Ironman Eve
It's the day before and I have just checked in my bike and my transition bags. Nervous times, as if you get this wrong, I might have to head out on the run in my cycling shoes or half naked. But after triple checking everything, I should be right.
It is a beautiful day down here today. Unfortunately, it is not predicted to hold out. At the briefing this morning they told us that some drizzle is expected tomorrow morning, turning to rain in the afternoon, and possibly heavy in the evening. Local farmers are over the moon, visiting triathletes not so much. Why oh why couldn't it be today?!?
Nevertheless, the show must go on. Actually, my biggest concern is that ankle has flared up a little in the last 24 hours. Not too bad, but just feels a bit tender and swollen. I am sure it will be OK, but you can't help dwell on these things as you just wait around.
This morning I went for an easy 15min swim out on the lake. I'm looking forward to the swim now, after some trepidation with my lack of sea swims lately. But the lakes is beautifully clear, which will make a difference, and not having to put up with 'sea water mouth' is so much better. After that went on a 30min bike and a 15min run just to remind the body what it will be doing tomorrow. Nothing left to do now but have an early dinner and hopefully get some sleep tonight.
It's an early start tomorrow, with the alarm set for 4.45am. Will try to get down to the transition area around 5.30am, giving myself plenty of time to get ready and for any "oh shit, I left such-and-such behind"! And then it will be time to get in the water for a short warm up swim before lining up and waiting for the gun....
Thanks for all the messages, I'll try to do my best for you all tomorrow. I look forward to updating you all next week on my IronSam experience.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Week minus 0: The Final Countdown
Not much can be done now, just make sure I have everything packed tonight, and hope that the weather will be OK. But it doesn't look too good on that front at the moment! The forecast is:
Rain developing, heavy falls possible. Northerlies strengthening.
On the plus side, if it is northerlies it shouldn't be cold and if they are strengthening during the day that could help on the return legs of the bike.
This week I went for a couple of short swims (1km) at the start of the week and a nice dip in the hot tub afterwards. On Tuesday I took the bike in for a pre-race tune-up, though when I went to pick it up after work they didn't have it ready, someone mistakenly had it in for a Wednesday pick up - which meant I had to run home. And on that run home I was looking to cross the road and missed a hose laid across the footpath. I came right down on that hose and rolled my ankle. It was very painful at first and you can just imagine the thoughts going through my head. I limped across the road and tenderly tried to walk it off. And can certainly thank my resilient body, as I was running again in very short order. Phew!!
Went for an easy 1hr spin on the bike tonight before packing the car (there's a lot of stuff!) - no, not the mini, I have got a work car - and all that is left to do is drive down tomorrow morning and get prepared for Saturday. Am I nervous? At the moment, I don't think so - and that's got me a little nervous! Plenty of "what ifs" are running through my head though. The weather of course, but also things like "what if my nutrition plan goes wrong", "what if I get a puncture", "what if I go of course on the swim and find myself at Turangi" - really helpful stuff! And I keep on imaging (well, I hope I do) lots of little niggles in my joints and muscles. Of course, there isn't much I can do about any of that stuff, I just have to trust my training.
Thanks for all your well-wishes, and look forward to writing up the race report when I get back next week. Though, a warning for you all, the photos might be ugly!
Not much can be done now, just make sure I have everything packed tonight, and hope that the weather will be OK. But it doesn't look too good on that front at the moment! The forecast is:
Rain developing, heavy falls possible. Northerlies strengthening.
On the plus side, if it is northerlies it shouldn't be cold and if they are strengthening during the day that could help on the return legs of the bike.
This week I went for a couple of short swims (1km) at the start of the week and a nice dip in the hot tub afterwards. On Tuesday I took the bike in for a pre-race tune-up, though when I went to pick it up after work they didn't have it ready, someone mistakenly had it in for a Wednesday pick up - which meant I had to run home. And on that run home I was looking to cross the road and missed a hose laid across the footpath. I came right down on that hose and rolled my ankle. It was very painful at first and you can just imagine the thoughts going through my head. I limped across the road and tenderly tried to walk it off. And can certainly thank my resilient body, as I was running again in very short order. Phew!!
Went for an easy 1hr spin on the bike tonight before packing the car (there's a lot of stuff!) - no, not the mini, I have got a work car - and all that is left to do is drive down tomorrow morning and get prepared for Saturday. Am I nervous? At the moment, I don't think so - and that's got me a little nervous! Plenty of "what ifs" are running through my head though. The weather of course, but also things like "what if my nutrition plan goes wrong", "what if I get a puncture", "what if I go of course on the swim and find myself at Turangi" - really helpful stuff! And I keep on imaging (well, I hope I do) lots of little niggles in my joints and muscles. Of course, there isn't much I can do about any of that stuff, I just have to trust my training.
Thanks for all your well-wishes, and look forward to writing up the race report when I get back next week. Though, a warning for you all, the photos might be ugly!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Week minus 1: Tapering
The tapering finally arrived. It is quite a weird feeling. After much higher training hours over previous weeks, despite knowing that the tapering is good for me, it is hard not to feel like I'm being lazy. The week consisted of a couple of 2km swims, a 45km ride, a short interval run and an easy 90min run (where it was quite hard to keep a slow pace - the running has definitely come along nicely). And at the end of the week there was a little treat, a 45min sports massage.
For the final weekend, I had planned a combo session on Saturday morning, including a 60min sea swim and then just a 2hr ride on the Sunday. But the weather gods were definitely against me. Saturday was an absolutely right off as a tropical depression battered the top of the North Island.
While thankful that this weather didn't hit next weekend (or one of the big training weekends), it has also crept in bad 'what if' thoughts about the weather for the big day. This is certainly not the sort of weather map you want to be looking at a week before the Ironman!
So on Saturday morning, for the first time I pulled out the indoor trainer for the bike and did 45kms in the garage. It was only for 75min (as opposed to 2hrs), but it is pretty tough on the indoor training as you are constantly pedaling without the momentum you get from a normal ride. Plus, without any wind, it gets pretty hot and sweaty. I then had a lazy Saturday and just watched the last ODI between the Black Caps and England on the TV (thumbs up for free-to-air Prime - who needs Sky).
Sunday I was hopeful for some improvement in the weather so that I could get out for my sea swim. Waking up in the morning, it was certainly calmer and wasn't raining, but driving out along the eastern bays, it still looked pretty choppy out there. And though the water was less than appealing, I didn't want to head into the pool and decided to brave it. It started off OK - despite having to dodge a fair bit of seaweed - but the longer I was out there, the bigger the swell got and I was rolling around quite a bit amongst the white caps. Move than once I thought Rich was right - "nutter"! I managed 50 minutes in the end, but after all that I wasn't going to be jumping on the bike - especially with the road looking really greasy, it just wasn't worth the risk of crashing coming around a tight corner. So it was back to the garage for another sweaty 60min ride on the indoor trainer.
In the end, this forced lay-off will probably do me even more good, so I am not too worried about it all. This week's 'training' is all very light, just gentle reminders to the body of what it will be doing on Saturday. A couple of 1km swims, a short run, a short ride, a tune-up for the bike and a much needed haircut. Nutritionally, there is a focus on protein at the start of the week to help muscle repair and then on carbohydrates later in the week for some carbo loading. As well as heaps of water and heavily salting my meals to help hydration.
We drive down to Taupo on Thursday morning to register. Friday morning there is a compulsory briefing and hopefully some information about how the transitions and support stations will work. And then I will go for a 500m swim in the lake (and work out what the 'sighters' for the buoys are), a 30min bike and a 10min jog. All that will be left to do then is to have an early dinner (so that nature can take its course before the race the next morning) and a quiet night. Hopefully I'll sleep OK, though the night before isn't as important as getting sleep the two nights or so before that. And I will always be able to console myself if I sleep poorly by looking at all other competitors on the start line who would have also had a sleepless night.
Start time is 7am, so it will be an early start for me, probably before 5am to have some breakfast and getting down to the start line so I have plenty of time to get myself organised - though there isn't much to do as the bike and everything for the transitions has to be dropped off the night before. I have race number 408, and you can follow how I am going on race day at http://www.ironmanlive.com/. So, the big question is - what are my expectations?
At the moment, my stretch goal is to go under 12 hours. I've got a history of achieving my stretch goals, but considering my preparation my pick is that I probably wont be able to do it this time, but we will see.
I'll post another update on Wednesday before heading down, and if I can piggy-back off someones wireless I'll let you know how I'm feeling the night before. Until then, my fingers will be well and truly crossed following the weather forecasts during the week.
P.S. Just got back from an easy 45min evening run under a calm blue sky and alongside a harbour as flat as a pancake - grrrrrrrrrr!
The tapering finally arrived. It is quite a weird feeling. After much higher training hours over previous weeks, despite knowing that the tapering is good for me, it is hard not to feel like I'm being lazy. The week consisted of a couple of 2km swims, a 45km ride, a short interval run and an easy 90min run (where it was quite hard to keep a slow pace - the running has definitely come along nicely). And at the end of the week there was a little treat, a 45min sports massage.
For the final weekend, I had planned a combo session on Saturday morning, including a 60min sea swim and then just a 2hr ride on the Sunday. But the weather gods were definitely against me. Saturday was an absolutely right off as a tropical depression battered the top of the North Island.
While thankful that this weather didn't hit next weekend (or one of the big training weekends), it has also crept in bad 'what if' thoughts about the weather for the big day. This is certainly not the sort of weather map you want to be looking at a week before the Ironman!So on Saturday morning, for the first time I pulled out the indoor trainer for the bike and did 45kms in the garage. It was only for 75min (as opposed to 2hrs), but it is pretty tough on the indoor training as you are constantly pedaling without the momentum you get from a normal ride. Plus, without any wind, it gets pretty hot and sweaty. I then had a lazy Saturday and just watched the last ODI between the Black Caps and England on the TV (thumbs up for free-to-air Prime - who needs Sky).
Sunday I was hopeful for some improvement in the weather so that I could get out for my sea swim. Waking up in the morning, it was certainly calmer and wasn't raining, but driving out along the eastern bays, it still looked pretty choppy out there. And though the water was less than appealing, I didn't want to head into the pool and decided to brave it. It started off OK - despite having to dodge a fair bit of seaweed - but the longer I was out there, the bigger the swell got and I was rolling around quite a bit amongst the white caps. Move than once I thought Rich was right - "nutter"! I managed 50 minutes in the end, but after all that I wasn't going to be jumping on the bike - especially with the road looking really greasy, it just wasn't worth the risk of crashing coming around a tight corner. So it was back to the garage for another sweaty 60min ride on the indoor trainer.
In the end, this forced lay-off will probably do me even more good, so I am not too worried about it all. This week's 'training' is all very light, just gentle reminders to the body of what it will be doing on Saturday. A couple of 1km swims, a short run, a short ride, a tune-up for the bike and a much needed haircut. Nutritionally, there is a focus on protein at the start of the week to help muscle repair and then on carbohydrates later in the week for some carbo loading. As well as heaps of water and heavily salting my meals to help hydration.
We drive down to Taupo on Thursday morning to register. Friday morning there is a compulsory briefing and hopefully some information about how the transitions and support stations will work. And then I will go for a 500m swim in the lake (and work out what the 'sighters' for the buoys are), a 30min bike and a 10min jog. All that will be left to do then is to have an early dinner (so that nature can take its course before the race the next morning) and a quiet night. Hopefully I'll sleep OK, though the night before isn't as important as getting sleep the two nights or so before that. And I will always be able to console myself if I sleep poorly by looking at all other competitors on the start line who would have also had a sleepless night.
Start time is 7am, so it will be an early start for me, probably before 5am to have some breakfast and getting down to the start line so I have plenty of time to get myself organised - though there isn't much to do as the bike and everything for the transitions has to be dropped off the night before. I have race number 408, and you can follow how I am going on race day at http://www.ironmanlive.com/. So, the big question is - what are my expectations?
At the moment, my stretch goal is to go under 12 hours. I've got a history of achieving my stretch goals, but considering my preparation my pick is that I probably wont be able to do it this time, but we will see.
- For the swim, I am thinking my goal time would be 1hr10mins, though I am thinking I am more likely to be around 1hr15min - depending of course I much distance I add to the 3.8km with my wayward swimming.
- I certainly wont be rushing through T1, especially as some machiavellian organiser has put in a 400m run from the lake to the transition tents. I'll be making sure I dry myself well so that I don't get too cold at the start of the ride (something I am quite worried about) and getting comfortable in my bike gears. There are helpers in the transition tents for all this - they even put sun cream on for you. So I'll be happy to take 10 minutes or so in there.
- My goal time for the bike is 6hrs, so an average speed of 30kph. This will depend on what the climbs are like and how strong any wind is. But I also have to be careful that I don't push too hard that it hurts me later. So I would be happy if the bike time extends out to 6hr15min, but in the right conditions I do think a sub-6hr ride is possible for me.
- T2 will be pretty slow for me as well, as I'll be having a full change of clothing, again making sure I am comfortable before I head out. So this might take me anywhere between 5-10 minutes.
- Then comes the run, and this is the big unknown. My running feels good, so in the back of my mind I think there is a potential to run a sub-4hr marathon. However, this could just as easily by 5hrs+. If I want to make my sub-12hrs goal, then I will probably have to do it in around 4hr15min, so we will just have to see. I will try to focus on keeping on running and enjoying it - if that is possible.
I'll post another update on Wednesday before heading down, and if I can piggy-back off someones wireless I'll let you know how I'm feeling the night before. Until then, my fingers will be well and truly crossed following the weather forecasts during the week.
P.S. Just got back from an easy 45min evening run under a calm blue sky and alongside a harbour as flat as a pancake - grrrrrrrrrr!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Week minus 2: Faster
The body has been showing the effects of wear and tear this week from all the training. I started the week feeling very average indeed, with a lot of fatigue and headaches later in the day. I had a brief coldsore at the base of my nose, I've got ulcers in my tongue, and my middle toes have developed funny little blisters on the end of them. So the week didn't start well as I took an unscheduled day off on Monday and dropped my short run training session. However, things got better through the week.
Coming down from the peak distances of the previous couple of weeks, I decided that the training sessions would be at a higher intensity to really test where my fitness is at. On Wednesday night I charged out on my short ride and maintained an average speed of 31kph over the 37km ride (which includes a couple of climbs). And on Thursday night, I also spat out a 1hr39min Half Marathon, and did so quite comfortably with plenty of running left in the legs at the end.
Saturday was a funny day weather wise. The afternoon was predictions of thunder storms and hail, which wasn't so pleasing as I was being forced to train later in the day because of the timing of the tides - either that or go for a sea swim at 4am! In fact, I nearly threw in the sea swim altogether. Parking up at Kohimarama Bay (my usual spot), the sea was looking particularly angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to return soup at a deli. But I decided I had to toughen up and just get out there. And it was pretty choppy and I got thrown about a bit, but I was pretty happy I still managed 40 minutes out there. I then followed this up with a 1hr30min bike and then a 75min run, all of which was without the presense of any that forecast weather.
Sunday was my last big ride, 5 hours out and around my normal Clevedon/Maraetai loop. It didn't start all that well, with a puncture about an hour in. On reflection, it was probably good to have a practice of changing a tube (though fingers crossed that I won't be needing it come March 1st), though the resulting dirty fingers don't make feeding myself an appetising proposition for the rest of the ride. Apart from that it was a really good ride, and I managed an average speed of 29kph over the 145km - not bad for riding by yourself and with a few climbs. In fact, I was looking at maintaining 30kph until the Whitford hills got the better of me. And holding the aero position is a lot more comfortable than it was a few weeks ago. Though I was reminded what a bunch of idiots this country is full of, when someone threw a bottle (plastic) at me when they drove past - they missed, which was just as well as I was travelling at 45kph at the time and I wouldn't have wanted to come off. Arriving home, I put on the running shoes and headed out for a 30 minute run - I wasn't setting any records, but it didn't feel absolutely horrible either. Actually, it was when I stopped that I didn't feel so good - the legs were very wobbly. So that seems to be the learn for the big day - don't stop running!
So now the taper is here - yay! Been looking forward to this for a while. Still keep the same number of training sessions, but of a much reduced length - e.g. for long ride next weekend is only 2 hours. My body will certainly appreciate the recovery, here's hoping it will be in good knick in less than two weeks time.
The body has been showing the effects of wear and tear this week from all the training. I started the week feeling very average indeed, with a lot of fatigue and headaches later in the day. I had a brief coldsore at the base of my nose, I've got ulcers in my tongue, and my middle toes have developed funny little blisters on the end of them. So the week didn't start well as I took an unscheduled day off on Monday and dropped my short run training session. However, things got better through the week.
Coming down from the peak distances of the previous couple of weeks, I decided that the training sessions would be at a higher intensity to really test where my fitness is at. On Wednesday night I charged out on my short ride and maintained an average speed of 31kph over the 37km ride (which includes a couple of climbs). And on Thursday night, I also spat out a 1hr39min Half Marathon, and did so quite comfortably with plenty of running left in the legs at the end.
Saturday was a funny day weather wise. The afternoon was predictions of thunder storms and hail, which wasn't so pleasing as I was being forced to train later in the day because of the timing of the tides - either that or go for a sea swim at 4am! In fact, I nearly threw in the sea swim altogether. Parking up at Kohimarama Bay (my usual spot), the sea was looking particularly angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to return soup at a deli. But I decided I had to toughen up and just get out there. And it was pretty choppy and I got thrown about a bit, but I was pretty happy I still managed 40 minutes out there. I then followed this up with a 1hr30min bike and then a 75min run, all of which was without the presense of any that forecast weather.
Sunday was my last big ride, 5 hours out and around my normal Clevedon/Maraetai loop. It didn't start all that well, with a puncture about an hour in. On reflection, it was probably good to have a practice of changing a tube (though fingers crossed that I won't be needing it come March 1st), though the resulting dirty fingers don't make feeding myself an appetising proposition for the rest of the ride. Apart from that it was a really good ride, and I managed an average speed of 29kph over the 145km - not bad for riding by yourself and with a few climbs. In fact, I was looking at maintaining 30kph until the Whitford hills got the better of me. And holding the aero position is a lot more comfortable than it was a few weeks ago. Though I was reminded what a bunch of idiots this country is full of, when someone threw a bottle (plastic) at me when they drove past - they missed, which was just as well as I was travelling at 45kph at the time and I wouldn't have wanted to come off. Arriving home, I put on the running shoes and headed out for a 30 minute run - I wasn't setting any records, but it didn't feel absolutely horrible either. Actually, it was when I stopped that I didn't feel so good - the legs were very wobbly. So that seems to be the learn for the big day - don't stop running!
So now the taper is here - yay! Been looking forward to this for a while. Still keep the same number of training sessions, but of a much reduced length - e.g. for long ride next weekend is only 2 hours. My body will certainly appreciate the recovery, here's hoping it will be in good knick in less than two weeks time.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
PJ Harvey
On Wednesday night Anna and I went with Stu and Fritha to the PJ Harvey concert that was up here in Auckland. Now, PJ Harvey you say? Well, Stu & Fritha were coming up to go and I was did know her more grungy music from the 90s and I thought it would be something different to go to. And well pleased we did.
PJ Harvey is a very experimental artist and during the concert you couldn't help but to be struck by how talented she is - moving from a variety of different instruments and a variety of different genres. The songs on the piano from her latest album - White Chalk - were particularly enchanting.
Both of us were very happy we went to see her. It might not the music I will typically listen to on my iPod (though will be more now), but if I am going to pay to see someone live, I would prefer to see real musical genius rather than an under-performed over-produced sound I can get straight from an album.
The review from the NZ Herald
On Wednesday night Anna and I went with Stu and Fritha to the PJ Harvey concert that was up here in Auckland. Now, PJ Harvey you say? Well, Stu & Fritha were coming up to go and I was did know her more grungy music from the 90s and I thought it would be something different to go to. And well pleased we did.PJ Harvey is a very experimental artist and during the concert you couldn't help but to be struck by how talented she is - moving from a variety of different instruments and a variety of different genres. The songs on the piano from her latest album - White Chalk - were particularly enchanting.
Both of us were very happy we went to see her. It might not the music I will typically listen to on my iPod (though will be more now), but if I am going to pay to see someone live, I would prefer to see real musical genius rather than an under-performed over-produced sound I can get straight from an album.
The review from the NZ Herald
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Week minus 3: Tiring
A very frustrating end to the week!
It all started very well. I extended my long swim to 4km this week and I felt good in all my shorter training sessions. Come Thursday morning, I decided that I would go for a 3hr30min long run. The run itself went well enough, though it was pretty hard and I was pretty knackered afterwards - just as well I didn't have anything planned for the next couple of days.
In fact Saturday would be my first morning that I didn't wake up to the alarm for quite some time - it is a bit depressing sometimes when you are getting up earlier in the weekend than you do during the week! But typically, despite there being no alarm, I didn't sleep much past 7am. On all of Saturday I felt pretty lethargic- and I now question the wisdom of that long Thursday run. Later in the afternoon, I even joined Anna on an 'easy' ride. I could hardly get my legs moving though and I could have just about gone to sleep on the bike.
So I was hoping that these two days of rest would put me in good stead for the ocean swim on Sunday morning. But I never got to test this out....
Getting up early Sunday morning and getting myself ready, to weather was looking a little dodgy. Driving down to the start at St Helliers, I was quickly told that it had been cancelled. And it was pretty understandable why. Some wild weather was about - light rain and some really strong winds. So out went my plans for my big training day - and by the looks of it, I wasn't the only one. There were a few hardy souls who we're still heading out into the water, but the idea of chugging back sea water for an hour wasn't doing much for me. So reluctantly, I had to go to Plan B - though it was very tempting to just go back to bed, there is nothing like having your training plans go awry - very frustrating!
So I headed down to the pool and did my 3.5km there - not the same as the test run the open water swim would have done for me, but I still wanted to do my pseudo 'Half Ironman' hit out. I timed my swim for one of the few times, and I am little surprised how slow my swimming still appears to be. I did the 3.5km in 1hr6min, which probably isn't too bad, but I definitely seem to be a slower swimmer than I was when I first left NZ. I'm not sure whether it is a technique problem or just my stroke rate? Not much I can do about it now, but in retrospect I could have focused a bit more on technique in my training.
Getting back home, the weather was still pretty wild and the prospect of getting on the bike wasn't very appealing. But I knew I had to, so I saddled up and headed out. The wind was pretty crazy, and head-on it was difficult to just keep the speedo above 20kph. It ended up taking 3hr20min to complete the 90km, which is a little slow, but with the wind the way it was, I can't reflect on that too much.
Typically, with what would have been perfect running conditions, no sooner had I headed out to pound the pavement did the weather calm down, the skies open up and it was hot and sunny. Nevertheless, I actually felt very good during the whole run and it was the most encouraging aspect of the whole day. I ended up completing the half marathon distance (21.1km) is 1hr50min, which I am very happy about. I ran at a pace I felt comfortable and easily could have kept going. I can't see myself running a sub-4hr marathon in the Ironman - but I'm feeling a lot better about what will be toughest part of the race. On the run I also trialed out eating potato crisps and pretzels, as these will be available at the aid stations and are suppose to be good for getting your salt levels up (to avoid dehydration). I certainly got some weird looks running along the road popping chippies in the mouth or with a pretzel stick hanging out my mouth like a cigar. But they seemed to go down OK, so that is another tick for the preparations.
What didn't go so well was the trying out of the all important night-before dinner. I have been wanting to try something else other than the usual pasta - as it can often make you feel a bit stuffed the night before. I found a recipe for a Rice Pilau with spinach, spring onions and herbs and thought it could be a good replacement. But it turns out that it didn't work at all. I was very bloated all day and was getting plenty of turbo blasts from the 'back engine'. So back to the drawing board on that one, and I might have to revert to the tried-and-true pasta dish.
So only one more week of full-on training before the two week taper - and man am I looking forward to that! I'm definitely suffering a little from training fatigue at the moment, and tiredness is my ever present companion. So if I can just get through this week - which won't be as tough as the previous two - I can then start looking forward to the big day.
A very frustrating end to the week!
It all started very well. I extended my long swim to 4km this week and I felt good in all my shorter training sessions. Come Thursday morning, I decided that I would go for a 3hr30min long run. The run itself went well enough, though it was pretty hard and I was pretty knackered afterwards - just as well I didn't have anything planned for the next couple of days.
In fact Saturday would be my first morning that I didn't wake up to the alarm for quite some time - it is a bit depressing sometimes when you are getting up earlier in the weekend than you do during the week! But typically, despite there being no alarm, I didn't sleep much past 7am. On all of Saturday I felt pretty lethargic- and I now question the wisdom of that long Thursday run. Later in the afternoon, I even joined Anna on an 'easy' ride. I could hardly get my legs moving though and I could have just about gone to sleep on the bike.
So I was hoping that these two days of rest would put me in good stead for the ocean swim on Sunday morning. But I never got to test this out....
Getting up early Sunday morning and getting myself ready, to weather was looking a little dodgy. Driving down to the start at St Helliers, I was quickly told that it had been cancelled. And it was pretty understandable why. Some wild weather was about - light rain and some really strong winds. So out went my plans for my big training day - and by the looks of it, I wasn't the only one. There were a few hardy souls who we're still heading out into the water, but the idea of chugging back sea water for an hour wasn't doing much for me. So reluctantly, I had to go to Plan B - though it was very tempting to just go back to bed, there is nothing like having your training plans go awry - very frustrating!
So I headed down to the pool and did my 3.5km there - not the same as the test run the open water swim would have done for me, but I still wanted to do my pseudo 'Half Ironman' hit out. I timed my swim for one of the few times, and I am little surprised how slow my swimming still appears to be. I did the 3.5km in 1hr6min, which probably isn't too bad, but I definitely seem to be a slower swimmer than I was when I first left NZ. I'm not sure whether it is a technique problem or just my stroke rate? Not much I can do about it now, but in retrospect I could have focused a bit more on technique in my training.
Getting back home, the weather was still pretty wild and the prospect of getting on the bike wasn't very appealing. But I knew I had to, so I saddled up and headed out. The wind was pretty crazy, and head-on it was difficult to just keep the speedo above 20kph. It ended up taking 3hr20min to complete the 90km, which is a little slow, but with the wind the way it was, I can't reflect on that too much.
Typically, with what would have been perfect running conditions, no sooner had I headed out to pound the pavement did the weather calm down, the skies open up and it was hot and sunny. Nevertheless, I actually felt very good during the whole run and it was the most encouraging aspect of the whole day. I ended up completing the half marathon distance (21.1km) is 1hr50min, which I am very happy about. I ran at a pace I felt comfortable and easily could have kept going. I can't see myself running a sub-4hr marathon in the Ironman - but I'm feeling a lot better about what will be toughest part of the race. On the run I also trialed out eating potato crisps and pretzels, as these will be available at the aid stations and are suppose to be good for getting your salt levels up (to avoid dehydration). I certainly got some weird looks running along the road popping chippies in the mouth or with a pretzel stick hanging out my mouth like a cigar. But they seemed to go down OK, so that is another tick for the preparations.
What didn't go so well was the trying out of the all important night-before dinner. I have been wanting to try something else other than the usual pasta - as it can often make you feel a bit stuffed the night before. I found a recipe for a Rice Pilau with spinach, spring onions and herbs and thought it could be a good replacement. But it turns out that it didn't work at all. I was very bloated all day and was getting plenty of turbo blasts from the 'back engine'. So back to the drawing board on that one, and I might have to revert to the tried-and-true pasta dish.
So only one more week of full-on training before the two week taper - and man am I looking forward to that! I'm definitely suffering a little from training fatigue at the moment, and tiredness is my ever present companion. So if I can just get through this week - which won't be as tough as the previous two - I can then start looking forward to the big day.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
The Ponsonby Cafe Files: Richmond Rd Cafe
With the prospect of "Pub Watch" reviews short in supply back in NZ, I'm starting a new series on the superb cafes around Ponsonby - all within walking distance of our place.
The first entry suitable goes to the Metro 2007 Best Cafe winner, Richmond Rd Cafe. From their October edition:
"Cafe is a study in contemporary urban chic, with sharply modernist décor, attentive service, lots of magazines (all of them glossy), a big balcony and a leafy, picture-window outlook. The food and coffee are superb. With close-packed tables and all that über-cool."
And it certainly lived up to its reputation, being one of the best cafe brunches we have ever had. The flat whites were strong and delicious and it too some restraint to order another straight after the last gulp. Anna ordered the bianci di spagna beans, with chorizo on sour dough, and I the breakfast grill, which came with no less than 2 poached eggs on toast, 2 rashers of bacon, 5 mushrooms, 6 tomatoes, a kumara rosti and 2 large pieces of the most delicious black pudding I've tasted (Jabs - this was up there with the black pudding at Gleneagles). In fact, all the servings we saw come out were nice and large, something that can be of a rare quality at many cafes.
It was so good, it is going to be difficult to continue this series as we will want go back there each time!
With the prospect of "Pub Watch" reviews short in supply back in NZ, I'm starting a new series on the superb cafes around Ponsonby - all within walking distance of our place.
The first entry suitable goes to the Metro 2007 Best Cafe winner, Richmond Rd Cafe. From their October edition:"Cafe is a study in contemporary urban chic, with sharply modernist décor, attentive service, lots of magazines (all of them glossy), a big balcony and a leafy, picture-window outlook. The food and coffee are superb. With close-packed tables and all that über-cool."
And it certainly lived up to its reputation, being one of the best cafe brunches we have ever had. The flat whites were strong and delicious and it too some restraint to order another straight after the last gulp. Anna ordered the bianci di spagna beans, with chorizo on sour dough, and I the breakfast grill, which came with no less than 2 poached eggs on toast, 2 rashers of bacon, 5 mushrooms, 6 tomatoes, a kumara rosti and 2 large pieces of the most delicious black pudding I've tasted (Jabs - this was up there with the black pudding at Gleneagles). In fact, all the servings we saw come out were nice and large, something that can be of a rare quality at many cafes.
It was so good, it is going to be difficult to continue this series as we will want go back there each time!
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Waitangi Day at the Hockey
Leaving the 7s to the debauchery and the T20 to the farce that was Eden Park, I decided to do my bit for minority sport in NZ and went along to the Men's Hockey Olympic Qualifying Tournament that is on this week on the North Shore. The 'Black Sticks' are competing with five other teams for the last spot at the Beijing Olympics.
On a scorching day, Rate & Tom joined me in the stands as we cheered on NZ against Argentina, the two top ranked teams in tournament, and at that stage the only two unbeaten teams. Unfortunately our patronage was not enough as the Argentineans were worthy victors 3-1. NZ are still likely to play them again in the final on Sunday, but they will have a lot of work to do if they are to get the better of the 7th-ranked team in the world (NZ are 10th).
We stayed on to watch the Ireland play USA afterwards, and though the quality wasn't the same, there were plenty of goals to see. All one-sided though, as the Paddy's trounced the Yanks 8-0.
Was an enjoyable (and different) way to spend the afternoon, the hockey is fast and surprisingly physical. Though I didn't see anyone employing the one-handed hit and sprint used so effectively by myself in my one season of 6-a-side hockey a few years ago - strange that. Men's hockey also seems notable for being somewhat popular with an array of rather attractive young ladies, so even more reason to go in the future. Of course, I just go for the sport....
Leaving the 7s to the debauchery and the T20 to the farce that was Eden Park, I decided to do my bit for minority sport in NZ and went along to the Men's Hockey Olympic Qualifying Tournament that is on this week on the North Shore. The 'Black Sticks' are competing with five other teams for the last spot at the Beijing Olympics.On a scorching day, Rate & Tom joined me in the stands as we cheered on NZ against Argentina, the two top ranked teams in tournament, and at that stage the only two unbeaten teams. Unfortunately our patronage was not enough as the Argentineans were worthy victors 3-1. NZ are still likely to play them again in the final on Sunday, but they will have a lot of work to do if they are to get the better of the 7th-ranked team in the world (NZ are 10th).
We stayed on to watch the Ireland play USA afterwards, and though the quality wasn't the same, there were plenty of goals to see. All one-sided though, as the Paddy's trounced the Yanks 8-0.
Was an enjoyable (and different) way to spend the afternoon, the hockey is fast and surprisingly physical. Though I didn't see anyone employing the one-handed hit and sprint used so effectively by myself in my one season of 6-a-side hockey a few years ago - strange that. Men's hockey also seems notable for being somewhat popular with an array of rather attractive young ladies, so even more reason to go in the future. Of course, I just go for the sport....
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Week minus 4: Encouraging
Another big week of training and I feel pretty good at the end of it. Though I had another episode which nearly saw me not here at all. It was at the end of my Wednesday ride, where I was doing my good citizen bit and waiting for a green light, which when eventually got, I was nearly taken out by some stupid blond bimbo who must have gone through the red light from about 20 metres back. I was just lucky that I heard the swerve of the tyres and was able to kick the breaks and twist my wheel, without that the only Ironman I might have been doing might have been that bolting my body back together.
Fortunately I survived and was able to head out the next morning for my long run - which I have now stretched out to 3 hours. Probably felt the best I have yet on these long runs, and even included a couple of hills into the run for good measure. My dilemma now is whether to extend the long run...longer. I have read advise that you don't need to run more than 3 hours in training, as the benefits for your fitness probably isn't worth the strain you put on your body. However, when I trained for the Edinburgh Marathon I included a 3hr 30min training run and I am tempted to do the same now. I've got a shorter long run planned for this week, so I've got a week or so to think about that one.
Saturday I had to go out for the combo training session early as the tides were against me. But that made for a beautiful swim at around 7am with the sea was near dead flat. Just a shorter combo session this week, with a 40min swim, 1hr 30min bike, and 45min run. But encouragingly, the whole session felt really comfortable and I could have easily kept going at the end of it.
Sunday was another long ride - this time I planned on riding the full 180kms. My second 6am wake up of the weekend and I was out on the bike before 7am. I was also using this ride to trial my eating plan for the Ironman. The bike is considered a "rolling buffet", where you try to get into your body as much carbohydrates as possible. Based upon my weight, that's suppose to be around 450 grams, which I have tried to fill with the following menu:
4 x bottles of carbo/hydration sports drink
2 x bottles of water (minimum)
3 x powerbar gels
2 x powerbars (resemble chewing cardboard - yum!)
2 x muesli bars
1 x banana
2 x vegemite sandwichs (which might sound strange, but the vegemite is a good source of sodium - for hydration - and the savoury flavour is great amongst all the sweetness)
It works out that I have to eat something every 30 minutes and it is quite a stomachful. A few times I didn't really feel like eating, but it will be important that I load up for the marathon that will follow. The drink is the difficult part to replicate in training, as I have to find somewhere to refill my bottles. I am now pretty well educated on the proportion of properties that have taps at the front of their houses (not enough), and when they do, the proportion that have hoses attached (too many).
Along with battling the "rolling buffet" bulging out of my pockets, I also had my first run-in with the weather. Incredibly, for the first time in all this training - and this harks all the way back to November - I was rained on. It was probably only for an hour, but it did make the point to me that I will need to be prepared if this eventuates at Taupo, as it won't be as warm as it is in Auckland. I also found out that my bike computer doesn't seem to like the rain any more, as it went a little haywire. At first, it shut off completely, though after five minutes or so the speed reading started again - though jumped around from time to time. More concerning was that my cadence reading (my pedal revolutions) didn't work for around an hour. The cadence reading is quite important to me as I use it to help me select the appropriate gearing (especially on hills) and to monitor the effort I am putting in. I was worried that my computer was broken completely, so it was with relief that speeding down a steep hill at a clip under 80kph must have either dried it out or jolted it back into work. But I'm going to get a new battery for it anyway, just in case.
Apart from all these distractions, I ended up completing my big ride - though I can't say comfortably, the body was again pretty sore at the end. But I racked up 185km, and when I got home I quickly popped on the running shoes for 15 minute jog. I was surprised that my legs coped with this reasonably well and, except for a nasty steep street, I again felt pretty good.
So onwards and upwards for the last 4 weeks of training. This week again has another test at the end of it - I am entered in a 3.5km ocean swim, which I am going to use as a quasi Half Ironman, by going for a 90km ride and a half marathon run straight after it. I'll let you know how it went next week.
Another big week of training and I feel pretty good at the end of it. Though I had another episode which nearly saw me not here at all. It was at the end of my Wednesday ride, where I was doing my good citizen bit and waiting for a green light, which when eventually got, I was nearly taken out by some stupid blond bimbo who must have gone through the red light from about 20 metres back. I was just lucky that I heard the swerve of the tyres and was able to kick the breaks and twist my wheel, without that the only Ironman I might have been doing might have been that bolting my body back together.
Fortunately I survived and was able to head out the next morning for my long run - which I have now stretched out to 3 hours. Probably felt the best I have yet on these long runs, and even included a couple of hills into the run for good measure. My dilemma now is whether to extend the long run...longer. I have read advise that you don't need to run more than 3 hours in training, as the benefits for your fitness probably isn't worth the strain you put on your body. However, when I trained for the Edinburgh Marathon I included a 3hr 30min training run and I am tempted to do the same now. I've got a shorter long run planned for this week, so I've got a week or so to think about that one.
Saturday I had to go out for the combo training session early as the tides were against me. But that made for a beautiful swim at around 7am with the sea was near dead flat. Just a shorter combo session this week, with a 40min swim, 1hr 30min bike, and 45min run. But encouragingly, the whole session felt really comfortable and I could have easily kept going at the end of it.
Sunday was another long ride - this time I planned on riding the full 180kms. My second 6am wake up of the weekend and I was out on the bike before 7am. I was also using this ride to trial my eating plan for the Ironman. The bike is considered a "rolling buffet", where you try to get into your body as much carbohydrates as possible. Based upon my weight, that's suppose to be around 450 grams, which I have tried to fill with the following menu:
4 x bottles of carbo/hydration sports drink
2 x bottles of water (minimum)
3 x powerbar gels
2 x powerbars (resemble chewing cardboard - yum!)
2 x muesli bars
1 x banana
2 x vegemite sandwichs (which might sound strange, but the vegemite is a good source of sodium - for hydration - and the savoury flavour is great amongst all the sweetness)
It works out that I have to eat something every 30 minutes and it is quite a stomachful. A few times I didn't really feel like eating, but it will be important that I load up for the marathon that will follow. The drink is the difficult part to replicate in training, as I have to find somewhere to refill my bottles. I am now pretty well educated on the proportion of properties that have taps at the front of their houses (not enough), and when they do, the proportion that have hoses attached (too many).
Along with battling the "rolling buffet" bulging out of my pockets, I also had my first run-in with the weather. Incredibly, for the first time in all this training - and this harks all the way back to November - I was rained on. It was probably only for an hour, but it did make the point to me that I will need to be prepared if this eventuates at Taupo, as it won't be as warm as it is in Auckland. I also found out that my bike computer doesn't seem to like the rain any more, as it went a little haywire. At first, it shut off completely, though after five minutes or so the speed reading started again - though jumped around from time to time. More concerning was that my cadence reading (my pedal revolutions) didn't work for around an hour. The cadence reading is quite important to me as I use it to help me select the appropriate gearing (especially on hills) and to monitor the effort I am putting in. I was worried that my computer was broken completely, so it was with relief that speeding down a steep hill at a clip under 80kph must have either dried it out or jolted it back into work. But I'm going to get a new battery for it anyway, just in case.
Apart from all these distractions, I ended up completing my big ride - though I can't say comfortably, the body was again pretty sore at the end. But I racked up 185km, and when I got home I quickly popped on the running shoes for 15 minute jog. I was surprised that my legs coped with this reasonably well and, except for a nasty steep street, I again felt pretty good.
So onwards and upwards for the last 4 weeks of training. This week again has another test at the end of it - I am entered in a 3.5km ocean swim, which I am going to use as a quasi Half Ironman, by going for a 90km ride and a half marathon run straight after it. I'll let you know how it went next week.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wellington Trip - Xmas, New Years, and Roger & Anna's Wedding
Just to let you know that I've added a new album to my Web Album for our trip down to Wellington last month. Beware though, there are some scary people in some of those pics.
Don
http://picasaweb.google.com/sampossenniskie/WgtnXmasNYsRogerAnnaSWedding
Just to let you know that I've added a new album to my Web Album for our trip down to Wellington last month. Beware though, there are some scary people in some of those pics.
Don
http://picasaweb.google.com/sampossenniskie/WgtnXmasNYsRogerAnnaSWedding
Monday, January 28, 2008
Tawharanui Regional Park
I already mentioned that Tawharanui and how we stopped off there on the way back from the weekend up at Mangawhai. Though we didn't have time to explore the park, the Anchor Bay beach there was brilliant and we will certainly be going back again, being not much more than an hour away. The waves were good, perfect for some body surfing - though there were plenty of surfers as well.
I'll just let the pictures tell the story on this one....
I already mentioned that Tawharanui and how we stopped off there on the way back from the weekend up at Mangawhai. Though we didn't have time to explore the park, the Anchor Bay beach there was brilliant and we will certainly be going back again, being not much more than an hour away. The waves were good, perfect for some body surfing - though there were plenty of surfers as well.
I'll just let the pictures tell the story on this one....
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Week minus 5: Testing
A big training week this one, with over 18 hours of training. The result...I'm bloody knackered!!
All made harder over the past couple of weeks by the number of distractions that have been about. Along with Brad & Sharon being up this way, James & Petra (from South America travelling companion fame) also arrived on these shores and stayed with us for the week.
Of course the 'distractions' are always self-inflicted. With Stu also up on Wednesday, we showed James & Petra the best pub in New Zealand (aka Galbraiths), but the six pints I decided to consume that night would, I'm sure, be missing from most IM training schedules. Needless to say, Thursday morning I was not quite up to heading out for my long run and this had to be pushed back to the evening.
But considering all the distractions (which are welcome of course), I still managed to put in a good week. The length of all the long training sessions have gone up - with a 3.5km swim, a 6-hour bike, and a 2.45 run. I also did make some sacrifices. While everybody headed up to Mangawhai on Saturday morning, I stayed behind to head out for my S/B/R combo training session. This was a 1 hour swim, a 2.30 bike, and a 1 hour run. That is my longest sea swim ever, and if I thought staring down at a black line for an hour was boring, staring down at a green nothing is even more so - and after an hour, damn those goggles really start to hurt. And because of the lateness of the high tide this weekend, by the time I headed out on the run it was in the heat of the day - so was a pretty tough session, but a successful one.
With everybody having fun up north on Saturday night, I contented myself with eating half a lasagne before getting up early (6am) on Sunday morning and heading out for my 6-hour ride (the longest time I have ever been on a bike). Another beautiful day, though it took a while for the legs to loosen up after the tough session the day before. Even though I felt pretty good, towards the end of the ride the body starts feeling pretty sore. It isn't easy making myself drop back down on to the aerobars when my back and neck ache and I'm starting to get a headache from being in the aero position. But it is one of those things you have to do as it does save a considerable amount of energy and/or time. It is also pretty hard to maintain concentration, and after riding 165kms and only 10 minutes from home, I only just managed to avoid some idiot going through a red light (and the previous night's lasagne ending up in the back of my pants)!
Eventually making it home safely, I then drove the measly 110kms up to Mangawhai to join the others for a bit of R&R - though a tip if any of you do find yourself in training for an Ironman, camping is not very restful! Nevertheless, with having the next day off - both in terms of work and training, it was Auckland Anniversary - it was good to be able to have a few drinks and catch up with Brad & Sharon, and James & Petra, who I haven't been able to see as much as I would have liked to. On the way back down to Auckland the next day we also stopped off at an awesome beach at Tawharanui Regional Park for some great body surfing.
The training schedule is pretty much the same again this week, so no rest for the wicked. I keep getting asked if I am target - but, to be honest, I've got no idea. I'm probably (I am!) well behind most, but hopefully I will be getting to some sort of peak fitness in 5 weeks time without my body wont be feeling too tired. It's hard imagining running a marathon after being on the bike for six hours, it is all a bit of an unknown. But that is what the training is suppose to do, so I try to just focus on the week ahead.
A big training week this one, with over 18 hours of training. The result...I'm bloody knackered!!
All made harder over the past couple of weeks by the number of distractions that have been about. Along with Brad & Sharon being up this way, James & Petra (from South America travelling companion fame) also arrived on these shores and stayed with us for the week.
Of course the 'distractions' are always self-inflicted. With Stu also up on Wednesday, we showed James & Petra the best pub in New Zealand (aka Galbraiths), but the six pints I decided to consume that night would, I'm sure, be missing from most IM training schedules. Needless to say, Thursday morning I was not quite up to heading out for my long run and this had to be pushed back to the evening.
But considering all the distractions (which are welcome of course), I still managed to put in a good week. The length of all the long training sessions have gone up - with a 3.5km swim, a 6-hour bike, and a 2.45 run. I also did make some sacrifices. While everybody headed up to Mangawhai on Saturday morning, I stayed behind to head out for my S/B/R combo training session. This was a 1 hour swim, a 2.30 bike, and a 1 hour run. That is my longest sea swim ever, and if I thought staring down at a black line for an hour was boring, staring down at a green nothing is even more so - and after an hour, damn those goggles really start to hurt. And because of the lateness of the high tide this weekend, by the time I headed out on the run it was in the heat of the day - so was a pretty tough session, but a successful one.
With everybody having fun up north on Saturday night, I contented myself with eating half a lasagne before getting up early (6am) on Sunday morning and heading out for my 6-hour ride (the longest time I have ever been on a bike). Another beautiful day, though it took a while for the legs to loosen up after the tough session the day before. Even though I felt pretty good, towards the end of the ride the body starts feeling pretty sore. It isn't easy making myself drop back down on to the aerobars when my back and neck ache and I'm starting to get a headache from being in the aero position. But it is one of those things you have to do as it does save a considerable amount of energy and/or time. It is also pretty hard to maintain concentration, and after riding 165kms and only 10 minutes from home, I only just managed to avoid some idiot going through a red light (and the previous night's lasagne ending up in the back of my pants)!
Eventually making it home safely, I then drove the measly 110kms up to Mangawhai to join the others for a bit of R&R - though a tip if any of you do find yourself in training for an Ironman, camping is not very restful! Nevertheless, with having the next day off - both in terms of work and training, it was Auckland Anniversary - it was good to be able to have a few drinks and catch up with Brad & Sharon, and James & Petra, who I haven't been able to see as much as I would have liked to. On the way back down to Auckland the next day we also stopped off at an awesome beach at Tawharanui Regional Park for some great body surfing.
The training schedule is pretty much the same again this week, so no rest for the wicked. I keep getting asked if I am target - but, to be honest, I've got no idea. I'm probably (I am!) well behind most, but hopefully I will be getting to some sort of peak fitness in 5 weeks time without my body wont be feeling too tired. It's hard imagining running a marathon after being on the bike for six hours, it is all a bit of an unknown. But that is what the training is suppose to do, so I try to just focus on the week ahead.
Monday, January 21, 2008
The Bumblebee
Well, here it is, the new member of the Possenniskie family....
It handles really well, is great for finding parks others can't get into, and is really economical - we got from Wellington to Auckland on one tank.
We've had it for a few weeks now and Anna really loves it (I've been permitted to drive it a couple of times). It is small, but you'd be surprised what we have been able to fit in it. Even my bike is an inch perfect squeeze into the back with the seats down. And having a 5-foot 2-inch munchkin in the drivers seats helps to fit those long-legged of you in the back. And in desperate times, there is even room for another munchkin in the boot....
Well, here it is, the new member of the Possenniskie family....
It handles really well, is great for finding parks others can't get into, and is really economical - we got from Wellington to Auckland on one tank.We've had it for a few weeks now and Anna really loves it (I've been permitted to drive it a couple of times). It is small, but you'd be surprised what we have been able to fit in it. Even my bike is an inch perfect squeeze into the back with the seats down. And having a 5-foot 2-inch munchkin in the drivers seats helps to fit those long-legged of you in the back. And in desperate times, there is even room for another munchkin in the boot....
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Week minus 6: A milestone
Yesterday was a small milestone in my race to get ready for the Ironman (in less than 6 weeks now) - when I competed in a Standard Triathlon around Mission Bay. I was little concerned a couple days earlier when the remnants of a tropical cyclone was due to hit Auckland the same day, but it held off long enough so that it was perfect conditions for the race. Also, with plenty of visitors for the weekend, I am guessing that I would have been one of few competitors that had gone out on Friday night and doubled that up with a late BBQ the night before.
Nevertheless, I pulled myself out of bed 5.30am Sunday morning (I know - early!) and biked my way round to Mission Bay to register, giving Anna a few more minutes sleep before she came down with the rest of my gear. Squeezing into my wet suit for a quick warm up - and I mean warm, the sea was like tepid bath water - I readied myself for the start.
It has been a long time since my last triathlon, and the start was like a washing machine, with everybody jostling for position up to the first mark. I left most of them to it, as I wasn't really racing but using it as training for the Ironman. The swim course is three loops around a 500m triangle course, and it wasn't really until the second lap that you could have some comfortable space. I finally settled into a steady pace where I didn't need to push myself,
but I was continually frustrated by the direction of my swimming. I was noticeably pulling myself right, adding considerable distance to the swim (that's my swimming line in the black). I estimate that I probably added another 100-to-200m to the 1500m swim. This is something I will have to work on for the Ironman, as the 3.8km swim will be more than enough already.
but I was continually frustrated by the direction of my swimming. I was noticeably pulling myself right, adding considerable distance to the swim (that's my swimming line in the black). I estimate that I probably added another 100-to-200m to the 1500m swim. This is something I will have to work on for the Ironman, as the 3.8km swim will be more than enough already.So not only did this mean that the swim took a fair bit longer than it really should have, it also meant that I exited the water towards the back of the field. Coupled with the fact that I wasn't racing through transition, by the time I got onto the bike course I had missed all the good bike groups. So I found myself riding most of the course by myself, or with some vultures hanging off the back of me. But this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as in the Ironman you are not allowed draft and will be biking by yourself anyway (as opposed to these events where you can). And I still managed to go around the 40km course in pretty good time, all to the calls of support from Anna and Angela from their table at a Mission Bay cafe
Having probably pushed myself a little too hard on the bike, and still annoyed by my swim, I charged out on the 10km run course and still felt pretty good. I managed to keep an OK pace but would have liked to have run a bit quicker and slowed a little on the second 5kms. At the finish I still felt pretty good, which is encouraging for the Ironman. My time of 2hr24min was slower than my other time on this same course of 2hr18min (and I ran that time with quite bad blisters), giving you some idea of my current state of fitness. But this was all about treating it as a training session, and it certainly had some value in that. For the record, my split times were:
Swim (1500m): 28min
Having probably pushed myself a little too hard on the bike, and still annoyed by my swim, I charged out on the 10km run course and still felt pretty good. I managed to keep an OK pace but would have liked to have run a bit quicker and slowed a little on the second 5kms. At the finish I still felt pretty good, which is encouraging for the Ironman. My time of 2hr24min was slower than my other time on this same course of 2hr18min (and I ran that time with quite bad blisters), giving you some idea of my current state of fitness. But this was all about treating it as a training session, and it certainly had some value in that. For the record, my split times were:
Swim (1500m): 28min
T1: 2min
Bike (40km): 1.05
T2: 1min
Run (10km): 47min
The rest of the my training in the week went well - though because of the triathlon it was a lighter week than normal (as I didn't go out on my Sunday long ride). Encouragingly though, my long run (2hr30min) on Thursday went much better than the week before. I went out in the morning this week and it made quite a bit of difference, not being as hot and not feeling as tired at the end of the day.
Back to normal for this week, though with some more distractions (though, I wouldn't have it any other way). Hopefully this storm doesn't hang around for too long and we get back to the perfect weather.
The rest of the my training in the week went well - though because of the triathlon it was a lighter week than normal (as I didn't go out on my Sunday long ride). Encouragingly though, my long run (2hr30min) on Thursday went much better than the week before. I went out in the morning this week and it made quite a bit of difference, not being as hot and not feeling as tired at the end of the day.
Back to normal for this week, though with some more distractions (though, I wouldn't have it any other way). Hopefully this storm doesn't hang around for too long and we get back to the perfect weather.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Tiritiri Matangi
With Brad and Sharon up for the weekend, we wanted to showcase them some of what Auckland's got to offer. So on a sunny and hot (it got to 29 degrees) Rae, Tom, Anna and I took them out to the island of Tiritiri Matangi out on the Hauraki Gulf. 'Tiri' has been turned into a bird sanctuary, home to some of New Zealand's most endangered species - such as the Little Spotted Kiwi, the Kokako, North Island Saddlebacks, and the very endangered Takehe - along with other natives.
The small island is just a short boat ride from Gulf Harbour and we set out there on Saturday morning with picnic in tow. We decided to let the crowds disperse themselves around the island and settled down at a brilliant beach not far from the wharf. It was here that we were joined by Greg. Greg is one of 11 Takehes that reside at Tiri and he was a very noisy bloke. So much so, that though there are less than 300 in New Zealand, there was nearly one less, as Greg wouldn't leave us alone to eat our lunch.
After a cooling off swim, we ventured into the island for a bit of a walk. Walking over and through the other side of the island, we pretty much had the place to ourselves - besides the numerous tui's, saddlebacks, fantails, robins, and others. The sounds of the birds in the native bush - especially that of the tui's - was awesome, as were the views around the Hauraki Gulf. We returned to the beach for a much needed dip before one last walk where we saw the two-month old Takahe chick that recently hatched on the island. The only shame about the day was that we had to return on the 3.30pm boat, as we could have easily stayed longer.
With Brad and Sharon up for the weekend, we wanted to showcase them some of what Auckland's got to offer. So on a sunny and hot (it got to 29 degrees) Rae, Tom, Anna and I took them out to the island of Tiritiri Matangi out on the Hauraki Gulf. 'Tiri' has been turned into a bird sanctuary, home to some of New Zealand's most endangered species - such as the Little Spotted Kiwi, the Kokako, North Island Saddlebacks, and the very endangered Takehe - along with other natives.
The small island is just a short boat ride from Gulf Harbour and we set out there on Saturday morning with picnic in tow. We decided to let the crowds disperse themselves around the island and settled down at a brilliant beach not far from the wharf. It was here that we were joined by Greg. Greg is one of 11 Takehes that reside at Tiri and he was a very noisy bloke. So much so, that though there are less than 300 in New Zealand, there was nearly one less, as Greg wouldn't leave us alone to eat our lunch.
After a cooling off swim, we ventured into the island for a bit of a walk. Walking over and through the other side of the island, we pretty much had the place to ourselves - besides the numerous tui's, saddlebacks, fantails, robins, and others. The sounds of the birds in the native bush - especially that of the tui's - was awesome, as were the views around the Hauraki Gulf. We returned to the beach for a much needed dip before one last walk where we saw the two-month old Takahe chick that recently hatched on the island. The only shame about the day was that we had to return on the 3.30pm boat, as we could have easily stayed longer.
Auckland, the best city...
...on this blog. Thus begins a new series looking at everything Dorkland has to offer and why it is this blog's favourite city in New Zealand. Against Dunedin's cold, I give Auckland's warmth; against Christchurch's homogeneity, I pitch Auckland's multiculturalism; against Wellington's centricity, I herald Auckland's diversity; and against Hamilton's....OK, we don't need to worry about Hamilton.
Tongue in cheek, yes; but also a showcase for why I prefer to make this city my home. Read at your peril....
...on this blog. Thus begins a new series looking at everything Dorkland has to offer and why it is this blog's favourite city in New Zealand. Against Dunedin's cold, I give Auckland's warmth; against Christchurch's homogeneity, I pitch Auckland's multiculturalism; against Wellington's centricity, I herald Auckland's diversity; and against Hamilton's....OK, we don't need to worry about Hamilton.
Tongue in cheek, yes; but also a showcase for why I prefer to make this city my home. Read at your peril....
Friday, January 18, 2008
The South America Albums
I've finally been able to go through all our photos (around 3500 of them!) and update the web albums for the trip. I've had a hell of a time, as one of the DVDs we had written got scratched and we seem to have lost 50 photos and 1 video - which doesn't sound too bad, but it is the one video I didn't want to lose, of the Blue Whale.
Nevertheless, as you will see there are still plenty of other photos....
http://picasaweb.google.com/sampossenniskie
I've finally been able to go through all our photos (around 3500 of them!) and update the web albums for the trip. I've had a hell of a time, as one of the DVDs we had written got scratched and we seem to have lost 50 photos and 1 video - which doesn't sound too bad, but it is the one video I didn't want to lose, of the Blue Whale.
Nevertheless, as you will see there are still plenty of other photos....
http://picasaweb.google.com/sampossenniskie
Friday, January 11, 2008
Week minus 7: 'A beginning'
My first week of 'real' training has been a bit of a shock to the system. Which was a little surprisingly, as I effectively had a 3 day rest - with Roger & Anna’s wedding and then driving back up to Auckland? But my legs have been decidedly heavy and tired at the start of the week, but encouragingly got better later in the week – bizarrely, as my training sessions got harder.
To give you an idea of my training plan, this was my week….
Monday: The ‘short’ swim, involving descending sets - 3 x 200m, 6 x 100m, 12 x 50m - swum at increasingly quicker rates. Stupidly, I got my target split times wrong and ended up swimming a lot harder than I meant to - which might explain some of the tiredness in my legs.
Tuesday: The ‘short’ run, intervals again whereby I run three 8 minute spurts at a hard pace with (much welcome) 2 minute jogs in between.
Wednesday: The ‘long’ swim, which was 3 x 1000m sets. Also my ‘short’ bike, which is a 50km circuit I use that includes some climbs (impossible to avoid around Auckland) around the hills and One Tree Hill and Mt Eden (nice to have some views to take my mind off it all).
Thursday: This was my nadir for the week, the ‘long’ run. It was only for 2hr15min, but it was a struggle the whole way. The legs felt like they were filled with lead the whole way and I couldn’t get any rhythm. I am running my long runs quite slowly, as I read that this is better training for an Ironman. There is the obvious reason - that after a 3.8km swim and a 180km bike, you won’t be running very fast anyway! But, also, by running slowly you actually take more strides than you would if you ran a quicker pace. This increase in strides does more for hardening the body for what it will undergo on race day – and I think this is important for Ironman training, the purpose being more to prepare the body for the physical hammering it will take, than to work on fitness. But running slowly is very difficult and I was certainly feeling it in my legs (though I since calculated that I was still running at around 4 hour marathon pace). It also didn’t help that it was an absolutely stunning evening, and I was very jealous of all the people picnicking and swimming around the Eastern Bays.
Friday: Day off – yay!
Saturday: My first combo session – swim, bike, run. Anna drives me, the wetsuit and the bike down to the Eastern Bays where she gets a coffee and reads a magazine as I go for a sea swim – this week for 40 minutes. It’s always nice to get out of the lanes and not have to flip every 50 metres, and the water is very warm at the moment. Coming out of the water, I jump onto the bike and go for a 1hr30min ride. When I reach home, I then chuck on the running shoes and head out for a 50 minute run. Being the first time I had done this for some time, it felt very weird – like I was running on some else’s legs (and I probably wish I was). It took about 5 to 10 minutes before running felt anywhere normal. It also wasn’t helped by the fact that was damn hot. But at the end of it, though I felt tired, I also felt like it was a good overall session.
Sunday: Is my ‘long’ bike day, where I biked 135km. I took my favourite loop out east around Clevedon and Maraetai – past the now ‘infamous’ Caribbean/Thai coast. It was another stunningly hot day, which made it thirsty work on the bike, but a very enjoyable ride – apart from where I couldn’t find a tap to refill my water bottles. The riding feels pretty comfortable, so it is all about trying to get the body used to riding in the aero-bar position as much possible.
And so it starts again. This week is a bit different though, as I am competing in a standard triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) on Sunday around Mission Bay. A good opportunity to go through the disciplines in race conditions, though I won’t be worried about my times, especially in transition. I’ll let you know how it went next week.
My first week of 'real' training has been a bit of a shock to the system. Which was a little surprisingly, as I effectively had a 3 day rest - with Roger & Anna’s wedding and then driving back up to Auckland? But my legs have been decidedly heavy and tired at the start of the week, but encouragingly got better later in the week – bizarrely, as my training sessions got harder.
To give you an idea of my training plan, this was my week….
Monday: The ‘short’ swim, involving descending sets - 3 x 200m, 6 x 100m, 12 x 50m - swum at increasingly quicker rates. Stupidly, I got my target split times wrong and ended up swimming a lot harder than I meant to - which might explain some of the tiredness in my legs.
Tuesday: The ‘short’ run, intervals again whereby I run three 8 minute spurts at a hard pace with (much welcome) 2 minute jogs in between.
Wednesday: The ‘long’ swim, which was 3 x 1000m sets. Also my ‘short’ bike, which is a 50km circuit I use that includes some climbs (impossible to avoid around Auckland) around the hills and One Tree Hill and Mt Eden (nice to have some views to take my mind off it all).
Thursday: This was my nadir for the week, the ‘long’ run. It was only for 2hr15min, but it was a struggle the whole way. The legs felt like they were filled with lead the whole way and I couldn’t get any rhythm. I am running my long runs quite slowly, as I read that this is better training for an Ironman. There is the obvious reason - that after a 3.8km swim and a 180km bike, you won’t be running very fast anyway! But, also, by running slowly you actually take more strides than you would if you ran a quicker pace. This increase in strides does more for hardening the body for what it will undergo on race day – and I think this is important for Ironman training, the purpose being more to prepare the body for the physical hammering it will take, than to work on fitness. But running slowly is very difficult and I was certainly feeling it in my legs (though I since calculated that I was still running at around 4 hour marathon pace). It also didn’t help that it was an absolutely stunning evening, and I was very jealous of all the people picnicking and swimming around the Eastern Bays.
Friday: Day off – yay!
Saturday: My first combo session – swim, bike, run. Anna drives me, the wetsuit and the bike down to the Eastern Bays where she gets a coffee and reads a magazine as I go for a sea swim – this week for 40 minutes. It’s always nice to get out of the lanes and not have to flip every 50 metres, and the water is very warm at the moment. Coming out of the water, I jump onto the bike and go for a 1hr30min ride. When I reach home, I then chuck on the running shoes and head out for a 50 minute run. Being the first time I had done this for some time, it felt very weird – like I was running on some else’s legs (and I probably wish I was). It took about 5 to 10 minutes before running felt anywhere normal. It also wasn’t helped by the fact that was damn hot. But at the end of it, though I felt tired, I also felt like it was a good overall session.
Sunday: Is my ‘long’ bike day, where I biked 135km. I took my favourite loop out east around Clevedon and Maraetai – past the now ‘infamous’ Caribbean/Thai coast. It was another stunningly hot day, which made it thirsty work on the bike, but a very enjoyable ride – apart from where I couldn’t find a tap to refill my water bottles. The riding feels pretty comfortable, so it is all about trying to get the body used to riding in the aero-bar position as much possible.
And so it starts again. This week is a bit different though, as I am competing in a standard triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) on Sunday around Mission Bay. A good opportunity to go through the disciplines in race conditions, though I won’t be worried about my times, especially in transition. I’ll let you know how it went next week.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
8 weeks and counting....
The countdown to the Ironman has really started, being less than 8 weeks away now. Spending the previous two weeks down in Wellington probably wasn't great in terms of preparation - far far too much drinking and eating (and hangovers) - though I did get the chance to concentrate on my running and am now up to comfortably managing two-and-a-half hour runs (as well as 100km+ rides and 3km+ swims).
To remind you of the challenge/stupity that is ahead of me for the 1st of March....
> Swim 3.8km
> Bike 180km
> Run 42km (marathon)
But now the training plan starts for real.
I like to go for a 'minimalist' training plan, so the weekly target is for a short and a long training session in each of the 3 disciplines, with an additional session combining all three. I will also be competing in a couple of events - a Standard Triathlon at Mission Bay on Jan 20, and a 3.5km Ocean Swim Feb 10.
I will post an update here each week to let you know how I am going.
P.S. For those of you who might be interested in coming up to watch a man ruin himself over the course of 12 hours+, there is room at our accommodation. At the moment, there are beds for two more people and I think there will be room for some blow-up mattresses in the lounge as well. So if you do think you could be interested, let me know (especially if you want the bed!). Obviously I wont be much fun before the event, and the start is pretty early on the Saturday anyway (7am), but I will be on the course for plenty of time during the day (and evening probably) to appreciate any support and will be looking to celebrate (I hope) on Saturday night - albeit from the comfort of a chair.
The countdown to the Ironman has really started, being less than 8 weeks away now. Spending the previous two weeks down in Wellington probably wasn't great in terms of preparation - far far too much drinking and eating (and hangovers) - though I did get the chance to concentrate on my running and am now up to comfortably managing two-and-a-half hour runs (as well as 100km+ rides and 3km+ swims).
To remind you of the challenge/stupity that is ahead of me for the 1st of March....
> Swim 3.8km
> Bike 180km
> Run 42km (marathon)
But now the training plan starts for real.
I like to go for a 'minimalist' training plan, so the weekly target is for a short and a long training session in each of the 3 disciplines, with an additional session combining all three. I will also be competing in a couple of events - a Standard Triathlon at Mission Bay on Jan 20, and a 3.5km Ocean Swim Feb 10.
I will post an update here each week to let you know how I am going.
P.S. For those of you who might be interested in coming up to watch a man ruin himself over the course of 12 hours+, there is room at our accommodation. At the moment, there are beds for two more people and I think there will be room for some blow-up mattresses in the lounge as well. So if you do think you could be interested, let me know (especially if you want the bed!). Obviously I wont be much fun before the event, and the start is pretty early on the Saturday anyway (7am), but I will be on the course for plenty of time during the day (and evening probably) to appreciate any support and will be looking to celebrate (I hope) on Saturday night - albeit from the comfort of a chair.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The Return of the TongMaster
With such good weather since we have been back, it's no surprise that one of our first purchases has been a brand new spanking BBQ. And it is no rickety Argos cheapo like we got for Rich & Titch's place back in London (though you can't expect much for £50). This is the Broil King Royal 1, somewhat more expensive, but with a lifetime guarantee. Tom & Rae bought the same model (we got a discount for buying two) and we took theirs for a test drive last night, the BK putting on a great spread. I'm looking forward to getting ours up this weekend (moving day tomorrow) and getting that tong-grip back into shape.
With such good weather since we have been back, it's no surprise that one of our first purchases has been a brand new spanking BBQ. And it is no rickety Argos cheapo like we got for Rich & Titch's place back in London (though you can't expect much for £50). This is the Broil King Royal 1, somewhat more expensive, but with a lifetime guarantee. Tom & Rae bought the same model (we got a discount for buying two) and we took theirs for a test drive last night, the BK putting on a great spread. I'm looking forward to getting ours up this weekend (moving day tomorrow) and getting that tong-grip back into shape.
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