Sunday at the Beach

Cottesloe beach Sunday Morning

John Cafe after the swim



Sunday is a rest day and I usually just do a short swim of 35 mins .I wanted to do a slightly longer swim but everyone was pretty tired from their long Saturday ride. It was the tenth anniversary of ken crew's death at Cottesloe so there was a 2 page article in the west Australian.

As we approached the beach , the sky was overcast and the sea whilst quite calm with just a slight swell did not look inviting.It was typical shark weather. But we soldiered on. We swam a straight 16 minutes to the 2nd buoy after the Blue Duck cafe and then headed back .i managed to just pip Trevor for line honours , a first for me given that they were pretty tired from their bike ride of 170km and I had an easy week.

I was feeling very strong and did not feel uncomfortable in the water throughout. although it was a short swim.Ended up doing approx 1.6km although it was hard to tell as the Garmin isn't accurate.

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On Monday morning it was the start of the last hard week before the taper begins .I had a long run but split the run into 2 hour long sessions ,one at lunch time in the heat of the day and the second in the afternoon at 5pm . Did 20km with the first 10.7km  a  little faster and the second 9.5km at 6min pace keeping my heart rate as low as I could .

Then did an hour swim , managing 2.7 km . It was a slow swim compared to my swim at the Cott but again felt good and did not push hard throughout especially as my legs were tired from the run.  

The rest  of the week will be hard but generally it has been less strenuous then previous campaigns. I am conscious that I do not overdo anything as it is easy to get an injury at this point. Will start testing out the equipment and getting the bike ready.

I am also planning on doing some fundraising .Details to follow and I hope as many people will give their support.



Whats so easy about easy week

Its about 4 weeks to Ironman Busselton and its my easy week before the taper begins although I still have a 150km ride next Saturday .

This week was relaxing. Wednesday was pretty hot and I did my run at 5pm and the temperature was over 35C I did an hour with 4 x 2 min efforts .Clocked about 11.88 km .



Then did my swim session of 2.4km Thursday I didn't ride but just did an easy run .



On Friday I rode to swim training and then to work .It was a good session but i got lapped . We did a 1000m , 600m and 400m set and a warm up and cool down.A total of 2.5km . Rode home in the evening but it was a short ride of 30km .

Saturday , I had a 3 hour easy ride so i left late and rode up the coast to the Northern suburbs .my old tramping grounds.Stopped by at MacDonald's Joondalup for coffee where all the NCTC members gather after their ride. I then rode back .It was a nice cool day but the wind along Marmion was quite strong at times . Rode back home in an hour to complete my 3 hour easy ride . did just over 88km .




Training time:

Run : 3 hrs or 32km
swim: 2 hrs or 5km
bike: 6hrs or 180km

The Perfect Race

I was glad this week is over and I am looking forward to a more relaxing week. I finïshed off the week with a swim at Cottesloe. The talk today was about the shark attack at Garden Island yesterday. A guide was bitten by what may be a whale shark or a white pointer .As we drove towards Cottesloe we could see the Island in the distance. The Swim WA open water swim at Rockingham was cancelled and there were  only a few swimmers in the water as we got suited up for our Sunday swim.

It was cold but otherwise the sea was flat and calm.Great for swimming .It wasn't murky as we got further away from the Tea House and we made good time to the Blue Duck cafe. There were only a few stingers around.We swam back and did the swim in 33 minutes. It felt good and I could have gone further but it was nice just to be able to relax .

After the swim at Tony's place the Subiaco local rag had a front page piece on the death of Ken Crew 10 years ago on 4 November 2000 at Cottesloe Beach. I didn't think much about it , it was a nice day and I probably would have a higher probability of being hit by a car then eaten by a shark.

Had breakfast at the usual spot ....John Street Cafe.

I had no swimming on Monday and so I ran in the evening .It was a short run and very slow but it did say easy run. Did about 8km in 50 minutes .I had the NCTC meeting on Monday night and did not finish till 10.30pm. Was a Long day and  had to get up early for the Tuesday ride.Thankfully this is an easy week.

Despite the less than optimal hours of sleep I got out to Nedlands early and it was nie to have an easy ride. ross suggested we just spin around behind the groups .I managed to catch one of the groups and rode with them for 2 and half laps .Felt very comfortable and it was the nicest ride for a long time .No discomfort as I took my turn at the front and I was not pushing hard. There were 7 of us so it was a large group but we managed to stay together till the end.

The perfect race ....there isn't one . Training to race is preparation for all the possible issues that could come up in a race. Being prepared and hopefully practice over the last few months would have been sufficient for all that can happen.It is a cliche but training is a journey of experiences and memories which hopefully prepares the body for the day. I feel strong and comfortable. My swim and bike are definitely better . My run is about where I was last year but I have had no injuries and I have definitely been able to hold a harder pace in intervals.

Mark Allen said in a piece in TRIATHLETE:
"The Perfect Race




I tell people all the time that there is no such thing as a perfect race, but you can run a race perfectly. What this means is that things happen in racing that are, at the very least, unwelcome and, at worst, unexpected. It’s how you handle each of them that can make every race “perfect.” You always try to visualize what your perfect race will look like and how you will deal with situations that are challenging. But the reality of racing is that usually you will encounter situations that you hoped you would not have to deal with and situations that can seem off-the-charts tough.



Racing perfectly means that you deal with difficult situations calmly. If you get a flat, don’t freak out, just change the tire. If you get kicked during the swim, just keep swimming. If you miss a water stop on the run, pick up some extra at the next one. Whatever it is, just deal with it calmly and move on. That is what having the perfect race is all about.



No Bad Races



There is really no such thing as a bad race. Certainly there are expectations that far exceed reality, and there are days where absolutely everything imaginable goes wrong. But there is really never a bad race—with one exception. That is the race where nothing is learned that will help you out in the future. Each moment in your race day is a chance to note something that will help you in the future. It might be a stark reality that tells you how to train better for the next race. It could be personal insight into a weakness that you become inspired to transform into a strength. The toughest races are often the ones that give you the pot of gold for the future. But this only happens if you reflect on them and learn something that betters you as a person and gives you insight that helps you race better the next time.



As for the ultimate race of your life? Well, it is only after the finish line has been crossed and enough time has passed to reflect back on the day that you will really be able to see how great of a race you just had. In the moment of having the race of your life, it will hurt, you might doubt your preparation and you could ask yourself a thousand times why you are even there. But between those moments of questioning and doubt, there can be magical miles where your mind is quiet and your body is working at its top efficiency, where you ignore the moment before that was tough or the next instant that is unknown. The best race of your life exists in the quiet beating of your feet on the pavement and the breath of air that is sustaining your efforts. That is the mindset that will take you from being a novice in the sport to having the best experiences you can.



Mark Allen is the six-time winner of the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. Based in Santa Cruz, Calif., Mark has a state of the art online triathlon training program at Markallenonline.com.

Wind , Freeway , Magpies and Madmen

Hold ON Tight - ELO

Saturday's have a sweet and sour taste for me. It is the end of a training week , the last big session of the week , the toughest session yet it is always satisfying to have done it. This Saturday was no different.

I was all prepared for the ride.Had all my nutrition , bike and gear packed .I got up early and got to the narrows by 5.30am .Still had issues with my gears but they were working.Went to the toilet at the Narrows before the start.A strange guy came out and wasn't too happy I was waiting .Probably had a few mental issues and I wasn't about to aggravate the situation so I didn't say anything . It is quite sad that we unfortunately can't help or reach out to such individuals. I eventually got started on the ride ....with this guy screaming as I rode past .(he had  a bike and cycled down the cycle path and saw me coming and decided to have a few more words ) It got my heat rate up and I just whizzed by. It was fairly cool and I just knuckled down to the long ride.

It was down the freeway. All 70 plus km and then back. Lots more people out there on their aerobars. The wind was everywhere and it was hard to know when it was favourable and when it was against as it kept changing. I did manage to get down to the end in 2.16 not including the stop for the puncture.I had one spare tiube and managed to change the tube and use my cannister. The tyre was under inflated so it was hard going for the next 3 plus hours. I had the puncture 70 muinutes into the ride and there was a piece of glass in the tyre which I could not remove so I was pretty lucky to have managed to ride the next 3.5 hours without another flat.

Two cyclist asked me if I was ok. That was nice.

Got to the end of the freeway. I wish there was more but it is just a footpath /cyclepath that ends in a conjuntion of roads.No parade , no signs , nothing to signify I just rode the most boring bit of cyclepath with winds , some cows , a few strange smells and nothingelse. When you ride it as often as most Perth based triathletes it does get a tad mundane. Atleast I now get a few hallos . That means somebody knows me in all that bit of bitumen I cycle on everyweek. I did see a group at the end and rode off before they did back to Perth .They caught up and we all turned off at Safety Bay Road for the petrol station at Baldivis .I had water and my Bar. I came prepared with a banana , 5 gels, dates and lollies , and gatorade .Over 400 Calories worth of sugar . I had nearly 4 bidons of water as well. My legs were sore from the very start but I still managed to finish. Unfortunately 3 -4 days of running and cycling with little chance to rest was not conducive to recovery. At lakelands before safety bay road , a magpie started swooping down on me.thank god for helmets .It did this for a km .Its magpie nesting season

After the short break , it was back onto the freeway cyclepath and I finished the ride in 4.46 and then it was then a quick change and a run round the Peerth foreshore . Managed 9.5km in 55 minutes. The legs were sore as but otherwise felt good . I had a gel before the run so I think that helped alot.



I was glad that was over and the angry guy wasn't around but I was beginning to wonder who was mad. My hair was wild , I was unshaven and burnt , tired and not thinking about much other than a good lie down.



JJ at Caversham Wildlife Park

 But the afternoon was spent with JJ at the Caversham Wildlife Park looking at Koalas and Kangaroos and Eagles.There is no peace for the wicked or anyone trying to juggle everything at once.I must say I did sleep very well that night .

Hard Week


After Tuesdays hard ride my legs were very much spent and I opted to rest in the morning and run at Lunch time . I  did a 1 hr session with 6 x 1km at threshold running around the river .It was a fairly warm day and managed to run about 10.5 km . I swam in the evening and we did the usual warm up and then a set totalling 2.5 km

On Thursday , I got up before 5 am but it was raining so I just stayed in bed till about 5.30 am and decided it was OK to ride .But about 20 minutes into the ride it started to rain and I just had to continue. I rode to Nedlands and did a single loop .There were only 4-5 cyclist about . I just did my high cadence ride  and then headed to Tiger Lily's where the few who showed up for transitions practice that morning were having breakfast.

I had a close shave on the way to Nedlands with a Ute towing a trailer squeezing me off the road .Luckily there was a driveway and I managed to turn in and onto a pavement although the vehicle clipped my handlebars. The guy didn't even see me and there was no reason for him to deviate from his line of direction instead of moving even closer to the kerbside.

Well lesson learnt , just try as much as possible to be in their line of sight.

I rode home without any further incident thankfully .Managed only 54km .

On Friday I swam in the morning and again did about 2.4 km . It was warmer swimming in the morning than in the evening. I then did a run in the evening ,I did 14.5 km over 1.25. It was an easy run and managed a steady pace of around 5.40 minutes per km. It was a windy evening and I ran to Matilda Bay and saw lots of Kite surfers  kite surfing around the river from Matilda bay. I then ran back to the office along the river. My legs were pretty sore by now . I was not looking forward to the ride tomorrow as I knew my legs were pretty fatigued by the last few days of training.

 

Terry Tyzacks Pool , Inglewood



Back In the Saddle

After the unplanned absence from training for a whole 4 days I started back on Monday with a revised run plan. The weekend was not a whole waste .I did all the things I do not get to do when I am training.First and foremost I rested .I makes an amazing difference to me. I got antibiotics and lots which really helped . I slept in on Saturday for the first time in months. But I did have an AGM to attend for the Ethnic Disability Advocacy centre which Iam acting President till the AGM . It went off well and I was glad I was not cycling down the freeway and then rushing to the meeting .

I dropped by Tony's place after the AGM and then went home and took Jonathan to the pool for a few hours and ran into Denise and Deb Kirkham both from North Coast .

I was contemplating riding on Sunday but the spirit was strong but the flesh was weak.I decided to just take it easy for another day.I was still wheezing and thought it would not help now if I got worse.

I spent the rest of the day at Whiteman park with Jonathan which was a really nice day but there were lots of flies about. It is summer when you know the flies are out in force.

I swam in the evening and ran at lunch time and after work .i did a 54 minute run and a 40 minute run respectively clocking 17.4 km I went a little harder at lunch time and ran round Kings Park and then to UWA and then back a long the river.I managed to keep the pace to just over 5.10  per km for the 10 km and felt good despite the difficulty breathing. After work I ran over the narrows bridge and did 7km in about 40 minutes , a little slower .

Went to the pool after the run and did my session with a PB as i did not want to get my legs any more fatigued. We did the usual warm up with fins and then some drills and then a 1400m set of 400m, 2 x 200m , 4x 100m and 4 x 50m. It was pretty good set and I stayed at the back . Got lapped by the front group but I was tired by the end of the session. Just need the lungs to get stronger after the flu and I should be fine.

Have had far too many bouts of flu this winter compared to just the one last year . Fortunately the last bout wasn't too severe and feel alot better now.

Heading to the pointy end of the training and my last hard week . Will try and make the best of the training session. Feeling a lot more relaxed about the training and comfortable. In the scheme of life , I am ahead when I get out of bed and can spend a couple of hours training but having some down time has worked wonders too. I used to get very anxious when I missed sessions as though a programme was a treasure map to Ironman Nirvana . It never is, there are too many variations in factors that can make or break the day . Training to the race conditions as best as I can  and just getting into a routine are probably more critical to race preparation. I plan to get my nutrition sorted out and just stick to a regime.



Tuesday as usual was the last hard session in the 3 week cycle and for everyone else at exceed it was an easy week with a ride round the river . There was just Michelle and me . i got there before 5.30 am and off we went .Five laps of just over 10kms of the same road with all the undulations. I managed to keep the pace up and at the end my garmin indicated an average of 32.8 kph with the ride out so it was about a km slower in pace than last week. But there was just the two of us . On lap 4 we passed a guy on a mountain bike who was pedaling with a very high cadence and then a km later he passed us in our carbon bikes .I managed to catch him just as he was turning off our route towards the city.  Michelle mentioned how she was looking forward to the easy week but I can't say I am exhausted as I had a break from training with the flu .It was good to be back training  and it was a good effort given how tired my legs were from the run the day before.

I did have a few mechanical issues at the start as my gears were not shifting as well . The bike gets serviced in a few weeks in preparation for Busso. Starting to check the gear including the zipps . The tires will need to be changed  as well.

Training Hiccups

This is the second week of a 3 week cycle .I have not been able to do a long run but I hope to make it up with a few shorter runs . I think if I keep up the volume overall it will help . It has just been difficult to squeeze so much training into a busy week.I have lots of work on and will miss a swim session this week because of my work schedule.

On a sadder note , Ross told me at swim training yesterday , jeremy got hit by a car last Tuesday evening as he rode home.The car apparently just pulled out without checking and got him . He has the usual scratches and skin loss and a broken leg.( Since writing this in the blog I was advised that it was not a  broken lg and he is hopeful about still getting to the startline ) . It always worries me when I am on the road that one second of inattention by a driver can cost me alot.

I hope to be able to catch up with him soon and hope he has a speedy recovery.

Yesterday I did a run in the afternoon and then went to the swim session in the evening .It was a good session and we did about 2.3km with 700 m of warm up and drills and then the main set was 50m , 150, 250 x 3 , 150 x 2 , 50 and followed by a cooldown of 300m. It wasn't too bad and I managed to stay with one of the swimmers in my lane as the girls just surged ahead but they did have flippers .Not that it would have made a difference.the hardest bit was swimming with bands.My legs just went straight to the floor. Ross said its because Iam from Singapore. Not very encouraging Coach ? So much for the encouraging and nurturing coach I have...LOL .

This morning , without the long Monday run , I managed a reasonable nights sleep and got to the city by 5.10 and rode to Nedlands.Michelle was the only one there and so we started out 1.5hrs session immediately. We rode pretty well keeping the rhythm and taking turns in front.In lap 4 Joe joined us and it was a little harder. I found the last lap hard but kept up my turn.There were more riders about so overtaking was just more work.
Ended up having an average of 33.8kph with the ride out to Nedlands so I know I worked hard. I calculated that my average speed for the 53 km session was 36kph . With the short climbs and  cyclist and council watering truck to contend with .So I was happy with that but my legs were a little jelly like for the day.
The rest of the group did a 20km time trial with Kenty doing a PB 27 minutes to be the fastest in the group.




Met up with everyone for breakfast and then it was off to work.

On a completely different note , I have watched 2 great video clips of Ironman Kona , one of Macca winning and the other Maccas and specialized summary of his preparation for the race.( all from you tube)

Unfortunately I have skipped training for a few days as I have come down with a cold or flu again.So  I will juggle my training around a bit but I don't want it to get worse. I am confident I will get over it quickly enough.