I stick to a principle of getting to check-in early. The theory is that if you’re there nice and early the staff are more lenient when it comes to your luggage. Alternatively turning up at the last minute can work too as they rush to get you on the plane. Personally I don’t have the nerve to follow the latter option as a strategy. When my airport shuttle hadn’t shown up at the hotel 15 minutes after it was due I beginning to think I’d forced that way anyway.

Just as I was heading to a taxi rank figuring out how my bike bag would fit in a hatchback the shuttle arrived. I was the last pick-up so at least we were straight to the airport from there. Once we’d arrive there was one final delay as it turned out the driver hadn’t thought to carry any change. When you charge $15 from the city to the airport I’d have thought a collection of $5 notes was essential.

Normally flying BA makes the issue of excess luggage simple. There’s a fixed charge for excess bags and a flat fee regardless of weight. Whilst I’d booked through BA I was flying with Qantas all the way and would be subject to there terms. Qantas operate a much less triathlete friendly system of charging $50 Australian per excess kilogram for long haul. With an allowance of 23kg and bringing a bike and kit home it’s pretty much inevitable I’ll get hit.

A couple of weeks before I’d worked out that I probably had close to 40kg in New Zealand. With Qantas I’d be looking at $850 Australian to get it all home. I spent the last fortnight packing and posting as much as I could. From what was left I’d put as much of the heavy stuff as I could into my hand luggage. The huge Blueseventy backpack I’d got on Epic Camp came in handy there.

At check-in my bags weighed about 30kg once they’d rounded up. Seven kilos excess, more than I’d hoped, but nothing to be done now. It also transpired that whilst there was a gap between landing in Sydney and flying home my ticket wouldn’t allow me to leave the airport without paying an additional fee. Not savouring the idea of nine hours in a terminal I reluctantly went to the ticket office to pay.

Meanwhile the attendant checked my bags in and somehow calculated my excess luggage fee at twice what it should be! When he brought that over to the ticket office I was quick to point the error out. It was bad enough at the correct rate let alone with his mark-up. Some discussion followed in which we established the error in his calculation and the fact I normally paid a fixed fee with BA.

Whether it was a genuine mistake or not, the man at the ticket office looked up the Qantas rate. Sure enough it said $50 Australian per kilogram, but apparently he missed that second part. Instead he charged me a straight fee of $50 Oz for having excess luggage. I knew it was wrong, but this wasn’t the time to prove superior knowledge of Qantas charges. Instead a nervous few minutes playing dumb followed fearing the mistake might be spotted any moment.

From there to Sydney was plain sailing. I’d been put in an exit row and had plenty of leg room. When we landed my name was called out to contact a member of crew. I worried they’d figured out the massive undercharge on my bike bag! It turned out the flight home was heavily delayed.

When I flew back from Kona there was a call for passengers to move to later flights. The airline would put you up in a hotel and pay you for doing this. Unusually I was on a deadline and couldn’t volunteer. Normally not working makes it easier to change my schedule. At the time I made a mental note that if the option came up again I should go for it.

These delays weren’t that serious, but to keep me happy Qantas had booked me a room in a hotel and would pay for dinner too. I’d intended to go into the city (and paid for the privilege) so all of this was a bonus. I headed in, dumped my bags off and caught up with friends as planned. All with the added benefit of a few extra hours and a decent shower and meal before returning for my flight.

When I got back to the airport further delays kept us waiting another couple of hours. I couldn’t have spent 15 hours stuck there especially when half the shops were closed for refurbishment. It seems that whilst they’d been late getting a plane they were now hurrying through fixing a problem with a landing gear. I did wonder if hurrying to fix an issue was really that reassuring.

I don’t know what this says, but I was actually excited that we were returning on a new Airbus A380. It’s just a plane and I’m still in cattle class, but I’d never been on one. If you’re going to be stuck on something for the next 20 hours it’s best to be positive. I think we might have got a bit more leg room than other planes it’s hard to be certain though.

I got through the flight thanks to a decent set of movies, decent food by airplane standards and a neighbour who happily gave up any of her unwanted meals! Very kind, but not helping my plan of avoiding overeating whilst travelling. I’m terrible for boredom eating so once I learnt where the snacks were available I was there between films.

Over five hours late into the UK with a final few frustrating delays as the plane taxied to a free gate. At least I was back home. My bags had turned up too and clearly I’d got away without having to pay much for the excess luggage. All in all a good result.

I’ve followed my usual plan for dealing with jetlag. Go to bed at the appropriate local time and pretend it doesn’t exist. At the least it works in getting my sleep synchronised, admittedly I’m still feeling tired today. I’ve noticed that my legs are still swollen from all the time on the plane. Hopefully I’ll see my ankles properly in the next few days. It makes me suspect it’s a combination of a race and the travel that makes me swell up for so long after an event.

To make things more complicated I also threw in a half-marathon on Sunday. Not strictly a race as I ran as a pacer. Having to pace 8 minute miles was a different kind of challenging and without a Garmin I was still accurate enough. I did finish with my slowest half-marathon time ever, but it was great to have helped others achieve their race goals.

Now it’s back to normal training. Over coming my dislike for cold and wet weather and settling into a routine. There’s three weeks to get myself ready for the hard work to come in Lanzarote.

Here I am again at a period of change. All packed up and with one final night in Wellington before I head back to the UK. As always there’s mixed feelings there’s a lot I like about New Zealand, but then there’s plenty I miss from home. Let’s be honest once I land back home it’s only three weeks and I’m off to Lanzarote!

There’s a lot more change to come. Right from the start of my journey I’ve had things tightly plotted out. Races entered twelve months in advance, tickets booked, somewhere to stay… I may have been moving a lot, but it was well planned. Check my schedule and you’ll see it’s suddenly looking pretty blank. For once I can’t tell you exactly what I’ll be doing over the next year.

The question I’m most commonly asked is how I afford to do all of this. My answer to that is changing. Unfortunately I’m not independently wealthy and their are limits to my funds! Once I’m back in the UK it’s time to start addressing the bank balance a bit more. The horrible truth is I’m going to have to do a bit of work!

I’m not expecting sympathy. Actually I’m looking forward to what’s ahead. There’s a lot of potential on the horizon, but not too many definites. I can say my aim is to build a lifestyle still focussed on training. I’ve come a long way in these last two years and feel there’s more to come. I’m not giving up now.

I’ve mentioned before a long term objective of achieving a sustainable lifestyle within the world of endurance sports. I started down that path with my coaching and I’ll be continuing further down that route in the coming months. I’m looking to achieve a balance whereby I can work just enough to support my continued development as an athlete.

My first step will be working with the guys at the Tri20 Swim Centre in Reading. Aside from helping out at the lake I’ll be running some training camps in the Dordogne. If you’re thinking about training camps over the summer check them out. The aim is to provide everything from start to finish so all you need to worry about is training. I’ll be on hand to guide training and help plan sessions for the week. Of course how much you do is entirely up to you.

It’s certainly going to change the way I structure my training. I’m hoping it might introduce a bit of discipline again. I may pack in a lot of training in a week, but I’ll admit without work my time management isn’t what it used to be. Can’t do any harm to get on top of that again and be a little more efficient.

For now though the focus is Lanzarote. Once I’m back in the UK it’s all about the build. I’ll be getting back into hard training and preparing myself to break 10 hours there. I want to get back on the age group podium too! Let’s not be shy with our goals.

These past few weeks have been a little easier than I’d intended. In fact my original plan was to almost train through New Zealand. Things didn’t quite work out that way, but it’s not been an entire waste. I opted for a swim focus and I mean a focus. Last week I managed 41km in the pool! That’ a record for me and remarkably despite fatigue by the end of the week I started hitting very comfortable sub-1:30 100s.

Two months of a lot of swimming seems to be paying off. It’s easy to accept a 1 hour swim as good enough, but the reality is if I want to progress further I need more. Coming out of the water in 55 minutes would make a massive difference to my position and the way the bike would play out. That’s the goal to keep working till I can swim at least a 55 in an Ironman.

It’s getting late and I have to get up early for my flight. Next time I post it’ll be back in the UK. One last change to mention – I promise to get back into the blogging habit. Less of the silent treatment.

When I signed up for Ironman New Zealand I’d assumed it would be my main chance at Kona qualification. With that done the focus for New Zealand changed. For a while it was a bit lost, probably just to get a podium finish in my age group. When I wrote my targets the day before the race, that was the goal. More broadly though the race was a chance to test my fitness and training so far this year. Was the work I’ve been putting in doing any good or was I just playing?

I was keen to test the value of my recent swim training. A change in approach and attitude appeared to have yielded results in the pool, but could I translate that to a race? I’d ridden more than I’d ever manage in the past two months. There’d been plenty of hard work so could I push more on the bike? My run fitness has been all over the place. Had the big push in run volume earlier in the month done enough?

I’m not going to call it a training race. I went in with the aim of racing as hard as I could. No holding back. I wanted to see where my fitness was, how I’m racing now and come away knowing I could build on this.

Swim

The big aim for this race was to come in under 1 hour for the swim and I certainly achieved that. I know a fast course helped a little, but I’m still pleased. Comparing my placing with my result in Western Australia I clearly moved up the field. From finishing in the top 22% in Busselton to the top 16% in Taupo.

I’ll admit the problem with that statistic is there are many variables involved. Choice of starting position, the field in general or the line I swam. If you take the average swim times from those two races New Zealand is about two minutes faster. I’m not disheartened by this.

In Taupo I swam at an average of 1:31 per 100m and it felt comfortable. Not just a matter of drafting, I noted that when I lost feet I could easily get back on. I’m certain I was moving through the water much better than I have done in the past. At the very least I didn’t feel I was expending as much energy for the pace and came out of the water feeling fresh.

It’s exactly what I wanted to start out my year. A confidence booster and makes me feel the 100km of swimming I put in in February was worth it. Of course it sets a new goal for future races and also a precedent for training. To keep improving I’m going to need to keep the pool time up.

Bike

I’d checked my power numbers from recent rides and felt certain I should aim for a slightly higher race wattage. Not that I particularly focus on holding a number during a race they’re more of a guide. I watch power, heart rate and with perceived exertion try to manage my effort. Largely looking to avoid extreme spikes of effort or dropping off the pace.

Ironman New Zealand’s results pages divides the bike course up into four 45km sections. The first and third quarter are outward bound starting with hills in town then flat after a good downhill. For 2010 there was a solid tailwind for a lot of the way too. The second and fourth quarters are back into that wind and have a more gradual uphill before some fast descents in town.

The first quarter being straight out of the swim and with early climbing my heart rate started out high. Once past the hills, with the wind behind me it very quickly settled as effort levels eased. Whilst climbing I’d watched power to ensure I avoided setting new records this early in the day. Once the terrain had eased it was useful for ensuring I kept my work rate up.

With the elevated start my heart rate averaged out at around 143bpm for this section. Towards the high end of where I race, but not surprisingly so. At that point the wind was only starting to build and the going was easy. My power averaged 215W with the climbs yielding a higher normalised power of 225W.

The second quarter from the turn around and back sees my heart rate drop a little to around 138bpm. That’s pretty comfortable racing territory for it. I felt flat during this part of the race like I lacked some drive. Now I was riding into a headwind the reality was I was working harder – averaging 221W with a normalised power of 230W. It seems the reason I felt worse was a few extra watts!

Into the third quarter and once again it’s the climbs out of Taupo. The second lap is slightly different to the first throwing in a bit more climbing and making us work into the wind for some of the outward journey. Early into this part of the race I came good and started to push more. The result was an average power of 218W and a normalised power of 228W. Not too much of a fall from the second quarter despite the tailwind.

From the last turn around home it was all into strong winds. My heart rate rose back up from the high 130s and into the low 140s. More importantly my power rose to average 230W with a normalised figure of 240W. That’s certainly the strongest sustained period of riding I’ve recorded over an Ironman distance. I worked hills hard and kept pushing till the downhills into town.

Overall I averaged about 221W with a normalised figure of 230W. It’s up there with my performance at Roth from last year. It’s similar to my performance in Western Australia, but with a bit more variance in the power. The perfectly flat course in Busselton gave matching average and normalised power values around 220W.

Whilst this doesn’t point to radical improvements on the bike (yet) I did learn a few lessons from the race. Firstly I can push harder than I might think and without too much trouble. Secondly if I want to do that I need to maintain a steady stream of nutrition focussing on regular intervals for eating. If you feel that you’re not riding well it probably means you’re pushing or you need to eat!

For future races I’ll be adopting a more regular feeding strategy and starting it earlier. Really looking to take in some calories very early on the bike and then keep topping up every fifth-teen minutes or so.

Run

I’ll be honest I wasn’t that happy with my run. Like Western Australia my overall run placing sounds great 31st there and 33rd fastest here. I’m capable of faster than a 3:20 though.

I knew my run could be a weakness. I wasn’t at my best racing weight. I’d edged closer to Roth Weight, but still had a few kilos to go before Hawaii weight. This would obviously have some impact, but equally the run training up till now had not been as significant as into Hawaii.

Since Hawaii I’d struggled to settle into a good period of run build. Partly the fault of running the Perth Long Distance Worlds two weeks later. My legs were in no shape to be racing so soon and I paid with another lost week of good running. Western Australia hadn’t had great preparation and I felt I’d got through on mental toughness!

Epic Camp this year had allowed me to get a couple of reasonable run weeks. From there I worked on building up run fitness aggressively. Possibly too aggressively as after three weeks of hard work I struggled for a week or two. Not injured, but finding my legs constantly aching and it hard to combine good run and bike training. My run volume cut back and my taper was effectively started earlier than planned. I missed a couple of longer runs I would have liked to have in my legs.

No excuses though. I’ve two things to take from this. Firstly it’s I need to get down to Kona weight again as it works for me. Secondly I need to focus on a period of consistent running before really pushing things again. When I do push I’ve got to keep the block short and not go too far with it.

I went out onto the first lap of the run feeling good and I let myself go at a harder pace than usual. Much as I knew that the early kilometres always feel fine I didn’t reign things in. Instead I decided to see what happens. I really paid for it during the second lap. Tthere was some slowing on the latter half of lap one, but the first half of lap two was shocking.

With hills and a headwind the pace dropped well under 5:00 kilometres a few times. Given I was able to pick this back up and run with others I wonder how much was mental focus or low energy? Could I have pushed a little bit more or perhaps I’d not taken on enough gels in the earlier parts of the run.

Worth noting is I think I did the bike on the least amount of food ever. Funnily enough it was also the most energetically expensive race I’ve been in. I was likely entering the run on a greater calorie deficit than I’m used to. There’s room to take on more gels on the run and I should probably focus on doing that more in the early stages.

Overall

I’m happy with how the race went. It’s close to where I hoped to be and certainly a good sign of how the year has started out. I also felt I learnt a lot throughout the day. Probably the biggest lesson related to nutrition. The need to start early and often. Not taking in too much at a time, but regularly taking something on board. I think my past tendency has been to go far too long between feeding and to consume too much at once.

I clearly need to get my run together. Sure it does well in the overall field, but it could be pushing me further forward. The great run shape of 2009 came from the back of lots of steady mileage plus very regular run racing. I’m going to look to do the same over the coming year. Plenty of miles plus regular speed work. As for the rest it’s more hours in the pool and more hours on the bike. I’ll keep hunting out the hills for the latter and working myself hard.

It’s about time to get back into things and focus on Lanzarote.

I started off with a great swim. 0:58:04 is the official time which includes a short bit of running at least. I stuck to my guns on going into the swim with confidence, placed myself near the front and got stuck in. Had a pretty decent draft for a lot of it with a few sections on my own. Having been warned it could get a bit aggressive out there things were remarkably calm. I like the feeling of coming in and seeing a sub-1 hour time on the clock.

Out on the bike the goal was 5:05 and I got very close. Unfortunately a drafting penalty cost me a few minutes and I came in with a 5:07. Unsurprisingly I didn’t think I was drafting. I had got caught up with a small pace line with a couple of frustrating riders who would surge to the front only to drop the speed off massively. After a lot of coasting and backing off I went round and came to the front. Immediately another guy had followed me and sat himself on the front of me. Before I’d had chance to drop back I was told to pull over by a marshal.

Obviously I did and was told I know the rules and I know I shouldn’t be doing that. Given if we argue our time doesn’t start I said nothing. The thing is I don’t know exactly what I did that made him decide I was the person to punish in the group. I’d been riding clean as far as I was concerned. There were riders around me who definitely hadn’t.

Still it is what it is. After a few minutes i was back on my way and finished a lacklustre first lap. Somewhere around the 100K mark I ate a bit of chocolate Powerbar and the sugars kicked in (or something did anyway). From then on I hammered the bike. Despite the stronger winds I made up plenty of places and some good time. I was pleased to be so close to my target all things considered.

I felt great at the start of the run and knocked out the first few Ks far too fast. Rather than reign things in fully I decided to go with it and see what happens. The result is a very tough second lap! Again the wind seemed worse and certainly made the run out of town hard work. I kept pushing myself and trying to overcome the fatigue and pain in my legs. Ultimately I got back onto a solid pace for the last few kilometres and finished strong grabbing a few more places in the last 2Ks. A run of 3:19 didn’t seem that good though.

So overall time was 9:31:12 which got me 30th overall and with an incredibly stacked 30-34 field only 10th in my age group! Nowhere near the podium at this one! Happy with the time. Happy with the performance at this point in the year. It’s a good start and I’ll be working to improve on that by the time I’ve reached Kona.

Starting in the water my aim is to break one hour. I’m told that the swim here tends to be fast so hopefully that’ll prove true for me. Far more importantly I’ve put a lot of work in at the pool this past month and I’m seeing improvements. I should be taking those into the open water and that means a better swim. Put it this way, if my swim is slow I will be disappointed. Very disappointed.

I suspect I’ve been guilty of mental sabotage in the swim. Either psyching myself out or not taking the time to plan or visualise the race. I enter the water already expecting it to be tough and that one hour mark to be a challenge. This time I’m getting in that lake knowing that one hour isn’t a problem and that if I don’t make it I’ve done something wrong. No excuses!

The bike is an interesting one. I’ve something like six thousand more kilometres more in my legs since Busselton. A lot of those have been pretty hard. Recovering after Epic Camp, then building back into training in February was so thick with fatigue I honestly thought I had nothing on the bike. The last week or two has rebuilt my confidence.

I’ve seen some good riding in tough conditions. My heart rate appears lower for a much better power output than I’m used to. I’m feeling strong. The forecast is potentially strong winds and I’m happy with that. I’ve lived in Wellington for a few months, I know winds. If the bike is tough it’s going to work in my favour.

Given I’m expecting better power on the bike than previous races I’m aiming for somewhere in the 5:05 region. A very solid split and perhaps those winds will knock that on the head. Whatever happens I’m aiming to push hard and work myself the whole distance. This isn’t going to be a conservative effort. Let’s see what I can do.

Then the run. Training has been going pretty well, though not spectacularly. Just like cycling it’s only been in the last fortnight I’ve felt I was getting somewhere. Ironman pace is feeling comfortable again. The reality is I’m not sure if I’m capable of going faster than recent races, but believe I can go fast.

The aim is to run another 3:10 split. Conditions shouldn’t be as hot as the last couple of races which will work in favour of that goal. I just have to keep focussed on hydration, nutrition and good running technique. Hopefully I can pull out a decent run and close with a fast race.

Overall we’re probably looking at going 9:20-9:25 if I hit my targets. Achieving this should also make my age group podium, at least based on previous results. It does feel ambitious – potentially a tougher course than Busselton, but a similar time. If you don’t aim high…

As ever, we’ll see tomorrow and I’ll be sure to get a mini-report out as soon as I can.

Before you start anticipating a series of tables you should remember tapering is a period allowing a lot of introspection. For the obsessive athlete you scrutinise the past few months of work to glean signs of race readiness. Surely there must be something in the last two months that clearly shows I’ll have my best race ever? That time I pulled my six hour ride short doesn’t mean I’ll have a terrible bike?

I’ve not sat on my laurels. The problem with those tables is they only consider four points in time leading up to race day. Twenty-eight days summarised in four rows. The potential to hide a whole world of sin is massive!

I fired up Excel, pulled the numbers out of WKO+, formulated some new tables and best of all plotted new graphs. So no tables, instead charts!

I’m keeping things simple by considering six races – Australia, Roth, UK, Hawaii, Western Australia and New Zealand. That gives me four races that went well, one that went badly (Australia) and of course the predictions for New Zealand. I dropped Lanzarote as performance there didn’t relate to fitness or taper. I considered dropping the UK as its taper was so unusual given it’s proximity to Roth. For Taupo the curves are generated based on my taper plan.

Run Performance

In terms of run fitness (CTL) the start of 2010 saw me at a relatively low level. After Kona run training dropped off and there was some decline in absolute levels. Since the year began I’ve worked on restoring them and as the chart shows this places New Zealand up near Roth and Hawaii.

It’s worth noting how high my CTL for Australia was. Despite apparently high levels of fitness I had an atrocious run there. Similarly UK and Western Australia have low values and my performances were much better. One message throughout is these numbers only tell part of the story! If that weren’t the case we could all submit our training data to race referees and save ourselves ten hours of hard work!

Note the relatively flat CTL for Taupo compared to the other races, this is particularly relevant in light of the other charts.

Positive form (TSB) is needed for racing, though finding the exact value is an art. Based on race performance Roth, UK and Hawaii would rate the highest. It suggests a race day TSB around 15. Australia had a TSB over 20 and was a horrible day all round. Possibly I’d let run fitness slip too much and my TSB rise too high.

New Zealand will have the lowest TSB I’ve ever entered a race with. It’s gong to be interesting seeing how it pans out. The problem is to raise the TSB into the teens I’d need to let fitness slip to lower level. I’ll be honest I’m not sure which is the smarter move here?

Part of the problem was created by a sustained period of negative TSB as I built up my running. Notice that for Roth, UK and Hawaii I move into positive TSB about a week out from the race and it gradually increases. With Taupo run fatigue pulled me out of negative TSB almost a fortnight before race day. Since then it’s been a matter of balancing run training against taking too much of a hit to TSB. There’s a lesson to be learnt here which I’ll come back to another time.

So the option I’ve chosen is to sustain a very easy level of training to minimise loses in fitness whilst allowing TSB to stabilise and grow a little. I’ve room to experiment at Taupo so we’ll see how a low TSB value effects my run.

Not entirely surprisingly I’ll have the highest fatigue (ATL) I’ve had for a race too. Again the consequence of a short period of big run training spiking up my run ATL. Look at Hawaii or Roth to see a much smoother descent in ATL. Taupo actually sees a very slight growth over the final week as I try to minimise fitness loss.

What’s interesting here is in appearance it looks like I managed the ATL loss for Australia well. The shape of the curve is very similar to Hawaii and Roth. The pattern for good running seems to be reduce ATL gradually over the final fortnight. Effectively a two week taper. In fact if I were to pick a turning point it’s around 17 to 18 days out from the race.

From the bump in that final fortnight a longer or more intensive run about ten days out also seems to be an acceptable part of the plan. In fact comparing Taupo’s line I’d say it’s the absence of this session ten days out that does the most harm. In order to stop a large CTL drop off I’m forced to maintain a level of ATL and that also results in the slow recovery of TSB.

If only I’d done this analysis a couple of weeks ago! For future reference the plan is to build up running fitness until a final long run at eighteen days out. From there I’ll lower the daily training load with the exception of a final decent run ten days out. This should hopefully give me a gradual decline of CTL and a better rise in TSB.

Bike Performance

Fitness on the bike doesn’t seem to reveal as much. Obviously my CTL is way higher this time thanks to Epic Camp! Otherwise the general trend is quite a flat fitness profile in the final month. If anything a very gradual increase till about a week to a fortnight out then a gradual drop off in CTL.

Worth noting is that for both Roth and Busselton I chose to taper the bike for a single week. I also had pretty good races! Perhaps I only need a short taper. Lowering CTL from two weeks out seems to be the longest I’ve done. To an extent Taupo is following a similar pattern to Kona – two weeks out holding steady then dropping in the final week.

The TSB chart is more interesting. Notice how much my Taupo line fluctuates. At the moment I’m not riding every day, tending to have a day of hard riding followed by easier days. It’s also impossible to draw any conclusion about race day TSB. The spread for good races is wide. For Roth and Busselton I had much lower TSB values. I’ll admit I felt tired on the bike in Roth, but less so in Busselton.

Kona is remarkably high and at the moment Taupo looks like it’ll be matching it. Is that a good sign? It’s also close to the less successful Ironman Australia. I will note that in both Hawaii and Australia I came good on the latter half of the bike.

Taupo is lying somewhere in middle ground. Not the highest, but far from the lowest. I think I’m going to have to wait till race day to judge the wisdom of this. If I had any concern it’s that copying Busselton and having a long ride six days out may not be the best move. That said I’d probably only move it forward a day.

Well I’m leading into this race with the highest level of fatigue anyway. There’s going to be a bit more biking in the last week than for previous races. The reason is to minimise a rapid CTL drop and to stop the TSB shooting up to exceptionally high levels. Partly this is a consequence of the high level of CTL I’ve been sustaining since Epic Camp.

This chart supports my view that I need the final big spike around seven days out from the race. Clearly in Western Australia having it six days out did no harm so hopefully the same will prove true here. That said I think I’d have been better to have focussed on riding today instead of tomorrow!

Again for future reference the plan for cycling is to finish any build a fortnight out. Rather than tapering off I will look to maintain cycling fitness for that next week, finishing with a big ride. Finally I’ll taper quite hard in the final seven days. It’s very roughly what I’m doing, but I can be a little more precise next time.

Race Performance

Just as I said last time it’s all very well looking at this data, but it only tells so much. Race performance comes down to a multitude of factors. Good race preparation isn’t just about the rest and recovery.

My gut feel for Taupo is that I should be stronger on the bike than I have been and should be able to post a good bike split. I’m a little uncertain about the run. I feel better prepared than in Busselton which is good, but I don’t think I’m at my best run form yet.

The swim? Well I’ve been in the pool loads and it’s paying off. There are definite improvements over the past month. By all rights I should be able to comfortable get the swim done in an hour. If I don’t then I clearly haven’t executed to the best of my ability. I should also come out of the water feeling a lot fresher than usual. A short swim involves at least 4km these days!

I’ve every opportunity to have a great day in Taupo. The biggest risk is that I’m more fatigued than I’m allowing for. Certainly recovery and rest have at times fallen short. I’ve also worked hard to sustain quite a high training load throughout February and to get myself to race weight. A tough combination to maintain!

We shall see in a week’s time. Then come Lanzarote I can pull these graphs out again and wonder what to do!

The last fortnight has been an up and down time. On one day I can tell a friend in the UK that I’m starting to feel strong and more confident. The next I can come crashing back down to Earth with fatigue after a dodgy night’s sleep. This update is inspired by the question of where my focus is and whether I’m race ready or not.

Focus

I’ll admit I’m not as focussed for this race as I have been for some of my others. This isn’t the first time it’s come up and clearly my Tweets are giving that impression. Last time I mentioned it I put it down to the difficulties of motivation when I already have my Kona slot.

That’s true, but it’s not the entire story. I want to race well in Taupo, I want to perform well. I would love to get myself on the podium again and that’s going to take a serious effort. I’m conflicted though. I’m enjoying training. I’m enjoying logging week after week of solid efforts.

Right now I’m seeing progress in my swimming for the first time in a while. A consequence of motivation and consistency in training. I’m finally making progress on my running and feel that’s coming back to form. I’m making a reasonable effort of maintaining a high level of bike fitness since Epic Camp. All good stuff and I feel strong in each discipline when not too fatigued.

If Taupo were a month down the line I think I’d be much more focussed on it! I spent some of this afternoon napping and the other half starting plans for my build up to Lanzarote. The race isn’t till May, but the goal of breaking 10 hours there and getting on the podium motivates me much more. Maybe it’s just the desire to make up for last year!

So I’m not as focussed on Taupo as I could be. I want to race well there simply because I always want to race my best. I’m frustrated by the interruption to my training it will make. It’s been suggested that if I view Kona as my A race then this is simply a period of building base. It certainly feels that way. Like I’m getting myself to the point where I can really put in the work (I have some big plans for my running later this year). I worry Taupo might derail this, but maybe I need the break?

Race Ready?

Graphs, charts and numbers time. As usual graphs are from WKO+/Excel. Red is ATL (fatigue), Blue CTL (fitness) and Yellow TSB (form). If you’ve read the blog before you must have encountered these by now! The lighter coloured lines are my values for the same time period in the previous year. Do bear in mind I raced Ironman Australia in 2009 which is a month later than Taupo.

The bike performance management chart clearly shows my bike fitness is comfortably and consistently higher than this time last year. The big spike from Epic Camp was unsurprisingly unsustainable. So after a period of recovery I’ve focussed on maintaining fitness at an intermediate level.

It’s taken a lot of riding to do this and a fair amount of hard work in the winds and hills round here. I considered growing the CTL more, but realised that to do this while trying to build up my swim and run would be very difficult. Part of the process since Epic has been accepting the limits of what I can do! Fitness is higher than post-Epic recovery, but no massive growth.

There’s been more significant growth in my run fitness. I’m certainly feeling this and combined with the weight loss I’ve managed over the past few weeks I’m running well. Interestingly my fitness is lower than this time last year. I put that down to the huge bike focus I had during November/December and the lack of run focus after Kona.

I think I’ve mentioned feeling my running really wasn’t in great shape before. The chart supports that as far as I’m concerned. I came into 2010 with my run CTL at the lowest it had been for a year. What I have achieved is restoring my run fitness to more reasonable levels. I’m easing back now with Taupo round the corner so there’s not much chance to build further.

I’m aiming to put some solid build phases for the run into my Lanzarote build. Beyond that they’ll be a real run focus in the lead in to Kona. If I want to achieve my ultimate run goals I need to put a lot of work in between now and then.

Charts aside am I race ready? Well fitness is there according to the Performance Management numbers. Comparing the run in to other races there’s enough similarity with my better races to give me some confidence. I’m continuing to train through the coming week and will take a short taper.

Much as I’ve been having sleep trouble I’m going to save looking at the Performance Management tables and the details of my taper for another time! My feeling about Taupo other than uncertainty is that if I can get myself fresh enough then I’m in shape for a good race. The deciding factor is going to be the fatigue I carry into it.

That said with this posted it’s time for a hot, milky drink and some natural sleep tablets (5-HTP). I have no idea if they’ll work or not. I’ll take the placebo effect if they’ll help me rest enough the coming fortnight!

Weekly hours are high as is the training load. I’m spending more time in the pool than I have in an age and enjoying it. Better I’ve noticed the times creeping down a little for my hundreds. Good signs for sure. In fact were I just thinking about swimming I’d be feeling great about how things are going.

It’s become normal to turn up at the pool and knock out four to six kilometres. I’ve learnt most importantly to always have a plan. Fail to plan, plan to fail and all that. If I get in the water without an aim you can be sure the session will be easy and monotonous. Set myself a target or challenge then time flies by and so far I’ve mostly been hitting my goals.

On (mostly) dry land things are a little bit more interesting. Perhaps you detected an element of uncertainty in my previous posts? It’s there, lurking in the back of my mind and raising questions as the weeks progress. Combine that with vagueness about my Taupo goals and at times motivation can be a little off. Not seriously, but enough to make me wonder if I’m doing the right thing?

Perhaps I’m exaggerating… Running is coming along. The past couple of weeks I’ve been logging good mileage and it’s starting to feel right. Compared to after Kona and through Ironman Western Australia it’s great. I can go out and cruise along at just a little below my Ironman pace anytime I want and it doesn’t seem to have much impact on my legs.

Plenty of longer runs have become staple with at least two over two hours every week. I’ve yet to completely settle back into a daily run routine, often finding it all too tempting to skip out on a short run when I’m tired. I know I could get through it, but that little bit of mental weakness stops me making myself do it.

On the bike I’ve been riding comfortably. Comfortably isn’t really the word you want to hear to describe your training though! I can easily hold steady paces for hours on end. When the road turns up I am climbing more aggressively than before. Throw a headwind in my face (which isn’t a rarity round these parts) and I’ll push. Put my long rides all together though and they feel a little slack.

Resting is where I really fail. Simply going by hours of sleep I can see I’m not putting the work in. I’m trying to train hard, trying to control my diet and return to race weight (it’s working), but failing to put in the sleep I need to get through it all.

It’s a silly, rookie error and one I plan to rectify in the following weeks. Experiences such as Epic Camp or in the Pyrenees show that if I’m sleeping well I can get through a lot of work. I’m training hard. Harder than normal, but not to the level of those camps.

This weekend was a sharp indicator of how significantly I’m failing. After a restless night on Friday I dragged myself for a 6K set at the pool on Saturday. Remember how I mentioned the importance of a plan? I got in the pool with low motivation and no real session to do. Somehow I splashed through a lethargic and unsatisfying two hours.

I’d promised myself a treat for a hard week of training. A little bit of sugar and carbs wouldn’t hurt especially with a two hour run on the schedule. Fatigue, hunger and the motivational dip were enough to expand the size of the treats. Paleo man had discovered the cake shop!

By the time I got home I felt far too out of it to even contemplate a long run. I did the next best thing and planned all my training in WKO+. Trying to work out my fitness and taper for Taupo! If you can’t do the practical the theory is the next best thing after all.

The smart move would have been an early night. I crashed out late and slept heavily. My alarm went off at six to get me up for a ride with Laurence Pidcock another Brit in Wellington. I felt terrible. Terrible enough I didn’t question sending a text to say I’d not be making it. Then I hit the sack for another couple of hours.

What a difference two more hours made! I actually felt a bit more normal. I wasn’t massively enthused by my previous training plans so substituted a ninety minute run out towards Pencarrow Lighthouse. I kept the pace easy and felt good. Good enough that I knew I could do more if I wanted. The aim was to hold back though, conserve a little and be fresher on Monday.

As I said I’ve been bad at rest. Change is needed. I can make my plans, but if I’m not recovering enough to execute them they’re worthless. The key objective for the next three weeks is to rest enough that I can flawlessly execute my final preparation for Taupo. With luck I’ll wake up Monday ready to go and able to start putting out the performances I know I’m capable of.

I’m back in Wellington which after a weekend of foul weather has turned on the sunshine for me. I felt a slight inkling to go out on the bike on such a lovely day. After 15 days of riding it felt wrong not to be sitting on a saddle. Fortunately it’s still in the bag so there wasn’t really an option. Tomorrow maybe, but for now I went for a nice, easy swim.

My third time at Epic Camp is over. Once again I managed to complete the camp minimums and throw in a little bit extra for a few more points. I’m waiting to see if I did enough to retain sixth place once the KOM points are factored in. Whilst I enjoy getting a little involved in the points game the main point of camp is the training.

Before I left for Auckland I set myself some goals for the camp. I have to admit to mixed success with these. If I’m disappointed with any of them it’s how quickly I cracked on the nutrition side. I turned to sugars early in the camp and didn’t turn back! I think in the second week my eating habits were a little more controlled and structured, but still nothing like the paleo for athletes plan.

I can check off camp completion from the list without problem. I didn’t run every day though. I didn’t run on the easy day, nor on one other day when I might have. I did run a lot mind you, not to the level of some on the camp, but a reasonable amount considering everything else going on. I’ve handled much bigger running loads in the past, but considering how much running I’d done in the couple of weeks before the camp and all the other training I’m not too disappointed. It does mean I won’t be scoring highly in Gordo’s run game of course!

I swam a lot, missing one or two optional swims in the second week of camp. I was particularly pleased to actually get a 6K swim in and do a reasonable number of the swim sets this time. I finished with a good 7 or 8km more swimming than camp minimums at least. I also picked up run bonuses from doing one 25km run (on day one too) and a day with a couple of 10K runs in.

Did I test my limits though? The straight up answer is yes. I’ve never done training like that. I’ll admit I’m suffering a little from that feeling that perhaps I could have done more. Just like finishing a race and thinking how you could have gone faster. Perhaps I could, but what I did pushed me. I think if I take anything away it’s that I worked myself too hard on the North island and struggled more on the South.

The first eight days were comparable with previous eight day camps for me. I finished feeling a lot less fatigued or worn down. From then on though it became an increasing struggle to maintain the level of performance. It’s not to say I didn’t have some good riding on the South island I just had better riding on the North. In fact much of my South island riding would have made perfectly acceptable long training rides outside of camp.

It’s amazing to see how some people coped with the long camp. Particularly impressive were those who got stronger as the camp went on or who maintained their level of performance. In some cases this may have been down to more sensible pacing over the camp. In others it speaks of superb recovery. Something to work towards.

For those interested in the hours and kilometres my logs say I did this:

Slightly less hours than I anticipated for the distances involved. Still far more than I’ve ever done in a two week period. There was a lot of steady riding, but very little really easy riding. Similarly there were only a couple of days I’d say my run pace really suffered. Swimming didn’t vary that much over camp which is to say I was about as slow as normal!

If I look at my performance management chart a couple of points stick out. Firstly the overall affect of camp is an all new high for my CTL. Not really surprising the aim now is to recover without too much loss in that fitness. Secondly the rest day gave a nice break and recovery to my TSB. From that point on I didn’t sink too much lower. This also relates to the ‘easier’ nature of the South island. I said I didn’t ride as well and overall stress was lower. I spent a lot more time hiding myself in the packs.

It’s a big start to the year ahead. I’ve pushed up my swim, bike and run beyond last year’s figures already. My aim now is to build on this and work towards bettering on my 2009 performances. It’s going to take some focus and careful work from here on. Recover from camp above anything else.

I’ve some minor goals in the process. I aim to ride over 3,000km in January. I’m well on my way there and good active recovery will help for the next week. It’ll set me up to log more distance on the bike than last year. I’d like to hit 25,000km for a year. Similarly I’ll aim for higher figures for both swim and run. I just haven’t come up with targets for those yet! Maybe 800km swimming and 3000km of running. Don’t hold me to those yet.

Each time I’ve done Epic Camp I’ve gone in a little nervous as to how I’ll cope. My fitness has proved to be up to the test and I’ve managed to push a little and test myself. I come into camp a better athlete than before and I leave seeing how much more there is to do. Lee commented me over the final dinner how he could see the camps being addictive. They really are. I know I’ll be back in the future to test those limits again.

Rob Q, Lee and I set off as a group about 20 minutes ahead of the main pack. Once Lee got over some initial excitement on the first little hill of the day we stuck to the cruisey pace. The morning breeze was chilly and we’d left wrapped in layers. Less than an hour in they were already coming off. Things were looking good for the promised fine day.

Our pace was easy enough that a couple of riders caught us by the first aid station. This was definitely a easy day, but I was enjoying the ride and the chance to chat a bit. The clouds were starting to burn off and the scenery was spectacular once again. Even the daunting profile chart was proving to be misleading with the worst of the hills being quite manageable. My expectations after day 14 were for a much tougher day.

Wind is a big factor in New Zealand riding, it’s why I mention it so often. The camp had got lucky and there were strong Easterlies today. Once we were riding the bottom of the island the wind was on our back. We may have been cruising, but we weren’t going slow for sure. By lunch the whole camp was ahead of schedule.

After days of cold, gray skies it was nice to relax in the sun for our break. It was probably the most leisurely lunch of the whole camp. All together everyone excited to be within 60km of the finish. From this point on we’d be riding as a group. The plan was to reach the end of the island together.

Once again those tailwinds helped us make great time as we rode two abreast down the coastal roads. I chatted with Tara about the trip and plans for the year ahead and time flew by. Soon we were on Bluff road and the town was in sight. Unfortunately the road turned to give us a headwind, but I was sat in the bunch so it wasn’t so bad.

A small group of brave cyclist wanted to ride up Bluff Hill. Significantly steep to the point that elites in the tour of the Southlands suffer. I chose to wait at the bottom with the rest of the group. So close to finishing it was quite surreal to be relaxing in the sun. The riders returned with stories of their struggles and Douglas’s back flip. It sounded fun, but I knew my legs just weren’t up to it anymore – they were about ready to go on strike.

Regrouped we took the last two kilometres to the end of the road at a leisurely pace. There was the end of the road, the trip was over. It’s hard to describe the feelings pleasure at the achievement, a little disappointment it was over, relief too! That was it, the job was done. I can now say I’ve ridden the length of an entire country. I threw in a little swimming and running to add to the challenge too.

That wasn’t quite the end. A quick changeover into run kit and the majority of the group headed off on the running trails to run round the hill. That transformed into running over the hill at the far viewing point. Initial thoughts that it meant a shorter run were dispelled once I realise how steep the trail was. We climbed for ages. My calves were burning as we slowly ran our way to the top.

From the summit it was a very cautious run down the road a few of the guys had ridden up. It was as steep as they claimed. I was in no doubt I would have had to stop before the top if I’d tried. I think we all gained a lot of respect for those who did it after 15 days of riding.

At the bottom the van was waiting to shuttle us back to the hotel. I sat in the back thinking over the two weeks and all that I’d done. I’ve nothing profound to offer. Not now at least. It’s been an amazing experience, but I’ll save that for another time.

Finally some thanks. Thanks to John, Scott and Gordo for organising these camps. Particularly to John for all the work he does whilst still doing all the training. Massive thanks to Super Dave and the support crew. None of this would happend without their work. Of course, thanks to all the other Epic Campers for being great company and helping me get through. Hopefully I’ll be back on another camp in the future.