Having completed an excellent season of Triathlons it is now planned that I take a number of weeks off training and then slowly get back into a bit of cross training.
The plan is to have from Monday March 26 to April 9 with no training, then from the 9th to the 23rd begin some light training...get back into the pool and little bit of running and riding.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Mooloolaba Race Report
Mooloolaba Trithlon Festival
Friday
Left work and mad my way up to Mooloolaba arriving at about 5.00pm and Mooloolaba Motel, the accomodation was the typical motel type and would do the job for the weekend. Didn't do a lot Friday evening, watched a bit of the ASICS Twilight 5km Run. Dinner was pasta and garlic bread and went off to bed quite early. Was concerned that I had woken on Friday morning feeling a little fluey.
Saturday
Got up at about 6.30am, organised a bit of breakfast and then decided to go back to bed. Was up again at about 9.00am and went for a walk around to take in the atmosphere. It was getting close to the start of the 1000m Ocean Swim and people were preparing, the conditions were fabulous this morning and I was finding myself drawn to having a go at the swim myself...for 2 reasons practice working through the wave breaks (in and out) and to gain some confidence in an ocean swim, which I had never done before. At 9.45am, 30minutes before the registrations closed I decided I would give it a 'crack' paid my $30.00 and rushed back to the Motel to get some gear together.
Back at the beach I had a bit of a warm up swim and was feeling good. I just had to remember that this is just a training swim and the time etc. did mean anything.
At about 10.30am we were off...a reasonable sized field. Got through the wave breaks, a number of small gutters had to be negotiated. I just then spent a little time adjusting to the conditions of ocean swimming. Made the first bouy and turned for the beach again. Through the wave breaks and then back out to the next bouy. Took a little time to compose myself at the beach turn as I was feeling it a little.
Eventually I got to the finish in a time of 22.12. Was happy with this experience as I achieved both goals I set out to achieve....practice working through the wave breaks (in and out) and to gain some confidence in an ocean swim.
About 1.oopm took my bike down to transition and place it in a reasonably good spot...with a bit of room to move...there were some areas were it was a little tight for room.
Had a bite to eat and a nana nap then ventured off to the Ryders Cycling Grand Prix. When I was there met up with other folks from the squad.
Organised all my gear and nutrition for the race...bags packed all I needed to do in the morning is pick up my bag and walk the 200m to transition.
Dinner was again pasta and garlic bread and then off to bed early...8.30pm....
Sunday (...race day...)
The alarm went off at 4.30am, up and changed into my blue tri suit. Had the usual breakfast before a big race...a bottle of sports drink, banana and museli bar.
5.30am made my way down to transition
5.40am set up transition
6.00am Drop excess gear off
6.10am Walk to Swim Start
6.45am Swim - Warm-up
7.17am Race Start
Swim Leg
Lined up at the start with quite a number of guys for the 35-39 (white caps)...it was a big wave...it would be an interesting start. Talking to PC before the start he mentioned that there was a bank to the right of the start compound and it would be beneficial to get as far right at the start...I wasn't the only one to have that idea. The hooter went off and there was a mass of bodies working their way though the surf. Up to the first bouy there was a lot of jostling for space..I certainly took a few wacks to the head and body. The plan was to swim from one bout to the next. Once round this bouy we began to swim parallel to the beach, people began to find there own space to settle into a rythmn. The first couple of hundred meters past the 1st bouy was a real struggle until I found that rythmn. Throughout the swim I focussed on my technique and staying relaxed...the swim on Saturday assisted with the confidence. At times, due the the undulations of the water it was difficult to find the next bouy. Overall I quite enjoyed the ocean swimming. Turned that last bouy and headed back to the beach.
Swim Time - 0:22:47
Once out of the water it was an interesting run up the beach, up a set of stairs and then down to transition.
Transition 1 Time - 0:02:55
This year did not require the use on a number belt for the ride...1 less thing to worry about.
A good clean transition...
Bike Leg
With a good transition and smooth mount, I was off on the 40km cycle leg. The first thing to negotiate was the Budrium hills...not that far out of transition...in fact on a couple of minutes.
The course profile is as follows:
The race was coming together well, there was no real relief initially on the bike from the swim as we had to endure the hills of buderium before getting on to the motor way. Once onto the motorway it was taking in some fluid and about the Maroochy stretch taking on a Gel. After this it was down in the aerobars and finding a rythmn and cadence that could be maintained throughout the rest of the bike leg.
Friday
Left work and mad my way up to Mooloolaba arriving at about 5.00pm and Mooloolaba Motel, the accomodation was the typical motel type and would do the job for the weekend. Didn't do a lot Friday evening, watched a bit of the ASICS Twilight 5km Run. Dinner was pasta and garlic bread and went off to bed quite early. Was concerned that I had woken on Friday morning feeling a little fluey.
Saturday
Got up at about 6.30am, organised a bit of breakfast and then decided to go back to bed. Was up again at about 9.00am and went for a walk around to take in the atmosphere. It was getting close to the start of the 1000m Ocean Swim and people were preparing, the conditions were fabulous this morning and I was finding myself drawn to having a go at the swim myself...for 2 reasons practice working through the wave breaks (in and out) and to gain some confidence in an ocean swim, which I had never done before. At 9.45am, 30minutes before the registrations closed I decided I would give it a 'crack' paid my $30.00 and rushed back to the Motel to get some gear together.
Back at the beach I had a bit of a warm up swim and was feeling good. I just had to remember that this is just a training swim and the time etc. did mean anything.
At about 10.30am we were off...a reasonable sized field. Got through the wave breaks, a number of small gutters had to be negotiated. I just then spent a little time adjusting to the conditions of ocean swimming. Made the first bouy and turned for the beach again. Through the wave breaks and then back out to the next bouy. Took a little time to compose myself at the beach turn as I was feeling it a little.
Eventually I got to the finish in a time of 22.12. Was happy with this experience as I achieved both goals I set out to achieve....practice working through the wave breaks (in and out) and to gain some confidence in an ocean swim.
About 1.oopm took my bike down to transition and place it in a reasonably good spot...with a bit of room to move...there were some areas were it was a little tight for room.
Had a bite to eat and a nana nap then ventured off to the Ryders Cycling Grand Prix. When I was there met up with other folks from the squad.
Organised all my gear and nutrition for the race...bags packed all I needed to do in the morning is pick up my bag and walk the 200m to transition.
Dinner was again pasta and garlic bread and then off to bed early...8.30pm....
Sunday (...race day...)
The alarm went off at 4.30am, up and changed into my blue tri suit. Had the usual breakfast before a big race...a bottle of sports drink, banana and museli bar.
5.30am made my way down to transition
5.40am set up transition
6.00am Drop excess gear off
6.10am Walk to Swim Start
6.45am Swim - Warm-up
7.17am Race Start
Swim Leg
Lined up at the start with quite a number of guys for the 35-39 (white caps)...it was a big wave...it would be an interesting start. Talking to PC before the start he mentioned that there was a bank to the right of the start compound and it would be beneficial to get as far right at the start...I wasn't the only one to have that idea. The hooter went off and there was a mass of bodies working their way though the surf. Up to the first bouy there was a lot of jostling for space..I certainly took a few wacks to the head and body. The plan was to swim from one bout to the next. Once round this bouy we began to swim parallel to the beach, people began to find there own space to settle into a rythmn. The first couple of hundred meters past the 1st bouy was a real struggle until I found that rythmn. Throughout the swim I focussed on my technique and staying relaxed...the swim on Saturday assisted with the confidence. At times, due the the undulations of the water it was difficult to find the next bouy. Overall I quite enjoyed the ocean swimming. Turned that last bouy and headed back to the beach.
Swim Time - 0:22:47
Once out of the water it was an interesting run up the beach, up a set of stairs and then down to transition.
Transition 1 Time - 0:02:55
This year did not require the use on a number belt for the ride...1 less thing to worry about.
A good clean transition...
Bike Leg
With a good transition and smooth mount, I was off on the 40km cycle leg. The first thing to negotiate was the Budrium hills...not that far out of transition...in fact on a couple of minutes.
The course profile is as follows:
The race was coming together well, there was no real relief initially on the bike from the swim as we had to endure the hills of buderium before getting on to the motor way. Once onto the motorway it was taking in some fluid and about the Maroochy stretch taking on a Gel. After this it was down in the aerobars and finding a rythmn and cadence that could be maintained throughout the rest of the bike leg.
The plan was to take in a gel every 45 min throughout the race. This meant that I took 2 in the bike leg, one as I said at the Maroochy outbound stretch and again on the inbound stretch. Throughout I took on liquid every 15minutes either sports drink or water.
Towards the end of the motorway stretch I back off a little to conserve some energy for climb back over the Buderim hills. The incline to take you off the motorway comes up on you quickly if you are not prepared for it.
Overall wrapped with the time and my overall performance.
Bike Time - 1:10:08
Transition 2 Time - 0:01:29
Transition was reasonable, it is first time I ran a race ( at 10km) using elastic laces and no socks
Run Leg
I began the run leg at about 9.00am and you could start to feel it warming up. Off on the 10km run was feeling relaxed and positive, konwing that I had a challenging run ahead. I Averaged approx. 4.30min/km pace throughout. The final climb over Alex Headland is always a challenging one..even though feeling quite fatigued just put one foot in front of the other, knowing that it was down the other side to the finish.
By this stage the 'running without sock experiment' had begun to take its toll both feet were beginning to rub and get sore...but I powered through this to do a PB time for the run (in fact every leg was a PB and the overall time)
Run Time - 0:46:24
Finishing with a total time of: 2:23:25
I was really happy, this was way below my goal time of 2:30:00 and 13mins under last years time. It shows that all the training does pay off.
Monday, March 19, 2007
7 days to Mooloolaba
Today's Training Program
AM - Run: 30min comfortable run – easy aerobic pace.
PM - Swim Squad Training
Today's Journal
Decided that the morning session would be a rest session and that I would run to and from swimming.
AM - Run: 30min comfortable run – easy aerobic pace.
PM - Swim Squad Training
Today's Journal
Decided that the morning session would be a rest session and that I would run to and from swimming.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Bribie Tri - Race 4
Race Report
It had been a 'full on' week of training, following my program to the letter. I was feeling positive and confident about Sunday.
Stayed at Bribie overnight and having picked up my timing band on Saturday had little fuss this morning.
Alarm was blurting at 5.15am, downed the usual pre race sports drink for breakfast and headed of to the start venue at about 5.50am. Headed over to the numbering area...got branded...covered in 'nikko' then into transition to get organised. This part of the racing is getting easier as I become more experienced and organised. Its amazing what you learn just observing others setting up in transition.
At about 7.10am headed down to the 'short' race start to cheer on some fellow squad members. Once they were on their way we continued our walk to the entry point for our swim start. The 750m swim start is situated adjacent to rocks along the shore line so entering at this point is quite dangerous. The entry point was at the 1000m mark for the longer races, which meant you had to swim up to the start...which wasn't that taxing as there was quite a strong tidal sweep running in the direction of the swim...good swim times to look forward to.
At about 7.45am the 35-39 wave began with much comradery. The positioning at the start was particularly important as not to miss the first buoy due to the tidal sweep. I felt good throughout the swim, the normal fatigue feeling I get in my arms in the first 200-300m did not seem as prominate. A positive which has come from the regular swimming squad training. I completed the swim in approx. 0:07:53.0...not bad for 750m....;-). Into transition (0:02:41.0) something I was hoping to improve upon...obviously needs a little more work. Then onto the bike and 3 laps. Conditions were relatively good with a little head wind in parts. The average speed for the bike was approx. 35.2km/h with a time of 0:33:52.0. Again through transition (0:01:05) and out onto the run. This is the first run in a number of weeks where I haven't been hampered by the calf injury. By this time the sun was beating down and the breeze that there was had just about disappeared...it was heating up. The calf held up over the 5km and maintained a 4:14min pace and completed the run leg in 0:21:09.0...a good outcome.
The overall time was 1:06:38...this was a PB for this distance at Bribie.
It had been a 'full on' week of training, following my program to the letter. I was feeling positive and confident about Sunday.
Stayed at Bribie overnight and having picked up my timing band on Saturday had little fuss this morning.
Alarm was blurting at 5.15am, downed the usual pre race sports drink for breakfast and headed of to the start venue at about 5.50am. Headed over to the numbering area...got branded...covered in 'nikko' then into transition to get organised. This part of the racing is getting easier as I become more experienced and organised. Its amazing what you learn just observing others setting up in transition.
At about 7.10am headed down to the 'short' race start to cheer on some fellow squad members. Once they were on their way we continued our walk to the entry point for our swim start. The 750m swim start is situated adjacent to rocks along the shore line so entering at this point is quite dangerous. The entry point was at the 1000m mark for the longer races, which meant you had to swim up to the start...which wasn't that taxing as there was quite a strong tidal sweep running in the direction of the swim...good swim times to look forward to.
At about 7.45am the 35-39 wave began with much comradery. The positioning at the start was particularly important as not to miss the first buoy due to the tidal sweep. I felt good throughout the swim, the normal fatigue feeling I get in my arms in the first 200-300m did not seem as prominate. A positive which has come from the regular swimming squad training. I completed the swim in approx. 0:07:53.0...not bad for 750m....;-). Into transition (0:02:41.0) something I was hoping to improve upon...obviously needs a little more work. Then onto the bike and 3 laps. Conditions were relatively good with a little head wind in parts. The average speed for the bike was approx. 35.2km/h with a time of 0:33:52.0. Again through transition (0:01:05) and out onto the run. This is the first run in a number of weeks where I haven't been hampered by the calf injury. By this time the sun was beating down and the breeze that there was had just about disappeared...it was heating up. The calf held up over the 5km and maintained a 4:14min pace and completed the run leg in 0:21:09.0...a good outcome.
The overall time was 1:06:38...this was a PB for this distance at Bribie.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Saturday's Session
Today's Training Program
AM - Transition session:
3 x 100m swim/1 km bike/300m run.1st one swim hard, 2nd bike hard, 3rd run hard.
PM - Rest Session
Today's Journal
AM - Transition session:
3 x 100m swim/1 km bike/300m run.1st one swim hard, 2nd bike hard, 3rd run hard.
PM - Rest Session
Today's Journal
Friday, March 16, 2007
What's this a Friday Swim session.....
Today's Training Program
AM - Swim Squad Trg
PM - Rest Session
Today's Journal
Been a while since I've been blogging...a bit slack.
For the first time in a while I went for a swim session on a Friday moring.
I felt good this morning...which put me in a positive frame of mind for the rest of the day...well at least til tiredness set in...was about lunch time...oh well...there is a challege to be achieved.
The couple of pool bouy sets (2 x 400m & 1 x 300m) were a good arm workout.
Out of the pool early...had to get to work.
AM - Swim Squad Trg
PM - Rest Session
Today's Journal
Been a while since I've been blogging...a bit slack.
For the first time in a while I went for a swim session on a Friday moring.
I felt good this morning...which put me in a positive frame of mind for the rest of the day...well at least til tiredness set in...was about lunch time...oh well...there is a challege to be achieved.
The couple of pool bouy sets (2 x 400m & 1 x 300m) were a good arm workout.
Out of the pool early...had to get to work.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Back to back brick....hmmmm
Today's Training Program
AM - Brick / Transition session:
5 x 3 km bike/500m run.1st one warm up and then 3 @ 85% effort, last one cool down.
PM - Mag Training Session
Today's Journal
What do they say...no pain...no gain...
Up at 6.00am for the Brick/Transition session ---> I have a course that I use that is around my local area...sometime I think its got too many hills...but then it has positive training outcomes as well.
I was happy with this sessions I was able to maintain the middle 3 sets at a constant time.
I have been struggling with my transition...I have now bitten the bullet and am using elastic laces...yes its taken a while to be convinced that I don't need my laces done so tight that the air can hardly get in...any way...I am struggling to get my feet smoothly into the shoes...maybe they are laced up too high...maybe they are laced too tight...not sure...any hints would be appreciated.
AM - Brick / Transition session:
5 x 3 km bike/500m run.1st one warm up and then 3 @ 85% effort, last one cool down.
PM - Mag Training Session
Today's Journal
What do they say...no pain...no gain...
Up at 6.00am for the Brick/Transition session ---> I have a course that I use that is around my local area...sometime I think its got too many hills...but then it has positive training outcomes as well.
I was happy with this sessions I was able to maintain the middle 3 sets at a constant time.
I have been struggling with my transition...I have now bitten the bullet and am using elastic laces...yes its taken a while to be convinced that I don't need my laces done so tight that the air can hardly get in...any way...I am struggling to get my feet smoothly into the shoes...maybe they are laced up too high...maybe they are laced too tight...not sure...any hints would be appreciated.
In the evening I went off for a mag trainer session, this again was a tough session, however, I felt good for it. It include a couple of pyramid sets with a number of runs off the bike.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Wednesday's Session
Today's Training Program
AM - Run: 30 min run, 10 min easy aerobic just do it. At the 10 min mark this is the start of a surg session, 1 min on at about 90% effort so above your AT (Anaerobic), then 2 min off @ a comfortable high aerobic pace around 10 – 15 beats below AT; repeat this for the remainder of the session.
PM - Swim Squad Training
Today's Journal
The morning session was the first real stress I have put on my calf tear and it was all good.
Form was good, focussed more on my form in the 2nd half of the session where it would normally be expected the 'go off' a little.
The evening session was in the pool...starting to feel good in the water.
Things are coming together well.
AM - Run: 30 min run, 10 min easy aerobic just do it. At the 10 min mark this is the start of a surg session, 1 min on at about 90% effort so above your AT (Anaerobic), then 2 min off @ a comfortable high aerobic pace around 10 – 15 beats below AT; repeat this for the remainder of the session.
PM - Swim Squad Training
Today's Journal
The morning session was the first real stress I have put on my calf tear and it was all good.
Form was good, focussed more on my form in the 2nd half of the session where it would normally be expected the 'go off' a little.
The evening session was in the pool...starting to feel good in the water.
Things are coming together well.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Tuesday's Session
Today's Training Program
AM - Bike: 1.5 hr bike in 39 x 16 at 95 + rpm on the flatter areas, 1 x 15 min effort at 1 hr point.
PM - Rest Session
Today's Journal
Met KR down at Shorncliffe for an 1 1/2 ride out to Scarborough. A very gusty morning, actually felt like a 2 to 2 1/2 hour ride. But a good session.
AM - Bike: 1.5 hr bike in 39 x 16 at 95 + rpm on the flatter areas, 1 x 15 min effort at 1 hr point.
PM - Rest Session
Today's Journal
Met KR down at Shorncliffe for an 1 1/2 ride out to Scarborough. A very gusty morning, actually felt like a 2 to 2 1/2 hour ride. But a good session.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Monday's Session
Today's Training Program
AM - Run: 25 min run, 5 min easy aerobic just do it. At the 5 min mark this is the start of a surg session, 1 min on at about 90% effort so above your AT (Anaerobic), then 2 min off @ a comfortable high aerobic pace around 10 – 15 beats below AT; repeat this for the remainder of the session.
PM - Swim Squad Session
Today's Journal
Missed the morning session. Recovering from Sunday's 10km run.
AM - Run: 25 min run, 5 min easy aerobic just do it. At the 5 min mark this is the start of a surg session, 1 min on at about 90% effort so above your AT (Anaerobic), then 2 min off @ a comfortable high aerobic pace around 10 – 15 beats below AT; repeat this for the remainder of the session.
PM - Swim Squad Session
Today's Journal
Missed the morning session. Recovering from Sunday's 10km run.
Evening session was at the pool. A positive session.
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