Trains, Travels

It’s about time I reviewed my last month of training. My week leading into Epic Camp is a bit like a taper, less training and a lot more free time. No internet to distract me either and an old X Files episode just isn’t that interesting (no tennis on at the moment).

January isn’t quite over, but close enough that the numbers won’t be too different. I’ve started the year as I mean to go on putting in about 115 hours of training so far. That’s way more than the equivalent time last year, probably (I don’t have the number to hand) triple! Not that numbers matter, it’s the results that count.

When I got back into structured training back at the end of December. It was to an extent the usual slog to get going again. Only a couple of weeks off and what I’d been doing just a few weeks back felt like hard work. Previously I’ve taken longer than 2 weeks away from training and I did find the shorter break made it a little easier to get back into routine. Though as a number of painful massages showed there was certainly a legacy from the race carried over into the early weeks.

My initial aim was to get myself into my usual training regime and volume and then once comfortably there start to work on a bit more focus and intensity. The main thing I wanted to achieve in Jan was to get back to the fitness I had before Busselton. From there I go into Epic Camp in great shape and ready to build on it. That was the plan and whilst I have the odd worry that I’m not progressing well enough effectively I’ve achieved it.

After 5 weeks of solid training I’m feeling in pretty good shape. The belt test confirmed I was on track when I flew over to New Zealand. Scales aren’t really an option travelling about, the notches on my belt tell me how I’m doing. The Coast is too warm to wear jeans most of the time so I only do the test when I travel. Before I started training I was back on belt hole one, for New Zealand I was onto hole three, right where I should be!

Aside from the waistline my swim is developing. It’s a little odd to be writing about it at the moment when access to swimming here has been a little erratic. One thing I’ll be glad to get back to the Coast for is the pools! Looking at the month overall I’ve managed to adopt the technique improvements from the swim analysis. A long way from perfecting it, but my technique has definitely improved. A bit of interval and paddle work has seen some improvements in my 100m times too. I’m optimistic that another couple of months working at it will put me in a position to get that 55 at IM Australia. If I had any concerns right now it’d be that I’ve not swum the other strokes much lately. That 400m IM set at Epic Camp could be interesting!

I’ve got my bike legs back and my bike set-up correctly again. It didn’t take long to get back into long rides and some decent hill sessions. If anything I’ve felt a lot stronger on the bike in January. This past week in Wellington has been pretty rewarding. Without the usual training volume and with fresher legs I’ve been riding much stronger. With a bit more recovery I reckon I should be in good shape to cope with the strains of Epic Camp. Endurance is there so I want to work on bike strength and power by the time Port comes round I want to be able to ride harder than I did in Busso. Port is a hillier course so if I want to get close to my Busso time on the bike I’ll need to be strong in the hills.

The run is the least satisfying element of the last months training. I’ve got a decent if unexceptional amount of running in, but so far I don’t feel I’m progressing anywhere. There’s work needed on my endurance still and I’d really like to build some hill strength and speed. The regular brick runs off the bike certainly help, but I need some focussed sessions. I’ve found myself debating doing some track work. More worrying right now are the twinges in my left calf when I run, reminds me of the shin splints I had over a year ago. In a few minutes it’s time to stretch and massage the leg and see if I can clear them up. I was hoping with the increased run volume of late I’d be up to using running as a way to get extra points on Epic!

So finally Epic Camp. Just a few days away and so far no illness (though I was seriously paranoid about that yesterday!) I don’t know what the points system will be this time so I can’t put up any plans on that side of things. My general aim for the camp is to again complete all the minimal training, but this time to tack on extra in all 3 sports. In Italy I completed exactly the minimum, this time I’m going for every extra point I can! Somehow I’ll try and blog in between that, the eating and the sleeping.

P.S. Still loving training in New Zealand even if it means being wet and cold at times!

It’s been a quality week here in New Zealand. Both the experiences and the training. I’ve been doing a little less volume than I would normally do in the week (25 versus 35 hours), but the time on the bike has been a little bit tougher. Recovery has been pretty strong though and I’m starting to feel pretty fit. If I want to go hard it’s getting easier to go hard. It’s a week to Epic Camp and I’m feeling lean and ready to go.

Swimming has suffered a little whilst I’m here, but in terms of quality the Ocean Swim in Wellington certainly delivered. I took a fair battering from a very rough sea and took around 50 minutes for 2.8K. It was a real battle to sight and swim out into the chop. The waves didn’t do enough to help on the way back either. At the very least I did beat any of the celebrities from NZ soap Shortland Street. From what I can tell conditions were bad enough that the time was fairly respectable. Unpacking my wetsuit and trunks this morning I was glad I opted for a wetsuit, not least for the cold, but the stitching in my trunks fell apart! They were getting old.

Not to be outdone by the Gold Coast Wellington has turned on the sun the past couple of days. It’s been a great weekend for training and I’ve certainly made the most of it with some awesome riding. Generally I’d say conditions here make for some challenging and honest rides. Winds can be tough going and the road surfaces appalling. I’m glad to have the powertap to let me know exactly how tough the going really is. The climbs here are great, ranging from short and sharp through to longer and gradual. Either way they’re virtually unavoidable.

Unfortunately I seem to be descending like a brick at the moment. I’ve never been a great descender and a crash a couple of years back did nothing to help. For some reason though I just can’t seem to get it together mentally and am far too tense. Partly it’s the slightly awkward bike position I’ve adopted to make my road bike a little more tri-like. The handling is definitely impaired. Certainly the crappy brake blocks put on the rear wheel at its last service didn’t help. I’ve switched in my preferred brakes and stopping is improved, but the mental game is still a little off.

Whilst not out on the bike I’ve been relaxing with the Tour Down Under or the Australian Open Tennis. The former is to be honest a little dull. Multiple stages of racing consisting of small break aways that get caught and then a sprint. Whilst the course has apparently been toughened up this year it’s still no where near testing enough. The latter has been far more engrossing. I particularly enjoy watching the shifts in play how fatigue and psychology make such a big part over an entire match. I’m not strictly much of a tennis fan, but I am getting into it.

That’s it for now, I’m quite enjoying life away from the Internet at the moment. There’s certainly a few things I’ll take from this when I’m back on the Coast. I’ve a few more days of this quality focus and plenty of rest and then Epic. Should all be good, eh bro?

Third day in New Zealand and I’m loving it here! I can’t pin this on any particular thing, there’s so much to mention. My mate and his family are superb hosts and have gone out their way to show me how great NZ is. The scenery is fantastic, today’s picture is from a local run loop round the inlet. The views are spectacular and it’s flat which round here is a bit of a rarity. If my mate didn’t live on a hill you’d not have to do any climbing on this one.

I flew out on Tuesday on what has to be the emptiest plane I’ve ever been on. I think there were less than 50 of us on the plane, including the crew! I have to give kudos to Air New Zealand as that was probably the most pleasant flight I’ve ever been on. Plenty of leg space and a quality TV system and all that in economy too. Even the cutlery was high spec! I got to see another Simon Pegg movie, “How to lose friends and alienate people”. At best it’s OK and I’m being pretty generous there. I prefer to watch trash when I’m flying so I also caught most of a Vin Diesel movie, “Babylon AD”. At best it’s a Vin Diesel movie and I’m bein generous here too!

Once I was here it was a case of stick the bike back together and after a bit of relaxing a little ride. Not being the usual sunny climate I stuck the gilet on for the first time in ages. Then we headed north up a gradual climb called Paeka. The countryside here is far more reminiscent of home and at times you could be in the Lake District. These days I’m used to far drier, browner vegetation all this greenery is a bit of a change. Paeka gives some great views up the coastline and on the return I could see the top of the south island. After that it was a case of chilling out, chatting and staying up far later than usual!

I started my first full day here with the previously mentioned run round the inlet. A great introduction to the local area. I was a little nervous as with my sense of direction there was the potential for things to go very wrong! I didn’t have any food or money on me so whilst I was pretty sure I was on route I wasn’t 100% sure how long I’d be out there for. Still I made it back in one piece having stuck exactly to the course too. The day was also turning out to be really sunny. The Gold Coast has the heat, but the sun here is far more intense. There’s no way you can go without suntan lotion for very long.

Then we all went off to the local outdoor pool which I was concerned might be a little cold by my standards. With the sun out though it was the perfect temperature. The length though was a little bit odd at just over 33m so 3 lengths per 100. Completely threw my counting for the day! I knocked out a pretty decent set of intervals with and without paddles. Particularly enjoying the free speed shorter pools give you, nothing like an extra turn for boosting your 100m time! And the extra shallow shallow end helped refine my tumble turn technique!

For a complete change to the normal I didn’t go out on the bike for my ride, instead joining my mate’s RPM class. He instructs a couple of classes at a gym in Wellington each week. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve done a spin class or similar. Trying out new stuff is always good fun though so I had no problem giving it a go. It was a tough 45 minutes because I absolutely slaughtered myself with the resistance. Sweat was pouring off me, I soaked the floor, my towel, the bike… I must have smelt particularly nice when we popped into the supermarket on the way home.

Yesterday we headed out on the bike for a bit longer. Unfortunately the sun had decided to hide and the wind had decided to come out. If you’ve managed to avoid the hills somehow then there’s always a headwind to contend with instead. My mate took me on a route down to the marina in Wellington. We traced through hilly back routes to avoid traffic and get a few undulations in. It’s very honest riding round here, there’s not much chance to avoid some work. Once down to the sea front the real challenge was the ever changing winds which remarkably mostly stay in your face.

We stopped off at Oriental Bay to check out the sea as I’ve signed-up for the Ocean Swim race held there this Saturday. 2.8km sea swim, but wetsuits allowed fortunately as it’s looks cold as. It was also pretty damn choppy too! Could be a tough one if conditions stay like that. I’ll probably get a little trial run in at some point today so will have some idea how much water I’ll be swallowing and how cold it is!

We continued the wind battered ride around the coastline with a tough climb up to the prison thrown in. Tough for us, but tougher on another triathlete who decided he wasn’t going to let us get past him. I was watching my powermeter and thinking we were going pretty hard. He confirmed it by dry retching as we reached the top! He didn’t have to push himself that hard, we weren’t racing up there! Every so often on the climbs you’d get brief spectacular views out over Wellington. Another of those wish I had thought of my camera moments.

One of the best things over here is the coffee. I thought Oz was a step up from the UK, but New Zealand has blown it out the water. This is the real stuff! Strong as and great flavour. They even have these fantastic coffee muesli bars. All the benefits of a coffee, but in bar form. We stopped on the way back for a quick coffee. I combined my strong long black with a coffee muesli bar. It was a potent caffeine mix that gave me the rush I’ve been missing for so long. As I commented to my mate tat I think they’ve been giving me decaf on the Coast as I’ve not had that buzz for so long! It helped me hammer out a pretty solid pace into the headwind on the trip back.

Having been out longer than expected I had to rush off to my massage appointment and lie there stomach gurgling in complaint about the lack of food. If it wasn’t for that I’d have been asleep on the table! Somehow I managed to finish the day with another run out round the inlet. It was one of those times it was tough to actually get yourself out the door, but once you were going things were fine. This time though I had a some food, just in case!

Not sure what today’s plans will be, probably that sea swim and I’m sure I’ll get another bike in. I’m also sure that any ride is going to involve more of those hills and more of that wind!

Posting may be a little bit erratic over the next few weeks as I’m heading off to New Zealand. I don’t mean to imply that they’re backwards there, but I’m not sure on when and how I’ll be accessing the internet!

The main reason for the trip is to attend Epic Camp. My second time after the camp in Italy back in July. I have been warned how it can be the second camp where you really do silly things. After all with one out the way I know I can complete it, but what I really want to know is how much further can I take it? I’m sure it’ll be good fun though expect to find me pretty wrecked by the end of it! I want to make it clear I’ve no intention of being sick this time, none at all. I’m going there healthy and fit and ready to find out just how much the body will take.

Before all that nonsense I’ve a little over a week on the North island staying with a mate in Wellington. Looking forward to some good riding and some good coffee! Can’t wait! I’m seeing the 3 week trip as a great opportunity for a really solid block of cycling. Hopefully I’ll get plenty of Ks in and under some decent challenging conditions to make them honest. I may even have to break out some of the cold weather gear again!

I’ll also try to get a few decent pictures on route and a few posts up of some nice epic rides. Aside from this I’m planning to write up my thoughts on my first 4 week training block of the new season. There’s some good and a bit of a pep talk on a few issues for me! Just how close the next Ironman is has started to dawn on me. Certainly helped me put the hammer down on today’s ride!

I let this go under the radar for a while, because until the horn went off at 7:50 this morning I really wasn’t that excited about another race. This time race 4 in the local sprint tri series. Again hosted up in Robina, but a slightly longer course (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run). Despite the reluctance with which I went along I finished up really enjoying myself. Not particularly because of performance, but having the opportunity to race and push myself a little was good fun. Not that I was well prepared in any way, shape or form!

Allow me to indulge in the age old tradition of providing my excuses for performance. Since my big day in the saddle I haven’t done any really large days of training, but I have still trained solidly. Friday I cruised around on the bike at an embarrassingly low pace. Though I did ensure I put a little effort in so the bloke commuting on his mountain bike didn’t keep up with me, I have some dignity! I also stopped off on the way home to finally try one of the muffins at Barchino. I realise it’s unlikely many people reading this will ever go to the place, but if you do – the muffins actually look better than they are. Sad, but true. The coffee was good and free thanks to my tenth stamp on the loyalty scheme.

The only other session on Friday was a trip to the pool. Maintaining the theme of poor time management for the day I went during peak hours. Mostly I sing the praises of Aussie pools – size and availability of lanes is excellent. Especially if your lifestyle lets you go when only the elderly and unemployed are free. What I learnt is that Friday evening is busy with squad swimming leaving at most 4 lanes free. Ok, I realise by UK standards that’s practically an empty pool, but I’ve been spoilt lately. For the first time I had to share a lane with people who interfered with my workout. Mostly the frustration of not being able to turn on the wall because they left no space and I’m not mean enough to tumble turn into someone. Still if I’m honest I still managed to do a really good interval session mixing paddle work in there despite all of this. Certainly the hassle of having one interval in a set of 12 interrupted by the fat, slow man in the lane is nothing compared to home.

Not content with badly managing my time on Friday I carried it over into Saturday. I wake up early as intended planning to get out on a long run and then the long run fear hits me. I can’t really explain it, but I find it so hard to get out on the long run at times, feeling my legs are too tired and I’ll be forced to walk! I arsed about on the internet instead and finally kicked myself into gear by going back to the pool! This time though no paddles as my shoulders were starting to hurt. Instead a nice big endurance set and another 5K knocked out. Oddly the slight soreness in my right shoulder was helpful in forcing me to properly engage the lats.

I got back from the pool and headed straight off to Yoga which was mercifully the easiest session I’ve been to! Lots of focus on stretching and a fair bit of core work it was just what I needed. We finished with a single meditation on the sound of om for those interested in that side of things. I did wonder if we were too pressed for time to meditate on it any more? Still much as I can’t get into the spiritual side to yoga it does relax me. Given I was spending the day rushing about it was really appreciated. I headed straight home and had a very lazy lunch. Not in the relaxed, indulgent sense of the phrase. I made a bowl of porridge, ate some fruit and some tuna straight from the tin. What? That got me some carbs and protein!

I finally overcame the long run fear and got myself out on the road. As I mentioned after last weeks long run the plan was to run South this time to learn more about the potential to run one end of the coast to the other. Unfortunately the mission had to be aborted about 50 minutes in at Palm Beach as it started to drizzle. Too much time in the heat and sun has clearly softened me to typical British conditions as I quickly turned round and headed north again! Reaching Palm Beach in 45 minutes makes me suspect it’s at most 90 minutes to Point Danger from Mermaid Beach so I think The Spit to Point Danger would come in under 3 hours fairly comfortably. It’s potentially a fun long run, though I now need to work out the logistics of getting to the starting point and back again!

Back from my run, a couple of handfuls of dried fruit to eat, a very quick rinse in the shower and it was off to Pete’s gym for a massage. Like I said poor time management was a theme for the past two days. This weeks massage rated much lower on the pain scale and not for want of trying. Relatively my legs aren’t so bad and the little knot in my right quad is finally gone. My right shoulder was fun. Pete asks me to let him know when he hits the good spot which basically means where the pain is most excruciating! Generally my swearing makes it pretty obvious anyway and once it’s found he just pressed down harder. And that was it, race prep done!

That was a very long way of explaining that I wasn’t fresh for the race. Still I’d entered and I’ll give it my best shot whatever. By handily being a difference distance to the previous course I can’t directly compare results. However my placement in my age group was 10th this time, though there were fewer people. I’m pleased that my relative swim placement was improved over my last effort, I certainly felt better in the water. Both my bike and run were a little off though. I’m not entirely surprised by this I felt a nagging ache in my left ITB throughout the race. I actually rode harder on my hill climbing session earlier in the week going by the powermeter file! And 19 minutes for a 5K run is pretty poor really. I didn’t quite have access to my top end, finding it hard to get and maintain my heart rate anything above 150.

Still I didn’t write all this up to make excuses. For a start I had a lot of fun and feel it was a good training session. I’ve come away wishing there were more sprint races like this available. I’d happily throw one into the mix every couple of weeks to get a bit of extra work in there. I’ve relaxed for most of the rest of today though I am planning an easy run in a little while. I have one more big day to come as the rest day on Monday has put this weeks training block a bit out of line. Then it’s off to New Zealand!

I’ll start with a brief lesson in the importance of attention to detail. This may not apply to you, but it’s something I need to learn for sure. When I got back from Western Oz I put the bike back together as usual. Then it’s a couple of easy weeks, kick back, not do much, certainly not on the bike (well except one hard ride, that was dumb too!) So there we are, time to start training and time to stop all that eating! Hit out on the bike a few times and you know this is a bit uncomfortable must be because I took that time off.

After a couple of weeks of sore hands I think maybe I’m not having to get used to spending hours on the bike again. Sure enough when I spend a little time and check my bars are tilted down a degree or two too far. That was it, adjust and no more sore hands! This would be fine if it didn’t take me another week to adjust the saddle angle to stop it digging into my right thigh so much! Or then a few more days on top to finally accept that the vague sensation that my saddle is too high is because it is too high. So now the saddle is 3mm lower and riding is a bit more comfortable. The bike is back where it was for months before and I no longer have to adapt!

The lesson: if find your recently reassembled bike doesn’t quite feel right it probably isn’t set-up right. The correct response is to spend the 5 minutes or so it takes to fix this and not to try and work through it!

Having let myself have a day off and properly put the bike back together I’ve been getting myself into a nice, big week of training. So started out with two solid 5 to 6 hour days with a bit of all 3 sports in then got to the high point of the week. My big day out was a 8:15 ride followed by a 45 minute run to make a nice round 9 hours total. There was supposed to be an hours swim in there first thing, but poor sleep this week made me take a little lie in. I was still up around 6, but used the time to get in a big, big breakfast. I figured I’d be needing it with the day ahead.

My rough plan was to ride down to Byron Bay then make my way back. Byron Bay is a destination beach, everyone goes there. You find this when you hit the queue of traffic on the turn off to the town. I visited last year, riding down, but getting a lift back. It was a trip notable for a lot of rain, dreary skies, and not one dolphin sighting despite assurances I’d see them. Yesterday however was another perfect day on the coast so I headed out to blue skies and sunshine.

The trip down the coast went quicker than expected. Aided by a slight northerly and the fact I wasn’t entirely sure how far Byron Bay was. It was also as rough as usual thanks to the casual Aussie attitude to road surfaces. The roads are quiet, the views spectacular, but they’re rough as. The equipment toll to the constant vibration and rattling has been spectacular so far. I wonder if I should be worried about the really loud creaking the bike makes when I climb out of the saddle! I arrived at Byron having suffered a slow puncture on route, but that’s about 1000km since the last one so I’m doing good!

With 5 hours still remaining on the clock and having stocked up on Coke and chocolate at a servo I took the long route back. This partly involved more of those rough roads, this time with a strong headwind that began to get on my nerves. Around about this point of the ride I had a small insight into my psyche. The ride time was reading about 3:40, I was pushing some decent power out into a headwind along the Tweed coast road. My legs hurt a bit as they pushed a big gear and were continually battered by the bumps in the road. I started to experience two sensation, firstly I was feeling quite hot and thirsty in the sun and secondly I needed to pee. Pretty simply solved right?

Well you’d think so anyway. I had three choices of fluids to deal with the thirst – some flat and now warm Coke, a small amount of rationed water and a bottle of Gatorade in my back pocket. The Coke wasn’t going to work that’s for sure, too sugary. I didn’t want to hit the water for a while so it would be the Gatorade. The thing is the bottle is still sealed in my back pocket I’d need to stop to open it as it’s a twist cap. But I need to stop to pee anyway right? It’s still pretty simple. The clock ticks on and I refuse to stop because I’m going pretty well and soon it’s 4 hours on the clock and I promised myself I’d just keep the effort up till 4. Only now we’re on the rough, hilly road to Mooball with a warning that there’s crop spraying ahead which doesn’t sound pleasant. I decide to push past this before I stop.

Except there’s no crop spraying happening and I’m still going, still thirsty and if anything need to pee even more! I’m pretty sure I’m past any potential crop spraying, but still now I’m getting picky about where I stop! I still prefer to be a little discrete about where I stop and piss at the side of the road. This is despite the fact that inevitably stopping for a pee break seems to attract cars to the quietest roads. So I’m hot, thirsty and in need of the toilet, but won’t stop until I find a good set of bushes. Of course I then hit a couple of towns which pretty much eliminates any chances of relieving myself for a while… 25km after I initially decided I needed to deal with the issues I stop and finally have the much needed drink. It’s a further 2km before I find somewhere suitable for the call of nature!

I think I learnt new things about my stubborness/stupidity. I think we all learnt I’m willing to pad out a post on the thin topic of urination!

To end an overly long story. I finished the overly long ride strongly and pretty satisfied and was even pleased to find a 45 minute run didn’t feel that bad after all that! It is all relative though. Since then I have been and still am very hungry. Today is an easier day though, I shall go for a leisurely ride in a short while, perhaps even stopping for coffee and cake (I am really hungry). A 5K swim set in the arvo to make up for missing it yesterday than finish with an easy hour of running. Then hopefully a decent night’s sleep tonight as that didn’t happen last night despite the effort of the day. Actually I think I was too hungry to sleep well, woke in the night and had to have a snack and then woke needing breakkie pretty early too!

On that note I’m hungry, must find food

I can be stubborn, very stubborn in fact. Often it can take a while for a message to get through to me. Despite all of this I’ve (so far) managed to take today off as a rest day. You see it’s been 21 days of training now, averaging 4-5 hours a day in that time and those that fell short of that number used intensity to make up for it. The joys (torture) of Yoga have been putting extra strain on muscles all over the place. Sleep has become a lot easier, a lot heavier and despite regular 8 hour nights I never feel I get enough. Then there’s the motivation factor which is usually pretty big for me. This morning the thought of another 3 or 4 hour ride just didn’t appeal at all!

It’s very hard to accept rest as part of the program. I’m very driven in what I do and looking to keep progressing like anyone chasing Hawaii slots and 9 hour Ironmans. When I got up this morning the thought that I could either train as normal or have a rest day was in the back of my mind. This is a very tricky decision to make, potentially I could be being lazy. For me to make it almost certainly involves some kind of bargaining. If I take today off I’ll absolutely flog myself up Trees Road tomorrow (accidentally discovered 20% plus road)! Even then am I just being weak by skipping out on training? I hadn’t scheduled this!

There was a huge mental battle lying ahead of me for the next couple of hours. Chances were it would culminate in me either getting out on a ride or deciding it was too late and resigning myself to not training. All of this was diverted by one simple question from my landlady – “What’re your plans for today?”. I admitted that I’d not decided and was considering a rest day as I was tired and had trained for the past three weeks. When she said then I should take a day off that was it. External validation of the position, qualified or not, was good enough for me. Commenting how I’d yet to visit the beaches pretty much cemented the issue. After all living five minutes from the beach and not having stepped foot on it is a cardinal sin!

Confession finished the plan for my penance was set. No training today. Instead a long walk along the beach with breaks for coffee, some brekkie and probably a bit of cake on the return leg. I’m happy to say I’m now sitting at home, penance completed. I walked further than planned and possibly had a little more cake than planned too! Plenty of coffee, though I now have to wonder how I ever grew to have a fondness for Cappuccinos. I vaguely recall having a very high caffeine intake at the time and switching to Capps as a way to handle more coffee because of their milder taste! I am back on the hard stuff though, if it’s not black it’s not going to work. It’s been a good break, but even now I’m fighting an urge to go and do just a light jog, or there is a yoga class at 5! Instead once this is posted I’m going to have a lie down and possibly a nap!

In fact that rest is pretty appealing so I’m motivated to get this done! Fortunately my weekend was uneventful, more of the same. Read the last two posts and you’ll have a pretty good idea how it went! Training and a few signs I needed more time to recover. At the same time there were signs that my fitness is really taking shape too so I can’t be disappointed. I’m feeling I’ve got myself to the point where I’m ready to really start the training I need to progress. The next 7 days are going to be a big week now, the plan is to get a lot done before I fly out to New Zealand. Not that things get easier there! My first week I’ll keep training up as usual probably with more of a bike emphasis. Then it’s Epic Camp time and I plan to push myself hard and see what happens! After that I might allow myself a rest day again!

(I am thinking I’ll flog myself up Trees Road tomorrow. Not to make up for resting, just now that I think about it…)

So I’d just finished my 5K swim set, once again ‘Swimming with the Celebrities’ as Rebekah Keat was in the pool. I’m pretty tired, today hasn’t been the best of training days and there it is, the first doubt of 2009. Training is such a tenuous thing. Here I am approaching the end of another week and still a couple of months till the next big race, but am I doing the right thing? Have I done enough intensity? Too much? Should I have dropped the easy bike today or the easy run the other day? Do I look skinnier in the mirror or am I eating too much?! No, really that one as well.

I blame the internet! Sometimes I should just stay away from it. It has a habit of putting questions in your mind, especially when you see discussion on what it takes… Much of that 5K swim was spent alternating between thoughts about technique and how annoying it is to see time goals you’ve comfortably achieved listed as all you need to do to go to Hawaii… Depends on your races I say and clearly I haven’t gone to the right ones! But I don’t want to come across as bitter, I’m not. It’s not supposed to be easy and the Hawaii goal comes on the path to the 9 hour mark. Just got to have faith that if I stick with the plan all of that will come.

Speaking of faith I went to my fourth Yoga class today. For me Yoga is primarily about getting in a bit of a core workout and working on flexibility. Possibly a few of you know my views on the spiritual side of this yoga thing. In fact I am sure I’ve said to at least one person that I didn’t want to go to yoga classes with any of that spiritual crap in. I would like to recant this position. I haven’t had a new age awakening, but I can see the value in playing along with this side of things. It may just be me mellowing out with the laid back Gold Coast lifestyle I mean it’s hard to get stressed when the skies are blue and it’s sunny as.

Practically what this means is I know where my third eye is (forehead thank you). I am not phased by being told to focus on any of my Chakras though I don’t have a clue what that really are. I have even finished a session meditating on my Heart Chakra. Admittedly I got it wrong at first, but who knew it would have a green smoke! I think having watched Iron Man the day before I just had that Arc Generator power source in mind. But hey, I can imagine a tree in verdant green fields if that’s what it’s actually supposed to be. I could go on about the sound of Om or some interesting breathing practices, but let’s leave it here. I kind of like it for being so totally outside what I’d normally do or accept and it’s very relaxing. I also did think those incense stick things would be great for clearing the occasional funky smell in my room after major workouts!

Whilst doubts creep in the training week’s been pretty good so far. Been a bit more of a loner the past couple of days, but getting in some useful sessions all the same. I finally answered a question from last year – can I run to The Spit? Wednesday being long run day was my opportunity to finally solve this mystery. It was sunny so another opportunity to run topless and save the washing! Heading North means going through the touristy hell hole that is Surfers Paradise. Despite this I donned the knee high compression socks because my right ankle has developed a twinge. Worrying me enough that I was happy to run about in knee high socks through the most crowded section of Gold Coast beach front!

The Spit sticks out at the northern end of the Coast. A lot of people ride out there. It’s a bit busy to get there, but the last section is good for doing short interval work. Recently it’s been a little overwhelmed with Crickets as last year’s weather made for perfect breeding conditions. What I hadn’t realised is that between the road and the beach is a large area of packed dirt trails with lots of undulation. Finding this was my reward for dodging tourists from Surfers to the end of Main beach. I ended up going a little longer than planned just to confirm you really could get all the way to the end. This also leads me towards an answer to another question I’ve had – can you run from The Spit to Point Danger? My next long run may well head South in search of the answer!

And honestly that’s been the highlight of the past few days. I mean I did say the life of an athlete can be pretty boring! I could mention having knocked out two 5K swim sessions this week and finding both of them very enjoyable too! That’s pretty pleasing and along with a bit of intensity in my swim work and my new love for paddles is giving me some hope for improvements there. The ankle niggle is concerning and I’ve been here before. Stretching, rollers and massage are the answer and just be sure not to develop it into an injury.

From here on it’s a case of rinse and repeat until I get to New Zealand. I have some plans for scoring extra points on Epic Camp this time. Assuming they follow a similar scheme to last camp, but perhaps I shouldn’t let these things on.

No sharks! Another time for them. This was inspired by some massage table conversation shortly before we got to work on my ITBs and quads. From that point on it was mostly just swearing and pain induced hysterics. Don’t think I have ever had quite so painful a massage! Did the trick though. Anyway the conversation was how boring just being an athlete can be.

My masseur, Pete, is also a training partner and for the past few weeks has been on summer holiday from his main job of teaching. He’s getting to live the full-time athlete life style for a few weeks, but is already looking forward to having more variety in his life again. I had to agree to an extent it’s true, every day it’s get out there train, eat, rest, train some more and then sleep. It’s a good job I love this stuff! OK and to be honest it’s still way more fun than a real job! So anyway here’s the last couple of days of my life dumped onto the web for everyone to ‘enjoy’.

Monday is a day for all 3 sports. I wake fairly early and am pretty hungry already. I’d decided on an easy ride to start the day and not too long so have the luxury of a proper breakfast before I head out. I also waste some time on the internet meaning I end up heading out about 30 minutes later than planned. No problem really except I’ve agreed to meet Pete at the pool at midday so I’m cutting into my recovery time. I ride South down the beaches at a pretty cruisey pace, I had planned to go easy, maybe this is a bit too far though! Still get back and this week the rule is a 30 minute run off the bike. So I set off along the beach front but really reigning in the pace. There’s been talk of doing some intervals in the arvo. I secretly hope Pete might not be up to it!

I have managed to get the first round of training done allowing me 1 hour to eat and get ready for the next session. Plenty of time especially as I don’t waste any of it on the Internet. Back on the bike for the short ride over to the pool and I’m not late. Miami Pool can be a bit like ‘Swimming with the Stars’, the other day Emma Snowshill and Courtney Atkinson were there. Pete tells me Rebekah Keat is in the lane next to ours. Admittedly he told me that the day before and it turned out to be Emma Snowshill so I’m not entirely trusting. To give him credit though he was right. Swimming with Pete is doing me some good, making me work through some intervals and introduced me to the fun of paddles. 3.7km later and were done. Plans are made to meet later for that interval run and then I get my much needed massage.

Having 3 hours to spare I take the opportunity to cook up a load of pasta for the next few days lunches. Eat loads right then, but make sure it’s out of the way before the run session. Then waste some time on the Internet! Ride over to Pete’s gym and get changed for the run. One of the advantages of a hot, sunny beach environment is you can go run in just shorts. I’m mainly concerned with the savings in washing, nothing to do with improving the tan or just showing off. Besides I’ve opted to wear compression socks so it’s not my greatest look.

Pete wants to do 6 sets of 3 minutes on at 3:30 minute kilometre pace with 2 minutes recovery. The first one doesn’t feel as bad as I thought it would, in fact this should be fine. By the time we get to the sixth the pace had clearly dropped a little and both of us are getting stomach cramps! No vomiting though which has got to be a good thing. We jog back and discuss how good the scenery is along the coast. There are times you have to appreciate beach culture and how it involves so little clothing! My day was finished with the previously mentioned painful massage.

Today my plan was a nice long ride. Seven hours going down through Murwillumbah, Mooball, into Brunswick Heads and then back up the coastline. The weather was nice, a little cloudy in places, but warm. I woke up feeling hungry again, but with a long ride needed to be out the door so it was just a snack for brekkie. The first hour of the ride is cruising to get the legs moving and make sure they’re not too sore from that massage. Despite the low pace I pick up a guy with an impressive moustache on my wheel. He never speaks to me, but sticks to my wheel for about 20 minutes.

Around 3 hours into the ride I decide my eating plan was a little too conservative as I get a dip in energy. Power output drops a little and I start fantasising about foods other than the cheap Coles muesli bars I have on me. I wasn’t far from Brunswick Heads where I could stop at the Servo for much needed Coke, Powerade and a Snickers bar. From there I headed home and for once a tail wind over the rough coastal roads. The influx of calories did the trick too and my power picked back up again. A speed bump in Kingston added to my tally of Aussie road induced equipment failure. The mount for my Garmin 705 gave out sending it flying. Fortunately it was still working fine though, just got to get a new mount now.

I got home pretty much on 7 hours, having run out of fluids a little sooner than I hoped. Still the rules say a half hour run off the bike so a quick change, down a load of water and out the door. I shoved a muesli bar in my short’s pocket just in case. I also added $5 as a bit extra in case it really went bad! Normally I carry my emergency gel that I’ve had since WA, but I’ve lost it! I survived the half hour without needing the muesli bar or $5. I got back feeling pretty empty so time to eat and eat and eat!

I’m pleased Pete isn’t up for the mooted 3:30 swim session so I take an extra hours rest before heading out to the pool. Without a strict time to be there I walk rather than ride, been on the bike enough today. Also it means I can allow myself a treat of a couple of biscuits from a bakery on route. Only on a big ride day! Though I’ll be honest it’s not that good a bakery, but it’s the only one en route. No celebrities at the pool at this time of day. I knock out 3km one way or another and am actually starting to feel quite good by the end of it. Then a quick walk home for dinner, I get back feeling ravenous and a little light headed!

Since then it’s been eat, rest and of course waste time on the Internet! Though in this case this lovingly crafted blog post is the result. Sleep soon and then more of the same tomorrow. A long run up the beaches probably to start.

(OK so that was 2 days of my life, I know)

It would be amusing if I wasn’t the victim, but on my three rides so far in 2009 I have punctured every time! I’m getting through tubes at a rate and they’re not cheap here either! Maybe I’m being sent a message to give my bike a good clean up and service it kind of needs it. Whatever the reason I can’t afford to keep puncturing like this!

Aside from the road side repair focus to my training everything is going well. The cycling is feeling pretty strong, the running is getting there and the swimming is coming along. Then there’s the yoga too. Three sessions in now and I’m getting a bit better at it (well so the teacher said anyway). That said I came out of the second session pretty sore! I know it’s not supposed to be competitive, but you have to push yourself. It’ll be a while before I see if it benefits the rest of my training much. At the least I’m getting a decent core session out of it, a bit of stretching and a bit of relaxation too.

In the pool I’m moving away from the extreme drill focus and starting to bring in a bit more structure to the sessions. Adapting to the swim corrections whilst working at speed is a work in progress. I am certainly no slower than before, but possibly only marginally faster. Faster is faster though and there’s a few months of work yet before the next race. I have also learnt the value of paddles – specifically for me my left forearm is quite weak and fatigues quickly whilst trying to maintain a good wrist position. Regular sessions with paddles to develop forearm strength are on the cards now.

Out on the bike and my riding seems to be in good shape. Certainly the power readings are looking good. I’m suffering from some soreness in my hands on the bars though and have no idea why, it’s not like the set-up has changed. A couple of weeks off definitely left me with an adaptation week where the contact points needed to toughen up a bit! I also seemed to forget how rough some of the roads round here are too. Still when I hear about the cold and ice back home I have to appreciate the opportunity to ride outside everyday. Getting in plenty of hours a week already and with Pete around to help keep me honest on some sessions. The benefit of a training partner is a bit more push on the rides. Today’s trip out along Tally Valley was certainly a lot harder than I thought I could go.

With the exception of one ride this week I have done a short brick run every time too. It seems to be working well for me so next week I double the length of the run! Stand-alone running is going well in the sense that I’m back to a respectable volume already. That said there’s been a few twinges at the longer distances. I’m beginning to wonder if my trainers are reaching the end of their life span. I would guess they’re getting close.

Highlight of the running this week was a hill session around Burleigh Heads. The headland is a small nature reserve with a series of paths running through it. It also apparently contains at least one species of venomous snake (and this being Australia we’re talking nasty venom here). The main challenge though is the steepness of some of these paths, well and dodging round the walkers. A set of 3 loops with near vomit inducing fast uphills followed by a pleasant downhill recovery finished my training on Friday. The downhills had a sting in their tail though as my quads have been a little sore since!

I’ve only a couple more weeks of training and I’m off to New Zealand. I’ll train for a week out there and then have an easier week ready for Epic Camp. Really looking forward to the Camp environment and seeing just how far I can push with my new levels of fitness. It’ll also be good to catch up with a few friends, make some new ones and probably end up with further plans for the year ahead!

The next post will be on the entirely different subject of sharks. Simply because they’re cropping up in my google news feed a lot right now (shark attack fatal) and they fascinate me.