Moving....

Hi all

Just a quick note that after 3 years on here, I'm moving the blog to my new website.

 

Hope the hits continue at
http://pursuitcoaching.com.au/index.php/blog

Thanks to the 13,000 that visited my blog

Australia 8487 United States 2072 Germany 347 United Kingdom 297 Ukraine 140 Russia 135 France 134 Canada 103 Poland 59 Sweden 40   As always train safe Mike

Version 3.0

Time for another comeback...

I've had a month of base training and next week I start my program. The goal for this one was left up to Budgie as Cairns IM is my aim and everything is just a stepping stone to that. That being said I'm quite excited with what he chose, Mandurah State Olympic Distance Champs. I haven't focused on an Olympic distance race since 2007, so this is a nice change.

So the race schedule looks like this

Jan 11th Champion Lakes draft legal race

Feb 2nd Mandurah State Olympic Champs

A bit light on, but with my history I need to cope with the training first of all.

Other tri news....

I'm running a camp with Rob Suriano this coming weekend down in the Ferguson Valley for Stadium Tri Club. First time, so looking forward to it and hopefully it goes well and we continue to run it and I get to go riding down there every year.

I have also been working on my coaching business "Pursuit Coaching" a fair bit over the last few months. Improving the user friendliness of my programs, new websites (driving me insane last week!) and a new venture which will hopefully be set up in the next two months. Old website is still operating until I sort the new one www.pursuitpt.com.au
That and looking after my athletes, who all deserve a bit of praise for what they have achieved! With six competing at the Las Vegas 70.3 World Champs, Becky Lewis at the ITU Sprint & Olympic World Champs in London and Andrew Walker got around Kona (IM World Champs) today in Sub 10hrs.

I'll also be on the mic down at the WA Country Builders Albany Half again on January 4th. Its a great race that I will race one day, but this is just a little too soon when the aim is to get the body right. I like the commentating and as a fan, its a great way to be involved and watch the race. Get on board and I'll seeya down there.

Until next updater train safe :)

Mike

Enjoyed the break

It's been a couple of months since I pulled the pin on racing Pro. Any regrets??? Nope. I've enjoyed the break from the sport and knew it wouldn't be forever. I watched pretty much every stage of Le Tour for the first time in 8 years, enjoyed plenty of sleep ins and got back to doing a few things I had to give up over the past years of racing.

That being said I'm still following the sport and have a passion for it. I could only be impressed with Pete Jacobs' effort at Sunshine Coast 70.3 today!

Looking back over the last year (it was just over a year ago that I broke my neck and back), I made an error trying to rush back. Partly due to disrespecting my injury and partly due to previously going through a recovery from a major injury. I wanted to race! But in the end, my body didn't cope and my mind had had enough of fighting back from set-backs.

I've started the process of getting back into it and like for everyone else, it's been a struggle. I've effectively had 4 months off and may have got a little comfortable. Giving up control of my training to another coach did make me a bit nervous, but now I'm excited to get into it. So far I've just done some test sessions:

Max Heart Rate (Bike) 190bpm
Max Heart Rate (Run) 195bpm
Functional Threshold Power (30min test) 295watts

The program should start in the next few weeks with the aim to get my body right and build a nice big base. A big part of this over the next few months is in the gym. I'll post my gym program on here at some point in the future.

Train safe.

Mike

Retiring from the Pro field

Well the title says it all, it's time.

The decision has gone through my head on a few occasions over the years, but I always decided to fight on. This time I just knew I didn't have the drive to push on.

I thought I had one more year in me, but coming back from injury, this virus that has sidelined me for the past two months and a few other issues have taken away my love for the sport. I needed a break to get my health and motivation back. Which got me thinking about what I still want to achieve in the sport, my future goals don't require a pro licence.

I have had some amazing support from sponsors since 2007. I was lucky to be associated with great brands and people. I couldn't have achieved what I have without their support.

Sponsor since 2007
Murray at Sports Fever was my first ever sponsor and he came on board without even meeting me. I went down to meet him after Busselton Ironman and was stoked with his enthusiasm for the sport. Over the years they have stuck by me when walking with a limp was the goal or just getting through a triathlon with no thought of being competitive.

Murray and Gus have opened doors to other sponsors for me as well as getting my shoe fitting correct, which they've done for thousands of other athletes in WA.

Thanks Murray, Gus and the Sports Fever Team




Sponsor since 2011
One of the brands I was stoked to have associated with me. I love their shoes, whether the Pure Cadence or Ravenna I can't recommend these enough!

Thanks Jacqui and the Brooks Team

Sponsor since 2011
I first went to see Sheldon about getting some rather large dry needling! Having an 8cm needle stuck into my glute wasn't fun, watching me try to walk back to my car would've been very funny. But he fixed the issue and has been instrumental in keeping me on the track ever since. If you're after a masseuse with great knowledge and experience go and see Sheldon.

Thanks Sheldon

Sponsor since 2012, my Physio since 2009

I've said it before, I own John Annear a lot! Getting me back to racing at a pro level after I destroyed my left hip joint was huge. Coming back from that injury there were a lot of set backs and John got me moving again every time.

A big thanks to John, Ben, Rob and the team at Sports Med Subiaco

Sponsor since 2012
Its been great dealing with the team from 32Gi and seeing them grow here in WA. They're always looking at new products for athletes and the addition of low Gi nutrition into the endurance sports mix is a big positive.

Thanks Kristen, Nick, Nic and Nat

 

Sponsor since 2012
Scody came on board last year and I am very happy to be involved with this company. The quality of their products was the reason I approached them and I have been continually impressed. Check them out, Australian made and great supporters of Triathlon at all levels.

Thanks Kristina, Bernard and the Scody Team

Sponsor since 2012

 

Matt from Churchill Cycles came on board late last year and has been a great addition. Nothing is too much trouble and having his knowledge on all things cycling is on another level. If you need a bike, Matt is the man to see!

 

 

Thanks Matt, Rick, Brynt and the Churchill team

Sponsor since 2013
Simon from Upbeat approached me a few months back about the Beetroot drink Nitrate Max. I'd been using beetroot for the last year, so was well aware of the benefits. The big pluses with Nitrate Max are the taste and its been tested thoroughly by Simon and some of the states best athletes at WAIS.

Thanks Simon

As I said above I've been lucky to be associated with such great sponsors and in the future I will still continue working with most. Thanks again.

Last weekend I had a chat with someone who watched Busselton 70.3 for the first time this year and was amazed and motivated by the sport. After being in this sport since 2005, that view of the sport has faded a little. Hopefully after a bit of a break I can rediscover that view.

I'll have the rest of 2013 off racing and will start back with the Albany Half Triathlon on Jan 5th 2014 in the Pro/Open category, before focusing on the Cairns Ironman as a regular age grouper.
In my last post I said I would be working with Coach Andrew Budge. This will still be the case when I return to racing in 2014 and thanks Budgie for your advice.

Looking back on my pro career it didn't go to plan, I suppose that what happens to most who have a crack at it. Two major accidents had a big effect and I really only hit top form in 2012. Singapore 70.3 in March 2012 is the race I look back at with disappointment. I was in great form and the toughness of the conditions would have helped me. Shredding a tyre put me out and I just didn't realise that there was support only minutes away.

Best race was Busselton 70.3 a month and a bit later. In a slow day for Busselton my form shone through and I rode and ran myself into 6th. The race wasn't perfect and I knew I had improvement in me. I was confident going into Mandurah 70.3, it had been a hard 3 years to get back to top form and I was looking forward to training and racing with a strong, fit body, but it just wasn't to be...

For no it's off to grow a beard and do some DIY.

Mike

 

Illness and new opportunities

Bit of an update on a few fronts, some good, some not unfortunately.

 

The first is that I have decided to bring a coach on board. The Stadium Tri Club High Performance Squad that I set up in September last year has grown quicker than I’d anticipated and as a result I haven’t had the time to plan my training as effectively as I would have liked. I met up with Andrew Budge from Trysport earlier this week to put together a program for me. For the non West Australians, Andrew has decades of experience coaching triathlon and also been my bike fitter since I got into the sport in 2005.

I’m generally excited about the future. The training will be slightly different and I’m looking forward to evolving as an athlete and learning more.

 

The return to training itself forms the second part of this update.

The gastro I had which forced me out of Cairns 70.3 has lead to continued illness. I have had two lots of antibiotics so far and although the virus is no longer present, I still am being affected. Blood tests have revealed a low white blood cell count. My GP has said I could be out for up to two months, but as it has been 4 weeks already, I'm hopeful of returning to training in the next week or two.

 

This is frustrating! I hate that I feel like I’m continually making excuses lately. I realise that being hit by a car and illness are out of my control, but that doesn't seem to matter when updating sponsors and supporters that a backing me. Missing a year between Busselton 70.3 2012 and 2013 was the motivation for a winter season – to give back to my sponsors and my supporters. But the reality is that my winter season is over.

The advice I’ve been given is to start from scratch once I’m healthy again. There is little point travelling up to the Philippines if I’m not at my best. So the plan now will be to focus on the Busselton Ironman in December.

Here's hoping for 6 months of uninterrupted training!

Mike

Out of Cairns 70.3

Made a tough decision to pull the pin on my race at Cairns 70.3 this weekend coming.

After Busso I got some good training in, working on my bike and swim. I saw some good improvements in the bike and predicted my FTP was between 350-375watts. I was going to do a FTP test 12 days out to confirm (my 1st FPT test since resuming using a power meter). I could only expect for small improvements with Cairns four weeks after Busso, so I was happy with what I was seeing.

Sunday the 26th I raced the HBF Run for a Reason, coming home in 31st place and 42.21 for the 12km. I wasn't expecting much after a solid week of training, it was a average day, but still good to get the hit out in me.

I pulled up very achy just hours afterward, which then turn into gastro that night. I spent the next week in bed. Not ideal, but the antibiotics finally got me healthy again.

I've had a couple of days back into training and the body is struggling with it. My quads felt like they did a 70.3 yesterday, sadly the reality was a 13km jog and a 30k bike ride. I was not going to be in shape by Sunday, it would be a very average day at best. So you ask yourself what will you get out of it?

Struggling around for a 4.20-4.40 isn't good for me or my sponsors.


I'll head over and support Ange through her race, get healthy and moving again and then be ready to train for 8 weeks into Philippines 70.3. Its frustrating, but this is a reminder to me. It won't come easy, even if you've been there before. I've got to work bloody hard for it!

Train safe and seeya soon.
Mike

Busselton 70.3 2013

Well another Busselton is done and dusted and at the end of this one I am reasonably happy. It's great to be back on the start line against quality athletes again. But at the end of the day I was blown away by the pro field.

How it played out...

As the gun went off I was next to Guy Crawford, the pace was fine initially and the pack started to form a pace line. Guy had moved up and I had Courtney Ogden on my inside, so I eased up to get on his feet. I did it poorly and got checked by his feet, this caused me to pause and I was fighting to stay on the pace line. A few hundred metres later I was off and swimming on my own. I swam on for a 28.42. I had a lot of work to do.

Onto the bike and I set about chasing people down. I had had a good 6 weeks of trying to get my bike leg back up to speed and was confident going in, but this gap was bigger than I'd expected. My confidence was taking a hit as I realised last years 42kph average wasn't going to happen. I held just over 40kph on the first lap, which improved to 41kph for the 2nd lap when my body had warmed up a bit. It was fairly un-eventful being out there on my own, with only the odd camera man shoving a camera in my face when I eating 32Gi chews to break it up.

Into T2 and onto the run, my legs felt good and I settled into a good rhythm. Ben Cureton was around a hundred metres back after a flying bike leg and I was confident I could hold him off. The first lap flew by, but I didn't notice the pace drop on the 2nd lap and heading out on the final lap Ben was only 5 metres back. I had to hurt, but I had another gear and opened up the gap again. There wasn't much pleasure in this as I knew Ben was well ahead of me after starting in the open wave, it just gave me something to focus on late in the race.

Swim was 28.42
Ride  was 2.13.08
Run was 1.19.56
for a 4.05.53

I was happy to pull out a time like that, but my swim needs work ( I need to find a squad) and my bike is still lacking a few %. It will come and I have to be happy with where I'm at 7 months after breaking my neck and back.

I'll look at doing a few different things in training before Cairns 70.3 to try and get that missing few percent.

Finally congrats to Brad Kahlefeldt and Liz Blatchford on the wins and to James Lewin and Rachel Smith on winning the WA Long Course Titles.

Mike

The West article

Cervelo P5

The new bike arrived at Churchill Cycles a couple of weeks ago, but I held off posting a review until I had it set up, built the way I wanted and also had a few solid rides on it.

You may remember me posting back in December that I'd be riding a P3 this season, well I changed my mind and upgraded after talking to Andrew Budge at Trysport who does my fit. The reality was we didn't know how I would progress with my neck rehab and not getting back to my usual position was a big possibility. Rehab has gone well and I'm lucky to be in a very similar position to that on my Felt B2 Pro before the accident. I have one more fit with Andrew, but I don't imagine there will be any changes.

The first thing I was looking forward to testing on this bike was the Magura Hydraulic brakes. I have never been happy with TT bikes rear brakes. Having a rear brake on this bike that actually stops you makes me happy! In April and September last year I ended going over the handle bars when cars pulled in front of me, having no stopping power on the rear brake I'm sure played a small part in me flipping (the car being the major part!). I walked away from one and broke my neck and back in the other, so any improvements in this area are greatly appreciated by me and this is a step in the right direction.

The brakes are easy to unlock with a lever that releases the brakes when taking wheels off and squeezing the brake relocks it. The screw inside the brake lever on the right also adjusts the width of the brakes if your race wheels are a different width to training wheels or your brakes just need adjusting.

I loved my old Felt B2 Pro, but the P5 steps it up with better performance. Firstly in power transfer, the frame is much stiffer and you can feel the power your putting down propelling the bike forward. The handling of the P5 is a step up as well. It feels very stable too, other TT bikes I've been on feel like my centre of gravity is really high (Felt B2 Pro and Cervelo P2). The P5 doesn't.

I like to keep the front of the bike clean and Cervelo have helped with including mounts for a torpedo mount. I made a couple of changes up front, replacing the tri bars with a 3T S-bend and Sram R2C shifters. I don't have much room for the garmin, so I have used some 3m velcro which hides the garmin behind the bidon. I was a bit worried at first, but it has worked well even on a few rough roads. Xlab stealth pocket is a nice addition and will be full of 32Gi Chews come race day.

This is one area where there could be improvement. The covers over the brakes just aren't the neatest, although with say a Zipp Firecrest wheel that gap would be less. This shot also shows the spacers, there was the option of lowering the base bar and using a riser for the tri bars, but I like the base bar at its current height.

The last thing I added to the bike was the Srm powermeter and a 54 tooth chainring. After a 5 year break from using power, I'm looking forward to the accountability. I won't take too much notice of it at Busselton as I'll use this month just to get used to it again. I'll probably do my first FTP test before Cairns 70.3 in June.

In summary this bike is great! My bike legs might not be up to scratch yet, but I'm really looking forward to the day. It will be fun and fast!
Again a big thanks to Matt Illingsworth down at Churchill Cycles! There are 2 or 3 P5's in stock so get down there a check them out.

Mike

Cramming for Busso 70.3

It's been a while since my last post...

Since then I've been to Tassie for a break and then the Melbourne Ironman to watch my Brother and 4 other athletes I coach. They all had good days, with one off to kona and another getting a top 10 placing.

Coming back I had 6 weeks to get ready for Busselton 70.3. The first 2 weeks felt very average, training was ok, but I was struggling with unexplain fatigue. On the 6th of April, I headed down to Karri Valley Triathlon to basically see where I was at. It turned out not great. I really struggled throughout the day and battled to stay positive. Thoughts of pulling the pin on Busselton were running through my head during and post race.
I ended up grabbing 3rd after my run legs showed up late in the 12km trail run. Which got me lots of congratulations, but when your 8 minutes slower than last year I didn't feel great accepting them.

Planning out this season in December, I didn't want to put any pressure on myself to rush back into racing at the top level. The local races I've done were more just for myself, get the 1st one out of the way and use the rest to test how I was progressing. In reality I have underestimated this injury, it's been 7 months and I've struggled to get back my fitness and as a result I'm feeling a lot of pressure to be ready in time for Busselton.

The one thing that kept me from pulling the pin was trying to defend my State Long Course Title. Busselton was my introduction to long course triathlon back in 2005 and I still remember the prestige of the winners (back when it was a small outdoor stage) and aiming to be up there. 4th West Aussie in 2007 and then 2nd West Aussie in 2008 just made me hungry for it. It took alot of hard work and until 2012 to get it, I'm not just gonna give it up without having a crack at defending it.

Looking at the competition, it's going to be tough with James Lewin, Johan Borg, Matt Burton and former Olympic rower Ben Cureton lining up in the pro feild or open. This WA competition won't change how I race, the strategy at Busso is always the same. Get out of the water and Chase, Chase, Chase. But I'll be keeping an eye out for how these guys are going. James can have the pressure as favourite :p

The Cervelo P5 has arrived, I'll do a review on it once my set up is finished in this coming week, but in summary GO TO CHURCHILL CYCLES AND BUY ONE! The aim over the last few weeks is to get used to the bike and find my cycling legs.

Train safe
Mike

Update and Race Schedule

Since my last blog update training, rehab and my fitness has progressed well. So much so I'm having to get used to the constant fatigue from training, work, etc again

I've had a few races in the last few weeks, with the first being the State Olympic Distance Titles down in Mandurah. The lead up wasn't great with a few back issues disrupting training and I was going from racing to not racing almost daily. In the end it was a chance to race on the Mandurah 70.3 course and get some experience before the 70.3 in October.

I also picked up a Cervelo P2 two days before the race, kindly lent to me from Churchill Cycles until my new ride arrives. It was great to get aero again

Race day was in a word HOT!
The swim went ok, I was happy to be out in 23 minutes and feeling good. I had an aim of averaging 38kmp/h and managed to tick that. This was the opposite strategy to Champion Lakes race of white line fever on the bike!
The run is where the heat took it's toll as the run course is exposed to the sun most of the way. I picked up a few places on the run to come in 15th in 2hrs 8min. Nothing great, but a fun way to improve my fitness.

The next race was another Tri Events race down in Rockingham. This was the last race I did before fracturing my hip in 2008 and I hadn't raced it since. So I was quite looking forward to getting back to it as it was one of my favourites.

I had got some descent training in and again swam ok, progressing well and getting closer to the top guys. I've started training with Paul Newsome at SwimSmooth again and can feel the progress being made. The training has been more aerobic than last summer (which is my weakness in swimming), so I'm not swimming at my fastest, but handling the longer efforts with a little bit of comfort.

I came out of the water with Matt Burton and thought about pacing off him, but it was quickly dismissed as he is preparing for IM Melbourne. Got to pick my battles at the moment and he rode away. The Cervelo P2 felt pretty good and the run that followed showed some signs of coming together to finish in 8th.

All in all I happy with how everything is progressing. I can feel my fitness building and the weight is coming off too. Rehab wise I am also making gains. A big thanks to Rob Naish at Subiaco Sports Med as my neck is stronger and as a result there is much less pain while riding. Bit by bit it is coming together.

What's next
I'll be heading down to Manjimup and Pemberton  at the end of the month for school visits and a triathlon clinic to promote Triathlon and the Karri Valley Triathlon with Rob Suriano and Ange. From there its off to the South Coast and the Albany Classic.

With missing three 70.3's / half ironmans over summer, I have been thinking about a winter season (and hoping for a mild winter). The local races are simply there to have a bit of fun, while I build and track my fitness.

The plan for my winter season
May - Busselton 70.3
Jun - Cairns 70.3
Aug - Philippines 70.3 (maybe MetaMan Half)

Then build into Ironman
Oct - Mandurah 70.3
Nov - Shepparton 70.3
Dec - Busselton Ironman
Jan - Albany Half Triathlon

So plenty to look forward to and plenty of hard work still to be done

Train Safe
Mikey

First race back and the ups and downs of a comeback

Time for an update, it feels like its been a while, but I think I've just been busy...

The Xmas break was great and the first time I actually took some time off work. My plan of riding in different areas around the state didn't quite happen as planned. My Brother Chris, was hit by a car just before Christmas. He fractured he's cheek and had plenty of road rash, but is back out there training and getting ready for Ironman Melbourne. So I decided to not take the bike down to Margret River and give my Mum a bit less to worry about.

The next trip was down to Albany for the first edition of the Albany Half Triathlon. Not racing, but I really enjoyed commentating on the race with Simon Beaumont, who made it really easy. The race was tough with the wind picking up late and the pro race was interesting with Guy Crawford going for broke off the front and Matty White flying on the run to chase him down.... all before "litter gate" and Matt's DQ became apparent. We knew he had been red carded and that it would be discussed post race, so we called it as he was going for the win.

The commentating had me a little nervous, but returning to racing a week later raised the bar. I hadn't done the work to race well, but I wanted to get my first race out of the way and knew I'd get a motivational kick from racing. But pre-race I was praying not to have a shocker and get lapped on the bike or something like that. Looking at the field it was low on numbers and full of good swimmers. This might have been a draft legal race, but I knew I'd be riding solo.

The swim went well, I had a bit of fatigue in my arms from the 3.8k swim set the day before, but was happy to get through not too far back. Onto the bike and I had to just smash myself! White line fever all the way!
I was hurting and making progress, taking 30-40sec out of the group of 3 I was chasing on the 2nd lap. I just couldn't quite catch them on the last lap, fatigue was kicking in. The run felt average from riding with everything, but I was happy to get through in 1hr 3min and 11th place.
It's good to be back and I got a great lift from racing!

Since getting back from Albany I'm training at my usual level and my body is being challenged massively. It caught up with me, which resulted in two days in bed. The next few weeks will be tough adapting to the training load, squeezing in rehab as well is making it very busy.

It is reminding me of the ups and down of my last comeback. Sunday I had a great day on the bike, 110km in the hills with a few solid efforts and then a double run Monday. Things were looking up, but then this morning my back was stuffed. Pain between the shoulder blades, no strength and stiff. A hot shower and plenty of stretching to loosen it up, but training is missed as a result. Hopefully this is a one off or this will become very frustrating.

Rehab at Sports Med Subiaco is going ok (the bike isn't helping). I'm working with Rob Naish who has joined the Sports Med team. Rob was head physio at Rugby WA, working with the Western Force and has had a bit more experience with neck injuries than my usual physio John Annear. During my rehab I basically have a strap around my head which is attached to a pulley system and lifting 2.5kg (I'll try and get some photos up on twitter). I can feel the benefit, but I have to stay on top of my posture. Every bike ride has a degree of back and neck pain and also seems to set me back with tightness after each ride, which is why rehab is only going ok.

Coming up I have the State Olympic Distance Champs in Mandurah, not sure if white line fever lasts two hours, but I'll try. Two weeks later another Sprint down in Rockingham which I haven't raced since 2008 (last race before fracturing my hip), so looking forward to making a return there. Might have the new TT bike from Churchill Cycles by then too!

Mikey