Week 12 - Week in Review

" There is something in every human being that seeks testing. A yearning to discover just how far one can go, how much one is capable of achieving. From this desire was born the most demanding athletic endurance test ever........- the IronmanTriathlon"

- unknown (but brilliant!) author.

The beginning of 12 weeks...this is the business end of the preparation. The base sessions (swim and bike) up to this point in time have been of great quality and benefit.

Reflecting on 'where I am' at 12 weeks.....

• There has been a real focus on achieving the weight goal for this campaign and it is getting there...in fact I'm smashing it! At the start of 12 weeks I have I am at 82kg....this is the lightest I have ever been at this point in time during an IM campaign.
• Is it making a difference? INDEED it is!!!.....the issues relating to the back (pain in the upper region of the hamstring) is not even coming close to what it has been like. The running has improved since the weight is off...I have literally got rid of 6 kilos of bricks off my body...of course it is going to make a difference....the lighter the better....even helping on the bike too.....that power to weight is improving.
• Related to the this is a new LOVE for the sore strength session....it has assisted with the management of the back injury.
• The long runs and 5-6hr bike rides are now a weekly occurrence. Nutrition is going to be the key with these session.
• I have returned to using a multi-vitamin product that I have used for the previous campaigns. The product is put out by Pharmanex and is a Dietary Supplement called LifePak. Along with this I take the Optimum Omega (EPA and DHA Fish Oils) this works on assisting with the cardiovascular health. The other benefits I find out of using this product, is that I have a lot more energy and  helps with the moments when things get a little tiring....I generally feel better...there could be physiological benefits here too....and the power of positive thought.
• My general frame of mind is ready and raring to go....there is some things to be achieved from this IM campaign and I believe I have the mind set to achieve them.
• This IM campaign I have been working closely with a sports nutritionist to get my general eating under control and it has been one of the reasons for the weight loss. One of the big things I finally got under control was my meal portions....it make such a difference when you reduce the size of your meals and add another couple of healthy snacks here and there

Training this week has been taken to the next level...the volume is there and I'm LOVING it...with nothing holding me back...it is full steam ahead.
I know what needs to be done and there is a commitment to the task....I have feel more ready than I have ever been at this time compared to the other 3 campaigns......look out people!!!


Monday:
AM Session - Rest morning

PM session - 45min core strength and conditioning then an easy 30min run on the treadmill.

Reflections:
Core felt good.
Easy run the legs were a little heavy and a little niggle has developed again in the left calf. Feels like a bit of tightness from the weekend.


Tuesday:

Tuesday now is the day of the LONG RUN! Not a bad thing and the first one was 2.5 hrs through the hills.....welcome back. And a successful return it was. Throughout the run I felt strong and worked at keeping the pace between 5-5.30min pace.

Tuesday evening back in the pool for a cool 3km. I could tell that there hasn't been much time in the pool over the last 10 days, arms a little slow to get going but after about a 1km they kicked in.

Wednesday:

Back to an old favourite.....back to Cootha.

Ride from home to Cootha then onto work, total ride time for the morning 2h30 and approximately 53km. I was able to get 4 reps in at Cootha before I had to head to work. The time on the hill was quality, work hard and hope it pays off.....starting to think it will!!

Wednesday evening, ride home (about 45min/17km) then 75min run off the bike.

Thursday:

Good coached session in he morning. Great numbers.

The evening was a swim, but due to work commitments couldn't get there.

Friday:

Morning off....one of rest...it was the calm before the storm.....

Mooloolaba Camp was upon me.....travelling straight from work to Mooloolaba to begin the camp with a solid run.

Felt good throughout this run...however, maybe a little too hard. 5min pace for the first session of a big weekend may have been a little excessive???? Average HR not too bad maybe again a little high given the relative flatness of the course which I ran over.

Saturday:

The morning began at 5.15am with a very nice 45min ocean swim at Mooloolaba beach. This swim basically cover the Tri course up and then back, swimming approximately 3km.

The it was straight onto the bike with a solid 5.5hr ride. This took us up to Boreen Pt, through Pomona and back through Bli Bli to base. This was not a flat course but was quite a challenging course at times. I thought my legs may have struggled throughout the ride, but I was riding strong, the work during the bike build seems to be paying off. Nutrition and hydration went well, I went back to what I knew works for me.

Saturday afternoon it was on the feet again, pounding the pavement.

The legs now were a little fatigued, but I made sure that I had at least a 1hr nana nap before the run. This did freshen them up, along with some help from the skins....a recovery technique, personally, that works.

After the run it was into the pool and then got back into the skins for the rest of the evening. Spent Friday and Saturday night sleeping in the skins.....makes such a difference!

Before this run we were given the task of running 42km between this session and the long run in the morning...which meant we needed to run approximately 27km Sunday morning...very achievable but recovery this evening is key and a good night's sleep.

Sunday:

Up again and in the water at 5.15am for an ocean swim. Again a 3km swim. And felt soooo good in the water...no wet suit and feeling strong and confident about my swimming.

It now faced me....a 2.5hr run...last session of the camp....the question beckons.....how are the legs going to go......the answer......VERY surprisingly WELL.

It was important that we kept it aerobic and slower than the 5min pace we had been running in the last 2 run session....5.30min pace was the goal....and to say that we nailed it was an understatement. It was HOT out there, hydration and nutrition went well, everything cane together. The was the occasional stop to run the tap over our heads to get the core temperature down but we then forged on.

Throughout the run I focused not only on the pace, but cadence and engaging my core.

The course we ran over here was flat and enabled me to get into a steady rhythm.

Weekly Stats:

Swim: 9km (2h30min)
Bike: 225km (8h19m)

Run: 92km (8h22m)

Core & Strength: 1h15min

Maintenance: 0h



TOTAL: 20hr26min

Week 13 - The Week in Review

Life, to me, is a series of false limits and my challenge as an athlete is to explore those limits."—Lance Armstrong

Recovery Week - in more ways then one.
 
This week was to be a relatively light week, but Tuesday I came down with a Stomach bug and this knock me flat. I slept for a good 20 hours. I had the muscle aches and couldn't keep anything in. It was a good way to drop a bit more weight. This therefore required a number of days to recover from this.
 
Much of the week was regaining the energy level, specifically to be fueled enough for the 200km IM ride on the Saturday. There was a focused effort on ensuring that there was too much of an intake to increase the weight back to unacceptable levels.
 
200km IM Ride - 2011
2011 brings the challenge of the 200km IM ride up Mt Mee and then up and along the Blackall Range. A ride many people will shake their heads at but for the serious IM athlete it is an important part of their preparation. If you can conquer this ride then you can achieve most things in Ironman training and racing.
 
The morning began at 5.00am at Chermside with the pre session preparation. Moving, nutritional and hydration needs into appropriate support vehicles which were going to meet us along the way at particular check points. This is an important aspect of success in this ride...success being defined as finishing the ride upright and relatively well. Fatigue is always going to be an issue with this type of ride, but that's something you have to learn to deal with when it comes to Ironman (in both the training and racing) The art to overcoming fatigue is conditioning your body to deal with it. What better way to teach your body to deal with fatigue but to put your body through such a situation. It is this ride that is falls into this situation.
 
The day was going to be HOT and humid. The preparation and hydration reflected this with plenty of frozen drink bottles. The nutritional preparation was no different to any other training session.
 
The first part of the ride was out to Petrie and it was possible here for the group to keep together (about 15-20 of us) Once we headed out to Dayboro we all began to split up and people focused on their own riding and on what was ahead. Having done this ride twice previously it, I knew what was ahead and I wanted to pace myself in this part of the ride. In this section Rich, Kit and myself worked together to reach the turnoff to Mt Mee. It is here we began the ascent to Mt Mee. The important thing here that was the focus what rhythm. I was on the TT bike so it isn't the best for climbing but my rule is any long ride is to be on the TT, whether or not it had BIG hills in it.
Go to the top...feeling good...at this point I had just completed 2hrs of ride time. At this stage it wasn't too hot, however, the cloud was low and there was a hint of some showers around.
 
The decent down to the daguilar turn off was a little slower as usual as the road was quite wet in parts....safety and staying on the bike is important. The first aid stop was here and it was a matter of topping up the liquids and moving on with the minimal amount of fuss. What I did here was to put a frozen 600ml bottle water bottle in one of my back pockets for 1, to help keep the core temperature down and 2, to give me some nice cool water to drink throughout the next stage of the ride, I find it refreshing and gives the body a bit of a 'kick'.
 
It was then out to Woodford, Peachester, Beewah then onto Landsborough where the next aid stop was available. By this stage of the ride there was regular showers and then bursts of sunshine which, as you can imagine, made it very humid. It was now where mentally and physically I knew I had to dig deep...the climb up to Maleny was relentless, but I found some inner strength and positive energy and thoughts to push hard up the climb and be satisfied at my efforts. I think I lost a kilo going up the hill just is sweat loss. Once to the top, it was a matter of allowing the body recover for a couple of Km's and then work through the rather large undulations that are encountered across the top of the blackall range. For good measure the are a couple to 12% gradient climbs. The trip across the top was rather wet and I endured many heavy showers of rain and the occasional wind gusts.
 
At Montville was the 3rd aid stop, this was in terrencial rain and it followed us all the way down the range from Mapelton. Not the most pleasant decent in the wet with very uneven roads but I survived. Once down into Nambour it was a flat trip home, with the occasional headwind via Bli Bli, Maroochy, Alex and Mooloolaba. The 4th aid stop was outside Alex surf club, this was a very brief stop and there was a real urgency to get to Caloundra. I was on course for a great improvement on last years time.
 
The ride south from Mooloolaba through Kawana to Caloundra was a dream run...tail wind all the way, but boy, did it start to get hot.
 
The ride was complete, we made our way into the race precinct for the Caloundra Tri and it was complete.
 
The Stats:

 
Reflections:

• Mentally I was in a better place. The hills were my friends.
• Was a lot lighter...weight wise.
• Nutrition strategy worked well
• Hydration strategy worked well
• There were a couple of spots where I felt 'flat' but through digging deep and being positive was able to get through these.
• The back got a little sore climbing up from Landsborough, but it was not something that continued throughout the rest of the ride.
• This was the first long ride of this nature on the new TT, the setup was good.
• Completed the ride 45min quicker than last year and was less fatigued.

IM Australia - Bike Course 2011

IM Australia - Run Course 2011

Week 14 - The Week in Review

"Nothing in life ever just happens. Calculated progression insures your strength."

The end of week 14, end of the bike build! Recovery week ahead then to in to 12 weeks of focused training. Bring it on!

This week has been a good period on the bike. It has allowed a certain focus that has been required for me to bring my bike up to scratch. Back at work this week. It has been a challenge to find that balance in work, training and life.

Monday:
Another solid core strength session. Still working on the usual routine, however, this week I decided to move to higher resistant band.

Tuesday:
This morning was a 3km run TT at squad. Ended up with a time of 11m30s which is the second best time I have done over this distance and only 15s short of my PB of 11m15s.

Pm session was back in the pool...not the best session...in fact just didn't finish.....the voice got the better of me...and honestly I just needed to harden up.

Wednesday:
Happy AUSTRALIA DAY!!
The morning consisted a 4 hr ride on the bike....119km...starting to feel the strength return to the pedals!

Thursday:
Work got the better of me and there had to be a commitment to this and getting prepared for the weeks ahead.

Friday:
Windtrainer session....its becoming a favourite....did I say that!
But what was a big revelation was the way I was running off the bike.....impressive...strong...but it did hurt....no pain no gain! The head was back in the game!!!
Saturday:
Another 4hr ride (in fact 4h45m) with 123km......
Great resistance training the wind from Redcliffe back home was so incredibly strong.
Again the legs were building strength again.

Lunch was a massage.

PM was 1hr core with 30min core/run......great stuff...loving this stuff!

Sunday:
110min run through the hills......happy with the effort....just under 19km.
NICE!!!

Weekly Stats:

Swim: 2.2km (50min)
Bike: 243km (10h6m)
Run: 25km (3h)
Core & Strength: 2h10min
Maintenance: 1h

TOTAL: 16hr8min

Monthly Stats:


Swim: 33km (11h37min)
Bike: 701km (30h3m)
Run: 130km (11h36m)
Core & Strength: 8h39min
Maintenance: 4h10m

TOTAL: 66hr28min

Week 17 - The Week in Review

"Triathlon, from the outside looking in you can't understand it, and from the inside looking out you can't explain it."

How true!

Week 17, the end of 3 weeks of hard work, but fulfilling work in the pool.

Monday:
With a busy Monday morning planned the unusual morning swim didn't happen and the plan was to transfer it to later on in the week. I was really disappointed to miss this swim, and I mean that sincerely.

Monday afternoon back into the core same routine and surprisingly it is slowly getting a little easier. But in the humidity it is hard work.

Tuesday:
In the early daylight hours it was off to BTS run session. It was the normal warm up but then......
approx. 25min of fartlek on a not so flat loop course. I am sure that every time I got the recovery it was going up the hill....can't complain...it was character building. I felt good this morning the legs were moving well and I was powering through the hard parts of the fartlek. Got a little fatigued to the end but gritted the teeth and carried on, no giving up here. Some feedback from the session was that as I fatigued I began to splay out my feet a little during this time. More work on the core and greater focus on my posture, specifically hip position.

Back in the pool for the evening. A solid 3km session. The body is feeling good in the water.

Wednesday:
Solo Brendale/Petrie/Redcliffe/Sandgate Loop.
80k just under 3hrs.
The legs were a little fatigued and did struggle at the end some of the longer gradual hills.

Wednesday PM back into the pool, for a tough upper body 3.3km workout. Great session John! Nothing like a solid pull and paddle set.

Thursday:
Thursday....IT'S Double swim DAY!
The morning set...the usual 100m's with 5 push ups but today it was ramped up to 25 x 100m. Really good session got through the whole session in approx. 50min and there wasn't a lot of fatigue in the arms towards the end of the session.

Evening session was a cool 4km in the pool. I was in early and got 1300m completed before the squad session. This pre workout was pull and paddle and it was feeling good....and it was with tumble turns!!!

Friday:
You guessed it....back in the pool.
3.5km endurance set.....feeling so good...feeling strong....added an extra 500m for good measure...total workout 4km.
PM session back to the core...and again I am enjoying the challenge of this. Same routine. The abs and core are starting to feel it and have been working hard. This is a real focus for this campaign.

Saturday:
The morning was a bit of variety. Down to New Farm park for the BTS Session which composed 40min core and then a 60min aerobic run. Not too sure its was exactly aerobic but its was a great run! Thanks boys! The average pace was around the 4:45min/km covering just over 12km in the 60min. A good negative split of around 30sec. The running is feeling good and I'm feeling strong, however, in saying that I did struggle with the last 2km, but even then I was going at a 4:30min/km pace.

Off for a massage at lunch, worked on a painful spot just behind the left calf and the upper hamstring.

The afternoon session was another 60min run. Got through another 12km at a pace round the 5min/km, felt strong but knew I was a little fatigued from the run in the morning but still achieved a consistent pace. 30m05sec out and 30m10sec back. A solid day of running - 24km.

Sunday:
ah...yes Sunday ride...10 BTS lads set off from Kedron....rode out to Dayboro and back to Petrie.
The legs were feeling the 24km of running from the Saturday but still work as hard as I could up the hills and was satisfied with this part of the ride. It was fairly ordinary conditions on this part of the ride but this was nothing compared to what I was to encounter for the last part of the ride. Once the group got back to Petrie we had only been going for 2hrs and I had a 4hr ride. I continued on out to Redcliffe...it was from there the conditions became a lot worse....in fact crossing the bridge I would say that the conditions were 'cyclonic' a 'very nice' head wind that was gusting at times and with 60mm rims on the bike was a particularly challenge. The rain was coming down...I could only see about 5m in front of me...a great resistance workout! All the way home it was torrential rain, I got home and was so wet...was worse then GCHIM!!
Total time 4h23m and 118km

Weekly Stats:




Swim: 16.8km (5h53m)
Cycle: 198km (7h20m)
Run: 35km (3h07m)
Core: 2h25m
Maintenance: 1hr

Total: 19h45m

Week 18 - The Week in Review

Endurance training is exactly like turning a Styrofoam cup inside out. So long as you take it slowly you'll be able to do it. Try to rush things and - rip - you'll tear the cup. You are the cup. -Gordo

I had to smile this afternoon, I noticed the tan lines returning. It must mean that I must be out there in whatever sun has been about over the last 2 weeks. A good thing but a reminder to put that sunscreen on when I'm out there training.
 
This week was another focus on swimming. The 'forced' focus has allowed to find the love and appreciation for the pool once again. I have found that I have had real attitude shift towards improving my swimming performance. There is no other way to achieve this but to harden up, endure the hurt and push through the discomfort to achieve my goals. I know that there will be an improvement if the program and session are complete to what has been detailed.
 
The 5 commandments are being followed to the letter. After week 2 all sessions have been completed to some extent. Given the time a year I am very happy with this achievement.
 
Session Reflections:
Monday:
Monday morning was a bit of a sneaky wind trainer session. The weather at the moment is not really conducive for cycling. This was an hour session 20min @ a cadence of 90-95rpm and then 10min @ a cadence of 60rpm. A nice bit of strength work and conditioning of the legs on the bike, something in the bank for the cycle build.
 
PM Monday core and conditioning session for 45min which consisted of 15 x 50sec (with 10sec rest) exercises using the resistance tubes. The next 15min are working through 5 x 50sec (with 10sec rest) exercises repeating them 3 times = 15min. These include; prone hold, push ups, squat, bicycle crunches, and leg raises. Then for the last 15min I repeat the 1st resistance tube set again.

Tuesday:
Went to explore the hills on foot this morning. A solid run 1h6min/12km. Leg held up well fatigued a little toward the end of the run.

It was to the pool in the afternoon for a 3.5km strength set. It looked a Little like this:

• 3 x 300m pull 10 sec rest btwn 300’s breathing every 4 and changing sides each 50
• 10 x 25m front scull with pull/25m swim 5 sec res after each 50
• 200 build into fast last 50
• 15 x 100m pull/paddles 10 sec rest @ moderate pace
• 400m pull w/d

A good workout with some strength coming back into the arms and shoulders. With the 15 x 100m kept a good pace of about 1m33sec for each 100m.

Wednesday:
Out on the bike for the morning session a solid 2h50m completing about 80k. The ride was with a number of the IM athletes from the squad and at times I found it hard work. There was a number of times, particularly off the end of long gradual hills I was finding it tough. But boys, it did tell me something to get my butt back on the bike more consistently. Thanks for that reminder.

The afternoon session was one back in the pool. This time round it was an endurance set that looked like this:

• 500m swim/500m pull/500m fins breathing every 3 strokes
• 5 x 100m swim 10 sec rest@ easy pace
• 5 x 100m pull 10 sec rest @ moderate pace
• 5 x 100m fins 10 sec rest @ hard pace
• 10 x 50m of 25m kick with fins/25m swim 10 rest btwn 50’s

Another 3.5k completed and the swimming isn't really a bad thing. This set is a good one and one that I found that I can develop and work on things like using my legs a little more with the fins. I am finding it is assisting in my kick engaging the legs a little more with my 'normal' swimming.

Thursday:
Thursday was a double swim, plus there was a bit extra.
The 1st swim in the morning was 20 x 100m with 5 push ups and I then also decided to ride into the pool and back.
The pushups are coming along the fatigue in the arms didn't really kick in until about the 19th and 20th 100m. After the 5 pushups it's always so nice the jump back in the pool to allow the cool water to sooth the arms.
The second session was the strength set again from early on in the week. By this stage in the week the arms were fatigued but not beyond getting in a solid session and working through the fatigue and completing the 3.5km without too much hurt. It was this session that I decided to run to and from. Round trip was 12km. The run there was about 2pm and it was a hot and humid afternoon the run home was a little cooler. It was an easy run and was good to do a couple of multiple discipline sessions.

Friday:
Back in the pool in the morning for a speed set. This was a good session particularly on fatigued arms...a good test of where my swimming was at.
The session went like this:

• 25m one arm/25m swim/25m one arm 5 sec rest x 12
• 12 x 25m on 30 sec, with last 12.5m no breathing
• 8 x 25m on 30 sec every second one hard
• 6 x 50m 10 sec rest every third 50m is hard, others easy stroke count, 200m pull x 3
• 6 x 25m on 60 sec with dive start and hard effort
• 8 x 25m fingertip drag/25m swim

A good 3.5km workout. Arms were feeling fatigued but enjoying the challenge. I was able to keep the 50m on 50sec throughout the 6 x 50m 10 sec rest every third 50m is hard, others easy stroke count, 200m pull x 3.

Friday afternoon was to be a core workout but due to New Years Eve arrangements it didn't happen. I had now planned it for Sunday afternoon.

Saturday:
Nothing in the morning, an opportunity for a sleep in.

In the afternoon it was meeting up with Rich and doing a solid 75min run from Sandgate out to the end of the bridge.

This was a very satisfying run, the goal with many of these types of run in average a pace between 5 and 5m30s pace. This was one run where this was achieved and that I was able to push the pace a little harder on the way home and the legs were still feeling relatively good.

Sunday:

In the morning it was out on the bike with Rich. 3h12min ride, approx. 85km. A solid ride with legs feeling the run the previous afternoon.

Afternoon session was 55min core session. It was the same workout as Monday's session. Then a good 15min stretch session

Weekly Stats:

Swim: 16km (5h25m)

Cycle: 185km (8hr20m)
Run: 38km (3hr29m)
Core: 1hr40min
Maintenance: 0hr15m

Total: 19hr 10min

Words of Wisdom

Fitness? It’s not just hard effort. It’s more consistency. Don’t miss workouts.

Joe Friel

EXACTLY.....note for one to remember!

Week 19 - The Week in Review

"Concentrate on the process and the outcome will look after itself."  

This week was back on the wagon.

Back into the pool this week and some consistent training. The week leading into Christmas is not always a good one for consistency in anyone's books but I was sure going to try and start this campaign off on the right foot.

Monday:
Core was the session to see me off into this campaign. Rather fitting start considering that it WAS one of my most dreaded sessions. But I have decided to embrace these sessions and have begun to change my mindset.
The session includes using both resistance tubes and body weight to develop my core strength and stability.
The format of the session is firstly made up of 15 x 50sec (with 10sec rest) exercises using the resistance tubes. These exercises mainly work the abs and obliques and of course both left and right sides. The use of the tubes gives the session a bit of variety and spices the session up.
The next 15min are working through 5 x 50sec (with 10sec rest) exercises repeating them 3 times = 15min. These include; prone hold, push ups, squat, bicycle crunches, and leg raises.
Then for the last 15min I repeat the 1st resistance tube set again.
Between these 15min sets I had a 3min recovery.
I set myself a challenging session 1st up but I believe if I consistently work at this workout twice each week I definitely think that it will help me in achieving the goals I have set down.

The evening was spent on the massage table mainly working on the legs and loosening the lower back.

Tuesday:
Ah....yes...Tuesday.....
Got on the bike and rode to the run session...trying to get extra km in the legs with the bike where I can, even if it is only to and from other training sessions.
The day started with some run efforts on a sports field. A good intense session and certainly got a few 'bugs' out of the system.
The body felt good, a few niggles associated with the upper hamstrings still, but this I believe is related to my back and will just need to be managed through massage, stretching and physio.
After riding home, I did a quick 15min resistant tube workout.

In the evening it was one of many session in the pool for the week. Was in early and did 750m before squad begun. Total distance for the swim session was 3.5km.

Wednesday:
The morning was a easy ride on the bike, keeping it flat and easy. Total 60km in about 2hr15m.

Back in the pool for the evening, for a 2.7km swim session.

Thursday:
Thursday was AM and PM sessions in the pool.
The AM session consisted of a 'shoulder' busting workout with 20 x 100m with 5 pushups at the end of each 100m.
For the first workout of this type for this IM campaign I was reasonably satisfied...the shoulders were struggling to push out the 5th push up after the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th 100m.

The PM session was another character building session. This being the 4th session of the week the arms were becoming a little more fatigued but there was a strong willingness to power through and make it a good week in the pool for the 1st week of the 2011 IM Campaign.
This session was a total of 3.1km which included getting in early and doing 400m of kick with fins. I have also decided to work more on improving my kick.

Friday: (Christmas Eve)
The morning was back in the pool. A solid 3.5km endurance set. The arms were working hard throughout the session and it was definitely obvious that the arms were lacking some of that muscular endurance type strength as towards the end of the session the times for the 100m were getting a little slower....not by much but was noticeable....baby sets here! Also thinking it might help with the hamstring and back management.

PM session was 30min of core strength and stability with the resistant tubes,

Saturday: (Christmas Day)
Merry Christmas....a well earned break from the training to celebrate Christmas with family.

PM session was to work off all those extra calories with a 60min run (11km) - hard work considering the lazy morning that was had. The HR at time was sitting above the 200bpm for extended periods of time but it was a enjoyable run, particularly with the rain.

Sunday: (Boxing Day)
A miserable day.....torrential rain all day.
Spent 2hrs on the wind trainer......should of painted a wall and watched it dry!!!
Legs were feeling good, it was only a easy spin.

Weekly Stats:
Swim: 14.8km (5h20m)
Cycle: 80.7km (5hr00m)
Run: 17.4km (1hr45m)
Core: 1hr45min
Maintenance: 1hr00m

ALL or Nothing for the next 19 weeks.

Life, to me, is a series of false limits and my challenge as an athlete is to explore those limits."—Lance Armstrong

Today signifies 19 weeks from IM Australia
Tomorrow is where the rubber hits the road.
There is no longer room for excuses or procrastination..............it is time to embrace the force! The IM force...the emotions and motivation that comes with racing at an Ironman. Even if it is the 4th time..........There is an Island in Hawaii that further fuels this motivation...to explore ones limits and potential.

Tomorrow the commitment begins......the 5 commandments become the basis of the next 19 weeks....a set of rules and guidelines that will push me towards achieving my goals.

There is a strong sense of accountability surrounding this campaign. Some may thing it is not something that holds strong but it is a theory that I am happy to put my faith in to assist me in achieving the goals that I have put out there. My commitment to training and my goals will have a strong accountability to a number of people, which will include Coach, my Wife-Karen (who is working in partnership with Coach), my training buddies and my peers.....all who I am hoping will keep me 'honest' throughout this campaign.  Karen has been charged with the task of developing some penalties and rewards to keep me accountable. At this stage the KPI's will definitely be achieved....some of these penalties are not things I am liking!!! (Stay tuned...it's going to be interesting)

The main KPI's are based around the 5 commandments:

• 97-99% completion rate of training sessions
• No more excuse (eating and training right etc.)
• No procrastination with trainings etc.
• I am to be a leader in training
• Complete 2 core sessions a week.

The 2011 Training Plan

Was ahead in terms of training......
Training for this campaign is going to look very similar to the previous 3 campaigns. The 2010 campaign for NZ was very different to the past 2 campaigns.....NZ IM was based on a 11 week lead in as opposed to a standard 20 weeks for the other races. In saying this, I am very much looking fora full 20week lead up to IM Oz in 2011. The potential in reaching my goals this time round is so much more and I am very much looking forward to the training ahead.

The overview of training for 2011 looks like this:
The program will work around 3 weeks 'on' 1 week recovery.
Week 20 - 17:
Swim Focus
Week 16 - 13:
Bike Build
Weeks 13 - 0:
Monday Am: Rest
Monday Pm: Core
Tuesday Am: Long Run
Tuesday Pm: Swim
Wednesday Am: Bike Strength
Wednesday Pm: Bike/Run
Thursday Am: Coach/Swim
Thursday Pm: Swim
Friday Am: Wind Trainer/Run
Friday Pm: Core
Saturday Am: Swim/Bike
Saturday Pm: Run
Sunday Am: Long Bike
Sunday Pm: Rest

The maintenance throughout this time will include:

• Massage every 2 weeks
• Physio visit every 4 weeks and when required
• Sport Nutrition accountability every 3 weeks
• Acupuncture every 3 weeks  

TimO 2011 IM Australia Campaign Has Been Launched

"What we have is based upon moment-to-moment choices of what we do.In each of those moments, we choose.We either take a risk and move toward what we want, or we play it safe and choose comfort. Most of the people, most of the time, choose comfort. In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or brilliance.They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reasons why not."~ Anonymous

Sunday December 12, 2010 signified 20 weeks out from my 4th Ironman Race in as many years. It is an addiction, it is an enjoyment that is obviously, at times, indescribable, but I continue working through the goals, challenges, disappointments and results to hear 'YOU ARE AN IRONMAN'! Only one who completes in an Ironman Triathlon can truly appreciate and understand what a simple phrase does to motivate a human being.

As like other IM campaigns I will be blogging my way through the journey of the challenge of completing my 4th Ironman. This campaign is not much different to any of the past 3 (or at least the 1st and 2nd) In 2011, I am going back to where it all began....Port Macquarie!

The results to date look like this:
IM No.1 - 2008 (Port Macquarie):

Swim - 01:07:25

Bike - 05:48:11   

Run - 04:14:40

Total - 11:22:46

IM No.2 - 2009 (Port Macquarie):  

Swim - 01:03:05

Bike - 05:37:24
Run - 04:02:56
Total - 10:50:54

IM No.3 - 2010 (New Zealand - Taupo):

Swim - 01:01:16
Bike - 05:55:10
Run - 04:25:16
Total - 11:34:17

The campaign starts NOW!
This week is a recovery week as I competed at the Canberra HIM on the weekend. I have identified this week as a organisational and planning week for the 2011 IM Campaign. It firstly started on Monday putting together an overview of my 'maintenance' program for the 20 weeks which included booking appointments for massages, sports nutritionist and physio. All these are an important part of achieving my goals for this IM campaign.

What are the goals???.......
(I am one who believes that there needs to be a goal that is a challenge to initially achieve but ultimately with commitment, dedication and hard work can be reached.)

• To qualify for Kona in my new age group (40-44)
• To work towards getting as close to the qualifying time as possible in 2011
• To go between 10h00m & 10h30m
• Go under 1hr for the swim
• Go under 5h30m for the bike
• Go under 4h50m for the run
• Throughout the 19week campaign have between a 97-99% session completion rate.
• Race at under 80kg

To achieve these goals I have put together 5 TimO Commandments:

• Thou shall not give excuses (work, diet etc.)
• Thou shall not procrastinate
• Thou shall be a leader in training
• Thou shall be accountable to my peers
• Thou shall put a great importance on completing 2 core sessions a week.

 When it comes to IM there is a different attitude that overcomes me....there is focus, there is commitment and there is a belief in myself that I can achieve these goals.

The 5 P's

Perfect Planning Prevents Poor Performance

There are various aspects to triathlon racing to be successful. Everybody's definition of a 'successful' race is different. It maybe just to finish, or achieve a personal best but whatever it is there is a lot of things that need to fall into place to be able to achieve this.

Whilst the physical training is very important in this success, and mental preparation is vital, careful planning and organisation of the race is something that compliments and assists in this success. I would have to say that most people who embark on the sport of triathlon for a number of season have some personal characteristic that involves a need to be organised and even being rather 'OCD' about their race organisation and planning.

I am a self confessed OCD triathlete to a certain extent. One of the things that you need to have a handle on in this sport is the being able to be flexible, be able to accept that things will go wrong and things may not always go to plan. This is something, whilst being quiet OCD on one hand, I don't get stressed when things don't happen to go to the well laid out plans that were set before the race. It is important to be able to change these plans throughout the race to still be able to achieve aspects of the goals that were identified before the race, even if it just to finish under the cut off time.

But in saying this I haven't had a real lot go wrong in my 3 Ironman races and 7 HIM and I certainly believe that much of this is due to my thoroughness in my planning and organisation for the race. The planning and organisation involves a number of different strategies:

• Checklists;
• Time lines for race day and lead up days;
• Tubs;
• Visualisation techniques of the race;
• Taper week Menu Plans;
• Documenting Nutrition and Hydration strategies for the race;
• Setting time and other (HR, Cadence) goals for throughout the race, (this will often be planned down to not only each leg but specific parts of each leg/discipline, particularly if I have done the race/course before.) The Garmin data comes in handy here, as I will often go back and analysis this data before my next race on a particular course.

Checklist
The checklist is one of the most important strategy that I have used throughout my past 5 seasons of being a triathlete. It is something I have developed over time and is definitely unique to me and the distance which I race (IM & 70.3).

The checklist includes things like:

• Race Details
• Race Day Timelines
• Pre Race Items
• General Items
• Swim
• Bike
• Run
• Nutrition/Hydration Checklist (Pre-race, Swim, Bike & Run)
• Timing Goals



Checklist for GCHIM 2010

Race Timelines

Leaving yourself enough time to get to the start line organised and relaxed is vital in having a good race and being in a solid mental state when you take that first stroke.

Triathlon has a number of deadlines to be meet for example, registrations, transitions (racking bikes etc.), open and closing of transitions on race day, and of course your start time.

I usually include this as a part of my Checklist (above)

I have found that if I document these times as a guide I have been able to get to that start line with a minimum of fuss and stress.

Tubs

Need I say anymore. I have a room where all these tubs are situated and all matter of triathlon gear has it's own place. It just makes finding things much easier and a simple process preparing and packing for a race. This year I have portable tubs that will go to some races. ;-)

Visualisation

This one techniques that I have become better at over the years. It become even more useful if you have done a particular course previously.

The strategy of visualisation can be done at various levels. I use it in the days leading up to the race to visualise in my head firstly what is is involved in getting to the race venue, setting up transitions and lastly what I will do throughout the race. I would do this a number of times to have a clear picture of what I plan to do in the race. I will even go through visualising things that I could see would possibly go a little pear shaped throughout the race and develop some contingency plans for these, but again you can't do this for everything. For example, a flat etc.

Taper Week Menu Plans

This is simply a nutrition plan for the week leading up to the race, including detailing the progressive carbo loading.

This is something I'm still refining.

Nutrition and Hydration Race Strategy

This strategy is included on my Race Checklist.

It will normally include my plan for nutrition and hydration pre race and during the race.

Positive Outlook for the New Season

Welcome to the 2010-2011 Triathlon Season
Hold onto your seats......

There is something about the atmosphere of transition precinct at a triathlon....the smell of muscle rub, the endless lines at the porta-loos (not to mention their smell), the thousands of dollars of bike hanging by their seats, endless cladded bodies with compression wear, the anticipation of what lies ahead as the hooter sounds.

It is the culmination of many, many hours of training which consists of much blood, sweat and dummy spits. It also indicates the beginning of many more hours of that hard work to successfully achieve the challenges that approach in another Triathlon season.

Personally, I'm a racer, whilst I believe in putting in the hard yards of training before a race, a race brings out my inner being. My gritty determination and mental focus comes to the forefront in a race. (something that is NOT always present in my training regime) For someone who is about to embark on his 6th Triathlon season, I still get somewhat 'emotional' (excited and nervous) leading up for the first triathlon of the season and its even more poignant when the 1st is a 70.3 or Half Ironman....got to love this long stuff!

The Gold Coast Half Ironman being our 'local' HIM for the season tends to be even more of a special race, it's where we have all of the BTS Squad making the effort to be out there on the sidelines, in the beanbags, supporting every athlete they have trained beside throughout the lead up sessions to the race. The encouragement, trash talk and support you get from the other BTS Athletes is such a motivating factor, in the lead up and particularly out there on the run, when it begins to hurt and someone passes on that little bit of encouragement, it gets you through that moment of weakness and hurt.

As I have alluded to, sometimes my training focus can become somewhat distracted and poor excuses and commitment issues become the basis of these distractions. (but you have to remember, without a job, there wouldn't be this addiction) But, if I can manage my time and train for 3 IM and get favourable results, there is really no reason why I can't commit to getting good results for this or any other race this season. What I mean by good results is setting realistic goals based on my lead up (specifically taking into account any niggling injuries). However, this isn't an excuse not to achieve a PB for this HIM, I just need to add cement and stir!! When I'm out there on Sunday there will be no prisoners, it will be a very focused, methodical and OCD approach and I will be trying to do the best of my ability....I'LL GIVE IT A DAMN GOOD GO!! (BTW....age isn't an issue and I still have some good years ahead of me...there is still Kona to conquer)

The race on Sunday is my 8th HIM and I still look forward to facing the challenge of the 70.3 miles.
There is a sort of attraction I have to this distance. There are still goals to be achieved and time to make them happen.
The goal on Sunday is to go sub 5hrs. Whilst not an excuse, the lead up has not been without issues. There has been this continual frustration with niggling injuries. It's now over 12 months I have been managing this back niggle that saw me in quite a bit of pain in last years GCHIM but in saying that, I still punched out a 5h12m with some gritty determination and a lot of positive thinking and talk to myself.

The goal for the swim and bike hasn't changed much from last year and the time I achieved in the race, however it is the run where I want the difference to be, I would love to run around 1hr50min which will give me roughly under the 5hr mark.

A few other considerations that come into calculation is that it is the maiden voyage for my new TT Bike (Avanti Chrono 2) a very nice ride, even better since I had the recent bike fit. The weight is down and I am feeling good, a few visits to the Sports Nutritionist has assisted me on this front.

The checklist has been prepared and the tubs are beginning to work their magic...it is race week and it's about a focused, calculated approach to go with the training I have put in over the past couple of months, I believe I am a lot more prepared then last year.

Recovery week......

Something I have learnt over my short IM career is the recovery is so important. Whether the recovery is techniques or just 'down' time both are equally important and even more effective if used together.

The most recovery techniques I have found effective are:

• Ice/cold water bath
• Compression pants
• Keep moving...even if it just walking round.
• Good stretching routine.
• Self massage
• Deep tissue massage

This week has been a recovery week and for the Monday and Tuesday morning it was used for recovery. Sunday night was a ice bath, Monday evening was a deep tissue massage. Tuesday morning was a good stretch.

Tuesday evening I was back on the wagon, but the intensity was low. A good 30min core strength session was on the cards for Tuesday night. (40sec for each exercise with 10sec change over and was repeated 5 times)

• Prone hold
• Squat
• Reverse crunch
• Bicycle crunches
• Push-ups
• Medicine ball twists

Wednesday morning was an opportunity for a sleep in and was taken advantage of. Wednesday night was back in the pool.
Thursday morning was coaching in the pool.
Thursday afternoon was back in the pool again
This morning was on the wind trainer.