OMM 2008

Posted on October 29, 2008 by lord_lordy

OMM“Flood-hit peaks ‘could have become morgues’” – a headline from The Metro earlier this week following the amazing conditions for the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM formally the KIMM). Notice the headline “could have become” – no they were not morgues. In fact once the stupid panic on saturday night – well panic in the media, I’m sure it wasn’t by competitors and organisers – was over and the dust settled it turned out that the vast majority of the competitors made it back safely. They did what was expected and what is the major safety aspect of these races and just hunkered down with their partner either in their tents or at some other shelter. The final numbers being rescued and treated was probably not much different from what would be expected of an event that size. Now people that don’t understand whats involved are requiring all this legal crap. Nanny state biting again. Of course, a headline “Runners show skills and guts in surviving Flood Hit peaks” would just not satisfy the media. Much prefer the negative what could have been rather than the positive of what actually happened. Next we’ll be getting headlines like “Could Have Been a Mass Pileup on the M1” … then the content of the story states no accidents on the M1 but there could have been had not all the drivers been so careful !

Jo and I were this close (imagine thumb and forefinger very close together) to entering the race OMM this year. I’ve done it before just after Hawaii (back in 2005) and my partner then, Matt, had one of his most fun races largely because I was pretty tired so he got to do all the navigation. Jo and I decided it would be sensible not to enter so I could recover … Must admit I’m rather gutted we didn’t do it – those conditions would have been quite an experience.

The photo above is of John and I about to start the second day of the Saunders Mountain Marathon in the Kirkfell Class. We were in 2nd place and managed to maintain that position. The first day was spent in cloud and allowed all the competitors to demonstrate their navigational skills.

That was abit of sidetrack from the topic of this blog – my training. Well since returning from Hawaii my training has been pretty adhoc. Very little running, a couple of rides and some swim sessions. I’m flying in the pool. On Monday morning the main set was 8 x 400m – my times were 5:22, 5:20, 5:17, 5:14, 5:17, 5:29, 5:22, 5:24. Considering at the start of the year my 400m TT was 5:19 I’m pretty pleased with where I’m at. The aim is to maintain this for the next few weeks and then build on it. The rest of my time has been spent sorting out my flat. It’s been incredibly therapeutic sorting things out – putting stuff on eBay, taking to the charity shop and using Freecycle.org. The latter was a revelation – a awesome way to recycle things you don’t need. Amazing how many people come up with great uses for things like old climbing ropes !

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Hawaiian Sunset

Posted on October 17, 2008 by lord_lordy

HawaiianSunsetAnother Hawaii adventure is coming to an end. I’ve spent 9 weeks in Hawaii over the past 3 years and only now have I found that awesome beach I was sure were ten a dozen out here. The shot above was taken late afternoon today. More or less our last day in Hawaii. Tomorrow we head to Kona for one night and then home. I’m here playing with my two nephews and it sums up the trip really. Last year when my sister Jane realised she wouldn’t be able to see the race because she was pregnant with Isaiah I said she would have to come along in 2009 when Jo and I had planned to return to try and nail this race (we still plan to). Jane pointed out she wouldn’t be able to as Jude would be in school. At that point I agreed to try and qualify for this year so we all could have a final Hawaiian holiday. Thats what prompted the New Zealand entry. Yes this whole year was based around getting a final family holiday with my sister, mum and nephews.

At the time I thought that it would give me a chance to try some things out ahead of the 2009 race. I knew that Wisconsin was the A race of the season as that was the key to Jo and my plans. Get qualified early so all of 2009 could be focussed on Kona. Though I felt I was re-focussing on Kona when I entered New Zealand and Lanzarote for next year, in practise I think that was just paying lip service. In Wisconsin I gave it my all and as I said in the last entry I ended up plain tired for Kona. I did try some new things out – different bike training in the summer. I feel that was very worthwhile and though I will continue to mull it over I imagine that will be part of my push next summer. In the race at Kona I learnt a few things – I can do this swim well, I can go off at the start, not balls out, just enough to keep near the front line. I went easy at the start of the bike which I think helped me settle and allow better nutrition on the bike. However, once I hit the Queen K I reckon I need to consciously start to push the bike. This year I settled at too low an intensity. As for the run, I’ve had enough good and bad runs now to come to a conclusion – I need to get big mileage in during the period to about 3-4 weeks before the race then taper the run from there. This, of course, is not possible for the second race of two in close succession … next year I will ensure I do this for Kona.

The biggest disappointment for me is that I so wanted to give my family a great race as they’ve always been my biggest supporters and come along to most of my Ironman races. The last thing I wanted them to endure was the worry they went through knowing how bad I was feeling as I headed out towards the Queen K. A good performance next year will leave me slightly disappointed that they were not there to see it, in the same way I was disappointed they were not there ( in fact there were no supporters) when I raced The Longest Day.

Back here … Jude asked me if I was the world champion. I said “ I wish but no”. He said “You are the world champion”. What do I care about my performance when my little nephew views me as the best in the world. Lets face it by this time next week most of the other “pre schoolers” in his nursery will think I’m the world champion as well !!

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Kauai Recuperation

Posted on October 16, 2008 by lord_lordy

KauaiGetting my first week of complete rest following the race by chilling out on Kauai one of the most Northern of the Hawaiian Islands. This is an amazing island – being the oldest the elements have had a chance to carve the shield volcano into amazing, ridges, mountains, cliffs and canyons. Nature has had time to densely vegetate the island. The combination gives gorgeous beaches with a backdrop of jungle, mountains, jaw dropping ridges and awe inspiring sea cliffs. Today we relaxed at the most amazing beach at the end of the road before the Na Pali coast. I played in the water with my two nephews and I felt like I was recuperating. We’ve landed on our feet here with a lovely apartment. The photo above was taken from out little patio area at about 7am this morning !

As seems to always be the case with me following Kona I’ve been making ambitious pacts with myself about how dedicated I will be for next year ! An earlier post about how to bottle this feeling is so relevant. My enthusiasm to do everything right is massive right now … but how do you maintain this feeling through a long season. I’m sure this is an issue for the vast majority of Ironmen. Like so many things – you initially feel that the problem is unique to you. You feel this despite the fact that any logical thought would conclude it’s incredibly unlikely you are so special that you’re the only one suffering from this. There are things that I struggle with and over the past year I’ve talked about it with other people training for Ironman and most suffer similarly. Perhaps there’s a website idea there … some forum where you can raise your concerns / issues and hopefully find vast numbers of fellow sufferers to provide a sympathetic ear.

I’m getting sidetracked..

I’ve been thinking about what went wrong on race day. Swim – cannot complain about it at all. My aim from last year was to be down at 55 minutes. I’ve put in consistent training and got there. Not only that but I’ve learnt to deal with the swim start well. I have confidence now and the start at Kona was fast and rough but I handled it well. The exciting thing now is I feel I can get faster !! Next year the aim is 53 minutes … though based on this year that would involve breaking clear of the lead age group pack. How exciting would that be!

Biking… this is really hard to assess. This summer I trained vastly differently from before doing the hardest bike sessions I’ve ever done. In Wisconsin I biked strongly throughout but here I was more conservative and still felt pretty tired at the end. Not sure I coped with the conditions as well as others. Certainly the best I’ve felt on the bike (Lanza 07) was off the back of consistent volume based training.

The run … This is the first time I’ve been in the last 5 miles of the bike and felt I just don’t want to run. I can remember thinking … if this was a training session I would knock the brick on the head. That maybe a lesson right there … during this next year I MUST NOT knock Bricks on the head just because of this feeling. This was in stark contrast to Wisconsin where I was desperate to start the run, so desperate that I dashed through T2 nailing the fastest T2 in the process (any excuse to remember that!). Comparing to two years ago when I was running fast without trying. Sub 36 minutes 10k in Olympic and 3:08 marathon at Longest day – the big difference is I was 20lbs lighter! This is something I find myself harping back to and it’s definitely a long term thing I need to address for super fast times BUT it does not explain the performance here compared to Wisconsin – my weight was more or less the same.

Jo sent me an excellent email following the race pointing out the season I’ve had. It started more or less 11 months ago with training for Ironman New Zealand. This was followed fairly promptly by; Mid Wales Ultra, Epic Italy, Ironman Germany, Wensleydale Tri (middle distance), Ironman Wisconsin and then Kona. It’s alot of racing. I’ve always considered myself well able to recover and do tonnes of endurance stuff but perhaps I have to accept I’m getting older and the recovery is not so quick. Certainly following Wisconsin I was hoping to be back into training in 7 – 10 days, it took 3 weeks. This left about 10 days of aerobic training before easing off for the race. Though I felt things were coming together the fact of the matter is I’d done no long running since about 7 weeks before Kona.

Lets face it, once I hit the run here I was plain and simply tired. The season had been long with some balls out efforts and when I came to running this marathon there was simply no juice left. I quickly found myself imagining I was on one of those long fell runs with Alan where my legs were toast and we were still hours from home. In those circumstances  there was no option to quit (unlike in an Ironman) – I imagined I was in the same situation and thus I had no option of quitting, just plod along and get it over as quick as you can. It’s funny thinking back, I remembered reading a race report from someone that said it hurts just the same to run fast or slow. I remembered this on the Queen K and felt I should give it a try. I picked up my pace for about half a mile before concluding it was a lot more uncomfortable running that fast. It made me chuckle (inside). I enjoyed it and was proud to finish my 3rd Ironman World Champs. It helped to know I’d be coming back next year to put things right.

Now I’m being brought back to earth by my two nephews. One is 11 months and just learning to walk. The other nearly 4 and just learnt to swim. Both non stop dynamos. The older was running backwards and forwards along the beach and had a group of Americans cheering him on and saying “looking good”. He would reply “Thankyou”. As he said to me “’I’m an Ironman”. It’s great … he doesn’t care his uncle had a bad race, he doesn’t even realise he just thought it was cool to shout “ Looking strong athletes”. Yes, it’s been another awesome experience.

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Finding My Limits

Posted on October 12, 2008 by lord_lordy

FindingMyLimitsHere’s Paul and I chilling at the side of Alii drive watching the final finishers come in. Jane befriended a couple of local ladies with these awesome chairs. They went off to their car to get these extra chairs for us.

Race Report here.

Yesterdays race was a battle. I can come up with alsorts of reasons why I just couldn’t run fast …. the experimental period between the two races didn’t work, I pushed too hard in the tough cycle conditions. That, however, would be ignoring the ‘Elephant in the room’. I was just not recovered from Wisconsin, I was plain and simple tired. The reasons why I can’t recover for another race so close may be just the simple fact I’m nearly 40 and need to be more careful about recover. I’ll certainly think long and hard before trying two Ironman races so close again.

I do endurance things to see how far I can go. This lead me to Ironman. When you perform well you can argue you’re not testing your limits for that day. It’s when you melt down u’ve hit your limit and can learn something. Yesterday I used up all my juice by the end of the bike. Unfortunately I didn’t realise this till I was approaching T2. My legs worked for about 20 minutes of the run then there was an almost instant drop off of 90 seconds per mile. The rest was a case of mind over matter. It was hard but if I can apply that mental approach to keep pushing hard when I’m running well it could be a great help towards the sort of run splits I’d like to be doing.

All that said I had a fun day yesterday and there is no doubt this is the most amazing Ironman experience. I seem to have sussed out how to qualify for Kona now I need to suss out how to do well at it. Pretty quick as well as the goal is sub 9:30 next year !! Just need to find an hour ;o). This course really has a sting to it. On paper it looks quick but the weather is what stuffs you. Yesterday the swim was really choppy … fastest pro time was 48 which has to be a couple of minutes down on normal. We were treated to harsh bike conditions – we had the infamous Kona winds. I was quite pleased to be honest that finally I race in the gusting, nerve wrecking side winds and had a horrible head wind for the final section on the Queen K. The run conditions were excellent – cloud cover and relatively cool. Shame I didn’t have the legs to make the most of it.

Last night we watched the final finishers coming in. We sat for most of the time with this two local ladies how had these great reclining chairs with holes for beer cans in the arms. They went to their car to get some more chairs. Loads of people took photos of Paul and I sat their with our finishers t-shirts and medals cheering in the last finishers. We’d been to Splashers for beers and food – nice big burger. Then for Volcano Ice Cream. Paul and I went to the finish line to watch the last half hour of finishers. About half a dozen finished in the last 10 minutes … one on about 16:58:30 and the final one came in 4 minutes late. The crowd was awesome with everyone shouting “You are an Ironman!” to each final finisher.

This morning got up and swam with Toby and Paul. Nice easy swim. We met Roger and Mary in splashers for monster breakie. Then to the expo for finishers gear before heading out for 20 minutes on the bike. Packed the bike so I can now chill out with Jane and everyone to celebrate her birthday.

It’s been an awesome trip. Really made great by meeting Paul and Toby and having Roger along. It makes all the different having people here you know and hang out with. I think I’m hooked on Kona and pleased to know I’ll be coming back. Will spend my down time thinking about how I can be properly prepared for the race next year.

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Ironman World Championship, Kona 2008

Posted on October 11, 2008 by lord_lordy 
Time: 10:31:50
Swim: 55:29
T1: 2:34
Bike:5:29:49
T2: 3:30
Run: 4:00:28

Race Analysis here.

Since I was staying in a hotel right near the race start I went down to body marking more or less as soon as it started. Left the hotel at 4:45am and was back by 5:10am ! Bike was ok. Loaded up food, water, talc in shoes, checked tyres, set gear, place pedals at right angle and reset computer. Relaxed for an hour in my room listening to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service by The Propellerheads since Jo had said this in her good luck mail. Also Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode – love this tune and ever since they used it for the DVD of Ironman Lanzarote it’s proved quite inspirational for me.

Got down to the pier early for the swim as didn’t want  the panic of last year to get on the front line. Saw Douglas and had a brief chat – he was in a great mood saying how he loved this ! Got down onto the beach and found Paul. He had a bottle of water which was good. Great being down there for the singing of the national anthem. The Pro’s start within seconds of it finishing which was immediately followed by all the age groupers piling in almost like it was the start.

Muscled my way onto the front line. Could tell it was going to be rougher than last year by just how hard it was for maintain my position, so many people wanted to be on the front line. At one point some old guy shoulders between Paul and I so Paul says “you gonna swim lows 50s then ?” the guy looked sheepish and said “Good Point” to which Paul said ” If u stay behind us we’ll be out of your way very quickly” …surely people realised that if you’re not aiming for 55 minutes or below on this swim they should not be on the front line … guess not.

Gun goes. It’s always a shock. Lose Paul immediately in the churned up water. Do half a dozen strokes water polo style, get my ankle pulled twice, spot clear water one person over and move into it. Get into a good long stroke and am maintaining my position, not red lining but controlled. Very pleased. Wonder how long this clear water will last till I get smashed between the groups either side. After a few minutes I can see two guys breaking clear (they went on to do the fastest splits of everyone including the Pros! 47:01 and 47:02) and I’m more or less in line with the leaders to the left, push to get my nose ahead to avoid a nightmare when the two groups come together. Every so often I would look back as I breathed… it was pretty motivational – kept feeling we must have gapped the field by now. But no, masses still there to swamp me if I slowed. After about 15 minutes it settles down – loads of people everywhere but all have the space they need,. I settle into a steady pace managing to bilateral breath for chunks of it. Good sign I’m not over doing the pace.

I swim to the left of the front group of age groupers. They swim direct to each buoy and then veer off. I decide to sight along the line of buoys and go from swimming on my own to being in the pack at each buoy. The conditions are tough on the way out with pretty bad chop and a current against . Once we turned it got a lot better. I worked my way into the centre of the pack and the draft was awesome until with about 500m to go we catch a trailing group of pros and all hell is let lose in the pack. People veering, swimming over. Very aggressive, the worst of the race, I’ve got rather large scratch across the top of my left arm to prove it. I ended up swimming over two people to get out left into clear water. It was insane, the whole pack slowed down because everyone started getting in each others way.

Out in 55 minutes something, very pleased, it was bang on target.

As I’d thought getting out in this time made the loops on the bike course through town alot nicer as the field was so much thinner. I was consciously not pushing too hard early on.Took it “easy” up Palani, using the same approach as Wisconsin. I had tonnes of people going by me. Boy there are some strong cyclists.

The first part along the Queen K was super fast but towards the end of it we were hit by some strong cross winds. Then the final section to Hawi was really hard. Very strong winds gusting across and hitting us in the face. It was slow. I was being good about my nutrition and getting loads of fluid and taking on salt tablets. Had an unfortunate moment when I didn’t realised I’d grabbed a salt tablet along with food and bit the capsule in half flooding my mouth with salts ! yuck. Coming back down from Hawi was super fast but the cross winds made it pretty hairy. Had a very close call when a gust hit when I was getting some water so only had one had on the tri bars. Once back on the Queen K we now had a head wind here as well. Made for a tough last 30 miles. I felt I had a solid ride for 5:30 given the conditions.

Unfortunately as I mentally prepared for T2 and  the marathon I knew I was drained as I just couldn’t face it. I didn’t want to run. I already had the inkling this may not be pretty.

Out on the run was planning on going easy till I got on the Queen K, I thought I was and hit the first mile in 7:20. It was at this point I saw Mum and Jane first and I was running well. This continued for a grand total of 2 more miles and then it just felt like someone injected my quads with deadness. Tried to gain a rhythm and had brief periods throughout the course where this happened but they were fleeting.

At the Ali’i turnaround I saw Roger coming towards me – he looked so light on his feet and was flying. At that time he was on for sub 3 hours, he slowed a little for 3:09.

As I approached Palani I was battling mentally. I saw mum and Jane again – they are great supporters and I was more or less in tears when I passed them. They are proud of me whatever but I don’t want them to suffer seeing me in such a bad state.  Then I hit the QUeen K … so hard. Focusing on half way. Think this was a mistake cause when I got to the 14 mile marker something inside flipped and I slowed dramatically – could I face 12 more miles. I’d run all the way but had to walk through that aid station to sort my head out. From there I ran the whole way home. I continued taking my mile splits and it got to the point I was pleased when I saw splits below 10 minutes… thats a serious shuffle.

Bizarrely enough I quite enjoyed it. The toughest mental battle to keep going but unlike Germany this was due to my legs just not working how I’d liked so it was a positive to keep going. Also it was pretty apparent that I was not going to get a good time quite early on so I quickly focussed on limiting the damage.

The final descent of Palani was so hard on the quads, Jane had realised I was suffering and come up there to give unexpected support.  The loop round to Ali’i felt like far longer than the half mile it is. Once on Alii you realise why you do this and why it’s worth it despite the time. These events are about testing your limits and it’s races like this where you find them. My body was screaming for me to stop. My central governor  had to be over ridden by my mind for three and a half hours. If I can use that mental toughness to push my body when it is in shape to run then the good run splits will come.

Jane and Jude had managed to dash round and get on Alii to see me. A sign of how slow I was !! They handed me the Tri London flag, I was unsure about waving it as I crossed the line but decided it was worth the risk as with my finishing time I don’t imagine it’s a finishers photo I’ll be displaying much!

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T Minus 1

Posted on October 10, 2008 by lord_lordy

TMinus1.jpgFinal day before the off. I like the day before the race. Other than nerves at the very start and end of the day I tend to feel relaxed. I especially like the period between handing in your bike / transition bags and going to sleep. There is nothing to worry about as all your stuff is now set up for the race. Abit like the relaxing feeling you get once your luggage is checked in at an airport.

My free t-shirt count has gone up to 5 plus a couple for my nephews. Luckily I planned on this and came out with only a couple of t-shirts. This year I got my Cervelo shirt for being a Cervelo rider – very nice it is too. I think my nephews will be pleased when I give them each smaller versions of the same shirt to wear. I think Cervelo’s aim, based on the number of kids / baby t-shirts they had, is to have every child from age 1 month to about 12 wearing a Cervelo T-shirt.

Funny incident as I did a final test ride on the bike. Coming along Alii drive I had to come walk my bike – just behind some americans. They said they liked my wheels. Then said I looked fast. I said “Unfortunately looking fast is only half of it. You have to be fast and thats harder to do” … the american then said “We like this guy!”

Swam this morning again. It was swamped. Short easy swim with Paul to the Coffees Of Hawaii boat. Quite sensibly they are moving the boat closer to shore each day. As we swam out we did a large arc and it was clear some guy was just following us thinking we were sighting properly. When we stopped at the boat he looked up, realised he was way off course, turned through about ninety degrees and continued on. Then swam with Jane – even shorter and easier. Think she was quite surprised at how hard swimming in the sea was. Another chilled out breakfast at Splashers. John and Joan Collins (the originators of the Ironman) came in and the owner kindly introduced them to everyone. I hung out with my family, Roger and his wife, Mary initially and then as they left Toby arrived so I chilled for abit longer with him and Mark Booth plus his support crew.

Toby and I headed down to rack. Got another nice M-dot sticker on my bike. I’m proudly displaying two on my P3C now but you see some bikes with half a dozen or more ! It’s so well organised – you get a volunteer to walk you round transition and explain it all to you. This  year they made everyone leave their helmet on the bike – it was amazing looking round I reckon 75% of bikes had full on aero helmets on them. Made by old style Luis Garneau aero helmet look incredibly dated.

We headed for a coffee before getting about an hours rest and then heading to meet my family, Roger, Mary and Paul for some dinner at Bongo Bens Cafe. Excellent Cobb Salad – thoroughly enjoyed it despite the nerves really starting to kick in.

How am I feeling. Difficult to judge. Pretty darn nervous which I think tends to be a good sign. Not as well prepared as I’d hoped I’d be this time this year after last years race (if u see what I mean) but reckon that will always be the case. Feel recovered from Wisconsin and ready to race. Determined to get on the front line of the swim and try to get in a fast pack. On both the bike and run the aim is to keep calm early on and not over do it, I want to feel strong towards the end of each discipline.

Nearly time for bed. My bib number is #1100 if u want to track on Ironman Live. Good chance I’ll managed an update tomorrow night as normally I really can’t sleep after a race.

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How Can You Bottle This?

Posted on October 10, 2008 by lord_lordy

BottleThisTodays picture is from Saturday – Roger and I at the nice little coffee shop at the turnaround in Hawi. I’m thoroughly enjoying my iced latte. It’s worth getting out well before the race so you feel able to ride all the way to the turnaround (it’s 106 miles from the pier there and back). Worth it not only to experience the section of the course to Hawi (most of the cross winds and most of the climbing are found here) but also because Hawi is a nice place to chill out.

The title of the post is something I’ve been thinking these past two weeks and certainly something I thought last year but didn’t work out how. The atmosphere is so great here I keep promising myself that I will be better prepared for the next one. Then when u get in the middle of your big training you don’t remember this feeling and it’s that much harder to keep motivated to train hard and consistently. I’ve spent some time trying to anchor this feeling hoping perhaps that will help keep motivated through the next year. If only I could bottle the feeling and atmosphere out here so I could splash a little on when I’m thinking of skipping a session or shortening one.

Just back from the opening banquet. The food was pretty nice, the speeches not too long and some good videos. It made me excited and nervous about the race. I almost envy the really bad swimmers that don’t have to worry about the swim start, just stand on the beach and get going at the back. Thats what always worries me most, in fact it’s the only thing that makes me nervous about the race. I guess its physical, it’s confrontational, it’s where others can really impact on your race and also where tactics and skill can play a part – getting in the right group, placing yourself well on the start line, metering out your effort just right at the start to steer clear of those behind but not completely busting a gut. This start will be a little different as Paul and I have talked about lining up together … assuming we manage that it will be interesting to see if a) that calms me immediately before the start and b) we can actually stay close together and get into the same pack. The swim director said when you see red flags being waved on the pier the start is imminent and there will be no further warning. This immediately gave me butterflies. Thats when you are all tensed to go and just want the off. It’s the worst moment… like the cold before the dawn, the calm before the storm.

During this evening as I fall asleep, tomorrow morning as I wake (though I must get up immediately as I just get nervous layed in bed) and throughout tomorrow I will visualize the swim start and mentally rehearse what I will do and how I will feel.

My last few days have been pretty easy and relaxed:

Tuesday: 2k swim, 1 hour bike, 25 min run (as a BRICK)

Wednesday: 2k swim

Today: 2k Swim, 25 mile bike, 1 mile run (as a BRICK)

I’m feeling reasonably prepared and definitely fully recovered from Wisconsin though not as prepared as I’d promised myself I’d be when I was out here last year. Thats what’s rather prompted the entry as I’m promising myself to be in better shape next year but how to keep that motivation throughout the period from now till then.

Bringing all this back down to earth was a little moment on the swim this morning. It was mayhem – so many people swimming that the Gatorade Bag Drop ran out of bags ! Anyway, I took a very wide line to the halfway buoy and managed to swim more or less solo. Coming back, in pretty deep water, I saw a turtle below me. I was all alone. I stopped to watch it and it gently swam up right below me, close enough that if I’d extended my arm I’d have touched it. It then swam just a few feet in front of me and just as it came to the surface I raised my head to see it’s neck and head come above the water take a big breath and the go back down making a beeline for the depths. It was magical.

My aim is to update tomorrow night with my feelings immediately pre race !

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Riding With A Hero

Posted on October 9, 2008 by lord_lordy

RidingWithAHeroTodays photo is of me and my nephew Jude in Kona. I’m sporting my Art Of Tri t-shirt that I won for my fastest transition at Ironman Wisconsin. It’s made of organic cotton and I’m generally rather skeptical about such things and would perhaps pay for organic on the grounds it’s better for the planet but would never believe  it would actual be a better material. WELL… I am seriously impressed with how nice this Organic Cotton is.  Really light and comfortable. The designs are cool as well – Triathlon related but not in your face so. My sister like it so much she bought one for David.

Meeting the stars of Triathlon is becoming so last week ;o) Seems Norman Stadler is always in the showers after the swim …  he’s spoiling it for us, if he’s always there then it’s no longer special. This build up is great. I can’t get enough of it. Just back from The Parade Of Nations. Unlike last year I reckon more or less every Brit was at the parade and the majority were wearing the t-shirts supplied by IM UK. The guy from IMUK confirmed that the venue will change and it should be announced in a couple of weeks. Said it will still be very british ! He also said it will be the weekend of Aug 8/9th. With a change of venue I’d be interested in doing it again and I know it’s a race Jo is keen on doing… so you never know, 4 Ironman this year seems to have worked … so squeeze that baby in before Kona next year and Busselton after would make it a 5 Ironman year. Don’t worry … this is pre Kona euphoria talking.

Feeling like the preparations are coming together. Finally starting to feel ok running. On Sunday I swam the full course with Toby Felt strong, 38 minutes out and 28 minutes back … there’s clearly a current. I’m very lucky here both Paul and Toby are the same pace as me swimming so every morning I have at least one if not two people to swim with. Now Toby is here I’ve someone to ride with as well. He’s strong on the bike and it’s noticeable up the rollers and when the headwinds pick up but we’re similar enough that it’s a good ride together. I’m sorting him out on the downhills especially if it’s windy … though I reckon thats just cause I’ve had more time to get used to some of these heart in the mouth cross winds.

So Sunday… after another long and relaxed breakie in Splashers with Toby and Roger we all headed out on the bike along the Queen K. Toby and I turned back after 15 miles. I ran 7.5 miles off the bike up to Jane and Mums hotel. I finally felt like I was running with a purpose and pushed it for a while before my brain got the better of me and I sensibly eased off. Toby told me that just cause you feel good doesn’t mean you have to test it. He’s so right, feeling good now should be savoured and give you confidence for Saturday.

Chilled out with Jane and the boys at their hotel. I went down the chute god knows how many times with Jude. Jo told me off about doing such things in race week. She’s quite right, would Macca be messing about like that !

I stayed over at their hotel (I’m checked in to mums room and have a key so have the luxury of a choice of hotel!) and ran back for the 7am swim. My legs ached first thing but once I got going I felt good running again. Met Paul at the swim start (just) and did the full course with him again. This time we went super quick and with a break at halfway managed to do the course in 61 minutes swim time. Well pleased. Then out on the bike with Toby – we rode the Queen K to the little shop at the Hawi turnoff. This was a 70 mile round trip. Went out in 1h38 and back 1h54 didn’t feel too taxing so really happy. We were both heading out wearing out Epic Camp gear and Tara Norton (a fellow Epic Camper) came up along side and chatted (Toby was on the same camp as her). She was looking pretty fit and said she felt she was ready for the race and would go well. She’d read Jo’s and my race reports on Wisconsin and commented on how well Jo’s season had gone. We chatted about preps for this race and I said how I was doing heavier training than normal. She said that she’d done a pretty heavy week last week and people were very different in what they need to do. It was nice to get reassurance from such a experienced independent source.

Today was another swim. Sticking to my guns about swimming every day. After yesterdays training I was feeling good and have decided it’s now time to ease off and just do steady stuff into the race. I swam half course with Paul. We stopped on the way back at the Coffees Of Hawaii boat for an expresso. I’m the guy swimming towards the camera in this photo. Scott was on the boat serving up coffee. He commented he like my tan, I said it was very british and the folks back home would love it. It got a laugh.

A very long breakie at Splashers with Toby and Roger followed before I headed out for an hour bike, 20 min run brick. On the way to the Queen K I noticed a large group all in Specialized gear. I thought this would a good pack to ride with. When I caught them I saw Peter Reid with them. Now this is an Ironman I’ve always warmed to and thought how cool. I felt though that they were probably a group that had paid to be out training with him so I just hung right at the back and did not intrude. After a while Peter eased off and let them go by, I thought to check everyone was ok. He pulled alongside me and I said “I’m just hanging off the back of your peleton” and he told me he was just hanging with them as well. We cycled the next 10 minutes chatting away before (and I”m very proud of myself for this) my half hour riding out was up and I thanked Peter and said I had to turn round. He wished me luck ! I was chuffed to bits. Ran off the bike for 25 minutes – good sold pace.

After all of this I went to register and who was beside me filling in the USAT form … none other than Chrissie Wellington. She had no cash and had had to blag 10 bucks from someone for the day license. I asked if she was ready to go. She said she’s always ready.

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Espresso In The Pacific

Posted on October 8, 2008 by lord_lordy

ExpressoPacificAnother entry hot on the heels of the last one. Todays picture is me in the parade last night. The parade is pretty good fun as parades go … largely because it’s not too long, it’s pretty informal and there’s rather a party atmosphere.

This mornings swim was just awesome and really sums up what makes the build up to this race so good. There are now literally hundreds of people down for the swim start. At the times the beach is completed covered with triathletes. I swam out to the halfway buoy with Paul and Toby, both in their Blue Seventy suits… I had to work a little harder to stay with them today and for once they were either “half wheeling” me or I was just sitting in. We turned to head for the Coffees of Hawaii boat and on the way saw loads of dolphins. Initially just a couple then had a whole pod, including babies swim underneath us.

Arriving at the boat we could see spinner dolphins putting on a show just 50 yards away. We got served our coffee from Scott (Molina) again. I bumped into Randy, an Epic Italy vet and we caught up. Imagine the scene, lazing in the Pacific, catching up with a friend whilst sipping a lovely Expresso with spinner dolphins jumping in the background. Then it was all rounded off when Paula Newby-Fraser and Heather Fuhr cruised by looking incredible Hawaiin standing up on their surf boards and paddling with a single paddle.

Rest of today is rest and chilling. Afternoon in the pool with Jane and my nephews then we’re all heading for an Epic Camp reunion late afternoon.

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Hanging With The Stars

Posted on October 4, 2008 by lord_lordy

HanginWithTheStars.jpgAllowing for a little poetic license the hanging with the star(fest) has started. Seeing so many of the top Ironmen hanging out is one of the things that makes the build up to this race so awesome. Here’s my tally over the past day or so

  • Breakfast with Norman (Stadler) in Lava Java
  • Cycled by Tara Norton as she was running along the Queen K
  • Dinner with Mark (Allen) in Lava Java
  • Swim with Tina (Bowman); and capping it off with style
  • Shower with Natasha (Badman) !!

Been cracking on with steady state training and acclimatization. Yesterday morning I swam with Paul to the halfway buoy doing a few bursts at race pace. Then coming back Paul started off from the buoy like it was the start of the race. This was great practise for me as he’s pretty quick off the mark (he’s had his 1500m time as low as 17.30) and I tried to jump on his feet and stay with him. I managed it !

Roger has arrived so we all went and had a very relaxed breakie in Lava Java. My plan was to ride to Hawi. Roger and Paul had a car and were going to drive so far and cycle the rest. This motivated me to get moving. I think I’d covered the best part of 20 miles before they passed me in the car. I then motored on and managed to get to Hawi before them and was sat chilling with an iced latte when they arrived. The winds were there but not cross winds, more in your face so not too hairy. Coming back down from Hawi with the tailwind was awesome. Strangely enough I got back  here in exactly 5h40 ride time which is identical to what I did the other day.

This morning I swam on my own. Half course is 31 minutes. Feel like I’m getting strong as that felt very easy and it’s was pretty choppy this morning. Roger did the full course but got lost on the way and took 90 minutes ! I’d almost gave up hope. Bumped into Douglas (from Epic Camp) and had a natter. No Paul this morning as he was spending the day with a mate on a boat tagging Tiger Sharks ! They track them and apparently yesterday late afternoon one cruised across the bay !

I relaxed for most of the morning and finished off building a training planner spreadsheet. Yes … thats what I do to relax. I wanted to start planning next year but had left my planner spreadsheet on the computer at home so I decided to build another. This one is simpler and I’ve decided to make it available for download. Feel free to use it and let me know what you think. This is a first version so I may do updates shortly.

At noon I headed out on the bike to ride the Queen K and back. Very strong winds today but tail / head wind rather than the horrible cross winds. Did a 4 hour ride and felt ok. It’s noticeable that I don’t feel anywhere near as strong as last year on the bike. I remember training with John on the Queen K last year and just wanting to put the hammer down and feeling great doing it. I’ve done significantly less mileage this year, we’re talking to this point over 100 miles less per week !! However, last year I did nothing like the quality of sessions I did this summer. Fingers crossed that on the day I’ll feel alot better than last year.

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