Shaking Things Up

Last week, I decided that I needed to try out more sessions Bayside Tri Club have on offer. I had only attended the Monday and Wednesday pm swim sessions since I joined in April. Their training schedule (can be seen on their website) are:

Monday - pm Swim
Tuesday - am Swim, pm Run
Wednesday - am Road Ride, pm Swim
Thursday - am Spin, pm Run
Friday - am Swim
Saturday and Sunday - long rides, long runs, events, brick sessions

I attended the Tuesday pm run session out at Sandy athletics track for the first time on Tuesday 21st. I didn't perform as high intensity as others as I am slowly getting my run up again. I ended up doing about 8km intervals within the hour.

Thursday am is the 45min spin class at GESAC (where we swim) and the class was pretty good. As it is a short 45min, I will try to put in as much effort as I can. During my first session, I didn't start off with too high resistance or intensity as I wasn't sure how my body would cope. I still had some DOMS from the Tuesday pm run session so it was not the most easiest session for me but I made it. In the next coming weeks, I will push harder gears knowing that I felt comfortable during the first session.

GESAC Spin Room

 I am yet to train during the following sessions:

• Tuesday am Swims
• Wednesday am Road Ride
• Thursday pm Run (not happening until May 7th)
• Friday am Swims
• Saturday and Sunday long runs and rides

Why haven't I done the sessions listed above? The (very honest) reason is my anxiety has been playing up lately. Some nights, I worry about how I would go to the point of having bad nightmares during the night, being woken up in a fright with sweat and a throbbing body and then not being able to fall asleep until 4-5am. This is why I haven't had a chance to try out most of the morning sessions due to bad sleep the night before and worrying. I really need to get over this fear, to just suck it up and just turn up and train!

Easier said than done but I will try my best.

My First Sri Chimnoy - 10km (Race Report)

This morning, I got my ass out of bed and drove through the pouring rain to Princes Park to run 10km for $30. This amount of money might be a lot to dish out for a 10km run when you may say that anyone can just go out and run 10km, why bother paying for that? Well things have changed for me - when running on my own, 10km will not be under 1 hour, it will include plenty of breaks and I currently have no discipline to run at pace.

I chose to run 10km as I am in no shape to run 15km at this point. I will be running 15km at the next Sri Chimnoy event at the end of May.

So it was always on my mind to run 10km at an event this weekend - there are actually plenty of events on but I chose to run Sri Chimnoy for the pancakes - they serve these crepe-like pancakes at the end of their events, it's not all that healthy for you but I don't really care. I left the house at 6:30, hoping to get there anytime between 7 and 7:15 to register as they allowed for on-day registration between 7-7:45. I always arrive early to any events to allow time for bag drops and toilet stops.

I arrived at 7:10 and found a parking spot in front of the registration tent which was good. Went down to the registration area and paid my entry and received my green bib - number 524.

I put on my runners in the car and got all my stuff together and walked down to the toilets before dropping off my bag. We huddled under the tree to stay as dry as possible from the rain. I decided to start with a long sleeve over my running top and this kept me warm. I usually bring something which I am happy to throw away but as this is a small event, they don't have those clothing bin facilities.

The start was around 8:05am and I started off mid-back of the pack. I started off ok - I am sure the pace was faster than what I am comfortable with but I wanted to get out of my comfort zone of under-pacing. The first lap was good and it was my first time around the park. The rain was still around and this made for some muddy paths but it didn't bother me. The City Trail formed part of the run as the whole Princes Park is about 4km or so. Those hills proved to be a tester for me. I promised myself that I would not walk up hills and only walk at the aid stations. Small goals achieved - I jogged up those hills, they hurt but I am glad I didn't give up. I am sure I would have walked up those hills on my 3rd lap if I was running the 15km.

I took my long sleeve off after 5km as I was getting too sweaty. I dropped it off at the Princes Park sign and it seems that many had the same idea before me.

The second lap was good and I am sure that I slowed down around 6-7km due to fatigue. I wasn't sure if my feet were tensing up due to cramps or just because it was cold.

I finished the run under 60min (which was my goal) - coming in at 59:35 Garmin watch time. I am really happy about that considering that I just don't run at a fast speed at all anymore. I am hoping that I am on track for my half marathon goals during winter.

Lessons/Comments

• I had a gel at the beginning - that was enough. I didn't take another gel at every 30min, I thought this was excessive for this distance. 
• I ran with music - something which I haven't done in 3 years. I don't know why but I just wanted to "tune" out for this run. I know my technique might have been shit at some points, oh well. 
• I wore a heart rate monitor for the first time in 3 years - not sure it is working properly or it is stuffing up my data - says I only burnt 106 calories. 

Taking Strength Seriously

Strength work as part of my triathlon training has been missing in action throughout my training career. I am not talking about strength whilst we are swimming, riding or running - this is the strength work which we are suppose to do outside of these sessions. There are several reasons why they have not been part of my routine and I will be honest here:

• Any spare time I have outside of work and training is spent in a horizontal position, resting
• It hasn't been provided outside of swim, bike and run training sessions by a coached session
• I am not being held accountable for my strength training although programs are provided

As I mentioned before under a previous post, I am going to take strength sessions seriously this season as I have set a few drastic goals within the next 6 - 10 months. This includes finishing Challenge Shepparton under 6 hours (easy to achieve for Challenge Melbourne but I don't find Challenge Melbourne enjoyable and it will impact on my next goal) which is to complete 3 Peaks within the time of 13 hours.

I have come close to finishing a half-ironman distance under 6 hours. However, this was only achieved when I was training for my first Ironman. I was consistent in my training as I was stepping into new territory and I was not (yet) fatigued and I was actually doing pilates and some strength work for a few weeks. My cycling, although it was my favourite leg of a triathlon when I first started, have suffered due to my lack of strength and endurance when I am on the saddle for 5+ hours. My attendance in the hills over the winter months of 2014 was minimal due to coaching commitments which I have decided to withdraw from since March 2015.

This season, I have signed up to an actual strength training program with Excite Health and Fitness with regular check-ins and taking into account my goals for the season. I am really looking forward to this journey (starting on Monday 27th April) and will be blogging on how I am going throughout as part of my regular posts.

http://excitehealthfitness.com.au/

Chris from Excite is starting me off with a 12 week strength program consisting of 2 sessions per week. These sessions are tailored around my weaknesses and what I need for my bike strength and lets not forget core.

Looking at the training session on offer from Bayside, I am going to fit these strength sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays - morning or night will depend on my recovery from the day before and also the weather.

I am being held accountable for these sessions as I have to report back to Chris every 4 weeks.I have always been a person who hates to disappoint others, hence the lack in team sports. I am going to make this work as to not make it a waste of time for both parties involved.

Starting from Scratch

Looking back at last week's schedule, I didn't end up ticking off many of my training sessions. I was still broken from my Fondo ride on the 12th April that I didn't go to my swim session on the Monday evening. I had a bit of an anxiety moment on Tuesday morning - having not gone to the run session for 4 weeks, I was worried that I was going to be useless. I ended up just heading back to bed.

Wednesday morning I had an early (7:30am) work commitment in Port Melbourne which meant that I couldn't do any training. I made it to the swim session that night but the session turned out to be a learn to swim session due to incorporating a technique which I was discouraged to do since 2009.

The new coach at Bayside wants me to do the S shape underwater and this is really throwing off all my rhythm, movement, catch, pull - everything! The whole S shape thing under the water is really doing my head in and if I choose not to do it, he picks up on it on EVERY lap I do which is not encouraging for my session. He has even brought in a camera to show me what I am doing wrong. In order to change my technique which is so cemented into my swimming, I am going to have to learn how to swim outside of the sessions just to get my body right. I am finding the S shape throws my balance off big time.

With work commitments in the City and out at Box Hill on Thursday, this meant that I had to put training aside. I caught up with a friend who enjoys bike riding and she was telling me of her Warbuton Trail adventure during Easter and her recent trip to Japan. I am still planning on heading to Japan for 10 or so days in the next few months - it is just a matter of paying off debt and saving up for a plane ticket, kinda hard when my tenant insists on repairs to my unit and I have put more money into repairs than I have received rent in return...I digress. I had planned on dinner with friends out at Box Hill due to my work function which ran from 4pm - 6pm. This was an opening of a building within Box Hill Tafe which gave apprentices a hands-on experience with real Air Conditioning equipment - from chillers through to compressors through to wiring for split systems. I was tired when I got home and didn't end up swimming the next morning.

Saturday was an achievement day. I got myself out of bed to do a ride, albeit around 10am due to rain. I had to talk myself into this ride, trying to convince myself that I needed to do this ride took time. I had to get over the horrific feeling I had from last weekend of not being able to keep up with the group. I rode down to Frankston and rode up Oliver's Hill. This was the first time I had ridden up Oliver's Hill in about 2 years (believe it or not!). I guess my hesitation has been around the coming back down the hill part of the trip. The climb itself was not too bad. I am pretty unfit and relatively weak and that showed when I finally reached the top of the hill and I was inhaling like no tomorrow. I then rode up Humphreys Road, that was slow but steady. If I was riding in the group, I am sure I would have been left behind. Once I reached the top of Humphreys, I decided to venture outside my comfort zone and rode down Two Bays - this was all downhill so it wasn't too bad. I was hesitant about riding up this hill so I decided to try to ride through the side streets to get to Nepean Hwy. This reminded me of my ride out of the Ferry Terminal just out of Vancouver. Luckily, I could do most of the route except for a small sharp right turn on Banool Cres which was steep and I had ran out of momentum on the bike.

Once I reached Nepean Hwy, it was a route I was familiar with and rode towards home. The only thing that bothered me was the downhill of Oliver's Hill - lucky or unlucky, there was a car who didn't like the fact that I was travelling down that hill and decided to let me know how unhappy they were. Due to that, I didn't worry too much about the downhill part. The total distance for that ride was about 65km (400m elevation) which was the longest since Challenge Melbourne and the hilliest since Whistler Gran Fondo.

On Sunday, instead of doing a run, I did a mountain bike ride instead at Lysterfield. We started out at the Hallam North Road carpark which meant that I was in the midst of a difficult trail which I admit scared me enough, I had a slight panic attack. I got frustrated at my partner for making me start at that trail as it was a trail which I was not comfortable with and something which I am not able to do - small and sharp hair pin turns downhill with roots and deep trails. As it had been raining that weekend, the trails were also wet and slippery. I am glad to report that I only crashed once, it was over a root over a flat trail and I landed on my right arm and slightly on my head. Nothing too serious, just a sore arm today (Monday). Even with the slight panic attack at the start of this ride, I did enjoy the ride very much, I increased my confidence on the bike but I am still slow. I am comfortable about riding up hills even when there are turns involved. My downhills need to be improved and it is just a matter of riding more out at Lysterfield and gain confidence on the bike and knowing what to do - something which doesn't come naturally to me.

My legs post ride - not as muddy as before as I rode through puddles.

With regards to running - this is something which I have been slightly hesitant about, because I am so bad at it and my joints hurt so much from every run session. I have decided to start from scratch for running and have signed up for a 6 week running program which will run in May and June. The run sessions will be Tuesday 6:45pm with Tim O’Shaughnessy (as part of a technique course through Bayside Tri Club), Thursday 6:30pm at Duncan McKinnon (squad session) and then a long weekend run or will be entering into running events to keep the motivation up. The first run event I will do will be this weekend - I need to decide if I am going to do it on the Saturday or the Sunday and arrange my long ride to suit.

An Eye Opener

Today (12th April 2015),  there was a single day riding initiative called The Women's Ride Day. I signed up to join the girls at Fondo as I am a HUGE fan of their cycling gear - I have bought the Disco and the Snow kits. I knew that the Fondo ride was going to consist of rolling hills but I had no idea how I was not prepared for it.

Fondo - http://fondo.com.au

My last hilly ride was the Whistler Gran Fondo ride at which I did the 120km (2000m elevation) in over 7 hours. This ride was in September 2014 on the back of a 7 week holiday. No training, just survived the ride. 

Since returning to Melbourne, I had only ridden Beach Road as it was close to Tri season and the TT bike came out of hiding. My last long ride was the Challenge Melbourne event where I rode 90km and ever since the 2nd Feb, my long rides have been Beach Road ~ 40 - 60km. No hills and nothing more than 60km. 

The Strava link to the ride course was posted on the Fondo event page so I had a look and was worried. https://www.strava.com/routes/2051262?mc_cid=2a74f878de&mc_eid=%5BUNIQID%5D Note: This was not the course I ended up doing today. 

My anxiety was playing up again to the point where I lost sleep on Saturday night - Sweating in my sleep, headaches, loss of sleep and shocking dreams. I actually contemplated pulling out at about 4am. But I am glad I got all my shit together and left the house at 6am....

Like with all trips for rides, I always find a toilet (most likely a maccas) before the ride. The nervousness of the event made my stomach hurt and needed to visit a toilet bad. Luckily, the closest Maccas was only 1km from the starting point on the ride. 

Once I got all my stuff together and went to the starting point, it was great to see a familiar face of a girl I used to train with. There was about 50+ ladies there with most wearing Fondo kits. 

They decided to split the group into 3 - fast, medium and social pace. I decided to join the social pace due to my lack of riding as mentioned before. About 10km into the ride, I knew that I had signed up to something beyond my current capabilities. I was so slow going up those hills, I had no power in my legs and for the life of me could not get my cadence up beyond 40rpm. I had done my first long run on Saturday (the day before) - it was only 10km but my quads were still sore. This may have attributed to the lack of power. 

I had to unclip out of my pedals twice as I couldn't get up those hills, I felt like I had ran out of gears. At the 20km mark, I decided to pull the pin. It was 1/4 into the ride and due my speed, I was breaking up the group dynamics too much. One of the guides would stay with the slowest rider at the back and I felt that I was more of a burden than anything. Once we got onto Main Street, I decided to turn left and head towards Eltham than turn right towards Kangaroo Ground. I was by myself but had ridden in these parts of Melbourne before. I decided to take the bike path and rode along the Main Yarra Trail (90% gravel) back to Heidelberg from Templestowe. I am glad I decided to ride the rest of the way home instead of catching the train (which I was totally prepared for and why I brought my Myki card). 

Although I was totally shattered from the ride (read - my body as well as my ego), I know that there is so much work that I need to do in order for me to ride the 3 peaks in March of 2016. Not only do I have to get stronger going up the hills, I also have to gain confidence riding down hills too. I have already planned on getting back to the hills next Saturday - even if I am riding by myself, I need to gain more strength in my legs. Riding along Beach Road for 7 months does nothing for riding up hills. I am determined on getting stronger on the bike - this is one small goal to achieve for 2015.

A small snippet of my climbs - not ready for it.

Looking Ahead - May

I have decided to do something different for the next phase of my blogging (routine) and have a blog post dedicated for forward planning for the month ahead, taking into consideration what sporting events are coming up and achieving as many small goals (such as turning up to key sessions) as possible.


I figured once I have things down on paper (or the Internet), it is less likely to slip away and forgotten. I will be calling these series of blog tagged Looking Ahead and it will just look at the month ahead and no more.

For the Month of May...

Events:

• Mothers Day will be on the 10th May and like last year, I will be doing the walk with my mum. As I will be in Geelong for that event, I figured that I might do a mountain bike ride at You Yangs on the day before. I will aim to ride for at least 3 hours and try to tackle the harder trails such as 15 and 14. Whilst I am at the You Yangs, I will try and do a trail run either before or after the ride.

• I have the Dirty Gran Fondo on the 17th May. It is a 65km ride but it is a non-technical off road ride and I will be doing this on my mountain bike. This event will take me somewhere between 5 to 7.5 hours to complete so I am taking this as my long ride training session. The Saturday before this event will be my long run day but will only do 10km or so. 

• On the 24th May, I will either do the Sri Chimnoy 14km run or the Whittlesea Challenge 68km (not 110km). It will most likely be the run as it is something which I need the most motivation in.

Key Sessions:

• I have two work events which will interrupt my schedule of training. Both fall on a Tuesday evening which means that the MUST DO training session will be the Tuesday morning run sessions with Run Like Crazy group.

A slow week and Easter

So the first week of April has just passed....

I ended up only attending 2 Bayside training sessions - Monday and Wednesday swims. I didn't end up doing the Wednesday morning rides as I was unsure of the pace, but now I am comfortable that if I get dropped, I will just ride my own. I didn't end up riding or running Thursday morning as I was buggered from the swim the night before.

I attended the Bayside Tri Squad ladies dinner at the Corner Store on Thursday evening. It was a good night and I was introduced to some ladies of the club. There appears to be a bigger mix of athletes there - some are more cyclists than triathletes, some of done multiple Ironman races and some have just started out in the sport.

I had plans for doing something everyday over the Easter long weekend and ended up riding 3 out of the 4 days. On Friday, Jason and I went to You Yangs and we rode most of the Kurrajong trails (15, 16, 17 and 18). Happy to report that my confidence was increased and I didn't fall. I was careful though.

You Yangs - a photo I posted up on my Instagram/Facebook

On Easter Saturday, I went on a 60km road ride after lunch. I started at the house and rode down to the end of Bay Road and then down to Frankston and then back to Black Rock and then home. I was pretty tired as that was my longest ride since Challenge Melbourne. I really need to get my riding up again - be it more hills and increase the distance considering that I will be riding the Womens Ride on the 12th and it will consist of hills.

On Sunday, I didn't end up doing any rides or runs but I did attend the Cycle Messenger World Championships at the Docklands (main race). It is an annual event and next year, Paris will be hosting it. These guys and gals have amazing bike skills, being able to ride through busy streets with cargo on their bikes and bags.

Then on Easter Monday (today), I drove myself to You Yangs early in the morning and ended up riding 2.5 hours on the Kurrajong trails and covering just over 35km. I rode trail 15 once, 16 and 17 more than twice, 18 once and I also went to trail 01 which I had never done before. My confidence increased and I was pretty proud of myself to getting out there and riding my mountain bike. I know that I can get better but throughout the ride, I just kept reminding to not get too cocky - the last thing I want to do is get too confident and then crash. I really really really loved my ride at You Yangs. It is just such a peaceful place to ride and a place which I can get better at my bike handling. I found Lysterfield too much to handle for a beginner. If I didnt have to rush back to watch the Hawthorn match at 3:20pm, I would have stayed and done a trail run too.

I am planning on heading back there again to ride more of the trails and improving my skills before the Gran Fondo in 41 days!