Trains, Travels

This is the race report, well one of the race reports as I have others promised too. If there’s one advantage to being sore and stiff post race it’s you can’t sleep in so end up getting on with things. As I’ll be putting more than one report online I want to try to keep them at least a little different. For this one I will focus on the execution of my plan with a few bits on what did and didn’t go well. It may be a bit sterile for it, but I promise more interesting stuff in other posts. This may not be too long as Tom was keen to have a report to read before his morning turbo! Hope this helps get you motivated. I look at the weather back home and can’t say I miss it.

I have to confess that at times I didn’t stick to the plan as well as I should, there were a few little heart rate spikes in there for a start. However I focussed on executing what I set out to do and mostly delivered. It was a good job I’d put 10 minutes spare room into it as it turned out I needed it! But I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining about what was a great day for me and finished off a season on a high.

My swim surprised me, I’ve got used to coming out of the water and finding I was just a little slower than I’d hoped. Yesterday things went right though. I didn’t place myself right on the front line, but near enough and managed to avoid getting boxed in like in some previous races. Whilst I did go out a little bit hard, I didn’t blow myself up in those first few minutes. People overtook me, but I got my rhythm and stuck with a group. Once a bit more space appeared I moved forward to other groups a little. The entire swim I benefited from a draft so things felt pretty easy. Not being able to check my watch and without having to work overly hard I really had no clue how I would do. Coming in under the hour was a great way to start the day.

I’ll leave Laura to judge whether my transitions were up to standard or not. For me they were efficient, but I can’t claim to be fast. Got out onto the bike and immediately broke the heart rate rules I’d set myself! However I didn’t break them that badly and with one exception never spiked the heart rate above 150BPM. The first lap was fast, a result of 3 factors. I was working a little harder than I should have, the winds were low and I was part of a lead pace line. The pace line whilst mostly legal, definitely made a difference to effort. At 4 bike lengths you do gain a slight advantage and sheltering along with the psychological benefits.

Unfortunately I got dropped off the rear at a turn-around and from then on I was on my own. I focussed on keeping that heart rate under control, whilst at the same time trying to keep a good pace. At the last minute I’d added average speed to my bike computer display so there was an added incentive to keep that higher. As the winds picked up working on your own got tougher and I regretted missing the pack more. Occasionally riders with disc wheels would come past me and I also regretted not owning one! I started to become paranoid about the sound of disc wheels hearing them coming up on me all the time! Though the guy playing maracas on the Highway was more irritating: I was on my own heard this rattling and before I spotted him was worrying about impending bike mechanicals!

By the third lap the wind seemed a lot tougher than expected. I can’t say how much was fatigue and how much was really the wind. I kept pushing at the target heart rate and noted I’d switched to a big gear/low cadence approach. I have to admit I’m not much of a spinner really, and as longer races go on tend to switch more naturally to a larger gearing. I’ve seen debate about this online lately and at the moment will stick with the approach that seems to work for me. This wasn’t the time or place to experiment though. By about 150K of lonely, windy roads you just want things done.

I got in under the 5 hour mark for the bike with plenty of room for transitions. Again things went smoothly and pretty efficiently, at least as well as they can if you use compression socks. I headed out onto the run feeling pretty good. Again I went out too fast, though it’s hard to be certain as I’m not convinced the distance markers were entirely accurate. Once I knew I was going too fast I was true to my word and slowed. I don’t think I held back enough at times and later down the line I paid a little for this. However the biggest contributor to my run issues was fuelling. If I come away from this race with any goal it’s refining my race food plan and coming up with something that works for me.

With 8Km to go and having had a few stomach issues to I just ran low on energy. I pushed myself to the next aid station and walked it taking on as much as I could. When I started again I didn’t get very far and decided it was time to walk again. Fearing I’d end up sticking that way I allowed myself one minute. Then back to running and things started to click. As I got down to the last 5Km it was time to go for it and I lifted the pace. I pushed through to the end from here on in, hurting pretty hard. Checking my watch I knew 9:20 was on the cards it all came down to seconds here or there. So final big push in the last kilometre and I was home, 4th Ironman complete and a new PB!

More to come later, they’ll be reports on both Tri247 and Jaggad in the next few days (once I’ve written them and sent them over!) I’ll put a more personal account of some of the events of the day up here a bit later too. Hope that helps you get fired up for the turbo Tom!

Because in a short while I’m off to watch those still out on the course and eat some of those unhealthy foods I’ve been studying so closely all week.

I did just want to mention though that I set a new PB for me - 9:20:22. Which got me my first top 50 position in an Ironman and my first top 10 in my age group at one. I came 48th overall and 7th in my age group. All told it was a great race for me I mostly executed my plan, the run had it’s hiccups, but the end result can’t be complained about.

Real race report type stuff will be available later!

The past few weeks this race has been like an obsession. I’ve been right here in Busselton training every day on one bit of the course or another. Most days at least some conversation about the race has come up. I’ve talked about my race goals, debated how achievable they are and tested my ability to meet them out on the road. I’ve plotted charts of the speeds and times needed to make that goal of 9:20. I’m at the point where I feel my theory is complete, it now just needs testing. Honestly, right now I am nervous, but believe my objectives are realistic. Conditions allowing this is the place to make a bit of a breakthrough and get in around 9:20.

The plan starts in the water. Actually it starts just before I get in, because if I’ve learnt one thing from the increase in open water swimming I’ve done this year it’s wetsuit fit makes a massive difference. Poorly fitted and I’ll load my shoulders more and find the swim a much tougher slog. I’ve swum round the Jetty here 3 or 4 times and been out there in conditions ranging from calm to choppy. I know what to expect and that if the wetsuit is on right I needn’t worry about fatigue too much.

In terms of the swim the key for me is to place myself trying to avoid getting blocked in by lots of swimmers, ideally pick up a draft most of the way and work from there. I know that whilst a draft can be a real benefit if it’s too crowded I suffer over swimming alone. The other important thing to avoid is sprinting at the start of the swim and building up some oxygen debt. I’m swimming the full Jetty and back in an hour without going too hard and I need to work off that basis. Keep the focus on good quality strokes and even breathing. The swim goal is to come in at around an hour which should be perfectly achievable for me.

Onto the bike and the aim this year is to go under 5 hours. That equates to holding an average speed over 36kph. On such a flat course with good roads this isn’t too hard, unless the winds work against you. One or two sections of the course are particularly exposed and wind can become a serious issue here. My bike is in full race set-up which has the downside of no Powertap to work with. Much as I have a goal to average over 36kph more significantly I’ll be working based on keeping my heart rate in a comfortable aerobic range. The aim is to ride as efficiently as possible reserving energy for the run. Coming back to the potential headwinds, if I encounter them I accept my speed will drop and continue to work based on heart rate.

The Half-Ironman in Port Macquarie showed me how well this worked, though there the focus was power. Far too many people really attacked into the wind, but then when it was behind them, they eased. A tailwind is deceptive, you’re moving fast and it doesn’t feel that hard. Whilst there can be benefits to cruising a little, perhaps allowing a bit of recovery, a constant effort will produce the better result. So Busselton is very much about managing the effort at the top of my Ironman range and letting the results come from that. I must remember the occasional stretching break on the bike or 5 hours in the aero position is likely to leave me seized up!

At 3 laps my plan is to keep the first feeling pretty easy. Get comfortable and find my grove. Wash out the salt water from my mouth and start getting in some calories. I’m opting for the gel only approach again with one bottle packed with about 18-20 High Five gels this time. I know it’s not that appetising, but it’s simple. I’ll start to build a little in the second lap and try to lift the effort. Fatigue will be more of an issue by the third lap so the aim will be to maintain the performance from the second. Chances are that will feel harder than it did the previous lap.

I’m going with the compression socks for the run no matter what people say about the look! So T2 will be slightly slower, but with proper seats in the tent it’ll be easier to pull them on. I’m actually hoping to record a sub-5 hour for the bike including both transitions so I’m a little more ambitious there than I was letting on. Back out on the run, it’s 3 flat laps again, possibly windy and possibly very sunny. I’m good with either and prefer it to be hot to cold.

Having recorded two Ironman marathons in the 3:25 to 3:30 region and getting that down to 3:17ish in Switzerland this year the aim is 3:10. It’s a step up and will require focus to achieve, but I’m more confident in my run training this time. The pace is far from fast by running standards and not much more than I routinely knock out for my long runs during a big training week. I’m looking to be running 4:30 per kilometre by my calculations, perhaps a little under. Generally that’s a pretty comfortable pace for me and should enable me to put more effort into getting some calories onboard.

I believe one significant issue in my previous Ironman marathons is not getting enough calories in during the early stage of the run. The result is a dip in energy sometime from halfway to somewhere around the last 6 or 7 kilometers. I usually stick to what’s on offer at aid stations and whilst I’ll be taking this, I am planning to use a gel every 20-30 minutes in the first half. It’ll be a case of trial and error, I do know I find the gels hard to stomach after so many on the bike, but they are an efficient way to top up energy reserves. Getting the balance right and keeping the stomach settled is the tricky part.

Over the 3 laps the aim is to work off a pace and stick to it. If I’m going faster than my 3:10 goal I’ll slow, if I’m going slower I will try to lift the pace. The only exception is in the last lap, as I close in on the finish and enter the final 10km if I feel good I go harder! I say this knowing in my last 2 Ironman events following the lull for the last few kilometres I’ve picked up the pace to something that’d be respectable in a 10K road race. With the motivation of completing it’s certainly possible to get moving. Next step is neutralising the lull and still getting that boost at the end. Considering the laps you could regard it as keeping the first 2 easy to steady and building on the last.

Add up my times and you may notice they come in under 9:20. The goal allows for a spare 10 minutes or so just to put some room in for mishaps. If my theory works in practice, if my fitness is where I think it is, if my taper has freshened me up then I really do believe I can hit that target. There’s just the little matter of doing the race in the way and hopefully then a blog post reporting on a successful practice of the theory.

P.S. I was saving this to post Saturday, but then Tri247 linked here and much as Jaggad does well from my last post I wanted something more serious!

Like last time this is another product of a long tedious taper which leaves me with excessive free time and an almost constant caffeine buzz. The third week of my taper and now the training hours are as near to non-existent as I get. I would love to say I’m getting loads of rest, but I’m being pretty bad at that. Tomorrow is a complete rest day though so I will reward myself with a lie in! The rest of the day will be spent indulging in long conversations about training over numerous coffees.

Far more interesting than that though is some of the events of the current week. It’s a good job Ironman Expos open in the week before the event because by this point you really are losing your mind to the taper. Finally there’s another distraction to occupy your time with. Well, especially if you’re sponsored by one of the companies at the expo. For those who are sensitive to people promoting their sponsors, skip to the end…

As part of the Jaggad Technical Development Team racing in Busselton I was asked to take part in a photo shoot and also to help out at the expo. Seems fair enough given they’re supporting me. Not considering myself model material though I have to admit I wasn’t entirely sure of their wisdom! However I put in the effort to shave (face and legs of course) and clean myself up before turning up at the Expo tent on Wednesday morning. Being new to the Team I’d not actually met anyone from Jaggad so it was good to meet Graeme and Paulette who run the company. They’re both friendly and encouraging and clearly put a lot of energy into their company. They’re also really supportive of people committing themselves to their athletic goals.

The Jetty and ocean at Busselton provide a perfect backdrop for photography so it was off to the beach front to model some kit. I was there with Greg Close another member of the team. We took it in turns to do short Runner’s World style runs up and down the bike path whilst our picture was taken. You can’t run like normal you have to overemphasise the leg lift and keep your elbow in to get the right energetic look. I think if you take one thing away from this particular blog post it should be that apparently I’m quite photogenic! Yes, that’s right I need no longer worry about what happens when funds run low, I shall instead chase my dream of being a male fitness model! Hmmm, perhaps.

Along with running in weird ways in a bunch of new Jaggad kit. I got to stand on the beach looking moodily into the distance in a variety of stances. I’m sure many people who’ve worked with me will know I’m pretty good at looking moody and all the years of practice paid off. I can easily pull off cross-armed and moody to the left, or hands on hips and moody to the right. Though my favourite is probably the the hands on hips looking into the camera with attitude pose. If I had photos I would put them here just for you all to see my poses, sure there’s no Blue Steel in there, but I’m just a beginner.

It was a fun couple of hours I got to do something I never imagined I’d be doing. There’s a good chance you’ll see some of those photos on the Jaggad site in the future. If that’s not enough there’s some video of me running and riding in their kit too! Which is an opportunity to see how the kit looks in motion or alternately critique my technique. I also got to try out a whole bunch of the Jaggad range which I might not normally see. Getting to handle kit always beats looking online and there’s a few items I’ll be picking up in the future. A set of their bibshorts are on the shopping list for Epic Camp next year for sure.

My next job as a Team member is to work the stand at the Expo for a couple of hours tomorrow. Essentially this is a chance to chat with lots of different athletes as they look at the products and encourage them to buy. Modelling and working in sales in one week, yep wasn’t in the plans when I headed out to Oz!

So all the Jaggad business aside I’m not joking when I say I’ve been hitting the coffee hard. Fortunately I’ve met up with another Brit (a Scot to be precise), Martin Goodlad. He raced Busso last year too and we met at the World Long Course back in August. Being equally frustrated by the final days of the taper we have spent many an hour debating the fine points of training to get to the top of your age group and the pro ranks. Along with the difficulties of finding sponsors and supporters, the finances involved in training, how hard it is to find good information about training at the level we aspire to… The list goes on. Martin’s been good company and given he’s a similar speed to me I’m very glad to say he aged up this year!

I have another new pair of trainers too! The Asics Gel-Busseltons were being sold off for next to nothing and whilst I’m not sure I actually need an after race comfort shoe at $50 for the pair it was a no brainer. I’ll admit the colours won’t be to most people’s tastes, but anyone who’s seen the bright red Salomon runners I’m wearing will know I won’t have many issues with them!

To make matters worse a K-Swiss athlete is working hard to persuade me I want to try a pair of their race shoes. Sure the price isn’t bad and once stocks go with the exchange rate they’ll go up. Despite my pleadings of poverty she won’t bend on price. I tried them on and they are impressively light and feel very comfortable. There’s just one issue: the design is an Aussie flag, but I figure with a blue marker pen I can fix that! Not being happy with the Zoot shoes for racing I am genuinely tempted. Getting a pair may prove tricky, they weren’t officially part of the Expo and got told to move on. Should I change my mind she’ll be about or I can ask pro-Ironman Luke McKenzie as he’s sponsored by them too. It’s all a little weird, they’re like contraband, got hold of by word of mouth and cash sales from hotel rooms.

Race plan and less nonsense on Saturday.

All going to plan this time next week I will have finished my fourth Ironman and set a new PB. I’ll be in the recovery area trying to decide the priorities between taking on some food, getting in the showers or having a massage before too many athletes start to arrive. Last year I got the massage and shower in first whilst there were no queues and almost passed out from hypoglycaemia! So as part of this years plan, it’s food-massage-shower-food. But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself.

I’ll admit I’m blogging more out of a need for consistency than out of news or updates. The title is true, I have a lot of time on my hands and as the days go on it just increases. This is not good for my coffee consumption nor my bank balance. Ironman events typically boost the local economy - I’m doing my bit in the numerous cafes in town. Long blacks are back in favour and the Cappuccinos (or Mugocinnos as large cappuccinos tend to be known here) are limited to one a day. Similarly I’m tightening up the diet, all good foods no wasted calories. It’s tough though, my stomach wants to eat like a 30 hour training week still, but that’s a road to serious weight gain right now!

So other than probably achieving new PBs in caffeine consumption what have the past few days brought? Well I finally fixed the small tear in my wetsuit, had it for ages and now suddenly had the time to deal with it. I also cut the legs a little shorter which did prove to make removal much easier. I had a fantastic swim this morning the water was once again dead calm so I couldn’t resist doing the full Jetty swim. Calm conditions and clear waters meant you could see all the native wild life. Running a little late and so not going out with a group meant that sharks were the wild life that mainly occupied my mind! Again, no sightings.

The weekend has provided some reassuring training sessions. Yesterdays group ride went well for me, I sat on the front most of the time and controlled my effort by heart rate. Conditions were calm with little wind to speak of and I found that I could hold a good Ironman pace very easily. I can only hope for a similar state of affairs next weekend, right now the long range weather forecast changes by the hour so who knows. Ask a local and opinions will vary from it’s going to be perfect weather through to we’re due a storm. We shall see and whatever the day brings rely on the fact that we’re all in the same boat.

This mornings swim apart from being an excellent wildlife safari was also another reassuring session. A bit of fiddling about getting the wetsuit on and spending a lot of time positioning it before I set out seemed to pay off. Shoulder fatigue was at a minimum and I felt pretty comfortable. Still lacking a watch means I don’t know an exact time, but it was around about an hour for close to the Ironman distance. As the swim is the stage I’m most uncertain of in my predictions it was good to be close to my race day goal. More importantly feeling comfortable in the suit was a relief, with all the time I could want to worry about things I had been debating purchasing a long john wetsuit for the race. Searching the web however reveals a general consensus that whatever you may feel as a swimmer a long john is slower than a full suit.

I will be out for a lap of the run course shortly and I hope another positive session to make me feel ready to race. Compared to my memories of the run up to Switzerland I’m feeling fresher and ready to go. This is where I realise I blog and so what I was feeling 7 days out from Ironman Switzerland is there for all to see! So yes I’m feeling much fresher and fitter than before. Were the race tomorrow I’d probably be about ready to go. I hope that doesn’t mean I’ve peaked too early! I’m also a lot less anxious, only the most minor hint of race nerves that creep in when I state my goals.

With race week beginning I’ll have a bit more to do so the time should pass a little easier. I’m saving detailing the race plan or mentioning some of what I’ll be up to this week for future posts. If I don’t things will get really sparse round here for a while. There’s a few exciting things on the cards at least. Well, you know, I’m excited by them.

However I want to end with two confessions. Firstly I hate Marmite, but as I discovered last weekend Vegemite is OK. My first taste was in front of half the tri club all keen to provide me with tips on how it should be eaten. Anyway, it’s actually all right. Secondly I caught myself finishing sentences like they were questions, with the Aussie style upwards inflection. Not confessional, but also I think the British need to relax and go with the flow more. Seriously, they’re far too uptight about things over here, it all works out… I fear I’m turning native.

Taper madness is truly setting in. I have far more time on my hands than I know what to do with. Every little twinge or niggle fills me with fear that perhaps I’m falling apart. Am I getting enough sleep? Going too hard? Too easy? Have I run enough lately? Was that massage too deep? Am I eating too much? The questions are endless as is the time to mull them over it seems. On the plus (maybe) I have rediscovered crosswords and made big headway in completing my current book of them. Yes, it is an exciting and glamourous life I lead.

However if crosswords were all that was going on I don’t think I’d bother to write a blog post. Instead I’m going to put aside all the niggles and talk about why Ironman Western Australia is a race everyone should fit in their schedule. I admit that for most of the world it’s a bit out of the way, even for Australians it’s a fair way to go. However my experiences this year in the lead up make me feel it’s worth the effort. I’ll concede that arranging a local homestay, getting here over 2 weeks early and getting involved with the local club makes all the difference. If you’re coming from overseas and you get in touch they’re really accommodating and go out of their way to welcome you.

The past week I’ve biked, swum and ran with the locals and of course joined in the coffees that happen afterwards. I’ve been introduced to loads of people a good 50% I can’t remember the names of! I can only apologise, I’ve never been good with names and when you get 10 at a time there’s no chance. I’ve been quite open with my time goals even though, as I commented to someone on the ride today, if things don’t go to plan they’ll be way off. Everyone is very encouraging and likes to hear about someone taking the chance on a year’s training. It’s a real boost on the mental side of the race as I feel I’ll have a lot more backing out there and will probably know people at the aid stations!

Outside of the club which is unsurprisingly keen about the event many of the locals love it too. The shops are encouraged to put Ironman decorations up in their windows. New banners are up in the street all for the Ironman. As I was out doing my final long run on the course yesterday a bunch of school kids riding home wished me luck! I have to confess that now more athletes are starting to turn up it’s almost disappointing. Like my secret training spot has suddenly been discovered! Still I’ve really benefited from the local knowledge and support so far and it’s helped make the final taper training more interesting.

The real highlight of the Ironman course itself is the swim round the jetty (be very clear it is a jetty, not a pier). Conveniently the jetty is about half the length of an ironman swim, so an out and back works perfectly. From the athlete’s perspective sighting is easy as, just keep the jetty on your right and you’ll be fine. Much as you should be focussing on your swim technique as you swim out and back the shallow bottom is always visible letting you watch the sea life swim below. This morning I swam round the jetty with another Russ, the conditions were near perfect, ideal for race day. One warning though, last Friday I swam with the club and the sea was pretty choppy and that’s certainly happened on race day before. Then it’s a battle to get out to the end of the jetty, though the return isn’t so bad. The occasional little stinger jellyfish is a slight pain, but fortunately no sharks so far!

Most of the club rides don’t follow the Ironman course, instead going out on Sues Road to one of the local ‘hills’. You’ll not improve much as a climber here, choices are limited. For the race it doesn’t matter, it’s pan flat and potentially fast. I say potentially because the winds will really dictate things. Whilst Tuart (don’t pronounce the a too hard… I’m getting lessons from the locals on how to say there things!) Road is sheltered by trees most of the course is quite exposed. Large flat expanses give plenty of room for the winds to build up and if they’re anything like Sunday you’ll be flying one way and grinding the other. Wind aside the only other issue likely to occur on the course is stiffening up from holding the aero position so long. With no undulations you need never move. I’ll concede at 3 dead flat laps it’s not the most exciting of routes, but I think the swim and run make up for this.

My final long run was a lap and a half of the run course. It stretches along the beach front for roughly 7Km making for three 14Km loops on race day. As with the bike course it’s flat as again making for potentially fast times. Last year I had a bad run really, this year I’m aiming to set a new Ironman PB! I hope the stomach issues of my training run yesterday weren’t a bad omen! Again it’s exposed so can be a bit windy, I actually felt running into the headwind was tough going yesterday. Once it was behind me it was great, though if the heat is up it won’t be so comfortable. I’m feeling fairly good in my running right now, it’s all about holding form right till the end.

The race expo and centre is being set-up at the moment. Tents are being put in place and excitement for the race is definitely building. Athletes are arriving now, I chatted with a couple from Switzerland at the cafe this morning. They thought I might be Swiss as I was wearing an Ironman Switzerland T-Shirt. They’ll be a few more people I know or rather know of and will get to meet in the next week so should be good. I foresee much more time spent indulging in coffees and resisting the cakes (whilst making a mental plan of all the things I’ll let myself eat in my recovery weeks!). Speaking of which I have a cycling magazine I need to read over a coffee on my way to my massage.

I’d better use some of this extra free time in my taper to get on with that second month review. I had a quick look back at what I wrote a month ago and the second month has been a very different experience to the first. Perhaps I’m exaggerating a little, but the first few weeks here were definitely a honeymoon period. Don’t get me wrong the last month has still been good, but a little more reality has crept in.

So firstly I occasionally alluded to some personal issues that were interfering with my training. It should be said the impact was purely a mental one, my motivation was sapped to an extent by some unrelated circumstances. I am however moving past those and the issues are dealt with. When I return to the Gold Coast in December I move into a new homestay set-up which should provide all my needs and let me get on with training as I want.

Importantly lessons are learnt from this. I came into things with my typical passivity, going with the flow. This works only so far and then if you’re lucky. To make my plans happen I have to be proactive, not reactive and I can’t rely on others. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not discounting the help I receive from a lot of people, but rather recognising that I can’t afford not to put in the work to make things happen. Both inside and outside training. I describe training as my job, but clearly haven’t always treated it this way. I’ve dealt with the issues now and am moving on from them. They will not be an excuse over the next training period.

Motivation did prove to be an issue in my second block of training. Partly from the external stresses and partly from fatigue. Errors were made here again. Firstly one of my best workouts in the last 4 weeks was on the last day of my easy week. I was starting to feel fresh and because I went out with others I used this to go harder than I should. Secondly I cannot race as much as I did and train as much as I did, with or without the travel. Races bring out great performances and I don’t discount the value of the data I collected or the fitness benefits. They also make it hard to keep the consistency of a heavy training load. Next year I will not be racing quite so much, I will have some big races, but not so much in between.

Recovery is my weakness. I can apparently go out and ride solo for 7 hours, but can’t spend 40 minutes stretching with the benefits of a TV or iPod to distract me? The 7 hour ride is important, but so is the stretching. Right now if I have any key concern prior to Ironman Western Australia it’s a tightness in my left ITB, glute and hamstring. Better recovery management would have helped prevent this. I should also note that I cannot afford to skip a weekly massage whilst in training, least of all when I raced at the weekend. I will be addressing these in the next month, including regular yoga classes to help that stretching.

I have learnt what cumulative fatigue is. Not that it’s necessarily new to me, but I finally start to see the effects of training blocks and poor recovery. Whilst I managed to perform my basic week structure and get racing in too week on week my capacity to train well was reducing. When I came to do one final big week prior to the taper I was spent. At that point my body couldn’t deliver the kind of performance needed to make the week worthwhile. My big week eroded down to another basic week. Let’s not be entirely negative here, I got a bit more quality out of a few sessions in exchange for the lower volume. Being that fatigued though had a negative impact on motivation as well. I need to avoid that kind of feedback into my training as it creates a poor environment for training.

There is only so much you can train alone and recently I’ve been doing too much of that. Most of the training partners I know on the Coast work as well limiting their availability to train. Fortunately I’ll have a bit more opportunity to train with one or two of them over January and I have some potential contacts for more training partners. Whilst I have no general issue with training alone, it can be a bit isolating when 90% of your time is spent that way. Also the motivational benefit within a given workout can be massive, you push each other to better results. All being well for the next few blocks of training I’ll get a bit more time with others.

Swimming is still a mystery! I’ve taken a higher volume approach to my swim training and to be fair there’s some benefit. I can swim further and for longer quite comfortably. I feel my stroke is tidier and more controlled, possibly a bit more efficient. What isn’t happening is an increase in speed. It’s almost like I just use a bit less energy to go the same as I did before. Once I’m recovered from IMWA I am tackling swimming head on. I’ve some stroke analysis booked and will hopefully come away with pointers on technique and training regime.

All this said I am fitter than I’ve ever been. Honestly. This is probably the best prepared I’ve been for any race. I feel I’m getting beyond a lot of the mental issues that have plagued and stressed my previous key races. Physically I’m in great shape too. My running feels solid, good form throughout and comfortable at around the marathon pace I want. I can go well on the bike when I’m rested so with my taper I should go into the race ready to ride. My swim may not have got faster, but that efficiency gain should benefit me and I need to use it. It’s all there to go around 9:20.

A rougher month than the first, but one that has shown me a lot of things to change and deal with. For the sake of those who read my posts in full I’ll save details of the plans for my Ironman Australia build up for another time. After Busselton I’ll have a couple of weeks of recovery before I start building up for the next race. Once I’m back though, it’s time to live up to the pro-Ironman lifestyle I aspire to.

The 2 month review will come later next week, sure that’s over 2 months, but let’s not be picky now. I’m back in Busselton tapering down for the big race and I have to say I’m really glad to be back here. I had forgotten just how beautiful the region is. As a destination race I really recommend it. As a race I really recommend it too, the community gets behind it 100% they’re already building up for it.

Before I get to the past day or two over here I have to say I had one of the worst journeys of my travels to get here. The night before I left more storms hit SE Queensland, the thunder sounded like explosions at times and went on throughout the night. I got up early, not very well rested, but hoping for a relatively straight-forward day. My taxi driver had little concept of being quiet when he picked me up, talking loudly even when I told him people were sleeping! I was already irritated and I’d barely left the house.

I got to Robina station with plenty of time for the first train, caught it without a single problem. After a slow start the driver announces that due to the storms we will be restricted to 40kph for the first half of the journey. So I spend the train journey trying not to check my watch too much because there’s not much I can do about it anyway. Then 1 station before the airport they terminate the train! Everybody off and wait a few minutes for the next one. I got to the airport 35 minutes before my flight, 5 minutes before cut off for boarding.

Turns out I’ve packed everything, but the kitchen sink as my bike bag weighs in at 33kg! So I pay up for the weight and wait whilst they phone to check if the baggage handlers will accept it (they can refuse over 32kg). Fortunately there’s no problem and I’m straight off to board the plane. Our flight is late to take off and then we have a headwind the entire journey which adds an hour to the trip! Once I’m in Perth I catch a small shuttle bus to the city busport and learn they’re as scary to ride as they are when you’re a cyclists near them. At the busport the lift and escalator is out of order so I have to lug my bag upstairs to the coach office. Fortunately I can leave it there and go an find food in the city. From then on till I arrived in Busso at 9pm it all went relatively smoothly!

My terrible journey aside I’m loving being back here. I have excellent homestay, they’ve been really good to me and the location is perfect. The weather has been good so far, though a little cold now I’ve acclimatised to the Gold Coast! The views are spectacular and the people friendly as. I built my bike up on Friday morning and popped over to the bike store that’s 3 minutes away. They discounted every single item I bought for me! Maybe everything is just priced up, but it seemed I was getting some bargains.

A moment to mention some training details I’m afraid. I decided to ride for a couple of hours and head west to the next town in Dunsborough. It was a pleasant ride, though the road is pretty busy at times. The winds weren’t too strong and though I don’t have the powermeter with me to gauge it I felt I was going well. Based on heart rate and speed a nice and easy 120bpm was comfortably getting me 35kph! It was a little bit of a confidence boost for sure. The ride today was a bit different, but I’ll come to that shortly.

I had my lunch at a local sandwich shop and whilst I waited thought I’d look at the local paper. The headlines included a ‘2 Weeks to the Ironman’ banner and some more details inside. So I went to look at that, impressed that it was already getting featured. To my surprise the photo used in the article had me in the background from last year! I decided that had to be a good omen! Another article talked about how in the first year one local entered the race and now 84 have. Later that day I’d be chatting with that local over coffee after a swim along the pier.

One of the great things about the community involvement is they love having people from all round the world visiting and encourage they get involved with the local community. It’s through this scheme I’d sorted my homestay and also had been given all the information I might need to train with the local athletes. So Friday evening was a 2km swim out into a choppy sea and back. It was hard work, a real slog and certainly nothing like my memories of last year’s swim! I’m not very experienced at sea swimming, but hopefully I’ll get some good practice the next couple of weeks. After the swim the group had coffee and I spent a lot of time chatting with Max the veteran triathlete of the area. He’s raced all 5 Ironmans there and this year is really taking it seriously.

Today I met up on a chilly (18C for those in the UK!) morning. I joined the fast group which proved to be good fun. We went out at about 32kph and we came home a lot faster. Strictly speaking I should have been doing a long steady ride, instead it was a shorter hard effort! I haven’t hammered myself that hard in a while. We rode fast to the base of the local ‘climb’ and I jumped off the front, I was reeled back in, but it was worth a shot. After the climb the pace picked up a little until the turn-around at which point people go for it. I did some far too long pulls on the front at over 40kph until I’d really got the lactic acid flowing. Ultimately I blew up about 15k from home, missed the tail of the lead group and tried to work with a smaller group to catch them, but it wasn’t happening.

My plan to ride another hour was aborted for coffee and a chat with the group. My plan to head off shortly after a coffee and get the rest of my ride in kept getting postponed. The group here is really friendly and I kept putting off leaving till I was one of the last there. I left with a local Mick and a Scotsman Alex, we popped in on Max and had a chat there and then I rode over to the place Alex was renting for more coffee and conversation. Ultimately I did ride that extra hour or so I wanted, though it’s value is questionable given it was interrupted every 15 minutes! Still I more than made up for duration with intensity and just hope I didn’t over do it. I’ll be riding with the group for the next couple of weeks, but taking things a lot easier.

I’ve wandered the town since then, on tired legs it had to be said. Had lunch and coffee and started planning my next block of training in a little notebook. I think of it in terms of how I need to put aside some issues from the past month, step up to the task at hand and start truly living the pro-athlete life. You have to live the way you want to be, not just think about it. I’m also trying the same in my taper, though what with meeting friends I’ve not seen in a year tonight I may have to excuse myself a little!

OK, 2 month review to come next time, and then hopefully some good posts about life over here in the West. Feeling pretty positive about things. My legs are sore and stiff, but I’ve got some massage lined up and have been recommended someone by the group here. I’ve been told it’s the House of Pain and very effective. Hopefully I’ll be getting a work over sometime later next week. The training I’ve done this week has been less than intended, but the last 2 days I also think there’s signs fatigue is shifting and I’m getting stronger. And finally the friendliness of the group here just encourages me more. I openly admit my race goals and hope I can live up to them.

Very brief post, not much to say since last time. I’m pretty much all packed and ready to head over to Busselton. A full day of travelling ahead of me starting with a taxi at 4:45am and ending at 9pm in Busselton. Should be a lot of fun!

My taper has yet to provide much to put on a website. I have been feeling very lethargic the last few days, taking Monday off completely and putting in the minimal work Tuesday. Right now I’m trying to persuade myself to get my arse in gear and out the door for a taper reduced long run. I’ve not run since Sunday and don’t really feel massively like it. A massage yesterday confirmed how tight and messed up my hamstrings and left ITB are. Still this is what a taper is supposed to be like, right? Seems a bit early to be feeling like this though!

Proper blog post with the 2 month review once I’m settled in Busselton. Apparently I can look forward to more rain over there.

The hard work is done, it’s time to start the taper and let the body recover ready to race! Things come around fast, it doesn’t seem that long ago I arrived out here and started training. Actually it’ll be time for a 2 month review very shortly. I wonder if anyone ever enters their taper feelings that they’ve done enough? I have to admit to doubts in the back of my mind about whether I’m ready. It’s too late now though so I just have to put them aside and get on with it.

I finished off my last bit of training by racing at the other end of the scale to usual. A local sprint tri so just a 400m swim, 15km bike and 4km run. All I can say is that was bloody hard work give me 9 to 10 hours of racing (preferably closer to 9) any day! Still on the plus I can stick with some of the faster short course guys still so it’s not all bad! Oh, and my Polar HRM broke! I can’t stop the timer anymore. I really don’t need to have to buy a new one right now, but it’s kind of an essential.

My swim was a bit of a disappointment. I thought I was going fast, but looking at my watch when I exited the water apparently not. A humble 7.5 minutes for 400m apparently, I hope the course was long, because I cruise that distance in the pool faster than that. I’ll be getting some swim analysis done on my way back from Busso, hopefully it’ll find something I can work on to get me past this plateau. Consider it a project for next April, the goal is a comfortable sub-1 hour Ironman Swim. Let’s not be shy, I’d like to be putting out a 55 minute Ironman swim. I’ve 3 months and largely unlimited pool and open water access to achieve that one in.

I have a long course approach to transitions, so lets skip over that bit. A 15Km bike course is a bit like a warm-up really! Normally I don’t warm up by going as hard as my legs can manage though. I have to admit they weren’t at their best, they’ve been getting better as the week goes on, but need some more time. I’m just making excuses here and as I write this I have no idea how I actually did! I put in a solid effort can’t say I was overtaken much that I noticed, but with 1500 competitors in numerous waves it’s a little hard to tell. What helped a bit was a couple of mates further up the road I’d see at each turn around. They’re short course focussed and it spurred me on to try to catch up with them.

Another transition to skip over though this one was one of my faster T2s! I’d opted for the Zoot shoes again and this time they worked better than in Noosa. 4Km is a tiny run so it was a case of hit it hard and hope you can hold on. My legs started hurting a few hundred metres in and that pretty much set the tone. Again the mates up the road were there to try and reel in, but it never happened! I don’t think I was running my best, but I had a good turn of speed out there and claimed a few more places in my age group for it.

Over the finish line and lots of fresh fruit to refuel on, a few cups of gatorade, a cappuccino and then ride home. I’ve since done an easy ride out and about with a lunch break in the middle of it. Storms have rolled in though and so my training options are pretty much done. The week wasn’t anywhere near as big as planned, it was still a solid effort though. As I said at the start of the post, it’s too late now. There’s some expression about money in the bank or something or other that’s probably relevant!

For those that skim the training posts I realise that’s been pretty much every post for the past couple of weeks. With the taper starting and some travel lined up I’ll get some other stuff up here for sure. Hopefully some decent photos from out West. At least I need to test out my modelling skills with my sponsors kit. I don’t think I’d mentioned that my page on their website is up! Fame at last!

On that note time for some rest. I have a lie in to look forward to tomorrow and some easy training. Plus prep for my trip out west, 3 more days to go and I’m off. There’s going to be a few changes when I’m back, but more on that in December.