Dirty Duathlon - My Race Report

So this morning, I completed my first official duathlon! The forecast was showers/gale force and I heard all this on Saturday night which woke me up several times. In the morning, I got all my things together and got my hydration sorted before I left the house. Apple maps advised me that it would take approx 40min to get to the You Yangs park from Armstrong Creek but it ended up taking approx 30min to get there. I arrived just as the parking area opened and I realised that parking was in a private property (like, someone's front yard). I got the bike out of the car and applied lube to the chain as nothing had been done to the bike since my Dirty Gran Fondo ride, got my bags together and rode to the venue.

I was so early to the race venue that by the time I picked up my race pack, put the race number on the bike, set up my transition and visited the toilet, I still had 45min left to kill before race briefing so I just sat at the stage area (the only area to sit) and just killed time on social media.

With 15min left until race start, I had my pre race gel for the day and took my bag to storage. We were ushered to the start and then it was "off we go".

The start was slightly uphill so my heart rate shot up quick. After a few hundred meters or so, I realised that my legs were just heavy and didn't want to move...I was so frustrated, I could run faster than what I was doing but the legs just didn't want to play! I knew what I had done wrong - I did a 80km ride on Saturday and as much as half of the ride was done at <20km/hr (with the Liv Ride), the other half was also done with intensity. When I came home from the ride, I didn't recover well, I didn't ice my legs and I didn't spend time on the rollers. I paid the price and lessons were learnt.

During the first run, I noticed that I was second last in the race. When I finished the 5km run, I was so glad to get onto the bike. I had ridden this course before. It's not too technical and when you have good bike skills, you can do this bike course very well as it can be flowing fast. For me, I don't have the confidence and enough bike skills to handle myself at high speeds so I still applied brakes. I actually rode through some of the areas which I never did during my previous rides so that was something which I am extremely proud of. I actually "raced" the bike leg as much as I could. I had no one around me the entire time as the first run really blew my time out big time. Whilst I was going passed the marshals, I was telling them that I could be last or second last on the course.

I was a bit disappointed that the bike finished and I had to do a run. It is only 4km but my legs were still not coming out to play. I jogged the first 1km and my legs just collapsed under me that I had to stop and walk on and off for 2km in between. With 1km left to go in the run leg, the volunteer started to ride with me - my emotions at this point was mixed....One side of me was just shattered, I came to realise that I am THE LAST PERSON on the course (the other guy must have pulled out) knowing that I was the only one left last was just a huge slap in the face (not intentionally of course). But the other side of this emotion was actually a positive one - he was actually encouraging so I kept my run accountable. I think as I was the only one out there for a while, it felt like any run I was doing by myself - not stepping out of my comfort zone and stopping whenever I liked but with him there, I made sure that I was just running and stopped thinking about how shit I was feeling.

I finished the 4km run in about 27min which was ridiculous. When I crossed the line, they announced that I was the last person across the line and when I went to the bike storage, it was the only bag left on the table, I walked over to the transition area to grab my things and my bike was the last one left - everyone had gone home. I mentioned in my last post that I was sure that I was going to place last again but I guess I am reflecting on this more and how I shouldn't be (satisfied at being last)!

Lessons Learnt/Comments:

• I need to still train through these non A races. This means that I need to take care of my body better and recover better in preparation for the next day's event. 
• Do runs off the bike. In the next level of my training, I will start to incorporate Wednesday morning rides so I will try as much as I can to do runs off the bike. For now, I will somehow do this after my Thursday morning spin class and my Saturday long rides. 
• Wore the SOAS tri shorts for the first time. My stomach is still huge at the moment so the shorts are rolling down my stomach. This was frustrating me during my run. I am still to try and race with the entire SOAS tri top and shorts. Waiting for the warmer months do try this. 
• I wore thick wool socks with a pair of cycling socks as I thought it would be cold. This was an overkill and will not be doing this next weekend for Run Forrest. 
• For the terrain, I would not recommend trail shoes - normal runners is sufficient as the run is over the fire trails and not forrest trails or single track. 
• I rode without gloves and I found it fine for this event.

Race Stats:

Run 1 = 33min, 

Bike + Transition = 1:11

Run 2 = 27min

I placed DFL for the entire event - 79th for all the people who turned up and finished for the day. 10/10 for females 19-35, 21/21 for all females. 

Dirty Duathlon - The Preview

This Sunday, I have my first official duathlon event. Although I have completed several duathlon races - most of them being the corporate triathlons, I have never signed up for one on purpose!

This one is an unusual one too as it is off road. It is held at You Yangs and the event distances are:
5km Trail Run
17km Mountain Bike Ride
4km Trail Run

Why did I sign up for this event? I have mentioned before that this year, I am making myself accountable for my training and signing up to events, albeit will occur expenses throughout the year, will make me push beyond my comfort zone and will help me achieve my goals.

I felt that this event was do-able for someone with little confidence in mountain biking and less than ideal fitness levels. I have really enjoyed riding out at You Yangs (Kurrajong trails) so I signed up for this event when I saw it on social media around April. 

As this is a duathlon and off-road, my gear would need to completely change! The event is held at You Yangs, so I thought I would stay at my parent’s house out of Geelong so the drive over there would be around 45min instead of 1.5 hours.'

I have decided to wear just a plain pair of tri shorts for the entire event. I have never really found it too uncomfortable on the saddle on the mountain bike even though the saddle is totally different from the one I have on all my road/CX bikes. For the top half, I am either going to wear a short sleeve or a long sleeve running shirt. I am not going to bother with a cycling jersey or tri-top. I currently don’t have a tri suit to wear and I don’t think a tri suit will be required for a duathlon although I would like something to hold my stomach in. Considering it will most likely be showers on Sunday (today’s forecast for Sunday) – it will most likely be a long sleeve shirt. I will wear socks throughout the event, I might even double sock up for some comfort. 

On Run 1, I will have my trail runners on. Coming into transition, I will change out of my running shoes and into my MTB shoes, put on my Camelbak hydration bag for ease of drinking on the bike, have my helmet near my bike. Coming back into Run 2, I will change out of my bike shoes and into my running shoes, take off my hydration bag and off I go. 

I don’t know if I will wear a hat or glasses. I won’t be carrying any hydration on the run as there is a drink station on each one of the run legs. I will carry my nutrition on me. I will definitely have a gel before the start and one (or maybe two) more on the bike and then nothing for the 4km run. Based on my estimations, I will do the following times:

Run 1 – 0:30 – 0:35min

Bike – 1:15 – 1:20

Run 2 – 0:20 – 0:30

Total time of 2:20 – 2:35 (including transition)

Considering that I am very hesitant on the mountain bike even though the course itself is not technical, I am prepared to take the DFL placing again. Once again, I am not bothered as I am doing this event to make my training accountable and placing myself out of my comfort zone.

We received our race numbers yesterday - I am "duo29". 

Post Fondo & Sri Chimnoy Race Report

The Fondo ride I completed on Sunday 17th May was my longest spent on the saddle since March 2014. That ride really put me out of my comfort zone in terms of strength work on the bike as well as endurance. On Monday, I decided to have a sleep in and complete my strength session after work. This meant that my swim was going to be pushed to Tuesday.

My body was still fatigued as I could only finish about 500m of swimming on Tuesday morning. The biggest sign that my body was in need of recovery was that I came home early on Tuesday afternoon post site visit for work and pretty much crashed until the next morning. I completed my 2nd strength session for the week on Wednesday night, it was all I could do.  

I didn't want to over-do my training so I decided to stick to running on Thursday night rather than try a double session for the day. I was actually looking forward to running that night which was strange for me as running has always been a hesitated session. Everything about the run was great. We started out with 2 x 1.2km laps of the reserve and the main set was 4 x (1km @ uncomfortable 10km pace followed by 200m walk). I made a new friend (Kirsten/Kristen) that evening as we both ran at the same pace. This was followed by a cool down lap where we got to know each other. 

On Saturday, I changed my training plans around and rode with a few friends who live down around the Peninsula. We did hill repeats of Humphries Road. I felt that my strength work on the bike during the Fondo event as well as my strength sessions have helped with the hill climbing. I felt comfortable and definitely used my core during the climb. As I was riding with friends rather than training partners, my average speed was around 20km/hr but it meant that I was able to push myself on the way home without feeling stuffed. 

On Sunday 24th May (today), I entered my second Sri Chimnoy run event. There was 7km, 14km and 21km. I know that I am not fit enough to do run a solid 21km and a month ago I had just done a 10km so 14km was a good distance. Last minute, due to road closures, they shortened the 14km to 12.8km. I left the house around 6:45am this morning, hoping to get to the start line by 7:15 for my usual pre-race prep of a toilet visit. The morning was sooooo crisp! I could not feel my lips nor my fingers. Luckily, we could walk around in our warm gear until around 7:55am, 5 min before race start. I also consumed a gel at this time. 

The 21km and the 12.8km distance started together at 8am with the 7km starting off 5min after us. I started off slow. It took me a while for my body to warm up. Wasn't sure if it was due to my hill climbs on Saturday or the coldness of the morning but my legs just didn't want to move! I remembered hitting the 4km mark and that was when I was happy with my pace and breathing-I was no longer huffing and puffing from my throat. My iPod died at the 5km mark which meant that I was no longer running with music, I just had to pay attention to my body and my technique.

There was a lady who ran past me in purple crop top and purple shorts and I remember seeing her off to the side after a few minutes and I knew that she stopped for toilet duties. What happened after that was something which I couldn't avoid or remove the image from my mind. She ran past me (as she was faster) and she had so much shit running along the back of her shorts. I wasn't sure if she went to do her business but didn't have anything to wipe so she just put her pants back on - it was so wrong!!!

At about 8km, I consumed my 2nd gel at the aid station. With about 5km or so to go, my body started to tell me to stop. My legs started to get heavy but I pushed on. I started to pick people off in front of me to aim for. I could pass some runners in front of me who started to walk whilst I also tried to run away from the people behind me whose footsteps and breathing I could hear. I am happy to report that I ran the entire way, only walked through aid stations. 

With about 1km to go and the path led back along the river, I pushed my little legs out. At this point, the 21km runners ran passed me like I was standing still. The fastest 21km runner finished about 6min before me - that is crazy talk!

Like all events, my Garmin read a shorter distance than the actual event. I finished the 12.7km in 1:16 which I am pretty happy about. I had no expectations for the time for this event, I just wanted an event to make my runs accountable and meaningful. I had my serving of pancakes after the event which is what I love about the Sri Chimnoy runs - no medals or show bags, just fruit and pancakes!!!

(UPDATE) - I placed 48/76 for females and 40/52 for my category (18-39 females). 

Dirty Gran Fondo - My Fondo Race Report

My longest off road ride was 35km - it was done during last year's Dirty Gran Fondo (my first off road event) where the mini one was 35km rather than 30km. Lately, the rides on the mountain bikes have been somewhere between 1 through to 2.5 hours. I knew that I was going to step out of my comfort zone with the 65km.

I did some calculations last week and estimated that I would take more than 5 hours to do this event. My aim was going to go out there and do a ride rather than trying to race against others. I am still not fit enough and don't  have the confidence to tackle the up hills and fast descents respectively.

With regards to nutrition, my plan was a gel per hour so I packed with me enough for 6 hours. I had my hydration in my CamelBak as I wanted to be able to just drink without too much fiddling around with bottles and chewing mud. I kept my spares and canisters within a small tub and kept it in my bottle cage instead.

Our morning didn't start off too well. Apple Maps took us to the middle of nowhere in Wondong so by the time we arrived onsite, we had 20min or so to pick up our race numbers, toilet stop and to prep our bikes for the ride - read - I didn't really touch the bikes, the Canadian did it all for me whilst I went and picked up our numbers.

The Canadian and I got all our shit together just in time as the briefing started and I rode to the back of the line to start the event. We all rode off at 8am and I stayed at the back towards the left so everyone could ride past me without being in the way.

The first 2km was pretty muddy - I tried to pick the right line and tried to be more relaxed. I don't remember much of the first climb apart from getting warm really quickly. I had on a merino wool base layer, my FYXO jersey from last year's Roobaix, fleece arm warmers, fleece knee warmers, fleece ear warmers and two pairs of wool socks.

The routes for the DGF changes every year and this year, they took out that crazy descent which meant that I rode for most of the first 10km. My first "walk" was at the 13km mark but I think it was a short one and where I took off my knee warmers. The second walk was at the 16-17km mark. I could hear the music playing in the distance and knew that I was coming close to the first feedzone. At the 18km mark was where I decided that the arm warmers also had to go.

I really enjoyed the ride after the first feedzone. It was undulating but very manageable (for me). The terrain changed several times but the scenery was great. I walked around 27km mark before reaching the 2nd feedzone around the 35km. At this point of the ride, I realised that anything I do after this will be a PB for me as I have not been on the MTB further than 35km before. Others who were riding the 90km distance also came through this feedzone on their way back towards the finish line so I wasn't too lonely from this point onwards although all of them flew past me in a blink.

I don't really remember much of the last 30km apart from my confidence on the bike improved - I was able to ride descents without applying on the brakes and was able to enjoy the fast speeds without the anxiety of losing control and falling off the bike.

Once I rode through the last feedzone, I knew that I was on the way back to the finish and it was mainly downhill. The Canadian (who rode the 90km) flew past me with 5km to go. At this point, I looked down at my watch and knew that I could finish this ride well within 6 hours. I was happy with the official time of 5:33 even though I had placed DFL in my category (Womens 65km). This was my longest off road ride and I had no idea how I would fare with a ride more than 3.5 hours long, which has been the maximum duration of my long rides since Ironman Melbourne 2014.

I am absolutely amazed at the times that others completed the event in. I am looking forward to getting fitter on the bike and improving my time for next year's event. I am pretty sure that I will do the 65km again on the mountain bike unless I become a cycling machine with awesome bike skills to be able to handle 90km or participate on the CX bike. Next year, my aim will be to not come DFL and to reduce my time closer to the 4 hour mark for the 65km.

Comments/Lesson learnt:

• The strength sessions I have been doing for the last 2 weeks have helped especially with activating the glutes. 
• Trust in my abilities more especially when riding downhill on the descents
• Trust in my abilities in riding up hills on the mountain bike - I was worried more about not being able to unclip off the bike rather than staying on the saddle and pedalling through the climbs. Need to maintain the momentum by spinning my little legs up the climbs.
• I didn't have the urge to go to the toilet at all during the event which surprised me as I am a frequent go-er - although I would recommend that toilets be provided at the feedzones. Being a female, we were not able to stop and pee like the boys on course (unless you are comfortable with that sort of thing).
• I had so much fun throughout the event - at no point did I regret signing up for the 65km. At the 18km mark (Feedzone 1) I actually thought that there was no way that I would complete the 30km as it would have been finished in a blink and I would have gained nothing out of it. 
• Smiling when riding up hills and looking ahead (but not upwards) really helped when I could climb. During the rare moments when I was in the zone, I could actually grind up those hills. It was when I looked up to see how much more further and steeper I had to climb was when I stopped pedalling and walked.
• Next year - 65km - aim for 4 - 4:30! Having done this distance/duration, I know where improvements can be made.

Some Stats:

• Total Distance (according to my Garmin 64.18km)
• Total Moving Time 5:15, total time of 5:33
• Total Elevation 1870m
• Average Speed 11.6km/hr
• Average Moving Speed 12.2 km/hr
• A whole lot of fun! 

Special thanks to Big Hill Events for my 2015 entry. You guys once again did an amazing job with everything - from marketing through to ensuring that everyone would have an awesome time! I am already looking forward to next year's event!

Looking for Fondo

This Sunday (17th May), I will be participating in my 2nd Dirty Gran Fondo (event). I am yet to be fit enough to enter the actual Gran Fondo (90km) so for now, I am happy at riding the shorter distances.

I have written about my first event last year where I entered the 35km. It was my first off road event and with minimal skills, I was happy I got through considering it was a day made for ducks.

I have spent about 20 or so hours on the mountain bike since that event in 2014. Why?

• I fell on my face/head with concussion during a CX skills session in June. Wasn't able to swim/ride/run for 4 weeks.
• Went on 8 weeks long service leave August - September.
• Rode the TT bike since my return from holidays in preparation for the triathlon season of November 2014 through to Feb 2015. 

My bike skills are yet to improve to a level where I can ride the CX bike for this event. I will stick with the mountain bike for now and this Sunday, I have signed up for the 65km. My rider number is 413. Funny enough, last year, my number was 414.

2014 Baby Fondo - James Taylor Photography

 A few lessons learnt from last year which I will take on board for this weekend include:

• I will start out wearing an old jumper/jacket during the briefing but will remove it when I ride. Lesson learnt from last year - I wore a rain jacket last year as it was raining but I got too hot and removed the jacket after riding only 1km or so. The weather this weekend is looking good although the roads will be muddy due to the crazy weather we had. 
• Remember to hydrate on the bike. 
• If it's raining and muddy, what you see at the end of the ride amongst your chamois is not sh!t - don't be alarmed. 
• Bring extra towels, all the toiletries, warm clothing and extra food - after the event, I can take a proper shower, put on warm clothes and eat whilst I wait for others to finish. 
• Bring extra cash - buy a burger from the local club.
• Don't forget that this is a FUN event - don't forget to smile, you never know when the cameras are present. 

If you are reading this blog post and have also entered, don't hesitate to say hello!Good luck!

Slow, Steady, Strength

As I am no longer following the program of my previous squad and not being on a personalised program from my current club, I need to program in my own Build, Taper and Recovery days/weeks. I am really enjoying taking control of my program - making it to suit me (with some mentoring feedback) and my circumstances. If I enter an event on a particular weekend, I need to manage my body before and after the event so I can get back on my feet and train again.

I am calling May as my first month of training for my 2015-2016 season. So far, I have programmed 2 swims, 2 bikes, 2 runs and 2 strength sessions a week. Due to my goal of being a stronger runner for the Shepparton triathlon, my run sessions are currently my "must do" sessions along with my strength.

Tuesday pm for the next 6-7 weeks a skills/drills program which I have paid an additional fee for with Tim O’Shaughnessy as the coach. Thursday pm is tempo running at Duncan McKinnon reserve with Bayside Coach Rob and the long run sessions at the moment have been done by myself on trails and entering running events which I am loving. One weekend will be endurance (trail running) and the next will be speed/pace (run events or trail events).

Cycling at the moment hasn't been the best - the weather hasn't been kind nor providing the safest conditions out there. I don't mind riding in the wind and rain, I do worry about cars and how crazy they get when the weather turns bad. I am loving my spin classes at GESAC, I think I have mentioned that before.

Swimming is something which I need to stay consistent on. Even though it is something which doesn't make or break a race, being quicker by 5min is all I am after for Shepparton to achieve my goal. I am yet to swim with Bayside on Tuesday and Friday and this is a small goal which I am trying to achieve within the month of May. I am not enjoying swimming as much as before as I am conflicted between the different coaches and their respective style of swimming as well as coaching.

I have the Dirty Gran Fondo this Sunday so I have not programmed a long road ride or run this weekend. The event will be my long ride. It will be a long day in the saddle considering that last year, I finished the 35km just under 4 hours and this year, I have entered the 65km. There will be plenty of grinding up hills and I will try my best to ride rather than walk up the 1300+ elevation for the 65km.  It will also give me a chance to work on my bike strength too.

The DGF shirt I ordered

Training Week & Dealing with Anxiety

Last week's training was great - it felt like I had officially launched into something meaningful in terms of my progression.

I mentioned before that I have committed myself to a strength program with Chris from Excite Health and Fitness. This is not just a generic strength program which can be downloaded from the internet or one which can be followed from an app - I have been provided with structured program to strengthen my core, back and legs and to improve my balance. We had a sit down consultation last Monday which set the precedence to what is expected from both parties. This set the week off to a great start.

My calves were still tight from the Sunday's Sri Chimnoy run so the coach at Tuesday's run session had me do a recovery set instead of intervals. I ended up running 4km within 25min and it helped immensely in loosening up the tight muscles.

I decided that I still needed work on my swimming S stroke so instead of joining the Wednesday evening swim technique sessions, I did my own S-stroke work. I arrived at the pool at 5:30pm and swam about 2km - just working on my S strokes.

Thursday was a great day in terms of training - it started out with the GESAC spin session and I promised myself to push beyond my comfort zone. I felt great at the beginning - I pushed beyond my comfort zone and worked on pace and intensity. After about 30min or so, I was starting to tire out and my pace slowed down to accommodate the load. I lasted the 45min class and found a new comfort zone. That afternoon, I had my introduction session with Chris again as he stepped me through the strength program he had planned for me for the next 4 weeks. I am doing dead lifts, shoulder and chest presses and doing step ups beyond my comfort zone and loving every motion. My balance (and glute strength) is completely off at the moment and I am seeing how my weak core has lead to much of my injuries.

My weekend's training was great however it did start off on the wrong foot. I decided to bite the bullet and planned on joining the long ride with Bayside. They do a few "classics" within the year with a few sprint and KOM segments thrown in. The total distance was 100km and based on my years of training, I don't generally ride that distance around this time of the year. I was assured by the coach that I don't have to ride 100km if I don't want to. I planned on 3 hours or so and wanted to stick with what I am used to.

The night before the ride, I tried not to dwell on this new experience. The only time I thought about it was when I prepared my nutrition, pumped my tyres and placed my kit near my bathroom. I went to bed at 10:30pm but woke up in a fright (from nightmares) around 1:30am. I was covered in sweat and my body was throbbing to no end. I felt like I was having an out of body experience. My eyes were opened and I was in a panic but I couldn't move my mouth to speak or move my arms to wake up my partner. After what felt like 10min and could finally move, I went straight to the bathroom to spew. This happened twice during the night with minimal sleep in between. The last time I saw on my clock was 4am before I woke up to my 6am alarm clock.

I had a choice between getting out of bed to try this new training session or stay in bed to catch up on my sleep. I chose to get out of bed and I chose to step out of my comfort zone.

The group met at Linacre St at Hampton. I rode passed it completely at first as I thought they met within one of the beach car parks. I rode back as I knew that I had passed them about 1 km down. I was slightly late as the head coach was already giving a briefing. It was slightly warm and I took off my defeet gloves.

I stayed with the group from Linacre St all the way until Kars St at the back of Frankston when they attacked the first KOM. I didn't realise that it was a race up the hill as I was just pedalling along. I lost the group once they turned at one of the roundabouts and I stopped to double check where I was going. I was by myself from Kars St and when I hit Humphries Road, I tried my best to ride up the hill at a greater intensity than last week. I took off my knee warmers on top of Humphries as I was too warm. I then rode down 2 Bays and then up through the little side streets until Nepean Hwy.

I joined the ETPA recovery ride from Frankston for about 20min or so until a set of traffic lights split their group into two and the front group slowed down. I decided to forge on ahead knowing that they would catch up with me again. I ended up being amongst their group when they overtook me but I was squeezed into them again once we were going around a car. The ride was interesting as some riders within that group kept swerving into the bike lane but out again once there was a parked car in front. This was unnecessary, we could just stay in a straight line - better for a big group and better for cars sharing the road. They stopped at Mordialloc and I headed home. The total distance for my ride was 75km and it was the longest ride since Challenge Melbourne. I am glad I chose to to the ride as I am ticking off a box in my cycling build towards 3 peaks.

On Sunday, I decided to do a trail run at Lysterfield. The plan was to ride between 10 - 15km and I ended up with 11km in total over 1.5 hours. The speed was slow as I was running on trails and had to stop about a dozen times to give way to mountain bikers. I got slightly lost at one point and had to ask for directions. I had time to soak in the lake and the views were amazing. I tried my new Mizuno Hayates and they were good enough that I will run with them with I enter in Run Forrest in June.

Overall, I had 2 no-training days last week which wasn't too bad and a vast improvement on the weeks before. I am slowly building up my routine and training schedule and with others checking in on my progress, I am looking forward in seeing improvements over the coming months. Fingers crossed that the more sessions I do, the less anxiety attacks I will have, the less I will worry about stepping out of my comfort zone.

Looking Ahead - June

I have set a few events within the month of June which will make it a busy one for me - this is a good thing as it will keep me motivated to train during the week especially when winter kicks in.

Queens B'day (long) weekend will be the first weekend in 6 years that I will not be attending the Tri Alliance
Lorne Training Camp (as I am no longer training with this squad). I am making the most of the long weekend with a trail running event (more details below) and spending time along the coast with the family.

 
Events:

• The Run Forrest trail run event is on the 7th June (Queens B'day weekend) - there is a 10km or 21km course. I will make this my long run day for that long weekend - I will decide by mid May if I will be running 10km or 21km. I am not stressed about running the 21km as this is a trail run and I will not be racing it. 
• On the 21st June, there are several run events on - there is the Salomon Trail (11 or 15km) run out at Studley park and there is a Sri Chimnoy run at Albert Park (10km or 21km). I will use this as my long run day for the week. Trails vs Pancakes?
• The Melburn Roobaix is on the 28th June and this will take up the whole day. It is not considered a training day as the distance is 45km and it will not be done at any intensity or speed. I will most likely do a ride on the Saturday followed by a run after the ride or in the afternoon. 

Small Goals/Key Sessions:

• Continue with the run technique on Tuesday evenings and interval running on Thursday evenings. 
• Swimming on Tuesday and Friday mornings.
• Continue with Strength Sessions - Monday and Wednesday.

Shaking Things Up

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

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

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

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

GESAC Spin Room

 I am yet to train during the following sessions:

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

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

Easier said than done but I will try my best.

My First Sri Chimnoy - 10km (Race Report)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lessons/Comments

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

Taking Strength Seriously

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

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

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

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

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

http://excitehealthfitness.com.au/

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

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

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

Starting from Scratch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An Eye Opener

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

Fondo - http://fondo.com.au

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looking Ahead - May

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


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

For the Month of May...

Events:

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

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

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

Key Sessions:

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

A slow week and Easter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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