End of Season Ride

Apologies for the silence as I took a break from training and generally all things tri for a few weeks as I regrouped towards the second half of my season and the IMWA campaign .

The season ended with a ride 2 weeks ago round the river with 3 coffee stops and here are the pictures coutesy of Lajos Varga , great triathlete and photographer:



Ross Pedlow ,Exceed tri Coach and responsible for this group is the 4th guy in the picture from the left.



http://vargamurphy.blogspot.com/
Pictures by Lajos Varga

The End of the Season

After the Busselton Half Ironman last weekend , it was time for some down time before my next cycle of training and the sub-heading of this Blog.

I did one swim session this week on Friday evening and had some one to one coaching with Ross as there were not many at the pool. My technique seems good and it is really developing power and strength and a kick .So the focus will have to remain on the swim with more measurement of improvement after the slow swim time at busselton.

On Saturday morning it was a river ride with the whole crew in steel bikes .I had my first bike a raceline aluminium road bike with carbon tribars...so I got a penalty for having carbon. We had 3 coffee stops so bought coffees at the first and second stop ( made a contribution) It was great to see the group. Lots of individuals successes and podium finishers so I felt privileged training amongst them. I had a talk with Ross on Friday evening and whilst I have made lots of mistakes with my approach to races , it still doesn't beat having the enjoyment in training and preparing for an Ironman with really good triathletes. I am stronger mentally and physically for it. After my afternoon with Bob Thomas , it is humbling to be able to enjoy what I have each day . It can be a grind at times early morning sessions and hard sessions but it beats being a couch potato.

Had lots of advice on the ride about trying to lose weight which will be the number one priority for the next 6 months.

Busselston Half Ironman 2010 Pictures

These are pictures taken by David Tan .Otherwise I would not have any pictures of the race other than pictures taken by the official photographer and the few snaps I take before and after the race.

Since my last short race report I have had a bit more time to ponder the results and analyse the hell out of them . The bottom line is that racing a triathlon can be very simple or so complicated your head hurts. I tend to over analyse the race but when all is said and done it really is about swimming , cycling , running and getting though transition quickly. I will be more concious of where I am on the course especially to avoid being pulled up for drafting . It hurts and I feel a little traumatised by the episode especially as my bike leg in the 2nd lap fell back. I suspect as I just cruised for the last 10km while I got over the shock. Being able to refocus is really so critical . There was the usual anger at the race marshalls but well they are calling it as it is and I have decided to cancel the contract I did want to take out on her.Others I know are less forgiving . But as I keep reminding myself , I am not racing sheep stations just my own time and a PB .

I will in the process of chasing down that illusive improvement , will take pleasure in the numerous friends I would love to beat.

After a short break from training , it will be back to preparation for the City to Surf Marathon , the painathon if it is on in August , IMWA and possibly the Audax ride to Albany in October if I get a spot.(it is currently fully subscribed)

Busselton Half - Ironman 2010

This weekend I finished my 4th Busselton half Ironman in 5H 24M 46 sec. It was the 25th anniversary of the WA Long Course event . It was a wonderful day and great conditions.Unfortunately I wasn't able to do a PB but I am happy with my results .
I did have a first in so far as being called up for drafting on my last lap.Without going into the gory details ,it was the last lap of a two lap course and I was trying to slow down after someone overtook me but not quick enough. I was in mild shock and that threw me for a few minutes .


I had a pretty good preparation other than my lack of run fitness although I think I was a little quicker this year , and my weight was really just too high to sustain a competitive result.

But it was a good start and whilst I did not do a PB it was really a start to the preparation for IMWA 2010 and beyond.I would liked to have done a PB but that will have to wait till next year .The focus now is to have a break and then start losing weight in the lead up to December.

My riding is going well and I think I can continue to make small improvements in my swim . The running will now have to get some attention . It was a mixed bag of results for most .Some did exceedingly well and others didn't .It is part of the mix.Anything and everything can happen.I unfortunately will always struggle to get optimum results as my swimming is so bad and I probably expend alot of energy getting through the swim and it impacts on my bike and run times. Having said that I am stuck with the engine I have and I just have to tweak it the best I can.With the 5 min penalty I got my bike leg wasn't too bad at 2.43.I believe I can build and improve on that in the next 6 months. I hope to start more dedicated run training and hopefully that will reap the improved results.

The biggest challenge is to be able to get my weight down .With that I believe i will be able to improve on my run times .

I will post pictures and some further stories in the next few days about the weekend. Lots of Characters and wonderful people that I meet at these events.

Not least was Bob Thomas a paraplegic who has been competing as an able bodied triathlete before his accident in 1991 and subsequently since the late 90s as a disabled triathlete in the hand cycle category.

Makes all our quibbles about training and race results insignificant.



The results:

SWIM
00:41:05
HH : MM : SS
Overall : 907
Gender : 686
Category : 87

Cycle


02:43:56
HH : MM : SS
Overall : 544
Gender : 479
Category : 58


Run


01:54:29
HH : MM : SS
Overall : 500
Gender : 417
Category : 49

Finish Time


05:24:46
HH : MM : SS
Overall : 544
Gender : 459
Category : 54