The Importance of Rest

"The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it."


 John Ruskin

I fortunately or unfortunately did nothing on Sunday.Had a few stomach issues and so could not do my long run .Probably had something I wasn't suppose to eat and just did not feel well on Saturday night with a very sore tummy.

Coincidentally , I read Chrissie Wellington's blog and she put up a piece she had written earlier for 220 Triathlon magazine previously on the The Importance of Rest . It is difficult as I do need to have a few long runs but as the City to surf is not my major race I am not too fussed by the gaps in training especially as I need the time for recovery . All I did was my core exercises.

You don’t know how to rest your body and mind. Unless you can learn to do this you will never be a successful athlete’. Headless? He was right. I was that proverbial chicken.

I am sure those words are as alien and scary to many of you as they were to me. We are creatures of habit, we love routine, some of us are obsessive compulsive perfectionists, who come out in hives at the thought of an easy session, a nap or, heaven forbid, a rest day. But I cannot say this clearly enough. It is not the swim/bike/run sessions that will make you fitter – it is the recovery – the adaptation and regeneration – from the stress caused by those activities. As Lance Armstrong said “Whoever recovers fastest does best.” And it is not just about physical recovery, its mental recovery/relaxation too. That’s why I say that I train 24/7: recovery IS training my body to be the best that it can be. Chrissie Wellington

Chrissie Wellington (Picture from her Website)



On Monday I skipped swimming and did my run in the evening. It was a pretty wet day and it began to rain almost as soon as I started. I didn't get drenched but I was wet all over.It was an hours run and I did just over 11 km.

Tuesday morning was no better with wet and squally conditions. I was late to Nedlands but did my laps .Getting there was tough with the wind .At a point along the river I was pedalling hard but I was not moving at all.That was a wind trainer session for real.

I managed about 42km and it was a slow ride by comparison so I have a long way to go in building strength again . In the evening , I did my usual run training. with Brad .I  have my  "I"pace now which is 4.21 min/km and we had to do a warm up and then run 9 x 400m at I pace with an active recovery in between. Did a total of 21 x 400 laps .After the 3 , 6 and 9  I pace laps we had to do a Plank for 1 minute. It was an enjoyable exercise .Completed 10.5km for the session. Felt pretty good and I like running on the track.It is a lot more comfortable .

I did the whole session with Geoff who was only 2 seconds behind me on the I pace chart. So it was easier to run with him .

Finally whilst on training Chrissie wellingtons top ten tips :10 Tips from the World's Top Female Triathlete
What I did learn this past 2 weeks are that the best laid out plans are changeable and flexibility is critical to a well thought out plan when executed.

Just Can't Get Enough

Depeche Mode : I CAN'T GET ENOUGH , Great Memories of a misspent youth


Week 2 of Training is nearly over. I have kept to the routine accept for a rest day on Thursday deciding not to do a wind trainer session.

Monday I skipped my swim session after the Sunday run but I did do a 10km easy run at lunch time .It was a little wet with a drizzle midway through the run . Legs were still hurting a little. In the evening it was the final NCTC Committee meeting.

On Tuesday it was up early and down to Nedlands for a 20km time trial .It was going to be hard and it was. I was passed by Julianna after 2km and just stayed on her wheel for the rest of the ride.My legs were screaming and full of lactic acid. It was a hard ride. I did just over 34minutes which doesn't count as I was drafting. Not one of my better time trials. In the evening it was off to Perry lakes for the run training.It was a really nice evening and we all had to do a warm up and then a 3 km time trial.legs were just tired but not hurting as much. I managed a 12.53 time which was pretty good . It does mean that the Interval pace that i will have will be greater than last seasons training.

On Wednesday I did make it to swim training and we did a 2.3 km swim session.I felt slow even with the flippers but my arms are slowly feeling stronger. I am still lagging behind the group in lane 1 . Breakfast after swimming at  TXTSHOTS . I had a large breakfast of french toast and bacon and maple syrup .It was just too much.

In the evening it was a run starting at the Running Centre.Lauren was back from IM Switzerland and was running that night . Lots of familiar faces.I started off with the 10 km group and soon led the way .The legs were feeling good and I did not get passed till about the 5km mark and then I could not stay with the fast runners .I turned back after passing the University at Jojos Restaurant on the river about 7km into the run . I then ran back along the river and did a 14 km run at under 5 minute pace.If the Garmin is to be believed it was at 4.31 pace although my HR rate was way above norm which can't be right.



Thursday was suppose to be a wind trainer session but I decided the body was due for a break. The legs were pretty tired with 50km of running in 4 days. I had a rest day and swam again on Friday morning.

Getting up is the hardest bit but I felt I was a little stronger in the water this morning. There is a definite difference in the strength of my right arm to my left and it makes my action of breathing on my right a lot more disjointed and cumbersome as my left arm is outstretched as I am trying to breathe through on my right. I feel more confident and smoother breathing on my left when my dominant right arm is outstretched and my balance is better. I am hopeful that as I get stronger the swim will improve. We did a 1000 warm up with various drills for 500m and then 20 x 50 m at 1.10 pace with rest and then a 300m cool down .It was a good session and I stayed with a group of 3 swimmers.After the swim session I had breakfast at TXTshots with the usual suspects . Just toast and coffee this time , could not have a heavy breakfast .

In the evening I did a 35 minute easy run and felt really comfortable. I skipped my core workout .I will have to do that another day.

Saturday , I had a good sleep in. I just fell asleep on Friday night by 10pm and slept till 7am .The exhaustion of the week catching up with me. I had a late start for my wind trainer session but possibly just trying to avoid the 3 hrs on the wind trainer. It was going to be a Coach Troy's Spinerval session aptly entitled Tough Love.

Greatest Torture Known to Pea brained Triathletes

I had issues with the sound from the DVD but otherwise it was just a hard mind numbing exercise. I could not do some of the stand and climb exercises for the duration required as the legs were just hurting so much. I had jelly beans and water and had to change my top midway from the perspiration. My cap was just soaked through.. I had a short break to change my top again at the end and then ran for 30 minutes .I did about 5km and I was really feeling light headed at the end , probably from the lack of food or a realisation that my rather small brain had shrunk and was bouncing around in the brain cavity.My legs are refusing to communicate with the other parts of the body.

Not so sure about the run tomorrow.

Swim: 2 hrs or 5.5km
Run: 4.25 hrs or 40km
bike: 4.45 hrs or 140km

TRIBES



Is this My Tribe Image from remote tribes website


This week I had some time to read my Triathlete magazine ( August Issue) which I have subscribed to .

What I enjoy about the magazine is that it is colourful (after all my retention and concentration power is limited) , lots of great pictures of Triathletes , bikes and Gear.Some interesting articles catch my eye from time to time and this week the piece by the Editor in Chief Julia Polloreno .

She wrote about her first job in George Lucas' creative company . It was a tribe ...a family as  it collected a group of like minded people with a passion. That passion showed through in the production of great films and the length of time people stayed in the company. When she moved back to the East coast of USA she said she left that sense of community .She found it again when she started doing Triathlons.

Tribes are a group of people who share a passion , a mission , a leader or an activity. Human beings like what other human beings do in their tribe.Their habits and language. Seth Godin wrote a book about Tribes .Here's the book

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us


by: Seth Godin
Amazon Price: $12.63 (as of 05/03/2011)
Tribes is a book about marketing, apparently, except it's actually about leadership.
We see Tribes behind every successful brand, organization, politician, non profit and cause. And yet it seems almost impossible to attract a tribe. In this book, I try to explain that the challenge is leadership, not marketing or hype.

Seth spoke at a talk in New York on Marketing , the example of the Grateful Dead a Rock band with a single hit but they created a Tribe . They attracted a following. People on the Internet can now easily create their own tribes .Triathlon has its Tribe .It is unique , fiercely passionate and very distinct .All traits of a tribe. As Julia writes in her piece , I have never felt in a tribe in any other sport , Triathlon has galvanised that passion and I see it in the triathletes I train with and meet all round the world. What is the attraction ?. They share my passion for the sport.

Posted on my face book this week is a piece 50-ways-to-identify triathlon obsession It is rather stale as I recall 4 years ago stumbling over these list and having a good laugh. Sadly I identify with many of the traits .I am in the tribe.

This week I identified with my tribes. I am in Exceed .I ride with a group of Exceed riders. I swim in Ross's swim squad .I am in lane 1 .I run on Tuesday with Brad Hoskings running group and on most Wednesdays I run with the Running Centre group .These are my tribes. I am connected and identify with these groups .

I race Ironman and triathlons .That is my tribe.

Some are easy to join and others not so easy .Like Hari Krishna's , you have to wear orange , be a vegetarian and meditate and chant and devote your life to belong .On the other hand watching 2 hours of Oprah each day qualifies you to be part of the Oprah tribe says Seth .It provides a sense of belonging , a purpose and the benefit ,health , mentally and physically and possibly a longer more productive life.

My thoughts are echoed by many . It isn't new . In another blog ,The Branding network  Cal Jackson says :

The members of your tribe are your allies on your life journey. When you're creating or expanding your tribe, look for people who will lift you up, help you grow, recharge you, inspire you, and celebrate with you, and who are willing to lend a hand when you need it. In addition, always remember that as a tribe member you have responsibilities toward your tribe. You need to give back to the tribe and offer other tribe members your support, just as they support you.

Now get out there and start creating or expanding your tribe.




Be it work or play . I hope to create my Tribe.

Perth Half Marathon 2011

run along the river (but pic from Perth marathon 2011)

I ran my first half marathon since the Fremantle Half in 2006 in 1.43 hr .I am happy with that as I was aiming for a 1.45 . My legs were fairly tired from the ride/run yesterday and it was always going to be a bit of a struggle for me on Sunday morning.Yesterdays ride was not hard and I did have coffee before riding home .It was windy and even hanging on behind the main riders was tough at times. Especially when I was on the back wheel of Alistair at Shelley .Alistair took off and I just stayed with Johnny and then rode behind the Plan B cycle group all the way back to Perth . I did about 87.5km all up and then ran off the bike for 30 minutes when I got home.

I slept pretty well  on Saturday night. I went to the TWA AGM which was the shortest ever. Not a lot going on accept that there is an effort to slowly lift the profile of the sport in WA in the media. There is a possibility of membership fees coming down next season and there will be a conference for all clubs and TWA will be helping clubs send a member over . Triathlon remains a periphery sport and it will be a while before it makes it into the top 20 sports in  Australia.But like anything , a journey starts with the first step.

Like all amateur sports , the organisation is run by volunteers with a few full time employees. It is hard and there is a lot of criticism but like all organisations it is always easy to comment , lot more difficult to change and improve.Considering where TWA was 6 years ago it has come a long way. Hopefully TWA grows as the sports grows here in the West . This past year , every event has been a sell out. I hope the entry fees and membership fees do come down as participation increases or more race Directors put on more events .

Sunday , I got up early and the legs were stiff but I slept like a dog . The best medicine for insomnia is to run your tail off training. The week has gone pretty much as planned.

The weather was great and the race started promptly at 8am.I ran with Craig for the first 6km and it was a fast pace for me at sub 4.50 .
I slowly began to move forward ahead of Craig and saw Sue L about 50 metres ahead and tried to keep my pace at about her pace but that did not work and I soon lost her at the 10km mark. It was then just keeping an eye on the Garmin and making sure I could keep it at a sub 5 min pace. I had my gels and took one at the 48 min mark and the next one at about 1.15. Coming into the finish line I felt good with another 7km loop to do. I did slow down a bit at the back loop where we crossed the Swan river at East Perth before picking up the pace and taking my last gel. The Garmin lost the satellite when I was crossing the bridge so I think the moving pace and average pace were  different for that reason.

The last 3km were pretty hard but I just kept behind another runner and then sprinted to the finish in the last 100 metres. Felt a little sick after that. I was suppose to run 9km but as I was walking back to the car , the legs were really stiff and I decided to just rest.

It was a good course to do a PB and the weather was good and not too cold either.The last half I did was in 2006 , the Fremantle half and I finished in 1.46.19 .I did weigh a lot more but I was only running and hadn't quite got into Triathlons yet. I noticed a few names I didn't know back them who are all doing triathlons . Anna Wodehouse who did IM France recently was 47 seconds ahead of me in that race. Perth is a small place when you want it to be.

Week One is done and despite the wet weather I have largely finished without too much soreness or and no injury.

Its All about the breakfast

Breakfast after swim session on Wednesday 3/8/11



Ross after his bike/run.Training for ITU Beijing and he enjoys smashing James



The bikes lined up against the wall

Breakfast at Tigers after Saturdays ride

Alistair ...Kona Bound

I am humbled by the concern shown following my blog with my programme.

It is tough but on balance I have built in sessions that aren't terribly hard and more recovery .In addition I don't expect I will be able to start some of the sessions given the weather currently. But the concern is appreciated and I will try not to run myself into the ground.I am deeply conscious of how most triathletes believe more is good.

It is a useful experiment early in the programme to see if I can get some solid base with emphasis on my running.

That said my attention was drawn to a very interesting radio interview of Gerald Stone on the ABC on Tuesday night ( 2 August) as I drove home after run training.Gerald was a producer on 60 minutes in Australia and a journalist for over 40 years.

He has just written a book about his life here in Australia, being a recent migrant from the USA this past 40 odd years. His book is about his career and Australia of the 60s and 70s.

What is clear. Australia was a mono culture with rigid rules .In less than 50 years it is now a multi cultural , pluralistic and diverse society .

Interview of Gerald Stone by Richard Fiddler (ABC Radio)

What lots of Australians in the Fifties and Sixties according to Gerald Stone may not have quite appreciated was how great a country they were living in. He moved his family to Australia because of the cold war and the real threat of a nuclear attack on the US and what he had heard about Australia from family who had served in the US Navy during the war.

A remarkable journey and life .

The week started off with the first swim in the morning for 3 months . It was a good return although I am struggling with my swimming at the moment. I have de-conditioned a bit and I favour my right arm and breathing on the left as I believe I am not as strong when I am swimming with my left arm outstretched and my balance and core is of. Will need to work on it more. I am looking forward to getting back into the ocean in a months time.

I did a 2.6 km swim session and ran on Monday evening on my own. Did 11.5 km with a reasonable /moderate pace . ON Tuesday it was back to cycling at Nedlands and breakfast at Tigers. The weather was bad and got pretty wet as I struggled to put my rain jacket on. I then had run training at Perry lakes with Brad .It was fortunately a light session .Did about 6.5km .




Wednesday was back into the pool and  another 2.6km session and I ran at lunch time as I had a meeting in he evening .I did a loop of Kings Park and returned along STIRLING Hwy. It was a nice day and again ran about 11km .On Thursday morning it was cycling to work with lops round Kings Park grinding up the hill getting passed by a group of cyclist who may have been from Stadium Tri Club.
I rode home in the evening and it was an easy ride

On Friday I decided to just do my 30min run with some core work .It was a very light day .I could not make the swim session.

Saturday was cold but fine weather wise and I rode with the Exceed Club round the river and Shelley .It was a little tough in parts and with the ride to the city and back I did about 88km. I ran off the bike for 30 minutes very easy and probably did about 4.5km.

Overall the week hasn't been too hard . Tomorrow isthe  Perth Half Marathon and I will know how tired my legs are.

Bike : 7hrs or 188km
Swim : 2 hrs or 5.2km
Run: 3.45 hrs or 38km ( not including the long run tomorrow)

The Plan Begins

The training begins .No excuses .

I am inspired by Chuckie V 's recent blog post and McCormack's book :

I can only be as good as I can be .That is what I aspire to with the limitations of everything within and outside my control.

Chuckie V says  in :Happiness , Ambition and Pursuit

Of all the goals an athlete might possess I believe the most noble is that of reaching our ultimate potential, or at least giving an honest attempt in reaching our ultimate potential. Basically, making the most of our capacity. By the way, capacity is what we're capable of; capability is what we actually accomplish.

Its not about winning . McCormack is right about one thing ,the title in his book .I am here to win .All I have to do is Win. Winning for me is to reach my ultimate potential. It is that journey that I have blogged about and it is that walk we take each day that sets us apart from those who meander . It doesn't make one journey better than the other. It is a different experience.

Chris's other notable quote for me is:

The process of being a triathlete – training, surpassing limitations, developing strategy, finding the strength to endure the suffering – is transformative. You become a better person when you manage to do something as insane as swimming, biking, and running 140.6 miles in the same day.

I had a look at the masses of paper and information I have gathered in 5 short years .I have a picture of me biking and running my first triathlon. I was big and I was slow but it was transformative.

I have designed what I hope is a helpful and instructive plan to training for an IM .

Ross's response:

Well I got to look at your program and these are the figures I got from it on the first few weeks.


7 days a week and no break within the first month

Swim 3 hours per week, but I know you want to swim more

Bike 7 hours but that is at minimum and would increase more i think if you are riding to and from work as you say

Run is 7 hours per week with 2 interval sessions back to back and one long run.

Totals hours is 17 hours per week with increases to 20+ if the extras you told me about take place.



It is a lot of hours so early in the 18 weeks. It will not kill you but it seems a bit over the top. Good luck with it and keep me informed as to how you feel.

I think you will not be able to sustain it for 18 weeks and I think you will go into Busso really tired. I know you would love to go to Kona, but are you sure this will get you there.

Keep me informed as to how you are feeling along the way.


Good Luck
Ross

As I responded to Ross the hours are a little high but not as high as some programmes I have done or seen and is a result of the preparation for the City to Surf  with a recovery week after each 4 week cycle and a rest day on the Sunday after August .Further Thursday is a relatively light day as it is really an hour of efforts , either hill efforts or windtrainer with the rest of the riding at an easy pace. Well time will tell.

To paraphrase Macca .Why did he continue to race after so many failures at Kona . Simply because "I am madly in love with the journey of being an triathlete. I can't wait to see what's to come around the next turn".

I feel the same way . Let the journey begin.

The Dream

Perth's wild stormy weather here to stay

Perthnow.com

Running on Wednesday night was a new experience.Perth was on a weather alert with gale force winds and rain due at about 5.30 .I ran up to the Running Centre and the group took off at about 5.30 with a 12km run .

It started to rain soon after and it was quite dark.About 4km into the run in King's park it started to belt down and my spectacles got really fogged up and running in the dark was hard.I started with the slow group but the re were 4 of us ahead of everyone and it was a 4.40 pace which was hard going for me .The two front runners and the fast group just pushed on ahead. I ran by myself for most of the way after the university turn off which was about 5.5km into the run. It was then along the river and the rain was just coming down with the lightning and the cars with their bright lights blinding me . There were a couple of times I got drenched by the car spray from several vehicles . It was an experience. Two of the girls running , passed me and I soldiered on. It was really not a night to be out .My wife was berating me for running in the rain with the weather warning. "You are not only obsessed ,you are stupid as well". Loving words of concern. Well I wasn't the only dumb one .There was fellowship in stupidity with 15 others .

I only managed a 10km run and I was soaked. I don't revel in the exploit. It was just a training run and it was good to be out despite the conditions . It was cold and wet but it made the day all the more complete. I recall my epic ride to Toodyay 2 years back and coming down Redhill in the rain. All these memories go into the bank of experience and makes the race all that sweeter.

I sat on my wind trainer on Thursday and tried out the Hills DVD from Carmichael. I did another wind trainer session on Saturday with a half hour run as well.On Friday I managed a swim session but little else .I was suppose to run on Sunday but just fell into a bit of a lazy hole with the weather and went to watch Harry Potter . I know ... I do need to get a life outside triathlons and training.I did have time to finish up my Programme and will post it on the blog.

I am happy with it and there is room to fine tune the daily workouts.

I am finishing McCormack's book and beside the great quotes its a simple read with his insight .I don't take a lot away from the book as far as how to improve and it doesn't quite get deep into his psyche and what makes him tick.Maybe it does scratch the surface and proves what I already knew ,he is a great athlete with a very tough mental attitude. I don't quite buy the mental games he played but if it worked for him that's fine.

I do take away a simple fact . A Goal is a Dream with a Plan ( chapter 14 of his booke). I now have a Plan.