Weekly Reflection 19/05 - 25/05

Last week was pretty hectic - balancing (work) work, life, my side project and training. As I had mentioned before, I have started to get a few things ready for my new adventure. It is not really ready for announcement yet as I am trying to get a few administrative things done.

I didn't have a chance to soak my legs post Sunday's run session and I had DOMS pretty much for 3 days after that. It was only a 9km run and I had DOMS for days - what does that tell you about my fitness? A big CRAP!

So I picked up my Triathlon Truck on Tuesday 20th. It took me nearly 2 days to get used to driving a compact SUV compared to my VW golf. I love the height of the vehicle! On the weekend, I had my bike at the back and there was no need to take the front wheel off! Such a bonus. I am still getting used to driving an auto (been driving manuals since I was 18), the keyless entry and the i-Stop thing...which means that in traffic (or whenever I have the brakes one), the engine of the car stops but starts up again when I have the foot off the brake.

On the training side of things, I haven't been attending the squad swims but have been following the program to a T on my own at GESAC. As we are working on the technique side of things for the next few weeks, I am comfortable about doing these sessions on my own. After camp, I will start the swims again at Northcote/MSAC/Mentone.

Long ride on Saturday was from Hampton Cycles down to Frankston BP and back. The ride was OK, I did struggle with calf cramps when I was advised to work on my stroke (heels down more). It was a pain as I was struggling to keep up whilst I cramped.

Had my first run session on Sunday with Rupert. After the warm up and drills, we learnt the difference between the 4 interval styles of running:

1) Intensive - Short Sprints with long rest
2) Extensive - Longer Sprints within a certain time (once you reach there, your rest time is whatever you gave left within that time frame).
3) Fartlek - Run plays - This is on and off but still running (no stationary or walking rests)
4) Tempo - slightly faster than the long run pace but constant speed.

I was definitely comfortable with the Tempo but struggled with the first 3. My speed was definitely MIA.

Favourite (and Least Favourite) session of the week: Loved my run session on Sunday - Learning the basics and hopefully learn to run faster. I am running with Rupert too on the Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings (when I am not coaching) so I am aiming to keep running as consistent as possible.

When we were doing sprints and fartlek, I was not comfortable at all - my heart rate was high, I just couldn't move my limbs fast. Just really weak in general.

Advice of the week: Time to get some specific strength training into my schedule again. This includes squats and leg presses.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: Aiming to attend a full week's training and ticking off the sessions.

There is no Off-Season...

We (at Tri Alliance) had our first Team Meeting last night. We always have several team meetings every year at different phases of the season. We are just getting into the swing of training (after recovery month) and we let the team know what is happening and how to be your best come race season.

A few things to note, we don't like to call the next few months of training the Off Season as it suggests that we don't do much of the training. We like to refer it as the Winter Training season.

We need to remember the following:

• Having just come off your last race a few months ago and you have now recovered, your body is not performing at its peak so do not despair if a 5km run feels like shit.
• Learn to train slow in order to race fast - this is all about bringing all you need to do down to the basics.
• Swimming - drills, rotations, sculling
• Biking - single legs, pedal stroke position, saddle position
• Running - drills, posture, how your feet land
• S&C - working on your glutes, core, balance
• Don't stray away from the program - if you need to change things around due to work/life commitments, speak to the coaches so you will get a balanced week of training rather than second guessing what sessions to do.
• Stay Consistent - it is the key to everything.
• Eat/Fuel Well - once the sessions get longer, learn what your body can and can't handle (then adjust)
• Sleep - get as much rest as possible. I personally find that if I prepare as much as possible during the weekend, I am able to go to sleep early during the week.
• You are training to race, not race to train.

I wasn't able to joining to long course guys when we broke out into the respective groups as I was coach for the beginners group. We went through some of the key points with the squad who are beginners and emphasised that as long as they stick to the program, make themselves accountable (share your goals with family and friends) and be consistent, they will do fantastic during race season.

My advice to beginners is choose your races wisely, don't do every race on the calendar. Quality over quantity. What is your aim for the season? Ask as many questions as possible.

For me, I will have a few weeks left of transition period before we go into the full training calendar (which includes Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning sessions). Need to work on my strength and endurance in cycling so I can get through the Gran Fondo well and to work on my running so I can speed things up a tad rather than just plod my way through the course.

I haven't had time to update on my side project yet as I still need to get the details down. Pretty much what I am doing is hand-making some cycling wares. At the moment, its cycling caps and musettes (not that popular in the triathlon world) but huge in cycling.

I have set up the email, twitter and facebook accounts and once I get paid, I will organise for a domain name.

Weekly Reflection 12/05 - 18/05

Last week was a great week! I am still on a high from my little project which started on Friday night and eventuated on Sunday evening with a blue print to my final product. See....I have been venturing back to my crafty days of sewing. I have mentioned before about the person I use to be before triathlon training...one of the things I didn't mention was how I use to be really crafty and would make everything from scratch. Anyways, I will update this blog later on the project.

Meanwhile, in the training side of things, getting back into the routine of training on a daily basis has proven to be more harder (not as easy) as I thought even though this is my 3rd year of long course training.

Due to the hectic weekend which consisted of my first off road event, going to Geelong for the MDC and then driving all the way back to Melb for a gathering, I was pooped and needed the sleep in. I decided to do my own swim in the afternoon by myself but did as much of the program as I could.

The next day was a write off. Due to my allergies, I was sneezing too much and burst a vessel in my nasal cavity and didn't go into work or did any training due to a bleeding nose. Sexy, I know. Did my own swim TT on the Wednesday night as I couldn't make it into Northcote in the morning and came out with a 1km TT of 22:08. This is my slowest 1km swim TT but I didn't really expect much - I hadn't been doing any strength work or much swimming over the last 6 weeks. I also had someone else in my lane which wasn't doing a swim TT but luckily we didn't clash. My tumble turns started off well but ended in a mess by the end of the 1km swim - was just a case of CBF.

I thought I was going to be picking up my new car on Thursday afternoon so I didn't plan on attending my run TT. The car thing didn't eventuate so I missed out on running as well as a new car - double boo. I would have had to do a 5km TT as I doubt that I am able to run 10km in under an hour at this point.

I rode with the Bicycle Superstore shop ride on the Friday morning. We started at the shop at 6:45am and instead of turning around with them at St Kilda BP, I continued into work. Luckily there was a Northerly as my legs still felt like they were made out of lead so the ride home in the afternoon was more comfortable.

Long ride with the squad on the Saturday - remind me again to not ride close to the front. Riding at 35km/hr is not sustainable for me. Even had two "pushes" from Coach Ollie as I couldn't keep up. I couldn't drink nor take in nutrition when I was with this group - too much for me! I decided to drop back as I was cramping up bad and rode by myself until a few other squad guys caught up with me. We then rode back into Elwood as a tight group and even had rolling turns at a comfortable and sustainable pace (into the head wind).

I was planning on running from ELSC on the Sunday before joining Kerri's yoga session but I decided to run from home instead so I was able to take a shower before yoga. The plan was a 9km run and for the first 6km, it was fine. I was running at a slow pace but I didn't stop. The last 3km was uncomfortable, I stopped to take breaks and walked. It was my first long run session for the season and I felt tired and very unfit. I then took a quick shower before I headed off to ELSC for the fund raising yoga session.

Favourite session of the week: I really enjoyed my Sunday yoga session (with Karen). It showed that even though I am pretty flexible, I needed to stretch as I was tightening up from training and the lack of massages. I couldn't hold much of the warrior poses as my quads were burning.

Kerri's fund raising page can be found here:

https://italiandolomites.everydayhero.com/au/kerri

I used to do the sun salutation yoga in the morning. I think I will do it again and try to make it a habit.

Least favourite session of the week: My long run on Sunday - made me feel unfit, slow, tired, sore and generally negative about running as a whole. I really have so much to do to be comfortable with running again. Hoping that the run technique course I am doing will help me in the right direction.

Advice of the week: Do what you love - this goes for my side project. I will go into detail when I have my business plan down pat. As for running, it is not something which I love at the moment but when I am comfortable with it (and it has happened a few times before), the feeling you get is amazing!

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: Fingers crossed that I will pick up my car sometime this week. I am also looking forward to my first run technique session on Sunday. I am looking forward to anything that will help my running at the moment.

Dirty Gran Fondo - Professional Pics

I bought some professional photos from the official photographer from the Dirty Gran Fondo event. To put things into perspective, I have yet to purchase my Ironman Melbourne photos! I am more proud of this event as it was something completely out of my comfort zone and it was also my first off-road event.

These were purchased from James Taylor's website.

At the start of the race. I remember trying to keep up with these ladies.
Unfortunately, I was dropped like a sack of potatoes

This was the top of the first hill climb.
I am only smiling here as there was a camera present.

Alright, no more smiling for the camera, now keep on going.....chug chug chug chug

See how much mud there was on my ass....that was only the beginning!

This was taken just before the finish line.
 See the smile on my face - yeah, realised it was the finish line and I actually made it.

Weekly Reflection 05/05 - 11/05

Last week was my first official week back into triathlon training and this is my first official Weekly Reflection entry for this season.

During the transition phase of the calendar, we programmed in 2 sessions per week for each discipline. This excludes the strength and conditioning training which we are suppose to be doing on the side. Because of the Dirty Gran Fondo event on Saturday the 10th, I thought I would add an extra session in there on the bike and so I commuted into work on my CX bike instead of doing the swim on the Wednesday.

The single swim session was done on my own at GESAC on Monday afternoon as I wasn't game enough for the Monday morning swim at Mentone. I coached the Tuesday windtrainer session on Tuesday afternoon which was refreshing - a 35min session instead of the 2 hour sessions we did during peak training for Ironman.

I did my first run session on Thursday night with Rupert in Mentone. My first run session since Ironman. We ran down to Beach Road and did drills in the car park. We did 2 x 10min T3 pace as the main set which could be tricky along the dirt paths through the bushes. For the 2nd set, I ran along the side of the road as I am not good with uneven grounds and for the sake of my safety (this needs another blog entry). All in all, we ran about 7km and it was a good set to ease my legs back into running. I wore my new Newtons shoes for this session and my quads and calves really felt it the next day.

No long run this week as I will be doing the Mothers Day Classic in Geelong.

Favourite session of the week: Dirty Gran Fondo

 

Least favourite session of the week:The first run session back really did hurt (lungs and legs)

Advice of the week: Easier said than done, I should have kept moving during recovery month. I say it year after year but I never do.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: There are a few things on this week which I am looking forward to. Firstly, a yoga session with Kerri's sister. I went to the first one a few months ago, raising money for Smiling for Smiddy. Secondly, I may be getting my new car too. It will be more "tri-friendly".

The (Very) Dirty Gran Fondo - The Event Report

On 10th May 2014, I did my first off road event (ever!). I have mentioned about this event before the day after I signed up. The days leading up to it was filled with nerves and uncertainty. I have only had 2 rides on my mountain bike - both at Lysterfield with mixed results. Both around 14km and completed just shy of 2 hours.

There were 3 distances for this event. The 90km, the 65km and then the 35km which was the one which I signed up to do due to my ability (or lack thereof).

The day started out early. Registration started at 6:45am and we decided to get there early so we could also prep our bikes. I currently don't have roof racks so the 2 bikes (one small 26" mountain bike and one very large cyclocross) were disassembled and placed in the back of my VW golf. We left the house (Cheltenham) at 5:15am and got to Wandong Football grounds by 6:30am. Registration was pretty straight forward - What is your race number? Here is your race number, done.

Start of the day - event briefing - all smiles

Random dog who decided to take shelter from the rain in our car.

It had been raining since Friday night and continued early Saturday morning and so the grounds were wet and muddy. It was hard to decide what to wear - should I cater for wet weather? cater for comfort as riding warms me up quick? I decided early to wear a rain jacket as there were still showers present. I also wore ear warmers under my Solo riding cap. The briefing started at 7:45am, the ride started at 8am.

We were told to self seed ourselves and I started at the back as I am more comfortable with my own personal space. The first few km were good. It was wet and it took me a while to be comfortable about finding the best line.

The rain tore up some nice paths for us to ride through. When I mean nice, I mean mud several inches thick. I tried to ride through the mud-fest as much I as could. This meant pedalling my little legs out like crazy whilst trying to keep the bike perpendicular to the surface. I kept pedalling until a point where the mud was several inches deep and there was a steep incline. My bike could not move any longer and this was the first part of the course where I had to walk the bike. I also decided before I got back on the bike that I would take off my rain jacket and my ear warmers as I was getting too hot. I knew this part of the course would damage people's bikes as further on the course, I saw hangers, brake pads and even a whole cassette!

Rear wheel. Relatively OK

We were warned about the steep descent at the 8km mark and when I reached it, I hopped off the bike in order to push the bike down. There was no way I could ride down that descent, I would have face planted as I had no idea how to manoeuvre myself down what felt like -25% gradient with plenty of rocks to add to the character.

#BAAW - Annie after the event. Not as muddy due to the rides through puddles.

Once I walked the bike down the road, it was time to hop back on, albeit quite difficult due to the mud caked within my cleats, pedals, brakes, wheels and cranks. I was getting slightly worried at this point as I had been out on the road for nearly an hour and I had only covered 9km. The next few kilometers were good, I found a rhythm and even passed a few people whilst we rode up a few inclines. I noticed around this point that the course with the wet conditions was more suited for mountain bikers rather than cyclocross. We then reached a turn off on the course and started with a gradient of 30% (ave 12%) , I couldn't pedal up this hill no matter how much I tried. It was a tough walk and what seemed like an eternity. I was however entertained by the signs the event organisers placed along the side.

Once we reached the top of the hill, it was a lonely ride amongst the fog and light drizzle until we reached the first feedzone, my halfway mark. I didn't stop for too long here, only filled up my water in my camelbak and ate half a banana. They had a smorgers board here, I saw cheesymite scrolls, cheesecakes, lollies and oreos but didn't have any. At that point (2 hours in), I was in no mood to stop for a picnic and I wasn't sure how my guts would handle real food and there were no toilet stops on the course.

The rest of the course was more fun and manageable. There were some tricky descents but I gained more confidence along the way and rode through them by picking good lines. I rode through some large puddles to clean the mud off my bike but there were some puddles which I had underestimated the depth and my feet were completely immersed.

The final hill came as a real surprise. I pedalled my way up and stayed on the bike the whole way through. At the 27km mark, the route brought us to the loose bitumen road. This part was tricky. I had been fighting the mud flying into my eyes for the first 20km+ but now I had to avoid the bitumen pieces for the next 1km.

The last 6km of the course was the best. Not sure if it was due to the fact that I knew that I was on the way to the finish line or it was because my skills and confidence had increased. There were puddles and mud again (as it was the same path as the one we rode out) but the ride back was much faster.
The very last part of the course took you to a narrow bitumen road before the finishers chute.

I was ecstatic when I crossed the finish line. I made it out to be a bigger deal than it was. It was my first off road event and I had only done a few 14km rides before this day. I couldn't believe that I made my way through the mud and climbed all those hills (glutes still burning today).

There were hot showers available and I got myself cleaned before I hosed the bike down as much as I could and waited a few hours for my partner to come through (he rode the 90km).

The Canadian - much muddier than me.

Things I learnt from this event:

• Mud goes through chamois. As much as some part of the course scared me, my knicks looked like I crapped myself.
• How to handle a mountain bike - it's gears, brakes and speed. Bike skills getting better.
• Carrying a camelbak for hydration worked better than bottles on the bike, especially if eating mud is not part of the recommended diet.
• I need glasses to wear for mountain biking. I didn't have clear ones and spent some time on the ride trying to blink the mud and bitumen out.
• I didn't come DFL - I actually placed 9th out of 15. Fastest was 2:43, my time was 3:51 and the 15th was 4:48. I rode the mountain bike which made it easier. I know that the females who finished after me all rode with cyclocross (credit to them). I stopped for nutrition and had a 5min break at the feedzone.

I loved this event. It was fun and I managed through it unscathed. Will I sign up for another one? In a heart beat! Depending on how I go in the next 12 months, I might sign up for the 65km or I might do the 35km again but on the CX bike.

Thanks to the event organisers.

My Strava can be seen here.

Goals for 2014/15

I am coming towards the end of my "recovery month". I had already spoken briefly about my goals for the next season before. Next week will be the start of transition week into the training schedule for the squad.

Like every athlete, I do have strengths and weaknesses. Not everything about strengths and weaknesses about the swim, bike and the run. Different from the last 2 years of training, I won't be doing a full Ironman within the next season. I will be doing a few 1.9/90/21.1km races with a few shorter distances thrown in for fun.

Here are a few things I would like to work on over the winter months to get me ready for the events ahead.

Cycling
I am going to do the a Gran Fondo ride in Canada in September. As much as I won't be racing this event, I would still want to get through the route well. There are hills (it is a Gran Fondo after all) and so it would be a matter of working on the strength on the bike and be more confident in descents.

What does this mean in Evalin's land, more hilly rides over winter. If the weather is shocking and my anxiety is too much to handle, assess early and rearrange training times and stick to it. I may need to get out later in the day or swap training days around.

Remain consistent with the windtrainer sessions on Tuesday evenings and when the Thursday morning rides happen again, be more vigilant and attend these sessions, even when I can't stick to the pack.

On the non-tri-related side of cycling...do at least one mountain bike ride a fortnight. This will help me with my bike skills as well as keeping my training fun. If I can, commute to work at least once a fortnight - this is something which I have enjoyed immensely over the last month.

My goal is to be able to ride < 3hrs during a half distance triathlon. This requires that my average speed needs to be > 31km/hr over the full 90km. 

Swimming
I will start official swim training on 3rd May 2014. I have used the program from the previous years (been with the squad since 2010) on my own. I wasn't sure if the Mentone squad would be swimming with the Tri Alliance program and wasn't in the motivation/mood to do a proper swim session just yet.

I am pretty comfortable with swimming and where it has advanced over the years. I do however want to work on my speed (strength and endurance).

My goal is to be able to swim < 35min for a 1.9km as part of a half distance triathlon.

Running
Over the last 12 months, my enthusiasm for Tuesday morning runs at MSAC were non-existent to the point where I only attended 2 sessions before the Bayside ones started (also only attended 3 of those). With the sessions being more available around Mentone, this will make it more convenient for me to attend as well as decreasing travel time in between work, home and training.

I may need to work on the basics again with some Run Technique work as well as turning up to Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon sessions more consistently. With regards to running events, I haven't committed myself to Run Melbourne or Melbourne Marathon events yet. I might look at the smaller running events to save money as well as gauging how I will be travelling towards my goal.

Remember throughout the year that my main goal for 2014/15 is to run under 2 hours for 21.1km (after swimming 1.9km and riding 90km). One thing I need to monitor will be monitoring and management of my injuries. Achieving this goal is not easy for me. It took me 3 years of running half marathons to get a sub 2 hour (1:58) a few years ago. I have not been able to achieve it since.

 

Apart from having Challenge Shepparton and Challenge Melbourne as my main races of 2014/15, I am looking forward to doing the corporate triathlon in March (400m/10km/4km). There will most likely be an Olympic distance tri in Dec/Jan, looking forward to cracking the 3 hour mark again.

For a half ironman-distance race, a goal of under 6 hours is on the cards. Close to 5:45 would be a goal to aim for with cycling and running as my main areas of improvement.