Back into it

The last few weeks since Ironman have been nice and relaxing, with a dash of fatigue. I’d forgotten how long it takes to recover from these races. In the first week I was pretty useless and for some reason I had a lot of inquiries about programs…….just a simple response may have taken a while as I was on the couch and it’s a full 2 metres from the computer.

I did do a little fitness stuff in the weeks that followed. A week after Ironman I shot down to Mandurah for the State Inter Club to race for the Stadium Barracudas. Since it’s a fun race I took the chance to race old school in the budgie smugglers. But racing a week after IM wasn’t fun and running was well shite. It was a lot better at the afternoon’s activities…..Beerman, which had a surprisingly stacked field and was a lot of fun! I have also taken the opportunity to do a few other things like indoor rock climbing, which was a lot of fun; challenging and I should really do it more often.

In the last week and a half, I’ve got a bit of energy back and started to get back into it. Mainly in the pool and running, but will get back on the bike soon.

Burning some lactic acid at the Stadium Tri Club's Boxing Day Aquathon

I’m yet to finalize my program into Singapore 70.3, as I want to make a few changes (if you do things the same, you get the same results). The main change has happened with a bit of luck. I’d been looking at swimming squad options, with not much joy. Thankfully a new swim squad has been started up by Guy Crawford and Paul Newsome at a time that suits. In the last year I’ve changed my stroke and swum more than ever, but I didn’t get the result I wanted at Busselton. So another sacrifice has to be made, another shift dropped for training. From the three swims I’ve had its going to be well worth it.

The other changes I’m looking at making are to do with putting a bit more stress on the body. In the lead up to Singapore that means heat and I will be setting up a sweatbox in my shed. I did these sessions in the lead up to Singapore in 2007 and they worked well, but they really drain you for a day two. Hydration will be crucial! I’ll be trying to train a bit more with a few others too as too long on a windtrainer in a hot shed = not good ;)

Happy New Year Peeps

G-string

It’s a long way to the top!

Well Busso IM is done and in a nutshell, I’m reasonably happy. It didn’t go all to plan, but I was happy to tough it out for a 9.22.49. There is little margin for error against the quality field that lined up on Sunday and simply I gave up too much time in the swim, which made it tough for the rest of the day.

The support was amazing out there, so a big thanks goes out to the super heroes in the Stadium tri club tent, my family (esp. my sis, Caine and Mila who came from Melbourne), Clint, Frank, Michelle and Jo and everyone else out there cheering. I’m not the most reactive out there at times, but I am taking in that support, so Thank you!!

Triathlon is a tough sport, Ironman well it’s at another level. We all like to think we are hard as and can smash anything, but the reality is Ironman and the pain you endure and have to keep enduring hour after hour is something that I have struggled with. I didn’t smash the race, but toughing out the run showed me what is required. Putting it all together in an Ironman is getting closer and I’m looking forward to Cairns in June.

My Day

I was fairly relaxed in the lead up and on race morning, maybe too much as I left my bidon’s in the fridge back at Abbey. Quick call to dad and he rushed them in to me. Didn’t have too much else to check, so everything was pretty smooth. Had a quick easy jog over to the swim start and was happy that the conditions were better than expected. A little chop, but no 20knot NE wind.

The pro’s all got announced as a chance to boost their profile, good idea, but as my number had been changed the commentators didn’t have me on the list. They missed me out and were onto the female pro’s, turned to Kate Bevilaqua and said “ripped off” with a smile and ran into the water. No need to worry.

The swim start was fairly smooth as we all spread out. I kept the pace nice and relaxed and found feet early. Probably after 500m the 1^st pack got away and after a few more hundred metres I was back on someone feet in the 2^nd pack, so far so good. At around 1500m I started to struggle, we were swimming into a little chop, the swell increased a little and I took in a few mouthfuls. A gap opened up and the first dilemma of the day. Go into the red zone or try and keep it steady and hope the gap closes. I went with option 2 and it stayed close for a while and then grew bit by bit.

Rounding the end of the jetty I was by myself, but managed to find a better rhythm with the chop behind me. I was hoping the swim time would be 54-55min (taking conditions into account), but it was 56.17 as I left the water. The 2^nd pack came in at 53 minutes and I should have been able to hold that. Missing that pack was costly and changed my day.

T1 went pretty smoothly buoyed on by the big crowd and the swim exit. I was onto the bike a doing 40kph easily as took the few km’s steady. As I got to Coast road, I got to see how far I was behind. It wasn’t pretty as it was 4minutes to the nearest group. Riding 180k solo was something I had thought was a possibility of happening, so I set a semi-comfortable pace and caught a few other Pro racers on Layman road. They didn’t try and ride with me.

Feeling fast on Tuart drive

On the way out to the far turn around I had my first little internal battle of the day. I wasn’t feeling great and riding into the wind, I was getting a pain high in my left glut. Every pedal stroke was giving me grieve, getting out my saddle was the only relief. I was happy to get to the turnaround. With the wind at my back the glut was fine, hammy was tight but it has been for 2 years 11 months. Ending the first lap in 1.33 I was content.

Onto the 2^nd lap and I felt like the wind had picked up and I was still having issues with my gluts. Getting out of the saddle was costing me seconds, but it was needed. The section along Layman road and out to coast road was pathetic, I was riding like a little girl! I focused and pushed through to the 90k mark. Got it together and by the time I was back in town for the end of the 2^nd lap I had caught two more pro’s that had been dropped by Shortis. I was feely good, my glut had come good and they didn’t look like following so I pushed on.

On the last lap I rode well through Layman and Coast road, but started to struggle on Tuart drive even with the wind at my back. I had thought I’d judged my pace well, fatigue was slowly creeping up, but the legs felt good and I finished off the ride well.

T2 and quads were a little stiffer than I’d hoped and expected. I rode 4.46 and thought if the conditions were perfect I could go sub 4.40. So 4.46 should’ve been ok, but I was aware that it was windy and riding that solo would make it harder as I did all the work myself (A 12m draft is better than nothing). 4.50ish would have been smarter in hindsight.

Garmin file for the bike leg http://connect.garmin.com/activity/132967236



Off the bike and into T2



Out onto the run and the quads weren’t happy, but I was still going sub 4min pace. Caught that early and slowed it down to 4.15 pace (run prep was lacking, so 3hr marathon was never on the cards). Moved through 5k ok, form felt ok except for a lack of knee lift.

Pace fluctuated a bit as I stopped at most aid stations to stuff ice into my tri suit and soak myself in water. The forecast was for a hot afternoon, I usually cope well in the heat, but wasn’t taking any chances with IM. Had pretty much came to the decision that I’d try and run this easy pace to the end, my quads were close to seizing and I couldn’t go faster if I wanted to.

Tapped out the 1^st lap in 47min and was breaking down each section of the lap. I was getting good support which was helping. There were plenty of peeps near transition, my family with Clint and Frank at the equinox café, the Stadium tent was going off and Bunbury tri club further down were also great.

First lap of the run

My quads were getting progressively tighter, but I just kept tapping it out. Hit my first real low point around the 18/19k, the urge to walk had arrived. Tried to give the quads a quick stretch at an aid station but that did little to help, so got back running.

My nutrition so far had worked well; I never felt flat or had any stomach issues. I hadn’t had a piss yet and didn’t feel the need to. I thought that was strange as I’d taken on more fluids than I’d planned to due to the heat. In the last two laps I could feel fluid bouncing in my stomach and thought I’d had too much. Most drinks went over my head after that.

The third lap started ok as I kept it going 4.30 – 5min pace. Started to really struggle at the 24k mark, but got a lift of the STC crew….which didn’t last. 27k to the turnaround was the worst part of the day. I had done well in keeping going and maybe it was because this was the point where it all went pear shaped in 2007 but I walked a few times before getting going again. Had to fight the negative thoughts to keep moving and get to the aid station.

At this point I’m wondering if I can get under 10hrs and I owe Carle Green a big thank you. Carle just had a chat as I trotted along. The negative thoughts had got to me and Carle just told me it wasn’t that bad and I could still get a good time. Thanks Carle

Got back to town ok and although my pace was slowing I was still moving. There were still a few tough moments on the last lap, but the supporters were enough to keep me going. Had a bit of trouble at the far turn around again and was dropped by Mike Calway. Picked him up again after the aid station and we worked well back together back into town.



Approaching the Stadium crew



Heading up the finishing shoot and high fives for the Family!! Was great to have them there, I get a lot of strength and drive from them. A little wave to Leila May and my usual jump over the finish line…..May have got 2cm off the ground.

Garmin file for the run http://connect.garmin.com/activity/132967497

Into the arms of the catches over the line and that’s the point when you realize how toast your body is. Off to recovery and a sit down and drink does wonders. Was feeling ok, but as I hadn’t been or needed to piss I went to medical. They said kidney failure and it can happen in IM. Would be ok, they weren’t worried so neither was I.

The next few hours were pretty rough, but pulled up ok after a good sleep. The legs are very tight and sore, but nothing seems to have been broken.

What’s next?

Will be doing the state interclubs next weekend, but that will be it for two weeks. I’m going to get some rest before preparing to race again in January. Made one change to the schedule last week, I’ve replaced Abu Dhabi with Singapore 70.3. Load was too much and I would be close to burning out in May/June. Busso 70.3 and Cairns are more important.

Well done everyone who went around on Sunday

Mikey

Back to Busso

Well, this will be the final blog update before the big race….Might be a few mini updates of the Facebook if I feel like talking some smack or something. https://www.facebook.com/#!/bangdiddy

It’s been 4 years since my last IM, which was down in Busselton as well. That day back in 2007, I didn’t have a great day, but still crossed the line in 9.47 and change. That race did haunt me a little in the years that followed. Many things went wrong! I’ll list them

1.       Nutrition strategy, got complacent and failed to plan and dropped some food on the bike

2.       Ignored my race plan and increased my pace

3.       1 & 2 resulted in a big blow at 160km

4.       In T2 and thought my race was over, switched off mentally and ran the first 10k in 38/39 min. Opps,  2^nd blow up soon followed

5.       Obsess over time and every minute I lost ate away at me. Created a negative mindset

How not to pace and plan during an Ironman. Nerves also got to me on race morning.

My thoughts on that race have changed in the last year and I take a lot of confidence from that day. Yep, I did plenty wrong, but you learn from your mistakes and hopefully it will result in a good day this year.

Going into this one, I’m looking forward to the challenge. Yep it’s going to hurt; I’ll want to walk at some point.  That point when you are pushed to your limits, when courage, determination is all you’ve got to get you home. That is moment I’m looking forward to.

The final week has been pretty restful so far. On the weekend we had one last fun run in Fremantle for the Variety Santa Fun Run. Lauren, Junie, Matt and myself lined up in the sea of red and white.

Despite reminding myself it wasn’t a race, after 500m I eventually got a bit twitchy and had to take off to chase down the rabbits out in front.  Was quite fun running down the main drag of Freo and it also gave me a chance to practise my finish line Welchy impression.

Good luck to those competing in Busso and if you’re watching grab a super hero costume and head over to the Stadium tent!

My predictions

1^st male – Timo Bracht, Smokey Arron Farlow

1^st female -  Kate Belivaqua

My time - :P

Bang Diddy

BIB 230

Bunbury Race Report

I was pretty relaxed pre race and thought I had a good chance of going under the 2hr mark if the wind behaved. The forecast was for light winds, but the easterly was a bit stronger than expected.

Swim

The gun went off and I remained calm and relaxed. Settled into a pack, but started to really struggle heading into the chop. I couldn’t find my rhythm in my new blue seventy wetsuit and it looked like a pack moved away. Not great, but I started to get it together as I headed back into shore and the end of the first lap.

On the 2^nd lap it was still a struggle into the chop and in hindsight I wasn’t adapting well to the conditions. I had increased my stroke rate into the chop, but I wasn’t getting a good catch. The new wetsuit is a better fit than my old one and felt a bit different, which probably distracted me a bit on the day.

I came out of the water with Richard Yeo who hadn’t been training a lot (I’m thinking I’d swam poorly), but just ahead was Johan Borg who normally swims similar to me so maybe it wasn’t so bad. T1 went well and was onto the bike and plus 40 pretty quick.

Bike

I waited until the long straight until I put a bit of power through the pedals and took off in search of the leaders. Over the next few laps I took over plenty on the lapped course and got a call from the sidelines of 20 seconds. Figured that was the gap to Guy Crawford and continued to chase. Was surprised when Matt Illingsworth came by and then Michael Kent as we caught Guy and 1^st place. There was no sudden increase in pace, so I took the opportunity to get in a gel and some fluids.

Two laps to go on the bike and I was confident I had Matt and Guy covered on the run, Michael Kent has had some hot form and I knew I need to make a gap on the bike. Made a move and up past Matt for the lead….. maybe had it for 3 seconds before Matt came back through. Must have made him angry, but it might help open up a gap.

No luck in creating a gap and lost time to Matt through the tight corners and he was gone. It was going to come down to the run.  Finished the 40k averaging 42.2kph, so pretty happy with that. T2 needs some work as I lost ground straight away.

Run

I moved past Guy pretty early and then Matt, with Michael a further 100m up the road. I wasn’t feeling great, but was moving ok. As I got onto the boardwalk it was pretty obvious I wasn’t catching Michael as he was out of sight! I focused on holding my form and running my own race. Moving through the first lap, I was feeling better and knew I had at least 100m over 3^rd and 4^th. Thankfully no challenge came and I was able to keep my pace relatively comfortable to the end and sneaking under the 2hr mark in 1:59:46.

Pretty content, now just for the big one! I am feely pretty relaxed as there is not much more training I can do now. There is still a few descent sessions, but all easier than what has been done. This week will include plenty of visualization and going over and over nutrition for the day.

G-Pop

Weapon of choice

Well finally racing season has arrived and I can’t wait. After missing the duathlon it has been too long between races. I have felt that I have been ready to race for a couple of weeks now (even with a dodgy calf), so am starting to get excited about Bunbury this weekend and Busselton two weeks later. Would also like to welcome Fat Duck Cycles and Espresso as a sponsor, in an individual sport every bit of support is appreciated. So make sure you pop in for a coffee and have a look around when you’re in Busselton, they have plenty of Tri toys in stock.

Thought I’d show off my bike this week….

2010 Felt B2 PRO, Nicknamed “Slimer” due to its lovely lime green detailing. Absolute pleasure to ride!!

Details…

Frame – 2010 Felt B2 PRO

Bars - Felt Bayonet UHC-Nano Ultra Hybrid Composite carbon fiber base bar (that’s a lot of techie words) with f bend alloy bar extensions.

Shifters – Sram R2C

Cranks – Sram Red 175mm

Front derailleur – Sram Red

Rear derailleur – Sram Red

Chain rings – Sram 54-42 TT

Cassette – Sram 11-23

Wheels – Front – Zipp 404 Rear Zipp 808

Saddle – Fizik Arione

Pedals – Dura Ace

Cages – Elite

Bike Computer – Garmin Edge 800

Andrew Budge (http://www.trysport.com.au) set the bike up for me and also advised on purchasing the bike that would fit me the best. There have been a few little adjustments made; the main one was widening the arm rests. Yas Ueno (www.bikeclinic.com.au) made a custom mount to widen them and also services the bike when needed.

For the Bunbury Olympic distance race I’ll carry one bidon (weak Gatorade mix) and tape one gel to the Stem of the bike. I generally like to keep the front of the bike pretty clear.

For the Ironman, I’ll have to carry a bit more nutrition. On the day I’ll have two bars in pockets on my Skins tri suit and will tape my gels behind the stem. Am planning on having 8 gels and the only thing I’m still working out is where to store my salt tablets…. Suggestions are welcome.

Ironman prep is pretty much done and I’m starting to taper. I had planned to only have a 2 week taper with the limited running build up, but my body wasn’t responding well after my week down in Busso. The sudden increase in running on top of riding and swimming has pushed me a little into over training. On the plus side I did get some solid running in (didn’t break anything) and I’m a lot more confident in my run going into Ironman.

Good luck for those of you racing at Bunbury or anywhere else this weekend

Golly G

Busso Camp

With Busso IM only a few weeks away I should let you all know how the prep is going. Generally its going well, the run is the only thing with a question mark over it. After recovering from my calf strain I got back to running for 10 days and then it tightened up again, although in a slightly different spot. October was to be my biggest month of running in this build up, but is not to be. I am confident that I haven’t lost my running form, not so much confidence in my running endurance though. The end of an ironman is meant to be tough, so it doesn’t change much. It will still be battle between the ears to keep on going when the body screams stop! Looking forward to it, should be fun J

The good news is my biking is going very well! Partly due to not running and I sure the weights have also helped. I have been trying to get to the gym twice a week during the last 2months in an attempt to stay injury free and I think it has worked. The latest calf injury was due to me messy around with a bike saddle and getting my seat height wrong.... You’d think I would have learnt by now (yes I was pissed at myself, but can’t do much about it now). The weights I’ve been doing are very simple on machines, Leg press, lying leg curls, Lat pulldown and seated calf raises. Squats and straight leg deadlifts would be better exercises, but I try to get in, get these done and get to the pool. On machines I don’t need to worry about form and technique, just get the exercises done. Post Busso, I’ll continue weights to maintain strength while giving my body a rest from the hours on the bike for a few weeks, but will look at progressing onto the free weights and more specific exercises.

Swimming is going well, frequency is up and volume isn’t too far of pre Busso 70.3 levels. A few more ocean swims would be good, but summer hasn’t shown up yet and overcast conditions are a little too sharky to brave solo ocean swims.

I have been in Busselton since Friday the 4^th and if you never been it’s the type of place that as soon as you enter, you just relax... I set up base camp at sea shells cottage with Pete Hillman, Darrin Stobba, Clint Doak and he’s wife Michelle. We had a good weekend of training with a couple of bricks, ocean swims and a run. My training partners bought enough food to feed a small nation and then left back to Perth, no need to go to the shops, cheers lads.

The weather turned nasty on Sunday night, through Monday and Tuesday, so have spent a bit of time at the Busselton Aquatic centre, yep I feel like a local. Already know the only shower that works well and which life guard will let me hop in the spa for free. Also headed out for my first long run for a while, in an attempt to look after my legs I headed for the soft surfaces of a dirt track east of Sues road. For all you “born to run” fans I couldn’t catch any of the kangaroos and didn’t get anywhere near an emu. Still it was a good run in the bush, it got me out of the wind and I escaped the rain too somehow.

As with all my training camps, something seems to break. Last time it was my wheels (brought spare set this time) and this time it’s my Subaru. So it’s into Auto Masters tomorrow, hopefully it takes a while and I can be stuck here for a few extra days (it’s nice getting so much rest and recovery). I am here until the weekend, which should be enough. For the last three days I’ve relocated to a farm 10k north of Busselton, not far from the bike course and Sues road so I’m happy to be back on the bike tomorrow. The rest of the sessions this week will be nice and long, 180k ride with a short run tomorrow and a lap of the course with a long run off the bike on Thursday. Throw in a couple of swims and it should be a good week.

First tri for the season will be Bunbury on the 20^th of November. Olympic distance and seriously ready to race!

Banger

Hitting the road again….travelling that is

Heading over to Melbourne for my Sister’s wedding on Thursday (Congrats Sis), also makes me the last Gee to be married,  that’s right the last one...very exclusive now haha. This will be first trip of possibly 3 in the next few weeks. Once I’m back from Melbourne I’ll be heading down to Busselton for a 5 day training camp. Always super relaxed in Busso, so I’m looking forward to this. Convincing my training partners to swim around the jetty after 3 fatal shark attacks in two months off the WA coast, may be hard.

The travel is one of the cool things about the sport of triathlon and it got me thinking during this morning’s swim set the great places I’ve been. Time for a top 5

Number 5 – Port Macquarie 70.3 23 Oct 05

This was in my first year in the sport and I’d just finished my first half ironman at Busselton in May. I travelled over with my dad to check out the course before the Ironman next year. We went for a paddle with a local to check out the swim course. He gave me some good tips about the local currents and as we paddled back we went past a fishing boat and pulled up for a chat. On board they were gutting and cleaning three 10 foot Tiger sharks, it was pretty cool to see these beasts up close and not in the water. The guts, were going over the side (right were the Ironman swim starts from now), our paddle guide told the fishermen about the race tomorrow. An awkward pause and then I said “don’t worry, it’ll make me swim fast”. I did set a PB in the swim, but the race ended in my only DNF. I had ITB issues and should never have started; it did fire me up for Ironman 6 months later, which went well.

Number 4 – Bintan Olympic distance triathlon 26 May 07

After having a good day at the Bussleton Half, I got an invite to go up to Bintan and race in the pro race. After finding out where Bintan was, I checked out the bank balance to see if I could scrape together an airfare. Thankfully Tiger airways had just started flying to Perth, so I decided to go. Had been told the field was weak, saw Brad Bevan at the ferry terminal (crap!) and then on the Bus to the hotel at sat next to Levi Maxwell (Another I’d watched in the F1 series, again crap!) and Richie Cunningham who’d been doing well in the US on the 70.3 series (yep crap!). To top it off, hello Courtney Atkinson! Saw him at the start… that was it.

Being put up in a 5 star hotel was nice and I had been advised to stay in the air conditioning to cope with the humidity, so watched plenty of old Phuket race videos before going too stir crazy. The race was in the arvo and was started a bit early, I soon learned why. Onto the bike and I was hit by a monsoonal downpour! I’d never been in such heavy rain; there were streams of water coming out of everywhere on to the road. Soon adapted to the conditions and enjoyed it before going over a cobble stoned section (cobble stones, heavy rain and speed = not good). I don’t know how I stayed upright. Later I heard it claimed quite a few age groupers. It was quite an experience, but the rest of the race went south as I stuffed up my nutrition by not reducing my intake once the downpour hit and the humidity left. The experience did help in Singapore later in 2007.

Number 3 Northern Territory Long Course Champs 15 Aug 2010

This was my comeback to long distance racing and had headed up to the territory with my Physio JA. The race was in Lake Bennett, 80km south of Darwin and we arrived two days before the race to an empty resort. I had picked up a cold, but couldn’t let JA go for a swim by himself, even though they had told us there were no crocs. We swam out in zero visibility and did about 7-800m before turn for home. Halfway back I stopped to wait for JA and looked above to see 10 or so kites circling us… I was telling myself to stay calm and hoping they didn’t know something I didn’t. It was a fast swim back after that.

I thought the race briefing for the swim was nice “If you can’t see the swim buoy, just sight off the saltwater crocodile trap”.

Race day went ok for racing with a cold and pretty sure I sweated it out on the run as it was the hottest race I’d done. The hot winds coming off the desert made it feel like I was running in an oven! Soaking sponges were bone dry 500m after picking them up, but it was great to be racing long again. The other guys from Perth didn’t think much of the race, but I think they were comparing it to a 70.3. I love the low key laid back country races.

Number 2 Singapore 70.3 2 Sept 07

I headed to Singapore with my coach at the time Paul Newsome, Janet Musker, Andrew Mencshelyi and Sally O’dea. We all crammed into a dorm room located underground in Little India or as we named it our concentration camp. I hadn’t been to Asia before (apart from my quick trip to Bintan) and I was enjoying the different culture and environment. Running in places ya just shouldn’t was quite fun dodging anything and everything and somehow resisting the very cheap Tiger beers in perfect beer drinking weather. The sacrifices I need to make…

After walking everywhere and riding in 40+ temp to drop our bikes at transition we all decided that this was the worst taper ever. But I had a great day, winning my age group by 15minutes and taking down a few pro’s to come in 13^th place. We also learnt that if you 6 foot 7inches, you should race in hot humid conditions as Andrew upgraded he’s accommodation to a Singapore Hospital with 6-7 drips for the next 2 days.

Number 1 it’s not a race

December 2010 I rode around Tasmania with my two best mates Clint and Frankie. It was meant to be a build for New Zealand IM for them and a solid build for my season, but panniers (custom fitted on carbon road bikes, wrong I know…) and the 1000km took their toll and only Frank finished.  

It was a great way to see the state and there was some brilliant riding, strong winds, heavy rain and some hyperthermia. All good fun with some great run’s as well in strahan and cradle mtn.

I am planning to travel again this season with the Abu Dhabi triathlon and either IM Germany or Challenge Cairns to finish my season off. But you don’t need to go overseas, Karri Valley, Busso and Albany races here in WA are some of my favorite weekends away.

Races I’m keen to get to in the future at some stage

Phuket Triathlon

Hell of the West Goondiwindi

Port Macquarie 70.3 or IM

If there is any great races you’ve done, let me know your favorites?

Seeya

Bugsy

You know the coolest thing about elevators?

The last couple of weeks haven’t gone exactly to plan, but it has allowed me to freshen up for the next block of training. The last 2k’s at Fremantle did strain my calf, so spent a bit of time resting and getting it right. This generally includes massage, stretching, ice baths, weights, foam rollers, yoga, compression and Sheldon at CBD wellness poking 18 little needles into me, walking is always a little awkward afterwards.

I was lucky to move into a coaching role with Stadium Tri Club after breaking my pelvis three years ago. It has given me a bit of an opportunity to see how other athletes deal with injuries, Yes can be quite funny as they usually over react!

There is nothing worse than an endurance athlete who can’t train due to one little injury, it will turn a positive athlete into a negative, “the world is against me”, grumpy buggar! Yep that’s right I had one of these moments this week. Consistency is the key and I could sense it slipping away with calf issues. As usual a trip to see John Annear at Sportsmed Subi and then Budgie for some bike fit corrections (my bad) and everything is ok again. I can only laugh looking back at it.

I have had a lot of injuries post the hip fracture, around 10 different leg problems from memory (a few of them more than once). But when you’re out for a long time the frustration isn’t as intense, you realize it’s going to be awhile before your racing at your best. Yep it’s still frustrating and there were certainly some bad days, but there is no time deadline to get ready for a race and there are plenty of little goals you have to tick off in rehab.

I was told by friends and had noticed myself that I was dealing with the injuries well. Now I’m getting back towards my best the frustration of missing sessions is…… intense again.

Anyway here are a few tips for when you’re injured (I’m an expert)

1.       Get it diagnosed and know what you’re up against and ask lots of questions

2.       Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do. Three sports, you can still work on one at least

3.       Look for alternatives, if you can’t run try water running or on the cross trainer

4.       Work on your weaknesses, for me it’s a chance to improve my swim

5.       Hit the gym and improve strength. It will help your run, bike, swim and prevent future injuries

6.       Focus on technique to improve efficiency

7.       And lastly aim to come back a better athlete, not the same

Back to the elevators

My name is always in lights ;)

G

End of camp and Freo Half Marathon

Woke up Wednesday to calm conditions, which was appreciated as the legs felt very average and 150k on the bike was planned. The ride out of town confirmed that I didn’t have much in the legs, but replayed my current mantra “Good day Bad day, it doesn’t matter you’re here to work”. By the time I arrived at Port Gregory road the wind was up and straight into my face. It was going to be a long day.



The undulating and exposed Port Gregory Road



Had a few weak moments on the way out to the turnaround point and had to be disciplined not to turn earlier. The thought of stopping and lying in the grass to escape the wind were regular. I was beginning to hate this road.

150K done and most of the next 18hours were spent in bed. Did get out of bed for dinner, which had a bit of local flavor. Roast pork (wild boar shot by my cousin) was the main and entrée whatever these are…

Thursday was the last day of training up here and the dead roads, hills and constant wind had taken its toll on me. I had hoped to get another long ride in, but really dreaded the idea of heading out into the wind with nothing in the legs. I headed out for a 7.5k run to try and loosen up the legs. Pace was ok, but still felt like crap. Back to bed for an hour…

My dad was heading into Geraldton in the afternoon, so I had a chance to get to the pool. That left me with three and a half hours to kill. Can of Coke down the hatch and onto the bike. Actually started to feel ok after 10-15k and got a solid 80ks in before heading to the pool.

Heading for home, the focus shifted to recovery. Well more so…. The 10hours of sleep I was getting a night was good recovery. I had the Fremantle Half Marathon on Sunday and it would be a tough ask to recover in time. An ice cold open water swim at North Cott on Saturday helped, but I think wetsuits would have been a good idea ;)

I went into the race with a similar mentality as I have for my recent races, hang on for as long as possible. The pace off the line wasn’t stupid fast and I settled in around 8^th before gradually moving up to 5^th by the 2^nd kilometer. I moved into 4^th and was just back from 3^rd as we went through 5k in 17minutes. I knew it was fast, but I was quite comfortable below my threshold.

I went through 10k in 34.34 which is the fastest I’ve run in a long, long time. I was thinking before the race that I am a month away from running fast; I’m looking forward to next month now! Compared to the first 10k of the City to surf, it’s a 2 minute + improvement.

On the second lap I was able to stay in touch (50m) with 3^rd, but inevitably fatigue set in. My legs just couldn’t respond as the 5^th place competitor flew by. My pace didn’t drop off much until the last few KM’s and I finished in 5^th in 1.17 and change.

As half marathons go, it was two and a half minutes off my PB, but the quality is starting to come back. The hard work is paying off, but THERE IS A HELL OF A LOT MORE TO BE DONE.

G-train

 

Horricks Training Camp and Internal Monolog

Welcome to my first blog, well sort of. I had attempted a training blog before on my website WWW.PURSUITPT.COM.AU (My first plug!) but it ended due my lack of skills as a web designer.

I’m currently up at Horricks Beach, where I hear you say…. It’s about 70km north of Geraldton and 120km south of Kalbarri. A little beach holiday town where my Grand dad and Uncle live. Perfect spot for my first of two training camps before the Busselton Ironman I thought. Beach 30m from my door, quiet roads and a bit of wind to make it tough!

Arrived Friday night and got up nice and late (rest is the reason these camps work for me) before heading out for my long ride. I was aiming for 180-200k and knew the first 18k out to Port Gregory road was going to be hilly. Through that and turned north towards Port Gregory (PG another sleepy holiday town) and the hills didn’t let up. I loved it, the views were great and came as a complete surprise. Filled the bidons at PG and continued north into the wind towards Kalbarri.

Had a nice tail wind for most of the way home, but continued to work hard and also on getting my nutrition right. The last 18k of hills and head wind was pretty avg, but it was a solid session. 186k in the hills and wind in 5:30hr. Probably spent a bit more energy than expected, but had plenty of time to recover. Small buckle in the rear wheel was a little concern.

Day two (sort of rest day) didn’t start until after noon, an easy 10k run before attempting my first swim. The seas were quite rough, but my swimming area is protected by a reef 300m off shore. In and away, I was feeling quite quick and had my dad in the kayak to follow. Before I knew it we were at our turn around point (just quietly I think I swam 400m in under 5min). The next 5min were a battle as I realized the current was a little strong here. Never one to give up early I pushed on…or should I say held on, before getting out a little grumpy at being defeated.

Day three was back on the bike for a 100k followed by an hour run. Heart rate was a little low still due to Saturday’s ride, but was still happy with the ride until snapping a spoke on my front wheel 70k’s in. Good old dad came and picked me up and then headed out for some hills. It was a good solid session even though it didn’t go to plan. Rest of the day was recovery and on the phone to the Geraldton bikes shops.

The morning of day four was spent in Geraldton. No aero spokes so had to fork over the cash for a new set of budget wheels. Managed to squeeze in a swim at the aquarena, which is quite a good facility.

 Was thinking on my long run today, what to include in this blog….. The experience I’ve had over the last two and a bit years and what I’m trying to achieve now is fairly unique. Racing professionally for me adds a bit of pressure. Some good, some bad, but you can’t push your limits professionally without it. In the end you have to embrace it and get on with doing your best. But to give you an insight….

Pressure to perform as I haven’t had a breakthrough race in the last year. You could argue I’m expecting too much too soon, but I’d rather focus on what’s ahead of me. I was confident before and afterwards that Busselton 70.3 was going to be that race, but a flat tyre ruined the day. I feel I still need to prove myself at this level and I’m sure I’m not alone in that thought. It is my driving force at the moment.

I’m blessed to be sponsored by quality brands in Sportsfever, Brooks and Skins. In professional sport that isn’t always the case, so I’m very aware I need to provide value for them and as most are new sponsors that value is yet to be shown. Its new side of the sport I’m getting used to and I like the accountability that comes with it. It’s a little more pressure that I’m adding.

These pressures plus staying injury free make for an interesting balancing act at present. You want to make sure your doing everything you can be doing to achieve success, but the reality of my situation is that I need to be very cautious with injuries. Most of 2011 has been affected by injuries that have completely sidelined me or inhibited my training and this does affect how you think about your future in the sport. You question whether your body can stand up the beatings it takes during training. When things aren’t going to plan, I focus on what I can do. Have I mention my swimming has improved a lot this year. The last eight weeks have been injury free and I finally have a bit of confidence in my body, which can be a dangerous thing!

So the road to professional racing is filled with doubt…… Then you realize your negative splitting a 30k run in the heat of the afternoon, into a headwind, in the middle of fricking nowhere. Yep you’re going ok…

Train safe, Train happy

Mikey