Geelong Long Course - 2013

This morning, I signed up to the Geelong Long Course Race (1.9km Swim, 90km ride and 21.1km run). For some reason, it is not branded as 70.3 but has the same distances. Last year, the Long Course race was 2km swim, 80km ride and 20km run. This will be my 2nd half ironman after Shepparton.

They are spaced 84 days apart (12 weeks) so it would give me plenty of time to rest after Shep and build up again to this race. There is Hell Week in December which would be an excellent training spike leading into Geelong.

I am excited about this race! I am familiar with the terrain and course as I raced the Olympic Distance last year. The swim is fantastic (nice and flat as it is sheltered), the ride has its moments but with a bit of consistent training on the new bike, I should be more comfortable and the run is through the park and then into the main street.

If timing is right, mum would have moved to Geelong which will be good for accomodation and having mum watch me race (for the first time ever).

I have a few people in the squad who have also signed up for either the Long Course or the Olympic distance race so it should be a great weekend!!

Tough Love

Something which I have noticed lately, is the way I react when I am asked to step out of my comfort zone with regards to training. The challenges with training for a triathlon is not only physical but it is also mental. The way one reacts to training demands depend on one's mentalility and ability to process the thought and translate it into action (or not).

3 or so years ago, all my training was done as part of the beginners group. It was done lightly and this was my mind setting the boundaries so I could just get through the session. That was my comfort zone.

For my swims, not only was I in the beginner's lane, I was also at the back of the group, trying my little heart out to just keep up. Mind you, back in those days I had no technique so whilst I only had to get through 1.5km or so I would be absolutely buggered by the end. Today, it would take a pretty intense swim session for me to feel that tired again - either sets which consisted of  swims at T5 or a tempo swim of 2-3km or so.

Being more at ease with swimming didnt happen overnight - it actually took several years of consistent swim sessions to finally understand the techniques - to feel the water and to use that resistance to push the body forward. Back in those days, I rarely reacted well when (some of) the coaches pushed me beyond my comfort zone and they often told  me off for stopping at the ends of the pool to recover. In my mind, I was exhausted (is anyone ever in a good mood when they are tired?), I also questioned their understanding of what it is like to not know how to swim.

Today, I accept the commands of any of the swim coaches as I see the benefits of being pushed beyond the comfort zone and how much more comfortable I would be, come race day.

Another mental change with swimming is that previously, I would be lazy if I was to swim on my own. I relied on the (coached) swim session to actually swim. Without a coach, a specific set to do or even other athletes in the lane with me, I would be lazy - I would cut my warm up short (if I ever do one), I wouldn't complete all the sessions and I most likely would not even do a cool down. The intensity of these sessions would also be low as I had no one to chase. Today, I am able to do a swim session outside of the schedule and actually complete it from start to finish. In my mind, it is no longer about taking short cuts where I could but actually getting into the (swim) zone, concentrate on technique and keep breathing and before long, I have done 1-2-3 kms.

Rides are no longer scarey and windtrainer session are no longer an hour of lets just get through this sweat session. Long rides are now done with purpose - either riding 100km+ in distance on the flats or riding hard in the hills to build strength all within a reasonable time. Windtrainer sessions are now about pushing myrself on the bike, holding the core and working on the stroke technique. As I am now a coach, I also have to lead my example. Being in the group taught by Coach Greg is also a plus. He is very stringent on our posture and reminds us (with a boastful voice) that we need to always hold our core - suck the gut in.

Runs are now a whole different ball game. Years ago, getting through the Thursday night run sessions would be an achievement in itself and I would have only ran 6-8km or so. I hardly did the Sunday run sessions  (I would have only done about 2/year) as I struggled to keep up with the group and never reacted well when asked to push faster.

Mentally, I would think of it as a waste of time to drive 30km just to run by myself. On the days when I did do my own runs along the beach, the intensity would be absent as all I could think about was which house would have a tap at the front where I could drink some water. This year, I have turned up to the Tuesday morning run sessions, Thursday evening sessions as well as the long endurance sessions with Coach Greg at Fairfield (not the MSAC group). Not only have I started to enjoy these run sessions, the strength of my legs have improved (no injuries so far this year - fingers crossed) and I am no longer struggling or feel more comfortable about not being part of the faster group. I am also not offended if Greg starts to remind (almost a yell) at me to run faster, hold my core or land on my forefoot. I am starting to train to be a better (at competition) triathlete rather than just getting through all of my sessions.

In summary:

• No longer training (just to get fit) but rather training to improve performance
• Want (and invite) to be pushed beyond comfort zone - don't mind a bit of tough love!
• No longer holding myself back in training (whilst still training smart) - Don't want to suffer during competition

Pilates = Wonderful!

I have been attending the Pilates Reformer classes at MSAC for the last 4-5 weeks now as part of my strength, core and balance training. This is done after a 15-20min weights/resistance session at the gym first.

I attend both the Monday 6pm and Wednesday 6:30pm classes as they are being taught by different instructors, work on different parts of the body and use different types of supplementry equipment.

For those who are not familiar with Pilates (reformer) - it conditions your body to develop flexibility and helps build long, lean muscles, strength and endurance in the legs, abs (core), arms, hips and back. It has improved my coordination, balance and core stability greatly and this is evident as:

• I am now able to hold a plank for about 80-90sec  (5 weeks ago, the longest time I could hold a (front) plank before my lower back hurts is about 70sec)
• I am able to balance on one leg and activate my calves (stand on forefoot) without the need to hold on to something for support
• My lower back requires less stretching out during long runs
• I am better balanced on the bike and able to hold my core in for longer when we do windtrainer sessions.
• I have been told that my body positioning is better during swim sessions

On a side note, the Monday classes are great for stretching out tight leg muscles from the weekend's training and I am able to recover at a faster rate. The Monday session can sometimes be difficult if we use paddles as part of the swim session in the morning.

I know there is a Pilates Mat Moves class on the Monday 7pm which uses your own body weight against gravity but it clashes with the Monday PM swim (coaching) which I sometimes take with Mick. Most of the time, I just want to go home, have dinner, pack 3 bags and a bike for Tuesday's multi session training schedule.

I am glad I decided to join the MSAC gym (discount benefits as part of Tri Alliance) as now I am able to utilise the equipment and classes to improve on my triathlon performance.

Game Change - A Race Report

There are a couple of topics which I have in mind for my blog entries. I also have drafted a few which ranged from Pilates through to Goal Setting (realistic goals vs big picture). However, I thought I would get this one out of the way whilst it is fresh in my mind.

So yesterday I ran the 10km run as part of Run Melbourne. I decided to follow the progression as per my Long Course program rather than setting goals outside of the schedule which may compromise my training. Being sometimes the stubbon mule I am, I compromised my training last year when I trained for a half marathon (goal of < 2 hour) in July whilst on the Olympic Distance program for my first Olympic Distance Triathlon for Noosa 2011. I had increased my running repidly (and blindly I might add) to enable me to be able to run a sub 2 hour 21.1km. The increase in load lead to shin splints 1 week before Run Melbourne 2011 and I could not run for a further 4 weeks after that. It was a dreadful time for me and I promised myself that I would pull back and train smart in 2012 rather than trying to do too many things too early.

In my previous entries I had also spoken about how I would stay in the 5km run time trials until after my 10km Run Melbourne as this race was to be my base. Well a base is now set at 53:56 (official time) for my 10km benchmark and from this day onwards, it is a matter of getting more efficient and trying to beat my own pb.

My first ever 10km run would have been in 2008 when I ran 1:09 in the first Run Melbourne event. The same event in 2009, I improved by 4min to 1:05. In 2010, 6 months after I joined Tri Alliance, I ran 56min as part of the Sandy Point event. I had not done a 10km (run only) event since then so yesterday's time of 53:56** (lets call it 54min) was definitely an improvement.

**53.56 is the "Gun" time. My actual running time (with my Garmin) was 52:30.

The major difference between the previous runs and what I did yesterday was definitely in the Mental Game. The game has changed from just participating or just finishing an event to being competitive amongst the other runners and to push beyond my own capabilities. It was the first run where I decided to seed myself faster than my previous times - I seeded myself at the 50-55min group rather than 55min-60min group. During the run, I also made an effort to hold my posture throughout and tried to run past people if I could by targetting runners to run pass. I refrained from looking at my Garmin (for the pace) and just ran in accordance to my perceived effort. The effort was not to be complacent but rather lift legs high and increase cadence to run faster.

In relation to the distance ran and strategy:

0 - 1km - Just tried to weave through as many people as I could

1 - 4km - Got into a good rhythm. Activated calves whilst running uphills and let gravity push me forward when I ran down hill. Did some run plays to break up efforts.

5 - 7km - Maintain posture, didn't let the legs slow down. Did some run plays to break up efforts.

7 - 8km - Legs started to hurt so visualised the finish line to take mind away from pain on quads.

8 - 9.5km - So close to the finish line I could hear people cheering.

9.5 - 10km - T5. Large strides (like the ones I do during drills) and ran off the forefoot (close to tippy toes), arms swing back more to increase momentum forward.

10 - 10.05km - Could of thrown up but had a big burp instead!

I will need to work on increasing the load and intensity during the next few weeks. I have Long Course Apollo Bay training camp over 3rd - 5th August weekend and will be flying into Sydney to run 14km in the City2Surf on the 12th August. I purposely wanted to do a 14km run in between now and October to gauge how the body holds up for a good run > 10km. City2Surf also has a good hill too - will be exciting.

Major events are getting closer with

90 days until Half Marathon

111 days until Noosa

125 days until Shepparton 70.3

Eat. Train. Laugh.

Cyclists and Safety

Over the weekend, I was once again the allocated coach for the Saturday Long ride but this time with Group 4 instead of 3. Part of the responsibility for a coach for these sessions is to brief the group, remind them about lights, tubes, food, where they are to ride to (depend on their season) and make sure they are to ride with the people who they feel are at their similiar levels. It is impossible to ride in a bunch with 30+ people especially with different abilities. All the coaches have been briefed on what to say before each ride and all athletes have been briefed about what their expectations are in the newsletter which gets issued out weekly.

I had about 8 people who rode with me past Mordialloc towards Frankston. A few of the athletes decided to turn around at Frankston BP with the rest who followed me up Oliver's Hill and up Humphries Road. The ride up Oliver's hill and Humphries Rd did get easier but I am yet to do the Two Bays Loop. Emily who is one of the junior athletes (she is only 16) rode with us and she kept getting left behind. I didn't want to leave her alone so I rode with her (her behind me) from Humphries Rd until Black Rock where she told me to ride ahead as she was just going to head home. I made her text me once she got home (which she did). I then rode by myself to Port Melbourne then to TAHQ which made the total distance of the day at about 110km which took nearly 5 hours due to the pace for Group 4 and also to ensure the safety of a junior athlete.

Once I headed back to TAHQ, I found out that one of my athletes who turned off at BP Frankston was in an accident and was taken to Frankston Hospital. Apparently a group of cyclists rode past and merged too early which resulted in one of the cyclist clipping her wheel. She was taken to Frankston Hospital by an ambulance which happened to be right beside the group at that particulat moment. Once I dropped my bike off for service, I drove home and called the hospital. Due to the privacy laws, I could not get any information from the hospital other than that she arrived and she is currently somewhere in the emergency department. I could not find out if she was ok, in xray, resting or anything. As Geoff (her husband) was next of kin, he was the only one who could see her and unless I am him, no further information was available. This made me frustrated. I had already contacted Coach Sarah to let her know of what happened and she had Geoff's details so she could contact him to see if she was ok.

A few messages back and forth with Sarah and I found out that her bike was being kept in a shop in Seaford and as I lived along the coast, I drove down to pick it up for her. The bike was in a ridable condition with broken hoods. I tried to shift gears and found it hard to switch between the small and large chain ring but wasn't sure if it was a pre-existing condition of the bike. The bike will be kept with me until further notice.

I was physically and emotionally drained on Saturday. I had not rested until I was sure that the athlete was ok and that there was nothing further I could do to help. I ended up sleeping from about 5pm until 10pm on Saturday and then from 12am to 1pm the next day. This accident has occured too close to the anniversary of Coach JC's death (22nd July 2011) and the incident has hit close to the heart. I was so frustrated at the behaviour of other cyclist and this is something which I see every week when I am on Beach Rd. These large groups ride past and merge way too soon. Once you past another cyclist, you must ensure that there is a safe enough distance before you merge into the line. This is the way we expect cars to drive around cyclist and just because you are riding a bike instead of a car, the behavious is expected to be the same.

The good thing is - the group of cyclist who caused the accident did stop and details were exchanged. She is having her surgery today (Monday 7th July) and we all wish her a speedy recovery. Good thing is that she won an all expenses paid trip to volunteer at the London Olympics in 2 weeks time so it would be a great recovery period for her. We wish her well.

Why I love my bike(s)...

I recently answered a tweet from SheRidesCycling asking women "Why do you ride?"

Well, my answer (albeit cheeky) is pretty much the reason why I spend (most of) my hours with my bottom on a saddle....week in week out. http://sheridescycling.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/112-women-answered-the-call-why-do-you-ride/

I am Number 71. 

Squeek on top of the Felt B2

I am not an everyday commuter - I am a triathlete. Because of my training schedule (I am currently training for my first half ironman 70.3), I have to carry at least 2 bags every day and equipment (a bike, windtrainer, swim toys including flippers etc). On my recovery weeks, I may commute to and from work. This only happens if I manage it in between training sessions that dont require me to start training at 6am.

I actually live about 35km from my work and about 40-45km from Northcote pool where I swim Monday and Wednesday mornings and 25km from MSAC. The distance makes it great if I incorporate it into (bike) training, but a pain as training starts at 6am in the morning and finishes at 8-8:30pm at nigjht. I have commuted to and from work a dozen times or so this year and hopefully will do more in the coming months. For commuting, I have my Diora with Sora groupset which I have named Squeeky.

I don't ride mountain bikes or trails. I tried this once and failed miserably. I have poor bike handling skills and going downhill (even on a road bike) still gives me anxiety. I was going to sign up to do some MTB skills but due to cost and value (do I actually have any time to do any mountain biking along with my training?), I decided to park the biking course aside.

The Italian

As I had mentioned before, I am a triathlete (in my 4th year) and mostly spend my time on the saddle to train to be a better athlete. I have a good road bike - Wilier Imperiale (The Italian)with Campagnolo Chorus groupset, I have two time trial bikes - my Felt B2 with Dura Ace groupset which I am currently selling and my Cannondale Slice 4 with Rival groupset which is still sitting in the shop. I ride The Italian for the hills and long rides in groups. The time trial bike comes out from October onwards for the racing season. I will be bringing it out for windtrainer sessions to get the legs accustomed to the larger 53T chainring (as it has 650c wheels). I enjoy riding my road bike during training especially when we ride through the quiet towns and over the hills. I like to admire the scenery and gives perspective to how lucky we are to live in such a great city.

The Working Girl

On the side, I do have a few non-training bikes (such as my vintage ladies "The Working Girl" and my single speed bike "The Falcon") which I love.

I love that I can just pop on a helmet and ride down to the shops to buy an ice cream during the summer months, I love the days where I take my single speed through Brunswick, Fitzroy, Clifton Hill and Northcote and explore the side streets and check out some nice and quirky houses and cafes. I love how carefree I feel when I am on my fun bikes and it takes me back to my childhood when my brothers and I would cruise our compound (we lived on campus as my dad was a high school principal for remote areas).

I am fortunate to live in Melbourne - it has a better cycling culture compared to Sydney or Darwin. In Melbourne, we have more infrastructure which makes it easier to pedal around in with the single speed.

I don't think I would own so many bikes if it wasn't for triathlon. I guess I do spend so much of my time on the saddle so I can be a better athlete - I want to do well in races but I also enjoy the ability to get from one point to the next with my simple bike(s).

No PB Trifecta for this little lady

Last week was time trial week and from Monday through to Thursday, I was on a roll. I had 3 PBs for my swim(s) and my run but unfortunately, my 20km bike time trial did not go as well.

This was my 2nd 20km bike time trial. I had a goal  of < 45:22. Having had a great run time trial on Thursday night, my legs were shattered and did not improve by Saturday. I was in need of a good massage and couldn't get one in time before Saturday (note to self - if I have another week like this, get massage on legs early on Friday).

I felt my legs getting heavy during the warm-up lap and I couldn't keep up with the rest of the half ironman group and turned around early before heading off to the tear-drop loop. The course was drier compared to the last time trial 6 weeks ago which was a good thing. This meant that I could stress less about slipping over if I accidently rode over the white painted lines. We rode 2 laps of the loop to familiarise ourselves before the actual start of the time trial. I was seeded at the back with Nikki (another half ironman first timer).

There isn't much to say in terms of the 20 loops I had to do for the time trial (describing a ride which consisted of 1km loop x 20 times can be boring) apart from the following:

• I had no grunt in my ride as I was just pushing my legs through (the uncomfortable pain)
• Cornering skills are still shocking and this is something which MUST improve
• Riding up hills - need to push through the lactic burn
• Riding up hills - what is the best? Small chain ring or stay in large (and stand up)?
• Nutrition - I think this was right but are there benefits to drinking (sipping) after every lap? 45min or so is a long time without drinking on the course
• Need to learn to negative split 2nd 10km compared to first without blowing up

I know I shouldn't be too hard on myself (after all I had an awesome improvement on my run PB). Often not achieving a PB is the same as failing a task and I have not been brought up to fail from young.

Things to work on before the next time trial:

• Riding up hills - gauging which gears work best
• Cornering! Cornering! Cornering!

Running through mud - 5km run time trial

Last night was my 2nd 5km run time trial for 2012 around Albert Park lake. Having done a pilates class the night before, my core and legs were were still slightly sore but luckily, that was the only niggle I had for the day. Both my shins and my knees have been good as I have laid off running since Sunday. The inflammation have subsided as I have applied creams, iced and massaged them regularly. The glutes were still tight and that was attributed from tight hamstrings which I need get a proper massage for.

We met outside Lakeside Sports at 6:15pm. Prior to the time trial, Coach Sarah mentioned that the wind conditions were not as perfect as last time and we should not be disheartened with a slower run from the 2km to 4km mark compared to our previous run. When we walked outside and dropped off any excess clothing we had, we could feel both the coldness and the strength of the wind. It was definetly unpleasent. We started our warm up run towards the finish line and then an anti-clockwise 2km run out and back along the lake. We then went into our warm up drills which included strides, knee lifts, butt kicks to loosen up the muscles. My hipflexors were tight but it helped when I did several high kicks and strides.

The long course (10km) athletes started 5min earlier than the short course (5km) group. After the first group departed, we then walked towards the boat shed where the 5km time trial start line was. When the signal was given to start the run, we all started our Garmins for our own records. Once again, the first 1-1.5km was a breeze and I actually ran at a lower cadence but increased the length of my strides. My pace actually went down below 5min/km mark but it wasn't something I could hold on for the rest of the run. I had one of the girls in my squad pass me during the entire run and this occured at the 1.5km mark. Then the 1.5-4km mark was like running through mud due to the heavy winds. Unlike a bike ride where you are able to position yourself (either down on the drops or on the aerobars) to be more aerodynamic -during a run, you can't compromise a good running technique by slouching. It felt harder to lift the legs high and it felt strenous to push the body and arms through the wind. I was grateful with all my work with hill running on Sundays with Coach Greg as they helped to push through the pain of running into the headwind. I really didn't want to look at my Garmin too much and wanted to run on feel rather than with technology. I looked at my Garmin once (by mistake) at the 3.5km mark and it was then that I realised that I could beat my PB of 27min.

At the 4km mark, I saw one of the squad on the side due to an ongoing injury and so after I made sure he was ok (by asking him whilst I ran past), I tried to finish off the last 1km as strongly as I could.  With only 500m to go, I felt my legs becoming heavier and it was hard to increase my speed and intensity. Once again, I felt like I was running through thick mud. When I could see the red blinking lights of the finish line, I took several deep breaths and ran as hard as I could.

I am pleased to say that I finally cracked the 27min mark and ran (according to my Garmin) a 26:14 for my 5km. This is about 45sec improvement which I am ecstatic about. This is slow for most triathletes out there but this is still my personal best.

I will be doing a 10km run in 2 weeks time and that should be a good base for my first 10km time trial. From Run Melbourne onwards, I will be doing a 10km time trial as part of the program. I am pretty sure I am the slowest person out around the lake but it is all about setting my own goals and running to set my personal best times.

Its onwards and upwards from here!

1km Swim Time Trial -- Faster than my own expectations!

For the people who follow my journey may have picked up that I have mild anxiety stress when it comes to the unfamiliar things/tasks. I stress out about it so much - I either pass out from hyperventilating or throw up and this morning was no different...

This morning, I completed my first ever 1km (swimming) time trial. Prior to the actual swim, the lead up to this morning was not as smooth as it should have been. I already had completed a 500m swim time trial on Monday morning and had planned on doing the 1km as part of my progression of time trialing as a long course athlete. I am still working on this progression and won't be doing the full half ironman distances until after Run Melbourne. So last night, after the (active recovery) windtrainer session, all that I could think about was how the hell I was going to do a 1km swim non-stop the next day. For the last few seasons, I had only swam 500m for time trial and although I have seen dramatic improvements close to 4 minutes over 500m, doubling that distance to 1km was still unchartered territory.

I had a sleepless night as I dreamt about things which held me back from completing a 1km swim smoothly - this included being late to catch a bus to the pool (I drive 35-40km from Mentone to Northcote), swim time trials being cancelled (as if that will EVER happen) and the most disgusting one of all - the pool filled with blood and we had to swim through it....yeah I know - disgusting.

Once I arrived at the pool at 5:55am, the nerves had not subsided. My stomach churned up my morning coffee and Up and Go around so much I had to have a little spew before I headed outside (yeah, 3 degrees celcius thank you very much).

After doing a 500m warm up which included free, pullbouy, back, we were seeded in our lanes ready for the actual time trial. There were some people in the same lane as me who were to do the 1km where as others had 500m. I knew that I could not go out as hard as I did for the 500m time trial as I had to double my distance so I decided to start at a T3 pace and see how I would go after the first few hundred metres. I wanted to negative split my second 500m as part of the 1km set so I made sure that I had enough in the tank to swim at a slightly faster pace leading into the last few hundred.

Overall, I actually felt better this morning than I did on Monday. I guess that was due to the reduced intensity. I completed the last 50m at a T4-5 pace/intensity and just made it under the 21min mark! So my first 1km swim time trial (Personal Best) is under 21min. I did several fist pumps in the air when I heard the good news - albeit a longer time than most long course athletes, this is my personal best time and much faster than my own expectations.

As a time closer to the 22min mark was anticipated, I am ecstatic about getting below the 21min mark. 

Swim Time Trial - 500m

This morning, I ticked off one of my goals for 2012. The goal was to be able to swim under 10min for a 500m - I am pleased and overjoyed that I completed it this morning and felt better than my last time trial 6 weeks ago.

Swimming in the morning (at Northcote) really made a difference in my swimming over the last few weeks. The lanes are not as crowded and as I am at the back of the middle lane, I have had to work a little extra harder to keep up and not get left behind.

The time trial started off slightly more intense than I had planned and it showed as I was getting slightly tired after the first 50m. I made sure I wasn't going to give up too quick and slowly got into a smooth rhythm with my breathing and my strokes. I made sure that I wasn't just turning my arms through the water and that I used the technique work I had picked up with Ryan's swim classes over the last few weeks. I tried to feel as much of the water as I could as the more you feel, the better your technique. As I was only swimming 500m, I pushed hard in the last 50m and swam at T4-5 intensity. I doubt I could do this for my 1km (on Wednesday) but I don't want to get too complacent and not push to my best ability.

Hopefully more good news for the next few days with my running time trial (still running the 5km until after Run Melbourne) and the 20km ride time trial on Saturday.

Yippeee!!

5 Weeks of Swim Stroke Correction

I had just completed the 5 week (swim) stroke correction sessions with Coach Ryan Bourke. These sessions ran on Saturday afternoons for 5 weeks. After having spent some long hours on the saddle Saturday mornings from 7am (sometimes a car trip over an hour is needed to some of the locations), a love-hate relationship was also formed over the last 5 weeks for the Saturday afternoon swim.

The good thing with these sessions is that they are not too long (< 2km) or intensive (luckily not a standard swim session) and nothing above T2 as we work on our technique both above and below water - the purpose of these sessions.

The bad thing was that they cut into my (after ride) nap time. Once I got home from a ride, I may have a small shut eye (for about 30min max), then packed about 3-4 more bags for the next few days before I headed off to the actual swim session.
Bag 1 - Swim bag
Bag 2 - After swim bag (non training clothes) as I use Sat nights for dinners with friends
Bag 3 - Run bag (for Sunday morning North sessions)
Bag 4 - Any 'after run' plans I had over the last few weeks which ranged from bbq, lunches, football and general catch ups. Bag 2 + Bag 4 are often combined into one large bag too.

Management issues aside, these swim sessions have been priceless. Over 5 weeks, we learnt the following:
·         Streamline body position and its advantages
·         Correct body position and rotation
·         Breathing technique and head position
·         Feeling the water (hands)
·         Catching the water
·         Hand entry and exit
·         Recovery of the freestyle stroke
·         High elbows with rotation
·         Bilateral breathing and its benefits
·         Building a strong underwater technique
·         Strength Bands and their benefits
·         Getting the most from each stroke
·         Polo, citing and open water swimming

Ryan utilised techniques which he had learnt/used in the past for non-swimmers to understand how your hands/arms/elbows/body position should be/feel for a good and effective swim. Simple things like:
- Shark Fin - using the elbow to form a fin (learn how to lift your elbows above water)
- Monkey Scratch - extend the shark fin method to drag your finger tips along the side of your body to your armpits
- Pull bouy touch - with the pb, making sure that your complete your stroke and touch the pb between your legs after the push (or backsweep) before the recovery.
- PB single arms - with a pb or kickboard in front of you - touch the edge of the pb/kickboard during your entry - this teaches you to not cross your arms over in front of your face which causes drag/resistance
- Single arms - no pb/kick board in front of you are you just use single arm to swim but making sure that your fingers enter in the right spot and the entire stroke (all five phases) is efficient.
- Bands - this uses all your upper body technique to swim - no kicking (as your legs are tied together)

As these sessions were nice and easy, we could practice the methods as we never have a chance to do so during our normal swim sessions.

I will also be shadowing Ryan for the next block of technique classes to learn more from him (as a swim coach) and to be a better swimmer myself.

Stepping outside of your comfort zone - Lorne Camp 2012

2012 was my 3rd Winter Lorne Camp with Tri Alliance.

Summary/Recap:

My first Lorne Camp was in 2010 a few months after I joined Tri Alliance and I completed the following distances:

Swim - 200-400m

Bike - 70km + 90km

Run - 5km + 5km

In 2011, I went to Lorne Camp with a new bike but with injuries (cold + hamstring tightness) and did the following:

Swim - none

Bike - 90km + 110km (inc Benwerrin Climb)

Run - 5km + 5km



Just over the long weekend of 2012, I did the following distances (with a slight cold):

Swim - Splish Splash in the ocean on Friday

Bike - 90km (inc Benwerrin Climb) + 110km (inc Benwerrin Climb)

Run - 10km + 6km + 10km

 

Friday



Monday Morning - View from Lorne



I had my accommodation booked with another person from the squad instead of staying at the life saving club. We decided to drive in together in one car instead of driving both down in case our accommodation only allowed for one. I drove to Box Hill around 11am as we planned on leaving Melbourne around 12. I realised that I had left my Garmin charging on the kitchen bench when I was more than half way to Box Hill and there was no way I could get through the weekend without my Garmin so drove all the way back to Mentone to pick it up. One and a half hours later....we finally left Melbourne.



Promotion Photo for Giant Bikes



We arrived at our accommodation around 3:30pm. We quickly unpacked our bags and changed into our running gear to meet the group for the 4pm run session. The run route was the same as last year which was the Mountain to Surf route but instead of running back to the club along the flats (in 2011), I actually ran most of the same route as everyone else, through the trails of the mountain. I think having done Greg's run sessions on Sunday helped with the trail running confidence. I was getting tired but I then realised that I hadn't had anything to eat since 9am that morning. After the trails, it was a hard run up and down the mountain roads - as difficult as hill running was, Greg's sessions on Sundays along Studley Park did help with the fitness and the stress on the legs. The total distance for that run was around 10km.

After the run, it was the first (of many) icing of the legs in the cold water of Lorne beach. As I did last year, instead of just soaking the legs in the water, I decided to go for a swim and played around in the water and did a porpoises with the waves (Coach Greg would be proud).

Saturday

We woke at 5:30am to be ready at the club by 6:30am. I was seeded in Group 3 by the head coaches the night before and the plan was to ride 35km out and 35km back with the option of going up Benwerrin Hill.

Group 1 - 90km Apollo Bay and back + 1-2 Hills

Group 2 - 90km Apollo Bay and back + 1 Hills

Group 3 - 70km Apollo Bay and back + (optional) Hills

Group 4 - 2 hour return trip.

The ride was not the most comfortable as it started to rain when we left Lorne. The roads were wet and visibility was low. We stopped at the 35km mark as planned but due to the coldness, we couldn't stop for too long or we would have froze. The ride back to Lorne was better but it didn't stop raining. I was undecided early on the ride if I was going up the hill or not. It was only when I reached Lorne that I had about 2 hours left before lunch was being served so I decided to take up the challenge. I was the only one from Group 3 who did the Benwerrin Hill.

I have never been a fan of riding in my small chain ring. I stayed on my large chain ring the entire ride out and back and didn't change even when I rode up the hill. I know that you are suppose to ride at a cadence of 70-90rpm but I just get tired. I would rather grind the gears at the large chain ring and my job is made easier with compact cranks too.

Pedal, pedal, pedal

I had Ollie and about 3 of Group 1 guys who rode past me on the way up. Apart from that, I got a bit bored (as you do riding up 10km of an incline). I made up little games along the way, one of them was that I stood up for 20 strokes and sat down for 10. On areas where the incline felt more flat, I would change into a harder gear to pedal faster and then have the ability to get into an easier gear when it got too tough.

The descent back down Benwerrin is something I did badly, made more difficult when it rained. My core temperature dropped big time. I was definitely out of my comfort zone as I rode down that hill and at one point, I thought it was the end of me. I was nearly in tears and kept looking at my Garmin to check how far I was from Lorne. My fingers were frozen as I gripped onto the left brakes to slow my speed down and my right hand hurt as I tried to feather the front brakes. When I finally reached Lorne, I was so relieved that I nearly cried.

I didn't ice my legs in the water as I was frozen anyway but took a long shower to thaw out. After I gained back my core temperature back to norm, I went back to the accommodation to change into running clothes and went back to the club for lunch.

After lunch, we were treated to talks from Lakeside regarding body maintenance and core sessions then swapped over to bike maintenance. Both sessions were very helpful to triathletes. Once talk was about common injuries and why we get them - legs, shoulders etc from overuse (increased load) or bio mechanics of the body. The other session was about general maintenance of our other machine - our bikes.

A small break later, we went on our run session. Group 3 were programmed to run at 4:45pm but that would not give us enough time to run 50min and then get ready for 6pm dinner so a few of us decided to run earlier but still do the distances/times. I ended up running 6km.

Sunday
A slightly earlier roll out for Sunday as the rides were longer - we had to be ready at the club by 6:15am. Group 1 - 90km Apollo Bay and back + 2 Hills

Group 2 - 90km Apollo Bay and back + 1-2 Hills

Group 3 - 90km Apollo Bay and back
Group 4 - 2-3 hour return trip.
I ended up riding to Apollo Bay & back to Lorne and included another climb up Benwerrin''s hill (110km in total). I rode the same distance as Group 2 but took maybe 15min longer.

The second day on the bike was dryer than Saturday but there were still showers which made the ride wet and cold. The ride into Apollo Bay was easier and I felt more confident around the hair pin turns compared to previous rides. I lost one of my bars as I rode over a pot hole but just had enough nutrition to last me until Benwerrin (4 gels).

The second climb up Benwerrin was not as easy as Saturday - I placed this down to the lack of nutrition as I had to ration 4 gels over 5+hours and I had also just ridden 90km. Lesson learnt from Saturday's ride meant that I packed an extra vest to wear on the descent which made a massive difference. Although the descent was dryer than the previous day and I was not frozen, my bike handling skills were still horrendous. I was the last person to finish the ride that morning and went down to the water to soak my legs whilst people were having lunch.

Group Shot after the Aquathon

I grabbed whatever I could to eat whilst we listened to another one of Jarrod's talks. After Jarrod's talk, we had Dane from Sports Pych and Jarrod's skin folds talk/test. For my results of my skin folds test, click here.

Due to the 110km ride, I was done for the day. I decided that instead of going for a run on Sunday afternoon, I was going to do my final run on Monday morning.

So whilst people were out doing their Sunday run sessions, I cleaned my bike using a bike stand. As the bike is off the ground (when clamped onto a bike stand) - it made cleaning so much easier. Something I will buy within the next few weeks.

Monday

Aquathon Fun

Most people were back on the bike for a recovery ride towards Apollo (max distance was 50km) and some people just ticked their legs over and did 20km. I ran along the Great Ocean Rd which was priceless. 5km out and back but stopped several times just to admire the views as they were amazing! A soak in the water after the run, shower and waited for people to return from their morning rides.

The Aquathon Championships of the World was held as the final event before the bbq lunch. It consisted of teams doing short swims in the ocean and then short runs along the beach. As I still had my cold and was already packed to go home, I didn't participate in the race. Instead, I cleaned Coach Ollie and Sarah's bikes.

Many people were hesistant about the Aquathon but at the end (as you can see from the photos) that most embraced the event and took it as a challenge beyond their comfort zones.

Overall

2012 Lorne camp was definetly the best Lorne camp (comparing to the last 2 years). There were just better speakers, the sessions were better programmed and we had an incredible group of athletes with us. I guess as my confidence and fitness levels improved over part years, I could challenge myself even further than before. Can't want for the Long Course Winter camp (3rd - 5th Aug) and the Apollo Bay Camp (21 - 23rd Sept). What a great way to spike up the training loads as part of my preperations for Shepparton 70.3.

WRAP UP - Over and out!

IM Melbourne Relay Team - NO GO!

Just got an email response back from USM, here is their response back when I asked them about when the team entries open and how much would it cost:

Hi Evalin

Management have confirmed that there will not be a Team event at the IM Melbourne 2013.

Kind regards

HEARTBROKEN!

Body Fat % - EXCESS

Over the Lorne Camp weekend (wrap up on that later), Jarrod Evans (AIS Coach) presented several talks on triathlon, training and nutrition.

One of the talks he gave was about skinfolds and Body Fat % (BF%). I volunteered to do this measurement (as did about 20 other people) to see where we are at now.

He took 4 measurements as part of the skin fold test - biceps, triceps, back and stomach. There are several methods of doing skin folds and calculating BF% but the important thing is that you must have the same method of measurement and done by the same person for the purpose of comparing like for like.

So, the good news is that my skin folds of my arms and back are OK. The bad news is that my BF% was blown out of the water by the skin fold measurements around my stomach area.

Using both the BMI measurement (BMI x 1.2) + (0.23 x Age) - 5.4** and Jarrod's skin fold measurement, I am at 32% which is classified as EXCESS FAT (OBESE) for a female.

For a female:
Essential Fat - 10 - 13%
Athletes - 14 - 20%
Fitness -21 - 24%
Just Average - 25 - 31%
Excess Fat - 32%+

I pretty much came out as the fattest female from the squad (who volunteered) and was very disheartened as I am fitter now than I was 3 years ago when my measured BF% was around 28%.

Breaking it down to compsition - my body consist of 68% muscle & bone with 32% fat (10-13% essential fat). I need to be around 14 - 20%. My ideal would be 42kg + XXkg, where XX is calculated as 20% x 61kg = 12.2kg. 42kg + 12.2kg = 54.2kg (max race weight).

Essentially, my goal (as it has always been for the last 5 or so years is to get down to 55kg) and this is EXACTLY in line with losing BF% down to the Athletes range.

Getting down to 55kg is not new news for me but the fact that my BF% is so high scared the living daylights out of me. Now I see the problem (again), it is time for action (again). Will seek a specialist to review my diet and training to see what is the missing link is as currently, I am tracking below my calorie allowance of 1100Cal/day. It could be the type of cardio excercise I am doing to use up my fat stores. I would like to see that there is a solution for this other than blaming it on genetics (fat stores around stomach area).

** BMI Calculations = (BMI x 1.2) + (0.23 x Age) - (10.8 x SEX) - 5.4 Where Sex = 1 for males and 0 for females.

Reasons...

Why do we do what we do? What are your reasons to get out of bed at 4:30am on a chilly Melbourne morning, to drive 30km (home in Mentone to Northcote) to swim and then drive another 50min to work afterwards? What are your reasons to leave home at 5:30am on a Saturday to drive 65km from home for a hilly 70km ride in the freezing cold? Believe me, these feats are not big nor are they admirable as they are only the tip of the triathlon iceberg.

You see, I am yet to ride my bike for over 4 hours, I am yet to run for more than 2.5 hours and more than 22km, I am yet to swim more than 4km in a single swim session, I am yet to do all this before the ungodly hour of 5am and I am yet to fit in 15+ hours of training in a week. I know that as part of my half ironman training for Shepparton (and beyond), it will be something to look forward to and believe it or not, I am actually excited about it.

The Build Weeks of triathlon training are noticeable. The sessions are getting more intense and longer. The rides have moved away from Beach Rd (thank God for that!) We have started to incorporate paddles into the swim sessions to build up strength and our run sessions have gotten longer and with more intensity. This increase in load has resulted in the body being more sore and taken a longer period to recover - noticeably on a Monday morning. I might also add, the introduction of a more stringent Strength and Core work into my training, I couldactually feel my shoulders, back, pecs, lats, stomach being activated more often than ever before.

Just last Saturday, we rode the Wildwood Loop as part of the long endurance ride session. We always do this ride a week before we head off to Lorne Camp (over Queens Bday weekend) The first time I rode this loop in 2010, I hopped off my bike when we were riding up any slight inclines (that's how unfit I was 3 years ago). Mind you, I also had no idea how to use my bike then and for the life of me, I was probably still in the large chain ring and may not have used my gears properly to enable me to ride any slight molehills. In 2011, I rode the loop twice but hesitated when we had to ride the 2nd loop as I was exhausted (and most likely had bonked).

Over the last weekend, the loop felt shorter and there was no hesitation as I rode the loop the 2nd time around. Mind you, I fell behind the front pack but was only about 1 min behind them the whole way through. I rode up the hills well (could definitely have been better) but I was confident enough throughout. Weather wise, it could have been worse (Wildwood is known to also be very windy) but it was freezing. At 4 degrees, my face was frozen and it did hurt to breathe. During the 2nd loop, the number of trucks and cars on the roads increased which meant that at some points where cars passed each other, we were forced off the roads. With my sh!t luck, this happened on the steepest hill climb on the weekend so I had to push the bike up the hill after I was knocked off the road onto the barrier as I gave way to 2 trucks passing each other.

On Sunday, I joined the North group with Coach Greg again for the long endurance runs. This week, we met at Fairfield Boathouse instead of Northcote YMCA so we didn't have to waste time in driving the car back to Fairfield to soak our legs. I actually loved the Sunday run session with Greg as we ran through the trail paths of Fairfield and Studley Park. Greg made us do drills and reminded us on how we should be holding our posture during long runs when our bodies are fatigued. We ran 14km plus strength and core work within 2 hours and I loved every minute of it. We ended the session off with a soak in the freezing river just below Fairfield Boathouse. Icing the legs after a run reduces swelling and also aids in recovery. I know this method works wonders based on my personal experiences. The water temperature was so cold that you felt the following sensation when you are waist high in freezing water:
1) Bones and joints hurts upon contact with water - this went on for about 2 minutes
2) Body goes numb from the coldness - for the next 5-8 minutes or so.
3) Body starts to ache from the coldness - this was a sign that it was time to leave (10min in the water was plenty enough). Ideally, we should be moving our legs constantly through the cold water but we had to make do. I know that for Lorne, we will be doing this after every ride and run session to help in recovery.

An ordinary person would read this entry and think why the hell would anyone put themselves through this much torture over a weekend when most relax or party hard after a week of (paid) work...well as of today, there are 167 days left until Shepparton 70.3. Just over 15 weeks and I will be racing my first halfironman - 1.9km swim, 90km ride followed with a half marathon and all within 7 hours.