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 .