Cycling - Training, Racing & Commuting

A Quick History
I started cycling in January of 2008 (a month before my first Triathlon). Prior to that, the only cycling I did was when I was a kid around the neighbourhood and to and from primary school until I was 9. Growing up in New Guinea, there wasn't much of a chance to do much cycling due to the safety issues.

When I started training (I use that term very loosely) for my first triathlon, the furthest I would ride would be 10km. Why? Because 10km was the distance for the cycling leg for my first triathlon. Why would I need to cycle for more than that?! Ludicrous! After my first triathlon, cleats were added to my cycling gear. The furthest I would ride would be 40km from Modialloc to St Kilda (slowly) but I would always come home from those rides exhausted resulting in a nap for a few hours. Cycling was halted for many months and was only resurrected when I decided to get back into triathlons.

Fast forward February/March 2010 when I joined Tri Alliance and this is when the whole cycling took a very sharp turn. Cycling is no longer just getting there and just ride the distance of the race. Before joining the squad, I don't think my speedo had seen 30+km/hr as I would be just riding rather increasing my heart rate and pace just to keep within the Tri Alliance Train. Over the winter months, cycling moved from Beach Road to Studley Park in Kew. Ohhhhh Emmmmm Geee! It was only during these hilly rides did I learn how to use my gears properly and the difference the large and small chain ring made. Before that, I had never been on the small chain ring, I stayed on the large one as the rides I was doing were just flat (Beach Road). The rides grew from 30km...45km...50km...90km - Beach Rd, Studley Park, Great Ocean Rd. I became a more confident cyclist and it was evident during the next season of triathlons where my cycling time improved greatly. It also helped that I upgraded to my Wilier Imperiale for my road bike and bought a Felt B2 TT bike for triathlon racing.

The longest ride to date for me would be Sept 2011 Genovese Kinglake Ride of 120km through rain, hail, shine and a touch of hyperthermia.

Commuting
I then tried commuting to work in 2010-2011 with some success and failures. Commuting to and from work would require much planning on advance as I would have had to pack 3+ bags (fail) as my plan was over Wednesday-Thursday:
Pack bag for swim in the Wed AM, pack bag for work Wed, pack bag for Wed cycling home, pack bag for work Thurs and pack bag for running for Thursday PM run session...That's a lot of packing and organising! I did this once successfully.

One commuting experience was a major fail! It was the day before Ride to Work Day 2010. I had packed my bags ready the night before and cycled home after work. Rain came that afternoon. I had ridden in the rain before during training and thought nothing of it but cycling in the rain during peak hour traffic?! Fail. Heavy rain = visibility of zero! I had to cancel the plan and asked someone to pick me up from South Melbourne and drove me and my bike back to my car.


Squeeky - My first road bike



Cue present day. This morning I commuted to work for the first time in 2012. Instead of using the main road, I rode the bike paths along Beach Road (using the IM Melb run route), through to Port Melbourne, Docklands route and getting into work avoiding traffic and having to go through the CBD. In total, it was a 33km route (initially I thought it was 37km) which took about 1:30 or so. I rode the paths casually (didn't go beyond 26km/hr) as the bike path was twisting and turning, you had to avoid shrubs, rocks, pot holes, glass, dead possums, pedestrians, (live) animals and I was also riding my old "Squeeky" road bike. I only had to ride on the roads where necessary (road works, bike path ends) but generally I felt more relaxed than I anticipated.

There was also a slight moment this morning when I woke up at 6am - that maybe I should just throw this commuting thing out the window and just drive into work instead as I was slightly nervous.

I didn't do much packing of the bags as I carried my backpack (with work clothes, wallet and phone) on the bike (my bag wore a high-vis safety vest too - safety first!) and I am still in recovery from my surgery (no running yet) -->  no need to pack running clothes. The weather this morning was also perfect for commuting - no wind, no rain and the temperature was cool as I only had arm warmers and a cycling vest over my normal knicks and jersey. It is forecasted for a chance of THUNDERSTORMS this afternoon/evening....fingers crossed that I am still able to commute home. If not, it will be a looooooooong train ride home.

Road to Recovery....

....is slowly coming to an end for this little lady.

Since my tonsilectomy surgery on the 5th April, I have really done nothing but sleep, eat, play with my little pup, take some more meds (which make me drowsy) and I fall back to sleep. I had the entire Easter weekend and a whole week of work to recover and have done the following:

• Cleaned my bikes - good old squeeky, my Felt to sell and my Wilier (ready for winter rides)
• Read 4 books on the iPad (Kindle App)- Chrissy Wellington's and The Hunger Games Trilogy (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mokingjay)
• Completed 95% of my tax return document gathering task for 2009-2010 financial year. Yeah I know, its bad and I dont know why I dont do them earlier, they are just so low on my to do list.
• Walked the dog on a daily basis (after day 4 of recovery)

Little Lucy - She is 10 years old but weighs 2kg and still looks like a pup

• Cleaned the loungeroom (after watching Hoarders, a TV show - it kind of freaked me out)
• Reflected (big time).

Reflection
I have looked back on my past performances and realise why my times (although have improved due to my fitness levels) have not been fast enough to move up to even the middle of the age group. I have no grunt! I am still in the mindset of completing the distances (thats it) and conserving enough energy until the end. I have done 2 seasons of sprints with the added Olympic distance races in 2011/2012 but it has gone to a point where I must no longer participate in them but I must actually compete or race.

I don't have a competitive personality. I don't like competitions/awards unless I am sure that I will win. This is why I enter in awards for work because due to the contributions I have made in my work industry which has lead me to win several awards over the past few years. I have never been an athletic person and this is why I dont race. The reason why I do triathlons is I race against myself, pushing my abilities and setting the benchmark higher for myself. What is the point of comparing yourself against others when:

• You are physically different to others (I personally have short legs, weak core and I hold my fat around my stomach area, not my thighs or butt)
• You have different weakness and strengths to others
• You have good days and bad days (not in sync with others)
• You have illness, injuries or niggles different to others
• You have done more training the days/weeks/months before compared to others

In training, I might pass people (yes, in rare occasions it does happen). This is not because I am out there to compete (and the term SMASH YOU), I am just pushing my own boundaries and setting my own benchmark higher than before. Other people might take this the wrong way and think that all I am doing is competing and beating them but it is not true - all I am doing is pushing my own speed, endurance and pace. This is something which Ollie (our Head Coach) has mentioned (and reminded us) several times in the Tri Alliance team meetings. Don't use squad members as competition, use them as motivators. Motivator is a powerful tool. You may want to pick a few athletes in your squad, knowing that they are better than you but aim to their standard (keeping it all in realistic standards of course, no point is trying to keep up with Usain Bolt), try and keep up with them and use their speed, endurance and pace to improve your own speed, endurance and pace.

What I need to do from this day onwards is to be more competitive and better my times, not just pace along merrily (so all I am doing is finishing a race). I need to get more GRUNT! When I am doing the races, do them like I am racing (to win). I know that I will never win my age group but I need to race like it is the difference between podium and nothing! Every second counts. My Mental Game - is something which I need to work on for the new season.

Oh Recovery Month - I HEART YOU!

This week is the official start of my recovery phase! After having done the Run for the Kids event (official Herald Sun published paper time of 1:26:14), I am not really lifting a finger in my training and I feel kinda like a kid wagging school!

There is a small group of people still training for Dextro Sydney Olympic, Port Mac (IMAus), Busselton (70.3) and Port Douglas Olympic but most of the Tri Alliance guys and gals are on (training) holiday mode. Last night, instead of swimming, I went out for dinner on Smith Street. Turkish dips and mese platter with some meat added, baclava, turkish delight, coffee...what a great evening it was!

This morning was another sleep in and not having to pack the bike in the car the night before with the windtrainer, clothes and making sure things are ready for a windtrainer session. I may shadow Mick at swimming on Wednesday night, I may not, depends on how I feel. I do have to prepare food to eat for the next few days as I am getting a tonsilectomy on Thursday.

No excercise after the operation which is why I planned it around recovery month. I won't feel guilty about not getting up in time for the long rides, runs or getting into work. What I am actually planning to do whilst I have a week off work is to do my tax return (2009-2010 and 2010-2011), clean my house and put things on ebay to sell to pay off the operation, save up enough money to pay off my Malaysia trip and to pay off the new Cannondale Slice bike (which has already arrived in the shop!).

Over the month of April, I will probably get back into about 3 sessions a week during the week of the 16th April onwards. Then it will be the start of the base training in May, then it will progress to the Long Course during the month of June onwards. We will be having Time Trials again in May which will be the base of our swim, ride and run times for 2012. Will be interesting to see how I go considering I have taken a different approach with my training this past summer.

I will need to save up enough money also to pay for Tri Alliance Lorne Camp too which will be around Queens Bday holiday. Can't wait for this camp. It would be good to see how much I have improved over the years and it is also one of the best organised camps too.

Doing it for the Kids - A Race Report

So yesterday was my 4th Run for the Kids 14.38km run. I beat my previous year's time by over 5min (close to the 6min mark). It may be around the 1:26 mark (according to my Garmin) and I will wait for the official time in the paper on Tuesday.

Even though my run didn't start until 9:15, I had to arrive around 8am for the Team Layla photo shoot. Remembering the hectic traffic and the time it takes to find a car spot, I left the house at 6:45am to try and find a car spot by 7:30am. I ended up finding one of the very last few free spots available around 7:15 - a whole 45minutes early.

I received a short sleeve shirt to wear on the day but when scissors were handed around if anyone wanted to cut their sleeves (most people received a long sleeve shirt), I opted to cut my sleeves off and wear it as a singlet. I decided that instead of placing my bag in the storage area, I was just going to run with my keys and leave my bag in the car so I can just leave after the run was finished - best idea!

I decided to take a Shotz Wild Bean gel about 15min before the run start for the initial kick of energy as I had my regular smoothie for breakfast that morning. The line for the toilets were (once again) stupidly long so I was so glad I went to the ones off the side street rather than in the park. This is my first run without music. Ever since the Run Technique lessons with Tony Benson, I have not done any running with my ipod and I am actually enjoying it. He made a great point that when you have music, your rhythm is off (cadence) and you lose concentration on your technique. I have to say, ever since I have parked the ipod to my speakers and not used them in my runs, I have improved on my running in folds. I concentrate on my own pace, my technique and ensure that my body does not laze when it is hurting.

The first few kms of the run is always interesting. I actually stayed on the left of the run so that the faster people can overtake me but I found myself overtaking many people. When we ran through the tunnel, I actually found my pace increase and was weaving through the crowds too. Having done this course 3 times previously, I knew where the drink stations were so I was relieved that there was one coming up after the Burnley tunnel. I remember in preivous years that in between the 3km through to the 6km mark, all the guys run off to the side of the road for a toilet stop and this year was no different. It was actually quiet disgusting to see all the men peeing against the side of the road. After the tunnel, it was then onto the West Gate bridge. This course starts to get quiet undulating and the elevation goes up and then back down. Remembering there is a drink station before the Bolte bridge entrance, I washed my face with a cup of water to cool down as it was getting sweaty.

The Bolte Bridge is amazing! I did slow down a bit as running with activated calves (up hill) for about 1km was tiring. Going down was a different matter and this is when I took my second gels for the day as it was around the 45min mark. The run through Docklands was intersting as the route was more cramped than the previous years. Many people cheated around these areas and cut through the park. I say cheat as they are taking a shortcut but it is not like they were achieving anything out of it...you are running with 15000+ people. After Docklands, there is another hill which is up Collins St. Once again, I struggled up this hill as it was around the 12km mark and my legs were burning like lava was through my blood. After the hill, it was straight along Southbank, up Flinders St and onto St Kilda Rd to the finish line in the park. I was running in front of a pair of guys running the entire way in Bananas in Pyjamas outfits which had the whole crowd cheering which made my run more interesting. Kids were cheering and it made me smile the entire way.

The last 1km to the finish chute was great. People were cheering and waiting for their loved ones to run through. Once I crossed the finish line, pressed stop on my Garmin, I walked directly to my car to drive to St Kilda to watch the presentations, take team photo and help unpack the TA Taj. I think it is important to make an appearance as a coach at triathlon events. People appreciate the support too.

Run for the Kids is definitely a great course and event to do. I am devastated that next year 2013, the Run for the Kids will be held on the same day as Ironman Melbourne which means that I will be either volunteering at IMMelbourne or I will be doing the 3.8km swim and the marathon as part of a team. Devastated that I wont be part of the R4K event in 2013.

Exciting times ahead!!

Last night, we had our Tri Alliance coaches meeting. It was a great way to re-cap the last 2011-2012 season, thanking the coaches and talk about the future and what Tri Alliance will be looking into doing for the next period. Something BIG is happening and I am getting so excited about it! It is still a secret which only the coaches know about but all I can say is the Tri Alliance business/family will be massive and there will be so many changes (for the better). Things which have been disclosed by Tri Alliance is that there will be a change in the location of the headoffice, we will be partnering up with a major bike brand, which will benefit Tri Alliance members in a massive way and there are several specialist coaches who will be providing their expertise to members of Tri Alliance.

When I heard about the news last night, I was over the moon!!! I seriously cannot wait! So grateful to Ollie and Sarah for welcoming me into the Tri Alliance coaching circle. I can't wait to contribute to the growth of the squad.

I am also going to be using the existing Tri Alliance facilities such as Altitude as it is not as expensive as I thought!!! Will look into altitude training for my running and biking. I will also be looking into the one-on-one swim technique with Ryan for a couple of sessions. Although this service is not cheap, a session with Ryan would pay back with wonders.

Timing is Everything...

As Tri Alliance manned two drink stations as part of IMMelbourne, we were provided with two entries into any IM races in Australia for 2012-2013 - this included IMWA in Busselton 2012 (sold out) IMAus at Port Macquarie and IM Melbourne which opens its entries today 30th March at 11am.

The "Golden Ticket" lottery was available to all Tri Alliance members and if you volunteered, you get a double chance into the draw. I entered into the lottery. Why? Why not?! This is not a scholarship which is given to an athlete who deserves it most, it is a lottery. Tri Alliance did make it clear that you only enter if you are serious about the training loads and about the dedication you need to have to do this event. I am a dedicated person and would be humbled to have won the ticket (for IM Melbourme) and would put my honest heart and soul into training for this. I even said to a few of the girls in the squad - if I get it, it would be awesome, if I dont, its a sign that I am not ready.

The draw occured this morning at 9am and the winners were Alex and Andy from the squad. Even though this is a lottery and not a scholarship - I would still say that they are both deserving winners. Great guys!

As for me - I would love to enter as a relay team for IM Melbourne 2013. I would love to do the 3.8km swim and the 42.2km marathon. Just need to find someone to do the 180km bike ride in between the swim and the run! I think entries for relay team open later in the year so would be good to assess then. I would have done 2 half marathons (October for Melbourne Marathon and as part of the Shep 70.3 halfironman) - IM Melbourne is 12 weeks (or so) from Shep. A marathon should be do-able.

IM Melbourne for 2014 is definitely on the cards. If everything goes to plan, I would like see if these are on the horizon over the next 12-18 months:

Noosa 2012 - Confirmed
Shepparton 70.3 2012 - Confirmed
Geelong Long Course 2013
Singapore 70.3 17th March 2013

I would love to do a race overseas and not too far from home so thats why I chose Singapore 70.3. I know family there and it would be a great environment to race (hot & humid). Hawaii 70.3 would be an awesome race to do as it is in a similiar location to the Kona Ironman course but the amount of money needed for this event is too much. Flights $3000 - $5000, accomodation $100-$200 per night and living allowances would mean that I would have to save $5000 - $10,000 for a race. Singapore would be much cheaper and in an environment which I am very comfortable with. It would also be a great spot for my family to support (mum & dad may be able to go back to Malaysia on their way through and Kai being in Perth).

Before I forget - I purchased my ROADID today. I highly recommend everyone to buy (and wear it) when you are out on your bike or even on your run. It has proven to be a great asset by Michelle from my squad when she fell off her bike 3 weeks ago. When the ambulance came, they knew her name and her medical details.

Just as I type the final words of this entry - IMMelbourne 2013 sold out in less than 5min.

Lessons Learnt

Yesterday, 25th March 2012 was the inaugural Ironman Melbourne. Ironman is the "true" triathlon distance of 3.8km swim, 180km ride and a 42.2km run. As part of this event, Tri Alliance were manning 2 drink station along the run course. The first was Mentone at the 22km mark and the second was at the 38km mark at Elwood. I was at Mentone from 11am onwards helping to set up and manned the "food" station from about 12 - 6pm. My shift was suppose to be from 12:30-4:30 but it was hard to leave the station as the triathletes were going through, I just didn't want to miss out on anything - its a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Many people have a goal of doing an ironman distance triathlon one day. Yes I have to admit that it has been in my mind before when I first saw the Ironman event on ESPN when I was in my teens. It was only when I did my first swim in the pool, my first ride on a bike or even my first ever proper run did I realise how hard doing an ironman distance actually is.

My longest triathlon distance to date is an Olympic Distance which is a 1.5km swim, 40km ride finishing off with a 10km run. I have done 2 of this distance triathlon before. The first being at Noosa 2011 (no wetsuit swim, hot and humid conditions with one steep hill), the second being at Geelong Feb 2012 (long 1.8km wetsuit swim, hard undulating ride and a hilly run). My next distance goal is my half ironman at Shep 70.3 - 1.9km swim, 90km ride and 21.1km run.

Before doing an ironman distance, personally, I would need to do at least 2 half ironman distances (or long course equivalent) which includes one race overseas. I would really love to do my first ironman distance in Melbourne. Doing the Ironman distance in Melbourne has its advantages which outweighs its disadvantages:

• Knowing the course - its terrain, wind directions, temperatures
• Having friends and family close by to support throughout the day
• Little to no additional money needed to be saved apart from the $800+ or so for registration - no airfares, no accommodation, little to no living expenses needed

With such an epic event to go through, the last thing you want to do is worried about the unknown. 

Doing a triathlon race is as much about the mental battles to get through this event and not just how your body can physically get through 14+ hours (this is the time I estimate my ironman). I must first get through my goal of my half ironman and embrace the journey along the way - it will be tough, no doubt about it.

I think if everything goes according to plan and I still have my health and my body is able - an ironman will be a goal to tick off. I know that my body will not be ready for Ironman Melbourne 2013 - 362 days will not prepare me for an ironman. Maybe it will be (near) possible in 2014 but will this goal be too early to achieve? To some - they say yes, you can do anything if you put your mind to it, believe in yourself, believe in your dreams. To the realist, the perfectionist, the logical - I will need time to train my body to do the distances, I will need to prepare mentally to overcome the fear of failure and fear of injuries.

Yesterday during the 15 hours I was out there volunteering and supporting, it was the most incredible experience I have ever had in my life. I see the pro (professional triathletes) come through, they didn't even look like they were in any pain whatsoever through to the average joe and jane who signed up and with the sheer determination, wanted to finish this race within 17 hours and call themselves ironman. It was amazing. I had so much fun yesterday helping people out in the run leg and handing out lollies and bananas. It was amazing seeing the people I know through Tri Alliance go through this event. It was also mind blowing that Ollie has his place now at Kona, its going to be an amazing year ahead for the club. 

You are better than you think you are...

Tonight, Tri Alliance was treated to an evening with Joe Gambles (supported by Ascend Sports) then there was a small presentation by Dax Stanley, one of the guys who trains with us.

I enjoyed both presentations but I could relate to Dax's story more than Joe's. Joe would be one of the guys who had always been good at sports, competitive and will only compete in a race if he knew he would podium. Joe is an elite athlete, he is sponsored. Dax on the other hand, only started triathlons 3 years ago to lose weight and get fit. He use to weigh over 100kg and only started to watch for his weight due to 'fear'. Fear is something which Dax brought up this evening as one of the motivators in his life. Doing triathlons and losing weight because his fear at that time was about being there for his son. Now he is raising money for his ironman in support of colitis which is what his wife Amanda has. Although Dax is sponsored in small ways, he still has a full time.

Which brings me to the most lightbulb moment of the evening. There is definitely pressure in being a full time athlete which many age group triathlete out there don't realize. Many people just want to quit their job and just train and race. When you take things into the real world, no brand want to associate themselves to someone who won't be winning races as their competitors names are being seen by winners, not average triathlete. If you don't have a good race, there is a pressure that the sponsorships can be withdrawn. You also have to pick the races which will bring your sponsorship the biggest exposure. Forget your small no name, no media and fun triathlons. You have to race with big name (fast) triathlete as they are the ones that attract the money.

I guess that is what I have always said about mixing money with your hobbies. A hobby is no longer a hobby if money is brought into it and it no longer becomes fun and thats when you enjoy it less which eventuates to you moving onto the next hobby. I guess I am still enjoying triathlon and it is also part hobby/part using it to maintain a good weight. There is no way I am want to be a professional as one, I know that there is no way I am fast or good enought to be a professional and secondly, I don't think a professional triathlete lifestyle is for me. I like being 'home' and having my dog with me. Being a professional triathlete would not only require an increased load in training but you have to constantly prove to your sponsors that you are worthy of their money. I am doing triathlons for me and not for someone else. That's the most important thing.

To cap this entry off, Dax said something which will remain with me for my build towards Shep.

"You are better than what you think" with this quote, I will now consider myself as a triathlete - which is something which I have never thought I deserve the title of.

I AM A TRIATHLETE!!

The Race

On the 30th Jan 2012, I registered to do my first half ironman event. This event is a sanctioned 70.3 ironman event at Shepparton on the 18th November 2012. For those who are not familiar to what this event is (or even what a triathlon is about), there will be 3 main legs.

The Swim - The race starts with a 1.9km swim. For many, the swim is the hardest part of doing a triathlon as (for me personally) the hardest to learn as the sport is very technical. In 2008, when I did my first triathlon as part of the Brooks Fun Tri (now commonly known as Active Feet Fun Tri) organized as part of the Supersprint series, I trained so hard to just do 300m in open water. Since joining Tri Alliance, I am more confident in the water as I am more aware of technique and what is required to be a more efficient swimmer. A full ironman swim leg is 3.8km swim. I have swam close to this distance as part of the Jalna Big Bay swim from Port Melbourne to Williamstown on 26th Feb 2012 of 3.2km.

The Bike - the halfironman ride is a 90km time trial ride. What is the difference between an ordinary 90km and one which you have to do for a triathlon? For a triathlon, you have to ride your own race. You are not able to draft off another triathlete and you have to ride fast on your own fuel and determination. I have ridden several distances over 90km before but never on a tri bike (always on road bike) and never had to do a half marathon afterwards. This brings me to the next (and last) leg of a triathlon.

The Run - the last part of a half ironman triathlon is the 21.1km run off the bike. I have done 2 half marathon runs in my life and both were done in 2010. As part of my build towards my half ironman, I will be doing several running events during the winter training season which includes 10km Run Melbourne, Perth City to Surf and the half marathon as part of the Melbourne Marathon running festival. My aim for this half marathon to be done in October is below the magical 2hour mark.

The total half ironman distance must be achieved within 7 hours. I am aiming to be as close to 6.5 hours as I can.

Swim < 00:50
Ride < 03:30
Run < 2:30

My demon which I have to overcome will be my running ability. 2011 was a terrible year for me, my legs and the ability for my to run. I was injured 7 days prior to Run Melbourne due to overloading and poor technique and I have had a few set backs even after Noosa 2011 due to shin splints.

It is not just the care I need to take when it comes to running which I need to be aware of, it is also my enthusiasm for running which is nothing - compare my swimming and cycling. This is something which I need to learn to enjoy. I guess I will love running when I see myself actually being good at it and also achieving the goals I have set out to tick off my bucket list.

For the moment, I need to set some time aside for my first running event for 2012-2013 which is the 14.38km Run for the Kids which is on the 1st April 2012 which is also the same day as Tough Mudder Melbourne and the last triathlon for the season at St Kilda.

New Beginnings

I decided to start a new training blog to focus more on my journey towards my first half ironman. Minus my personal life and concentrating on my goals.

Here's to a new journey.

Nissan Corporate DUATHLON

Yes, you heard that right. I did another Duathlon! Due to the crazy rain we had during the week and over Saturday, the Nissan Corporate Triathlon became a Duathlon. The 400m swim was replaced by a 800m (400m beach, 400m concrete) run. Same format as last year.
I was the second person off after Lidia. Pretty much after I saw her getting into T1, I decided to not wait around too much and decided to wait within the transition area known as the "pen" due to the fencing and the number of people squeezed in an area. It was interesting to see the dynamics of the people in transition. Some people don't pay too much attention and didn't realize that their team mates haves finished. There was one guy who got angry as he waited for like...2 minutes and when his team mate came through he mentioned that he had been waiting and was not happy!! Even the commentator said "calm the farm down" followed a friendly reminder to people that this is a fun event!!! Chill out!! God I would not like to be in her shoes (the team mate) having to deal with that person!

Run 1
This part was not too bad. I kept a good pace but there were people who were quick off the mark and sprinted past me. I was trying my hardest to stride out and increase my cadence but a sand run is difficult. I had passed a few people and even more during the run into transition. Running on concrete was difficult as the small rocks and hard surface was not nice. I am glad that I ran bare feet as shoes would have been difficult! Last thing you want to do is get sand in them.

T1
This was LONG! The transition area itself was long. As we were running on wet grass, I was able to pass a few people which was good. As I had my sunglasses on during the first run, all I had to do was out my helmet on and off I went with the bike. As I was pushing the bike on the saddle, I passes a few people too.

Bike
I actually found this part to be difficult. I had trouble getting my shoes on as my feet were so dirty and wet. Eventually I had my left feet into the shoe and strapped in but took forever to put my right feet into the shoe and the strap was not prepared properly so I rode the entire way with it unstrapped. It was only a 10km ride anyway so it didn't matter. As I had breakfast at 4:30am and nothing else to eat and I raced around 9am, I was low on energy. Thank god I had a gel taped to my bike. I wasn't going to but thank god I did! That was the only form of energy I had and I took it about 3km into the ride. I passed many people on the ride and only had 2 people pass me (one guy looked like a triathlete) and another guy looked like he wash keen cyclist. I found it tough on the bike as the roads were wet and my legs were not cooperating! Gotta do a long ride next week before Portarlington.

T2
I couldn't do the tri alliance dismount as there were too many people. There was also a slight hesitattion as it was this race 12 months ago that I fell off my bike and had a minor concussion. I didn't wear a hat for the race so all I had to do was put my shoes on, ventolin and my just in case gel in my top and off I went.
Run
The beginning of the run was not great. My legs were hurting and my chest was also in pain. After a few hundred meters, I could pick up my pace more and I made sure that I was under 6min/km. Good news was that after the initial warm up, I was actually running close to 5:15-5:30 pace which was awesome! I kept telling myself, "all you got to do is a 4km run today and that was it"! I kept increasing my pace and whenever I felt my legs decreasing in speed, I just picked out people in the run that I decided that I was going to pass. Best run ever!

Overall, my time was close to 53min according to my garmin. Oh, and I forgot to press lap on the bike so I just decided to just leave it and record the entire thing as a long run! I will know which part is the ride as the pace and speed picks up.

It was a fun day. Kraft put on a great spread but I was not hungry and just had my protein shake and drank water. I did have a few pieces of bacon from the spread but nothing else.

The uniforms we had was another thing to note!! Bright yellow and green!! Not the most flattering of colors! And thank god I was able to exchange my (small) tri suit to a 2 piece men's outfit as it fitted so much better!! I prob won't wear the top again but the shorts were great!

Another race done and dusted! One more to go. Let's see if we can pull a rabbit out of the hat for this one hey!

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

As the uniforms we had to wear last weekend were yellow (and green) - they are not the most flattering colours for the body. As I was wearing a two piece (male) - it did not sit well during the run as you can see from the photos below. Once again - a word of warning - pictures may bring a bout of laughter - you may pee your pants.

The Big Bay Swim - 3.2km

This morning, I did the Big Bay Swim from Port Melbourne to Williamstown. The route is 3.2km but due to the strong currents and the lack of markings of the route, I my swim would have been close to 4km. This swim is an absolute Personal Best. I have never swam this distance before, not even in a pool and this swim would be in the deepest water ever!!

The girls who did it with me were Claire, Renee, Lidia and Juzzie. We were all nervous about this swim as it would be all our longest swim. We all arrived there around 8am but we had plenty of time to chill out especially as the swim start was delayed due to a tanker being in the way.

The swim was a special one. We were first blessed by Father Bob McGuire. It was a heartfelt blessing as we acknowledged the owners of the land and also gave a blessing to a good swim by all.

When the start gun went off, many people ran into the water. At this point, I was one of the last people in the water, I was so relaxed and didn't even swim until I was chest deep in water!

Once I started swimming, it was fine. We had great directional mark ups up to the 1km mark. After that, there was nothing! That is also when the currents started to pick up and I was in deep deep water! My body was sinking as the waves were picking up. I have never had this sensation before in an open water swim. Shallow water waves (like the ones at Elwood, Sandringham or Brighton) is nothing compared to swimming in the deep ocean. The waves were so strong that at some points, my elbows were not high enough for the waves and were crushed upon impact.

The currents and the lack of direction brought me away from the shore which was a worry. Looking up, I could not see anyone in front of me. Not realizing that I had swam too far away, I had to stop a few times to let the lifesavers tell me where I am suppose to go! There were seconds of worry during the swim as I was in the middle of the ocean!!! But I ploughed through the waves and just kept swimming.

When a lifesaver finally came and told me that I needed to go around the pier, I knew that I was nearly there. The last few hundred meters were pretty satisfying. When I knew where I had to go, I swam faster and more efficiently and passed several people. I saw many people at the finished line and that's when I realized how far off course I had swam. I came in after Renee (she had a coffee in her hand at that point), Clare and Lidia. Juzzie came in shortly after me.
I completed the swim in 1:08:15 and depending on the distance I actually swam, it was awesome. I enjoyed the swim, even with the waves and being in the middle of no where.

Check how oily I am?!

"so....I didn't win this race did I?"

After the swim, there were some showers and a place to get changed. We relaxed a bit and waited for spot prizes to be announced. As not many people were there, the organizers made sure we would win something. I won some cupcakes, (Engine) swim cap and goggles.

It was a great day and another great achievement that I would never had done over 2 years ago. No worries for the Shepparton 70.3 swim of 1.9km now. It is just a matter of being able to ride 90km followed by a half marathon!!

Great Day!!!

Geelong Olympic Distance (OD#2)

Today I raced my second Olympic distance triathlon as part of the Geelong multisport festival over 10-12 Feb 2012.

I should add at this point that I fell off my bike during a training ride on Saturday morning. We walked through much of the sand/gravel before the ride and so much sand was in my cleats. We were doing a course familiarization of the ride course and when it came time to turn around at the lights, I could not get my cleats out of the pedals...there was nothing left to do but to fall off my bike sideways. Luckily there was no traffic on the roads so I fell (as gracefully as I could) on the road. The result of the fall was scrapped knee and elbow, bruises on my quads, groin and hip from the fall itself and the bike falling on my legs. I also have bad whiplash and my neck hurts!!! Will see the physio on Monday.

Throughout Saturday, the rains never stopped!!! There was so much rain that they recorded over 16mm of it but the triathlon still went ahead (BIG phew!!!) As we checked in our bikes in on Saturday, all we had to carry to transition was our bag and pump. I went into transition and took a while to set up everything as my bike was naked!! I bought some pit stop yesterday so that was something new which I added on the bike along with my drink bottle, gels, repair kit, spare tube and for the first time - my shoes on the bike.

After we watched the long course people get through T1, we got into our wetsuits ready for the swim. Not sure if the time for the start was also delayed for the Olympic distances but we got into the water to warm up and off we went.

Swim

God the swim was long...the swim is 1500m but it felt like it went on forever. The first 600m, we swam past 2 red bouys and turned at the white one then we swam past 2 more red bouys for the 500m that also took a while. The hardest was the 300m as people from other age groups were catching up to us and it was hard to see where I was actually swimming to!! I read that you swim towards the ferris wheel so that's what I did. The last 100m was also hard as it was not easy seeing where the swim finish was. During the Gatorade series, I would say that my swim is not down the bottom of the pack but I guess you wouldn't sign up for a race like Geelong unless you know that you can swim 1500m comfortably. I came out of the swim 37 out of 41. I didn't push myself hard enough in the swim. There was several moments where I was trying to swim past people but they were totally blocking me. There was even a girl who was doing back stroke the entire way through the swim (panic much!). When I got my direction and breathing right, I worked on my technique and making sure that I was stretching out as much as I could and also pulling through right. Must work on this for 2012-2013 season.

T1

Transition was good, time to put on the race belt increases transition time but everything else went to plan. Not having to put on the shoes was great and being able to run to the mount line bare feet also helped. For the first time, I also put on the helmet before the glasses which also worked as I had the glasses on top of the race belt.

Ride

God the ride was hard. I really need to work on the ride as my cadence was so low!! I drank too much on the ride and finished it at the 22km mark but thank God that there was aid stations and I grabbed a bottle of electrolytes and filled up the bottle and I had more water to survive the rest of the race. The ride through the salt marsh was disgusting....the smell was foul!! The rain had also stopped but the roads were still wet which also slowed the ride down. I wasn't too comfortable on the ride. Due to the fall the day before, my left knee was bleeding and my left elbow was swollen. To lean on the tri bars on the ride was proving to be difficult but I had to find my "good spot" to hold onto for 40km. Must work on the ride more on the Felt bike. I did ride past several people and even took over few people on the hill climb which was good. Even better, I overtook a few people on the descent too (which is a first).

T2
I dismounted well off the bike! I was very proud of myself and I didnt have an anxiety attack or shaking profusely before the dismount line. Getting into transition, it was a bit of a run through mud and wet grass. It was a matter of placing the bike on the rack, taking helmet off, putting on the shoes and grabbing my cap....off I went. Due to the rain, extra preperations were needed to keep things dry. I had several plastic bags so I placed it on top (covering) the running shoes and also folded the towel differently so the towel was keeping my things dry which worked.

Run

The run was surprisingly very good. My legs were hurting but after about 1km or so, I could get into my running rhythm and kept as much as I could at running at pace of < 6min/km. I tried pacing at 5:30min/km but there were a few hills and that slowed me down. I also walked through several drink stations so that slowed my time down. The run through the park was good and when we went through the transition area and up the street, that's when it started to hurt running. I was running out of energy bad and had to resort to my wild bean shotz gel. Unfortunately I had no water with me so swallowing of the gel was hard and thank god for another aid station before the finishing line. Yes, the run hurt and my run time was slower than Noosa but I felt good during the run. I also ran with my Newtons for the first time in a race which worked out great. I had several blisters on the back of my ankles at the end but only noticed them during presentations. No shin splints to complain about either.

Here is a photo I took post race.

Anxiety & and the art of a graceful bke mount

What the hell is a bike mount you might ask?! Well in the world of (sprint) triathlons, one should never come out of transition with bike shoes on ones feet and mounting their bike after the line only having ran several meters (sometimes hundreds of meters) in a uncoordinated manner as bike shoes have large plastic attachments called cleats. In the world of sprint triathlon, running out of transition barefoot saves you seconds. Seconds which may place you between coming first, getting a podium placing, top 10, top 20...you get my point.

Anyways getting back to the point of this entry, after training with tri alliance for over 2 years now, I have finally found a way to mount the bike with the shoes still clipped in without worrying if I am going to fall over and crash my woman bits on the top tube. Instead of doing the hop-hop method which for over 2 years I have tried to master, I am using the right foot on pedal and swing left leg over seat (aka reverse dismount) method. This method only works if I am on the large chain ring due to the momentum I get from a quarter turn of the 54 teeth chainring and I generally stay in the large chain ring for the entire race anyway. I am no longer spinning my legs over the small chain ring anymore coming into T2. Keeping my ride and spinning on the larger chainring is sufficient. I have not done a tri alliance dismount since my stack of BRW 2011 where I fell off my bike and had a concussion. I actually practiced it today and it is something which I am now comfortable doing in a race.

Alright, what about the Anxienty part? Well when coach Greg had us to demonstrate our bike mounts, I had an anxiety attack. My heart rate shot up and I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. I felt like I needed to spew and tears were rolling down my face. My anxiety stems from my fear of disappointment. This is something which I need to work on. I felt the pressure (especially being a coach) that I needed to know how to mount a bike especially as I have been training with the group for over 2 years. My fear of falling and bringing shame onto the group was playing havoc on my anxiety.

The anxiety attack went on for about 30 minutes or so, even after I had mastered the bike mount. I do need to practice and be more efficient at mounting, placing my feet on the shoes correctly, putting my feet into the shoes, doing up the straps and then doing all that backwards for the dismount part of the race.

I am so glad that I have learnt how to do this part of the triathlon and now I can practice on getting better at it and the other legs of the triathlon especially the run.

Gatorade Brighton Race - A Race Report

So yesterday I completed my first race for 2012 - it was the Gatorade Race 3 - Brighton. It consisted of 500m swim, 20km ride and a 5km run. I haven't done a race since Noosa and this was just a training session to see what I needed to work on before Geelong Race on the 12th Feb 2012.
Nutrition
The day before the race was my cousin's wedding. This meant that I was not able to rest my legs, drink my electrolyte/water requirements and consume enough carbohydrates. At least this race was only a sprint distance as I would not have enough energy to complete an Olympic if it was the case. The only carbohydrates I had for the day was a bread roll during dinner.

Swim
For once, I was not nervous about the swim as part of the triathlon. I had done plenty of ocean swimming over the last 2 months and have done several distances over 500m (having done several 1km swims). I knew the 500m course which supersprint sets up as I had done several of their swims at Elwood having to compensate for the duathlons.

My swim time was about 12 minutes or so. I know that I had completed the 500m quicker as this time included the run up the beach and also the run up the ramp into transition which would have been about 2min or so.

My sighting was better and I actually swam past people during the course which felt great. I did also swim past several swimmers which were in the age group before me too (but that is probably due to their swimming and not mine). NO asthma attacks and I was comfortable throughout. I even increased the intensity from about 300m onwards and swam over a few people who looked like ther were slowing down. I know that I need to swim faster in the water but this is attributed to pushing my threshold and also better at swimming through people.

T1
There was nothing I could work on in this leg as I did everything I would do usually. My wetsuit removal was good and went according to plan. I would just have to do things slightly faster.

Bike
To be honest, I could have pushed myself harder on the bike but I knew that I had to save energy for the run leg. There was a southerly so a head wind was felt when we rode towards Black Rock. Coming into Brighton was a great ride as I reached speeds of up to 45km/h. I overtook several people on the bike. I swam faster than both Kerri and Kathryn but they overtook me on the bike by a few seconds.

T2
I didn't have an opportunity to dismount properly due to the crowds. In transition, putting on my shoes and cap I had to remember to take the Garmin off the bike and put it on the wrist. I could have gone through T2 faster but at least I remembered everything I needed (such as my gel and my Ventolin).

Run
I felt better on the run this time around compared to previous races. After the initial few hundred metres or so, I could keep my pace to < 6min/km. I tried to keep the pace around 5:30min/km throughout and made sure that I didn't drop well below this pace. This is something which I will need to work on and ensuring that I am able to push to closer to 5min/km during the last km or so before the finish line. Legs are ok from the run and only a slight pain around the groin area was felt but it wasn't too much of an issue. Gel was taken at the 3km mark which gave it plenty of time to kick in and also enough energy to finish.

My overall time for the triathlon was 1:22:55 which was about 3 min slower than what I calculated (my ride and run was 1:08 and I was counting on a swim to be < 12min) but overall I felt good throughout and had fun for the day. These sprint distances should be taken as a fun race as they are used to indicate what I need to work on.