Sunday, June 28, 2009

Long spin/Long run

A solid two days of training has left me exhausted.

I managed 4 hours and 50 minutes in the saddle on Saturday with lots of big hills. The speedo says 121kms which doesn't sound like much but I worked hard.

I rode up Highway 99 towards Whistler and then turned towards the Nordic Olympic Park. I recall driving up there months ago to watch a World Cup ski jump event and thinking it would be a great place to spin. I knew there were a few hills but I hadn't recalled the top 10 per cent grades - of course these were going to be downhill on the way out.

As good a ride as I had, I was smashed when I got home. I opted to delay my 'run off the bike' for several hours so I could eat and recover a bit. Not ideal but I decided it was better than simply hammering myself for 15 mins than the 40 mins that I needed to do.

Today I backed up with a solid 1.55 on the treadmill and shed about 2kgs of water at the same time.

The 5x 5mins mod and 5x5 mins comfort uncomfort went very solid .. I started 5x 5mins hard at 10 speed, then 10.2 for second interval and 10.4 for third .. All 6 min miles or faster .. I was ripping along and thinking of different pros with whom I was running shoulder to shoulder .. One needs some distraction!

I sort of hit the wall during the fourth hard interval .. jumped off the treadmill for several 10 sec breaks before dialing back the speed to 9 .. ran the fifth interval at 9 .. lots of mind games at the end ..

A great weekend.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Swim breakthrough

I woke up this morning at about 5am but I didn't want to get out of bed that early as the pool doesn't open til 6am and I don't need an hour to get ready so I managed to slide back to sleep for another 40 minutes.

Then I dragged myself up and out of the door and downstairs to flick on the electric kettle for a strong cup of tea in my 'transport' mug and I headed to the pool.

My energy level was a bit low to say the least.

I got into the pool and started the set .. 3 x 50m easy, then 3 x mod, 3 x fast and 3 x all out .. all of my times were 45s-46s .. as much as 5 seconds slower than I have clocked in recent weeks and so I wasn't so optimistic.

I worked through another set of 12 x 50m practicing deep water starts.

Then I set for the 200m all out rep ..

About half way through I found a new rhythm .. it felt as if I was pulling a ton of water .. as if I had my paddles on and my forearms were huge .. I've never had such a feeling of strength in the water ..

One benefit is that I had a guy swimming beside me - in the next lane - who is a solid swimmer .. I see him almost every time I swim and in general he swims a bit faster than me.

Today though I slowly pulled away from him and as I did I had this boost of energy and confidence.

My 200m time was 3.08 (within 4 secs of my fastest ever) - I was smashed when finished but very happily so.

I finished with 3 x 400m .. easy.

**

I immediately changed and hit the treadmill .. again, I didn't start on a high energy level .. but I needed to get this session in this morning .. logistics!

I did my warm up and my moderate and comfortably uncomfortable sets .. I was slowly building my stride rate and really trying to be consistent .. starting at about 88 and building to 94-95 .. and then I opted to push myself on the hard 15 mins set ..

I ran the entire 15 mins at faster than 6 minute mile pace .. I really started to struggle after the first 10 minutes but I refused to let myself off the hook .. I kept thinking of exiting the energy lab .. and running down the hill and towards 'hot corner' and then to the finish line .. my energy level was rising and falling .. my stride rate was a bit more inconsistent .. but i got the job done


**

Ah .. a superb start to the day!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Iron Mountain Olympic

I told margreet before the race that my plan was to be on the podium and I took third in the 40-49 age group. I felt confident because I've been training well and also because I didn't expect a deep field given there was a half iron this day too.

swim 23.19 (two loops with a run around a picnic table on the beach)

bike 1:13:35 (one loop with two solid climbs and lots of rollers, some rather technical turns and some awesome relatively flat stretches too)

run 43.00 (two loops .. undulating .. two short sharp hills .. the last downhill gave me the momentum to sprint away from someone who had caught me!)

2:21:50


The guy who won my age group did 2:07 (37 10k). He raced as an elite for 10 years when he was younger but still looked to be in "decent" condition!

The guy who came in second finished in 2:21:01.

I was 12th overall, having been passed by one guy on the bike and one guy on the run.

The winning time overall was 2:00:29.

I'm happy with my effort and my performance. I had a few reminders on what I need to work on including shedding my wetsuit and doing so in front of "my" bike.

It was a bit cool and damp to start the day though it didn't rain during the event. Still I needed to hit the brakes a bit more than planned a few times as I hadn't checked out the course ahead of time and wasn't aware of some of the turns, nor what might be around the bend.

I hadn't noticed the cold on the bike and so I didn't realize how cold my hands were until I was trying to get my feet out of my shoes heading toward T2. I got one out but couldn't release the strap on the other. And I then struggled to put on my shoes for the run. Oh well.

My feet were frozen for the first 2km or so of the run and were sore after the race too.

A great start to my season.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Nutella - free

No, I'm not saying one can get Nutella free. I tried. Well, I tried to get Nutella as a sponsor. It was a bit of a lark. But my efforts - so far - have been to no avail.

I wasn't to be discouraged. I simply bought it at the store - usually two 750g containers at once, because that was the most effective shopping move.

Let me backtrack a bit.

I had never heard of Nutella and wasn't even keen to try it until tramping in New Zealand in March 2005. I've made a solid dent in making up for about four decades of Nutella deficiency in the past four plus years.

I suppose there are many ways to consume Nutella. I chose spreading it on bread - the traditional approach. And I became very proficient at it. I was able to focus without distraction. And unlike a run, if I had a bit too much, I didn't need any additional recovery time.

However, I felt a change was needed.

Two weeks ago today I scraped out the remaining amount from the last container. And I've been free ever since.

Ok, I have had a Mars bar or two. But the point is that I would have had one or two of those anyway. I like chocolate. I'm not giving up chocolate - I'm simply modifying my chocolate consumption behavior.

Smashed

About three weeks ago I increased the frequency and the overall volume of my training. It's been both a positive and a negative.

The positive is that I have been pleased with my cycling. I have put in two solid timetrials and been up and down Highway 99 towards Whistler - a bit of an uphill going north and then down on the return.

I've also been powering in the pool, at times having a feel of the water that I've never had.

Running though has been a bit hit and miss. I have had some solid sessions but also some real challenging ones.

I wouldn't call it a taper but my training is modified a bit this week ahead of my first race of the season. That's good - I need a few more recovery minutes at the moment.

When I hit the water this morning, I just knew my energy level was a bit low. But I wanted to see how I would go.

My first 200m all out - after the normal warm up - was 7 seconds slower than what I was hoping to see. I did remind myself that not every session needs to be a PB .. but still ...

I put in the rest of the 'in-between' work and then did a second 200m. Man. I actually thought that I was swimming half decent. However, the clock never lies and I had slowed another 20 seconds.

I put in a recovery lap but that was it. Home and food and then a bit of couch time before work.

On a positive note, it wasn't race day today!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Motivated

From Koach Kristian:

... people have a tendency to quit when something doesn't pan out how it was meant to, or some challenges seem insurmountable, but your biggest success may just be around the corner.

On a personal note, I came excruciatingly close 3 times before I got to Kona, and the first time I got there, I needed a roll down and I had just gone sub 9! In fact those close calls motivated me further, however last year in Kona, my race was nowhere near imagined ... I was in the best race shape of my life and I made nutritional mistakes. I was completely devastated, actually I think I cried when I saw Charlotte ... I pretty much had quit, but a new day dawned and I knew I wasn't done ... but I was surely tested in the 7 weeks between Kona and Ironman WA.

Many times I nearly pulled the pin, but I got to the start line with 3 clear objectives, my motivators. I wish I could say I felt fantastic all day, but I didn't - doubts would creep in but I focused on "what's important now" and not quitting rewarded me with my greatest Ironman success to date.

Remember you're motivated... just needs fuelling daily :-)

Cheers
Kristian

IMC 2008 - some results

Top 10 finishers in 2008 in the 45-49 age group:

09:53:52
10:04:16
10:07:37
10:12:58
10:13:59
10:22:33
10:24:54
10:25:13
10:27:18
10:27:33

*There were seven tickets to Kona. The final ticket went to the guy who finished in 17th place in 10:48.

IMC 2007 - some results

Top 10 finishers in the 45-49 age group in 2007:

09:34:01
09:57:22
09:59:11
10:00:47
10:02:08
10:02:54
10:03:23
10:03:40
10:12:05
10:16:16

*There were seven tickets to Kona. The last one went to the guy who finished in 19th place in 10:38.

My recovery partner

Monday, June 8, 2009

Phelps - On Competition

From his book, No Limits:

"The point of competition is to compete. It's to take on the biggest challenge. When you compete against the very best, it makes you better; I don't care if someone is twenty times better or one-tenth better. I want to race the best.

I hate to lose. But I was not afraid to lose. I am never afraid to lose.''

He had decided to race in the 200 free in Athens against Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband. He was questioned why since they were better than him. Nonetheless, he wanted the challenge. He ended in third.

"That loss in Athens has to be looked at as a -- maybe the -- defining moment in my swim career. I stepped up and raced the best. I found out that I was good but, in the 200 free, not good enough. I had work to do.''

Phelps - On Consistency

From his book, No Limits:

"For five years, from 1998 to 2003, we did not believe in days off. I had one because of a snowstorm, two more due to the removal of wisdom teeth. Christmas? See you at the pool. Thanksgiving? Pool. Sponsor obligations? Work them out around practice time."

...

In the winter of 2002 .. Phelps says he was averaging 85,000 metres a week in the pool .. and he dropped it back to 75,000 in spring ..

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Margreet Wins


Margreet won the North Olympic Discovery Marathon on Sunday, in northwestern Washington state, and set a course record too.

It was her second marathon in five weeks. She ran another 3:10.

Her coach for the second marathon - for two weeks - was my Koach: Kristian. Power to both Charlotte and Kristian for challenging Margreet to excel and to race because there was a race.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Inspired

There's nothing quite like someone you know challenging herself and that's who inspires me day in and day out.


Friday, June 5, 2009

Long spin

I opted to do my long ride this morning as we're on the road this weekend. And what a spectacular morning to be outside.

I had an AWESOME ride .. felt strong .. legs felt fantastic ..

The numbers: 3:32 ride time, 100.6km, avg speed 28.4 (max 66), avg cad 65 .. this was the route towards Whistler and back .. I went a bit further today as my time came up short last Saturday.

Last week's numbers: 3:23, 94km, avg sp 27.9 (max 59), avg cad 64.

I really needed to get outside and on the road to confirm my bike fitness. I'm not yet in Ironman racing form but my mind has been quieted by my performances so far. When I've needed to push, I've been able to find that extra gear.