SUB6

Maketu Duathlon + a bit of swimming

2012-01-23T13:22:00.000-08:00

I looked at the Maketu race a few years back when it was a triathlon but I didn't fancy much swimming in the sea around there. Always seemed really choppy and 'rippy' ... maybe that's why they changed it to a Duathlon. This year I decided to give it a go.

I got there early, did some warm us and stretching, looking out to the sea and thought to myself, "That would make a lovely course for a triathlon swim" ...

I'm about half a stone/7 pounds/3.2kg heavier than before the holiday so if I set my sights on this race next year it might help me stay motivated NOT to eat so much at Christmas.

The Race

There was some confusion about the actual Duathlon content right up to the point where we were all standing behind a line 50m from the bike racks in our cycling shoes and helmets. It was to be a short run to the racks, a scramble to get on your bike surrounded by 20 or 30 others trying to do the same thing, a bike ride of 20k and then a run of 6k with a 'bit of a hill' in the first k.

This is me running to the racks. I always think I look stupid in photos but this takes the biscuit!

Thanks to Tui for the photos by the way.

My bike was totally in the wrong place for a fast T1(?) exit (I will know for next year) and it took forever to get through the tangled mess of bikes and bodies and onto the course.

The course was totally flat. It was just a case of head down, same gear, go as fast as you can. I tried to approach it as I had the Tinman bike and not think about having to run off the bike. It was only 20k and only a 6k run.

I finished the 20k with an average HR of 160 and a time of 32:03. The course was short by my Garmin so for the 18.87k recorded it gave me an average of 35.33km/hr. Pleased with that. The course was so flat you could see most of the riders in front as we completed the square course and I would say I was in about 10th or 11th place ... miles behind the leaders but happy enough.

I slowed down towards the end to try to get my HR down ready for the run. Didn't work really and it never dropped below the mid 150's. won't bother next time.

Tui was on a mission to get a decent pic of me on the bike. I hadn't seen her on the course when Iwas working hard, sweating buckets but as I braked to get off at the dismount section I saw her. Apparently just before I had come into view some kid had fallen off his bike and she was tending to him. She did get this shot though ... which I really love!

Can't remember what I said to her ... couldn't have been too bad though cos she hasn't de-friended me on Facebook yet.

I felt good getting off the bike and legs felt good going into the run. Tui sprinted through transition and caught me at the start.

Presume I must be gesturing the underwater sign for OK at Tui for actually getting a shot of me racing ... note to self - small bottle of flat coke in the back pocket is not a good look. Didn't really need it either. Had a swig at the halfway point but that was all.

At the start of the run there was a slight incline and I thought that was the hill they had been talking about. It slowed me down a bit and I went through the first k in 5:10. Then we hit the real hills. WOW! They just killed me. They just went on and on for what felt like forever. I walked more and more and watched as Tom (Tui's better half) ran further and further into the distance. I had come in about 30 seconds in front of him on the bike but wouldn't be able to stay with him on the run.

The second k time was 6:31. Very disappointing. There was nothing I could do about it but try to make back some of that time in the rest of the race ... which was promised as flat ... and it was!

I found a much better rhythm and started to catch the people who had run past me on the hills. Not Tom though. He was away!

The next few k's went much quicker (5:04, 4:28, 4:50 and 4:37) ... the course was again a bit short (Garmin says 5.89k) and I finished in 30 minutes and 11 seconds. Damn those 11 seconds :)haha for a 5:07/k average.

My total time was 1:04:55.

I was guesstimating about a 1:10 so with the course being a tad short I was in the right area ... although I was thinking a slower bike and a faster run. Wanted a Sub5 average on the run but the extra Christmas weight and those hills put paid to that. Can't change the course but I will go into the race next year a bit lighter (yeah right!)

SWIMMING

Thanks to Jo dragging me to the pool in the early hours of the morning (7am!) I have been swimming more than usual recently ... and it's definitely paying off. I'm doing more drills and shorter sets in preparation for the 600m swim in the UCAN2 Triathlon in (less than) two weeks time. I've also tweaked my stroke a bit and I'm now concentrating on keeping my elbow high as the lower half of my arm drops and as I pull through ... I think ...

My previous best 600m (without the high elbow thingy) was 11:18 but I had died in the 2nd half. First 300m was 5:30 and then 2nd 300m was 5:48.

This morning I tried to keep a more consistent pace and that, coupled with the high elbow resulted in a much calmer, faster and even paced 11:10. I know it's only 8 seconds faster but I think I could have held that pace for a few hundred more whereas yesterday I was exhausted.

Swimming is getting exciting because I feel that I am making progress. I need to keep the consistency. I see lunchtime swims at work in my future.

RUNNING

I don't want to shout too much about it but (apart from hill running) my running is going really well. I'm sticking to the heel strike but transitioning into more of a mid foot strike once I'm a few k into the run. The calf came through the race well and I even went on the treadmill the next day to have a play with different speeds and intervals. I still have the crazy goal of a Sub20 5k and so I was doing intervals at my current 5k pace (10 x 30 seconds on at 13.4km/hr with 30 seconds off) and then a few intervals at 14km/hr and then 15km/hr and then at Sub20 15.1km/hr pace which felt unbelievably fast. Next step will have to be a 5k attempt on the treadmill and then take it from there. I've rejoined the gym at work so I see lunchtime interval sessions on the treadmill in my future.

BIKING

Biking is ticking over nicely. I'm keeping up with the Tuesday night intervals and I'm really pleased with where they have taken my riding. I used to be happy to get an average of 30km/hr on any ride but the two recent race paces of 35km/hr (and even the near 30km/hr at Rotorua) have really changed my perspective.

I'm really looking forward to triathaloning in 2012 :)

I'll Tell You Where I'm At ...

2012-01-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

I'm definitely over the disappointment of not getting Sub6 at Rotorua. Despite the torrential rain it was an ideal opportunity to grab the Sub6. The wind was non-existent and it was cool. Not sure if we'll get those 'perfect' conditions this year so I'll just have to make sure I get fitter and faster.

I've toyed with the idea of missing out Rotorua this year, or doing it in a team or even doing the Half Half but I've finally decided to do the Rotorua Half again as per normal. The Tauranga Half will have to wait another year. I watched it Saturday and I didn't have the 'jealous' feeling. Maybe cos I felt so unfit and fat. I killed myself trying to run to get in front of Phil for this shot and he'd already done the swim, bike and most of the run.

I had about 2 weeks off from training over Christmas and New Year and I ate like an English pig! I enjoyed it to the full but it's now time to get back on track.

I managed to stay below 190lbs but it was close! (189.8!) ... I've dropped a few since then (187.8 this morning) but it's gonna be a mission (again) to get down to 182 (or lower). Totally worth it though. That's the good thing about Rotorua. It's all done and dusted just before Christmas and there's no need to train over Christmas. I've got the UCAN2's coming up so at least that stops the rot soon enough.

Current Situation
I'm back to loving swimming. I've been going with Jo and the kids and although I haven't done any long sets I've been working on changing my stroke. I've finally broken away from TI :( and embraced the swimming technique videos on youtube. It seems to be working. I'm slowly getting the 'pointing the fingers towards the bottom of the pool' at the start of the catch and 'bending the lower arm at 90 degress' and then pulling. Well on the left hand side anyway. The right is still learning but it's getting there. My shoulder is definitely more flexible on my left side.

I'm doing some stretching exercises to try to balance this out. Hopefully see some progress over the year. It's definitely easier to keep my elbow high on the left side. I did some stretching in the pool between 'drills'. Going to continue with that.

My fastest 50m today was 44 sec (full out, can't breathe at the end), while I could do a fairly relaxed 50m concentrating on the stroke and do it in 50 sec. Even 50m with fists was only 55 sec. My longest distance was 250m in 4:25. Although it was only one set and I couldn't have continued at that pace for much longer it's still my fastest 250m by about 15 seconds. I also played around with bi-lateral breathing and although it felt strange, it wasn't as bad as I remember it being in the past. I will continue to play with this.

The UCAN2 swim is 600m and so I think I'll do a 600m TT tomorrow. Would love to break 11 minutes. My UCAN2 swim last year was 12:14 so I'm hoping for some improvement. Can't let Tui beat me out of the swim this year ;)

The Bike

I still haven't been out on my bike since the race. Sunday was my first planned long ride of the year and it was p!$$in down so I decided to do 2hr Spinervals. I lowered the intensity to 2 which kept my HR low so it wasn't a hard workout but longest of year. Sweated buckets.

I'm continuing with Tuesday Night Intervals ... 30seconds on, 30 off x 12. Loving them.

Bike time for last year's UCAN2 was about 32 minutes but that included 2 stops for train crossings! Riding time was 28:52 for 16.5k which is an average of 34.3km/hr (21.4mph). Hopefully I'll be able to take a few seconds off that.

I've also done other windtrainer sessions and I feel like I'm back to where I was on the bike before Rotorua. Not so on the run ...

The Run

It's been much harder to get back into running than the swim and bike. I feel really slow and my legs feel heavy. I'm hoping it's the effects of too much Christmas food and lack of running and that dropping a few pounds will get me back to where I was. Time will tell.

I have done a few run:walks and then on Friday I decided to run a 5k. I had no plan to go all out so I knew it wasn't going to be fast but I was at least hoping for a comfortable run under 30 minutes. I did it in 29:20 but it felt so hard and I had nothing left afterwards. I couldn't pick up the pace at all. I'm hoping it was just fatigue from the windtrainer, swimming and gardening. Got a run planned for tonight so I'll soon know.

My big thing for the year is going to be flexibility. I want to get on top of the problem that is my calf. I need to get it (and the other muscles in my leg) more flexible and try to go a full year without it 'going'. I'm still 'heel striking' on the run and although it protects my calf to a certain extent I'm not sure what other damage it's doing to my knees. If I can get some flexibility and strength in my calfs maybe I can get the footstrike a little bit forward.

Week 1 - Tuesday Night Intervals

2012-01-03T15:52:00.001-08:00

I'm counting last night as my first proper Tuesday Night interval session of the year. I've set the Intensity to 4, using 14 gear, 100psi in tyre and knob turned 4 sticky out bits. It was HARD! ...but it felt fantastic to have got through it.

Felt like puking during the last 2 but I got through them. This definitely worked for me last year and I'm hoping I can build on that now.

GAP Analysis

2011-12-28T01:42:00.001-08:00

Loving the Strava site ... lots of numbers to look at and play with. Especially like the GAP (Grade Adjusted Pace) numbers. These are an approximation of the pace you would have run/ridden had it been flat. Pace goes up if you ran uphill and down if you ran downhill. I like it most cos it says that I would have run a Sub2 Half Marathon at Rotorua had it been flat ... but it aint ... so I didn't ... but if it was ... I would have got a 1:57 :)

Velocity VO2 Test

2011-12-27T10:25:00.001-08:00

I think the Tuesday Night bike intervals have served me well and definitely helped increase my bike fitness.

I first did the VVO2 test at the start of this year (20th Jan 2011) and it worked out at 42km/hr. I retested sometime mid-year thinking that it had increased but I was still unable to go beyond 42km/hr for the required 2 minutes.

I tested again last night and managed to keep going beyond 42 and eeked out 2 minutes at 44.

If you're interested in the HR graph (and why wouldn't you be) you can click the image and see the test. It starts at 24 minutes at 26km/hr and increases 2km/hr every 2 mins.

I think that I set everything up as per previous tests but using the windtrainer settings is not exactly scientifically sound. The tension/settings and gear will stay the same for the forthcoming intervals so at least I'll know that I'm working at the same intensity for subsequent intervals.

I'm also upping the number of intervals to 12.

Rotorua Race Report 2011

2011-12-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

The day started just like last year. Woke up before the alarm at 3:30am (after a good sleep from about 10pm), up and ready and out by 4:30am, at Rotorua by 5:30 and all set up in transition by 5:45. First part of the plan sorted.

The weather also seemed to be cooperating. The flags on the main road of Rotorua were barely moving and there wasn't any sign of rain. The lake looked just magnificent, if a little freaky. It was as calm as I'd ever seen it. Perfect.

Time went quickly and after a prediction of no rain by the race announcer we were all in the water warming up. The water was apparently 21 degrees but I think that was about as reliable as the no-rain prediction. The water seemed a lot colder as it made it's way through the holes in my wetsuit. Might be time for a new one.

So onto the race ...

The Swim

It was a 'beach' start and so when the gun went off there was a mad dash to the water. I didn't rush too much because I was worried about the calf and anyone I beat into the water would probably swim over me anyway. I started off to the left because I naturally swim to the right so I thought it would correct itself on the leg out to the buoy. Worked really well and once I was amongst a few others I just tried to follow feet and draft a bit. I've never been able to do this before but I think I was a bit faster and swimming with more people this time.

The 2k swim is a 2 lap course and when we got back to shore for the first time my watch ticked over to 19 minutes. Cool. I knew I would slow down in the second lap but i should be able to get back in less than 40 minutes. There were less people now as the quarter ironman people got out and so less to draft. I tried to keep the effort up and felt stronger than I have in previous years. The last leg back to the shore didn't drag like it has in the past and as I reached the buoy my watch hit 38 minutes. Wow! (even if I do say so myself! haha)

They do say that pride comes before a fall. I was very proud to go under 40 minutes (first time for 2k race), mainly because I had offered to eat my swim cap if I didn't but also because it validated my recent, more consistent (everything's relative!) training and core work. The 'fall' came when I went to stand up.

My legs just locked up with cramp. My quads (and the ones at the back) cramped up like never before. I tried not to panic and hoped that it would subside. I waddled out of the water and walked very robot-like up the stupid wet slippery hill to transition.

The recent rain had meant that transition couldn't be next to the lake this year so had to be put on the high ground. Damn you bad weather!

Official time for the swim was 38:58. Still pleased with that but at least 30 seconds of that was struggling with the cramp between the finish to the swim and the timing mat!

Getting the wetsuit off was a challenge but the pain started to subside and by the time I got on the bike it was just the 'soreness' after the cramp that was there. Riding didn't hurt my legs anymore and so I kept to my plan of going as hard as I could on the bike.

About 5k into the bike the rain started ... and I don't think it ever stopped. Just got harder ... and harder.

I don't think there was much wind but what there was was a headwind. It's normally a tailwind out and I have hit the halfway point a few minutes less than 1:30 most times. This time I hit the halfway point at exactly 1:30. Not exactly what I wanted but I prayed for a tailwind on the way back.

I think that someone was listening because my speed increased after the turn and I started passing people. I actually got in a cool pace-line with some fast looking bikes. Not drafting but definitely motivating. We were hitting 40km/hr plus and my Hr was only in the 130's. My problem was the hills. Everytime we hit one (and there were many) I would fall back and quite a few more would pass me. More hill training and the loss of another 10kg would help. Being tall doesn't help on those hills.

The climb back to Hell's Gate was particularly hard this year. My only positive was that I only got passed by one person. I usually get swamped on that hill and so I'm taking that as an indication of my progress. Gotta take the positives where you can. The ride down the other side was madness. It was torrential rain and I hit 68.9km/hr. I felt the bike 'twitch' at one point and thought 'if I come off now at least I'll die quickly and not have to do the run' ...

(Un)fortunately I stayed on and had to tackle the long, boring, flat ride back past the airport (wasn't as bad this year as I had people to chase) and then the b@st@rd climb back up to the lake. I was tired but it seemed incredibly hard. I had to stand a couple of times just to keep the bike moving ... then I realised I still had a gear left. Changed down and spun for the rest of the hill.

The time was ticking way too fast for my liking to the 3 hour mark and I soon realised I wasn't going to make it. Climbed the last hill and coasted down the other side towards T2 with a few minutes over 3hrs on the watch. I stood up and took the opportunity to have a pee. I then saw the official photographer taking my picture. I'm wondering if he'll capture the look of relief on my face. Might even buy that photo ...

Time on my watch for the bike was 3:03:50. Official time was 3:10:02 but this includes both T1 and T2 (I wish the RD would just use some of the money to buy one more timing mat - I'm sure the charity wouldn't mind). So about 6 minutes for transitions. That reflects both the weird transition in and out points (and added distance because of the location change) and my T1 cramping.

So ... I left T2 with 3:49 on the clock leaving 2:11 for the run. No problem :)haha

I was really surprised that the after effects of cramping wasn't hurting more on the run. I felt quite good in the first couple of k and really enjoyed the Lake basetrack (1st time round anyway!).

Halfway round the lake is an elevated look-out that has about 10 steps up to it. For some reason the RD thinks it's a good idea to make up climb these steps, run along the lookout and down the slippery mud bank at the other end. I climbed the steps like an 80 year old man and then when I got to the top, BANG!, my legs cramped up again, but this time much worse! The pain was incredible and I couldn't seem to do anything to ease it. I couldn't move. I just stood to the side and thought that my race was over.

I then heard someone say "is it cramp?". I said it was and he said "try this". I sprayed the bottle into my mouth and within 5 milliseconds (may have been 6) the muscles released and I was on my way again. Can't even remember if I thanked him. He was on his way pretty quickly. I only remember that he was wearing a black top.

The road after that is downhill for a bit and so I was able to make up some time. I felt good and after a few muddled calculations I thought that I could still beat 6 hours.

I ran with someone for about 3k which made the time go faster. He was a doctor from the UK who had been over here 5 years. Too many POMS in NZ :)haha. He had done Taupo last week and was doing Tauranga in three weeks, all in a build up to Ironman Wanaka ... Don't think he had kids. I lost him at one of the aid stations when I decided to walk through and drink and he ran through. I tried to catch him again but he was gone, and I was hurting.

After about the 11k mark I started to walk some of the bigger hills. I was losing time but still thought that I could get home in under 6. One thing I did notice was that I ran faster after coke at the aid stations. It was originally my plan to only drink coke but what with the cramping I thought I'd better take on some electrolytes and so alternated between electrolyte drink and coke. The electrolyte drink made me feel sick after a while. All coke next time.

The last 5k was agony and I walked more and more. I waited for the motivation of Tui turning up and cracking the whip to get me home (as she had promised) but apparently she went home early because of the little shower that we had. It wouldn't have made any difference. My legs were solid planks and my running was just a slow shuffle.

The lake basetrack was now a mudbath at best and totally flooded in some parts. Not ideal to be slip-sliding all over the place when you're hurting, exhausted and chasing a time.

I ran the last bit as best as I could and gave the thumbs up to Paul, my only supporter on the course. Apparently Jo and the kids din't fancy leaving with me at 4:30am. I'm so glad they were dry and warm at home. I think the supporters had a harder time than we did with the weather so respect to all those that stood out there all day ... especially the many women I saw with young babies in prams/pushchairs ... bet they were cursing their partners big time.

I crossed the finish line in 6:02:35. A tiny part of me is disappointed in that but mainly I'm proud and happy just to have survived and finished the race in one piece. I still see it as unfinished business though and will be back next year ... with some cramp spray.

I can take a lot of positives from the race. All three legs were race best times.

Swim

2009 - 42:15
2010 - 40:25
2011 - 38:58

Bike

2009 - 3:18:18 (includes T1 and T2)
2010 - 3:19:46 (includes T1 and T2)
2011 - 3:10:02 (includes T1 and T2)

Run

2009 - 2:32
2010 - 2:19
2011 - 2:13

All I have to do is to consolidate the swim and bike and get home quicker on the run. Can't wait to get started ... although I will have to wait because at the moment I can't walk properly so I won't be doing anything till after Christmas. Then I'll be planning my training to kick a$$ at the UCAN2 Sprint in February. Hope they check the train crossing timetable this time

One More Sleep

2011-12-15T23:20:00.000-08:00

Race pack picked up and bag packed for the morning. calf is still a bit niggly so plan is to hammer the bike and survive the run. New race tyres are gorgeous and feel fast but I haven't run all week. Just didn't feel good enough to go out Thursday night. I'm sure it will come right on the run.

See you on the other side! :)

See you on the other side

Less Than a Week Till Race Day

2011-12-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

I read somewhere that poor swimmers shouldn't really taper the swimming before a race so I decided to do a 2k swim early Monday morning. I actually got up early enough to get to the pool, swim 2k, get home to take the kids to school and then get to work myself. Worked out really well.

What didn't work out too well was the swim. Started off OK and I was well below the 5 min mark for each 250m but about halfway through as I pushed off the wall I felt my calf go. F#@%#ck!!! ... I prayed that it was just cramp and it seemed to subside but the pain was in the normal 'tear' place. DOH!

I finished the swim, with very little push-off each turn after that and came in 39:27 (I think) ... Calf felt OK(ish) but not right.

I rested it Monday night (did some core work on the ball) and Tuesday it just felt tight. Lead up to Rotorua just wouldn't be the same without some calf issues!!!

I decided to test it Tuesday night and went for a run:walk for 40 minutes. It went OK. I could feel it wasn't quite right but it wasn't like previous problem runs where it would progressively get tighter and then go bang. It just stayed at a low dull ache.

Wednesday morning it was tight but not painful. Didn't do any exercise.

Thursday I did 40 minute Spinervals and felt strong on the bike ... thought about just pushing the bike as much as I could on Race day and then just surviving the run. Still undecided. Calf was OK.

Friday I ran for 30 minutes. Still the dull pain. Damnation's! Just didn't feel confident to push the pace. Made the decision to not run again till either late next week or even Race day. I'm confident that I won't lose anything by not running as long as I do some dynamic stretching and core work instead.

Saturday was rest day. Only thing I did was order some race tyres. Got them for $59 each. Should be here Tuesday. Debating whether to ride using them before Race day or keep them glass and road shite free until then???

Sunday I met up with Tui, Tom and some others to swim the Blue Lake course. We tried to work out how far 500m would be and luckily we weren't a million miles away. Tom and I went out first and swam to the 6th cone which is apparently (after checking when I got home) just under 500m away from the shore. I then went out with Tui and her mate to the 8th cone (Tui's idea!) and back ... nearly 1300m! It was a great swim, the water was clear and not too cold. After a quick piece of chocolate cake (Thanks Tui!) I was on my way home while they ran around the lake. Very jealous but I'm sure I would have wanted to push the pace more in the group and done something stupid so I'm sure I made the right decision not to put that temptation my way.

So ... less than a week to go ... I think my swimming is in better shape than previous years. I don't have the fear I used to have of the deepness of the lake and so I should be more relaxed. Today's swim has helped me form a mental picture of the route I should take (although I'll probably wander all over the place as usual). I feel that I can come out of the swim around the 40 minute mark without having to bust too much of a gut. If I can actually draft some people it could be even better. Never been able to in the past so I'm not banking on it.

I'm sure I'm stronger on the bike this year as well. However the recent try out on the course was still a 3:13 so about the same time as before. If I could get back in 3:10 then that would give me a bit of leeway with the run.

A week ago I would have been confident of the run but after Monday's incident I am not so sure. Maybe that will be a good thing. Not long to find out. Six sleeps till Race Day. Exciting!

Quick Race Report

2011-12-04T00:48:00.000-08:00

The Provisional results have just been posted.

We did OK

Our time and T1 isn't showing but we think about 16 minutes for the 750m swim and say 2 mins for T1.

My time is up as 35:40 for the 21k which is (unbelievably for me) an average of 35.3km/hr (22mph) ... I had an enjoyable bike because I started right at the back (team swimmers went off last and there were only about 4 bikes left when I headed out) and so I spent the whole ride passing people. I got the third fastest team bike ride of the day. I was feeling great during the ride and thinking how good I was and then I passed a bloke with only one leg riding the bike. Now that's humbling!

We had a 1:48 T2, mainly cos when I got to transition Kate wasn't there. I shouted out "has anyone seen a pregnant runner!" ... after what seemed like an eternity she emerged from the portaloo. I think she is excused.

She set off on a 2:1 run:walk and finished the 5k run in just under 40 minutes. Now that IS impressive.

We finished the Sprint in 1:34:46 for 5th place in the mixed teams and 8th overall of all the teams. Not too bad.

About 30 seconds after Kate finished the bloke with one leg crossed the line 'running' on crutches. Respect!

Tinman Pic

2011-12-03T14:53:00.000-08:00

Race Report to follow

From left to right ... Tom our swimmer, Kate our runner and me. What a team!!!

3 Weeks to Go

2011-11-26T23:04:00.001-08:00

I haven't blogged for three weeks. I'm a bit disappointed in myself because I wanted to keep a weekly update of my progress to look back on in future years but the flip-side is that I've definitely trained more consistently than ever before. That's mainly because I've been able to find a running gait/style that my calf is happy with. This is probably the longest block of training I've ever done without the 'pulled' calf problem. I'm consciously landing on my heel and rolling forward and pushing off my fore-foot with a high cadence and a short stride ... and so far it's working. I'm also doing the run"walk thing and managing an average pace equal to what I have done in the past running throughout. I'm still not sure I will use the run:walk in the race. I'm kinda leaving that decision till I get off the bike on the day. Probably not the best time to make an important decision like that but ...

I'm writing this blog in email and sending to blogger cos I sea to have lost the 'add new blog entry' on my account. Hopefully I can edit this from Blogger and add the rest. If the blog ends here then I haven't been able to :(

I'm back! :)

2 weeks ago I rode the Rotorua course. It was as painful as normal and as usual there was the tiniest of tailwind on the way out that turned into a monster of a headwind on the way back ... abnd i'm only half joking. On the way out the flags along the Airport road were gently waving in the tailwind but on the way back they were stiffly erect indicating the huge headwind. The triathlon g@ds doth mock me EVERY time on that course!

I finished the ride in 3:13 whic was a bit disappointing as I feel that i'm a much stronger rider this year. It's still them damn hills that kill me and my speed. I wasn't going all out and kept my HR below 140 at all times (including the hills) so I can probably push it a little bit more on race day. I finished with an average of 130HR. Can probably get away with upper 130's on race day and still be able to run off the bike. Hopefully.

The run off this bike went really well. I ran around the lake and up to the Tarawera Lookout for just under 12k at a 5:30 something pace. More than fast enough for race day. The hills around the lake actually felt a lot easier but the hill coming back to the lake from the lookout still killed me and I had to walk quite a big chunk of it. I used flat coke for the first time on a training run and it went really well. Will use on race day.

The only thing that's been letting me down over the last three weeks has been the swimming. I having been swimming consistently and it is showing in my swim times. I've done a few 2k's and for the first k everything has been OK and I can keep it quite easily below 5 mins for 250m but then towards the end just die! I've managed 2 recent swims under the 40 minute mark but only because I've built up a buffer which I desperately have to defend towards the end. I will be in the pool every Mon/Wed/Fri from now till race day. Writing it here will make it so.

This weekend has been 'fun'. Not sure when, but at some point I must have decided to do the Half Ironman distances over the weekend. Friday was the 2k swim (39:58 - see what I mean!) and Saturday was (obviously) supposed to be the bike. However, we were getting battered by high (up to 120km/hr in Tauranga and over 200km/hr in Welly) winds and so i swapped the two disciplines with the promise of calmer weather for the Sunday.

So, Saturday morning I set out for a Half Marathon using the 4:1 run:walk and taking only a bottle of water. I had a decent breakfast so presumed that would get me through ... and it did. I ran into town and across the railway bridge to Matapihi. Crossing the bridge in the high winds was erm ... interesting. A cyclist came the other way at one point and he was really struggling to keep the bike upright. There were tree branches all over the place and I felt good that I had made the decision not to bike.

I finished the run in 2:02 ... I made the turnaround under the hour mark but that was because the wind was blowing me along at a 4:50 pace without too much effort. Different story coming back. I managed to keep my run portions at about a 5:30 pace but my HR was definitely higher and I was working much harder. All good though :)

Sunday morning I was up at stoopid o'clock and eating English Muffins with honey. That's my race morning breakfast sorted. They went down lovely and didn't resurface at all during my ride.

I decided to do my adaptation of the very flat Tauranga Half Ironman bike course. I made it 3 loops of 30k. The wind had died down a lot but it just turned into a very annoying cross-wind that didn't really seem to give me an advantage either way.

My perceived effort was quite high but my HR stayed low all the time. Maybe a combination of fatigue from the run yesterday and the wind (never can get HR up as high into the wind). My speed stayed very regular between upper 30's and just below 32km/hr for an average of 30.6km/hr overall. The time was 2:56 which I was happy enough with.

When I added all the times up and threw in 5 minutes for transition I got about a 5:45. I would hope that I could do that for real one day ... just got to get Rotorua out of the way first.

Looking forward to next week's Tinman sprint where I'll be doing the bike leg in a team. Want to get better than today's 30.6km/hr for the 20K. Here's hoping.

Bit of a Breakthrough Week

2011-11-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

The week has not been perfect and life got in the way of Thursday night's workout but other than that it's been a great week's training and testing.

I had a follow up Body Composition assessment with the coach on Monday and she hasn't sent me through the details but weight and body fat have gone down and muscle mass has increased. Can't be bad :)

Here's how the swim/bike/run went.

Swim

I let myself down by only getting in the pool ONCE this week but at least that once was a good'n. It was another follow up assessment with the coach. Six weeks ago I did the 12 minute test and completed 24 and a third lengths (25m pool). I was happy with that. It's my normal 2 min/100m pace which gives me a 40 minute 2k.

My follow up 12 min test on Wednesday was a bit better. I managed 26 lengths in the 12 mins which is just over a 1:50/100m. Now, if I could keep that pace for 2k it would give me a 36:50. Never gonna happen but I will be disappointed if I can't get out in less than 40. I do know though, that I have to get in the pool a few times each week to keep this swim-fitness. I haven't in the past. It WILL be different this year!

Bike

I only managed 2 bikes this week but again they both felt like breakthrough rides. I did the Spinervals DVD on Tuesday and felt the strongest on the bike that I have ever felt. My calf is playing ball and I think I've lost the 'holding back to protect the calf' mindset. It's hard to see the extra effort/speed etc in the numbers but the feeling was definitely better.

The second bike was the long bike on Sunday which included a climb of Reid Road. I was determined to give the record a crack and really go for it. I knew I was working hard (HR was high 150's, low 160's most of the time) and it seemed fast and I knew I was going to be close to the 11:46 best time but I was gobsmacked to see 11:32.

In the past I've been knocking a few seconds off each time and so a a 14 second PB was a big surprise. Gonna be a long time before I beat that again!

Run

Although I showed improvement by the clock in the swim and bike, I think my biggest breakthrough of the week was surviving 4 runs with NO CALF PAIN. Not even a little niggle or scare (well maybe just a few reminders that it's still there but ... ).

Monday and Wednesday were hour runs using 4:1 and 5:1 run:walk ratios. Both runs were within seconds of each other so the extended run ratio didn't make much difference. I think the result was skewed by tired legs after Tuesday's Spinervals Session but I'm wondering whether my optimum ratio is 4:1. Will keep on playing with the ratio.

Friday was a long run into town and across the Harbour Bridge. I ran out for an hour and then ran back in 58 minutes so a nice neg split but I was taking it really easy and using a 3:1 ratio. It was great to be able to survive a long run like that at whatever pace.

Great night-time view from the bridge of the Mount ... looked better in real life :)

My last run of the week was a 30 minute run off the long bike. The long bike didn't exactly go to plan as shortly after my record breaking climb of Reid Rd I had a puncture. I changed the tube but I hadn't cleared the glass properly and that went down as well. DOH!

Had to phone the cavalry. Jo came out and picked me up and we drove the 20 mins home. I then went out on my brick run. It was agony. I think it was more that I had been sitting in the car and my legs had seized up, rather than tired muscles. It felt like the last few k of the Rotorua Half ... maybe I could use that strategy as a training technique. Bike for three hours, sit in the car for 30 mins and then try to run. Maybe not!

So I survived 4.5 hours of running. Definitely the achievement of the week! Can't wait till next week. Bring it on! :)

A Mixed Bag

2011-10-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

It's been two weeks since my last ~~confession~~, erm I mean Blog entry. I haven't really got two weeks worth to report though as this past week has been mostly a wash-out due to a stomach bug. Seems to have gone now but it knocked me out for the middle of this week and I found myself sleeping on the front room floor after dinner (nothing new there) but for considerably longer than normal. Couldn't face any type of workout. Even had to cancel my Friday morning gym session with my coach which was annoying.

Week one of the two was really good though and I managed to get in THREE swims, two good bikes and three runs. The runs (in week one not two) included my longest run for months - a 13.55k run in 1:25. Not exactly fast but it was comfortable and more importantly my calf didn't complain at all.

I've modified my foot strike as well as my stride length and cadence. At the moment it's working really well. I'm using a heel strike which I know is not ideal but at least it doesn't seem to stress the calf at all. I'm trying to roll forward and push off from my toes and get a high knee lift. I'm also keeping my stride length really short with a high cadence ... and keeping my core strong (to keep the coach happy) ... it all seems to be working ... time will tell but I'm hoping for a clear run of seven weeks without calf problems. Fingers crossed!

This week I ran on Monday for an hour. It was OK in terms of my calf but I just didn't feel right. It was all a bit of a struggle. Next day I realised that I must have been fighting some kind of stomach bug. Didn't train at all until Sunday when I stayed local and just did loads of hill repeats at the Lakes.

I experimented with different gears and different efforts. I was really surprised how high a cadence I could get in the bigger gears. I did 3 climbs in my easiest gear with the first two being easy and the third as hard as I could. I then went up the gears doing the same. I got to gear 6 and nearly died trying to get to the top. Definitely one gear too many at this stage of my fitness. I then started back at gear 1 through to gear 3. The second attempt at gear 3 was my slowest ‘hard’ attempt, mainly because of fatigue rather than wrong gear choice I think.

My hard efforts were

Gear 1 - 1:11:40, 1:00:00

Gear 2 - 1:00:90, 59:00

Gear 3 - 58:20, 1:13:30 (tired)

Gear 4 – 52:70

Gear 5 – 51:80 (fastest – Average of 22.2 km/hr)

Gear 6 – 1:12:90 (one gear too many)

I will definitely do this workout again. I managed to climb over 3000 feet and was less than 5k from home.

I’m hoping for a regular week next week. Only 7 weeks left till race day. Eeeek!

My plan for next week is to ride the course at the weekend and do a short run off the bike. Maybe a swim in the Blue Lake afterwards.

Damn Calf

2011-10-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

The story is so old! ... man hurts calf, man lets it heal, man comes back slowly so not to do any more damage, man tries something different to stop calf hurting, it works(!), man very happy, man has a few GREAT runs ... man hurts calf! aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man not very happy ... man rides and swims more and resides himself to the fact that he's never going to be able to run consistently and so will only do minimal running in training. Man OK with that.

In other news ...

Swim - I'm really happy with where my swim is at the moment. My head position is so much better and my breathing now is more an act of turning my head rather than turning and lifting. It's early days but if I don't get out of the Blue lake in less than 40 minutes this year I'll eat my swim cap.

My 2k TT this week was 38:45 and that included 2 slow(er) sets of 250m where I hadn't really sorted out my head position. I did a 38:43 two years back but I think that was more of a fluke than this time.

I did some 250m intervals on Friday and was able to do 4:34 a couple of times but that was all out. 4:50 felt nice and easy. Jo is signing up for a year's membership at the pool and so that should mean we go swimming more often. I want to be out of the water at Rotorua in 38:xx.

Bike - I've ridden more this week due to the lack of running which culminated in a pretty rough ride this morning. I just didn't have any energy or force in my legs. I'm hoping it was a case of too much riding/interval work/late night watching rugby/gardening(!)/being off work/etc that led to a not so good workout this morning.

Back to normal next week (back to work) and I won't ride and swim on my Saturday Rest day. It seemed like a good idea because I wasn't running to get more bike and swims in but it didn't work. I'm too old to be getting up at 5am on both weekend mornings :)

Run - No comment!

In other, other news ... A pro triathlon photographer posted on Facebook that he had had 2 jobs cancelled and so was offering to do a photoshoot with someone for FREE. Obviously seeing the word FREE I jumped at the chance and put my name forward. I have some support for my application including the current Ironman NZ winner Sam Warriner.

How good would that be! If you fancy supporting me I think you would have to become friends with Darryl Carey and then write some comment on the thread saying how much you support me. Bit of a hassle but ...

11 Weeks to Go

2011-10-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

Swim - Had a great 'coached' session during the week. Not much technique work but some sets at different effort levels. Enjoyed it. Definitely do the workout again

Bike - Tweaked the height/position of the saddle on the new bike and it seems to have helped. Indoor sessions on old bike weren't great this week and I had to cut the interval session short on Tuesday because my calf was hurting. Had a great long ride on Sunday with two others from work though. Did loop of fairly flat riding but the pace was higher than normal. Pushed it a couple of times to 165HR.

Run - I've made a change to my running style and I think it is working. I have increased the cadence and shortened (quite drastically) my stride. This definitely takes the pressure off my calf. Monday's run out was one of frustration as the calf was continually hurting and i was just waiting for it to 'go'. On the way back there was a bit on the podcast about cadence and as i played with my cadence the 'pain' subsided. I now run like my shoes are tied together by a short bit of string BUT I can run Sub5 minute k pace with no pain. I'm hoping and praying that this is the answer I have been searching for.

Walked up the Mount on Saturday morning with Jo and Laura in an event for the Rugby World Cup. We all donned our England get-up and showed our support for our team.

It didn't do any good though and we got knocked out of the cup that night. No more nights down the pub drinking beer and eating chips. Good news for my training.

I've been strengthening my core over the last few weeks and I think that is helping my running as well. I definitely run better when I hear my coach shouting 'engage that core!" in my head.

Right ... where's that Swiss Ball?

Two Week's Worth

2011-10-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

It's been 2 weeks since my last blog. I had almost given up on the idea of a blog but I know I'll regret not having kept it up to date once the race is over.

Working with the coach has been really good. We've done a few gym sessions and my core is definitely 'strengthening'. I'm running taller and I hope with better form. I've tried to carry that concentration on the core over to the swimming but it's been less successful. Still feel really slow in the pool. I've only been swimming twice a week so need to up that rate.

I had a bit of a scare with the calf early this week when I felt it pull. It wasn't painful but it certainly wasn't right. I had increased the run:walk ratio to 3:1 but for Friday's run I went back to 2:1 and just did an hour. It went OK and I only 'felt' the calf when I upped the pace a bit. Got to be patient!

I did a 3hr bike last weekend around the flats of Tauranga and it was an OK ride but it wasn't great and I never felt like I was able (or willing) to push myself. I decided I needed hills to make me give an honest effort. So today I drove to Reid Rd (the road there is still cut up to pieces) and did 3 hours of hill repeats.

None of the climbs were spectacularly fast but I was just glad to get through the session after the calf scare. It complained on the first two climbs but the following five were pain free and I was able to put a bit of effort into it. No world records though :)

So ... 11 weeks to go. Not exactly where I want to be but at least I'm swim/bike and running ... and doing gym :)

A fellow blogger, Kate, tagged me in the 'Dig Your Blog' thing. Rules are that I have to give 3 random facts about myself and then tag 5 other blogs. So here goes ...

1. I'm a big West Ham fan and football is the one of the very few things that I miss from the UK. I'm slowly getting into Rugby (you kind of have to in NZ) and the Rugby World Cup is exciting (Go ENGLAND!) but I can't see it ever replacing football for me.

2. In any circle of friends/colleagues/random people I have always been the 'technical' one. Computers/gadgets/programmable things were always my domain ... up to about 2 years ago when somehow I became old and out of touch and both my kids started explaining things to me and showing me weird and wonderful things that you can do with computers. I've almost stopped having to teach the Electronics Students Level 2 Computing cos they know far more than I do ... damn kids!

3. If you've read my blog before I'm sure you'll already know that I'm U2's greatest fan! :) I first saw them in 1983 at Hammersmith Palais and have seen them about 15 times since. The only tour I have missed since the '83 War tour was when a mate and I bought tickets from an advert in a magazine to see them in Ireland (a big dream!) and later found out that it was a scam and the tickets were forgeries!

I tag

Tea

26.2

Ryan

Pip

And one from

Tri-Saint or Phil ... although I think they blog even less than I do :)

14 Weeks To Go

2011-09-11T00:09:00.000-07:00

Finally back to some semblance of a normal training week. I haven't pushed it too hard because I still feel like I'm protecting the calf/achilles but as of today (Sunday) there's no feeling of pain or tightness in either. I'm hoping for a good week next week.

Although ... this week has been big.

I got myself a coach ... and it's not Laura (or Adam) ... The third year Sports Degree students at work needed people to work with for their final year project and I applied. It's only been a week but she has highlighted things that I knew needed work (core/balance/strength) but chose to ignore so that I could swim/bike/run. I don't think I'm going to get away with that so I'm standing by for strength work ... I hate the gym :)

She did all sorts of tests and I have some more to come tomorrow morning. Can't wait.
She wants me to work on my nutrition (which I agree with) and so I am going to log all my eats on MealSnap. . I'm hoping it will keep me more accountable and help me to cut out all the cookies and cakes and chocolate. We'll see.

I'm also logging all my workouts at this Facebook Page. If you want to help keep me accountable then I'd love to be your friend over there.

I got two swims in this week. No drills, just swimming 1k straight both times. My coach has plans to change that. I see lots of drills in my future.

The first 1k swim on Monday was 20:38 (I think) and the second 19:50 something. So glad to have got it under the 20 minute mark. I'm hoping that this will come down and I'll be able to keep that faster pace for 2k. Target is 40 mins for the 2k once again but my coach reckons we'll get that down by a few mins. I'm not so sure.

I only did one run this week but it was a big breakthrough because I was able to run 1k loops in between walks. There was no pain and there was no reaction the next day. I feel that I've really given my injury the optimal time to heal. Plenty of warming up/stretching coming up. No speed work for at least 6 weeks. Getting back to 4:1 run:walk is the target.

I did a few bikes in the week and a long bike on Saturday. Welcome Bay Rd was an absolute mess and I thought I was coming off a few times. I went a different way home. I would have turned back but I wanted to climb Reid Rd. I did it three times. Once to warm-up and then once to go for the time record (11:40 something). I've put 2 or 3kg over the last 6 weeks and I felt it climbing. I did it in 12:09. Average HR was 158 and max (final turn at top) was 176. The data gives me 1.42 metres for every heart beat. I'm looking to increasing that number as I get fitter.

I'm almost glad that I didn't beat my record as I need the motivation to drop the stupid weight I've put on. I'm sure if I can drop that weight and get the legs back to the strength of six weeks ago with interval sessions I can really give it a good crack. The third attempt was just trying to keep the HR as low as possible. Took just over 19 minutes to get to the top :)

So the plan for the week coming up is to get more runs in, do an interval session on the bike and get TWO swims in. I think the coach might have some strength sessions planned. I find out tomorrow :(

15 Weeks To Go

2011-09-04T02:06:00.000-07:00

Last week was basically a washout due to my annual bout of man-flu. It may have been a blessing in disguise because it made me rest the calf for a bit longer. My first workout for what feels like forever was a walk along the beach with Jo on Saturday.

We had tried a few weeks back and the calf didn't like it so I was quite nervous about trying again. We parked at Tay St which is just over 2.5k away from the Mount and then walked there and back. It was really great. The calf was a bit edgy but we got through it. The 5k walk seemed like a really hard workout.

I then decided to get out on the bike Sunday morning. I only did a ride to (and up) Reid Rd but it totally knocked me out. I was shattered when I got back. I've got a lot of work to do just to get back where I was a month ago. Oh well. Time to get serious.

Four weeks ago I was 183 lbs and I climbed Reid Rd in just under 12 minutes. This morning I weighed 189.2 lbs and I climbed Reid Rd in over 15 minutes. I don't think I was giving it my all because I think I was subconsciously protecting the calf but I was f@kced when I got to the top. The ride home was 'interesting' ... I usually try to do it in the big gear. Not today!

So ... time to lose the comfort pounds I've put on over the last few weeks ... and time to some workouts in. My calf was fine on the bike but my achilles was
really tender after the ride. Never had any pain there before (I don't think). Will see how it is after my first run tomorrow. Really nervous about that! ... loads of warming up, stretching and walk breaks in that run.

New plan for the week ...

Monday - Swim and Run
Tuesday - Bike intervals
Wednesday - Run
Thursday - Bike
Friday - Swim and Long Run
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Bike ... maybe a brick - see how the runs in the week go.

Motivation is high. I'm looking forward to getting it done!

Another TWO(!) Weeks of Nothing

2011-08-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've tried a few easy spins on the bike over the last 2 weeks (where did those weeks go?!?) but the calf pain was still there. Decided to rest it totally. I massaged it loads and I think it's ready to swim, bike and run.

It's 16 weeks till Rotorua so starting back on Monday would give me a perfect 4 x 4 week block programme, pushing it hard for each three and then easing back on the fourth.

However, someone or something had other plans for me! I've picked up the bug that's been going round at work and at home. I blame Jo! I tried to do a bit of gardening yesterday but it knocked me right out and so today (Sunday) is going to be a day of rest and then I'll assess the situation Monday morning.

It might actually do me a favour because if I do train next week it's going to be sloooow ... which is exactly what I need after more than a month of very little activity.

On another positive note, I'm hoping that I've got the sickness and injury out of the way early and at exactly the right time. I'm definitely raring to get out there and train hard. I'm just hoping that motivation lasts for 16 weeks.

Looking back at my previous attempts at Rotorua it seems that I never execute the last 4-6 weeks properly. The build-up goes well and it seems like I'm making progress but I sabotage it all towards the end, either by going too hard and getting injured or getting distracted by work, selling houses or U2. This year WILL be different.

I'm going for a very simple plan so I don't have to think too much about what I'm doing on any particular day. The basic plan is:

On Monday's I swim at lunchtime (40-60 mins) and do bike intervals on the windtrainer at night (60 mins)

On Tuesday's I run for an hour (what I do in that hour will change but I will be out there for an hour

On Wednesday's I ride for an hour. This will be outside as much as possible but if I have to use the windtrainer that's OK. Maybe a short (10-20 minute) run off the bike for the first 3 weeks of each four.

On Thursday's I do my long run (start 1hr and build to 2)

On Friday's I swim at lunchtime (40-60 mins)

On Saturday's I do a bike/run brick (2hr/30 building to 3hr/1hr)

This should give me roughly 8 - 11 hours depending on the week within the 4 week block.

There are only 2 swims but even if I just do 2 swims a week that will probably be more than I normally do in my HI build-up. I would hope that I would fit in a Wednesday swim closer to the race but for the time being I need to just get in the habit of swimming again.

I'm going into this training knowing that I don't have to go fast to get Sub6. I just need to not slow down on the run! Hills here I come ... once I shake this blasted man-flu :)

Week of Nothing

2011-08-13T23:51:00.001-07:00

I've been a good boy and rested my calf totally for a whole week. I did try a walk along the beach with Jo yesterday but I could feel it pulling and so we abandoned the plan to walk 5k.

We will do it in the next couple of weeks though.

I've been massaging the calf most nights and the sharp point of pain has gone. Its now just very tight. I haven't stretched it at all because I thought that would cause more damage than good.

I will start on the bike Monday and hopefully if it doesn't pull at the calf muscle I will do 40 or so minutes and then stretch it. I'm not going to run at all next week but might try some long(ish) walks towards the end of the week.

Next week I'll start back run/walking very sloooooowly.

Unfortunately this means I won't be doing the Winter Duathlon next Sunday at the Lakes. I was hoping to return and beat my time from three weeks ago. Oh well, that will have to wait till next year.

My long time (5 week) plan is to get ready for a Self Supported Olympic Distance Tri on the 17th or 18th September. Anyone wanna join me? Swim in Baywave, bike the (almost) Tinman Course and then run a 10k along Ocean Beach Rd.

First things first though ... I need to get back running!

I AM AN IDIOT ... it's official !!!

2011-08-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

Two weeks back I drove to the Lakes 10k course (that I ran yesterday) and ran one lap ... straight from the car ... without stretching ... in cold weather ... without warming up ... and ran it too fast.

IDIOT!

My calf didn't 'pull' but it became tight and painful. At least I stopped before it 'pulled' but it had obviously done some damage.

IDIOT!

I haven't run much since and yesterday was the Lakes 10k. I really didn't know if I should run it. I went for a quick jog in the morning as a test. I could feel the calf but it didn't feel too bad. I decided to run it ... but slooooowly.

So the gun goes off (literally) and we're away. I'm feeling great. There are not many (maybe 30) in the race and I'm in the lead pack. We're at a 4:15 pace but I feel great and I'm in about 5th place. The pain in the calf comes and goes and for a few minutes there was NO pain. I thought I'd ran it off.

IDIOT!

Up to 3k and I moved up into 3rd place. I'm pulling away from 4th. Never gonna catch the first two but I'm feeling great. I can easy keep this pace. I get a warm feeling in my leg and then a sniper shoots me in the calf. Bang goes the calf!

IDIOT!

The only good thing was that it was 2 minutes from the start/finish. Handed in my race number and hobbled to the car.

3 week recovery phase coming up.

Week 1 ... NO exercise ... gonna use the week to drop 2 lbs. Well that's the plan anyway.

Week 2 ... Only bike and swim

Week 3 ... Introduce slow short run/walks

Week 4 ... Back to Tri training

I've done lots of ice, rest and massage today and it's feeling better. The pain location is different to normal so it's a new tear (great!) and looking at on-line pics it seems to be where the calf meets the achilles. I've shaved that point so I know where to massage the scar tissue out even when the pain goes. Smart eh? :)

IDIOT!

View from Top of Reid Rd

2011-08-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Bl@@dy cold this morning. Brain freeze riding down hill. Attacked Reid Rd and did an 11:47 ... A good 40 seconds faster than last week's climb but an agonising ONE second off my PB!

Bike Focus

2011-07-31T01:08:00.000-07:00

I had my first real ride outside yesterday. Rode the normal Welcome Bay Road and did one climb of Reid Rd. It wasn't super fast but for my first ride up it this year I was quite pleased. The new bike doesn't have a compact crank and the lowest gear definitely feels a few gears up from the old bike.

No problem though. I just have to work harder on the hills and can't dawdle up. In the past I could have climbed Reid in my lowest gear and spun up in 14 or 15 mins. This climb was in my lowest gear but only took 12:30 something. I was breathing very hard but it wasn't a puke inducing effort like the Sub12 attempts. Hoping to beat my PB in the coming months.

I concentrated on the bike last week because I f*@cked up my calf ... familiar story but this time it is lower down and I can't say "I just don't know how it went???" ... I know exactly this time.

I didn't rest up enough after the Duathlon and then last weekend I set off without my normal warm-up/stretching routine and then ran too far and (what really did it) tooooo fast! I'm not letting it get to me though. I'll chalk it up to experience (and NOT do it again!) and just let it heal. More time on the bike and maaaaaaaybe a swim or two!

So ... no running next week. Plenty of riding though. The last winter Duathlon is in three weeks and I want to be 'run fit' for that.

Had a great day today. It was our 18th wedding anniversary and the kids didn't want to go out with us so we went to Maketu for a fish'n'chips lunch on the beach.

Twas gorgeous! It was the lowest tide we've seen there and we were able to walk right around the cove.

Plan for the Week

Monday - Hour bike - Spinervals but easyish setting

Tuesday - 30 second on/off bike intervals

Wednesday - If the weather cooperates I'll get out and do some hill repeats on the bike

Thursday - hour easy

Friday - 30 second on/off intervals

Saturday - 2(ish) hours Welcome Bay Rd

Sunday - Rest

oh ... yeah ... erm .... maybe a swim!

The Lakes Duathlon

2011-07-17T00:46:00.000-07:00

This was my first Duathlon. It was put on by the local Triathlon Club as part of their Winter Duathlon Series. There's another one in August in 5 weeks time.

I rode to the start (about 10 minutes) so that gave me a nice warm up. I also did a bit of a run warm up as well (a first for me!). It was a gorgeous sunny winter's morning and I got rid of the extra layer on top and put my gloves away.

It was only a very small race but they all looked uber-fit

They all looked so young and so fast! I was very worried about coming last but Paul said that there was a 73 year old doing the long course ... although he said he would only take about 1:06. I had targeted anything between 1:05 and 1:08. This could be embarrassing!

After a very quick race briefing we were off.

I don't usually get caught up with going out too fast but with so few people I found myself wanting to stay with the small pack and we were going a crazy 3:30min/k pace (5:36 min/mile pace!) ... I lasted about 200m and then I kept to my own pace. It was still fast for me (about 4:30min/k) but it felt doable.

My pace slowed down drastically on the hill that was at the halfway point. It would be climbed once on each of the runs but four times on the bike. Great!

After the hill it was a gradual downhill all the way back to Transition ... which was nice.

Working hard and feeling the fast pace about 500m from the end of the first run.

I was looking forward to getting on the bike

1st Run
3.18k in 14:21 (average 4:31min/k)

T1 - transition was uneventful. So much easier swapping shoes than getting a wetsuit off :D

There were still a lot of bikes in transition so I was definitely not in last place. Phew!

On to the bike.

This was my first race with the new bike and it was great. It felt faster on the flats but it still climbed as slow as the other one ;-) Wonder why that is. Der!

I almost used the hill as a break. I put it into the smallest gear and just spun up, promising myself that I would hammer the flat at the bottom of the hill.

The course had lots of roundabouts and with the new bike and being down in the tri-bars I wasn't very good at keeping the speed up going in and out of them. I will definitely do some rides on the course before the next race and get my confidence up in taking the corners faster and staying down in the bars. There's definitely some free speed to get there.

I think I died a bit towards the end of the bike and I wasn't able to keep the average at 30km/hr (my goal). I finished the 12.82k in 26:18 for an average speed of 29.2km/hr. However I hit my lap button too late and some of that is T2 as T2 was timed as only a few seconds. I wasn't that fast getting my shoes changed!

I left it too late to un-velcro my shoes and get my feet out. I got one out but came off the bike with one shoe on and one shoe off. Then I tried to get the shoe off in T2 without undoing the velcro (surprisingly didn't work). More wasted seconds. Will not make that mistake next time.

So onto the second run

All smiles at this point but it got harder and harder!

The final hill was a killer and I had to resist the urge to walk. The guy in front of me walked around the cones at the top of the hill and I thought to myself "He's hurting ... I'm gonna catch him before the finish" ... I ran around the cones, put my legs into top gear and tried to catch him. He was about 100m in front. Then 200m ... then 300m and then off he went into the distance. DOH! ... I decided to run my own run and just not let anyone go past me. We were strung out far enough that this was quite easy.

I came off the hill at about 5:10min/k average pace but I was able to speed up before the finish to get that below the 5min/k mark.

I wasn't as fast in the second run but I managed to finish in 15:33 for a 4:52min/k average pace.

I crossed the line in 57:41.

I never dreamed I could go under 1 hour. There were plenty of fast looking dudes behind me. I'm not sure if the full results get published as it was only a small team event but it would be interesting to know where they puts me in the over 40s group.

It was definitely harder than the Sprint tris I have done. It might be because of the climb on each lap but I think the run before the bike fatigues you more than a swim.

Can't wait till the next one. Five weeks to get me some climbing legs!

*update*

official results are in ... 18th out of 28 ... happy with that :) BUT 3rd in the old people (40+) age group. 3rd! FFS!... only 8 of us in that AG but ... I can now die happy now :)

Duathlon Tomorrow

2011-07-16T02:43:00.000-07:00

It's gonna be f****** cold tomorrow for the Duathlon. Hopefully it'll warm up a bit by 10am but if it's anything like this morning's 9am run I'm gonna need me winter gloves :)

I ran one loop of the course and it's quite challenging with a hill in the middle (that's climbed four times on the bike). I'm just hoping that I don't come DFL! Other than that my goal is to finish anywhere between about 1:05 and 1:08 ... And then work on beating that time in August.

We got s new PC so I'm hoping to get back to the Sunday evening updates. Hopefully tomorrow's might include dome pics of the race cos Jo might be coming to cheer me on. Think the kids will still be tucked up in bed when the gun goes off ... And I definitely don't blame them!

Sent from my iPhone

Another Barefoot Run

2011-07-13T02:05:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure whether to run tonight. There's a slight tightness in my calf but nothing like the 'old days'. I made sure I stretched, walked over to the park and ran the first few laps very slowly. It was pitch black but my eyes soon adapt to it and I can follow the white lines of the pitches. There's been plenty of rain so the grass was definitely on the squidgy side.

The run felt great and I threw in some 'fast' legs. Not whole laps but just along the straight where there was a bit of light from the main road.

My fast 30 secondish intervals were

133m @ 4:15min/k pace
131m @ 4:07 min/k
136m @ 3:45 min/k ... Felt amazing to run 'fast' on grass with no shoes on ... And it didn't hurt. Loved it ... Will try the 10 x 30 second on/off like the bike intervals but not before the Duathlon on Sunday. Any chance the run is on grass Paul? (btw ... Where does the bike ride go Paul ?)

Sent from my iPhone

2011-07-12T03:32:00.001-07:00

Test to see if I can send photos to blogger from phone.

2011-07-12T02:40:00.001-07:00

Our PC has died :-(

Trying out updating blog from phone

Barefoot Run

2011-07-12T02:36:00.001-07:00

Great barefoot run around Pemberton Park in the darkness. One lap is about 750m and was taking me 4:45+ at a nice easy pace. Decided to have one lap at a faster pace and was able to run 5min pace in the squidgy grass and mud. Was surprised/happy to run that pace on grass ... Even if it was for only 3 and a bit minutes :-)

I'm gonna do my first Duathlon (3.5k, 16k, 3.5k) on Sunday. Really local. Can ride there. it's the Tauranga Tri club. Might even join :) Really looking forward to it.

Sent from my iPhone

2011-07-12T02:18:00.001-07:00

Tuesday

Normal interval session on bike. 20 min warm up and then 30 seconds at max - now up to 100+ rpm - and 30 sec rest x 10. Felt sick at the end so I definitely worked hard enough. Warmed down a bit but didn't get chance to stretch as Jo phoned and said car wouldn't go! Drove out to her in the other car, feeling more and more sick, couldnt find anything wrong and drove it back ... Still feeling sick :-)
Sent from my iPhone

Greerton Sprint Tri Week

2011-07-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

27th June - 3rd July

Monday ... Nothing!

Tuesday

I did a little brick to get me ready for the Sprint Tri on Saturday. 16k on the windtrainer followed by a 2.5k run off the bike. I was trying out the loop that I'd be using on the Saturday. Mostly flat but with a hill at the end back up to the house. Averaged just under 30km/hr on the bike and a 5:03 min/k pace on the run. Pleased with that.

Wednesday

Just a short run (28 minutes) using the 4:1 ratio. I know I've only dabbled a bit in barefoot running but it has definitely changed my foot plant on the run (for the good). I feel a bit lighter footed and thee's definitely not the usual strains in my calfs ... well not as bad anyway. Shouldn't temp fate but running is going good!

Thursday

Went for a swim ... without my watch! ... never done that before. It wasn't done on purpose. I did about a k and concentrated on different parts of the stroke. Quite enjoyable.

I also took my bike in for a service on Thursday. The outcome was it needed about $400 worth of work done. Eeeek! ... Decided it was probably more cost effective to get a new bike. I think there's some logic in there somewhere. Jo seemed to think so as well so ...

Friday

I went bike hunting. After gawd knows how many test rides I fell in love with a second hand tri-bike that was up for $1200. Only carbon forks and seat post but it felt great ... but a little cramped. Turns out it was only a medium frame ... and the tri-bars had been cut short. My

hands extended a good handlength over the end. I gave up on getting it when the owner said "what if we swap the frame for a large and stick some new tri-bar ends on" ... at no extra cost. I jumped at the offer.

So ... I had a new bike for the Greerton Sprint Tri :)

Saturday

Swim 600m - Target 12 mins

The race was wetsuit legal so I used mine ;)

As some have pointed out, it doesn't seem to matter if I swim train every day or just get in and swim I don't get any better than about a 2 min/100m ... and I'm OK with that. This swim was no different.

Swim time 11:59 and 27/100ths of a second. That's cutting it close but I'll take the Sub12.

Bike - 16k - Target 32 mins (30km/hr)

Out on to the bike. Bike Mount line was at the top of our drive ... far too steep to ride up!

The new bike felt fantastic. I need to adjust the bars a bit but felt really comfortable in the aero position for the short ride. Need longer rides obviously to test it fully but so far so good.

The traffic through Greerton slowed me down a bit (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it) and the small hills on the way to the toll road (and back) killed my average speed. I finished in 32:16. 16 damn seconds off of the 30km/hr mark! Grrrrrr! ... not that I'm bitter :)haha

The run - 5k - Target 5:30min/k pace (27:30)

Not quite sure what I'm sayin to Laura here in T2. Must tidy up that shed for the next race.

I felt good off the bike and got into a good pace early on. I haven't run much distance without taking walk breaks recently so this was newish territory of late.

First lap (2.5k) went well, even with the climb up our street to the turn-around at the top of the road. I was averaging about a 5:03 at this point. Second lap got a bit harder and the pace dropped slightly but I managed to finish in 25:26 for a 5:05 pace.

Total Time

Swim 11:59
T1 2:30
Bike 32:16
T2 1:30
Run 25:26

Total 1:13:41 ... pleased with that :)

Sunday

Went for a ride with bloke from work. It was his first ride since December so he didn't fancy climbing Reid Road. We just did a lap taking in Welcome Bay Road, Parton and home via the Harbour Bridge. It was just a nice spin although I pushed it up to the 38km/hr mark coming along Ocean Road. He wasn't too happy :) but I just wanted to 'see'. We poodled home from the Mount talking most of the way. My legs enjoyed that after yesterday's 'race'.

I'm really pleased with the way the week went. Can't quite believe I finished it with a tri-bike though. My old bike is now a permanent fixture on the windtrainer. Mid week rides will be indoors with longer rides outside at the weekend on the tri-bike. Love it! :)

My Week's Training

2011-06-28T00:30:00.000-07:00

Nothing!

sickness, tiredness, lack of motivation, dodgy ankle, work ... I've got loads of reasons/excuses.

Back at it today though (Tuesday) - Did a bike/run brick and the run went well. 5:03 pace for 2.5k, I'll take that for the first run in more than a week.

Sprint Race on Friday ... taper time?

We Did It!

2011-06-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

We survived the final week of Jo being in the UK ... woohoo!!!

Training didn't go too bad either ... although it's mostly a familiar story of good rides, surviving runs and missed swims.

Monday

Bog standard 6.83k flat run along Cameron road using 3:1 run:walk. Top of ankle was hurting a bit towards the end of the run. Decided to not run on Wednesday.

Tuesday

Tuesday night intervals on the bike as usual. Using gear 14 and tension set to 4. When i started these in January I struggled to hold 92 rpm in this gear for the 30 seconds on. Tuesday I was able to get over 100rpm for the 'ons'. I was sh@gged but it felt great.

Wednesday

I wasn't going to run anyway due to my ankle but I wouldn't have got a run in anyway even if I was fit. It was my 'Come Dine With Me' turn and I spent most of the night preparing the meal and afters. The meal was a chuck in the oven sausage and roast potatoes/carrots/kumara affair (all marinated in honey/olive oil/herbs) but the afters was a tricky decorated cake. Supposed to be a rubix cube.

Pretty rubbish when you look at the ones on-line. If I did it again I'd give myself the whole day rather than a few hours.

It was MUCH harder than I anticipated and I just didn't have enough time to do it properly. I have a lot more respect for Ace of Cakes now :) Kids appreciated it though.

Thursday

Thursday I decided would be re-test day for the interval session I do on Tuesday. I wanted to see my improvement from January.

I started the test at 24km/hr and increased it 2km/hr every 2 minutes until exhaustion. In January I got to the end of the 42km/hr and could not pedal another stroke. This time I got to 44km/hr and peddled on for ... 20 seconds. Twenty whole seconds! Gee Wizz!!!

Quite disappointed. Was hoping to get to the end of the two minutes at 44km/hr. One excuse/reason is that my parents rang while I was on the bike and although I hadn't started the test I spent quite a bit of time beforehand spinning, wasting energy after the warm-up ... well that's my story anyway. Might re-try in a few weeks time. It's too exhausting to do too often.

Friday

Rest Day ... I was meant to swim but just had soooo much to do at lunchtime that it was never going to happen. I need to come up with an alternative strategy nearer race day but the pressure is not on at the moment to go swim. I will try to swim next week though ... promise!

Saturday

I don't know why but I did a time trial on the windtrainer Saturday. I wanted a base time to try to improve on in the coming weeks/months. I warmed up for 20 or so minutes and then did a 20 min TT. I used Level 4 intensity setting and tried to keep around 90rpm. I managed 11.38k for an average speed of 34.1km/hr. Now, that doesn't relate to anything on the road but as a baseline I can see if I can get faster over the coming months. I was pleased that the average rpm was 86rpm. If I can 'train myself' to ride around this cadence I'll be happy.

I then ran off the bike ... I have been listening to Born To Run and I was inspired to try barefoot running. I wore 'water shoes' to the park across the street and ran barefoot around the 400m track. Loved it!

We've had a lot of rain recently and the grass surface was extremely soft, wet and muddy. It was great to run on.

I'm definitely going to run barefoot again. My ankle/top of the foot still hurt (so I'll rest it next week) but there were no other pulls/aches in my calfs or feet. Felt fantastic! :)

Sunday

No training. Spent the day getting the house ready for Jo's return. She landed safely and managed to smuggle * tons of chocolate through customs. She also brought back an iphone that my brother got for me (cracked screen at bottom but ...). We haven't managed to get it working as an iphone yet but Adam is working on it. Works fine as an ipod touch though. Good enough for me. I love it!

So ... two weeks till my Sprint Tri. I'm fighting off a cold at the moment. It will not beat me!

* obviously she didn't smuggle them - she declared everything :)

We Survived Another Week

2011-06-12T01:26:00.000-07:00

Jo is still in the UK. We (me and the kids) survived Week 2 of 3 so only next week to get through and then she'll be landing at Tauranga airport Sunday afternoon ... unless she pulls off the plan of extending her ticket. I hope she was joking on the phone tonight. Do you know how big a pile 3 weeks of washing can get?

Training went well this week. Not totally to plan but fairly close.

Monday was the bike/run brick from the last blog entry.

Tuesday - The plan was for Spinervals warm up for 30 mins + Intervals of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off (Setting 4). This has become a regular session. I've probably only missed maybe 2 (or 3 max) Tuesday night sessions since January. They have definitely made my biking legs stronger. It might even be time to reassess the intensity as I'm now hitting 100+ cadence in the same gear as I was struggling to keep at 92 for the 30 second intervals four months ago. I just hope it transfers to the road.

Amazingly, I also hit the pool Tuesday lunchtime. It was a short session but at least I got wet. I managed the 600m (swim distance of my Greerton Sprint in 3 weeks) in 12:38. I was fighting the water most of the time but I should get a bit faster over the weeks.

Wednesday - Plan was to run 60 mins. Where Jo is away we came up witht he idea of doing 'Come Dine With Me' type meals on Wednesday nights. First week it was Adam's turn, last week Laura's and next week I get the chance to try to score the most points for Taste, Presentation and Atmosphere (10 marks each). Laura's main was Chicken Cordon Bleu and it was delish! Her afters was a very over the top pudding made of layers of sponge, whipped cream, strawberries, topped with an afghan cookie with ice-cream on the side. I couldn't even walk after that lot let alone run. My original plan was to run while she was getting it all ready but when it came to it I didn't think it was a good idea to leave the house while cooking was going on.

So, Wednesday became a rest day.

Thursday - Plan was to bike for 60 mins and bike for 60 mins I did. Just on the windtrainer on setting 2 (easy).

Friday - Plan was to SWIM! ... I actually stuck to the plan and swam! ... and improved my time from Tuesday. 600m in 12:12 ... nearly at my 2 mins per 100m mark.

Saturday - Plan Bike 90 / Run 30(easy!) ... almost stuck to the plan. I biked for 90 minutes using Spinervals and then ran for an hour. The plan was to do some 'mental training' on the run. I planned the route to go 2.5k out and back twice so that I had the easy option of calling it a day after the first lap. I also made it the hilly route along Fraser to try to make me want to quit.

I didn't go mad on the bike but doing Spinervals tires the legs at whatever intensity I set the windtrainer on. I got through it without (intentionally) any fuel. I had my normal breakfast (3 honey on toast) about an hour before but the plan was to try to burn fat on the run. I felt a bit hungry though coming off the bike and had a bit of an empty stomach feeling so grabbed a banana before setting off on the run.

As I came out onto the main road there was a woman running just behind me. I was doing the 3:1 run:walk and so I would gain a bit of a lead and then she would overtake me during my walks. This carried on until the last walk break before the turn at the top of Fraser Cove Hill when I managed to start my run before she passed me. Small victories. Using the walk breaks seems to really work for me. I'm able to get a really good pace on the run (hitting Sub5/k fairly easily). I will experiment with increasing the run portion over the coming weeks.

I finished the first 5k and felt really good. No thoughts of cutting it short. On to the second lap, to the turn and back home. I think it was even a negative split for the run. I still haven't been able to induce that feeling of not being able to go on that I get at Rotorua. I'm sure it will come when I do my simulation Half Ironman 10 weeks before the race. I haven't planned a route yet but I know it must include Welcome Bay hills to try to simulate the Rotorua bike course. Can't wait :)

Sunday - Plan was Rest (write blog!) ... well I am writing the blog but I didn't rest. I did another session on the bike tonight just because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Nothing too strenuous, just a fat burning session ... nothing to do with the fact that I have a fitness assessment at the gym tomorrow morning. Nothing at all .......

Plan for the Week

Monday - Fitness Assessment at gym - Run 40 ... maybe bare foot running over the park. I'm reading (audio book) Born to Run and it is 'inspiring'.

Tuesday - Spinervals + 10 intervals of 30/30

Wednesday - It's my turn to cook my feast so maybe just a swim at lunchtime.

Thursday - Bike 60 mins

Friday - Swim 600m

Saturday - 90 bike, 60 run (4:1 hills)

Sunday - Rest, write blog, pick up Jo from Tauranga Airport.

Here's to surviving the next week :)

Back at it

2011-06-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start blogging again. I actually don't miss the blogging part but I know that I'll regret not charting my progress when I try to look back next year. I want to be able to read how I felt at various stages of the journey and laugh/cry at the plans and goals that I had. My plan is to blog Sunday nights about the previous week and set my goals for the following one. That's the plan anyway. Right, here goes ...

My A race (just like the previous three years!) is the Rotorua Half Ironman in December and obviously I want Sub6. December is a funny month for an A race because it seems the season in NZ is only just starting and there aren't many lead up races (maybe Karapiro at a push). I would love to do the local Olympic (Tinman) but it's just too close to Rotorua (4th December). I have therefore decided to set up my own lead up races.

They will be:

2nd July : Greerton Sprint Challenge (600m/16k/5k) - 4 weeks away!

13th August : Bayfair Olympic (1.5k/40k/10k)

8th October : Tauranga Triathlon Torturefest (2k/90k/21k)

They give me a nice time timeframe in between to recover and build up again. They also give me the incentive to get in the pool and swim.

Where I'm at now.

I had a great brick session this morning. I did Spinervals for just over an hour on setting 2 (low). Worked fairly hard but nothing like my normal Tuesday night sessions. I then ran 5k using the run:walk. I wasn't looking to go too fast or break any records so kept to my slow 3 minute run, 1 minute walk combo.

I decided NOT to look at my pace early on and just go with what felt OK ... which, as in the past, means toooo fast. It felt OK though and so I kept going.

My 3 minute run splits were 5:31, 5:10, 4:37, 4:43, 4:55, 5:32 (changed the combo to walk up a hill and run down), 4:34. Where the f%#%@ did they come from? I have been running very slow these past few months protecting my twisted ankle and I've been mainly concentrating on the bike. The walk breaks obviously brought the average speed down but it was still a 5:27 pace (27:18).

I have dropped some weight so I'm hoping this has had an effect. I'm down to about 184lbs at the moment (hit 181lbs but I think that was an unreal spike). It's my lowest weight in NZ so definitely my lowest triathlon weight. I was about 187 for my epic Karapiro 'course was short' 1:39 (?) Half Marathon so if I can keep to low 180's it should help with the hilly Rotorua course.

My plan for the week is

Monday - Brick (1hr bike/5k run) - Done! (will swim in future weeks on Mondays)

Tuesday - Spinervals warm up for 30 mins + Intervals of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off (Setting 4).

Wednesday - Run 60 mins

Thursday - Bike 60

Friday - SWIM!

Saturday - Bike 90 / Run 30(easy!)

Sunday - Rest (write blog!)

Four weeks to race day! ... wanna join me?

Run For Christchurch

2011-03-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

I think we can say that the Run for Christchurch fundraising effort has been a great success. We had over 100 runs around the world and had big group runs in Richmond, Dubai, Netherlands, Wellington and Ireland (sorry if I've missed your run off this list).

It was unbelievable when we hit our $1k target early and we changed the target to an ambitious $5k. When that was surpassed we set the dream total of $10k. Imagine what $10k could do for the people of Christchurch. Certain people even promised to run around naked if we hit the supposedly unreachable target of ten grand!

It was just jawdroppingly unbelievable when the total ticked over past 10k and within no time hit $15K ... and it hasn't stopped climbing even a week after the 'main event'. It's sitting at sixteen and a half grand this morning but we know there's another thousand coming in from the Rotorua.

The total is going to be get near to $20k with donations still coming in from runs around the world ... and here lies my 'problem'. I want to see that total hit $20k. The big money is in and so the last 2.5k is possibly going to be hard to come by but it's not too late for YOU to run and/or organise a run with friends and raise some cash for Run4CHCH.

If you want to donate please go here and if you want to submit a race photo/report you can do so at run4chch@gmail.com. If you want to read race reports from around the world there are links and photos here

Let's see if we can hit $20k ... and then I will run around naked (but don't let that put you off raising some money!)

Some pictures from the weekend

Run 4 Christchurch

2011-03-06T00:06:00.001-08:00

Today was our run for Christchurch. We walked 5k around Yatton Park ... which was nice :)

Below is a map of the world wide runs. You can click on the pins and get details of what's happening and as race reports are published you'll be able to access them from the same place. I spent way too much time creating this (well, this was about the 5th 'method' I tried) but I am kind of proud of it ... especially as it was linked on the Runner's World Website.

Our run at the Boys' College was also featured which was fantastic.

We raised over $122 and helped take our total over the $5000 mark ... and it's now sitting at over $6000.

If you run over the weekend in the red and black please let me know and I'll add your run to the map.

Run for Christchurch

2011-02-25T01:28:00.000-08:00

Watching all the devastation from Christchurch, it just makes me feel so helpless and to a certain extent guilty that it's them (again) and not us. What is it? ... there but for the grace of God go I ...

When Kate suggested the idea of a virtual 5k run to help raise money towards the fund I jumped at the chance. Getting involved is partly selfish because it gets rid of some of the guilt of 'not being able to do something'. What we are trying to do is not going to make the tiniest dent in the billions of dollars needed by the city but at least we are doing something.

I urge you all to get involved. Sign up here , donate your five bucks and then, on or around the weekend of the 12/13th March get out there on the roads, trails and parks of the world with your red and black on, and run or walk the 5k. We can make a difference, however small.

Your help is needed and appreciated. Please help spread the word.

Our official 'release' with more details is below:

As you may know, New Zealand's second largest city, Christchurch, was devastated by a 6.3 earthquake at lunchtime on Tuesday 22 February 2011. There have been at least 113 fatalities and two days later over 200 people are still missing.

Kiwis out of Christchurch and people around the world want to know how they can help, and the answer's short. With money. But we all want to feel like we're doing more than just typing our credit card numbers into a box and clicking submit. So we thought we'd go for a run. Wearing red and black, to show the people of Canterbury we love them. And we'd like you to join us for a virtual run. Wherever you are.

If you'd like to participate, just follow these easy steps:

* make a donation here, using the link below [Minimum $5 (NZD), recommended donation of $1 per k]

* tell the world you're in. Share the love on Twitter, Facebook, your blog, whatever

* on the 12th or 13th of March, pop your red and black on, and hit the streets, or the pavements, or the trails, or wherever it is you run.

* then send us a link to your race report, and we'll post it on our website, http://run4chch.wordpress.com.

We're hoping to get 100 entries, so please share this with everyone you know!

UCAN2 Sprint Triathlon

2011-02-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

My Quest for Sub6 at Rotorua begins again ... and it started with a Sprint Triathlon today.

The purpose of today was to suffer on the run ... and embrace the suffering and more importantly to keep going. I need to be able to suffer at Rotorua in December and push through it and keep runnning. Oh triathlon, how I love thee

I also wanted to beat last year's time (1:16) but the main thing was to have a good run.

Also in the race was a friend (Tui) from work (she is much younger and tiny tiny) ... so the other objective (probably the main one if I'm truthful) was to beat her. She doesn't train as such but keeps fit with Hockey, touch rugby and running ... and the occasional swim but she is 'naturally fit'

The Swim

600m ... wanted to average 2 mins/100m so wanted 12 minutes. Got 12 minutes and 14 seconds. Cool ... or it was until I got to transition and saw Tui (my friend) getting ready to head out on the bike. She beat me in the swim ... but only by about 30 seconds.

T1 ... it took a lot of time but there is an insanely long run from the water to the bike racks. (3 mins 42 seconds!)

The Bike ... This is where I had to put some time into Tui to make sure I started the run with a bit of time up my sleeve. I was going great guns UNTIL the race came to a stop at a train crossing to let a Logging Train through. These trains are mega mega long and it took forever!!!

We raced on from there only to be stopped at the next crossing by the same train! AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG!!!

My watch stops on auto pause if I stop the bike and so my official time is going to be 2 or 3 minutes more than the times I am quoting here but I am going to go with my watch times. Race results will be up mid week so I'll update then.

Most important thing was that I passed Tui but she must have had me in her sights most of the way because as I rolled into transition I heard her voice behind!

Bike time on the watch was 28:52 for 16.5k which is an average of 34.3km/hr (21.4mph) ... very pleased with that although official time will prob be about 32 minutes

The run ... So I head out onto the run knowing that Tui is only seconds behind me. I've only been doing run:walks recently but I knew that was not an option. I started out at a 4:20/k pace to try to get a bit of a lead. I couldn't keep that pace up but I was able to stay below 5min/k pace. Average was hovering around the 4:50/k pace which was very pleasing.

I hit the turnaround and took 2 cups of water. I gave myself the luxury of walking the aid station, drinking one cup and throwing the other over my head. It was already hot even though it was only about 9am. I started back running and about 10 seconds later there was Tui. We high 5'd and she said I should watch out for her sprint finish! So, she was about 20 seconds behind me. I upped the pace a bit and tried to pull away. I didn't want a sprint finish.

I was definitely suffering on the way back. My legs didn't hurt but they felt dead and I felt sick in the stomach. Sea water just doesn't sit easily in my gut. But, as per plan, I sucked it up and kept going. I tried NOT to look around but with about 1k to go I took a peek and couldn't see Tui. Hopefully I'd broken her with the upping of the pace from the turn.

With a few hundred metres to go I was constantly looking round waiting for the sprint from Tui but it never came. A bloke sprinted as if his life depended on it to beat me at the line but I wasn't bothered. I let him have his win. I waited for Tui and cheered her home. Felt like a few minutes but I'm not sure. I had stopped my watch and didn't time it cos I thought she was just behind. We'll see when the results come through.

Time for my run was 26:44 for 5.44k which averages out to 4:54mins/k (about 7:50mins/mile). Very pleased to go Sub5 pace for the run. Equates to about 24:30 for 5k which isn't bad after the swim/bike.

So my total time (excluding train stops) was 1:13:37 so unofficially faster than last year but I think the official time is going to be very similar.

I'm changing my next event. It was going to be a sprint in 3 weeks but there is a bigger and better one in 6 weeks time (slightly longer - 750m/20k/5.5k) and so I am going to give myself longer to train for this one and really go for it. Plus the course doesn't cross the train tracks EIGHT times! ... and they put the transition area next to the sea. Roll on 20th March. I need to do some more suffering

1st Week of Bike Intervals

2011-01-29T13:58:00.000-08:00

It was the first week of bike interval training (after last week's tests) and I think it went OK. I sweat buckets so I must have been working hard.

I wasn't sure if I had set the intervals at a high enough intensity as it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. I was definitely struggling towards the end of each set but it wasn't like I thought I couldn't finish them.

The speed graph for the intervals is below.

I think Day 2 (Thursday/Red) was a much stronger effort. Almost all the intervals are at a higher speed than Tuesday. I may have actually overdone it in the latter intervals cos my off speed drops dramatically straight after the interval.

One thing that I learnt from the sessions was how important a decent warm up is. I used Spinervals Have Mercy DVD so the warm up was fairly intense but I could not hit the speeds and efforts that I could once I had done those, spun slowly for a bit and then started the intervals.

Just for the record, wind trainer was in pre-set and not touched, back tyre was deflated, positioned and then inflated to 100psi and the 'dial' was set to 4/5. I'll follow this procedure to try to keep the consistency of the testing/intervals. Race is in 2 weeks and then again 3 weeks after that. I'll re-test the week after the first race to see if I need to adjust the intervals.

Running is going very slowly (literally) as I'm still sticking with a walk/run combo till I feel I can fully trust the calf. I have gone from a 2:2 to a 2:1 and this has meant I've got my average speed below the 7min/k. Woopy do! My Monday run tomorrow will be at a 3:1 ratio and I might try a few 'fast' bits in the run portions. Just to see.

Swimming hasn't gone too well as I'm back to work (no morning swims with Jo) and my work pool is closed until the 7th Feb. I did swim Saturday and I did my longest (I think) swim without a wetsuit. Three hundred metres!!! I'm actually going to join the gym at work because we've worked it out that my membership ($30/month) is less than we would spend on family swimming at weekends when the pool is open to family and friends for free!

The gym membership means access to a treadmill. mmmmmm .... I feel run intervals coming on. Pulled calf anyone?

Experiment No1 2011

2011-01-19T12:28:00.000-08:00

Time for the first experiment of the year. I have a Sprint Tri in just over 3 weeks so not exactly a lot of time to improve anything but there's a second race three weeks after that so I'm thinking (hopefully) the training will have more impact on that.

The plan is to use an interval training thingy that I found on the internet that doesn't rely on a Powermeter or HR to determine the most efficient output for intervals. If I had a Powermeter I would be doing FTP etc but this is the poor man's version and I like the idea of it (lots of numbers!). I've already thrown it out on another forum and got it shot down in flames but I like it ... or at least the idea of it so far ... so I'm doing it. What harm can it do other than inducing overtraining fatigue and ruining the rest of the season?

Base Level

I rode the Sprint course last weekend and considering that I haven't trained for weeks I was quite happy to ride the 16.5k course in 30:13 which gives average of 32.7km/hr. Hopefully I can get that time below 30 mins on the day.

The first part of the interval experiment is to find my 'VO2 max velocity'. You ride for 2 mins at 20km/hr on the windtrainer (I chose 14 gear) and then increase the speed by 2km/hr every 2 mins till you can give no more. My maximum was 42km/hr for the last 2 mins. I had nothing left to get the speed to 44km/hr. I must say I have never sweat so much in my life! Obviously not working hard enough in previous interval sessions! :)

So ... my intervals will be 30 seconds at 42km/hr followed by 30 seconds at 21km/hr and repeated for a total time (including the rest bits) equal to 2.5 times my 'maximum time'. This will be determined today by riding as much as possible at 42km/hr. Apparently the average time is about 4 mins so that would give about 10 mins of intervals. I'll see what I get later.

My plan is then to do two interval sessions per week (Tue and Thu) and a long(ish) ride on Saturdays. My calf is still giving me problems when running so I think I can hit the bike hard, as my runs are just jog:walk combos at the moment. I'm hoping that by race day I'll be able to at least 'jog' the 5k.

Swimming's going OK. I'm up to 250m without stopping in my new Speedos. My time (for the 250m) is similar to 'wetsuit' swims (just under 5 mins) but I just don't have the ability/endurance/strength to swim long at the moment. Can't wait to get my wetsuit on for the 600m race ... even though it is in the orca/jellyfish/shark infested waters of Pilot Bay.

Right, lets go determine my max time at 42km/hr. Be right back!

*edit update*

Did the maximum time thingy test on the bike and got 4:53. It was very difficult to keep the speed on 42km/hr because even though the rpms were steady it would jump between 41.xx and 43:xx so I decided to just try to keep rpm at about 92 which seemed to correspond to 42km/hr.

So I'm going to start with a total interval time (including rests) of 2 x 4:53 = 9:46 ... might as well say 10 minutes.

30 seconds at 42km/hr, 30 seconds at 21km/hr ... ten times. Should be fun.

There's only 3 weeks till the first race so I can't see it having much impact but I'm hoping that it will help get me a faster bike split in the 5th March race. Fingers crossed :)

Plea for your help

2011-01-09T00:52:00.001-08:00

I have posted a picture in a competition here http://www.facebook.com/terenzobozzone

and the more people that like it the more chance I have of winning. So, please, do me a favour and like the pic on his site. Pleeeze! :)

Tauranga Half Ironman

2011-01-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Kate and Phil who both hit their targets for the Tauranga Half Ironman.

I took loads of pictures and uploaded them to Facebook in about 5 minutes. I think it would take considerably longer to produce a blog with them so if you're interested in them you should be able to go to the following link and see them.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=353546&id=654870549&l=918bf894c2

Have uploaded my favourite one of the two leaders coming out of the water holding hands. Aaaaawww, nice.

UCAN2 Sprint

2010-12-27T12:15:00.000-08:00

I've entered the local UCAN2 Sprint triathlons. I did it last year and it was great fun. I'm hoping that by entering, it will slow down my consumption of mince pies and chocolate. First race is 13th February so that gives me a bit of time after my brother and his family have gone back to the UK to get back into a routine, stop all the excessive gorging and start training again. The second race is three weeks later on the 5th March. Not much time in between to make a big difference but hopefully they'll provide some motivation for the start of the new year.

Test

2010-12-19T23:33:00.001-08:00

Test

Sent from my iPhone

Results

2010-12-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

Official results are up. The bike time includes both transitions I think (about 3:30).

My Garmin had auto-pause on and I had to stop on the bike to get a stone out of my shoe so I knew I had to add something to my 6:18:xx

I'm sort of at the top of the bottom third of the old men. 63rd of 98.

I'm quite happy being there but I'd just like to take 20 minutes off that time :)haha .... not sure I've mentioned it but I'd love Sub6 ...

*update*

Just looking at this year's time V last year.

Swim 2009 - 42:15 2010 - 40:25 ...... 1:50 improvement

Bike 2009 - 3:18:18 2010 - 3:19:46 ...... 1:26 down ... it was erm .... planned *cough, cough*

Run 2009 - 2:23:22 2010 - 2:19:13 ..... 15:09 improvement .... so the (planned) slower bike allowed me to run a bit faster but I still walked heaps.

Overall 2009 6:34:55 2010 - 6:19:26 .... so a 15:29 improvement overall. I should be (am) happy with this. Just need a slightly bigger improvement next year :)

Rotorua 2010 Race Report

2010-12-18T10:45:00.001-08:00

The weather forecast for race day was (for once) right. It was raining and misty but more importantly there was only a light breeze. I was looking forward to riding the bike course without a huge headwind on the way home.

The lake was also glass like. Perfect. The transition area had been changed this year so that it was at the side of the lake rather than at the top of the grass bank. That should cut T1 time down.

Pre-Race

I felt really good before the race. I slept well from about 10:30pm till 3am. Woke up just before the alarm went off (as usual on race day) and I was feeling great. Went through my normal morning routines and I was packed and on the road by 4:30am. Slow drive to Rotorua got me there just after 5:30am. I couldn't believe how many bikes were already racked. I had lost the spot that me and Laura sorted out the night before at race-pack pick-up but I managed to get near the bike-out exit.

I set out all my stuff and ran through each transition in my head. Even sorted out my helmet on my bars so that it would be right way round ... that might be more info than needs to be written here but it's important to the story :)

Swim

The swim course had changed this year from basically an out and back 2k to two 1k triangles. Mentally it was much easier because you saw buoys more often. It was also much shallower and I could see the bottom of the lake half the time.

I had my usual fights with the fast women who start 5 minutes behind us. Normally I don't mind grappling with a few women trying to tear me to shreds but in the lake, less so. I got a great punch to the jaw at one of the turns. Those speedy women are just so brutal :)

My first lap was 19:xx and I finished in 40:xx. (can't remember seconds). Good swim time for me considering my shite swim training. It'll be different next year believe me! So I was on target for Sub6.

T1

This was where the fun started. I got my wetsuit off OK, put my bike shoes on and then went to grab my helmet which was ..... GONE!

Where the f*ck was my helmet. I think I have to apologise to those standing around my bike (surely they're reading this) because I think I did actually say that out loud a few times. Tui was there so she could probably confirm if I was saying it in my head or outloud. My brain doesn't work too well after the swim .

After what seemed like minutes (prob about 10 seconds) and with me contemplating either pulling out of the race or going ahead without a helmet Tui said "is this yours - number 151?". Thank gawd it was. I've never been so happy to see a woman with my helmet in her hands. It had somehow managed to find its way on to the bank behind the bike rack. I've no idea how.

I set off on the bike with just over 42 minutes on my watch. No time lost so Sub6 still on the cards. My plan for the bike was to take it fairly easy and just try to get a 3:15 which would leave me with 2 hours for the run. I'd ridden the course twice recently with times similar to this and had good runs after. I thought if I overcooked it on the bike I would pay for it on the run and I didn't want to suffer like last year!

Bike

The bike leg went well. There were light winds and I never felt like I was over doing it. I did get a weird cramp halfway home right behind my knee that I'd never had before. It was a bit of a shock and I had to get unclipped and stretch it out but it never came back. The rain was the worst part and the road was fairly slippery. I nearly lost it at one of the aid stations grabbing a bottle and had a bit of a wobble but other than that the ride went to plan. There was even a tailwind along the Airport road. First time EVER!

I deliberately took all the hills slowly in my lowest gear. I would get swamped by lots of riders passing me on the hills. It was part of the plan (to go easy, not to get passed so much) but I think next year I have to do more hill work on the bike and just get a bit stronger and efficient so that I don't lose so much time. I know its a trade off and I might have 'burnt too many matches' and ruined the rest of the bike/run but I'll work on that balance for next year. I think that's part of the reason I love triathlon so much - there are so many variables to balance.

I finished the bike in (I think about) 3 hours and 16 minutes. Almost to plan. I think it left me with 2 hours for T2 + run but at that point I wasn't worried. I saw Kate and Phil (thanks for the cheers yesterday - they really helped on the run) ... Phil shouted that I had 2 hours left. I knew it would be close but I was more confident this year because my running in training has been so much faster (even off the bike) and I have done good/fast runs of this very bike ride.

Less than 2 mins in T2. Legs felt great from the bike. Felt positive. Out onto the run course.

Run

The run starts on the basetrack of the lake and I know from previous runs that I just have to take this fairly easy cos it's mainly uphill with one big hill halfway round. It actually felt much easier than previous runs and I wasn't even sure I was on the big hill before it was all over and I was at the point at which I knew it was all downhill to the first aid station. I was hoping for about a 6min/k pace at this point. Watch said 6:03. Perfect.

I ran the downhill bits comfortably and felt great. The average pace came down as it always did and by the turn around at the end of the gun club it was at 5:39/k. Perfect. If I could keep it below that 5:40 pace then Sub6 here I come.

It started to feel a bit more difficult as I came out of the Gun Club road. I saw Tui who was in a team along the Gun Club road and she was about 8 minutes behind. Very similar to last year when I was being chased by Kate. Now normally I don't mind being chased by women but ....

The road to the Tarawera lookout was where the wheels came off of my run. Much later than last year but still too bl@@dy early. I started to walk the uphills. I just felt exhausted. I never had any pain or anything. I need to learn to turn off that part of my brain that tells me to walk. I ran the downhills but as last year I even started to walk some of the flats.

How do you train this side of racing without taking your body to the same point of exhaustion? Or should you take your body to this point of exhaustion in training??? I can run a (sufficiently fast for Sub6) 10k off a 90k bike but that's not what I need to do on race day. I might just need to do more long back to back training days. I might just need to swim more! Although I never felt tired during or after the swim maybe that is tipping the balance of my exhaustion. I have a year to find the answers.

As last year I ran the bits in front of the spectators. Although it's flat, that seems to tell me that I could run more than I did. Pic below is me coming along the beach, ready to 'attack' the lake for the 2nd time. 5:36 on the clock. It'll read 5:15 next year ... yeah right.

Tui caught me on the second lap of the lake just after where these photos were taken. It was great to run with a friend for a bit but as soon as we hit the big hill I said I was walking. She went on but she was never far in front and I managed to catch her with a bit of shuffling up the last part of the hill ready for the downhill bit to the aid station. This was probably the best part of the run and we hit a fairly good pace. I was beyond wanting to look at my watch at this point so not sure but it felt good.

After the aid station I walked and let Tui go again. The second half of the Lake is my favourite part of the run, and my biggest regret last year was that I walked it. It wasn't much better this year. I shuffled for a bit and tried to catch Tui but she was speeding into the distance to finish her first half marathon. Tough one to start with. Well done Tui.

I ran the last bit along the lake and it was great to have my little bruv guide me to the finish.

Finished the run in 2:18 (I think - will confirm times when results are up later today) for a 6:18 (or maybe 6:19). Not too bad considering I walked heaps. A race record with an improvement from last year's 6:34. Will be looking for a slightly better improvement next year.

Thanks to my supporters who stood in the pouring rain.

This has to be the 2nd best picture of the day ...

... but this is the best

That beer tasted fantastic!

Plan for the year

Swim lots (and further than 2k and without a wetsuit - eeeek!), bike even more (with more hills) and then run more off the bike. No marathons - maybe some 'fast' halfs - try to find that point of exhaustion and try to work through it ... without walking!

I'll forget about Rotorua until 16 weeks from the race and then go for it. I need more consistant training in the last 16 weeks ... hopefully we will have completed the house move by then and U2 won't be touring ... although if they do I'll be first in line!

OK ... Week 1 ... 52 weeks to go ... just jokes!

I'm giving myself a couple of weeks off. My bruv goes back to UK on the 5th January so I'll get back into it after then ... 5 x 500m swim me thinks :) yeah right!

Well done to Tui and her team. Kate swam a PB of 37 minutes (woohoo!!!), Tui's husband Tom did 3hrs on the bike (great ride) and Tui ran a 2:03 (I think, or was it 2:05? ... impressive whatever). They managed to beat me even with my 25 minute head start.

I'll get my revenge next year! :)haha

Weather Update

2010-12-14T15:29:00.001-08:00

My family are just gonna love standing round in this weather watching 'old blokes trying to run' (Laura's words) ... especially my brother and his lot who have been basking in the Aussie heat for the last two weeks. Welcome to NZ Steve! :)

Ideal weather for us doing it though I think ... maybe not the thunderstorms but a bit of rain on the run would be good. If the wind prediction is right and we get a North Easterly then that should blow us home on the bike along the airport road (I think). Never had a tailwind coming home on that course. Fingers crossed.

1 Week To Go

2010-12-12T00:07:00.001-08:00

Can't believe how fast the weeks have flown by. There is now less than a week to go till the Rotorua Half Ironman. My taper has started in earnest with only three workouts this week although one of them was a 13k run at just under 6min/k pace. I deliberately kept the pace easy because I didn't want to 'anger' my calfs this late in the training. All went well, although running slower than 'natural' seems to aggravate my knees so not the best of plans but I got through the last long run of the training unscathed. Phew!

I still haven't got back into the pool. Work pool is closed for maintenance now so next week I will definitely have to get a few swims in at the local pool. Jo has promised to bully me (and herself) into swimming a couple of times next week. I finish work on Tuesday so we have a swim 'date' planned for early Wednesday morning.

I'd also like to have a quick swim Friday after picking up my race pack but I don't know how feasible that is as my brother and his family are arriving in Tauranga sometime on Friday. Probably be best to be there when they arrive. They don't know yet that they have to get up at 3am the next day to stand around a lake watching middle aged men trying to swim and run. They won't even get to see the biking bits as we ride off for three or so hours. Triathlon is not an ideal spectator sport ... although if I've got a camera in hand I love it!

I missed my last long bike of the training plan. I was supposed to do 2 hours sometime this weekend but circumstances (and my "it's not gonna do anything for my fitness" attitude) conspired to make me miss it. I had my chances to get it in but getting the house ready for our first Open Home sort of took over the weekend ... one new shower system installed/bath tap fixed/ceiling cleaned/grass cut (in garden - not bathroom) and subtle (!) Christmas decs put up. All totally worth it though as all of 1 couple came to see the house and decided it wasn't for them. Next open home is not till January so we can put aside thoughts of moving for a while. Good job really as we have tourist stuff to do with my brother.

So, 1 week to 'not pull' my calf. I have just got to get through the next 5 days of training without doing anything silly. How hard can that be?

My plan

Monday - get up early before work do a 30 minute run. It's Graduation evening for my students so I won't be able to train in the night

Tuesday - Just 30 minute Spinervals on easy setting

Wednesday - Early morning swim date with Jo

Thursday - Early morning swim then 30 min run in the evening

Friday - Pick up race pack - maybe a swim in the Blue Lake- anyone want to join me????

Saturday - Race Day.

My plan is to do a 42 minute swim (changed course so yet another variable added to the equation), bike in 3 hours and 15 (barring any p@^%$%tures) and then try to run under 2 hours. With 5 minutes for the transitions that should get me home in under 6 hours. If it all goes t!t$ up (AGAIN!) then no problem. If I swim 45 and bike 3:30 I won't care ... as long as I have a half decent run. My training has all been about being able to run off the bike and if I can't do it on race day (AGAIN!) then I will be gutted (cos I seem to be able to do it in training!) ... ah well ... only race day will tell.

Then I have to decide which marathon I want to do next year. Rotorua or Auckland? I have a score to settle with Rotorua but Auckland just seems a cool race to do. I'll decide in the new year. Any thoughts?

Tinman 2010

2010-12-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

Today was the Olympic distance Tinman triathlon at the Mount. I went along to support some blogger friends and cheer on Kieran Doe in the Pro race.

It such a pain uploading and rearanging photos in Bloggerland that I have finally given up and present them in a very random order. Of the 5 people who read my blog four of them are represented here. The other one is you and you should definitely do this race next year. I'm going to ...

a bit

End of Week 16 - 2 weeks to go

2010-12-03T23:15:00.000-08:00

The astute amongst you will notice that I have blogged for three weeks. The time has just flown by and lots has happened ... it just hasn't involved much training.

We have had our offer accepted on a new house and so we are trying to sell ours which has meant loads of work to get it ready for sale. I lost focus on training and prioritised the sale. I was also too tired/stiff/worn out to train. At one point I thought about not doing the race. I didn't feel that I could do it justice. Then I decided to do it but not worry about the time. Now I'm back to wanting Sub6!

I also went to see U2 in Auckland and stayed overnight in my car between concerts. Needless to say I was a physical wreck when I got back and 'lost' (in terms of training) the following two days. Work has also been mad with last minute marking and formalising all the end of year results. Thank gawd for the next 28 weeks off (something like that).

So I went into this week not really sure if I could/should/even wanted to do the race. I have come out of it with a lot more confidence and I'm clinging to the hope that the fitness gained over the previous months will count for something when I cash it in on the 18th December.

I had 2 key workouts this week that have given me some confidence: my long run on Thursday and today's brick on the Rotorua course. The long run Thursday went really well and I was able to comfortably run nearly 14k at a 5:38 pace. This pace would give me a Sub2 half marathon which I undoubtedly need for a Sub6 finish.

Today's brick didn't start very well. The main road from the lake was just a total unrideable mess today. The roadworks are supposed to be finished by Christmas ... can't see it being ready for race day. I had to ride on the pavement and take a detour which I'm sure cost me around 3 minutes. The road is normally a fast downhill but I couldn't take advantage of that today. I hit the Whakatane turn off at 33 minutes and I'm normally there before the half hour mark. Blasted road works!

The rest of the way to the turn was hard work. There must have been a slight head wind because I was struggling in places where I don't normally notice the incline. I hit the turn in 1:37 when recently I have been turning sub 1:30. I was dreading the ride back because its always a suffer-fest for me and I felt even worse today. BUT ... the suspected headwind (very slight) turned into a lovely tailwind that helped me 'fly' home. Obviously it turned into a headwind on the Airport Road but that was OK. There's always a headwind going back on that road. Always!

The ride back up the totally destroyed Tarawera road was interesting and I had to carry my bike a couple of times when it was just impossible to ride. I think I actually increased my average speed during these walk breaks.

I got back to the lake in 3:19. Not bad considering. I'd take that on race day and I hadn't killed myself with effort today so hopefully no need to on race day. Now for the run.

The plan for the run was to pace myself to a 5:44min/k. The first part of the lap around the lake is mostly uphill and my average pace was well over 6min/k. Thankfully you get full payback for all that uphill and the gravel track from the car-park to the finish is all (well mostly) downhill. I decided to show a bit of discipline (rare) and not try to get my average pace down as low as I could by running Sub5's but to run 'comfortably' to keep the average around 5:40. It felt good and the pace crept down without too much effort to 5:39 by the end of the run ... which was nice :)

So ... I go into the two week taper wishing I had just another week to get some training in (who doesn't) but confident enough that I've probably done enough to be able to cope with the race. The big unknown is the swim but I'll just get through that and if it takes me 42 minutes or more then so be it.

I won't be so disappointed if I don't get Sub6. My goal is to have a strong run off a sensibly executed bike (after surviving the swim of course). I would like to beat last year's time though. Anything under 6:30 and I'll be happy.

End of Week 13 ... 5 Weeks to go

2010-11-13T14:04:00.001-08:00

First off, congratulations to my blends (that's blogger friends for anyone who's not socially networky savy like wot I is) Kate and Phil who completed the Karapiro Half Ironman yesterday. They're trying to claim that it's a harder course than Rotorua but everyone knows Rotorua is the hardest, most badass half ironman in the world!

My Week

Any week that has 4k of swimming in is a good week for me but I was hoping to make 10 hours. I got in just over 8 but I was still feeling the after effects of the man-flu so I'm happy enough. Next week will be 10 hours of solid training.

Monday

I started the week quite well. I had heard on a podcast about taking control of the day early on when no-one or no-thing can steal the time away from you. Nothing new and I'd heard it loads of times before but it actually inspired me to get up early on Monday and get to the work pool for a 2k swim. It was fantastic swimming as the sun came up and the mist (?) rose off the warm water into the cool morning air. Cr@p swim time though!!! Almost 41 minutes for the 2k.

Monday night's 10k 'hilly' run went really well. It was the first time for a few weeks that I could actually breath properly and I didn't have to snottrocket every few metres. I was still snotty but it was bearable. Legs felt good.

Tuesday

I got back on schedule and hit the windtrainer for an hour's intervals session. I didn't wrap up in warm clothing to simulate the heat of Rotorua but I did leave the fan switched off. I got to about 55 minutes and thought I would just spin easily for the last 5 and warm-down. The coach on the DVD then starts barking out orders and suddenly I'm back pushing hard in big gears. I too much of a conformist for my own good. Great session though ... and I did warm down for about 30 seconds.

Wednesday

Another swim but this time at lunchtime. Bit faster ... and if I'd concentrated more on the last 250m I could have broken 40 minutes. Ah well, at least it was a bit faster than Monday.

I got home from work ready to get on the windtrainer for an easy(ish) hour spin but Specsavers had called and my contacts were ready for pick-up. I had taken up their offer of a free contact trial (although I had to pay $60 for check-up). My plan is to wear them for the race so that I can get a bit more aero without having to put my head up all the time to look through my glasses. Glasses are a pain in triathlons! I could also wear normal goggles in the swim and not have to worry about glasses in T1.

The eye check-up was a bit of a kick in the teeth really. She just came out blatantly and said "you're getting to an age where you need to start wearing reading glasses!" ... she could have broken it to me more gently. I have noticed that for close up work/reading I look under my glasses. Dammit!!! I'm getting O.L.D !!! Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So ... I picked up the lenses and forfeited the windtrainer session. Fair swap I think.

Thursday

Long run day. My normal run into town and back. It was a comfortable 5:35min/k pace and it felt great after last week's sufferfest. The only negative was that my calf started to tighten about 1k from home. I just eased back the pace a bit and it soon came right but it was a bit of a warning.

Friday

Another rest day. Eeeek! I kidded myself that I was going to do another early morning swim but it didn't happen. I also had Saturday's plan on my mind. A ride on the Rotorua bike course (the hardest bike course of all triathlons ... probably)

Saturday

I finally made it to Rotorua to have a go at the bike course and a have little run around the lake. Up at 4am, out by 5 and at the lake by 6. It was a perfect morning, bright, warm and thankfully no wind. I set out with a bit of trepidation as my legs were still a bit stiff/fatigued from the Thursday run. They seemed to come right though and I was able to keep aero and ride strong(ish) for most of the ride out. It wasn't my fastest ride to the turn but I was happy to head back with 1:29 on the clock. As usual though, the turn was straight into a headwind ... that didn't exist earlier. I had been checking flags and foliage on the way out and nothing. Now as I rode back to Rotorua the trees and flags were mocking me and flapping violently in the developing wind. Damn you nature!

The contacts worked really well in the aero position. I was definitely in a more comfortable position whilst still being able to see where I was going. Helps sometimes. My only problem was that because I wasn't able to look under my contacts I couldn't see my watch very well and couldn't read the smaller numbers. Damn you nature, what have you done to my eyes!!!

I limped home for a time of 3:16. It took me 25 minutes for the last few k up the Tarawera road. I was hoping to ride about a 3:15 (my target for race-day) and then be able to run quite comfortably off the bike. Well I didn't feel comfortable rolling into 'T2'.

I had tried to convince myself a few times on the bike that I didn't really need to run. I knew that I wanted to but the thought of just getting in the car and going home seemed quite inviting. But (I've given up on not starting sentences with BUT because there's always BUTs in my blogs) ... I really needed to know that I could run off a 3:16 Rotorua bike.

I set off from the car park into the bush and suffered for the next 15 minutes. Trying to keep tabs on pace through the bush on the first half of the lake lap is impossible. Combination of GPS not quite knowing where I am and the up/down nature (mostly up for the first half) of the run. I came out to the car park on the other side (at about 3k) with an average pace of 5:57/k and didn't feel too bad. I then spent the next half of the run (almost exclusively downhill) bringing the average pace down. It was great to finish with a 5:29 pace. If I can get anywhere near these times on race day I might have a chance of Sub6. Here's hoping!

3 more weeks of proper training to go ... must stay consistent. Only problem I have is U2 concert(s) on the horizon. Now, that's a problem I like :)

Week 12 of 18

2010-11-06T23:01:00.001-07:00

Not the best of comeback weeks but at least I got a few hours in.

I felt rough all week and made the decision not to swim but to try to get at least a few runs and rides in.

Monday

A nice slow 40 minute run along the flat route. Felt OK.

Tuesday

Unfortunately I had to work till 8:30pm on Tuesday and really didn't feel like getting on the windtrainer. Decided to can the workout.

Wednesday

I managed just over 36 minutes (wow!) on the windtrainer. I just watched a video and did a steady 130(ish) heart rate and 80-90 rpm. Worked up a sweat but wasn't really working hard. Felt a bit blah!

Thursday

I decided to keep to the 90 minute long run but reverted to the 4:1 run:walk. The first 45 minutes went OK but for about 20 minutes after that I was suffering. If I had brought my cell phone out with me I would have called Jo to drive me home but I didn't so I plodded home. The last 20 minutes or so got a little better and I finished feeling quite good ... but extremely snotty! Just a lingering cold but really annoying.

Friday - Rest

Saturday

Plan was to bike three 30k loops and practice nutrition, staying aero and dialling in the 80-90rpm in changing conditions. After Thursday's long run I don't suppose I should have had much confidence in completing this but I thought the Friday rest might have sorted me out.

I was wrong. My legs felt dead and my breathing was all out of whack and you do not want to know about the snottrockets.

I pulled the plug after the first 30k. If it had been a longer out and back or a bigger loop I would have (obviously) carried on and H'dTFU but finishing the loop at the bottom of my road proved too easy to wimp out. I hope it was the right decision.

Six weeks to go. A good solid four week block and a couple of weeks taper should do the trick. Too bad if it doesn't.

One problem I didn't foresee is that the Polytech pool is closing 2 weeks before the race for maintenance. So all my taper swimming will have to be paid for (that reduces even the slight chance that I might have actually got in the pool) and will have to be in a public pool ... the humiliation!

On a swimming note ... I hereby do vow that I will get up extra early tomorrow morning (Monday) and get a 2k swim in BEFORE work.

Writing it here will make it so.

Week 11

2010-10-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

The good thing about the week was that I swam, biked and ran ... the not so good things were that I only did each one once and I didn't do anything after Tuesday.

Monday

The week started off really well, not least because it was Labour Day in NZ so we all had a day off. We went to the Blue Lake and I was able to sneak in a run around some of the course. I did 1 lap of the lake and the road out to the Tarawera Lookout which turned out to be just under 12k.

I managed to average a 5:20/k pace after quite a slow first 3k. I don't think I appreciated in the past how much the course climbs in the first 3k. Doesn't give you time to get settled (even worse coming off the bike). Suck it up buttercup! Where'd that come from?

I'm claiming a swim for later that day (after picnic lunch) but really it was just an attempt not to be shown up by my kids. The lake was freezing! Both kids ran in and swam out to the floating platform. I had my wetsuit with me but I knew if I put it on I would have to swim heaps more than I wanted to. So, I just ran in and tried to swim. It was a real shock and I think it was as close as I have come to a panic attack in the water. I couldn't breathe properly and I was shivering. I got to the platform, sat on it for a few moments of bonding time with the kids (isn't this great - yeah! - dad's going back now!) and then I was swimming back to the shore dreaming of a kip with a couple of towels around me. Suck it up buttercup!

I got my towels and a kip while the kids played with the ice in the water.

Tuesday

Tuesday I had a fantastic idea. I would do my Spinervals session with a couple of tops on and no fan to simulate the hot, sweaty conditions of race day. Good idea, huh!, huh?.

I did my normal Spinervals, with the dial set on 4 and pushed as hard as I could. I drank heaps more water and sweat 'like an Inglish pig!' ... Jo couldn't quite believe the state of me but she's getting used to it.

Now I don't know if the next bit is linked to the fantastic heat simulation spinervals session (great idea eh?) but I woke up Wednesday feeling rough as old boots!

Shit! I had come down with Man Flu. Now, I have been surrounded by ill people for most of the year and managed to dodge the bullet but it had finally got me. I went into work but came home early and slept. I stayed off Thursday and popped loads of tablets hoping to shake it. I went back to work Friday but made the pact with myself that I wouldn't train until Monday.

So, no training since Tuesday. I think it's come at the right time though. I could probably benefit from the rest. I've got seven weeks till race day so much better now than a few weeks time.

Plan for next seven weeks:

Next week - ease back into it - Target 6 hours

Weeks 2 to 5 - Solid consistent training - no problem ;)

Weeks 6 and 7 - Taper

What could be simpler?

I'm dying to get back into it Monday. I've just got a normal 'cold' at the moment, bit of a sore throat and sniffles but I feel like I could run a bit. We'll see tomorrow. Plan is for a 20 minute swim and a 40 min easy run. Wish me luck.

Week 10 of 18

2010-10-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

And we're into double digits. Eight weeks to go. Eeeek!

Monday

I started the week off quite well with a lunchtime swim and did 3 x 500m. The first two were on target at about 9:4x but I faded in the last one and finished with a 10:0x. I was trying different tweaks and changes and so wasn't too worried about time.

Monday evening I hit the hill again and did an hour's worth of repeats. My times last week were just over 4 minutes for each climb so this week I pushed it a bit in the later repeats. I was able to get around 3:30 so obviously not working hard enough on most of the others. Loving the hill repeats.

Tuesday

Tuesday was our Anniversary. Five years ago we set foot in New Zealand to start our new life. I wouldn't have even known what a triathlon was back then. We celebrated by going into town to our favourite restaurant (we all like the food and it's cheap - perfect!).

I was going to do my usual Spinervals session afterwards but too much good food meant that it wasn't gonna happen. . So a unplanned rest day. No probs.

Wednesday

I did my postponed Spinervals on Wednesday but must admit I turned the dial down to 3 and didn't go as hard as normal. I still worked hard but I knew that I had my long run on Thursday and so I saved my legs a little.

Thursday

Thursday morning my car cut out and wouldn't restart at the roundabout about 500m from our house. I had to get out and push it ... uphill and around the corner. Nobody got out to help me. Good job I've been doing Spinervals cos my leg muscools were called into action.

With the strength of 10 men I pushed the car just enough around the corner for cars to get across the roundabout. I then ran back home (about 4:45/k pace) ... got Jo's car, drove to the roundabout, jump started my car, left it running, parked up the other car off of the roundabout, jumped in my now running car, drove it home, left it running outside the house, ran back to the roundabout (5:10 pace - I was tiring), drove Jo's car home, put those keys back in the house (I had visions of forgetting this part) and then drove my car to work. Must get it looked at.

As if that wasn't enough training for the week ... I ran my normal hilly out for 7k, flat back route but this week it had a bit of a twist as there was also a strong wind blowing me out. I felt good and with the wind behind me kept an average around 5:20. I lost a bit of time on the way back battling the wind but still managed to keep the average below 5:30/k. Looking back I was running this pace for long runs just before Karapiro last year.

Friday

I paid for the previous day's 'fast' run (and come to think about it probably the car pushing episode and running without my compression socks) with lots of muscle tightness/soreness. Nothing pulled or tweaked, just overuse sore. Lesson learnt though. There was no reason to run the long run at that pace. Should have been closer to 6.

Today was just a swim day so that was OK. A nice swim would help with the recovery. A nice relaxing swim. The rest of the morning went as follows ...

Drove to work and car died just as I got into the car park.

Turns out I had forgotten my swimstuff

At 'smoko' (10am) phoned Jo to see if she wanted to pick me up for coffee at home

Jo picked me up - home for coffee (just coffee!) - packed swimstuff to take to work

Jo took me back to work

Jo phoned me to tell me I had left swimstuff at home

Jo dropped off swimstuff at work (yeah I know, she's too good for me!)

Lunchtime, student dropped me off at the pool

Walking into pool building realised I didn't have my goggles (still in my car)

Walked back to work

No swim!

Used the hour to take my battery out of the car and put on charge (4 hours)

Started to drive home from work and got about 500m before it died again.

Friend from work dropped me home.

FAIL!!!

Saturday

My legs were still hurting so I decided not to run off the bike but to punish myself (and my riding muscles = those not hurting) with a hard bike in the hills of Welcome Bay.

I had a great time with some hard hill climbing and some (getting)fast(er) descents. There were lots of riders out and I had company on most of the hills. On perhaps the straightest and flattest part of the ride I went aero, put it in a big gear and just tried to keep 80 rpm. I knew there was one person behind me but I didn't realise until we hit the stop sign that there were two roadies drafting off me. One said "nice pull", the other "nice mash!" ... I said thanks. I think they were compliments but doesn't 'mashing' suggest I was in too big a gear? It felt great to be hitting 40+km/hr after climbing hills at 8km/hr. I had a good climb of Reid Rd and thought that I was faster than before but I was 3 seconds off my PB with a 11:49. Great morning's ride though.

Sunday

Sunday morning I felt great. The soreness from the running had gone and there was no reaction from the ride. Lovely.

The sun was shining so I decided to give the grass it's first cut of the year. Big mistake. After just over an hour's gardening I couldn't move. My legs are hurting and my right shoulder is killing me. Feels like I've been swimming for hours! No more gardening till after the race. Adam will have to cut the grass.

Monday

It's not Monday yet (even in New Zealand) but it's a public holiday tomorrow and we are off to the Blue Lake (venue of the Half Ironman). I am going to run some of the course (maybe 12k) and if I'm feeling really brave swim in the lake. We're taking a picnic and going to make a day of it. Jo has got her book packed and the kids have got their togs ... I'm banned from taking my bike though. I did try but ....

Week 9 of 18

2010-10-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite quotes is from a gambler in Vegas who's there to test a gambling system.

"system working well, send more money!"

... my training's going well but I'm knackered and my calf has started to play up. But nothing new there!

Monday

Monday's lunch time swim was a 2k time trial just to see where I'm at. I managed to keep all but the last 250m 'blocks' under 5 minutes ... the last one was dead on 5:00. Quite happy with 39:36 at this stage.

In the evening I headed back to Oropi Hill and did some more hill repeats. Are you meant to enjoy hill repeats? Maybe I'm not doing them hard enough? Although I would say it's almost impossible not to work hard. Will continue with these.

Tuesday

Tuesday was my normal bike Spinervals session with Coach Troy. I think these Tuesday night sessions have definitely had the biggest impact on my bike training. I've certainly never worked as hard on the bike as during these sessions. Love them! :)

Wednesday

Unfortunately I love the Spinervals sessions so much that I decided to do another one on Wednesday. I was supposed to do an hour on the bike but it was supposed to be more of an easy spin. I've made this mistake before but obviously didn't learn from it. The session went OK and I felt great but on Thursday ...

Thursday

Long run day ... didn't happen. My legs felt trashed from the Spinervals sessions and I had it in my head that I wanted to run long off the bike on Saturday so maybe I should shorten this workout and then I fell asleep after dinner and then and then and then ... I didn't even set foot out of the door. My calf was quite tight and sore and so I reasoned with myself that it was best to rest it. Whatever!

FAIL!

Friday

Friday was a lunchtime swim which thanks to a friend at work was videoed. Very interesting seeing yourself swim. Looks nothing like it feels. I need to cut it up into smaller chunks and then maybe put it up here for critique ... although I'm not changing anything major before this race.

Saturday

Saturday's ride was changed in my head a million times. It varied from a century ride starting at 4am to a ride of the Rotorua Course and a run around the lake to multiple local loops. Jo had to go to Hamilton early so the kids would be home alone. Adam's 14 now so shouldn't be a problem but it didn't feel right for us both to be hours away so in the end after a text from my friend at work I did what I do most weeks and rode the Welcome Bay hills. It was a great ride. There were lots more riders out now that the weather has warmed up. We did three main climbs so my average speed was low but I worked hard for three hours.

I wanted to run off the bike and again this plan had changed numerous times over the week. I settled on an 8k (gawd knows why) and just decided to run it at a pace that felt comfortable. Apparently that pace is 5 mins/k. Five is the new six. I did the 'hilly' route and that killed a lot of my pace (was climbing at nearly 7mins/k - more hill work needed) but a 'mostly' comfortable 4:45 pace on the flats generally brought the average pace back to 5:00 ... until the last hill when the average pace clicked over to 5:01 and it was really annoying not being able to get it back to 5:00 in the last half k. Stupid I know but ...

So ... it wasn't a bad week's training, definitely much better than the same time last year. I've certainly trained more consistently this year.

Plan for next week is:

at least 2 swims (Monday and Friday)
one hilly run (Monday)
only ONE bike interval (Tuesday)
a long run (Thursday)
no more than 20mins run off a long bike (Saturday or Sunday) ... although if I/we go soooper long (Kate/Phil???) there will be no run :)

Looking to get back to ten hours after this 'rest' week of only seven. Training going well. Must work harder!

Week 8 of 18

2010-10-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

A bit of a milestone. 10 weeks to go till race day. Getting serious now :)

Training totals are not as high as the last couple of weeks but I think I've got a better spread across the swim/bike/run. The most important thing is that I actually got in the pool and swam ... without a wetsuit. I am painfully slow. I'm slow enough WITH the wetsuit but without it I really struggle.

Monday

Monday was an early morning swim with Jo at our local pool ... which has a very warm 18m pool. I decided to do sets of 3 lengths (54m) and a few 108m. Good fun.

In the evening I opted for some hill repeats. There's a local hill that takes about 4 minutes for me to climb. I managed to get 8 repeats in. Calf felt OK. Never seems to cause problems in the hills. I'll be revisiting this hill and making friends with it before my next crack at the Rotorua Marathon. It reminds me of the hill where I cracked this year.

Tuesday

Another swim with Jo in the hot bath water of the 18m pool. Same sort of thing as Monday. Enjoyable.

Tuesday evening I was supposed to do my intervals session on the windtrainer but to be honest I couldn't be bothered to change the back tyre over so ... I went for a run. My heart wasn't in it and I was tired and I just lost all motivation. I ended up only doing 30 minutes. I told myself I would make up for it in the morning. I had big plans ...

Wednesday

I decided to do an early morning swim/bike/run brick. I swam 500m (in the big cold pool without a wetsuit) in 11:29. Very slow but I thought it might be nearer to 15 minutes so was pleased to see 11 minutes on the watch.

T1 was outside the pool at the back of the car. Onto the bike and off for 30k. I had originally thought of doing a few loops of the Toll Rd to make up the distance but once I got going I decided to keep on the main road and ride towards the Mount over the Harbour Bridge. It was great to be out early on the bike and I felt strong and fast. It was a flat course but I was glad to be able to comfortably average over 30km/hr.

T2 took forever trying to get the bike back in the back of the car (plan is to remove the back seats) but then I was out on the run. Plan was to do 5k and just go as hard as I could. I chose the flat course (wimp!). I was saving the hilly one for later in the week.

I felt great running and it was quite comfortable at 5mins/k pace. One major change I've made is not carrying a water bottle and I think this has helped me get into a better running rhythm. I carried a small bottle of water in a back pocket but only had one sip at the halfway point. 'll rely on the aid stations at Rotorua for hydration and just take a small bottle with 'nutrition' in it for the run. I finished the run in 24:09. It was a great way to spend the early morning and I was home before everyone was up. Will try to do this again sometime.

Thursday

Thursday was long run day and I decided to make use of the extra daylight and run through the park/bush and around the estuary. I took it really easy and just enjoyed the views. I didn't have a lot of energy but just managed to keep plodding along.

Friday

Another swim! Did a 1k time trial without the wetsuit and finished in exactly 24 minutes. The time is slow but I felt good afterwards so I hadn't used a lot of energy which I think for me is the main thing for the race. I'll pretty much take any time (within reason) for the swim if it means I don't waste too much energy before the bike. Must do a 2k swim soon. This 1k is the furthest I've swum for ages.

Saturday

The idea for Saturday was to do a semi-hard bike ride in the hills off of Welcome Bay Road and then try to run a hilly 10k at 5:42/k pace to sort of simulate a 2hr half marathon. When I got up at 5:30am it was p!$$in down. I know I could've/should've gone out and battled with the wind and rain but I wimped out and did 2 and a half hours of Spinervals. Not exactly the easy option though.

So off the stationary bike and onto the run. I felt good and ran the first couple of hundred metres without looking at my pace just to see what felt 'right'. When I eventually looked it was obvious I was going too fast. It was about a 4:30 pace. I felt good but I deliberately slowed myself down. I will definitely need to do that at the start of the HalfM at Rotorua because I will blow up for sure in the 2nd half (if not before). I slowed to a 5:30 but it felt awkward. When I'm not worrying about my calf my 'natural' rhythm/pace/stride turnover/length seems to be about a 5 minute/k. I tried a couple of times in the first 3 or 4k to slow it down but in the end I just gave up and ran at what felt right.

I ended up finishing the 10k in 52:45 with a 5:16 pace. So I failed in my attempt to control the pace but I have to be happy with that time. I hope this is not boasting and its definitely not showing off cos there are millions faster than me but at the moment I am running the best I have EVER run in my life. However, I know its a delicate state of affairs and I don't want to tip over the edge into the injury zone! I must not do anything stoopid to endanger the calf. I'm going to do hillwork and tempo runs but no speedwork!

So the plan is pretty much the same for the next 8 weeks (not get injured) and then go into the taper with a big training load to taper from. I don't think I've ever done that properly before.

Oh ... and some big rides in the near future. Can't wait :)

Oh ... and I'm starting to take the weight loss seriously. No more cookies or cakes. Dark chocolate and coffee when the kids have gone to bed will be my treat. I have a bet with Laura which I must win so it should keep me on the straight and narrow.

Week 7 of 18

2010-10-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

Lots of hours this week (well for me anyway) but most of them on one day! Sadly there were no swims but this will be put right this week.

Monday

Monday was the first day of my holiday and a friend from work contacted me to see if I wanted to ride. The weather was gorgeous so I canned my intended run and we rode for 2 hours in the hills of Welcome bay. Twas great!

Tuesday

I had missed my intended run on Monday so I set out on Tuesday for an hour's run on my flat course. I wasn't intending trying to go 'fast' but after about a k an old bloke (probably younger than me but ... ) carrying a rucksack, went past me and I tried to keep him in my sights. It was about a 5:30 pace so not 'fast fast' but a bit faster than I intended. Oh well, I went with it.

He turned off at about 4k but I kept up the pace. When I turned at the 5k point I decided to up the pace for 1k, slow down for the next etc. It felt great to be running at 4:30 pace. I slowed down in between 'fast' k's but I still ended up with a 5:07/k pace. Felt great and felt like I could have kept going at that pace. It felt like Karapiro did last year. I need that feeling a bit more often please!

Wednesday

Wednesday was another ride with the friend from work. This time we rode the flat route out to Te Puke and came back via the hills of Welcome Bay. It was only a 2 hour ride but my legs were dead in the final hills and I struggled home. Might have had something to do with the run the previous night or the fact that I didn't take enough fuel. I missed some of my 15 minute feeds because I was more concerned with the heavy traffic and wind and rain and fog. Not the best of mornings to be riding but it definitely beat being at work!

Thursday

I had a long run planned but as I was getting changed my calf started 'calling'. The pain was not bad but it was the threatening type that's like a needle being pushed on my calf every step. I tried to walk/jog it off but it wasn't going anywhere so I canned the run and did some self massage on the calf. Seemed to help. Maybe it was because I had gone a bit mad on the Tuesday run.

Friday

I eventually got out for a run on Friday but I just did 6k. The calf was OK. Run was cr@p (felt stiff and bonkish ... oooer misses!) but any run that ends with me getting back with an uninjured calf is good for me.

Saturday

Saturday was scary. I had been planning a long ride with Kate and Phil for a couple of weeks and it had changed a number of times but we finally settled on a 122k loop from my house that took in the Oropi Rd Gorge, Lake Rotorua, Te Puke and the Welcome Bay Hills. It would be my longest ride in New Zealand and the only time I've ever come close to this distance before was a century ride in Norwich, England about 12 years ago.

It was a fantastic ride. We went at a sensible pace for the distance and I loved every minute. I made sure I fueled every 15 minutes and I never felt like I was running out of energy or that I wanted the ride to be over. I think the Snicker's bars at our stops helped as well.

We completed the 122k in just over 5 and a half hours. We had great weather and no punctures which was a big bonus. I'll definitely do the loop again (maybe even the other way around?). Who's in?

I didn't feel particularly tired after the ride but after dinner I couldn't keep awake. Jo was tired as well so we decided to have an early night. The kids were disgusted that we went to bed at 8:20pm. Wait till they're old! We didn't get up till gone 8am so we definitely needed it. We presume they went to bed after they mocked us by tucking us in and kissing us 'night night'. We were both dead to the world not long after that.

Weekly Totals

Swim - zero :(

Bike - 9:36:10 :)

Run - 1:33:07 :!

Total 11:09:17 :)

Probably my highest weekly training totals EVER!

11 weeks to Rotorua. Bring it on! :)

Week 6 of 18

2010-09-27T00:53:00.000-07:00

Well it was supposed to be a rest week but it didn't quite work out like that.

I had forgotten it was the week of the Pedometer Challenge at work and I had some steps to add to Team Electrical. My plan turned into a run focus with the emphasis on slow long runs with short stride length to give me as many steps per mile as possible.

Monday

I actually got in the pool as planned and did some 50s, 100s, 150's and one 250m. Pleased with the times (similar to last week). Just not sure if I can keep that pace for 2000m. I'll do some longer sets in the coming weeks to test that.

Monday night was a nice slow 10k that clocked up nearly 10 thousand steps. Calf was great.

Tuesday

Another session in the pool and my normal Tuesday night windtrainer session. Nothing special.

Wednesday

It was time to step up the steps. We were in 2nd place behind a team with 3 runners in it (one training for a marathon) so drastic action was called for. I got up early Wednesday morning and knocked out another 10k. Kept the stride length short but still didn't get over 10 thousand steps.

Then in the evening another 10k. Same process, slow run, short steps, nearly 10 thousand steps. We were still behind in the challenge but I had my Thursday night long run to come.

Thursday

Thursday, or Pedometergate as I now think of it, was a low point in the week. On the Wednesday one of our team had the pedometer (my team had it in rotation during the day and I took it home at night) and he was messing about by shaking his hips and clocking up a few steps. Unfortunately this little joke got back to the team in first place and it all went off.

One of them took it unbelievably seriously and during the afternoon tried to get us disqualified from the competition. At first I thought it was all quite a good little joke and a laugh on the email and I played along with it not really realising that they were deadly serious. It just got way too serious for a what had been a great challenge between the two teams.

There had been smack talk and banter all week and I loved it. This was different. I just said I was out and I quit the challenge. Obviously I was accused of being childish and throwing my toys out of the pram (which I did) but I didn't see the point of going on when we were being accused of cheating and I'm sure they (the one) would have pushed the point if we had won. I felt best out of it.

That night I had my scheduled two hour run and I ran without the pedometer. If felt great. I had one of the best runs for a long time. It was light when I set out but by the time I reached the harbour bridge it was illuminated by moonlight. The shimmering sea was very cliche but it was just gorgeous and awesome and it reminded me of part of the reason I run. To experience the moments and views and feelings when you're high on running and the scenery is just spectacular. It was only for a split second that I thought of the 20 thousand steps I could have clocked up. The run back from the harbour was into the wind and rain but it was still great to be out there. I finished strong and with no calf pain (best part!)

Friday

Friday was a rest day. I could have/should have swam but it just didn't happen. Team Electrical came second in the steps challenge. Well done team!

Saturday

Saturday morning was my normal long ride to the hills of Welcome Bay. It just didn't feel right though. I had no energy and no real motivation to attack the hills or even push hard on the straights. Maybe the 5 hours of run fatigue in my legs had something to do with it. Damn pedometer challenge :)

I cut the ride a bit short (2:45) and psyched myself up to go out on the run. I didn't have much confidence that this was going to go well. I had a couple of slugs of my fuel and hit the road.

It felt better than the bike and when I looked at my Garmin it was obvious that I was going too fast. My pace was about 5:30 but I felt great and so I decided to go with it. I think I hit the turn at under 5:30 pace and I felt like I could up the pace.

On the way back I was hovering around the 5 min/k pace and it felt so natural. It was great to be able to lengthen the stride and get into a natural rhythm. It was one of those 'in the zone' moments. I kept thinking that I would blow up and have to slow down but it didn't happen. I did the last 5k in just over the 5 min/k pace and it felt great. Maybe all that slow running during the week had paid off. Best thing was that the calf didn't complain at all. No pain during or afterwards and no tightness on Sunday morning. I need to build on this ... and NOT get injured!

Bike focus next week!

Week 5 of 18

2010-09-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

It's been a funny week. In some ways it's been very normal (missed swim sessions etc) but in others not. I sold my ute (sad!) and we found out that the cat that comes into our house from over the road is missing, presumed dead, presumed torn apart and eaten by the dogs next door but that's just a rumour ... Jo also booked a return flight for herself to the UK next year. Word is that she's bringing me back a Tri-bike ... but that's just another rumour.

My Week

Monday.

I ran my standard 'hilly' 10k and the calf felt great. I was able to push the pace a bit and not feel like that I was doing damage. I like my home made orthotics and the fact that I know the camber has such an effect on my calf. At one point I ran with the camber the wrong way and I definitely felt the pull on the muscle. I obviously have a weakness there but if I can (for the moment) treat the symptoms for this race, I can dig deeper for the cause later on.

The run was one of my fastest on that course which is good in that I'm getting back the running form that I had for Karapiro last year BUT it also means that I'm not getting my full hour session done. I'm going to run my sessions to time next week rather than distance.

I was supposed to swim Monday but shock horror I missed the session. I've got excuses as long as my arm but who cares. I vowed to get the swim done Tuesday.

Tuesday

I swam! I did 20 x 50m with 30 seconds rest. I was able to do the 50's between 45 and 55 seconds (from what I can remember). I actually used the pool clock for the first time so have no real record of what went on.

Tuesday night was my normal windtrainer 'interval' session using Spinervals. I think these sessions are really helping my riding. I'm definitely going to make them a constant in my training.

Wednesday

For some reason most of the kid's school activities seem to fall on a Wednesday. This week was Laura's Social Dance night. I honestly did try to get my bike session in but it wasn't to be. I had been dreading this night for a long time. I don't do dancing and with Adam it was easy to get out of as he could drag his mum out of the audience. I knew this year it would be my turn. Gulp!

Laura came down with a cold/flu/lurgy on Monday. Yes, there is a G@d! All she had to do was take the week off and everyone would be happy. By Tuesday night she thought she'd be OK to go in Wednesday ... just to spite me I think. I told her that if she went back too early she would make it worse and her immune system was at it's weakest at this point and it would probably be better off to stay off blah, blah, blah ... She said she felt OK. Damn it!

So she went in to school and we all went off to the dance in the evening. I have to say that I find the whole evening quite 'sad'. It just seems wrong to me for young kids to be dancing the waltz and cha-cha to Jeniffer Lopez songs. I danced a couple of times and although I had absolutely no concept of where my feet were or should have been at any instance in time I quite enjoyed it. It was definitely an honour to dance with my beautiful daughter.

I don't think I'll make such an effort with dressing up next year. Maybe go a bit more casual ;)

The worst part of the night was getting from our 'seats' in the bleachers to the dance floor. There was absolutely no headroom and I bashed (and cut) my head on the light fitting. Didn't hurt quite as much as running into trees but ...

Thursday morning and Laura is a snotty, sniffling wreck. Jo kept her off for the rest of the week. I was not happy!

Thursday

Thursday was my long run into town. I decided to abandon the run:walk strategy and go for a continuous run. It worked out really well and I was able to complete it with a 6:07/k pace. My calf felt great and as long as I kept to the correct side of the road it gave me no pain. Loving running at the moment!

Friday

I actually got in the pool again on Friday. I upped the distance to 100m and did 10 sets. I was able to get them around the 1:45 - 1:50 mark but did a few very easily (just to see) in exactly 2 minutes. Plan is to do some 150 and 200m sets next week. I actually might have a swim focus for the week. I have the opportunity to swim most days if I have the motivation. I'm off work the following two weeks so swimming will be with the kids, if at all. They always want to go swimming so I'll probably get more sessions in than normal.

Saturday

New Zealand has been hit by a huge storm over the weekend. I think Tauranga got off very lightly and I don't think it was much worse than recent 'bad weather' but when I got up Saturday morning at 5:30am it was lashing down and blowing a merry gale. I decided to can the outdoor ride and go back to the comfort of the windtrainer. "Wimp!", I hear you cry but it didn't seem worth taking the risk of the 100km/hr+ winds.

I had a good 2 hour 20 session doing the Spinevals DVD but just with a bit less intensity. I dialed down the resistance to 2/5 and tried not to go too mad but the music and Coach Troy got the better of me and I crept into the 150's a few times.

I did a short run off the bike and it felt great on the way out ... basically because the 100km/hr winds were blowing me along. Different story when I turned for home and ran into the storm. Still had a great run and completed 5k in 27:32. The best thing for me at the moment is that I'm not feeling sick/bloated/dead when I start the brick runs. Almost feels easier than starting a stand alone run at night. Maybe I should warm up on the bike before every run.

At the end of next week it will be 12 weeks to the race. The plan I'm following calls what I'm doing now as General Prep but as of 12 weeks out from the race it becomes Race Prep and the sessions become longer. I'm going to treat next week as a sort of rest week before the 12 week countdown begins. Although I'm going to swim more (yeah right), I'll just do an hour long run mid-week and a 2 hour Saturday bike. This will give me a bit of a rest before the hard work of Race Prep where the initial target will be 10 hours!

I'm planning on a big bike ride on the 2nd October starting at 8am in Matamata (coffee - are cafes open that early in Matamata?), over the Kaimais to Tauranga (coffee and cake - maybe meet up with Jo and the kids), through the gorge to Rotorua (coffee and more cake) and back to Matamata (coffee and maybe some cake) on SH5. Anyone wanna join me?

09/19/2010 Route
Find more Bike Rides in Matamata, New Zealand

Week 4 of 18

2010-09-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

Its been a week of good bike rides, lessons learnt on the run and missed swims. Pretty normal week for me really ... although the weekly overview graphic from Buckeye doesn't really tell the whole story.

Monday

I can't even remember why I didn't swim on Monday. I'm sure it seemed like a good reason at the time. FAIL!

The evening run went OK. I managed to finish un-injured which is always good but the calf was always threatening to go UNTIL I decided to play around with the camber of the road/pavement/sidewalk.

If I ran with the slope going down left to right the tightness in my calf subsided. I tried experimenting a couple of times by crossing the road and running on the opposite camber. This increased the tension. I tried consciously landing on the inside of my foot and this too eased the 'pain'. I tried to think of all the times the calf had gone and I think that I have been running in the direction of the problem camber. Another clue hopefully in my long running saga. Non funny pun intended! :(

Tuesday

My normal Tuesday night Spinervals session with the resistance turned up to 4. I went a bit harder this week and saw the 160's more regularly and glimpses of 170. Not sure what the 'record' rate is of the Garmin but the 170's I saw (honest) live on the watch don't show on the PC readout. It probably has a 5 second record rate and I don't stay in the 170's that long on the bike!

Wednesday

I actually got in the pool and swam on Wednesday. It was only for 1k but at least I got wet. I still feel very slow in the pool. Definitely not where I was this time last year (and I wasn't fast then!). Must swim more!

Another spin session in the evening. My legs felt trashed from Tuesday night and it was an effort to complete the hour even just spinning at a 130HR. Watched U2360. Changed my idea about where to stand at the concert(s). All good.

Thursday

My long run night. I had originally planned to cut it short because of the calf but with my new found evidence regarding the camber I reverted back to the 90 minute run. I also vowed to run it as slow as possible ... and take walk breaks every 4 minutes. I also made some orthotics for my right shoe. Well, when I say orthotics I mean I taped layers of duct tape on the right hand side of my insole to lift the right side of my foot to decrease the tension on the bit of calf that goes. What could possibly go wrong.

The start of the run was in cold driving rain but it felt great because the pain/tightness in my calf was as good as gone. I ran with the camber in my favour and the heightened right side of my foot increased my ability to land without pulling at the calf. It also helped me push off from my big toe which leaves the problem bit of the calf fully out of the equation to produce propulsion.

Waaaaaay too early to say its solved because I have been here before. Compression socks, softer surfaces, not carrying a water bottle, special stretches before running, all seemed to work at first but after a while BANG it would go. Maybe, just maybe though, this time I might be getting close to solving it. Only problem is I will only be able to run races that have the appropriate camber in the road! :)haha

I finished the long run like a drowned rat but very happy. The pace was a slow 7min per k but that didn't matter. If the saying that 'you can't run your long runs slow enough' is true then I did a good job. My left calf was actually the one that was moaning a bit so the left shoe now has the same home-made orthotic treatment. It will have to wait till Monday to be tested though.

I don't mind running in the rain but (and I forget this EVERY time) it does cause major chaffing. My nipples bleed and my thighs rub. The effects of the night's run were actually worse than normal. My little (ironic name you understand) man down there got rubbed red raw. I didn't notice anything during the run or afterwards while stretching but when I got in the shower it was like it was on fire. My inner thighs and nipples were the same. Too much info I know but that's triathletes for you.

That actually wasn't the worse bit of the night. I decided to put my PJ's on even though I knew I had to go out at 10pm to pick Adam up from a party at the Girl's College. I decided to put normal clothes over the top. Time came to pick him up, Laura was still awake so I persuaded her to come with me. She had her PJs on so I said just put a sweatshirt on, no-one is going to see you, you can stay in the car. So she went out with her bright pink Hannah Montana PJ bottoms on with Adam's big sweatshirt on top and a pair of bright red shoes that she just randomly picked as we rushed out the door. I had shorts over the top of PJs but Adam had borrowed my belt so I had to keep one hand in my pocket to keep them up. I also just put on some flip flops. No problem, we'd both stay in the car, see Adam come out of the place, beep the horn and we'd all go home.

Coming round the last corner before the Girl's College the car cut out and I had to guide it to the side of the road. Tried to restart the engine. Totally dead. Sh!t. What to do, what to do??? I phoned Jo at home to come with the other car but she was on the phone to her parents in UK. Those calls last for about half a day. She'd only just phoned them before we left. Sh!t.

We had to get out of the car and walk to the College. We picked up Adam, went back to the car and tried Jo again. Engaged. Sh!t. I'm with the AA but didn't have my membership card with the number on. Idiot! We had to walk home. The kids were not happy :)

So at 10pm in the drizzling rain we headed home along he main road. I had run this route many times and at the point we broke down I tend to think I'm home but when you're walking with two kids it tends to be a bit longer. Laura was trying to hide between us cos of her Hannah PJ's, I was trying to keep my shorts up and Adam was just plain sweaty and tired. We kept trying Jo at home but nothing. Laura's feet were also hurting. The silly shoes she had put on were designed for dressing up not walking 2 miles home. The backs of her heels were rubbed nearly as red as my ... well, lets just say it was a bad night for chaffing.

As you would expect as we rounded the last corner before home, Jo finally got off the phone and we got through. She picked us up, we got the AA out and finally got home before midnight with a diagnosed faulty alternator. I must find my AA card ...

Friday

Friday was my planned swim day. The actual swim session was on and off more times during the day than a bride's ... well you know. In the end (unfortunately) my afternoon class got cancelled so I took it as a sign from the swim G@ds and got in the pool. Plan was to do 2k but I was so p!$$ed off with my swimming after 1k that I stopped and re-grouped. My 250m times were terrible. I had been trying different things in each 'set' like concentrating on different aspects of the stroke but last year I was doing the same and swimming 4:40's for the 250m and now I was doing 5:10's and I think a 5:16 for the last 250.

I decided to do some 50's and it just felt sooooo different. My stroke was stronger and it felt like old times. My 50's were in the low 50 seconds and I wasn't going all out. I just need to transfer this over to longer distances. I think my mentality has been just get used to 2k again but I think I need to build up to it over the next few weeks. Plan is to do 50's, 100's and 200's over the next couple of weeks and try to keep the same sort of pace. Continuous 2k's can wait a bit. I know, I know, that's how you're supposed to do it! :)

Saturday

Saturday morning I actually got out on the road on my bike. I knew I needed some outside motivation to get out there so I asked the bloke at work (who I rode with a bit last year) if he wanted to ride. Luckily he said yes and I had no alternative but to be there at 6:30am and ride. Really glad we got out there. There was a gorgeous red sunrise and the temperature was just about right for a ride.

I felt good for the whole ride and was definitely stronger on the climbs than last year. The Spinerval sessions have definitely bought on my riding. We rode Reid Road and as this was the first climb of the year/season I didn't want to go all out. I was just looking to get close to my PB of 11:55 . I spun in my lowest gear (PB was in next gear up) and stayed seated all the way. I did push it a bit during the flat bit in the middle but not as much as I have done in the past. My HR hit the 170's for the last corner (as it always does) and I felt sick (as I always do) but my legs still felt strong (which they haven't done in the past). I was able to get a good rhythm/pace for the final bit of the climb and I crossed the official imaginary finish line in 11:46. A 9 second PB.

I didn't know this at the time cos I couldn't remember what I had done last year. I'll commit this time to memory now though so I can try to attack it next time. I'm sure I can bring that down a second or two with a bit more effort early on in the climb. I'm also sure the PB is due to the Spinerval sessions so a big thank you to Kate for introducing me to Troy :) I've heard a lot about Troy from Tri Saint. More proof that it works cos he's about 2 minutes faster up that hill than me! :(

I didn't run off the bike this week. I hadn't done the extra orthotics to the left shoe by that time and it was good to get home early and wake up the family. I love the idea of nearly 3 hours of exercise before anybody else's day has even started.

I'll post my planned/actual graphic later as I have to pick Adam up from another club. Taxi service anyone?

Talking of picking Adam up ... we had to pick him up from another party last night. I dropped Jo off at the front of the house and then because there were so many cars picking kids up I reversed and parked up outside.

Little did I know that (honestly I didn't) I had parked with Jo's passenger door right next to a three foot drop into ditch. Can you see where this is going? It was pitch black (rural black!) and pouring with rain so not the best visibility. I saw Jo and Adam come out of the house and next thing I know Laura is shouting 'mummy's down!' ... I rushed out of the car to find Jo in the ditch covered in water, in tears, swearing like a trooper. Oh sh!t. We hauled her out, got her into the car, made sure she didn't need the hospital and then got home. She's had problems with her ankle recently and obviously this has made it way worse. I don't think her physiotherapist is going to be impressed.

Back to the blog theme ... my training.

Must swim more!

Week 3 of 18

2010-09-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

I've never been very successful at stringing 2 solid weeks in a row ... and this week was no exception. It has not exactly been a bad week but things have not gone exactly to plan.

Monday

I had a great swim session at lunchtime. I didn't cover a huge distance but I did try to teach myself bi-lateral breathing. I tried at one point last year and I thought I would continue with it but for some reason (I think it was the drowning sensation) I never carried it on. My reason for trying it again is to try to keep my head in the water for a bit longer (and therefore bit more streamline) than breathing on every left side stroke. It obviously feels a bit strange but by the end of the session I was able to do 50m (wow!) without swallowing half the pool.

The plan for the evening was an hour run. When I set out my calf was a bit tight but nothing out of the ordinary. During the run though it got progressively worse. There was no sign of the running loosening the calf and by about the 4k mark I was getting the warning signs that it was going to 'pull'. There was no point of pain so there was no tear. I turned around and started to walk back for about 5 minutes. I then decided to jog slowly. This didn't make it any worse and it was going to get me home quicker. Luckily I got home without any more damage. Bl@@dy calf!

Tuesday

Tuesday night was my usual Spinervals session. Windtrainer setting was put to 4 and I went as hard as I could for an hour. Didn't see 170 at all but there were a few moments in the high 160's. Calf didn't hurt but I think I was maybe protecting it a bit (subconsciously) because my pedaling didn't seem as smooth. Oh well, still a great session.

Wednesday - Nothing! ... was supposed to be an hour on the bike but it was Adam's Birthday (Pizza and cake to help get my weight up to 90kg) and Laura's Choir Festival Evening. Festival was better than I thought it would be and the 2 and a half hours of listening to kids murdering Beatles' songs was actually quite 'enjoyable'.

Thursday

The plan called for a 90 minute run. The calf said otherwise! I did however go out for a run. A very slow run. I kept the stride so small it felt like I was almost stationary. It did however allow me to run with no calf pain. I think it also eased the tightness. A real medicinal run. Just over 8.5k in just under an hour.

Friday

The least said about Friday the better. It was meant to be a swim at lunchtime. I planned the swims for Monday and Friday because I do all my teaching Tuesday to Thursday. Not anymore. I've picked up a class Friday afternoon!!! Who wants to teach or be taught Friday afternoon! :) I might have to re-plan the swims. It didn't happen this week. No more Bi-lateral sessions for the week. Oh well, plenty of weeks left to sort that out.

Saturday

Plan was for a 2:30 bike followed by a 30min run. At one stage I was going out in the big bad (cold) world out there and play with real traffic but at 6am it was absolutely freezing cold and the lure of Spinervals and the U2 DVD was too much. I ended up doing the 2 hour Spinervals session and then an hour watching U2 360. I kept a steadyish 140HR for the last hour apart from the odd spike during some of the more rousing songs. The start of 'Streets' was especially spikey. I ran for 20 minutes off the bike and the calf felt OK. I kept the same short stride but just increased the turnover slightly. It was still a slow 5:50/k pace but it felt good to be running wit

h no reaction from the calf.

Sunday was a rest day. Calf feels OK. I'm just hoping I can increase the running pace a bit next week without any reaction.

Sunday was Father's Day in NZ. Laura made me this tri-bike out of beads. Going to attach it to my saddle bag to bring me luck at Rotorua.

Adam put this together for me. Not sure I totally approve of the way he has blatantly cut Laura out of the photos :)haha

We had a great day in Rotorua and they treated me to lunch at the lakeside. Thanks kids!

Week 2 of 18

2010-08-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a good training week for actually hitting the workouts and not skipping or swapping sessions. Now if I could only do that for the next 16 weeks I'd be sorted for Rotorua.

I've set a PLAN on Buckeye and I think that helped. It emails me in the morning with the day's session. I know what it's gonna be anyway but I can also add comments to motivate me and (although it didn't work this week) tell me about the pace/effort I need to target. I know its nothing new or spectacular but it appeals to my need to plan, plan and erm plan.

Monday was pretty standard. A relaxing 2k swim and a 10k run in the evening. Running pace was faster than recent times so that was pleasing. The 'hilly' 10k has been taking around an hour but managed it in just over 55 minutes including walk breaks.

Tuesday is my designated Spinervals hard intervals session. I upped the setting on the windtrainer and went for it for an hour. I think my download said my highest HR was 168 but I definitely saw 171 a few times. That's the HR I normally see at the top of Reid Rd climb. I really think the windtrainer intervals are making me stronger on the bike. I just hope it translates to increased speed on the road when I eventually get out there.

Wednesday was supposed to be an easyish spin on the windtrainer. My morning email warned me to take it easy to keep my legs 'fresh' for Thursday's long run. The email didn't work. I went way too hard watching U2 on DVD. U2 tickets went on 'presale' to U2 fan club members on Thursday so I was overexcited about that (the next day) and was concentrating on looking (on the 360 DVD) for the best spot to stand. I think I have it sorted.

I was very nervous on Thursday. I knew that I would get some sort of ticket for U2 but I really wanted a General Admission ticket to get near the front on the day. I've been in the stands for a U2 concert and it just isn't the same. I sat at the PC as the pre-sale allotted time and prepared myself for the frustrating endurance event that is 'buying a U2 ticket on-line'. The time came, I entered my member code, selected my ticket choice, put in my card number and then it said 'your ticket will be sent in the next couple of days'. WTF! Roll on November 25th ... and hopefully 26th if they do a 2nd show :)

I set out on my long Thursday night run with a stomach ache and heart burn. It was never going to be pretty. It became one of those 'just get it done' runs. The stomach ache and heart burn eased towards the end of the run but then my legs started really hurting. It felt like the end of my 30+k training runs. I definitely went too hard on Wednesday. Lesson learnt.

Friday was just a 2k swim at lunchtime. I went a bit harder than Monday but not much. Finished in 40:17. I'd take that on race day. I thought to myself during the swim that I really should learn to breath on both sides. I think it would speed me up a bit. Maybe I'll put some time in to it. Maybe I won't.

Saturday was Brick day. I used the windtrainer again and did 2 hours of spinervals and then watched U2 for the last 30 mins. I tried a slightly stronger solution of my secret squirrel race day fuel (thanks Ryan Ironman B) and it was disgusting! Back to the original mixture. Ride was great though and I managed to keep below 130 most of the time. Forgot myself during Sunday Bloody Sunday though and wandered into the high 130's. No problem.

The run off the bike was weird. I felt great and set off on my normal 'flat' route. Looked down at my watch in the first minute and saw a 3:48/k pace. Sh!te! Sloooow down!!!! I eventually setteld down to a slower pace but it was still Sub5 pace but if felt 'normal'. I stuck with it because I was resting (walking) every 4 minutes. I finished the 6k as strong as I started and I think this is due to the walk breaks. I'm definitely able to hold a given pace easier with the walk breaks than keeping the slower average pace without ... if that makes sense. Still not totally convinced that I'll use the walk breaks in Rotorua but for the time being they are staying.

So all in all a great week's training. Times were only slightly less than planned but that was because of my increased run pace. Another reason to run to times rather than distance. Next week maybe.

Same targets again next week

Week 1 of 18

2010-08-20T22:45:00.001-07:00

Not a bad start to the training plan. I had to juggle a few sessions but I think I got most of my basic week in.

Monday in the pool was hard and my times were getting slower and slower throughout the 2k. It wasn't until the last 250m that I really felt comfortable and stopped fighting the water. It was still slow but it felt good. I also had a headache for most of the swim. It lasted the rest of the day till I got out on my run and then it eased. It's the longest I have swum for ages and I think I just need to get used to my head going in and out of the water for 40 mins. Hoping it will be easier next week.

Monday night's run went well. I was really nervous about the calf but there was no reaction. It was a very easy slow run and I used the 4:1 run:walk. Felt great to be back running again.

Tuesday night was spent in the basement with the Spinervals DVD. I think I'm hooked on the 'high' that I get when I go hard in the intervals.

These are not massively high heart rates but I was definitely working hard in the last 15 mins. I have the setting on the windtrainer on 3 (out of 5) for these sessions and the plan is to increase this over the weeks and keep the same cadence.

Wednesday evening we had to go to Adam's school and watch his class presentation on fishing. There was a 'shared plate' spread/buffet and me and Laura indulged to the full. On that note I have a idea that could be called stupid and could jeopardise my whole race. I'm thinking of putting on just 2kg (5lbs) and racing as a Clydesdale and going for a podium spot.

Imagine. I know I should just race for my own time and improving on last year and running the run rather than crawling home BUT the idea does interest me. Now if I could put on 5lbs of leg muscle for the bike that would be sweet, but ....

Thursday I decided to make up for the lack of training on Wednesday and got up early before work and got a 30 minute run in. Felt really good to be up and running early. Again I did the 4:1 run:walk and made sure I didn't do anything to upset the calf. Got to keep it happy.

Thursday night I was back in the basement for my fix of Spinervals. I turned the trainer dial down to 2 and spun fairly easy for the hour. Only got the HR into the low 140's. No 150's or 60's in this session!

Friday I was meant to swim 2k at lunchtime. I didn't have a class to teach so I didn't think there would be any reason not to. Unfortunately my 11am meeting that was meant to finish at 12 went on till 2pm! The outcome of the meeting was also quite depressing and so I was in no mood to swim anyway. I could have gone after work but decided to go home and veg out instead.

Saturday was brick day. I decided on a 2 hour bike and then a 10k run. It was absolutely pouring down so I kept to the basement. I put a 130HR cap on the ride (I'm thinking I might do this in the Half Ironman as well) and spun easy. Only went over 130 a couple of times.

I still sweated heaps and was still working hard(ish) but I was definitely saving energy for the run.

The run was my 10k fairly hilly course but I walked most of the big hills instead of the usual constant 4:1 run:walk. I felt good all the way around and I was happy to see sub5 minute k's on the way back during the run periods. I was keeping the overall pace just below 6 minute k's even with the walking but the last few hills really messed with the time and I came in with an average of 6:01 pace. Got to be happy with that ... and definitely happy with the calf. No reaction at all.

So ... if It wasn't enough to bike and run Saturday my family also thought it would be good to go for a swim. I decided to make up (just a bit) for the missed swim on Friday. I did 5 x 100m with NO wetsuit. Times were 2:16, 2:09, 2:01, 2:01 and 2:01. The penultimate 100m was done with a conventional stroke. Interesting (to me) that it was an identical time to the T.I. Even freakier was the last T.I which was exactly the same again. Slow but consistent. That's my swim.

So (I think) a good start to the plan. Bring on Week 2

Plan is to hit the targets this coming week. 150mins for run, 90 mins for the swim and 270 for the bike. Can't see any reason not to :)

It's On!

2010-08-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

My 'proper' training plan starts on Monday. It's 18 weeks to the race and my major objective is to get some consistency into the week. I'm abandoning any ideas of speedwork in the run training in the hope that if I run three times a week and include hill work I can get running strength without the risk of injury. That's the plan anyway.

I haven't run all week after the slippery trail run last weekend (twisted ankle and minor concussion after head butting three low trees) and I'm pretty nervous about my first 'real' run on Monday night. It will only be 30 mins at a slow pace and I'll continue to include walk breaks but success will be getting back home with no calf pain. I'm not going to be breaking any records in the run BUT I am hoping to get to the start line having had NO injuries in the preceding 18 weeks. Wouldn't that be great.

I've been back in the pool a few times recently but nothing too structured. I am committing myself to 2 guaranteed swims a week (Monday and Friday) with the hope that I get in the pool sometime midweek but no sweat if I don't. Two swims per week for 18 weeks will be more than I have done for any of my previous 4 Half Ironmans so I can live with that. I've only done sets of 250m recently and I've dabbled with going back to a conventional stroke (faster but more tiring) but I'm now committed to T.I. technique. My 250m times have been about 4:50 so I'm on target for a 40 minute 2k again.

My biggest gains over the last few months has been on the bike. I have no 'time' evidence of this but I just feel much stronger on the windtrainer. I'm definitely stronger than when I had to end a session when I felt so sick trying to go 'hard'.

I've been doing a Spinervals DVD (thanks Kate) and it's made a big difference to my motivation and efforts on the windtrainer. It also helps that one of the riders on the DVD is called Mike and he's a bit of a slacker. Troy (the instructor) seems to be always saying "keep going Mike", "Don't slack Mike", "You're slowing down Mike, you're not working hard enough!" ... that's exactly what I need :)

I did three hours of the DVD yesterday (third hour was just random bits) and I felt great. I turned the tension dial down to 2 out of 5 so that it wasn't as 'intervally' and spinning at 90-100 was OK even at the end of the session. Weather has been a bit rough recently so I have no desire to get out on the road just yet. I'm loving the windtrainer so it's all good!

As soon as it gets a bit warmer (maybe a months time) and the threat of early morning frosts have gone I'll get on the bike course and give it a go to see where I'm at. Can't wait. I'll also get back to trying to break my silly little training records. The Toll Rd 6.8k and Reid Road climb records need to be broken!

Weight at the moment is hovering around the 190lbs. Down to 188 some mornings but can't seem to break through that level and get to the mid 180's. Plan is to eat a bit 'cleaner' and hit the start line in the low 180's.

So this is where I am at going into the last 18 weeks. Swim is 'OK', bike is going well but I am nervous about the run. I will use the next 18 weeks to change this to 'swim is OK, bike is great and I'm confident that I can complete the Rotorua run without feeling that the better option would be to lay down in the middle of the road and wait to be crushed by a passing truck.

So ... to this end and in the interests of consistency I have set in stone my training plan for the next 18 weeks.

Monday - Swim lunchtime (45mins) + Run 60 mins (hilly course) in the evening - I MUST NOT fall asleep after dinner and abandon the run!!! Must get out at 7pm (ish)

Tuesday - 60 min bike intervals (Hard!) on windtrainer. (7-8pm)

Wednesday - 60 min bike (windtrainer for next few weeks (Not too hard) and then hills when it gets warmer (7-8pm)

Thursday - Long slow run - start at 60 mins build up to 90. Get out at 6:30pm.

Friday - No legs Day - Just swim (45 mins) at lunchtime. Friday night is loving night ;)

(Jo made me put that in to gross out the kids!)

Saturday - Early morning long bike (start 2.5hrs up to 3.5 - start at 6am ish) + run off bike (start 30mins up to 60mins) ... plan is to get back home by 9:30 for Jo to go Zumba class.

Sunday - Rest - Family Day ... maybe a family swim in there or a walk up a mountain. Not too long and it'll be laying on the beach with a dip in the ocean. Bring on the summer!

Weekend of October 9/10th will be used for the Phedipidations Half Marathon around the Blue Lake.

Totals - starts at 8.5hrs ... up to about 10 hours.

How hard can it be to that little training into a week?

One Week To Go

2010-08-07T23:59:00.001-07:00

Rest week next week and then 'proper' training starts the week after. I hope I get the motivation to blog a bit more. I've started this one a few times and scrubbed it. I think blogging keeps me more accountable but at the moment .... bleahhhhh!

I should be documenting the great training weekend I've had for future reading and motivation but .... bleahhh .... basically I had a great 2 hours doing the Spinervals DVD on Saturday morning and then spent Sunday morning running up a mountain with some people from work. The trail was narrow, mostly covered so you couldn't see your footing and very slippery. I went over a few times and hit my head on low lying trees three times. Bit too extreme for me! I'm now sitting here with ice on my ankle and a sore head. Good job next week is a rest week.

Weight Loss

2010-07-25T23:32:00.000-07:00

It was a bit of a shock this morning when I weighed in.

189.5lbs.

Cool.

Who knew that eating sensibly for a day could do that. I just need to build on that now and not suddenly start eating like a madman just because I've already lost a few pounds.

That was the positive of the day.

The negative was that my calf finally went this afternoon ... as I got out of the car. Not quite the same as pulling up going all out in a Sub4 k pace but ... same result.

I'm not too depressed. At least there is logic to this injury. I went away from my sensible 4:1 run:walk longish runs (hour) and tried a few 5k's and a 21.1k long long run. I also left it too long between runs. I need to get back (after maybe a week or so off) to mid paced regular runs with walk breaks and get out there roughly every other day. That sort of schedule seems to work and keeps my calf happy. If I try to go too fast it doth protest!

So for the next week I will do plenty of self massage, cancel all runs, try to swim (didn't happen today as I had to attend Expo) and keep up the bike training. I might even pry it away from the windtrainer at some stage.

Plenty of time till the race ... although I know how quickly that disappears.

BTW ... I'm writing this to distract me from the fact that everyone else is having tea and biscuits. I love chocolate covered scotch fingers ... but Sub6 (yeah right!) will taste better.

Time to Get Serious

2010-07-24T23:57:00.000-07:00

My weight hit 193 pounds this week. I know it's not a total disaster (BMI is still below 25) but I don't want to get on the slippery slide to 200lbs. My stabalised weight is in the 189-193 range. I can, and have been eating almost anything and keeping at this weight ... but now is time for the push back down into the 180's.I have been totally undisciplined with what I've shoved down my throat. There have been a number of meetings at work and there have been the usual suspects on offer. Sausage rolls, pies and loads of cake. I slipped back into my 'it's free so make the most of it' mentality and I even gorged on 'lollie cake'.

Lollie cake has to be the most sickly thing ever invented and I don't even like it but I had maybe 3 or 4 slices over the week between the different meetings. Classy food at Electrotech meetings. Yuk!

It was also Pi Day on Thursday 22nd July. 22/7 is an approximation of Pi (3.14xxxxxxxx) and geeks all over the world celebrate with pie. I had my own celebration with my electronic's class during the day (had 2 big slices of pie) and then came home to mince beef and onion pie followed by apple pie (my favourite) with ice-cream for afters.

Twas a bad week for my health!

BUT ... it all stops now. I don't want to be on the starting line in December wishing I'd dropped a few pounds a bit earlier. There's still a few weeks before my 'proper' HI training starts so it's a good time to give the weight loss a kick. It'd be good to get back below 190 in the next couple of weeks.

Training's actually been good for the last couple of weeks but I might have just overdone the running a bit. Hill repeats might not have been the best decision for my brick run yesterday. Both of my calfs are really sore and tight. They haven't pulled but they're definitely not right. I'm going to rest them till Wednesday. Bit of a swim Monday and then bike intervals Tuesday. I'm really enjoying the bike intervals and the intervals are definitely getting easier ... or at least I'm able to push a bigger gear for the heart rate I want to see ... when the HRM plays ball and gives me proper readings.

Today (Sunday) was a rest day so it was just a couple of hours walk with the family (minus Laura who went to a Birthday party) exploring the bridge and harbour. The harbour was looking great for a winter's day.

We explored the new bridge walk ...

... and tried to get access to (or at least a view of) the back of the airport and the runway. Didn't quite work out as someone had built a factory in the way. I definitely found some new routes for my long runs.

Bit of roadside nutrition.

I didn't eat any though. I'm trying to lose some weight.

1st Non-Training Injury of Year

2010-07-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

After nine hours of decent training I've ended the week on a bit of a bummer. Jo asked me to break a bit of wood in two. Step aside I said, no problem. Held it with my foot and eventually broke it with an increased effort. Unfortunately my (sideways on) knee was in the way of my elbow as the wood cracked and my elbow crashed into the side of it. So stupid! Started to swell a bit but I've iced it and it feels better. Don't think it's anything big but feels like a 'funny bone' injury.

I've been on holiday for the week so hence the increase in training time. Another week off would be good but at least I might get a bit of swimming in next week. I haven't got any classes so there is no excuse for not getting in the pool and getting some swim fitness back. I did a few lengths with the kids mid-week and it nearly killed me. Not good!

I had a go at the Toll Rd 6.67k Time Trial yesterday. It's my unofficial yardstick for my bike and I did 11 minutes 36 seconds which is an average of 34.5km/hr. It's definitely not my fastest time but it's my first attempt this year and I didn't really warm up properly. I'm sure I can do better than that as the season progresses. Goal is to break 11 minutes. Think fastest is 11:03. That was with race tyres and with no wind. Has no connection really with my A Race goal of Sub6 for the Half at Rotorua but it's a bit of fun and adds to my motivation to do intervals. I definitely need to up my interval efforts on the windtrainer to get that 10:5x.

This morning was a slow run in the 'freezing' cold (1 degree!). I think it was probably my slowest time on that route (Fraser St) for a long time. I've been running that 10k fairly easily below the hour mark but this morning it took 1:05:57. No problem. It was cold and I wasn't very motivated to be out there. It's also the end of a tiring training week so I'm not too worried.

Plan for next week is to take it easier on the bike and run and get some swims in. Depending on how my knee feels it might just be a swim week anyway.

Small Victory

2010-07-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

My bike gets to stay in the front room on the windtrainer in preparation for tomorrow's second semi-final. Had good 2 hours on it this morning watching Holland beat Uruguay and I persuaded Jo it would be easier just to push it to one side of the room ready for tomorrow's game. Never thought I'd get away with it. Haha. Got to take small victories where you can. Sure it's gonna cost me in other ways.

Ran 5k off the bike this morning in 28:xx. Felt good but left hamstring is still VERY tight and painful. Not sure I'll run off the bike tomorrow. Hopefully it'll go to extra time and I'll get a longer bike ride. Germany to win 29-28 in longest sudden death penalties at World Cup ever after 5-5 draw.

Monday's Long Slow Run

2010-07-04T14:30:00.001-07:00

Just testing the embedding from Garmin. Seems to work quite well

I couldn't decide whether to do another spin on the windtrainer or go for a run. I'm planning to watch both Semi-Final's on the windtrainer (Wed and Thu mornings) so I decided on a run. It had been stormy all night but the wind had calmed down a bit by the time I got out. I wore my fuel belt for the first time since the M and it felt OK. Had 3 bottles of sugared water and one just with water. Also had my usual hand held bottle. Sipped some 'fuel' on each of the one minute walk breaks and washed it down with water. No reaction from stomach, no sicky feeling like I used to get using Powerade and I had to stop to pee twice so my body is definitely processing the fuel. My pace was very slow so I need to test when I'm working a bit faster but for now it's all good.

I decided to run to the Harbour Bridge. I definitely enjoy my runs more when I've got a target to head for. Becomes more of an adventure rather than a chore. I also took the camera and stopped a few times along the way. That also adds to the adventure for me. The running almost becomes secondary. I'm going to the bridge to take some pictures. The running is just the mode of transport.

I pass this sign on my 'flat' runs. In the background is Adam's school. It's on the fence of the school playing field. I get really enraged when I see the sign. Well, I 'tut' a couple of times and shake my head but it does dumfound me how the school sports field can be sponsored by Wendy's. I just think it's wrong.

The worst of the storm had passed but it was still really windy. Not the best picture to promote sunny Tauranga. Bridge is in the background.

Reached my destination. Found a walkway under the bridge.

Looking back to where we live. Somewhere on the right of the horizon.

Running back was definitely harder. The wind had been at my back most of the way out and now I was paying for it. Continued with the 4:1 run:walk though and I think my pace stayed roughly the same. The run:walk definitely allows me to finish a run as 'strong' as I start it. Plan is to keep with it but increase the run portions. My target at the moment is a 6:1 for the race.

Today is bike intervals and then tomorrow, bring on the Semi-Finals!

Not A Bad Week

2010-07-04T00:43:00.000-07:00

Fairly pleased with the week's training.

Monday - Flat almost 10K run along Cameron Road. Stuck with the 4:1 run:walk and it felt good. I was pleased with the Sub6min/k pace. Recent runs had been 6:15/6:30.

Tuesday - Intervals on windtrainer. Feel like I'm getting stronger. Increased intervals to 6 minutes.

Wednesday - Fell asleep after dinner. I blame the kids. They were supposed to wake me up. Took it as a rest day.

Thursday - 10k 'hilly' route in 58:15 for a 5:49 pace. Still using a 4:1 run:walk. It's not making me fast but it is protecting my calf. It's loving the little rests between the 4 minute runs.

Friday - Another rest day.

Saturday - Up early to watch football while on the windtrainer. Did 2 hours at a comfortable pace. Heart Rate was mostly in the 120's. Ensured cadence was at or at least near 90. It's feeling more and more natural to pedal at 90 now. I can't get there at the start of the ride. Lucky to hit 80 but as I warm up 90 seems 'normal'.

I was tempted to carry on pedaling at the 2 hour mark because the game went to extra time but I stuck to my original plan of running off the bike and set out for a 'hilly' 10k. Felt really good (mainly because the bike was at such an easy pace) and I was able to get some decent pace in between walk breaks. Did 10k at a 5:46 pace. Really pleased to have run the same course as Thursday at a faster pace even after the bike.

Sunday - I had the plan to ride on the windtrainer watching the Spain game at 6:30am but after getting up at 2am (and back to bed at 4am) to see the Germans destroy Argentina I somehow slept through the 6am alarm and didn't get up till 9. I needed the sleep. Another rest day.

I now have a week off and licence for a big workout in the morning till 9:30am. Not sure if I'll do a brick or just a long run. Tempted just to go for a long run. Might see what the harbor bridge looks like in the early morning.

Words of Wisdom from a World Champion (well previous anyway)

2010-06-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a really bad week for training. What with both England and the All Whites having 'through the night' games I knew it wasn't going to be epic but I didn't bank on my weekly total being a paltry one hour run on Monday. That is p!$$ poor to say the least! I also had a video to edit for work which took me to midnight so that was another evening wiped out.

I was going to rescue my week with a big workout Sunday morning but I got sucked into the Ghana USA game and when that went to extra time there was no way I was going to get out there. Ah well ... England play 2am tonight so I need my rest, right???

Well that is a question I put to former Kona winner (and all round good guy) Chris Macormack on Facebook. How awesome is it that there is that kind of contact between plebs like me and guys right at the top of our sport. I saw that he had answered a question from a facebook friend in the UK. I commented on how awesome it was and threw in my not so serious question.

I like his answer. 'Key to improvement is consistency and rest. You need to stay active and train but also sleep'. Easier said than done though when the World Cup in on.

It's another 2am game 'tonight'. I'll get a few hours sleep, get up at 1:30am, hopefully we'll win in 90 minutes and I can get back to bed at 4am for a few hours. If it goes to extra time (and worse still, penalties) it might not even be worth going back to bed. Come on England, lets get this game over with as early as possible. If we're 5-0 up at halftime I might even go to bed before the end.

If we lose I think I'm going to be OK. I normally get very depressed (although I should be used to it by now) ... at least if we go out I can get back to normal and start training properly again. I won't be getting up during the night for any other games. Maybe it's for the best. NOT!

So much for consistency ....

2010-06-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

So after a great 3 weeks training I follow it up with a week of almost nothing! I ran for an hour on Monday and then spent the rest of the week recovering from 2am World Cup games. Work has also been stressful and tiring and I think I needed this week to 'recover'. Well at least that's what Jo has been saying and I've been agreeing with (all too easily).

The funny thing about this lazy week has been the unexpected weight loss. I've been yo-yoing around the 190lb mark for ages now but this week the weight has dropped off. It was 187.5lb mid-week but was up to 188.5 this morning. Still good though ... but how the hell can I lose weight when I'm not exercising, eating the same during the day and even having some comfort toast and coffee watching the' through the night' games. Maybe its the stress of watching England, maybe the stress of work or maybe I've stumbled on the ultimate weight loss method. Go hard for three weeks and then ease off in the fourth week to lose weight. Might even give it another go!

I must get back into it next week. England play 2am Monday morning so no excuse not to train Sunday morning. Might be too tired Monday night but as Jo said 'hopefully England will get knocked out and you can get back to normal' ... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I'll get back to it after we've beaten Holland in the final. We're in different halves of the run-in and so it could/should happen. Fingers crossed.

BikeTrainer

2010-06-19T23:20:00.001-07:00

I was up just after 4am this morning to see the Aussies hold on with 10 men for a draw with Ghana. It was a good game and put me in a good mood to go down to the basement to suffer for two hours on the bike trainer ... but then I saw the advert for the next programme.

A re-run of the Cameroon V Denmark game. I didn't know the score so I thought maybe I'd ditch (postpone maybe?) the ride and enjoy the football ... and then I had an idea. Bring the bike trainer into the living room. It was only 6am so I'd be finished before Jo and the kids got up. I could be packed up and out before anyone knew anything about it.

Within 5 minutes I was all set up and watching the game. The time definitely went faster. Before I knew it, it was half time and I was nearly at the hour mark. Then the master plan fell apart. I had laid down layers of old curtains, blankets, carpet tiles on the floor to absorb the noise and vibration (and to protect the rimu floors) but Jo still woke up. She said it wasn't loud but it must have carried a bit. I was rumbled.

She just thought I was mad. She sat in the same room and caught up with the 'internet world'. What I didn't realise was that she had taken a picture and posted it to Facebook.

Revenge WILL be sweet! :)

3 Weeks of Consistency ....

2010-06-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

... well sort of. It's probably been my most consistent couple of weeks of training EVER!

I've missed sessions and shuffled a few around World Cup games but I've averaged 6 hours a week. I know that's not huge hours but I'm a long way off 'proper' training for the Half Ironman so it feels good to have the motivation to train when there isn't much on the horizon.

However, I have decided to put some 'events' (a long run or an extra long bike) every 4 weeks to make mini-cycles of 2 weeks of build, a week with a big 'event' and then a sort of rest week ... and repeat. My theory is that this will keep me motivated and keep the consistency up.

One thing that's always buggered my consistency is my calf. It has been pretty good lately but it definitely threatened on my long run this week. About 30 mins in I could feel the sharp, needle in the back of the calf and tightening effect. I stopped running immediately, pulled up my compression sock (co-incidence it had fallen down?) and walked for a minute or two. When I started jogging it felt OK and I didn't feel anything for the rest of the 90 min run. I've run once since and there was no problem. Praying that was it! ... I don' want to stop running.

I'm really enjoying the running but I have definitely slowed down. I am doing the 4:1 run:walk and I'm sure that this is keeping the calf problems at bay but it is slowing my overall pace. I'm not too bothered though. I'd rather be out there running 6:30/k pace than sitting at home injured. The 4:1 plan stays but I might take it to 5:1 soon with the hope of getting it to maybe 9:1 for the race.

I'm doing most of my bikes on the windtrainer. It has definitely helped me get a bit stronger. My Tuesday night intervals are getting 'stronger' and I'm able to sustain the bigger gears for a little longer. Definitely better than when I nearly puked at the end of my intervals a few weeks back. That wasn't a good start.

My biking has also included an attempt at mountain biking. I have never been so scared in my life. A colleague (who I previously would have considered a friend!) at work convinced me to try it. I thought it would be like the running trails around the Redwoods with the odd tree root and some ups and downs. I couldn't have imagined the drops and narrow paths we ended up on.

It was the SummerHill routes at the top of Reid Rd and I really wasn't prepared (physically or mentally) for it. I just felt out of control all the time. Maybe that's what you're supposed to feel but even going down the smallest hill it felt like I was gonna crash.

The only actual crash I had was with a gate that I opened which violently came back at me with a vengeance. I also scraped my leg on the pedal as I shuffled up yet another hill that I came to a standstill on. Sometimes it was lack of fitness and sometimes it was lack of technique. I didn't have a clue where my weight should be and I rode up most hills trying to stop my front wheel coming back over my head. I might give it one more go (there was a hill that I walked down that I wish I had attempted) but I don't think 'hard core' (we didn't even go on the hard bits!) mountain biking is for me.

There's been one thing missing from my training and that's swimming (I'd also like some movement on the weight loss front but ....) . My plan is to get back in the pool in July. That'll give me over five months to get a bit of swim fitness so that I can get my 40(ish) minute 2k swim and have enough energy to bike and run.

In my quest to drop a few pounds I am planning on blogging more. My danger time is between dinner and when I go out training. My plan is to resist the snacking by using the blog as more of a daily diary and spending time typing rather than standing in front of the fridge/cupboard convincing myself that I need to get some calories in for the swim (unlikely), bike or run. I'm at a healthy weight (just under 24 BMI) but I know I will be faster (definitely in the hills) if I can drop 10 pounds. I'd settle for 5 which would get me to 185. That was the weight I had my fastest Half Marathon at so it'd be good to get there again.

I had a great windtrainer session this morning but I'm going to leave that story till after dinner tonight. That should stop me attacking the chocolate brownies that Laura has in the oven at the moment. They are smelling GOOD!

2010-06-01T02:56:00.001-07:00

I've been using the cadence sensor on the windtrainer and trying to keep my cadence around the 90 mark. It has felt quite natural as I think I spin at that anyway BUT I just read this ...

There’s no “perfect” cadence – it depends on your bike, your fitness and the terrain. Cyclists are commonly advised to aim for 70 to 80 revolutions per minute, with more experienced riders hitting up to 90 rpm. But these numbers may be too high for older cyclists. A University of Rome study to be published later this yearfound that older cyclists reach peak efficiency at a lower cadence than younger cyclists under identical circumstances, possibly due to changes in muscle composition.

I wonder how old you have to be? I'm definitely getting out on my bike Saturday on to the roads so I'll see what 90 feels like and gather some data. All good fun.

Actually finished an interval workout tonight without nearly passing out. Went a bit to mad on Sunday and couldn't get my HR down and felt really sick. Ended up laying on the floor breathing deeply to stop myself throwing up. I didn't go so mad tonight. Just did the intervals in the upper 140's. I'll ease back into it a bit more and then go a bit harder.

First run for a while on Monday and it felt good. Did 4:1 run:walk ratio which gave me an average 6 minute k so was pleased with that. Will stick with the run:walk for a while. Might even use it at Rotorua.

Quick spin on the bike

2010-05-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

... and I'm back. No workouts for two weeks so I've got to ease back into it gently. Quick spin to see if 'distance' is calculated on the windtrainer using the cadence/speed sensor and the answer is YES! ... proper workout in the morning.

Quick spin on the windtrainer at Garmin Connect