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.
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.
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.
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)
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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.
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