What a difference a change makes...

So I officially paid my coaching fees to my new squad on Sunday 29th so I could train with them starting on Monday 30th March. With anything "new" in my life, I stressed about it to no end.

I had bad dreams the day before - the usual, being late and being out of my depth. Due to the training session being held in the afternoon, I kept stressing about how I would go for hours. I am happy to report that I survived the session and I can't wait for the next one - winning!

The coach for the Monday's swim session was named Neil. He is a swim coach rather than one who does triathlons. You can tell the difference between the two types - swim coaches tend to use less "toys" and more on technique and swimming at different levels of speeds. This was what I had experienced when I tried out JVW and Coach Anna's sessions within the last 12 months. No paddles, hardly any pull buoys, some fins. It is what I call swimming naked - nothing but your arms and legs.

I decided to swim in the last lane - I guess it has always been what the slower you are, the closer to the wall you swim in. I am guessing it is for the coach and guidance, so they can walk up and down the side and monitor how you are going. Once someone masters the swim, they then move to the more advanced lanes - less coaching needed.

The warm up was short. I had done 100m already before the coach arrived and he asked that we do a further 200m. Then the next was sets of 200m done with different drills. We started off with fingertip drags where the coach said that my left arm is not lifting high but swinging across like a windmill - no wonder I tend to hit people on the other lane. This was followed by fist and free every 25m, catch ups and then single arms.

He does teach the "old school" swim technique of doing the "S" shape in the water where as the newer school of swimming doesn't teach that anymore and it is more about the bend in the elbows and creating a barrel straight down your body (No more S). This will be something which I have to manage as it does conflict with that I had learnt over the last 5 years. We then put on fins for the next 4 x 1000m doing front, back and side kicks for every 100m.

We then went into the 2nd main set which was to swim 400 fast, 200 recovery, 200 fast, 200 recovery, 100 fast. This part I struggled with especially when I haven't swam in 2 months apart from a 400m swim a few days before the corporate triathlon. I didn't really do a cool down because I was stuffed. First session back and I swam 2.6km. It was so refreshing to swim with a squad again. I worked hard at the session as someone was watching out for my technique. It was also good to swim with others in the lane who are on the same drills and speed.

From what I have been told, Neil takes the Monday and Wednesday sessions and these work on technique. The next (non-swimming) squad session is the Wednesday morning road ride. I took this route on Saturday afternoon and I found that riding down towards Carrum takes 30min and I assume that if the training session takes an hour - it is a straight out and back.

I struggled to get up and be motivated for the run session this morning - my dry and chesty cough was still lingering. I may also be tired from swimming the night before. This is something which I have crossed off my training list as a "not achieved" and fingers crossed, I will do a run on Thursday morning. 

I am joining the Bayside ladies for a dinner on Thursday night, I am looking forward to this. 

Climbing New Heights

So, whilst I was supporting the Ironman yesterday, I had noticed how "lean" many of the athletes were. I remember that stage of my life where I was hovering around 56-57kg which was my lightest as I was so stringent on what I ate (I was obsessed about Calories) and was consistent in my training. Fast forward to the next year of Ironman, I concentrated more on being a stronger athlete and not watched what I ate at all - just made sure I didn't go crazy with desserts etc. I became lean closer to race day and I was also a stronger athlete.

Since I raced my last Ironman in 2014 and changing my goals towards just getting through some races over the 2014-15 season, I have noticed that my body hasn't reacted the same as the last 2 previous years. I knew that my body would not be as lean as I was not training 20+ hours a week.

This post is an honest one - I currently weigh the heaviest ever. I have not weighed myself in over 18 months and this morning, I was feeling slightly irritated from some negativity on social media and for some reason, I decided to weigh myself - 65kg and I was no happy and not the smartest idea to weigh myself when I am not in the best of moods.

I have felt really low regarding my lack of activity and motivation to train since the middle of 2014. I would attribute it to my previous workplace where I was in such a dark place. I honestly felt bullied by upper management and the fact that management (HR) and my direct manager were not supporting me for all that I have done for the company, I felt betrayed....rant over and now back to triathlon....

I guess that everything just aligned itself too as I have recently made a move to change triathlon squads. I am now a member of Bayside Tri Squad due to a few factors - the main one being that I currently work and live in Bayside area and Tri Alliance is not providing me with the training that I need. Being an assistance coach with Tri Alliance also required a few sacrifices in terms of my own training and due to a few circumstances, I could not satisfy my own requirements to meet my own goals.

I decided to make a move based on the fact that when I was doing my (own) swims at GESAC, the Bayside Tri Squads had their training lanes there. Bayside also leave on their Wednesday rides literally 10m from my front door and they leave on their long rides just down the end of Bay Street.  I have also advised the coaching team at Bayside that I want to be just an athlete and no longer a coach. I just want to concentrate on achieving my own goals and not having my schedule broken down with coaching. I am being selfish for now. I need to recharge and reintroduce the training back into my life.

If you are wondering if I am going to sign up for Ironman Melbourne, the answer is "one day" but not 2016. I have decided to challenge myself for 3 Peaks in 2016 and discovering the hills of Victoria.

I have signed up for Challenge Shepparton and my winter training will be about that with a few hilly rides thrown in. I do love swimming and I want to achieve my goal of a half marathon under 2 hours. Bringing my weight back down to below 60kg will not be a goal in itself rather than something I will watch for when I am training towards my goals. I KNOW that being as lean as I was when I was training for Ironman is not sustainable but I want to be comfortable in my skin again. None of my clothes which I have been wearing for the last 3 years fit anymore. I am bursting out of my 10D bras and this is something I am not comfortable about anymore.

Starting from April, I will be joining the Bayside Tri Squad with their schedule training sessions and I am looking forward to be amongst a routine of coach-athletes rather than just doing my own thing because I was no able to attend the sessions due to location and schedules.

Wishing me luck for the next phase of my triathlon-life!

Ironman Melbourne 2015 - From a Supporter's View

Wow! I am exhausted. I currently have supporter's hangover  from Ironman Melbourne - I have no voice, I am dehydrated and I am so sore I feel like I have done a 100km ultra.

The day started at 7am when we went down to Frankston to support friends and watched the swim start. It was my first experience of a rolling start and I gotta say - from a spectator point of view - it was an anti-climax. The last age groupers just got into the water as the pros all finished their swim - that's how long the swim waves went for. As an athlete, I would say that if you are a strong swimmer, you would not like it either as you want the drafting of faster swimmers. If you are not a strong swimmer, the wave starts were great. You took your position amongst your group and went into the water 6 at a time. After the swim, we then walked to the swim finish to watch some athletes come through. It was traffic and luckily we saw a coffee truck and bought a bacon and egg roll and coffee to tie us through.

We then walked up to see people entering into the change tent. We saw plenty of people we recognised and cheered them through. When the traffic subsided after 40min or so, we could then cross the path to grab our bikes and headed back to the car so we could head to the bike course view area.

We decided to go to the Ferntree Gully Road view point in front of the massive BP station. I know from experience that the bike course is a lonely one and the cheers really helped. We saw a few people we knew along the Eastlink freeway when we drove up and gave them all toots on the horn. We noticed a slight northerly and based on the people flying by towards Frankston and the faces of the people who were struggling on the bike as they head towards the tunnel. We didn't (and couldn't) stay there for too long as we needed to be at Mentone Aid Station at 12 for our shift.

The earliest athletes were scheduled to arrive at Mentone by 2pm so we had 2 hours to prep the aid station. We arranged lollies and pretzels into small cups, cut fruit, opened bars, lined and filled water buckets and degassed coke. I placed myself at the front of the aid station to welcome athletes towards the aid station. I was also standing there to guide athletes towards the 2nd set of toilets if the portable one was occupied. I rang my cowbell and yelled out names from 2pm through to 7pm. A solid 5 hours and now I have no voice.

Considering that I was only suppose to be there from 12-3, staying there and yelled out names until 7pm, I did a pretty good job. Once one of my friends went through Mentone, I got on my bike, rode home, took a quick shower and drove up to St Kilda.

There were several athletes I recognised and tooted my horn in a cheerful manner. I loved it! Once I parked my car at the Great Provider, I rode my bike down the course to see if I could spot my friends. I spotted a dozen or so which was good. Unlike previous years, the path along Brighton through to Elwood were no lit at all which was stupid! You could not see where the path was and it was just dangerous!

I hung around my friend so she could see the path in front of her and lead her through from Brighton through the Great Provider and let her go with 2km to go. I then headed back to the Great Provider to wait for more athletes. I went home at 12 as I was feeling tired and the caffeine was wearing off.

I was so inspired from volunteering and I understand what it is like to be inspired and then wanting to do the event in 12 months time. Some people who spectate really have no concept of what a 3.8km swim, 180km ride and a 42.2km run is about. Not only is it a huge event to get your body and mind through, the training hours leading up to the event can also take a toll. Don't even get me started on the people out there who state on their social media pages about "I am going to do Kona in 2015, 16, 17" like it is an event that you just "enter" into! I have spoken about this before but I guess they will learn through other means that you don't just "do Kona"....

Anyways, rant over. I do love supporting this event and being amongst friends. I would do it week after week if I know that friends of mine are racing - it is about supporting your friends - they need you on race day!

Nothing changes if nothing changes

So I have mentioned a few times about change and this year, I am making plenty of it...

The change of work has been great so far. I am enjoying not spending too much time in the car travelling and I am finding that I have plenty of energy (and time) at the end of the day to either spend it with my partner or go for a ride.

With regards to training, I am mixing things up a bit. I have started to run with the Run Like Crazy crew in Mentone. I have missed 2 weeks due to DOMs and being sick but endeavour to head back next week. I am going to run with them and mix it up a bit with triathlon squad training.

With regards to squad training, I will train more for my schedule and location. I am going to be making drastic changes and this will start in April. In the non-scheduled gaps of my calendar, I am going to commit myself to strength and core work - even if it is just 30min.

I am also going to be managing some of my training based on my body's feedback. I am not going to do double run-ride days twice a week (maybe for the first few weeks?) I find that due to the loads on my joints, I am not able to recover and train the next day at my full potential.

This week's training will be significantly decreased due to work commitments -  I have a 2 day conference on in the city. The first day will start at 8:30am and there is an evening networking session which ends around 10pm. The second day starts at 7am with a breakfast event which I have signed up to. Then that night, I have tickets for The Lion King with my family. On Thursday, I have a workshop in the city which will start at 8am and end at 4:30pm. I guess the only thing I can fit in will be a Tuesday morning run followed by a rush to get ready for the first day of the conference. Training on Wednesday will not be possible and I may do an open water swim on Thursday evening.

I did a few bike rides last week which I loved. A cruisey ride on Monday followed by a quick evening ride on Tuesday. For the rest of the week, I was busy with work but I did a ride on Saturday along the Portarlington Tri course followed by an open water swim (sans wetsuit) around the pier which I loved.

On Sunday, I supported the Tri Alliance squad at the Portarlington triathlon.

I have also committed myself to a huge goal in 2016. I think this goal exceeds the Ironman event. Reason being - there is a cut off time and many people I know who are good athletes, just make it within this time. Training for this event will require me to step out of my comfort zone. More on this later....

Australian Super Corporate Duathlon

Yesterday, I had done my last triathlon event for the 2014-15 season. It actually was a duathlon as it rained more than 10mm over 24 hours so they replaced the 400m swim with a 800m beach run instead.

Fact: I have only ever entered into 3 corporate triathlons and all 3 have been changed to duathlons due to conditions (2011, 2012 and 2015). I am the bad luck charm for the corporate triathlons.

Saturday 28th February
I had a really bad sleep on Friday night so I didn't end up doing a ride on Saturday morning. I caught up on sleep and went straight into Elwood for coaching of the Try the Tri group. We did some basic bike knowledge and tried to change a tube. As the bike was brand new (just bought from the shop), taking off the tyre was a major issue and it took forever! Putting the tyre back onto the bike was also an issue. We made it at the end. The second part of the session was teaching the girls (this was an all female group) about running with their bikes holding onto the saddle only with one hand.

Once we got that part of the session done, we did some basic transition set up and they practised going into T1 and handling their bikes off the mount bars both off the saddle and their handle bars - this enables them to realise the difference it makes when you have your bike mounted from the saddle or the handle bars.

After the coaching session, I hung around for our team mate to arrive so we could arrange the order of the race and checked our bikes into the compound overnight.

I went out for lunch and then it was a nap before we headed out to see Foo Fighters. I am not sure what the hell happened to the city and the traffic but it was worse than peak hour during the week. It took us forever to get through Kings Way and there was an issue that the barriers were removed for the entrance into the GP so cars were entering the lake but had to turn around.

Parking at Etihad was so expensive - $30! We got there just before Foo Fighters played and we missed Rise Against.

The actual concert itself was fantastic. The downside was that our seats was right next to the aisle which people used to enter into GA which meant that our view was constantly blocked by people walking up and down. FF played for nearly 3 hours.

Once the concert finished, the journey home was the worse I have ever had. It took us an hour to get out of the Etihad carpark as there were no parking attendants and no one had any idea how to get out. Once we got out of the carpark, it was then traffic along Kings St, it took us more than an hour to get through <1km and once we got over the bridge near Crown Casino, I used the side streets in South Melbourne to get onto Nepean Hwy to get home. We didn't get to bed until close to 2:30am, not ideal when you have to wake up at 5am in the morning.

Sunday 1st March
Once the alarm went off at 5am, I got my shit together and got a lift into Elwood. We arranged for a 6:15am meet-up to get into transition together. We were notified that the swim had been replaced with a 800m run and based on my past experiences, it would be a beach run so I opted to be bare feet for the first run.

Kathryn, me and Suze

The set up didn't change much from a triathlon as I had my running gear all in the compound. I was the 3rd person in my team but luckily Kathryn is a pretty gun triathlete so she completed her race around 40min. The 2nd person in our team was Suze and then me. I waited in the team-handover section for about 15min (I got in early) before it was my turn to race. The run on the blue carpet was good. I ran past people as I like running bare feet (considering I didn't run in shoes until I reached Aus in 1997). When I got to the sand, it was a pretty slow run as I am not able to have a long stride. I once again ran past people once we got out of the sand into T1.

T1 was pretty uneventful. I don't do flying mounts.

The ride itself was short and sweet. I rode past many. There were so many people who were not riding on the left side of the road so in terms of overtaking - I tried my best. I only had 2 people passed me on the bike and they looked like they were triathletes - they had TT bikes. I got out of my shoes a few hundred metres from the finish like, something which I haven't done in so many seasons. I didn't do a proper dismount.


The run hurt and I am glad I started to run with the running group. I was out of breath on the run and it did hurt. I don't run fast and it showed.

I finished the event under an hour which was my aim. I was the slowest in my team but I also ran the furthest.

A few pointers out of this event:

• Try again next year????
• I wore the new Tri Alliance race suit for the first time during this event. No lubrication of the suit was applied but I wasn't racing very far at all. 
• This just demonstrated the importance of doing interval sessions for both the bike and the run. As I had been doing interval rides on the Thursday morning, it helped with the speed. Due to the lack of interval runs, this showed in my lack of speed.