1km Open Water Swim

I signed up to do the 1km open water swim as part of my work (NDY) participation in the Corporate Games for 2011. I have only participated once before in corporate games and that was when I just joined NDY but participated as part of GHD's dragon boat race.

So why the 1km Open Water Swim?

• I dont do team sports - never have and never will - This is why I am doing Triathlons (as an individual) as I dont like letting people down and the race is my race and no one elses.
• I have improved my swimming
• I just did 1500m as part of an Olympic Distance race (no wetsuit)
• Its a small field

So Melbourne's weather has not been great recently. Its been raining and raining and raining....It started to rain on Friday and some were hoping for enough rain that the event will be cancelled.

A small part of me was hoping it would be cancelled....but at the end (or early morning) - I decided to bite the bullet and drive all the way into South Melbourne where the event was and just get through it.

I think there were 7 females 30-39 who signed up but only 5 registered. The relay team went off first (4 x 250m). Then it was the individual race which was 4 x 250m loops - gets dizzy and I always (and did) lose count.

It was quiet choppy and the waves were severly high but it was not as choppy as Sandringham on a bad day. I did the race but came out with a time of about 27min or so....

I did not do that well in swimming in the right direction and kept getting swept away from the bouys and so I think I did a 1500m race rather than 1000m....nothing new to me!! It seems to always be the case - I will need to gauge the currents better and swim with sighting more often.

I was feeling ok during the swim but I was one of the last people coming out of the water (the males went off first so that made a difference in the pace perception). I thought I came 5th but ended up coming 4th so I earned 5 points for the company.

I think my technique was ok during the swim but I do need to increase my speed in the water and swim at T4 more...I think my pace is still set at T2....

Things to learn:

• Sight sight and sight
• Swim faster (increase my swim fitness)
• I have signed up to do Ryan's technique classes (in Jan) so hopefully that I am able to attend as much as I can as I am away from 20th - 30th Jan.

Overall - pretty pleased with myself for doing this 1km swim. I am keeping active and doing something which not many people would even contemplate doing.

90km MS Gong Ride

The Gong Ride
The ride went off at a shaky start. First both Aaron and I forgot our numbers where we rode to the end of his street so therefore, we had to quickly ride back and got the bibs. The ride to Sydney park proven to be tricky as the roads were not smooth and the cars were not that friendly (Sydney). Even at 5:45am, the cars were everywhere, maybe driving their bikes to the starting point.

We tried to start as a group as much as we could but there were approx 10,000 cyclist on the roads for this event, there was no way that we could keep together riding on the bike lanes and having so many traffic lights on the way. The ride out of Sydney was tricky. There were some nice hills and due to the mud, it was hard to cleat back into the peddle.

I lost the group after a while but that didn't bother me. I didn't stop at the first 2 stops and just rode through. Through the national park was amazing. It got pretty cool at this point and my heart rate went down as we were descending. Some of the areas were really steep and I dont have enough confidence (and bike handling) to go down these hills fast without applying on the brakes (for safety).

After one of the large hills, I stopped at one of the drink stops to take a photo of the scenery. The views were amazing!

There were a few accidents on the way into Wollongong which halted the ride for a while at some of the intersections. I lost the group even further in front as there were more descents which I was not comfortable about going down.

My entire trip took about 4:20 this included the meeting point in the morning as well as the scenic stop and the traffic stops. There were some areas where I just got tired and was not peddling at a very high speed or cadence.

Overall, the weather was wonderfiul but my lack of training showed. Will I do this event again next year? I would have to say no. It was great to experience it once but next year, I will set my sights on other events. It costs too much to do this event if you include flights (and accomodation if required) - my flights cost me about $450. Its an expensive 90km ride! Glad that I have done this event and now I have an NDY cycling jersey which I can wear (its actually an awesome one).

Noosa Olympic Distance 2011 - A Race Report

Thursday 27th Oct
I arrived in Noosa on Thursday 27th Oct - my day started super early as I had to be dropped off at the airport at about 5:30 to allow for check-in of an oversized baggage (my bike) for my 7am flight. I had about 2kg overweight and took some out into my backpack which meant that I only had to pay for 1kg over the weight limit $15 and not $30 for 2kg - I need as much money as I can spend at the Expo (this little lady has priorities!)

I flew into Sydney first before the 2nd leg of the plane ride into Noosa. When I arrived, we got into Henry's shuttle to go into Hasting St. I was staying with Sally and Nola and Tim at Ocean Breeze Resort which was next to Saks where the main TA crew were staying. Ocean Breeze was an interesting place to stay - the decor was very old and the general amenities were old. The floor was also dirty with sand which I found annoying and swept a bit before the rest of the group arrived. I unpacked my bike (which only took a couple minutes. When the rest of the group arrived, we unpacked and went downstairs to Cafe Le Monde for lunch. They had an alright menu for lunch but nothing beats their breakfast.

At 4pm, we had a run session long the run course so I did about 7km within the hour or so at a good (but not too hard, not race) pace. We then went to the Life Saving Club for dinner and I ordered the lamb salad which was soooooo good I ordered it again on Monday night.

Friday 28th Oct
Friday morning was a ride session along the bike course. The Garmin hill was not as hard as I thought and I could ride up that hill very comfortably...then started to rain (bad) which resulted in a pretty hard-core training session.  After the ride, we ventured off to the Expo where we registered and I bought a few things:
- CompressSports Calf and Quad guards
- CO2 cannisters (as you are not able to fly with cannisters)
- Endura Gels (I didn't bring my grape ones)
- Noosa 2011 Singlet

We had a general browse around the expo which was awesome and I had my eye on a few things to get the next day if I wanted to. There was a swim session in the afternoon which we did about 1km of the 1500m course. There were sea lice in the lagoon which stung a bit when we were in the water. The course was very calm and flat and Ollie showed us where to swim and what to look out for. I was comfortable about the swim as it was flat.

We had a group dinner that evening which I had bolagnaise (pasta - carb loading). After dinner, we ventured off to get ice cream - I ordered maple macadamia which was delish!

Saturday 29th Oct
We had a mini training day as this was the day before the race. We did a small 10km ride along the run course, a small 3km run along the course followed by a quick swim in the lagoon up to the other side (about 200m). We had a brief session about transition;  what time to rack bikes (in the pm) and what to do for the day such as keeping hydrated and staying out of the sun. I went back to the Expo and bought a few more things
- Eyeline swimwear
- Newton Running Shoes

At about 3pm, we took our bikes into transition to set up. I was on the 30-34 rack, they dont have allocations nor do they split males and females. It was all bunched up. Luckily, there were some spaces towards the end of the rack and I put my bike in its position, noticed the trees and signs around me for my spot and let some of the air out of the tyres - this is needed as the tyres get hot overnight and some explode in the morning.

We had a massage from one of Nola's friend's daughter the day prior to race day which was a good way to relax ourselves before the big day. After the massage, we packed what we needed for race day. For the next year, we need to arrange for the massages to happen on the Friday.

No Wet Suit for the swim as the water temp was 24.1 degrees (YES!)

Sunday 30th Oct - Race Day!

I had mixed emotions about the race. It would be the longest distance I have ever done and to think that I have to start the race off with a 1.5km swim, a ride in the middle and end it with a 10km run. Reflecting back a few years ago, I would have to had some really descent training (in those days they would have been intense) and may have completed the 10km over 1:10 without a swim and a ride prior to it. 

My swim start wave was 7:33 - Female 30-34 surname L-Z so I was in the same wave as Kerri, Briana and Rowdy - Purple Caps. The other girls in my age group were Lisa D, Jayne (who now lives in Syd), Lee and Berit - Bright Green Caps who had surnames of A-Z but in the wave prior to mine.

The start of the swim was not too bad. I was off to the right and started the swim off comfortably. I swam around the bouys and around the island well and it was at the T-intersection where we have to turn right (instead of left which we did in training) for about 200m and do a U-turn. The swim up and around was fine - it was only the last leg of the swim where things fell apart. The lifesavers were directing us towards the middle of the lagoon (where as Ollie told us the best swim was around the right edge) and so that confused me but we then had to make a slight right to go around the next bouy so I was pretty confused. The last swim into the shore was difficult and this is where I feel the most improvement can be made in 2012.

In transition, I took off my cap and goggles and put on my cycling shoes and belt. I ran out with my bike and off I went on my bike leg. The ride itself was good except we could feel a headwind all the way. I was also one of the last people out of the water so I was playing catch-up to the people with J labelled on their calves. Garmin hill was not an issue and I even passed several people. Next year, I know that I can get up that mountain much faster. The ride after the mountain climb was quite uneventful. I tried as much as I can to not be demonitvated by riding with good tempo and trying to keep momentum whilst down on the aerobars.

I did pass several people and it was great when we turned around. Instead of going down Garmin hill, it was a hilly descent and I got up to 50km/h on the bike (had my brakes applied). The ride into the town also taught me a few lessons for next year. I took my feet out of the shoes WAY too early (we are talking about 6km too early) which meant that I couldn't ride effectively and I was also spinning my legs way too early too.

In T2, I was feeling exhausted, I put on my shoes and had a little 2sec rest before heading out on the run. The heat was starting to build up quick and the 10km run on the course was starting to hurt. I ran past a few people on the course but had many strong runners run past me (happens every race). I must learn to train my body to run through the pain of heavy legs and to breathe better. Luckily the residents in the neighbourhood had their hoses out and were cooling us off. I did stop a few times as my (left) glute was killing me. I must make an appointment to see Lakeside as I think it is a Sciatic nerve issue as my left hammy is also tight and my right shoulder is tight.

The last 1km of the run was pretty amazing. I had Roofi (one of the guys from TA) cheering me on to run faster (and I did) which made a massive difference in my time. The run past the TA group was also amazing as it gave me so much motivation and encouragement. I finished my first Olympix Triathlon in 3 hours and 5 min.

I want to do this race again in 2012 and achieve a goal of < 3 hours. I already know where I can improve and I will try my hardest in the next 12 months to achieve this.

After the race, we got some food in our stomachs and went to Reef hotel for an afterparty celebrations of the race. There were presentations at 4pm where Sarah (Rocket) Grove got 3rd place for 25-29F and Ryan Bourke for 2nd place for 25-29M. They are both very fast.

The night was ok. I had a bowl of pasta for dinner and a few drinks but I was so tired. We ended up heading to get some icecream before heading to bed.

Monday 31st Oct
This was a non-eventful day. We had massages booked in the afternoon but spent most of the day just lying around. I went to the beach. Had a few meals here and there...

We had dinner at Paddy, Lisa, Pam and Sam's apartment in Ocean Breeze for the evening. The discussions got a bit heated about TA officials so we had to change the topic to our future goals.

Tuesday 1st Nov
This is Melbourne Cup day. We first had breakfast down at Aromas (Sally & I) and then we got back to the apartment to get ready for Cup Day. We paid $50 for a ticket at Ricocos but it was not worth it at all. The food was average and the drinks were so expensive. The music was crap and the people were old and fake. It was not suited for a young crowd at all. I would have preferred to be at the lifesaving club and be able to go to the beach.

Wednesday 2nd Nov
This was the last day in Noosa so we went for a swim at the beach before packing up. I lost my favorite pair of goggles in the waves and was sad :( as they fitted so well. My flight was at 12:45 so we got a Henry's Shuttle at about 10:45am. I was on the same flight as Kerri, Dave and Damien.

OVERALL
My first Olympic distance triathlon was completed in 3:05 and I know the areas which I need to improve on:

Swim
- I will need to be a more efficient swimmer and next year will be a different story as I would know where to swim.
- Strength and Core Work needs to be included into my schedule - THIS MUST IMPROVE

Ride
- Learn to mount bike with shoes on - I can't hop on the bike due to the length of my legs so I need to learn how to ride with my feet on the bike and put shoes on whilst riding.

Run
- Learn to run off the bike more - need to do regular Thursday night sessions and run off the bike after long rides on Sundays. Even if it is only for 20min or so.