The Home Stretch - IM Programme for NOVEMBER



BUSSELTON JETTY BEFORE THE START



FINISHING IM BUSSO 2010

How good are you

Lance Armstrong ,once said that endurance triathletes are always running away from something. not necessarily true . they may be running towards something.

It is nice to be able to have taken time to reflect and sit back. This is my easy week. I get to take it easy and recover .

I rode on Thursday and Friday and it was easy rides with a bit of heart pumping bits in it. A little different to the programme .but I kept to much of the core work outs. Saturday was a rest day as I rode on Friday and I will swim tomorrow as well.

The next 3 weeks will be the next hard block of work and then it is the Taper. It is great to reflect back on a not so perfect preparation but see the pit falls and issues of the past 6 months of preparation. Primarily it is a long training year for me with other stresses and I have had to dig deep for motivation .But I have kept to my core work outs and I have been fortunate to have had only a few near misses with accidents and injuries but survived so far.

I don't think I   am running away but always towards something....chasing a goal  and a destination. I haven't quite arrived.

It is to have prepared and raced the perfect race . And the journey there has been to learn , to absorb and to try and help where I can. Hence this Ironman at Busselton is for a purpose . To help the group I am involved with  EDAC and I will be making another push in the next few weeks to fund raise again.

The long weekend has been a great pause in the preparation. The question is Not How Good YOU ARE But Are YOU Prepared to Step Up and be Counted.

Economy

The Economy of Happiness

I have an easy week of training this week . Thankfully . I needed it .Although on Sunday as we relaxed after the swim and joked about training I recall my wife berating me for being a gym junkie and spending everyday at the gym doing classes. In those early days of working out,  it turned out the maximum amount of physical training I was doing was a whopping 5-8 hours a week .Nothing like the 15 plus hours now and certainly not the 27 hours a week in my first IM programme.

The easy week is not such a feature in many programmes and for me the only real difference will be the long run and ride are dropped. Otherwise it remains just as heavy. The only difference this week is with the wet weather we are having I  may miss a few sessions and move them around.

On Monday it was a light day with a swim in the evening. I did a 2.4km swim with 600m warm up followed by a 600m, 500m, and 400m and medium pace and then 300m cool down . I did not swim with the squad today as I started early.On Tuesday it was a wet rainy morning so I skipped the ride and ran in the evening. I had a hard session with a lot of coughing from the chest probably from the hay fever and lingering infection. We did a warm up and then 1 km , 2km and 3km at threshold pace of 4.38 min/km . with a 1,2,3minutes recovery after each run. I did about 11km all up.

This week Perth is the centre of attention with the CHOGM ( Commonwealth head of States meeting) Lots of dignitaries and the city in lock down. There are lots of activities being hosted and I may go to the barbecue for the Queen on Saturday if the weather holds up . But I will be working my training schedule round the activities .

Having said that , After today's session , as I listened to the radio discussion on the economy and Australia, in particular the protest in New York and Europe , we do have a lot to be thankful for. The uncertainty of the economy in the United States and Europe will impact on the world and these next 6 months can be a significant turning point of how this whole sad situation will play out.

What is evident and is reflected in training for endurance sport. ,sometimes being frugal and economic with your energy is critical to performance. It is not the biggest engine that wins but the most efficient engine that wins. Similarly , why work and why have debt. The crisis we see unfolding in a simplistic way and I have stated before is a combination of greed , lack of regulation, and living in a state of accumulating debt or simply spending more than we have. In some situations that is necessary.

I am not an avid fan of pure market capitalism with no regulation. The unevenness of information demands state control of the capital market to make it work properly. The lax regulation and the many countries like the United States and some European States having huge deficits will and does come home to roost.

Only 50 years ago ,  in my parents generation , it was never the norm to be in debt and whilst the past 25 years has seen significant growth in the value of housing , I somehow don't see that happening in the future and so our main asset is not going to keep up with our rising depth if we spend more than we have.

Which leads to the question why train to be economic with energy because by being efficient one can complete the race with the least amount of energy. (which is a finite resource in a race) Similarly why spend more than you have ? Why do we work and live a stressful and unhealthy life.? If we have no valid response , we really are not living an efficient economic life.

Should we measure the State of our lives like the Country of Bhutan , a happiness meter .Although Bhutan is not a model country of happiness with its share of a dark history of  treatment of Nepali speaking Bhutanese.

How happy are we each day and more importantly what makes us happy are the questions. Somehow how wealthy we are or how many worldly goods we have may not really cut it.

I work and train and spend time with my family because I am passionate about what I do. I enjoy it and the money is important but secondary. I strive to be good and to achieve a good result. It is a race , a race to win. Winning is measured not by finishing first but having done the best I can. That in turn makes me happy.

Fortunately , a lot of what I do does not cost  a lot relatively. Well the bike does but when I take the number of hours I use my bike it is actually very economic.

What is the point . Simply , in the turmoil of modern life with competing pressures and the huge gulf of wealth between rich and poor, learn to distill what makes YOU happy and strive to achieve your true potential .

For me it isn't about the dollars , it is about satisfaction and the moments you cannot buy, the memories of collectively what we call your life. The more it is filled with these treasured moments , the happier I believe you will be.

There are somethimg's money can't buy
For everything else there is......

Week 12 - 6 To Go

3 Shark Attacks in 2 months of the WA Coast ?



Week 12 draws to a close with an easy ride of 35plus km with Kings park thrown in for good measure. The legs did not feel as sore accept on all the climbs between home and Shenton Park. I had a good dead tired sleep but got up at 2 am and then went back to sleep for a few more hours .It was another early rise and I left home at 6 am to cycle to Tony's place. The news this week like 2 weeks earlier has been the death of a diver off Rottnest island due to a suspect shark attack . Despite the fear of swimming in the ocean , we had all decided to get back in the water .It was decided we would swim at Coogee beach .A little further than Cottesloe but a sheltered shallow bay with 2 jetty's exactly 1.5km apart.

I rode to Tony's place via King's park , doing a loop and a slow hard climb on the City side of King's Park. It was a great Perth morning with little traffic about. Just did not like the hills dotted along the route. Got to Tony's place and with Hanna drove to Coogee about a 30 minute drive.


Trevor was not swimming with a sore back and so it was just the 4 of us.Tony , Les , Hanna and myself. I had issues with my new goggles not getting a seal and had to stop several times to adjust the goggles. The others were moving further away. I did eventually manage to fix the goggles and claw back into the group and finish past everyone . We then decided to swim back at least as far as we could go .Hanna swam part of the way and the rest of us swam back . It was pointless getting out so I swam all the way back. I hugged the shoreline and it was really shallow. The Coogee Beach Life Saving Club were running the children's training sessions on the beach so it was looking pretty active by the time we got back. I felt better swimming back and it was the first 3km swim in the ocean since Lanzarote.


We headed to Daisies at Cottesloe for the compulsory Coffee and Muffins. The cafe at Coogee unfortunately did not have muffins. It was then back to Tony's place and my cycle home. The legs were really hurting on the short climbs.


I take away some comfort in the last 3 weeks of training with some steady improvements despite the mental motivation roller coaster.


The positives are:


I have managed to compress 3 days of nearly cycling 250kms this weekend and my legs feel better than last year.
I have not been too rigid with my training and not felt too guilty. Life is too short to stress the small stuff.
I have had a few good solid runs and feel much better running off the bike.
My weight is hovering at 70kgs.


With 6 weeks to go , I am comfortable with progress. I have lacked the structure and speed work on the bike but it has been a long season and I think the body was just getting a little worn down. I am looking forward to the easy week and hope to consolidate the small gains.

Week 12
Bike : 249km or 8.28 hrs
Run: 50km or 4.35 hrs
Swim : 8.6km or 3.35 hrs

Total : 15.98 hrs

Life is a Lottery

My last hard week before a break and I have shuffled my programme. Monday was a complete rest day as I was just sore from the weekend workout. I have learnt to not fret when I drop sessions. There is a fine balance between gritting your teeth and getting on with the training and just giving the body a rest.

I continue to grapple with the push and pull factors of training and racing Ironman  .It is tiring but rewarding . Full on and inspirational . The latest impetus had been the preliminary announcement that World triathlon Corporation (WTC )will be giving priority to triathletes who have done 12 or more races a chance to race Kona with those who have done the most getting a slot and then those who have entered the lottery getting the number of entries for each year they have entered. I have 5 more IM to complete before I have done 12 but it is something to aim for.

Life is a lottery in many ways . But don't hang out for the luck. Make your own. and where it is an unfair hand , make the best of it. As they say , corny as it seems , when you get dealt lemons make lemon juice.

This week has been no different. Monday was an off day .Tuesday it rained  in the morning and I am paranoid about falling off the bike so it was a non starter .I did my run training in the evening and It was a good easy session. I did a long warm up of 5km and then had the usual build session and  4 x 800m at " I  "pace of 4.21 min/km .We had the same time for recovery between each 800m.

On Wednesday , I swam in the morning at started a little earlier and swam 3.1km.With a 700m  warm up followed by a long set of 200m , 400m and 1000m , 400m and then 200m and then a cool down . At lunch time i ran 10km at a rather slow 5.30pace and in the evening i ran with the Running Centre group although it was mainly just me on my own. i did 13 plus km and really ran harder .The legs felt a lot better than at Lunch time . I managed a faster pace .



Thursday turned out to be a rest day s I was just feeling tired. I decided to make Friday a more solid training day especially as I felt rested .

I rode to swim training and did a solid session of 2.5km.A 900m warm up with drills and then 150 easy, 100m medley and 50m fast x 4 and 50m x 2 fast and a cool down. I then rode to work and in the afternoon at lunch I ran 8km .At 3.30 I rode to my Fremantle office and then rode home in the evening from Fremantle.There was lots of wind about so there were parts where I was flying and other sections really working against the wind .Rode a total of 65km

Saturday was a struggle and I started late but once out on the freeway bike path , I settled into a good pace. There was a detour in place because they were rebuilding a section of the bike path so I got a little lost but once on the straight sections I managed to keep at the pace and build .I kept my nutrition regime and had 2 Bidons and lots of dates and lollies and 4 gels.





The legs were tired from yesterdays ride but I managed to keep at a comfortable pace without getting the legs too tired. The wind was pretty favourable today and so that helped.The rain didn't .I got caught in a light shower and then towards the end a really heavy shower with lightning in the distance. I felt pretty cold and tired at the end of the freeway but I had no choice but to ride back. I forgot my toolkit and spare tubes so I rode the whole way without any repair kit. Although not my fastest effort , I was largely alone and even spent a few kilometres talking with Richard Kelso-Marsh and on a few occasions got stuck behind groups of slow riders. I passed 5 riders on the way back and one cyclist training for the IM on a Felt caught up with me 30minutes after I had passed him and I managed to pass him again . The legs felt pretty good at the end. I did get passed in the last 4 kms by a rider on a fixie but he was doing 37kph . I hung on for a short while but after 140km I decided it wasn't worth the effort. I got the bike back in the car and off for my 30 minute run along the river. Again felt pretty good and managed a good pace for the 6km.

WHY TRI

Ironman Busselton 70.3 2011

There are as many varied and different answers to this question as there are individuals. I ask myself this question from time to time as I struggle with my self imposed regime for training for an Ironman.

But at the core there is really one real answer. Like no other sport , it is more than an activity . Firstly it is 3 sports rolled into one and therefore takes up much more time. It is an outdoor pursuit and requires time and effort outdoors. It does attract a different type of person. One who wants a challenge and it fills in most a need , a desire , a demand , or a thrill.

The stock answers are :

Because I can

It keeps me healthy

It relieves stress etc

These are all reasonable explanations but as Ben Greenfield in a piece on his website ponders , the true reasons are irrational fears if we are brutally honest (Ben Greenfield )

“You do triathlons to prove something to other people. I really am that good, that fit, that motivated, that focused. If my neighbor did it, I can do. I’m better than them. I’ll beat them this year.

You do triathlons because you did just one, this one time, and then you got sucked into the vortex and you had to keep coming back and trying to beat your performance from the previous year. In other words, you want to prove to yourself that your body is getting better, not worse.

You do triathlons because all your friends are doing it and who will provide your social support if it’s not the triathlon club?

You do triathlons because running is boring and you don’t have that kind of attention span.

Dare I say, some of you do triathlons because you want to look good naked?



What are some types of irrational and emotional motivators for triathlon? Here are some examples:

Being able to wear your Ironman or triathlon race t-shirt in public to impress people.

Wanting to be able to eat whatever you want, but not having the control, so finding a sport where working out too much is OK.

Being able to fit into whatever style of clothes you wish.

Having nice legs and feeling confident when you put on spandex.

Telling people at parties that you’re an athlete, maybe even an Ironman.

Comments like, “You’re really slim. Do you workout?”

Not dying early so you can travel with your grandchildren.

Having an honorable excuse for not doing yard work on the weekends because of your “training”.

Contrast these with logical motivators for doing triathlon:

Improve your health.

Less stress.

Good role model.

Balanced lifestyle.

Clothes fit better.

More energy.

You see the difference? Sure, the irrational wants (compared to fears) are conceited and superficial. I get it. But guess which individual gets better results? The person motivated by irrational motivators or logical motivators? Irrational, hands down every time. The secret to achieving success in these type of sports is to figure out the true WHY – which is some always an irrational desire, fear or want.”

It is important to know as unlike any other sport I know it is a life changing exercise.

From a personal perspective , my lifestyle and the way I live changes. My perspective changes , my friends change and my routine changes. Training is more a meditation , an exercise in learning to conquer all my fears. Fear of losing , failure , overcoming the unknown , anxiety and doubt.

I have seen more sunrises and sunsets as a triathlete than in my previous 20 years . If anything there is an appreciation of being out in the open. There is the enjoyment and the sociability of training in a group .

I like many stumble into this sport. Sports generally teaches us and test us over and over again. Triathlons and its training has many life lessons .

I have learnt many life lessons from triathlons and training . As well and foremost it makes you feel so alive.

You learn Time management ,Commitment and most of all Enjoyment and fun.

Sally Edwards a great Triathlete and Triathlon Hall of Fame inductee  , in her book on triathlon wrote:

"It hasn’t happened often


It doesn’t last long


Sometimes it last no longer than a lingering moment


Sometimes days


If it were to last forever it would not be sweet


It is the sweet spot in sports


It is a rare feeling of being alive in every cell of your body , in every corner of your mind , in every sense and sensation."

For me that is the experience of competing in a triathlon for the first time.

It was the sense of crossing the line and finishing something I never thought I could do.

My experience is a common emotion for the average triathlete.

My first triathlon was in 2006 at the Corporate Triathlon at Fremantle.My preparation comprised a few swim sessions at the Bayswater pool and riding my brothers mountain bike. I had to be rescued from the wave pool when they turned it on in one of the practise sessions and I could barely swim 25 m freestyle. I breastroked the 250 m swim . I had huge panic attacks. To the point that I sought help from a friend who was studying psychology . The ride round the Fremantle Esplanade was slow and I finished the 5km run utterly exhausted but something got me excited about the sport.


I got a bike on eBay ( a Raceline ) with ultegra gears and probably not quite the right size. I started riding round the river and around my home. I fell off a few times as I could not unclip in time much to the amusement of motorist coming to a stop at an intersection.

I then signed up to join a club.I picked the North Coast Tri Club because someone suggested I join them as they did Aquathons and I knew I needed to swim. I joined a swim class. And I began to ride with the North Coast group on Tuesday's, Thursday's  and Saturday .

By 2007 , I had signed up to do the Half Ironman and got a Programme. I went on to race the inaugural Half Ironman  in Singapore and did my first Ironman in 2007.

In that period I have become fitter , I have made lots of mistakes, and I have learnt  a lot .

Great experiences and not so great experiences.


1. My first flat tire . I did not know how to change a tire and fortunately I was on the coast a few kms from Sorrento and Mark Hoffman was running by and he helped me change the tire

2. Crashing into the side of the road with no vehicles in sight

3. Crashing into a parked car whilst training (more tired than training)

4. Standing at the start of Ironman Busselton

5. The friendships I have made in the club and the sport

6. Trip to Ironman Japan and Austria and Lanzarote

7. Riding in the hills on a Saturday or Sunday morning as the mist rises in winter

8. Sunrise over the river on Tuesday mornings

9. Swimming at  Cottesloe on Sunday mornings



If anything triathlon is a sport that encompasses life . In Japan as you race the spectators shout

Gambarre which means Fight On or Do your best .

The first kanji, 「頑」, means 'firm' or 'resolute'. The second part, 「張る」, means 'insist', amongst

other things. So the whole word literally means something like 'be resolute' - hence 'do your best'.



So whilst it may for many be truthfully irrational and emotional motivators , why do I do triathlons. Simply because it is fun and IT is to find that sweet spot in sports.
I hope you find it as well.

Hills and watching the wheels go round

Watching The Wheels - John Lennon




Garmin Map of the Ride in the Hills 15 October 2011


It was slow ,  hot and painful. But I survived.  Saturday I did a 150km bike ride but in the Hills.
I ended up with 1700m of climbing , the most I have done in a training session . (2000m for the weekend)
I started off just before 6am from home and headed to Guildford and then Helena Valley , Mundaring , Kalamunda and Pickering Brook. There was a constant succession of hills both steep and gradual. I had a short break at Kalamunda after 85km and then rode the same route back which was hard . One of my slower rides but with so much climbing it was unavoidable.

I had four bidons including 1 of Gatorade and 1 Powerade (bought at the Petrol station) . Food was 5 gels , sweets and dates .
I consumed about 400 calories. I did not have any issues with cramping or soreness. I was just slow on the climbs and faster on the flats. I hit 51km on one of the downhill stretches and after Mundaring the road had a slight downhill gradient and I managed to average over 40kph .

It was a hard session but I think it was worthwhile . There wasn't too much activity on the roads ...just lots of motorcycles on Mundaring Weir Road. I had done the route once before but not as far . It is a good ride but can be demoralising for the fact that the averages are so slow. I had no one to draft off today as there did not seem to be that many riders about. Just before Kalamunda ,  two groups caught up and passed me. They had just finished their ride and I wasn't even half way through mine.The positives were that again my nutrition was spot on and so were the electrolytes.It was hot by 10am and I was holding up . I was comfortable on the flats and even at 130km mark I was able to ride stronger on the flats. it gives me some comfort that I think i can maintain the pace on the flat courses.

Having said that , after 6 hours I was tired and opted to skip my run and do the run on Sunday.



Sunday , turned out to be a really nice hot day. I was out by 6.45am and the legs were feeling tired this morning but managed a nice easy ride to Cottesloe and then back through the city . I ran off the bike for 30 minutes but I was just slow. I only managed 5km and 48km on the bike.

The focus is on the last on the 3 week cycle with emphasis on speed work and building on the base over the last 2 months. My weight remains just under 70kg and so hopefully I will drop a few more kgs before December. The hay fever is bad at the moment and still feel very wheezy and heavy in the chest .

Time for recovery and the Beach as Perth gets a feel for the first real day of summer.

Training for the week:
Run: 5.5 hrs or 59km
Bike: 11hrs or 275km
swim; 2.10 or 5.4km

Total : 18.6 hrs

Working Through

Working through the Hard weeks.

The second week in the cycle did not start too well.The hay fever was really bad and by Monday I had an infection. I managed to get antibiotics and had a half day off work which allowed me to just rest .I missed my long run and bike session but I was in no state to train. By Tuesday evening I was feeling better just weak and tired.

Did a 12km interval session with the usual warm-up and then 1 km x 5 at "I "pace which was 4.21 pace for me .  I managed to keep within the I pace and whilst it was hard , it was good to be back training.

On Wednesday I was back in the pool and had a longish session doing 3km. I started early and did a 1km warm up , followed by the main set which was 300m fast, 200m fast , 100 easy and 50m x 2 fast repeated twice and a further 200m fast .
Followed by a 400m cool down. It was a hard session. At lunch time I ran 10km and then in the evening i did a 11.5km run. The run at lunch time was slow and I was really feeling sick . Probably an empty stomach with antibiotics was not a good idea.. I felt better in the evening run but I was still on the slow side averaging 5.30 per km.

Thursday morning I was back on my bike and rode form home to Reabold Hill .I only did the hill once but rode on the big chain ring for all the climbs I did and there were a few as i rode on to Fremantle and then back to Perth. i managed just under 60 kms . I rode home in the evening as well and at lunch I ran for 55 minutes doing about 9km . The ride home was enjoyable and overall I had managed to ride 75km for the day doing all the hills on the big chain ring and seated .






Friday morning , I struggle out of bed for swim training. The water was a little colder and we did a 600m warm up and then drills for 300m and then a main set of  100m x 10 with the first 3 fast pace and the Fourth at medium repeated 2.5 times. Again I was lagging behind but feel stronger on the bilateral breathing and more comfortable breathing on the right.

Ended up swimming 2.4km .

In the evening I went to watch the first Aquathon for the North Coast Tri Club and ran along the coast. I did a 55min run with at least 10km.The ocean was not looking good. There was overcast skies and a swell. Not fun conditions to swim in.I was glad I was running .

Still on antibiotics as the hay fever is still bad .

The week has been dominated from my perspective with the unfortunate missing swimmer Bryn Martin who is feared to have been taken by a shark on off Cottesloe Beach .I was swimming with my mates the day before and the weather was definitely not good for a swim.. It was definitely shark weather. having said that , it is a large ocean and they do live in it. We swam without incident . The peak period for concern will be November when the whales will be swimming past the WA coast and the great Whites will be following.  I will need to keep swimming in the ocean if  I am going to be comfortable in my wetsuit and swimming the distance at Busso.

Whilst it has been a hard week ,it has been good and George Harrison's song sums up the week for me . No big leaps of improvement or performance . Just steady and thankful.



Rescue crews scour Cottesloe Beach for missing Mosman Park man. Picture credit: Richard Polden Source: PerthNow

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/man-missing-off-cottesloe-beach/story-e6frfkvr-1226163485333#ixzz1aqVBk4DV



KONA GLORY

The Ironman World Champion 2011 Craig Alexander Picture from Lava Magazine Lava Magazine
Picture by Sammy Tillery

I have finished week one of my 3 week block.I am feeling a lot better than 2 weeks ago and hopefully I can continue to build on this weeks gains. As I slept through the night ...I was dead tired .Literally I was out in five minutes. Ironman World Championships was starting in Hawaii , Kona. I missed the winners running down Alií Drive . But Kona is the epicentre of Endurance triathlon and its MECCA . That is what thousands of athletes aspire to qualify for . Myself included but realistically it will be via a lottery spot given the times posted this year . The winner in my age group posted a 9.14 time and nearly 1000 competitors were under 11 hours. But it is more than just the time , it is about the focus , the dedication and sacrifice. Each athlete has a story to tell .I am privy to a glimpse of the training my friends who went to Kona put in to get there . They are all earth moving , mountain shifting and inspirational. That is why watching these races gives you goose bumps. They are what I aspire to be .

Amongst the competitors lining up were a number of West Aussies . Hats off to them . Their results are:
Jason Nuttman 9:49:06
Alistair Press 10:12:16
Rodney Marton 10:22:58
Michelle Duffield 10:54:45



Cottesloe looking like a big storm was brewing



Back to reality , I got up at 6 and did my optional easy ride to Cottesloe for a really short swim . I had issues with my goggles again and I am getting a new pair. I swam a short 1200m and then had coffee at Daisies before riding home. The day started with the sky looking not too friendly with dark cloud's gathering over the sea but it has turned out to be a nice day.

The legs held up well on the ride but I did struggle a bit with any short climb . Its been a big week , The highlights in a way were the ride down the Freeway with a Magpie attack .Its the same bird each year but he helped me pick up my speed for that stretch anyway. Getting home on Saturday and Sunday and having to ride again with my son Jonathan . Fortunately a short ride but on a steel bike with the wheel  touching the side  of the bike made it a hard ride yesterday . i fixed the problem so today's ride round the Park and the neighbourhood was more relaxed. 

Training Week Summary

Run:  5hrs 10 mins or 56 km
Bike:  11hrs or 313 km
Swim: 2.5hrs or  6.2km
TOTAL: 18.6 hrs

With a Little help from My Friends

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.
To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.


Christian D. Larson



Ride down the freeway


Run off the bike

Saturday is always a hard day with my longest ride and training session. Lots of my friends are out there training as well .

Today was no different. It has been a busy week training wise and with work. It has been hard marrying the two and then being time efficient with everything else  such as Family and my voluntary work.

Despite the pressures of life , I will not have it any other way . There are just days where life and being in it is so sweet. You know that just being well and alive and doing what you enjoy is a gift . Look at the glass half full not half empty.

Today is just such a day. Kona starts tonight and I will try and watch a bit before bed and follow the rest tomorrow . I got up at 5am and got out of the door by 5.25am , heading for my ride down the Freeway Bike path via the city . It was slow going with traffic lights and having to cross the rail tracks on the pedestrian bridge .But once I got on the cycle path it was much better. I had a 150km ride .

It was a nice day with overcast weather and some drizzle about. I saw Brad's group at the South Perth car park just before 6 am as i passed .They were presumably just about to start their ride down the freeway . i did not see them after that. Got into a comfortable rhythm and after an hour got passed by a rider. I tried to stay with him and follow his pace but he kept pulling away. I then got passed by 4 riders and decided to stick on them and managed to quicken the pace drafting behind them for the next 35km before they pulled off and I continued till I hit the 76 km mark and turned around. There was wind about and had a good tail wind with the guys i was following and I was doing 40kph at one stage and as high as 50kph for short burst.

I was on my own at the turn around for the next 1 hour and then 3 cyclist passed me and i hung onto them and decided to take a turn in the front I did that 3 times and in the final turn up front the others did not follow me and I was alone again. Finished up at the narrows and had a drink before heading home.Once home it was a quick 36 minute run off the bike.I managed 7km and felt a lot better than the previous session 2 weeks earlier. i ate throughout the ride and consumed close to 300 calories with gels , Gatorade dates and lollies. I only had 2 bidons but it was sufficient as it wasn't hot.

I must say that there was a lot more riders out today and it was great to be able to ride with other cyclist. They were gracious enough to allow me to draft behind and even take turns in front. It made the training ride so much more interesting with a little help from my friends.

A Week in Maps

First week of a 3 week hard cycle started with me sleeping in .Mondaynitis is hard to beat . But I did do my long run in the evening with a 1.50 just under 19.5km run.the garmin was playing up and I don't have an accurate moving average. I ran at medium pace and was comfortable so I am happy with the longest run so far since my City to Surf marathon several weeks earlier.



Tuesday morning I was planning on a hard hour ride but Ross decided on a time trial so I decided to just do the time trial.it was hard work even if it was a 20km ride and really only ended up riding for just over an hour. Not my fastest time trial but will do as my quads were sore from the previous nights run.



Backed up the ride with run training in the evening at perry lakes. It was a hard session without Brad there .Did 45 minutes at Threshold pace which for me was 4.43 min/km .I managed to stay at the pace or under it for the session.I ended up running about 13.5km with the warm up and cool down and recovery sessions between. The legs were like jelly after the run. The last bit on the map was me driving off with my Garmin still on so it doesn't count .

Wednesday morning made it to swim session. I had a 600m warm up but only did 500 and then some drills with 25m fist and 25m free x 6 and then the main set was 200 at threshold and 200 at medium x 2 followed by 100m at threshold and 100m at medium x 4 and 50 m at threshold and 50m medium x 3 for a total of 1500m and then a cool down of 3 x 50m breast and 50 free for a total of 2.6km . The legs were not feeling too bad but my arms were sore.



I was not able to run in the evening as I had a meeting from 6pm so I ran at lunch time .I did a steady but slow 10km. The run up to Kings Park was a little painful but I managed to get comfortable all the way to the University and then back .
It was a solid run and I was just trying to keep the pace at about 5.30 .



Sunrise at Reabold Hill Thursday morning hill repeats





Thursday morning , I was up early enough and drove into the city as I had appointments outside the office so could not ride to work. i then rode to Reabold Hill and did my hill repeats .saw Joe at Shenton Park . I managed 5 climbs before riding round the river via City beach and Fremantle . It was a nice day but along West Coast drive there was a lot of traffic and a couple of large trucks whizzing along.A tanker came within a foot of me and really seemed totally oblivious . He did not try to keep a wide berth but actually seemed to try and get as close to me to just give me a scare .the other truckies at least veered round me safely.

From Fremantle it was Point Preston Road and a lot safer with less traffic.I sat behind a group of cyclist and one of them was just cycling with pedals and joggers . I enjoyed the ride round the river and took a turn in the front of the pack .

Managed to get round and do the Hill work in 2 hours.

Friday was a relatively easy day .i cycled to swim training and it was a hard session simply because there was lots of back and brushstroke in it.Did a 700m warm up with 100 free and 50 back and 50 breast x 3.5 times then drills for 300m and the main set was 50 back easy and 50 free fast followed by 50m breast easy and 50m free fast x 4.5 and cool down was 100m kick x 2 and 100m back and 100m breast.I just did the kick and a 100m free for a total of 2.3km . Cycled to breakfast and work.In the evening i ran along the river with an easy 30 plus minutes .i did about 6Km. It was a calm windless day. I then cycled home .It was dark by the time I got back which was not the best given that drivers tend to be tired and less observant.

Did not run or cycle with my Garmin on Friday. These next 3 weeks will be the fun part of the training.

Moment to Pause



The Perth Royal Show



Royal Show 1 October 2011



The weeks are rolling by quickly. The week just passed was my easy week and after a horrid busy work week I  did not religiously follow my programme. I did not do any running and just had a single swim session. I rode on Tuesday , Thursday and Friday .

I had a bad dose of hay fever so gave Saturday a miss . Thankfully it was an easy week.

The weekend was spent at the Royal Show with Jonathan . It is the first day of the Royal Show . A Perth tradition of city people getting a glimpse of Country WA .It has been around since 1902 and is run by the Royal Agricultural Society of WA . The show is packed even on the first day .It is a tradition to take the kids to the Royal show and it is a bit cheesy but Jonathan always has a good time.

  Check out the link to The Perth Royal Show

I have completed my October Programme and the hard weeks begin . it is becoming a very long season and with the work load a lot harder to juggle the training each day.

On Saturday evening watched Ice age 3 with JJ and had a real oldie in the sound track....Alone again Naturally. Liked the  version by johnny Mathis. Enjoy...



Sunday Morning at cottesloe

Sunday despite the weather forecast for rain which was really early in the morning it has turned out to be a nice day .I rode to Cottesloe and swam with Trevor , Tony and Les. it was overcast at the Beach and not ideal swim weather.A bit of a surf and the water was very murky with seaweed about. i had lots of problems with my goggles filling with water as well .Did a 30 minute swim to the OBH Hotel and back . About 1.2 or 1.3km .

Easy week:
Swim: 1.5hrs or 4km
Run: 0 hrs
bike: 6.75 hrs or 166km
Total : 8.15 hrs

October Programme

"To dream anything you want to--

That is the beauty of the human mind.


To do anything you want to--


That is the strength of the human will.


To trust yourself, to test the limits--


That is the courage to succeed."




The Next 8 weeks before IM Busselton are the meat and vegetables of training. The hours and distances all start to become critical to preparation. Hopefully the weather continues to improve. My motivation this past month has been mirrored by the wet weather .