A Cheeky Half
The lead up to my last event of the summer - the Tauranga Half Ironman - left a lot to be desired. Some my fault, some not. I was feeling fit enough, after the Auckland Marathon and Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, but my taper was not very successful at all. Too much drinking and too much work. I didn't get any sleep two of the three nights before the event, and the other night I stupidly had more beers than I should have.
So getting up (not "waking up") early on the Saturday morning, I was not feeling prepared or confident. As a result, I rid myself of any target times. Though I did still want to go at least faster than my other Half Ironman time - 5hrs 25mins - also at Tauranga and in fact the first event that got me into triathlons.
Anna was also competing, as part of a team. She was doing the bike leg - 90km. The Tauranga course is pretty much flat, though without drafting was going to be a big ride for Anna. And she was especially worried about not making the 3hrs 30mins cut-off.
The weather was good for the day, though the swim was unfortunately clashing with low tide. It was only when getting ready that someone told we that this would mean a very strong current - they weren't wrong!
The start was the usual fracas, not helped by all of us being squeezed up alongside the wharf to get behind the start line. And then the actual swim was horrendous! The current was ridiculous. The swim was two laps, which bisect boats anchored out in the bay. The boats wouldn't be a problem in normal circumstances. But with the current, you would look up every 12 strokes to find that you were no longer swimming at the buoy , but about to smack in the hull of a boat! So next you would be trying to maneuver your way around this bloody boat, along with 20-odd other swimmers, while all of you are being pulled in the other direction by the current. If you didn't keep moving, you'd find yourself in the matter of seconds ten metres in the other direction. So things would get physical as everybody tried to muscle their way around.
All this resulted in a swim much harder than it should have been. I also had taken on a fair bit of sea water in the swell - but played on my guts for the rest of the day. I ended up making it out of the water in 37mins - which probably isn't too bad considering the conditions and the extra distance that most must have all swum due to the current.
With expectations and confidence low, I was never going to make any effort to race through transition. So I trudged my way through, taking 5 minutes, probably twice as long as most competitors.
My ride was pretty solid and about what I expected - 2hrs 40mins. This put me about mid field. Not too bad considering I'm just using a road bike with clip-on aerobars. It can be pretty satisfying when passing someone on their triathlon-specific bike and disc wheels. My first lap actually had me on for something quicker, but over the last few kms I pulled up a bit to relax a bit before the run. I was impressed that I kept the same gear for the whole ride.
My bike-run transition time is somewhat embarrassing. I'm actually not quite sure how I happened to take nearly 6 minutes - one of the slowest times across the field! Though, I was probably one of the few competitors to put suncream on, and then I realised I had put my socks on the wrong feet just as I was about to put on my second shoe.
I actually felt OK heading out on the run. Though I could sense that I wasn't going to be setting any great pace. I had struggled to take on as much energy as I should have on the bike, and it was the same on the run. So I just settled into a pace I knew I could run comfortably and stuck to that, not worrying too much about the time. I finished up running a 1hr 47mins for the half marathon, which is pretty good and put me in the top half of the field. Though after my Auckland marathon training, if I had been feeling better on the day I think I could have pushed myself a fair bit harder.
My final time was 5hrs 15min flat. So comfortably bet my other time. Though a few weeks earlier I probably had ideas of getting closer to (or even under) the 5 hour mark. But on reflection, on both this and my Auckland MaraSham experience, to target those type of times I need to be much more committed to training - and drinking less! So perhaps I am finding my limit in terms of what I can achieve on my minimalist training plans. But I'm comfortable with that - I like the drinking!
Anna - despite her fears she had no trouble beating the cut off time, riding the 90km in 3hrs 25mins. A good time for someone on what was probably the smallest bike in the field, no aerobars, and used to the benefits of at least some drafting. Though she said she was pretty knackered by the end of it, knowing she had to push the whole way around to beat the cut off.
So that is pretty much it for the summer - hanging up the goggles/bike/runners. All this fitness to ebb away in a deluge of engagement parties, weddings, stag do's and trips away. Bring it on!
Showing posts with label IronSam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IronSam. Show all posts
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Sunday, November 01, 2009
MaraSam a MaraSham
For the last 12 weeks I have been training towards the Auckland Marathon. It’s not my first (I ran the Edinburgh Marathon back in 2005, and of course there was a marathon at the end of the NZ Ironman last year), so I was specifically targeting to run a quick time – sub 3hr15mins (that's very quick for a short stocky guy).
Of course, this was done with my typically minimalist training plan – with only four training runs a week, and delaying the sacrifice of not drinking until only the week before the event. Training progressed well though, as I got more and more comfortable with running what is a pretty quick pace – 4min30sec K’s. Though signs were there that perhaps I was just a little too relaxed, when only three days (or what turned out to be four days) before the race, I found out that it was on the Sunday and not the Saturday!
Fortunate, as I wouldn’t have been happy getting up at 4am on two mornings in a row. A damn early start, necessary to get the ferry over to Devonport for the 6:10am start. The pre-race routine was disrupted by my inability to get rid of my previous night’s dinner – something that was to cause problems later on.
Nevertheless the race started in the early phases of dawn, with the first 15km rolling up and down the slopes of the North Shore. Things started well, I felt strong and was setting a good pace. Perhaps too good, as I was consistent running K splits under the required pace. But I felt good, so I wasn’t concerned at the time. Conditions were good for the run over the Harbour Bridge as I ran past Anna on the other side, who also thought I looked really good. Arriving at the half way mark, I had run a 1hr34min Half Marathon, still feeling really good and with plenty of time to spare.
However, it was from here that things started to go wrong. The next 10kms involved the run out to the turnaround point at St Helliers. It was over this 10kms that some of my splits just started to creep up and I felt I was losing my ability to manage this. Also, last night’s dinner was also beginning to make me a little uncomfortable. Perhaps I should have stopped earlier, but focusing on the time, I didn’t want a toilet break to cost me. Coming up to the turnaround, I knew something was seriously not right – both my energy and strength levels were plummeting – as I struggled to even keep my pace within 5min K’s and I was increasingly being overtaken by other runners. Even the usual secret weapon - flat Coke - wasn't helping. So this is what hitting the wall means!
The last 10km suddenly became less a run and more a shuffle – as 5min30sec K’s suddenly became the best I could manage. I worked out that going under 3hr15min was quickly disappearing, but was feeling powerless to do anything about it. In fact, I was feeling so bad, just finishing was looking like it was going to be challenge enough. It was also the realisation that I was probably not even going to beat my Edinburgh time of 3hr23mins that I finally took that toilet break with 5km to go – costing me three or four minutes but taking a weight of my shoulders (or more accurately, off my bowels).
A little lighter, but no happier, I slogged out the last 5km to a disappointing time of 3hr27mins. I know, I know – still a very good time, but when you are targeting a sub 3hr15min and your second half of the marathon is nearly half an hour slower than the first – it is somewhat disappointing. So here is me giving it the big thumbs down coming up to the finish.
My demise is pretty evident from the chart of my K split times.
The suddenness from which I went from feeling great to terrible is still what surprises me. Ultimately, I think the time I was targeting required a bit more commitment to training than I was prepared to give. I still had 3 or 4 kg on me than was ideal, and I probably should have been doing at least one more run each week. It wasn’t lost on me that all the runners going past me over the last 10km were a fair bit leaner than I am.
So that might be the end of my marathon career, I think I might just run half marathons from now on. Next up is the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge in four weeks, followed by the Tauranga Half Ironman in January. And then I don’t have to feel bad about drinking and eating my way through the rest of summer…
For the last 12 weeks I have been training towards the Auckland Marathon. It’s not my first (I ran the Edinburgh Marathon back in 2005, and of course there was a marathon at the end of the NZ Ironman last year), so I was specifically targeting to run a quick time – sub 3hr15mins (that's very quick for a short stocky guy).
Of course, this was done with my typically minimalist training plan – with only four training runs a week, and delaying the sacrifice of not drinking until only the week before the event. Training progressed well though, as I got more and more comfortable with running what is a pretty quick pace – 4min30sec K’s. Though signs were there that perhaps I was just a little too relaxed, when only three days (or what turned out to be four days) before the race, I found out that it was on the Sunday and not the Saturday!
Fortunate, as I wouldn’t have been happy getting up at 4am on two mornings in a row. A damn early start, necessary to get the ferry over to Devonport for the 6:10am start. The pre-race routine was disrupted by my inability to get rid of my previous night’s dinner – something that was to cause problems later on.
Nevertheless the race started in the early phases of dawn, with the first 15km rolling up and down the slopes of the North Shore. Things started well, I felt strong and was setting a good pace. Perhaps too good, as I was consistent running K splits under the required pace. But I felt good, so I wasn’t concerned at the time. Conditions were good for the run over the Harbour Bridge as I ran past Anna on the other side, who also thought I looked really good. Arriving at the half way mark, I had run a 1hr34min Half Marathon, still feeling really good and with plenty of time to spare.
However, it was from here that things started to go wrong. The next 10kms involved the run out to the turnaround point at St Helliers. It was over this 10kms that some of my splits just started to creep up and I felt I was losing my ability to manage this. Also, last night’s dinner was also beginning to make me a little uncomfortable. Perhaps I should have stopped earlier, but focusing on the time, I didn’t want a toilet break to cost me. Coming up to the turnaround, I knew something was seriously not right – both my energy and strength levels were plummeting – as I struggled to even keep my pace within 5min K’s and I was increasingly being overtaken by other runners. Even the usual secret weapon - flat Coke - wasn't helping. So this is what hitting the wall means!
The last 10km suddenly became less a run and more a shuffle – as 5min30sec K’s suddenly became the best I could manage. I worked out that going under 3hr15min was quickly disappearing, but was feeling powerless to do anything about it. In fact, I was feeling so bad, just finishing was looking like it was going to be challenge enough. It was also the realisation that I was probably not even going to beat my Edinburgh time of 3hr23mins that I finally took that toilet break with 5km to go – costing me three or four minutes but taking a weight of my shoulders (or more accurately, off my bowels).
A little lighter, but no happier, I slogged out the last 5km to a disappointing time of 3hr27mins. I know, I know – still a very good time, but when you are targeting a sub 3hr15min and your second half of the marathon is nearly half an hour slower than the first – it is somewhat disappointing. So here is me giving it the big thumbs down coming up to the finish.
My demise is pretty evident from the chart of my K split times. The suddenness from which I went from feeling great to terrible is still what surprises me. Ultimately, I think the time I was targeting required a bit more commitment to training than I was prepared to give. I still had 3 or 4 kg on me than was ideal, and I probably should have been doing at least one more run each week. It wasn’t lost on me that all the runners going past me over the last 10km were a fair bit leaner than I am.So that might be the end of my marathon career, I think I might just run half marathons from now on. Next up is the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge in four weeks, followed by the Tauranga Half Ironman in January. And then I don’t have to feel bad about drinking and eating my way through the rest of summer…
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Moonride - Rotorua
For some time Al here in Auckland has been trying to get me into mountain biking. Trying to sticking to my roadie routes, I had repelled his advances for some time. But recently I relented I bought myself a mountain bike a few weeks ago. This was all in aid of an event Al got me to join him in the 24hr Cateye Moonride. Not 24 hours of riding - I'm not that crazy (though there were some solo riders). No, we entered a team of 5 where you take turns doing the course over the 24 hours. Still crazy enough.
My introduction to mountain biking didn't start too well. My first ride out at Woodhill (a MTB park west of Auckland) saw me vault the handlebars and use my right ring finger to cushion my fall. The finger looked pretty grim for a few days, and even a month later now doesn't look quite right - I'll get around to having it x-rayed at some stage...
Crazy certainly came to mind as we drive down to Rotorua on the Friday, with seemingly half the farms submerged in water. And when we turned up at the site at 8pm that night to put the tent up, it was still raining and spirits were pretty low. But the event and other 100 teams all looked pretty well set up - tents, marques, coffee cart, generators, BBQs, though unfortunately no spa pool this year.
It all kicked off at 10pm and Al pulled the short straw in having to go first. However my turn wasn't too far away as I was going second. Because of the rain, the 8km loop had been reduced to 6.5km, but still took us on average 30 minutes to do each lap. We had already decided that we would each do 1 lap each, and then do turns of 2-lappers, so it wouldn't be as stop start and would give us each a chance to get some sleep (well, that was the plan anyway).
It wasn't long before I headed out for the my first lap, after a quick debrief from Al. I had only just gone for my first night ride the weekend before, so I was still a novice at this, and the track was very muddy and so made for a lot of hard work. Not least some pretty deep puddles, which turned the dirt after them into a quagmire. But with fresh clothes on and just one lap to do, that first lap wasn't so bad. Though returning back to the tent, it was only in the light that you realised how muddy it was - I was covered head to toe. But there wasn't much you could do about it, and no point trying to get too clean as you were just going to get muddy again.
My next trip out was at 1.30am and it was still raining. The track was more chewed up now too, so made for a much more difficult (and muddy) ride. Even more so by my battery for my light starting to run out on my 2nd lap - I may as well have held a candle out in front of me. That made for an interesting ride, often having to just cruise until someone caught up to me with better light and then having to try and sit on their heels. But I managed to make my way back without too much mishap and tried to get some sleep before I had to get up again at 6am for another two laps. But there wasn't any chance of sleep, what with the blood pumping from just finishing a ride, generators humming, and knowing I would have to get up again soon.
It was so muddy now that also had to hose down your bike before you headed out again, as all your gears and brakes were one big brown lump. Pulling on the cold, damp and muddy bike gears to head out again at 6am after no sleep, I was really wondering why the hell I had agreed to get into this. I mean, who holds an event like this in May - when there is no daylight savings and little prospect of good weather. The only relief I had was that now the skies were lightening and I didn't have to worry about light so much. But not surprisingly, these ended up being my slowest two laps.
The new day at least dawned dry, but 10am saw the start of the 12hr race with another 300 teams on the course (looking annoyingly refreshed and clean). This meant a lot more congestion, but also helped to flatten out the tracks. So much so that my two laps around 1pm I could actually term as fun. Riding in the light of day was obviously a lot easy, and it also allowed you to pick better lines to bike down (and showed you all your mistakes from the night before). But this was short lived, as by my last two laps at 6pm, all those riders had chewed up the course again and by now the body and soul were very tired.
With the ride still not finishing until 10pm, there was the prospect of squeezing another lap in. But I had had enough and I let the rest of the boys go for glory at the end (well, they have all been riding mountain bikes for years), while I enjoyed a few beers and some clean clothes. the finish gets a little crazy, some pushing it to fit in another lap, while others go a little crazy - with a couple of naked laps.
In the end we finished quite high up, completing 48 laps and coming 18th of the 97 24hr teams. Though the only reward was having to pack up the tent and all the gear when all we really wanted to do was go to bed. It certainly was an interesting event, though I am not sure I will be signing up to do it again (unless there is the promise of fine weather). This mountain biking can be fun though, and will be making a few trips down to Rotorua I think - though for rides most definitely in the day though!
A few muddy pics from the event here.
For some time Al here in Auckland has been trying to get me into mountain biking. Trying to sticking to my roadie routes, I had repelled his advances for some time. But recently I relented I bought myself a mountain bike a few weeks ago. This was all in aid of an event Al got me to join him in the 24hr Cateye Moonride. Not 24 hours of riding - I'm not that crazy (though there were some solo riders). No, we entered a team of 5 where you take turns doing the course over the 24 hours. Still crazy enough.
My introduction to mountain biking didn't start too well. My first ride out at Woodhill (a MTB park west of Auckland) saw me vault the handlebars and use my right ring finger to cushion my fall. The finger looked pretty grim for a few days, and even a month later now doesn't look quite right - I'll get around to having it x-rayed at some stage...
Crazy certainly came to mind as we drive down to Rotorua on the Friday, with seemingly half the farms submerged in water. And when we turned up at the site at 8pm that night to put the tent up, it was still raining and spirits were pretty low. But the event and other 100 teams all looked pretty well set up - tents, marques, coffee cart, generators, BBQs, though unfortunately no spa pool this year.
It all kicked off at 10pm and Al pulled the short straw in having to go first. However my turn wasn't too far away as I was going second. Because of the rain, the 8km loop had been reduced to 6.5km, but still took us on average 30 minutes to do each lap. We had already decided that we would each do 1 lap each, and then do turns of 2-lappers, so it wouldn't be as stop start and would give us each a chance to get some sleep (well, that was the plan anyway).
It wasn't long before I headed out for the my first lap, after a quick debrief from Al. I had only just gone for my first night ride the weekend before, so I was still a novice at this, and the track was very muddy and so made for a lot of hard work. Not least some pretty deep puddles, which turned the dirt after them into a quagmire. But with fresh clothes on and just one lap to do, that first lap wasn't so bad. Though returning back to the tent, it was only in the light that you realised how muddy it was - I was covered head to toe. But there wasn't much you could do about it, and no point trying to get too clean as you were just going to get muddy again.My next trip out was at 1.30am and it was still raining. The track was more chewed up now too, so made for a much more difficult (and muddy) ride. Even more so by my battery for my light starting to run out on my 2nd lap - I may as well have held a candle out in front of me. That made for an interesting ride, often having to just cruise until someone caught up to me with better light and then having to try and sit on their heels. But I managed to make my way back without too much mishap and tried to get some sleep before I had to get up again at 6am for another two laps. But there wasn't any chance of sleep, what with the blood pumping from just finishing a ride, generators humming, and knowing I would have to get up again soon.
It was so muddy now that also had to hose down your bike before you headed out again, as all your gears and brakes were one big brown lump. Pulling on the cold, damp and muddy bike gears to head out again at 6am after no sleep, I was really wondering why the hell I had agreed to get into this. I mean, who holds an event like this in May - when there is no daylight savings and little prospect of good weather. The only relief I had was that now the skies were lightening and I didn't have to worry about light so much. But not surprisingly, these ended up being my slowest two laps.
The new day at least dawned dry, but 10am saw the start of the 12hr race with another 300 teams on the course (looking annoyingly refreshed and clean). This meant a lot more congestion, but also helped to flatten out the tracks. So much so that my two laps around 1pm I could actually term as fun. Riding in the light of day was obviously a lot easy, and it also allowed you to pick better lines to bike down (and showed you all your mistakes from the night before). But this was short lived, as by my last two laps at 6pm, all those riders had chewed up the course again and by now the body and soul were very tired.
With the ride still not finishing until 10pm, there was the prospect of squeezing another lap in. But I had had enough and I let the rest of the boys go for glory at the end (well, they have all been riding mountain bikes for years), while I enjoyed a few beers and some clean clothes. the finish gets a little crazy, some pushing it to fit in another lap, while others go a little crazy - with a couple of naked laps.
In the end we finished quite high up, completing 48 laps and coming 18th of the 97 24hr teams. Though the only reward was having to pack up the tent and all the gear when all we really wanted to do was go to bed. It certainly was an interesting event, though I am not sure I will be signing up to do it again (unless there is the promise of fine weather). This mountain biking can be fun though, and will be making a few trips down to Rotorua I think - though for rides most definitely in the day though!
A few muddy pics from the event here.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Rangitoto Swim
With hopefully some Ironman fitness left in me, I decided to enter in the Rangitoto to St Helliers 4.6km swim, which was on the Sunday after getting back from our week up north. I'd only been for a couple of swims since the Ironman, but I've wanted to do this swim and I thought now would probably be as good as any time.
The swim starts on Rangitoto Island, so it starts with a ferry ride across in the morning. I was surprised to see a very large contingent of swimmers at the ferry terminal when I was dropped off, I don't think so many speedos have been seen walking around the Viaduct before. It was nearly 500 swimmers in all. This, in fact, was going to be my first trip out to Rangitoto - Anna and I have just never managed to organised to get ourselves there yet. Not that I spent much time on the island. Time to lube up, get into the wetsuit (though some do it without - crazy) and jump into the water. After some mixed weather forecasts during the week, the day turned out sunny but with a bit of wind and swell (but more on that later).
The gun went off and the start was the usual mess - some bugger even kicked more goggles off! But I eventually found myself some room and settled into the swim. Though for all the wanting to get away from the pack - once you do there are always those thoughts about "why is no one around me". The only company I did seem to have was some crazy lady who seemed to be intent on swimming 6km from the way she was criss-crossing in front of me.
The first half of the swim was pretty good, except for the fact it felt like I was going no where. When you are sighting your destination from 4 kilometres away, it takes a while for it to look like it is getting any closer. The second half of the swim was much tougher. I was definitely starting to tire and my stroke with my left arm was only just getting out of the water. But worst of all, the swell really started to pick up, so much so that sighting became worthless as every time I looked up all I good see was waves. Apart from making it really hard to keep your rhythm, the swell had an even worse affect, it started to make me feel sea sick! This was most uncomfortable (I don't even get sea sick on a boat), and now really how you want to be feeling when you still have 1-2km of swimming ahead of you. I had to stop a few times to right the stomach and make sure I wasn't swimming out into the Pacific!
I soldiered on, but more than a few times I wondered what the hell I was doing out there. It was much relief to finally get within St Helliers Bay, with the finish now not too far away, but also with the seas much calmer. I finally managed to make my way up on the beach after 1:23.16 of swimming, in 97th place. Rich, you'd be happy to know one thing crossed my mind as I ran up that beach - "nutter"!
With hopefully some Ironman fitness left in me, I decided to enter in the Rangitoto to St Helliers 4.6km swim, which was on the Sunday after getting back from our week up north. I'd only been for a couple of swims since the Ironman, but I've wanted to do this swim and I thought now would probably be as good as any time.
The swim starts on Rangitoto Island, so it starts with a ferry ride across in the morning. I was surprised to see a very large contingent of swimmers at the ferry terminal when I was dropped off, I don't think so many speedos have been seen walking around the Viaduct before. It was nearly 500 swimmers in all. This, in fact, was going to be my first trip out to Rangitoto - Anna and I have just never managed to organised to get ourselves there yet. Not that I spent much time on the island. Time to lube up, get into the wetsuit (though some do it without - crazy) and jump into the water. After some mixed weather forecasts during the week, the day turned out sunny but with a bit of wind and swell (but more on that later).
The gun went off and the start was the usual mess - some bugger even kicked more goggles off! But I eventually found myself some room and settled into the swim. Though for all the wanting to get away from the pack - once you do there are always those thoughts about "why is no one around me". The only company I did seem to have was some crazy lady who seemed to be intent on swimming 6km from the way she was criss-crossing in front of me.
The first half of the swim was pretty good, except for the fact it felt like I was going no where. When you are sighting your destination from 4 kilometres away, it takes a while for it to look like it is getting any closer. The second half of the swim was much tougher. I was definitely starting to tire and my stroke with my left arm was only just getting out of the water. But worst of all, the swell really started to pick up, so much so that sighting became worthless as every time I looked up all I good see was waves. Apart from making it really hard to keep your rhythm, the swell had an even worse affect, it started to make me feel sea sick! This was most uncomfortable (I don't even get sea sick on a boat), and now really how you want to be feeling when you still have 1-2km of swimming ahead of you. I had to stop a few times to right the stomach and make sure I wasn't swimming out into the Pacific!
I soldiered on, but more than a few times I wondered what the hell I was doing out there. It was much relief to finally get within St Helliers Bay, with the finish now not too far away, but also with the seas much calmer. I finally managed to make my way up on the beach after 1:23.16 of swimming, in 97th place. Rich, you'd be happy to know one thing crossed my mind as I ran up that beach - "nutter"!
Saturday, March 01, 2008
IronSam 2008
Pictures are up here.
And if you want to see some pictures of me caught unawares and not looking so sprightly, put my bib #408 in here to see the official photos.
You can also watch me finish here (click the "watch me finish" link and I am about a minute in).
If you have sky, TV coverage is going to be on these dates. And if you have a video recorder (as antiquated a concept as this is), I would love a copy.
Most of you know I did it now, and that I didn't manage to break 12 hours, I broke 11 hours instead!! I still find it hard to believe and it has put a surreal spin on the whole thing for me.
Friday night was full of nerves, but not about what would be required the next day, but more about the impending weather that was due to arrive. It was hard to believe at the time, as it was a beautiful night with a clear star-filled sky. The IronSam Support Crew also started to trickle in, first the family, then Stu and Steve from their climb up to the Ruapahu crater, and Tom and Rae a short time later. And after another meal of very simple pasta for me, I got to watch them munch down on what looked like tasty pizza and beer as I sipped from a water bottle. Some distraction was provided by wondering when Brad & Sharon would arrive. Earlier in the evening they informed us that they had taken the long way to Taupo - through Wanganui...they missed the right turn at Bulls - amateur mistake! They finally arrived at around 10pm and we sat up a little while longer before they all decided they were tired and went to bed - hey guys, I'm the one doing Ironman here! Finally went to bed at 11pm and in fact had a pretty good night's sleep...for me.
The alarm went off at 4.55am and quickly got up to have a peak outside. Much to my relief, there was no sign of either wind or rain. With heightened spirits, I had my quick breakfast of toast and headed down to the T1 at around 6am. I knew most other triathletes would have probably got there at least half-an-hour earlier than me - and it was pretty busy when I arrived - but I still remember the Tauranga Half Ironman in 2004 where I got there so early that I was practically the only one there and just had too much time on my hands. First stop was to get myself numbered (they write it on your arm and calf) and then pump up my tyres (always wise to deflate them the night before, as sometimes they pop if it is warm - which it was). Fortunately I also had Anna there to remind of the things I was forgetting in the heat of the moment. I also hadn't quite gotten rid of all of last night's dinner, so had to line up at the ever popular portaloos. Was a bit of a queue and it did take a while, but I believe this ended up being a good thing as I had little time to think about what was ahead of me.
With the wetsuit on, I eventually wandered down to the swim start and got into the water with about 10 minutes until the start. Plenty of time for a quick warm up and every triathlete's friend, the pre-race pee (that water around the start line can't be too good). With nearly 1200 people sitting in the water, it is a weird feeling waiting for the starting gun, especially with the effect of the dawn sky rising.
The gun goes off and you could just hear the crowd start cheering before you get into your work. The start was the usual ruck and maul, though I seemed to be getting off OK. I had positioned myself to the right-hand side, which was surprisingly quite roomy. Surprisingly, because the swim course is a dog-leg right, which was perfect for me with my swimming 'fade'. In fact, I hugged the buoys along the whole course and I don't think I would have swam one meter more than I had to. The water was nice and smooth and I found myself in lots of clean water, with just a few brushes with fellow competitors. In what seemed strange to me, there were lots of people around me kicking quite strongly from the start. A bit of a mystery to me, why kick all through the swim when you will want your legs for next 12-or-so hours of the day.
With the water so clear there were plenty of things to keep yourself amused with. I gave the thumbs up to some scuba-guy below us at the start and spotted plenty of golf balls and what looked like an old engine. At the turn around I was feeling good and really calm. Though this was disturbed somewhat when someone decided to perform a bit of kung fu to my head. It was quite a blow and for a second I was a little dazed. My biggest fear though was that the seal on my goggles had been broken, but thankfully it appeared not. I got back in my groove again for the homeward leg, and had the feeling I was going pretty well. With what must have been 500 metres to go, and still feeling really good, I actually decided to pick the pace up and kicked my way to the finish (to get blood flowing back to the legs for the bike). With one last wave to weird scuba-guy, I headed into the shore for the next stage.
Pulling myself out of the water I got quite the shock. I knew I had swum quite well - a really felt like I was gliding through the water - but I wasn't expecting to see 1:01 on the clock! And I wasn't the only one shocked, as I had to yell out to Anna that I was there - as she wasn't expecting me then either. Then came the tough 400m run to T1. Not only is that very long, but it also takes you up a set of stairs - you would think that the standard distances of an Ironman would be enough!
After the nearly 4 minutes it took to get to T1, someone handed me my transition bag and I headed in to get changed. Surrounded by 'helpers', it appeared that none were free to help me. So I had to try to get my wetsuit off myself. Struggling for a couple of minutes to do this, I ruefully looked at the guy across from me as a helper ripped his off in about 2 seconds. As others around me took off out of the transition tent as soon as their wetsuit was off (they had tri-suits on underneath), I took my time changing into my fresh bike pants, and with the weather forecast in mind, putting on my waterproof overshoes (and what a good decision that was). And with so much time on my hands already, I decided the make a comfort stop at the portaloos before jumping on the bike. In all, I took 12 minutes in transition, which is a pretty long time when the average is less than 8 minutes.
On to the bike and quickly down on the aero bars, I was surprised by how many people were took a while to get going and I passed in the first couple of kilometres. You quickly hit the hill out of Taupo on the ride, but I felt comfortable spinning up it. That was until my chain came off. It didn't take me long to put it back on, but it did leave me worried that it could be a problem over the rest of the ride - a worry that didn't eventuate.
The ride out to Reporoa heads north, and this was right into the strong wind that was picking up. Fortunately, the ride out to Reporoa is also slightly downhill, so this slightly countered the battle into the win. In this first leg of the ride, there were lots of riders bunched together as different riding abilities were sorted out. This made for a lot of nervous moments as the draft-busters rode up and down the course on their motorcycles. You are not meant to be within 5 metres of another rider, unless you are passing, and then you have 15 seconds to complete your pass. I had no interest in drafting, I wanted to do this Ironman on my own steam, but I was concerned that a passing manoeuvre would be mis-construed as drafting - whereby you get a 4 minute stand-down penalty, but more worryingly, get disqualified if pulled over twice. I needn't have anything to fear, but I remember tensing up every time I heard a motorcycle come up from behind.
Finally the bikes started to strew themselves along the course and the bike settled into an individual battle. There was some relief when close to the first turnaround I heard a "go Sammy" as I past a group of spectators on a side road - returning I confirmed it was Al from work and it was great to get some support at the far end of the course. Returning from Reporoa was great with that strong wind behind me now. I was working to my nutrition plan, was staying down in my aero bars and I felt good. I was even overtaking a few fellow competitors on their flash machines - I definitely felt like the poor kid in class with my old Giant, I was one of the few riders without a tri-specific bike and without disc-wheels.
Unfortunately, the good times were about to come to an end. Climbing back up the hill before returning into Taupo, the rain finally arrived. 10 minutes earlier I was really starting to sweat in the heat, but now I was soaked through by the heavy rain. Before leaving Taupo for the last return leg I picked up my Special Needs bag, filled with a couple of vegemite sandwiches I was really looking forward to - that savoury is delicious amongst all the sweetness. But that was the only fond memory of that second leg out to Reporoa.
With that rain and the wind getting stronger, it was a long slog out to the turnaround. For little while I even felt cold, and the quads were starting to get pretty sore. I also wasn't helped by my bike computer giving up the ghost once again, so from the 107km mark I no longer knew how fast I was going (I was averaging 31.5kph up to then), or more importantly for me, what my cadence was. This made it difficult to pace myself, which was pretty important on this second leg. It was quite easy to find yourself drifting off, only realising it when someone passed you. This led to some bizarre overtaking-retaking manoeuvres. Someone you had passed 30km previously would suddenly rip past you, or vice versa. My focus was to just get out to Reporoa again so that I could get that wind behind me again - even though there would still be around 45km left to ride, it felt like it would be the end of it.
It was a pretty lonely return to Taupo, coming up on few riders and heading back into the rain from which we had a short relief from up around Reporoa. Arriving at the last climb, I decided to take it a bit easier to save the legs for the run. I could see that I was going to do a pretty good time for the bike and I still had a 42km run in front of me.
Arriving into Taupo and T2, I was as much as 45 minutes ahead of where I thought I would be, and jumping off the bike I was surprised how solid my legs felt. T2 went quite smoothly, this time a helper was there to help me get out of my bike gears and into my running stuff. I took just a little over 4 minutes to get through transition, which isn't much more than the average, though the Pros rip through it in about 1 minute.
Heading out of T2, Brad yelled out to me and waved the small bottles of Jagermeister he had for me at the finish - but for now I had to make do with more energy drink. The run started with a cruel bridge over the road, which with the rain meant you had to be quite careful with when going down. After the relative solitary of the bike course, it was a real buzz to head out on the run with so many spectators lining the run course along the Taupo lakefront. And even though the run is the definitely the hardest leg of the Ironman, it is also the most memorable with all the crowds and cheers.
It was probably this buzz that led me to start very quickly on the run. Before I knew it, I had ran the first 5kms in 25 minutes, a pace I knew I couldn't keep up so I started to pull things back again. But I also began to realise that if I could keep up a decent pace, not only would I break that 12 hour barrier, that going under 11 hours would be very possible. This helped to keep me well occupied on the run, as every kilometre marker I recalculate my splits and what I had to do to go under that 11 hours.
The only thing that was really giving me concern was the state of my feet. Despite my overshoes keeping most of the rain off during the ride, my feet didn't take long to get wet in the run and it felt like the bottom of my foot was being severely rubbed. It wasn't until after the race and I took my shoes off that I found that the sole of my shoe and twisted to the side and it was that which was causing the discomfort! I also started to feel a bit of chaff coming on and realised that I had completely forgotten to apply some vaseline at T2. I asked for some running past one of the aid stations, but the old biddies with the vaseline were half asleep. I didn't want to stop to wait, so I just let it go. The chaffing seemed to subside a little after that, so I didn't bother with it again.
Taking my second and last pit stop of the day around the 10km mark, I turned around for the first time to head back into Taupo. I decided at this point to start on the flat coke. I had planned to only go for it on the second half of the marathon, but I could feel myself flagging a little and didn't want to leave it too late. It certainly turned out to be a good call, as heading back into Taupo was also heading back into that wind, and also climbing the nasty hill around the airport.
Heading back into Taupo also meant heading back into all the supporters. And it seems timely to mention my own group of supporters - Anna, Mum, Dad & my sisters, Brad & Sharon, Rae & Tom, and Stu & Steve who had returned from climbing Ngauruhoe that morning. I'm not going to be a complete sop and say I couldn't have done it without them. However, with all seriousness I don't think I would have gone under 11 hours without all their cheers and encouragement. They did a great job of going up and down the course to meet me at different places and often gave me a spur when I needed it. Though seeing them sitting back with wine or beers on the first leg was a bit rough!!
My only real tough point on the marathon came at about kilometre 27. I started to feel a bit odd and flushed. I think it might have just been a bit of a sugar and caffeine rush from the flat coke, as I seemed to come right again after a while. And by then I just had to make the turnaround for the last time and head back into the wind and the rain for the final 10km to the finish line. I kept focusing on my kilometre splits and what I needed to do to go under 11 hours. I was starting to feel pretty weary, but getting all the cheers kept me going through to the end. Getting closer, I even enjoyed a bit of joking banter with the crowd and made a point of thanking the volunteers that had stood out in the rain all day. I also noticed many of the athletes still heading out on their first lap of the run and thought about how late they would be going into the night.
Finally, reaching the finishing chute, I already knew I had a sub-11 hour time in the bag, so I just wanted to enjoy the finish. Some guy in my own age group sprinted past me, but I let him go as I wanted to cross the finish line by myself. I don't remember it at the time, but in the finishing video you can hear Mike Reilly ('the voice of Ironman') calling out "Sam...you are an Ironman".
Crossing the line, the support people are quickly there with a finishers towel to wrap around you, asking you if you feel alright. I felt OK, but still the old lady walked me over to get my finishers medal and into the marquee. Inside I grabbed myself a cup of chicken soup and sat down to wait for a massage. Now that I had stopped the legs were pretty shaky and the joints were tired from all the effort of the day. After the massage I had a quick bite to eat before heading out to my support crew who had been waiting for me outside.
We then headed back for a few celebratory drinks (including that Jagermeister) and a BBQ - all from the comfort of a chair for me. As it got darker outside and the wind stronger, it was difficult not to think that there were still people out there running - the last finisher was at 12.45am (unfortunately for them, outside the official cut-off at midnight).
For the record, my final times were:
Total = 10:54.27 (297th - of 1200; age group 62nd - of 180)
Swim = 1:01.37 (313rd; 62nd)
T1 = 11.21
Bike = 5:46.03 (341st; 73rd)
T2 = 4.13
Run = 3:51.12 (249th; 50th)
So bizarrely, my bike ended up being my comparatively weakest leg, and the run my strongest. When I probably would have said that it would have been the other way around before the race. Would never have thought I could run a sub-4 hour marathon at the end of an Ironman, so that was a real surprise. Despite the conditions being pretty tough, I think they probably also helped a little on the run, keepng you cool and reducing the importance of hydration.
My whole performance has put a bit of a surreal spin around it all. Going into it, it was meant to be all about the achievement. But as I just blew out all my expectations, that whole sense of achievement is a bit muddled. I'm still a bit stunned about it all. The question I get asked now is whether I will do it all again. We will just have to wait and see on that one. It was such a good event, and running the marathon with all that support such an amazing experience, I would love to feel that again. But my expectations would be completely different and there would be a whole new pressure on the day and in training. Whether I compete again or not, I will definitely be back again to enjoy the atmosphere of the day, even if it is just from the sidelines.
And how has the body recovered? It was certainly beaten up on the day. The muscles and joints were very sore and the legs were very stiff for the next few days. It even required a bit of walking backwards when I encountered a downhill or some stairs. The chaffing was very bad, all over the place - nipples, hips, and the unmentionables. But I don't think I was alone watching other competitors entering the water at the De Brett hot pools the next day. And my poor toes, one of them has gone all purple and resembles something that comes out door of an abattoir.
But it was all most definitely worth it.
Pictures are up here.
And if you want to see some pictures of me caught unawares and not looking so sprightly, put my bib #408 in here to see the official photos.
You can also watch me finish here (click the "watch me finish" link and I am about a minute in).
If you have sky, TV coverage is going to be on these dates. And if you have a video recorder (as antiquated a concept as this is), I would love a copy.
Most of you know I did it now, and that I didn't manage to break 12 hours, I broke 11 hours instead!! I still find it hard to believe and it has put a surreal spin on the whole thing for me.
Friday night was full of nerves, but not about what would be required the next day, but more about the impending weather that was due to arrive. It was hard to believe at the time, as it was a beautiful night with a clear star-filled sky. The IronSam Support Crew also started to trickle in, first the family, then Stu and Steve from their climb up to the Ruapahu crater, and Tom and Rae a short time later. And after another meal of very simple pasta for me, I got to watch them munch down on what looked like tasty pizza and beer as I sipped from a water bottle. Some distraction was provided by wondering when Brad & Sharon would arrive. Earlier in the evening they informed us that they had taken the long way to Taupo - through Wanganui...they missed the right turn at Bulls - amateur mistake! They finally arrived at around 10pm and we sat up a little while longer before they all decided they were tired and went to bed - hey guys, I'm the one doing Ironman here! Finally went to bed at 11pm and in fact had a pretty good night's sleep...for me.
The alarm went off at 4.55am and quickly got up to have a peak outside. Much to my relief, there was no sign of either wind or rain. With heightened spirits, I had my quick breakfast of toast and headed down to the T1 at around 6am. I knew most other triathletes would have probably got there at least half-an-hour earlier than me - and it was pretty busy when I arrived - but I still remember the Tauranga Half Ironman in 2004 where I got there so early that I was practically the only one there and just had too much time on my hands. First stop was to get myself numbered (they write it on your arm and calf) and then pump up my tyres (always wise to deflate them the night before, as sometimes they pop if it is warm - which it was). Fortunately I also had Anna there to remind of the things I was forgetting in the heat of the moment. I also hadn't quite gotten rid of all of last night's dinner, so had to line up at the ever popular portaloos. Was a bit of a queue and it did take a while, but I believe this ended up being a good thing as I had little time to think about what was ahead of me.
With the wetsuit on, I eventually wandered down to the swim start and got into the water with about 10 minutes until the start. Plenty of time for a quick warm up and every triathlete's friend, the pre-race pee (that water around the start line can't be too good). With nearly 1200 people sitting in the water, it is a weird feeling waiting for the starting gun, especially with the effect of the dawn sky rising.
The gun goes off and you could just hear the crowd start cheering before you get into your work. The start was the usual ruck and maul, though I seemed to be getting off OK. I had positioned myself to the right-hand side, which was surprisingly quite roomy. Surprisingly, because the swim course is a dog-leg right, which was perfect for me with my swimming 'fade'. In fact, I hugged the buoys along the whole course and I don't think I would have swam one meter more than I had to. The water was nice and smooth and I found myself in lots of clean water, with just a few brushes with fellow competitors. In what seemed strange to me, there were lots of people around me kicking quite strongly from the start. A bit of a mystery to me, why kick all through the swim when you will want your legs for next 12-or-so hours of the day.
With the water so clear there were plenty of things to keep yourself amused with. I gave the thumbs up to some scuba-guy below us at the start and spotted plenty of golf balls and what looked like an old engine. At the turn around I was feeling good and really calm. Though this was disturbed somewhat when someone decided to perform a bit of kung fu to my head. It was quite a blow and for a second I was a little dazed. My biggest fear though was that the seal on my goggles had been broken, but thankfully it appeared not. I got back in my groove again for the homeward leg, and had the feeling I was going pretty well. With what must have been 500 metres to go, and still feeling really good, I actually decided to pick the pace up and kicked my way to the finish (to get blood flowing back to the legs for the bike). With one last wave to weird scuba-guy, I headed into the shore for the next stage.
Pulling myself out of the water I got quite the shock. I knew I had swum quite well - a really felt like I was gliding through the water - but I wasn't expecting to see 1:01 on the clock! And I wasn't the only one shocked, as I had to yell out to Anna that I was there - as she wasn't expecting me then either. Then came the tough 400m run to T1. Not only is that very long, but it also takes you up a set of stairs - you would think that the standard distances of an Ironman would be enough!
After the nearly 4 minutes it took to get to T1, someone handed me my transition bag and I headed in to get changed. Surrounded by 'helpers', it appeared that none were free to help me. So I had to try to get my wetsuit off myself. Struggling for a couple of minutes to do this, I ruefully looked at the guy across from me as a helper ripped his off in about 2 seconds. As others around me took off out of the transition tent as soon as their wetsuit was off (they had tri-suits on underneath), I took my time changing into my fresh bike pants, and with the weather forecast in mind, putting on my waterproof overshoes (and what a good decision that was). And with so much time on my hands already, I decided the make a comfort stop at the portaloos before jumping on the bike. In all, I took 12 minutes in transition, which is a pretty long time when the average is less than 8 minutes.
On to the bike and quickly down on the aero bars, I was surprised by how many people were took a while to get going and I passed in the first couple of kilometres. You quickly hit the hill out of Taupo on the ride, but I felt comfortable spinning up it. That was until my chain came off. It didn't take me long to put it back on, but it did leave me worried that it could be a problem over the rest of the ride - a worry that didn't eventuate.
The ride out to Reporoa heads north, and this was right into the strong wind that was picking up. Fortunately, the ride out to Reporoa is also slightly downhill, so this slightly countered the battle into the win. In this first leg of the ride, there were lots of riders bunched together as different riding abilities were sorted out. This made for a lot of nervous moments as the draft-busters rode up and down the course on their motorcycles. You are not meant to be within 5 metres of another rider, unless you are passing, and then you have 15 seconds to complete your pass. I had no interest in drafting, I wanted to do this Ironman on my own steam, but I was concerned that a passing manoeuvre would be mis-construed as drafting - whereby you get a 4 minute stand-down penalty, but more worryingly, get disqualified if pulled over twice. I needn't have anything to fear, but I remember tensing up every time I heard a motorcycle come up from behind.
Finally the bikes started to strew themselves along the course and the bike settled into an individual battle. There was some relief when close to the first turnaround I heard a "go Sammy" as I past a group of spectators on a side road - returning I confirmed it was Al from work and it was great to get some support at the far end of the course. Returning from Reporoa was great with that strong wind behind me now. I was working to my nutrition plan, was staying down in my aero bars and I felt good. I was even overtaking a few fellow competitors on their flash machines - I definitely felt like the poor kid in class with my old Giant, I was one of the few riders without a tri-specific bike and without disc-wheels.
Unfortunately, the good times were about to come to an end. Climbing back up the hill before returning into Taupo, the rain finally arrived. 10 minutes earlier I was really starting to sweat in the heat, but now I was soaked through by the heavy rain. Before leaving Taupo for the last return leg I picked up my Special Needs bag, filled with a couple of vegemite sandwiches I was really looking forward to - that savoury is delicious amongst all the sweetness. But that was the only fond memory of that second leg out to Reporoa.
With that rain and the wind getting stronger, it was a long slog out to the turnaround. For little while I even felt cold, and the quads were starting to get pretty sore. I also wasn't helped by my bike computer giving up the ghost once again, so from the 107km mark I no longer knew how fast I was going (I was averaging 31.5kph up to then), or more importantly for me, what my cadence was. This made it difficult to pace myself, which was pretty important on this second leg. It was quite easy to find yourself drifting off, only realising it when someone passed you. This led to some bizarre overtaking-retaking manoeuvres. Someone you had passed 30km previously would suddenly rip past you, or vice versa. My focus was to just get out to Reporoa again so that I could get that wind behind me again - even though there would still be around 45km left to ride, it felt like it would be the end of it.
It was a pretty lonely return to Taupo, coming up on few riders and heading back into the rain from which we had a short relief from up around Reporoa. Arriving at the last climb, I decided to take it a bit easier to save the legs for the run. I could see that I was going to do a pretty good time for the bike and I still had a 42km run in front of me.
Arriving into Taupo and T2, I was as much as 45 minutes ahead of where I thought I would be, and jumping off the bike I was surprised how solid my legs felt. T2 went quite smoothly, this time a helper was there to help me get out of my bike gears and into my running stuff. I took just a little over 4 minutes to get through transition, which isn't much more than the average, though the Pros rip through it in about 1 minute.
Heading out of T2, Brad yelled out to me and waved the small bottles of Jagermeister he had for me at the finish - but for now I had to make do with more energy drink. The run started with a cruel bridge over the road, which with the rain meant you had to be quite careful with when going down. After the relative solitary of the bike course, it was a real buzz to head out on the run with so many spectators lining the run course along the Taupo lakefront. And even though the run is the definitely the hardest leg of the Ironman, it is also the most memorable with all the crowds and cheers.
It was probably this buzz that led me to start very quickly on the run. Before I knew it, I had ran the first 5kms in 25 minutes, a pace I knew I couldn't keep up so I started to pull things back again. But I also began to realise that if I could keep up a decent pace, not only would I break that 12 hour barrier, that going under 11 hours would be very possible. This helped to keep me well occupied on the run, as every kilometre marker I recalculate my splits and what I had to do to go under that 11 hours.
The only thing that was really giving me concern was the state of my feet. Despite my overshoes keeping most of the rain off during the ride, my feet didn't take long to get wet in the run and it felt like the bottom of my foot was being severely rubbed. It wasn't until after the race and I took my shoes off that I found that the sole of my shoe and twisted to the side and it was that which was causing the discomfort! I also started to feel a bit of chaff coming on and realised that I had completely forgotten to apply some vaseline at T2. I asked for some running past one of the aid stations, but the old biddies with the vaseline were half asleep. I didn't want to stop to wait, so I just let it go. The chaffing seemed to subside a little after that, so I didn't bother with it again.
Taking my second and last pit stop of the day around the 10km mark, I turned around for the first time to head back into Taupo. I decided at this point to start on the flat coke. I had planned to only go for it on the second half of the marathon, but I could feel myself flagging a little and didn't want to leave it too late. It certainly turned out to be a good call, as heading back into Taupo was also heading back into that wind, and also climbing the nasty hill around the airport.
Heading back into Taupo also meant heading back into all the supporters. And it seems timely to mention my own group of supporters - Anna, Mum, Dad & my sisters, Brad & Sharon, Rae & Tom, and Stu & Steve who had returned from climbing Ngauruhoe that morning. I'm not going to be a complete sop and say I couldn't have done it without them. However, with all seriousness I don't think I would have gone under 11 hours without all their cheers and encouragement. They did a great job of going up and down the course to meet me at different places and often gave me a spur when I needed it. Though seeing them sitting back with wine or beers on the first leg was a bit rough!!
My only real tough point on the marathon came at about kilometre 27. I started to feel a bit odd and flushed. I think it might have just been a bit of a sugar and caffeine rush from the flat coke, as I seemed to come right again after a while. And by then I just had to make the turnaround for the last time and head back into the wind and the rain for the final 10km to the finish line. I kept focusing on my kilometre splits and what I needed to do to go under 11 hours. I was starting to feel pretty weary, but getting all the cheers kept me going through to the end. Getting closer, I even enjoyed a bit of joking banter with the crowd and made a point of thanking the volunteers that had stood out in the rain all day. I also noticed many of the athletes still heading out on their first lap of the run and thought about how late they would be going into the night.
Finally, reaching the finishing chute, I already knew I had a sub-11 hour time in the bag, so I just wanted to enjoy the finish. Some guy in my own age group sprinted past me, but I let him go as I wanted to cross the finish line by myself. I don't remember it at the time, but in the finishing video you can hear Mike Reilly ('the voice of Ironman') calling out "Sam...you are an Ironman".
Crossing the line, the support people are quickly there with a finishers towel to wrap around you, asking you if you feel alright. I felt OK, but still the old lady walked me over to get my finishers medal and into the marquee. Inside I grabbed myself a cup of chicken soup and sat down to wait for a massage. Now that I had stopped the legs were pretty shaky and the joints were tired from all the effort of the day. After the massage I had a quick bite to eat before heading out to my support crew who had been waiting for me outside.
We then headed back for a few celebratory drinks (including that Jagermeister) and a BBQ - all from the comfort of a chair for me. As it got darker outside and the wind stronger, it was difficult not to think that there were still people out there running - the last finisher was at 12.45am (unfortunately for them, outside the official cut-off at midnight).
For the record, my final times were:
Total = 10:54.27 (297th - of 1200; age group 62nd - of 180)
Swim = 1:01.37 (313rd; 62nd)
T1 = 11.21
Bike = 5:46.03 (341st; 73rd)
T2 = 4.13
Run = 3:51.12 (249th; 50th)
So bizarrely, my bike ended up being my comparatively weakest leg, and the run my strongest. When I probably would have said that it would have been the other way around before the race. Would never have thought I could run a sub-4 hour marathon at the end of an Ironman, so that was a real surprise. Despite the conditions being pretty tough, I think they probably also helped a little on the run, keepng you cool and reducing the importance of hydration.
My whole performance has put a bit of a surreal spin around it all. Going into it, it was meant to be all about the achievement. But as I just blew out all my expectations, that whole sense of achievement is a bit muddled. I'm still a bit stunned about it all. The question I get asked now is whether I will do it all again. We will just have to wait and see on that one. It was such a good event, and running the marathon with all that support such an amazing experience, I would love to feel that again. But my expectations would be completely different and there would be a whole new pressure on the day and in training. Whether I compete again or not, I will definitely be back again to enjoy the atmosphere of the day, even if it is just from the sidelines.
And how has the body recovered? It was certainly beaten up on the day. The muscles and joints were very sore and the legs were very stiff for the next few days. It even required a bit of walking backwards when I encountered a downhill or some stairs. The chaffing was very bad, all over the place - nipples, hips, and the unmentionables. But I don't think I was alone watching other competitors entering the water at the De Brett hot pools the next day. And my poor toes, one of them has gone all purple and resembles something that comes out door of an abattoir.
But it was all most definitely worth it.
Friday, February 29, 2008
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge 2007
Well, maybe hell isn't so bad after all....
As I certainly expected to go there on Saturday. As most of you will know I once again made the crazy decision to compete in the 160km ride around Lake Taupo less than three weeks after returning in the country. In fact, this attempt was even crazier than in 2004, as not only had I not been on a bike in four months, but I also been filling myself out on Argentinian steak and Malbec and had a base fitness of zero.
And the early signs were not good. Picking up the bike on the day we flew back into Auckland from Santiago, the 11km ride back to Rae & Tom's place on the North Shore was much more difficult than it really should have been. But I toughed it out like the stubborn GrandMaster you know me to be, getting on the bike in each of the first five days we were back. But despite the belligerence, I was having serious doubts that maybe I was going too far this time. Last weekend was a big test, heading up to the top of the Waitakeres and back to complete a 100km ride, and though it was in no way easy (the body was very sore for the second half of the ride), completing it did help to repair the confidence. I also managed to follow this up with a 60km ride on the Sunday, hoping that I would have been able to convert 160km over two days the preceding weekend into 160km in one day a week later. Of course, distractions didn't help the preparations either. While it was great having Mike & Iris up for the weekend, the seven pints I had at Galbraiths the night before my 100km probably wasn't. And I am sure Lance never had four pints, a large glass of wine and a dram the Wednesday night before the big event. But then Lance didn't have Tom to lead him astray either....
So driving down to Taupo on Friday, there was no disguising the trepidation I was feeling about the next day. Though I did have the wisdom gained from the training-less ride from three years a go - food, food, and more food. So the reunion with Stu and the rest of the Clan that night was interspersed with quantities of pasta not normally seen outside a Sicilian wedding. Of course, we also couldn't break with training habits - Stu, Steven and I enjoying three beers as we put the legs up (Stu bringing me some choice selections of NZ beers that have brewed their way onto the shelves since I have been away).
After going to bed with the reassuring knowledge that Jim had told us that we wouldn't have any rain the next day, it was somewhat disconcerting hearing the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the roof once I had turned the drone of the alarm off at 6am. But the show must go on, and we dragged ourselves out of bed and started each of our routines for getting prepared - all very different. Stevens banana and maple syrup on toast for breakfast; Stu, always one for extremes, just taking with him 15 shots of leppin squeezy for sustenance of the ride; and me trying to stuff the contents of a Pak'n'Save pallet into my back pockets. After the usual fluffing about, it was of somewhat a relief to us all that we could put the jackets away, with the drizzle having pitter-pattered itself away elsewhere leaving what turned out to be perfect conditions for riding - nice a cool and dead calm.
Cruising down the hill to join the other 10,000 riders at the start line, little did we know that the Clan Father himself was knocking on our door wondering where we had got to. Fortunately I am just a member of the Clan, and not a son of our patriarch, and not the one who said Dave would have left to go down to the start line already. But I didn't have much luck down there either. Obviously not wanting me to be sitting on their wheel around the Lake, Stu and Steven gave me the slip and I found myself heading towards the back of the queue with the type of riders I would normally pay scorn on, but who I was now hoping wouldn't leave me for dead at the first climb.
After crawling up the start line, the wait was finally over and the ride had begun. The first 20kms is generally always the toughest - a slow but consistent climb of 300m while your heart rate hasn't had the chance to settle yet. And though I wasn't charging along, it was very frustrating being surrounded by other riders who didn't understand the benefits of trying to ride in a group or using the downhills. Nevertheless, no one was more surprised than myself to see that at the 80km mark only 2hr40mins has passed on the clock. I wasn't feeling great, but I wasn't near passing out like three years previous, and I also had the knowledge that the second half is easier than the first. And over the second half I seemed to feel stronger and stronger. After the climb over the Kuratau Hill, there is only the infamous Hatepe Hill left and a lot of flat riding around the eastern bays of Lake Taupo. The key here is find a good group and I managed to imbed myself in the middle of a huge pack that, while it wasn't going, made that section of the ride a hell of a lot easier. With 30kms to go and only Hatepe Hill as the only challenge left, I brought out the secret weapons - sugar and caffeine. I knocked the top off my bottle of flat coke and shot back my caffeine gel, and they certainly did the trick, as I felt better going up Hatepe that the time when I did have a training base, passing plenty of riders who must have had hours of training over me. After rewarding myself with a Mars Bar at the top, I let the sugar and caffeine take me home, finding a new source of energy and charging home over the last 25kms at nearly 40kph. Charging over the final 2kms, I got plenty of stares from riders I was passing as I was practically chuckling to myself, incredulous at how good I felt.
Crossing the line in the ridiculous time of 5hr18min, I can't remember having felt so good at the end of such an event. And I still can't believe it now. That is only 10 minutes slower than the first time I did the ride with months of training under my belt, and nearly half an hour faster than my previous effort with no training - though that time I collapsed on the grass and couldn't move, this time I could have jumped back on the bike (though I think that was more in spirit than in body). Of course, the conditions were definitely a factor. You couldn't help but hear other riders around the finish talking about how they had had a personal bests. But this in no way should take away from the achievements of my fellow Clan members. After five previous attempts, Steven and Dave both managed to not only break the 6 hour mark, but smash it. Steven bettering his previous best time by 50 minutes -coming in at 5hr12min, and the Clan Father making it in at 5hr38min - I wouldn't mind being able to do that at 69! But Stu was the star of the day for me, flying around in a blistering 4hr46min.
So there were plenty of grins around the dinner table that night, and where all the talk is usually of whether or not each of us will do it next year, it was how we could go faster next year. Though it would be hard to believe we could get conditions any better. And to celebrate, we told many tales from the course over some more beers and a little whiskey until the early hours of the morning.
Leaving Taupo the next day on a bright and hot sunday (there were a few sighs of relief that we weren't riding out on that morning), I paused to think that I will be back here in just over three months for entirely greater challenge - the Ironman. Now that I've got my cycling legs back, I just need to do the same for the swimming and the running. I've still got a fair bit of weight to lose though, and fitness to gain. But I can't dismiss the huge lift this ride has done for my confidence.
Well, maybe hell isn't so bad after all....
As I certainly expected to go there on Saturday. As most of you will know I once again made the crazy decision to compete in the 160km ride around Lake Taupo less than three weeks after returning in the country. In fact, this attempt was even crazier than in 2004, as not only had I not been on a bike in four months, but I also been filling myself out on Argentinian steak and Malbec and had a base fitness of zero.
And the early signs were not good. Picking up the bike on the day we flew back into Auckland from Santiago, the 11km ride back to Rae & Tom's place on the North Shore was much more difficult than it really should have been. But I toughed it out like the stubborn GrandMaster you know me to be, getting on the bike in each of the first five days we were back. But despite the belligerence, I was having serious doubts that maybe I was going too far this time. Last weekend was a big test, heading up to the top of the Waitakeres and back to complete a 100km ride, and though it was in no way easy (the body was very sore for the second half of the ride), completing it did help to repair the confidence. I also managed to follow this up with a 60km ride on the Sunday, hoping that I would have been able to convert 160km over two days the preceding weekend into 160km in one day a week later. Of course, distractions didn't help the preparations either. While it was great having Mike & Iris up for the weekend, the seven pints I had at Galbraiths the night before my 100km probably wasn't. And I am sure Lance never had four pints, a large glass of wine and a dram the Wednesday night before the big event. But then Lance didn't have Tom to lead him astray either....
So driving down to Taupo on Friday, there was no disguising the trepidation I was feeling about the next day. Though I did have the wisdom gained from the training-less ride from three years a go - food, food, and more food. So the reunion with Stu and the rest of the Clan that night was interspersed with quantities of pasta not normally seen outside a Sicilian wedding. Of course, we also couldn't break with training habits - Stu, Steven and I enjoying three beers as we put the legs up (Stu bringing me some choice selections of NZ beers that have brewed their way onto the shelves since I have been away).
After going to bed with the reassuring knowledge that Jim had told us that we wouldn't have any rain the next day, it was somewhat disconcerting hearing the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the roof once I had turned the drone of the alarm off at 6am. But the show must go on, and we dragged ourselves out of bed and started each of our routines for getting prepared - all very different. Stevens banana and maple syrup on toast for breakfast; Stu, always one for extremes, just taking with him 15 shots of leppin squeezy for sustenance of the ride; and me trying to stuff the contents of a Pak'n'Save pallet into my back pockets. After the usual fluffing about, it was of somewhat a relief to us all that we could put the jackets away, with the drizzle having pitter-pattered itself away elsewhere leaving what turned out to be perfect conditions for riding - nice a cool and dead calm.
Cruising down the hill to join the other 10,000 riders at the start line, little did we know that the Clan Father himself was knocking on our door wondering where we had got to. Fortunately I am just a member of the Clan, and not a son of our patriarch, and not the one who said Dave would have left to go down to the start line already. But I didn't have much luck down there either. Obviously not wanting me to be sitting on their wheel around the Lake, Stu and Steven gave me the slip and I found myself heading towards the back of the queue with the type of riders I would normally pay scorn on, but who I was now hoping wouldn't leave me for dead at the first climb.
After crawling up the start line, the wait was finally over and the ride had begun. The first 20kms is generally always the toughest - a slow but consistent climb of 300m while your heart rate hasn't had the chance to settle yet. And though I wasn't charging along, it was very frustrating being surrounded by other riders who didn't understand the benefits of trying to ride in a group or using the downhills. Nevertheless, no one was more surprised than myself to see that at the 80km mark only 2hr40mins has passed on the clock. I wasn't feeling great, but I wasn't near passing out like three years previous, and I also had the knowledge that the second half is easier than the first. And over the second half I seemed to feel stronger and stronger. After the climb over the Kuratau Hill, there is only the infamous Hatepe Hill left and a lot of flat riding around the eastern bays of Lake Taupo. The key here is find a good group and I managed to imbed myself in the middle of a huge pack that, while it wasn't going, made that section of the ride a hell of a lot easier. With 30kms to go and only Hatepe Hill as the only challenge left, I brought out the secret weapons - sugar and caffeine. I knocked the top off my bottle of flat coke and shot back my caffeine gel, and they certainly did the trick, as I felt better going up Hatepe that the time when I did have a training base, passing plenty of riders who must have had hours of training over me. After rewarding myself with a Mars Bar at the top, I let the sugar and caffeine take me home, finding a new source of energy and charging home over the last 25kms at nearly 40kph. Charging over the final 2kms, I got plenty of stares from riders I was passing as I was practically chuckling to myself, incredulous at how good I felt.
Crossing the line in the ridiculous time of 5hr18min, I can't remember having felt so good at the end of such an event. And I still can't believe it now. That is only 10 minutes slower than the first time I did the ride with months of training under my belt, and nearly half an hour faster than my previous effort with no training - though that time I collapsed on the grass and couldn't move, this time I could have jumped back on the bike (though I think that was more in spirit than in body). Of course, the conditions were definitely a factor. You couldn't help but hear other riders around the finish talking about how they had had a personal bests. But this in no way should take away from the achievements of my fellow Clan members. After five previous attempts, Steven and Dave both managed to not only break the 6 hour mark, but smash it. Steven bettering his previous best time by 50 minutes -coming in at 5hr12min, and the Clan Father making it in at 5hr38min - I wouldn't mind being able to do that at 69! But Stu was the star of the day for me, flying around in a blistering 4hr46min.
So there were plenty of grins around the dinner table that night, and where all the talk is usually of whether or not each of us will do it next year, it was how we could go faster next year. Though it would be hard to believe we could get conditions any better. And to celebrate, we told many tales from the course over some more beers and a little whiskey until the early hours of the morning.Leaving Taupo the next day on a bright and hot sunday (there were a few sighs of relief that we weren't riding out on that morning), I paused to think that I will be back here in just over three months for entirely greater challenge - the Ironman. Now that I've got my cycling legs back, I just need to do the same for the swimming and the running. I've still got a fair bit of weight to lose though, and fitness to gain. But I can't dismiss the huge lift this ride has done for my confidence.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
NZ Ironman
Well, I've done it now. I've just entered myself in the 2008 NZ Ironman, held on March 1st in Taupo. And if you are thinking that is not enough time to train, you might be right, but I'm counting on the 4 months I have when I get back being just enough.
So set aside the weekend around March 1st as I would appreciate as much support as I can get (I will be looking into accomodation).
And for those of you not familiar, this is the task ahead of me:
> Swim 3.8km
> Bike 180km
> Run 42km (marathon)
> and a lot of hours of training!
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