You want me to "Monkey Scratch?!"

This morning, I decided to do the beginners swim session at MSAC instead of the intermediate swim session tonight. This month is all about working on technique and the load is "back to basics".

The beginners swim session is in the indoor 25m pool (which annoys me) but at least the group is small and it gives Coach Ryan a chance to coach us properly.

Monkey Scratch - Note the fingers to
armpits and high elbows

We started off by doing a warm up - 100m free, 4 x 25 kick, 100 back. The main set was all about working on specific techniques. We did 4 x 50 shark fins (swimming with arms down the side and turning our shoulders upwards to breathe and at the same time, forming a shark fin with our elbows), then it was 5 x 50 monkey scratch (a step up from shark fin where we drag our fingers up the side of our bodies and give ourselves a little scratch on our arm pits before dragging our fingers to the front), then it was 4 x 50 fingertip drags (with pb). We ended the main set with 100m back before the cool down which was 4 x 100m free. All in all, the set was only 1.45km - it was a pretty easy set compared to the 3.5km I was doing at the peak of the season. I guess the set would be close to the 2km mark if I was doing the intermediate swim sessions but I will play it by ear. I really want to work on my technique this year and get that down pat!

I have also signed up to do the 5 week Swim program with Ryan too to work on my technique. These sessions will be on Saturday afternoon which means that I may miss out on the Hawthorn v Richmond game on the 26th May. Carn the Hawkers!

My first MTB session - Face still intact.

So today, I tried out mountain biking for the first time...

My bike's name was Tyler

For Tri Alliance's Sunday Funday for the month of April - today was a mountain biking session at Lysterfield Park. As I don't have a mountain bike (many people are very surprised that I actually don't own a MTB) I had to hire one from TrailMix. For $30 (2 hours), I was able to ride a mtb on a pretty good bike. My bike's name was Tyler.

Instead of riding with cleats, I only had runners on. After today's session, having cleats would serve as an advantage as I could distribute weight around the bike better without the feeling that I am going to slip off and cut my legs open on the chainring.

The easy group (which I was part of) did a 14-15km loop around the National Park. We didn't attempt the part of the course which included the Commonwealth Games course as we would be out there forever. The more experienced group did that loop and made it back nearly the same time as the beginners.

Mountain biking skills is something which I don't have. I was the last person in my group as I couldn't descend properly. I put it down to my anxiety, fear, not knowing the terrain and not knowing how to use the bike. I learnt from others to never touch the front brakes as this will cause you to fall flat on your face as you go over the handle bars. I don't know if it was the bike I had or just a general mountain biking thing but my back brakes kept locking and I was skidding whenever I applied them. Before anyone tells me about how sensitive they were, I knew that already, I was only feathering the brakes and my back wheel was sliding from side to side. Going uphills was good and when I got the hang of the gears, I could ride up the track easily. I felt my seat was pretty low and at the same time, I struggled to ride standing up as I only had runners on and I was scared of slipping off.

When descending, it was hard to gauge 'what to do' and at what speeds. I walked my bike down some of the paths as it was the safest thing to do.

To be honest, today was not my best day. I was left behind a lot. I was walking the bike and stopping at sections where people were literally flying down the tracks, I was falling further and further from the group. The group did stop half a dozen times so that people can catch up so we don't get lost in the National Park. It was a good thing as I had no idea where I was going and it was good to know that we would ride as a group as much as possible.

I am going to see if it is possible for me to do the Mountain Biking skills course on the 27th May to learn how to use the bike. We didn't learn any skills today as it was just a ride the bike session. It cost about $180 for the lessons but I think it would be good for me to do this course before I go back to Lysterfield again to ride by myself. It would be good to be able to do a trail run and ride in one day as part of my training. Lets see how the lesson goes first.

The Month of May

Next week will be end of recovery month and the start of build phase of triathlon training. Training will most likely ramp up to 6 days a week with no Tuesday or Thursday morning sessions yet.

Monday - I will have to decide if I am to do my swim sessions in the morning and do strength and core in the afternoon or the other way around. Swimming in the morning will be at MSAC with Coach Ryan and working on technique (beginners) or in the evening which is at more of an intermediate level. I have to join a gym so I can work on my strength and I decided to go with MSAC for its location and I am already training there 3 days a week. An added to cost to being a triathlete.

Tuesday - Morning run sessions don't start until June so Tuesday evening (6:30pm) will be the windtrainer session which will be at MSAC until further notice. Tuesday AM strength and core could be an option for the month of May.

Wednesday - This will be similar to Monday morning except swim will be in the evening (7:15pm - late!) and morning will be S&C.

Thursday - No Thursday AM Windtrainer session for the month of May so Thursday night will be run session at the Tan starting at 6:30pm (warm up must be done before 6:30pm). These sessions will be Run-Play, Fartlek, Intervals rather than endurance.

Friday - No Friday AM swims for the month of May. I can chose to have this day as Rest Day.

Saturday - This will be the long ride session. The first few weeks will be along Beach Rd so that people can determine which group they will be more comfortable over the coming months as the location and distances will differ between different athletic levels. Rides start at 7:30am. I suspect for the first month or so, I will be in the intermediate group.

Sunday - Long endurance run session. Depending on what I am doing - this can either be with Tri Alliance meeting at MSAC at 8am, or around the Tan at about 8:15am...or do own run but in accordance to the my program. I am adding a few trail runs to my schedule just to break things up a bit and run on different terrains to strengthen my legs and feet muscles.

We will be starting the Time Trials in the month of May as well which will be exciting. Not sure if I will be stepping up to the Long Course distance of 1000m swim, 20km ride and 10km run instead of my previous 500m swim, 10km ride and 5km run.

Long rides will be along Beach Rd for two weeks and then it moves to Studley Park-Kinglake and North Rd - 1in 20. later in the month.

Count Down to Shepparton - 207 Days.

Flow & Affect...

This post is slightly different to my previous ones as it doesn't relate directly to my training but it does impact on the sport of triathlon.

As a triathlete, I personally have spent several thousands of my income into this sport. This includes several bikes, wetsuits, clothing (swim, bike and run), shoes, bike parts...the list goes on! When I first started in the sport, I use to buy all my items online. I am sure that anyone who reads this post would know the websites so I wont be mentioning it as I am not trying to advertise for them in anyway. I use to buy my things from these websites as their prices were a fraction of what we (Australians) would pay from buying retail. I am no expert in the logistics of what gets shipped in by whom and then gets distributed by whatever company but I know that retail shops don't earn much of the money because in between the item being manufactured and the reatil shops, there are several middle man who also need to earn a buck. The price of something from a factory can be multiplied by a factor of 3 (up to 5) which finally ends at the RRP which you and me hand our cash over for.

Sometimes I would be saving over a thousand dollars (bike), others I would be saving $2. But because I am able to save some dollars, I chose to shop online. Several years later, I met someone in the bike shop industry who has opened my eyes to the impacts these actions had.The best way to explain the impacts is to use several examples:

Say I need to buy a bike. It cost $2000 in Australia but only $1500 online. A saving of $500 is a pretty big deal. I will save $500 on my bike if I went online but I just sent $1500 overseas. That money is now circulating overseas. The flow on impacts which many people don't realise is that that bike which was in the shop is now a loss if it doesn't get sold, the next day, the manager of the shop is not able to pay for some repairs as the cash flow is low. A (local) contractor who was suppose to be fixing part of the shop floor is not called into the shop even if he/she provided the shop with a quote. The local contractor's income is low for that period because people just cannot afford his service. Now I can go on and on about the next person in the chain which it impacts but I am sure that you get the point.

Another impact about spending the money overseas is the service and warranty you would of received if you purchased locally. The bikeshop manager I know says that he can recognise when an item has been purchased online. No amount of bullsh*ting people do about how they bought it from a shop but lost the receipt can be used for you get local service. Because people can buy parts of the bike online, they expect that a local bike shop is just going to put it together (for free or a minimal amount) just because they stock the same bikes. The local bike shop cannot honor the bike frame or parts warranty if they touch them nor are they going to act as an agent if your bike fails. If you purchase a bike from a local Australian bike shop, they will often do the first service free (tuning) and provide you with a discounted service (maybe for a period of time). Your bike does need maintenance and unless you know how to do it yourself and know what to do without voiding the warranty, a local bike shop is your best bet. Other people don't realise that the bike mechanic is also earning an income, they are paid by the hour and it does cost the bike shop to build bikes or even to look at faults. People think that just because they purchased a bike cheaply that they are entitled to cheap (but quality) service too from a local bike shop.

Bike shops do like to build a relationship with you. Not because they just want your money but they are often interested in your biking. They will often ask about why you want a bike, they will often ask about your latest riding experiences, they are genuine people. It does take people like that to work in a bike shop. They love cycling. If you build a close enough relationship with a bike shop, they will often go out of their way to help you - it includes sourcing something you need (even if it is a brand they dont carry), provide bike maintenance service when urgent or even just letting you know what is on the market if you asked them to keep you up to date.

One incident occurred recently which demonstrated this. One of our squad members drove into a car park with the bike on the roof of a car (this happens so often it is not funny), this occurred the day before a triathlon race. As we have a good relationship with CBD cycles (our sponsor), the guys from the shop came and helped this person out (after hours on a Saturday) and had the bike ready for the race on Sunday morning. This member had a prior relationship with this bike shop as it is where they purchased their bike from, brings it there for its servicing and also visits on a regular basis for all their biking needs. You will not this type of (emergency) service from any bike shop no matter how much you called around pleading.

Many (ignorant) people out there think that bike shops are just out there to make millions, well let me shed some light onto this. Bike shop owners are not millionaires. They are often also the managers of the shop and they have opened these shops because of the love of cycling rather than making a buck. You don't see bike shop owners drive around in fancy cars or have flashy houses. They are often the last person to be paid and if the shop makes a loss for the month, they don't have an income. They are not out there to rip off Australians, think of them as providing us with the means of a healthier and active lifestyle. They only want to do whats good to us. As a bike shop manager, the person I know will tell you what bike you need for your activity and will not sell you something which is beyond your needs.

Is a set of (good) bike lights just a means of ripping you off? No, you need a good set of lights to be seen and it is for your own safety. Buying a cheap set of lights from Kmart, it is just that - cheap lights which glow like candles and you will not be seen properly.

I can't change people's behaviour from this entry - people choose to spend their money however they wish. We are all programmed to buy things on a bargain, never pay full price but I guess I just want people to think outside of the savings they make and keeping dollars in Australia as much as they can because we all know that triathletes spend money! I know things need to be done to bring prices down in Australia but where possible, buy locally. People don't realise the impacts they make when they send dollars overseas until it hits them home (i.e. job loses in Australia which we are seeing recently).

Make a conscious decision.

Recovery Month of Fun!

The month of April is commonly known as "Recovery Month" for Tri Alliance. It is a rest period after 6 months of racing over the warmer months of the 2011/2012 season. There is a few who are still racing (Port Mac IM, Busso 70.3, IM St George, Cairns 70.3) but for the core athletes, we take it nice and easy. This month not only gives a chance for our bodies to rest and recover, it also gives our minds a rest from the OCD routines of training.

As you may have read from my previous entries, I timed my tonsilectomy in recovery month so I am able to take a break from training without compromising my build to Shep. My first training session with Tri Alliance started on Saturday when I joined the group for Tour De Latte. This is a fun ride which gives the newbies a chance to learn how to ride in a bunch, use your gears and ride a bike on the road with the protection of Tri Alliance. I remember doing this ride in 2010 when I first joined the squad and these rides were priceless. I learnt the meaning of drafting, sticking to someone wheel and more importantly, signalling. One thing I want to see more as part of buying a bike is that people need to learn about signally before they ride their bikes. It doesn't matter if your bike is only for the neighbourhood bike paths, you still need to learn signalling.

On Saturday morning, I left the house at about 7am and rode up to Elwood Life Saving Club. I knew that this ride would be a slow one and there is a chance that we will be riding on the small chain ring so I used the chance I had (as I was riding by myself) to ride at my own pace and time trial where I could. I ended up reaching ELSC in about 30min. The ride from ELSC to Mordialloc was a good one. Nice a easy 20-26km/hr pace so that we could ride in a group as much as possible. Greg made us pair up with a beginner so that we could teach them about signalling, bike safety and how to use their gears at different sections of Beach Rd. When we reached Mordialloc, we had a coffee and cake stop before heading back towards ELSC. I decided rather than riding straight home, I would ride up to the Black Rock roundabout so I would total about 60km in the ride which was not a big deal. I didn't track my calories, cadence or speed. This was just to tick the legs over. Riding for the love of cycling.

On Sunday, it was off to the Dandenongs for the 1000 steps session. I have been to the steps on several occasions outside of Tri Alliance and this year was the first with the group. I decided to try out using the hydration pack (rather than bringing a water bottle or waist belt) as I am still sorting out my gear for my trail runs. The hydration pack, I have to admit worked a treat! The only down side is that my back did get sweaty.

We did 2 reps of the steps with the 2nd rep down the trail rather than the steps. Rather than running down the trail which is what I usually do, Darren wanted us to walk down the trail as much as possible as it works your calves, core and quads more and boy it did! As I am typing this entry, I am still wearing my calf compression leggings under my pants for relief.

Tri Alliance @ 1000 Steps

I have to admit, I didn't feel too exhausted from the steps and surprisingly I was able to walk up the steps without stopping, taking a break or running out of breath. It was a lot shorter than what I remembered ths steps to be too. The scenery was beautiful and it will definitely be something I will do more often for fitness and to break up the (sometimes) boring routine of running on bitumen.

After the session, we headed over to Darren (and Kylie's) house for breakfast. It was a chance for the newbies to socialise with the core athletes and learn and thing or two about the benefits of training with a great bunch of people.

Next weekend will be another ride and fitness session. The ride will be from ELSC to Williamstown. I might add a bit more and ride from my house and ride back (it may add up to 90km). Sunday is a mountain bike session at Lysterfield and it will be my first session on the mtb. If I like it, it might expand my multisports to off road events.

Who inspires you?

A conversation with a good friend of mine is the inspiration behind this entry. She is a wife, she is a triathlete, she is a monther of an autistic boy, she is a carer for a father with cancer.

She is optimistic, she is a go-getter, she has goals yet she is realistic about what she can achieve. She is smart as she also has a plan.

Juggling between taking care of her work, immediate family and her dad is not an easy task. Yet she manages well and at the same time, her improvements in triathlon training and racing has increased exponentially. She soaks up all the training in like a sponge and applies them when needed. She is consistent in her training and barely has any excuses. She is far from lazy and she doesn't blame others when she is having a bad day. I think many people need to learn from this incredible person.

What she is doing is inspirational. She does not ask for hand-outs. She does not ask for acknowledgment. She does not seek approval from anyone for her achievements. She is dedicating her 70.3 Shepparton Race to her mum (who passed away a few years ago) and her brother (who does marathons). What is your inspiration? For me, it is her.

Cycling - Training, Racing & Commuting

A Quick History
I started cycling in January of 2008 (a month before my first Triathlon). Prior to that, the only cycling I did was when I was a kid around the neighbourhood and to and from primary school until I was 9. Growing up in New Guinea, there wasn't much of a chance to do much cycling due to the safety issues.

When I started training (I use that term very loosely) for my first triathlon, the furthest I would ride would be 10km. Why? Because 10km was the distance for the cycling leg for my first triathlon. Why would I need to cycle for more than that?! Ludicrous! After my first triathlon, cleats were added to my cycling gear. The furthest I would ride would be 40km from Modialloc to St Kilda (slowly) but I would always come home from those rides exhausted resulting in a nap for a few hours. Cycling was halted for many months and was only resurrected when I decided to get back into triathlons.

Fast forward February/March 2010 when I joined Tri Alliance and this is when the whole cycling took a very sharp turn. Cycling is no longer just getting there and just ride the distance of the race. Before joining the squad, I don't think my speedo had seen 30+km/hr as I would be just riding rather increasing my heart rate and pace just to keep within the Tri Alliance Train. Over the winter months, cycling moved from Beach Road to Studley Park in Kew. Ohhhhh Emmmmm Geee! It was only during these hilly rides did I learn how to use my gears properly and the difference the large and small chain ring made. Before that, I had never been on the small chain ring, I stayed on the large one as the rides I was doing were just flat (Beach Road). The rides grew from 30km...45km...50km...90km - Beach Rd, Studley Park, Great Ocean Rd. I became a more confident cyclist and it was evident during the next season of triathlons where my cycling time improved greatly. It also helped that I upgraded to my Wilier Imperiale for my road bike and bought a Felt B2 TT bike for triathlon racing.

The longest ride to date for me would be Sept 2011 Genovese Kinglake Ride of 120km through rain, hail, shine and a touch of hyperthermia.

Commuting
I then tried commuting to work in 2010-2011 with some success and failures. Commuting to and from work would require much planning on advance as I would have had to pack 3+ bags (fail) as my plan was over Wednesday-Thursday:
Pack bag for swim in the Wed AM, pack bag for work Wed, pack bag for Wed cycling home, pack bag for work Thurs and pack bag for running for Thursday PM run session...That's a lot of packing and organising! I did this once successfully.

One commuting experience was a major fail! It was the day before Ride to Work Day 2010. I had packed my bags ready the night before and cycled home after work. Rain came that afternoon. I had ridden in the rain before during training and thought nothing of it but cycling in the rain during peak hour traffic?! Fail. Heavy rain = visibility of zero! I had to cancel the plan and asked someone to pick me up from South Melbourne and drove me and my bike back to my car.


Squeeky - My first road bike



Cue present day. This morning I commuted to work for the first time in 2012. Instead of using the main road, I rode the bike paths along Beach Road (using the IM Melb run route), through to Port Melbourne, Docklands route and getting into work avoiding traffic and having to go through the CBD. In total, it was a 33km route (initially I thought it was 37km) which took about 1:30 or so. I rode the paths casually (didn't go beyond 26km/hr) as the bike path was twisting and turning, you had to avoid shrubs, rocks, pot holes, glass, dead possums, pedestrians, (live) animals and I was also riding my old "Squeeky" road bike. I only had to ride on the roads where necessary (road works, bike path ends) but generally I felt more relaxed than I anticipated.

There was also a slight moment this morning when I woke up at 6am - that maybe I should just throw this commuting thing out the window and just drive into work instead as I was slightly nervous.

I didn't do much packing of the bags as I carried my backpack (with work clothes, wallet and phone) on the bike (my bag wore a high-vis safety vest too - safety first!) and I am still in recovery from my surgery (no running yet) -->  no need to pack running clothes. The weather this morning was also perfect for commuting - no wind, no rain and the temperature was cool as I only had arm warmers and a cycling vest over my normal knicks and jersey. It is forecasted for a chance of THUNDERSTORMS this afternoon/evening....fingers crossed that I am still able to commute home. If not, it will be a looooooooong train ride home.

Road to Recovery....

....is slowly coming to an end for this little lady.

Since my tonsilectomy surgery on the 5th April, I have really done nothing but sleep, eat, play with my little pup, take some more meds (which make me drowsy) and I fall back to sleep. I had the entire Easter weekend and a whole week of work to recover and have done the following:

• Cleaned my bikes - good old squeeky, my Felt to sell and my Wilier (ready for winter rides)
• Read 4 books on the iPad (Kindle App)- Chrissy Wellington's and The Hunger Games Trilogy (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mokingjay)
• Completed 95% of my tax return document gathering task for 2009-2010 financial year. Yeah I know, its bad and I dont know why I dont do them earlier, they are just so low on my to do list.
• Walked the dog on a daily basis (after day 4 of recovery)

Little Lucy - She is 10 years old but weighs 2kg and still looks like a pup

• Cleaned the loungeroom (after watching Hoarders, a TV show - it kind of freaked me out)
• Reflected (big time).

Reflection
I have looked back on my past performances and realise why my times (although have improved due to my fitness levels) have not been fast enough to move up to even the middle of the age group. I have no grunt! I am still in the mindset of completing the distances (thats it) and conserving enough energy until the end. I have done 2 seasons of sprints with the added Olympic distance races in 2011/2012 but it has gone to a point where I must no longer participate in them but I must actually compete or race.

I don't have a competitive personality. I don't like competitions/awards unless I am sure that I will win. This is why I enter in awards for work because due to the contributions I have made in my work industry which has lead me to win several awards over the past few years. I have never been an athletic person and this is why I dont race. The reason why I do triathlons is I race against myself, pushing my abilities and setting the benchmark higher for myself. What is the point of comparing yourself against others when:

• You are physically different to others (I personally have short legs, weak core and I hold my fat around my stomach area, not my thighs or butt)
• You have different weakness and strengths to others
• You have good days and bad days (not in sync with others)
• You have illness, injuries or niggles different to others
• You have done more training the days/weeks/months before compared to others

In training, I might pass people (yes, in rare occasions it does happen). This is not because I am out there to compete (and the term SMASH YOU), I am just pushing my own boundaries and setting my own benchmark higher than before. Other people might take this the wrong way and think that all I am doing is competing and beating them but it is not true - all I am doing is pushing my own speed, endurance and pace. This is something which Ollie (our Head Coach) has mentioned (and reminded us) several times in the Tri Alliance team meetings. Don't use squad members as competition, use them as motivators. Motivator is a powerful tool. You may want to pick a few athletes in your squad, knowing that they are better than you but aim to their standard (keeping it all in realistic standards of course, no point is trying to keep up with Usain Bolt), try and keep up with them and use their speed, endurance and pace to improve your own speed, endurance and pace.

What I need to do from this day onwards is to be more competitive and better my times, not just pace along merrily (so all I am doing is finishing a race). I need to get more GRUNT! When I am doing the races, do them like I am racing (to win). I know that I will never win my age group but I need to race like it is the difference between podium and nothing! Every second counts. My Mental Game - is something which I need to work on for the new season.

Oh Recovery Month - I HEART YOU!

This week is the official start of my recovery phase! After having done the Run for the Kids event (official Herald Sun published paper time of 1:26:14), I am not really lifting a finger in my training and I feel kinda like a kid wagging school!

There is a small group of people still training for Dextro Sydney Olympic, Port Mac (IMAus), Busselton (70.3) and Port Douglas Olympic but most of the Tri Alliance guys and gals are on (training) holiday mode. Last night, instead of swimming, I went out for dinner on Smith Street. Turkish dips and mese platter with some meat added, baclava, turkish delight, coffee...what a great evening it was!

This morning was another sleep in and not having to pack the bike in the car the night before with the windtrainer, clothes and making sure things are ready for a windtrainer session. I may shadow Mick at swimming on Wednesday night, I may not, depends on how I feel. I do have to prepare food to eat for the next few days as I am getting a tonsilectomy on Thursday.

No excercise after the operation which is why I planned it around recovery month. I won't feel guilty about not getting up in time for the long rides, runs or getting into work. What I am actually planning to do whilst I have a week off work is to do my tax return (2009-2010 and 2010-2011), clean my house and put things on ebay to sell to pay off the operation, save up enough money to pay off my Malaysia trip and to pay off the new Cannondale Slice bike (which has already arrived in the shop!).

Over the month of April, I will probably get back into about 3 sessions a week during the week of the 16th April onwards. Then it will be the start of the base training in May, then it will progress to the Long Course during the month of June onwards. We will be having Time Trials again in May which will be the base of our swim, ride and run times for 2012. Will be interesting to see how I go considering I have taken a different approach with my training this past summer.

I will need to save up enough money also to pay for Tri Alliance Lorne Camp too which will be around Queens Bday holiday. Can't wait for this camp. It would be good to see how much I have improved over the years and it is also one of the best organised camps too.

Doing it for the Kids - A Race Report

So yesterday was my 4th Run for the Kids 14.38km run. I beat my previous year's time by over 5min (close to the 6min mark). It may be around the 1:26 mark (according to my Garmin) and I will wait for the official time in the paper on Tuesday.

Even though my run didn't start until 9:15, I had to arrive around 8am for the Team Layla photo shoot. Remembering the hectic traffic and the time it takes to find a car spot, I left the house at 6:45am to try and find a car spot by 7:30am. I ended up finding one of the very last few free spots available around 7:15 - a whole 45minutes early.

I received a short sleeve shirt to wear on the day but when scissors were handed around if anyone wanted to cut their sleeves (most people received a long sleeve shirt), I opted to cut my sleeves off and wear it as a singlet. I decided that instead of placing my bag in the storage area, I was just going to run with my keys and leave my bag in the car so I can just leave after the run was finished - best idea!

I decided to take a Shotz Wild Bean gel about 15min before the run start for the initial kick of energy as I had my regular smoothie for breakfast that morning. The line for the toilets were (once again) stupidly long so I was so glad I went to the ones off the side street rather than in the park. This is my first run without music. Ever since the Run Technique lessons with Tony Benson, I have not done any running with my ipod and I am actually enjoying it. He made a great point that when you have music, your rhythm is off (cadence) and you lose concentration on your technique. I have to say, ever since I have parked the ipod to my speakers and not used them in my runs, I have improved on my running in folds. I concentrate on my own pace, my technique and ensure that my body does not laze when it is hurting.

The first few kms of the run is always interesting. I actually stayed on the left of the run so that the faster people can overtake me but I found myself overtaking many people. When we ran through the tunnel, I actually found my pace increase and was weaving through the crowds too. Having done this course 3 times previously, I knew where the drink stations were so I was relieved that there was one coming up after the Burnley tunnel. I remember in preivous years that in between the 3km through to the 6km mark, all the guys run off to the side of the road for a toilet stop and this year was no different. It was actually quiet disgusting to see all the men peeing against the side of the road. After the tunnel, it was then onto the West Gate bridge. This course starts to get quiet undulating and the elevation goes up and then back down. Remembering there is a drink station before the Bolte bridge entrance, I washed my face with a cup of water to cool down as it was getting sweaty.

The Bolte Bridge is amazing! I did slow down a bit as running with activated calves (up hill) for about 1km was tiring. Going down was a different matter and this is when I took my second gels for the day as it was around the 45min mark. The run through Docklands was intersting as the route was more cramped than the previous years. Many people cheated around these areas and cut through the park. I say cheat as they are taking a shortcut but it is not like they were achieving anything out of it...you are running with 15000+ people. After Docklands, there is another hill which is up Collins St. Once again, I struggled up this hill as it was around the 12km mark and my legs were burning like lava was through my blood. After the hill, it was straight along Southbank, up Flinders St and onto St Kilda Rd to the finish line in the park. I was running in front of a pair of guys running the entire way in Bananas in Pyjamas outfits which had the whole crowd cheering which made my run more interesting. Kids were cheering and it made me smile the entire way.

The last 1km to the finish chute was great. People were cheering and waiting for their loved ones to run through. Once I crossed the finish line, pressed stop on my Garmin, I walked directly to my car to drive to St Kilda to watch the presentations, take team photo and help unpack the TA Taj. I think it is important to make an appearance as a coach at triathlon events. People appreciate the support too.

Run for the Kids is definitely a great course and event to do. I am devastated that next year 2013, the Run for the Kids will be held on the same day as Ironman Melbourne which means that I will be either volunteering at IMMelbourne or I will be doing the 3.8km swim and the marathon as part of a team. Devastated that I wont be part of the R4K event in 2013.