Older but not wiser

Visiting the dark places

2012-01-20T10:05:00.000+13:00

Summer is finally here, and training 6 weeks out of race day is like a triathlete’s paradise: plenty to do, plenty to organize, lots to eat, lots of rest and you can forget about house works for a month or so. I am blessed with the best wife in the world, which makes things even easier. A few days ago I left for a swim, then work, then ride and then we met at the pool for a second swim, chillax and catching up.

On another subject, I often chatted to buddies training for long distance triathlons that every now and then they’ve been to a dark place while training. The reasons were many, the cold, the wind, the climbs, the intensity of the interval, the minimalist rest periods, the pace, the hunger, the thirst.

On 4 years training quite formally (over 8hr week), I’ve experienced most of the above symptoms at some point or another, however I’ve never thought of it as been in a dark place.

But all of a sudden IM training came along and I discovered a new meaning for dark place. It is that point where there are more reasons not to keep going than there are to keep going. Pain, heat, tiredeness, the elements but more importantly, the confidence that we’re more than ready already and changing or skipping one session is OK, and the same for the next day and the following.

This latter is the greatest of the dark places, because you cannot tell you’re there and you think you’re doing the smart thing. It is like radiation. You don’t see it or feel it, but it is there, and is very dangerous indeed. As the famous line from the usual suspects goes: the biggest trick the devil pulled is to convince the world he did not exist.

I had to pull myself out of that one a couple of times over the last month. Having someone with experience to talk, or calling the coach makes a difference, and changes the whole outlook.

More importantly, though, I am keen to hear from you and learn a bit more about this. What’s the darkest places you been in for endurance training?

gear review - K-Swiss K-Ona

2012-01-07T13:38:00.000+13:00

The K-Ona is advertised to be a multi-use shoe and not only a lightweight trainer. I bought them with the idea of using is as a racing shoe for half marathons or more.
The Looks:
the shoes are a nice piece of work, good finishing and a mighty look. They have IRONMAN written on the side, which is not of my liking, but they look quite racey.
The size:
When I bought the shoes I did not know much about how the sizing worked out on KSwiss and I ended up with shoes that are a tad too big. This is not great for two reasons, the first one is that my feet travel .5cm at sone stages, creating the potential for blisters. The second reason is that bigger shoes don't grab my feet as well as the perfect size, and my stride does not benefit fully from that.
The pros:
These shoes are like a feather, wearing them for longer (over 2 hours) runs I noticed the weight not becoming an issue, allowing me to keep good form.
Besides the light weight, they provide a great deal of mid-foot support and the material has gone over 200km of running with minimal wear.

Another test is the ability to go off road, in the few ocasions that I did take the shoes for a light off road run (park, mud, no roots, a bit of gravel) they stood very well.

The Cons:
Sizing-wise the shoes are on the wide side, so if you're like me, with thinner feet, they're not ideal.
The IM branding on the side. I'm not on for free advertising, but the prize was good and I did make a choice based on my wallet.
Even though the shoes were a bit big for me, the seams were a problem on the upper part of my feet, and the couple of runs I did without socks, the result was not great.

So, not an ideal start for K-Swiss and Valentino. The multi-use shoest turned out to be the plan B trainers. However, with time I started to venture more and more miles into them, and the last 3 hours run in the rain I did I did with my KOnas, and they responded. I am a happy customer.

The reset button

2012-01-02T17:42:00.000+13:00

The holiday is almost gone, I've been enjoying the not-having-to-work-and-not-having-to-plan mood for the last 10 days and it was great.

Every now and then I need to reboot and these days have been great at that. It was a rather uneventful Xmas break, but it did the job (I think) of cutting up the long IM training calendar. It would have been great to have the tramping trip done, but the weather gods weren't playing for us this year. In any case, it was all about attitude and I think we had a great one this time around.

Training was aided by a very lazy routine and lots of stretching and keeping a healthy diet (maxed out at 2 glasses of wine). All in all there was a couple of good days and a couple of days were character building sessions.

The ability to set oneself up again is not as easy as it sounds. There is the peril of going too much off the path and taking a lot to come back (typical holiday piggy out). There is also a matter of timing (can't do too close to a race as re-setting takes a lot of energy). And there's the top 2 inches, re-setting is all about the top 2 inches and if one doesn't have a good network of close allies to talk about stuff, then it may not work at all.

I then got to explore neuromuscular reset literature on the web, if you haven't done it, here's a sampler, but you can do your own homework. All I have to say is that it did spark a bit of curiosity, to the point that this may be my strategy for IM. I shall carry on reading, and check with coach, but I reckon there's something to it.

Then it was Resolutions time, and this year I kept it to the minimum. There's three races that matter and they are IM, Sprint Worlds and a half in Argentina. Then it will be a matter of slowly going off road. That's all.

I wish you all a great 2012 and see you at the races

The glory box and the experience box

2011-12-20T09:14:00.000+13:00

For most of us age-groupers it is a given that we will not be chasing podiums in every race we do. However we prepare and target some races for a best possible scenarios such as “I want to be in the top 25%” “I want a top 10 age group finish” or else. If things go right we get what we wanted, and if they’re really OK many of us surprise ourselves and others with a great result. If things go wrong we find plenty of excuses and ways to deal with it.

And we also learn. If I am to classify the races I’ve done I could easily put them on either box. There will be two or three on the glory ones. And a bunch on the experience box. It is certainly an experience to race 10k for the first time and have a stitch the size of my chest and it is a whole new thing to ride a bike with a falling seat. It all tells me something I can improve for next time: be it race preparation or race execution.

Last weekend’s Rotorua half will certainly go in the experience box. It was meant to be a solid race, and on paper I should have had no trouble with race prep or race execution. But I did, and I paid with a sub-par run. Let’s go and see some numbers:

Swim – 28:15 – HRAv 144 HRMx 172

Nothing that you wouldn’t see in other races… a bit of punching here and there but all nice and clean after 500m. I realized I was doing all the work for 6 other people behind me after the 1st lap, so I let them share a bit of the effort for the rest.

Bike 2:40:35 (incl T1 and T2) – HRAv 167 HRMx 173

All of a sudden it started bucketing down like there’s no tomorrow. I got sights on a group of 4 guys ahead of me and would not let them go no matter what. It was testing… but certainly paid off. I was expecting a 2:35:00 or less and I did just that. The rain was a problem for visibility and safety, but I did not realize it would be a problem for later as well.

As a side story, it kept raining for the next 24 hours which was quite a bummer for the post race activities such as pricegiving and trash talking.

Run 1:38:36 – HRAv 155 HRMx 172
I don’t recall how and when, but somewhere after the first couple of k’s I started to feel cold. Not, chilly, not fresh, really cold through the spine and spreading all over the rest of the body. I kept pushing but the ticker would not go any harder. I kept the nutrition regime as per plan and added a few cokes here and there to see if the extra calories would heat me up. Unfortunately they didn’t and although I won’t throw away a sub 1:40 for a half marathon off road run, I was happy it was over. I jumped into the car for a hot bath right after I crossed the line. I was aiming for a 1:25:00 run and to go so much out of the way was a bit hard.

Learnings:

Heat loss by water evaporation takes a lot of energy. I did not feel any signs of it, and I didn’t feel the cold when I was on the bike, but moving onto the run something happened. It will be good to plan for this in case IM is a wet day.

Another one under the belt. That’s 3 years after my first half ironman, and 5 half IM races. Not bad for a beginner. I never quitted and I’ll make sure I never do. These are races to finish.

Now it’s Xmas holiday, so I will enjoy a couple of days off before starting with the schedule for the holiday.

Stay safe

Inspiring names

2011-12-13T18:07:00.000+13:00

I was reading a race report from the Taupo Half ironman and kept thinking that branded races are taking the flare of race naming. From the name of the race I can gather It was a half iron distance triathlon raced in taupo. It could tell me more.

Let's be a bit more clear...the name of a race says a fair bit about it. For example, The Ironman, is quite a descriptive name. But The Half Ironman... mmmm not so much. I mean... it is a full race, why call it half ironman? The alternative of 70.3 is not great either... it is a mere description of the amount of miles you've done, it takes the epic sense away.

Let's draw a parallel, whould you take a train that is called "London/Edingburgh" or would you rather ride "The Flying Scotsman"? I know where I'd put my money.

Naming is not just liking a word to a thing, it is way more than that and race naming should be taken as seriously as race organizing (well... not so much.. but it would be so cool if it happened). The names of the races should be more than a reference to the distance and where it was held... let's hope it gets a bit more creative in the future.

And here's my two cents. I've named the training sessions for my the holiday:

	m	t	w	t	f	s	s
	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
	The great stretcher	The gentlemen’s TT	The final crash	the big easy	The parnell 5 K'yer	Santa’s big ride	the hangover cure
AM	Pool Swim	Off	Off	1 hr run	swim squad 5k	150k ride + Run off	1:30 run
PM	Off	Gents TT	Off	Working at SSS	45min run	OFF	sea swim
	26	27	28	29	30	31	1
	the airporter	the battle of Omaha	The Thorpedo	the west coaster	the top up	The well deserved hike
AM	Ride 3hr + Run off	Trail Run (2.5hr)	Ultra swim (7 to 10km)	180km bike - 45min run off	2:00 run	OFF	OFF
PM	Off	Off	OFF	off	sea swim	OFF	OFF

12 Fridays to IM!

2011-12-09T10:56:00.000+13:00

I guess this is the time when it should start getting really interesting. In the meantime, I have a half next Saturday (predicted 4:35:00) then a week off (completely off for 4 days and then we'll see) and then nothing until February.

In the spirit of this blog I've entered the sprint nationals in February. Not a wise decision but hopefully a rewarding one. At the end of the day, I enjoy the sport, running, swimming, cycling and racing... don't have a favourite distance or one I hate, they're all different in their good and bad aspects.

12 weeks out of race day I can report that I'm tired. I am finishing a couple of hard weeks and entering a taper period. Coaches' observations are that I've been a bit too much keen on keeping up with the fast boys and I should be taking a step back.

but hey!... it's all learning

Go and read this post

2011-12-06T08:02:00.000+13:00

Chrissie Wellington talking about gender and minority sports and more serious matters

http://www.chrissiewellington.org/blog/spoty-a-window-of-opportunity/.

so well said

Race Report – Auckland Triathlon

2011-12-02T15:21:00.000+13:00

4:45am – WOW!... that’s early. Good practice for Ironman. Toast+coffee+banana+a double dose of sports drink in a single bottle.

6:00am – Walking into race HQ, liner coming into the harbour, body marking, get T1 and 2 ready. Did I check tyre pressure? Not.

6:30 – hang around sitting for a while, talk to mates, go for a nice warm up.

7:32 – there’s no swim warm up+walk to pontoon, jump in and pray water is OK. Water is OK!

7:35 – We’re off… surprisingly calm on the first two minutes!.... only a 2 punches and someone grabbing my shouder. Try to keep veering left as there’s a strong current. Where’s the buoy?

7:46 – Now swimming into the wharf, current going the other side, but not many others around? Where am I? is it OK to keep swimming this way? Stop. Watch. Go.

7:57 – Out – run – wettie off – sunnies on – take bike – Go.
8:00 – Head wind… what’s my heart doing? – get feet into shoe – get other feet into shoe. DON’T LOOSE SPEED! – Heead wind
8:03 – Hill – hurts – Mate passess me like I’m standing - He should be still behind for at least 10 more km – Am I going that slow?
8:06 – Steep downhill – pass a few – nice sweeping bend – heartrate back to near normal.
8:33 – OK it was only half an hour ago that I was suffering, but this ain’t that bad… keep it up! – Old man goes by – Catch him, pass him

8:48 – Steep hill going up, mate on the side of the road, high five – more cheers from people, hands off the bar and up to the sky – laugh – Go down fast, sweeping bend.

9:09 – bike off, socks on – Need new racing flats – Gel – go
9:11 – this ain’t working, I used to go fast off the bike, where’s the legs?
9:20 – Long straight, 20 people ahead, pass them all, SOON
9:30 – One more lap, go harder this time
9:44 – this is going to be a long sprint, GO
9:48 – I didn’t even know I could sprint for that long… did I go hard enough on the bike?. FINISH.

What a great race it was, the setting, the people, the massive field. I am already looking forward to the world champs next year.

Racing on the weekend

2011-11-18T15:54:00.000+13:00

About 1100 weekend warriors and a few very keen athletes will be taking on the Auckland waterfront this weekend. I am one of the lucky ones that got an entry and although I am not that serious about it… it is a race, and a race is always about going from start to finish as fast as possible.

What to expect?

Expect a chilly morning, armwarmers will be a common sight. Expect a bit of trouble in the water. We are not allowed to warm up and there will be the odd diesel smell… nothing too worrying, though. A longer-than-normal bike, the course goes through la col de Shore Rd, and la Col de Bastion point. Both are short and sharp and done in less than 2 minutes…it’ll be good to see how much damage they do to the legs.

Who’s racing?

Pretty much everybody and his dog. The race is a qualifier for next year worlds.

How’s the weather?

No one can answer that about Auckland. There will be sun, and a breeze, then rain, the odd crosswind and then some showers and it will be cloudy.

My bet

2:09:45 – a good swim, a decent bike and an average run

Stay tuned for results

Race Report - Pure blonde series race I

2011-11-11T08:11:00.001+13:00

The official start of my racing season. I was not looking forward to Tuesday evening, I told Nat I’d be using a BRAZIL race suit that my mate Ro brought from Beijing World Champs.

The suit is, let’s say, a wee to tight for me. Not quite sure if it is because I’ve grown wider or because it is just not my size, but I managed to wear it with some dignity (note, it is also a bit see through)

(photo coming soon, stay tuned)

Anyway, as for the racing itself, it was good NZ conditions, with choppy seas and grey clouds all over. Nothing too fancy, but nothing too hot either, which is what matters. 1km swim and 4km run.

The field was small… so I knew it was going to be between three or four of us, coach Dan, a young pro German athlete and a couple of other faces. While I was thinking that the race briefing went on.

It turns out they had changed the course from a 2 lap triangle to a 2 lap oval kind of shape. I was to pay later for it.

Men and women started together and 50m in I was in third, behind Dan and ze german. Then I was in second and all of a sudden someone came on my right, he seemed quite strong so I took his feet. We turned around the 250mark and I was on second behind the fast feet. As I was picking the good lines to the beach I saw fast feet and the others keep going straight. I continued on my own and was the first to the beach. When I got up I heard that I was doing it wrong!!!!!!

Yeah!!! Wrong!!!

I swore a bit and saw how the other guys had over 50m advantage over me… I rounded the first buoy in 5^th and got off the water in 4^th, about 1min behind the leader. On my shoes I went, and tried my best to catch whoever I could. I gained a few seconds on the guy ahead, then passed him and then I could see he back of the second guy. At the turnaround (it’s two 2km laps) I was 40 and 20 seconds behind. I tried for about another 1.2km and the gap was not getting any smaller, so I went to cruise control and finished, 25 seconds behind the leader, my mate Nick Carter, who was as surprised as everybody else of having won his first race. Congrats to him, he’s worked his a#$ off this winter, and it looks like it’s paying off.

Race Report - Auckland Marathon

2011-11-06T21:10:00.000+13:00

As I continue with my tradition of entering races at the last minute, there was no official uncorking of the 2011/2012 racing calendar. Nat, on the other hand, had entered the Auckland Half over six months ago.

10 days out from race day my buddy Marie sent a couple of us an email that there had been people from her corporate team dropping and there were a few openings. We could not change names, but it was a good opportunity to do a marathon from the first time.

Race report
4am - waky waky... porridge, toast, coffee, look after Nat.
5am - meet mates for ride to the start.
5:45am - qeues to the portaloos are too big... better hold on.
Warm up is overrated, better to skip it as well.
6:10am - Start... thinking that it's gonna be over in less than 4 hours.
4km mark - first aid station I need a loo.
8km eat one lolly
11km mark - loo stop and aid station. packs start to form
16km mark - run over the harbour bridge, njoy the view, start chatting with pack-mates. Eat my OSM.
21km mark - I'm 10min ahead of schedule... pack mates reckon we're all good for a 3:15. Lollies
24km mark - headwind for the next 8km... hide behind packmates and do little work... they know it's my first time.
28km mark - COKE!
32km mark - turn to a light tail wind. Run out of lollies
34km mark - packmates fading, I keep foot on. start passing lots of people
38km mark - stride changes... more coke... tired
40km mark - tri buddy Liz is on aid station, say hello, ask her how was Kona, more coke.
Finish - good form, decent sprint, gutted that I went over the :59. official time 3:11:04.

The good: perfect splits for each half marathon. good form and controlled HR. Tried running with merino top and it works really well.
The bad: it is long and boring : ), change in stride was a bit worrying. should have better nutrition plan.

I'll be stoked if I can do similar time in Taupo on March 3rd.

The triathlete cook

2011-11-05T17:44:00.000+13:00

On today's edition I'm sharing this kick ass cookie recipe that I found somewhere.
The good: they have no butter and no flour and they taste just awesome
The bad: they don't last long... only two or three days

What do you need?

1 can of canellini or butter beans (in brine, not in oil or other condiment)
1 cup of shredded coconut
1/2 cup of nuts
1/2 cup of dried fruits
3 spoonfulls of maple syrup
1/2 cup of coffee cryrstals
3 cups of oats
vanilla essence or cinnamon or similar

How do you do them?
mash the beans
add the syrum and sugar and vanilla essence and mix
add the oats and fruits and mix again
add the nuts and mix again

Bake for 15min or until golden

Voila!

As usual, once you master the basics you can add or take ingredients at your pleasure, my favourite is adding one or two eggs for a bit of protein.

Among the benefits are the good fats and minerals of coconut the good fats and minerals of nuts and the canellini beans. Although these benefits are all good, the main driver for me is that I know for sure what I am eating, because I made it myself.
The second driver is that I also know what I am not eating (a buttery cookie or a highly processed carb bar).

Finally, they are easy on the stomach, I've used them on rides and on tempo runs and so far have had no trouble.

A seamless comeback

2011-11-03T08:48:00.000+13:00

It was a nice long break from blogging. But it was just that… the training and rest of the life keep ticking along.

A lot has happened… my mate Ro got a bronze medal at the ITU oly distance world champs in Beijing, France lost the Rugby World cup, a lot of oil from a stranded ship was washed ashore one of my favourite bodyboarding spots and I got officially one year older.

As it is tradition, I celebrated my b-day a few weeks after the event, and had a nice dinner with friends from all over. There was ham on the bone and plenty of red and white and beer.

Training wise it has been quite a long way coming and a few milestones are the completion of my first Marathon and the first sunburn marks from cycling without sunscreen. (silly boy is used to go out at 5am and back before midday, different story when you leave at 9am)

Spring is finally showing in NZ and the season kickstarted with a few cool events, one of them was the Auckland Marathon and half marathon, then there’s the Pure Blonde series nest Tuesday and the Auckland World Cup race on 20 November. I may do the last one, but under someone else’s name because the race organizers are not capable of doing a name transfer.

Which brings me to the first rant,

Why is it so hard for a race organizer to change the name of someone that entered a race to someone else that is doing it on that person’s behalf? It is understandable that they have to comply with health and safety regulations and other admin stuff, but then again, they have taken our money weeks if not months in advanced leaving us with no much choice than giving the money away in case of an unexpected incident. Adidas charges you 25 bucks to change the name of a registered athlete. Auckland doesn’t even allows that. Ironman won’t do it either. Those races can afford to be nasty, but the small guys will keep trying to get away.

Stay tuned for my power cookie recipe!

Big day out

2011-08-05T14:47:00.000+12:00

Sunday is the annual club race.

The format is 5km run 20km bike 2.5km run and this year look like we'll be having the weather in our favour.

I am part of the club committee but I have been a bit absent lately, so I will turn up and help here and there, but mostly I'll turn up to see how people make it happen and have another great day at the races.

If you're in Auckland or close by, come along and have a crack... it is really good fun. We hire a car racing track and and do 2.5km loops there. It's one of the few chances of having a super safe environment to bring the flash bikes.

more info on the club's page

2011-07-29T16:31:00.000+12:00

What a month! I am a newbie in following the tour on a regular basis. I used to read about it in the Indurain era, but I was brought to it thanks to the big tall Texan guy about 7 or 8 years ago. Anyway, being the most important race in the cycling calendar, there is always the expectation of a great show. And what a great show it was. After a week of withdrawal, I realize that there are many things that kept bouncing in my head. I call them lessons in absence of a better way to describe them.

#1 Patience
There was a certain desperation in the peloton in the two big escapes of the last week (Andy Schleck and Contador) only one man did not panic, and he won the race. It takes a lot of guts to sit on your bike and keep rolling, knowing that the race will be yours in the end. Chapeau to Evans for the patience he showed in those two occasions. When translated into the more mundane world of an amateur triathlete and wannabe ironman, patience is a good thing to have. Specially when the miles start stacking up and there is no race in the calendar for over 20 weeks. One has to have patience that the time will come to use all that fitness in a race. And that all the hard work will eventuate in a great result.

#2 Pride

The way an outside rider from an outsider team drove the peloton while in yellow was a proud display. Voekler rode beyond his ability to keep up with these superstars, and one always like an underdog punching above its weight. It comes to show how sometimes these superstars are not that far away and anyone can achieve extraordinary results with a bit of self confidence.

# Take it on the chin
Literaly, like poor Ten Dam or Johnny Hoogerland. Races can be a real she-dog, but there’s nothing better than going through the finish line. I may not be a pro guy that does this for a living, but I will be betraying those long hours on the saddle or out running if I don’t get to finish just because I’m in pain. I mean….pain is when you get barbed wire in your balls after coming off your bike at 50km plus. A sore knee can’t be that bad.

After reading the above I realize that I am becoming another tri preacher, so I better stop it there.

Anyway, it was just to show that I am alive, although quite quiet due to lack of time.

Keep training, and racing hard.

lots of news

2011-07-11T15:42:00.000+12:00

Even though it was a quiet week for me, it was entertaining enough with the news from Le Tour, the crashes, the sprints and winding up all the Cav-hating troups here and there.
What is more, 4 guys ran sub 8 hours iron distance races in the past 8 days. And Chrissie wellington broke her own record yet another time.
This blog is not going to top those news.
Ever.
Even less in the grey Auckland winter. It's only the last two weeks that the weather got really wintry and the roads are becoming less and less friendly. In the past 4 weeks I went through 6 tubes and 2 tyres (one of them I rode onto for 200m going down a hill at 50km/h). One still has to tick the boxes, so it has been kind of hard.
ACCIDENTS:

I've decided to do hill reps on the windtrainer. Out of three times I was on the road I got two accidents, none of which was serious, but still a bit scary. The first one was a car vs. bike, but as I was going up hill I dodged a right turning car and hit it very slowly. The second one is a puncture at speed, where I stayed upright thanks to my great bike handling skills (and a bit of luck again)

HOURS:
The days are getting like 30 seconds longer each day, which sucks, because it doesn't make any difference if you're going for a 1.45 or a 2 hour run. But all in all I've found the rythm of how to organize my training weeks.

TIREDENESS
For the first time in over two years I had a "hit the wall" week, a combination of stress and fatigue was all too much. I didn't miss a single session, but I was looking forward to Saturday afternoon and a big siesta. I am told that there are points during the IM training where more training is the best way forward. I will try that avenue and seee.

On my TdF I am still quite on track for Cadel Evans. Gessink seemed a bit tired the last two stages. And hopefully Hushov will get back to fight for points instead of trying to keep the YJ.

Enough for today,

happy training to you all

Late tour de France prediction

2011-07-04T11:48:00.000+12:00

Mind you, I wrote this on Friday and didn't post it.

Yellow: I am guessing Cadel Evans will have his moment this time around

Green: Thor “world champ” should prevail, he’s got a whole team to support him – no doubt about it

White: Gesink

Polka dot: Andy Schleck

after 2 stages I agree it was a great prediction already... this can only get better

Controversy in the ETU champs

2011-06-29T13:20:00.000+12:00

This is the link to the article, but I’d imagine triathlon forums may be talking about the issue. I haven’t got much time to read them, though.

What happened? If you check the video, it appears that the guy in white is blocking the guy in blue. The guy in white is the Pom boy, the blue boy is Gomez. The blue guy is not doing any visible effort to dodge the obstacle and swim towards the rest of the field, but the video is not great quality.

Gomez was not happy about it, and referees have given him some credit, as the brit was disqualified.

The matters opens the question, though, of where do you draw the line. Races at the elite levels are about medals, points for the athlete, points for the country and a bit of argy-bargy about who’s top dog. Wether the purists like it or not, there's obvious team tactics involved.

Drafting races see many times younger guys sacrificing themselves and working hard for the big boys who can later run a sub 33, which is where you need to be these days. Not many breakaways succeed, and when they do is because someone didn’t pay attention or the race was not that important. Is the drafting part of triathlon becoming more of a team sport and this incident is just one symptom?

So, I ask, where does the line need to be drawn? An athlete is penalized for blocking another athlete. Doesn’t that happen at any race at some point or another?, doesn’t it happen often in a 30 or plus guys bunch riding or running into a 180º turn?.

Updates, TdF and the Ironbunch

2011-06-27T14:39:00.000+12:00

The two weeks of stress are finished. I was getting ready for my final exams and I had a “moderate” week in the middle. And plenty at work. The results? I think I ticked all the boxes in rather good shape. The exams will be on an 80 to 90 % (I think); the work stuff is back to semi-normality and training I missed only one session.

The ironbunch is the group of my training buddies who are doing IM next march, they run a group ride at the civilized hour of 8am on the Sundays. And I join them every now and then. The last time was Sunday a week ago, in a horribly wet Auckland winter day. I started my thing after 6am and was at their meeting place by 8.15. It followed with a flat 15km into their ride (by now I was over 3 hours). I decided to peel off at one intersection, and head back to the city. The rest of their circuit was great training, but I had no more spare tubes and no much food.

10 minutes before the city I got another flat. Although I didn’t panic, I was quite unhappy about the prospect of calling Nat to pick me up. I decided to inflate and ride, and then inflate and ride and then inflate and ride until I got to a bike shop 5km up the road. The strategy worked quite well, the only problem was that the shop was closed. Lucky for me, another training mate was just stopped at the lights, and I got a free tube to keep going. When I finished it was 6.15 hours and 5.40 of riding.

I’ve also finished the first block of base prep. for IM, a total of 36 hours of cycling (‘bout 900km) 13 hours of running (close to 150km) and 11 hours (28km) of swimming spread in 3 weeks. The body is OK but I am in serious need of stretching and core stuff… next big thing is to get a membership for a gym running back.

And the TdF is finally here!, only a week to go and a month of joy… pity I don’t have satellite TV to see the full stages.

Ciao!

nice surprise

2011-06-15T18:31:00.000+12:00

Dear Secret Friend

Thank you very very much for the cool book about Le Tour you left on my letterbox yesterday. It certainly made an impression and I am very humbled by your words. I did not know that I was an inspiration for anyone, let alone that I deserved to be recognized with such a cool present.

it's the shape of a bike wheel!

I must add that my wife is not very impressed and I had to face an inquest about who was the “lady friend who left you a book on the letterbox”. It was all clarified when we did a thorough examination of your handwriting and concluded that it is a male. (that seemed to give her some peace). It is now a matter to narrow down the list of people who knows where I live and we’ll get there (remember I work as an investigator and I never miss). Once I find you, I shall invite you with a good ol’ flat white and a muffin at some fancy place. Alternatively, send me and email. I am very thankful, though.

As I was saying, the book is really cool and it’s sitting on my bedside table already. My training programme demanded a 1hour55min run yesterday, and I was coming home thinking to shorten it to 1.30 and be happy. Then the discovery of a present put a bit of a cheer on me and it helped me finish what was on the programme. This time around it was a case of mind over body. We had a hard VO2 set on Monday, and my calves, and hammies were quite sore. I thoughed it and went for the 115min run with a big smile on my face.

I was tired, but the rainbow made it good

Thanks!

Body over mind

2011-06-13T16:34:00.000+12:00

Auckland waterfront at dawn in early june

Many have said that endurance sports is a matter of mind over body. I won’t probably argue with that statement, although I must say that sometimes it is a matter of body over mind. A quick example. I’ve been waking up about 6am most days in order to fit in longer rides and be able to have the rest of the day to do other stuff. The sleep hours have steadied up on 7 to 8 hours which is not bad at all. Anyway, back to my example: Woke up on Sunday at 5.45 and it was pouring down quite heavily. I said I’d better wait and see and go in a half hour (usually it takes me 10min from the alarm sound to me being on my bike outside home). Next thing I know it was 8 in the morning! I mean… it didn’t even took an effort to sleep straight 2 hours. I wanted to go out, I’ve already woken up and I was more than ready for it, but I have my body 2minutes and it just fell off to dreamland.

There is no question that my body needed the rest, and there wasn’t even a fight between mind and body, the body just went for it. It’s crazy how sometimes we forget this small lessons. I guess next Saturday I’ll be going to bed earlier, or sleeping a bit more and re-organizing my day in a better way.

Other than that it was an average winter weekend: long ride on the Saturday, long-ish ride on the Sunday. Saturday customary pizza and plenty of coffee, books and time with my other half. (We’re going for 10 years together this week… I call that endurance as well!)

On the run front, today is VO2 set days, and I am feeling more than VO1. We have to meet a very demanding target running for 7.5min. The distance to be run is taken from the infamous cooper’s test, which we did 2 weeks ago. My result? Just over 3500m in 12 minutes. How was I a year ago?

http://a-bigger-race.blogspot.com/2010/05/coopers-test-night.html Here is the answer. Does that mean I’m worst off? Nope, well…I hope so. It means I’m on a different phase of training.

Anyway, enough for today, be safe out there,

Living the dream

2011-06-11T18:53:00.000+12:00

I'm not talking about me here, it's been a miserable three weeks on the weather front. I'm talking about my good mate Reado, who is in Germany racing the northern summer season for a club. Go and see his website http://www.carlread.com/ it's got good photos and updates of sunny Europe. His decision to go and race in Europe is not a light one to do for a 30 odd year old guy, as you have to leave partner, work and other stuff behind, I mean, he's at that stage where he doesnt make a living out of triahtlon, so I take my hat to him for his ballsy move.

As I was saying, it's been a pretty boring couple of three weeks, but that doesn't take away that I've been a good boy. Since my last post there's been a meeting with the coach, a new programme and plenty of hours on the saddle, and the trainers. Swimming has been average, but not to shabby at all. A quick update on the three disciplines:
Swimming: winter is back to basics, and we've done lots of drills at the pool. The good news for me is that over the seasons I've learned to master most of what my hands and arms should do. This year the focus is on the hips, and getting them to coordinate witht he rest of the body in the stroke. It looks like i'm quite stiff out there.
Cycling: hours, hours and more hours. I've made sure I cycle at least 4 times a week for the last 4 weeks. Going to works, small 45 min rides and so on at a low level of exertion. All has gone good with plenty of wet days. (today being the latest examples). I was involved in minor bike vs. car incident, but lucky me, I hit the car instead of the car hitting me, so all in pretty good nick.
Running: I'm quite average on that front, and I am starting to worry. Speed wise I am fine for the time of the year. But the mileage I am running seems to be a bit on the short side for a long distance event. I will consult with coach for some instructions.

So...have a programme, but this time around there's a new dynamic to it. I have a set of requirements for the week, and I can later organize with some discretion. I'm entering into week 3 of the first block of 4, and it's been pretty good. I'm above the number of hours on some, but spot on in the levels of excertion. The programme, the work pressure and sudying for uni exams meant that I'm doing a lot of solo stuff, wich I guess can't hurt as mental preppin for the big IM.

I've taken a few photos, mainly of scenic rides, will upload them soon.

Other than that, I expect to be more regular on keeping the log.

Cheers!

How to find the time

2011-05-21T17:10:00.000+12:00

I never planned this when I started blogging over a year ago. I am not able to find the time to keep this thing going continuously.
However, though, there has been a lot of development over the last two weeks and a bit since my last update.
The first one is that I am back into good training mode. I've also had THE meeting with coach about the future of my training, racing and the big IM experience in 2012. What is to come? A good 10 weeks of nice'n easy, long rides on Saturdays, Sundays, and some serious riding during the week as well... to amount up to 500km later in the season. Am I ready for that? I guess, so... we'll how to see how it is to survive it.

The second one is that a good mate of mine, GEOFF CARTER, made his bigg attempt to cross the cook straight. I talked about Geoff a few posts back. He's been an inspiration and an example for many, although his attempt was not successfull I deeply admire him for his discipline put into the quest.

The guy not only had to wait almost 4 months since his original swimming window, he had to keep swimming in excess of 40km a week for that period.

That kept me thinking on the reasons that we have to do what we do. Not only good mate trying to swim between the two island, anyone waking up at 6 for a jog, or at 5.30 to fit a 2hr ride before work and all other examples of extraordinary moves just to have the joy of finding ourselves doing something we really love. And there are many reasons, but one could say that beside these reasons, there is an element of absurd in repeating the routines again and again to say we "did" it. I argue that we don't "do" it, it "does" us. I am not only fairly spent, but changed as a guy and an athlete after many of the daily sessions, and that is what keeps me coming back!,

Anyway, enough rant for today, hope to post tomorrow!

The long way back

2011-05-05T16:28:00.000+12:00

How nice is to get completely disconnected with one’s daily routines, schedules, foods, wake-up times, regimes and general comfort? And do all that and still have an amazing time?

Answer: Really nice, cool as, sweet as, choice, great Amazing!, buenisimo!

This was a good as a holiday as it can get, and even with the odd incursion into sport (a couple of runs and a badly raced race) it was absolute disengagement.

We didn’t need to be 15.000km apart from our home to get all that, but the distance certainly helped, and it’s as much physical as it is mental.

We arrived back two days ago after a 13 hours flight and straight into work and uni. Day 2 was back to the pool at the usual 6am time and a long run chatting with mates. It is a timely comeback as the body is holding well together, but one can tell it is more on the way down to hibernation mode.

I realize now that this is the first proper break since 1 Jan 2010, a good 16 months of back to back training regimes. I could possibly do it again, but only if there is enough at stake in terms of qualifying for world champs in a wonderful location, or competing at a high level.

What is to come?

Back to basics, and a good couple of months of base training, long runs, rides and polishing the freestyle technique and kicks to shave a second or two of my hundred metres times. Gym and core. And all of that on wet winter condition, it does not get any better.

The racing will be cut off for good, I don’t plan to do anything competitive until November, so the adrenaline packs, the killer instinct and the aggression will be saved in the bank for hotter times.

XC land, and some racing

2011-04-19T09:07:00.000+12:00

The first week of holiday was certainly one of the busiest. Between greetings and meetings with friends and loved ones I scooped a few runs, and even managed to ride a good old tractor (with the latest 7 speed shimano tourney) courtesy of one of my friends. One of my findings is that training in the early morning is somewhat of an unknown thing on my homeland.

I´ve been coping with the effects of the new body clock and waking up at the usual 5.30 am even when going to bed at 1.30 after a couple of vinos. Anyway, going out for a run at 6.30 or 7 in the morning I came across only one early morning walker in one of my 4 days out. most people, it seems, like doing the sporty bits in the evening hours.
Me, I prefer the morning. Dawn in the pampas have a different kind of drama when compared to the coastal NZ sunrises. there´s nothing but plain uninterrupted flat land for thousand of kilometers to east, west, north and south.
It was a good week on the weather front and it was my second time training in a mtb. I can´t say I loved it, but it wasn´t bad either. I think that with a better fitted bike (this one was too big and it hurt my back) it will be a great experience. The temperatures are around the 6 to 9 degrees celcius.

my mate guille and I

What was not part of the holiday was the Duathlon I raced yesterday. It just happened that the provincial duathlon circuit was being raced in my home town. A friend of mine told me and I said why not. It is not often that you can race with home crew, and not very often at all that there is a big race coming to town. The distances were 5km run 20km mtb (rural bike, as there is no mountains around) and 2.5km run. Only tiny problem was that the race was at 11am and I had a family reunion/b-day party starting at 10pm the night before. Luckily I got my priorities right and went to bed at 6am after having had the best 80th birthdays party of my all times and enjoying every bit of the organization that my mum and untie had put so much effort in (my untie/godmother baked all sort of pastries for a whole week). I woke up happy, and that is very important when you´re going to race for fun.

first out of T1

suffering on the run

As I was the first one up I did little noise and left to register myself for the duathlon. I downed a whole bottle of sports drink to replenish and hydrate, and ate one banana. The body was badly slept, badly stretched and a couple of kilos over race fitness, but I was determined to have a great day out. We started last after the teams and women, and as the race started I knew my running was not going to let me down. The first run was two laps on an off road circuit, I was in the group of 5 heading the field. After the first 2km a guy surged and I stuck on. After that we hit a head wind section and my legs seemed to be better, I told the guy to draft off me and I tried to make some more distance between us and the second group. He was happy to stay there and I had no problems either. He told me we could work together in the bike and I said we´ll see what my legs have to say about that.
I was first off T1 thanks to not having to change shoes. The second guy cougth me 500m into the bike leg and I stayed with him for 1km or two. Then we hit a headwind and he put 150m on me with no sweat. I was happy tailing for another 5km until I started to note a niggle in what scientifically we know as ass. The niggle became pain by km 6 and I started to slow down big time and stand on my pedals to try and loosen up the area. nothing seemed to work, but I kept going and by the turnaround at 10km I was passed by a group containing 2nd 3rd and 4th, as well as another group right after. It did not go, but I felt better by km15 and managed to stay in touch with the last group passing me. I think I went from 2nd to 12th in that period. The group I rode with for the last 5km contained the first woman, who was waaaay lot better mtbiker than I am. I hit T2 wondering how the big knot of muscles in my gluteus would react to running.

Happily the molesty was not bad and I was running at a decent pace in no time. Unfortunately the damage was already done and I ran out of real estate to try and get any better. I finished a honourable 7th and got given crap by my dear wife, who said that next time I take her out to the races during holiday I better get a podium.

training the day after,

When I woke up before the race, the bike I was going to use broke, and I had to go and ask for someone else´s at the race venue. It took only 1 minute between the anouncer telling everybody of my case and me getting a new bike for my race. The guy even lubed it and cleaned it for me. That is confirmation that the triathlon fraternity is the same here than it is in all the other places we´ve raced.

going back home in my sister´s bike

Home Sweet(s) home

2011-04-13T14:01:00.000+12:00

What a busy week!,
The day that was (Saturday 2 April) was a great day out. We had amazingly clear skies and no winds, the ride was long and tiring, but a nice thing to do. To top it up, on the way back we saw this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X844zM8tC54

After that I had a week with 2 exams at uni. and after that a 16000km trip to small town Argentina (photos soon). I´ve been now enjoying the hospitality and the two things I miss the most, bread and pastries in all their varieties and combinations

I managed to go out running a couple of times (in two days) and got hold of a bike, so we´ll probably have some fun as well as R&R.

not a lot more happened.... but watch this space http://www.geoffswim.blogspot.com/ as my mate Geoff is getting a step closer to crossing the cook straight!

On yer bikes

2011-04-01T14:31:00.000+13:00

In typical valen style, I organized a social bike ride to the Coromandel Peninsula for Saturday morning (190km, give or take a tenner)

this comes on top of revision week for two test at uni, and crazy week at work trying to leave all nice an tidy before a 3 week break from everything.

will have a report and some photos tomorrow night, for now, I am a happy man on a Friday afternoon, waiting for a great day out on the bike,

have a great weekend,

Pure Blonde Aquathlon series - race 4 RR

2011-03-27T19:32:00.000+13:00

Officially the last race of the season for me, the race was doubled as the aquathlon national champs. It appears that aquathlon (run-swim-run) it's becoming as speciality in itself and ITU world champs will require the participants to have run as part of a series in the national federation (well... that's what I heard).

Being new to aquathlon and with 4 races under my belt, I reckon that the format is pretty good as it does not require a huge time commitment, and it is done and dusted in usually less that 1 hour of excercise. NZ can only cater for a few of these, and the Pure Blonde series is the second one in Auckland. It would be good if it was only one and a bigger field, but that is politics and business, two subjects that I am even more an amateur that mulstisport.

Anyway, a cr@p weekend and my first 9hours sleep in a very long time. I woke up at 9am feeling tired. the fun thing is that I had NO THING the day prior, other than eat, study and sit around the house. I did a 30min stretching session while on skype with our parents and had a very light brekkie. Nat was driver and photographer and we got there with plenty of time to spare. There was the usual faces and quite a few new ones, that I know are fast guys. I was expecting a bigger field and a lot of hard work, so all good on that front.

The numbers were slightly up from the other previous races, but not the 150 I had imagined. I went for a warmup run wih my mates Gordo and Reado. Legs felt OK, and after some serious stretching the upper body was firing as well. There was a few changes to the traditional circuit to suit the format (from 3km run to 2.5run this time, and triangle swim istead of box. There was a group of 6 or 7 good runners that I knew would be running pretty much together the whole race. My plan was to stick to them and see if I could pull an extraordinary swim and still be in contention out of the water onto the second run. The first 200m the people at the front was pushing a serious pace, sub 3min km. I made sure I was close but I was not up the front. Then the unexpected happened: there is a 90˚ left turn to go on a clockwise run around a block. The front guys ketp going straight, a few of us doubted but just kind of kept going... but then someone said something and we all realized we've missed the turn. I yelled WRONG WAY!, and turned back. The whole episode was 3 to 5 seconds.

I re entered the course and kept going... I realized I had an advantage of about 10 to 20m to the front guys. After about 20seconds the penny dropped.... this is my chance to go for it!.... I ducked in and went as fast as I could for the next km or so, then the body cought up with me and so did the first of the chasers. I was the first to T1 together with the eventual winner, Liam Scopes with a 10 to 15 seconds advantage (and a HR higher than other times, I must admit). The swimming was tought $hit, I was hiperventilated and dizzy for the first 200m of each of the two laps. I got passed by two or three guys in the 1km swim and I am lucky it was only them.

Out of the water I got a good T2 and out I was chasing the 3rd runner. I did realize I was being chased too, but didnt pay too much attention to that. Halfway through the first lap I heard the steps of my mate Reado right behind me... the guy in the front was just over 10 ahead, I tagged along him and we passed before the start of the 2nd and final run lap. Reado decided to push the pace a bit more, and I had nothing to respond... I stuck to him for 400m and then the gap just kept growing and growing. And I had a guy 10secs behind me!!... I made sure I was not passed again and finished with a worrying look in my face. 4th overall and 3rd in the Age group (national champs!)

The afternoon followed with prizegiving and I got my bronze medal, and my prizes for the overall series winner for the swim-run and aquathlon series. I even scored the second spot prize of the season, a good box of cereal bars.

As I was saying, this particular combination of disciplines has a good potential as it is easy to train for, and you can make it as complicated as you want if you're serious about speed. If any of you has a chance do one of them next season, here or abroad, and enjoy it... otherwise is not worth the effort.

keep rocking and pray for some sunshine

Blow the middle ground

2011-03-26T18:09:00.000+13:00

A long boring day in Auckland, made the decision not to go training in the morning, as the weather what $hit. That bought me some time to finish with all the chores and the study... and finally get to blog what I'd though since the race in Welli.
A couple of days after the race it was the Abu Dabi Tri, a different race format with a gruelling 200km bike ride. That kept me thinking about how sometimes we are constrained in our training in order to have a great race in a set distance. I then investigated a bit about fun tri distances and found about some crazy races out there with overly long swims, or bikes or runs, something we don't have a lot here in NZ.

Anyway, what I thought is that over the off season, besides doing all those stupid miles sessions that I like so much, it is a good idea to lift the ceiling of what can be achieved in any of the three disciplines. Why not going for an all out swim PB? why not going for a 50km run? why not going for a 12secs 100m sprint? or up the biggest hill in the town or the region? or the country? there is many sporting ventures that we think we can't do but yet we can. Say, for example, our average pace... whatever that number it is, it is the result of the middle ground between our fastest pace and the slower pace. My theory is, that we don't loose much by lifting that fastest pace a notch for one time.
What happens if we realize that given we did it for once, we try again? and again? I guess that sometimes we have to throw everything out the window, find out a whole new world and move the middle ground up, or down, but shake it for the sake of it and put some spice to the training.

I've made my objective this season to have a few of those epic fun times. Don't have them mapped yet, but I'll make sure it's noted.

Tomorrow is the last race of the season, National Aquathlon Champs. The weather outlook is a bit dim, and we may not have great numbers, but there's still a bit of speed left on the old legs to fire through the race. A full report due tomorrow nite.

Enjoy your weekend

report from a week later

2011-03-20T18:56:00.000+13:00

Well, it's been and gone...there is only one more race, the aquathlon national champs in a week's time, and the season will be officially done for me.
At the moment my life is divided into three workstreams, the work-workstream, the uni-workstream and the training workstream. Each of them has their own timing and each of them require a fair amount of my awake time (40-20-20 hours). The magic is to somehow coordinate them to sync their disctintive ups and down in a manner that minimizes stress. When that doesn't happen I'm in a kind of limbo. The next three weeks are one clear example. Although I could start my off season next sunday, I will continue to train at the same levels until mid april.
The uni-workstream dictated that decision, as I have a break that I will use to travel to Argentina without suffering in the academic front. I have no races targeted in Argentina (yet), so it will be a proper break since the week after worlds. The motivation between now and then is to keep fit and lean, and continue to strengthen my core and legs, not a great motivation, but better than nothing.

On the training front it was a flexible week, with a couple of decent workouts, the first one was a 5k'er on the pool and the other one a good 90k ride with hills, the rest was at a turtle's pace and with lots of thinking in the middle. The thoughts were probably influenced by the Abu Dabi race and were about extraordinary things and lifting the middle ground. I'm still working the wording out in my mind and will have really exciting and breaktrhough teori for you all,

On the racing front, my mates Oli, Ro (4 races in 8 days), Josh, Marie, Nick and Gordo were out at the races, I made my trip to cheer for some but not for the ones racing on Sunday.

Have an awesome weekend,

The balance

2011-03-15T14:39:00.000+13:00

Wellington is the biggest race in my calendar. It is not only the National Champs, but the qualifier for World Champs, and a good way to gauge where I am in relation to most of the same age groupers. Over the past 2 years I went to Welly with great expectations, and it turned out to be an average to poor race. These are the times

2009 - 0:22:40 1:11:41 0:38:09 2:12:30 88th overall
2010 - 22:27 1:11:34 35:44 2:09:45 5 28th overall
This time around things changed
2011 - 22:38 1:07:33 35:51 2:06:02 18th overall

not sure what my right hand is doing

Swimming
The first thing that stands out is that my swimming is consistently up there, all of these times I was at the tail end of the first group of swimmers. I guess that if there’s any progress to be made here it will require a mechanical change of some sort.

The bike,
4 minutes shaved is less than a 10% increase, but an increase indeed. The two factors that have made a difference here are the amount of time I’ve spent time trialling, and the addition of a pair of zipp 404’s to my race arsenal. What a difference do these bad girls make!

The run
I was stoked with my run last year, and I am disappointed with my run this year. I had the secret objective of going sub-35, and it didn’t happen. Overall it is not bad and it shows how strong the training has made me, being able to keep going faster or stronger in the three disciplines.

good straight line coming out of a bend
and overcompensating with the right arm

Tansitions and nutrition
I’ve made good inroads on this front. The transition practices at brick sessions do help a lot, and racing a few races in the season I’m used to live on gels for up to 4 hours.

On an unrelated note, I’ve just entered IMNZ 2012, 800 dollars later I am excited, but also a bit sad, as the budget for the last couple of races for this season has disappeared, meaning no more fun at the races for a while.

Stay tuned for some more action, and a few cosmetic changes to the blog,

Tri Series Wellington - race repot -

2011-03-13T19:39:00.000+13:00

Wellington is the venue for the standard distance Nationals, It has been like this for the past 5 or 6 years, and being located in the middle of the two islands there is an element of fairness to it in regards to access from all tri clubs and tri fans to get their butts in gear for the event. The race organization is always top notch and I said before that I love the city so much that I cannot say anything bad about Welly.

We are lucky enough to race in the waterfront and port area, that means an early start so vehicle and marine traffic can be disrupted as little as possible. This is a minor inconvenience for the athletes, as it is not quite daylight yet, and we get pretty dark race starts.

Preparation for this race has been solid, with a few very interesting workouts, I knew I was in top shape 8 days before the race, and the tapper week was welcome as a final sharpening up.

The Swim and T1 (22.38)

My swim exit from 2years ago
funny that I exited the water in same times

The swim is a deep water start, we walk to a pontoon in a marina a swim a counter-clockwise box. Deep water starts are a different animal and you have to make the most of your explosive speed trying to get the body in motion and up to race speed in those first 20 odd seconds. There is no momentumm from a previous run or dolphin dives. I am very methodical on this front, and ducked under the cover of the top swimmers of our age group. I expected to be on their feet the whole time. Someone else had different plans for me, as I was swam over and across twice in the first 150m. I had decided to stay right and a large pack was swimming to my left. Our little pack of 6 kept swimming at a good pace and 50m from the first buoy a few guys veered right and I styed in clean water in a straight line to the turn. I managed to turn OK and catch the large pack in the front. It was an easier swim until the second buoy and then smaller groups started to spread out. I was in a group of 4 and we worked together until the last 200m when someone sprinted and I didn't follow. At two points in the swim I thought I've seen my mates Martin and Carl passing me, but it turned out not to be them. I exited the water in good shape, yet a bit high on the heart rate. T1 was a flash, I had arm warmers on from the swim and the wetsuit left off pretty well, I think I even passed a couple of guys. There was three or four bikes out of our rack, so pretty happy to be on the top of the age group swimmers.

The bike and T2 (1.07.33)

My bike is always trouble, but I am a very hard worker and was waiting for moderate improvements in this area. To support that objective I got myself a pair of racing wheels (zipps 404's) from Elite Race Rentals. If you're in NZ and need to buy speed, go and visit their website, great prices and great service. Anyway, I thought I'd buy myself a couple of minutes of with these babies. And what difference do they make, I felt I was on a formula 1 bike. The perfect rolling of the wheels, the sound of them cutting through the wind, it all helps you go faster. Anyway, I left T1 and was having a bit of trouble to get my heart rate up and I wasnt doing much speed for the first 3-5 km. I'm always passed by a couple of dozen people, but this time it was only three or four, and then my mate Carl, flew past. I got my arse in gear and I was on a mission. There was this man in an road-cone-orange race suit a good couple of 100m ahead of me, and it looked like we were doing same kind of speeds. I got him as my carrot and worked for about 7km to catch and pass him. Once I passed him another guy from my age group passed me and we kind of stayed in touch for the next 10km, (i'd pass him on the flat head winds, he'd pass me on the little hills). At the turnaround mark I knew I was in the top 25 or 30 of the whole field. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the big bunch with the top guys of my age group was only 2min ahead. I made the decision then to do whatever I could on the bike not to loose more time on them. As I turned around I saw my other mate, Martin about 45 secs behind. That was my second mission, not let Martin catch me and if I was passed hang on to him with all I had.

I passed the the other age group guy and picked a couple of hundred meters on him, and that was the last person I passed. A guy in a road bike cought me and it looked like he was in a mission too. I made sure I was on the draft legal distance and stayed behind him for a few km. I passed him at thr 35km mark and didn't look back. As I approached T2 I did two little mistakes. #1 was to try to get my armwarmers off while I was riding on the aero bars. I should have been on my brake hoods and it would have been soo much easier. #2 was to take my shoes off too soon, which ended up in me losing a bit of time on the last km. T2 was fast but I should have not worried about taking the armwarmers for there, and do it while I was running.

The run (35.51)

Valen running 2 years ago (note
The tired head and arms)

As I ran off T2 I saw Martin getting ready and cheered him. I know him and I run pretty much the same times (he's slightly better off the bike, but only 5 to 10 seconds on 5km), so that gave me a good way to monitor progress. I explained the run in my previous post, nice and flat, not a lot of turns. I tought I've packed my running legs, and I did. But I should have packed the best-shape-of-my-life running legs, and I sadly didn't. I had the expectation that I'd run sub-34 for this race and to do that I knew that each 2.5km needed to be 8.30 or less. I got to the first turn on 8.53 and feeling good, I pushed a bit harder and got to the halfway mark in 17.45. Not too far, and really pumped, i kept pushing but I couldn't get any faster (a bi of wind, maybe?). By now most of the field was on the course I came across many mates and gave them a bit of cheer and high fives. I passed about 6 people on the first lap and another 6 on the second. When I did the last turn at the 7.5km mark I went as hard as I could, there was two guys at about 150m and I said to myself that it would be a shame if they turned out to beat me and be on the same age group. I passed the first one with 1km to go and the second one with 400m to go. Then I took a deep breath and went with all my might. I crossed the line really happy to had given my all. It turned out that the last guy I passed was on my age group.

The balance

Overall is good, but I will have a more detailed balance in tomorow's post.

stay tuned,

The tapper week

2011-03-10T11:00:00.000+13:00

WOW!, can’t believe I’ve come to be so busy lately. I’m 2 days from race day and the tapper weeks has been a busy one as well.

It all started with a day off on Sunday, which I used to sleep till 9 in the morning and get a lot of chores done so to have a cruizy week. Monday was a hard swim, and a hard run (the last big workouts), the swim went well, but the run was forced to stop due to a recall from my quad injury. Fortunately, it was only a minor scare and I although I haven’t run since, I know it won’t be a problem on Race day. Tuesday was a short TT, with personal best time. Then another swim on Wednesday (only 50min) and a bit of spinning to keep the legs in motion.

Those are the workouts, but the most important two things during tapper week are Rest and Stretching. It is never too late to stretch and there is nothing as too much rest. I’ve kept those two thoughts on the top of my list, and I am in great shape, both physically and mentally, so let’s talk about the race.

Wellington Oly distance race:
The venue and the swim

Welly is the city I like more in NZ, the place where I’d love to live. They say that you can’t beat Wellington on a nice day, but nice days are apparently the exception and not the rule. We are fortunate enough to have the marine traffic stopped for our race and we swim in the middle of the Lambton Harbour, the area is protected and there won’t be more than a moderate swell. I’ve had a mix of experiences in the past, from a power swim to an average-middle-of-the-pack paddle. The temperature is a big factor, and if it is not too much below 15 degrees air temperature we should be fine for a swim of around 20min.
The bike
This is the gamebreaker of this race. You either have it or you don’t. The course is an out and back that follows the coastline and clifflines of Wellington’s harbour and the mouth of the Cook straight. There will be wind blowing, the strength of that wind will influence the results big time. In my personal experience I prefer the wind to be moderate to strong, as although it is a bit of a pain when it is on one’s head, it is great aid when it’s on the tail. My calculations are that as I am not the strongest biker I’ll lose about 5% (2-3km/h) on the headwind to the top age grouper. But we’ll be only 2% apart on the tailwind sessions. That is thanks to my newly found leg strength-endurance. The cold factor won’t be a disadvantage, and the legs should fire OK.
The Run
It is very simple, flat out and back 2 lap course. Only 5 turns in the whole race (out of T2, turnaround, lap1, turnaround, in to finish shoot). We’ll be all getting off the bikes around the 60 to 65 minutes. At this time there will be a gentle breeze. The tactic for this session is to go as hard as I can. Hopefully I’ll be on the top 20% of the field and on a good day my run should prop me onto the top 10%. We’ll see how it goes.

Pure Blonde Aquathlon series RR

2011-03-07T21:16:00.000+13:00

Thursday was my dad' birthday, but since he's some 15000km away from Auckland I missed the dinner and drinks and went to the races instead.

This time around Pure Blonde Aquathlon was special, as all funds from the race were going to the Christchurch earthquake relief appeal. We were quite a few but could have done with a few more. The conditions were optimal (very light breze, tepid water and a not very punishing sun).

The race started with the usual 3km run split into two laps. There is a bunch of us in pretty good form at the moment, so I knew that at some point it would be a race. A bunch of 4 went to the fron on the first lap at a very civilized pace. We weren't having a conversation, but there was air in the lungs to start one if necesary. Towards the end of the lap we go down and then flat for about 300m, this was a good breather and we then went up to start the second lap. My mate Martin was driving the pace, but then Reado took over. He's a great runner and I knew he woul'd get the better of me if he was at the front. At midway point I felt there was room for an effort, if it all went well it meant I was gonna swim by myself and keep a good lead. I went with a good effort and when i looked back a couple of minutes after, I had a 50m lead. I kept it that way until T1.

Got in the water quite relaxed and swam a steady first lap of the 1000m course. I decided to put a bit of a hammer on the second 500m, and started swimming a bit harder, but my googles leaked and I was itching the eyes. It turned out I was waaaaay off course and when I got back into it, the other two guys had made an insight into my lead.

I got off the water with 15 secs to spare, I did a flash T2 (hopefully I can keep flash T2's for the next couple of weeks) and got running with all my might for the first of the last two laps. After the first one I knew it had enough to relax the pace a bit. I did and apparently reado and Martin as well, as when I went into the final 200m I had like 20 seconds advantage.

I don't know what was my time when I crossed the line, but I was back to being first and happy to have another one under the belt. We had a few laugh afterwards and we went back home to get ready for the final two days of training. After Saturday the tapper week starts!

All the winners donated their prize money to the red cross to match the organizer's spirit.

in the hurtbox

2011-03-03T21:31:00.000+13:00

yeah.... it is one of those weeks in the year where I am in the hurtbox.
the programme reads "hard week", whic makes it harder is that it is coming on top of an already hard week that involved a 40km TT and good running as well.
I'm 9 days from the A race date and I should be close to the top of my fitness. the last couple of weeks (well, actually since the Kinloch race) I have come to the realization that it has been really easy for me to het in the hurtbox during those key workouts. Probably the best learning of the season so far. There is a fine line between being able to access the hurtbox and smashing every session and ending up with burnout sindrome and It looks like I've managed to get the point.
Monday was a double whammy with 3 200m swims under 2.30 (which is good time for me) and a superset with a couple of 3.30min/km. Tuesday was a PB on the 25km TT and I backed it up with a decent 1500m TT at the pool.
Top top things up I started my new job on Monday (I got a promotion) and I also started two papers at uni.... it's been a very long 4 days, but I'm in goods spirits.

Keep tuned for Pure Blonde race report

The people of Christchurch

2011-02-27T20:16:00.000+13:00

There is one thing that has dominated daily life in NZ for the last 5 days. It's the terrible tragedies brought in by a massive earthquake in central Christchurch, in the south island of New Zealand.
As I grew more and more familiar with this country I learnt that Chch is not only the most important city of the South Island, but home of many great personalities in the sports, businesses and the arts. The one thing I got to know is that people of Chch is tough, they are as hard as they come and their rugby teams are usually top contenders everywhere (that's a big say in a rugby mad country as this one). That is usually stuff of joke when many city boys from Auckland complaint about a bit of cold weather.
This time around the people of Christchurch needs as much help as it can be, they are going through tough times. We all have done something, but if there's space and time in your schedule you could make room for any of these two initiatives that will do their bit.

First one is this coming thursday, the TACT PURE BLONDE SERIES is on, and all of our entry fees are being donated to the Christchurch Earquake appeal fund. If you are in Aucks, come around to Point Chev beach and do a workout while helping out. Another incentive to come to this one, race sponsors Pure Blonde will pitch in with a 6pack of this low carb beer to each entrant of the race.

Secondly, the guys at Hot Potato have organize a virtual 5km run to raise funds. Check them out and help them out, we can all help and it will be welcome

Motivation

2011-02-25T13:22:00.000+13:00

I was out on my own to do a 40km TT on the bike. Doing TTs has become an important part of my training in the last year. I counted over 20 TT’s (not including triathlon races) since I started this blog.

At an average 25km each, that’s over 500 kilometres of riding against the clock. If we count the triathlon races (3 half iron rides, 2 oly, 2 sprints) we get close to 1000km of TT riding. It is a fair bit. After a time one starts to get the hang of it and finally like them. They are demanding, usually on the upper reaches of our heart rate and they are tough on the mind. One has to be perfect synch to get all cogs moving and going well in them. I can count three great TT’s in the past year. The rest are good, and then a few average ones and one or two that sucked big time.

Yesterday was a particular one as it is one of those key workouts 2 weeks out of race day. It was the race distance, there was a hard run after and I had carte blanche to go for it. Unfortunately I couldn’t do it with the rest of the squad in our little handicap system. Coach was worried and worried me by saying that I would benefit for being in a situation where there are more around me acting as carrots. I knew I was in a good frame of mind, but the question kept popping. Can you do it? Can you get yourself into a racey frame of mind even if you’re on your own in the middle of the airport logistics and industrial hub?

So it was time for mindgames. this time of the positive ones, the ones that can work enhancing our performance and aid our workout. I originally had nothing in mind other thank going out there and pushing hard on my pedals. But after coach’s questions I thought I’ll put more of a plan into place and got into my mind that this was the most important workout of the whole training programme, that this was THE race or just below. That no other thoughts should cross my mind other than getting there – fast. Every other rider on the route was a target and I was there to catch them. Every time I saw my HR going below certain numbers I would spin faster, and get an extra gear. Every part of the course I kept thinking “ and here is when I should catch so and so” “ and here is where X will catch me… I should try not to let him go too far away” and thoughts like that. There was a couple of patches where I started thinking about work, or uni…. I moved them both away and kept thinking in wellington, and the wind and how similar the TT course is to the race cource, and how similar that TT was to my last race in Welli.

The result? I had a great TT in windy conditions. My secret objective was to be over 90% average HR for the ride, but due to tailwind and headwind influences I was just below. The second objective was to be closer to 1:05:00 than to 1:10:00. I ended up finishing right in the middle.

The run after was not as harsh and overall a great day out on my own.

How do you play your mindgames?

Three weeks to go

2011-02-21T21:00:00.000+13:00

Friday I was given the final part of the programme for the oly distance national champs.
i realized it's less than 20 day to race day and I got a strange sad feeling, like saying goodbye to a good friend that's out for a long trip.
Anyway, I was sad for a bit and the next minute I was busy trying to translate all the scribbling from my diary to the coache's format. Trying to merge the writing that took me 5 weeks to put together into a spreadsheet is a bit of a mission, but I think I'll be done by mid week. I have to provide comments and perceived effort for each and every session, and then we'll check if I've stuck to the programme or not and what trends come in.
Then it was work, and training and sleeping (friday) and training and more sleeping and chilling (and some darn good baking on Saturday) and training and off to the races (on Sunday).
This time it was not me racing, but going to cheer my mates Gordo, Ro, Josie, Alesha and watching the pro's race on the city centre at Takapuna beach, a great city spot and a great race in baking hot conditions.

in the battle of the sport drinks Mizone beat Powerade

Bev Docherty beat Kris Gemmell on the final sprint and they showed how much of a leap there is between the first and second tier athletes in the sport. I think it's good and it should keep all of the guys on the second bunch hungrier and more determined to get there and kick ass.
Back to my favourite subject (me and my training), there was a couple of nice surprises in the programme, like 2 Sundays off and a week with 2 days off in total... this is a first time ever kind of thing, so I thought I'll have to celebrate it by sleeping in.
19 days to go, I won't probably get any fitter than I am now, but I should get faster, and leaner, and more determined than ever to get to the podium.

Pure Blonde aquathlon series - Race II report

2011-02-18T21:11:00.000+13:00

A lesson learned.
Another gorgeous auckland day on the hottest February on record. It all started with a morning sleep in and late start at work (8.30). Comes mid morning I got a text from my mate Reado that he had come off his bike and was in hospital. Fortunately it was just a matter of a dozen stitches here and there and not major grazing or broken bones. He was commuting to work and a pedestrian just appeared on the road. That kind of brought me to the reality that accidents do happen and it is always wise to be ready for when they come. I'm gonna start commuting to work soon, and this was not the most encouraging news. The good news is that he was able to make it to the race to watch and we were all happy to see him walking around like (almost) nothing happened.

Him and I and Martin are the fastest runners when we're fit. and our swimming is very similar, so it's always good to race them taking the bike off the equation. With Reado unable to race and Martin off crook, it was a matter of checking who else would turn up at the races and trying to hang in there for another placing.

Comes Shannon. He's a really nice guy that races in our age group. We've met here and there and in the last world champs him and Reado did 8th and 9th on the age group, so I knew I would have to make my best if I wanted the win. The format is 3km run split in two laps, 1km swim (another two), and the same 3km for dessert. The start was conservative for the first 400m, then I decided that If I wanted the race I'd have to work hard for it. What better then that puttin a few sprints here and there and try to get into the water with a healthy lead?
I tried once and the small group stuck to me. I tried again and it was me and Shannon, I tried again with the same results. by the end of the first lap I decided to give it one more try. there's a hill that I know I can run hard on a good day. I did and it didn't work. I decided to wait and try to hang in there for the swim.

We transitioned into the ocean and Shannon took the lead, I followed, not without some effort. It was my time to sit in second place and I did no work for both the swim laps.

I did a flash transition and got a few seconds of lead, it all lasted until halfway the first lap. It was then that Shannon decided to put the feet on the gas and he passed me like I was standing. I tried with all my might but by the infamous hill that starts the second lap I knew I had close to nothing in the legs for a 1.5km sprint. I kept trying until halfway and by then there were 100m distance between us two. that was the race gone, so I held myself up for the finish.

A second place and a lesson learned. I am not sure what was what I learned, but I know that it is about controlling the efforts and been mentally there all the time (which I was). That's why these small races are so important part of my training. they're as real as it gets.

thanks to my sponsor Nat, who bakes the best cakes in the world

Then it was dinner at home and up at 5.30 for swimming squad. I thought it would be a gentle swim.

But I was soooo wrong. We ended up swimming over 1200m of Level 4 and Level 5 (out of 5) stuff. Lucky I had the wettie on. I am happy I nailed the intensity and times in all but one of the sets (I don't like swimming 300metres, it;s a distance where I cannot find the right pace) but it would have been nice to have a wetsuit PB for any of them which didnt happen

All in all a great couple of days, hope yours was up there as well,

The bucket list

2011-02-17T10:54:00.000+13:00

Last weekend Richard Usher took the Coast to Coast in the South island of New Zealand. A training buddy of our, Julia, was the third female vet across the line in over 15 hours 50 min of racing… WOW!

As we got more and more involved in the endurance sports thing, more and more events start to get into our bucket list. I am not a purist in any kind, and therefore my bucket list is varied and spread along the globe, the order is arbitrary, there’s no preference, only the idea of doing the event some time.

1 – Race a Marathon swim: It was on my plans for mid January this year and it didn’t pan out. I may try to get into the event next year. The idea of a 10km plus open water swim is appealing in many senses, the main one is to investigate my endurance and nutrition tactics for such a long event.

2 –IMNZ: if all goes to plan, this will be a tick in the box next year. I never got the IM bug, but the event is so well run and set in such a nice location that it would be a shame not to do it. Besides, IM training will help me step up the bike legs a notch.

3 – Triathlon de La Paz, Entre Rios, Argentina: this is the most famous event in my homeland. It’s been going on for close to 30 years, and the atmosphere is incredible (I’ve only watched videos, but I can tell you wanna be there)

4 – Do the Coast to Coast one day race: This iconic kiwi multisport race is the dream of many multisporters and most people that has done it loves it. I have never raced a multisport race involving kayak or mountain running, but I’d like to think I can manage to do this race one day. The downside is the cost of the C2C campaign.

5 – race a long distance trail run in NZ and Argentina on the same year: the K42 series is a website I started checking more and more often, again, this may take time and patience.

6 – Wellington to Auckland bike tour: or any other 7 to 10 days tour for amateurs: I loved doing a 3 day tour, but I’d love to go further with a good group of mates.

Speaking of bucket lists. What about trying to become the oldest swimmer swim between the south and north islands of new Zealand? … my mate Geoff is doing just that, go and check his blog and give him a few words of support, he’s on a waiting list and if the weather holds he’ll be dipping in the cook straight waters soon.
http://geoffswim.blogspot.com/

Race day today, so I shall have some news tomorrow.

Ready to be fried

2011-02-13T19:49:00.000+13:00

Another fast week has passed. The sprints nationals race was followed by a hard week of training (hard in volume and excertion) and work did not leave a lot of room either. Add to that a mate staying at home and you get tired... really tired... hence the lack of blogging.

The first news would be the arrival of a new gear bag, thanks to the helping hand of Shaun, one of the mates from Monday running and the MGR pool. He's a cool guy who also helped us when we were fundraising for our Europe experience.I turned up to training on Monday and he asked me if I still was chasing a free bag. it turned out he has a spare that he got as a spottie on a race some time ago. this kind of little things are the ones that make many of our training groups and clubs so cool... everybody is always happy to extend a helping hand.

Then there's the development of the week. I didn't sleep as much as I wanted but still managed to nail every session as per the programme. The coolest one was the Friday sprints (200m x12) which were all in virtually the same time and in a nice progression of heartbits. This is going to be the fourth time we've gone through a scheduled and periodized programme. Every time I pick more and more signals that can help me tell where I am, and on this date I can honestly tell that I am ready to be fried. There will be 20odd days of mostly hard work in the water, the bike and the asphalt. I am ready for them and I don't know how much I can give. That's a great morale booster and makes things much more easy.

I have to say that there was a day off in the middle of the hard week. Day off are good to catch up with resting and eating, so we did make a visit to Alesio's in the Posonby food court. The pizza was inspiring to say the least. This was followed with attendance to a nutrition seminar that almost made me feel bad about it, but instead brought us to buy a big pot of nutella, he he he.

Overall, a great week with a new bag, pizza, good training times, nutella and a day off... IT JUST DOESNT GET ANY BETTER!

Oh.. yes. It does. I met another mate, Oli, on the third on my long ride today, we went on for almost 2 hours. Oli is a long distance man, but he's yet to do an ironman. We were riding with his wife Sue, who is 4 weeks out of race day (IMNZ) and among the chatter we agreed that being solo on the IM rides in NZ sometimes is a bit of a bummer. So I said that I will have those questions answered next year, as I plan to do the event in 2012. It just happens that Oli will be doing it as well... and we're of similar abilities on the bike, so my Ironbuddy maters are sorted over 1 year before the race, and 3 months before I even start training for the event.

Hope you're having a great weekend out there.

Tri Series - Kinloch race report - Part II

2011-02-09T11:17:00.000+13:00

THE BIKE 37.16 HR Ave 91% HR Max 95%

The bike was going to be tough business, but I was quite high and happy with my swim and T1 so I kept the good spirits and hammered the first 3km. Reado and I have sort of talked about me hanging on to him on the bike as soon as he passed me. I tried and it worked, for about 10 min I had him in sight but could se the gap getting bigger and bigger. The good news is that while I was concentrated on that I kept passing people and not getting passes so much. Then it was hills time and I did my best to keep going. A guy in a P3 and a young fella stuck to me so we kind of kept each other honest going up and down the next 10km. A few known faces went past me, it was surprisingly late when my other mate, Martin, cought me. He was on a mission and quite bummed about his swim, we talked for 20 secs and he flew away. At the turnaround I was 50th or so out of all males.

Coming down the hills I was as careless as I could and I’m happy to report to have gone past 5 or 6 people, a couple of lightweight kids and a few big boys. We came back into town and TT’d our way through T2, a couple of more passed me and I passed another couple. The legs were full of ants, but I knew that it would be a matter of minutes before the race was finished.

THE RUN 18.20 HR Ave 93% HR Max 98%

T2 was again fast and furious, and out I was pounding the pavement. The hills had taken a toll on me, I could not sprint out of T2 like some other races, and the turnover was pretty low. I got into a better rhythm after 500m and started eating my way through the pac-man that was the Kinloch run course. A young guy passed me halfway through the first lap and I clawed to him for the next lap, he then surged and I responded, but run out of legs to keep going. The last km I got a second wind and left all I had on the run. It helped me to jump from 50th out of the bike to 28th overall.. which is not bad. But I wouldn’t rate this run as one of my best. I finished in a total time of 1.07.19 which got me into 6th in the age group.

THE BALANCE

It was a good race on a gorgeous town. My secret objective was to get a placing, but there was a lot of ambition in that statement. In order to get a placing I needed at least a minute on the bike and 30 to 40 seconds on the run. Are those objectives achievable? I believe they are, it’s a matter of working harder the next time. Was there any mitigating factors? Maybe: I did a race on Tuesday, and a full on TT on Thursday, and I didn’t have any days off for 10 days straight before the race…. That has to show at some point.

How did I feel after? I felt OK right after, now I feel really happy. There’s good signs in the way the HR shows the approach to the race. The incremental efforts allowed me to have some legs for the last bit of the run, although the race was not lost there, it is a good thing to know. The national champs for Oly distance are 4 weeks away, and given the current fitness it could be easily said that there is endurance in the swim, bike and run to make a better effort.

THE PHOTOS

Training for a dive start

out in the course recce

swim practice in the great lake taupo, with Nat

Race face, and a wetsuit full of wee

Contact Tri Series – Kinloch – Race report part I

2011-02-07T11:15:00.000+13:00

Although it was a sprint distance event, the whole weekend may require two posts to go over it. Wednesday was a great day of training and a perfect recovery from the Pure Blonde.. Race. The body was holding on OK on the swim sprints and the legs were fresh for a 70min run in the evening. Thursday was TT day, with the difference that instead of being the usual 25km, it was a 16km version. I went very well for my expectations and the average pace was a massive 2km faster than the normal. The only down part was that some muscle or tendon in the groin area had enough for the day and my run was nil.

That made Friday and swim only day, which I loved. Then we packed and drove almost 4 hours from Auckland to Kinloch. (it took us 1.5 hours to get out of Auckland). Kinloch is a tiny town on the shores of lake Taupo. The town has none of the attractions of Taupo, it just has the raw feeling of a lazy coastal town where time has stopped. The race doubles as the national champs for Sprint distance.

After a good sleep we went to do a swim-run reconnaissance of the course and a later bike ride. The day was gorgeus and HOT. The afternoon nap was a sweat fest.

THE COURSE
The swim is a beach start in the fresh water of the lake. Even on a windy day the swim is quite flat and scenic. One lap on a clockwise direction, with the chance of hydrating along the way.

The bike is hilly, with most of the work to be done on the way out. There’s patches of 20km/hr and patches of 75km/hr it makes for good fun but if you get into a dark patch the race is over. The motivation is to keep going on the uphills thinking how cool we’ll be on the way down.

The run is 2 laps of an undulating course that winds its way through the town centre, the shore and the little marina. There’s a steep bridge of about 15m long that is the delight of off road runners.

I did this race in 2009 and the times were 12min 38.20min and 20.52min. Not bad back then, but I was forecasting a 10.30 – 36.00 – 17.30. the forecast does not take into account weather conditions and changes to the course length and so on. We’ll come back to this topic in part II

THE RACE
SWIM 750m: 11.43min – HR Av 82% - HR Max 92%
I placed myself (and my mate Reado) close to a group of fast swimmers (a bit faster than us), in the front row of the beach start. I started at full speed and was not going to give up until I had a panic attack. There was a lot of giving and taking but I went mostly unscratched on the head and upper body, the legs got grabbed and twisted but nothing major. We formed a big group of about 30 that kept pushing to the first buoy. I had a s@#t turn but got back into the business pretty soon. The second turn was flawless and I passed about 10 people on it. I then made my way to another group that was going well up front and the 5 of us pushed the last 200 together.

I drank some water on the last 100m and was already working my way through transition. Everything was in place and I got out real fast.

To be continued….

Two good news: a comeback and a victory

2011-02-02T15:39:00.000+13:00

The comeback

Ian Thorpe announced he is back. The photo on the Australian papers is not very encouraging (apparently he’s been eating some pies lately). He’s one of those guys I admire and I hope he makes it to the 2012 games, it will make good TV watching. Speaking of.. here’s a great 400m race against another great long distance swimmer.

The Victory – PURE BLONDE Aquathlon series – Race 1 Report

The Pure Blonde series is divided into 4 swim-run events and 4 Aquathlon events, with the Aquathlon national champs in the end. This was the first of them and it was the first ever for many of us. We’ve never had done one before, not even for training.

The conditions at Point Chev. Beach were outstanding, great golden sun drenched beach, light sea breeze and a lot of people at the beach. Can’t ask for more for a race. The field was not big, but I think it did set a precedent and next time we’ll be busier.

The race was laps of 1.5km, a 1km swim and another 2 1.5km run laps on the same circuit. Elevation was a bit of an issue because we went from the beach up 10 metres in a 40m hill, two times each run lap. The swim was against the current on the way in and with the current on the way back. 2 500m laps. We started a bit conservative, the front group was 4 or 5 of us, and I know for sure that three of us were new to the combined run-swim of the first half. I made sure to stick behind my mate Reado, who knocked a sub 17min 5km last week. He was on tired legs, so the pace was punishing, but not that bad. After drafting for the first lap I moved to the front and did a cheeky escape going on the second lap. The idea was to get into the water by myself and swim on my own. In the works case scenario a group would catch me and I’ll draft of them for the remainder of the swim. In a perfect world, I would extend my lead. I got 10 seconds into the swim and none of the scenarios panned out. I did maintain a lead, and it was the same that I had going into the water.

The final run was hard, I went full throttle for the first 1500m and by the start of the second lap I knew I had a healthy 20 seconds to spare. The rest was a matter of keeping a steady pace and looking back every now and then to avoid surprises.

I ended up wining the first aquathlon I entered and although I didn’t get the prize money (yet), I’ll have to celebrate taking my wife for fish and chips.

What’s next?

Kinloch triathlon – National Champs for sprint distance. Sunday 6 feb.
Pre race thoughts soon, watch this space

Goodbye to a good friend

2011-02-01T11:57:00.000+13:00

It is with great sadness that I have to let go of my dear gym bag. We’ve had lots of adventures together here and abroad. It’s one of the few items that I have not left behind after bricks, or swim or other workouts and it has certainly made my daily routines way more bearable.

Last year it went for major renovations on the zipper area, but this time around I don’t think there’s hope of survival.

close up of the damage

I will now start the search for its replacement, donations are welcome as long as they are in a usable state. I am happy to advertise your company. Medium and large sizes are welcome. Transition bags will merit your name mentioned in this blog.

Stay tuned for my first aquathlon race report.

My Favourite metrics

2011-01-30T11:12:00.000+13:00

My favourite quote is from Galileo Galiei "measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so", the hard headed determination of a man of science contained in those 10 words (funny, the spanish translation is also 10words long) stuck to me since the first time I found it while doin an essay at uni. In a way, that motto underpins the history science and technology over the last centuries. It has been great way to bring the illusion of order into situations that sometimes are beyond comprehension.
Brought into the sporty world, there was a whole new world of metrics that I discovered as I got more into triathlons and cycling; from the basics like speed, perceived effort and cadence to more specific like heart rate, stride cadence, power, altitude, pace, and all the combinations that come to play like power to weight ratio, drag coeficient and blah blah blah. I've learned that there is a huge basket of metrics that one can produce, monitor and record. Coache's job would be to make smart use of those metrics in planning the best possible programme to get us in A shape for our A race.
A self coached athlete will find a way to organize a training schedule makin use of a series of metrics and in most cases it will be a great way to get from day 1 to race day in a better, fitter state.
In my case I work mostly on HR and perceived effort. Cadence and pace come to play a secondary role in the more specific workouts and the rest has been trial and error. I'm a good boy and I do as I'm told. So far the system has worked and I trust it will keep going the same way.

Panmure pool, a great discovery

But when I look back into my diary and check the best days out I've had in the year, most of the sessions have been run paying attention to one specific metric, it is that one that won't allow my mates to get too far away (on the swim, or the bike or the run) and vice versa. the work for it is HONEST, whenever I wrote down in my diary that it was an HONEST session it means that we went in a solid pace, and making sure everybody stays in that zone where you can go hard OK for a good period of time. It's a pity I don't have a honestymetre to use in every workout. I'll have to ensure I do find a way to make it measurable, and pass that information to the boss, It may be the breakthrough metric of 2011 and it may even get me a placing.

On the training front I had to think on my feet to make sure the weekend was put to good use. The brick session of Saturday got cancelled due to rough weather but I didn't get the message. As I was already on the venue with the customary champion's brekkie inside my guts I decided to do a solo brick. I went to a nearby pool, set my bike on the trainer and got to work, picking the session from the pre-Budapest days. It turned out to be a great day, the swim ticked along nicely, the legs felt great on the bike (I made sure I gave them a contained hammering) and the running was just neat, in a stunning volcanick lagoon track. I guess coach did it on purpose (to forget me on the cancellation text) to get me angry and make me use all that anger and aggression in my training day and it worked, thanks G! (ha ha ... I don't think my theory is true, tho.

champion's brekkie: muesli and beer

Sunday ride was an HONEST ride with my mate Jeremy, I just love doing this. You all keep smiling, and be safe out there.

and then something happened

2011-01-28T19:46:00.000+13:00

After an OK weekend. Monday saw us starting a hard week of training, the season is well underway and the two National Champs are round the corner. This means a lot of fun, hard, quality workouts. And a lot of other ones that are not as much fun, but still of good use for the final objectives.

The mini-tri's are a good sample of that. So... I was saying, monday was a hard day at the pool, and the evening session was the ever present cooper's test night. A good sign is that I went beyond the last mark by about 30 metres. I probably said this before, but these tests sometimes are a lottery, you never know how the legs are gonna respond during the first 3/4 minutes of the test. Once you're cleared of that the anaerobic motor kicks in and you don't know if there will be enough gas to finish full throttle. It was a good result and more interesting from the HR point of view. This time around I didn't go as high as last time, but I recovered quite fast after 1 minute of rest. If you want to know the secret of how to nail 3685m in 12min go to this post .

gotta love country roads

Tuesday was off and Wed was a long day at the office, I couldn't make it to the swim session, which was 1000m time trials, I did them today instead. But something happened between my rest day and the rest of the week. The wednesday long run went OK but not great and the thursday bike TT was shite, even though I went as hard as I can, something didn't quite work. And to top it up the swim TT's were average as well. Coach recomended to go for a blood test, which I will do as soon as I can. But it is not a great concern so far... shite happens, everyday and one has to keep on rocking.
So there I went today to do some trackwork and nailed a good set in the prescribed times and in a reasonable HR band.

a view from the top, Mt Eden on a nice day

The current and coming weeks have many workouts where one races against the clock. It is a good way to train the mind and the body to do two things. The first one is to make the mind push the body to the limit of excertion and a bit further if posible, the full syncro between brain and muscles to make sure that all the money that's in the bank is well spent. The second one is to blow up, to go waaaaay too hard to the point where there's just a black tunnel and no light beyond. Only by going there one get's to know the signals that announce the big WASTED state. Every time in the season that we get to these weeks I treat it as the ones where I will learn more about how much I'll ask my body at the time of a race.
I must confess, though, that besides a big blow on last week's bike TT (I had not a lot of legs for a run right after) I haven't hit the wall as much... I will probably do so next time around.

stay tuned!

The week that was

2011-01-23T17:23:00.000+13:00

pheeew.... it's been busy times. Both, training and work have geared up and I found myself more ready for bed than for a 1/2 blogging session.

A grey day in September

On the training front it was a moderate/easy week (easy on the pool, moderate everywhere else) with the race las Tuesday, TT (which saw me going to 95% of my HR by mistake) and a new breed of brick sessions that made a great impression in the squad.
How to become a better time triallist.
The TT business went like this; we have a set TT course for 16 or 25km with repetitions of a big and a small lap depending on your distance. I know that my big lap takes me between 14.45 and 15min, if I'm there after the first lap I know I am on track. This time around I did it on 14.30, which meant I was either going too hard too soon or I was in line for a season't best, the second lap was just 4 seconds slower, things were looking groovy! Just a couple of days before coach and I agreed that doing more and more TT's is the only way to get better at time trials. So, there I am, in line for a PB and trying to hang on to it... I didn't look to the HR monitor often enough, and after finishing and doing the run off the bike I check the data and it turned out I was flat out the entire way, with the average being 91% and the max 96%. I thought that would be a NO NO, but it wasn't and I got a season's best that I must crush in the upcoming weeks.

A new kind of bricks
Saturdays bricks were different this time around. We're all at a level where most of our improvement on the fitness side has been made. There is room to get better, but that will be only after a new base period during the autumm and winter months. Now it is time to get smarter and race smarter. With that in mind, our brick session was changed from the usual swim-bike-run to 3 mini triathlons with proper transitions and 2min rest in between each rep. It was as closest you can get to a race situation. Coach came up with bike stands that we set up as if it was a transition area and we had a proper run from the sea to the transition and from there to the road. The distances were 600m - 6.6km - 1.3km approx. the bike was hilly and the run was flat. We had a group going with Jeremy and Martin and we ended up doing similar times, our transitions were OK, then better and for the last one I think I nailed them in flash times. There's a video that I have to get my hands on and will put in the blog soon.
this is the first time that I do three little triathlons one after the other almost nonstop. It was good to work on the higher intensities, and great race simulation because the transitions were the exact environment you have in a race. Being a short bike, it also helped for me not to loose so much ground against better cyclist. Now I want more, so we'll see.
Saturday afternoon the weather got greyer and greyer and it rained for most of the night and morning. Non stop. No long Sunday ride, trainer instead.

I hope your weekend rocked as well.

Pure Blonde Series, Race 4 Report

2011-01-19T13:13:00.001+13:00

Tropical storm Zelia is forecast to strike New Zealand as a tropical cyclone at about 09:00 GMT on 18 January.

Tropical storm Zelia is forecast to strike New Zealand as a tropical cyclone at about 09:00 GMT on 18 January.
Data supplied by theUS Navy and Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Centersuggest that the point of landfallwill benear34.6 S,172.0 E.Zelia is expected to bring 1-minute maximum sustained winds to the region of around138 km/h (86 mph).Wind gusts in the area maybeconsiderably higher

Despite forecast like the one above, the PURE BLONDE series went ahead yesterday evening at Point Chevalier beach. There wasn’t many of us, but the spirit of adventure and good vibes by everyone in there were enough to get things going.

Organizers had to change the registration, transition and finishing area, moving them to a more covered space. The change was minor but meant a steeper last 10m of the run to transition. The water was warm and one could have swam without a wetsuit. There was a little chop coming from the north east, but nothing too bad that a stronger kick would not offset.

The swim was the usual two lapper, the buoy appeared to be no as far as previously, but it drifted for some time to accommodate itself in the right spot. We started the swim ready for a fight with the current, and I got first to the first buoy 30m off the start. Then it was just a matter of swimming strong and making sure there was no one passing me. My mate Nick was out there, stuck to my feet, that kept me honest for the first lap. The second lap was a more relaxed business, as I knew I had a few seconds to spare and we would all be more tired. I made sure the gap didn’t shrink and got out of the water with a half a minute advantage.

contrary to some rumours, I didn't run on the beach and turned around at the right points. LOL

Such a lead should be more than enough to win the race, but you never know until you know. So, for good measure I put the hammer down on the first km of the run (silly mistake, the first 1km is a slight uphill) and then settled into a pace. At the turnaround I could see that Martin was coming second and looking pretty good. Again, I ensured I kept running tall and fast over the next lap. On the last 500m I knew I had it so I relaxed a bit.

I crossed the line almost together with Ro, who was using the race as a practice for his stroke and stride race this evening. I was the first one of the people racing long course. The whole race was a bit harder than I originally thought due to the wind, but it was good fun.

The only bummer is that I may have a little strain in my shoulder or neck muscles and I had to pass on this morning’s swim because I was sore.

First placing of 2011, if it all goes to plan there should be a few more in the bag before the season ends.

Che Guevara, chickens crossing and mate

2011-01-17T20:58:00.000+13:00

The track on a Friday morning

It was the end of a hard week of training. Although it was not hard week as as a hard week would be, the increase in intensity of the workouts and coming back to double shifts after the long TT of 10 days ago did take a toll. I had a sore lower back for three days, something that I do get every now and then and I just noticed it coincides with these transition periods.

I was glad to see the weekend and had no plans other than train and be at home reading and watching some movies. Saturday was time for brick sessions and we started to polish specific skills for the upcoming races, the weather was just perfect and made for an ejoyable experience in the water and on the roads as well.

the rest of the day was a bit of housework and Argentine chorizo for a friends B-Day

Diego, the asador

Sunday was a long solid ride with Martin, he and I did a two person TT a few months back, and this time around I proved to be a good hanger-on, taining him on is scheduled 3x20min TT efforts. I didn't have a free ride, though, I covered two two minutes shifts, on the head wind. On the top of the Twilight hill (that's a proper name for a hill) we had to stop at a chicken crossing.

Argentina: Mate rules

The rest of the day I laid on the sofa, resolving an Inspector Montalbano case and watching the movie about Che Guevara. The movie triggered a homesey feeling and I made myself a full kettle of Mate. Mate is a hot drink that is cooler than tea or coffee to many people in Argentina, paraguay, Uruguay and south of Brasil. There is no better laxative than a cold mate, and no better companion for a long afternoon of nothing much. The downside is that I got swollen tummy and felt pretty average for the rest of the night.

that's my 2005 model

it proved to be good rest and I am back 100% we'll have to see what the HR data shows for the week ahead.

Speaking of the week ahead. Tomorrow is the last of the swim-run part of the Pure Blonde series, if you're in Auckland c'mon in, it's your chance to swim while a tropical cyclone sweeps the country!

a big lot of fluf about categories

2011-01-12T16:21:00.000+13:00

Any categorization is arbitrary and I am not going to write a new chapter in the book of triathlon in this post. But it doesn’t cease to puzzle me where a lot of athletes place or are placed in when it comes to racing at home, abroad and at world champs. Someone once told me that there could be three categories of athletes: social/completive; competitive and professional athletes. That same person described herself as a completive athlete, however she finished in the top 5% of his age-group on race day. But I’ll take that categorization as the start point.

What are the features of each category?
One could say that the social/completive athlete is not a top spot getter on a race, mostly middle-to-back of the pack men and women that don’t have the drive/time/talent/aspirations to be on the top.
But that is sooo wrong… many people underestimate their talents and some over estimates them

The competitive athletes have the drive/time/aspirations to be on the top, and probably will be middle-to-top of the pack on race day. In addition, a certain element of passion (in the form of a harmless mania) for the sport. WRONG AGAIN! there are many of us that spend a lot of time and money (harmless mania) but are not front of the packers.

The pro athlete shares the same characteristics than the competitive athlete, but a lot more of training/support and access to resources allows them to develop more fitness/skills/exposure to racing and therefore improving their overall preparedness come race day.

The conclusion?
Keep it simple, there’s pro athletes and recreational/age groupers. The pro’s make a living or intend to make a living out of it. The rest of us does it for fun/fitness/lifestyle (insert what you want)

Blurry vision from doing hill reps.

That was only the starters, where I wanted to go is to that grey area where people is undecided for either or.

In most big races there are age group athletes that kick some of the pro’s butt and end up scooping into the top 10 or 20 of the field. In NZ the division between pro and age grouper is constantly shifted depending on the event, the event organizer and the general politics of triathlon.

There are guys that race age group but have a stint of professional or semi-professional racing in Europe or the States, and there are guys that race pro that have been ducking in the miles winter after winter to get to a peak year and try to make the most of it.

The other reality is that we live in a super small country and don’t have sellouts in every race, so it makes sense that there is only one category in some races.

But I guess that when it comes to National Champs there should be a fair distinction between pro and age groupers and if you’ve raced as an elite in any race during the year, that’s it, race as an elite on the championship… what doesn’t kill you…

As I keep writing I realize that all this whinging comes as a way to enquiry in myself about what I can do in terms of preparation to a race, what can I expect to be faced against on the start line and what can I do about it. Every athlete at the start line of the sprint champs will bring a heavy pack of experiences on their back, they will be good, bad or mediocre, and they will be from racing for fun, for medals or for money. There is only one way for me to beat them, and that is by going faster than them during the race. I am privileged enough to have access to a coach and a plan. And I’ll make the most of it.

Tauranga Half - race photos by Nat

2011-01-10T21:32:00.000+13:00

Nick - looking strong out of the water

no pressure

tough bike

someone is quite happy!

I can believe he ate 4 cookies!

Megan suffering

Sue going slow as per the coaches' orders

Megan looking like a pro

smile!

the tatoo warrior

Kylie on her firs half just over 5hr

Tauranga Half Ironman – Race report

2011-01-10T09:50:00.000+13:00

The Bay put a great day for us on Saturday and the Half went great for most of the guys that were doing the whole thing. The race was not only the national champs but the qualifying race to go to Las Vegas, where they will host the world champs next year. A few of the guys had that as an objective and all of them achieved it, which speaks very good of their talents. Graham O’Grady won the pro men race and Jo Lawn did the same on the women field. As I said on Thursday, she was indeed flying and got to win the race in the last 7km of the run. O’Grady won all the three HIM I did over the last two months, Karapiro, Rotorua and Tauranga. That’s is a mean achievement these days, there’s plenty of talent in NZ and to keep all your competitors at bay during 3 of the 5 long distance races in the north island is quite something.

My race was a race against the clock. I was on a mission to go as fast as I could during 90km. I hadn’t met my team mates until the day of the race, they were a local husband and wife and I was their cyclist because the original guy couldn’t make it. We had a little chat and organized ourselves to the predicted times to pass the transponder for the team. Really nice people.

I had the objective to go under 2.20. I had kept riding regularly after Rotovegas and the base was there. The conditions on the day were 0 wind and it was smooth roads for over 50% of the course (that would be the best road surface for a triathlon in the whole of the north island). The course is two 45km laps, that meant 1.10 per lap with a full on last 5km. Luckily long distance racing is not an exact science, and it is oh-so-common to get a great 1st half for your bike or run and then blow out that I decided to have a general scheme and then play it by ear. Nutrition was not going to be a problem, gels and water do the trick for that period of time. I left transition and settled into a good pace, I didn’t know what speed or cadence (lost my computer a week ago) but it felt OK. The first lap was 1.12, but I was fresh and I knew I had it to push harder on the next 45km. Unfortunately the wind had different plans for me and it picked up a notch, which was enough to slow me down and crush my dreams of negative splitting a 90km TT. The second lap was 1.14 and hurt, but it didn’t hurt as badly knowing that I had no half marathon to run after. LOL.

I was sore after finishing, but that didn’t stop me to be on the sides cheering as everyone went past. Jeremy, Nick, Oli, Josh, Bob, Kylie, Sue, Megan, Shaun, Vanessa, Jason, and a few others all did a great job of toughing it up on a hot run.

The rest of the weekend was all about chilling and going to the beach.

Coming soon to a pool near you

2011-01-06T15:31:00.000+13:00

NZ is still on holiday mode; even though there's a lot of major roadworks on bridges, downtown avenues and accessways traffic is great; the radio deejays are only doing half of their shows and everything is still on sale. Many of us are coming back to work, and a more serious version of training. The exception to this mood is the selected few who compete in this weekend's Tauranga Half, New Zealand biggest race on that distance and home of the Long Distance national champs.

The race is held in the beach town of Mt Maunganui, next door to Tauranga, a beautiful surf beach that starts in the mount and goes on an on for a couple of hundred km's to form the Bay of Plenty. 2km swim in a harbour, 90km flat as a pancake ride and a hot 21km with some undulation. I've done parts of the race, but never the whole thing by myself. This year is no exception, I'm just going to do the bike for a team and then cheer a bunch of my mates, but I'll talk about that in the next post.

It's a fast and hard fought race, many times the difference between the top 5 is nothing. This year sees the retur of Cam Brown, NZ's biggest long distance athlete together with the local top guys who include the defending champion of only 19 years old. In the womans field there will be another interesting race with Rebeccah Keat, Caroline Steffen and Jo Lawn among the top contenders. Joanna Lawn has won IMNZ 7 times... and has been a consistent top 10 performer at Kona.

But, as I was saying... we are on holiday mood and I felt like going for a swim this morning. I couldn't wake up on time to go before work, o I went for a midday-ish session and as I jump into the pool I saw Jo and her husband Armando (another top athlete) doing laps. I can't say they were easy laps... if they are gonna bike and run like they were swimming today I know where I'm putting my money. We chatted for a bit and I wished them well before starting my own secret swim set.

incidents like this are not uncommon, many times in the swim, bike or run training sessions we come around our top athletes going about their job before they move to more gentle weathers after Easter. Most of the time they're nice and even ask us about our races and so on. I love that low key attitude. I don't know if this is particular of NZ, or Auckland or you people on the other side have it as well.

Sprint-man-I-am

2011-01-04T21:09:00.001+13:00

2011 is here and what a best way to start it than with a race report.

Contact Tri series, race 2 - Whangamata - 3 Jan 2011

The NZ calendar is set up to always have a good break and many workplaces are empty until at least 4 Jan, year after year. It gives people the opportunity to fly off to the beach, the lake, the mountains or wherever they're more pleased with. Whangamata is one of those holiday spots, a beautiful surf beach on the Coromandel peninsula. The race has been going on for over 20 years and now it is part of the 8 that make the series that is sponsored and run by TriNZ. I did this race 3 years ago and I remember suffering on the bike, it is a hilly course and to top it up it involves running in the sand for about 2km of the 5km run. Both times I've done sprint distance. The first time because it was my second race. Ever. This time around I chose the sprint for more tactical reasons. The Sprints nationals are 4 weeks away and this race could be a benchmark as I haven't done a sprint tri since worlds 2009 in OZ. The second reason was that it is a holiday and I didn't wanna hurt a lot : ).

The Swim

The race start is gentleman's hours 8am and the surf was on there were 2 and 3 feet waves breaking from 100m to the shore, that's fun to get in and more fun to get out, bodysurfing. My mate Martin was doing the sprint as well and Reado and the coach were doing the standard as a team as well as Kevin. In the girls field, Alesha was doing sprint distance. We're off, Martin is on my side for the first 100m and then I lost him after a big wave that I ducked into and he might have taken full face. I tried to power through the first buoy and then got a bit carried away and kept the pace to the second buoy which is also the turnaround to the beach. As I kept swimming I was trying to catch waves and bodysurf, but I wasn't lucky this time and had to be content with not being too delayed with the backcurrent. I got off the water in the top 15 (bloody 13 and 15 year olds can swim these days)

The bike

I had a fast transition and was mounting the bike with the same people I ran from the water. It all went well and no one passed me until km7, which is a good sign. I even managed to go past a few kids down the hills, unfortunately they would catch me later on when weight does matter. Martin flew past me at km 7 and I tried to hang on to him. By the turnaround he was 20 to 30 seconds ahead, but I had to slow down to zero right after as someone came off the bike at the top of a hill, as it was low speed it was a harmless business, but it cost me half a minute. I was off the plot for a bit and three or 4 guys went past me. I hung on for as much as I could and finished the bike 2min off what I would have preferred. I was still in the top 20 off T2.

The run

the good news was that the running legs were there, I started running fresh and I didn't feel the need for gels or water or anything. That boosted my morale and I just kept running. I've forgotten how nice of a race this is: running on the hard sand with the sea washing one's feet, with a great sight of sea, woody ranges and blue skies, it just doesn't get any better.

There were two laps and I did identical times for both of them, without being too much on the absolute red zone. I kind of regret it a bit, as I finished 11th, 20seconds from a top 10.
The run split was the 4th overall and it helped me to secure the first place in the age group.

Balance
I've been in a base-unstructured-holiday-ish kind of training since Rotovegas half and I've enjoyed the training, but more importantly, I've enjoyed the rest of what happens in my life. The race was a reflection of that and I am very very pleased with it as it showed me that I am where I want to be and that the tri life and the real life are in a perfect harmony at the moment. The sprint distance is such a great way of racing, I wish I hadn't let so much time run between races. I'm looking forward to Nationals now, and see where I can get.

There's more to come on the holiday, the Lance and a few fresh photos. Stay tuned.

holiday postcards

2010-12-30T22:43:00.000+13:00

Boxing day in the Kauri forest, Northland. Went for a 40km hilly ride and started playing with my new toy, the Olympus µ tough camera.

The old Rover, the tent and Nat on dinner duties, there was hundreds of rabbits as well, none made it to a picture, though.

further north, on the sand dunes of Opononi, more biking and an amazing view from the top of the hill

back to auckland and a gentlemans ride with my mate Jeremy

and my mate Ro later on

And Sue and Kylie later on.

The holiday is a good time to do unstructured training, and mine was to drop the swim and do what I can on the bike. Turned out that I managed to scoop two nice ones in the North and a long one in Aucks, as I kept riding I bumped into training buddies all over the place, funny people.

bushbound

2010-12-24T11:15:00.000+13:00

We're goin' oop norf,
They even call it the far noth, but I'd argue that travelling 400km to get to the northernmost point in the island is not at all far. Anyway, only 2 more hours to go and we'll be on holiday till the 5th of Jan. Depending on internet coverage there may be updates or there may be nothing.

It's been quite an experience and hopefully 2011 will bring more fun and some good results. You all be safe out there, and don't train hard, enjoy the family and friends.

a quick balance on the sports front

Positives: I still love the sport, I got my first ever victory, I made to the worlds in one piece (unlike the cervelo).
Negatives: found the worst ever airline (you're welcome, Bruneii air), and the dodgie's ever insurer (you suck Travelsure).

Q&A session with Valen

2010-12-22T09:52:00.000+13:00

OK, I need to set the record straight, I am not great with correspondence. But (and there’s always a but in my speech) I do listen to questions and comments. I’ll go over them in this post.

can he handle the pressure?

The Lance business:

When I thought of the dude coming to Rotovegas I didn’t realize it was for the January sprint distance race, a week later I tried to enter and it was choker. No chance at all. I may consider an entry as an elite, but I need to take a month off to train and rest and not to work.

The races to come:
3 Jan Whangamata Sprint tri
7 Jan Tauranga Half (husband and wife team) TBC
30 Jan Christchurch Sprint tri
6 Feb Kinloch Sprint tri (nationals)
13 Mar Wellington Oly tri (nationals)

Coopers test:
This was explained in an older post.

The season
It’s being a lot about playing and the serious part of the business will start mid January, we’ll have a great time then.

Racing and winning

Yesterday was the last race of the year (I fink)… the PURE BLONDE summer series was on tonight and I got a placing. Third time lucky proved to be true, I was lucky that the guy that took the other two races was not there, and I was lucky the other peope that could have taken the race were a bit back on the field after the 1km swim. The water was warm and the pace was just right for me, It was a group of 4 of us getting off the water in a 10sec span. The run to transition is 70 to 100m uphill, the gradient is 8 to 12 %. after halfway I realized that trying to run all the way was a bit ambitious given the state of my legs and the HR jumping over 100%. I shuffled the rest of the way, got on my racers and off to run. I had a flash transition and was out first. I ran as fast as I could, but it wasn't very fast, I was worried I was going to get cought. After the first lap I saw the chasers were about 30secs behind and promised myself that they would not get me. The legs were screaming for mercy up the hills and I doubt they were as happy as me to be leading. I crossed the line with 45 secs to spare, which is not a bad feast to end the year.

And the fun continues

Today in the morning it was TT day, we did a 1500m on the outdoor pool. Wettie was not dry from last night and I went for the whole set on my jammers. There wasn't flash times, but there was a lot of gut and self convincing to keep going after halfway. Ended with a sub par time, but happy for backing the race up with solid racing and training. Another positive is that I've offset allt he piggying out that occurred over the last 10 days.

It's now be time to pull the plug and start enjoying NZ finest reds,

Rotorua Half Ironman race report - money in the bank

2010-12-20T22:01:00.000+13:00

The start

we stayed 2min down from transition and could afford a long sleep till 5am. The race start was 6.25, Nat got dragged into swimming for a team, so it was three of us (Nat and I plus our mate Jeremy who was staying with us having breakfast and leaving just in time to get there, park, and set transition. Gordon, Carl, Paula, Megan and Kylie, Cyril, Oli and Sue, Brownie, Ingram, everybody was there and ready. I must say we were a bit later than planned and had to set up in a rush. The day was not great, we had drizzle and showers for the past two days. The race was going to be wet, not very hot and not very windy.

The swim -

I warmed up for about 30 seconds before we were ushered out of the water. The swim was a beach start and two laps in an anticlockwise triangle. The field was of about 200 guys. The lake temperature was about 18 degrees, with no current or chop of any kind, the water was clear and you could see like 10m under with no trouble. The gun went off and I was sharp to start with, got clear water in the first 50m and went about my business, without lifting my head to look until half way through the 450m we had to the first buoy. I then settled into a rhythm and kept going, I was towing 4 or 5 guys behind me and I kept towing them through the first and second buoy. After the second buoy we had another 450m of swimming to do, and I got someone else to take the leading duties. I lifted my head to check who it was and it turned out it was my mate Jeremy!, I decided to swim alongside him to the turnaround buoy. We did 13.48 for the first lap. I lost Jeremy on the first turn of the second lap and just kept going, as it was only a few more minutes to be over it. In the end he nick me by about 10/15 seconds. We both were in the top 15 out of the water. T1 was a shocker… i was rainy, and grey and I didn't have the time to set up and practice my moves, I had to grab the pump and it wouldn't stay in my racesuit back pocket, I took it in my hands and out to the bike course.

The bike

out of transition there's a little hill, then 4 or 5km downhill and then onto the main road which is flat for about 30min. I quite didn't get into a rhythm and got passed by more people than I thought…. it is a constant in my races, that people seems to fly by me on the bike. The plan was to do my race and don't get psyched out about stuff, same as it happened in Karapiro, a few would be too aggressive to start with and then fade on the last 20km. The first 30km where a bit disappointing, but I got into the turnaround only 2min off my desired time of 1.20. The weather was drizzly, showery at times, but luckily not cold, it was a bit scary coming down the hills trying to see where I was going with no eye protection After that I got my act together and started rolling a bit more aggressively. A shot of red bull and a gel helped with the legs and the sharp mind. At 60km I started to feel even better, so I put my head down and made sure I catch a few guys that were up the road. I was in the middle of that when the saddle bag came off, I heard the noise and made the decision not to go back for it. I has lucky I didn't have a flat on the last hour. 3km later I heard another noise, it was another red bull shot gone. To top it up, I lost an arm pad from my aerobars further down the road. The last 15km of the bike are hilly and many times windy. I passed two more guys up the hill. and got into T2 just about on the time I wanted. I must say, though, that there's room to improve in at least 5 minutes on the same conditions. I lacked that "racy" mindset at times, and I paid for that. It looks like I enjoy the race soooo much that I forget that it is a race, he he.

On a separate topic, the course is an out and back, which allows to do a headcount and see where one is at. I saw the first guy and he was 5min ahead of the chasing bunch. But the good news was that my mate Jeremy was in the chase bunch, in fourth position when he got past me, and finally in 2nd at the end of the bike leg. He was flying on that bike… and would not let go of his place easily. He ended up 5th overall male, with a great swim and bike and a solid run.

The run

I had left my stuff in a bag for T2, so it would not get too wet. It took me a bit to get everything out and I forgot to put my race number, but I am still OK with how it went. The legs were feeling OK, yet a bit stiff on the quads, but I thought I'll have a good run. And what a run it was!, I said in the previous post that it is a brutal off road run, I realize now, that I was looking through the eyes of my defeat 2 years ago. Yes, it is a hard run, but it is not as brutal as I remembered it. I got off T2 together with the first girl, that was good motivation, as I said to myself "you are not getting chicked, valen" we run the first two km together at a punishing 3.30 pace. That part of the trail has a lot of switchbacks, turns and not a lot of hills. As soon as we started to hit the more undulating bits my quads, hammy, calf, glutes all started conspiring against me and menacing with popping out of my body. It was a big bother, and a painful patch. I said I would not walk or stop unless the muscles stopped working, and I endured a fair amount of pain. It eventually got better on the flatter parts. To my bad luck, there is only about 6km of flat in the whole of the course. I was feeling well in my mind, and there wasn't any stitches or tummy cramps. it was just the legs aching, but they were able to run, so I made them go as good as the could. I passed quite a few and for the first time in some time I got passed by two guys. One training buddy, Brownie, was ahead of me like 3minutes and I each time I saw him on a turnaround I would said to him to take care that I was coming strong. there are 3 of those turnarounds and on the last one, at about half way, I realized it was doable. I kept a good pace, run past the first girl and did the last lap as fast as I was able, the HR was up there as it was my mate, I cough him with 500m to go and we had a laugh. I crossed the line in about 4.47, 2min off what I calculated, but I was extremely happy with my performance. according to my polar, the run was a 1.27, but I'll wait for the official results to get the proper time.

The balance

this year for me is about racing and learning, and the last couple of races have been great learning experiences. They were both outside of my comfort zone, and both were strength events. There is a lot of room for improvement, but each race has given me a wealth of experience and it is all money in the bank. In this particular one I learned a lot about pain, and how to deal with it compromising as little as possible in the performance department.

I just love this photo

After the race

it kept raining and drizzling, but each of us stayed after the race to see our mates finish. Jeremy was the first one, I followed together with Brownie, Carl did a superb race for his team and they won the mixed teams division going under 4.30. Then it was Ingram's turn, and Oli, Cyril came after that and not far behind was Julia and Gordon (Julia took the vet womans), finally Kylie crossed the line for Nat's team. While waiting we had a couple of heinekens, and a lot of chat and banter. A great weekend to finish off the year and go in holiday mode for ten days.

Rotorua HIM

2010-12-20T12:27:00.000+13:00

Hi!,
the north island has been in a foggy, misty, rainy state for the last 5 days. Not the greatest setting for a long race, but it all went OK.

Finished in a time of 4.47 something and got wet, lost a saddle bag, an arm pad from my aerobars... but a great day of racing.

The report coming out as soon as I finish work.

Rotorua HIM pre-race thoughts

2010-12-14T18:41:00.001+13:00

The race organizers sell it as the best half in New Zealand, with the most beautiful 2km swim, 90km bike and 21km run on offer. I’d say they are undoubtedly the best HIM of the North Island, but the short version of Challenge Wanaka is quite a scenic route all over, but I can’t comment coz I haven’t done it.

Rotorua is a premier within NZ, sitting in the heart of a geothermal system, it has plenty to offer the tourists; from hot water natural springs to outstanding geothermal parks. For the sporty kind, this is an off-road paradise. X-terra NZ is hosted in Rotorua, as well as many MTB and trail races. It is also known as Rotovegas, because of its resemblance to sin city (I think this is quite a nonsense, though)

Anyway, this was my first HIM 2 years ago and my personal worst in the distance. In my defence I have to say that my parents arrived for a visit one day before the race, and there were nerves of all sort going on. And I blew up big time on the bike. But a good day out and I even got a spot prize (a wetsuit for my lovely wife)

The Swim

The course changed from the last time I swam it. It used to be a 1 lapper and now it’s changed to a 2 lapper on the other side of the lake. The lake itself is a great spot with no current or any other hiccups, will benefit the more streamlined swimmers because of the freshwater. A good thing is that I can drink all the water I need during the swim. It shouldn’t be hard to go under 30, but you never know.

The bike

It winds down from the blue lake through the red forest and onto the airport road, then there’s a couple of bumps on the way to lake tarawera and then back home the same way. I am doing an innocent desctiption here, the course profile may help me better.

The first time I went sub-3hr. I hope I can be around 2.45 this time around. And keep some legs for later.

The run

This is the most awesome half marathon I’ve ever done. It is a full off-road run that circles the blue lake twice and goes through a fine gravel path to a forestry operation and further on to the buried village. The upside is the amount of shade you get around the lake area. The downside is the hills, steps and bumps all over the place, but it is good fun. It didn’t look like fun in 2008, though, when I ran a 1.52. I am hoping to stay under 90mins.

The athlete

This was the last A race of the year but it has been downgraded due to my enforced rest a few weeks back. Training since mid October has been steady, with a few nice surprises in the test sets. The body weight is floating between 72 and 74 and should stay there for the next month. The heart rate readings in the morning have been coming down from the last week. There’s two or three more days to bring it even further down. Sleep has been below average, it is a worry that will sure sort itself out after the holiday.

The plan

I need to stop at the bike shop to get gels, CO2’s, killer instinct and a pair of climbing legs. Then it’s gonna be like this: swim hard for the first half lap, then stay in a good group and see what happens. On the bike, get to halfway point in 1.20 and take it easy for 5km, hit is hard after that and kill those hills. You never know how the legs will be for the run, but if they are OK we’ll be running 8km real good and then see what happens.

A hot weekend

2010-12-13T10:05:00.000+13:00

Race day minus 5. Taper weeks is on and the weekend was the last blast before the HIM and the later Xmas break.

I could not avoid the big work Xmas do on the Friday, but I limited myself to a couple of quiet beers. It was a good feed for the solid workouts to come.

Saturday was a hot day out, I biked for 40mins with my mate Gordo, and then we did the usual brick session (40-45min swim, 1hr bike, 25min run), I got home to a great breakfast and a even nicer nap. Such a beautiful day, Saturday. Pity we ended up having to do a little Xmas shopping instead of going to the beach and lie down.

I want a fixie for Xmas

Sunday was a 3 hour ride out to Betthels beach, we didn’t quite make it there, but we were “close enough” to the 3 hours. It was gentleman’s pace, so the legs felt OK for a 20min run off the bike. The rest of the day was out on the beach on the hot Auckland weather. I should have drank more water and I paid it later.

After the night sleep it was the last big swim session, we did about 4km with 400 TT, 200TT and 100m sprints, a real beauty. I have my good sleep assured after the swim only, and the rest of the day will be work and cooper’s test at night. Bring it on!

As I said, I’d pay for my poor hydration on a later stage. Half way through the swim my shoulders locked up, it was sort of a cramp, but a rather painless one. The end result was the same, though, I was unable to swim comfortable. After a few stretches it was all back to semi-normal conditions, but I wonder how much different the last two TT’s would have been.

All in all, a great weekend with solid training, good confidence boosters on the pool and a good outlook for the rest of the week, with the taper programme kicking in after tonight.

This is the last week of what I intended to be a base training period. There is 4 more weeks that will be still mainly aerobic stuff, but with the holiday in the middle, it will be a random pattern. It didn’t turn out as I originally thought in terms of the miles clocked on the bike and run. I should probably use the next 4 weeks to focus on doing some more long slow and hill rep stuff on both disciplines. The swim is OK, and I have to ensure I can keep clocking close to 15km for the week.

Congrats to all the ones sweating it out in the Taupo Half this weekend, great numbers all over the place.

Stay tuned for the RotoVegas race forecast.

Race Report - The Great NZ Santa run

2010-12-09T11:25:00.000+13:00

Being Santa in the Southern hemisphere is a hard job. Not only you have to endure the summer heat and heat waves in the core of the solstice, but you have also a hard time trying to find raindeer.
Some colleagues and I decided to enter this charity event that supports the KidsCan foundation. KidsCan does a great job in helping children achieve big things, or small ones, but making sure they do what children must do and have all they need in terms of food, education, and support networks.

The race is only an excuse to get people together and raise some much needed funds. The circuit was a 3km that was later changed to a 2.5km for safety reasons, and there was about 300 santas on the start line.

My warm-up was very poor but I avoided the cravings for a beer and a pie at O'Hagans. We did a few stretches (see photo attached) and then the race was on. I swear I saw people with the Nike Lunar races and other racing flats gear. I said to my mates that we only needed to stay in the front group.

We run in a bunch of 20 for the first 500m and then the pace picked up a bit, the bunch went down to 7 or 8 th. By the halfway point my heart rate started to pick up and I was breathing my own facial hair (see photo), so I decided to go for bigger strides. It turned out the first three guys upped the tempo a bit more. All the field was coming the other way and we had to negotiate our way through a lot of santas, my side jumping skills came handy at this point and I had a clean ride. Some other weren't that lucky and I heard a few bumped into each other in the heat of the race.

The last km was less chaotic and I was able to stick to the front guys, there was a final turnaround and 400m to go, someone launched a sprint and I tried to follow but had no legs, then the old diesel engine picked up and I managed to finish 2nd in a time of 7.20. I rolled through the line in joy.

All in all a good fun race, I'll make sure next year I get a proper running programme and a tapper week for the event.

Ho Ho Ho!

the big limiter

2010-12-06T21:41:00.000+13:00

yesterday was a day of races, two big triathlons on the same day, one in Auckland, the other in Mt Maunganui, I've never raced any of them in the oly distance, and I hope to do so next year.

Anyway, a day of races and many guys in the squad were stoked to have achieved more than they hoped for at this time of the year. They were not big races in the national calendar, but for these guys they were either the first one of the season, of the first one ever or a good hit out before a big race in the next month or so. That got me thinking on how good it is to have great results, and how important it is to discover that most of our boundaries are locked from the neck up.

Our mind is the biggest limiter, and our ability to whithstand pain on the third place I'd put flexibility. But there's no doubt a great deal of our training and racing is played in the head. I had my doubts about being able to run below 40 when I first entered triathlon, I wondered if it was at all possible to run under 40 after biking for a good 70 minutes. And then it happened.

The same thing during training, every now and then coach will throw a crazy number for a swim or run interval. There are two types of answer, the first one is to start thinking about how feasible it is to go for it, this is the mind trying to avoid the body getting yet another trashing by going hard. The other answer is to duck down and see what happens. I never know which one I am gonna give, but I am trying to marshall my thoughts towards b.

As the months go through we all get to know more and more about our body, its strengths and weaknesses, and at times we may take other people's word on what they think is one weakness of ours. This can be rather toxic if it stays in the back of our mind. For example, someone could say that I am not great getting off the saddle in the bike. If it comes from someone that I respect, I'll take it, but I need to be strong and proud enough to know that this is an observation of my fitness on one particular time, not an observation of my cycling skills in general. If I can't get to isolate or contextualize the observation, there's the risk that I'd believe and live by that opinion, which will increase my limitations in getting my arse off the seat when I'm racing. (by the way, I am not famous for jumping off the seat of my bike)

How could I become a smarter racer? I wondered, and although I don't have an answer to that, I am taking this year to explore and be as good as I can in remembering every little thing that goes through my head during training and racing, and how many times I focus on what I think I won't be able to achieve.

I hope to find the triggers and work through them. I have enough experience and more important, I've seen a lot of my mates do what they believed was not possible, that should be able to counter balance the limits the mind tries to put so the body doesn't hurt.

On the training front, I'm still spitting the last bits of the flu, I'd say that I am 90% there, and in good spirits for a moderate/hard week ahead.

Stay tuned for more on the upcoming race, miles, and hopefully some fresh photos.

good coach / bad coach

2010-12-04T20:15:00.000+13:00

between racing and coaching, i will always take racing. Being a coached athlete, i think, it's easier than being the coach himself. You have to wear the good coach/bad coach hats at all times and some of us are a real pain in the neck at times.

In my particular case, I have a good relationship with my coach, and I tend to keep him up to date to the smallest details. I like to try new things and sometimes works gets in the middle, so I make sure the alternatives are discussed and it all moves forward nicely. Some other times I tend to step out of the programme just for fun and do a little sprint that was not meant to be and the training run becomes a little race for 2 or 3 minutes, that seems to annoy him pretty good.

Anyway, where I am going is that besides the odd incident our partnership works well, I get the results and when it doesnt work, we figure alternatives.

This afternoon I went to put up a tri club tent on a race venue. The race is tomorrow and we're making sure the club is there to support its athletes. Being on the race environment I felt like I could do one tomorrow, to make up for the one I missed last Sunday. I was going through all the motions and all and I even convinced Nat to OK it. But then I thought I better check with the big boss, and he didn't even think about it, he just said no and that it would not be a good idea to race so soon after the flu.

I'm gutted, there was no option to do it easy or do the sprint distance, it was just NO, he he he. I guess he was wearing the bad coach hat, or the good one, who knows.

It'll be 4 hours ride instead,

one week

2010-12-01T16:19:00.000+13:00

That’s how much time went between workouts.

It was an unwanted holiday, but there was no opting out. After days of fever, boredom and very interesting readings and filmwatching it was time to hit the road.

I was tempted to have a full day of training for myself, given that work was out of the picture, but fortunately, the calm prevailed and it was 1hr ride and 1hr gym to start with. Everything was nice and relaxed, and even though recovery took a bit longer that usual I am happy I was in the right path.

That was yesterday.

Today I’m back to work and I opted out of swimming in the outside pool and give my throat extra couple of days for recovery. There’s a long run in the agenda and Auckland is looking beautiful.

What’s next?

I don’t know if any changes are needed in the programme, there may be a bit of tweaking to do, but nothing overly serious. I had to pull out of a race in my schedule, there’s no other I can do to replace it (well, there is, but it is this weekend and I would probably benefit more from a long ride).

I have 18 days to pull out one hell of a race in my next HIM (and probably the last of the season). I need to work-work-work.

On another note, we've been confirmed that Lance Armstrong is gonna race the Xterra festival in April, and Mirinda Carfrae will be taking on IMNZ. There's little more you can do to sell out a race and these guys will be jumping in joy. Which brings me back to the fun of doing triathlons in this little country. There aren't many sports that allow you to race alongside big superstars, I hope I can race against Lance, and kick his fat a**, that's all the motivation I needed from now till mid April, he he he.

cheers!

what can I do?

2010-11-25T09:34:00.000+13:00

after a busy weekend with a double whammy on Saturday (brick session in the morning, long ride in the afternoon) and Sunday off with Nat just arrived from Argentina, I was happy to go out swimming on Monday morning.

The reason is that this is the first hard week on the programme since October, and I've been missing the hammer sessions. Monday's swim was certainly challenging but it's out of the way now.... so all good. The running session was a beauty, 6 hill reps at level 3/4 of the heart rate.

Tuesday was a bike TT but Nat got sick and I had to look after her, so it didn't happen, then another hard swim on Wednesday and back home.

I soon as I finished breakfast I knew I was more tired than usual, and two hours later I was in bed with fever. It turned out that for the first time in ages I got sick. The rest of the day was miserable, and I just got up to more misery, I'm going to the doctor now and see what's the story.

I was suposed to race on the weekend, there's the first race of the national series, but I'm afraid I won't be a starter.

On the bright side, there's plenty of books to read and a couple of good movies to catch up with.

Stay safe out there

why bother

2010-11-21T06:35:00.000+13:00

During last week's HIM I got some time to myself and besides the obvious nerves of the race, I started asking myself some questions.
It is not strange, I s'posse, that we ask ourselves questions before, during and after the race. What I am doing here? Can I finish this race? Am I going to hard/slow? where's my gels? why on earth did I pay $xyz to get here if I'm not feeling 100%? and the list goes on.
Those are the types of questios that often times come, showing that the mind is still the most powerful determinant to the result of our race. If you give yourself the wrong answer, you're cooked, you're off the zone and the race is no longer your race, or a race, but something else much more negative than it was intended to be.
Karapiro was not high in my list of races, but after the dissapointment of Budapest, I guess the result came as a good pat in the back. Back to the questions, I was on my bike and had this plan of being conservative for the first hour or so. More than a few went past me and at some point I questioned if I was being too conservative and letting go more than it should be. The answer was not, or better, not at this early point of my training and with little strength on the legs.

The other questions came on the run, I was running fresh and happy, with my chin up and not thinking 'bout the time. As I was passing through a boring part of the course I questioned why bother coming to a place 3 hours from home, without Nat to do a race that would mean little to my season and without throught a little day out afterwards. I said I was happy, so, in a happy mood I said to myself that it is not the destination what matters sometimes, what matter is the trip.

My destinations for this season are three, both Nationals after Feb, and a Half in a month's time. There's little chance that I'll be in peak form for the Half, but at least I'll be setting a benchmark for what it was the base block of the training. There are other races mixed in between, and I am sure the questions will come to me at some point. But, as I said, what matters is the trip. Training and racing takes me to a bunch of beautiful places. Been out on the bike, or swimming in the ocean or doing a running trail, I get to see this country in a way I never thought of. Many training sessions are not just that, but a trip to the outdoors and the chance to see those great places. That's what matters to me.
So, why bother? I guess that I bother because each time I am out there I am doing one of the things I like the most, and I am very humbled that I have the chance to do it and proud to be doing it. Giving up would be stabbing myself in the back.

Seriously - this is how I started running

2010-11-18T14:12:00.000+13:00

Patrick's post posted the question, and when I remember I just have fun about it.
Argentina is a football country, we all play it at school, secondary school, grown ups, and so on. My dad plays week in and week out with his mates, even though he's got a bad back. Even though I was not super talented for the sport, I played for some time with my friends but never seriously. I did play basketball for some time, but I wasn't super talented either. We trained to play basketball and that was the first time many of us were introduced to training schedules, routines and specificity. After moving to the big smoke I left all sports aside and picked up swimming in our last year in Buenos Aires.
Many friends would go out running, but I found it boring as, and never got to run over 3km without questioning what the hell was I doing running.

So, at 25 I had never been "out for a run" outside the basketball training, which was usually around the court. It was the winter of 2006 when I decided to enter the 1/4 marathon in Auckland, which was 3 months away. We've been out for a few runs with my flatmate Julian (out of boredom) and that winter I pinned together a training plan (run 2 or 3 times a week) to make it 10km. I entered the race never ever having run more than 8km and I was still not fully convinced by running as a sport.

The following year I started swiming even more seriously, and entered the half marathon. That winter the runs got longer and longer and I even managed to do a 17km run before the race. That was when I started not taking the Ipod with me and actually run to run and not to listen to music.
I guess I had some talent because I did a sub 50min for my first ever 10km and a 1.45 for my first ever half marathon. Finishing the big run gave me the confidence to give triathlons a go.
Over the past 3/4 years it has grown on me to the point where the mileage has increased ten or twentyfold. And I even got my lovely wife hooked.

Juan

2010-11-17T20:49:00.000+13:00

He's the big guy on the left and my brother in law. Got to see me racing once together with the bunch and they had a cracker of a day just yelling s--t while I struggled with my run.

I remember him shouting while I went over the turnaround cone for about 5 metres.

Today was his birthday and he wasn't here to celebrate, life is a bitch sometimes.
So, here's to him.

Karapiro Half - latest news

2010-11-15T21:54:00.001+13:00

It turned out I was not as fast as I thought, althougth I did pretty much as guesstimated in my previous post. Here's the full data:
finishing time: 4.49.58
Swim+T1: 32.16 - Bike+T2: 2.49.04 - Run:1.28.38

12th overall and 4th in the age goup. slower than last year, but better overall placing... funny.

Sunday and Monday were relatively easy, with 2hr ride + 1hr swim (good times, tho) and 1hr run.
Tomorrow is day off, and it all starts again on Wednesday

Karapiro Half - race report

2010-11-14T15:39:00.000+13:00

The week leading to the half was different to the usual pre-race week with Nat not being around and me being super organized and having all my week's meals ready on the Sunday prior. It was boring to be on my own, but on the bright side, I watched some good war and sci-fi movies and I was involuntarily getting over 8 hours sleep. The HR checks indicated I was in good form.
So, after a couple of hour's drive I got to Cambridge and then to the lake to pick the race pack and attend the briefing, I didn't do any running or biking in the evening. A pretty average pizza wasn't the ideal dinner, but it wasn't that bad either. I had eaten well all week and I made sure I was snacking well as well. I stayed with italian Nick, one of my training mates. He was good company and we helped each other doing all the setup for the race.
Breakfast was the usual toast, peanut butter, banana and honey and 3 gels, and a shot of redbull. We drove to T1 and got things sorted, from there we drove to the swim start.
Swim + T1

The day was a stunner and Lake Karapiro looked very inviting to race. We started together with the teams, so it was about 250 peopl dashing to the first buoy 50 metres into the lake. After a left turn at that buoy, the aim is to make it to the boat ramp 2km down the road. I did what I have planned and made it to the buoy among the top 10, then got clear water and went about my business with a relaxed pace. It worries me that sometimes I may be too relaxed and not to "racy" in these type of swims. Anyway, I made sure no one went past me without me drafting of their feet. It turned out only 2 people passed me (maybe more, but they were too far off the my line of sight) Over the last 500m I picked up the tempo and got off the water in about 29 minutes (I did not wear any watches in this race).

T1 was slow, I had a gel on the run to transition and got my bike jersey, helmet, sunnies, socks and shoes and the pump. Nick came right after me and we ran out of T1 together.
Bike+T2
I posted before about the bike course at this race. It's challenging and getting it right is getting your race right. I haven't done a lot of strength training over the last three months if I wanted to have some legs for the run I needed to be smart in using my energy. The plan was to start conservative and keep a good cadence and rythm. Eat one gel every 45 min, drink every 15. I had a cereal bar just in case, but I don't do well with solid food on races.
The first hour was spot on, I was peddalling on 98rpm, there was westerlies blowing but nothing extraordinary. As long as the speedo kept being over 36km/h I was a happy man. About a dozen people biked past me on the first hour. I wasnt sure if they were experienced in the course or just new to it and had a different plan, nevertheless it didn't worry me, wich is a good sign of mental strenght: I knew I was doing the right thing for my race and I wasn't going to deviate from the plan. I had my first gel at 48 min.
And then the hills started
I went to the small chainring on every one of them, made it to the halfway marker/aid station and had 6 riders on sight. I was happy with my plan. There's a descent of about 7km with gentle bends and good straights, I pedalled all the way down and by the end I had passed 4 of the riders. the other two were just 500m up the road. That descent marks the start of the hills, I kept working to plan and passed 2 more riders, another couple passed me as well. I had my second gel and kept pedalling, by now I was in company of someone in similar conditions, we played cat and mouse for about 20km and then he peeled off in the last hill before the lake. From the lake to T2 is about 12km into the wind. I didn't made any progress on the guy. I found a red bull in my lunchbox, downed it and kept pedalling at 98 till T2. The plan appeared to have worked, I was tired but not spent and happy to start a half marathon. The bike speedo said 2.47. Not flash, but not bad at all. T2 was fast, I got my cap and sunnies and headed out

Run

I am used to short, fast races where the first km is real fast and then it slows down just a little bit to end up with an even faster last couple of km. The half required a different approach and it greatly depended on how much damage was done by the hill cycle course. I hit the pavement on a good sub 4min for the first 5km, then I faded a bit and kept running in good form but not very fast. I watered at the 3km, 7km and 10km and again on the same places on the second lap. I think I ran well because no one passed me and I managed to catch 3 or 4 guys that flew past me in the bike. I don't have a time, but I guess it should be about the 1.30mark.I was happy and proud the plan worked and even though I got a bit of cramping I think I've never felt so good in a half marathon run. I thought about a lot of things while running, but that's material for another post.

The overall balance is positive, very positive. I gained a lot of confidence for the next one in a month's time and I also have some feedback for the coach on areas we can improve between now and then. I missed my favourite supporter/photographer but I think she would be really proud to have watched me yesterday.

another race!, and some times

2010-11-10T13:10:00.000+13:00

Today I entered the race. The Karapiro half ironman is a nice little race situated in Lake Karapiro, Waikato. I’ve said before, the lake is famous for breeding the best of NZ rowing and many rowers take on multisport of the occasion.

The swim is on a fresh water natural lake, we’re bussed 2km up the road to the swim start, then the course is to go 70m into the lake, swim parallel to she shore for 1.7km and another couple of hundred metres into shore again. Transition is just next to the lake and it’s pretty straight forward. Freshwater swimming is a good opportunity to do a fast-ish time as you don’t have much challenge from swells or waves, you can stretch and glide in every stroke and go hard without blowing up.

The bike is a big 90km loop that takes us out around a big mountain called…..mountain. It is not a fast circuit, but the first hour is a solid ride where we can expect to make good advances. Then it start to get worrying, with some hills, and more hills and more hills. Not big ones, but the succession of them makes them a threat. On a fine day it’s a 2.40 ride, we’ll see how that works in real life. We end up in downtown Cambridge, where the second transition is. the whole town is out there watching.

The run is a semi urban 2 laps circuit that goes on the riverside and then onto some new subdivisions just out of town. There’s a single hill on the run and it’s a 2min climb that does some damage. On a fine day we’d be roasting under the mid morning sun.

The race is a prep race in my calendar. I’ve have trained regularly for it, with long rides and long runs, but I am only half way there, there is a lot more of strength and endurance work to be done in the next 5 weeks so I am not looking for flash results. On the other hand, it is a race, so I will give an honest effort to try to get as high as possible on the final results. There is one mate racing alongside and he’s going to be a serious threat to many as he’s trained hard over the whole winter and is ready to hit it. I shall see him going past me after 40odd minutes on the bike.

It was a weekd of Time trialling, except for the run, that has been very shy for my liking. Monday we did 1km repetitions at a steady 3.30's and Tuesday was our return to the Aipor Oaks time trial, we have the chance of a 16km 25km or 40km TT. I choose the middle distance, it's long enough for me, he he he. I'm happy with my overall performace of 41minutes and even happier that the new bike geometry is working OK for TT effort, I was able to power through on head wind sections that usually would be a pain in the back. I even managed to run decentll for 1km after the bike.
Today was a swimm TT in the morning, I was lucky I only had to do it once, the other guys in the lane had to do it again after 5min rest. 1000m under 13.30 is OK forme and I walked out of the poos feeling good.
Three more days to race day, it's time to start with a race plan, and checklists and so on

4 cars, 1 truck and 2 utes

2010-11-08T10:08:00.000+13:00

That’s how many vehicles went past us on the Sunday long ride. Rural Auckland on a Sunday morning is a nice, lazy, green and hilly place to be. Getting out and back into the city is a bit more complicated and traffic is bad, but it’s only 40 minutes. The ride was long and at a very civilized pace, one of my mates was still a bit tired from the 200km K2 race and the other one is training for a half marathon, so he was just happy to pull as along. 6 days before my half ironrace it was logical not to over-do it.

On the positive side, I found my legs were OK for most of the ride and I didn't have to push real hard to keep going up the hills. I was not doing anything anaerobic and still managed to climb well.

Saturday was my return to brick sessions @ the beach, we had a sunny Auckland morning and even though I lost the way on the 30km bike leg I still had lots of ward work done. Surprisingly, the swim was particularly hard.

This week is about sleeping lots, so I’ll get underway with a siesta and try to keep things moving.

Hope your weekend was fun!,

Pure Blonde Series – Race 2 Report

2010-11-05T11:06:00.000+13:00

Conditions were better for the second round of the Pure Blonde swim-run series. For starters, we had very little wind and the air temperature was well above the 15 degrees we had in the starting race. Water temperature was on 18 degrees, so it would be a better playing field.

There was a change of the swim course due to difficulties with the surf lifesavers not turning up to patrol. Instead of an out and back course 300m into the sea we had a 50m swim to the first buoy, then parallel for 200m and then back to the start for a second lap.
We had more people doing the race as well, so it was a really cool day to be out racing.

I started my swim full on for 50m to avoid complications in the turn, as 50m is not enough distance to sort out fast and slower swimmers and the whole field would be squeezing together. Got to the buoy alright, yet a little wide then it was a tail swell until the next one. All I could see was the buoy and the guy ahead of me getting farther and farther away. I swam with all my might to keep the gap to a minimum. Got to the start of the second lap in second position and after the first turn my mates Reado and Jeremy caught me. I did the lazy thing and let them pull me through the second lap. Thinking in retrospective, I should have stayed in the lead of our minibunch.

4th out of the water and into transition, got sorted quickly and started running in third place. The first swimmer had 1min and something on us. Reado was ahead by 25m but he can’t run fast due to injury so I ran past him and we kind of bunched for the next km or so, then I kept going and he kept doing his thing. At the turnaround I saw the first guys was within reach (about 20secs) I tried and I tried, but my legs had little strength to increase the cadence and I just could not surge. I guess more endurance and speed specific later in the season will sort this out. I ended up second 15 secs from the winner.

As I was running I thought to myself that the rest of the series will be very interesting, I’m going through the first bit of my training and I do hope that results keep improving and I can get a better placing. But you can only control what you can control, and sometimes there’s better ones racing and it is only fair they take the prize.

Thoughts on speed, and an extraordinary evening

2010-11-04T13:26:00.000+13:00

You all may do the same and leave the mind wonder while doing those long runs or rides or swims. One of the thoughts that came to me (apart from the supermarket list, stuff about my friends in Argentina and what I would wear for Friday at work) was that there’s a point where speed becomes a by product. I’ll explain, as we keep training and getting fitter and then increasing volumes we all have small or big gains in terms of speed and race results. We may even think we can stop ageing, but that’s not true.

After some time, we all hit a point where the gains get smaller and smaller, and that when we realize that we can’t beat ageing and we can’t beat genetics. However, we can certainly keep improving and that’s when the focus changes to technique. By just reading many of our blogs it’s easy to see a trend that many times end up with us doing small changes to hour swim, run or pedal stroke or cadence and get to another level in each discipline. Stretching seems to be a big one, and then coache’s advise on swimming and running are just behind. I am not sure how it works on the bike, though.

I guess what I wanted to say is that the main focus many times is not going harder faster, but doing it in a way that has not other result than going faster, and then going harder AND faster. Funny, hum?

The second part of this blog is about last nite. There’s this race called stroke and stride, it’s been held in Mission Bay, Auckland for some 20 years now. There’s plenty of stories and many world champions had raced there. It’s a swim-run event and is fast and furious, but it also a good introduction to multisport. Last evening was the first race of this season, and while the girls were out, there was a pod of orca whales swimming with them. This was not a stunt by a wetsuit manufacturer, it was real black big mammals swimming 100metres from shore.

The organizers had to delay the men’s start until the rowers and surf lifesavers moved the whales out. It was cool to watch and I guess it could have played in some of the men starting the race 5min later. The photo is thanks to Sarah, who saw her husband venture into the sea of killer whales. I was supposed to start but I couldn’t fit my long run any earlier, so that’s why I was in the sidelines. Only in New Zealand, he he he

Cooper's test is back

2010-11-02T16:32:00.000+13:00

With any new campaign it comes the time to set a benchmark. Cooper’s test at the beginning of the season are that, a benchmark to keep us honest during the next four to six months. Yesterday was a nice day to be out on the track. Many mates did not do the test because the past weekend was a long miles day for them . There was the 200km K2 race, that is really similar to having TdF hills day running in your backyard. And there was the Auckland Marathon and half marathon, both of them filled since June.

Over the weekend I felt the lower part of the calf suffering a bit on the run. I was afraid it would repeat for the cooper’s test, but it didn’t and I’m happy about it. Winter test are done in a 600m loop in concrete with 2 big sharp turnarounds. Summer tests are done in a 400m oval loop in the grass. The splits for each of them are different for obvious reason, so it pays to be aware what to expect for each lap.

Unfortunately the track is not in optimal condition as there are a few bumps and the grass is a bit long. We still gathered a good crowd and I suffered from not having a couple of my fast pacers along. I started on 1.17 and finished on 1.19. The rest of the laps were on the 1.20 to 1.25 range and there were 9 of them. 2 very good ones, one excellent and six average laps.

I’m happy as my pb on the track was 50 metres shorter than what I did yesterday, so I’m preparing myself for harder workouts to come, but also nicer numbers on a 10k’er.

That's two training buddies fromt he old guard, Bob and Cyril, both of them do over 3100m on their cooper's test at their 50's.

ambitious

2010-10-31T16:54:00.001+13:00

As the saying goes, it's not good to confuse ambition with ability. We went out for an in course training for the half ironman that a couple of us are doing in two week's time in Karapiro. I remember from last year that the course is hard-ish with a long succession of small hills that play with your head if you're not in top game. When I did it last year I had a few longer rides under the belt and I prepared for the race quite seriously. I was also getting married six days later, so the mind was in top game.

By the way, if you are a rowing fan, the world championships are being held there over the next week. It's a nice location for a multisport race, but somehow the HIM is a low key race. Anyway, back to my business. We went there with Nick and Jeremy who are both handy riders and have done the miles. I know I haven't and I know it's OK because my program is going at a different pace and maybe in a different direction altogether. However it was a good training opportunity and I was not going not to take it. We were greeted by clear blue skies on a side and gray clouds on the other side, we were heading towards the clear blue skies. I kind of knew the road but vaguely, but none of the other two seem to know it so we came to an arrangement that if I was not on the lead I's shout at the turns.

It was a harder ride than I thought, the main reason is that we had 80% of the ride with head or cross winds. I hate them both in equal terms because I suck at riding into the wind. I never got the hang of it and get frustrated quite easily. I held my form and told the guys that I would have nothing for the second part of the ride where the ondulations are. I was not that far behind, but I was pushing harder than the other bastards. In the process I took the wrong turn at one point and we rode 6km into two big hills to a dead end street. LOL.

The last 20km were annoying enough but it all went OK once we got to a ridge that overlooks the lake. The place was busy as in pre-race mode, the world champs start time was for later in the day and there was plenty of crews coming and going and the midday sun gave it all a beautiful glare. I had my camera but was too concentrated in getting back to the truck and hanging the bike for good.

We did the last 10km into the wind with no troubles, and ran for 35minutes after. The legs were OK and the crowd in the streets were all nice to us thinking we were rowers in training, it was a fun run. So, not to confuse ambition with ability. I know I can ride 90km, but I knew in advanced I was going to push harder than the other two. What I didn't calculate was the wind factor and how much it would f---k me up, he he he.

Sunday was a lazier day and I got up at 7, went for a solo brick session. On the bike part I was happy to feel the legs were there. I saw another training buddy, Kev, doing his Sunday long ride so I modified my course and rode with him for a good quarter of an hour. Kev is a veteran IM but has a dodgy knee so now he just does Oly distance. He managed to kick my ass in a TT three months ago, not sure what drugs he take.

rest of the weekend is sofa time, reading and getting ready for November.

Mt Eden, Auckland

2010-10-28T17:27:00.000+13:00

Hill reps are back on the menu. Today was time to hit Mt. Eden again for a dozen times. The fresh morning breeze and watching dawn as I was clicking up the hill was a great feeling. It just doesn’t get any better.

Well, yes… it does. It is when you can do the same while swimming and that was what swimming in the new pool provided me with. It was not overly long distance, but I know it would be silly to jump from just over 3km to 5km.

The weeks are now taking a familiar shape, with training, a race every couple of weeks, more training, long rides and good sleeps. It’s about time I start playing with nutrition again to see if any further advances can be made in that front.

In the next month or so I have three races, two swim-runs and a half ironman. In my prior to HIM races I’ve been disappointed on the run times. I believe I'm capable of running a decent half marathon after a 90km ride. I’m trying to work out a new nutrition plan. Last time I went for bonk bars, gels and water and it didn’t work. I think I found a new weapon in the form of NUUN tablets. I think the scheme is going to be NUUN in every water bottle, 3 gels on the bike and another couple on the run. We’re doing an on-course training this sat, so I’ll give it a shot.

Tomorrow is an action packed day, training in the morning and midday +exams+last day ever at my current workplace (I’m not leaving, my workplace is merging into a regional authority instead of a city council). I’m probably out of the next for a couple of days.

first impressions

2010-10-27T20:18:00.000+13:00

I took the new bike out for a spin yesterday morning. I hadn’t ridden for some time and I managed to do a decent couple of hours.

The TCR Advanced is the lower of the racing bikes line of Giant. As the name states, Giant is no picnic, they have a large range and there’s constant updates, colour layout and so on. I’ve always been a bit apprehensive of big brands, for no particular reason. That said, I had a trek 1000 as my first road bike, and I had an old Giant from the first carbon eras and they were both great bikes.

Back to my ride, I was undecided between the bike I got and a TCR Alliance, which is a funny combination of carbon and alloy, the price was pretty much the same, but there was the 105 vs. Ultegra issue and the full carbon vs. alloy carbon issue. I ended up with a 105 setup, I don't know if luckily or not, but this bike didn't come with compact cranks.

Tuesday morning was the date and I took the bike for its first ride, easy spin for 10 minutes and then rolling hills for most of the next hour and a half. It ended up with a 8km TT section with headwind and back spinning home via the upland hills. The first thing to note is that 105 has come a long way, but it is sill a long way from Ultegra in terms of shifting performance and overall smoothness. I don’t love it, but it will grow on me. The second thing is that this bike is a pretty solid performer on the climbs and can hold some efforts. I reckon is a good combination of the oversized bottom bracket and the Aksium race wheels. They are not the lightest wheel, but they do the job and don’t need a lot of maintenance.

Steering up and down the hills is great and there were no wobbles in the speedy sections, only a slight drop in the top speed, but I'll probably sort that out. The head set is pretty normal, not too big, not too small. It's quite massive as well, but that's what you usually get in Giant.

On the TT section I went on to the drops and felt no loss of power, so the guy that sold and fitted it to me did a great job, Thanks Steve.

It’s a great improvement for me to finally have the right size of bike, with pretty much the right specs and a geometry that favours the type of riding I do. I look forward to more k’s on it and confirming if these impressions are right.

Another first time was for our new swimming squad. We’re now in an outdoor non heated pool and we have the whole pool for ourselves with no fast 11 year olds making us feel old and slow. The session is also a bit longer (1.5hr) but being on a wetsuit kind of makes it sweet. On the downside, I'm now driving 15min to get there opposite to 4mins from the other pool... that means less sleep.

some more on that to come tomorrow.

weekend wrap up

2010-10-26T11:10:00.000+13:00

We travelled circa 300km to get some solitude, sun and blue seas and skies. And we got that and more. It was such an awesome weekend.

Saturday was my first incursion into BFR and it wasn’t as great as I expected, but a good try nonetheless. I backed it up with another long run, but this time I was smart and used socks and shoes and ran on the hard sand. It was just neat.

Monday was off, with some serious driving and studying and siesta to do. And then back to normal.

The Xterra world champs were held in Maui the past weekend. I’ve never done one of those, but I know I will, once I start riding MTB’s.

My mate Martin was doing the age group race. Martin kicked is in the 40-44 age group and kicked my ass in Budapest just over a month ago. This time he did another kick ass job and finished 5th in his AG. I wonder where he get’s all the stamina to keep training hard and harder and harder again to do so well to qualify for both world champs and keep performing well. I think his secret is all those chocolate milk cartons he uses on a daily basis, but It’s still to be confirmed.

I also got a programme from the Coach and it looks pretty well thought and not to tiring, which is good and bad, because tiredness is not harmful in the right measures. From tomorrow we’re moving outdoors to a new pool. We also got an extra ½ hour of swimming which will be great.

Summer is in the air, and it’s looking nicer than expected

Keep rocking out there,

Product review: Barefoot Running

2010-10-24T08:20:00.000+13:00

Friday was an ok day after the crap weather of Thursday, early morning swim, coffee and work. it's also quite special because it is the first long weekend of spring, labour weekend.

that means two things: a. summer is round the corner and b.traffic will be bad going north, south east or west. two million people on the roads going to the beach, the mountains, the lakes or wherever they love going;

Kayaks, mt.'s, road bikes, surfboards, beach tables, boats and all sorts of summery stuff hangs out of cars.

We opted to go to Ohope beach, in the the Bay of Plenty, east of the north island. 4 hours of driving and a supergood stop at a cheese factory cum coffees shop. It was a stunning day and the our little unit in the holiday park is just neat.

So, fed by all the positive vibes from racing on Thursday, a cool friday in town and a mid spring break I decided I'd give it a try to barefoot running (BFR). We had lunch first, and a constitutional siesta.

So... at 4.30pm it set off wearing just my running shorts, aiming to get some brown back to my skin and a good 70min workout of BFR in the sand. The beach at Ohope just goes on and on and on, it was a balmy 18 degrees with south easterlies, I was running north-west for the first half hour and it felt like it couldn't get any better than that. I turned around at about 7km and got a bit of head cross wind but nothing to worry. The tide was coming in so I went a bit further up the beach on softer sand.

Towards the end of the run I started to note my big toes getting a bit itchy, I though it would be the friction with the sand causing some minor trouble. I told myself off for being so fresh about BFR and doing such a long workout with no previous slow start. Then I felt the right calf starting to get tight. But it was only 10 more minutes to get back to the start, so I just sucked it up and kept running.

When I stopped I checked my plants and there they were, two big blisters the size of a 2 dollar coin, one on my big toe and the other on the ball of each feet.

I went on stretching for 10 mins or so to loosen up the calves and quads and gluteals.

Overall I'd rate BFR 8/10. It is a good change from the weekly routines, in my case it makes me work harder with the lower calf and not that much with the gluteals. I did a few efforts to try it out and my stride is pretty much the same, but it still feels a bit jumpier than shoe running.

On another note, I found a new bike, but I didn't bring it with me so it has not been tested yet, there will be more to come on that front.

Race report - Pure Blonde swim-run series race I

2010-10-22T14:28:00.000+13:00

Wooohoo!
we are rollin'!!!!
It is true that it could have been a better day, the weather was playing and there were a few showers and chilly winds.
It is also true that the water could have been a bit warmer than the 15 or 16 degrees that we were told on the race briefing
And we could have had a flat non-chop swim.
But racing is racing and you can't choose the conditions, you can only choose the approach. So... yes.. it wasn't a great day to start the season but there was no way I was missing the first ever event of this series. One of the reasons is that I always like to do the first event of a series due to all the goodie bags and so on. The second reason is that the Pure Blonde swim-run series are organized by my coach and supports me on many of my endeavours. There are not many opportunities to give back, and this was a golden one, so there I was.
There wasn't a big field and I don't blame them, it's hard to take on a sea like we did yesterday, and for many this was an unknown event in a beach in the suburbs. Many training buddies and friends of the tri world rocked to the site and the atmosphere was good and relaxed.

THE SWIM
Point Chevalier beach is located in the west of the city, and it is known to the kite surfing and windsurfing community because the prevailing winds come fromt he west or south west here in Auckland. There's always going to be a little chop, and that is good, it sorts out the good and bad swimmers and it adds a little uncertainty as you never know where you are going.
We swam 2 500m loops in an anticlockwise direction. The chop was coming shoreward and the re was a swell drifting us to the right. I opted for a short and snappy stroke and went out wide. The trouble was that I went too wide because I lost sight of the buoy on my sighting stroke. Once we turn around the buoy it was all sween and long strectchy stroke took me to shore OK. Starting the second lap there was a lot of people coming to shore from all directions, I opted to go wide again and again I was too wide. I could see my mate Jeremy laughing after seeing me too wide. I tried to catch him before the beach but I got short we went up to transition together.

THE RUN
My mate Jeremy is and Ironman and he did an ironman transition, so I got a good 30 secs advantage out of transition. There was one guy 1 or 1.30 min. ahead of us (a pretty good swimmer) and my other mates Carl and Gordo right after. I settled into a good running pace in a nice suburban course with a false flat and a couple of 90 degrees turn. At the turnaround for the second lap I was able to gauge the distances and there was a chance that I could catch the first runner and I could not be cought by the two behind me. None of that happened. I finished 2nd on the day, 30 secs behind and 1min clear of third.

All in all a very happy day at the races and I even got a spot prize.

Nat was busy somewhere else and wasnt able to make it, so there won't be photos of this one, will try to get some soon.

no more excuses

2010-10-20T22:03:00.000+13:00

I realize that sometimes I am full of them. But it's about time the break from blog-oh-land is over. Interesting things happened between last tuesday and today.
Fatigue caught up with me on Wednesday (my long run day) after the big miles ride. I enforced a day break for Thursday, which turned out OK because there was a bike ride planned but I found myself with no bike.

I had my bike on Trademe for some time and finally got to sell it. Whoever bought it got a very good deal because the old Avanti Quantum was a really good bike with nothing to envy to more famous and expensive models. And I took reasonable care of it.
So I'm bike hunting, I've gone to all the bike shops of the city and the suburbs. I think I may have some more new on that front tomorrow.
We got Nat a new bike as well (we're no longer going to go to the same swim squad so she can't car pull with me any more)
We had the tri club AGM and my mate Gordon was elected president. Gordo and I are fairly new to the sport and fairly new to the club commitee as well, but he's very good networking guy, hard worker and with enough dedication for sports.
Im gonna extend a bit on that topic. for the ones of you that haven't attended an Annual General Meeting, it is quite a formal exercise due to regulatory requirements. One gets the impression to be living in the dark ages, however it is important to have them to check the health of the club. In my opinion we are now 50/50. With many challenges ahead and decisions to be made about what can be done to engage more and more guys to dedicate a bit more time to the club and make us GREAT.
Why should they make us GREAT? because in less than 2 years we'll be the centre of the triathlon world for a week or so. Auckland will be holding the olympic, paralympic, and sprint distance world champs as well as the aquathlon worlds. Even though the event will be managed by the national body and probably a private event managing company there is a chance for us to leave a mark in a lot of people's mind.

On another note, the official start of the season is tomorrow Thursday, the pure blonde swim-run series is gonna be the first race for many of us, but not the only one, there is the Kohi swim series, the traditional stroke and stride and a few others. All of them short events, but really good opportunities to socialize, make an impression, beat your mates and get beaten. I'd love to have a bigger wallet and support all these events, but I may have to content myself with doing a pic and mix for the next three months.

Big ticks

2010-10-12T14:12:00.000+13:00

There it was another week and little time for blogging. On the positive side, I managed to keep track of the final races for many, and the comebacks of another few athletes.

In my plate there is still some uni stuff to sort out and that has eaten a rather big chunk of time. There was space for training and I’m back into training mode. There will be no programme for the next couple of weeks, because I prefer it that way, just training and taking every day as it comes.

On the weekend it was time to do long stuff, so I re connected with some old good swimming mates that have done another back to back season of swimming. One of them is training for the swim of his life, a 26km trek joining the north and south islands of New Zealand. When he finishes that he’ll be the older person to have done it at age 60.

I figured he would be starting to do some serious mileage now that the water is a warm 15 degrees. Indeed, when I emailed him on Friday he said he would be doing 3 3km laps. I said I’d commit to go with him on one of them, because the first one was too early for my liking (7am). I ended up going for a second lap and was surprised at how much of a difference it makes to keep swimming in the open water once a week. The second lap left me wanting for more, but there was stuff to do. And another big day ahead.

Sunday was time to cycle, this is the third year in a row that right before the start of all the swim-run, triathlons and other running and swimming races we get together with colleagues, training buddies and other mates and cycle from Auckland to the Coromandel, about 200km.

It is a social thing and the pace is a controlled, we stop at several points for pies and coke, and the only big hills of the ride are at the very end just when we had enough of cycling for the day.

It all ends with a ferry ride to town, and a quiet beer. I made my mind that from now on it will be tied up to the big race @ Kona. I’m not gonna name it yet, but I’ll think of a good way to blend both events in the naming.

The logic would dictate a big running day for Monday, but I am not such a kamikaze as to put a marathon in the mix just for the sake of it. So Monday was back to normal and a moderate/hard week of training ahead.

Congrats to you all racing out there, and keep training!

Between two tides

2010-10-05T12:39:00.000+13:00

I wish I had 6 more hours each day. That would allow me to get some extra training, and also some extra “us” and “me” time. The sad true is that there is plenty of catching up that I’ve been doing and I’ve also found myself trapped between two tides.

On the one side there’s 4 to 8 more weeks where I could really benefit of putting big slow-ish miles on the log and working on strengthening my shoulders and core for the harder part of the season after the Xmas break. On the other side, I’m more prone to get sleep-ins and not to take the training sessions too seriously for the rest of the month. This happens naturally and it has happened in the past as well, it’s the body and mind going on a “sleep” mode for a bit to re charge the batteries and start again.

But with a half IM in 5 weeks time, there’s a lot to juggle in trying to get it right while being conscious of not over doing it. It is a fine line and everyday I have to think on my feet to make each session count in a positive way

The first thing is not to do anything anaerobic for the month of October. I’ve used all my “level 5” miles for the term and it will be wise to start collecting some more for when they count (i.e. Nationals). That doesn’t mean that I cannot be one inch below the anaerobic threshold and train in there for the more demanding intervals or strength/endurance sessions.

The second matter is to start the new season diary and keep some content up, which I have been neglecting.

The past week was an adjustment week, I came back to doing two sessions a day for some days but I also took extra days off when needed. The highlight was a 4hr ride on the hills of the waitakere ranges in preparation for our next adventure (this coming Sunday). The start of the season road trip to Coromandel (180km of riding on a Sunday morning and a ferry ride back to Auckland).

I am on the telly!

2010-09-30T17:59:00.000+13:00

http://www.triathlon.org/news/article/2800_age_groupers_compete_in_world_champs/

Thanks to my mate Ro I found the link to the AG triathlon highlights in Budapest, featuring many good athletes of all shapes and sizes, and me suffering on the bike.

Thanks Ro!

The rest of the week has been too busy trying to understand the mechanics of academic writing, I will be back shortly.

random

2010-09-28T19:14:00.000+13:00

Since we came back from Europe we're all over the place with routines. As I said before, there's pressure with the last weeks of uni, and there's not a programme to be followed, so it is all in random mode.
I was feeling like a swim, but never managed to get the timing right, and with spring in the air I jumped on my old faithful Avanti for an easy ride.
I got back at home at half five, and the sun was shinning nicer that any other day on the last 4 months. I just loved it, got myself a coffee and toasts and sat in the sofa reading until I fell asleep.

For the next weeks I am on my own programme, as we still have to catch up with coach and discuss my new plan. I don't change the routines a lot, but I can afford to switch things around and avoid any rain or cold. I've had enough of both. The ride was good enough and I could feel how loose my whole body is compared to a month ago. The back , the legs and the calves are like they've been re born!, they may be loving me at the moment.

It's haf seven and the sky is still clear, I'm gonna go fetch my wife and take her for fish and chips, but don't say anything... it's a surprise!.

Date: 28 Sept
Sport: Cycling
Comment: 2 easy hours in the spring sun.. an urban ride that took me all over the place, loved it!,