not after a 180km bike ride. Rollo's program for the next 4 weeks is geared exactly for that, running slow and long to ensure I can do it efficiently!
So in summery :
Swim : 5km (2hours)
Run : 50km (5hours)
Ride : 70km + 4hours TT
Total : 13hours
Apart from Monday, I loved every set!
As for new Years resoltuions...I never set myself any. In my opinion, if you want to make a change to your life, you dont need to roll into a new year to make that change...its a mind set thing, make the decision and stick to it. Easy! I know its not that simple all the time, but mostly it is. We have weak points in which we are susceptible to temptation or renegading on the decision we have made, but if you can find something which will help you get through the tough times...then what ever the change you have made will become easier. My plans, and I am making them public are this :
As of January 1st, cut out all crap I currently eat, these are lollies, chocolates (for some reason this is my problem at the moment), chips and maybe redbull kind of drinks...
As of the end of January, cut out grog....
These 2 challenges for me are to end when I finish the Iron Man in March, so both are short term, but both still hard in their own right...I am depriving myself of some of the finer things in life (not the finest, but they are amongst them), because I want to give myself every opportunity to get through the race and finish strong, and I want to be primed and at my best to give it a real crack! Hopefully with people out there knowing these 2 short term goals, I will not be tempted to endulge!
Anyway, all the best to everyone and your families, and until next year...........................
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Could it get worse?
Seriously,The last 3 days have been a disaster!. If you have read my last few blogs you would know that I have been pretty flat out at work, traveling a bit here and there, and putting some long hours in. This week was differant! For the good....hell no! I seem to be going through some real technical issues with our environment, and after starting the week rather nice and stable Thursday night I was called into work at 1am. Again on Friday night at 2am! And then just to top it off, I got my first DNF at the club race today because I rode one lap short! I was going reasonably well during the race, but the effects of a 22km lunchtime (32'c) run certainly took its toll. Why run at lunch? Because I was at bloody work until 10am and only when talking to Vlad on the way home he reminded me that the whole point of all this training is for March 28th, and the club race the next day was not the priority. That comment convinced me to run when I got home, even in th heat and humdity...The run was great. I got bloody burnt though :-(....next time I will have to remember soft tan cream!
So, apart from the crap week at work, lack of sleep again and the DNF, the week was marvelous! I loved the sets Rollo gives me to go through. Again, my mid week brick session is probably the hightlight! They hard like hell, but are such good fun! Also, an honourable mention should go to Jase and Matt this week who both on Thursday morning joined me for for a 6am start of 12 x 400m efforts! Honestly, the only other person who has been keen enough to do early morning sessions with me was Vlad, but he is taking a break for the time being, and concentrating on his running. It was good fun to have those 2 blokes running out there with me, hurting as well, and seeing them push hard. It was good to see Jase find that key to the hurt locker again, something he knows he needs to frequent a little more if he is to achieve his goal in March. I personally think he will. He has been enjoying the sessions with Andrew and I, and his company is most welcomed! It makes the journey, the race and the whole participation thing so much better!
So in summery this week :
Swim : 5km (2hours)
Bike : 4hours(All TT)
Run : 55km (5hours)
Total : 11hours
So, the lightest week I have had in a long time. I missed 2 swim sets because of work, which is why thats so low in terms of volume. I also missed the ocean swim I usually do on a Saturday, and then to top it off, I had a paltry 5hours of sleep between Thursday and Saturday!! Its a wonder why I have struggled this weekend with fatigue, tiredness and just being 'over' dealing with work! At least I have pretty much worked with the vendors and sorted the issues out, but still, pretty stressful!
I am looking forward to xmas, spending a few days with my family, not getting up at 3.50am each day to train (I will get up at 5am instead), and not going into the office either........very nice!
So, to all those who read this blog, have a great Xmas, keep safe, train and travel safe, and will be back again next week! 98 days to go now......whoa!
So, apart from the crap week at work, lack of sleep again and the DNF, the week was marvelous! I loved the sets Rollo gives me to go through. Again, my mid week brick session is probably the hightlight! They hard like hell, but are such good fun! Also, an honourable mention should go to Jase and Matt this week who both on Thursday morning joined me for for a 6am start of 12 x 400m efforts! Honestly, the only other person who has been keen enough to do early morning sessions with me was Vlad, but he is taking a break for the time being, and concentrating on his running. It was good fun to have those 2 blokes running out there with me, hurting as well, and seeing them push hard. It was good to see Jase find that key to the hurt locker again, something he knows he needs to frequent a little more if he is to achieve his goal in March. I personally think he will. He has been enjoying the sessions with Andrew and I, and his company is most welcomed! It makes the journey, the race and the whole participation thing so much better!
So in summery this week :
Swim : 5km (2hours)
Bike : 4hours(All TT)
Run : 55km (5hours)
Total : 11hours
So, the lightest week I have had in a long time. I missed 2 swim sets because of work, which is why thats so low in terms of volume. I also missed the ocean swim I usually do on a Saturday, and then to top it off, I had a paltry 5hours of sleep between Thursday and Saturday!! Its a wonder why I have struggled this weekend with fatigue, tiredness and just being 'over' dealing with work! At least I have pretty much worked with the vendors and sorted the issues out, but still, pretty stressful!
I am looking forward to xmas, spending a few days with my family, not getting up at 3.50am each day to train (I will get up at 5am instead), and not going into the office either........very nice!
So, to all those who read this blog, have a great Xmas, keep safe, train and travel safe, and will be back again next week! 98 days to go now......whoa!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Back to normality and Loving it!
After 2 weeks of disrupted weeks, having travelled to our remote offices in Melbourne & Perth, which disturbed my weekly routine (I am a man of routine...dont bugger it up because I get upset :-( (which by the way is weird, because outside of work I am a very relaxed person) but I guess that having the program from Rollo to follow means I can plan my week in advance and know what I was doing and when I could do it. Traveling made it difficult, and of course I was not able to do long rides either, which I really need! Remember, that bloody Iron Man ride is 180km....lets say that again....(in one of those darts commentators voices) ONE HUNDRED AND EEEEEEEIGHTY! kilometers!! Then, never mind the knackered legs, we are to get off that bike, rump bloody sore, legs buggered, hot, tired, thirsty, and run a measly marathon (42km). Having my week cut short to accommodate traveling really gave me the shits because I know what lies ahead, and it aint pretty!
Ah well, its my choice, and despite how the above sounds, I am so excited, nervous and looking forward to competing in the Iron Man. Not many people will do this in their life span, take on such a goal which requires such commitment from the person participating and their family (as in my case and most of the guys I know doing triathlon). I think my wife is over the early morning wake ups she gets every day now, I dont blame her, it must be annoying getting woken up at 4am Mon to Fri and at least 5am on weekends....she has been pretty patient. We must have double the amount of fabric washing liquid because everyday I have towels, cozzies, running and or cylcing gear, and sometimes 3 sets of the stuff from one day (brick session + recovery run)! The increase in expenditure to provide the fuel needed to keep me going means that any reduction in the money spent on beer previously is not being realised either....instead, I now scoff protien powder and other suppliments to keep my temple well oiled and rearing to go each day! My favourite though has to be No-Xplode! Its a pre exersice concoction which I have before my runs and swims. Not sure exactly what is in it, what it does, but it gets the consumer fired up and ready to rumble. A by product of this concoction is the almost instant bowel cleansing process one goes through within 30mins of drinking it. Its bloody funny being a seasoned user of it, to give Jase a dose on Thursday morning, and watch the reaction! I had a bloody good laugh at him, and even when we ran this morning, I was close to tears at his recollection of this rather woeful by product. Bugger eating deworming tablets, this stuff will clear your arse pipes with haste and vigor....and once done, you will emerge like a little jack Russel with that 'spring' in your step, ready to go, 2kgs lighter and grateful for having made it to the loo!!
Anyway, back to this weeks training. Rollo again provided a quality program. This time focused on the cycling as I had not done as much in the past 2 weeks because of my travels. I had the usual brick session on Wednesday morning which I love doing. Friday I had a straight 3.8km swim down at Andrew Boy Charlton pool. I have never swum that far in one go...thats 72laps of a 50m pool! I was excited about doing it, but also knew I would be pretty bored after 10mins of going up and down the lane. well, the swim lived up to expectations. I loved the fact that I did it, hating being in there, hated the salt water, and emerged about 54mins later. Not bad, given that would be a great time for me during the Iron Man! The 2XU V1 wetsuit was comfortable throughout, whcih was another test, so all in all, great fun...all done before 7am to!
On Saturday I went to work on the 4am train, the building was having a power outage, so I needed to be there. I dropped my bike off friday because I decided to ride home once done. Jase was to meet me at some point, him leaving home at 7.45am, me about 8.15 from the office. It meant we would meet about half way. I left a little late, and boy, that is the toughest ride I think I have done. Its pretty much uphill all the way, the first 48kms with a head wind. We actually did meet about halfway, and headed back to Gosford together. Finished the ride, and I must say, it was bloody good fun, but hard work!
Up again this morning at 5am, and off with Jase to do 2 hours of hill running. We chose to run offroad in the hills in Ourimbah for a change, which was good. 21kms later, just under 2hours of constant running we were done. It was good to run with jase as well. He has done a few Iron Man races himself, and will be there again in March! Its good to have good company, and the guys I have trained with have made it so so much easier and better for me. Vlad, Andrew, Andrew, Tim, Jase, Allen, Adrian & Rollo have all really made the journey so far great fun, kept me going with encouragement, advice and tips, and to these blokes I am most grateful! Its now realy 3months only left to prepare, which aint long......
So the week was as follows :
Swim : 7.2km (3hours)
Cycle : 100kms + 3.5hrs on TT (7.5hours)
Run : 35kms (4hours)
Total : 14.5hours (or there abouts)
You can see the low volume in the run for the past week. Its probably not a bad thing as my shin has been niggling me again. I will be applying deep heat etc to it and giving it a good working.
Lastly, Andrew and Jeff competed in the Canberra Half Iron Man today. I dont know all the details, but it was another hot and tough day out there apparently, but both came through in similar unofficial times. well done to them both, great efforts to be out there doing that.
until next week.....and more reports on No-Xplode!!
Ah well, its my choice, and despite how the above sounds, I am so excited, nervous and looking forward to competing in the Iron Man. Not many people will do this in their life span, take on such a goal which requires such commitment from the person participating and their family (as in my case and most of the guys I know doing triathlon). I think my wife is over the early morning wake ups she gets every day now, I dont blame her, it must be annoying getting woken up at 4am Mon to Fri and at least 5am on weekends....she has been pretty patient. We must have double the amount of fabric washing liquid because everyday I have towels, cozzies, running and or cylcing gear, and sometimes 3 sets of the stuff from one day (brick session + recovery run)! The increase in expenditure to provide the fuel needed to keep me going means that any reduction in the money spent on beer previously is not being realised either....instead, I now scoff protien powder and other suppliments to keep my temple well oiled and rearing to go each day! My favourite though has to be No-Xplode! Its a pre exersice concoction which I have before my runs and swims. Not sure exactly what is in it, what it does, but it gets the consumer fired up and ready to rumble. A by product of this concoction is the almost instant bowel cleansing process one goes through within 30mins of drinking it. Its bloody funny being a seasoned user of it, to give Jase a dose on Thursday morning, and watch the reaction! I had a bloody good laugh at him, and even when we ran this morning, I was close to tears at his recollection of this rather woeful by product. Bugger eating deworming tablets, this stuff will clear your arse pipes with haste and vigor....and once done, you will emerge like a little jack Russel with that 'spring' in your step, ready to go, 2kgs lighter and grateful for having made it to the loo!!
Anyway, back to this weeks training. Rollo again provided a quality program. This time focused on the cycling as I had not done as much in the past 2 weeks because of my travels. I had the usual brick session on Wednesday morning which I love doing. Friday I had a straight 3.8km swim down at Andrew Boy Charlton pool. I have never swum that far in one go...thats 72laps of a 50m pool! I was excited about doing it, but also knew I would be pretty bored after 10mins of going up and down the lane. well, the swim lived up to expectations. I loved the fact that I did it, hating being in there, hated the salt water, and emerged about 54mins later. Not bad, given that would be a great time for me during the Iron Man! The 2XU V1 wetsuit was comfortable throughout, whcih was another test, so all in all, great fun...all done before 7am to!
On Saturday I went to work on the 4am train, the building was having a power outage, so I needed to be there. I dropped my bike off friday because I decided to ride home once done. Jase was to meet me at some point, him leaving home at 7.45am, me about 8.15 from the office. It meant we would meet about half way. I left a little late, and boy, that is the toughest ride I think I have done. Its pretty much uphill all the way, the first 48kms with a head wind. We actually did meet about halfway, and headed back to Gosford together. Finished the ride, and I must say, it was bloody good fun, but hard work!
Up again this morning at 5am, and off with Jase to do 2 hours of hill running. We chose to run offroad in the hills in Ourimbah for a change, which was good. 21kms later, just under 2hours of constant running we were done. It was good to run with jase as well. He has done a few Iron Man races himself, and will be there again in March! Its good to have good company, and the guys I have trained with have made it so so much easier and better for me. Vlad, Andrew, Andrew, Tim, Jase, Allen, Adrian & Rollo have all really made the journey so far great fun, kept me going with encouragement, advice and tips, and to these blokes I am most grateful! Its now realy 3months only left to prepare, which aint long......
So the week was as follows :
Swim : 7.2km (3hours)
Cycle : 100kms + 3.5hrs on TT (7.5hours)
Run : 35kms (4hours)
Total : 14.5hours (or there abouts)
You can see the low volume in the run for the past week. Its probably not a bad thing as my shin has been niggling me again. I will be applying deep heat etc to it and giving it a good working.
Lastly, Andrew and Jeff competed in the Canberra Half Iron Man today. I dont know all the details, but it was another hot and tough day out there apparently, but both came through in similar unofficial times. well done to them both, great efforts to be out there doing that.
until next week.....and more reports on No-Xplode!!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Shattered and now Very concerned!
Boy oh Boy! I was lucky enough to go across to Perth this week for work, and then travel down to Busselton to watch the WA Iron Man. Firstly, I was up at 3am on Thursday morning, off to the airport. My flight was 6.10am. Arrived in Perth at 8am, straight to work, and finished in the office at about 8pm. I then met up with some old friends (Nikki and Tyron) who kindly had me for dinner, and I was back at my hotel around midnight (3am Sydney time so I pulled a 24hr day there). I then got up at 4am Perth time (7am Sydney) headed off to the office to make sure all the systems were okay for the start of the sydney office day. From there, I went and joined a swim session held by Ross Pedlow (Exceed Triathlon Coaching) at 6am. It was a pretty enjoyable set, nice to swim with others for once, I am usually on my own. Ross made the comment that he thought my swim stroke / style was, and I quote "Ugly, but it gets the job done!" I am not sure if I should be shattered about that, but hey, if I can swim with his fast boys, then I dont really care! I'll blame the waterpolo for the stroke style!
On Friday I finished up at the office just after lunch, and then off to meet Vlad and Adam in Busso. It was hot on Friday (34c) however it was going to be hotter for the race....deary me! Vlad, Adam and I had a pretty relaxing night, and we were up at 4am on Saturday and off to Transition. Vlad was nice and relaxed, and it was actually quite cold at 5am, the wind was leading us astray!
The Busso course looks awseome. The swim takes you out and around the pier...this thing is about 2km long!! jesus! The turning point looks miles away from the start. The best thing though is the water colour and clarity...absolutley stunning. After the gun went off and V;ad was out of the water and on the bike, Adam and I ran most of the run course (which is a 14km lap), and its was pretty flat, pretty exposed to wind and sun, and we discussed as we ran how we thought it was going to be a tough day later on. Little did we know exactly how much hotter it was to get.
Well, Vlad had a blinder on the bike, finishing the 180km leg in under 5hours, and started the run strongly, but unfortunately faded, sctruggled with cramping again and struggling with his breathing. (a similar condition in Kona I think) The poor bloke made it to around the 30km mark before he was taken into the medical tent and onto a drip. He lost 5kgs during the race! Thats just how tough it was out there! I reckon, and I am sure Adam and other athletes will back me here, 90% of the guys out there were walking, 9% a very tender shuffle, and maybe the odd one, and very few and far between were running. It was hot, and I mean HOT! The wind was hot and dry, and sun was burning, and we were struggling as spectators...never mind running a marathon.
Anyway, back to Perth last night, and onto the midnight flight to Sydney. A couple of hours of 'sleep' and driving home, so all up, in the past 3 days I have had no more than 6hours of sleep. through a few training sessions in as well amoungst that, flying to and from Perth, work and other items, this week has not been ideal for my training. The thing is, I still manage to get all the sessions in, bar my run today (I am absolutely buggered). I love the huuge brick I did on Wednesday morning as well.
I am looking forward to a solid week this week, because wathcing that race yesterday has reminded me how hard that race is, and just when you start thinking you might be slightly prepared, I have been reminded just how far I had to go in order to finish at Port in March. Vlad also kindly reminded me I really onl,y have 12 to 14 weeks of solid training left because of the taper before....in the scheme of things its not a long time at all.
So, in summery this week :
Swim : 10km (4 hours)
Ride : 3hours on TT
Run : 50kms (5hours)
Total : 12 hours
So fairly light, but not bad for the amount of time I had available to me.
Well done Tim and his Brother for finishing the race yesterday, and Vlad, you are an animal for being in so many Iron Man races in such a short space of time....mate, I hope you enjoy your retirement from IM, I am sure you could rest up until Port, and then it can be YOUR DAY!!! (you can spend most of it chasing me down...you must be tempted)
UNtil next week.....
On Friday I finished up at the office just after lunch, and then off to meet Vlad and Adam in Busso. It was hot on Friday (34c) however it was going to be hotter for the race....deary me! Vlad, Adam and I had a pretty relaxing night, and we were up at 4am on Saturday and off to Transition. Vlad was nice and relaxed, and it was actually quite cold at 5am, the wind was leading us astray!
The Busso course looks awseome. The swim takes you out and around the pier...this thing is about 2km long!! jesus! The turning point looks miles away from the start. The best thing though is the water colour and clarity...absolutley stunning. After the gun went off and V;ad was out of the water and on the bike, Adam and I ran most of the run course (which is a 14km lap), and its was pretty flat, pretty exposed to wind and sun, and we discussed as we ran how we thought it was going to be a tough day later on. Little did we know exactly how much hotter it was to get.
Well, Vlad had a blinder on the bike, finishing the 180km leg in under 5hours, and started the run strongly, but unfortunately faded, sctruggled with cramping again and struggling with his breathing. (a similar condition in Kona I think) The poor bloke made it to around the 30km mark before he was taken into the medical tent and onto a drip. He lost 5kgs during the race! Thats just how tough it was out there! I reckon, and I am sure Adam and other athletes will back me here, 90% of the guys out there were walking, 9% a very tender shuffle, and maybe the odd one, and very few and far between were running. It was hot, and I mean HOT! The wind was hot and dry, and sun was burning, and we were struggling as spectators...never mind running a marathon.
Anyway, back to Perth last night, and onto the midnight flight to Sydney. A couple of hours of 'sleep' and driving home, so all up, in the past 3 days I have had no more than 6hours of sleep. through a few training sessions in as well amoungst that, flying to and from Perth, work and other items, this week has not been ideal for my training. The thing is, I still manage to get all the sessions in, bar my run today (I am absolutely buggered). I love the huuge brick I did on Wednesday morning as well.
I am looking forward to a solid week this week, because wathcing that race yesterday has reminded me how hard that race is, and just when you start thinking you might be slightly prepared, I have been reminded just how far I had to go in order to finish at Port in March. Vlad also kindly reminded me I really onl,y have 12 to 14 weeks of solid training left because of the taper before....in the scheme of things its not a long time at all.
So, in summery this week :
Swim : 10km (4 hours)
Ride : 3hours on TT
Run : 50kms (5hours)
Total : 12 hours
So fairly light, but not bad for the amount of time I had available to me.
Well done Tim and his Brother for finishing the race yesterday, and Vlad, you are an animal for being in so many Iron Man races in such a short space of time....mate, I hope you enjoy your retirement from IM, I am sure you could rest up until Port, and then it can be YOUR DAY!!! (you can spend most of it chasing me down...you must be tempted)
UNtil next week.....
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