This week was a full on week but the long ride is now dropping off.
I have had a good week of training and other than the usual aches and pains I have come off without any injuries and major issues. The Mandurah 70.3 was on 8 November and whilst I have raced it in the past as a lead up race into Busso , this year and last I have skipped it.
My Monday has been the same and I did the ergo session with again 15 x 1minues at 230 plus wattage.Low for many but pretty hard for me . I swam at Beatty Park and did a 2km swim .
Tuesday , a run for 1 hour and kept at about a 6 minute per km pace and felt good. In the evening I got to cross fit late but had a session with
1min arap push press 40kg ,
1min arap squats , 1 min row ,
1min cleans ,
1 min row ,
1 min recovery repeated 3 times.
Short session but really got the HR up high.
Wednesday , I was supposed to ride and swim but took a rest day .
Thursday , The usual bike session at King's Park and Nedlands and then run session at Yokine with Katey . 3 Km warm up and then I ran 200, 400, 600 and 800 x 2 and then 200 and 400m x 2 before a cool down jog. Pace was the same as last week .
Friday , work meant I missed the swim session . Saturday last long ride of 4 hours . I rode from home and then met up with the Exceed group and rode round the River with them . the group broke up at Leighton's Beach . I did 15 minute efforts or as close as along the way . Stopped after Shelley to fill my bidons so I got dropped by the remaining group and made my way back then had a drink at the Cafe and rode for another hour to finish with 93kms. I ran off the bike for 30 minutes .It was a hot day with the temperature at 38-39 degrees .Others were doing far longer sessions and I was glad I only had a 4.5 hr session.
In the afternoon I went for cross fit and we did a short session with the heat .I did 1 push jerk, 1 clean , 1 squat and 1 crunch , then 2 increasing till I did 7 repeats and repeated that again. Long Day of training but the last longish ride .
On Sunday , I rode to Cottesloe with the legs still sore and then swam on my own for about 40 minutes before swimming with Les and Trevor for a short session between the groynes .Finished up with a 2km swim and then after coffee at Daisies rode home .
Smooth - Santana ...Summer is here Countdown to Busselton Ironman WA ...Looks like a hot one
Post Bike walk on Saturday
Week 11 was a good week because it was an easy week and other than the week in Singapore , is the only one in the program. It still had about 14 hours but I ended up doing 10 and skipping the swimming for the week .(Not a fan of swimming presently )
Monday a rest day so great just doing nothing for a change. Tuesday an easy run and ride just keeping it slow and easy . Wednesday I was due to just do an easy swim session but work and life just got in the way Thursday I rode alone around Kings park and Nedlands rather than in the group and in the evening had the usual interval session with 12 x 400m after the usual warm up . Hard paced and managed about 1.34 to 2.08 minutes per 400m varying in pace from easy to fast.
Cross Fit on my own
Friday another non swim day as I just did not make the swim session .Saturday I had an easy ride with the Exceed group round the river and ended up doing 90km and 4 hours . In the arvo was cross fit which I did on my own with 50 squats, 40 sit ups, 30 push ups , 20 triceps dip , 10 pull ups repeated 5 times . Sunday I had a rest day . Glad for the break and did unfortunately skip a number of sessions but found the rest and change of pace good. It hasn't been too hard a programme but balancing everything has been and I was glad to be able to just not get too stressed about having to keep every session.
Week12 was back to a full week of training .The week was similar with a swim session I did on my own at Beatty park swimming 2km straight and then in the evening an ergo session with 15 x 1 minutes at 230 plus watts or more.Which i managed but found pretty hard and I will just have to keep working on improving the wattage as I go along next year .
Tuesday , a run in the morning with 12km and managed to keep the pace about 5.50 minutes per km , which is about what I think I can manage on the run .Have been pretty slow in the mornings possibly as I am still recovering from the ergo session. In the evening cross fit with :
7 Cleans
7 thruster squats
7 jump bar push ups
5 rounds
Wednesday: I did another wind trainer session of 1.20 and missed the swim session. Thursday , rode with Hall Cycling at Kings park and we did roll throughs and some speed work at Kings Park . In the evening I ran on my own at Yokine and after the 15 minute warm up did a ladder set of 200, 400 , 600 ,800 and 1km and then back to 1km , 800. 600 , 400, and 200m in reverse at fast . Then a short cool down .
Friday swam in the evening and managed 2.7km with some sets in Flippers and the main set was 10 x 100m fast .
Saturday , rode to the Narrows bridge for the Exceed ride round the river and then I was going to go down the Freeway bikepath on my own.Unfortunately the group was too fast and so I got dropped at the University and ended up riding on my own round the river and then down the bike path .Unfortunately I got a bee sting again and a puncture .long day with 130kms .I ran off the bike with Molly so was a bit slow for about 17 minutes.In the afternoon Cross fit with a hard and fast session of:
30 Deadlifts 30kg
30 calories row
30 Overhead squat with 15kg bar
then 20 reps and then
30 reps again
Sorrento beach swim
Sunday , did a very slow Ocean swim at Sorrento .Wasn't choppy but still finding my rhythm in the ocean.
It is now 4 weeks to Busselton and 2 more weeks before Taper and one last long ride. There are lots of athletes doing lots more but I find this is about the level of training that suits me.
Another big Block of training done. The week started out with the usual hard ergo session and I have found these over the last few weeks the toughest session. I has a 1 hour block with 10 minutes warm up and then 5mins at close to 200watts as I could get with a 3 minute recovery done 5 times and at the end I was pretty much done.
Tuesday I ran in King's park for an hour at as close to race pace which at the moment is about 6.16 minutes per kilometer. The legs were tired from the ergo session but finished comfortably. In the evening cross fit with dead lifts and push ups increasing the reps starting with 2 up to 12 reps in a 10 minute period using 40 and 60kg weight and then push press with a 35kg weight for 40 minute.
Wednesday , swimming on my own at Beatty Park , straight out swim for 2km .
Thursday , bike session at Kings Park with a ride round the outside of the Park and up mount street then practicing turns at sprint speed and then threshold efforts around the Park and repeating it .Rode for nearly 2 hours and it was a hard session.
In the evening , run training with Katey at Yokine. Warm up was 3 km and then we did 2km at threshold pace and then 2 x 1km at slightly harder pace and finally 2 x 500m all out. I managed the first 2km at 5.03 pace and then 5.20 pace and the two 1km runs were at 4.56 and 4.58 pace and the 500m were at 2.15 and 2.20 pace. We then did a cool down finishing the session running just under 10kms.
Friday , just a swim session in the evening with the following :
200m free 100m kick x 2
200m slow to fast x 4
25 fast kick 25m slow kick x 2
100m free
25fast kick 25m slow kick x 2
100x 5 slow to fast
total2.2km
Saturday's WOD
Claremont Jetty Saturday afternoon swim
Saturday , the legs were just tired so I skipped my long ride and did a run 2 hours with 17kms The first 30 minutes easy and then 1 hour at a harder pace , for me about 6 minute pace and then the last 25 minutes were easy . Then a swim at the swan River at Claremont on my own. I did go to cross fit and had a good work out :
7 exercise
7 pushups
7 pullups
burpees
deadlifts 50kg
thrusters 25kg
kettlebells 16kgs
knees to elbow rises on bar
x 5 rounds
Sunday was suppose to be the long ride but I decided to just rest as the legs and body were feeling pretty sore and tired.
Irondog with the TT Bike
Week 10 Monday.Back to the ergo trainer and another really hard session . I felt a lot better with the rest on Sunday and managed the session without getting close to passing out or coughing up a lung.
Tuesday . I ran in the evening a 1 hour session keeping a good pace and managing 10km with a 6.02 minutes per km with the average Heart rate at 128 bpm. I missed cross fit .
Wednesday , I swam in the evening and did my own cross fit session in the gym :
7 rounds
10 push ups
20 squats
20 sit ups
15 triceps squats
10 thruster's with 20kg weight
Thursday ; The usual bike ride at Kings park. this time we headed out to Christchurch in Nedlands practicing rolling of the front in a group and then threshold efforts in kings park circuit and finally one climb up Mount street before heading off for coffee. Pretty hard effort of 1.40hr. In the evening ran with Katey and did a 3km warm up then 8 x 500m , all pretty consistent at 2.24 to 2.09 minutes . Then a slow cool down finishing with about 9km.
Friday . I swam at the pool with Exceed :
200m free warm up
100 x 2 with PB and band
100 free
300m fast
200 easy
2 x 150 fast
200 easy
100 x 3
50 m x 2 fast
100 recovery
After the swim , I did a long bike ride instead of Saturday .Rode down the freeway bike path to Mandurah and then to Pinjarra Road and back to Deep water point .Finished with about 147km in 5.30 including the break at the Caltex Station for coke and water. I had about 4 bidons with 600 calories of Tailwind Nutrition , a 1.25 litre coke and several dates. Got swooped by a magpie after leaving the station and stung by a bee which causes a reaction on my arm that was still itching 4 days later. the ride out was pretty windy and I had a few mechanicals with the back wheel squeaking for all 5 plus hours .But managed the session with 5 x 20 minutes at threshold effort .Got to about 135 to 143 HR . Had a bit of cramp on the left foot but otherwise felt comfortable .I ran off the bike for 15 minutes or 2.7km.
Saturday's WOD
Saturday , still sore and tired but ran for 1.45 with 30 minutes easy and then 1 hour at a harder pace for me about 6.09 to 6.30 minutes per km pace and then 15 minutes cool down finishing with 15 plus km. In the afternoon , cross fit with :
5 rounds of
1min box jump
1 min wall balls
1 min dumb bell rowing
1 min overhead squats
1 min KB behind the neck triceps lifts
20 secs between and 2 minute recovery between rounds
I slept pretty soundly after Friday and Saturday's session. On Sunday i had my first ocean swim with just a very slow swim in Sorrento . I had some difficulty with the first couple of minutes but the last two laps between the groyne felt a lot better . just need to get more swims in the ocean before Busselton.
Week 9 turned out to be a less than comprehensive week with 12 plus hours and week 10 was about 16.5 hours. An easy week ahead and then a final solid block before tapering for the race.
After the easy week , it was straight back into a solid build of training for the next 8 weeks before the Ironman at Busselton. The long rides get way longer and the sessions just a little harder.
Monday I missed the swim session but in the evening knuckled down to my wind-trainer session. Easy 10 minute warm up then 5 x 5minutes at about 200 watts with a 2 minute recovery. This was hard for me and I stayed at about 190-200 watts and nearly passed out . A short cool down and the hour was done .
Tuesday , I ran at lunch time just doing a 50 minute run with some tempo running thrown in keeping a 5.30-5.40 pace for most of the 8kms .In the evening cross fit fortunately was more core work with 10 rounds of Turkish burpees and cleans with a dumbbell .
Wednesday , A swim on my own at the Ballajura Aquatic Centre ( a 25 m pool) so lots of laps and managed to get 2kms done. then off to a massage with Adele Richards at Essential Sports Recovery which was painful but good for me.
The group at Thursday's ride
Thursday . A long day with a session at Kings park cycling with the Hall group and we did rolling in a group riding from kings park to Steve's in Nedlands and then back to Kings park where we rode in teams of 3 up Lovekin and finished off with some sprints.All up 35kms.In the evening, run training with Renee baker as Katy is away and in Kona . A 2 km warm up with some drill sand then I did a 24 minute run at about 80% of max HR rate .I was pretty pleased and kept a fairly consistent pace of between 5.03 and 5.23 minutes per km for the 4.8kms I ran .We then did a cool down and stretches. It is always helpful having good tips and guidance at these runs from Renee . As there was only 3 of us there was lots of one to one help.Total run 9km.
Friday .
I struggled this morning and I was just tired .So I swam in the evening .I started a little earlier and did a 200m free with 200m with paddles , then 400m in fins. The drills were 450m made up of 3 x 150m with 50m finger drag, salute and free followed by 4 x 50 m sprinting. The main set was an 800m medium pace swim and then 400m fast . I did not do a cool down .Total 2.6km
Saturday WOD
Saturday. I had a slightly late start leaving home after 6.15am and headed North for a change . I rode to two Rocks actually got pass the Gravity Centre on the Indian Ocean Road and rode a further 10km before turning around and headed back. I had a good run down but on the return I started to lose energy and despite 3 stops for coke and a sausage , I started to cramp a lot and the last 20kms were slow. I finished with 158km in 6 hours and 30 minutes of resting. Will be taking more tailwind nutrition and salt for next long ride.
In the afternoon despite the sore legs and cramping I managed the cross fit session a little slow with 2 and a bit rounds in 40 minutes of 25 deadlifts , clean n jerks , jumping squats , and sit-ups.
Sunday. the good thing about the training is I slept without waking for 7 hours straight. This morning I was suppose to do a 1.40 run with an hour at tempo pace but headed to the hills at Bickley to run on the trails.It was slow and there was a lot of hiking but I think it put the legs under a fair bit of stress and held up. Just did under 10kms .
Bickley Reservoir Sunday run in the hills
Sunday run/walk
The lessons learnt are being consistent , getting the nutrition right, following the programme and staying positive.
It comes round again and my Facebook page is awash with friends and pros posting pictures .there is the usual banter about who will win, the many lottery winners and legacy winners and the celebrity invites .Ultimately I tend not to buy into these issues . It is about the individual experience and the friends who are racing there. The many sacrifices made to get there which I can appreciate. It isn't golf .
Also this year is the first race with the new owners of WTC , Wanda , the big Chinese Conglomerate. There was an interesting piece by Brett Sutton ( Prediction for Kona ) There is the campaign for equal places for men and women pros and the issue of the starts. It is the ultimate race and the race that started all others. In its simplicity of how the race came about , it has now become a juggernaut of sports business. Good or bad , the one issue that sadly has not been addressed as Brett alludes to is how poorly the professionals are paid in prize money . There is no organized voice although the new professionals association is a reincarnation of earlier such groups. Will the new owners possibly have deeper pockets and not be so motivated to squeeze every ounce of profit out of the sport .Hopefully they will see the wisdom in a group of professionals earning a decent living in the sport and being the core of the value of Ironman racing .
Whilst the age groupers race for the challenge and the elite few for a spot , it is the professionals who are at the pointy end , pushing the human body and mind and create those enduring visions of what we as a human race can do when we put our minds to it .It is the metaphor of how we all want to live our lives , thats what attracts me to push myself because I know I if I can do it , then in life I know I can put my mind to anything . I missed the early years when the sport was a peripheral crazy persons activity but the core of Ironman racing was pure. It is not so clear today , there is more show and less of the turn up and race and enjoy yourself .
Whoever wins there will be great stories . As I complete another week of training , I know what I started nearly 9 years ago which was to finish an Ironman .That was the dream. Then getting a lottery spot and now a legacy spot . The desire waxes and wains after many campaigns. The body tires and there is a little of the magic that is lost in the modern day Ironman race . Yes everything is run to clockwork and the atmosphere is great . It just misses a little of that small town atmosphere money just can't buy anymore.
Riding around Singapore ...Mount Faber Not much of a view with the haze
After the week with the flu , I had an easy week and a week in Singapore. Unfortunately with the haze it was an interesting week of training even though it did not have any noticeable effect on me, it was hard just not seeing the sun for a week . I arrived on the Saturday and the next morning ran .I was suppose to do a 1 hour easy run but ended running nearly 2 hours and covering about 15km.The rest of the day was just relaxing with a birthday dinner at Fort canning with friends. I had a rest day on Monday but did do a swim of 1.5km in the 25m pool and on Tuesday not quite following the plan ( I was suppose to ride and run ) I did a 30km ride with lots of traffic in the latter half of the ride and then ran off the bike for about 7km and swam as well for about 40minutes in a 25m pool covering about 1km but doing a lot of work with paddles.
On Wednesday I did a ride on the gym bike covering 22km in about 50 minutes and going at an easy pace and then swam at the lagoon in Sentosa called Tanjong Beach . managed 1.6km despite the low tide the haze and the eerie nature with again the haze just merging the horizon and making everything look like it was covered in a fog.
Thursday , I rode again for about 1.5hrs in the big chain ring and up Mount Faber .the traffic was pretty heavy as it was morning rush hour and pretty scary . Probably in hindsight not a good idea. I then did a 9km run in the afternoon .
Friday , instead of a ride I ran on a treadmill and swam in the pool . Saturday before flying back it was a 1.5hr ride up to Mt Faber and back, there was less traffic in the morning on a Saturday so had a better ride.
It was a good relaxing week and did about 10hours of training and felt a lot better after the flu ridden week. The change of environment and the tropical hazy weather definitely made me work harder but after a no training week the week before it was nice to be back just riding , running and swimming.
A bit of a hiccup in training with a slow start but in the past week no training as I came down with the flu.
Whilst I was hoping for an illness free build it has yet to happen.I won't regurgitate the training programme accept that in week 4 I had a good build with a wind trainer session , a group training ride and I did skip the long ride, 3 runs and a brick session off my long ride and 2 swim sessions. The next week I again had the same 3 bike sessions and did a long ride , 3 runs and 2 swims , the first in the morning.Began feeling more comfortable in the pool as well. I still managed the cross fit sessions as well despite being pretty tired on the Saturday. The long ride was pretty hard with a head wind and struggled at times but felt good at the end and tried the nutrition which is Tailwind all in liquid and with caffeine . On the Sunday I ran with Nimal along the coast and every street going up a short climb on each turn in from the coast road.I ran about 13.5km in 1.45 hr . Slow but got the heart rate up .It was a cold morning and unfortunately the next day I came down with a cold and then the flu.Nothing really bad but sufficient to get me coughing and feeling week.That put an end to any training for the week.
In years past I would fret about the lack of training but fortuitously it was supposed to be my easy week but I got it switched as I was planning on taking the week of 28 to 4 October as my easy week. As it is I will try and do a bit more this week to make up for the enforced rest week .
But over the few weeks of training i have seen some slight improvement even though my pace on the bike and run are still slow, I can feel the HR not escalating as much . I just have to remain consistent and the training is getting tougher.
Today I finished the week surviving the flu with a slow 14.5km run and swim with paddles .
