Shepparton 70.3 - 2013 Entry Confirmed



Locked it in. 17th November 2013. Both Entry and Accomodationpaid for.

Goal time 5:50 - Bring it!

Geelong LC - Getting familiar with you....

Monday 28th Jan was a public holiday for all of Australia as the 2013 Australia Day fell on a weekend. I decided to spend some of the long weekend (post Sunday's run session) at Geelong with the family and do a short course reconnaissance on the Monday with a few Tri Alliance and ETPA friends.

Having done the Geelong Olympic Distance last year, I remembered the course being not as flat as I liked. My OD time for Geelong was about 10min slower than Noosa but this was also attributed to a longer swim course and a wet (therefore careful) ride.

It was also the maiden voyage of my race wheels which took 9 weeks to arrive. I also researched into cassette sizes to put on these wheels and opted for 11-25 as I already had 11-26. Having 2 different size cassettes gave me the ability to swap them around if I needed to. I had the cassette tightened on the race wheels on Saturday so it was ready to rock and roll.

We did about a 35km loop without riding into the salt marshes of Point Henry Rd but we did ride up (and down) the hill. Due to my long run on Sunday, I had restless legs on Sunday night and they still refused to play nice on Monday. The ride along the course was not the best and I was clearly struggling. It was only a supposed to be a nice and cruisey re-con ride and I was building up lactic acid too soon, too often in the legs and was not able to keep up.

We then rode through the run course on the way back into Eastern Beach before changing into our run gear for a quick trot around the park. We only did a 3km run (I trotted/jogged/walked) but every elevation (especially the incline) could be felt - I was not having a great day. I do hope that I will have fresh legs for the race in about 1.5 weeks, if not, this event will be a very long and painful day.

Whilst I was packing my bike into my car prior to the run, I noticed the grease had come out of the hubs on the back (race)wheel - hope that this is just the excess grease removing itself from the hub otherwise, it will be a very annoying process of getting it sorted with the wheel distributor.

Due to the Sailing Festival at Geelong that day, we could not do a swim re-con as the boats were in the path of the course. We would not be able to swim in a straight line and it would be unsafe for us to be swimming amongst them We just ended up swimming about 700m around the Swimming Enclosure. There was so much seaweed and spiky things along the sea bed that all of us refrained from touching the bottom as much as we could which made for a funny end to our training day as we were laughing so much.

We will hear more from the coaches about how the Ironman Melbourne group tackle the Geelong weekend - what our tapering and recovery strategy will be (if any). This is not our A race but we need to manage our bodies so it is in tip-top condition for Ironman.

I opted out of the Tuesday am run due to abdominal pains but continued with the 90min intense windtrainer session on Tuesday pm (burnt over 1000Cals). This morning was a 90min pool swim and will be doing a quick (about 1km-1.5km) OWS prior to coaching some of the Try the Tri and Nissan Corporate Triathlon athletes this evening. Thursday will be a double session (am Run, pm SB Combo), Friday am Swim before spending some long hours on the saddle on Saturday. We are still sorting out logistics for Sunday - plan A is to do our usual long run at Fairfield at 8am or plan B - run at Sandringham early (say 6am) prior to supporting the Sandringham Olympic Distance tri.

The Highs and Lows

It has been said that the hardest part of the Ironman Journey is the actual training and the highs and lows you will experience along the way. No doubt about it, training for the Ironman (or any long course-multi sport event) is tough. Whoever said that training is a piece of cake in my opinion, is not doing it right or they have much assistance along the way (not having to juggle full time work, family and have plenty of outside assistance).
I know for a fact that personally, I will (and have) experienced both highs and lows so far in this journey and sometimes, this can (and has) occurred over a 24 hour period.

Warning, the following will include female issues, if you feel uncomfortable, jump to ***
In addition to training for an Ironman, issues relating to my female monthly body works have played a havoc on me since I increased my training load over the last 10 months to long course.
I had never really had much of an issue with these since it started but the impacts of it have sometimes become more unbearable on certain times of the month. I have started to take note on my energy levels, performance, pain threshold as well as recovery times and I have noticed patterns and how they impact one another.

On good days, I find that my (training) pain threshold have been higher and able to push through sessions at greater intensity and for a longer duration in time. On bad days, I find simple things like being on the bike, very uncomfortable on my core muscles, hips and lower back. On these days, I still do the session but I may cut it short or lower the intensity. On really really bad days, I just jump on the windtrainer as I am able to stop (safely) and manage the pain away from the general public. In addition, I have also started to manage the pain with medication but only as a last resort.

***On Saturday, I had on my program, a 140km ride. As it was recovery week, the distance was slightly shorter than the previous. I started my ride once again at 4am from my house, riding towards Mordialloc and then up towards Port Melbourne prior to meeting the group at North Rd, Brighton at 6am. As much as people think I am crazy to be starting my ride so early in the morning, I actually enjoy it immensely:

• No large pelotons on the road (yet) to ride dangerously past me or yell out for me to get out of their way
• No egos to deal with
• Barely any cars on the road, less stress
• I am able to ride solo and work on my own tempo, pace and technique

Early morning rides are nice but I had a little shock to my system when a fox charged at me around Ricketts Point after I turned around at Mordialloc. As I rode along, I could see the fox from about 500m away, it was running towards me and at the last minute, it decided to leap upwards at me with its mouth opened (I could see teeth). Luckily, I somehow anticipated that it was going to do something like that and swerved my bike wide towards the right (onto the oncoming lane) and only narrowly missed it. Luckily no cars were around at that time in the morning or else it would have been a visit to the hospital.

By the time I met up with the group at 6am, I had already completed 50km. For a 140km, the ride would be with the group (until I get dropped - this happens everytime) and then turn the bike around Mt Eliza way. Due to my body not feeling 100%, I turned around at Frankston BP and made my trip home. My 140km ride became 115km. The rest of the day was spent in bed with a heat pack on my hips. This was a low day but I did what I could.

Sunday's program was a 24km endurance run at Fairfield/Studley Park with Coach Greg. Sunday runs had become one of my favorite sessions as I could see improvements in my running abilities. I have not missed this session since I started in June 2012 unless it was a non-coached or it was race weekend.

We did our usual 5km warm up run around Fairfield Park. I will usually start out running with the group but I tend to drop back as I am not able to keep up with the main group's warm up run pace (which is around 5min/km - I am slow).  I like to think of it as doing the group a favour - they get to have a little rest prior to me catching up with them to be brief by Coach Greg about the day's main set.

Instead of a standard 18-19km of endurance running (of which 50% of it must be faster than marathon pace as per program), Coach Greg made it into a Fartlek set at which our on is done at our faster than marathon pace and the recovery part was running at recovery pace back towards Greg and then start again.

Greg asked me what my marathon run pace (plan) was for Ironman. I honestly told him that I would be lucky if I could hold  under 7min/km pace on the day. He laughed and said that I should be able to do much better and so he set my on pace at 5:30min/km for 2km. He then mixed it up and for some parts of the set, I was asked to do 5:10 for 1km and then 6min/km for 3km. The set was not an easy one but I enjoyed it. It pushed me through my pain threshold and set a new benchmark in my speed and endurance limits. This run session was a success - a high. Next Sunday's run will be increased to 26km which will be my longest run (in a single session) to date.

After the run, it was a 15min soak in icy water in the bathtub at the same time, drinking my Optimizer for my recovery nutrition which has been working for me for the last few months. I have been routinely buying my 2 bags of ice in Clifton Hill on the way home from the run as cold water from the tap is not cold enough for any relief.

My legs and hips are currently still feeling the effects of Sunday and dealing with the other issues (prior to ***). I think I must schedule a massage on a Monday morning on a regular basis (until I finish my Ironman) so I am able to carry on the next week's training without any hiccups.

Consistency, Comfort and Control

With all my training nowadays is done towards my A-Race (Ironman Melbourne) on the 24th March 2013, I have not realised that my next race is coming up very soon - Geelong Long Course on the 10th Feb 2013 (in 18 days).

The coaches have advised me to take this race as a training day and as much as I can, practice my pace/plan for the big race. I am also using this race to refine and correct some of my race strategies. These include:

Practice race nutrition from Start to Finish. During Shepparton, I stopped taking gels with 10km left to go on the run as my stomach had enough of gels for the day. During training, this hasn't been an issue on the bike or the run so far. Race day nutrition also includes what I take in for recovery. Fingers crossed that my nutrition on race day goes well.

Comfort vs Time. I will see how riding without socks will go. During my long rides on Saturday (up to 6 hours so far), I have been riding with socks but during windtrainer sessions, I don't. The blisters are no longer forming so we will see how riding 90km without socks will go. I will do a few rides without socks on Saturday to see what my threshold will be.I have been doing my long rides with knicks on and this is something which I am still sticking to for Geelong. I must remember to take off cycling knicks before putting on running shoes!

Course Familiarisation

A lesson learnt from Shepparton was that I need to be familiar with my transition area from both ends of the rack (rookie mistake). The racks at Shepparton were not labelled on both ends and were not of the same length so I ended up running up the wrong aisle which increased by T2 time by 30-45sec. Small mistake and 30 seconds is not a long time but it adds frustration to an already heart pounding day.

Having done the Olympic distance triathlon there last year, I am ok with the course - the swim is in the bay (saltwater) and it is fairly sheltered. The ride was tricky through the park but I would think to be more manageable on a dry day. The run course is slightly different compared to last year. I am certain that my times will not be faster than Shepparton but hopefully not too much longer.

Training
So far, its been really consistent and I am even surprising myself in this!! Not the consistency part but how I am adapting to it. Last week was Build Week#2 which had double sessions 4 days a week.

Swim - swam (either pool or open water) 4 days a week as part of the first timer Ironman program (I think I may have clocked up 12km)
Bike - Spent upwards of 9 hours on the saddle (on the road and trainer)
Run - Up to 40km running which consisted of a few km off the bike, speed/interval set on Thursday and the strength/endurance set on Sunday

The most important thing (and the one which I am the most grateful for) is that I have recovered from each session well and better than my previous years of training (on a lesser load). Icing and compression of my legs along with regular massages have helped in prevention of injuries.

I admit that I have become (more) anti-social than normal. Most weekends, I have a nap after my long ride (I finish around 10am as I start around 4am), see the family if they need me and then have an early night on Saturday. After Sunday runs, I go straight home to eat, ice the legs and then have a nap to recover before waking up in the afternoon to pack for the next week. I know that without my naps, I will not be fully recovered and be ready to attack the next week's training along with full time work.

Race Weight

Although I am seeing my clothes starting to become loose again (pre Shepparton), my weight has not gone down from 58kg. This is due to the increase of muscle mass (well I bloody hope it is) and I am sure that the scales will start to go back down again the more I train. I am familiar with the pattern as I see it season after season. Race weight goal is still 55kg.

Schedule for the rest of the week - As this is recovery week, we have an optional 7-10km run in the morning with a SBR combo session in the afternoon, endurance swim followed by the Northgroup Breakfast at our favorite post swim cafe Penny Farthing Espresso on Friday. Saturday will be a 140km ride and I have decided to not do the Australia Day swim and follow the program. Why pay $50 to swim 2km (Williamstown)? On Sunday will be the strength/endurance run at Fairfield with Coach Greg and then I will travel to Geelong to be with the family and do some familiarisation training on the Monday (Australia Day public holiday).

Geelong Long Course - 18 days
Ironman Melbourne - 60 days

Feeling very positive at the moment about my life - Work, Friends, Family, Training, Geelong, Ironman!

Advice from the Coaches (for the Ironman) and Update

Practice Race Nutrition on Long Rides and Long Runs

On Tuesday night (15th) Tri Alliance held our first Team Meeting for 2013. Some of the things which spoke about:

• New membership structures
• Smiling for Smiddy
• New race kits

We then broke into our respective (program) groups so we can discuss our training and take on any advice from the coaches. As part of Ollie's plans for me, this was my first group discussion with the Ironman crew as previously to last night, I was training as part of the Half Ironman program (leading up to Shepparton).

Coach Greg took this group and reiterated the following:

• How important the long endurance rides and runs are on Saturday and Sunday
• Ride solo as much as you can - ride at your own pace. Don't ride at someone else's pace - this is your training for your own race.
• Importance of recovery (sleep), massage and nutrition
• Practice your nutrition strategy - there are no bakeries, pubs or service stations on the course for competitors to stop to buy food. OK for toilet and water top ups.
• Swim 3 times a week (exc open water session as part of combo Thursday)
• It is OK to break up the (endurance) distances over a day but the distance must be slightly longer - e.g. a 20km run can be broken down to 12km in the morning and then 10km in the afternoon if you are time poor - if possible, do longer one first and shorter one later in the day.
• Every coach/squad will have their own Ironman programs and may be structured differently but their principles should be similar - don't mix programs (use one).
• In a few weeks, we will do a swim and run on the course (Sunday) but for now, work on strength in running (hill work).
• Speak to the coaches if you are not meeting any of the program but it is not important to do the distances exact - e.g. if the program states 150km ride and you only did 148km, no need to ride around the block a few times to make up the remainder - it has no benefit.
• If you can feel a niggle coming - attend to it as soon as possible. Don't shop for physios too quickly, you will need their methods/processes to take time to work
• BE CONSISTENT - turn up to the sessions. If you are tired or not feeling 100%, assess early (not when the alarm goes off) - either have a good sleep (for healing purposes or recovery) or do a light session. Learn to distinguish between laziness and fatigue.

So far, I have completed a week of training (on the Ironman) program with full time work. It hasn't been easy (I just want to nap during my lunch break). This week was Build Week 2 and next week is recovery week (lighter sessions, no days off). I had done my longest ride to date (150km, started at 4am) and a 21km hilly run last weekend. My legs were fatigued on Sunday but not as bad as the week before.

Monday - am Swim (pool), pm Pilates Reformer
Tuesday - am Brick - ride followed by run (due to Team meeting in pm) - rolled ankle at 3km mark of run.
Wednesday - pm 2km swim by myself followed by 1km with beginners - open water swim at Elwood
Thursday - am Run, pm 2km OWS followed by 90min on the trainer (40 degree day - hawt!)
Friday - am Swim (pool)

This weekend is another 150km ride (again starting at 4am) and then heading to Geelong to be with family. Sunday will be a 7am run at Fairfield with Coach Greg - may be covering up to 22km.

On a side note - changing my crankset to a 53/39 as per Coach's advice. Currently the 52/38 on a 650c is not ideal for Ironman. Due to my compact cranks (110mm BCD), I have to change the crankset so that I will have the option to upgrade to a 54T outer ring (130mm BCD) for Melbourne if I need to. Crank length will also be changed from 170mm to 165mm to open up the hip and the seat height will also be required to increase by 5mm. - Its expensive (and a pain in the ass) being short!!

Perspective & Gratitude for the Ironman

During my (hilly) endurance run over the weekend (13th Jan), I spoke to one of our squad members who had been racing triathlons over 20 or so years and this year he will be racing his first Ironman distance triathlon (IM Melb). I queried why this was his first and I learnt something from him that day. Previously, you actually had to qualify to do an full Ironman (3.8km/180km/42.2km) distance triathlon by racing in sanctioned half ironman races and finish it at a very fast time close to the 5 hour mark. We are not talking about Kona World Championships here, we are talking about sanctioned Ironman distances. I had only been exposed to the sport of triathlon since 2008 (in the sprint distances) and this fact was unknown to me. I think the non-qualifying races came in around 2006-7 (not 100% sure and will need to do more researching into the history).

I guess this was one of the reasons why the Ironman tattoo held so much significance and regard - back in the day when you had to (first) qualify to race one and then complete it within 17 hours.

I will be racing my first Ironman Distance triathlon in 69 more days (just under 10 weeks) and the fact that I had won a slot into this event - I am grateful that I am able to even be part of the starter's list. I would definitely not be fast enough to qualify (with my first half ironman time of 6:16) back in the day as it is no where near the required qualifying time!

The following regarding Kona, I had known about before last Sunday - you can only be part of the starter's list by the following methods:

• Qualify (means you actually have to be fast at a sanctioned Ironman and some sanctioned Half Ironman distances)
• Lottery slots - 200 (150 for US citizens and 50 or so drawn Internationally)
• Charity slots - by the money you raise (we are talking about significant, not your $1K - $10K) or purchase (upwards of $40K)

He also spoke about how training for his first Ironman is also more enjoyable as we are training to finish this race. He compared it back to the days when he was training for his half - trying to qualify for an ironman slot - it was hard work. It is also less stressful on the body - rather than pushing your body past it's limits to qualify during a half ironman race, you are training to do well. This is the same principle applied to the Ironman Distance (for the majority of triathletes not racing to qualify for Kona) as well - train to do well and finish and enjoy the journey and the actual race day.

The downside to this is that many people do an Ironman race as part of their bucket list within a very short period of their life. Not giving their bodies enough time to adapt to the aerobic requirements. Examples of this can be seen/heard:

• I have done a season of sprint distances and have entered to do my first ironman (within 12 months).
• I have done a marathon and now doing my first ironman
• I have downloaded an "Ironman race in 12 weeks" program and will start training 12 weeks before my ironman race
• I am just doing this as part of a bucket list

There is also nothing wrong with doing an Ironman race as part of a bucket list but people should be realistic about doing this event. Training for an ironman distance (or any long course distance races) needs to be taken into perspective:

• Is your body fit/able enough for training (load)?
• Is your mindset strong enough for you to train long hours and take you over the line (strong enough will power)?
• Do you have enough time (hours in a day/week) to dedicate to training?

As much as people want to be just a finisher for an Ironman Distance triathlon, you do need to put in the hard yards in training to safely complete an Ironman Distance event. It is not a joke, not even the slightest.

Consistent Training over a Realistic Time frame = A Good Race.

Resolutions

I have only ever done the whole "New Years Resolution" thing once (in 2005). It was after a break up of a 4 year relationship and for that New Year, I just wanted to "try everything". It was also a crazy year in terms of going out and partying. Due to the weight gain of 2005, it was also the first year I joined a gym and started to look after my health and fitness.

Since that year, I have alway believed in just changing your lifestyle for the better starting from today rather than waiting for a new year to start the new you. I don't have any thing in particular which I want to introduce/take out for this year but looking back at my lifestyle, I may want to do more of the following:

• Get more remedial and deep tissue massages, especially since I have changed to another insurance provider which caters more for athletes. 
• Eat more fish especially for dinner, reduce red meat portions to twice a week. 
• Be less frugal - throw things away, sell on ebay or give to charity for the things I no longer need
• Spend more time with family since they have moved from Darwin to Geelong
• Be more conscious on my spending on triathlon - as much as I can, only pay for entry fees, memberships, flights and accommodation.
• Commute more on the bike (post Ironman Melb)

In terms of triathlon goals, I will need to reassess and establish more goals for the next season (post 24th March 2013).  I have already ticked off 3 out of 4 of my goals so far with only the Ironman race left to go. 

Roughly, I know that I will have the following:

- Complete an Olympic Distance under 2:45

- Complete a Half Ironman under 6

In 2013, I will also want to save up to $4K before June so I can travel to Canada for a week in July. I do know that I have to also take into account the following things coming up:

- Shepparton Half Ironman Entry - 31st Jan 2013 - approx $400

- Melbourne Ironman Entry - late March or April 2013 - approx $1000

- Bond for rent - approx $2K

Today is also my last day of my holidays and will be back at work on Monday 14th. I have loved my holidays as I lived like full-time athlete - train, eat, sleep, massage, train, sleep repeat almost on a daily basis. The Ironman training load combined with full time work will be a test to me of which I hope that I will be able to manage well. 

Since the 2nd Jan, I have done the following:

Wed 2nd - Swim Pool am, OWS pm

Thur 3rd - Run am, Combo (SBR) pm

Fri 4th - Swim Pool am

Sat 5th - Long Ride

Sun 6th - Long Run

Mon 7th - Swim Pool am

Tues 8th - Run am, Trainer pm

Wed 9th - Swim Pool am

Thur 10th - Run am, Combo (SB) pm

Fri 11th - Swim Pool am

All of the above is in accordance to the program Ollie has set for the first-timer Ironman group. This weekend, I have a 150km+ ride which I will start at 4am and an 18km run on Sunday.

30 days until Geelong Long Course

72 days until Melbourne Ironman