NOTE ... At one point in the evening the 'pictures' posted on this entry were clickable and you could see and read the bigger images. Not quite sure why I can't now. Ah well ... you're not missing much :)
It was a big training weekend for me. Saturday I had another crack at running up the Mount. This time I didn't take a camera and so didn't have an excuse to stop and admire the view 15 times during the attempt. This time my only excuse was the need to throw up at about halfway. I had to stop. My HR was 170 and I felt really sick. Thankfully I wasn't sick and my HR went down fairly quickly. Sitting on my @r$e on a rock had something to do with it I think.
I sat on a rock at the lookout that has a hairpin bend. To the right it went down to the base track and to the left it went up to the top. I convinced myself that I would start a new challenge and see how far I could get each time and that this was the current point and it was OK to go right (down) and back to the basetrack.
I then thought about just walking to the top. Yeah that wouldn't be failure.
At some point a man walked past me with a walking stick who must have been more than 70 years old. Not quite sure why but it inspired me to RUN the rest of the way. Next time I WILL run all the way without stopping!
I finished off the morning run with another lap of the basetrack. It feels so much easier after running up the Mount. Perspective is a funny thing.
An opportunity arose on Sunday for me to sneak off and ride the Rotorua bike course. Adam had an all day party and Jo and Laura wanted to go see a 3D film (UP) so I was freeeeeee!
I wanted to put right the mess that I had made of the last attempt. This time I took enough calories to eat/drink throughout the ride. I also ate breakfast closer to my start time. Two hours seems to work for me.
I wanted to run off the bike so I wasn't going to totally hammer the ride. I decided on a 135 HR cap. I have no scientific reason for this ... only that 135 seems like a HR that I can sit at for a long time (I think) ... it's probably my Ironman bike HR so I think I should be going a bit hotter for the half but my goal for Rotorua is to have a good run and if going a bit slower on the bike is going to help achieve this then that's what I'll do.
I'm going to do a 40K TT soon and take this as 105% of my threshold and then see what 80% of this is. I'll then toss this up with my perceived ideal HR of 135 and see what I get.
So ... I rode out keeping HR in the low 130's and it felt easy. I even enjoyed Hell's Gate because it gave me a chance to sit up and stretch and admire the view. Coming down the Tarawera road was an experience and I hit my highest speed ever (I think) of over 73km/hr. Getting a little less scary each time ... only a little less mind!
At the halfway point I felt really good and was looking forward to riding home strong and smashing my previous times. Reality hit very quickly when I realised (AGAIN!) that it was straight into a headwind. Unlike last time I was able to spin into the wind and keep the speed near the 30km/hr mark (most of the time).
I seemed to be making good time and I was soon over Hell's Gate and onto the Airport Road. The wind seemed to be a slight tailwind and I took advantage of it and I was soon on the Tarawera Rd climb. This is where the time just flies as you grind up the looooong hill. It was no different today. The seconds and minutes just seemed to slip away and the top of the hill didn't seem to get any closer. It's a cruel finish to the bike ride ....
... but then you realise that it isn't the finish and although there's probably only a kilometre or so left it too seems to go on forever until you hit the big downhill to T2. It was at this point that I had my first Magpie attack.
I saw the flapping shadow on the road in front of me and thought that's getting big/closer. The next thing I heard was a loud thwack. I turned round and saw the (HUGE) bird above my head. Not sure if the thwack sound was it hitting my helmet cos I don't think I felt anything or if it was the flapping of the wings but it was a bit of a shock. I didn't see the bird again thankfully.
Finished in just under 3hrs 15 so was OK with that. I was hoping for between 3:05 (previous best) and 3:10 but I suppose I did go quite conservatively and I did have the fatigue from the Mount run in my legs so I'm not too worried. I hope to get another crack at it in a month or so's time.
I know I don't have to keep riding the course to be ready for the race but it is such a great ride that if I can, I will. It's also great to be able to run around the lake afterwards.
The screenshot shows the story of my run
Very pleased to have been able to run off the bike at this pace. Short story is a very slow start to get my legs back and then a slight increase in pace to the finish. All good!
Today (Monday) is the first day of my school holiday ... only got four days this time as I'm saving leave for when my parents come over in January. It was supposed to be a day of rest but the garden called me and I hacked some bushes and trees and with the help of Laura, planted some of the cuttings we took in the summer. It was good to get a bit of gardening done, even if it was raining most of the time. Only downside is that I'm sure the aches and pains I'm going to feel from it tomorrow are going to be far worse than from the weekend's training. Ah well. Recovery run tomorrow!
