Gordo on marathon training

I have read a lot of Gordo's thoughts on training and racing over the years. He has recently written about marathon training, not as in what specific sessions to do but what to expect and the strategy involved in getting to the start line.

The first take of his two-part comment is on xtri.

The second is on his blog.

He had this comment which I thought was interesting:

"Race Day Strategy -- I have found that on race day the struggles come with regard to humility and self-belief. If I have any cracks in emotional well being then they will come through under stress and I will underperform. It takes very little courage to blow one's self up in the first third of an endurance event (nearly all your peers will be there to keep you company). It takes exceptional self-belief to race YOUR best effort and perform to your best ability."

I think that self-belief comes from knowing that you've done the work ahead of the race, and so your mind is at ease, and in my case, I'm not overthinking everything that I do. I am calm. It is similar to being in the zone.

Week One

It's over - the first week that is. And while there remains a bit of a learning curve and a bit of refining to do, it's great to be back.

Day One

In a few hours from now, I will renew my triathlon career with an indoor bike session. Don't halt the presses just yet.

But for the first time in more than a year, I'm excited about putting my energy into the sport.

A key part of my excitement is Kristian's enthusiasm. In a short few years, I've seen both Kristian and Charlotte make outstanding strides in the sport. What I like most about them is their openness to new ideas.

That's what captured my imagination on the weekend as I reviewed my first training program from my new K-oach.

Of course it's just Day One so I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself.

The concrete objectives that I have set for myself - and for which I'll hold Kristian responsible for helping me achieve - are: a Sub10 Ironman and a return to Kona. I'm not interested in simply getting to the start line.

New K-oach

For months I have been mulling my coaching options. I have looked at a range of online coaches and considered a return to John Hill with whom I credit for teaching me a lot since 2001. What I considered key to my success was training with him and his group.

Almost all of my triathlon friends, and most of the people who I now consider among my best friends, were members of his group at one time or another.

But given the group is in Sydney - and the friends have scattered to the four winds, including me, I knew it was time for a change.

And so I've opted to sign up with ironguides. And tonight I have a new coach, who also happens to be a good friend. Kristian Manietta.

Kristian also happens to be the coach of Charlotte Paul - both of whom I knew at the very start of their triathlon careers and both of whom have become seriously successful in their own right in the last year in particular.

I look forward to tapping into Kristian's infinite enthusiasm for the sport and his well of positive energy. And his truly carpe diem attitude. It's time now to get to work.

http://ironguides.net/

The Reservoir

I was reminded again earlier this week why Central Park is such an amazing place to train. Unfortunately it's a long way from the West Coast.

Mmmmmm

Who would have thunk I'd find such a nutritious chocolate chip cookie beneath the Brooklyn Bridge? Me neither.

Radcliffe in NYC

This is what the New York Times wrote of Paula Radcliffe's victory at the NYC marathon.

On a windy, cold morning, Radcliffe ran a pitiless race, leading from beginning to end over 26.2 miles, hammering the pace, shedding the rest of the field with four miles still remaining and winning New York for the third time in 2 hours 23 minutes 56 seconds, completing the second half of the race nearly three minutes faster than the first half.

She did not come close to her world record of 2:15:25, but that was not the point on the hilly course. Victory in New York is always more important than time.

Sunday’s win will give Radcliffe leverage when her Nike contract comes up for renewal in January and will let the rest of the world’s top marathoners know that she is serious in her ambition of challenging for a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. By then she will be 38, the same age as the 2008 Olympic champion, Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania.

And congrats to Janet, David and Anders for persevering on a cold day! NYC is all about the experience.

Marathon Stats (updated)

1998 Portland 4:14:29

1999 NYC 3:49:56 (10k 54:38, 1/2 1:52:17)

2002 Sydney 3:29:40 ish

2003 Gold Coast 3:24:54 (1/2 1:38:21)

2003 Honolulu 3:33:14

2006 Gold Coast 3:13:51 (first 1/2 1:36:19, second 1/2 1:37:32)

2007 Gold Coast 3:10:38 (44:09, 1:33:12)

2008 Victoria 3:22:14 (44:40, 1:36:17)

Triathlete Magazine

In the November issue, which came out in early October, there was a profile on the pro women's race written by me.

Page 79. `SPEED the Primary Factor In Capturing the Women's Title'

I put Chrissie as the probable winner based on her performances during the past year, and also because the race was hers to dictate. But I didn't anticipate the dominance she displayed on the day. Wow.

I had highlighted four of the top 10 athletes in my preview. Sam McGlone, who I expected to battle for the win, withdrew because of an injury. Kate Major wasn't a force this year, also the result of a lingering injury. Belinda Granger led for a period of time on the bike but it left her flat for the run.

A superb race.

Third fastest marathon

I ran the Victoria marathon in 3:22.14 (4:48 pace) earlier today. Running a marathon never seems to get any easier.

I found that I was running steady for the first 10km and right through the first half, which I completed in 1:36.17. From about the 27-km mark, I struggled. It was not unexpected as I had yet to find my form in the long runs that I did in training.

I fought through a few demons and was able to finish relatively strong. While I had hoped to run a bit faster, I'm content with the fitness that I have at this point and I am eager to get on the trainer and start spinning my legs through winter.

I was 32nd out of 210 in my age group. It was a competitive field - 12 in my age group finished sub3. The top four finished between 2:43 and 2:45!!!

Triathlon Magazine Canada

See the coverage of both age-groupers and pros at the Vancouver-hosted ITU World Champs in the latest issue, reporting by me.

There's also a profile that I wrote on Kim Fawcett.

http://www.triathlonmagazine.ca/

IMC 2009

Unexpectedly my race target for 2009 has come into focus - I was able to secure one of the 200 spots sold online in a matter of a few minutes earlier today for Ironman Canada.

As of now, there may be four friends from Australia on the course at the same time next August 30.

I'm not sure who was more excited - Margreet or me. Neither of us actually expected that I'd be able to secure a spot. In fact, Margreet could have secured one for herself too.

Time now to move and get settled and back into a training regime.

10k

I ran the Richmond Flatlands 10km earlier today in a time of 41:39 -- not particularly fast and yet not too slow either. It was good to be racing, the first time since the half iron in early July.

The conditions were hot and humid, reminding me of Malaysia.

The race has inspired me to race again and so I'll take a look for something soon.

New focus

Triathlon will have its day shortly. However, Michael Phelps has dominated in the pool and I found this comment in a Globe and Mail story

In his seven-day-a-week training routines, which start with a 5 a.m. alarm-clock call, and can include up to 15 kilometres of repetitive lengths and sprints each day, he is not so different from the hundreds of elite swimmers left in the wake of his double-jointed dolphin kicks. Where he manages to outdistance his rivals, according to expert observers, is in the blending of his body's rare gifts with the intensity of his planning and concentration.

"It's his physical ability, it's his ability to race," says USA swim coach Mark Schubert, rhyming off Phelps's clear advantages, "it's his ability to get excited when he needs to and to come down when he needs to come down."

Running Again

It's summer and perfect weather for long runs. And here in British Columbia it also means running into wildlife. I have had two recent encounters.

The first was a week ago when I was nearing the end of a spirited 90-minute effort. I turned to finish up a hill, very close to home, and there was a deer with antlers on the sidewalk, nonchalantly munching on some plants.

I stopped, crossed the road, walked a bit and then started running again.

A few days later we were out for a walk with a friend visiting from Australia. It was a last minute decision. We opted to go to a running path about a 10-minute drive from our house. She was keen to see a bear. While we've seen a lot of bears in the past three months, we've not seen on anywhere near here.

But as we were walking, one was spotted in the brush.

Our friend was sure she saw one on the side of the path though we were less sure. Until a bear suddenly appeared on the path about 50 metres in front of us.

As often is the case with black bears, they tend to bolt when they see people and this one did the same. We were too taken aback by seeing it so close that no photos were snapped. Oh well. Sometimes a close encounter doesn't require photographic proof.

Today we are heading into the same area for a long run. If we don't see the bear, who apparently is a local, that would be OK with me.

Triathlon Magazine Canada

Becoming a Coach - Triathlon Canada's new coaching program

By Timothy Moore

pages 26-27

Vol 3, Issue 4 July & August 2008

Triathlon Magazine Canada

Desert Half

I was quite relaxed heading into the race in part because my focus was to see how fit I was rather than to qualify or achieve anything else. [My first triathlon since Kona.]
The swim was two laps with a short run on the beach. The day before we got a few swim tips from Tom Evans which were helpful in particular one about taking a breath first and then looking up for a position check.

I swam the first lap in 16:58 and I exited the water in 34:05 - so a good consistent effort to start the day. And there were wetsuit helpers to strip the sucker off me - the first time I've made use of this service. Highly recommended!

The bike was going to be a challenge not so much because it was up and down Richter Pass, and then back again but because I've been so slack in training these past six months because the weather has been so discouraging. Having had such great weather to train in Sydney the least bit of cold and rain has kept me inside - and it was the coldest winter and spring here in three decades. Talk about timing.

For the bike, I opted to monitor two things: my heart rate and my overall time. Cadence wasn't going to be useful nor was average speed because of the hills.

As I was cycling, I realized that I didn't actually bring much, any, nutrition. I had my liquids covered but I hadn't thought much of normal gels. I had two caf gels with me and it was all about when I would consume them for the best benefit.

There was a slight headwind heading out on the course - which was one lap, pretty much from Osoyoos to Keremeos and then back.

I didn't find Richter Pass to be too difficult though I was initially rethinking my decision to ride a 23-12 on the back instead of the 25-12 on my training wheel. But I didn't have it and so I simply had to be patient and spin as best I could.

As expected, I caught a few people and a few flew by me too.

After the turnaround, I took my first and double caf gel. It woke me up. There was a section which roughly could be described as flat - it's all relative. But I had a tailwind here and I decided that I was going to go for it. I do like dropping into aero position and cranking up the gears and just pushing. I was flying and it was great.

The hills slowed me down but that was OK.

As I reached the top of Richter heading back into town I realized that I could make it sub3. Having grabbed a few gels from the aid stations along the way, my energy level was good and I kept moving. 2:57. I haven't looked at all the details on my bike computer yet but 2:57 was enough to make me smile.

Out onto the run, with a bottle of Red Bull, I kept a steady pace. No records were going to be set today. There is a definite value in practicing running off the bike. Still, I had a solid and even paced run and I was a happy triathlete at the finish line.

5:22 .. Given the bike course, it was a good overall time for me. Half irons have never been all that fast for me so it was roughly in the ballpark of previous races.

It wasn't until later that I saw I was 11th in my age group out of 44 and 80th out of about 400 competitors overall. Both indicators that I held my own.

What I hadn't expected though was to see myself in a new age group .. I thought that was a bit early - a good six weeks early actually.

Oh well.

*photos: margreet

1:30:21

I ran the Scotiabank Vancouver half marathon today and it was my second fastest time over the distance, and fastest in more than 18 months.

I was 2oth out of 227 in my age group and I was 109th out of about 3575 overall.


There were three gun runners in my age group - two who went 73 minutes and one who went 74 minutes!! The next fastest was seven minutes slower. So it was a relatively competitive group.

The weather was perfect. Low teens and overcast with sunny patches. The road was a bit wet in places but otherwise dry.

It was a solid result for me. I still struggle with being able to drop the hammer during the run; my former coach thinks it's all in my head. Yet I can hammer myself on the track when I need.

In the week leading to the race I ran my fastest 3k timetrial this year .. 11:07 and it hurt! [I ran 11:42 in February, 11:20 in March and 11:12 in April.]

My fitness is improving and my times are dropping which is definitely a huge positive.

Today was my third half marathon of the year, a good rebound from the BMO half marathon in early May.

I'll need to decide soon on whether to train for the Toronto marathon in late September - though I'm leaning in that direction.

Swimming away

As I climbed into the Pathfinder and headed down the street, I realized that I wasn't wearing my watch.

For a moment I considered turning back - then I thought, that's OK. I don't need to time every session in the pool.

I had a good swim: 45-50 minutes and it's far more comfortable than a month ago when I dragged myself out of the pool in Penticton at the tri camp.

Strategic Rethink

I've done a lot of thinking since the last 1/2 marathon. Should I enter another? Should I focus on my swim and bike? Should I look ahead to a marathon later in the year?

Yes, Yes and Yes. What the heck!

I signed up for the Scotiabank 1/2 marathon here in Vancouver on June 22. It appeals to me because it starts UP at UBC and finishes DOWN at Second Beach. I like a course that generally is downhill.

As my race calendar shows, I'm already entered in the Desert Half Iron on July 6. And I've found the discipline these past few weeks to fall back into the pool, and it's been good. I have work to do in the water but I'm making progress.

And finally, I sense a marathon on the horizon. More on that later.