Hell Week 20/12 - 28/12 - Wrap Up and Reflection.

I have mentioned in a previous post of the schedule which was Hell Week 2013. This is a post about what I actually ended up doing and how it went.

Saturday 21st Dec - The FIRST Day
This was the first day of the Hell Week Challenge. I wasn't too sure on what I was doing this day - was I to do 70-90km or do I put myself into the 90km column (being not a first timer Ironman athlete). I ended up leaving the house at 5am and riding in a good (not racing) pace up towards Elwood to meet the group. It took me about 40 or so minutes to get there as I was getting use to the road bike (not having ridden it since Sept).

 

I wasn't too sure which group (in terms of pace) I was going to be riding with but definitely not the first one. We rode up towards Port Melbourne first and the plan was to ride down to Frankston and then I was going to ride up to the Black Rock tower to head back home. I haven't done this route in a while (and also leaving from new house which is slightly further), I wasn't sure how far I was going to be travelling with this route. There was a southerly so the ride down towards Frankston was hard. We did rolling turns and I ended up riding at the front of the 2nd group for about 10-15km. I got dropped off when we were riding up a slight incline and I was taking in a gel and overtaken by the fast group who stopped as they had an accident. Wasn't the best idea as I had to drop back and couldn't catch up. I ended up riding with the 3rd group who caught up and rode with them down Station Street. I was caught at a set of lights and ended up riding with a group of cyclist from the end of Station Street all the way into Frankston. The group was great and we all did the rolling turns which I had never done before.

Everyone on the right side rode up towards the front and then would move to the left and then would drop back and so the group moved in a constant rotation and you would be riding at the front for about 30sec or so. The ave speed ended up being 35-40km/h but I held on and enjoyed the ride more than I ever did in any group.

I rode back towards Black Rock by myself until I saw one of the guys from the squad who stopped to send a message.

By the time I got home, I had done about 98km and this was more than the program and not sustainable over the entire Hell Week ride so I had to assess what route I should do.

I ended up doing a walk/jog off the bike (no Garmin) but just wanted to get the legs moving around the block.

I then drove to Elwood for the open water swim and ended up doing 1.5km. Due to my swims during the week, my shoulder started to hurt during the last pole and the pain of my shoulders became more evident during that evening when I couldn't lift my elbows. Bad move during the week (of swimming too much).

Swim - 1.5+km
Bike - 98km
Run - 30min walk

Sunday 22nd Dec - Same Same, but different
I decided to do what I did during my Ironman build and started from my house at 4am, did a lap of Mordialloc before heading towards Elwood (40km before 6am). This would mean that I would only have to ride towards Mordialloc again and then back home to reach around 80km.

As much as training with the squad has its benefits, I didn't enjoy the ride as much as previous sessions. Too many people trying to ride with the fast group and it became quite dangerous as everyone was trying to stay as one group and going through traffic lights which was dangerous (for all road users). I didn't feel comfortable about being caught up in this and so I stopped at the (red) lights on purpose (safely) and even had some of the guys behind me riding around me so that they could catch up with the fast group. This is the type of attitude which needs to change in group riding - leave your egos aside, put the safety of yourself and the rest of the squad members as priority. As much as riding behind someone make the ride easier (especially into the head wind), it does not do anything for your triathlon race if you are not allowed to draft.

Even though it was a session which I didn't enjoy (annoyed me more that the group was so large and made the ride dangerous), I was grateful that I was able to ride at my own pace and worked at my own volume of Hell Week.

A (walk) off the bike to finish off training for the day as I wasn't able to swim.

Swim - 0km (1.5km)
Bike - 80km (178km)
Run - 30min walk (60min)

Monday 23rd Dec - Something Different 
The weather was not great and I just couldn't be bothered being out on the road. I ended up doing a gym session of 45min run on the treadmill (happy to report no lingering pain) and then a 30min workout with weights to strengthen my core and legs. Stayed off using any of the equipment which worked on my arms or shoulders due to tendinitis.

Swim - 0km (1.5km)
Bike - 0km (178km)
Run - 45min (treadmill read 8km) (+ 60min walk).

Tuesday 24th Dec - Christmas Eve
Very similar to Sunday 22nd in terms of route but I was scheduled down to take the beginners group on their ride which I enjoyed very much. I rode in front the entire way at about 25km/hr and taught them about having their heels down and pull up (J curve).

I promised my partner that I would bring the shop some lunch and due to the speed of the group, I didn't get home until about 8:00am.

Swim - 0km (1.5km)

Bike - 80km (258km)

Run - 0km (105min)

Wednesday 25th - Christmas Day

This day is rest day as part of the Hell Week program but a small group of us always go for a casual ride as we either don't have any family to celebrate this day with or don't celebrate Christmas. I have grown up not celebrating Christmas as part of my culture and environment so Christmas day is a public holiday.

The Canadian and I rode our CX bikes. It was the first proper ride on this bike (which I have named Betty). We left our place around 7:20 to meet the group at 8am. We then rode to Black Rock and back to Elwood and had coffee ar Cafe Racer. I had never been to Cafe Racer before this day. As we rode the CX bikes, there were a few cyclists who had a keen interest in our bikes and as I had a Santa tied to the front, a few people took photos.

The Canadian and I then rode back home via Bay Rd and stopped at a classic car shop on Reserve Rd in Cheltenham.

Swim - 0km (1.5km)

Bike - 60km (318km)

Run - 0km (105min)

Thursday 26th Dec - Boxing Day

I ended up having a sleep in and did the same routine as Monday 23rd (gym - treadmill & weights) as my legs were heavy (mainly due to the bike ride the day before). As I parked my car in front of the gym just before 9am, I got a car park post training and walked into the shopping centre for a browse of the sales. Boy was the place busy!! People were stalking me when I walked towards my car to drop off my bag and it was choas just walking from one end of the shopping centre to the next. I didn't really end up buying anything but a Dave Grohl book for the Canadian and I got a massage. My shoulder felt better after the massage session and I was ready to head into the water again the next day.   

Swim - 0km (1.5km)
Bike - 0km (318km)
Run - 45min (+ 105min walk).

Friday 27th Dec - My Bday

I still train on my bday (have done for the last 4 years) but instead of riding with the group, I always have a sleep in and then ride by myself. It's peaceful and I get time by myself away from all the birthday greetings. The Canadian always works on this day (bike shop retail) so I have the day to myself. There was a slight southerly breeze and I felt it during my loop towards Mordy. The ride into Port Melbourne was enjoyable and I had a few people hanging on to my pace.

Then when we turned around at Port Melbourne, I could feel the headwind and there was only one person who rode behind me. We took turns into the wind and travelled around 25km/hr, both on our small chain rings. The cyclist who I rode with was polite and made the ride enjoyable. I then decided to turn home at Black Rock as I was tired.

As I have done every year on the day of my bday, I would do the afternoon swim session. A small group of us decided to meet at 6:30pm for the open water/run session. I would just do the open water swim. Everyone was feeling tired and no one did more than one pole to pole. My left shoulder was feeling good but because it was a choppy swim, I ended up injuring my right shoulder as I tired to lift my arms above the waves without straining my left shoulder too much. Boo. Poo.

Swim - 0.7km (2.2km)
Bike - 65km (383km)
Run - 45min (105min)

28th Dec - Last Day!!
This was the last day of Hell Week. My legs were really getting tired but compared to previous years, I had hardly done as much. That morning's route was similar to my previous days and as I rode to Mordy with the faster short course guys, we rode with some effort on both directions. I shared my time at the lead heading towards Mordy as well as heading back to Port Melbourne. I lead from Mordy to Black Rock and was noticeably going beyond my comfortable pace. When I turned off at Black Rock, my legs were dead and I pedalled the rest of the 4 or so km back home on the small chain ring to flush. A short 20min walk/jog off the bike.  

Swim - 0km (2.2km)
Bike - 80km (463km)
Run - 20min (125min)

=============================================

Favourite session of the week: There were several sessions which I enjoyed. The ones which stood out during Hell Week was my ride with the beginners on Christmas Eve. The ride was good as I didn't have to deal with any of the egos.

I also enjoyed my Bday ride as I rode at my own pace after a good sleep in. The gym sessions were good too as it showed that my legs may be ready for some real running and I worked consciously at strengthening them.

Least favourite session of the week: I think I mentioned above that I didn't enjoy the 2nd day of Hell Week's ride due to the size of the group and how dangerous it became. I see it often that the groups love to surge off and having others trying to keep up but letting their riding skills slip. It also depends on who is leading the pack. Are you there to lead the pace or are you there to smash out the bike ride and whoever wants to ride with you is their own issue?

Advice of the week: Strength work is needed for me for both the bike and the run. Something which I must work on in the next few weeks.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: I am still on holidays so I am going to stick to the program and recover in between (naps).

Well that's a long write up and reflection piece (2 posts which took me 3 days to complete). It wasn't my best Hell Week since I joined Tri Alliance in terms of distances but I am a different athlete now and have trained differently over the last 12 months. There is about 34 days until my next half-ironman distance race (Challenge Melbourne) and I am doing a team event at Geelong 70.3 (swim and ride) the week after. Am I ready for these distances? Only time will tell. I must work on my running (carefully and smartly) over the next few weeks.

5-Day Reflection 16/12 - 20/12

I had to change things up a bit (and delayed publishing) as I had been busy with Hell Week (more about this in my next post), last week of work, moving house (yes, I am still moving), Christmas and my bday. I won't go into too much detail about the training schedule of Hell Week in this post. This post should have been done by the 20th Dec but I ended up having a busy day at work and preparing my things for Hell Week.

So during the last week of work (16th Dec - 20th Dec), there were a few ups and downs. I found out that the Moonee Ponds couple who were murdered (both with multiple stab wounds) was actually people I knew. I wasn't close to them but I have spent several years of Christmas lunches with them as they (Korrine) was a cousin of an ex boyfriend during 2006 - 2009. I didn't end up going to their funeral but I sent my condolences to the families. They left behind 3 young kids under 5 and as far as I know, they are being taken care of by family. Her mum (my ex's aunty) had passed away a few years ago.

In terms of training, it was probably one of the best training week I had in a while. As there was no swim session on Monday, a few of us decided to do an open water swim at Elwood. I ended up swimming 1.5km and loved it! Tuesday's windtrainer session was good. I made sure that I was pushing beyond my comfort zone and made sure that I was consistent in my efforts. Wednesday morning was the last swim session at Northcote for 2013 and the session was worthwhile. We did a big set of 800m warm up (various) followed by 2 x 400m (pull buoy, band and paddles), 2 x 300 (fins and bands - like a dolphin), 2 x 200 (pull buoy, bands and paddles), 2 x 100 (fins), 2 x 50m (no toys at T4 pace). We ended the session with a slow 200 cool down. After a few weeks off swimming due to injuries (swollen joints due to over hyper mobile stretch) and a cold, using paddles in the swim was tough!

Thursday was a 40 degree day and I ended up swimming 1.5km without a wetsuit and loved every moment. It was nothing but me and the waves. Complete bliss. Friday ended up being a day off training as Hell Week started on the 21st of Dec.

Favourite session of the week: All of them! It was hard to pick but if I had it, it would be the Thursday afternoon 1.5km open water swim without the wetsuit.

Least favourite session of the week: Well, I think I over did the swimming for the (5 day) week - 1.5km on Monday open water, 3+km on Wednesday with some paddle work and 1.5km open water again on Thursday, my shoulders did not enjoy the swim as much as I did. (More on this in my Hell Week post).

Advice of the week: Balance! I have tried to not injure myself again from running so I have been increasing my hours (and efforts) in the pool and bike. I don't think I have the balance right as I couldn't do much swimming during Hell Week due to tendinitis in the shoulders.

I also have to learn how to balance work and triathlon better so I don't disappoint either sides. I don't want to go into too much detail - my pay review was more along the lines of.... no pay rise as you have not satisfied the requirements.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: Hell Week!!



Hell Week - 2013 Edition

Best part of Hell Week - these memes by Roofi.

This year's Hell Week will be my 4th and I can't wait for it to start. Mainly because I need the spike in training load. So the schedule was uploaded on the (closed) Facebook group page and it looks something like this:

Sat 21st Dec - Ride 6am for 6:15am start with run off the bike and then swim. Most likely, I will ride from my house at 5am so that I am able to run off the bike near home and then drive (or ride) over to Elwood for open water swim. 

Sun 22nd Dec - Same as above and I have a Xmas party on starting at 1pm.

Mon 23rd Dec - The program is a ride 5:50am for 6am start but I will see how I go depending on how late I stay out from Sunday. I may do my own ride later in the day. Swim at 5:45pm at St Kilda.

Tues 24th Dec - Same as above but I will ride with the group after I start from my house at 5am. I will see how I go with the run off the bike and then will do the swim at St Kilda at 5:45pm.

Wed 25th Dec - Xmas day so we will most likely do a Xmas day ride - will bring out the CX bike.

Thurs 26th Dec - Same as 21st Dec but will see how I go with the run off the bike and/or swim.

Friday 27th Dec - I usually have a sleep in on this day and then go for a swim - will see if I am going to Elwood for this swim or not.

Sat 28th Dec - Ride 6:10am for 6:15am start with run off the bike and then a swim at St Kilda.  

I will try my best to follow the program of 90km rides, 5-6km run off the bike (or 7km run in the afternoon) and 1.5-2km swim. I know that I may not be able to do the entire run session but I will still run/walk the distance whenever I can.

The normal training timetable kicks in on the 2nd Jan and I get back to work on the 13th.

Weekly Reflection 09/12 - 15/12

Last week was recovery week and I made the most of it....well half of it was forced upon me due to an unexpected cold. I blame it on cleaning both houses (using too much cleaning products) and not consuming enough probiotics during that time too. I was bed ridden for 2 days and couldn't coach on Thursday night. The worst thing was that I couldn't do the Friday morning swim and join everyone at Penny Farthing Espresso for breakfast. Not to worry, I will be back there during the holidays again. 

Aside from the lack of training due to a cold, I have good news - I finally had a run post Shepparton! I gave myself 3 weeks for recovery and until I could no longer feel any stabbing pain along my knees and quads, I was staying off running full stop. So on Sunday, I ventured out on the run with no watch (and as always, no music). I just wanted to run to see how my my legs would cope and didn't want to be bogged down with data about the distance travelled and the pace. I knew the run would be slow but it was not the point of the session. The loop was 5km but I could only jog about 3km of it. My fitness is currently near nothing but I was glad that I could start running again.

So in summary, I did only one swim (Monday), one windtrainer (Tuesday) and one run (Sunday) for the whole week! Not to worry as I have holidays coming up and planning on taking advantage of it with some honest sessions.   

Also, I got my CX (Cyclocross) Bike on Wednesday (18th Dec) and sold my (first) road bike all in the same week. I haven't ridden the bike yet as I am waiting on some carbon paste for the seat post as well as getting some mtb shoes.

Betty the CX bike

Favourite session of the week: This would have to be my run on Sunday. Although it was only a 3km run, I ran without a watch and was glad that I was able to do this simple task without any pain.

Least favourite session of the week: I didn't really have a session which I didn't enjoy this week as I only did 3 in total. I really wanted to do the Saturday ride but recovering from a cold, it wasn't possible.

Advice of the week: Knowing that Hell Week is coming up, I made sure that I am well rested as I will try my best to do Hell Week.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: As mentioned above, I have Hell Week which starts on Saturday 21st Dec. I will write more about this in my next post.

Weekly Reflection 02/12 - 08/12

Well, lets just say, hypermobile people should not be moving houses (or do any heavy lifting). I had been moving house (packing, carrying things, moving things, unpacking things) since Monday and as a result, my joints have been inflamed and my limbs are now swollen to the point where it is difficult to do anything.

I have never had this before and my hypermobility as been reduced to “no mobility” with a side of chubbiness. I couldn’t even fit into my cycling or running shoes.

The only training I did was a small 1.5km swim which was not too eventful as my body struggled to move and I ended it very early as it was just not worth the pain. Putting on fins was not a great idea when your ankles refused to flex. I thought a swim would help my back but at the end of the session, I was in more pain than before.

So this week’s reflection will be different as I did no training at all. If you want to read about my views on a topic non-triathlon related, continue reading....if not, see you soon for my next post about my journey in long course triathlon racing. 

So.... 

What I wanted to talk briefly was about what happened on Thursday evening and the subsequent days from that event. For those who are not aware, click here.....as I don’t want to publish any of those pictures in my blog.

The following views is completely my own and not of my employee (just to be clear). This is just a reflection on how I felt about it and what broke my heart.

·         As much as the owner of this shop “appeared” to support women in cycling (and his other shop with triathlon), I feel that it is your core values which will shine through and by the scenes of what he did it showed a different story. You could have poured billions of dollars into women cycling, it takes one action to demise it. You must support your brand and its association through and through and hold your integrity.

·         His (shop manager) actions (may) mirror him as a person and not necessarily of the shop or the guys who work there. This is why you will continue to get great service from the guys when you enter the shop. Some social media comments spoke about how they (and their partners) have received great service from that shop (even days after the incident happened) but how else would they (shop guys) have behaved? Great service does not necessarily reflect a person’s core values.

·         The shop manager still denies that feedback regarding that idea was sexist. Even from someone whom I personally admire (Bridie O’Donnell – she is strong, powerful female cyclist with integrity) who he ran past the idea. Was her feedback brushed aside as it was not important? Bridie is tops and she even won her race on Sunday. What a superstar.

·         He has yet to apologise -  I guess you only apologise when you admit what you have done is wrong and so he still doesn’t see the wrong of his doing (?)

·         Comments regarding sexism, using and exploiting women have been removed on their facebook page yet they have kept some of them who support misogyny....very wrong. These comments and what they leave/remove on their page changes every minute so I don’t know what is left on there.

·         As a female who cycles, I am heart broken that this took place in a bike shop. If they wanted to step outside of the box to raise money (for a children’s charity), was using topless women the best answer? So did the guys who donated (bid) dug deep into their pockets as a reaction of seeing tits? The statement released by the shop manager mentioned that this same method was used in other functions, one of them was a Breast Cancer function – now you don’t have to be a genius to understand how this function has a different context to a bike shop. 

·         I personally feel alienated and as a result, won’t be stepping into this shop, not even just to kill time. How can I be taken as a (female) customer when a stunt like this was done? This is my personal choice.



Anyways, this little duck will continue to ride her bike, fully clothed.  

Weekly Reflection 25/11 - 01/12

Post Shepparton, I am now on the tough road towards Melbourne Ironman with a half Ironman thrown in between. I am still no able to run (even a jog or a fast walk yet) so my training the last week consisted of swimming (did 4 session last week), two bike rides and a few strength sessions. 

I am proud of myself for getting up at 4:30am three times during the week for squad swimming. I haven't done all session of my swims with the squad for a while as I was feeling tired (needed the sleep in) and taking advantage of the afternoon sun, doing my swim sessions in an outdoor pool. I have also done a long open water session on the Sunday with the squad before they set off for their long run (whilst I set off to a Christmas lunch). There is an open water swim event this Sat which I might sign up to, I was tempted to do the 5km but I think for what I am training for, I might stick to the 2.5km. 

On the cycling side, I did the windtrainer session on the Tues and my long ride on the Saturday (late morning). Feeling fatigued on the bike mainly due to hay fever and not feeling 100%. The roads were quiet (due to the Kinglake event) so it wasn't too stressful. 

The keys were handed over this morning for the new house and the Canadian and I have just spent the afternoon (a bloody warm one 37 degrees), packing, cleaning and unpacking. We made a rookie mistake by not lodging our utilities so we have no electricity until Wed night so it looks like I will be sleeping in the old house until Wed night this week. Tough afternoon and now my back is killing me. 

Favourite session of the week: I really loved my open water swim on Sunday. As I wasn't running, I did an extra long swim of 2.5km in calm and clean water. I am not the biggest fan of "swimming in a general direction", I need a landmark to swim towards such as a buoy or a pole. I love swimming from pier to pier or pole to pole but it does get boring if you have to make the distance. The water was crisp and I only stopped at 2.5km as my core temp started to drop and I was not feeling comfortable anymore. 

Least favourite session of the week: legs were like lead during my long ride on the Saturday. Maybe it was the lack of time spent on the bike, maybe it was how I felt when I was riding into the headwind. I didn't feel strong at all, like I was falling asleep and was drowsy. I don't know if it was what I ate during Friday (heaps of chilli) or dehydrated from going to the toilet from consuming so much salt and MSG. 

Advice of the week: The weather is starting to warm up lately. Although it may seem cloudy and overcast, the body can still dehydrate. Drink plenty of fluids and add electrolytes into the mixture (not carbohydrates).

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: this is non triathlon related at all but I am looking forward to moving into the new house and having a space to put my bikes and all my Tri gear (away from bedroom and living area)

Me posing in front of a rhubarb and custard cake (with meringue top), salted caramel fridge with pecans and a red velvet centre cheesecake (with Italian meringue top). 

Where to from here?

It has been 12 days since my Shepparton race, 65 days until Challenge and 114 days left until my next Ironman.

My body is starting to feel normal  again after a week off any real training with intensity or load. Someone pointed out that there is approx 16 weekends left until Ironman (with approx 15 weekends of long rides and runs) left, give or take.

Whilst I was supporting the Gatorade Sprint on Sunday, I was itching to race again (call it crazy) so I will speak to the coaches to see if it would be smart for me to race the Olympic Distance on the 12th Jan (Challenge Melbourne being on the 2nd Feb). If not, then I will be at the Gatorade race minding the enquiries tent for Tri Alliance and supporting as much as I can. 

Post Shepparton, my knees are starting to feel better. I still feel a pressure on the quads (just above the knee) and the physio advised that it may be inflammed tendons too. The knee caps are ok now, no more internal bleeding/swelling. It feels unstable to squat on the left leg due to the load but it no longer feels like my knees are about to fall to pieces. The Physio used some radio-shock-thingy therapy on it, wasn't invasive but it felt like a small hammer knocking on top of the knee cap (where the tendons were), slightly uncomfortable but didn't hurt as much as needles.

I am so envious of people running at the moment, no matter what size or shape they are.  As much as I find running a huge discomfort to my joints (being very hypermobile), I do miss it and want to be able to run again soon. For now, I will be doing strength work with squats, lunges and water running. 

As much as I can balance with work, I will do at least a session a week along with all the non-programmed sessions such as pilates and strength work. As I have discontinued my membership with the gym, I will need on I find alternative methods such as doing squats with a heavy backpack and using bands to do leg extensions. 

This weekend is suppose to be a long ride amongst the hills but as I am packing the house, I will just be riding Beach Rd for about 3-4 hours. Will try to get to bed early so I can get this ride out of the way early in the morning and try to stay awake for the rest of the day whilst I back stuff into boxes. 

On Sunday, I will try to head down to Elwood at 7am to join the squad in the open water swim but will make it a good session as I won't be running with them afterwards.

Last night, we had a dinner to congratulate the first group of athletes to trained with us leading up to the Elwood Gatorade/Active Feet race. Heaps of prizes were given out as well as membership packs for the ones who joined the squad.

Some of the coaches got a special note and a gift from one of the athletes. He was an enthusiastic person. Right from the start, he was eager to learn, took on board all the advice and more, turned up to all the sessions early and supported the entire team. He has now joined as part of the main squad and we look forward to see his growth in this sport. 

(Name hidden for privacy purposes)

Happy training everyone. 

A Fornight's Reflection 11/11 - 24/11

Due to my Shepparton 70.3 race on Sunday 17th Nov, staying in Shepparton until Monday, I had completely forgot about this post until Thursday afternoon. I figured it was too late then and would compress two Weekly Reflection's post into the one.

The main crux of the fortnight was my Shepparton 70.3 race and my 1km Open Water swim for Corporate Games. I haven't really done any training in between these apart from the occasional swim and massage.

I went to the Liv/Giant event on Tuesday 19th instead of a recovery spin. It was organised by Giant and Witsup.com. There was Charlotte McShane, Erin Densham and Hanna Whiteside on the panel and the night was moderated by Jo (Giant) and Stef (Witsup). We had a good insight (not all great news, but that's life) from triathlon - training and racing through to some women's issues in the sport from politics and how bodies react.

On Wednesday 20th, I did a light swim in the afternoon and it wasn't pretty. My body (post Shepp) was just tired and stiff. It took be about 1.5km to get comfortable in the water. A massage also helped to loosen up my muscles. I coached on Thursday evening (no training of my own) followed by another light swim on Friday after work just to make sure that everything is a-ok for my swim on Saturday.

On Saturday, I did the 1km swim in choppy conditions and came 2nd. I know my time was slower than last year but last year had picture perfect flat conditions. The turning buoys were also much bigger last year. This year they had small cans (practically the size of milo tins). So hard to see when the waves are tall.

2nd Place for 1km Swim

 Apart from that, I went and supported at the Gatorade Series Race 1 event on Sunday. It was a good day where some first timers did their first ever triathlon whilst others (more seasonal athletes) achieved massive PBs considering the swim was a bit of a misery due to poor weather conditions. Everyone had a great day. Some of the core squad members also had PBs for this race showing that training over the off season does pay off.

Favourite session of the week: My 2nd Shepparton Race.

Least favourite session of the week: My recovery swim session on Wednesday 20th was a struggle. Even using the pull buoy and just moving the arms proved to be a bit of a chore. I did some kicking to get some movement in the legs and it was just a struggle. Usually, when I am swimming by myself, I place myself in the Fast Lane at my local pool (being in suburbia) but for this session, I had to do most of it in the Medium Lane.

Advice of the week: Something which I liked hearing about at the Liv/Giant event was that everyone has good and bad days. Learning to listen to the right people is also something interesting. There is no rule book on how to become a perfect triathlete. You have to go through your own journey.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: This week, I am trying to get back into the groove of training again. This point onwards will be my training build towards Ironman Melbourne. There are 17 weekends left until Ironman but there may only be about 15 long rides left to do. Rides will go back up to the 120-180km distances and depending on the coaches, they may still place me in the "first timers" category regarding training load and intensity. I am comfortable about this as it is not about the label of the program that I am in but rather how I am able to get through them and how quick I recover for the next.

Shepparton 70.3 2013 - The Race Report

It is hard to believe that I have just done Shepparton 70.3 for the 2nd time and now have 2 more races in my triathlon calendar for 2013/14 season. I have learnt plenty of lessons from the race on the weekend and will take on board whatever I can to improve over the next few months to make me a better athlete.

In the previous years, we ventured off to Pizza Hut for all you can eat dinner the night before but this year, I decided to eat something which my stomach is used to - white rice (with coconut oil & salt), grilled salmon and a yoghurt and cucumber salad. Easy on the stomach and I didn't feel too bloated going to bed.

In the morning, I woke up at 4:30am but leaped out of bed by 4:45am. Had a banana and yoghurt for breakfast with half a bottle of gatorade. Got all my drinks and stuff ready for the day. We drove to the lake at about 5:30am and there was a traffic jam but luckily I just hopped out of the car and then the Canadian parked the car at the competitor's parking area.

In transition, I had everything set up to what I was use to in previous races. I stopped running with a hat around November of 2012 and haven't had one since. I don't wear socks in the bike ride and not in the run for a 21.1km (I wear socks in the Ironman run only). Left the Vaseline in transition to apply after the bike ride to either soothe or prevent further chaffing for the run. Thank goodness I didn't forget anything this year.

Went to do my last minute toilet visits in the transition area (as the line for the main toilets looked too long for the ratio of toilets available) and then I headed off to the TA tent for suiting up. What I had forgotten to do before I put on my wettie was Vaseline (between the legs and I paid for it big time - rookie mistake).

The wave starts changed to minimise congestion so the Male 40-44 (largest wave) started after the pros. For me Female 30-34 started at 7:07 instead of 7:00. Not much difference. The infamous walk to the wave start took forever and I didn't have enough time to warm up (I got into the water after the pro men took off) but had a few minutes to acclimatise to the cold temps of the lake. 

Swim - 39:23 (37 out of 57)

I decided to stay to the right of pack (my comfortable position). When the gun went off, it took a while before I found any space but I did stick by people's feet for a bit. The first lap was good. I sighted well and made sure my technique was consistent. I increased my intensity during the long swim past the exit. I even found myself passing a few people from the previous wave.

The swim back pass the starting line was when the wave behind me caught up and they tried to swim above me. I had a huge punch in the back of my head which sent me down into the lake and out of breath (more from shock) for a few seconds. I quickly composed myself and tried to get the heart rate down. This was the only part of the swim where I stopped to look up.

Prior to that I saw (what I thought) was a yellow turning buoy but it ended up not being part of the course...confused the hell out of me.

When I saw the swim exit again, I kicked my legs more to get the blood flowing and to also stop the people behind from trying to swim above me. The two area where I find the most aggression in the water is the start at the exit.

When I saw that I had a 3 in the finish time of the swim, I was happy as I knew that I had done a swim PB for this course.

Nutrition - 1 caffeine gel 15min before wave start and 0.5 bottle of Gatorade.

T1 - 2:34 (19 out of 57)

I don't put on cycling knicks or cycling gloves and I think this is where I did make up the time in transition.  No eating a banana in transition like last year either.

Bike - 3:10:24 (43 out of 57)

I got really frustrated on the bike leg. I always get passed by hundreds of people. This time around, there was little wind so the intensity was pretty consistent all the way around. I enjoyed the bike more than last year as I didn't have lead legs.

Had a gel at about 2km from T1 and then every 35min. I decided to try a different hydration strategy this year and had a salt/gatorade solution instead of a concentrated salt solution and water separately. I tried my best to drink on the bike but just couldn't finish a whole bidon within 45km. I think I drank about 2/3 and threw it out before moving the 2nd bottle to the front.

I was so happy to see people when I came back from the first 45km. I smiled from ear to ear.

The 2nd lap of the bike ride was good. The winds did pick up a slight but it was still not as Strong as last year. The roads were quiet at the 2nd lap and I did pass a few more people.

I only drank about 1/3 of my second bottle of hydration on the second lap as I felt I was busting to go to the toilet.

Nutrition - 6 x Gels. 1 x 750ml of Gatorade/salt solution.  

T2 - 2:35 (26 out of 57)

This was a quick transition for me as well as I didn't have bike knicks to remove over my shoes unlike last year and I just dropped off the bike, took off helmet and slipped on my running shoes.

 

Run - 2:33 (52 out of 57)

As I mentioned in my previous post. The wheels came apart in my run. I cramped from about 2km onwards. A jog when I was feeling OK and then a walk through the aid stations and whenever my quads and toes seized up. I had only had one experience of this before at the half marathon in October and only when I spoke to my coaches and then subsequently my dad that I found out it is actually cramping.

I guess is is why my quads hurt for weeks after my events as I am trying to push myself when I am cramping and hence impacting on the knees.

One toilet stop on the first lap of the run (after I grabbed my first wrist band) and this is where I dropped my pain killers into the toilet. Booooo!

Had coke and water at every aid station and poured water over my head to cool down. I felt that it was much warmer this year compared to last year. I knew I had exceeded my goal time but I kept pushing through the day. The aid stations distances were not as well placed as Melbourne but I kept with my nutrition plan as much as I could. I stuffed up my Garmin (same as last year) and so I had to make sure that I was properly timing myself to have nutrition at every 30min.

Nutrition - 4 gels, plenty of water and coke.

My total time was 6:28:31 coming in 47 out of 57 for my age group. I am disappointed that my run didn't pan out the way I had "hoped" but I couldn't expect anything better as I had done no running since Noosa. Although water running helps with the running muscles, it doesn't compare to actually getting out on the road and your feet hitting the bitumen.

Just comparing times from last year (and conditions being slightly better this year):

Swim: 2012 - 41:23, 2013 - 39:23 (an exact 2min improvement)

T1: 2012 - 3:58, 2013 - 2:34 (improvement of > 1:20)

Bike: 2012 - 3:13:18, 2013 - 3:10:24 (improvement of approx 2min - less windy this year, higher average)

T2: 2012 - 2:49, 2013 - 2:35 (went up the right rack and less clothing changes)

Run: 2012 - 2:14:42, 2013 - 2:33:32 (about 15min slower than last year)

I went back to Geelong to my parent's house to pick my my little dog Lucy and was speaking to my dad. Apparently, cramping is something which is quite big in my family and something which I use to get more often when I was little. My dad told me that my little brother had to be brought into a hospital once as it entire body seized up and couldn't move - his arms, fingers, legs and toes all clenched from cramping! I hope that doesn't happen to me anytime soon.

Lessons learnt:

• Apply Vaseline to needed areas before putting on wetsuit. Now my "area" looks like I have slit myself with a small knives
• Repair, Run, Recover (a new set of legs would be awesome too)
• Increase salt intake up to a week before event, start training with salt tablets.
• Tape painkillers on the bike 
• Swim-drafting behind someone's feet really does help but you have to monitor the intensity! 



Running towards finisher's chute

Shep was all hurt.

This is not my official race report as I don't have my photos or official results yet so it will be a quick low-down on how my day went.

Don't let this picture fool you, I had a long day with my longest half marathon ever.

Swim - great. I felt better even when I was punched on the back of my head really hard at one point that I had a bit of a panic attack. I quickly gained control of my nerves and kept swimming. Saw a yellow bouy and swam towards it but it ended up not being part of the course (as it was on land). Don't know what my time was but I am pretty sure it was better than last year as I had a 3 in front of the time.

Bike - I am grateful that I did the ride on Saturday as I felt that I knew the course better and knew what was coming up. I actually drank a full bidon on the bike (90km) but needed to go to the toilet....don't know what to do about this. I couldn't average 30km/h and felt a bit frustrated. I had hundreds of people pass me and I only passed about 10 people :( 

One lap down!! Woot!

Run - cramped. All the way from about 2km in the run all the way until the end. My quads seized and my toes clenched up whenever I tried to run. So I pretty much tried to run as much as I could when the cramps went away but had to walk when the toes seized. One toilet stop. Stuffed up the Garmin so my nutrition was not 100% timed. 

So I blew out my time by about 30min+ Dodgy knee, leg cramps and every taken into consideration, I tried my best in this event. I had a good swim and bike and that was the small goals I wanted to tick off from this event.

What now? I will venture out to the SPC factory in the morning as well as having a good breakfast. I have a massage booked in on Thursday and that will help with the knees. I have no major events coming up until Challenge Melbourne in Feb. I have an open water swim next weekend as part of corporate games and the will be supporting at the Gatorade races. 

Limpy McLimp, signing out for now. 

It's Shep time yo!

Wowsers! One more sleep! 

This morning, I rode a whole lap of huge bike course. I had forgotten how "not-so-interesting" the long stretch of the course was until this morning. Luckily I had some company with me. The winds were not as strong as last year. I rather a day of hardly any winds than a tail wind, head wind and side winds any day. 

After the ride, it was a quick soak in the lake, then it was off to register. The Shepparton packs are always awesome. This year we got a small bag with a pull bouy, a clapper, a head sweats visor, a stubby holder and ankle band. Still the best value for "competitor" money for me so far. When I finish the race, I will then pick up a medal and a towel. I actually forgot to pick up my competitor shirt so I will see if I can pick one up after the race. 

The bike was racked on rack E. This year, they have rack numbering (lettering) on the end so I will be vale to recognise which rack I am on (unlike last year).

Dale with his race shoes on!

Number 782 on rack E

Race nails are done and ready!!

Anyways, my wave will go at 7am along with the pros. Each wave after is 2min apart. Sure will have people swimming over me the whole way. 

Fingers crossed that I will have a good day tomorrow. Things I must remember to do in the morning include:

- Fill drink bottles

- kinesio tape my knees

- apply numbering tattoos

- put in ankle chip before I leave the cabin

Time for some rest. 

Happy racing!

Just a few days to go....

Here I am in my small studio cabin at Big4 and starting to come to terms that I am going to be swimming, riding and running (walk-jog) on Sunday amongst a few thousand competitors. 

In just 2 more sleeps, I will be on the start line for my 2nd Shepparton 70.3. The days leading up to this weekend was busily filled with work, packing the house (little by little) and training. 

We arrived in Shepparton at about 3pm after dropping the little dog off to my parents house in Geelong first. This had been a long day as I drove for about 5 hours in total, one really really bad coffee was purchased and consumed. 

After we checked in to our cabin, we went to the event venue for the Tri Alliance swim session. We started from the swim exit and swam to the other side of the lake to the swim start. Then it was a half lap to the swim exit (going the long way around). The taste of the water was still funky as always (however, I noted not as funky as last year). Maybe it was due to the rain over the last few days, maybe it was just me. 

After the swim, we went to Coles to buy some essentials for the weekend such as milk, salmon (dinner Sat night) and yoghurt. 

I have just had a pretty big (yet delicious) meal at the local pub of Parma with bacon, BBQ sauce and a fried egg on veggies and potatoes. 

Tomorrow, the Canadian and I will ride a lap of course as I will not be running until race day. We will probably finish by 12 and then I will register, check the bike in and the May get my race nails done. Getting nails done has been a bit of a tradition and I love it :) 

Getting excited and nervous at the same time. Crapping my pants.

(A Fortnight's) Reflection - 28/10 - 10/11

I did mention that there will be a slight change in my weekly reflection as I was racing up at Noosa. I have updated the blog to include the events leading up to the race and also have added my race report.

I came back to Melbourne on Wednesday 6th Nov and have pretty much tried as much as I can to recover from the week's holiday and preparing myself for Shepparton 70.3. The registration for Noosa 2014 opens on the 12th November and I am not planning on signing up as I am planning on taking some of my long service leave holiday in Aug/Sept to participate in a few Grand Fondo rides in Canada, volunteer and support at the World Champs in Edmonton 2014. As luck would have it, I have an all day course on the Tuesday 12th so I will be off social media and won't be sucked into the hype, tension and excitement of The Noosa Entry (it is about as hard to enter as it is running in 30 degree heat). Good luck to all the triathletes who want to do this event in 2014. It is a great one to tick off the bucket list.

Favourite session of the week: Believe it or not, the Noosa Olympic race was my favorite session for the week (fortnight). I remembered why I love this sport and being part of the Tri Alliance team (family). From the moment we landed, the sun of Noosa just made me smile from ear to ear. The familiarity of Hastings Street and the time away from work and house work makes for a great holiday.

The ins and outs of the race was in my race report so I won't go into too much detail but I did enjoy pushing myself through the race albeit being slightly uncomfortable. I do love swimming (now) and felt like I am getting stronger on the bike. I still  haven't found the Running Nirvana but I don't hate it. I want to love it, I just want my legs to stop hating me for it.

The other reason why I loved this session is that it brought me back to a few years ago (Nov 2011) when this was my first Olympic Distance (and longest race) and how much I was so proud of myself for finishing in one piece. It is humbling to know how much I have improved and now a better triathlete. I am grateful for the ability to do this race with little hesitation.

Least favourite session of the week: I am not able to run so I am doing water running instead. It is not a session I hate but just a session I wish I didn't have to do. Yes, it is mind numbing but I rather do water running than not doing anything at all or doing more injuries if I was to run on hard surfaces.

Noosa 2011 (with 2075). Spooky fact, for 2013,
my race number was 2705.

Advice of the week: For a person who has been training as a long course triathlete for a few years now, I had (and many others around me) lost sight of what it is like to be a beginner triathlete kicking goals with enthusiasm. The week leading up to the race at Noosa, I was reminded of what it is like to do a 1.5km swim, a 40km ride and a 10km run for the first time. The nervousness and anxiety of the days leading up to the event of uncertainty on how your body would handle the stress through to the joy and gratification of crossing the finish line!

Reading through social media, the mood can be quite negative - triathletes who have been through training and racing for a few years just don't understand why beginner triathletes are so excited when they accomplish a training session, why they tweet and facebook about their day, the distances they have achieved and that lovely aching feeling of a good session. I think we forget the small things about triathlon when we start racing for the big events and have been through the training before - we start to feel that "its no longer such a big deal". People blog/tweet/facebook about their achievements not because they think they are "top shit" or necessarily want to throw off their competitors....for a newbie age grouper, its not about that.  

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: This weekend will be Shepparton 70.3 - my 3rd half Ironman event (2nd Shepparton 70.3). Looking forward to kicking small PBs (Personal Bests) even if it is just feeling more comfortable pre race, during the swim, during the ride and fingers crossed, during the 3 laps of the run course.

I think I am in Taper Town....

I can't believe it has come down to this again....taper town. I have a half Ironman in 8 more days (7 more sleeps) and I honestly don't know how I feel about it. I know my mind and body can finish a half Ironman (1.9km swim, 90km ride and a 21.1km run) - I am just slightly worried about how my knees will hold up. I do want to finish this.

Post Noosa (Olympic Distance), I am still limping 7 days after the race. Its all to do with the inflammation and bleeding behind the left knee cap which has been more annoying than my previous shin splints.

I haven't been running since the 10km as part of the triathlon other than doing a few water running sessions since I have been back in Melbourne. I will stick with the water running and seeing the physio sometime next week for a pre-race prep and to purchase more kinesio tape (or knee brace) to hold these bloody (no pun intended) knees together.

I can't believe that this time next week, I would have done my pre-race re-con of the course, picked up my registration pack (the Shep packs are always awesome), racked my bike in transition and maybe even taken a pre dinner nap. Between now and next Sunday, I still have the following sessions:

Sunday - I will either do a ride (90km) or a few hours on the windtrainer (see how the weather Gods are feeling), go to Elwood for the Shepparton de-brief, head home to watch the Noosa highlights at 1:30pm...
Monday - Swim in the morning, work
Tuesday - Small water running session, work, windtrainer
Wednesday - Swim in the morning, work (or swim in the afternoon)
Thursday - Small water running session, work, combo (most likely be a small session, maybe one last open water swim)
Friday - drive to Shepparton, bike course re-con, maybe a swim
Saturday - bike course re-con, register, rack bike in transition
Sunday - Race Day...

In my non-triathlon life, I am also moving house in a few weeks so I will need to do some sorting, throwing out of crap and packing before the start of December (officially get keys on the 2nd Dec). I am looking forward to this move as I will get a garage (hello bike racks!!!), a dishwasher (hello real kitchen space!!!), a bar (hello triathlon supplements corner!!), a study (hello triathlon/sports room!!) and just generally not having the stress of packing multiple bags if I want to spend time with the Canadian. Words cannot describe how excited I am about getting a dishwasher.

After Shepparton, I will have 2 more races in my 2013-2014 calendar, namely Challenge Melbourne and the big one - Ironman Melbourne. The good thing about the new year is that I will also get my health insurance benefits back and start claiming for massages which are mandatory for Ironman.

Shuffling my way through Shep...

I have also received an addition to my bike-kids family. I have now a mountain bike (a Giant Arete) to play with post Ironman. The CX bike is still in the factory in Taiwan but I am in no rush in getting it into the house. I am looking forward to riding these bikes for the love of riding (rather than the prescribed hours as per program).