Well, as the title says....I am not an Iron Man :-(
Why, I had to pull out due to mechanical failure at about the 120km on the bike! Jesus, of all the things that were out of my control....mechanical was pretty much the only thing that would stop me after the weather was fine (hot but fine). At the 84km mark on the bike, I changed my gear from the large chain ring to the small one, and during that process the deraillier got entangled in my spokes and snapped off, leaving me stranded! I waited for the Shimano team guys to come for about an hour, they then made my bike a 'single' gear bike, which was fine because it meant I was still going, albeit now on plan C - just finish! Well, 5kms down the road, the cassette at the back was pretty much stripped of its threads, so as soon as applied pressure on the peddles, the cogs spun, but the wheel did not. So, I ran / walked about 6kms back to Lake Cathie (23km out of town I think) and waited again for the Shimano guys to come. 30mins later, they swapped my wheel out for a spare they had, I was still running a 'single speed', but I was on the move again, now over 2 hours since it first broke :-(. Still, I headed back to town, on my very expensive single speed bike, into a head wind, thinking, at least I will still be an Iron Man in 14odd hours at most. I just needed to go for 100km! I got back into Town, and the peddles essentially seized! My day was done! I walked / rolled back to where I thought I would find my family, and had to officially pull out. I nearly shed tears when I explained to them what the problem was. Its so hard telling them you have DNF'd when they have all made such huge sacrifices to be up here to support me. Everyone has sacrificed resources to make this happen for me, and I failed! Jeez its a hard and bitter pill to swallow, and unfortunately, its stuck in my throat! So, no 25th Iron Man medal, or towel, or finishers shirt for me, and 12months of preparation for a DNF!
So, thats the bad news. The good news. Iron Man is awesome! The whole build up to in from Thursday, seeing all the athletes milling around, preparing, discussing and just for the most part being great people. (believe me there are wankers there big time). Checking the bike in, being a part of the breifing, checking in on the morning is fun. Seeing all the competitors checking equipment etc was sensational. I was so nervous, and seeing my family at the swim start was great.
The start.....is unbelievable. Helicopters overhead, the national anthem, the cannon going off and us going for it...over 1500 swimmers! Unbelievable! I came out of the water in 49mins, apparently 7th in my age group, and 30th overall or something, which I am pretty chft with. I swam within myself as I was swimming with a group tucked in behind their feet to make it easier. With about 800m to go, i swam around them as they were slowing substantially, but I was very comfortable. I grabbed the wrong bike bag on my way to the tent, so had probably the slowest transition of the day, but I was having a hoot. I was onto the bike, and did the first 60km lap in about 1.44 (I think) which was a little faster than I thought I would be, but I was in control of my Hear Rate and very comfortable. There was heaps of guys flying past me on the first lap, but interesting enough I was starting to reel a few of them in on the second before disaster struck :-(. The rest is history.
The other guys....sensational efforts all round! I am so pleased for them to have finished in what became tough conditions out there. Hot and windy! Jase, Andrew, Matt, Tim and Jeff, supremem efforts guys, you should be proud of yourselves!
So, I have unfinished business now.....I am not an Iron Man, and unfortunately have to wait probably at the least 8months to try again, more like 12.Maybe Busso in WA, or I am thinking about Taupo in NZ in 2011. Regardless, that additional time on the bike in training will only prepare me better, and maybe, just maybe my bike will be repaired and running.....lets hope they replace the gear for free as a 1month old bike should not do that!!
Thanks to everyone who has read this blog over the past year, and for all the messages of support during that time, this essentially is the last blog. I am sorry it could not have been better news, and more exciting, but thats Iron Man, its a long day, and you cannot plan for everything...she dealt me a bad hand this time, but I aint defeated just yet.....
Over and out (one very devastated Iron Man wannabe!!)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Final Night before I pop my Iron Man Cherry!
Being considered a virgin again, and having this virginity status celebrated again by hundreds of my fellow competitors has been great! At the Carbo Loading party last night and again at this mornings race briefing all us 'virgins' were applauded by those who have been through this battle before. It was awesome to see what 1500 odd mostly very fit looking people looks like in a tent, all raring to go, most looking nervous or apprehensive about what is in store for us tomorrow. I am sure most are preying that their day just goes smoothly, no issues at the start of the swim, no punctures or cramping, and probably, have been keeping an eye on the weather as its gonna be a hot one tomorrow! 1500 crazy buggers (and buggeress's) are also I should point out be competing to perform some sort of disaster in the porta loo's tomorrow morning...the combination of all the nutritional aids and drinks consumed in the past 48hrs.....yumbo! Jeez I hope I am done and dusted in regards to that activity before I have to use those ablutions!
Anyway, I just thought I would let you all know, the past few days in Port have been great. I have done a few very easy sessions, loved watching all the posers out there, strutting their stuff, watching all the guys hammer themselves at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, in +30'c degrees 2 days before....what are you thinking you muppits!!
We have been lucky enough to have great weather, a bit hot, but pretty good. As I said its going to be very hot on the run course tomorrow, so fluid is critical.....
Its been great to have all the guys up here safely, and it was good to ride with them all this morning.
Its been great to have Rollo here, to keep an eye on us, and to no doubt provide feedback along the way...mate, tell it like it is okay!!
Its obviously awesome to have my wife and kids here, and of course my mom over from the UK! Just the rest of the family are missing, and boy it would be good to have the rest of the maaaaaaaaates to!
As I said before, to follow me live on the web (its not video but it does update my times and distances as the race goes on) here is the link :
http://www.ironmanoz.com/ironmanoz/race-day-coverage.htm
Remember, my number is 687
Also, below is the list of the guys whom I have trained with over the past year, and have been nothing short of sensational training partners, they have become really good mates and I am so chuft to be sharing this experience with them (Vlad is not in the below list as he is not doing it, but soon mate..soon!!)
Andrew M : 946
Jase F : 519
Matty P : 1111
Tim F : 524
Jeff A : 48
Best of luck lads, its been truly great to have you as training partners along the way!
So, tomorrow is the day I will become an Iron Man, I cant believe its been 12months of training, rain, freezing or hot conditions, but its been awesome. Thanks to everyone that has messaged and called me to wish me luck, its been unbelievable to receive all the good luck and well wishes today, really, I am so grateful for all your support, and of course for you following my weekly blog.
So, tomorrow I will finish this jounrney, I will have evolved from a Fat Bastard to an Iron Man, and I shall certinaly provide you all with the details on Monday!!
Until then, enjoy!
Anyway, I just thought I would let you all know, the past few days in Port have been great. I have done a few very easy sessions, loved watching all the posers out there, strutting their stuff, watching all the guys hammer themselves at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, in +30'c degrees 2 days before....what are you thinking you muppits!!
We have been lucky enough to have great weather, a bit hot, but pretty good. As I said its going to be very hot on the run course tomorrow, so fluid is critical.....
Its been great to have all the guys up here safely, and it was good to ride with them all this morning.
Its been great to have Rollo here, to keep an eye on us, and to no doubt provide feedback along the way...mate, tell it like it is okay!!
Its obviously awesome to have my wife and kids here, and of course my mom over from the UK! Just the rest of the family are missing, and boy it would be good to have the rest of the maaaaaaaaates to!
As I said before, to follow me live on the web (its not video but it does update my times and distances as the race goes on) here is the link :
http://www.ironmanoz.com/ironmanoz/race-day-coverage.htm
Remember, my number is 687
Also, below is the list of the guys whom I have trained with over the past year, and have been nothing short of sensational training partners, they have become really good mates and I am so chuft to be sharing this experience with them (Vlad is not in the below list as he is not doing it, but soon mate..soon!!)
Andrew M : 946
Jase F : 519
Matty P : 1111
Tim F : 524
Jeff A : 48
Best of luck lads, its been truly great to have you as training partners along the way!
So, tomorrow is the day I will become an Iron Man, I cant believe its been 12months of training, rain, freezing or hot conditions, but its been awesome. Thanks to everyone that has messaged and called me to wish me luck, its been unbelievable to receive all the good luck and well wishes today, really, I am so grateful for all your support, and of course for you following my weekly blog.
So, tomorrow I will finish this jounrney, I will have evolved from a Fat Bastard to an Iron Man, and I shall certinaly provide you all with the details on Monday!!
Until then, enjoy!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Hi ho, hi ho its off to Port we go!
With a smirk on my face, very very excited, quite relaxed at the moment, and just really chomping at the bit to get there, take in the atmosphere first and enjoy the lead up. I have not been stressing as much as I thought I would be to be honest. I honestly thought I would be far more stressed by now, but for some strange reason I am not. Not yet anyway. probably when I get to Port later this coming week and see all the other crazy buggers, all tanned up, posing with their bike bling and shaved legs! My legs are remaining hairy for this event. Michelle drew the line on that particular form of self improvement. I think I will be one of less than 10 who have hairy non shaved legs. Hair or no hair, I am gonna be out there loving it, hurting a fair bit, probably hating it at times, but its gonna be awesome! Jase, Andrew and Matt seem to be doing well to, a few nerves here and there, but I think as a group we are pretty god to go, very excited for each other, and just keen to get to the start now. The taper is really hard. Its hard to understand how an 'easy' week in terms of training can be hard, but it is. We are not doing anything stressful, all the sets have been short, and its really just waiting....very frustrating! YOu start to feel the odd creek and niggle in the joints, every little pinch or sniff makes me concerned, and even the ride yesterday, the focus was completely on survival! Making sure I (we) came through the set all good was the priority, which we did so that was good!
So the past week has been pretty good. I collected my mom from the airport on Friday, got through all the sets with relative ease, have not stressed myself out too much, and was on the end of some serious generosity from a chap I met who has lent me some race wheels. So, its been pretty good I must say. Its been very very busy to which is probably why i have not stressed so much about the race just yet. I only have 2 days at work this week, I wish I had taken these 2 days off as well to be honest, just so I can relax, do what I need do in terms of training and preparation, and just generally kick back. Ah well, next time......(there will be I am sure!)
The sets for the week were as follows :
Swim : 7.5km (3hrs)
Run : 51km (5hrs)
Bike : 135km + 45mins TT (5hrs)
Total : 13hrs (I think)
So not bad, pretty solid week for a taper, lots of fun and now really excited to almost be there.
I think I will post a few small blogs during the leadt up to Sunday, just to keep you in the loop as to how I am going, how the other guys are going, some of the sites and the atmosphere in Port Macquarie itself.
Until Thursday.....
So the past week has been pretty good. I collected my mom from the airport on Friday, got through all the sets with relative ease, have not stressed myself out too much, and was on the end of some serious generosity from a chap I met who has lent me some race wheels. So, its been pretty good I must say. Its been very very busy to which is probably why i have not stressed so much about the race just yet. I only have 2 days at work this week, I wish I had taken these 2 days off as well to be honest, just so I can relax, do what I need do in terms of training and preparation, and just generally kick back. Ah well, next time......(there will be I am sure!)
The sets for the week were as follows :
Swim : 7.5km (3hrs)
Run : 51km (5hrs)
Bike : 135km + 45mins TT (5hrs)
Total : 13hrs (I think)
So not bad, pretty solid week for a taper, lots of fun and now really excited to almost be there.
I think I will post a few small blogs during the leadt up to Sunday, just to keep you in the loop as to how I am going, how the other guys are going, some of the sites and the atmosphere in Port Macquarie itself.
Until Thursday.....
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
The answer is not quite, but....as of today, we have pretty much wound up our training and preparation. Although I still have a pretty busy week in terms of training, its really just some shortish sharpish sessions, just to keep the legs and arms turning over. The prep in terms of fitness is done. The strenght training is done, there is nothing more I can do in the next 2weeks thats going to make me any fitter. The one thing I (and the other blokes doing) is to stay safe, and keep thinking about how we are going to race, what we are going to do, and preparing for th trip and the day. FUN! Its actually unblievable that there is only 2 weeks to go. During todays run with Jase and Andrew, we kept reminding each other that we would be either warming up, or in the water, or on the bike, still on the bike etc. It was a crazy thought to consider, we had just run 20km, and had another 22km to go if that was the race.....jeez! The funny thing was I went to a mates house this afternoon to give me hand with my car, and when I was leaving he asked when the race was...i was told him 2 weeks, and then realised, I would still be going at 4pmish....man, I had already run, swum in the ocean, gone to Erina to get lunch, gone to buy bulbs for the car, home agian, and then out to his place, and to think, I will still be out there at that time in 2 weeks time....crazy! It will be interesting to listen to what my family get up to whilst I race, its a tough day out there for them to I reckon. Lets hope I dont keep them waiting too long huh! The 2 drivers for me....family and beer....it was a close run thing, but definately the family at the finish line cheering me through would be sensational! Family with beers in hand............whoa!!
Come to think of it, I dont think I will want beer, in fact I know I wont. not for a few hours afterwards anyway. Beer has not even crossed my mind after any race, so thats just nonsense talk from me. I will probably hunt down coke and fruit salad and ice-cream....hhmm!
My mom arrives this Friday after much stressing about her passport being delivered in time with the visa. It seems a long time ago that she said if I was to do the Iron Man she would come over....and now I am going to pick her up in 5 days.....awesome. Its just a pity dad could not come over, but maybe next time. I am actually happier that she will get to see my kids than the race, but having her there is great. I am very grateful for the sacrifice she has made to come over. This race really is not just about the person racing. Everyone around them sacrifices something in some way....thats why I will celebrate my finish with them when I go down that chute.....man thats gonna be fun and emotional!
So this past week was supposed to in my thoughts be lighter, however it worked out to be pretty heavy going, pretty hard to finish all the sets, and involved me getting little sleep! I had to pick up kids and take to preschool on thursday and friday which meant all my sets had to be shuffted in order to fit everything in. It meant I was up at 2.45am on Tuesday to take the car to sydney for service, and then ride for 3hrs, it meant my wednesday I was riding by 4.45am in sydney, and again running by 5.30 on Thursday. Saturday our long ride started at 5am from jases, and the run this morning 5.15! Man those are some very early starts! The hjighlight of the week though was yesterdays long ride / run. The set was only 125km with 8km run off the bike, but cast your mimd back to last week and remember how I felt, terrible headache, very weak, feeling terrible all round because of poor hydration. This week, I was much better. I still think I need to consume about 1liter per hour instead of the 600mls or so, but I felt 200R% better than last week, and, I was able to run off the bike keeping my heart rate in the 140's at sub 5min pace easily (last week at slower pace it was in the 160's - it was though much hotter.) Regardless, I felt a heap better, and it gave me more confidence that I am able to control my race. I will have to watch myself on the bike. I had race pace sets again, and I was keeping my heart rate in the 130's, which is quite low, but I felt my legs were not strong enough to sustain that sort of speed. Hopefully I will remember that on the day. On Friday, I swam a bit with Matt (hurray he is able to swim), and I pulled the pin at 1800m. Thats a first. It was weird, i just could not breath....I could not suck in enough air each breath, so I was stressed I was coming down with something. I could still feel the tighness on the ride on Saturday, but nothing today, so thats good. I did though get up this morning feeling pretty snuffed, so will take something for that.
The totals for the week are :
Swim : 6.5km 3hrs
Run : 65kms 7hrs
Bike : 230km + 45mins TT : 9hrs
Total : 19hrs
Thats a pretty big week for me, and much bigger than I expected 3 weeks out. I do however feel a lot better for it, more prepared, and pretty excited to be counting down the days now. Its good to know there is a heap of blokes going up to support us all doing it. Rollo, Eddie and his family, Matts wife anne, Allen ALM Peasro, Smithy to name a few....its awesome! Many thanks to all of the people making it up there to support.
The count down is really one now, I am truly excited to finally really know that the end is right there, not long at all now!!
Come to think of it, I dont think I will want beer, in fact I know I wont. not for a few hours afterwards anyway. Beer has not even crossed my mind after any race, so thats just nonsense talk from me. I will probably hunt down coke and fruit salad and ice-cream....hhmm!
My mom arrives this Friday after much stressing about her passport being delivered in time with the visa. It seems a long time ago that she said if I was to do the Iron Man she would come over....and now I am going to pick her up in 5 days.....awesome. Its just a pity dad could not come over, but maybe next time. I am actually happier that she will get to see my kids than the race, but having her there is great. I am very grateful for the sacrifice she has made to come over. This race really is not just about the person racing. Everyone around them sacrifices something in some way....thats why I will celebrate my finish with them when I go down that chute.....man thats gonna be fun and emotional!
So this past week was supposed to in my thoughts be lighter, however it worked out to be pretty heavy going, pretty hard to finish all the sets, and involved me getting little sleep! I had to pick up kids and take to preschool on thursday and friday which meant all my sets had to be shuffted in order to fit everything in. It meant I was up at 2.45am on Tuesday to take the car to sydney for service, and then ride for 3hrs, it meant my wednesday I was riding by 4.45am in sydney, and again running by 5.30 on Thursday. Saturday our long ride started at 5am from jases, and the run this morning 5.15! Man those are some very early starts! The hjighlight of the week though was yesterdays long ride / run. The set was only 125km with 8km run off the bike, but cast your mimd back to last week and remember how I felt, terrible headache, very weak, feeling terrible all round because of poor hydration. This week, I was much better. I still think I need to consume about 1liter per hour instead of the 600mls or so, but I felt 200R% better than last week, and, I was able to run off the bike keeping my heart rate in the 140's at sub 5min pace easily (last week at slower pace it was in the 160's - it was though much hotter.) Regardless, I felt a heap better, and it gave me more confidence that I am able to control my race. I will have to watch myself on the bike. I had race pace sets again, and I was keeping my heart rate in the 130's, which is quite low, but I felt my legs were not strong enough to sustain that sort of speed. Hopefully I will remember that on the day. On Friday, I swam a bit with Matt (hurray he is able to swim), and I pulled the pin at 1800m. Thats a first. It was weird, i just could not breath....I could not suck in enough air each breath, so I was stressed I was coming down with something. I could still feel the tighness on the ride on Saturday, but nothing today, so thats good. I did though get up this morning feeling pretty snuffed, so will take something for that.
The totals for the week are :
Swim : 6.5km 3hrs
Run : 65kms 7hrs
Bike : 230km + 45mins TT : 9hrs
Total : 19hrs
Thats a pretty big week for me, and much bigger than I expected 3 weeks out. I do however feel a lot better for it, more prepared, and pretty excited to be counting down the days now. Its good to know there is a heap of blokes going up to support us all doing it. Rollo, Eddie and his family, Matts wife anne, Allen ALM Peasro, Smithy to name a few....its awesome! Many thanks to all of the people making it up there to support.
The count down is really one now, I am truly excited to finally really know that the end is right there, not long at all now!!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Timely Reallity Check!
Yesterday was our last long ride (by long I mean more than 120km), and the last time I could test my nutrition for the race. I have switched my nutriotion plan from taking solids on the bike to using Hammer Perpeteum. I decided this last week after seeing the product at Huskisson, and then talking to Jeffinator about his experience with it. Anbyway, the stuff certainly works, so I suggested Jase tries it as well, as he has concerns about his nutrition during the race. So yesterday was his fist test of it. With Perpetuem you dont need to take any solids on the bike...crazy huh, but you dont. We weent pretty much 6hrs yesterday on the bike, including 5 x 15km race efforts, and had no food or Gels for the entire ride...sensational. Its so important to sort out what you can control for this race....nutrition is one of those most critical, and to now have a plan I am confident with is great. The only thing, and this is the going back to the title of this blog is making sure you get enough nutrition and fluids into you during the race. I got the nutrition right, but the fluid intake wrong, and by the 5th race effort (about 145km) I was starting to feel it. I had a slight headache which got worse over the next 25km, and by the time we began our run off the bike my head was thumping, I was thirsty as hell, and hot! My heart rate was through the roof and I could not bring it down, if this happened during the race I would have had to walk to bring it back under control! So, I am going to have to remember to drink enough fluids, and stay hydrated right from the word go. Its also important (as AndrewM rightly pointed out) to ensure my days before the race are used as prep to. I told Rollo about this, and he agreed about the dehyrdation factor taking its toll, but its also comforting to know that he understands that the volume of training we have done over the past few weeks does play a part, and of course we will be ready and tapered on race day. Its so good having a good coach to provide you with the training required, and who without fail is there with good feedback and advice.....sensational!
So apart from what really was a great session with Jase and Andrew yesterday, this past week has been great fun. I again struggled for motivation with the swims, but as long as I can maintain my fitness levels with that over the next few weeks thats good enough. I did a brick session with Matt on Tuesday before he choofed off to China, he is still struggling a bit from his fall, and has not been able to swim or run since (3 weeks) so i hope the time away heals his ribs and he is able to use the last 3 weeks to somewhat prepare. Not ideal, but to have him out there with Andrew, Jase, Jeff and Tim would be great. Just one person missing really - Vlad! Come on son, late entry!!! Speaking of the race (yes again), our numbers have been released. I am jealous, Matt has been given a cracking number (sorry matt hope you dont mind) : 1111 - hows that! If you are interested in following the race live on the internet, you can through the following : Athlete Tracker
(http://www.ironmanoz.com/ironmanoz/race-day-coverage.htm)
I'll post the link again just before race day with the rest of the guys race numbers (mine is 687 by the way!)
Wednesday I had a really tough turbo trainer session which got the blood really pumping, and then ran a solid 25km with Jase on Thursday. I kept my heart rate low for that which was good.
So this week coming is the last of the solid weeks before the race, the last 2 are full taper. Its so strange to think that I have been training solidly for this for so long now (nearly 12months), and to think its all done in 3 weeks.....
So this weeks totals :
Swim : 6.5km (2.5hours)
Cycle : 280km (9.5hrs)
Run : 55km (4.5hrs)
Total : 16.5hrs
Until next week!
So apart from what really was a great session with Jase and Andrew yesterday, this past week has been great fun. I again struggled for motivation with the swims, but as long as I can maintain my fitness levels with that over the next few weeks thats good enough. I did a brick session with Matt on Tuesday before he choofed off to China, he is still struggling a bit from his fall, and has not been able to swim or run since (3 weeks) so i hope the time away heals his ribs and he is able to use the last 3 weeks to somewhat prepare. Not ideal, but to have him out there with Andrew, Jase, Jeff and Tim would be great. Just one person missing really - Vlad! Come on son, late entry!!! Speaking of the race (yes again), our numbers have been released. I am jealous, Matt has been given a cracking number (sorry matt hope you dont mind) : 1111 - hows that! If you are interested in following the race live on the internet, you can through the following : Athlete Tracker
(http://www.ironmanoz.com/ironmanoz/race-day-coverage.htm)
I'll post the link again just before race day with the rest of the guys race numbers (mine is 687 by the way!)
Wednesday I had a really tough turbo trainer session which got the blood really pumping, and then ran a solid 25km with Jase on Thursday. I kept my heart rate low for that which was good.
So this week coming is the last of the solid weeks before the race, the last 2 are full taper. Its so strange to think that I have been training solidly for this for so long now (nearly 12months), and to think its all done in 3 weeks.....
So this weeks totals :
Swim : 6.5km (2.5hours)
Cycle : 280km (9.5hrs)
Run : 55km (4.5hrs)
Total : 16.5hrs
Until next week!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
1 Month to Go!
1 Month today, I would have hopefully finished by now. That would make the finish time for me a sub 11hr race! The way the training has come together and continues to do so makes me more confident in the race each day I train. Whilst I am not going to be doing anything spectacular out there, the fact that I will finish will be sensational! I think the only reasons I would not would be technical issue or some sort of injury. I was up util yesterday really concerned about my nutrition, but whilst down in Huskisson last weekend, I found a product from called Perpeteum. Jeff said he had used it during the race (just over 2hrs on the bike) and it was good, so I got some and tested it yuesterday. It was excellent. I consumed that for the 5hrs of riding (160km) with 2 gels only and felt great, so I am very chuft! Thanks Jeff for explaining it all on the phone to me. Its quite involved getting it ready, and tastes like rice wheels...nice break from all the sweet stuff we ususally eat on the bike. It made the gels all rather exciting as well! Anyway, its good to not have to be stressed about getting the right amount of Carbs into your system, this stuff seems to have all the right levels of nutrients needed to get through the ride. I think I will test it on one of my long runs as well this coming week, because fuel on the run is just as, if not more important....Rollo was saying thats where the race starts, on the run, and 20km odd in, its carnage! Bodies all over the place.....man, there was carnage at huski last weekend, although, I must say, half way through the run, it was 36 degrees!
So, onto Huski, I did write a report last week, but never got round to finishing it, so let me give you (if you dont mind) a very brief report. Huskisson is an awesome race. Its 2km swim, 83km ride, 20km run.
Swim - I was in the front pack pretty much from the start, found the feet of some bloke who was swimming at a good pace but not threshold for me and stayed there, conserving myself. I did not see the point in pushing hard to move right to the front. Nice and easy! I was 8th in my age group!
Bike - After cooking myself in Port during the Hlaf Iron Man, I was determined not to over do it this time. I thought I would hold my Heart Rate in the 140's and conserve myself for the run, there was no way I was going to walk or not enjoy it. So, off I went, pretty much held 35km/r for the 83km, and the HR averaged 147! I was very happy with that. Rollo afterwards thought I could have gone a bit harder, so that was good for the confidence. The new bike was great to. Time : 2.21
Run - Jeez I was loving to be running! I came off the bike, feeling pretty strong, and wanting to run again to Heart Rate. This time, keeping the HR under 160, and not worrying about the pace. Well, I went through the 1st km in 4.21 and thought I had better back it off a little, but I was so comfortable. I went through 10km in 43mins odd, feeling super. I was going well with the fluid intake, no cramps and no fatigue. Then, at about 12km, I got a cramp in my gut, boy, it was sore. I was pretty much doubled over whilst running at over 6min a km, I strgulled to the last turn around, and walked whilst trying to stretch the cramp out and drinking cola for the 1st time. Of all the times for someone to see me, Vlad comes flying round the corner, yells at me to run, so throw the cola back, and being running...gingerly, and just as it had started, no warning or signal, the cramp stopped and I was able to run again for the last 4.5km. Must have been something in the cola, but man that was pain...next time I wont wait so long to get some in me! I finished the run in 95mins....and to be honest, dissapointed with that. I was hoping for a sub 90mins. But, it was a good run, very very hot, and physically I was good, just that cramp hurt me.
So, all done in 4.25, which for only my 2nd long course triathlon, I must be happy with. I reckon I could shave 20mins off that time next year, more strenght on the bike, and more conditioning on the run, and I will do it....I have already told rollo that this is the target for the next one!
The past week has been pretty good as far as training goes. I had a brick session on wednesday which was pretty hard, but a lot of fun! Yesterdays ride was great, very hot again, but I did 160km in 5hrs so thats good hit out for the Iron Man ride. The run today was a good one, I went out wanting to hold a good solid pace, and ended up running 25km! I felt I could have gone on as well, which was good.
So, as the title says, 4 weeks to go. In exactly 4 weeks time, i will hopefully be preparing myself for a few well earned beers whilst cheering people home. Thats one of the great things about the race, every finisher, every person who gets over that line is celebrated and celebrates their own achievement, and its deserved! Its going to be a tough long day out there, but jeez I am pumped and ready to go!!
So, onto Huski, I did write a report last week, but never got round to finishing it, so let me give you (if you dont mind) a very brief report. Huskisson is an awesome race. Its 2km swim, 83km ride, 20km run.
Swim - I was in the front pack pretty much from the start, found the feet of some bloke who was swimming at a good pace but not threshold for me and stayed there, conserving myself. I did not see the point in pushing hard to move right to the front. Nice and easy! I was 8th in my age group!
Bike - After cooking myself in Port during the Hlaf Iron Man, I was determined not to over do it this time. I thought I would hold my Heart Rate in the 140's and conserve myself for the run, there was no way I was going to walk or not enjoy it. So, off I went, pretty much held 35km/r for the 83km, and the HR averaged 147! I was very happy with that. Rollo afterwards thought I could have gone a bit harder, so that was good for the confidence. The new bike was great to. Time : 2.21
Run - Jeez I was loving to be running! I came off the bike, feeling pretty strong, and wanting to run again to Heart Rate. This time, keeping the HR under 160, and not worrying about the pace. Well, I went through the 1st km in 4.21 and thought I had better back it off a little, but I was so comfortable. I went through 10km in 43mins odd, feeling super. I was going well with the fluid intake, no cramps and no fatigue. Then, at about 12km, I got a cramp in my gut, boy, it was sore. I was pretty much doubled over whilst running at over 6min a km, I strgulled to the last turn around, and walked whilst trying to stretch the cramp out and drinking cola for the 1st time. Of all the times for someone to see me, Vlad comes flying round the corner, yells at me to run, so throw the cola back, and being running...gingerly, and just as it had started, no warning or signal, the cramp stopped and I was able to run again for the last 4.5km. Must have been something in the cola, but man that was pain...next time I wont wait so long to get some in me! I finished the run in 95mins....and to be honest, dissapointed with that. I was hoping for a sub 90mins. But, it was a good run, very very hot, and physically I was good, just that cramp hurt me.
So, all done in 4.25, which for only my 2nd long course triathlon, I must be happy with. I reckon I could shave 20mins off that time next year, more strenght on the bike, and more conditioning on the run, and I will do it....I have already told rollo that this is the target for the next one!
The past week has been pretty good as far as training goes. I had a brick session on wednesday which was pretty hard, but a lot of fun! Yesterdays ride was great, very hot again, but I did 160km in 5hrs so thats good hit out for the Iron Man ride. The run today was a good one, I went out wanting to hold a good solid pace, and ended up running 25km! I felt I could have gone on as well, which was good.
So, as the title says, 4 weeks to go. In exactly 4 weeks time, i will hopefully be preparing myself for a few well earned beers whilst cheering people home. Thats one of the great things about the race, every finisher, every person who gets over that line is celebrated and celebrates their own achievement, and its deserved! Its going to be a tough long day out there, but jeez I am pumped and ready to go!!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
The end of LSD!
Thats it, today was the end (I think) of the long, slow strength building phase Rollo has had us doing over the past 8 weeks or so. I must say, the legs are really feeling the miles under them, but, I can also say I certainly see the differance in my (and the other guys) strenght. Simple things like how far we end up Mooney Mooney hill for each rep compared to how we fared 4 to 6months ago is huge. Running off the bike after 140km of riding in the hills and holding a decent pace (for Iron Man that is) with the HR under controll has been good. Being able to backup the next day with long runs have been hard, but again done and improvements felt! I think all of the guys under Rollo's programs have been able to recovery really well after each session, which proves he has done the right thing by all of us. I also feel we have been very supportive of each other to get through each long week, so its been pretty good. We are on a recovery week this coming week (although not sure how 20 x 200m efforts toimorrow morning in the pool is recovering!), Andrew, Matt and I are off to race in the the Husskisson Long Course triathlon this coming weekend, its going to be a hoot. It wil be good for Andrew and I to race to be able to test our race plans, most importantly our nutrition, and of course gauge were we are at since last year...having not raced for 2 months now. Jase is going to AC/DC..tough choice I must say! Its been a good week again this week. I have been lucky enough to get a new Bike. A Felt D12. Very excited Imust say. I picked it up on Thursday, looking forward to riding it on Saturday, and could not get the bastard cleats off my shoes, nor the pedals off the Bike I have been riding for the past 9months or so, so in the end, near midnight on friday I gave up and was forced to ride the old one again....very frustrating because I need to get time on the new bike to adjust to it for the race, but, I am sure it will be fine. I had to leave my bike shoes at a bike shop to get the cleat screws drilled out....muyst be all the crap rain we have had which have rusted the screws. Back to saturday, the order of the fay was more rain and high humidity, I along with most other cyclists I am sure are sick of the rain.....man it makes it hard and dangerous riding. Matt came off his back rather badly early into the ride, hurting his shoulder and taking bark off, just shows how careful we all have to be, his hand I think slipped off the bars due to the moisture...he went home after that, hopefully he will recover in time for the race this weekend.
Lastly, I have to thank Andrew, Jase and Matt for all the very very early starts I have asked them to have to fit in with my schedule. I have had these guys up before 5am many times during the week and every weekend so as I can finish as early as possible and either get to the office or back home to see the family. These guys have been awesome supporting me along the way, and its been so good seeing them getting stronger and stronger. Its also been an absolute hoot with them...very funny bunch of guys. I get told by them I dont shut up, but I must say, they are a chatty bunch as well, and we all seem to have the same sense of humour, same drive to do the Iron Man well, and to do it well....(hang on, I am getting rather emotional typing these, better get the tissues!)
Righto, so this week (as I said, last of the LSD I think) before we move into race prep was :
Swim :8.5km (2.20hrs)
Run : 61km (5hrs)
Ride 220km + 2hrs on TT (9hrs)
Total : 16.2hrs
Great week again, lots of laughs along the way (gollum! and my favourite for the week was jase's comment about an EPO Fart....I was still giggling about that on the run this morning with him and Andrew....makes me lose my rhythm).
Next week I will probably post a race report, I am pretty excited about this race as apparently its a wonderful course, pretty fast and doing it with the boys is always fun!
Lastly, I have to thank Andrew, Jase and Matt for all the very very early starts I have asked them to have to fit in with my schedule. I have had these guys up before 5am many times during the week and every weekend so as I can finish as early as possible and either get to the office or back home to see the family. These guys have been awesome supporting me along the way, and its been so good seeing them getting stronger and stronger. Its also been an absolute hoot with them...very funny bunch of guys. I get told by them I dont shut up, but I must say, they are a chatty bunch as well, and we all seem to have the same sense of humour, same drive to do the Iron Man well, and to do it well....(hang on, I am getting rather emotional typing these, better get the tissues!)
Righto, so this week (as I said, last of the LSD I think) before we move into race prep was :
Swim :8.5km (2.20hrs)
Run : 61km (5hrs)
Ride 220km + 2hrs on TT (9hrs)
Total : 16.2hrs
Great week again, lots of laughs along the way (gollum! and my favourite for the week was jase's comment about an EPO Fart....I was still giggling about that on the run this morning with him and Andrew....makes me lose my rhythm).
Next week I will probably post a race report, I am pretty excited about this race as apparently its a wonderful course, pretty fast and doing it with the boys is always fun!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The monsoon season is definately in swing!
And, as much as I like rain (well listening to coming down whilst at home on the deck, or lying in bed), it has pissed me off to no end over the past couple of weeks. Man, its made training pretty difficult, mainly because out on the bike its pretty unsafe in the rain, more so in the dark which is when we do start our long rides.....yeah you could say 'toughen up', which we do, but it still sucks! I am sitting typing this blog, and guess what, its raining agian! I looked at the weather for Sydney this coming week, and.....its raining! I think I have done my rain prep now...and would appreciate a few weeks of nice calm not too hot weather to lead into the race.,...not much to ask for huh! I know the other guys I train with would like to have a break from the rain, especially after our 6hr ordeal in the rain and wind yesterday.....
Onto that ride, jase, Andrew and I headed out at 5.45am, it was not raining at the time, but by 30km in, we were in amoungst it, and, to make the challange a little more unpleasant, some head wind to make the journey out more misreable. It was that crap, that by the turn around 80km into the ride, my feet were numb, and, there was this awesome smell of charcoal chicken being emitted from a take away.....thats what I craved, instead, I had another 4hours or so of old sandwich, gatorade and other things you would not want to consume. We also had 3 punctures between us....so we ended up being out there for ages. We did hill repeats right at the end which I love, and here is the good part, we all ran off the bike very very well. It was so good to get a slight idea of how the legs will feel coming off after 6hrs on the saddle, and jesus, its not pleasant for the 1st 2 to 3kms. Let me be clear, the use of the word 'pleasant', I dont expect the run to get any better or easier, but on Saturday once the legs got going and into a rythm, holding a good pace for 6km or so was pretty easy. Shows, rollos programs are awesome. Jase really took some confidence from the session yesterday, which he should, he has been riding really well for the past few weeks, and to be able to come off the bike and run strong for 50mins really boosted his confidence. I think, like Matty P, he is sand bagging now on his ability and estimated race time. I wont put a time here for him yet, but he knows if his race goes to plan he will do really really well....good on him, he has trained hard!
Andrew M is back doing weekend sessions again with us which is great. The man is a machine....just ploughs through each session, not stopping for anything, very strong!
Matt raced in Geellong Half today, and smashed it. I said 9.15 a few weeks back, and going by his time today, he is on track for that! I wont steal is thunder is this blog, he writes excellent race reports which are posted on the Central Coast Triathlon website, so I recommend you read it when he posts on, but man, his time was very very very fast......would loved to have seen him in full flight, because thats exactly what he did!
Thursday was the toughest run set I think I have done, it was 20 x 400m efforts, all done about 20secs faster than rollo wanted, so I am really still tender from them I think.I certainly dont think I recovered from them for todays 2.15hr run (24km), and the legs were really fatigued. More of those 400ms this week, oh dear!
So, again, another huuuuuuge week for me. I have no idea if I am getting stronger, fitter or faster. I think the volume we have been doing has left me with that cloud of fatigue, which i know is there, but does at times cast a bit of doubt into your propgress. I guess the race in a fortnights time will tell exactly how i am going.
This weeks details :
Swim : 7.5km (2.5hrs)
Run : 55km (5hrs)
Ride : 145km + 3hrs TT (9hrs)
Total : 16.5hrs
A really solid week and look forward to this one coming.
On a sad note, my sisters husband lost his sister this week, she was run over whilst running back in Zim, terrible accident so I remind you all out to stay alert and keep your wits about you.....very important. My condolescenses go out to Ants and his family for the loss......
Onto that ride, jase, Andrew and I headed out at 5.45am, it was not raining at the time, but by 30km in, we were in amoungst it, and, to make the challange a little more unpleasant, some head wind to make the journey out more misreable. It was that crap, that by the turn around 80km into the ride, my feet were numb, and, there was this awesome smell of charcoal chicken being emitted from a take away.....thats what I craved, instead, I had another 4hours or so of old sandwich, gatorade and other things you would not want to consume. We also had 3 punctures between us....so we ended up being out there for ages. We did hill repeats right at the end which I love, and here is the good part, we all ran off the bike very very well. It was so good to get a slight idea of how the legs will feel coming off after 6hrs on the saddle, and jesus, its not pleasant for the 1st 2 to 3kms. Let me be clear, the use of the word 'pleasant', I dont expect the run to get any better or easier, but on Saturday once the legs got going and into a rythm, holding a good pace for 6km or so was pretty easy. Shows, rollos programs are awesome. Jase really took some confidence from the session yesterday, which he should, he has been riding really well for the past few weeks, and to be able to come off the bike and run strong for 50mins really boosted his confidence. I think, like Matty P, he is sand bagging now on his ability and estimated race time. I wont put a time here for him yet, but he knows if his race goes to plan he will do really really well....good on him, he has trained hard!
Andrew M is back doing weekend sessions again with us which is great. The man is a machine....just ploughs through each session, not stopping for anything, very strong!
Matt raced in Geellong Half today, and smashed it. I said 9.15 a few weeks back, and going by his time today, he is on track for that! I wont steal is thunder is this blog, he writes excellent race reports which are posted on the Central Coast Triathlon website, so I recommend you read it when he posts on, but man, his time was very very very fast......would loved to have seen him in full flight, because thats exactly what he did!
Thursday was the toughest run set I think I have done, it was 20 x 400m efforts, all done about 20secs faster than rollo wanted, so I am really still tender from them I think.I certainly dont think I recovered from them for todays 2.15hr run (24km), and the legs were really fatigued. More of those 400ms this week, oh dear!
So, again, another huuuuuuge week for me. I have no idea if I am getting stronger, fitter or faster. I think the volume we have been doing has left me with that cloud of fatigue, which i know is there, but does at times cast a bit of doubt into your propgress. I guess the race in a fortnights time will tell exactly how i am going.
This weeks details :
Swim : 7.5km (2.5hrs)
Run : 55km (5hrs)
Ride : 145km + 3hrs TT (9hrs)
Total : 16.5hrs
A really solid week and look forward to this one coming.
On a sad note, my sisters husband lost his sister this week, she was run over whilst running back in Zim, terrible accident so I remind you all out to stay alert and keep your wits about you.....very important. My condolescenses go out to Ants and his family for the loss......
Sunday, January 31, 2010
34 Not Out!
In cricket terms, not a bad start, I should have my eye in by now and able to cope with what ever comes my way (to an extent), and I think I mostly can! Certainly from a training perspective I have been able to cope quite well with the programs I have had. I have been extremely lucky with injurys, illness and basically time to train. I guess though, I make the time to train, work certainly doesnt make that time for me (although I have not asked for any time or favors). Thats the reason I get up at 4am pretty much everyday. To get the set done and be in the office before 8am. I have been able to for the most part not train at night which is the miniscual time I get with my family during the week, and even then at times it has been hard to get out of the office! 56days to go.....
Friday was my birthday. T hanks to everyone who sent me best wishes on Facebook, very much appreciated. I had the day off (although still took many work related phone calls, and had to respond at various points during the day to about 20 emails...even after I notified staff I was not in the office!!). It was also if you remember the last day of beer drinking for me until after the race. I bought....wait for it...a whole 6 pack! Well, I was tatty after 4.....4 beers and I was on my ear!! Jesus! I remember doing the 'survivor series' at Rick Hunts place with the boys in Zim, we would have well over a case of beer each, plus, if you were Rick, Demon or Riggers probably a bottle of something to top yourself up! Where did we stick all that beer? How did we not get liver poisoning? One wanders at the volume of grog we drank when we were at Kariba, or Vic Falls or Nynanga! Those were some good days! My all time favourite photo from those days is of all the lads (compliments of Dave Clarke). Its below!
How sensational is that?? How dodgey do we all look?? Those Vic Falls trips were some of the best days of my youth, complete mahem for 4 days! Allow me to jog some memories from a certain 'Botts' : "I paid for this land so shut it!" Class! (You had to be there!). The trip Dave and I drove a VW Combi up and then a bunch of lads came back in it with us was pure class to....the nonesense we got up to...one wanders!!
Whats the point of the above....nothing really apart from I was remembering these times during a long run this week. And....there was plenty of long training sets on this week...boy, it was challenging, Challenging from a time perspective really to be honest. As I am sure you realise, the sets can be hard, but because i am so keen on doing well in the race, finishing strongly and having a crack, I dont struggle with motivation to get each set done. Highlights this week was the interval run set on Thursday (15 x 400m efforts and it was bloody humid), long brick session yesterday and an 8hr ride scheduled for today.
I got all the sets done except for today, I left home just after 4am to do laps around Brisbane Waters here in the Central Coast (40km undulating loop), was on the bike for 5hrs when somehow a monsoon from Asia had found its way to the coast here and proceeded to dump a fairly substantial amount of rain on us riding! It was actually rather fun, apart from the fact you could not see and or slow the bike down! So with that, I proceeded home to finish with 1hr on the Turbo Trainer....I was pretty poked this afternoon! So other notable news, Jase's riding has really come along noticeably this week, he was very strong on Wednesday during our long afternoon ride with hill repeats, and again today he looked comfortable out there. Andrew M returned from the UK, ran with us on Thursday, ocean swim with Jase and I yesterday and much of the ride today, he is looking strong and as of today has entered Iron Man! Tim (skinny wiggle) also rode well today, and he has entered, and Matt was in the 'Hell of the West' Triathlon today, and came 4th in the age group...he smashed it!! Told you a 9.15 is on the cards for him!! So, with under 8 weeks to go, here are the lads all doing the race this year (its the 25th anniversary as well so is kond of extra special). Having the guys below will make it really good fun, and maybe I will put some predictions against each bloke nearer the time so we can see how they go (hopefully they wont mind me doing that)
Me
Jase
Matty
Andrew M
Tim (Skinny Wiggle)
Jeff
In summery :
Swim : 11.5kms (4hrs (ish))
Run : 46kms (5hrs)
Ride : 260kms + 1hr TT = 11hrs
Total : 20hrs
Thats a record for me since getting a program...and I have survived it, although I must say, my legs are a little fatigued today, but 2 solid days of training will do that to you I guess! Onto this week, its going to be good, hard and solid again, but we really are approaching the end fast.....loving it and looking forward to the day with more and more excitement and of course nervousness!!
Friday was my birthday. T hanks to everyone who sent me best wishes on Facebook, very much appreciated. I had the day off (although still took many work related phone calls, and had to respond at various points during the day to about 20 emails...even after I notified staff I was not in the office!!). It was also if you remember the last day of beer drinking for me until after the race. I bought....wait for it...a whole 6 pack! Well, I was tatty after 4.....4 beers and I was on my ear!! Jesus! I remember doing the 'survivor series' at Rick Hunts place with the boys in Zim, we would have well over a case of beer each, plus, if you were Rick, Demon or Riggers probably a bottle of something to top yourself up! Where did we stick all that beer? How did we not get liver poisoning? One wanders at the volume of grog we drank when we were at Kariba, or Vic Falls or Nynanga! Those were some good days! My all time favourite photo from those days is of all the lads (compliments of Dave Clarke). Its below!
Whats the point of the above....nothing really apart from I was remembering these times during a long run this week. And....there was plenty of long training sets on this week...boy, it was challenging, Challenging from a time perspective really to be honest. As I am sure you realise, the sets can be hard, but because i am so keen on doing well in the race, finishing strongly and having a crack, I dont struggle with motivation to get each set done. Highlights this week was the interval run set on Thursday (15 x 400m efforts and it was bloody humid), long brick session yesterday and an 8hr ride scheduled for today.
I got all the sets done except for today, I left home just after 4am to do laps around Brisbane Waters here in the Central Coast (40km undulating loop), was on the bike for 5hrs when somehow a monsoon from Asia had found its way to the coast here and proceeded to dump a fairly substantial amount of rain on us riding! It was actually rather fun, apart from the fact you could not see and or slow the bike down! So with that, I proceeded home to finish with 1hr on the Turbo Trainer....I was pretty poked this afternoon! So other notable news, Jase's riding has really come along noticeably this week, he was very strong on Wednesday during our long afternoon ride with hill repeats, and again today he looked comfortable out there. Andrew M returned from the UK, ran with us on Thursday, ocean swim with Jase and I yesterday and much of the ride today, he is looking strong and as of today has entered Iron Man! Tim (skinny wiggle) also rode well today, and he has entered, and Matt was in the 'Hell of the West' Triathlon today, and came 4th in the age group...he smashed it!! Told you a 9.15 is on the cards for him!! So, with under 8 weeks to go, here are the lads all doing the race this year (its the 25th anniversary as well so is kond of extra special). Having the guys below will make it really good fun, and maybe I will put some predictions against each bloke nearer the time so we can see how they go (hopefully they wont mind me doing that)
Me
Jase
Matty
Andrew M
Tim (Skinny Wiggle)
Jeff
In summery :
Swim : 11.5kms (4hrs (ish))
Run : 46kms (5hrs)
Ride : 260kms + 1hr TT = 11hrs
Total : 20hrs
Thats a record for me since getting a program...and I have survived it, although I must say, my legs are a little fatigued today, but 2 solid days of training will do that to you I guess! Onto this week, its going to be good, hard and solid again, but we really are approaching the end fast.....loving it and looking forward to the day with more and more excitement and of course nervousness!!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
1 more day of Beers!!
Well, its the 24th of January today, which means I have after this evening (i more beer left in fridge tonight), I have one more night of beer. That will be Friday night, and then, just like I did when I stopped smoking.....call it a day! This time though, its temporary (thank god!). Its been over 3 weeks since I have eaten any chocolate, 3 weeks since I have eaten chips, junk food, cake, lollies, ice cream and other lovely stuff. The 29th is my birthday (shhhhh I hate it), but I will have a few beers on Friday night, probably some carrot cake which my mother in law insists she is baking (and my favourite) and then until the night of the Iron Man race, I will not indulge in any more beer. Its bringing a tear to my eye as I type this (sniff, sniff, oh shit, tear drops on the keyboard...*&*HNJUHj (that was me wiping them)). Giving up chocolate and the likes has been easy. Beer will be really hard. Its not so much the health, weight aspect as it is the discipline behind this challange. I want to make sure I am prepared for the 28th, and I have given myself and my body every opportunity to be really really well prepared. They say, the Iron Man is 90% mental, 10% physical battles, I think that stat is probably bollocks, but there is truth in it to an extent. If I cant survive giving up a non essesntial sustnenace like chocolate or beer, then how am i going to deal with the Iron Man when it gets tough going...which is WILL do?? So, I am training my body wiht the help of Rollo, this little sacrifice of mine is training my mind! If I was as mentally strong and determined as Vlad, Matt or Andrew M, then I would not be as worried, but I think I need to work on that mental strength, and this is some of the training i am doing for it. Still, 1 more night of a few beers left is sad.....
ONto the past weeks training, and its been pretty good. Highlights of the week are, certainly the Bobbin Head hill repeats on Wednesday , that brought back some serious memories of Vlad and I training there during winter...and it was freezing which was weird. The brick session on Thursday with Matt was sensational, that boy can ride. I am going to put it out there now...I stated a few weeks ago he was going to do around 9.30........nah, he is going faster I think. He is certainly getting faster every week, and they way he dropped me on the bike on Thursday was nuts...I fought hard to stay within distance of him, but in truth, those chicken legs were making him fly!! Strong!! Matt, sorry mate, dont sandbag, I reckon it must be a 9.15 now!! Anything less and you are not going hard enough!!
Jase, Matt and myself rode on Saturday morning, Jase turned home at 45kms, Matt at about 70km I think, and I continuned into work. I ended up with 125km, slightly above what I was supopsed to do, but it was good going. Very hot, it ended up getting to 40'c in Sydney, so whilst it was not that hot at 10am when I finished, the fluid in my bottles was pretty warm, not very thirst quenching I must say!
Today, and here is the big news, Eddie joined Jase and I for a run. How good is that! He ran 10km, first run since his injury. It was awesome to have him there with us, and show hi commitment to triathlon and training, good on you mate, and welcome back!!
In summery for this week :
Swim : 9km (2.40hrs)
Run : 45km (4hours)
Ride : 250km (8hours)
Total : 16.40hrs (ish)
A good week, and having seen the coming weeks program, its ramping up by what looks like 30% or so...so its going to be very tough! I love it!!!!!
ONto the past weeks training, and its been pretty good. Highlights of the week are, certainly the Bobbin Head hill repeats on Wednesday , that brought back some serious memories of Vlad and I training there during winter...and it was freezing which was weird. The brick session on Thursday with Matt was sensational, that boy can ride. I am going to put it out there now...I stated a few weeks ago he was going to do around 9.30........nah, he is going faster I think. He is certainly getting faster every week, and they way he dropped me on the bike on Thursday was nuts...I fought hard to stay within distance of him, but in truth, those chicken legs were making him fly!! Strong!! Matt, sorry mate, dont sandbag, I reckon it must be a 9.15 now!! Anything less and you are not going hard enough!!
Jase, Matt and myself rode on Saturday morning, Jase turned home at 45kms, Matt at about 70km I think, and I continuned into work. I ended up with 125km, slightly above what I was supopsed to do, but it was good going. Very hot, it ended up getting to 40'c in Sydney, so whilst it was not that hot at 10am when I finished, the fluid in my bottles was pretty warm, not very thirst quenching I must say!
Today, and here is the big news, Eddie joined Jase and I for a run. How good is that! He ran 10km, first run since his injury. It was awesome to have him there with us, and show hi commitment to triathlon and training, good on you mate, and welcome back!!
In summery for this week :
Swim : 9km (2.40hrs)
Run : 45km (4hours)
Ride : 250km (8hours)
Total : 16.40hrs (ish)
A good week, and having seen the coming weeks program, its ramping up by what looks like 30% or so...so its going to be very tough! I love it!!!!!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Was that the last dose of LSD?
Again this week rollo had us following a program of long everything, everything slow, and racking up the miles keeping well within the heart rate zones. I mentioned last week I struggled with this concept, but I must also say, I thoroughly enjoy it. Apart from the long hours on the bikes (and seriously, its only because I spent enough time away from my family, so spending half of Sunday away as well is hard), I enjoy doing these long sets. To be out, early in the morning, watching the sun rise most days, most of the time hardly anyone else out there, no traffic, just yourself and your thoughts....pretty good I must say! Jase asked me what I think about when I do the long runs.....I think about and in no order, work, family and the Iron Man race. I try and put my daily tasks together for work, i think about the sacrifices I and my family have made to enable me to take this journey (not just money, but time, sleep etc) and of course, trying to picture myself at various points on the run during the race. What will I feel like, how will I feel when I am 2, 3 or 5km from the end.....how will I feel at 21km (this I think will be a hard moment as its only half way, yet I would most likely have already been running / shuffling / walking for over 2hours!!). I do however, always picture going down the chute at the end....very important for me to believe I will do it, and I do....because I will be prepared...Rollo's programs will definately make that a sure thing, its really down to nutrition and other things out of my control. I am at the moment even starting to put together a list of things I need to take to port Macquaire for the race...I know its a long way away, but I dont want to stress about those simple things I can control. Ithappens, today I left all my nutrition at home for my ride.....WTF! I spent an hour last preparing it all..so how do I then forget it???? Lucky I had other stuff at work to make up for it otherwise I would have been stuffed!
Whilst on the subject of sessions, this week was again sensational! I ran 21km on Tuesday, it was an early start (4.45am from Turramurra), rode long on Wednesday (4.30am start), with Matt and finished with 105km, and then ran 25km with Matt on Thursday! 25km.....bloody hell! Jase and I ran another 21km on Saturday in the hills, we met up with the NUTSAC guys halfway along, then did some open water swimmming in the afternoon, practicing race starts. Rollo organised this and he got a good turn out. Its incredible how hard it is to go balls to wall for 150m odd in choppy water, and then to try swim the rest of the set at a controlled race pace....I reckon it took me 3 sets before I understood how to get it slightly right...makes me concerned for the tough Iron Man start, the jossling and nbashing that goes on in the swim in any triathlon is full on, but I reckon the Iron Man will be something special...like a waterpolo match between Zim and Natal I once played in...brutal and very physical! Hopefully I wont come out 2nd best this time round!
onto the ride today, I had to be at work for a power outage at 6am so I left my bike there on Wednesday, the plan was to ride home from the office, meeting Jase along the way. I think I got going a touch after 8.15am, its a pretty tough ride for the first 50km as its up hill all the way, met Jase at about the 55km mark or so at the famous Pie in the Sky and homeward bound from there, with a number of hill repeats. There was some violent electrical storm brewing, i must admit I dropped a log or 2 halfway up one of the hill repeats because of the sheer anger and volume of the thunder...jesus!! We had it all in the ride today, heat (I am pretty burnt), it was real real hot mid morning, head winds and then 4km from home we got drenched in the rain....race prep cannot get better than that surely!!! Jase had 2 punctures, one of which I changed so we really did get some good practice in.
This week coming is a light week in comparison to the past 2, and Rollo has given another day off ( I had to double check this as I am not used to seeing no training...I get fidgety). I have a feeling the LSD might be finished and we move into strenghtening agian, which I hazard a guess means back to threshold stuff, hills and the like....Love it, and bring it on!! I notice my long mid week ride includes hills this week....back into bobbin head for me again, this time without Vlad :-(, its a pity from my selfish perspective he is taking his running seriously this year, it would be good to have him doing Port with us so we could share the pain, but he has done his time and should focus on running, hes bloody good at it! One day Vlad and I will do an Iron Man together, 2010 is just not the one!
So, to summerise another fantastic week of training :
Swim : aprox 8km (3hours)
Run : 68km (6hours)
Ride : 220km (7.5hours)
Total : 16.5hours (ish)
Another big week down, and as I said, I loved it. I think anyone who reads this blog regularly knows how much I love the training programs I get each week. I look forward to the variation, the friendships you make, the crazy conversations you have and make during a 2 hour run, or a 5hour ride, the things you see (I saw a motorbike which was automatic today...what the hell is that!!), and best of all, the support the guys around give you....sensational! I love it....
Until next week, spare a thought for those poor Haitian people who must be suffering unimaginably both physically and emotionally...and remember how lucky we all are to be here, on the internet, reading my blog, looking at porn if you are the ALM / ALS, having a beer or 5, and appreciating the good life we lead!
\
Whilst on the subject of sessions, this week was again sensational! I ran 21km on Tuesday, it was an early start (4.45am from Turramurra), rode long on Wednesday (4.30am start), with Matt and finished with 105km, and then ran 25km with Matt on Thursday! 25km.....bloody hell! Jase and I ran another 21km on Saturday in the hills, we met up with the NUTSAC guys halfway along, then did some open water swimmming in the afternoon, practicing race starts. Rollo organised this and he got a good turn out. Its incredible how hard it is to go balls to wall for 150m odd in choppy water, and then to try swim the rest of the set at a controlled race pace....I reckon it took me 3 sets before I understood how to get it slightly right...makes me concerned for the tough Iron Man start, the jossling and nbashing that goes on in the swim in any triathlon is full on, but I reckon the Iron Man will be something special...like a waterpolo match between Zim and Natal I once played in...brutal and very physical! Hopefully I wont come out 2nd best this time round!
onto the ride today, I had to be at work for a power outage at 6am so I left my bike there on Wednesday, the plan was to ride home from the office, meeting Jase along the way. I think I got going a touch after 8.15am, its a pretty tough ride for the first 50km as its up hill all the way, met Jase at about the 55km mark or so at the famous Pie in the Sky and homeward bound from there, with a number of hill repeats. There was some violent electrical storm brewing, i must admit I dropped a log or 2 halfway up one of the hill repeats because of the sheer anger and volume of the thunder...jesus!! We had it all in the ride today, heat (I am pretty burnt), it was real real hot mid morning, head winds and then 4km from home we got drenched in the rain....race prep cannot get better than that surely!!! Jase had 2 punctures, one of which I changed so we really did get some good practice in.
This week coming is a light week in comparison to the past 2, and Rollo has given another day off ( I had to double check this as I am not used to seeing no training...I get fidgety). I have a feeling the LSD might be finished and we move into strenghtening agian, which I hazard a guess means back to threshold stuff, hills and the like....Love it, and bring it on!! I notice my long mid week ride includes hills this week....back into bobbin head for me again, this time without Vlad :-(, its a pity from my selfish perspective he is taking his running seriously this year, it would be good to have him doing Port with us so we could share the pain, but he has done his time and should focus on running, hes bloody good at it! One day Vlad and I will do an Iron Man together, 2010 is just not the one!
So, to summerise another fantastic week of training :
Swim : aprox 8km (3hours)
Run : 68km (6hours)
Ride : 220km (7.5hours)
Total : 16.5hours (ish)
Another big week down, and as I said, I loved it. I think anyone who reads this blog regularly knows how much I love the training programs I get each week. I look forward to the variation, the friendships you make, the crazy conversations you have and make during a 2 hour run, or a 5hour ride, the things you see (I saw a motorbike which was automatic today...what the hell is that!!), and best of all, the support the guys around give you....sensational! I love it....
Until next week, spare a thought for those poor Haitian people who must be suffering unimaginably both physically and emotionally...and remember how lucky we all are to be here, on the internet, reading my blog, looking at porn if you are the ALM / ALS, having a beer or 5, and appreciating the good life we lead!
\
Sunday, January 10, 2010
LSD is the choice of the month!
The LSD I am referring to is not the little piece of paper or pill you skip under your tongue to send you into some weird world, no, this is Long, Slow, Distance, and was prescribed by Rollo for the month of January. This past weeks sessions have certainly been all about LSD, and as usual, I loved it! Its really back to the basics which Rollo started us all off with, low Heart Rate, low intensity and slow! Its really hard to train like this for me, asss I tend to find myself pushing hard, or pushing the maximum zone for the session and of course, and I think what most people would struggle with and that is training slow and to low threshholds does improve your efficiency and actually speed! Let me assure you, Rollos programs do work, and they are based on the above methods. Its awesome! Rollo is also a fantastic coach, he does not just set a program for the week, and leave you to it, but actively reviews all the session stats I send through to him. I got questioned this week about some efforts I did around centennial park on Wednesday, the session was supposed to be 3 to 4hrs light and easy, which for the most part I did, but I threw some higher intensity laps in there with Matt for a change, and he picked up on that and queried me...how good is that to have him follow up on each session! Sensational stuff really! That session on wednesday ended up being 100km in a touch over 3hrs.....good fun.
Jase and I have also trained a fair bit with Matt this past week. In all 3 disciplines as well. Matt is so down to earth, happy to go slow with Jase and I, and like most people I have met in the triahtlon community, so down to earth, willing to help and advise! He is also going to do Port in March, he should smoke it.....probably around the 9.30hrs mark I would guess, he is an animal on the bike and can run pretty fast to!
Jase and Matt rode yesterday so I was on my own for the 2 hour run I had. I managed 23kms in 2hrs keeping my HR in the 130's which I think is where it needs to be. It was good fun running that distance, and even better feeling so comfortable throughout. Today was a 140 - 150km ride, so i set out on my own at 5.20isham. I thought I was a lunatic at that time, but I met up with a bloke 30mins in who had been on the go from 4.45am, he was heading the same was I was so we rode together for the next 40km. When he turned back, I continued on through my friend 'Bobbin Head' and then back up the highway to hook up with Tim, who is just getting back into training following Busso. Anyway, I ended up riding 143km in about 5.20hrs with the HR in the 130's again, which was good. That is the longest ride I have ever completed, and it was a breakthrough for me mentally as I was not sure what it felt like to ride that distance and time. I also tested pretty much my nutrition plan for the race, and the result was spot on. I basically went through 6litres of fluid, a sandwhich, a Go Bar, piklets, banana, red bull, 2 GU's (need more of these) and small bottle of Endura Gel. I actually think maybe a little more solids would be good, but I finished up the ride feeling pretty good considering. I was however really hot, as it was 30'c when I got home at 11am! Riding with Tim was great. He went through his Busso experience with me, and it was really good to listen to him talk about how much he learnt about himself, and everything he had done to somehow get to that finish line. He is very strong mentally, pretty much the same as Andrew M, who is an animal as well! These guys certainly know how to open the Pain Locker! Andrew is in the UK at the moment, getting up in the freezing conditions and going for runs.....he is on holiday and still giving it a crack, and has entered a 16km race next week.....hope he can run in those snow shoes...knowing him, he would and could!
So, to summerise this week :
Swim : 8.5km (3hrs)
Run : 75km (6hoursish)
Ride : 250km + 1hr TT (9.5hours)
Total : 18.5hours (ish)
A really solid week for me (and Jase and Matt I would think), and I loved it. The long bike today was the highlight....so happy to have been so close to the full Iron Man ride distance and still felt pretty good. It has improved my confidence a lot I must say, because before I was not sure if I could handle that time on the bike.
I am looking forward to continuing this sort of effort over the coming weeks, its probably around 8 weeks to go with of solid training, which in the scheme of things is not long! Bring it on Rollo, and Matt, Jase, Andrew and Skinny Wiggle, Jeffinator, keep up the good work boys....we will be there at the starting line soon! Phew!
Jase and I have also trained a fair bit with Matt this past week. In all 3 disciplines as well. Matt is so down to earth, happy to go slow with Jase and I, and like most people I have met in the triahtlon community, so down to earth, willing to help and advise! He is also going to do Port in March, he should smoke it.....probably around the 9.30hrs mark I would guess, he is an animal on the bike and can run pretty fast to!
Jase and Matt rode yesterday so I was on my own for the 2 hour run I had. I managed 23kms in 2hrs keeping my HR in the 130's which I think is where it needs to be. It was good fun running that distance, and even better feeling so comfortable throughout. Today was a 140 - 150km ride, so i set out on my own at 5.20isham. I thought I was a lunatic at that time, but I met up with a bloke 30mins in who had been on the go from 4.45am, he was heading the same was I was so we rode together for the next 40km. When he turned back, I continued on through my friend 'Bobbin Head' and then back up the highway to hook up with Tim, who is just getting back into training following Busso. Anyway, I ended up riding 143km in about 5.20hrs with the HR in the 130's again, which was good. That is the longest ride I have ever completed, and it was a breakthrough for me mentally as I was not sure what it felt like to ride that distance and time. I also tested pretty much my nutrition plan for the race, and the result was spot on. I basically went through 6litres of fluid, a sandwhich, a Go Bar, piklets, banana, red bull, 2 GU's (need more of these) and small bottle of Endura Gel. I actually think maybe a little more solids would be good, but I finished up the ride feeling pretty good considering. I was however really hot, as it was 30'c when I got home at 11am! Riding with Tim was great. He went through his Busso experience with me, and it was really good to listen to him talk about how much he learnt about himself, and everything he had done to somehow get to that finish line. He is very strong mentally, pretty much the same as Andrew M, who is an animal as well! These guys certainly know how to open the Pain Locker! Andrew is in the UK at the moment, getting up in the freezing conditions and going for runs.....he is on holiday and still giving it a crack, and has entered a 16km race next week.....hope he can run in those snow shoes...knowing him, he would and could!
So, to summerise this week :
Swim : 8.5km (3hrs)
Run : 75km (6hoursish)
Ride : 250km + 1hr TT (9.5hours)
Total : 18.5hours (ish)
A really solid week for me (and Jase and Matt I would think), and I loved it. The long bike today was the highlight....so happy to have been so close to the full Iron Man ride distance and still felt pretty good. It has improved my confidence a lot I must say, because before I was not sure if I could handle that time on the bike.
I am looking forward to continuing this sort of effort over the coming weeks, its probably around 8 weeks to go with of solid training, which in the scheme of things is not long! Bring it on Rollo, and Matt, Jase, Andrew and Skinny Wiggle, Jeffinator, keep up the good work boys....we will be there at the starting line soon! Phew!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Into 2010 we go!
A new decade has started, but there has been no change to the normal in terms of the focus on preparing for March 28th. We as a family welcomed in the New Year watching the fireworks display in Gosford, it kicked off at 9pm, and I must say it was pretty good! It reminded me of the fireworks display we used to get on the last day of the Harare Agricultural Show......short, sharp and sweet! never the less, the kids all loved it, we did not have Put that in your pipe and smoke it! How good is it living up the coast...we really are lucky in a lot of ways. So, I was in bed at around 11.30pm on NYE, staying up to watch the clock tick over does nothign for me anyway, never really has. I was going to get up at 4am anyway to go to the office as I had some work left over to complete before monday! So, up and out the house at 5am (dosed for 40mins but it felt like 10secs), into the office and then onto my long ride for the week on New Years Day as Sunday I was having off as it was michelle's birthday. I rode 105km pretty much in the hills for the whole time, and the heart rate was pretty much where rollo wanted it, I cooked it in the hills. Its really hard not to push hard up hills, but its something I am going to work on this month.
On Thursday morning (yes NYE) jase and I had a long slow run with 7 hill repeats in the middle. We ran from my office on the City to Surf route, and did the repeats up 'heart break hill'. It was sensational. It was raining a bit, but very humid. The views from some of those houses would be awesome on NYE, I would hate to think of the mortgage on those properties....one had a tennis court with probably one of the best views in Sydney...what a waste, and what an expensive tennis court! We ended up running 21kms that morning which was a good effort.
Jase and I ran again on Saturday morning together, this time from his place heading north towards Tuggerah. On the way back we picked up a new friend, a staffy...he followed us all the way back to Jase's place which was about 8km! The poor bugga was shot. I chucked him in the car and took him back home, and even then he chased the car all the way down the road....must have liked our company!
Anyway, into a new year, less than 3months to go until the race, still loving the training, and I am looking forward to the next 8weeks or training....I think Rollo has got some good sets coming up!
On Monday night, I did a bike test with Rollo to see how the training had gone since the last one back in July. In July I was able to get to 340watts, this time round 400watts! Not that that means so much, but its the differance between the heart rate output to power output which is where the differance is seen, and overall it looks like a 20% improvement in 4 months. To put that into context, 4 months ago, to hold 240watts, my heart rate would have been 150 - 160bpm, but this time round it was 130ish, which is great!
This week in short:
Swim : 7km (2.5hours)
Run : 48kms (4 hoursish)
Ride : 155km (5.5hours) + 1hour TT
Total : 12.5hours
The total number of hours spent actually adds up to a lot less than what the training volume felt like to be honest, but every set was really good quality, in terms of what Rollo set, and the effort put in (with Jase). I enjoyed every one of them (okay, maybe the swim was not much fun, and I am finding it hard to get motivated to swim as well at the moment, but thats only if the swim is at lunchtime).
Until next week.....
On Thursday morning (yes NYE) jase and I had a long slow run with 7 hill repeats in the middle. We ran from my office on the City to Surf route, and did the repeats up 'heart break hill'. It was sensational. It was raining a bit, but very humid. The views from some of those houses would be awesome on NYE, I would hate to think of the mortgage on those properties....one had a tennis court with probably one of the best views in Sydney...what a waste, and what an expensive tennis court! We ended up running 21kms that morning which was a good effort.
Jase and I ran again on Saturday morning together, this time from his place heading north towards Tuggerah. On the way back we picked up a new friend, a staffy...he followed us all the way back to Jase's place which was about 8km! The poor bugga was shot. I chucked him in the car and took him back home, and even then he chased the car all the way down the road....must have liked our company!
Anyway, into a new year, less than 3months to go until the race, still loving the training, and I am looking forward to the next 8weeks or training....I think Rollo has got some good sets coming up!
On Monday night, I did a bike test with Rollo to see how the training had gone since the last one back in July. In July I was able to get to 340watts, this time round 400watts! Not that that means so much, but its the differance between the heart rate output to power output which is where the differance is seen, and overall it looks like a 20% improvement in 4 months. To put that into context, 4 months ago, to hold 240watts, my heart rate would have been 150 - 160bpm, but this time round it was 130ish, which is great!
This week in short:
Swim : 7km (2.5hours)
Run : 48kms (4 hoursish)
Ride : 155km (5.5hours) + 1hour TT
Total : 12.5hours
The total number of hours spent actually adds up to a lot less than what the training volume felt like to be honest, but every set was really good quality, in terms of what Rollo set, and the effort put in (with Jase). I enjoyed every one of them (okay, maybe the swim was not much fun, and I am finding it hard to get motivated to swim as well at the moment, but thats only if the swim is at lunchtime).
Until next week.....
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)