Thank You Lord ...

 Taper is in Full swing .It has been a light week by comparison.

 I had swim training on Monday evening so I slept in for Monday Morning. On Tuesday it was an hour of sitting behind whilst everyone rode hard .it was still hard keeping up with Ross and Stu but I managed for 45 minutes before easing up. Rode for 1.40 hr .In the evening had run training with 2km warm up and then 4 x 500m at threshold and 2 x 1km at threshold and 2 x 500m at threshold and a cool down of another 2km .

On Wednesday I had  another lie in and after a meeting rushed to swim training in the evening , there was a storm front heading to Perth and the winds were pretty awesome . Despite the conditions managed to complete the swim training . It was a 50 minute session and did about 2.2 km with the main set being 800m at medium pace , 400m at threshold and 200m fast and 400m medium followed by cool down.

Thursday the weather was bad so I did no training and on Friday I did a 1hr session at lunch time and a further 30 minutes in the evening running slowly at easy pace.
Saturday was a very easy ride with 2 hours on the bike at sub threshold pace and then 30 minutes off the bike. I felt a little sluggish but comfortable on the run.

As Exceed were doing a short swim /run session at City beach , we rode from there and did a river loop. Lots of cyclist were out and it was a nice but cold day.

I have started to assemble my gear and will finalise everything for the race after the Inter Club championships tomorrow . it will be a fun race which will help with the preparation for the Ironman.

Finally had a quick look at some website on the mental approach to a Race . it helps to try to focus on the positives and have a few mantras come race day . it is more mental than physical at some point in the race .  Whilst the preparation is less than ideal , I will still approach the race in the same way as I do:-

1. I will write down my nutrition plan and go through it 
2. I will try and prepare for the race Mentally ( read :How to Get the Winning mentality )
3. Go through my checklist and tick off all the items I need
4. Execute the Plan and the training i have put in
5. Enjoy the Race.

Words to Motivate

You Can If You Think You Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.
~ C. W. Longenecker ~

All the work is done and nothing else left but to organise and put into practice the months of training .
When out there it always helps to remember a  few mantras to get by when the going gets tough .At some point it will happen .

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan


Winning isn’t everything, but the will to win is everything.
Vince Lombardi

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.
Denis Waitley

There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.
Napoleon Hill

Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.
Napoleon Hill


Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.
Napoleon Hill

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.
George Edward Woodberry

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.
Dale Carnegie

Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.
David Frost

Failure is success if we learn from it.
Malcolm Forbes
Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.
Dale Carnegie



If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.
W. C. Fields


Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.
Ross Perot

Nothing recedes like success.
Walter Winchell

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.
Bill Gates

Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiam.
Winston Churchill

Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.
George S. Patton

A champion is someone who gets up, even when he can’t
Unknown

Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.
Stephen R. Covey

The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective.
Al Neuharth

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The dark Art of Tapering

If triathlon wasn't confusing enough at least the science of getting the training at optimum balance for that minute improvement , the dark art of tapering is a whole new level of confusion.

I have never quite understood why and when but I have been just thankful for the drop in volume . I have been letharrgic and tired at the beginning and then by the week before the race , began to feel more lively and fresher. having said that , there are lots of great articles on tapering.

It is a necessity to freshen us up for the Big Day but as Chuckie V points out so eloquently , there must be something to taper. That is , have I put in the hard yards to justify the taper. I am not so sure but if anything i aim to enjoy this race and not sweat the fine detail of times and goals.

My personal view (which is often obscured by a murky memory and visions of grandeur, though we'll overlook that for now) on tapering is this:

1) It is more art than it is science and…
2) You better be sure you first have something to taper from.

Chuckie V on Tapering

"The primary aim of the taper should be to minimize accumulated fatigue, rather than to attain additional physiological adaptations or fitness gains." In other words, it's time to chill. 

Its Taper Time Runners World

 If I haven't already been chilling for the whole training program for Ironman Busselton 2012 , I certainly will be for the taper.

What it Takes to be a Champion

Meredith Kessler - Trizone

No one knows what they are doing when they start out in triathlon,
and the learning curve takes time, money, determination, and
effort. It took me over twenty Ironman races to realize that I was
floundering in the sport.
Meredith Kessler Ironman NZ /St George IM Champion 2012 and finisher of 40 Ironmans

It is good to be humble and to be objective.

In this sport of long course triathlon , there is no more a humbling experience then failure. It also throws out many great unassuming and humble Champions . It is one aspect of the sport I love .It is an equalizer of all who venture out to have a go . It respect's no one and every race is a lesson about to be served to anyone who does not respect the distance .Even the pro's get it badly wrong from time to time. Possibly for that reason they understand the sacrifice each triathlete at the start line has endured.

The best have had to face it .It I hope builds character? I may not have all the answers and certainly I have had more than my share of mistakes . I continue to make them and I continue to know , to improve , no stone must be left unturned but it comes at considerable price. One I am not able to pay.

There is nutrition , rest , training and mental and physical preparation ...all coming together. Having said that , the professionals may have the time but they take the leap of faith chasing races and sponsorship and the uncertain pay check . If you want it badly enough you will take the plunge.

I have read a recent article in triathlete Magazine ( the advantage of a subscription ) about Meredith Kessler , just such a Champion Professional triathlete and about  her triathlon History .It took her 20 Ironman's before she began to improve into an age group winner and eventually turning Pro. The piece is reproduced on the Triathlete Europe website and is well worth a read.

The Journey Of Meredith Kessler By Paul Moore

Another great piece is an article about Meredith's early beginnings in the sport and before she became a Pro by Matt Fitzgerald titled the Purple Patch .She had a full time job and a marriage and training and managed to make it all work.

Seeing Purple by Matt Fitzgerald triathlete Magazine November 2010

IT TOOK MEREDITH KESSLER  a long time - more than seven years - to find a purple patch in triathlon .She found it soon after she began working with coach Matt Dixon in 2007 , and since then the 32 year old San Francisco resident  has made up for lost time , riding that purple patch from her past status as a solid but unexceptional age-group Ironman racer to her current status as a top tier pro whose Ironman victory seemed all but inevitable . for those uninitiated in the ways of the purple patch is "a period of excellent performance , when everything seems to go right , work properly and is in perfect balance .Everything seems to fall into place and flows , making it seem like you can do nothing wrong.

Despite the challenges of endurance racing , there is an inevitable meaning to the whole journey culminating in the race. For some , they find their mojo in the first race but as I have learnt , there is always a roll of the dice and there is always something to be learnt and something to improve upon . It may take many years or for some , it all falls in place fairly quickly and then it is just the tweaking of the edges to sharpen the  result. Whatever it is , whether a top ten age grouper or the back of the pack triathlete , the race does dish out lessons as does those many hours of training. What we take from these lessons is what makes us as triathletes and more so the person we want to be.

Taperng...

It s about two weeks to Ironman  Busselton 2012.

Whilst there are  many factors that have not made this the deal preparation for an Ironman . t never s and the trick is to be able to adapt to circumstances as they arise and cope. getting to the start line is one battle , achieving your best on the day is quite another battle some 1500 plus triathletes will be waging on 9 December 2012. Many to perform at their best and deliver a PB .

The preparation has been less than ideal but in many respects ideal in that I do not have any illusions of where I am at and how I will perform and any pressure on myself to achieve unrealistic times. We are always our worst enemies . It is good to have goals and objectives but quite another to shoot for the stars and miss by a country mile. The training tells me where I am. I am not running or biking as fast as early last year and I am quite a few Kg's heavier than race weight at Lanzarote 2011. On the plus side I am feeling stronger and recovering from my fall .

The week has passed quickly. I had no swimming this week so far and mainly did my run session on Tuesday with interval work and clocking over 12km.On Wednesday I did a treadmill session of 55 mins and a run of 50 minutes clocking over 17kms with 30minutes at Marathon pace. On Thursday , I followed the Exceed group round the river but did not join them on the efforts. It was a comfortable 42kms round the river and 1.40minutes on the bike. I had a massage on Thursday and my right hip was quite sore over the week although there was no particular incident. Possibly the massage the week before was just a little hard and the runs had just inflamed the tissue around the right Hip. I soldiered on but it was pretty sore after the Thursday run even though it was an easy 10km run. On Friday , I skipped swimming and had an OT session with another massage to try and get the hip fixed.

Saturday , another early start , at 4.30am riding from South Perth through Welshpool , Roe and the cycle path down the Freeway to Safety bay road and then back to South Perth via the bike path. I had 3 x 30 minute efforts.Everyone took a turn on the efforts and felt very comfortable . My heart rate was at about 145 when I was at the front which was at about 72% of my Maximum Effort. It felt good and admittedly when I was at the back the heart rate dropped down so it wasn't quite at threshold pace for each full 30 minute effort .But on the day with the swim and the excitement , I suspect the heart rate will be higher. It will be a critical question as to the pace on the bike and being realistic about times .


Untitled by cookejohn at Garmin Connect - Details

The run off the bike was at easy pace.Again I started off faster than I should and slowed down to do 5.5km in 30 minutes , keeping the heart rate below 140 . The legs were feeling pretty good but we did spin back leisurely for the last 45 minutes .

Untitled by cookejohn at Garmin Connect - Details

Two weeks to go and tapering and preparation for the Ironman are on.

Ross ,  my Coach  , and the IM Triathletes from Exceed  had a little get together at Yelo Cafe  to discuss preparation and nutrition. I will put  up my checklist as well as a link to tapering which I have found helpful.  As I am reminded again , it isn't rocket science but it isn't easy.

The training is done and not a lot is going to improve the performance but a lot between now and race day can destroy a PB.

Last Long Ride

The week has passed quickly and it has been busy. My last big week of training before the taper has been uneventful and not too bad.

I ran on Monday with a 2 hour run but split into a treadmill session with 30 minutes at Marathon pace and the rest a little slower . Managed to run 21 km .On Tuesday it was the last 1.5 hour session on the Birwood circuit and again it was a good effort although i felt I was slower with the legs still fatigued from the run the night before.I managed a 62km ride with the cycle from and back to the city from Nedlands. I had a massage at lunch time which did help the sore muscles and in the evening I did the  run session.it was 4 x 1km at threshold pace and 6 x 600 at threshold pace with a warm up and cool down .Managed 12.5km.

On Wednesday , I got down to the swim session and felt tired but kept  up .It was a bigger session then normal and with the warm up and cool down , I did 2.9km .the main set was 500m at medium and threshold , 300m at medium and threshold and 3x 200m .

Thursday , I skipped the ride in the morning and did my run at lunch time it was an easy run for an hour  and in the evening I rode my bike home from work and again to swim and work on Friday morning. The swim on Friday was short but a little harder with a short fast set. we did a 50 easy , 100 fast , 50m easy and 100m fast , four times and then a cool down of 200m medley and 200m easy .I felt a lot better but I am still slow. I did manage to remain reasonably strong for the whole set and keep up with the middle group in the lane .

Saturday was the last long ride of 5 hours and a30 minute run off the bike .I started off with Johnny Hawkins and Mez at 4.30 am from South Perth doing 4 sets of threshold efforts. There was a good stiff tail wind down going out .We hit 80km and then turned around hitting the headwind although i felt it wasn't as bad a s2 weeks ago. we took turns at the front and that helped with Johnny being the strongest rider amongst us and pushing a higher speed. i ran comfortably off the bike although I did feel the heat. I had 4 bidons of water and Gatorade , my gels in a flask and dates and snakes for added carbohydrates  and 1800mg of salt in the gels. Had one pee stop on the bike and one on the run.

Sunday , the legs were feeling pretty good after the ride and run on Saturday and I had a good nights sleep. drove down to Coogee to swim with Les and Trevor.(Trevor didn't make it as he was watching rugby last night and slept in).  the winds was up and so the water was a little choppy .Made it hard in the beginning but i did manage to get a bit more comfortable after the initial spluttering and coughing and swallowing of sea water. did a short swim of 1.5km  and then coffee.

The week has rushed by but glad I managed to finish all the programme without too much difficulties..

Swim: 2.6 hrs/ 6.6 km
Run: 4. 5 hrs  / 48km
Bike : 9.1 hrs / 260 km
total: approx 16 hrs.
 
 

Last Easy Week

The purpose in life is to have a Good nights sleep

Sleep is underrated . I have discovered this year I have slept more and I have loved it .After Saturdays mammoth session I slept like a log and for most of Sunday other than a visit to AQWA , I just rested .Monday was a sleep in morning and I did my swim in the evening.It was a good session and felt pretty comfortable in the water.We did a 500 m warm up or 10 minutes then dills with PB and bands.I struggled with bands alone and just sink like a dead weight so need to practice more with the bands.that was 300m and then the main drill was 12 x 100m at threshold , with everyone having a turn in front.managed to keep up with the faster swimmers in the lane .cool down was a 200m swim for a distance of 2.2km.

Tuesday , skipped the cycle in the morning , just wanted to rest.It was an easy ride round the river. i did do the run session with 3km warm up and cool down  and 1.5km x 4 at  threshold and marathon pace .managed just over 13 km .felt pretty good.

Wednesday was just a swim session with about 2.3km .Again warm up and drills was 700m and then 500m at threshold , 500m at medium , 300m at threshold and 300m at medium and a cool down .

Thursday and Friday turned out to be busy work days and I just did not manage any training. had a bit of a cold or the hay fever as well. On Saturday , Bryce and I rode down Reid hwy and West coast before doing the river and Shelly loop. We jumped on the back of a group near Mt Henry and followed them all the way back to the City . they were pretty fast and my legs were pretty shattered after that. Rode home and did a bit of a loop around the suburb. Ran off the bike for 30 minutes very slowly. In the evening I did an easy ride with Tim in the rain to the city and back .

Sunday , I was planning on an easy ride but just rested as I still had a cold. I fell asleep by nine pm and don't remember anything till getting up the next morning at 5 and then sleeping again for a few more hours. It has been a week of more rest than activity but by the quality of sleep , it was needed .