Ironman World Championship 2009 Analysis

Posted on October 11, 2009 by lord_lordy

IMKona09Analysis.jpgAs usual I couldn’t sleep very well post race. Combination of the excitement of it in my head and the dull in ache in my quads and foot. The tendon is tight and sore. Read all about it here.

Boy what a race. The swim  just gets more and more aggressive each time I do this race. I had a great race. I put together a swim and bike that makes me confident I can do very well here once I can run again. A 3:26 run split would have got me on the podium. Thats not meant to be a ‘woulda coulda shoulda’ more just an honest assessment of how pleased I am with how the swim and bike went and that it proved to me I could do well. I have tended to feel that my bike was my weak link when I race here and my run has been a relative strength. Yesterday I showed myself I can ride strong enough and I feel I can get even stronger.

Believe it or not I enjoyed the ‘run’. After about 6 miles I could feel it falling apart and to go from thinking it was game over to somehow getting myself sorted out was an experience. OK – it took probably 2 hours of walking but I managed to get enough fluid, salt and fuel in that I got running again. I also found that it’s very difficult to quit. Even when i was laid on Ali’i drive convinced they wouldn’t get me up again without me cramping in agony I was working out how long I could lay there and still get this thing completed.

Everyone I know seemed to have good races though a couple will be frustrated / disappointed. Russell had a great first race here ending 28th in his age group with a 3:14 run split. I’m hoping this will completely change his view on qualifying – it’s not whether he’ll qualify now, he should know he will qualify. Roger ran just a little quicker than Russell and was 7th in his age group frustratingly he was a mere 2.5 minutes from the podium. It may come as some consolation that in my age group 7th was only 8 seconds behind 5th and 6th was only 1 second behind having been chased down.

Jo raced well beating her previous time here and just ahead of her target for 6th. Just missing the podium and very frustrating. She ran in to 3rd place at one point. I am so proud of her.

Last but not least Rachel came 6th. YES sixth in THE WORLD. If it wasn’t for Chrissies rise 2 years a go I think people would be raving about this. First full season as a pro and she goes: 3rd (IM South Africa), 2nd (IM Lanzarote), 6th (IM World Champs). It can’t be long till she gets her first victory. I am so pleased for her. I’m not surprised as seeing her training in Lanzarote I thought she’d be right up there after the bike with everything to play for. I almost said as much here but didn’t as she’s a sometimes reader and didn’t want to put any pressure on her.

PHIL – thanks for the advice to carry the salt tablets on the run as I’d be likely to cramp. how did you know ? That saved my race.

Now I need to get back running so I can qualify again.

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Ironman World Championships, Kailua-Kona 2009

Posted on October 10, 2009 by lord_lordy 
Time: 11:28:42
Swim: 56:42
T1: 3:04
Bike: 5:08:53
T2: 3:39
Run: 5:16:24

Race analysis here.

Ultra efficient body marking allowed me to be back to my room by 5:15am with plenty of time to try and relax. I felt so nervous for this race. It was like Wisconsin again. I took this as a good sign. For so many races I could eat so much but here I was too nervous to eat but slowly forced some food down.

I got down to the swim start early and soon realised it was going to be messy when even before the pros had started some age groupers were getting in the water and swimming to the start line. This was a full 25 minutes ahead of the start. Last year no one got in till after the Pros had gone.

Jo came and found me on the beach which really cheered me up. There was a cheer when the gun went for the Pros. I wished Jo luck and got in to bully my way to the front. This year it was nigh on impossible to get on the front line. One guy near me was really pushing forward and with the starter repeatedly saying “don’t push forward in the middle” one of the surfers told this guy it was him he was talking to. There is no warning for the gun going off  but I somehow judged pushing forward just right and got myself on the second row. I’d like to think this was intentional but there was a surfer right in front of this guy ! Luckily I saw it and I managed to move to the side.

It was mayhem. Water polo style swimming for the first few minutes. Spray everywhere. I found myself thinking “you really enjoy this. This is completely nuts”. Being in the thick of it clearly pulled me along and before I knew it I saw some clear water and surged in to it. Looking around I could see I was in the first dozen but was going way beyond what I could maintain. With the mass coming behind I couldn’t just slow immediately but eased my pace down allowing some to pass until there were feet that I had to work to stay on.

Then the usual swimming from buoy to buoy started with congestion  everytime we went round them. I naturally sight and could see that the buoys weren’t straight. It was  tricky to decide whether swim shorter on my own or longer in the pack. I tried both on the way out and soon realised I was swimming with the same people all the time. On the way back I decided to sight myself and found myself in lovely clear water till the last 100m or so. I felt I was swimming better than last year but I think the combination of slightly tougher sea and a less well organised pack resulted in my coming out about a minute slower. Turned out it was 5th in my age group.

On the bike I kept it calm and controlled through town and only started to push on the Queen K. It felt windy and was preparing myself for big cross winds later on but they never arrived. Sods law that the bike computer that has worked the whole time we’ve been here decides not to work.  Not really a problem as I race on perceived effort. I could tell very early on this was going better than last year as very few people were passing me and I felt I was passing more. I was also catching a lot of female pros. I focussed on not increasing my effort levels up the hills and making the most of the downhills. At Hawi (60 miles) I was on course for sub 5 hours, I was feeling good and with the long downhill to follow I was optimistic of a good bike split.

The last 40 miles of this route are known to be tough as they generally get a head wind. Today did not disappoint. Race evening there was lots of  talk of being on for a great bike split until the last 30 miles. I managed to maintain my pace pretty well. I felt good as we got on to the Queen K and had thought this was the time to push if I felt I had anything more to give. Along this section I passed Natasha Badman and told her her I was pleased to see her racing. We exchanged positions a few times before I pulled away. For a period I was in front and there was a camera car pointing it’s camera at me for ages up this hill. I felt sure Natasha must be just behind me but didn’t want to look back and ruin the shot so instead focussed on looking like a good cyclist ;o) Never know I may make the DVD !

In the last 20 miles I suffered big time from cramp on the insides of both thighs. I don’t think it impacted my efforts too much but had to spend less time on the aero bars. Having heard how hot it was I’m guessing that was a major cause. I didn’t worry as I’ve had this before and it’s never impacted my run. The feed approach worked well having the gels in the bottle but it showed that you need to test these things in as close to race conditions as possible. During a long ride with a full bottle my aero bars slowly twisted. The left a full 180 degrees and the right through 90 degrees. Made for interesting shifting but since I was in the big chainring the whole time once we’d left Kailua Kona it wasn’t a big issue.

I came in off the bike in 5:08 and knew I was well up there by how few bikes there were and how thin the field was. I felt great and had proved to myself I could swim and bike with the best in my age group. I was 7th in my age group at this point.

I didn’t rush through transition. I wanted to get my compression socks and shoes on right. This run was not going to be the fastest so a few extra seconds in T2 seem irrelevant.

I stuck to my plan of running between aid stations and walking through them and keeping my speed in check early on. The latter wasn’t too difficult as I didn’t feel that good. After a couple of miles and two proper feeds at aid stations I felt a lot better and managed to run pretty decently between. I looked forward to the turn on Ali’i drive as I would get to see my friends coming the other way. Soon after the turn though I started to get twinges of cramp in my calf. Not unsurprising given how little running I’d done. Luckily Phil had said as much and adviced carrying salt tablets. I had 10 with me allowing the prescribed 2 an hour for 5 hours. I started popping these. Pleasingly it took over 8 miles for Roger and Russ to catch me ! They went on to 3:13 and 3:14 run splits – darn impressive in that heat.

Through the aid station at mile 9 and in front of Bongo Bens and Lava Java when BANG massive cramp in my left leg. I fell to the ground in agony and screamed for someone to grab my foot. The first person did the wrong thing and I screamed again then a guy, who must have been a physio or masseur, got me and started working on it. I was crying like a baby. Not only due to the pain but because my race was over. This was Wisconsin all over again but rather than immediately post finish I wasn’t even 10 miles in to the marathon. My brain liked the symettry of that that what happened at the race I qualified at was going to be what stopped me completing the race I qualified for.

The tarmac I was laid on was so hot but the guy kept the foot stretched and massaged it for what felt like 5 or 10 minutes. I said I wasn’t sure how they’d get me on my feet. At the first attempt the quad cramped but on the second with the help of several others they got me on my feet and I started walking. The cramp kept almost coming back but I focussed on getting through the next mile to the aid station on Palani where I could get water to rehydrate and allow me to take more salt. I’ll admit I was close to tears for huge parts of this but this is what it’s all about. Ironman is this addictive because it brings out these emotions. At my lowest point where I’m hardly walking a spectator screamed “you guys are the best athletes in the world’. That made me smile.

I kept walking and kept eating (salty stuff) at each aid station all along the Queen K. Initially I thought I should do this till I need a pee. I was very nervous about trying to run in case it went. During the next hour I had 6 salt tablets (just three times the advised doze), 6 gels and god knows how many pretzels. I walked virtually the length of the Queen K to the energy lab. As I approached a later aid station I tried to run and it wasn’t too bad. Douglas caught me and being with a friend made running easier to risk as he could help me if I cramped up. We ran aok and going down the energy lab I was running well so he let me go. Special needs was down there ! I wish I’d put in two packets of crisps – they were great. Douglas re caught me whilst I ate my peanut butter M&Ms. They were just as I’d hoped. The heat had made the peanut butter super soft so they kind of exploded in your mouth when you cracked the outer.

Back on the Queen K and Douglas and I parted company… well he ran off ! I got back to run walk but slightly adjusted – I walked through every aid station and for a minute or so at each mile marker. In the Energy Lab I realised if I ran at least some of it I could get in under 12 hours and soon 11:30 looked possible.

The sunset along the Queen K was one of the most beautiful I’ve seen here. Not something I normally see. Completing at this sort of pace I saw a lot more grit and determination than I normally see. There were a lot of people battling their personal demons.

I had to walk down Palani but once at the bottom I managed to run. Even a blister (I was unaware of ) popping agonisingly in the finishing shoot couldn’t slow me down. I managed just under 11:30 for my slowest Ironman even so I thoroughly enjoyed it and it ranks as one of my proudest.

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Dolphins

Posted on October 9, 2009 by lord_lordy

dophins09.jpgOK thats not a picture of a dolphin but rather my bike all ready to go. This mornings swim was unbelievable. I swam with Rachel to the 1.2 mile buoy and as we approached we heard and then saw a few dolphins. Before we knew it we were in amongst god knows how many pods of dolphins – there must have been a 100 of them. Roger was there and a lady and we swam in amongst them for 20 -30 minutes only leaving because we got cold. A mere 20 metres away hundreds of athletes were swimming backwards and forwards near the orange buoys completely oblivious of what they were missing so near by.

There were babies staying near their mums. We saw small groups playing with each other. They swam below as, around us and if you timed it right you swam with them. I managed this at one point and was swimming with maybe ten dolphins and if I’d moved either hand a foot to my side I would have touched them. I even had a couple jump right out of the water within metres of me. It was a truly amazing feeling to be in there amongst them.

This managed to take my mind off how bad my blue seventy suit was rubbing. This is the third year I’ve used it and clearly all the weights I’ve been doing have changed my physique enough to make this suit more or less unusable. The welts around my shoulders are really painfull. I’m wondering whether I will have to swim without a suit. Roger has kindly leant me his other blue seventy – it’s the newer version. His policy of buying two is really helping me out. It makes me remember my first time here when these suits didn’t exist and how nice it was to just swim in tri shorts. It was so nice to swim feeling the freedom in your shoulders. At the moment I wish these darn suits had never been invented.

Back to Splashers post swim for a super leisurely breakie. I then did my final session before the race. I run bike session in my new tri shorts. I did a 40 minute bike with several short intervals. I didn’t feel great which I think was as a result of feeling slightly off on the bike combined with being very annoyed with myself about the rubs from the suit. I would have tested this earlier but the sun burn I sustained last friday had put me off doing it because my back was so sore. I’d felt quite embarrassed about how bad I got burnt since I’d been trying so hard to be good about suncream and that was  a stupid mistake which has had the knock on effect of me swimming in this suit very late. So, I pushed hard on the final intervals and felt slightly better but as I came in off the bike I felt hot and wondered whether these new tri shorts were sensible.

Coming in to my room to transition I was really not that happy and Jo got the brunt of it. She asked if I’d tried wetting them like the guy had said. Stupidly I hadn’t so I went in the bathroom and wet them ready for my run. Long white compression socks on, using the great method the CEP guy showed me and it worked. Not a great look with the black compression shorts but not too bad. Out on my run – wow ! they felt pretty cool and I ran pretty well. Just did 20 minutes but felt a little better about myself.

Then got my bike ready – racking tomorrow. Headed up to get some cash and my lunch. Card refused. Back to room, online, enough money in account. Back to another bank, refused. Decide to risk whether my credit card will be accepted at the till. Luckily it is and I’m saved embarrassment. So international call to bank from my hotel phone, on hold for ages to find that the lady I spoke to before coming out hadn’t put in I was in Hawaii so it had been blocked. At least it’s sorted. Rushed to make my coffee meet with Roger. Really hadn’t been a great day for my preps. Far from being a relaxed confidence building day. It had been rushed with several disasters (ok thats a massive overstatement).

I tried to chill as I walked to meet Roger. Earlier in the day I’d seen a guy that I thought looked like Ken Purcell – I’ve never met this guy but have “seen” him on Endurance Corner. I saw him again so asked if he was Ken. It was ! He’d heard of me and asked if I was fit and before I could answer said “of course you’re always fit” – he won’t have realised it but given my day so far he’d helped A LOT !! Thanks Ken !

It was a 3 coffee chill out with Roger. He’s good to be around pre race. A calming influence. He’s up for this race and excited about it despite having a nightmare with his bike.

This evening was the banquet. I enjoy this event. It’s relaxed and fun. Phil Graves was up as the youngest male competing. We were near the VIP area and saw them refuse him entry ! So asked if he wanted to sit with us. He had his family to sit with but was confused that he had to go on stage but they wouldn’t let him through. We thought – they’ll let him through on Sunday !. When he got up on stage he was great. When asked about why he got in to Triathlon and Ironman he said he’d thought to himself “how hard can it be” !! What a star. I hope he really shows them come Saturday. The discussion continued a little about what I should put in my run special needs bag to ensure I go out to the Energy Lab – the best thing we came up with was my Passport.

The banquet has cheered me up a lot. It is awesome to be here. I think part of my funny mood was me thinking about my year and just how lucky I am to even be racing here. Not only to have qualified prior to the injury but to have somehow manage to get over that and in good enough shape to be contemplating this. Seeing all these people excited to do the race is awesome. Seeing all the people that have done it so many times is awesome. And then hearing Jo tell us how she could imagine at some point standing up because she’d done this race 20 times “why would I stop?” really made me smile.

Tomorrow the last day before the gun – here’s hoping I can get myself feeling happy, confident and up for it.

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Going Old School

Posted on October 9, 2009 by lord_lordy

kona09Swimming in Rogers spare BlueSeventy this morning was really inconclusive leaving me wondering about racing Old School tomorrow – ie in my tri shorts. Swimming in his suit was definitely better and if my shoulders weren’t already rubbed raw it would probably be alright but even with tape on it was sore. I bumped into John Newsom before swimming and he reckoned it would cost  38 seconds plus some time in transition as I’d have to pull a top on. I am very frustrated with myself that I discovered this so late which is really down to getting sunburnt a week ago. I am thinking that I should just do what will make the race most enjoyable which would be tri shorts to reduce the pain but when i think if that means I come out slower in the swim I’m not so sure. Over breakfast Roger just felt I should tape it up and put up with any discomfort. Jo pointed out that most people in the field are probably suffering from some sort of rubbing. I think I’ll pack a tri top in  my T1 bag to keep my options open.

I had a rather disturbed nights sleep. Already feeling nervous about this race. As ever it’s all about the the immediate pre start period and the early part of the swim. Once I visualise beyond that point I’m happy. In fact, rather bizarrely, I’m seriously excited about getting on to the run and seeing what happens. I keep finding myself imagining somehow having a great run and Roger being rather surprised when I don’t prove too easy to reel in on the run !

Kona09-1

After breakie I came back to my room and dozed for a good few hours before heading up to the supermarket to decide on my Run Special Need snacks. I tried, and failed, to get money out – these woes continue. Slightly stressful given us heading out to Waikiki next week but at least it takes my mind off the race for a moment. Luckily I had enough to get the snacks – decided on a packet of crisps, peanut butter M&Ms and almond M&Ms. Got back to pack up my transition bags. I’ve got the option to try something new on the run. I really don’t like having a number belt round my waist whilst running so I’ve got a number in the bag with two safety pins and plan to just pin to my shorts as I leave transition.

Jo and I then headed to check in our bike and bags. Thats todays photos. I got my free Cervelo T-Shirt for checking in a Cervelo. Bit disappointed I couldn’t get Jo one this year. They’re giving out 3 frames to people wearing the t-shirt tomorrow ! Following check in we headed for dinner with Roger, Mary and Russ. This period from checking in bike to arriving at dinner is my favourite time in the race run up. I feel relaxed having checked in my gear and haven’t had time to get nervous. As I get towards the end of the meal I start to feel nervous. Now sat here the nerves are increasing.

I keep reminding myself that I am one of the luckiest people doing Ironman to be here competing given my whole season was written off. So many people try to get here I should make sure I make the most of this. Thanks Gabriel for reminding me of those 100 milers. I will use them to help keep be going. Now to get some final rest. Normally I can’t sleep after a race so there’s a good chance I’ll put up a post pretty promptly and hopefully a race report.

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A Day Of Nothing

Posted on October 8, 2009 by lord_lordy

DayOfNothing.jpgIt doesn’t happen very often but today is complete rest. I enjoy this point before big races when there’s loads of time to relax. Jo and I are just chilling out in our room and it’s nice just nattering about nothing…. well not nothing, for instance those 44oz drinks we’ve been having is the same as 2.75 pints or 264 teaspoons. Now thats conversation.

Photos above are Dig Me Beach at 7:30am this morning.

Mayhem. I just sat and watch the world go by waiting for Roger to finish his swim so we could go for our increasingly leisurely breakfasts. I saw the Olympic 10k Open Water champion head out in his Blue Seventy with a couple of optimistic swimmers on his feet trying for the Blue Seventy speed skin which was up for grabs if anyone could beat him to the Coffees Of Hawaii boat. There was also a turtle just chilling our by the wall.

Following breakfast I went to register. Then it was off to the Expo. Having run in my Skins compression shorts the other day I was convinced that it would be a good idea to run in compression shorts on the day. My hope was to find some light coloured shorts (ideally white) but there were none. CEP had some nice shorts that provided great compression and I was convinced that they would cool if I applied water to them. It was hard work trying these on but the combination of the great compression, the legs being slightly longer (my current tri shorts are really too short) and the expo special of them being close to half price I decided to go with them. Tomorrow is full race kit practise – swim, bike and run so I’ll make my final decision after that.

Yes more coffee followed this. This time Lava Java. We bumped in to Gaelle, Richard and then  Jo there. It’s one of things that makes this race so special how you just bump in to mates and get a chance to hang out.

Had a very relaxing afternoon before meeting Roger for a couple of coffees by the sea and a lovely chat about life the universe and everything. We also touched on race hopes and goals. I really have to split my goals in two – the swim / bike and then the run. For the latter it’s just to complete. I wondered, in an email to Scott, whether I should put a $100 bill in my run special needs bag to ensure I go out to the energy lab. For the swim I’d like to be under 55 minutes, for the bike sub 5:10 but with good conditions gunning for as close to 5 as possible …. unless of course it’s under 5 then as far from 5 as possible ;o)

Dinner was at my favourite place – the Canoe Club. Was lovely to chat with Jo and her family whilst the sun went down munching on my favourite dish here – Hawaiian Chicken Salad.

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Parade Of Nations

Posted on October 7, 2009 by lord_lordy

parade09It’s all kicking off now. This evening was The Parade Of Nations. This is a nice little event. Very informal, not too long a parade and the locals seem to love it. I really feel athletes should make every effort to come along. We take over this little town and we should show respect by attending this parade. The GB lot looked pretty good in their nice t-shirts supplied by Ironman UK – unfortunately despite my replying early with my size (medium) they kindly gave me large which is like a tent on me. As usual Jo got small which I assume is the smallest they did and like mine is a tent on her. So she ends up without a wearable t-shirt and I ended up with hers which fits me perfectly. Considering I’m 6’2” the sizing seems rather insane if I’m in the smallest T-shirt produced. This seems to happen at every race. I wear Jo’s t-shirt – do race organisers not look at the athletes and realise generally triathletes aren’t huge. Sorry … didn’t mean to gripe.

Really enjoyed the Parade. Had a natter with Rachel and finally hooked up with Gaelle and Richard. It was so nice chatting with them over dinner.

My day started with a fun swim with Roger. He wanted to do half course and try to stick on my feet. I was looking for a gentle swim so this was perfect. I wore a rash vest, I claimed, to give a bit of drag to slow me down but later came clean that it was to cover my sunburn which I’m slightly embarrassed about. Roger did great for 5 minutes as I wasn’t going easy. He then faded and I had to ease up, he clearly worked hard to the turn buoy. I enjoyed helping him out and pointed out that the pace he held for the first 5 minutes was good so it seems clear he could get improvements by working on his endurance at that pace. On the way back we headed to the Coffees of Hawaii boat … it’s kind of a classic Kona moment now. We followed this with a seriously chilled breakfast. As this week progresses the hanging out becomes longer as we all have less and less to do. It’s such fun.

I did my final gym session following Scott’s advice

to maintain my leg gym work into the final week because of my lack of running. This is new to me so felt a little bizarre heading to “The Club” a really nice gym just a block from our hotel. Scott had said to do lower weights but get a burn. I think I now understand this. I dropped the weight by about 25% but was surprised at how big a burn I got. I can only assume it’s because my legs are in recovery mode.

In the afternoon I headed to the IM Talk / Epic Camp ride. It was typical Epic Camp. Though stated as steady it was pretty full on. Jo, sensibly, dropped off and did her easy ride. I soon realised it wasn’t going to be sociable so did what I would have on my own – steady out for 40 minutes then some full on efforts on the way back. We then had iced coffee, courtesy of Coffees Of Hawaii after. Finally a chance to chat and meet some of the guys we’ll be sharing end to end Epic Camp with. I didn’t feel great on this ride till after the first 20 minutes or so but after that I really felt quite good !

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Volcano Ice Cream

Posted on October 6, 2009 by lord_lordy

volcanoicecreamVolcano Ice Cream is the one on the right. This is the most delicious banana, strawberry and oreo cookie ice cream. Ever since my first visit here in 2005 (when I think I had this almost every day before the race) I’ve looked forward to this as my post race treat. The coffee shop is still there and they seem pleased that I so look forward to it. Roger had a scoop last night and taunted me with it confirming how delicious it is. The other picture is a Chocolate Silk – this is twice the price of any other item on display which could be a marketing ploy as it’s got us really intrigued. Jo said she may try one the night before the race (carbo loading!), I think I may accompany my volcano ice cream with it post race.

Clearly I’m getting ahead of myself. Back on to race build up.

Kona is now really buzzing ! Up early to swim the full course on my own. I swam non stop out to the turnaround buoy and halfway back. Then I had to do some detours to avoid the masses of swimmers. Probably ended up with  a little over 4k of swimming in 69 minutes. I felt comfortable and really enjoyed it. A very leisurely splashers breakfast with Roger and Donna before a quick look at the merchandise store (no purchases) and then relaxing in my room for a couple of hours.

At lunchtime I headed out along the Queen K for a short run. Did run walk this time with a minute walking based on advice from Phil who has managed a 3:16 marathon based on run walk. This felt better than the 30 seconds though I think in the race I will walk right through each aid station. I also ran in Skins compression shorts. They felt good to run in other than when I walked they were way too hot (they’re black). I’m on the lookout now for some white compression shorts to run in, if not I’ll be in Tri London shorts or possibly normal running shorts. I ran the last couple of miles of the course visualizing running this section in the race. This is not because I think I’ll be struggling at that point. Far from it, I’ll be on cloud nine when I’m there in the race. No, I was visualizing so that I have it fixed in my mind that I WILL get to this point in the race.

Over coffee this evening we came up with another cunning plan. I’ve never used special needs in a race but this time I may be walking by that point and appreciate it (I think it was Roger that pointed this out). The cunning plan is to chose something to put in there that I will really look forward to and will entice me out on the Queen K. Perhaps a roast chicken ? Some sexy trail mix. Answers on a post card please.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how my preparations have gone. It may seem odd to say this but they have really gone more or less as well as I could have asked for. What I mean by that is that given my foot surgery – from that point on I’m not sure I could really  have got my preparations better. Yes I could wish that my foot had repaired and let me run normally immediately but it was unlikely. Given that my swim and bike preparations have been awesome. I’m now running without pain and key markers are suggesting I’m  tapering well:

1.My HR is low – 35 this morning and my lowest WTD average this year.

2.Average nightly sleep has been over 8 hours for the past week

3.Motivation is high

4.Fatigue is low

5.My training consistency in the past 3 months has been spot on

With all that my expectations are for probably my slowest Ironman, in fact if it’s not I’ll be chuffed to bits. However – sport and Ironman rewards the work put in. You don’t compete and get an adjusted time for hours training done (though that makes for fun dinner conversation). Though many people try and big up a performance by giving other details (eg lack of hours done or level of other commitments), it really is not relevant. We get to the start line and are there to race for who is best on the day. How they got there doesn’t matter other than giving that information can be useful for all of us to learn from. Thats part of the reason I started this blog, I thought it may help some people to see what someone actually did and how the results followed.

This is something I’ve wanted to post about for a while but have not worked out how to articulate it. Reading that I’ve not articulated it very well but it’s the best I can do. I feel that this time round I‘ve done all I can to get to this race fit and ready so the result will be appropriate and if I don’t do well it’s I wasn’t good enough on the day.

I’ve also been thinking about commitment to athletic achievement. Gordo once posted about how few people are willing to “Fully commit”. I think there’s naturally a fear of not having an excuse. If you commit fully and still fall short it means you weren’t good enough. I think this is probably the closest I’ve got to full commitment. I’ve given up work, my home, possessions, trained full time. I’ve managed to do well with my diet, rest and training sessions. But could I commit more fully ?

For sure I could. Seeing Jo and Rachel in Lanzarote and the sessions they do. I still train within my comfort zone. That doesn’t mean I don’t train hard just that I do the training I like doing. I feel that I need to commit to trying other things. As I’ve cycled along the Queen K seeing others out fighting fit I’ve wondered about the fine tuning I probably should do. Back just before I snapped my tendon Gabriel commented that I don’t need anymore aerobic endurance. I feel he’s on to something. I love doing that training and am willing to build that so much that I should be able to endure some serious fine tuning. The question is will I be willing to commit to this for a future race.

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Painted Church Loop

Posted on October 5, 2009 by lord_lordy

PaintedChurchLoop.jpgI did take a picture of the Painted Church but it’s not that great. It’s painted yes … but it’s just painted plain white. It’s not like it’s some flash paint job. So a picture of coffee will have to do. What a great ride that loop is though. Thanks Scott for scheduling Jo this route yesterday. The scenery is lovely and the smells as you ride along are amazing. It goes round the shoulder of the volcano rising to 1500 feet before descending back down to the sea. The scale of the volcano is mind boggling. At 1500 feet you feel you’re right at the bottom of it – it just goes on and on and on. The ride proved just right for what I’d planned. It was a little under 3 hours for 40 miles. There was a fair bit of climbing and I pushed on steadily for all the climbs and took it easy for the rest. I was a real tourist taking my time on the downhills and flats so I could really take in the scenery.

On the way back I got stung by another stingy thing. This time a bee. It hurt and I admit I was shouting “you Bastard, you bastard” as I screeched to a halt. There was the stinger and venom sack hanging out of my finger to be carefully removed. Got going again for the super quick return then 4km from home get a flat. Riding on the shoulders here is so treacherous – another case of a large staple straight through.  Then went and pinched the tube putting the tyre on. Not the ideal end to a lovely ride but like for Jo yesterday it really did my mood the world of good. So nice to just ride and not be an automatum belting up and down the Queen K with everyone else.

I got down to the swim early this morning and got out before the crowds. Did the full course and pushed it a little getting round in 64 minutes which I was really pleased about. It’s getting pretty crowded now with most racers probably in town by now. Bumped in to Douglas and had a natter before heading to Bongo Bens for buffet brunch. Was able to be totally paleo with omelette, scrambled eggs, bacon, pork and this raw fish dish. It was great and I think the consensus was we’d be back to make a serious dent in that buffet the day after the race.

The race is fast approaching and I’m pleased to say I’m starting to feel quite rested.

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Run Walk

Posted on October 4, 2009 by lord_lordy

RunWalk.jpgSlept well last night and didn’t feel like swimming this morning so I stayed in bed. If I’m honest I just didn’t fancy the taste of salt water. I went and met up with Roger, Russell and Martyn to head to splashers for breakfast. Very relaxed as I like it. I didn’t have much planned training for the day so I was happy for it to be slow and leisurely.

After breakie I headed up to the bike shop to get my bottle of Expresso Hammer Gel (decision made for race day flavour) and a bottle cage to mount between my aero bars. I found a side entry cage which was narrower and seemed to fit the bill.

Gabriel commented on my last post that he was surprised me choosing to go with gels. Yes this is a complete change for me. For my first few Ironman races I was a marzipan guy and it worked great but then I found I just didn’t fancy it and since then I’ve really not found my ideal nutrition. I’ve had numerous cases of chucking the food I was carrying because I just didn’t want it. This culminated in IM Germany last year where I decided to carry no food and just take what I could grab at the aid stations. That certainly wasn’t any worse. Here though I really only want to be worry about getting fluids at aid stations as I don’t want to miss them. I’ve heard on several occasions friends comment on getting a boost following taking a gel or some other carbs but felt I never noticed this myself. I wondered whether it’s not that it didn’t happen to me but just that I wasn’t in tune with my reaction post food. So over the summer I decided to really focus on how I felt post food. In Lanzarote I even carried gels with me on many rides to test out my reaction. Not surprisingly to most of you I started to notice an improvement – not always but on some occasions pretty dramatic. This made me feel I had to force the carbs down in a race. How best to do this – well many friends and it seems a lot of pros just neck tonnes of gels.

How to do this. I couldn’t face the mess of opening packets. So the plan is to mount a bottle between my aero bars and stuff a 500ml bottle there with all my gels for the race. Got the gels, mounted the bottle cage – gonna test it out on my ride tomorrow.

Todays training session was really important to me. Running a couple of days ago had really knocked me for six. The way I’d faded after 8 miles had really got to me. Jeez race day was gonna be seriously tough if thats how bad my running was. Much debate was had at dinner last night about how to approach ‘training” for the race. My feeling was that resting up on my running is pointless – resting helps your performance if you’ve done some training but resting after none is not going to improve matters. I couldn’t help think if you had someone that had done zero running and had to run a race in two weeks you would advice them to run. Also on the occasions that I strung together a period of running over the summer there was a sudden step change in my running at some point. If I get to that before race day it could make all the difference.

So today had a two fold aim:

1.Run the same 10 mile route as two days ago and see if I was running better. Ie was I improving my running by running (sounds obvious when stated like that!)

2.Test out run walk.

I walked purposefully for 30 seconds at each mile marker and ran pretty solidly between. The first thing I noticed was that I ran too fast initially ~ 7:40 min miles. It felt like an interval session which encouraged running hard. I’ll have to hold that in check. I was running better though and managed to run the 10 mile route 6 minutes quicker. Also, though it did get a lot lot tougher as the run progressed I didn’t fade. I feel I should at least be able to get beyond our hotel and on to the Queen K before I crash !

At least there was a  positive outcome from this and I feel a little better. It’s still unlikely to be pretty but I’ll try for a 5 miler in two days and see if I feel better still.

One significant thing is that I didn’t mention any foot pain. I’ve only just realised that ! The foot was not an issue at all, in fact it just didn’t come to my mind whilst running. To put this in perspective – other than Vitruvian the two runs I’ve done in the past 3 days are my longest runs since my surgery. What I’m really starting to think about now is how good I can get my running for Busselton. This race in a week is really about enjoying the experience and just being happy and proud to be able to be taking part despite whats happened.

The photo is a poor representation of the sunset that accompanied this evenings dinner in Bongo Bills.

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Queen K Battering

Posted on October 3, 2009 by lord_lordy

QueenKBattering.jpg

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