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).