Another killer session

Wednesday again and time for a 3 hr run after a 6 hr BRICK yesterday.  Only this week I knew what I was in for (from last weeks experience), although contemplated not going for about 2 secs, I geared up and got to it.  Did this session on my own, just like yesterday.  Which in a way is good, since it will be a mental challenge on the day :)

Awesome hot and sunny day, headed out around 2.30pm, was sweeting within the first few metres.  I had solid food for lunch so was a bit weary, but waited 1 hr later, and consumed in total 3 normal sized bottles of fluids.  All was good no stomach issues etc...  Yay!!

Was concerned my run/walk is still to slow.  And I know race day is not likely to be much faster as my legs will be just as tired, if not worse !.  But I managed to clock up just over 20k in just under 3 hrs with both running and walking.  So Im thinking this is ok, especially since I reckon I will have 8 hrs to do the marathon.

Scored a massage tonight! sweet, now part of a weekly routine.  And especially great as the legs were certainly weary and stiffing up.  

See my run route below:

A call for advice

Yesterday was BRICK time again starting with a swim with the Tri Squad at 6am, then home for breaky and on the bike for a 4hr ride, then home for a 70min walk/run.  After several long rides (from 4-6 hrs) every few days Im starting to feel the tenderness on the soft tissue of the fanny.  In todays ride I noticed I am rolling my hips back to move the pressure back to my bones, but this means I don't have a straight back, which then gives me sore shoulders.  So a call out to all ladies who ride long on a regular basis ???  PS Liza says the skin looks like a broken blister and is a bit weepy.

My nutrition plan seems to be working, solid food for breaky and on the bike.  Drinking nuun tablets in my water and take the tube so I can drop in a tablet everytime I refill the bottle.  Drinking approx. 1 bottle every hour.  In transition between bike and run I down a tube of gel (yuck!) quickly followed by a heap of water.  This seems to work on the run with no more issues on sore stomach.  Sweet!

Easy Monday

Yay it's Monday which means an easy day on the training plan and it's a public holiday for Jafas!, Auckland Anniversary Day.  And we have broken the back of this moving business.  Today we were even able to have our home presentable for guests, yes this means stuff has been hidden in the numorous storage spaces so we can't see it!

45min easy run with drills, so took the opportunity to check out the new neighbourhood, running round the point under the harbour bridge and to a local park to do laps and drills.

We hate moving !!!

Our New Home

 It's official moving sux, especially when you accumulate as much STUFF as we have.  Thursday was an easy day, I opted for moving, rather than a relaxing 60min swim. And then Friday was a DAY OFF, maybe from training but Im pretty sure running up and down stairs whilst we try to move the rest of our crap is not considered rest !.

Lounge

On Friday night we had some bubbles at the Hancy's to celebrate the new home, actually Liza and I just wanted to cool off in their pool.  Anyway would you believe it ! I have been careful not to drink alcohol, and with one small glass of bubbles I had a major allergic reaction.  The throat was closing up and itchy white lumps were popping up on my body.  Don't worry the sister in law jumped into action and feed me some kids anti-histamine. It must have had some added sleeping agent, cos on the way home I was getting twitching of the legs, and I barely managed to crawl into to bed fully clothed and thats all I remembered until after 8am the following day.

Deck with a View

So missed my usual Saturday Tri Club Brick, buggar.  Since I wasn't feeling 100% and since the house looked like a bomb had hit it, I opted to help Liza with the unpacking and cleaning.  Good job too as it took all day and I reckon it was almost as hard as doing a 6hr brick!!!

But today, Sunday training is back on track as I waved goodbye to Liza and headed off on the bike to meet the NZ Cyclist group.  The plan is a 6hr ride, so I thought I would do 2/3 hours with them and finish off on my own.  Unfortunately it was 6.5 hrs before I made my way home, head winds and side gusts made for a hard ride.  I didn't do many k's for the time on the bike, but I understand it's all about time in the saddle.

Kitchen

I was so tired, I text Liza on my way back from Helensville, I knew I would exceed 6 hours so I hoped she would read between the lines and offer to pick me up.  In hope I checked my phone every few mins, but no such offer &^%!!.  So I pulled my head in, realizing this will be nothing compared to race day.  And when I finally got hom she wasnt even home !!! whats that all about ah !!.  Well turns out she was driving around looking for me, if only she had sent a text ???

I was so buggared from the ride, for a split second I did contemplate not doing the 15min run, but compromised and made Liza walk around the block with me.

ooh Nice One Coach :)

In the last 4 days I have competed in a 110k road race (bike), brick session, 1 hr run and a 6 hr brick ... so todays 3 ish hour run was a winner!.  Had to run in the heat of the day, so I am feeling weary and have tired legs, and this is before I have even been for the run.

No wonder coach said 3 hr runs are sufficient, I didn't take into account her sneaky plan to tire me out in the days leading up to these runs, NICE ONE!.

According to the map I only managed around 19k in my 3 hrs, a bit poorly.  But I was happy that I forced myself to run even thou the body and the legs would have happily laid down for a rest.

My fluid intake seemed to work good, again I had a full gel followed by lots of water to wash it down.  During the run I consumed 2 full bottles of fluid, one of which I had to buy enroute.  I then drank another full bottle of water after the run and ate some food.  No stomach cramps to report :)

I had to do my stretching today as the legs are really feeling it!.  We move to our new home tomorrow, so although it is a scheduled recovery day I expect I will be on my feet for most of it.  Im picking we will be in bed by 8pm.

Great BRICK

It's Tuesday and the first HARD session for the week, starting with a squad swim from 6am.  Then whip home at 7am, shovel down some breaky (yoghurt and muesli and of course COFFEE) and slip into the cycle gear (wore my xmas cycle pants from nieces and nephew, they were great!).  Raced out of the house at 7.40am to hook up with CM for the 3.5hr ride.

The great things about riding with CM, she has already decided the route, and she knows the area well in case we need to make on the fly changes.  Always willing to share her knowledge, after all she is my specialized cycle coach! and she keeps me honest.  It was a good hard ride today in the wind and heat, only cos I needed to keep pace with her.

On the food front I took two pieses of toast with marg and jam.  Although one hint, when you eat this on the bike be aware how you hold it as bugs stick to the marg/jam side, and although add to the protein intake, I found them a little gritty.  For fluids I had one bottle of carb drink and one bottle of water with electrolites, ran out of both, but unlike Tour De Ranges I stopped at a servo to refill the water.  In all consumed 3 bottles.

Ditched the bike at home, threw on the runners and hat then headed out the door. oops after I had downed a full gel and a half bottle of water YUK!.  But managed an awesome run, good and strong for 40mins, focusing on form.  It was so blinkin hot that when I reached the diary all I could think about was Jasons prior discussions about lemonade ice blocks.  Thank goodness they only cost $1.80 as I managed to find a $2 coin in my cycle pocket.  Wah hoo !!! So yes for the next 30 mins I walked home and enjoyed the ice block.  Swung by the real estate agents to pick up the keys to our new house, posession today.

I love that feeling, when your buggared, but you know you earned it !  Im really going to enjoy my nap on the couch and then later a dip in the in-laws pool.  :)

Squeezing into CMs wetsuit

Stolen CMs wetsuit

Lately I have been getting chaffing from the wetsuit, which is not normal.  On top mates have been giving me a hard time about it being too big! whatever! But on the insistance of CM I tried on her wetsuit today, see photo.  Cricky it fits!  Now to take it for a dip in the ocean and see if I can move in it :)

And yes Bro I know the swim is only a small effort, so I won't get caught up in the gear!  I have been running every second day building those run legs, or should I say walk/crawl legs hehe.

39 days and counting ....

Just logged on to update my blog and noticed the countdown showing 39days, goodness me !!!!

Yesterday I did a 2 hour ride and spent the remainder of the morning supporting those doing the Auckland Ironman 70.3  (half ironman).  Thanks to friends Liza and I finally got motivated on Sunday to start the box packing.  After all we are moving on Thursday!. Yes this Thursday !!

Another week of training underway, this is a big week with just over 25 hours of exercise, see plan below.  Kicking off with a 60 beach run with Jason and Julie.  This morning I resisted the temptation to eat any solid food prior, good result with no stomach cramps, so will try this again on my Wednesday run and see if solid food is what is causing the cramps.  Hope so cos this will be an easy fix and then I can start getting the body used to water and gels for running.

Tour De Ranges

Camp Mother at Start Line

Saturdays are normally reserved for BRICK, but today we competed in the Tour de Ranges Road Ride Race, 110k around Clevedon. And for extra fun, coach added a run off the bike.  Todays objective, don't fall off and don't get injured and enjoy the time on the bike.  For me it was also an opportunity to rebuild bike confidence after Sundays blow out.

Awesome day, blue skies and wonderful scenery! Too bad about the damn head wind from midpoint all the way home.  Brought our 30k average down to a mere 25k.

Graham (left) and Jason at Start Line

During the race the team (pictured) was split as everyone overcame their own challenges, Jason got a puncture, I was being a nana on the down hills, Julie's longest distance so far and Camp Mother well she was just on fire!.   I managed to stick with her up snake hill (last major hill in the race around the 80k mark) but then she was gone on the downhill and that was the last I saw of her until the finish.  Well done girl!

Julie (left) and me at the Start Line

I must admit my legs were pretty tired and the thought of a run was not so inspiring, however with approx 40 days until the main event, fear set me on my way, running laps of the carpark paddock.

Tour Results

Mid week sessions

On Wednesday I met with the swim girls (Julie and Jason) plus a few others whom we linked up with in the carpark.  A great swim, we even managed a swim leg out to bouy 4.  Well done folks! the girls decided to extend on the swim, so although I swam a direct line between 4 and 3, they managed to swim almost twice the distance in a massive semi circle.  Nice work on putting in the extra effort ... :)  We decided to take a short cut back in shore from bouy 2 to avoid the 'Swim Run' racers.  Unfortunately Julie took a direct line into the oncoming swimmers, we all watched helpless from the beach.  Thank goodness no head on collisions!!

Thursday started with another swim with the squads, todays major set was 10x200m yay NOT!.  Then off for a massage and home for a run.  Was to be 2 hrs 40mins, but only managed 2 hours due to a crampy tummy.  The sore tum kicks in around 20mins into the run, Im thinking the food I ate was the contibutor so now I will try to stay away from solid foods and instead opt for a gel or similar.

Day One of Training Leave

Funny or not!, I told someone at work on Monday that I was moving to part-time and they apologised ?? I assume they thought my hours had been cut.  But NO I am taking 36 days annual leave.  Day one of this leave was on Tuesday.  And can you believe after weeks of awesome weather I get rain and wind.

On the cards was a mid-week BRICK session, starting with a 90min squad swim down at Birkenhead pool.  Unfortunately for me, today was a 800m time trial followed by 8x 100 maintaining this same pace.  On top of all the butterfly I was buggared when I got home.

As directed I scoffed some breaky, got changed and headed out on the bike for a few hours.  After the blow out on Sunday and with the wind and rain, I was a bit of a nana.  Not feeling too comfortable on the downhills and weary whilst in the aero bars.  If I had been using these on Sunday there is no doubt it would have been messy, as no easy access to the brakes. 

The run was hard, and was more a run/walk.  If I am walking Im trying to make sure I do it at pace.

I really enjoyed the nap on the couch ! especially knowing I didnt have to work.  I did fell bad that I didnt get any boxes packed, oh well :)

Sunday Blow Out!

Back to the normal Saturday brick session off Takapuna Beach, 60min swim doing circuits between bouy 2,3 and running along the beach between two sand castles.  Not so easy to sight from the water, despite the small twig sticking out the top. Jason meet up with Yvonne and I for the ride, was to be 90min but in the end we knocked off around 2 hours.  Then Yvonne and I did a 30min run off the bike up and down Takapuna Beach.

NZ Cyclists meeting at the top of Albany Hill

Sunday was mean't to be a 5 hour ride and a small run off the bike.  Rode from home to meet up with the support committee then on to join NZ Cyclists.  Kicking off with a burst up Albany hill, however heading down the other side was a bit more adventurous.   Let me set the scene ... downhill at a steady 60k, in a bunch of 20 + then 'POP!'.  Can you believe it! a blow out on the front wheel.  By some miracle I managed a safe and controlled stop without falling off my bike and without taking out any other riders.  Went and brought a lotto ticket later in the day!

See the rip in the tyre!, one of two.

After 3x tubes and 2x CO2 cannisters, we noticed the rip in the tyre.  And that was the end of my riding for today.  Thanks a million to all those who stopped and helped.  Luckily for me, my wife loves me :) so when I put in the call for the SAG wagon to come collect me, she happily got out of bed whilst I kicked back on the side of the road.

Enjoying a beach walk!

After spending a small fortune at the bike shop, when replacing the tyre (yes I did it myself!) I noticed two holes !!!  Speaking with the boys at the shop, they reckon the cause was a bang on the tyre like going thru a pot hole.  I don't remember any, but as CM suggested, perhaps it has worn overtime.  Makes sense since I had picked up some extra vibration in the last week which is why I had started to slow down on the downhills.  Reading more info on my tyre brand I notice the recommended PSI is 110 to 120.  I normally pump to 100, so I wonder if it was too soft and hence when going over pumps it was weakening the side walls ????  Anyways have ordered more tyres online and plan to replace the back one and have another spare.  And if I can I will pump them to 110psi.  Keep in mind for a pansy like me I have to swing on the pump just to get it up to 100.

Not a complete waste of a day, since Liza so happily came to collect me we went out for breaky (yes I was in my stinky cycle outfit since we had riden for 1 hour including Albany hill!) and we enjoyed a casual walk along the beach.  Don't worry we also went for a run later in the day, when the temperature got to a humid 30+.

Rescue Remedy - Really?

From Monday my work hours decrease to 2 days per week and then eventually no work until race day.  Lucky I got 36 days annual leave to soak up so we wont get hit with reduced income, good job too since we just brought a new house.

So as indicated now kicks in the full time training ... visited coach yesterday to get my training plans from now until the big day.  On further review the program is not as heavy as I was expecting, for example

• Longest continuous session just over 6 hours (60min Swim, 4hr bike and 80min run)
• Longest Bike 6 hours
• Longest Swim 90min
• Longest Run 3 hours
• Avg training 25 hours per week
• One Day Off
• Tapper from Feb 18th, travel to Taupo on 27th Feb, race 2nd Mar

And to be honest I did question whether 3 hour run sessions are sufficient given I expect to be on the run course for a good 6 hours minimum.  But as she said I don't plan to run the marathon, it will definately be a run/walk and maybe crawl affair.  And dont forget my goal is too merely finish within the time limit, certainly no desire to qualify for Kona :)

So coach, I have faith! and I will focus on doing what you tell me and making sure hard sessions are HARD and easy are EASY and I promise to do nothing stupid to get injured!

Of our entire discussion the most memorable was a suggestion to use 'rescue remedy', serious!  Now I always thought that was something you gave to the cat.  And for sure I have never been one to consider using anything like this previously.  But I gotta say in the last week or so, realization is starting to set in. Not sure if it is nerves or what but the body has suddenly taken on the need for emergency bathroom stops every time I train! and the stomach feels like it did before I raced the Half Ironman in Taupo but all the time, and yesterday when I watched the Ironman NZ video online, I cried like a baby !!!! Cricky.

Man I want it BAD, I dream about reaching the finish line !  What a girl !

Emergency Stops

Awesome swim last night, although a windy day, it was flat at Takapuna Beach.  Jason and I went for a recovery swim and by chance hooked up with some other mates so repeated our swim back out to bouy 2.  So we did great, beach to bour 1,2 then 3 and back again, then repeated bouy 1 to 2 and back via 1 to the beach.  Can you believe one of our mates suggested my wetsuit is two sizes to big! cricky I would hate to try and squeeze all these mountains and valleys into a smaller rubber suite!!! Besides it took me 15mins to peel it off after our swim.  I must get me some of that lubricant stuff so it slides off with ease :) 

This morning meet the girls for a planned 2 hour run.  I had always laughed at Liza's phone app which shows all public toilets in NZ.  I needed it this morning! Lucky for me I was running with locals who got me to the closest toilet for an emergency stop.  The tummy this morning was making all sorts of noises and it would appear running was not helping.  The girls headed in different directions after an hour or so, I kept running but it wasn't long before I had to do another emergency stop.  So after 90mins I gave in and headed home.  I really must look at the food intake, this would be my worst fear on the day, I mean what do you do if there ain't a porta loo near by???

Anyhow the tum is still not 100% so I have taken the day off.  I have been using this time wisely and ready the Ironman race rules.  Do you know that crawling is an approved locomotion in the run leg, serious! see for yourself below.

Stupid white ball!

The Swing, NO technique!

The Driving Range Girls!

Still recovering from our ride on Sunday and the run on Monday morning, the girls thought we would try something different, golf.  Those who could had a round of 9 holes, whilst the rest of us settled for the opportunity to smack the *^%@! out of the white ball on the driving range.

Takapuna range is the flashest I have ever visited, you dont even have to bend over and get you balls from a bucket, it pops up automatically and even has foot pedals to lower or raise the ball.  Unfortunately this didn't help us at all!  Lets just say if we had been drinking for every bad ball, we will still be drunk on Wednesday.  I think I took the cream as I managed to slice a ball so much it practically went at right angles and out of the park via very small gap in the fence.

It wasn't long before the driving range girls decided smacking this stupid small ball was hardwork!, hot and sweety, blisters and sore back, cricky worse than a 4 hour bike ride!.  Lucky the reward was a hydration drink at Hole 19 :)

Tuesday morning ride with the Quay St riders was a hard one this morning, 2 hours.  CM is getting specialized cycle coaching so we are all following along with what she has to do .... but Im not sure we will all keep up with these hill rides in big gears.  Todays ride included hill repeats in the big chain ring.  Nice!  Both legs and butt still recovering from Sunday so a bit sore today.

And so it begins ...

Cricky a fantastic ride on Sunday! but I was buggared and by the sounds so was everyone else.  The goal was 80k of hills and no riding in the granny gear!  CM, Jason, Julie and Katie (oh and some random guy who hooked on the back) met up at the cafe at Smales Farm, most road to the start point from home. 

Stretching, again !

First major hill (excluding Waiaru) was Albany, and the chase was on as we all clicked into mid low gear and raced each other up the hill.  Of course every hill had a corresponding down hill.  CM managed 78k on one of the downhill legs, don't worry Liza I was very conservative :)

The entire ride was a blast with everyone taking on each other at every hill.  For me, by the time we hit the undulating Beach Road on they way back (after we had done Albany hill one more time!) my left quad was starting to tweak, with fear of major cramping (which hurts like a $%^$! on such a big muscle) I eased off and admit I resorted to the granny.

When we reached the cafe, we all were stretching, I think we had too otherwise no one would be able to move.  Again I have included photo evidence :)  It was an awesome ride and marks the start to the training build up.... which really kicks in from next week...

7 Days and Nights in Samoa

Our Beach Side Fale

After such a busy year, Liza and I have taken the opportunity to have a restful and relaxing break in Samoa at Sinalei Resort.  Special thanks to our wonderful Travel Guru who happened to slip in this was our honeymoon, and in a way it was. It scored us an upgrade to a beach side fale, some free massages, cocktails and a lavalava each.  Sweet!  On top we had already managed an upgrade on our flight, I could get so used to Business Class :)

Our View in Paradise

Apparently the wet season, which we didn't realize.  Minimal tempature a cool 28 degrees with an an average of 31 +.  Thank goodness our fale (house) had air con !!!.  The resort is located on the southern side of Upolu (Island where the capital Apia is located).  Unfortunately this is also where a recent Cyclone had struck.  The locals had been without power for 2-3 weeks, but there had been significant clean up already completed.  The resort was mostly ok, with only a half dozen fales with significant damage.  The golf course and tennis courts where covered in debris.  A super sized generator also helped to keep things ticking along.

The Locals

Initially I had good intentions of running every few days, however after a short walk, we confirmed there was no where to run apart from the the single sized main road used by all, not exactly safe, likely to get run over.  So without too much struggle I decided not to fight it (buggar!) and we took the week as a rest period before the heavy traning commenced.

Our days consisted of a sleep in, breaky around 10am, a nap, a swim, a nap, reading, a nap, a massage, dinner and bed.  Awesome!  However as wonderful as the first 6 and half days were (3 books later) by day 7, I was ready to come home and kick this training into another gear ....

Less than 24 hours at Home

When you got friends like mine, it's amazing what crazy things you can fit into less than 24 hours.  After our exciting Christmas in Christchurch, Liza and I returned to Auckland on December 28th, flying out to Samoa the following day.

But hey, don't let a quick overnight to do washing and repack prevent a training run!.  Approx 26 degrees and at least 100% humidity!!! It felt like the longest 14k I had run in my life.  Jason and CM were running faster and faster, at the end I was a good 100 metres behind.  Turns out they had more motivation to finish since their drink bottles were in their cars, whereas I had mine attached to the hip (stolen Liza's hydration belt to practice taking on fluids whilst running)

Mid to long runs just gives the support committee too much time to think!, by the end of the run they had determined we needed to do more running at 2-3pm as this is likely when I will start the running leg in Taupo.  Gosh I hope it is not this hot !!!

Thanks ladies it was a good run :)